PIONEERING IN FORMOSA 
 
'So foolish was I and ignorant 
 Nevertheless I am continually with Thee ; 
 Thou hast holden me by my right hand' 
 
 Ps. Ixxiii. 22, 23 
 
 ' Thy right hand hath holden me up, and 
 Thy gentleness hath made me great * 
 
 Ps. xviii. 
 

PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
RECOLLE*. 
 
 tUNS, WRECKER 
 
 W. A. PICK 
 
 LATE PROTECTOR OF 
 
 WITH AN 
 FISH POLICY AND 
 AND THE 
 
 AND 
 
 ffltentg.ffbe i 
 
 FROM PHOTOGRAPHS AT 
 
 
 URST A 
 
 

 <AIT 
 
PIONEERING IN FORMOSA 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS OF ADVENTURES 
 
 AMONG 
 
 MANDARINS, WRECKERS, & HEAD-HUNTING SAVAGES 
 
 BY 
 
 W. A. PICKERING, C.M.G. ' c t*s?J 
 
 LATE PROTECTOR OF CHINESE IN THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS 
 
 WITH AN APPENDIX ON 
 
 BRITISH POLICY AND INTERESTS IN CHINA 
 AND THE FAR EAST 
 
 AND 
 
 be Illustrations 
 
 FROM PHOTOGRAPHS AND SKETCHES BY THE AUTHOR 
 
 LONDON 
 
 HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED 
 
 13 GREAT MARLBORO UGH STREET 
 1898 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
TO 
 VICE-ADMIRAL 
 
 LORD CHARLES T. M. SCOTT, C.B.. 
 
 AND THOSE MANY NAVAL OFFICERS 
 WHO HAVE AT ALL TIMES AND IN SPITE OF MUCH 
 
 DISCOURAGEMENT 
 
 AIDED AND DEFENDED BRITISH ENTERPRISE IN CHINA 
 AND THE FAR EAST 
 
 THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED 
 IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF ' AULD LANG SYNE' 
 
 o n o 
 
PREFACE 
 
 SINCE I BEGAN this descriptive account of Formosa, 
 important changes have taken place in the Far East. 
 
 Owing to the utter collapse of the Chinese army, 
 Formosa, by the Treaty of Shimonoseki, has been handed 
 over to the Japanese, who, after an interval of 300 years, 
 have been able to re-occupy the island. 
 
 There can be little doubt that the change of govern- 
 ment will ultimately benefit the Japanese, the inhabitants 
 of Formosa, and the civilised world generally, but hitherto 
 the conquerors have not achieved any great results. 
 
 This, however, cannot surprise anyone who is ac- 
 quainted with the real state of things. <' The Chinese 
 governed the portion of the island under their control 
 merely for the benefit of the officials, and in many parts 
 of Formosa within the Chinese pale anarchy prevailed 
 for generations.^jHowever much the Chinese inhabitants 
 may have been oppressed by their own mandarins, it 
 is certain that they will not submit quietly even to just 
 and good government, when exercised by a nation whom 
 they have been accustomed to call * dwarf slaves.' l 
 
 The Pekinese authorities must feel deeply the disgrace 
 
 1 Oe-lo ' in the Fuh-kien, or Ainu ' in the court dialect. This epithet 
 must be a relic of ancient times, before Japan was settled by its present in- 
 habitants, who perhaps came from the south. 
 
viii FORMOSA 
 
 of surrender, and will doubtless intrigue amongst the two 
 or three millions of their countrymen inhabiting the plains ; 
 and the Hak-kas of the lower ranges, who have never really 
 been amenable to any rule, will gladly keep up an opposi- 
 tion, under the guise of patriotism and loyalty to the ' Son 
 of Heaven/ 
 
 While there will be little difficulty with the semi- 
 civilised and the savage aborigines, only the severest 
 measures will subdue the Chinese, and much allowance 
 must be made if the Japanese have to inflict punishment 
 which in these days, and amongst civilised people, would 
 be termed barbarous. 
 
 At any rate, Great Britain might have spared the 
 necessity of the danger, as since 1860 she has had several 
 opportunities of annexing Formosa, but has, with a culpable 
 supineness, foregone the opportunity of possessing a fertile 
 island and, in the Pescadores, a point of vantage for her 
 fleet. 
 
 It is of little use to cry over spilt milk, and our duty is 
 to be alive to the present position of affairs in China. The 
 population of this country have an immense stake in China 
 and the Far East, and now, instead of, as in 1860, having 
 nearly a monopoly of influence at Pekin, we are con- 
 fronted by the powerful opposition of Russia and France, 
 combined with the jealousy of the Germans. 
 
 The public journals daily contribute trustworthy news 
 which show that, at every point where our expansion of 
 empire for the vital interests of our people is concerned, 
 Russia and France are ready to thwart us. The Chinese 
 Empire is sick unto death, and the inevitable partition 
 cannot long be delayed. Unless England secures her 
 proper share of the Celestial Empire, we shall not only 
 lose the markets which are more and more absolutely 
 
PREFACE ix 
 
 essential for the very existence of the masses in the three 
 kingdoms, but we shall also be endangering the safety of 
 our colonies of Hong Kong, the Straits Settlements, and 
 also our possessions in Burmah and the Malay Peninsula. 
 In these countries and islands, the backbone of the popula- 
 tion, the source of revenue and prosperity, are the Chinese, 
 of whom in the Straits, Malay States, and Hong Kong we 
 have, at a moderate estimate, three-quarters of a million 
 adults, the majority of whom, leaving their families at 
 home, are entirely at the mercy of the Powers which rule 
 the Celestial Empire. Were England to neglect her duties, 
 and allow the French and Russians to be paramount at 
 Pekin, I feel certain that in case of war the Chinese of our 
 colonies could be so manipulated, either by promises of 
 favours or by threats of punishment to their families in 
 China, that we should find it very difficult to keep down 
 rebellion within, and at the same time defend our coaling 
 stations and most valuable colonies from external attack. 
 
 Entertaining these opinions, I shall be glad if the book 
 I now venture to publish should conduce towards in- 
 teresting my fellow-countrymen in the affairs of the Far 
 East. I have spent the greater part of my life amongst 
 the Chinese, and am conversant not only with their dialects, 
 but also with many of their customs and their mode of 
 thought. Sir Robert Hart, who for many years has been 
 the personification of the Chinese Government with rela- 
 tion to Europe, has borne testimony that I have enjoyed 
 almost unique opportunities of becoming acquainted with 
 the Chinese of all classes, races, and languages. 
 
 In this connection, I would urge that the present time 
 is most critical as regards our interests in China. 
 
 Although the present Inspector-General of Customs has 
 most loyally served the Chinese Imperial Government, 
 
x FORMOSA 
 
 and although to him it is owing greatly that the Chinese 
 Empire has been preserved from dissolution, yet at the 
 same time Sir Robert Hart, I venture to declare, has done 
 more than any British ambassador at Pekin to uphold our 
 prestige. There can be little doubt that, owing to ad- 
 vancing years, and also to the jealousy of his influence felt 
 by Russia and France, Sir Robert's term of office must 
 soon come to an end ; after that, affairs must become pre- 
 carious indeed. 
 
 Any opportunity to assert our proper position in China, 
 if now lost, will never be regained. Our diplomatists have 
 never been able to cope with the strategy and finesse of 
 Chinese statesmen, and what hope can we have (except in 
 the inevitable gunboat) when the good counsels of Sir 
 Robert Hart are wanting to the Chinese, and when, in 
 addition to the astute members of the Tsung-li-yamen, 
 we have the ministers of Russia and France working them 
 as puppets to defeat British progress and commercial 
 interests in that immense field of profit, the eighteen pro- 
 vinces of the Chinese Empire ? 
 
 Now or never is the time to change our policy of send- 
 ing men to Pekin who can declare that they will never 
 allow the interests of twenty-nine millions of people to out- 
 weigh those of three hundred millions, and to select the 
 most capable men we have to be abroad at Pekin for the 
 benefit of the English people who pay their salaries. Our 
 plenipotentiaries should be supported by an overwhelming 
 naval force in the China seas, so that, in case diplomacy 
 fail, we may be able to assert, vi et annis, that prepon- 
 derance of influence in the Far East which our necessities 
 demand, and which we moreover deserve by having borne 
 the burden and heat of the day in opening out China for 
 the benefit of the whole world. 
 
PREFACE xi 
 
 Our treaty rights, and our immense interests in those 
 parts of the empire still left to the Pekin Government in- 
 terests which are so essential for the benefit of our working 
 classes depend entirely upon our being ready and willing 
 to enforce them : whilst in those spheres under Russian, 
 French, and German influence, our commercial freedom is 
 subject to their will. 
 
 It appears to me that, by means of Admiral Dewey's 
 successes in the Philippines, Providence is affording our 
 nation one more favourable opportunity. A cordial under- 
 standing between the United States, Japan, and Great 
 Britain in the Far East would probably more than retrieve 
 our past loss of prestige and commercial influence in 
 China. 
 
 It is sad for old China hands to witness the apathy of 
 our countrymen upon such vital questions. Englishmen 
 cannot plead ignorance : during the past ten years the most 
 experienced travellers and talented critics, such as Messrs. 
 Colquhoun, Michie, Douglas, Norman, and the Times cor- 
 respondent, Mr. Chirol, have written books, articles, and 
 many warnings, showing the real state of things in the Far 
 East, and the dangers imminent from neglect on our part to 
 secure our just rights. 
 
 I, in my small way, have done what I could ; and in the 
 Appendix to this book I have reprinted all my warnings and 
 prophecies for years past, which, I have some hope, may 
 not have been written in vain. 
 
 In conclusion, I would acknowledge the great assistance 
 rendered by my collaborator, ' Mark Sale/ who has enabled 
 me to bring this book before the public in a more accept- 
 able form than my own literary faculty would allow. 
 
 May 12, 1898. 
 
NOTE 
 ON ORTHOGRAPHY OF PROPER NAMES 
 
 ALL the vowels are pronounced as in Spanish and Italian, and 
 each distinctly sounded. G always hard, as in Gertrude, Gilbert ; 
 ch always as in church. 
 
 Ch; Kj Pj TV Ts' : these initials are all strongly aspirated. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. I ENTER THE CHINESE IMPERIAL MARITIME 
 
 CUSTOMS i 
 
 II. LIFE AND ADVENTURE AT FOOCHOW .... 9 
 
 III. DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND OF FORMOSA . . 24 
 
 IV. HISTORY OF THE ISLAND 40 
 
 V. RELIGIONS OF THE CHINESE INHABITANTS . . 50 
 
 VI. THE ABORIGINES AND THEIR RELIGIONS . . . 64 
 
 VII. THE PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY IN FORMOSA. 
 
 THE GREAT STORM 76 
 
 VIII. CORRUPTION AND RAPACITY OF CHINESE OFFICIALS 89 
 
 IX. MY FIRST VISIT TO THE SAVAGE TRIBES OF THE 
 
 INTERIOR. THE END OF GENERAL BURGEVINE . 98 
 
 X. COWARDICE AND PLUCK. VISIT TO THE SAVAGE 
 
 VILLAGES. MY LIFE AT TAIWANFOO . . .113 
 
 XI. ADVENTURES IN THE VICINITY OF TAIWANFOO . 130 
 
 XII. SECOND TRIP INTO THE INTERIOR . . . . 142 
 
 XIII. MY VISIT TO THE BAN-TAU-LANG TRIBE . . 154 
 
 XIV. AN EXCEPTIONAL CHINESE MERCHANT. GENERAL 
 
 LE GENDRE TO THE RESCUE 167 
 
xiv FORMOSA 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XV. WRECKS AND WRECKERS 176 
 
 XVI. THE TRIUMPH OF DIPLOMACY 194 
 
 XVII. THE BEGINNING OF THE CAMPHOR WAR . . 202 
 
 XVIII. FURTHER CAMPHOR TROUBLES. A REAL GHOST 
 STORY. THE ULTIMATE TRIUMPH OF THE TAO- 
 
 TAI 220 
 
 XIX. MY FAREWELL TO FORMOSA 239 
 
 APPENDIX 247 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR Frontispiece 
 
 MAP OF FORMOSA To face p. 24 
 
 TAKAO, SOUTH SIDE MESSRS. ELLES & Co.'s 
 
 HOUSE AND GODOWNS 28 
 
 FORT ZELANDIA (BUILT BY THE DUTCH ON THEIR 
 OCCUPATION OF FORMOSA, 1630), ANPING 
 
 (PORT OF TAIWANFOO) 31 
 
 INSIDE CITY, TAIWANFOO 32 
 
 TAIWANFOO, PART OF CITY WALL .... 33 
 
 DOCUMENTS IN THE LANGUAGE OF CIVILISED 
 ABORIGINES, PRESERVED FROM TIME OF DUTCH 
 OCCUPATION, 1650 41 
 
 PARADE GROUND, TAIWANFOO, WHERE 187 BRITISH 
 
 SUBJECTS WERE EXECUTED, 1842 .... 46 
 
 GRANARY WHERE 187 BRITISH SUBJECTS, EX 
 TRANSPORTS ' ANNIE ' AND NERBUDDA,' WERE 
 IMPRISONED BEFORE EXECUTION, 1842 
 
 TAIWANFOO 47 
 
 PEPO-HOAN CIVILISED ABORIGINES .... 64 
 FORMOSAN CHINESE ('MAN'), HOK-LO 66 
 
 THE GREAT STORM 85 
 
 From a drawing by the Author 
 
xvi FORMOSA 
 
 PEPO-HOAN AND CHINESE GROUP, FORMOSA . . To face p. 100 
 
 ANPING (PORT OF TAIWANFOO), VIEW OF OLD 
 
 DUTCH FORT, 1650 ,,105 
 
 MOUNT MORRISON, FORMOSA ug 
 
 NEW GROUND BROKEN BY RAIN CENTRAL 
 
 MOUNTAIN RANGE 121 
 
 BAMBOOS, FORMOSA ,,132 
 
 LAND SUBSIDENCE, ACTION OF SUBTERRANEAN 
 
 TORRENT BETWEEN KWAN-TE-BIO AND BAK-SA 142 
 
 A PEPO-HOAN FISHING PARTY WITH Bows AND 
 
 ARROWS 144 
 
 ABORIGINES, NORTH FORMOSA ,,148 
 
 CAMPHOR DEP6T, GO-CH'E ,,205 
 
 From a drawing by the A uthor 
 
 THE SCENE OF THE GHOST 225 
 
 From a drawing by the Author 
 
 TAMSUI (TREATY PORT, NORTH FORMOSA) BRITISH 
 
 CONSULATE 231 
 
 W. A. P., 1869 232 
 
 BRITISH CONSULATE, TAIWANFOO .... 236 
 
PIONEERING IN FORMOSA 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 I ENTER THE CHINESE IMPERIAL MARITIME CUSTOMS 
 
 IN the year 1862 I was third mate on a Liverpool tea- 
 clipper lying off Pagoda Island, in the river Min, some 
 nine miles below the City of Foochow. I was twenty- 
 two years of age, and I had been on the sea since the year 
 1856, when my indentures were signed, 1 and I, a shivering 
 lad, was handed over to work out a four years' apprentice- 
 ship on board one of the old Blackwall East Indiamen. 
 
 Now, at twenty-two one is confident and sanguine ' as 
 to one's ability to succeed in any and every line of life. I 
 had by this time come to the conclusion that a sailor's 
 life was but a dog's life even at the best. But, more than 
 this, five or six years' voyaging between the many Ports 
 of Burmah, Siam, China, and the Malay Archipelago 
 had fascinated me with the glamour of the Orient, and 
 I was eagerly longing for some opportunity to present 
 itself which would open out for me a prosperous career 
 amongst the people of the Far East. Therefore when in 
 Foochow River the Customs officer boarded us, and in 
 him I recognised an old shipmate of my apprentice days, it 
 
 1 The Managing Clerk who signed as witness to my indentures, and who 
 was beloved by all the apprentices for his kindness, still survives, I am 
 delighted to hear, in the person of the respected founder of the well known 
 shipping firm, Messrs. Gellatley, Hankey & Co. 
 
 B 
 
2'* FORMOSA 
 
 occurred to me that the time had arrived ; and truly, as 
 results proved, this unexpected meeting was the turning 
 point of my fortunes. 
 
 Poor old Johnston so clever, and so futile, as far as 
 his own interests were concerned. He had been a great 
 favourite with the apprentices on board the old * Lady 
 McDonald/ and was a fine specimen of the shrewd, solidly 
 educated, ' kindly Scot.' He was a thorough old-fashioned 
 ' sailorman,' which implies a great deal. As he often told 
 me, it had been the hope of his parents that he might even 
 ' wag his pow in a pu'pit,' and nothing but his devotion to 
 the national beverage kept him ' before the mast ' ; other- 
 wise he was qualified to command a vessel. Having 
 served ashore or afloat in most parts of the world, 
 Johnston possessed an inexhaustible fund of anecdote, and 
 we youngsters of the * half-deck ' would listen breathlessly 
 while he spun interminable yarns of adventure among 
 South Sea cannibals, of revolutions in South America, or 
 of the stern justice meted out by the 'Vigilance Com- 
 mittee ' in California. 
 
 One of my old comrades died in command of a ' Castle 
 Liner ' ; another, leaving the sea soon after his ' time was 
 out,' has amassed a large fortune in the City ; while I, 
 thanks to an appreciative Government, am able to live ' at 
 home at ease,' having had all that a man could crave of 
 danger and adventure, and of wanderings in strange 
 lands. 
 
 Old Johnston, who was chiefly instrumental in securing 
 my success in life, after a few more years' service as * tide- 
 waiter,' ended his life far away from old Scotland, and 
 was laid to rest on the barren shore of China. 
 
 But in 1862 the end was not yet. Old Johnston had 
 by some strange happenings drifted into the newly estab- 
 lished Imperial Maritime Customs, one of the institutions 
 of New China which tend perhaps more than any other 
 to bring her within the family of nations. He was 
 
I ENTER THE CHINESE CUSTOMS 3 
 
 enthusiastic on the subject of the advantages and 
 emoluments of the Service. 'You must join us, my lad,' 
 he declared. ' Why, bless my soul, with your know- 
 ledge of languages, and your adaptability, you'll go 
 ahead like steam. Only learn the language and you'll 
 soon be on the high road to fortune. It is a sin that a 
 young fellow like you should be living the life of a mere 
 dog on board ship. What good are your brains to you 
 here, I'd like to know ? Join us, my boy, and exchange 
 your salt-junk and mouldy biscuit for fresh fish, flesh and 
 fowl, all of the best ; your dreary midnight summons to 
 " shift over stunsails," or to " close reef the topsails," for 
 warm uninterrupted " nights in." Come ! take the goods 
 the gods offer you, is my philosophy : Plato could have no 
 better. Say you'll join us, and I'll manage the rest/ 
 
 The offer was a tempting one. I was thoroughly dis- 
 enchanted as to the romance of the sea. I was already 
 interested in the strange people of China * ever living 
 backwards,' as it were, on the wisdom and the mandates 
 of their ancestors. The difficulties of their language 
 attracted me ; the climate seemed all I could wish. I laid 
 the matter before my Captain, who was also my friend ; his 
 advice seemed, wise, since it coincided with my inclinations. 
 He interested himself with the Customs authorities, and 
 gave me my discharge with a very favourable testimonial ; 
 and I agreed to 'eat the Emperor's rice' at a monthly 
 salary amounting to about I5/. of English money. Such 
 wealth dazzled me. Feeling profoundly that all was * right 
 with the world,' I entered on my duties with a light 
 heart. 
 
 It was about the year 1860 that, with the consent of 
 the ambassadors of the European Powers, the ' Maritime 
 Customs ' service at all the treaty ports in China had been 
 placed under the supervision and control of Europeans 
 paid by the Chinese Government. This new department 
 was equally disliked by the Chinese local authorities and 
 
 B 2 
 
4 FORMOSA 
 
 the European merchants. The former, to their disgust, 
 instead of being allowed to make large fortunes by pecula- 
 tion, saw the import and export duties collected honestly 
 by Europeans, placed in a bank, and correct returns sent 
 to the central Government at Pekin. 
 
 The Europeans, instead of being able, by paying a 
 round sum as a bribe to the Mandarins, to clear a vessel, 
 and so escape the regular tariff duties, were now obliged 
 to pay nearly as much on a single lighter of tea or silk as 
 they would otherwise have done for the whole shipload./ 
 
 Since the days of which I am writing, the Chinese 
 Maritime Customs Department, under the able manage- 
 ment of Sir Robert Hart an Ulster man has become 
 one of the finest services in the world. It is the mainstay 
 of China as far as import and export revenue is concerned, 
 and has also been the chief means of maintaining peace 
 between the Celestial Empire and the Western Powers. 
 It has studded the coast of China with splendid lighthouses, 
 and on its security China has been able to negotiate and 
 punctually pay interest upon loans in Europe. 
 
 The official residence of the Imperial Maritime Customs 
 staff at Pagoda Island was at that time an old hulk, the 
 ' Spartan/ moored in the River Min, it being a more 
 desirable residence both on the score of hygiene and safety 
 than a house on shore. 
 
 We were a queer cosmopolitan set ; almost every 
 nationality was represented, more or less worthily, amongst 
 us. There were subjects of most of the States which 
 now compose the German Empire, with excitable little 
 Spaniards and Portuguese ; Chinese, with their pigeon- 
 English ; Frenchmen who cried ' Vive FEmpereurj and 
 who a few years later, in 1 870, roared ' La Marseillaise ' 
 with equal fervour ; Irish-American Fenians, who spent 
 their evenings in poring over maps of the ' distressful 
 country ' apportioned as she should be, and studying Gaelic 
 that they might be ready for the halcyon time when the 
 
I ENTER THE CHINESE CUSTOMS 5 
 
 \ 
 
 usurper should be ousted and they should rule, the rightful 
 lords of peasantry and pigs. 
 
 All the day long, as the vessels lay anchored in the 
 river, we tidewaiters boarded them and kept tally of their 
 imports and exports, being treated hospitably by most of 
 the captains, but strictly boycotted by a few. 
 
 In every spare moment I set myself to master the 
 language. I began to pick up colloquial Chinese in the 
 local dialect. ' What call you this, and that ? ' was my 
 constant query to every Celestial who would reply, until I 
 could chatter to them in their own tongue, and they slapped 
 me on the back in their astonishment, declaring as a pro- 
 found compliment that I was * not a barbarian, but a man.' 
 Then, as time went on, I began to study the written 
 character. The hieroglyphics upon the sides of the tea- 
 chests and bales were my spelling books ; my enthusiasm 
 grew with my difficulties. I waited with most sanguine 
 hopes for quick promotion as a reward of my exertions. 
 
 Fortune came at last in the shape of the Assistant 
 Inspector-General of Customs, Mr. Robert Hart, who 
 visited our station in a coasting steamer which I boarded 
 on arrival. Mr. Hart was endeavouring with but indifferent 
 success to make one of the Chinese boatmen comprehend 
 his instructions to take his luggage to the ' Spartan.' 
 
 I was pacing up and down the deck within earshot, 
 and, when Mr. Hart's patience was giving out, I stepped 
 forward, raising my cap, and gave the desired commands 
 to the bewildered Chinese in his own particular dialect. It 
 was well. The Inspector-General turned an observing eye 
 upon me. 
 
 ' Who are you ? ' he inquired sharply. 
 
 ' A tidewaiter, at your service, sir,' I replied. 
 
 ' Who taught you Chinese ? ' 
 
 ' I picked it up myself since I joined the Service.' 
 
 ' How long is that ago ? ' 
 
 ' Five months, sir.' 
 
6 FORMOSA 
 
 ' Five months ! ' His pocket-book came out. He 
 wrote down my name. He would not forget me when he 
 returned to headquarters. 
 
 I was jubilant. At twenty-two one credits the world 
 with a long memory for one's peculiar merits. I felt my 
 fortune was as good as made. But I knew that, however 
 useful the local patois might be, if I wished to merit pro- 
 motion I must acquire the Mandarin or court dialect of 
 Chinese. Wherefore, one-fourth of my salary henceforth 
 went to hire a native instructor. I redoubled my efforts, 
 and spouted forth Pekinese even in my sleep. 
 
 Some of my comrades were so interested in my progress 
 that one day, they, with me, forced themselves into the 
 District Magistrate's Yamen at the town of Min-ngan, in 
 order to prove whether my Pekinese was genuine. Luckily 
 for us the Mandarin was delighted with the polite phrases 
 I had learned from my Manchu teacher, and treated us 
 very hospitably ; otherwise we might have paid dearly for 
 our impertinence. 
 
