by Mayne Reid
CHAPTER ELEVEN.
THE LANOONS.
Certainly the most nutritious of all things eatable or drinkable is thesubstance, or fluid, called milk. It becomes blood almost immediately,and then flesh, or muscle, as was designed by the Creator. Hence it isthe first food given to all animated creatures--not alone to the_mammalia_, but to the oviparous animals--even to the infantile forms ofthe vegetable itself. To the first it is presented in the form ofsimple milk, or "lacteal fluid;" to the second in the "white" of theegg; while the young tree or plant, springing from its embryo, finds itin the farina, or succulent matter, with which it is surrounded, and inwhich it has hitherto lain embedded and apparently lifeless, till thenursing sun calls it into a growing existence. It is albumen, gluten,and other substances combined, all existing in the udder, in theegg-shell, in the seed, root, or fruit; from which springs the progeny,whether it be man or beast, flying bird or swimming fish, creepingreptile or fast-rooted forest tree.
The meal of oyster-meat had restored to healthy action the long-fastingstomachs of the castaways; the durion fruit, coming like a _dessert_,had no doubt acted with an exceedingly beneficial effect; but not tillthey had partaken of the true "staff of life"--represented in one of itselementary forms, the egg--did they feel their blood running in itsright channels, alike restoring their vigour and strength.
Murtagh was one of the first to feel revivified, and declare himselfready for anything. But they were all much invigorated, and began tothink and talk of plans for the future. The question, of course, was,how they should quit the shore on which shipwreck, and afterwards achance wind, had cast them? So far the coast appeared to beuninhabited, and although not so very inhospitable, as their experiencehad proved, still it would never do for them to remain there.
The American merchant-skipper had no ambition to match the ScotchmanSelkirk, and make a second Crusoe of himself. Neither would Murtagh orthe Malay have cared to act as his man Friday for any very prolongedperiod of hermitage, so long as there was a mode of escaping from it.
During the remainder of that evening, therefore, they talked of a changeof quarters, and discussed various plans for bringing this about. Itwas a question whether they should take to their boat and again put outto sea, or endeavour, by an overland expedition, to reach some part ofthe coast where they might find a European, and therefore a civilised,settlement. Captain Redwood knew there were more than one of these onthe great island of Borneo. There were the Dutch residencies of Sambasand Sarabang; the English government depot on the islet of Labuan; andthe strange heterogeneous settlement--half colony, half kingdom--thenacknowledging the authority of the bold British adventurer, Sir JamesBrooke, styled "Rajah of Sarawak." If any of these places could beattained, either coastwise or across country, our castaways mightconsider their sufferings at an end; and it was only a question whichwould be the easiest to reach, and what the best way of reaching it.
After due consideration, Labuan was the point decided upon. From thatpart of the coast Captain Redwood supposed himself to be, it was by farthe nearest civilised settlement--in fact, the only one that offered achance of being reached by travellers circumstanced as they. Of coursethey had no intention to start immediately. Their strength was notsufficiently restored, and they were only discussing the question of ajourney to be undertaken before long, and the probabilities of theirbeing able to accomplish it.
Although they were now safe on land, and need no longer dread the"dangers of the deep," they did not yet believe themselves deliveredfrom all peril. The part of the coast on which they had landed appeareduninhabited; but it was not this that made them uneasy. On thecontrary, human beings were the very things they did not desire justthen to see. From the place where his ship had been struck by thetyphoon, and the distance and direction in which they had since drifted,Captain Redwood conjectured--was indeed almost sure of it--that theywere on some part of the north-eastern coast of Borneo, where it frontsthe Celebes Sea; and he had traded long enough among the islands of theMalayan Archipelago to know that this was a most dangerous locality, notfrom beasts of prey, but fierce, predatory men; from pirates, in short.
These sea-robbers, issuing from their hiding-places and strongholdsamong the lagoons of many of the Malayan islands--more especiallyMindanao--are to be met with all through the Indian Archipelago; buttheir most favourite cruising-grounds are in the seas lying around theSooloo isles, and stretching between Borneo and New Guinea.
