The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido
Book Excerpt
In the month of March, 1843, while at Pinang, I received intimation from the governor of various daring acts of piracy having been committed near the Borneon coast on some vessels trading to Singapore. I proceeded to that port; and, while undergoing a partial refit, made the acquaintance of Mr. Brooke, who accepted my invitation to return to Sarawak in the Dido; and I could not have visited Borneo with a more agreeable or intelligent companion.
The objects of Mr. Brooke in leaving England, the reasons which induced him to settle at Sarawak, and the circumstances which have led him to take so deep an interest in promoting the civilization and improving the condition of the singular people whom he has adopted, form indeed a story very unlike the common course of events in modern times.
But before illustrating these circumstances from his own journals, it may be acceptable to say a few words respecting the individual himself, and his extraordinary caree