Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 02.djvu/141

LEFT BORNEO 119 BORNEO cloves, cinnamon, pepper, betel, ginger, rice, millet, sweet potatoes, yams, cotton in Amuntai, sugar cane in Sambas and Montrado, indigo, tobacco, coffee in Sambas, pineapples, cocoanuts, etc., are cultivated. The mountains and forests contain many monkeys, among which is the orang outang. Tapirs, a small kind of tiger, small Malay bears, swine, wild oxen or banteng, and various kinds of deer abound. The elephant is found only in the N., and the rhinoceros in the N. W. The few domesticated animals are buffaloes, sheep, goats, dogs, and cats. Fish is plentiful, and the coasts are rich in tortoises, pearl mussels, oysters, and trepang. Brilliant butterflies and moths are in great variety. Among the min- eral products are coal, gold, and copper, especially in Montrado; antimony, iron, tin, platina, nickel, diamonds and other precious stones, rock crystals, porcelain clay, petroleum, and sulphur. The dia- mond mines are chiefly in Landak and Pontianak; Sambas produces the great- est quantity of gold; the kingdom of Brunei, Kutei, and Banjermassin, the largest amount of coal. The Pengaron coal field, worked by the Dutch Govern- ment, is one of the most important. The People. — The population consists of three classes, the Dyaks or Dayaks, who are the aboriginal heathen inhabit- ants, and constitute the great bulk of the population; the Mohammedans or Malays — for this name is extended so as to include all professors of Islam, whether true Malays, Buginese, Java- nese, Dyaks, or Arabs; and the Chinese. The Dyaks live chiefly in the interior, and employ themselves with tillage and the collecting of gutta percha, resin, gums, ratans, gold dust, and wax. They are divided into numerous tribes. The Malays (taking the name ethnographi- cally) dwell on the coasts, are traders and bold sailors. They are moi-e civil- ized than the Dj'aks, cultivate the grounds around their houses, lay out gardens, keep cattle, and live partly by fishing. The Chinese, chiefly from Can- ton, have penetrated far into the in- terior. They engage in trade and min- ing, are unwearied in their efforts to make money, and then return to their native country. They have always en- deavored to live as independent repub- lics (kong-si) under chiefs chosen by themselves, and according to Chinese laws. In 1857 the Chinese living in Sara- wak rebelled, and were nearly extermi- nated. The Dutch were also compelled to put them down by force of arms, and have imposed a poll tax. The women of Borneo, except the Dyak, weave cotton fabrics, make earthenware, baskets, and mats of beautiful designs and colors. In the district of Banjermassin are fac- tories of weapons. The principal ex- ports are gold, gold dust, diamonds, coal, ratans, gutta percha, edible nests, cot- ton, wax, timber, dye woods, mats, res- ins, sandalwood, camphor, etc.; the im- ports, earthenware, iron, steel, and cop- per work, piece goods, yarns, woolen and silk fabrics, medicines, provisions, wines, spirits, rice, sugar, tea, tobacco, opium, trepang, gambir, gunpowder, etc. Political Divisions. — Borneo has never formed a political unity, and there is no native designation for the island as a whole. The name Borneo (Burnei or Brunei) in fact properly applies only to the Malay kingdom on the N. W. coast; and Kalamantan or Kalamantin, some- times quoted as a general appellation, is also of limited purport. The following are the present political divisions: (1) Brunei. — This originally included nearly the whole of the N. W. of the is- land. The Sultan has absolute author- ity. In 1847 he undertook not to sur- render any of his territory to any other power without the sanction of the Brit- ish Government. Capital, Brunei, 20 miles from the coast, on the river of the same name. Pop. 2.5,000. Its area was reduced by the erection of (2) Sarawak into a practically inde- pendent principality by Sir James Brooke (1841-1868). (3) North Borneo. — This territory consists partly of a portion of the old kingdom of Brunei, partly also of dis- tricts on the E. coast, claimed by the Sultan of the Sulu Islands. Against the British occupation of the Sulu terri- tory, a protest was made by Spain, which had for some time been gradually incor- porating the Sultan's possessions. As a matter of fact, the British North Bor- neo Company has been successful in ap- propriating and developing its terri- tory, which, with an area of 30,709 square miles, and a coast line of 900 miles, is now divided into the East Coast residency and the provinces of Dent, Keppel, and Alcock, and has its capital at Elopura or Sandakan. the largest settlement, with 5,000 inhabitants. The population of the territory is estimated at 500,000. (4) Dutch Possessions. — By far the largest part of the island is ruled di- rectly or indirectly by the Dutch, who have divided it into the residency of the Western Division of Borneo, and that of the Southern and Eastern, the former having Pontianak as the seat of gov- ernment, the latter Banjermassin. Be-