Further details of the Tecent massacre in British North Borneo have come to hand. A correspondent writes that some natives from the interior suddenly attacked the Rail. way at a place called Kawang at night, murdered the Station-Master's wife, a Kling gal, and her Ittle daughter, and the Engine driver and his wife, all Klings. The-bloodthirsty brutes seemed to do this: for: mere Nevilinet. Their victims were simply cut to pieces, and then.the natives burned: down the-Station. The Station-Master, who is a young Kling, actually saw his wife' and children cut up and was quite defenceless, not having expected any attack, He was himself unarmed, and of course there were no police there to protect the Ohinese shop-Keepers and railway officials. These fiends brought the poor Lttle girl out on to the Station platform, after killing the: mother, laid her down, and cut her literally in Pieces. The Station-Master and the engine fireman. escaped by lying under the. Rail-Way Station, and were somewhat hidden by two goats tethered -there. The fireman, after the natives had-cleared away. from the tunate jon of some dynamite) got up Station (most probably through the for-steam and alone took: the engine in to Jesfelton, arriving after midnight.
It appears that after-the engine left, the natives returned and looted the Chinese Shops, gambling house, ote., and then burnt them down. (Naturally the occupants of these places had-already fled.) The attack. ing party were armed with guns, as a Chinaman, who was taken down to Jesselton Hospital, had a bullet wound from a Martini, and Major Harington found a Mar-tint cartridge case.
Major Hari had: been awakened by about 12.30 a.m., and quickly made all arrangements for guarding Jesselton. He left Josselton about 2 am., together with about 50 Sikh and Dyak police, and arrived at Kawang about one hour: after the: desperadoes: had cleared out. Mr. Houghton, District Officer at Papar, seven miles further up the line, had just arrived with his five as Major Harington got there, It is stated that the Bajows, who occupy Kawang Kampong, knew about the oxpected attack days before, in fact the raiders must have boon in their Kampong some two or three days before the attack.
The District Officer at Tuarun, near Kinabalu, a Mr. Hough, an Irishman from Kilkenny, was hunting the party' at the time with his Dyaks, and had them in soont up to & spot where there is a conflux of two other rivers: to the one on which he had chased them, and there he lost trail of riem, Mr. Francis, the District Officer at, Kota: pelud, and Mr, Bunbury, District, Offer' at 'Tambunan were also out' hunting them, Mr. Hough has sino returned to' the Kampong of the raiders near Kinabalu and found it deserted. He looted all their belongings such as gongs, ete., and fired the place, so that their houses are all burned down. Unfortunately native-like they have broken up into small detachments and disappeared (probably into the jungle or other Kampongs) like a grey mist after sunrise, Up to the present: (15th April) Major Har. ington and the police: have bean unable to catch any of them, A Dusun girl, who recently returned from visit to Putatan' (her home, five miles from Jesselton) was warned by her mother that Jesselton was'to'be attacked and' that only the: Ourmng Puteh' (white men) were to be gone for. This information was passed on to Major Harington who doubts but says that he wishes they would make an attenipt, as he is quite ready for them. A cordon of pickets is now guarding the hills behind Jesselton from sunset to sunrise in case of eventualities, and the Europeans sleep in their bungalows with Martinis and ammunition beside them.—China Mail."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.