le converts, and very large bodies of
them are very easily governed by a single Malay chief, as at Landa,
Songo, and Matan. I have seen very large bodies of them at Kimanis
and Maludu, but none of them possessing the ferocity of a Malay.

The Islams, or Malayans, who now possess the sea-coasts of Borneo
(as well as the sea-coasts of all the Eastern islands), are said to be
colonies from Malacca, Johore, &c., planted in the fourteenth century;
at this period, according to Mr. Poivre, "Malacca was a country
well peopled, and was consequently well cultivated. This nation was
once one of the greatest powers in the Eastern seas, and made a very
considerable figure in the theater of Asia; they colonized Borneo,
Celebes, Macassar, Moluccas, &c." The Malays on Borneo are like the
Malays everywhere else, the most atrocious race of beings on the
earth; and from their general character, and imprudent institutions,
both political and religious, are fast moldering in self-decay,
or mutual destruction.

From the earliest date that I have been able to trace, the island of
Borneo was always divided into three distinct kingdoms. The kingdom of
Borneo, properly so called, extended from Tanjong Dato, in latitude
3 deg. 15' north, to Kanukungan point, in the Straits of Macassar, 1 deg.
15' north, which included the whole north part of the island. The
kingdom of Sukadana (from _suka_, happiness, and _dunia_, the world,
or earthly paradise), extending from Tanjong Dato to Tanjong Sambar,
which belonged to the King of Bantam (when or how acquired I have
not learned): and the remainder of the island from Tanjong Sambar
to Kanukungan Point aforesaid, to the kingdom of Benjarmasing (from
_bendar_, a port of trade, and _masing_, usual, or the ordinary port
of trade).

When the Portuguese first visited Borneo, in 1520, the whole island
was in a most flourishing state. The numbers of Chinese that had
settled on her shores were immense; the products of their industry,
and an extensive commerce with China in junks, gave her land and
cities a far different aspect from her dreary appearance at this day,
and their princes and courts exhibited a splendor and displayed a
magnificence which has long since vanished.

Pigofetta says there were twenty-five thousand houses in the city of
Borneo Proper, and that it was rich and populous. Much later accounts
describe the numbers of Chinese and Japanese junks frequenting her
ports as great; but in 1809 there