 But my Fenian brethren looked upon me with distrust. 
 Such wiles to court the favour of the detested powers that 
 be were alien to their creed. I was going over to the ranks 
 of the oppressor and the tyrant. 
 
 But the days went by, and no sign came from head- 
 quarters. At last I took my courage in both hands and 
 sent a Chinese letter to the Commissioner of Customs, 
 Baron de Meritens. He was graciously interested ; Mr. 
 Hart confirmed my account of myself; a grant came to 
 pay the salary of my instructor, and I was most kindly 
 encouraged to persevere by all means in my studies. 
 
 At the end of the following year Mr. Maxwell, the 
 Commissioner of Customs for Formosa, selected me to 
 accompany him to that island, where he was engaged in 
 establishing custom houses in the southern ports ; and I, 
 eager to put my newly acquired knowledge to practical 
 use, gladly accepted the duty. 
 
I ENTER THE CHINESE CUSTOMS 7 
 
 So, in 1863, custom houses were established at the 
 ports Tamsui, Kilung, and Takao, where some years 
 before the great houses of Jardine and Dent had esta- 
 blished themselves and were carrying on trade under 
 difficulties.^ 
 
 I remained at Takao, as tidewaiter at the Customs 
 there, until I had become conversant with the vernacular 
 as spoken in Formosa; and in 1865 I was placed in charge 
 of the Customs at Anping, the port of Taiwanfoo, the 
 capital. 
 
 Shortly after my arrival at Takao I found opportunities 
 of visiting the savage aborigines in the interior, and in my 
 official duties at Taiwanfoo I became acquainted with 
 many of the Chinese officials. 
 
 In 1867 I received what I considered a very advan- 
 tageous offer to take charge of the Taiwanfoo branch of an 
 English firm Messrs. McPhail & Co. (subsequently Messrs. 
 Elles & Co.), who were carrying on the business formerly 
 belonging to Messrs. Jardine and Dent. I gladly availed 
 myself of this opportunity to be in the employ of my 
 own countrymen rather than in the service of the Chinese 
 Government. 
 
 Thus it came to pass that I settled in Formosa, where 
 my Chinese studies proved to be of considerable service to 
 me in many strange ways ; where I was destined to probe 
 deeply into the unfathomable nature of the wily Celestial ; 
 and where it was my fortune to have adventure in plenty 
 by land and sea, and peace infinitesimal, for nearly seven 
 long years. 
 
 My new employers placed horses and servants at my 
 disposal, encouraging me to travel into the interior, both 
 amongst the Chinese settlers and the aboriginal tribes, in 
 order to find out the resources of the country and to 
 ascertain the facilities for trade. I thus daily increased my 
 knowledge of the languages and habits of the people, and 
 was enabled to explore many districts and make acquain- 
 
8 FORMOSA 
 
 tance with tribes of Chinese, Sek-hoans, and savages 
 hitherto unvisited by Europeans. 
 
 I remained in Formosa until the end of 1870, when 
 I was invalided home, and during my stay in England I 
 received the appointment of Chinese Interpreter to the 
 Government of the Straits Settlements. In 1877 I was 
 gazetted Protector of Chinese for the Colony, which post 
 I occupied until the year 1890, when I retired from the 
 colonial service on pension. 
 
 With these prefatory details, I will proceed to give a 
 brief account of this interesting and but little known 
 island, its history, its people and their religion, and some 
 of the adventures which befell me during my residence in 
 Formosa. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 LIFE AND ADVENTURE AT FOOCHOW 
 
 IT was in the middle of 1863 that Mr. Maxwell was 
 appointed Commissioner of Customs for the island of 
 Formosa, under the Foochow Commissioner. 
 
 Baron de Meritens desired Mr. Maxwell to employ the 
 remainder of his stay in Foochow in searching all the ports 
 and creeks between Foochow and Ningpo, for the purpose 
 of seizing all European vessels found harbouring in them, 
 it being well known that a flourishing illicit trade was 
 carried on in defiance of treaty obligations. 
 
 For this scrutiny of the coast, the Customs authorities 
 had chartered a diminutive steamer called the ' Mercury/ 
 which, in spite of her Liliputian size, had been brought out 
 round the Cape by her daring owner and captain. 
 
 Our chief-tidewaiter, with a posse of Irish-American 
 subordinates, was told off to accompany Mr. Maxwell 
 upon his expedition round the coast, while I was included 
 in the party on account of my knowledge of the local 
 dialect, which would be useful for the purpose of com- 
 municating with the fishermen of the coast, in order to 
 obtain information from them as to the whereabouts of 
 possible delinquent vessels. 
 
 Thus one brilliant morning we steamed forth, bound for 
 Nam-kuan and the Samsa Inlet, some seventy miles north 
 of the river Min. The Captain was evidently filled with 
 the greatest pride and belief in the capabilities of his ship ; 
 we were all young fellows glad of this pleasant break in 
 the monotony of our life as tidewaiters ; the weather was 
 
io FORMOSA 
 
 superb ; and we all anticipated a pleasant picnic, with the 
 additional excitement of capturing possible prizes. 
 
 Alas, for our bright visions ! Soon after leaving the 
 river a strong breeze arose. The sky clouded, and heavy 
 seas began to break over our frail craft. To crown all, at 
 this crisis our machinery broke down, and the little * Mer- 
 cury ' drifted unmanageable in the trough of the waves. 
 
 We were all bundled down below and the hatches 
 battened down above us, which is not an agreeable experi- 
 ence, giving one much the sensation of a trapped rat, 
 without the chance of a swim for life. 
 
 Meanwhile the violence of the waves increased. Things 
 looked pretty desperate ; but providentially the sailors 
 contrived to rig up a rag of a sail, and by taking cunning 
 advantage of the wind we were able to scud under the lee 
 of an island, where, when the elements abated, the engine 
 was patched up sufficiently to take us back to Foochow. 
 
 A week or two later, when all deficiencies in our boat's 
 machinery had been made good, we sallied forth again. 
 
 Upon this occasion no untoward events frustrated our 
 plans. The weather continued fine, and we were able to 
 search the two ports, without, however, dropping upon any 
 smugglers. 
 
 We boarded some fishing boats, whose crews volun- 
 teered the information that there were several barbarian 
 vessels anchored in the port of Wen-Chou, further to the 
 northward. 
 
 To Wen-Chou our Chief thereupon decided that we 
 should steam, and, upon arriving at the anchorage in that 
 port, we perceived four vessels, the captains of which un- 
 suspectingly boarded the ' Mercury ' directly we dropped 
 anchor. 
 
 Mr. Maxwell calmly proceeded to hoist his Chinese 
 Customs flag, and exhibited his official authority to them, 
 declaring to the astonished skippers that he seized their 
 vessels for breach of the Tien-tsin Treaty. 
 
LIFE AND ADVENTURE AT FOOCHOW n 
 
 Tidewaiters were forthwith appointed in charge of 
 each vessel : the national flags were hauled down, and the 
 Imperial Customs flag was hoisted in their place. 
 
 It appeared that the vessels were respectively : the 
 < Japan,' a British brigantine ; the * Russalka,' a Russian 
 schooner ; the ' Chloris,' a Danish brig ; and the ' Amoy 
 Trader,' a Prussian schooner. 
 
 The Chinese authorities of Wen-Chou received orders, 
 which we brought with us, from the Governor-General at 
 Foochow, commanding them to render us all necessary 
 assistance. They were consequently obliged, very un- 
 willingly, to furnish us with a guard in case of any resis- 
 tance from the captains. 
 
 All these four vessels were chartered by Chinese 
 merchants ; therefore, as their supercargoes were on 
 shore, they were detained by the Mandarins as hostages 
 for the good conduct of the respective skippers. 
 
 I was placed on board the * Amoy Trader ' in company 
 with an American named East, who was my senior in the 
 service, a fine-looking fellow six feet high. 
 
 We proceeded to reconnoitre in our new quarters, and 
 to make the acquaintance of those on board the ' Amoy 
 Trader.' 
 
 We found the Captain to be a big, surly looking German, 
 very naturally in a high state of exasperation at the un- 
 expected turn affairs had taken. He had been trading on 
 the coast for several years, and had accumulated a fair 
 sum, especially through the illicit trade between Wen-Chou 
 and other closed ports. The present voyage was positively 
 to have been his final venture ; and then, had all gone well, 
 he had planned to return home to Dantzig to end his days 
 in the Fatherland on a moderate competency. 
 
 He had with him, on board, his wife, a meek, gentle 
 little frau, whose mission appeared to be to try to pour 
 oil upon the troubled waters of her morose husband's 
 wrath. 
 
12 FORMOSA 
 
 It can be imagined that we were most unwelcome 
 guests. As soon as the Captain returned from his inter- 
 view with Mr. Maxwell on board the * Mercury,' he worked 
 himself into a frenzy of anger, abusing us vigorously in Low 
 German ; and so uncontrollable did his rage become, that 
 he had to be held down by the united efforts of his poor 
 little wife arid the mate to prevent him from doing himself 
 some injury in his madness. 
 
 We were not invited to partake of any meal, so we 
 arranged to have our food sent on board to us ; and, as it 
 was fortunately dry weather, we were able to contrive our 
 beds upon the cabin roof. 
 
 During the evening the three other unfortunate skip- 
 pers came on board for mutual condolence and sympathy. 
 They made a night of it, keeping up their drooping spirits 
 with schiedam and cherry cordial. We consequently got 
 but little rest from the noise, besides having to endure, with 
 what patience we could muster, strong abuse of the Mari- 
 time Customs and all things appertaining thereto abuse 
 delivered in a language which, though foreign, was suffi- 
 ciently akin to my Midland-county Saxon patois to be 
 extremely irritating. 
 
 Everything has an end at last even the dram-drinking 
 capacity of a seasoned salt. After crying, drinking, and 
 singing until they were quite exhausted, they separated to 
 their respective vessels, and we managed to snatch some 
 sleep. 
 
 The next morning was Sunday. We were early sum- 
 moned on board the ' Mercury,' and Mr. Maxwell informed 
 us that the little steamer, with the head-tidewaiter on board, 
 would tow us down to Foochow, whither, if all went well, 
 we should arrive that night or the following day. He 
 instructed us to keep a keen watch that our German 
 Captain played no tricks with the tow rope, nor attempted 
 to run away. 
 
 Mr. Maxwell added that the head-tidewaiter would 
 
LIFE AND ADVENTURE AT FOOCHOW 13 
 
 forward from Foochow a more powerful steamer to tow the 
 other vessels down. 
 
 We assured him of our best endeavours. We were 
 young and self-reliant, and we were each armed with a 
 Smith & Wesson's revolver. 
 
 Upon these arrangements being made known to 
 the Captain of the ' Amoy Trader/ he became at first 
 furious, and then, when words failed, sank into a sullen 
 mood. 
 
 He had imagined that he would have got clear with a 
 fine ; but these severer measures meant ruin to him, as 
 his vessel would inevitably be confiscated. He retired to 
 his cabin, followed by his tearful little wife, who tried in 
 vain to comfort him. 
 
 Meanwhile we got under way, and about seven 
 o'clock we were towed out of the river, between the 
 islands at its mouth. 
 
 When we launched into the open sea both I and my 
 companion breathed more freely. Ours was a disagreeable 
 position. We hailed the prospect of a speedy arrival at 
 Foochow, when we should be relieved from our uncon- 
 genial duty. Our hopes were destined to disappoint- 
 ment. 
 
 There was scarcely a breath of wind, the heat was 
 intense, whilst a very heavy ground swell added to our 
 discomfort. 
 
 Moreover, it soon became evident that every pitch of 
 the sluggish, heavily laden schooner jerked the little 
 ' Mercury ' astern. Our progress was simply nil. 
 
 After an hour or two more of vain endeavours, the 
 tow rope slackened, and the steamer dropped alongside. 
 
 The head-tidewaiter jumped on board, carrying the 
 small half of a bottle of Martell, a paper of cracker 
 biscuits, and a few cigars. 
 
 Addressing East, as senior, he said : 
 
 ' This state of things is no good. You must take 
 
I 4 FORMOSA 
 
 charge of the vessel, and make the best of your way down 
 to Foochow, whilst we go ahead to procure a bigger 
 steamer. The Captain of the " Mercury " says that the sea- 
 breeze is about to spring up. With that in your favour, 
 you will probably be in the river Min as soon as we 
 shall.' 
 
 We blankly objected that we had no knowledge of the 
 coast, nor any charts to guide us. 
 
 Upon this the morose Captain was summoned from 
 his cabin, and informed by the head-tidewaiter that he 
 must take charge of the ship's navigation. Moreover, that 
 it entirely depended on his conduct as to what treatment 
 he would receive from the Commissioner of Customs on 
 reaching Foochow. 
 
 The skipper fumed and stormed, but gradually calmed 
 down, and ultimately promised to do his best. 
 
 Away puffed the little ' Mercury,' freed from the encum- 
 brance, and we were left to ourselves. 
 
 There were only catspaws of air, and these appeared 
 to be blowing right into the only passage that we could 
 discover. 
 
 As the smoke of the tiny steamer gradually faded from 
 sight, the Captain thrust his hands deep into his pockets 
 and began to chuckle. He turned upon us with malicious 
 glee, and said in his broken English : 
 
 ' Now, what you fellows do ? I not navigate the 
 schooner. Himmel ! not // ' 
 
 We tried to reply with ease which we were very far 
 from feeling : 
 
 ' All right, Captain. Don't trouble yourself. We'll do 
 our level best, if you lend us your chart.' 
 
 1 Ho, ho ! ' he cried, laughing bitterly, ' I no let you see 
 my kart. You fellows smart enough to get me in this 
 mess ; you just get us out now.' 
 
 We thereupon hurried off to the mate, and requested 
 him to get sail on the vessel, promising him that he 
 
LIFE AND ADVENTURE AT FOOCHOW 15 
 
 should be suitably rewarded if he loyally assisted us 
 in working the schooner and in managing the Malay 
 crew. 
 
 We easily made terms with him. He, being a Dane 
 of Schleswig, had no sympathy with the German Captain, 
 who, he assured us, was a brute, a tyrant to his wife and to 
 all on board. 
 
 We got sail on the schooner with all speed. A breeze 
 sprang up ; unfortunately, not the predicted sea breeze, 
 but a wind from the southward, dead in our teeth. 
 
 We began to exercise our seamanship in working 
 through the channel and in tacking between the islands. 
 Although the shore appeared steep-to, yet we grew nervous, 
 as we were obliged to make as long tacks as possible, and 
 we had no knowledge of probable hidden dangers. 
 
 The mate could give us no assistance in this ticklish 
 business, for it was his first voyage in the ' Amoy Trader/ 
 and he had never been to Wen-Chou before. He could 
 only assure us that the Captain and his little ' frau ' knew 
 the coast * like a book.' 
 
 Well, audacity must save us since knowledge would 
 not ! We were going finely through the seething waters 
 that is, the old tub was making a lot of noise at her 
 bows and we began to think it time to tack, as the 
 rocks were pretty near. 
 
 At that moment up rushed the Captain, frenzied. 
 
 * Oh, my goodness ! my goodness ! What you do 
 here ? What ever you do here ? You put my ship ashore ! 
 You kill mine wife ! You kill me ! We all die ! Ah, 
 Donner und Blitzen ! ' 
 
 East replied philosophically : 
 
 1 Well, Captain, I guess we're doing our best. If you 
 won't do something, we must. The blame is yours/ 
 
 We hastened to put the schooner round on the other 
 tack. 
 
 The Captain's wife joined him, and timidly urged him 
 
16 FORMOSA 
 
 to be wise and take over the charge ; but as we reached 
 off clear of danger, the man relapsed into his former 
 dogged, sullen humour. 
 
 ' Well, skipper,' I said, ' I have no doubt that, as you 
 say, we shall run the old craft ashore sooner or later. We 
 don't know the coast, and we have no chart, so it is about 
 certain that we must come to grief. But that doesn't 
 matter so much to us as it does to you. We have no ship, 
 nor wife, nor cargo to fuss about. We have only the 
 clothes on our backs to lose ; our wages are paid all the 
 time. If we go ashore, we have at least a better chance 
 than you, for we are both young and active, we can swim, 
 and we can talk the natives' lingo. Therefore we should 
 probably fare better than you would do if it comes to such 
 a crisis.' 
 
 The little frau backed up my words, again entreating 
 him to listen to sense. 
 
 The man at last seemed to relent. He said : 
 
 * All right ! Get out of that, and let me take charge 
 of the schooner. I'll take her, and save our lives.' 
 
 We were immensely glad to be relieved from our anxious 
 post. We hastened below, to discuss the biscuits and 
 brandy and to enjoy a well-earned smoke. 
 
 The whole of that night and the next day was 
 occupied in getting clear of the islands. The wind per- 
 versely fell light again, and we drifted with the current to 
 the north and east. 
 
 As the hours went on the skipper grew somewhat more 
 genial. His wife, poor soul, had been invariably gentle 
 and conciliatory to us. We were invited to their table, 
 where they fed us well upon queer German dishes, com- 
 posed of pork and yams, sweet soups and vinegar, with 
 other strange foods dear to the Teutonic palate, accom- 
 panied by a fair allowance of Schnapps, Hamburg sherry, 
 and cigars. 
 
 After two days of aimless drifting hither and 
 
LIFE AND ADVENTURE AT FOOCHOW 17 
 
 thither, out of sight of land, the Captain broached a pro- 
 position to us at dinner. 
 
 This precious scheme was that he should, with the 
 favouring south-west monsoon, run up to the Amur River, 
 and sell the schooner and her cargo to the Russians at 
 Vladivostock, who would be certain to give a good price. 
 Then we were to share the proceeds equally. 
 
 We were astonished, but we did not interrupt him for 
 some time, whilst he said smooth things of the plausibility 
 of his plan. At last, I replied, half banteringly : 
 
 * Yes, Captain, that sounds very well ; but if you would 
 sell the schooner in that way, I should be afraid that you 
 might sell us with her. We can speak neither Russian 
 nor German. No, no. I am going nowhere but straight 
 ahead to Foochow, and as long as I have my revolver, and 
 can use it, I will let no one take me except where I want 
 to go.' 
 
 Nothing further was said at the time, but I observed 
 that subsequently I was treated less liberally. 
 
 We contrived to make our way towards the land again, 
 but the wind continued unfavourable. 
 
 Upon the fourth day our ingenious Captain proposed 
 another little plan that he should sail his vessel to Hong 
 Kong. He would promise us a substantial reward if we 
 would let him run away with us. 
 
 He argued that the glass was falling ; it was typhoon 
 season, and if we were to continue knocking about at sea, 
 waiting for a favourable wind to fetch Foochow, we should 
 very probably be caught in a typhoon, and all hands would 
 go to the bottom. 
 
 East seemed not altogether indisposed to take the pro- 
 posed trip to Hong Kong. When I saw he was wavering 
 I grew exceedingly angry. 
 
 ' You fool ! ' I said to him. ' This rascally Dutchman, 
 who would ask us to betray our trust, would not hesitate 
 to sell us when we reached Hong Kong. When he had 
 
 C 
 
i8 FORMOSA 
 
 done with us, he would just kick us on shore. We should 
 lose our berths, we should lose our characters, and nobody 
 would sympathise with us, for we should richly deserve 
 what we got. I'm not going back to sea again now I have 
 a good job on shore ; and, moreover, I'm not going to be 
 false to those whose rice I eat. So now you know my 
 mind. You can all do what you like, but I'll take my 
 chance, if I have to fight the lot of you ! ' 
 
 I rushed from table, and laid down on deck to cool my 
 wrath. Afterwards I went to talk things over with the 
 mate, who cynically decided, for his part, to side with 
 those who gave the best terms. Then I had a mighty 
 row with East, giving him my mind very fully on the 
 question, and I thought he seemed convinced that it 
 would be foolish to join the Captain in his desperate 
 scheme. 
 
 From this hour my life was ' not a happy one.' No 
 more schnapps or tobacco was bestowed upon me, and I 
 felt the want of both comforts, as our slender stock was 
 finished. 
 
 Worse than all, when I went to get a drink of water at 
 the scuttle-butt near the cabin, I discovered that salt water 
 had been mingled with it ; and this was neither pleasant to 
 drink alone nor as tea. 
 
 East, I observed, was treated as hospitably as ever, and 
 I found that the skipper had bottled off a quantity of fresh 
 water for their consumption in the cabin. 
 
 These inconveniences, however, only made me the more 
 determined to oppose them all, and to get to Foochow by 
 any possible means. 
 
 On Sunday we found ourselves becalmed off an island 
 called Tong-Ying, I think. A light air sprang up from the 
 north-east, which, to my joy, began steadily to waft the 
 schooner on her course. The breeze strengthened gradu- 
 ally, and before sunset I felt convinced that we could not 
 be far distant from the entrance to Foochow River ; yet, 
 
LIFE AND ADVENTURE AT FOOCHOW 19 
 
 to my perplexity, in spite of the fair wind, we were not 
 shaping our course towards the land. 
 
 Since the last intrigue of the Captain, I had not been 
 friendly with East, who spent all his time chatting with the 
 skipper and his wife, on deck and below ; but I had con- 
 verted the mate and the crew to my views by promises of 
 liberal rewards for their rectitude from the Commissioner 
 of Customs when we should reach Foochow. 
 
 I was very uneasy ; the wind was steadily freshening 
 from a quarter which during the south-west monsoon 
 generally presaged a typhoon. I went aloft on the fore- 
 topgallant yard, and thence I could plainly distinguish, 
 away on the starboard bow, the White Dogs Islands at the 
 entrance to the River Min. 
 
 I argued that we ought in consequence to have kept 
 right away before the wind to make for them. I was con- 
 vinced now that there was an intention of passing Foochow, 
 and things looked very black. 
 
 I climbed down on deck, and went off to my bunk to 
 fetch my revolver from its resting-place beneath my pillow. 
 To my dismay it was gone. 
 
 I rushed to the fore part of the house, and caught up 
 a little capstan bar which lay handy. Then I proceeded 
 aft to the stern gratings, where the Captain, his wife, and 
 East were having refreshments and a smoke. 
 
 ' Captain,' I said strenuously, ' there's the White Dogs 
 Islands broad on our starboard bow. Why don't you keep 
 away before the wind for them ? If you don't, we'll have 
 to haul up on the other tack before long.' 
 
 The Captain leisurely removed his long pipe, and 
 smiled sardonically at my excitement. 
 
 ' Don't you make a bobbery, young man/ he replied ; 
 ' we not going to Foochow.' 
 
 ' Oh, yes, you are,' I responded wrathfully, * or I'll see 
 why.' 
 
 The skipper laughed maliciously. 
 
 C2 
 
20 FORMOSA 
 
 ' What you do, one man ? Where your revolver ? ' he 
 asked. 
 
 1 Never mind ! ' I replied grimly. * I know all about 
 that. This, you'll find, will do as well.' 
 
 With which I banged the handspike on the stern 
 gratings, causing confusion and damage amongst the 
 bottles and glasses. 
 
 Then did I in my wrath speak many strong words to 
 that recreant East. I began to storm and upbraid him for 
 a fool and a coward. 
 
 ' If you will listen to that Dutchman, you are ruined 
 for life/ I shouted. ' What does he know or care about 
 duty, so long as he can manage to get back home with his 
 dirty dollars ? Don't mind him a bit ! See, the mate and 
 the crew will obey us. Come ! show yourself a man before 
 it is too late. My father taught me that I must do my 
 duty to my employer at all costs, and I mean to do it 
 now. That Dutchman doesn't know the meaning of duty 
 or honour. Surely now a Yankee and an Englishman 
 can stand shoulder to shoulder, and defy a dishonest old 
 Dutchman and his frau ! Come on, I tell you ! ' 
 
 The skipper, who understood my tirade imperfectly, 
 but sufficiently, jumped up in a towering rage, and smashed 
 down his clenched fist upon the breech of a brass gun 
 close to where he was sitting, cutting open his knuckles in 
 his frenzy. 
 
 With every German and English epithet at his com- 
 mand, he abused all Englishmen. 
 
 ' You cursed Englishman ! ' he roared. ' You always 
 talking, talking, about duty, duty, duty ! What is mine 
 duty ? Mine duty make dollars many dollars ! That 
 mine duty ! ' 
 
 East appeared to be impressed by my appeal to his 
 better nature, and the skipper, seeing it, went off into a fit 
 of rage. 
 
 His trembling wife took charge of him, and I half 
 
LIFE AND ADVENTURE AT FOOCHOW 21 
 
 dragged East to the fore part of the house. Then we 
 summoned the mate and crew aft, and asked them the 
 crucial question, which master they would serve. 
 
