Though the pirates never troubled Sarawak again, they continued their operations in other parts for many years afterwards. As late as 1872, Dutch squadrons had to be sent out against them along the east coast of Borneo. And in 1874 piracy was so rife in the Sulu seas, and the Spanish gunboats so unable to suppress it, that the Governor-General of the Philippines issued an edict dooming the "Moorish marine" to destruction. The Spanish cruisers were to destroy _all_ prahus proceeding from the Sulu islands or Tawi Tawi. Their crews were to be conveyed to Manila to labour on public works, and those found armed were to be punished by the Military Courts. It was hoped that these untameable and seafaring races would be thus compelled to live by agricultural pursuits alone. This merciless condemnation of peaceable traders and voyagers as well as the evil-doers naturally led to gross injustice, and to intense hatred of the Spaniards. Even those not bearing arms, engaged in peaceful pursuits, if apprehended, were doomed to compulsory labour; whereas those found armed, met with short shrift—and all were compelled to be armed for their own protection. In 1879, the pirates of Tungku, a place near Sandakan, the last stronghold of the Balanini and Lanun pirates in northern Borneo, made several excursions along the coast capturing as many as 200 people. Then the place was destroyed by H.M.S. _Kestrel_. (It had been attacked before by the _Cleopatra_ in 1851.) Shortly afterwards the British North Borneo Company established their government in North Borneo, and piracy virtually ceased along the coasts of Borneo. ----- Footnote 269: St. John, _Life of Sir James Brooke_. Footnote 270: By Article III. of the Treaty of May, 1847, the British Government engaged to use every means in their power to suppress piracy within the seas, straits, and rivers subject to Bruni. Footnote 271: Miss Agnes Brooke. Footnote 272: Some were from the Celebes; some from both Southern and Western Borneo; some Javanese; some from the Natuna islands. Amongst them were a nadoka and the crew of a Singapore vessel, and a Malay woman of Singapore and her family. (From an account by the Rajah Muda, which is practically the same as the Bishop's.) Footnote 273: Some fifty people from Matu, Oya, and Muka were rescued. Footnote 274: Belitong. Footnote 275: Ruah Selamat—a prayer of thanksgiving. The pirates now calculated upon being quit of men-of-war, and that the rest of their voyage would be free from danger. Footnote 276: There were many more people captured between Bruit and Bintulu, but the narrator probably only knew of those captured by the prahu on board of which he was a prisoner; he is at fault, too, as to the number of pirates killed, and captives rescued. [Illustration: MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, KAYAN, ETC.] CHAPTER X THE KAYAN EXPEDITION [Illustration: