Volume 14 Australasia - dana ward's homepage

SAEAWAE. 145the fishing of which is strictly regulated, and a close season enforced for thecollection of the eggs.East of Sarawak the broad and fertile Lupar valley, with its rich coalfields, hasprobably the brightest future prospects, thanks to its easy natural communicationswith the Kapuas basin and the interior of Borneo. SimaiLe/aiiff, its capital, is alarge Malay village 80 miles above the estuary at the head of the fluvial navigation.The Eejang basin, comprising the northern portion of Sarawak, has alreadydeveloped a considerable export trade, especially in sago and bilian (ironwood).Fig. 00. Saeawax.Scale 1 : 900,000.East oF Gr.eDepths.This trade, carried on by Chinese junks, is centred chiefly in the port of Rejang,on the southern branch of the delta. Sibu, another Malay town at the head ofthe delta, is the great market for the interior, and here the Government has builta fort to overawe the surrounding Dayaks. The Milanos, one of their most numeroustribes, have been partially converted to Islam. They are a repulsive racewith coarse limbs, uncouth carriage, and milky-white, unwholesome complexion.The custom of treading out the sap of the sago-palm has given them broad, flatfeet, while the heads of their children are deformed by means of boards, like thoseof the North American Flatheads. At the death of a rich Milano his sago plantationis cut down, so that his estate may accompany him to the next world.The increasing trade of Sarawak is furthered by about a hundred European,Chinese, and Malav vessels, besides a regular service of steamers plying betweenKuching and Singapore. With the traffic the revenue also increases, leaving anVOL. XIV. L