 The Malays said they would obey us. The mate 
 decided that he also would stand by us, if we would pay 
 him well. 
 
 East agreed to his terms. The yards were trimmed, 
 and our course was shaped for the White Dogs. It was 
 now nearly dark : therefore we shortened sail, that we might 
 not get too near the land before daylight : the old craft,, 
 however, was not a clipper. 
 
 By the time all this was complete, the skipper had 
 come to himself, and, in a very subdued frame of mind, was 
 permitting his poor wife to dress his injured hand. 
 
 The wretched man seemed to have lost heart since his 
 plan had failed. He returned me my revolver, and volun- 
 teered in spiteful tones the information that a typhoon was 
 approaching. 
 
 There was indeed every appearance of this ; but as the 
 wind was still steady from the north-east, I was rather 
 pleased than otherwise, as I calculated that the skipper 
 would be only too glad to hurry into Foochow River to 
 escape the coming storm. 
 
 He, however, doggedly refused to take charge. He 
 argued that he was now ruined for life ; that what he had 
 endeavoured to do would be brought up against him ; 
 that he had lost his last chance, and that he did not now 
 care what became of his ship and all on board. 
 
 This put us in a nice predicament. We dared not 
 attempt to make the passage : all we could do was to keep 
 the schooner under the shortest sail possible until daylight. 
 
 When at last the dawn broke, we found that we were 
 close to the mouth of the river ; but not a pilot nor a 
 fishing-boat was in sight, as the typhoon was rapidly 
 coming on. The skipper remained inexorably despairing. 
 We were all welcome to drown, for aught he cared. 
 
22 FORMOSA 
 
 We had but slight hope of hitting the entrance, and we 
 were feeling pretty blank, when the little German wife 
 cried out suddenly : 
 
 ' Mein husband, mein husband ! / can pilot the ship as 
 well as you can. / will take her in ! ' 
 
 Whereupon this plucky little soul laid hold of the 
 wheel, whilst we strong men obeyed her orders ; and, with 
 half a gale behind us and a flood tide below, we scudded 
 at a steamer's pace through the hazardous entrance and 
 on up the river to Kuantao, where a Chinese pilot came on 
 board, and hurried us up to Pagoda Anchorage, where we 
 arrived just before the mighty cyclone burst in all its force 
 over the country round. 
 
 Directly the Chinese pilot had taken charge, our poor 
 little heroine brought her husband to us, and entreated 
 that we would say nothing to the authorities of his wild 
 attempt to run away. 
 
 ' Mein husband,' she pleaded tearfully, ' is ruined for 
 life. His work of all the long years is lost. He is dis- 
 traught with rage and despair. Have pity on us ! ' 
 
 I was deeply touched with the woman's goodness to 
 her bearish husband, and the remembrance weighed with 
 me that her courage and prompt seamanship had probably 
 saved our lives. East and I mutually promised to say 
 nothing of the attempt to escape, but to put in a good 
 word for them to the Commissioner of Customs. 
 
 The Captain besought us also, as a very great favour, 
 to permit him to fly his own national flag at his mast-head 
 when nearing the anchorage. 
 
 He explained to us that he had traded out of Foochow 
 for so many years. He was known and respected by 
 everybody there. The disgrace would be too bitter if the 
 Customs flag should be hoisted without his beloved 'spread 
 eagle ' ensign ! 
 
 East promised him this favour also ; but, to my astonish- 
 ment, as soon as we came in sight of the shipping, the 
 
LIFE AND ADVENTURE AT FOOCHOW 23 
 
 Chinese flag alone floated at the mast-head. We found that 
 the three other confiscated vessels had arrived before us, 
 having all been towed down from Wen-Chou. 
 
 I was indeed delighted and thankful to get back safe on 
 board the old ' Spartan ' to have again a good wholesome 
 meal, of which I had been deprived for a few days. 
 
 The captured vessels were all declared confiscated 
 property, without a word of protest from their respective 
 Consuls. All, however, but the ' Amoy Trader ' were, I 
 believe, permitted to be redeemed by payment of a heavy 
 fine. The unfortunate Captain of that schooner, and his 
 wife, were turned on shore with only their personal effects, 
 and they were dependent upon the charity of the other 
 Captains for a temporary home. 
 
 East was directed to submit a written report of the 
 voyage to the Commissioner of Customs. This document 
 I never saw ; but the mate and the Malay crew were, I 
 believe, rewarded. 
 
 Tide-waiters were placed on board each of the vessels 
 until their cases had been decided. It was my lot to be on 
 board the ' Amoy Trader ' when the Captain and his wife 
 came to collect their effects. 
 
 I fully expected to be abused for my unwilling share in 
 their misfortunes ; but to my surprise they came up to me, 
 saying mournfully 
 
 ' You good Englishman ! You keep your word. You 
 
 say nothing ; but that Yankee, he write to Foochow, 
 
 and tell all about it ! ' 
 
 East, I discovered, had given himself great credit for 
 bringing in the schooner ; and he doubtless got his reward, 
 which I did not envy him. 
 
 I, for my part, quietly pursued my studies, and was re- 
 compensed by the increasing appreciation of Mr. Maxwell, 
 who, the following year, selected me to accompany him 
 to Formosa. 
 
24 FORMOSA 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND OF FORMOSA 
 
 THE ' Ilha Formosa,' to give it its Portuguese name, or 
 ' Tai-wan/ according to its Chinese appellation, is one of 
 the largest islands in the Eastern seas. It is situated 
 between 22 and 26 North latitude, and 120 and 122 East 
 longitude, being separated by a channel some hundred 
 miles in width from the adjacent mainland of China, of 
 which it was a political dependencyjuntil 1896, when it 
 was ceded to the Japanese, upon the conclusion of the 
 war. 
 
 |^i It forms the end of one of the many chains of islands, 
 which, from the western part of Russian America to the 
 southern archipelagos, seem to fringe the eastern coasts 
 of the Asiatic continent with a succession of long loops, 
 and it terminates that of which the Japanese group, the 
 Loochoos, and the Meiaco-Sima group, are the component 
 parts. 
 
 The length of this important island is about 235 miles, 
 by 70 to 90 in its widest part, and it is intersected by a 
 range of lofty and densely wooded mountains which follow 
 the general direction of the island from north to south, 
 forming a huge backbone or ridge, the highest peak of 
 which, Mount Morrison, is more than 12,000 feet high. 
 The island runs from north-east to south-west, and its shape 
 is that of a long oval running down to a point at the south, 
 with a circumference of some 450 miles. 
 
 When the Portuguese first visited this great island, 
 in the sixteenth century, they were so enraptured with its 
 
p. 24 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND 25 
 
 tropical beauty that they bestowed upon it the name of 
 Ilha Formosa, or the Beautiful Island. ( Few names have 
 been more correctly chosen. Formosa is indeed majestic 
 in its beauty. 
 
 Coasting along the little known eastern side, the 
 voyager is repeatedly struck by the magnificence of the 
 scenery. In the far background a range of mountains 
 rises to a height of about 12,000 feet, whilst between it and 
 the water are numerous peaks of an elevation at least half 
 as great. Domes, spirals, and wall-like precipices succeed 
 each other in imposing variety. A luxuriant vegetation 
 clothes their sides, down which dash cascades that shine 
 like molten silver in the tropical sunlight 
 
 These lordly mountains descend, in a steep slope, to 
 the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean, where the Kuro 
 Siwo, or Japanese Gulf Stream, flows to the north-east at 
 the rate of some fifty miles in the twenty-four hours, 
 thus preventing any such alluvial formation as is found on 
 the west coast of the island. At intervals from December 
 to March these highest ranges are tipped with snow, and 
 the scenery in the valleys is entrancingly beautiful. 
 
 Anon, on rounding a headland, a deep gorge is revealed, 
 and,lm the shelter of the overshadowing heights, one sees 
 a dim outline of some native village ; for, behind those 
 mountains, in their impregnable territory of forest and 
 crag, lurk the savage tribes of aborigines, their hand 
 against the Chinese, and every Celestial hand against 
 them.j 
 
 Following the coast southwards, one rounds the South 
 Cape, of which the two most prominent hills are named 
 Nansha and Ma-ke-tou, which are frequently capped with 
 clouds. 
 
 There is a quaint Chinese legend which affirms that 
 two spirits, in the guise of men, the one clothed in ver- 
 milion, the other in white, used to play chess upon these 
 hills ; but of this there is now no evidence, except the 
 
26 FORMOSA 
 
 existence of a large flat-topped stone, shaped like a chess- 
 board. 
 
 The coast at this point is rugged and dangerous, and, 
 in my day, woeful indeed was 1 the fate of any mariner who 
 might chance to be wrecked upon this inhospitable shore. 
 The Koaluts, a savage tribe, would unfailingly make short 
 work of him, for the sake of preserving his skull for a 
 trophy. But of these native wreckers, and their treatment 
 of survivors, I shall have more to say in a later chapter. 
 
 We now approach the western coast of the island, 
 where Chinese occupation may be considered to begin. 
 Viewed from this side of the island, the slope of the moun- 
 tains is much more gradual, and is intersected by valleys 
 which imperceptibly lose themselves in the large undulating 
 plain stretching from north to south, upon which the Chinese 
 have settled. It is not difficult to explain the attraction 
 which the south-western portion of the coast undoubtedly 
 had for the early Dutch settlers ; for, viewed from shipboard, 
 it must have been strongly suggestive of their beloved 
 Holland. 
 
 Unlike Dutchland, however, the most extraordinary 
 feature of this coast is the rapidity with which the land is 
 ining upon the sea. 
 
 In 1624, shortly after achieving their independence, the 
 Dutch sent a fleet from Java, and took possession of this 
 western coast of Formosa. They settled at the spot now 
 occupied by the capital, Taiwanfoo, and built a fort on the 
 seashore, off which their ships were lying. This fort they 
 called ' Providentia.' They also built another and larger 
 fort upon an adjacent island, and gave it the name of 
 4 Zelandia.' Providentia is now inside the city of Tai- 
 wanfoo, four miles from the sea, and Zelandia is the Anping 
 settlement connected with Taiwanfoo by a plain some three 
 miles wide and ten miles long.,. 
 
 There is an old Dutch "picture which depicts Fort 
 Zelandia with the richly laden argosies of the Dutch East 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND 27 
 
 Indian Company, drawing many feet of water, anchored 
 close to the fort ; and so rapid has been the encroachment 
 of the land that the British Consulate stands where 
 the war junks used to lie, and mud banks have formed an 
 increasingly shallow bar half a mile beyond the spot where, 
 within the memory of the present inhabitants, the gunboats 
 had their anchorage. 
 
 This rapid encroachment of the land upon the sea is due 
 to several causes, principally to the extraordinary violence 
 of the typhoons which occur during the south-west mon- 
 soon, the period from June to October. The velocity and 
 violence of the winds during the height of these storms is 
 beyond belief ; the rain falls in torrents, and is swept, in 
 steam-like masses, along the ground, whilst the rivers appear 
 to be lifted bodily from their beds, rushing down from 
 the mountains with overwhelming force, and bearing an 
 enormous amount of sediment to the sea-shore, where 
 the violence of the south-west winds prevents this accumu- 
 lation from being carried out to sea, thus forming a great 
 delta upon the western coast. These typhoons do not 
 extend far into the Formosa Strait. There is but one case 
 on record of their having reached Amoy ; and northward 
 of Formosa they are of rare occurrence. But to the east 
 of Formosa they extend as far as the Bonin Islands, and 
 probably right across the Pacific. 
 
 Another cause of this continued alteration of the outline 
 of the coast is the frequent occurrence of volcanic shocks. 
 It is probable that Formosa was once a portion of the 
 Chinese coast, but was severed by an earthquake at some 
 remote period. The island now inclines, however slowly, 
 to reunite itself with the mainland. 
 
 This stratum of mud banks does not tend to make the 
 western coast comparable, on the score of wild and romantic 
 beauty, with the less-known eastern side. f^Beyond the 
 shallow stretch of water, with its banks of sand and mud, 
 there extends a fertile alluvial plain, about 180 miles in 
 
28 FORMOSA 
 
 length, with an average breadth of about 30 miles. This 
 plain is dotted with isolated hills, which have doubtless 
 within a comparatively recent period been small islands. 
 Beyond this plain the mountains rise, in appearance not 
 unlike a succession of terraces, which probably suggested 
 to the Chinese the name they have given the island Tai- 
 wan, the Terrace Beach, or Bay of the Raised Terraces^ 
 
 There are several rivers descending to this plain ; but, 
 owing to the very short distance they have to run, and 
 to the quantities of deposits they wash down from the 
 mountains, they are so obstructed by shoals and bars as 
 to be useless for navigation. Some of these rivers have 
 beds three miles in width, in the dry season containing 
 merely a small rivulet in the centre, whilst in the wet 
 season they are roaring torrents. The sand of these river- 
 beds appears to be composed of slate fragments, the stones 
 being water-worn slate, rounded by marine action probably, 
 in the days when the sea extended inland, possibly to the 
 range of slate hills at the base of the mountain range. 
 
 The most southerly port on the western or Chinese 
 coast is Takao. The harbour is shallow, and the part 
 where vessels lie is becoming daily more contracted, as 
 the drift sand fills up the lagoon, and is carried out by the 
 force of the tide to the entrance. Crossing the bar, the 
 entrance to the harbour is through a chasm of some 
 seventy-five yards wide. To the northward is a rocky 
 bluff composed of limestone masses, beyond which rises, 
 some 1,800 feet in height, the rugged, barren sides of Ape's 
 Hill, so called because it is inhabited by a community of 
 large monkeys ; whilst on the south side is a smaller point 
 of 1 80 feet, called the Saracen's Head, bounded on the sea- 
 face by a line of precipitous cliffs rising directly from the 
 water's edge. Between the two heads is a small, green- 
 looking mound separated from Ape's Hill by a chasm, and 
 from the other point by a deep channel about sixty yards 
 wide, which forms the entrance to the inner harbour. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND 29 
 
 This is some six or eight miles long by two or three across in 
 the widest part, forming a calm, placid lagoon, bounded on 
 the north by a flat, rich-looking plain, covered with banyan 
 and pandanus or screw pine, and cultivated with sweet 
 potatoes, and on the south by a low sand bank, reaching 
 from Saracen's Head to an extension of the plain, whereon 
 the town of Takao is situated. 
 
 In this inner harbour one sees with curiosity a number 
 of quaint boats, used by the Chinese who fish in these 
 waters. These 'catamarans,' as they are called by 
 Europeans, are simply large rafts of stout bamboo lashed 
 together, and propelled either by the ordinary Chinese 
 paddle or by a large bamboo sail fitted in the usual 
 manner. They have a slight railing round them, and 
 also a large tub in which the passenger sits ; and 
 though they look most frail and insecure, as the waves 
 repeatedly dash over them, yet they are doubtless the 
 safest kind of boat to cope with the heavy swells which 
 lash the whole of the Formosan coast. In appearance 
 they somewhat resemble the Brazilian jangadas, or cork- 
 wood rafts, which are found in the neighbourhood of 
 Pernambuco. 
 
 Takao presents the ordinary unsavoury characteristics 
 of a small Chinese town. It is chiefly inhabited by fisher- 
 men, with here and there a semi-European residence 
 occupied by some foreign settler. It is only saved from 
 being quite uninteresting by the varied and beautiful 
 foliage of the bamboo and banyan groves, which grow 
 luxuriously even in the barren sandy soil. To the north a 
 magnificent view is to be obtained from the summit of Ape's 
 Hill, which is a huge mass of ancient coral limestone, and 
 contains some curious caves and rifts, filled with shells and 
 bones of fishes. One crosses a small bay, wherein is a sulphur 
 spring, and, following a path which winds irregularly up 
 the hill from this point, one is amply repaid for the steep 
 climb by the glorious view which is revealed. Seawards 
 
30 FORMOSA 
 
 roll the breakers, forming a high white line of surf, roar- 
 ing stertorously, and beating upon the shore as though 
 in an impotent rage with its encroaching enemy, the land. 
 Landwards there is a mass of rich tropical vegetation 
 bordering the river, with all the varied beauty of colour 
 and form of pandanus or screw pines, palms, mimosas, and 
 similar trees. Beyond, again, spreads a level fertile plain, 
 giving pleasing evidence of the usual rich cultivation of 
 the Chinese, sown with emerald-hued rice and slender 
 sugar canes, and dotted here and there by groups of 
 bamboos, which add further variety to the foliage, or 
 perchance by a small village to which distance lends 
 picturesqueness whilst far away the view is bounded by 
 the low range of hills. On very clear days, notably at 
 sunrise, the purple tops of lofty mountains are to be seen 
 far away to the east, forming a noble background. 
 
 There are but few towns near Takao : the chief and 
 largest is that of Pi-t'au, to which one has access by first 
 proceeding by boat to the little village of Ling-a-liau, and 
 thence by a good road, either on horseback or by chair, 
 for about seven miles through the richly cultivated fields 
 of the plain. Another town, which was once the district 
 capital, but is now partly deserted, lies five or six 
 miles to the north of Takao. A band of robbers having 
 made themselves an impregnable retreat in the hills 
 above, from which they could command the town, the 
 mandarins wisely removed their establishments to the 
 safer locality of Pi-t'au. 
 
 There is capital snipe-shooting to be had among the 
 marshy river districts in the neighbourhood of Takao, and 
 good fishing. 
 
 Following the western coast slightly further north, we 
 arrive at the port of Anping ; the capital of Formosa, 
 Taiwanfoo, lying about three miles inland. This port is 
 merely an open roadstead with an anchorage of some six 
 fathoms, and a series of flat sandy banks, whereon the 
 

DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND 31 
 
 surf breaks violently, dividing it from a shallow muddy 
 lagoon stretching away to a flat plain. Along these mud 
 and sand banks lies the village of Anping, clustering around 
 the ruins of the old Formosan stronghold of the Dutch, 
 whereon, over the main entry leading into the fort on the 
 northern side, one can still decipher the inscription TE 
 CASTEL ZELAND, GEBOWED ANNO 1630. 
 
 This fort consisted of a central keep, built upon a small 
 and probably partly artificial hill, in the shape of a bas- 
 tioned fort upon a square of about sixty yards each way. 
 At about a hundred yards distant on the northern side, 
 this was surrounded by a wall which followed the course 
 of the coast line and met the keep at its western and 
 northern angles. The walls, though hollow in the centre, 
 were of great thickness, built of a peculiar small brick, 
 brought expressly from Batavia, and were extensively 
 loopholed. 
 
 This once impregnable old fortress has succumbed to 
 the gradual forces of time and repeated shocks of earth- 
 quake. Not one of the angles of the central keep re- 
 mains ; the walls are split and broken, and a large banyan 
 tree, growing upon the top of the wall of the keep, waves 
 gnarled and knotted branches, rustling a soft requiem to 
 the long past glories of Zelandia. Its chief use now is as 
 a landmark for ships making the port of Anping. 
 
 Crossing in catamarans through the surf on the bar be- 
 tween the shipping and the shore, one lands on the beach 
 near the fort, round which clusters a squalid little fishing 
 village. Passing through this we reach a large alluvial 
 plain, which is apparently of recent formation, as during 
 the south-west monsoon it is still always partially covered 
 with water. Through this plain run canals, which form a 
 medium of communication with the prefectural city of 
 Taiwanfoo, three miles away. 
 
 The city is nearly five miles in circumference. It is 
 enclosed, in the customary Chinese manner, by a high 
 
32 FORMOSA 
 
 battlemented wall, quadrangular in shape, with four gates 
 and watch-towers over them, forming in fact a poor and 
 small imitation of the Great Wall of Pekin. This wall is 
 about twenty feet high, built of brick, and is plastered with 
 mud. It is now but of little use for purposes of protection, 
 as, owing to the violent rains and the frequent shocks of 
 earthquake, it is in a very dilapidated state, riddled with 
 gaps in various places, through which a hostile army could 
 pass into the city with comparative ease. 
 
 A walk around these walls, however, repays one. 
 Looking to the seaward of the city wall, one sees a large 
 and extensive suburb, which contains the public markets, 
 and, though dirty and offensive, after the manner of 
 Chinese towns, it is here that the business of the place 
 is done. Turning one's face to the interior of the city, it 
 is a pleasant surprise to note the luxuriance of the foliage, 
 the green lanes, the open, park-like spaces lovely groves 
 of bamboo and wide-spreading aged banyan trees giving 
 a refreshing and rural aspect to the large and straggling 
 town. Amongst the green branches of the trees one gets 
 a glimpse of the houses of the mandarins, the chief citizens, 
 and several temples dedicated to the three religions of the 
 Chinese Empire Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taouism. 
 Many of the houses, though forming streets, have a rural 
 seclusion secured to them by thick bamboo fences or 
 cactus hedges in front. The only real street in the town 
 one in which there are some fair shops is that leading 
 from the west gate to the Tao-tai's yamen or palace. 
 
 Adjoining the Tao-tai's yamen is a large examination 
 hall, fitted with stone benches and seats of slabs of granite 
 sufficient to hold one thousand competitors for the degree 
 of Siu-Tsai or Bachelor of Arts. In this place there is a 
 large and curious tower, built of red bricks, rising to a 
 height of about fifty feet, wherein the devout Celestials 
 were wont, with reverent hands, to place the god who 
 watched over literature, named Wen-ch'ang. 
 
, * c ** 
 
I 
 
 : m 
 
 
 IS* 
 
 i 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND 33 
 
 In the centre of the city is a small square fort, Provi- 
 dentia, which was also built by 'the Dutch, but like its 
 larger sister Zelandia it has succumbed to the influences 
 of time and neglect, and is now merely a picturesque ruin. 
 
 Outside the north gate of the city there is a large green 
 space of about fifteen acres in extent, marked by its two 
 poles and its temple-like house. This sward is of melan- 
 choly interest as the place of execution of many ship- 
 wrecked Europeans during the first China War. 
 
 Outside the east gate there extends a considerable 
 suburb with orchards and market gardens. Beyond this 
 are level fields of waving yellow - rice, and in the far 
 distance again rise the immense chain of mountains in the 
 interior. 
 
 Beyond the great south gate one views a vast graveyard 
 of many acres in extent, where white tombstones glisten 
 drearily amongst the sandy desolation. 
 
 Near the small south gate, outside the city wall, there 
 is a fine temple to the Goddess of Mercy, but, perhaps be- 
 cause the worship of this deity is falling into disrepute, 
 the erection is rapidly decaying through neglect. 
 
 Taiwanfoo is at the best nothing more than a typical 
 Chinese town. One would see its characteristics repeated, 
 with but few essential changes, throughout China. 
 
 The climate of the Formosan capital is exceedingly fine 
 dry, clear, and bracing except for an occasional ' north- 
 easter,' when the air is filled with sand and dust, making 
 the houses in a very dirty state, and rendering peregrina- 
 tion joyless while it lasts. 
 
 Pursuing our course northwards up the western coast, 
 we now reach the port of Tamsui, or ' Fresh-water-town.' 
 This port would seem to have a better future before it, as 
 it has a more accessible harbour, and therefore greater 
 facilities for trade. The anchorage, however, is insecure, 
 being formed of shifting sand. The town lies between a 
 double-peaked hill on the south-west, which has an eleva- 
 
 D 
 
34 FORMOSA 
 
 tion of about 1,700 feet, and the Tamsui range of moun- 
 tains, which rise to the height of 2,800 feet and extend far 
 into the interior. 
 
 A small river, issuing from a gorge, empties itself into 
 the harbour. This river has its source near the city of 
 Bangkah or Mangkia, one of the largest and most exclusive 
 of the northern towns of the island. 
 
 Upon a hill on the right bank of the Tamsui River there 
 is an old Dutch fort, part of which is now used as a con- 
 sular residence, of which one can find no European account, 
 and which itself bears no inscription of record of the past. 
 It is in a fair state of preservation, though damp and de- 
 serted, and said by the natives to be haunted. It serves 
 as a guide to the entrance to the harbour. 
 
 The rainfall is heavy in Tamsui and the whole of 
 northern Formosa, thus rendering the air cold and 
 humid. 
 
