There Memadam, a Lanun from Tungku, pulled alongside in a trading prahu, and saying he wished to barter some things he had, came on board with a party of nine men apparently unarmed, and brought camphor and other articles for sale. Whilst they were bargaining on deck, a man named Ibrahim handed a folded mat to Mr. Burns, who put out his hands to receive it; the man then suddenly drew a naked kris that had been hidden in the mat, and with one blow cut Mr. Burns’s head off; Memadam struck at the captain, but hit his jaw only; the Englishman made a rush below, or, as others declare, out on the bowsprit, but was stabbed through the back with a spear. The pirates then killed the woman and three sailors, whom they came across, the rest who fled up the rigging they spared on condition of their navigating the ship. The pirates then set sail for the east coast, and arriving at Labuk Bay, the vessel was seized by Sherif Yasin, who, as Tuanku Hasan asserts, killed two of the pirates. The chief, Memadam, retired to the woods with two of the captain’s sailors. The reason they gave for killing the woman was that her presence on board caused disputes; one man seized her by the left arm, and declared she was his property, as he had seen her first; another denied his claim, and already they had drawn their swords on each other, when Memadam came up behind, and stabbed her through the back, saying she should belong to neither. The Tuanku complained bitterly of the cutting up of the trade of the coast by the pirates; as many as fifty of their boats were cruising off the bay during the last season; they came from the Binadan islands, near Tawee Tawee. The boats from Tungku also occasionally infest this place, and many manned by the Sulus of Padang have been cruising here lately. Sherif Hasan, the son, as I have observed, of Sherif Usman, appeared deeply annoyed at the state of affairs at Maludu. He said that although the government rightfully belonged to him, yet datu Badrudin was continually intriguing, and he had left the town unable to withstand his machinations. The Dusuns, or rather the Ida’an, were very dilatory in paying the rightful tribute, being interfered with by the datu. It appeared true that this datu was a very bad man to hold the government, as he was shutting up the productions of all these districts, hoping to monopolize them himself, wishing to trade directly with Java or Singapore on a large scale, or to induce European vessels to visit the Bay. He deceived the ships that came to him, and no cargoes were obtained, so that he clogged commerce, and made little profit himself. The trade of this coast would be great if unfettered, and Maludu Bay is certainly as productive as any district.