n their place. When the Patingi
had received all he thought proper to extort, his relatives first
claimed the right of arbitrary trade, and gradually it was extended
as the privilege of every respectable person in the country to serra
[26] the Dyaks. The poor Dyak, thus at the mercy of half the Malay
population, was never allowed to refuse compliance with these demands;
he could plead neither poverty, inability, nor even hunger, as an
excuse, for the answer was ever ready: "Give me your wife or one of
your children;" and in case he could not supply what was required,
the wife or the child was taken, and became a slave. Many modes of
extortion were resorted to; a favorite one was convicting the Dyak of
a fault and imposing a fine upon him. Some ingenuity and much trickery
were shown in this game, and new offences were invented as soon as
the old pleas would serve no longer; for instance, if a Malay met a
Dyak in a boat which pleased him, he notched it, as a token that it
was his property; in one day, if the boat was a new one, perhaps three
or more would place their marks on it; and as only one could get it,
the Dyak to whom the boat really belonged had to pay the others _for
his fault_. This, however, was only "a fault;" whereas, for a Dyak
to injure a Malay, directly or indirectly, purposely or otherwise,
was a _high offence_, and punished by a proportionate fine. If a
Dyak's house was in bad repair, and a Malay fell in consequence and
was hurt, or pretended to be hurt, a fine was imposed; if a Malay in
the jungle was wounded by the springs set for a wild boar, or by the
wooden spikes which the Dyaks for protection put about their village,
or scratched himself and said he was injured, the penalty was heavy;
if the Malay was _really hurt_, ever so accidentally, it was the
ruin of the Dyak. And these numerous and uninvited guests came and
went at pleasure, lived in free quarters, made their requisitions,
and then forced the Dyak to carry away for them the very property of
which he had been robbed.

This is a fair picture of the governments under which the Dyaks live;
and although they were often roused to resistance, it was always
fruitless, and only involved them in deeper troubles; for the Malays
could quickly gather a large force of sea Dyaks from Sakarran, who
were readily attracted by hope of plunder, and who, supported by
the fire-arms of their allies, were certain to overcome any single
tribe that held out. The m