 The Bangkah people have executed one laborious 
 engineering work, which is of great benefit to this district. 
 The water supplied by the springs of their marshy district 
 was found to be brackish and unwholesome. They there- 
 fore formed a scheme for bringing down a mountain 
 stream to supply the populations of the plain. A suitable 
 stream was discovered about eight miles in the interior 
 from Bangkah, rushing down the mountain side in what 
 was then, some sixty years ago, savage territory. The 
 Chinese proceeded to destroy the savage hamlet in the 
 neighbourhood, and drove the aborigines up into their 
 fastnesses in the mountains. They then cut a tunnel into 
 the foot of the mountain, sixteen yards long, eight feet 
 broad, and about fourteen feet deep, gradually diverting 
 the course of the stream into their channel. This work 
 was by no means easy, as the labourers were frequently 
 attacked by the deposed savages, and about sixty of their 
 number were killed before its completion. The water, 
 which is very sweet and fresh, is directed, in a prepared 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND 35 
 
 channel of from three to four feet deep, into the village of 
 Kieng-bay, about two hours' walk eastward of Bangkah. 
 This village is built upon the two high banks of an affluent 
 of the main river, and has therefore an aqueduct to con- 
 duct the water across, running from bank to bank about 
 thirty feet above the river. This aqueduct is three-sided,, 
 formed of thick wooden planks battened together, with 
 wood nailed quadrilaterally round it. The interior is 
 rendered watertight by being lined with Chinese plaster, 
 or chunaum. It is about five feet deep, by eight feet 
 broad, and has forty-seven crutch-like supports. 
 
 A considerable amount of tea is grown on the Tamsui 
 hills, and, though not of superfine quality, it is sufficiently 
 good to give scope for far more enterprise than has been 
 devoted to it. However, since my day, owing to the 
 efforts of Mr. John Dodd, this industry has greatly 
 improved, the tea being favourably known in the market 
 as Formosa Oolong. 
 
 Tamsui also exports a large amount of coal. 
 
 To the north-east of Tamsui lies Kilung, which is the 
 last port upon the northern coast. This was formerly a 
 Spanish settlement, but it was subsequently captured and 
 held by the Dutch until they were forced to evacuate the 
 island. Its surroundings are far more beautiful and 
 picturesque than the scenery ; of the western coast. The 
 port itself is situated on the shores of a wide bay, between 
 the capes of Foki and Petou, some twenty-two miles 
 apart. In this bay, about two miles from the actual 
 harbour, there uprises a tall black rock called Kilung 
 Island. 
 
 The scenery behind the village is very charming ; 
 undulating, well-wooded hills gradually resolve themselves 
 into the mountain range beyond. The varied outline of 
 these heights tells of earthquake and of their volcanic 
 origin. Yellow sandstone and masses of coraline lime- 
 stone abound. 
 
 D 2 
 
36 FORMOSA 
 
 T"~ 
 
 Kilung is a great coal-mining neighbourhood. The 
 
 mines are situated in a bay known to Europeans as ' Coal 
 Harbour.' In my time they were worked in Chinese 
 manner, horizontally, producing a small bituminous 
 mineral, which was exported in large quantities. Euro- 
 pean enterprise has, however, brought modern methods and 
 machinery into use in the mines, with satisfactory results, 
 and those interested have at length become alive to the 
 important source of wealth which lies hidden in the coal- 
 fields of northern Formosa^ There are now two railroads 
 in this district, which greatly facilitate the distribution of 
 the produce of the mines. 
 
 Slight earthquakes are of frequent occurrence through- 
 out the island, as also are typhoons, in the south, at the 
 breaking up of the monsoons. 
 
 There is but one fresh water lake of any size in 
 Formosa. This lies among the high mountain ranges, 
 some three days' journey from the city of Chiang-hoa, to 
 the south-east. It is a beautiful expanse of water, which 
 glitters like a lake of glass upon the green plain in the 
 clear tropical atmosphere, causing the Chinese, who looked 
 wonderingly down upon it from their mountains, to name 
 it Polisia (glassy). 
 
 This lake was visited in 1873 by the Rev. W. Campbell, 
 who gave it the name of Lake Candidius, in memory of 
 that single-hearted Dutch pastor who began Protestan 
 missionary work in the island about 1624. And as Lake 
 Candidius it figures in all the recent maps of Formosa. 
 
 With regard to the fauna of Formosa, in the mountains 
 are to be found the black climbing bear, the leopard 
 armadillo, monkeys, the wild boar, and deer the antlers 
 of the latter may be purchased from the savages the 
 wild dog or coyote, gibbons and apes, badger and ant- 
 eater, while weasels, flying squirrel, a species of leveret 
 and musk rats are common everywhere. Mention must 
 also be made of a peculiar kind of hog with dorsal bristles, 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND 37 
 
 and the piebald pig. Snakes of many descriptions abound, 
 mostly harmless, though the cobra de capello has been 
 seen. There are numberless lizards, a poisonous water- 
 snake, and a vividly marked and poisonous sea-snake. 
 
 There are also innumerable species of insects : flying 
 beetles, centipedes, mosquitoes, mantis, and various grass- 
 hoppers, etc., while residence in the Taiwanfoo district is 
 rendered miserable during the winter months and sugar 
 season by myriads of flies and fleas. It is, however, the 
 paradise of the entomologist, on account of the magnificent 
 butterflies and moths to be obtained. 
 
 The rivers contain an abundance of fish, with their 
 attendant otters on the banks. 
 
 During the months of December and January the sea 
 literally swarms with ' black fish,' a species of large grey 
 mullet, and a fish the shape and size of a large chad, with 
 a skin like a sole but the flavour of a turbot. These shoals 
 are eagerly looked forward to by the natives, when the fish 
 come down from the Japan seas to spawn ; and the fisher- 
 men's nets are often broken and the catamarans swamped 
 with the amount of fish they take. Fin whales are seen 
 along the coast, and sharks, said not to be man-eating, are 
 common, the fins prepared being exported as a Chinese 
 delicacy. 
 
 During the north-east monsoon, in the marshes round 
 Takao and Taiwanfoo, Europeans can have splendid sport 
 amongst the pheasants, snipe, and golden plover which are 
 plentiful in the sugar and rice fields. In the marshes by 
 the sea-shore all kinds of water-fowl abound. Out at sea 
 they may be counted by the thousand, and the natives net 
 them for sale in considerable numbers before their early 
 morning flight seawards. 
 
 With respect to the geological features of Formosa I 
 am not qualified to speak with authority. I, however, 
 know that on the east coast some adventurous Chinese, 
 at the risk of their lives, did a little gold-washing in the 
 
38 FORMOSA 
 
 streams of the savage territory. Gold-washing also now 
 goes on regularly in the north. The precious metal has 
 also been found near Lung Kiao, and between Takao and 
 Taiwanfoo. Auriferous quartz is known to exist in various 
 other places, whilst lead and silver are also present in the 
 island. In the north, coal, sulphur, and petroleum abound. 
 In the high mountains of the interior, shale and slate are 
 the principal feature, whilst at Kilung, in the north-east, 
 within the influence of the warm Gulf Stream, and at 
 Takao, in the south-west, coral reefs appear. Near the 
 latter port, almost at the summit of Ape's Hill, 1,500 feet 
 above the sea-level, there is to be seen a stratum of shells 
 identical in species with those found on the coral reefs in 
 the sea below. 
 
 As regards the flora of the island, there are innumer- 
 able rare and beautiful plants to be studied, and I believe 
 that Mr. Veitch and other ardent botanists have enriched 
 our conservatories with many beautiful orchids and 
 ornamental plants transported from Formosa. There is 
 still, however, much scope for the collector, as the most 
 interesting half of the island, the mountainous portion, has 
 not been botanised over, except in a meagre way by native 
 collectors in the southern part, and in the north by one 
 or two Europeans, who have made short excursions from 
 Tamsui. The Rev. W. Campbell some years ago made, in 
 the centre of the island, a collection which was, however, 
 unluckily much injured by accidental immersion in a 
 flooded stream while it was being taken coast-ward. This 
 collection is now embodied, so far as it was available, in 
 the herbarium of the British Museum. 
 
 Fruit is abundant. Large and beautiful pineapples 
 grow wild in the lanes round the towns ; the Sai-le loose- 
 skinned oranges are delightful and wholesome ; mangoes, 
 lungans, bananas, soft-squash or custard apples, pumeloes, 
 persimmons, and pomegranates secure ideal fare for the 
 vegetarian. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND 39 
 
 The commercial products of the island are various, and 
 capable of almost unlimited extension. The first in value 
 is rice. Formosan rice is both abundant and of very 
 fine quality, and it has earned for the island the title of 
 the ' granary of China.' The export is entirely in native 
 hands, and considerable quantities are shipped to the 
 Pescadores. 
 
 Tea, which is found wild in the interior, is extensively 
 cultivated near Tamsui, from which port a large export is 
 carried on. The greater part of the Formosan tea goes 
 to America ; some is consumed by the Chinese in the 
 Straits and the Dutch East Indies. The latter kind is 
 scented. 
 
 Sugar is also largely grown. In my time, a consider- 
 able quantity of a fine white kind was exported to Japan 
 and Australia, but this industry has greatly deteriorated of 
 late years owing to neglect. 
 
 Indigo, turmeric, sesamum seed, hemp, and hard woods 
 are also plentiful. Sulphur is found near Takao, and in 
 large quantities near Tamsui and elsewhere, whilst there 
 are numerous sulphur springs in the island, both hot and 
 cold. There are petroleum wells at Toa-kho-ham, which 
 could be turned to great account. The castor oil plant 
 grows wild, and is cultivated. Camphor of the best kind 
 is extracted from the Camphor Laurus tree (found in the 
 high mountains of the interior), and forms an article of 
 trade, especially with China. 
 
 This by no means exhausts the list of Formosan 
 products. The possibilities of this still undeveloped 
 country, both in vegetable and mineral wealth, may be 
 imagined when one learns that during the year 1893 trade 
 to the value of four and a half million pounds sterling 
 passed through the ten or twelve European houses doing 
 business in Formosa. 
 
40 FORMOSA 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 HISTORY OF THE ISLAND 
 
 THE Chinese claim to have been the discoverers of For- 
 mosa, in A.D. 1430, the event being due to the accident of 
 a shipwreck. But whether this was so or not, no great 
 honour can be claimed, as the bold outline of the Formosan 
 mountain ranges can be seen on a clear day from the high- 
 lands on the Chinese coast. 
 
 The Portuguese were the pioneers of Europe in the 
 East, and there are records that they visited Formosa in 
 1 590. But they do not appear to have made any perma- 
 nent settlement there. 
 
 The Spaniards are said to have built two forts, one at 
 Tamsui and the other at Kilung, in the north, the ruins of 
 which still exist. There is, however, now no tradition 
 amongst the natives of their occupation. The only trace 
 I could find of them was when an old Sek-hoan, giving 
 me a vocabulary of his nearly forgotten language, told 
 me that his grandfather used to count in a different way ; 
 and, to my surprise, the man repeated a corruption of the 
 Spanish numerals up to ten. 
 
 The Chinese annals also assert that in 1620 the 
 Japanese attempted to form a colony in Formosa ; but 
 previous to this date considerable numbers of Chinese must 
 have crossed the channel from the mainland and settled 
 themselves among the aborigines, for when the Dutch 
 arrived in 1624, and prepared to establish themselves in 
 Formosa, they found there communities of Chinese in 
 sufficient numbers to cause them annoyance. 
 

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 81 
 
 Q ^ 
 
 2 
 
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 UJ U. 
 
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 4 
 
 8 | 
 
 1 H 
 
HISTORY OF THE ISLAND 41 
 
 I It was in the year 1624, shortly after achieving their 
 independence, that the Dutch sent from Java a fleet, which, 
 after an unsuccessful attack on the Portuguese at Macao, 
 took possession of the Pescadores Islands. By threats and 
 promises of the Chinese, the Dutch were induced to 
 evacuate the Pescadores, and to pay their attention to 
 the west coast of Formosa. They settled at the spot now 
 occupied by the capital, Taiwanfoo, and proceeded to build 
 their two great forts, Zelandia and Providentia. They 
 appear to have used every effort to civilise the wild inhabi- 
 tants of the plain. They introduced good laws and pro- 
 moted useful industries, appointing officers to each tribe to 
 administer the laws under the governor. Their mission- 
 aries, also, were having great success ; churches and schools 
 were multiplying, and thousands of converts were baptized. 
 They reduced some of the languages to writing, and their 
 labours, in the shape of vocabularies of now obsolete 
 dialects, exist. The colonists were also beginning to inter- 
 marry with the natives. So beneficent was the Dutch 
 rule that their memory is still beloved by the aborigines,^ 
 and, even to this day, some of these people, though they 
 have entirely forgotten their old language, and are scarcely 
 to be distinguished from the Chinese amongst whom they 
 dwell, yet retain a traditional regard for those estimable 
 men. They cherish, as sacred heirlooms, documents which 
 have been handed down from the times when the mission- 
 aries laboured amongst their ancestors, and they welcome 
 any Europeans as being, in their eyes, relations of the 
 Dutch. Unfortunately, however, at that time the Dutch 
 were cultivating commercial relations with Japan ; and the 
 Netherlands East Indian Government, fearing to excite 
 the anger of the emperor of that country by spreading 
 Christianity, discouraged the efforts of their missionaries 
 in Formosa. 
 
 A few years before this date, the Spanish and Portu- 
 guese missionaries had been converting whole districts in 
 
42 FORMOSA 
 
 Japan to Christianity. Intoxicated with their success, 
 the Fathers began to quarrel amongst themselves, and 
 to intrigue with the natives against the established govern- 
 ment of the country. The emperor rightly determined to 
 stop this movement. He carried out his determination 
 in a fashion cruel indeed, but pretty prevalent at that 
 period even amongst professedly Christian nations in 
 Europe. The priests paid the penalty of their imprudence 
 by banishment or death, which they met with the greatest 
 fortitude and heroism. Thousands of their Japanese con- 
 verts suffered martyrdom with the most horrible tortures 
 rather than renounce their newly acquired faith. Chris- 
 tianity was proscribed throughout the empire, and all 
 Europeans were forbidden to reside within its dominions, 
 except on the condition that they should be confined to a 
 small island called Desima, that they should only be 
 permitted to send one or two vessels yearly to Japan, and 
 that annually they should all perform the ceremony of 
 trampling upon the Cross, to evince their detestation of 
 Christianity. 
 
 The Dutch alone consented to these degrading terms ; 
 and under these prohibitions they continued to reside at 
 Desima, carrying on a lucrative but declining trade with 
 Japan until the year 1858, when the country was opened 
 out to foreign commerce by the American fleet under 
 Commodore Perry. During that long interval, I am glad 
 to say, the descendants of the first native Christians in 
 many cases continued steadfast to their religion, which they 
 were compelled to practise in secret. 
 
 Thus it was the fear of losing Japanese trade which 
 caused the Dutch East Indian Government to hinder the 
 progress of Christianity in Formosa. They paid the 
 penalty of their pusillanimity some thirty years later, when 
 they were driven out of Taiwan by the Chinese. 
 
 In 1640, the Chinese native dynasty, Ming, which had 
 enjoyed uninterrupted power for more than two hundred 
 
HISTORY OF THE ISLAND 43 
 
 years, had fallen into a state of utter corruption and decay. 
 The people, therefore, refused any longer to obey the 
 powers that were, as, according to Chinese ideas handed 
 down from Confucius and Mencius, when an emperor or 
 dynasty evinces by its conduct that it has forsaken the 
 principles of truth and justice, they consider that it has 
 forfeited the mandate conferred by Heaven to rule the 
 Celestial Empire : ergo, the people have a right to rebel, 
 and to depose the existing government. 
 
 Upon this occasion the Chinese invoked the assistance 
 of the Manchu Tartars. These allies responded willingly 
 enough, but they were not content with overthrowing the 
 Ming dynasty. When they had overrun and subdued 
 sixteen of the eighteen provinces of the empire, they pro- 
 ceeded to instal themselves as a new dynasty, under the 
 title of ' Ts'ing,' or ' Pure/ which has continued the reigning 
 dynasty at Pekin to the present day. 
 
 The new powers found themselves sufficiently strong to 
 compel the Chinese, under penalty of death in case of 
 refusal, to adopt the Tartar fashion, and to shave the front 
 of the hair, which they formerly wore long, and to braid 
 the back part into a queue, or tail, hanging down behind. 
 This is the form in which the Chinese still wear their 
 hair a mode which we term a pig-tail. 
 
 Though this fashion began as a mark of degradation 
 and servitude, the Chinese have grown to be proud of it, 
 as distinguishing them from the ' outer barbarians.' 
 
 In every political outbreak in China, however, the first 
 thing the rebels do is to let their hair grow, in order 
 thereby to show their detestation of the Manchu rule. 
 
 The inhabitants of the only two unsubdued provinces, 
 Canton and Fuh-kien, continued to resist the invaders 
 stubbornly for some years ; and even when they were 
 compelled to capitulate, numbers preferred to lose their 
 heads rather than submit to the degradation of the tonsure. 
 The Fuh-kien Chinese are even now distinguished from 
 
44 FORMOSA 
 
 the rest of the empire by turbans, which they adopted to 
 hide the disgrace of shaving their heads. 
 
 The pig-tail is most useful in catching thieves, and also 
 in Chinese warfare, which generally consists of two parties 
 meeting together for a short time, one party running away, 
 and the pursuers promptly inflicting indiscriminate slaughter 
 upon the pursued. Thus many a poor fellow has lost his 
 life owing to the hairy appendage hanging behind him. 
 
 One of the bravest of my followers in Formosa on one 
 occasion only saved his head by sacrificing his tail. He 
 had been drawn for the Chinese militia during a rebellion, 
 and in an engagement where, as is generally the case, the 
 rebels were victorious, he was taken prisoner. His captor 
 was dragging him away by his hair for immediate execu- 
 tion ; when, availing himself of a favourable opportunity, 
 he, with great presence of mind, snatched the rebel's knife 
 out of his belt, slashed off his pig-tail, and escaped to fight 
 or run away another day. 
 
 The last of the Chinese to hold out against the Tartar 
 conquerors was Koshing or Koxinga, a notorious pirate 
 of the time. This man collected an enormous fleet, with 
 which he ravaged the whole of the southern coast of China. 
 The Tartar emperor, however, acquired sufficient power to 
 compel the coast population of the southern provinces to 
 remove ten miles into the interior, leaving the country 
 behind them a desert. This stratagem deprived Koxinga of 
 supplies, and, being obliged to find some other field for his 
 operations, he proceeded to turn his attention to Formosa, 
 and attacked the Dutch settlement at Taiwanfoo. 
 
 It is curious that amongst the natives of the island oral 
 traditions about Koxinga, or Teh-kok-seng as they call him, 
 have survived to the present day. According to their 
 tales, Koxinga saw in a dream Fort Zelandia and the sur- 
 rounding country, and the dream proceeded to inform him 
 that the goal of his ambition would be reached within a 
 short space of time after his arriving at the place thus 
 
HISTORY OF THE ISLAND 45 
 
 mysteriously revealed to him. No definite instructions 
 were in this dream vouchsafed to him, though he imagined 
 the island to lie in the direction of Batavia. He had, 
 however, a further convenient vision, which gave him the 
 necessary information. He therefore fitted out a fleet in 
 three portions, and sent them to sea with sealed orders. 
 
 At this time there was a want of harmony between the 
 Dutch government in Java and the governor of Formosa. 
 The result was that reinforcements for the Formosan 
 garrison were diverted to the coast of China. Koxinga 
 blockaded the coast of Formosa, and found sympathisers 
 amongst his countrymen, the Chinese who were settled in 
 the island, whose numbers had been largely increased by 
 refugees from the mainland of China. He contrived to cut 
 off the communication between the two great forts, and 
 compelled the surrender of the garrison in Fort Provi- 
 dentia. The Christian natives assisted the Dutch most 
 loyally in their resistance ; but after a siege of nine months, 
 and the loss of eighteen hundred men, Fort Zelandia was 
 obliged to surrender, and thus ended Dutch rule in 
 Formosa, after the short period of twenty-eight years. 
 
 Koxinga treated the Dutch clergymen and school- 
 masters, with their native converts, with peculiar severity, 
 on account of the brave resistance they had made. He 
 crucified great numbers, and nearly exterminated all. 
 
 Having done this, Koxinga conquered the whole west 
 coast of the island, and settled down to rule as an indepen- 
 dent monarch. His grandson, however a weak man was 
 induced to visit the Emperor at Pekin ; he was there 
 ennobled l with the title of ' Sea-quelling Duke,' but 
 detained ; and Formosa, with the Pescadores, was thus 
 added to the Celestial Empire. 
 
 In 1664 the English appeared in Formosa, and en- 
 
 1 According to Dr. Wells Williams, the descendants of Koxinga and of 
 Confucius are the only hereditary title-bearers amongst the Chinese. Middle 
 Kingdom,' vol. i. p. 40. 
 
46 FORMOSA 
 
 deavoured to establish a trade with Koxinga's son, but this 
 chieftain had little other idea of trade than as a means 
 of helping himself to every curious commodity that the 
 various ships brought, and levying heavy imposts upon 
 their cargoes. It is true that a very advantageous treaty- 
 was entered into with him, but when Formosa became part 
 of the Chinese Empire this treaty was of course ignored, 
 and consequently the English ceased trading with the 
 island. 
 
 In the last century Formosa was brought prominently 
 before the notice of society in London by an impostor 
 named George Psalmanazar, who professed to be a 
 Japanese convert from the island, and who published in 
 Latin a wonderful and fictitious account of its model 
 government, flourishing towns, and civilised population. 
 Amongst other marvels, he affirmed that in Formosa 
 the sun shone directly down the chimneys. Dr. Johnson 
 was a great admirer of Psalmanazar's intelligence, and had 
 unbounded faith in his veracity. Upon one occasion when, 
 in some club or coffee-house, a gentleman ventured to 
 doubt the accuracy of some of the statements made by him, 
 Dr. Johnson sternly rebuked him in words to this effect : 
 1 Sir, you contradict George Psalmanazar ; let me assure 
 you, Sir, that you might just as well contradict a Bishop ! ' 
 
 The next occasion on which the English appear in 
 Formosa was in 1842, when the transport 'Nerbudda' and 
 the opium vessel ' Anne ' were wrecked upon the west 
 coast. The survivors of the crews were shut up in prison 
 by the mandarins, and ultimately a hundred and eighty- 
 seven of these unfortunate men were taken to a parade 
 ground outside the city of Taiwanfoo, and executed. 
 
 When I first arrived in Taiwanfoo, the names of 
 several of these prisoners were scribbled upon the walls of 
 the granary wherein they were incarcerated, with calendars 
 for checking the progress of time, such as schoolboys make 
 to show how many days have to elapse before the holidays. 
 
y 
 
 li 
 
HISTORY OF THE ISLAND 4; 
 
 No adequate redress was demanded for these atrocities 
 and I may say that, after the Dutch evacuated Formosa" 
 the chief experience which the Chinese officials and people 
 had for man>' years of Europeans was that of plundering 
 and ill-treating the crews of shipwrecked vessels. 
 
 * By the treaty concluded between Great Britain and 
 China at Tientsin in 1860, Formosa or Taiwan was at last 
 thrown open to foreign trade, and the four ports, Tamsui 
 and Kilung in the north, and Taiwanfoo and Takao in the 
 south, were declared open ports ; a British consul was 
 appointed for the whole island, and a fixed tariff of all 
 articles which could legally be imported and exported on 
 payment of the tariff duty, but without payment of further 
 taxes, was drawn up and approved by both governments ) 
 Also about this time, with the consent of the ambassadors^' 
 of the European Powers, the 'Maritime Customs' Service 
 at all the Treaty Ports in China was formed, and placed 
 under the supervision and control of Europeans in the 
 employ and payment of the Chinese Government. 
 
 In 1 87 1, some fifty-four Liu-Chiu sailors having been 
 wrecked and murdered on the east coast of Formosa 
 outside the Tao-tai's jurisdiction, the Japanese Government 
 claimed redress from the Chinese, and, not receiving satis- 
 ion, landed an army and occupied the district of Lune- 
 kiau, at the South Cape of Formosa, in 1874. 
 
 The difficulty, however, was arranged by Sir Thomas 
 
 Wade, then our minister at Pekin, and the Japanese 
 
 evacuated their position, having, by their presence and 
 
 cupation, prepared the way for the Chinese to in- 
 
 i that barbaric part of the island as a governmental 
 
 district. 
 
 During the war between France and China in 1883-4 
 Formosa was blockaded by the French. Tamsui and 
 Kilting were taken, and the Pescadores were also occupied 
 
 these positions were, however, given up at the conclu- 
 the war, and, whilst the French effected very little 
 
48 FORMOSA 
 
 in the north of Formosa, they suffered much loss from 
 cholera in the Pescadores. 
 
