ficers who had escaped and joined
him, set out on foot through the jungle for the Siol stream, leading
into the Santubong branch of the Sarawak river, intending to procure
boats at the mouth and make his way to the Batang Lupar river, where a
sufficiently powerful force of Dyaks and Malays could be organised to
attack the rebels and retake Kuching. But the Raja's nephew,[5] Mr. C.
Brooke, who was then Resident of the Sakarran district, had already
heard the news, and was even then proceeding to Kuching with a force
of nearly 10,000 Dyaks and Malays, but of this the Raja was of course
ignorant, and was on the point of putting out to sea with his small
party for Lingga, a small village at the mouth of the Batang Lupar,
when they descried a steamer making for the mouth of the river. This
proved to be the B. C. L.'s steamer _Sir James Brooke_, from
Singapore. Those on board had, of course, heard nothing of the
disastrous events at Kuching, and were hailed with great joy by the
Raja and his little band, who were soon on board and making for the
capital with all speed.

The sight of a steamer approaching the town created quite a panic
among the Chinese, for they well knew the _Sir James Brooke_ was
armed, and as soon as her guns had opened on them, they fired one wild
volley at her from every available firearm they possessed. This took
no effect whatever, and the wretches fled in dismay into the jungle,
intending to reach the border, some twenty-eight miles distant, and
cross into Dutch territory.

But the wild and fierce tribes of Saribus and Sakarran had now
arrived, led by Mr. C. Brooke, and were soon on their track.
Encumbered as were the Chinese by women and children, they found
escape next to impossible, but were cut off one by one by the Dyaks,
with whom in jungle warfare they had no chance whatever. At length,
after days of fearful suffering, about sixty of their number contrived
to reach Sambas in Dutch Borneo, this being all that remained of a
force of 500 men.

Thus ended the Chinese insurrection, which, although resulting in the
loss of valuable lives and much property, was not altogether without
its good results, for it served to place the Raja's Government on a
firmer basis than before, by showing the natives, Malays, Chinese, and
Dyaks alike, that it was a strong one, and to be relied on in the hour
of need. It pointed also to the danger of tolerating secret societies
in small states, and the penalty for be