Sketches of Our Life at SarawakMcDougall, Henriette
History
Sketches of Our Life at Sarawak
McDougall, Henriette
McDougall, Henriette, 1817-1886 -- Travel -- Malaysia -- Sarawak; Sarawak (Malaysia) -- Description and travel
From the time we lived at Sarawak a continual effort was made to
introduce vaccination. It was difficult to get lymph in good order at so
distant a place; the sea voyage often rendered it useless. The other
difficulty was made by the Malays, who inoculated for small-pox; and, as
they charged the Dyaks a rupee a head for inoculating them, made it
answer pecuniarily. Some who were adepts in the art went about the
country inoculating until they caused quite an epidemic of small-pox.
Now, I believe, the Dyaks have learnt from experience the superior
advantages of vaccination, and, by a late _Sarawak Gazette_, I gather
that it is one of the duties of a Resident among the tribes up country
to vaccinate his people as well as to judge them wisely.
When the guns were mounted at the fort, and a garrison of seventy men,
under Abong Duraup, settled there to guard it, the fleet left the Rejang
to return to Sarawak. Captain Brooke had persuaded Palabun to give up
his ideas of retaliation for his brother's death, on condition that the
Kapuas people who killed him should give satisfaction. The last
afternoon was devoted to doctoring the sick and giving them a stock of
remedies. One poor man had nearly recovered his eyesight during the week
he had been under treatment. So the Sarawak flag was hoisted at the fort
and saluted, and after some good advice and renewed promises from the
Sakarrans and Kenowits, the boats pulled away to the _Jolly Bachelor_,
which had been left at the Serikei River; and a few days afterwards we
heard gongs and boat music on the river, and my servant Quangho running
into my room called out, "Our Tuan is coming," so we all went down to
the stone wharf and welcomed them home. The lameness which had so long
hindered my husband from moving about, did not yield to any remedies we
applied, and at last we went to Singapore for medical advice. The
doctors there sent their patient to China for a cold season, and he
spent six weeks at Hongkong with the Bishop of Victoria, and at Canton
with other friends, to the advantage of his knee. Afterwards we went
together to Malacca, where there was a hot spring bubbling up in a
field. Into this spring we put a large tub; and there, in the early
morning, Frank used to sit, with no neighbours but the snipe feeding in
the field, and, as he had his gun by his side, he occasionally shot some
game for breakfast.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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