 A prominent actor in the struggle with the French 
 men-of-war who bombarded Kilung and Tamsui, was Liu- 
 Ming-Chuan, who directed the Formosan defence, and was 
 afterwards created the first Chinese governor of Formosa. 
 This man was of singular enlightenment ; and it is to be 
 regretted that, through the corrupt supineness of those in 
 authority at Pekin, he did not accomplish all that he had it 
 in him to do for the good of Formosa and for the benefit of 
 the Chinese Empire. 
 
 It is to Liu-Ming-Chuan that the island owes the 
 division of territory which is recognised there now. In 
 the year 1885 he divided the whole of Formosa and the 
 Pescadores into four prefectures, subdividing these into 
 eleven counties or districts and five sub-prefectures ; 
 two of the latter include all the eastern side of the island, 
 while one of them covers the whole of the Pescadores 
 group. 
 
 In 1895 Formosa and the Pescadores were occupied 
 and annexed by the Japanese. The Chinese Government 
 called in the help of the famous Black Flag warriors from 
 the borders of Tonkin, under their redoubtable leader Liu- 
 Yung-fu, who, on hearing that the Pekin Government had 
 relinquished Formosa to the Japanese barbarians, obtained 
 the authority of some of the officials and principal inhabi- 
 tants, and proclaimed a 'republic.' It is to be doubted 
 whether any of these patriots could imagine what form 
 of government is implied by the term ' republic.' This 
 romantic scheme, however, soon collapsed upon the 
 appearance of the Japanese army. The general, Liu-Yung- 
 fu, promptly escaped from the island in the disguise of a 
 woman, with a baby in his arms. The capital was opened 
 to the Japanese general, to the joy of the more respectable 
 inhabitants, who had more to fear from their own man- 
 darins and corrupt military protectors than from the new 
 
HISTORY OF THE ISLAND 49 
 
 government of the ' dwarf slaves/ as they contemptuously 
 chose to call the Japanese. 
 
 There is no possible doubt that, under a just and firm 
 government, Formosa will be a most valuable acquisition 
 to Japan, and in her success every civilised nation should 
 rejoice. Much firmness and great tact will be required, as 
 although the aborigines, both savage and semi-civilised, 
 will cause little or no trouble, yet the Hak-kas, who have 
 never submitted quietly even to the government of their 
 own empire, will be amenable only to the sternest 
 measures, and the large population of Fuh-kienese, whilst 
 gladly accepting the protection of their conquerors in their 
 commerce and agriculture, will in their hearts despise what 
 they deem the rule of an inferior race, and will therefore 
 be open to the influence of intrigue from the mainland. 
 
 As regards the European residents of Formosa, it is 
 only too probable that, until the Chinese portion of the 
 island is thoroughly subdued and pacified, both merchants 
 and missionaries must suffer many inconveniences ; but 
 these should be borne with patience and sympathy, in 
 view of the enormous difficulties to be overcome, and 
 considering that ultimately, under the more enlightened 
 Japanese rule, benefits must certainly be enjoyed which 
 could never have been attained under the utterly corrupt, 
 effete, and hopelessly anti-foreign regime of the Chinese. 
 
50 FORMOSA 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 RELIGIONS OF THE CHINESE INHABITANTS 
 
 THE Chinese of Formosa, like those upon the mainland of 
 China, are in religion Confucianists, Buddhists, and Taoists. 
 There can be no doubt that the China of to-day is the out- 
 come of the mind of Confucius. Confucianism, however, 
 can scarcely be termed a religion ; it is rather a system 
 of philosophical rules for the performance of social and 
 political duties, giving small encouragement to any worship 
 beyond that of ancestors. 
 
 Although both in the government and in the family 
 the Chinaman has sadly degenerated from the high standard 
 fixed by the sage, yet the superiority of the Chinese over 
 all other Oriental nations, and, indeed, the fact of their 
 very existence as an enormous united empire, composed 
 as it is of so many provinces, populated by men speaking 
 languages differing as much as French and German from 
 English and Spanish each man in favour of his own 
 province and clan, and bitterly prejudiced against the 
 others is undoubtedly due to their possession of the 
 teaching of Confucius in a written language which they 
 can all understand. Confucianism, also, is the salt which 
 has preserved the Chinese from sinking lower than they 
 have done into the degrading superstitions of practical 
 Buddhism and Taoism. 
 
 The chief end of Confucian philosophy is the inculca- 
 tion of filial obedience, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, 
 wisdom, and sincerity. 
 
 By filial piety, Confucius means not only obedience to 
 
>F CHINESE INHABITANTS 51 
 
 parents during their lifetime, but also worship of and 
 service to them after their decease. He also commands 
 obedience to the emperor as the father of the State, and 
 to the officials as delegates of the emperor. 
 
 By wisdom, Confucius understands the knowledge of 
 oneself, whilst the other virtues are of course intended to 
 represent man's duty to his fellow-men. 
 
 With all this high and pure teaching, Confucius, in some 
 instances, inculcates the most unrelenting revenge, and 
 prevarication, polytheism, and fortune-telling are also 
 countenanced by him. He does not recognise any relation 
 on our part to a living Supreme Being ; indeed he rather 
 discourages the idea of a spiritual world, excepting only 
 the spirits of parents. 
 
 Confucius says : ' Reverence the spirits, but keep them 
 at a distance.' ' We do not know about this life ; how can 
 we know about a future one ? ' 
 
 He also bases his philosophy upon the supposition 
 that man by nature is inherently good, and that by self- 
 inspection and careful obedience to his rules one may 
 attain the perfect ideal of an ancient sage. This ideal 
 was the reward which he promised to his disciples, whilst 
 the sages whom he held out as models were semi-mythical 
 monarchs and ministers of state, who had drained the 
 land of China after a great inundation, and had in- 
 structed the people in the useful arts and the rules of 
 good government. 
 
 Now if man were indeed by nature good, and if this 
 life were all, no teaching could be more suited to gain the 
 end he desired than that of Confucius. We, however, all 
 have daily experience that such is not the case ; and men, 
 either for want of comfort under misfortune and sorrow, or 
 through a curiosity which seems implanted in their nature, 
 must needs have belief in a future state, a world of spirits, 
 and either one Supreme God or a multitude of super- 
 natural deities. 
 
 E 2 
 
52 FORMOSA 
 
 Confucius, though he believed in the perfection of our 
 nature, was not so foolish as to hold that * force was no 
 remedy.' On the contrary, he was of firm opinion that, 
 while education was preferable, yet wholesome physical 
 coercion was necessary to bring out the good qualities 
 hidden beneath the evil practices. 
 
 The literati and the officials are by profession Con- 
 fucianists, as a belief in his teaching is necessary to obtain 
 office, whilst it is most useful in governing the people. 
 Moreover, a knowledge of the classics shows a nice 
 superiority over the unlettered multitude, who merely 
 know enough of Confucius to teach them obedience, and to 
 provide them also with a few good maxims to guide them 
 in social and family life. The educated classes, however, 
 in spite of their Confucian materialism, when in trouble, 
 sickness, or distress, find in it but little support, and then 
 they are glad to apply for comfort to Buddhist or Taoist 
 priests, whom in their prosperity they affected to despise. 
 
 Buddhism, the religion founded by Sakyamuni or 
 Gautama, the son of an Indian king, born B.C. 623, was 
 officially introduced into China in A.D. 65, by the Emperor 
 Ming Ti, who, hearing that, according to Confucius, 
 * sages existed in the west/ despatched ambassadors to 
 India. In accordance with his invitation, Buddhist mis- 
 sionaries came to China, and under imperial sanction 
 propagated their doctrine, which had already been surrep- 
 titiously introduced and had gained ground in the empire. 
 
 Buddhism is a system of good works and self-denial, 
 by which its votaries may purify their life and attain per- 
 fection, and what they consider the summit of happiness 
 Nirvana, annihilation, or absorption into the Buddha. 
 
 As, however, perfect purity of life is not to be attained 
 in this one existence by any human being, the theory of 
 metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls, has perforce 
 to be accepted ; men, for their virtues or faults here, 
 appear in a future life either as superior beings or inferior 
 
RELIGIONS OF CHINESE INHABITANTS 53 
 
 animals. A regular debtor and creditor account is kept of 
 good and evil deeds, and a man can atone for any sin by 
 fasting, almsgiving, building a bridge, or making a road. 
 Moreover, by such righteous deeds, he may accumulate a 
 considerable balance in his favour. He may be ' too holy 
 for this world,' and is at liberty to consider himself so. 
 
 A strict Buddhist is scrupulous not to kill animal 
 life even the vermin of his own body for fear it might 
 contain the soul of some relative ; yet, at the same time, 
 he may be utterly callous to the destruction of human 
 life, excepting perhaps that of his own family or clansmen. 
 For their death he will demand the most cruel revenge. 
 
 There is a Buddhist Heaven, and a Hell, or rather an 
 interminable Purgatory. The hopes held out regarding 
 the former, though material, are very pure and attractive, 
 whilst the tortures of the latter are such as we see depicted 
 in Continental churches. 
 
 The chief features of Buddhism in China and Formosa, 
 at the present day, consist in a Pantheon of ' Gods many 
 and Lords many ' ; a ritual in an unknown tongue ; a 
 celibate priesthood, which is slothful and often sensual ; 
 and a laity even more superstitious than the priesthood, 
 although superior to that body in morals and intelligence, 
 owing to the salutary influence of family life, and to the 
 necessity of exercising their minds and bodies in gaining 
 their daily food. 
 
 As with the Confucian system, so the doctrines of 
 Buddhism, in spite of all the purity and inculcation of 
 virtue which they contain, have proved inefficacious to 
 satisfy the Chinese heart. 
 
 I do not underrate the superiority of Confucianism 
 and Buddhism in comparison with many Oriental creeds. 
 I am aware that numerous European philosophers, satu- 
 rated with Christian ideas, and Orientals educated in our 
 government and missionary colleges, profess to have dis- 
 covered in the sacred books of their religions, principles 
 
54 FORMOSA 
 
 and ideas as transcendental and as beautiful as those con- 
 tained in our own Holy Scriptures. 
 
 Personally, after many years' acquaintance with edu- 
 cated Confucianists and Buddhists, who were thoroughly 
 well read in their own sacred classics, yet totally unac- 
 quainted with any country or literature save their own, I 
 have never found that they have been able to apprehend 
 the sublime principles and ideas supposed by European 
 philosophers (reading through Christian spectacles) to exist 
 in these ancient books. 
 
 I myself have carefully studied the works of the 
 Chinese sages, Confucius and Mencius, and I must affirm 
 that the book of Proverbs contains more wisdom, human 
 and divine, than do all their writings, or the commentaries 
 of their disciples. 
 
 Taoism was established by Laotze in the sixth century 
 before Christ. This religion is supposed to consist in the 
 worship of Pure Reason and Virtue. The teaching of 
 Laotze, as contained in the canon attributed to him, re- 
 commends retirement and contemplation as the most 
 effectual means of purifying the spiritual part of the 
 nature, annihilating the passions, and of finally returning 
 to the bosom of Tao, or Pure Reason. 
 
 Undoubtedly, Taoism in the abstract contains, in spite 
 of many absurdities, some very sublime and pure prin- 
 ciples. Indeed some European philosophers affirm that 
 1 Tao ' is the Greek ' Logos/ and it is curious to note that 
 this character ' Tao ' in Chinese expresses ' the Word/ * the 
 Way/ and ' the Right.' 
 
 I cannot of course enter into this subject compre- 
 hensively, but there is reason to believe that the Greeks 
 obtained their higher philosophy from the East, probably 
 from Indians, and these Indians, I suggest, might have 
 absorbed their enlightened ideas from the ten tribes of 
 Israel who were scattered throughout Central Asia in the 
 eighth century B.C. All the purest eastern religions 
 
RELIGIONS OF CHINESE INHABITANTS 55 
 
 sprang up after this date, and at a time when communica- 
 tion was constant between the countries in which these 
 different systems had birth, and those in which the Israelites 
 were transplanted. 
 
 Unfortunately, whatever Laotze may have intended, 
 at the present day Taoism has degenerated into the 
 grossest superstition and imposture. The priests, not 
 being celibate, are perhaps superior in morals to the 
 Buddhists ; but the practice of the religion ranges through 
 geomancy, necromancy, the planchette, and hypnotism, 
 with a larger Pantheon than that of Buddhism, and 
 includes the worship of rocks, trees, snakes, while it 
 encourages the self-inflicted tortures of * passing through 
 the fire/ and walking upon bridges of knives. 
 
 The real religion, however, of China and of the 
 Formosan Chinese is undoubtedly that of the worship of 
 ancestors. This existed long before the days of Confucius, 
 and, whilst discouraging other forms of spirit worship, he 
 encouraged this. 
 
 Moreover the government, in the * Sacred Edict,' 
 which was composed by a great emperor of the present 
 dynasty and ordered to be read by the mandarins in 
 public at each new and full moon, warns the people not to 
 waste their money upon the foolish and useless superstitions 
 of Buddhism and Taoism, but to observe the teachings of 
 the sages to worship the ' two divinities in the house,' i.e 
 the parents, dead or living. 
 
 This causes some curious results. The three hundred 
 or four hundred millions of Chinese are divided into about 
 four hundred clans or surnames, each claiming one original 
 ancestor, and a motto, generally describing the physical 
 position of the birthplace of the clan. 
 
 Although the members of the same clan have in course 
 of centuries been scattered all over the eighteen provinces 
 of China, and now speak mutually unintelligible languages, 
 yet they all are considered blood relations, and inter- 
 
56 FORMOSA 
 
 marriage with the same surname is condemned as incestuous. 
 This is something like an English ' Smith ' not being 
 allowed to marry a German ' Schmidt.' Some of these 
 clans exclusively inhabit large tracts of country, and in 
 Fuh-kien the clan Lim occupies tens of square miles, 
 wherein dwell tens of thousands of clansmen. It being, 
 therefore, impossible for them to find wives of another 
 surname, they are obliged to intermarry, and to suffer in 
 consequence the reproach of being called * the incestuous 
 Lims.' 
 
 There are often long and fierce vendettas between 
 different clans ; but so long as they do not interfere with 
 government, the mandarins wink at these, as they keep 
 the people from turning their attention to the corruption 
 and oppression of the officials, besides providing a rich 
 harvest in the shape of litigation. 
 
 Now the Chinese believe that their ancestors are in 
 Hades, and that they possess influence either for the pro- 
 tection or the injury of their descendants. They also 
 believe that these ancestors, or their spirits, require food, 
 clothing, money, etc., in their disembodied state. These 
 needs are supplied by offerings of animals, rice, spirits, 
 tobacco, etc., and of furniture, clothing, money, etc., made of 
 paper. The eatables are presented before the shrine con- 
 taining the spirit of the ancestor, and there eaten by the 
 offerer, who is considered only to partake of the material 
 substance, while the ethereal essence of the sacrifice has 
 been consumed by the spirit. The paper articles are 
 burned, and so are supposed to pass into the spirit world. 
 
 In all districts there is an ancestral temple for each 
 branch of a clan, and in this the tablets of all ancestors of 
 that branch are kept. The elders appoint a committee 
 yearly to collect subscriptions for the expenses of a daily 
 offering to the spirits ; and in each house tablets to the 
 memory of the deceased parents are kept, and daily 
 worshipped by the male members of the household. 
 
RELIGIONS OF CHINESE INHABITANTS 57 
 
 Unless the deceased are well cared for, misfortune is sure 
 to overtake the family, and, as only males are worthy to 
 keep up the worship and service, the most fervent prayers 
 of a Chinaman are for sons in abundance. With this I have 
 not been able to understand how, even though he may be 
 a bad man in this life, he need fear destitution in the 
 spirit world. 
 
 In the seventh moon, or autumn time, a feast of ' All 
 Souls' is held throughout the Chinese Empire. Grand 
 sacrifices of eatables are offered to deceased ancestors. 
 Enormous sums of money are spent upon this, and Buddhist 
 priests realise a fine profit by the sale of paper articles, 
 recitations of prayers for the dead, etc. 
 
 Devout Buddhists, also, atone for many sins and accu- 
 mulate merit by liberal gifts for the benefit of unfortunate 
 souls who have died without male posterity, and who are 
 therefore supposed to be starving and cold in Hades. 
 
 At this time, in order to stimulate the liberality of the 
 people, grand theatricals are held, representing the descent 
 of some ancient personage into Hell for the redemption 
 of his relative, and portraying with dreadful realism the 
 torments of the lost ; men are seen changed into dogs, 
 pigs, etc., boiling in molten metal, sawn asunder, or brayed 
 in a mortar. 
 
 These scenes have but little effect on the fears of the 
 people ; the eatables are all consumed by the sacrificers or 
 distributed to the poor, and it is therefore a season of 
 general mirth and jollity. 
 
 Undoubtedly the maxims of filial piety given by Con- 
 fucius have had a good effect upon the Chinese character, 
 and I sincerely believe that the mere outward compliance 
 with the divine command has preserved the Chinese in 
 their own country as a great nation for so many thousands 
 of years. 
 
 I must own, however, that this virtue is largely practised 
 because the government enforce the patria potestas as a 
 
58 FORMOSA 
 
 means of ensuring obedience. Parricide and rebellion 
 against the emperor are equally punishable with the 
 cruellest death. Every father has power of life and death 
 over his children ; and filial disobedience is punished in the 
 courts of justice by severe flogging. 
 
 While the status of the parent is so well secured, the 
 position of the female children is deplorable, and infanticide 
 is common throughout the empire, in spite of Buddhistic 
 humanity. 
 
 All classes of Chinese, upon certain occasions, patronise 
 Buddhism and Taoism, whilst they are proud of Confu- 
 cianism. 
 
 Now I maintain that, although Confucius, Sakyamuni, 
 and Laotze were wonderful men, sages possessing a great 
 superiority over their fellow-countrymen, and actuated with 
 a sincere desire to do them good ; yea, though I hope they 
 may be counted amongst those ' prophets and kings who 
 desired to see and hear the things which we see and hear, 
 and could not '; yet I fear that they were all guilty of 
 worshipping the creature more than the Creator, and that 
 they confined their teaching to their own select disciples, 
 rather encouraging the common people to continue in 
 their ignorant superstitions. I do not hesitate to say that 
 in China and in Formosa most certainly the result has 
 been a state of things to a certain extent analogous to that 
 described by St. Paul in the letter to the Romans. 
 
 Doubtless I lay myself open to be fiercely assailed 
 by many learned men for venturing such a statement. 
 Should they contradict me, I would reply that they must 
 be unacquainted with the social and official life of the 
 Chinese. 
 
 With reference to the practice of infanticide, the follow- 
 ing anecdote may interest my readers. 
 
 When a small boy, I had, of course, read accounts of 
 how the Chinese drowned their girl babies, of the towers in 
 Pekin, and of the carts which went round every morning 
 
RELIGIONS OF CHINESE INHABITANTS 59 
 
 to collect the dead bodies ; but again I had read that this 
 was a gross exaggeration that the Chinese loved their 
 children, and that only in extreme cases did they drown 
 them to save them from a life of shame. 
 
 During my residence at Foochow, although I mixed as 
 much as possible with the Chinese in order to learn their 
 dialect ; yet, as the Customs officials lived in a hulk on the 
 river, I had not the best opportunities of becoming ac- 
 quainted with the true inwardness of their social habits and 
 customs. When I was appointed to take charge of the Cus- 
 toms House at Taiwanfoo, however, I had a house on shore 
 at Anping, the seaport of the capital. Around me here there 
 dwelt a community of respectable, well-to-do fishermen, 
 with whom, as with most people in the town, I became in- 
 timately acquainted. Just opposite to the Custom House, 
 over the way, lived one of these fishermen. His family 
 consisted of himself, his wife, and two infant sons ; his 
 widowed sister-in-law with her two daughters and a son ; 
 and most important member of all his mother, who 
 was between seventy and eighty years of age, nearly blind, 
 and a perfect virago, as are most Chinese old women. 
 
 Now many friends had asked me if I could get any one 
 to make a model of the Chinese fishing boat or catamaran, 
 which I have described in a previous chapter. I therefore 
 proposed to my acquaintance the fisherman that he and I 
 should try to make one, so that if we succeeded he would 
 be enabled, when he could not get to sea, to make these 
 models, and realise a profit by selling them to the European 
 captains who frequented the port. The man assented to 
 my plan, and accordingly, in my leisure hours, I used to go 
 to his house and work at the catamaran. 
 
 I was there as usual one afternoon, and he was showing 
 me how to bend the bamboos and to fasten them with 
 rattan canes. His womenkind were seated around us, 
 making nets, clothes, or embroidering shoes for their own 
 small feet, whilst the children played without in the sun- 
 
60 FORMOSA 
 
 shine, and the old grandmother squatted upon the bed, 
 smoking a long bamboo pipe, and at intervals scolding 
 and abusing every one of the family. 
 
 During a lull in the venerable lady's tirade, there came 
 suddenly from a house near to us a shrill cry of ' Ma-beh ! 
 Ma-beh ! ' 
 
 Now in English * Ma-beh ' would mean ' Grandmother 
 desires me.' I wondered idly, but held my peace. Mean- 
 while the cries went on, and the wife lifted her head from 
 her task, and said, amused : 
 
 ' What is the matter with Ma-beh now ? ' 
 
 ' What is Ma-beh ? ' I then inquired. 
 
 ' Oh, don't you know Ma-beh ? ' the woman replied. 
 ' She is Pok-a's big daughter over the way there.' 
 
 1 But why do they call her Ma-beh ? ' I persisted. 
 
 The women exchanged glances, and began to giggle. 
 At last the widow answered me. 
 
 1 Well, you know, just after Ma-beh was born, the mid- 
 wife was going to nip her neck, but the grandmother cried 
 out that she desired the baby, so they spared her life, and 
 that is why she is called Ma-beh.' 
 
 ' Why, you surely do not kill your children here ? ' 
 was my shocked query. * I thought it was only the 
 very poorest who ever killed a child. Ma-beh's father is 
 a thriving man ; he neither smokes opium, gambles, nor 
 drinks.' 
 
 The widow sobered down. Her smile died away. 
 
 ' Oh, we all do it about here,' she replied. ' We don't 
 kill the boys, of course ; but girls are a lot of trouble, and 
 very little good. I nipped two, and only saved these two 
 here. You see, if we have one girl after another, and they 
 are not very pretty, we can't get husbands for them, so they 
 are left on our hands. We don't like to sell them for 
 slaves, or to lead a bad life, and so ' she sighed ' we 
 choke them before they know where they are, and they 
 don't feel anything.' 
 
RELIGIONS OF CHINESE INHABITANTS 61 
 
 ' Then you people are worse than cats ! ' I answered 
 wrathfully. ' In our country they seem to think more 
 lovingly of girls than of boys. I was the only boy of a 
 family of eight, yet I think my father petted my little 
 sister more than he did me.' 
 
 The old woman grunted from her point of vantage 
 upon the bed. She laid down her pipe, and replied con- 
 temptuously : 
 
 'You red-haired barbarians don't know what's right. 
 Girls are no use anyway ! Look ! ' and she pointed .a 
 trembling ringer at the widow, ' there's my son, the best 
 fisherman in Anping. He has been taken away from me : 
 he used to earn money and bring me anything I wanted. 
 He has left behind him his useless widow and those two 
 girls there ; what can they do but eat rice ? ' 
 
 As time went on, I became acquainted with all sorts 
 and conditions of Chinese in Formosa ; and, after making 
 searching inquiry, I found that female infanticide was 
 universally practised in cases of a succession of girls in a 
 family and this not only among the poorer but also 
 among the well-to-do classes. The people informed me 
 that they had brought the practice over from the mainland ; 
 and I discovered that the aborigines, both civilised and 
 savage, look with horror upon the Chinese for their in- 
 humanity in this respect. 
 
 It was in my friend the fisherman's family also that, a 
 short time afterwards, whilst still engaged upon the cata- 
 maran model, I had an opportunity of observing what 
 filial obedience, according to the rules of Confucius, means 
 amongst the Chinese. 
 
 The old grandmother was sitting as usual, smoking her 
 pipe, which was long and thick as a walking-stick, formed 
 of bamboo, with a brass-bound bowl. The fisherman's 
 son, a fine boy of about five years old, was playing naked 
 on the floor. His mother brought him a pair of trousers, 
 and told him to put them on, asking him whether ' he was 
 
62 FORMOSA 
 
 not ashamed to appear like a beast before the foreigner ? ' 
 But the boy threw the garment away from him in a pet, 
 and called his mother (as is too usual with Chinese male 
 children) an opprobrious name. She, being in a bit of a 
 temper, slapped him on the head, whereat he roared lustily. 
 The grandmother, roused by the boy's cry, took her pipe, 
 and beat her daughter-in-law about the head until the 
 blood streamed down her face, accompanying the blows 
 with the filthiest language. 
 
