rsects
the course of the Pontiana river will point out the limit of the
country inhabited by the Dyak. Within this inconsiderable portion of
the island, which includes Sambas, Landak, Pontiana, Sangow, Sarawak,
&c., are numerous tribes, all of which agree in their leading customs,
and make use of nearly the same dialect. Personally (writes our sole
authority for any intelligence respecting them), I am acquainted only
with the tribes of Sarawak and some tribes further in the interior
beyond the government of the Malays, who inhabit the country between
Sarawak and Landak; and the description of one tribe will serve as
a description of all, so little do they vary.

Before, however, I say anything of the character of the Dyaks, or their
temper, it will be necessary to describe briefly the government under
which they live, and the influence it has upon them; and if afterward
in the recital there appear some unamiable points in their character,
an allowance will be made for their failings, which those who rule
them would not deserve.

The Dyaks have from time immemorial been looked upon as the bondsmen
of the Malays, and the rajahs consider them much in the same light
as they would a drove of oxen--_i. e._ as personal and disposable
property. They were governed in Sarawak by three local officers, called
the Patingi, the Bandar, and the Tumangong. To the Patingi they paid a
small yearly revenue of rice, but this deficiency of revenue was made
up by sending them a quantity of goods--chiefly salt, Dyak cloths,
and iron--and demanding a price for them six or eight times more than
their value. The produce collected by the Dyaks was also monopolized,
and the edible birds'-nests, bees-wax, &c. &c. were taken at a price
fixed by the Patingi, who moreover claimed mats, fowls, fruits, and
every other necessary at his pleasure, and could likewise make the
Dyaks work for him for merely a nominal remuneration. This system,
not badly devised, had it been limited within the bounds of moderation,
would have left the Dyaks plenty for all their wants; or had the local
officers known their own interest, they would have protected those upon
whom they depended for revenue, and under the worst oppression of one
man the Dyaks would have deemed themselves happy. Such unfortunately
was not the case; for the love of immediate gain overcame every other
consideration, and by degrees old-established customs were thrown
aside, and new ones substituted i