They are usually known as "Lanoons," from Illanon, the southernpeninsula of Mindanao, their principal place of refuge and residence.But they have also other haunts and ports where they make rendezvous--many on the shores of the Celebes Sea, in the island of Celebes itself,and also along the eastern and northern coast of Borneo. In this lastthey are usually known as "Dyak pirates," a name not very correct; sincemost of these freebooters are of pure Malayan race, while the BorneanDyaks take but little part in their plundering, and are themselves oftenits victims.
The craft in which they carry on their nefarious calling are largejunk-like vessels termed "praus," with short, stumpy masts and hugesquare sails of woven matting stuff. But they place more dependenceupon their broad paddle-bladed oars and skilled oarsmen, each prauhaving from thirty to forty rowers, and some very large ones a muchgreater number. These, seated in double rows along each side of thevessel, take no part in the fighting, which is done by the chiefs andwarriors stationed above on a sort of platform or upper deck thatextends nearly the whole length of the prau. The advantage derived fromthe oars is, that in the tropical seas very light winds and calms are ofcommon occurrence, during either of which the prau can easily overtakean ordinary sailing-ship. And when a brisk wind arises, and it isdesirable to avoid any vessel that may be endeavouring to come up withthem, they can, by means of their strong rowing force, get to windwardof the chasing craft, and so out of harm's way.
Ships are not always the objects of their piratical cruisings, or theymight at times find it but an unprofitable business. Combined with seapiracy, they make frequent land expeditions along the coasts of thedifferent islands, going up the inlets and rivers, and plundering thetowns or other settlements situated on their banks. And their bootydoes not always consist of goods, chattels, and money, but of men,women, and children; for they are men-robbers as well as murderers andpirates. Their captives are carried off to their places of rendezvous,and there kept until they can be sold into slavery--a market for thiskind of commodity being easily found in almost every island of theMalayan Archipelago--whether it be Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, or underthe dominion of its own native rulers, the sultans and rajahs.
Well aware of all these circumstances, Captain Redwood knew the dangerhe and his party would incur should they fall into the hands of theLanoons. So long as they were out upon the open sea, and in fear ofperishing by starvation, they had never had a thought about pirates.Then the sight of a prau--even with the certainty of its being apiratical craft--would have been welcome; since death by the Malay kris,or slavery to the most cruel taskmaster, would have been a relief fromthe sufferings they were enduring, from hunger as from thirst. Now,however, that these were things of the past, and they were not only safedelivered from the perils of the deep, but seemed in no farther dangerof starvation, the pirates had become the subject of their gravestfears, and their eyes were habitually on the alert--now scanning thesea-shore on both sides, and now directed toward the forest, wheneverany noise from that quarter occurred to excite suspicion.
While in this frame of mind, the boat which had brought them safelyashore caused them a good deal of apprehension. They might themselveshave easily found concealment among the trees that stood thickly on theland-side; but the large pinnace lying upon the open beach was aconspicuous object, and could be seen miles off by any one strayingalong the shore, or coming abruptly out of the forest. If there wereany pirates' nest near, the boat would surely betray them, and thequestion arose as to what should be done with it.
To have dragged it up the sand, and hidden it among the underwood, isprobably what they would have done had they been possessed of sufficientstrength. But they knew that they were not, and therefore the thing wasnot thought of. It was as much as they could yet do to drag their ownbodies about, much less a heavy ship's boat.
Murtagh suggested breaking it up, and letting the fragments float offupon the waves. But Captain Redwood did not approve of this mode. Thecraft that had so long carried them through an unknown sea, and atlength set them safely ashore, deserved different treatment. Besides,they might again stand in need of it; for it was not yet certain whetherthey were on the coast of the Bornean mainland, or one of the numerousoutlying islets to be found along its eastern side. If an island, theboat would still be required to carry them across to the main.
While they were engaged in discussing this subject on the day they hadmade discovery of the maleos' eggs, Saloo's sharp eye, wandering about,caught sight of something that promised a solution of the difficulty.It was the little stream not far off, or rather, the estuary formed byits current, which, flowing out through the sands, had cut a channeldeep enough for the keel of a much larger craft than a ship's pinnace.
"Why we no blingee boat up libba?" he asked.
"Saloo is right; it may be done," assented the captain.
"Troth an' that may it. It's clivver of the nigger to be the first ofus to think of that same. Then we'd betther set about it at once--hadn't we, captin?"
"By all means," was the reply; and the three men, rising to their feet,walked off toward the boat, leaving the young people under the tree.