 I called on the man to interfere, which he at last reluc- 
 tantly did, merely stepping between his wife and mother ; 
 but the old woman, being, as I have said, nearly blind, and 
 having very small feet, tripped over a stool, and fell to the 
 ground. She immediately set up the most awful howl, 
 which could be heard all over the neighbourhood, calling 
 out that her son was unfilial and had beaten her, so must 
 be taken to the mandarin for punishment. The neigh- 
 bours crowded in, and when the old woman had got on 
 her feet, after bestowing a few blows upon her son, she 
 accused him of having assaulted her, knocked her down, 
 and of taking the part of his hussy of a wife against his 
 own mother. She vowed that she would have justice, and 
 she called upon the people to take her son to the mandarin 
 that he might be punished according to law. 
 
 The neighbours were very excited and indignant, and 
 several men proceeded to lay hold of my friend. The 
 situation was now getting serious, and the noise had 
 attracted the two European subordinates of the Custom 
 House over the way. I requested them to fetch their 
 revolvers, and, when they returned with the arms, I 
 addressed the crowd, and told them the facts of the case, 
 saying that I would take the man to the military com- 
 mander of the town, and would dispense with their 
 services. 
 
 This did not seem to please the Chinese, but I and my 
 companions got the son away in spite of them, and con- 
 
RELIGIONS OF CHINESE INHABITANTS 63 
 
 veyed him to the yamen, or court of justice, a great mob 
 following us, and condemning in very strong terms the 
 wicked conduct of my friend. 
 
 In the meantime the old woman, accompanied by a 
 number of sympathising old hags, had gone ahead to the 
 court, and when we arrived there, we found her upon her 
 knees, knocking her head on the ground before the man- 
 darin, crying loudly for justice, while her friends echoed 
 her demands. Fortunately, however, I was on friendly 
 terms with the commandant ; I therefore explained the 
 whole circumstances of the case, and the official contented 
 himself with giving, through the interpreter, a long oration 
 upon the necessity of obeying one's parents, whether of 
 the family or of the State. 
 
 This seemed to satisfy the crowd, and my friend was 
 let off with the slight penalty of presenting a pair of 
 candles, with an apology to his mother. 
 
 By this time the walk to the yamen and the exertion 
 of knocking her head upon the ground had exhausted the 
 old lady, and her temper had somewhat cooled. She also 
 doubtless recollected that her son was her only support, 
 and that had he, according to law, received one or two 
 hundred blows with the bamboo, it would probably have 
 laid him up for a week or two, thus rendering him unable 
 to earn money. Moreover, he certainly had no money 
 wherewith to bribe the executioner to use his knack to lay 
 on the blows with great sound and scarcely any ill effect, 
 as is frequently contrived. 
 
64 FORMOSA 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE ABORIGINES AND THEIR RELIGIONS 
 
 WHEN, in the year 1624, the Dutch arrived at what is now 
 called Taiwanfoo, they found the whole of the western 
 coast and the plains inhabited by numerous tribes of 
 savages, whose manners and customs seem to have been 
 identical with those. of the aborigines who inhabit the 
 mountains at the present day. 
 
 These tribes spoke many different dialects, but all seem 
 to have had an affinity with that Malay-Polynesian form of 
 speech which, in its multitudinous varieties, is spoken in 
 Luzon, Celebes, Borneo, Java, and indeed everywhere from 
 Madagascar to New Zealand. 
 
 During the early years of the Dutch occupation, their 
 missionaries seem to have been indefatigable in their work 
 amongst the natives. They laboured unselfishly to improve 
 both the mental and spiritual condition of the natives, and, 
 as I have mentioned in a previous chapter, their memory is 
 still revered amongst the aborigines. 
 
 When, after thirty-seven years' occupation of the island, 
 the Dutch were driven out by the Chinese, the tribes who 
 refused to renounce Christianity were slaughtered. The 
 remainder either submitted (and now shave their heads) or 
 returned to the hills, and some even crossed over to the 
 east coast. 
 
 Those who submitted to the Chinese rule adopted the 
 language, dress, and religious customs of their conquerors, 
 with the exception of the women, who still retain their 
 ancient coiffure. 
 
PEPO-HOAN CIVILISED ABORIGINES 
 
 p. 64 
 
THE ABORIGINES AND THEIR RELIGIONS 65 
 
 These submissive tribes are called by the Chinese 
 Pepo-hoans, i.e. ' barbarians of the plain,' or * Sek-hoan/ 
 'cooked barbarians,' in contradistinction to the savage 
 aborigines of the mountains, who are termed ' Ch'i-hoans,' 
 or ' raw barbarians.' It is instructive to notice, in paren- 
 thesis, that in the Chinese estimation this world contains 
 only one race of ' men,' one empire, one human language,, 
 and one true civilisation. 
 
 The * men ' are of course the Chinese, ' the black-haired 
 race ' ; their empire is * all under Heaven,' whilst the 
 emperor is the c Son of Heaven.' 
 
 China is the * middle kingdom ' ; indeed, they honestly 
 believe it to be the hub of the universe. 
 
 Chinese is the sole language worthy of a man, and 
 there is no true system of civilisation outside Confucianism. 
 
 All other nations are but inferior developments of the 
 human species ; their languages are but jargons, and their 
 civilisation is of little account. 
 
 At any rate, we are all Hoans, or 'barbarians.' 
 English have the peculiar honour of being called ' Ang-mo- 
 hoan,' or ' red-haired barbarians/ and I am happy to say 
 that we are the most respected and the least disliked of all 
 European nations. 
 
 But to return to the semi-civilised tribes of the plains 
 of Formosa : 
 
 The Pepo-hoans for the most part speak Chinese, and 
 those dwelling on the borders of the savage territory act as 
 interpreters and middlemen in times of peace between 
 these old-time foes. 
 
 They practically adopt the Chinese dress and tonsure,, 
 but their features distinctly show that they were originally 
 of the Malayo- Polynesian stock. 
 
 They seldom make an unprovoked attack, being a 
 simple-minded and quiet people, and the Chinese do not 
 scruple to possess themselves of their lands, under pretence 
 of renting them ; the complaints for redress to the officials 
 
 F 
 
66 FORMOSA 
 
 being too often unattended to, it being utterly incomprehen- 
 sible to a Chinese that ' barbarians ' have any rights at all. 
 
 They are frequently molested also by the wild savages, 
 who look upon the acquisition of human heads with pig- 
 tails as a proof of valour. At present, therefore, these 
 borderers pass a somewhat uneasy life. 
 
 They are distinctly superior to the Chinese in morals, 
 although perhaps their views upon the obligations of the 
 marriage state may be somewhat lax. In religion they 
 usually adopt the Chinese observances, retaining, however, 
 various customs of their own. 
 
 The Sek-hoan, in point of civilisation, are equal to the 
 lower orders of Chinese, but are simpler and less cunning. 
 
 They subsist chiefly by agriculture, but, though tolerably 
 good farmers, they are not equal in this respect to the 
 Chinese. They are very fond of hunting. Fortunately they 
 are not much addicted to opium, although they are fond of 
 wine and spirits ; in both these points they resemble the 
 rest of the aborigines of the island. They distil a sort of 
 whisky from rice or sweet potatoes, but this is so weak 
 that they are seldom intoxicated. 
 
 In appearance they are of a somewhat distinctive type, 
 being taller, slighter, and fairer than their brethren of other 
 tribes. They have large dark eyes, wide mouths, and long, 
 projecting upper teeth. 
 
 The west coast and all the alluvial plain from north to 
 south is inhabited by immigrants from the Chinese province 
 of Fuh-kien, and these speak variations of the language 
 called by Europeans the Amoy dialect of the Chinese. 
 This language is totally unintelligible to the natives of 
 any other province in the empire, except to those in the 
 prefecture of Chao-chiu in the north of Canton, or Kwang 
 Tung. These emigrants are called Hok-los, The Hok-lo 
 women, excepting slaves, all have those small or compressed 
 feet which the Chinese euphoniously term c golden lilies.' 
 
 In the villages between the lower ranges of the moun- 
 
FORMOSAN CHINESE ('MAN'), HOK-LO p. 66 
 
THE ABORIGINES AND THEIR RELIGIONS 6; 
 
 tains and at the South Cape, indeed everywhere on the 
 borders of the savage territory, we find another and totally 
 distinct race, called the Hak-kas, or * strangers/ in their 
 own language, and termed by the Hok-los, ' Kheh-lang.' 
 These people are a peculiar race, speaking a dialect of the 
 mandarin or court Chinese. 
 
 Some hundreds of years ago, their ancestors left their 
 original home in the north of China, and spread themselves 
 south until they occupied a considerable portion of the 
 Canton province, to the disgust of the native Puntis. 
 Nearly seventy years ago the west coast of China was in a 
 state of anarchy through the feuds between the Hak-kas 
 and the Puntis, or native Cantonese. Ultimately the 
 government came to the aid of the natives, and the help of 
 European adventurers was enlisted. Tens of thousands of 
 Hak-kas were slaughtered ; numbers emigrated to the 
 Malay Archipelago, and hundreds of families crossed over 
 to Formosa. These passed through the country of the 
 Hok-los, penetrated into the lower ranges of hills, and either 
 squatted in the unoccupied valleys or drove the savages 
 further into the mountains. 
 
 The people are most enterprising agriculturists and 
 good artisans, but they are also exceedingly turbulent and 
 quarrelsome. The mandarins had little control over them, 
 and, when not occupied in their legitimate pursuits of 
 agriculture, or the manufacture of farming implements and 
 arms, they are continually fighting, both with the Pepo-hoan 
 and Hok-los (the Amoy Chinese), and occasionally, by way 
 of a change, they get up a clan feud amongst themselves. 
 
 They are also gradually encroaching upon the savages. 
 In times of peace, they take women from the savage tribes 
 as wives, and these, becoming semi-civilised, introduce 
 many luxuries and wants amongst the tribes, which in- 
 evitably have an enervating effect on their simple and 
 hardy habits. 
 
 The Hak-ka women preserve their feet in a natural 
 
 F 2 
 
68 FORMOSA 
 
 state, and altogether enjoy much more freedom than usually 
 falls to the lot of Chinese females. As a consequence 
 they almost rival the men in energy and enterprise. 
 
 We now come to the Ch'i-hoan, or c raw savages ' of the 
 high mountains. These people remained untouched by 
 the semi-civilisation of the Chinese occupiers, and they 
 had never been visited in their haunts until 1865, when I 
 succeeded in gaining access to those near Mount Morrison, 
 whilst Mr. Dodd, a merchant of Tamsui, visited the tribes 
 in the north of the island. Of my excursions into their 
 territories, and of what befell me there, I will tell later. 
 
 The Chinese of the west coast seriously believed that 
 these men had tails, that they were little better than 
 monkeys, and that they were cannibals. I need scarcely 
 say that the belief as to their dorsal appendages is in- 
 correct ; as to their cannibalism, it is a fact that they are 
 enthusiastic head-hunters, esteeming it a praiseworthy feat 
 for a warrior to bring home the head of his enemy. Upon 
 such occasions his family and tribesmen feast and rejoice 
 with him on his success. They mix the brains of the 
 dead man with some spirits, and drink the concoction to 
 increase their strength, and to make them brave in the 
 future. 
 
 ^ With this exception I must deny that the savages of 
 
 Formosa are cannibals ; and even for the above gruesome 
 practice the Chinese are not in a position to despise them, 
 as amongst that highly civilised race it is a common custom, 
 upon the execution of a notorious rebel or hardened male- 
 factor, for the executioner to abstract the liver of his 
 victim, fry it, cut it up into small pieces, eat a portion 
 himself, and sell the rest to the bystanders who desire to 
 be imbued with the hardiness and courage of the man who 
 has been beheaded. During the persecution of 1868, an 
 unfortunate Christian convert was torn to pieces by a 
 Chinese mob near Taiwanfoo, and his liver was treated in 
 the manner I have described. 
 
THE ABORIGINES AND THEIR RELIGIONS 69 
 
 These aborigines of the hills live in villages. Their 
 houses are built of stone, roofed with slate, and have a 
 remarkably clean, home-like appearance. Those living 
 in some districts contrive their houses of bamboo, grass, 
 and mud. 
 
 They are, with a few exceptions, friendly to foreigners, 
 particularly appreciating a discreet present of soap, beads, 
 red cloth, steel implements, and small mirrors. They have 
 the greatest antipathy to the Chinese, but the exceptional 
 occasions when they have been hostile to Europeans have 
 generally been due to some indiscretion upon the part of 
 their visitors. 
 
 They have to a high degree that extra sense which 
 enables them to track a foe by signs which would be totally 
 invisible to the ordinary civilised eye. They have been 
 known to ' shadow ' for many miles parties of strangers of 
 whom they were suspicious, surrounding them very effec- 
 tively when the most favourable opportunity occurred. 
 
 All the mountain aborigines are bold and skilful hunters 
 and fishermen ; the young men can run down a deer, and 
 they have a special breed of dogs for this purpose. 
 
 In all the tribes that I have visited, the men never seem 
 to think of doing anything but hunting, fishing, fighting, 
 and constructing and ornamenting their arms. 
 
 The woman carry all the burdens, cook, labour in the 
 fields, and weave cloth, this same cloth being formed of 
 fine hemp, with which are interwoven threads of various 
 coloured European cloth, forming very pretty patterns. 
 
 Upon all hunting expeditions, women accompany the 
 men, for the purpose of carrying back the heavy loads of 
 meat, which are usually dried over fires of green wood at 
 the hunting ground. 
 
 The costume of the men consists usually of a short 
 sleeved jacket and a very short kilt. When dressed in all 
 their finery for a head-hunting expedition or for a drinking 
 party, they are gorgeous. 
 
70 FORMOSA 
 
 The jacket often consists of a leopard's skin or of the 
 variegated native cloth. Many bead necklaces are hung 
 round the neck, whilst the arms and ankles are adorned 
 with numerous bangles, or the arms are circled with large 
 wild-boar tusks, hung either with tassels of red cloth or 
 human hair. 
 
 As weapons, they carry a long knife, with a case for 
 a short stabbing knife and tobacco pipe, a long matchlock, 
 and a spear, whilst the bow and arrows are used for some 
 kinds of game ; but this primitive weapon is going out ot 
 fashion amongst the savages in all parts of the island, 
 although I have seen the Chinese of Lung-kiau, in the south 
 of Formosa, carry a bow and a quiver of arrows on setting 
 forth upon a journey. 
 
 Whilst visiting the Banga tribe, I viewed a party 
 of savages who had come to see their neighbours, and 
 their heads were adorned with wreaths of flowers, inter- 
 spersed with small oranges, which formed a very striking 
 coronet. 
 
 Some of the Bangas, again, wear a small flag fastened 
 behind the head and shoulders. 
 
 In all the tribes, north and south Formosan, that I have 
 visited, the lobes of the ears of both men and women are 
 perforated, and extended for some length, with a round, 
 ornamental stud of shell or metal inserted. 
 
 The food of the savage tribes usually consists of millet, 
 mountain and glutinous rice, sweet potatoes, and taro ; 
 with dried venison, wild boar, and bear's flesh. 
 
 They are all good fishermen ; and, besides using the 
 rod, they poison the water with the root of the lo-tin, a 
 poisonous creeper. 
 
 They drink, besides Chinese spirits, a kind of wine 
 made from millet, the grain of which is formed into a sort 
 of curd, and when required it is mixed with water. At 
 their meals they imbibe cold water, also a little warm 
 water mixed with chili pepper. 
 
THE ABORIGINES AND THEIR RELIGIONS 71 
 
 As a matter of course, they all smoke, and chew betel 
 nut. The teeth are blackened with a plant, and a custom 
 exists, in some parts, of knocking out a tooth when 
 arriving at the age of puberty. 
 
 The hands of the women are generally tattooed, whilst 
 some tribes have also peculiar marks upon different parts 
 of their body. 
 
 Great fasts are held after a sickness or when any of the 
 tribe have been killed. At such times they will be silent, 
 and will only eat sufficient food to maintain life. 
 
 They have an intense dread of smallpox, keeping 
 a strict blockade when the disease is known to exist 
 amongst the Pepo-hoans or Chinese of their neighbour- 
 hood. Should a savage have the misfortune to be 
 attacked by this fell disease, he rushes away into the 
 jungle, and either recovers or dies there. 
 
 The Chinese, who are exceedingly careless about 
 contagion, think this dread a sign of barbarism. * 
 
 These savages are capable of enduring much fatigue, ^ 
 and of great spasmodic exertion, but they are averse to 
 any steady labour. 
 
 When on a head-hunting expedition, they will go away 
 for days together, travelling long distances, subsisting 
 only upon a few balls of glutinous rice and the grubs 
 which they obtain from certain trees, and drinking only 
 the water which they find in the streams. 
 
 Upon these occasions they draw their belts so tightly 
 as to appear nearly to cut themselves in two ; this they say 
 prevents them from feeling the pangs of hunger. 
 
 When, however, they return from a successful bear^/ 
 deer, or wild pig hunt, they gorge themselves with flesh, 
 and with an intoxicating liquor which they produce by 
 fermenting millet. They then stay idly at home until an 
 empty larder and hunger force them abroad again. 
 
 They spend their leisure time in making and deco- 
 rating their weapons, their tobacco pipes, and personal 
 
72 FORMOSA 
 
 ornaments. Their gun-barrels, knives, indeed all their 
 metallic articles, are procured from the Chinese, with whom 
 they barter deer horns, skins of various kinds, venison and 
 bear's flesh, tobacco, hemp, native cloth, and charcoal. 
 The Chinese in return supply them with gunpowder, salt, 
 sugar, European cloth of bright colours, beads, and a fiery 
 spirit made from rice or sweet potatoes, which is called 
 by Europeans ' samshoo.' 
 
 The women do all the cultivation of their fields of 
 millet, mountain rice, hemp, and tobacco. They are also 
 very skilful in making fine net bags, and in weaving 
 cloth from a fine kind of hemp, interwoven with differ- 
 ent coloured threads which they draw from European 
 woollens. 
 
 But although they are kept in such a subordinate 
 position, I have always found that they contrive to have 
 their full share of control and management of the house 
 and family. 
 
 If the lady agitators will permit me to whisper so 
 great a heresy, I have invariably found that, in every 
 eastern country I have visited, though the fair sex is 
 apparently kept in more subjection than in Europe, yet 
 they manage to get their own way, and contrive to keep 
 their men in a proper state of terror. I will go further 
 than this statement ; I will dare to affirm that the less fuss 
 they make about their rights in public, the more certain 
 they are to receive their full share of them in their 
 legitimate sphere, the home and the family. 
 
 These Formosan savage women have a peculiar honour. 
 ^ They are the priestesses of their tribes. The religion of 
 the aborigines consists in the ecstasies of these priestesses, 
 and in the offering of a little of the food and spirituous 
 liquors to the spirits before meals, sprinkling a pinch to 
 the four points of the compass. They also observe the 
 flight of birds, and a kind of totemism, each tribe being 
 supposed to be under the tutelage of some bird, beast, or 
 
THE ABORIGINES AND THEIR RELIGIONS 73 
 
 reptile. The Ban-tau-lang keep a large snake which they 
 believe ensures prosperity to the tribe. All the savages 
 are much hampered by superstitions about good and bad 
 l uc k thus it is unlucky to step on a gun or to carry a 
 spear a certain way, to encounter birds, etc. 
 
 Upon public occasions, the priestesses execute certain 
 mysterious ceremonies of adoration to tfye one Supreme 
 Deity, in whom they believe ; and having excited them- 
 selves until they fall exhausted in a trance, these women, 
 upon waking, foretell the success or failure of the projected 
 hunting and fighting expeditions. 
 
 In their groping after truth these savages seem to have 
 a glimmer of light, which is probably the faint tradition of / 
 the Dutch missionaries' teaching. For example, they have ^ 
 an idea of the first man and woman. They believe in one 
 Supreme Deity, and in an after-state of retribution for 
 evil, and reward for good. They attribute sickness and 
 misfortune to the ill offices of certain maleficent demons, 
 whom the priestesses are employed to exorcise. 
 
 They are fond of music, listening with evident pleasure 
 to the efforts of the foreigners, either instrumental or vocal, 
 and they will return the compliment by executing one 
 of their pathetic chants, in a minor key, accompanying 
 their efforts with a weird war dance, making music upon 
 a bamboo Jew's harp, or a flageolet breathed into from one 
 nostril. 
 
 Divorce is allowed for incompatibility of temper ; and 
 in devotion to parents these people rival their Chinese 
 neighbours. 
 
 With regard to their language : the aborigines are 
 divided into many tribes, speaking different languages, and 
 although their origin is unknown, it seems conclusive that 
 they must in the beginning have arrived in the island from 
 widely different countries. 
 
 My experience of them extended chiefly to the tribes of 
 the centre and the south of the island, and these resemble 
 
74 FORMOSA 
 
 in features, habits, and languages, the Tagalas of the 
 Philippines. 
 
 Some tribes, on the other hand, have a language which 
 reminds one of the Mexican or Aztec ; the majority of 
 their words ending in ' tl/ thus 
 Lukutl a deer. 
 Kwangoritl the neck. 
 Hutl-hutl beads, etc. 
 
 Tradition describes the Ami-a (Ami or Amigo ?) tribe, 
 scattered along the east coast of Formosa, as descended 
 from a shipwrecked crew of white men, whose lives were 
 spared, and who were allowed to settle and to intermarry 
 with the tribe, on condition that their descendants should 
 be in subjection for ever. 
 
 This theory, too, is probable, from an examination of 
 their build and physique, which still retain European 
 characteristics. 
 
 The tribes of the north, again, are said to be of 
 Japanese or Loochooan origin. 
 
 All these speculations are highly probable, as, within 
 the last thirty years, Loochooan junks have been wrecked 
 on the east coast, and their crews murdered by the 
 savages, whilst in 1867 I was able to rescue twenty or 
 thirty men, women, and children, natives of the Philippines, 
 who had been blown off the land, and had drifted help- 
 lessly in their canoes until they arrived at the southern- 
 most point of Formosa. 
 
 The population of the plain is estimated to be about 
 three million Chinese, with perhaps half a million Sek- 
 hoans. There is absolutely no method of ascertaining the 
 numbers of the savages. These all reckon by the number 
 of fighting men, of which the smaller tribes possess from 
 thirty to one hundred, and the large tribes one or two 
 thousand. 
 
 Altogether, excepting for their periodical drinking 
 bouts, I have always found the Formosan savages modest 
 
THE ABORIGINES AND THEIR RELIGIONS 75 
 
 and kind. Having visited and held communication with 
 some twenty tribes of aborigines dwelling in the mountains 
 between Chang-hwa and the South Cape, I have had 
 every opportunity to form an opinion ; and I believe that, 
 had the Dutch held Formosa till the present day, the whole 
 island would have been civilised and Christianised. 
 
 The Chinese, with their inordinate ideas of superiority, 
 treat both the Pepos (civilised aborigines) and the Ch'i- 
 hoans (the savages) as children or wild beasts ; conse- 
 quently they are hated in return. 
 
 With the exception of the Koa-luts, who inhabit the . 
 extreme point of the South Cape, the savage tribes seem 
 to be prepossessed in favour of Europeans, whilst all the 
 Pepo-hoans welcome them as friends. 
 
 Before leaving Formosa, I made acquaintance with the 
 Sek-hoans of the more northern districts, Chang-hoa and 
 Ka-gi, and I also visited the whole of the Chinese portion 
 of the island, from Kilung to the South Cape. I am 
 happy to say that my relations with both the Chinese and 
 the aborigines were always most friendly, except when the 
 mandarins interfered, and that in all the villages of the 
 Pepo-hoans where I visited, the Presbyterian missionaries 
 were welcomed, with the result that these people have been 
 to a great extent evangelised. 
 
76 FORMOSA 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY IN FORMOSA. THE 
 GREAT STORM 
 
 CHRISTIANITY, when I arrived in Formosa, had been 
 represented for some years by the Spanish Dominicans 
 from Manila, wh^Tm 1859 established a mission amongst 
 the Chinese near Takao, and also carried on successful 
 work amongst the Pepo-hoans at a village some twenty 
 miles inland, at the foot of the high mountain range, on 
 the borders of savage territory ,j 
 
 Well do I remember the genial and liberal-minded 
 Father who was head of their mission. When I was 
 appointed to the Customs service at Takao, and had settled 
 down to my new duties, I felt somewhat aimless and 
 dreary in my leisure hours. I viewed the long expanse 
 of the shallow lagoon with the reviving instinct of the 
 fisherman, and I thought lovingly of a certain Esquimaux 
 kajak, or sealskin canoe, which I had parted with to a 
 comrade before leaving Foochow. I broached the sub- 
 ject to that comrade in a letter, and he responded by for- 
 warding the wished-for boat. From that time my chief en- 
 joyment was in paddling about upon the placid blue waters, 
 sometimes fishing, sometimes merely luxuriating dreamily ; 
 and again, seized with an exploring freak, I would paddle 
 up some side stream, between narrow banks where the bam- 
 boo and banyan waved their green foliage, penetrating 
 into the interior as far as time permitted. 
 
