It seems that the Sultan of Bruni has found out that the best way he can govern his subjects and gain a revenue without trouble, is by ceding parts of his territory to others. He has given over the whole of the north of the island to an English company, on condition they pay twelve thousand five hundred dollars for it annually. This country, embracing an area of twenty thousand square miles, has fine harbours on its coasts very suitable for a commercial settlement. The great mountain of Kini Balu, nearly fourteen thousand feet high, with its range of lesser mountains, stands on the north-west, and between it and the sea lies a very fertile country, thus described some years ago by Sir Spencer St. John, in his "Forests of the Far East": "We rode over towards Pandusan in search of plants. From the summit of the first low hill we had a beautiful view of the lovely plain of Tampusak, extending from the sea far into the interior. Groves of cocoanuts were interspersed among the rice-grounds which extended, intermixed with grassy fields, to the sea-shore, bounded by a long line of Casuarina trees. Little hamlets lie scattered in all directions, some distinctly visible, other nearly hidden by the rich green foliage of fruit-trees. The prospect was bounded on the west by low sandstone hills, whose red colour occasionally showing through the lately burnt grass, afforded a varied tint in the otherwise verdant landscape. In the south Kini Balu and its attendant ranges were hidden by clouds." Here is another description after a day's journey towards the mountain:-- "While reclining under the shade of cocoanut palms, we had a beautiful view of the country beyond. The river Tampusak flowed past us, bubbling and breaking over its uneven bed, here shallower and therefore broader than usual. To the left the country was open almost to the base of the great mountain, to the right the land was more hilly, and Saduk Saduk showed itself as a high peak, but dwarfed by the neighbourhood of Kini Balu, whose rocky precipices looked a deep purple colour. The summit was beautifully clear. The people in this part of the country are called Idaan. They seem industrious and good agriculturists, even using a rough plough, and cultivating the whole valley; a rich black soil produces good crops of rice, and Killadis, an arum root used for food. They also grow tobacco." These people live too far from Bruni to be robbed by the Sultan and his nobles. The Lanuns who inhabit the north coasts are very warlike, and have always been pirates within the memory of man. They will not be easy subjects to deal with, nor will the Sooloos on the east coast, but if they can be reclaimed they may become an enterprising and fine people, like the Sarebas pirates of Sarawak.