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There is a walk up to the town about eight miles from the mouth of the river; here the fishing-stakes nearly extend across the river, beside two miserable forts, mounting each five or six pounders, to defend the river. The population is seven thousand men, Malays, Buguese, and Dayers, and about two thousand Chinese. Formerly the territory of Mompava extended as far as 1° north latitude.
The campo China contains about two thousand souls, and lies on the left bank of the Matan river, abreast of the palace; the campo Buguese, on the right bank of the Landa; and the campo Malayu adjoins the palace. The whole population is about seven thousand souls: no Dayers are found hereabout.
They were at one time believed to be derived from Johore, on the Malayan peninsula; at another, to be Buguese; but they speak the Sulu dialect, and are certainly derived from some of the neighboring islands. The name of Bajows, in their tongue, means fishermen.
One or two Siamese junks arrive annually. The Tringanu, Timbilan, Karimata, and Borneo Proper prows trade here; and before Java fell to the British arms, the Buguese from the eastward traded here to a considerable amount. The stone walls built by the Dutch still encompass the palace. The piles on which their factory stood are yet discernible, but the buildings have been pulled down.
The sea-ports of this last mentioned and valuable province, ceded to the English by the Sulos, are chiefly inhabited by Buguese people. The towns are Sibuku, Sambakung, Leo or Ledong, Sikatak, Sabellar, Kuran or Barrow, Talysion Dumaung, Tapeandurian.
The whole of the districts under Pontiana produce about three hundred coyans of rice, the average selling price of which is from fifty-five to seventy Spanish dollars the coyan. The king's revenue is forty thousand dollars per annum. The Chinese plead poverty, but some of the Buguese are pointed out as wealthy.
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