 It was upon one of these explorations that I came 
 upon a village of Chinese, amongst whom the Dominicans 
 
THE PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY 77 
 
 had established their head-quarters, and were pursuing 
 their half-paternal proselytising efforts, having beside an 
 outpost among the Pepo-hoans, as I have before stated, at 
 the foot of the mountains, some twenty miles further in 
 the interior. I had some knowledge of Spanish, and when 
 a benign-faced man in priest's attire greeted me as I moored 
 my boat, I responded joyfully, and our acquaintance pro- 
 gressed as rapidly as was natural in a land where one's 
 life is of light value, and where, in a sense, every European 
 is as a brother to be cherished, since to-morrow his place 
 may know him no more. 
 
 That conversation was the first of many. The Padres 
 were very kind to me, and my sealskin canoe often lay at 
 rest by the bank where the substantial mission-house stood^ 
 and many a long, earnest discussion we had, which would 
 have been impossible had not my friend been a broad- 
 minded man, a Christian even more than a Dominican, 
 a greater lover of truth than of creed. I recollect one 
 instance of this. We had been speaking of the grand self- 
 denial of those who leave their native country, their dear 
 ones, and all the comforts of civilisation to become the 
 pioneers of the Gospel in savage lands like Formosa. 
 The Padre was silent for a moment, then he said : 
 
 ' Bueno y hombre ! That for your English missionaries 
 may be a fact. They indeed renounce much. They have 
 many tender bonds binding them to earthly love and to 
 their native land. But for us Catholics in holy orders this 
 does not exist to such a great degree. Take us as we are 
 Spaniards, Portuguese, Frenchmen, Italians to what do 
 we bid farewell ? Some squalid provincial village, where 
 every one is poor, poor, poor, as you English cannot compre- 
 hend poverty ; we exchange our thin sour wine and dry black 
 bread for at any rate no worse diet ; the climate here is 
 not much hotter than in some parts of Spain and Italy. 
 And loved ones a wife ? children ? we have renounced 
 all such earthly ties by the vows of our order, whether we 
 
78 FORMOSA 
 
 go or stay. Wherefore, my friend, we must not whine, nor 
 ddfre to claim compassion for imaginary renunciations.' 
 
 Thus would this good man argue against himself, in 
 order to do justice to men with whose teaching he could 
 not on many points agree. 
 
 It was by the Padre's assistance that I was first enabled 
 to get into communication with the savages, although the 
 Fathers themselves had never visited them. The Sek-hoan 
 converts were on intimate terms with the savage ab- 
 origines, and they gladly introduced me to some of their 
 head men. 
 
 The Roman Catholics have made some progress 
 amongst the Chinese, but their chief success has been with 
 the civilised aborigines. 
 
 In 1864 the English Presbyterian Mission determined 
 to attempt the conversion of Formosa. They therefore 
 sent over the Rev. Carstairs Douglas, a most accomplished 
 Chinese scholar ; and Dr. Maxwell, a medical missionary, 
 who had left his post as house-surgeon to the Birmingham 
 Infirmary in order to preach the Gospel. These gentlemen 
 commenced operations at Takao and Taiwanfoo. 
 
 At first they were well received by the people, and the 
 apparently miraculous cures effected by Dr. Maxwell by the 
 use of quinine, the operation for cataract and lithotomy, 
 soon drew numbers of sick people from all parts of the 
 island. 
 
 But this success excited the animosity and opposition 
 of the native doctors, who spread the usual false reports 
 that the foreigners were killing Chinese and extracting 
 their brains and eyes for the purpose of making opium, 
 They thus raised a popular tumult, which the mandarins in 
 no way discouraged. 
 
 The result was that the missionaries were attacked by 
 the mob, their meeting-house was destroyed, and they 
 themselves were obliged to leave the capital and return to 
 Takao. 
 
THE PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY 79 
 
 In 1865 Dr. Maxwell came up for a visit to Taiwanfoo, 
 and I was able to take him into the interior, amongst the 
 savages, and also to introduce him to the Sek-hoan com- 
 munities of the plain, with those of the lower ranges, at 
 Baksa, near Taiwanfoo. These all received him gladly, 
 and he made some converts amongst them. 
 
 In 1867 the Rev. Hugh and Mrs. Ritchie joined Dr. 
 Maxwell, and the mission amongst the Chinese inhabitants 
 flourished considerably. 
 
 During the camphor troubles, native Christians, both 
 Catholic and Protestant, suffered much persecution owing 
 to their connection with Europeans. Their chapels were 
 destroyed, their cattle maimed, their fields laid waste, and 
 many converts were beaten. In one instance, as I have 
 mentioned before, a poor Christian was brutally murdered. 
 
 Happily, upon the settlement of the troubles, the 
 mission prospered more than ever amongst the Chinese, 
 whilst some of my old Sek-hoan friends in the camphor 
 district of the north, who came to visit me at Taiwanfoo, 
 and were taken to the mission hospital, were so delighted 
 with what they saw of the treatment of the sick patients 
 and at the earnest preaching, that, on their return home, 
 they sent an invitation for the missionaries to go and 
 visit them. 
 
 Dr. Maxwell and Mr. Ritchie accepted their invitation, 
 and the result has been that Christianity has spread 
 amongst the civilised aborigines throughout the whole 
 island, even to the villages upon the east coast. Men, 
 women, and children have learnt to read the Scriptures in 
 Chinese through the medium of Roman characters ; and 
 hundreds of converts have been gained, who have built 
 their own chapels, have contributed largely to the support 
 of native catechists, and who lead a consistent Christian 
 life. 
 
 Thus the record of missionary enterprise in Formosa is 
 a hopeful augury for their future efforts. 
 
8o FORMOSA 
 
 It is auspicious to notice that in the late war with 
 Japan, when the defenders of the island, the redoubtable 
 Black Flags, had evinced their valour by running away into 
 the hills, and a terror-stricken fugitive in woman's attire, 
 with a mock baby to complete the disguise, was all that 
 was left of the president of the brief republic, the great 
 Brigadier-General Liu-Yung-fu ; when the Japanese army 
 halted within a day's march of the capital, to prepare for 
 their attack upon it, and the people of the city were crazed 
 with terror it was these same brave missionaries who, at 
 the request of the populace, went out to the invaders' camp 
 to treat with them, carrying their lives in their hands. 
 
 And to their unselfish temerity it is due that the 
 Japanese conquerors entered the city peaceably, thus 
 sparing many thousands of lives and much valuable 
 property. 
 
 May their great and good work in the island increase 
 and prosper exceedingly under the new rule! 
 
 It may interest my readers if I recount a terrible 
 experience I had, which illustrates very forcibly the illo- 
 gical methods in which the Chinese Formosan practises his 
 religion. 
 
 It occurred in the days of my connection with the 
 camphor trade of the island, and after the settlement of 
 the first disturbance. Our firm had a considerable quantity 
 of camphor awaiting shipment at a small port, called Tai- 
 kah, some seventy miles north of Taiwanfoo. The consul 
 thought it of importance that, as soon as possible, we 
 should ship the camphor, in order to test the sincerity of 
 the Tao-tai's promises that its export after payment of all 
 legal dues should be freely permitted. 
 
 The native Chinese, however, who knew their own 
 officials better than we did, correctly suspected that 
 directly the moral effect of the presence of our men-of-war 
 was removed the Tao-tai would repent, and would not 
 relinquish his monopoly so easily. They rightly feared 
 
THE GREAT STORM 81 
 
 the consequences to themselves and their families of 
 assisting the foreigners against the mandarins. It was 
 therefore almost impossible to secure any craft to bring the 
 camphor away to Taiwanfoo. 
 
 I accordingly went up overland to Tai-kah, and after 
 much difficulty I succeeded in hiring a small boat of about 
 ten tons, which fortunately had water-tight compartments, 
 according to Chinese fashion. It had a nondescript crew 
 of four men, with a captain who was an old opium- 
 smoker. 
 
 However, I shipped my camphor on board, and one fine 
 Monday morning I embarked, accompanied by my Chinese 
 clerk and servant, a well-to-do camphor dealer, and the 
 young son of a savage chief, who had never before seen the 
 sea, and whom I was taking down to see Taiwanfoo. 
 
 The harbour dues were paid ; a port clearance was 
 issued ; the wind was fair, and I hoped to be in Taiwanfoo 
 the next day. 
 
 Alas ! the customary difficulties with Orientals occurred. 
 Our crew had to take leave of their friends, to spend their 
 advances, and to do a little gambling. The result was 
 that the afternoon came before they put in an appearance ; 
 and in the meantime the wind had increased, and there 
 was every sign of a gale from the north-east. 
 
 However, the old skipper assured me that we could 
 get down to a place called Go-ch'e before dark, where we 
 could put in, in the event of the weather getting worse. I 
 was in a hurry, so consented to our putting to sea. 
 
 Now from Go-ch'e to Taiwanfoo there is no shelter for 
 a vessel ; sandbanks stretch out for miles from the coast 
 towards the Pescadores, and should one be capsized there, 
 if one were so fortunate as to escape death from the sea, 
 it would only be to fall a victim at the hands of the piti- 
 less pirates and wreckers who plied their ghastly business 
 along the coast. 
 
 The wind freshened, and we had to reef down ; the 
 
 G 
 
82 FORMOSA 
 
 tide also was against us, and we made but slow progress 
 with the old craft. Darkness came on, to still further 
 dispirit us. We had not reached Go-ch'e ; things looked 
 extremely gloomy in prospect, and I would have given 
 something to have been on shore. The captain, however, 
 was confident that he could recognise the lights of the 
 village. 
 
 Time went on ; the wind and the sea had greatly 
 increased, we had taken in sail to a single bamboo, and 
 our captain began to sigh, for the lights still did not appear. 
 Later on he muttered a prayer, and said that we had 
 missed the port. 
 
 Then a wild-eyed sailor rushed aft, cursing the day he 
 had ever seen the boat or the foreigner who had engaged 
 her ; whereupon the entire crew seemed to lose heart, 
 and they all began to call loudly upon their gods to help 
 them. 
 
 We drove before the gale for an hour or two. I was 
 dozing off, when bump went the boat ; a big sea dashed 
 right over her ; away went our solitary mast overboard, 
 and we were washed out of her. However, we all presently 
 found ourselves on board again, and w r e realised that the 
 vessel had been washed over the tail of a bank into 
 deeper water. This must have been about midnight. 
 Fortunately the water-tight compartments kept the boat 
 afloat, but the weight of the camphor and of ourselves sank 
 her to such an extent that we were up to our shoulders in 
 water. 
 
 All through that interminable night our little craft 
 drifted about, unmanageable, in the trough of the seas, 
 whilst every now and then, as she slewed round, a big 
 sea would wash over her, first on one side and then on the 
 other, leaving us scarcely an interval to recover our 
 breath. 
 
 The grey day broke at last. The gale was furious ; the 
 waves seethed with cruel white teeth around us, whilst the 
 
THE GREAT STORM 83 
 
 spindrift blew in sheets from the tops of the seas. The 
 wild howling of the wind was deafening ; one could, as it 
 were, scarcely hear oneself think ! The elements held a 
 wild orgie. 
 
 The sailors, however, finding that the boat kept well 
 afloat, and seeing that we had drifted off the banks and 
 far to sea in the channel, seemed to regain a little hope. 
 As the wooden anchor and cable were still on board, they 
 proceeded to rig up a sea anchor, to bring the boat head- 
 to-sea, and thus to relieve us from the overwhelming 
 broadside seas. To accomplish this, they took a heavy 
 bag of rice, which fortunately remained in the hold, and 
 having collected money from the purse of every one on 
 board, as an offering to the Goddess of the Sea, they put 
 it in the bag, made all fast to the anchor, which they 
 threw overboard, and then veered out the cable to the bare 
 end. This contrivance relieved us considerably. 
 
 When we rose on the top of the sea, one of the sailors 
 cried out that he could see the Pescadores not far off; 
 and sure enough we soon all perceived an island, which 
 was eventually recognised by the crew as that dedicated 
 to Ma-tso-po, the Goddess of the Sea, or the Queen of 
 Heaven. Upon this island is a temple of this goddess, 
 which is visited by the vessels trading between Formosa 
 and the mainland, and here offerings are made by the 
 sailors in order to secure a prosperous voyage. 
 
 Ma-tso-po is supposed to have been a maiden born in 
 an island on the coast of Fuh-kien, who, as a reward for 
 the purity of her life, was endued with supernatural powers. 
 During a violent storm, her brothers were at sea in a junk, 
 and they were about to founder, when the maiden appeared 
 on board suddenly, and by her occult authority quelled 
 the tempest and steered the vessel safely to shore. Ma- 
 tso-po is therefore worshipped as the patroness of sailors, 
 and is also called the ' Holy Mother of Heaven Above.' 
 
 Our crew began to recover their spirits somewhat ; 
 
 G 2 
 
84 FORMOSA 
 
 they exclaimed that we surely should never be allowed to 
 perish in sight of the sacred island. They began to cry : 
 
 1 Ma-tso-po ! O Holy Mother, here are we, thy 
 poor children ! Have mercy upon us ! Let us not perish ! 
 Think of our wives and our children ! Always have we 
 been liberal to thee ! If thou wilt only let us once more 
 reach the shore in safety, we will offer many candles at 
 thy shrine, and give thee as many pigs as thy soul can 
 desire ! ' 
 
 The camphor dealer, who, in a sheltered corner, had 
 been invoking a certain Buddhist god, whose temple was 
 near to his house, now turned his attention also to 
 Ma-tso-po, and vied with the sailors in making liberal 
 promises to her. 
 
 Still, however, the gale raged ; every now and then 
 a huge sea dashed over us, threatening to swamp us. 
 Suddenly one of the sailors rushed forward ; extending 
 his arms, and gazing out across the seething waters in a 
 wild ecstasy, he cried : 
 
 * Here she comes ! Here she comes ! Behold the 
 Holy Mother ! Pull away, brethren, pull away ! We 
 shall reach the shore directly. Ma-tso-po herself has 
 come to succour us ! ' 
 
 As all our oars had been washed away, and we were 
 drifting helplessly about, we saw that the man was 
 raving. 
 
 There was a breathless pause, whilst he gazed away 
 across the waters at the invisible. Then again extending 
 his arms, he cried : 
 
 ' Behold her ! See, my brothers, she is holding out 
 her gracious hands to me. Ma-tso-po, I come to meet 
 thee ! ' 
 
 He dashed wildly overboard. The angry waves closed 
 over him, and we never saw him again. 
 
 All this time we had been drifting to the south, and 
 we soon lost sight of the island ; whereupon the crew 
 
DC < 
 
 13 
 
 I- S 
 
THE GREAT STORM 85 
 
 sank down in despair, giving up all hope of Ma-tso-po's 
 assistance. 
 
 ' There is no hope,' they wailed. ' We are lost men ! 
 We are all doomed to perish ! ' 
 
 The camphor dealer then entreated them to join him 
 in trying his god, Lo-t'ien-ya, or the Old Lord of Heaven. 
 They all cried loudly, tears streaming from their eyes, 
 whilst the camphor dealer led their prayers thus : 
 
 * O, Lo-t'ien-ya ! Lo-t'ien-ya ! Dost thou not know 
 me ? Rememberest thou not ? Hast thou forgotten the 
 devout man whose house adjoins thy sacred temple ? But 
 last year did I not give twenty-five dollars of my hard- 
 earned savings to repair thine abode ? I have always been 
 a good man. I have never done a bad thing in my life. 
 Wherefore art thou thus punishing thy devoted slave ? 
 Consider, too, the fate of all these poor fellows with me. 
 Aid us, oh, Lo-t'ien-ya, to get ashore, and nothing will I 
 deny thee ! ' 
 
 The weeping and frantic tearing of hair was shocking 
 to witness. Moreover, in spite of all their entreaties, the 
 storm did not lull in the least. The waves at intervals 
 stopped all language, and occupied us in a struggle to 
 keep our breath. 
 
 Again the camphor dealer invoked his god. 
 ' Art thou asleep, oh, Lo-t'ien-ya ? Art thou away ? 
 What doest thou, thou god so slow of hearing ? Dost 
 thou forget all I have done for thee ? If I ever get 
 ashore alive, I will give my money to the other temple ! ' 
 
 My servant also was joining in the cries. The only 
 unconcerned person in the boat was the young savage. 
 He had never been to sea before, and did not appear to 
 realise the gravity of our situation. He was laughing 
 gaily at the impassioned gestures and wild utterances of 
 the Chinese, which he did not understand, and drinking 
 the salt water. 
 
 I felt nearly crazy, listening to the incoherent words of 
 
86 FORMOSA 
 
 the men, for as no favourable answer was vouchsafed to 
 his prayers, the camphor dealer anathematised Lo-t'ien-ya 
 in the vilest language, and began to invoke a Taoist god, 
 using the same petition and promises that he had made to 
 the Buddhist deity. All was in vain, and the man fell 
 back exhausted. At that moment my servant laid his 
 hand upon me, and said : 
 
 ' Master, can you not aid us in our distress ? Surely 
 our gods are deaf that they do not hear us. Dr. Maxwell 
 and your foreign missionaries are continually talking and 
 preaching about Ya-so (Jesus). They say that He could 
 work miracles, and do wonderful things. Perhaps He 
 would listen and help us, if you would but say a prayer 
 to Him for us.' 
 
 The boy's beseeching words filled me with a great 
 shame. The truth really was, if I must confess it, that I 
 had not given much heed to praying whilst I was in safety 
 on shore, and somehow there seemed a sense of cowardice 
 in beginning when I was in danger. 
 
 However, I am glad to say that I was guided to listen 
 to the boy's request, and to the others, who joined him. 
 I offered up, from my heart, a prayer in Chinese aloud to 
 God, entreating Him to help us, for Christ's sake, and to 
 bring us home in safety. 
 
 I felt indescribably better after this, and my servant 
 also seemed encouraged. The camphor dealer and the 
 crew were quite helpless, not seeming, in their apathy of 
 despair, to care whether we lived or died ; indeed I had 
 great trouble to prevent them from jumping overboard. 
 
 The weather improved very little all that night, but 
 we found ourselves all alive the next morning, when 
 happily the gale ^moderated somewhat, seeming to have 
 spent its strength. 
 
 About noon the sky cleared, the sun came out ; the 
 storm was over, leaving nothing but a heavy sea, and to 
 our surprise, the tops of the highest mountains in the 
 
THE GREAT STORM 87 
 
 interior, near Takao, appeared on the horizon. A slight 
 draught of wind came from the westward, blowing right 
 in towards the land. 
 
 I then tried to get the crew to exert themselves to 
 throw the camphor overboard, in order to lighten the boat, 
 and so to get our bodies above the surface of the water. 
 They, however, refused to do anything. They whimpered 
 that the gods refused to hear them, and that we were all 
 bound to die; therefore we might just as well die quietly 
 as try to work ! I told them that I had prayed to my 
 God, and that He had not refused to help me ; that I was 
 determined not to die if I could help it, neither did I intend 
 to let them die. 
 
 I looked around for some persuasive weapon to 
 emphasise my words. The rudder was washing astern, 
 hanging by a lanyard, and in it was a short hardwood 
 tiller. My resolve was made. I had my knife upon me, 
 and my revolver with waterproof metallic cartridges ; 
 therefore I was not afraid of what the crew might do to 
 me. I just took the tiller, and belaboured them all with 
 it until they were bruised all over, and only too glad to do 
 anything I told them. 
 
 Though our mast was gone, the stump remained, and 
 part of the cotton sail, with a few bamboos. We lashed 
 the bamboo to the stump, and rigged up a sail. We 
 threw the camphor overboard, and bailed out the boat as 
 well as we could ; so we were now comparatively warm 
 and comfortable. 
 
 Of course we had had no fresh water all the time, nor 
 food ; but, with the exception of the savage, we had all 
 been too excited to think about eating or drinking. Now, 
 however, the neglected claims of nature began to assert 
 themselves. 
 
 In the fore compartment was an albino rabbit which 
 my servant was bringing home as a curiosity. This was 
 cut up, and served us with meat and drink for our meal, 
 
88 FORMOSA 
 
 after which I used a bottle of chlorodyne which I chanced 
 to have in my pocket. A few drops of this, mixed with a 
 handful of sea-water, quenched our thirst, and did us no 
 harm. 
 
 On Friday afternoon our terrible experience ended, 
 and I am thankful to say that God brought us safely to 
 the little port of Tang-kang, about ten miles south of 
 Takao. Here the crew of some junks supplied us with 
 rice, tea, and tobacco, and took us on shore in their boats 
 to the local Mandarin. This official attended to our wants, 
 and sent me, with my servant and the young savage, 
 in sedan chairs to Takao. 
 
 After they had eaten well, and received their pay, the 
 Chinese crew came to me, and, kneeling, thanked me for 
 the way in which I had treated them. I impressed upon 
 them that it was my God who had saved them. They, 
 however, faithfully performed the vows which they had 
 made in their peril, whilst I provided for the widowed 
 mother of the man who jumped overboard. 
 
 In conclusion, I can earnestly affirm that I shall be 
 thankful to my life's end for the experience I gained 
 during those four miserable nights and days on board that 
 cargo boat. 
 
8 9 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 CORRUPTION AND RAPACITY OF CHINESE OFFICIALS 
 
 AT this moment, when the unwieldy empire of China is 
 tottering to its base, when there is evidently a gathering 
 of eagles around this very sick man, each eager to be the 
 first to secure a large portion of spoil, a few remarks 
 upon my experience of the official system of the Chinese 
 mandarin, and of his peculiar method of upholding law 
 and order and of encouraging legitimate business, may not 
 be without interest. 
 
 r ~TJntil a few years before its occupation by the Japanese, 
 in 1896, Formosa, together with the Pescadores Islands, 
 was governed by a Tao-tai, or intendant of circuit, who 
 resided at the capital of the island, Taiwanfoo. The 
 Tao-tai was directly subordinate to the viceroy of the two 
 Chinese provinces Fuh-kien and Cheh-kiang, but he had 
 the power of life and death, and also possessed the special 
 privilege of communicating directly with the Emperor at 
 Pekin. He was the highest magistrate, and was bound to 
 make an annual inspection of the departments. It was 
 believed that he was paid only 1,600 taels (not 600) by 
 his imperial master, but his emoluments from many sources 
 were very large ; those drawn from the taxes on camphor 
 especially reaching a fabulous amount. 
 
 The next in civil authority was the Tai-wan-Fu, or 
 prefect, and then the Hiens, or district magistrates. 
 
 The Hiens had charge of the seven or eight hien, or 
 districts, into which the part of the island under Chinese 
 
90 FORMOSA 
 
 jurisdiction was divided. As I have before stated, the 
 Chinese could only claim dominion over the plain on the 
 west coast, and over one or two of the ranges of hills : the 
 mountains in the interior, and the South Cape, being still 
 in the possession of tribes of aborigines and savages, all of 
 whom were of totally different races and languages to the 
 Chinese. 
 
 The viceroy, who resided on the mainland, at Foochow, 
 was bound by an often disregarded law to visit the island 
 once every three years. These formal visits were lucrative 
 to that high functionary, though anything but agreeable 
 to the subordinates whom he visited ; for, if they did not 
 welcome him with handsome presents in their hands, they 
 were liable to be shelved for the first trivial offence. 
 
 To recoup themselves for this compulsory generosity, 
 the mandarins in their turn inflicted additional taxes upon 
 the people ; and thus at the expense of all classes the 
 great servant of the emperor fulfilled his duty, and com- 
 plaisantly returned with a well-filled purse. 
 
