Our approach was made known by fires; but we once dropped, without their being aware of our approach, upon a boatful of Dyaks, dressed for war, with feather cloaks, brass ornaments, and scarlet caps. The discharge of our muskets and the capsizing of the war-boat was the work of an instant, and those who were uninjured escaped into the jungle. We experienced some difficulty in finding a suitable place for our bivouac. While examining the most eligible-looking spot on the bank of the river, the crew of one of the _Phlegethon’s_ boats, having crept up the opposite bank, came suddenly on a party of Dyaks, who saluted them with a war-yell and a shower of spears. The _Phlegethon’s_ men took to the water, much to our amusement as well as the Dyaks. The place we selected for the night was a large house, about 40 yards from the edge of the river. Here we united our different messes and passed a jovial evening. The night, however, set in with a fearful thunderstorm. The rain continued to fall in torrents, but cleared up at daylight, when we proceeded. As yet the banks of the river had been a continued garden, with sugar-cane and bananas; the scenery now became wilder. [Sidenote: Aug. 19.] We were in hopes that this morning we should have reached their capital, Karangan, supposed to be about ten miles further on. Not expecting to meet with any opposition for some miles, we gave permission to Patingi Ali to advance cautiously with his light division, with orders to fall back on the first appearance of any natives. As the stream was running down strong, we held on to the bank, waiting for the arrival of the second cutter, in which were Brooke and Jenkins. Our pinnace and second gig having passed up, we remained about a quarter of an hour, when the report of a few musket-shots told us that the pirates had been fallen in with. We immediately pushed on, and as we advanced the increased firing from our boats, and the war-yells of some thousand Dyaks, let us know that we had met. It is difficult to describe the scene as I found it. About twenty boats were jammed together, forming one confused mass--some bottom up; the bows and sterns of others only visible, mixed up, pell-mell, with huge rafts--and amongst which were nearly all our advanced division. Headless trunks, as well as heads without bodies, were lying about; parties hand to hand spearing and krissing each other, others striving to swim for their lives; and entangled in the common mêlée were our advanced boats, while on both banks thousands of Dyaks were rushing down to join in the slaughter, hurling spears and stones on the boats below. For a moment I was at a loss what steps to take for rescuing our people from the position in which they were, as the whole mass, through which there was no passage, were floating down the stream, and the addition of fresh boats only increased the confusion.