ived another powerful seriff by the name of Muller,
elder brother and coadjutor of Seriff Sahib. These all, however,
through fear at the moment, sent in submissive messages; but their
turn had not yet come, and we proceeded toward the Sarebus.

The island of Burong, off which the Dido was to remain at anchor, we
made the first place of rendezvous. The force from the Dido consisted
of her pinnace, two cutters, and a gig; beside which Mr. Brooke lent us
his native-built boat, the Jolly Bachelor, carrying a long six-pounder
brass gun and thirty of our men; also a large tope of thirty-five tons,
which carried a well-supplied commissariat, as well as ammunition.

The native force was extensive; but I need only mention the names of
those from Sarawak. The three chiefs (the Tumangong and two Patingis,
Gapoor and Ali) had two large boats, each carrying about 180 men. Then
there was the rajah's large, heavy boat, with the rascally Borneons
and about 40 men, and sundry other Sarawak boats; and, beside,
a Dyak force of about 400 men from the different tribes of Lundu,
Sow, Singe, &c. Of course, it caused some trouble to collect this
wild, undisciplined armament, and two or three successive points of
rendezvous were necessary; and it was the morning of the 8th before
we entered the river. Lieutenant Wilmot Horton was to command the
expedition; with him, in the pinnace, were Mr. W. L. Partridge, mate;
Dr. Simpson, assistant-surgeon; Mr. Hallowes, midshipman; 14 seamen,
and 5 marines. In the first cutter was Mr. D'Aeth, Mr. Douglas,
from Sarawak, and Mr. Collins, the boatswain; in the second cutter,
Mr. Elliott, the master, and Mr. Jenkins, midshipman. The Jolly
Bachelor was commanded by Lieutenant Tottenham, and Mr. Comber,
midshipman, with Mr. Brooke's medical friend, Dr. Treacher, and an
amateur gentleman, Mr. Ruppel, from Sarawak. The force from the
Dido was about 80, officers and men. The command of the boats,
when sent away from a man-of-war, is the perquisite of the first
lieutenant. My curiosity, however, would not allow me to resist the
temptation of attending the party in my gig; and I had my friend
Mr. Brooke as a companion, who was likewise attended by a sampan and
crew he had taken with him to Sarawak from Singapore. His coxswain,
Seboo, we shall all long remember: he was civil only to his master,
and, I believe, brave while in his company. He was a stupid-looking
and powerfully-built sort of savage, always praying, eat