nged
to a British man-of-war, and protested that it was all a mistake;
that the island had lately been plundered by the Illanun pirates,
for whom they had taken us; that the rising sun was in their eyes,
and that they could not make out the colors, &c. Lieutenant Horton,
thinking that their story might possibly have some foundation in truth,
and taking into consideration the severe lesson they had received,
directed Dr. Simpson, the assistant-surgeon, to dress their wounds;
and after admonishing them to be more circumspect in future, restored
them their boat, as well as the others which belonged to the island,
two of them being a trifle smaller, but of the same armament as
the one from Rhio, and the remaining three still smaller, carrying
twelve men each, armed with spears and muskets. These had been taken
possession of by the cutters after they had reached the shore and
landed their killed and wounded, who were borne away from the beach
so smartly by the natives that our people had not time to ascertain
the number hurt. The surgeon went ashore, and dressed the wounds of
several of them, an act of kindness and civilization far beyond their
comprehension. The natives, however, appeared to bear us no malice
for the injury we had inflicted on their countrymen, but loaded our
boats with fruit, goats, and every thing we required. It afforded some
amusement to find that among the slightly wounded was Mr. Brooke's
old, wealthy, and respectable friend already alluded to, who was not
a little ashamed at being recognized; but piracy is so inherent in a
Malay, that few can resist the temptation when a good opportunity for
plunder presents itself. The fact, which I afterward ascertained, was,
that they took our boats for some coming from a wreck with whatever
valuables they could collect; and their not having seen any thing of
the ship rather strengthened this conjecture; the excuse they made
for continuing the fight after they had discovered their mistake
being that they expected no quarter. [15]

_May 16th._--We proceeded up the river twelve miles further into the
interior of this interesting country, and with my friend Mr. Brooke
on board, approached Sarawak, his seat of government; in the reach
before you near which, and off the right bank of the river, is a long
and dangerous shelf of rocks. The deep channel which lies between the
bank and the rocks is not more than sixty or seventy feet wide, and
required some little care in