Sometimes the
people to be punished desert their village, hiding themselves in
the jungle; and in such cases the burning of their houses is usually
deemed sufficient punishment. In cases of more serious crime, such as
repeated wanton bloodshed and refusal to yield to the demands of the
government, it becomes necessary to apprehend the persons primarily
responsible, and, for this purpose, to pursue the fugitives. These
sometimes establish themselves on a hill-top surrounded by precipices
which can be scaled only by the aid of ladders, and there defy the
government forces until the hill is carried by assault, or by siege,
or the defenders are enticed to descend. One such hill in the basin
of the Rejang (Sarawak), Bukit Batu by name, consists of a mass of
porphyry some 1500 feet in height, and several miles in diameter,
with very precipitous sides. This has been used again and again as a
place of refuge by recalcitrant offenders, being so strong a natural
fortress that it has never been possible to carry it by assault. On
the last occasion on which Bukit Batu was used in this way, two Iban
chiefs established themselves on the hill and defied the government
of Sarawak for a period of four years, during which the hill became a
place of refuge for all evil-doers and outlaws among the Ibans of the
Rejang and neighbouring districts, who built their houses on ledges
of the mountain some four hundred feet above the level of the river.
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