Borneo

a large island southeast of Asia. It forms the southeast boundary of the China Sea, and lies neighbor to Java and Sumatra. If Australia be reckoned a continent, Borneo is the second island of the world in size. Its estimated area is 283,358 square miles, or three times that of the West Indies. The interior is mountainous, the highest peaks varying from 11,000 to 15,000 feet in height, quite equal to those of the Alps.

The coast is about 3,000 miles in extent, and varies from mountain spurs that reach the sea to morasses of great extent. For boats of twelve-feet draft a score of rivers are navigable for 100 or 200 miles into the interior. It is thought that Borneo is an extension of the Malay Peninsula, and that the connecting land has sunk beneath the sea, just as the land formerly connecting England and France has sunk. The animals and plants of the island are like those of southeastern Asia. The forests yield teak, ebony, gutta-per-cha, sago, resins, oils, and gums. Nutmegs, cloves, pepper, cinnamon, ginger, rice, millet, cotton, indigo, sugar-cane, tobacco, coffee, sweet potatoes, yams, pineapples, cocoanuts, camphor, and betel nuts are among the productions.

Collectors find Borneo rich in brilliant butterflies and moths. The swamps and waterways swarm with tortoises, lizards, frogs, and crocodiles. Fishes are abundant. Pigeons, parrots, pheasants, peacocks, ptarmigans, vultures, and eagles are found along the stream. The swift that builds the edible nest so prized in China is found here. The elephant, rhinoceros, Malay bear, monkey, tapir, wild boar, wild ox, deer, tiger, and orang-utan are found in the jungles.

The mineral wealth of the island has not been developed fully. Coal, gold, copper, iron, tin, nickel, petroleum, sulphur, diamonds and other gems, and other mineral products have been found in considerable quantities.

The interior portions of the country are inhabited by people known as Dyaks. They constitute the bulk of the people. They are heathen and live a savage life. The next element is Malay. The Malays are Mohammedans. They live near the coast and till the soil. Their women are expert in the weaving of handsome mats and in making cotton fabrics and baskets of beautiful design. The third element is Chinese who have settled in the country, chiefly for purposes of trade. In addition there are a few Europeans.

Like Africa, Borneo has been parceled out by various foreign countries. The greater part of the island is held as a part of the Dutch East Indies. The British hold a tract in the north exceeding their own island in extent. Agriculture in the ordinary sense of the word has made little progress. The principal exports are therefore natural products, such as fruit, gold, coal, rattan, camphor, diamonds, gutta-percha, timber, dyewoods, and edible birds' nests.

British North Borneo, as the British portion of the island is known, has an area of 31,106 square miles, and a population of about 160,000, chiefly Mohammedans on the coast, and natives in the interior. The territory is confided to the British North Borneo Company somewhat after the plan of the East India Company. The directors sit in London. Their acts are subject to revision by the British secretary of state. The direct management of affairs is intrusted to a resident governor. The core of the territory controlled by the company is a Malay kingdom governed by a nominal Mohammedan sultan. As a means of conciliating this element of the population he is paid a salary of $12,000 a year. The company maintains a number of trading posts. Brunei, the residence of the governor, is built out on piles into Brunei Bay. A railway 120 miles in length runs from Brunei to another point on the coast. A cable connects the island with the mainland and telephone lines connect the trading stations. Jungle produce is bought from the natives, much as similar trade is carried on in sections inhabited by American Indians. Agriculture has made little progress. A score or more plantations are engaged in raising tobacco, tapioca, sago, rubber, cocoanuts, and coffee. There are missions, both Protestant and Catholic.

The Borneo Company mints copper, silver, and nickel coins, having the same names and values as American money. Paper money in denominations of one, five, ten, and twenty-five dollar bills, is issued. A limit of $400,000 is set by the British government. Accounts are kept in cents, dimes, and dollars. Trade is carried on chiefly through Hong Kong and Singapore. Connection is made at the latter port with ocean liners for London.

Dutch Borneo, on the west and south coasts, is larger, but is less known. The Dutch protect over 200,000 square miles of territory, inhabited by tribes thought to number 1,200,000 persons. Trade is maintained with the natives by means of trading posts. Batavia, on the island of Java, is Dutch headquarters.

The interior of the country is called the jungle. It is mountainous and heavily wooded. The trees are of great size and variety, furnishing fine timber for furniture and other purposes. The trees yielding camphor, gutta percha, sago, and India rubber are the most valuable, as they bring a large income to the natives. The lumber exported for 1907 was 1,112,831 cubic feet, valued at $294,405.

There is no country in the world more inviting to the naturalist than Borneo. Here are found the flying squirrels, flying foxes, flying lizards, flying frogs, and the natives report flying snakes. Among the most noted birds is the little swift Collocaha Nidifica. Their nests are eaten by the Chinese, and are regarded as a great luxury. These birds build their nests in limestone caves, of a glutinous saliva which they produce from their glands; no sticks or any other foreign substances are used. The collection of these nests is an important industry with the natives, though they pay a tax on all they take to market. The value of those exported from British North Borneo in 1907 was $35,924. They are served at the great feasts of the Chinese, especially at weddings.-Consular Report.