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Show con L aw , f'f Sarawak Native With Knives With Which Fighting Cocks Are Armed. (Prepared by the National Geographic Society, Washington, D. C.) A country such as might have been the creation of the Imagination of a Rider Haggard is Sarawak, on the island of Borneo the land of the white rajahs. There, in a territory larger than Ohio, an Knglish hereditary heredi-tary rajah rules over a population of (100,000 Mnluys, Dayaks and Kayans, with a sprinkling of Chinese and other Far Eastern peoples. And he rules In an exceedingly common sense way. Three rajahs of an English family named Brooke have ruled over Sarawak Sara-wak since 1839 uncle, nephew and the son of the lutter. It has been the aim of each, as the first rajah stated it, "to rule for the people and with the people, and to teach them the rights of freemen under the restraints of government." Harmful customs, such as head-hunting, have been discouraged or prohibited, but not one of their harmless activities, however bizarre to the western mind, has been interfered with. And though the white rajahs have endeavored to develop trade, they have set their faces resolutely against anything that smacked of the exploitation exploita-tion of their people by either Europeans Euro-peans or Asiatics. The Sarawak Jungle, Inhabited by hat westerners would cull "savages," is better protected than many forests of the United States. The jeluton tree, for example, yields a valuable gum, but is easily killed if improperly tapped. Inspectors have been appointed ap-pointed by t lie government to Insure the proper handling of this Important natural resource. Even butterflies and the country Is the home of some of the most beautiful of these insects are protected by the Sarawak game laws. The history of the white rajahs of Sarawak began in 1S.')0. At that time the Dutch occupied the soul hern portion por-tion of Borneo, while the northern part of the island was nominally under the rule of the Sultan of Brunei. Once Ruled by Brunei. Many years before, Brunei had been one of the strongest kingdoms of the Malayan archipelago. Its sultans had conquered a large part of Borneo, as well as several of the southern Islands of the Philippines. Industry was encouraged en-couraged and an extensive trade with China was developed. But luxury and corruption had done their work until there remained only a degenerate sultan, sul-tan, with a retinue of licentious Malayan Malay-an nobles, whose sole occupation was to rob the people In order to cater to the pleasures of their master. The sultan's capital was, and re-inn re-inn inioday, the town of Brunei, about "00 miles from the northern extremity of Borneo. In the days of Its glory, when the surrounding hills were covered with pepper gardens and wealthy merchants dime In annually In fleets of junks laden with the riches of China, the town may have merited In some degree Its appellation of the Venice of the East: but for the past century It has been nothing more than a few score of small wooden bouses built on piles on a i muddy hank which Is hare at low tide exposing an accuninlntion of refuse j from which a stench arises that Is .1 novelty even to one who has become accustomed to the varied odors cf the , East. Sarawak was inhabited chiefly h I Malays, Land Dayaksand Chluese. ami : hnd, at times, been independent under Malay rulers; but In Vv'l its govern- j ment was In the hands of a vns--;il of j the sultan, the Rajah Muda Hssim. weak and Incompetent, but npparenily ' nn amiable man. not entirely devoid of humanitarian Instincts; for he did, on one occasion, avail himself of an opportunity to render timely assisl. i ce to some shipwrecked English sali-irs This event was the cause of James Brooke's Crst visit to Sa'avak. which led to his great work there an I the establishment of the white rajahs. Advent of the Brookes. This action of the rajah was so unusual un-usual that the governor of Singapore and the Singapore chamber of commerce com-merce resolved to recognize his generosity gener-osity by sending presents and a letter of thanks. James Brooke, the son of Thomas Brooke of the East India company's com-pany's civil service, was chosen to carry car-ry out this mission. He sailed from Singapore i if July, surveyed parts of the coast of what was destined to become be-come his domain, finding Its position so much in error that he was "obliged to clip some hundreds of miles of habitable hab-itable land off the charts." On the 15th of August he anchored in the Sarawak river, at the town of Kuching, where he was well received by Hasim. After six weeks he departed, de-parted, greally to the regret of Hasim, whose confidence he had won. Mr. Brooke again sailed from Singapore Singa-pore on August 18, 1S40, for Manila, intending to pay only a short visit to Hasim on the way; but he found his former friend distracted by rebellion In his country, which he was powerless to control. The visitor reluctantly consented con-sented to give assistance in restoring order. In return for this service, Hasim agreed to give Mr. Brooke the government govern-ment and trade of Sarawak, with the title of Rajah ; for llusini, who was heir presumptive to the throne of Brunei, Bru-nei, foresaw his own prestige heightened height-ened if he could return to Brunei, 'eavlng Sarawak pacified in Mr. Brooke's control. But when Hasim saw his country at peace as the result ot Brooke's efforts, he forgot his obligations to the visitor and connived In a plot against the latter. This failed; however, and he was obliged to fulfill his agreement and proclaim Brooke rajah and governor gover-nor of Sarawak In September, 1841. The Sultan of Brunei confirmed the deed given by Hasiin and presently also acknowledged Uajali Brooke's complete independence. Rajah Brooke was recognized as an independent sovereign by the United States In 1850 and by Great Britain in 18(33. Sir James Brooke died in 1S0R, naming as his successor to the raj his nephew, Charles Brooke. Sarawak Sara-wak was made a British protectorate in 1SS.S. What the People Are Like. With most of the Sarawak tribes, personal cleanliness Is the rule, and the Payaks have been known to coin ment on a white traveler to the effect that, although he seemed to be otherwise other-wise all right, he did not bathe quite as frequentl;" as they considered necessary. nec-essary. They are a tine race physically physical-ly and delight in personal adornment, in which they show excellent taste In the use of colors for the cliawat. or loin cloth, and for the bead necklaces and headdresses. In common with t lie other tribes of Itorneo, their houses are long communal com-munal dwellings built on pists S or 0 feet from the ground, a passageway on one side giving access to the rimnis. each of which is occupied by one family The Land Paynks. unlike the other tribes, also build a square houe on very high posts, considerably above the level of the "long house" It is callei the "head house" from the fact th:r in !t are kept the heads which they have taken from their enemies. There are three f-ilrly well detinou social classes in the Knynn houe : The upper class, comprising the chief Mid his relatives, occupy rooms in t lie n ltl.il o of the long house; the middle rlass, whose menibei s ore not related o the chief, orenpv rooms on both ides adjoining, whrie the noms at .'.ich end of 1 1 if house are occupied ' the shr-es tnit is. tiie lcsc-ant of those captuit-d In war |