ble dissatisfaction by many of the natives, and this found
expression in frequent acts of violence. The most noted and the most
successful of the native leaders was a Bajau named Mat Saleh (Mahomet
Saleh), who for many years defied the company, whose policy in his
regard was marked by considerable weakness and vacillation. In 1898 a
composition was made with him, the terms of which were unfortunately not
defined with sufficient clearness, and he retired into the Tambunan
country, to the east of the range which runs parallel with the west
coast, where for a period he lorded it unchecked over the Dusun tribes
of the valley. In 1899 it was found necessary to expel him, since his
acts of aggression and defiance were no longer endurable. A short, and
this time a successful campaign followed, resulting, on the 31st of
January 1900, in the death of Mat Saleh, and the destruction of his
defences. Some of his followers who escaped raided the town of Kudat on
Marudu Bay in April of the same year, but caused more panic than damage,
and little by little during the next years the last smouldering embers
of rebellion were extinguished. At the present time, though effective
administration of the more inaccessible districts of the interior cannot
be said to have been established even yet, the pacification of the
native population is to all intents and purposes complete. The Tambunan
district, the last stronghold of Mat Saleh, is now thoroughly settled.
It is some 500 sq. m. in extent, and carries a population of perhaps
12,000.

_Geography._--The state of North Borneo may roughly be said to form a
pentagon of which three sides, the north-west, north-east and east are
washed by the sea, while the remaining two sides, the south-west and the
south, are bordered respectively by the Malayan sultanate of Brunei, and
by the territories of the raja of Sarawak and of the Dutch government.
The boundary between the company's territory and the Dutch government is
defined by the treaty concluded in June 1891, of which mention has
already been made.

The total area of the company's territory is estimated at about 31,000
sq. m., with a coast-line of over 900 m. The greater portion is
exceedingly hilly and in parts mountainous, and the interior consists
almost entirely of highlands with here and there open valleys and
plateaus of 50 to 60 sq. m. in extent. On the west coast the mountain
range, as already noted, runs parallel with the seashore at a di