 The Tao-tai and the commander-in-chief received 
 annually an ample amount of money for the suitable 
 maintenance of land and naval forces, for the protection 
 of the island from foreign aggression and from internal 
 disturbances. The greater proportion of this sum was, 
 however, pocketed by these officials, and the army and 
 fleet languished so greatly as to be practically non-existent. 
 / A visit of inspection by such a high official as the viceroy 
 would therefore have been extremely inconvenient, and, if 
 faithfully carried out (there are a few Chinese officials of 
 probity and sternness), would probably have had serious 
 consequences for the mandarins of Formosa. To avoid 
 these dangers it had for many years been trie custom for 
 all officials, high and low, to contribute, from the wealth 
 which they extorted from their unfortunate subjects, a suf- 
 ficient sum of money to make it worth while for the viceroy 
 (who was probably every bit as grasping as themselves) to 
 
CORRUPTION OF CHINESE OFFICIALS 91 
 
 stay at home in China, and to forward from Foochovv to 
 the emperor a favourable report of the island. 
 
 During all the time I was in Formosa, his excellency 
 did not put in an appearance, although we had one amusing 
 false alarm. 
 
 Some three years before I left the island, a despatch 
 came from China, officially notifying that the viceroy was 
 determined to do his duty, and that he would visit Formosa 
 shortly on a tour of inspection. 
 
 There was immediately a great stir throughout the 
 country. Peasants and labourers were taken from their 
 toil, and impressed into the service of the government ; 
 they were put into uniform, and matchlocks, spears, shields, 
 and warlike weapons were placed in their hands. 
 
 The fleet at Taiwanfoo consisted chiefly of old junks 
 which had not been in the water for more than thirty years. 
 During this lengthened period the sea had receded, and 
 the land had formed to the extent of more than a mile ; the 
 consequence being that these ancient vessels were high and 
 dry ; their masts, sails, and gear had rotted away from the 
 long exposure to the sun and rain ; the paint had peeled 
 from their sides, and, in some cases, the very planking had 
 been stolen for firewood. 
 
 Now, however, the greatest activity was evinced in the 
 work of refitting these old wrecks : carpenters, sail-makers, 
 and painters were busily employed, and a liberal allowance 
 of paint and putty soon made the vessels look quite smart. 
 
 The difficulty then was to get them down to the nearest 
 water, to enable them to lie afloat during the brief visit of 
 the viceroy. 
 
 Captains and crews were engaged, and appointed to 
 the several vessels. One or two of the junks were being 
 transported on huge rollers to the nearest creek, when, 
 before they reached their destination, a further despatch 
 came from the viceroy to say that he had relinquished his 
 intention of coming over. 
 
92 FORMOSA 
 
 The junks were just left where they were, to relapse 
 into their former sorry condition ; the workmen were dis- 
 charged, and the peasants and labourers were permitted 
 to quit the army and return to their ordinary peaceful 
 occupations. 
 
 As to the officials, they were only too happy to be at 
 liberty to misgovern with impunity, and to be free 
 to turn their attention to extorting as much money from 
 the common people as would liberally compensate them 
 for the bribe which they had been obliged to send to 
 Foochow. 
 
 One of the recognised methods of providing for an 
 aged parent or sick relative in China is to pay a sum of 
 money to the military mandarins as a bribe, in order that 
 his name may be entered on the rolls of the militia, so 
 that he may, in consequence, receive monthly three measures 
 of rice and a small monetary allowance. 
 
 I have heard this transaction spoken of just as we 
 should speak of purchasing an annuity. 
 
 f^ he result of the misgovernment and oppression by the 
 officials was that the resources of one of the most fertile 
 islands in the world were either undeveloped or wasted ; 
 and instead of being a source of profit to the imperial 
 government, Formosa was a drain upon its revenue. 
 
 Rebellions broke out every ten or twenty years, and 
 were generally put down by the simple process of buying 
 over the leaders, and then pitilessly exterminating their 
 deluded followers. On the sea-coast, pirates and wreckers 
 abounded, to the terror of honest fishermen and traders, 
 who received no protection from their so-called ' paternal ' 
 government. 
 
 On land, gangs of robbers and bitter clan feuds ren- 
 dered the highways continually impassable, whilst the 
 savage aborigines made frequent incursions for bloodshed 
 and plunder. I 
 
 At rare intervals some general, desirous of gaining a 
 
CORRUPTION OF CHINESE OFFICIALS 93 
 
 reputation at Pekin, and of testing the fighting quality of 
 his troops, armed with European rifles, would organise an 
 expedition into the mountains to subdue a savage tribe, 
 and to extend the emperor's dominion. 
 
 Usually, however, these valiant onslaughts were fruit- 
 less and disastrous, the Chinese soldiers being either 
 defeated from ambush or decimated by the deadly fever 
 of the jungle. 
 
 On 'one or two occasions a Chinese commander did 
 indeed induce a savage tribe, by liberal gifts, to consent to 
 ' the tonsure,' thus owning themselves vassals of the ' Son 
 of Heaven ' at Pekin. 
 
 The general upon this sent out for a supply of razors, 
 and proudly announced his great victory over the bar- 
 barians. When the shaving had been completed, he 
 returned with all speed to a life of ease in the capital, 
 Taiwanfoo, accompanied by the remains of his army. 
 
 Alas for the dominion of the illustrious ' Son of Heaven'! 
 As soon as the gifts were consumed and their hair had 
 grown, the savages, in almost every instance, repented them 
 of their bargain and of their new civilisation ; and, throw- 
 ing off their allegiance, they returned to their familiar wild 
 habits and customs. 
 
 Another anomaly was this : The Tao-tai of Formosa, 
 by virtue of being obliged to find timber for the keeping 
 up of the imaginary fleet, claimed all the trees in the 
 island as his private monopoly. Consequently, as camphor 
 is produced from a tree, and had to pass through the Tao- 
 tai's country for exportation, he also claimed a monopoly 
 of that article, although by treaty all monopolies had been 
 abolished, and although camphor had been provided for 
 in the tariff as a legal subject for export, after payment of 
 duties. 
 
 While the governor dared not, therefore, openly 
 oppose the European who desired to purchase this article 
 in the market, yet he did not scruple to harass, by every 
 
94 FORMOSA 
 
 means in his power, any person who dared to trade in it 
 except through his own agents. 
 
 When the Customs Service was established in Formosa, 
 the Tao-tai and other officials viewed this important inno- 
 vation with great alarm. They judged rightly that their 
 former large gains and impositions on cargo would be 
 greatly reduced ; that foreigners, upon payment of tariff 
 duties, would be permitted to buy and sell freely in the 
 markets, and that their arbitrary exactions, especially in 
 respect of the camphor monopoly, would be taken out of 
 their hands. They therefore determined that, if they could 
 not resist the decree openly, they would contrive to make 
 Formosa so hot for Europeans that they would be glad to 
 retire, leaving the mandarins and their country to their 
 former blissful state of monopoly and extortion. Their 
 complete immunity from punishment for their wholesale 
 execution of British subjects, and for their numerous out- 
 rages upon shipwrecked crews, no doubt emboldened both 
 the officials and people to take this course. 
 
 Of their vexatious persecution of European merchants, 
 and of the uneasy life the wily Tao-tai and his subordinates 
 caused me to lead for years, by reason of this determination, 
 I shall narrate further in my chapters on the Camphor War. 
 Suffice it now to give one little illustration of their com- 
 posed, quiet, and effective method of disposing of any man 
 who had the misfortune to displease them. 
 
 When Lieutenant Gurdon took the Anping forts in 
 1868, the Hiap-tai, or brigadier in charge of the garrison, 
 committed suicide, and the new Tao-tai appointed a 
 successor from Canton, a man who was very favourable to 
 Europeans. One of our gunboats, the ' Bustard,' having 
 been forced over the bar into Anping Creek at spring 
 tides, she was obliged to remain there for several weeks, 
 and, during this enforced imprisonment, the brigadier 
 was very kind in sending fresh provisions to the crew ; 
 he also accepted invitations to visit the gun-boat, to dine, 
 
CORRUPTION OF CHINESE OFFICIALS 9$ 
 
 and to witness the musical entertainments got up by 
 the men to relieve the monotony of their compulsory 
 idleness. 
 
 Well do I remember this genial Chinaman. He was 
 of fair size, about six feet in his official boots, blessed with 
 a keen sense of humour, and easily diverted. He had, I 
 believe, at one time been a pirate, had afterwards served 
 in Gordon's army on the mainland, and could speak a 
 very fair jumble of pigeon English. 
 
 I can picture him now, on the deck of the gun-boat, 
 after having partaken of the good fare provided by the 
 commander, my old friend, Cecil Johnson, watching the 
 sailors dancing a hornpipe, with delighted interest ; and 
 at length, when the music and the excitement grew 
 irresistible, it was unspeakably funny to see this ordinarily 
 stolid mandarin pick up his dignified silken robe and foot 
 it with the rest of them ! 
 
 Unfortunately the political atmosphere darkened. The 
 action of our consul was disowned by the British Govern- 
 ment, and the old Tao-tai was reinstated in Formosa. He 
 secretly sent an accusation to Pekin, charging the brigadier 
 with being friendly with the Europeans, and of rendering 
 assistance to the man who had inflicted such a disgrace 
 upon his predecessor in the Anping forts. 
 
 One morning, just before daylight, I was returning by 
 sea from Takao, and my man was poling our shallow boat 
 up the narrow canal which runs through the sandy plain 
 between Anping and the suburbs of Taiwanfoo. Suddenly, 
 through the grey dawn, we heard a greeting from the 
 banks. 
 
 ' Ho-a' ! ' responded my boatman. 
 
 ' Hast heard the news ? ' came back the voice to us. 
 
 * No, what news ? ' he demanded. ' We are but now 
 back from the sea.' 
 
 1 The Hiap-tai has just been beheaded for being friends 
 with the barbarians. Even now he lies out there,' the man 
 
96 FORMOSA 
 
 pointed, passing on his way, and leaving us filled with 
 horror at his news. 
 
 Later in the day the fact became public property, and 
 I learnt, on most competent authority, the details of the 
 case. 
 
 The Tao-tai invited the unsuspecting brigadier to 
 meet the prefect, the sub-prefect, and all the chief nota- 
 bilities at a feast in his Yamen, or official residence. On 
 his arrival he was received with the greatest cordiality. 
 He was the favoured guest of the evening. They all 
 sat eating, drinking, and conversing until midnight, 
 when the brigadier politely asked permission to make 
 his adieus. 
 
 The smiling faces around him profoundly deprecated 
 such haste. He resumed his seat. 
 
 Another convivial hour passed. The brigadier said 
 he must really go. His family would be anxious. 
 
 The imperturbable faces around him smiled on. 
 
 * By no means,' they replied. * We are enjoying our- 
 selves too much to part yet. Why hurry ? ' 
 
 So passed yet another hour. Then the brigadier said 
 he really must go. 
 
 The face of the Tao-tai, at the head of the table, 
 set like ice, with the smile frozen upon it. He shouted 
 loudly once, twice, for his attendants, who rushed in and 
 stripped the poor brigadier of his official dress. The 
 emperor's warrant was waved before his bewildered eyes, 
 and he was led to the execution ground and beheaded. 
 
 His wife and family waited for his return with gradually 
 increasing anxiety. Time passed on, until the following 
 afternoon, when a dark rumour of that fell night's work 
 reached them, and they had to flee for their lives to China. 
 
 Needless to say, this action of the Tao-tai struck 
 terror into the hearts of any officials inclined to favour 
 Europeans. 
 
 There is, throughout the Celestial Emperor's dominions, 
 
CORRUPTION OF CHINESE OFFICIALS 97 
 
 a very effectual system of secret espionage. Each official, 
 large or small, is ' shadowed.' No man is safe from spies 
 who may misconstrue his simplest action. 
 
 Moreover, in all the Yamens, archives are jealously 
 kept, in which are recorded the civil and criminal cases 
 of the district, adjudicated upon or left unsettled. These 
 have been handed down for generations, from official to 
 official, and the system is highly useful to the mandarins, 
 as upon any provocation such, for instance, as a man 
 unguardedly displaying a too comfortable degree of 
 prosperity, or depending too much on his connection 
 with Europeans they can refer to these books of doom, 
 and trump up some criminal charge, or unsettled civil 
 suit, which will give them an opportunity of relieving him 
 of a goodly portion of his superfluous wealth, besides 
 affording them the satisfaction of annoying the objection- 
 able barbarians. 
 
 The Rev. W. Campbell, F.R.G.S., of Taiwanfoo, in an 
 article in the ' Scottish Geographical Magazine,' thus 
 comments upon the departure of the mandarinate from 
 Formosa : 
 
 ' Now it is no part of our duty to speak evil of dignities 
 or of anybody else, but twenty-five years' observation leads 
 to the conclusion that there are tremendous difficulties in 
 the way of regarding Chinese officialdom with anything 
 like feelings of confidence and respect. No doubt some 
 members of the class are capable (from the native point of 
 view), unselfish, diligent, and really helpful to the people. 
 Generally speaking, however, this countless host, from 
 the viceroy down to the lowest yamen runner, goes on 
 the fundamentally pernicious principle that the country 
 was made for the mandarins, and not the mandarins for 
 the country.' 
 
 H 
 
98 FORMOSA 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 MY FIRST VISIT TO THE SAVAGE TRIBES OF THE 
 INTERIOR. THE END OF GENERAL BURGEVINE 
 
 AFTER I had been some months domiciled in my watery 
 home on the ' Ternate,' the old Dutch frigate in Takao 
 harbour, and when my pleasant acquaintance with the 
 worthy Dominican Fathers had ripened into friendship, I 
 confided to them my great desire to explore those parts 
 of the interior of the island where as yet the foot of 
 white man had not trodden, and my curiosity to see some 
 of the wholly uncivilised inhabitants of the mountains. 
 The Padres very kindly assisted me in my desire by 
 giving me a letter of introduction to their mission station 
 at the foot of the hills, on the outermost fringe of Pepo- 
 hoan civilisation. 
 
 I forthwith obtained a short leave of absence, and 
 prepared to start upon my pilgrimage. A Hamburg 
 three-masted schooner, the ' Japan,' was discharging cargo 
 in the harbour, and the chief officer, upon hearing my 
 project, eagerly volunteered to accompany me. The 
 compradore of the firm of Jardine gave us an introduction 
 to a Chinaman on our route ; and on a Friday afternoon 
 we turned our backs on Takao, and our faces to the distant 
 mountain ranges. 
 
 Armed with revolvers and double-barrelled fowling- 
 pieces, we took but little luggage with us just a blanket 
 each, strapped on our backs, and a number of bright 
 coloured beads, small mirrors, flint and steel, needles, and 
 lengths of crimson cloth to propitiate the savages. 
 
SAVAGE TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR 99 
 
 We stayed for a short time at Ling-a-liau, the mission 
 station, to receive the introductory letter, and the ' God- 
 speed ' of my kind Dominican friends. 
 
 We then commenced our march towards the district 
 city of Pi-t'au or Hong-soa, through a country well 
 cultivated by the industrious Chinese with rice, hemp, 
 sugar, and sweet potatoes ; generally flat, but at intervals 
 broken by low sandy ridges producing nothing but the 
 Pandanus, or screw pine. These elevations mark the 
 different coast-lines, as the land has gradually encroached 
 upon the sea by the silting up of the rivers and streams 
 from the high mountains. 
 
 Both of us were altogether unaccustomed to pedes- 
 trianism, and quite out of training through confinement 
 on board ship ; so when at sundown we reached Pi-t'au we 
 were thoroughly tired out, and glad to obtain the rest and 
 refreshment which the letter of my friend, the compradore, 
 procured for us at the house of his countryman, a prosperous 
 sugar merchant. 
 
 We were afoot early on the following morning, bidding 
 farewell to our host, who ridiculed the idea of two Europeans 
 ever hoping to penetrate through the Hak-ka and Hok-lo 
 country to the land of the Ch'i-hoan, or savage barbarian. 
 However, we set our faces firmly, and tramped on towards 
 the hills. 
 
 The first part of our journey was similar to that of the 
 previous afternoon, but we soon came to a wide sandy 
 plain, the dry bed of the Tang-kang, or southern Tamsui 
 River, several miles in extent. Here the travelling was 
 very fatiguing ; the sun was oppressive in its power, and 
 the air was filled with dust. 
 
 The hot hours passed until mid-day ; we were almost 
 choked with dust and thirst, until, at a wayside refreshment 
 hovel, we contrived to concoct a primitive species of cocktail, 
 composed of samshu (rice whisky), ducks' eggs, and coarse 
 brown sugar, which we drank out of dirty earthenware rice 
 
 H 2 
 
zoo FORMOSA 
 
 bowls. Uninviting as this mixture sounds, we were then very 
 glad of it, and tramped on with renewed energy. 
 
 In the early afternoon we reached the market town 
 of A-kau, on the extreme border of the Hok-lo country. 
 Here we were hospitably entertained by a connection of our 
 Pi-t'au host, who warned us of the dangers we should incur 
 in passing through the territory of the warlike and turbu- 
 lent Hak-kas. We found the weekly market in full swing, 
 and upon our appearance amongst the crowd in the market- 
 place we were at once surrounded by an inquisitive and 
 vociferous throng. My intimacy with the 'white' or in- 
 telligible language that is, the Hok-lo dialect enabled us 
 to both answer and ask all kinds of questions. 
 
 Where were we going we red-haired barbarians? 
 When we explained our earnest purpose, to get through to 
 the savages, we were greeted with shouts of laughter. 
 
 ' Did we really think that we could do that and live ? 
 It was impossible ! No white man had ever done such a 
 thing ! The savages had tails, and ate men ; no " man " 
 would go near them.' 
 
 We met all their chaff and incredulity with firmness. 
 In truth, the nearer I got to the goal of my ambition, the 
 more feverishly anxious I was to succeed. We would go 
 on at all costs. 
 
 There were among the crowd some Hak-ka women, who 
 had come from a distance to the market, bearing grass and 
 sundry home manufactures upon sticks resting on their 
 shoulders. They had made their little purchases, and were 
 preparing to return. I had never met any of these people 
 before, but had heard that they came from the Canton 
 province, and spoke a language akin to the court dialect ; 
 so trying Pekinese mixed with a smattering of Cantonese 
 acquired from the tea-men at Fu-chau, I made an experi- 
 ment which succeeded in pleasing the women. As they all 
 could speak Hok-lo, we had no difficulty in understanding 
 each other. When they found we were really serious in our 
 
SAVAGE TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR 101 
 
 determination, they laughingly suggested that we should 
 accompany them, as our roads lay together. I gladly 
 consented to this, for I fully recognised the protective 
 value of their companionship. 
 
 So we trudged on, a merry party in the deepening 
 twilight. The women bantered us on our project ; they 
 tried to scare us with terrible tales of the dangers ahead. 
 Then, too, they were full of curiosity as to the ways of the 
 c red-haired barbarians,' and their questions were unending. 
 We parted a little before dark. While glad to have had 
 the novelty of our company as far as they went, they 
 refused to guide us to the Padres' Pepo-hoan village, as 
 they had a feud with those people. 
 
 At last, after many mistakes, to our great satisfaction 
 we safely reached the little Dominican outpost at Ban- 
 kimtsng, where we received a warm welcome from the 
 hospitable Padres. 
 
 They regaled us with the best food they had to offer, 
 principally pork and rice. They brought out excellent 
 wine and spirits, and good cigars, for our comfort and 
 repose. 
 
 To our chagrin, upon our laying our project before 
 them, they impressed upon us the utter hopelessness of such a 
 scheme. We could not get through to the savages alive, 
 and any such attempt would be superlatively foolhardy. 
 The country on the lower slopes of the mountains was 
 very unsettled ; there were constant feuds in progress, 
 while one was never sure when the savages might swoop 
 down from above upon a head-hunting expedition. We 
 must abandon our plan. My disappointment was extreme. 
 To have come so far, to be so near the savages, and to 
 return without seeing them after all ! 
 
 The worthy Padres sympathised with my mortification. 
 They called in a wise old Pepo-hoan to assist at our con- 
 ference, but he confirmed their cautions to us. It was not 
 possible. After a while he proposed a scheme, to which, 
 in default of anything better, we were glad to agree. 
 
102 FORMOSA 
 
 This old Pepo-hoan had had many dealings with the 
 savages when in brief spells of peace they descended to a 
 sort of debatable land between two gorges, and bartered 
 with the Pepo-hoans for Chinese luxuries, tobacco, red 
 cloth, bright beads, samshu, etc., offering in return, skins 
 of wild animals, velvety deer horns, tobacco, charcoal, and 
 a native cloth woven by their women, of grass intermixed 
 with threads of bright cloth. 
 
 He knew several of the savage chiefs well, and, if we 
 would make it worth his while, he would start off at once 
 and tell his Ka-le-hoan J friends of our desire to see them ; 
 and perchance he could induce them, under cover of night, 
 to come down to the mission to visit us. 
 
 It was Saturday night, and our leave expired on Monday 
 evening. There would be many miles to go ; he would 
 try to be back on Sunday about midnight, if we could wait 
 so long. 
 
 Well, it was a chance ; so we agreed, and the old 
 Pepo-hoan with a companion started off, whilst we tested 
 the comfort of one of the Padres' beds. 
 
 Sunday passed restfully and pleasantly. We chatted 
 with our hosts, smoked, interviewed many of the Pepo- 
 hoan villagers, and wandered as near as we dared to the 
 beautifully wooded slopes of the mountains. I was all 
 impatience. Would the old Pepo be as good as his word ? 
 Would evil befall him ? 
 
 The evening seemed interminable. At last, as the hours 
 dragged on, we slowly gave up hope, and went to bed. 
 
 I seemed but to have slept a moment, when I was 
 awakened by a confused hubbub of voices ; torches 
 flared before my bewildered eyes. There were the Padres, 
 the old Pepo-hoan, with half the village behind him, and, as 
 they parted to make a passage way, there emerged two 
 figures who had surely stepped bodily from the pages of 
 Marryat or Fenimore Cooper two stately, dusky, black- 
 
 1 In the south the savages are called Ka-le-hoan, or ' puppets.' 
 
SAVAGE TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR 103 
 
 teethed savages, in all their glory of paint and skins and 
 feathers. 
 
 I pulled on a few garments, and hastened to give them 
 greeting. I had accomplished my heart's desire. The 
 Pepo-hoan was our interpreter. How we talked and 
 laughed ! They turned out to be very good-humoured, 
 intelligent fellows. I told them of the Chinese conviction 
 that they had tails ; I was made to examine them to prove 
 that they possessed no such appendages. They were con- 
 vulsed with laughter at the idea, and in return for our 
 scrutiny made us show them our white bodies. 
 
 I brought out our gifts for them, which gave them much 
 delight. In return, they presented me with some armlets 
 formed of wild boar's tusks, and gave us each a native 
 pipe. We smoked and chatted enthusiastically until the 
 first streaks of dawn warned our visitors to be up and 
 away to reach their own country before the daylight might 
 reveal them to their lurking foes. So with many an ex- 
 pression of friendliness and goodwill we bade our dusky 
 guests adieu. 
 
 Then, after a substantial breakfast, we ourselves 
 made our thanks and farewells to the good Padres, and, 
 with a Christian Chinese letter-carrier belonging to the 
 mission, we started to retrace our steps. 
 
 All went well until we were stopped by a band of 
 Hak-kas, who viewed the incursion of two white men with 
 frowning suspicion, and our Chinese Christian guide was 
 terror-stricken. I addressed them in the Hok-lo tongue, 
 and afterwards added a few words in their own Hak-ka 
 dialect, assuming a friendly and unconcerned manner. 
 This propitiated them somewhat, and we parted amicably. 
 Such good fortune did not attend my old friend Elles, 
 who, in passing through their country some years later, 
 was accosted by such another band of Hak-kas, and he, not 
 knowing their language, was nearly done to death at their 
 hands. 
 
104 FORMOSA 
 
 Dusty, thirsty, and exhausted, we at last reached Pi-t'au, 
 where our Chinaman acquaintance regaled us with some 
 indifferent champagne, and we pressed on again. 
 
 We reached Ling-a-liau and the hospitable roof of the 
 Padres about eleven o'clock at night. They were delighted 
 to see us back safe and sound. We partook of a substan- 
 tial meal, after which they sent us down the lagoon in 
 their own boat to Takao, which we reached about two 
 or three in the morning, deadly tired, stiff, and dirty, but 
 triumphant. 
 
 For many a long day after that our adventures were 
 discussed and exclaimed over. Our presents were 
 examined curiously as proof of our good faith, and we 
 were treated as heroes to have dared so much to see the 
 savages. 
 
 My companion on this little adventure a right good 
 fellow had a sad fate at last. 
 
 When I had left the Customs service, and was in the 
 firm of McPhail Brothers, this same man was appointed 
 captain of their coasting schooner a fine smart boat. He 
 was taking treasure to Amoy, when he was caught in a 
 typhoon, and went down with all hands, except one. A 
 miserable Manilaman, half dead with fright and starvation, 
 was found clinging to some wreckage far out at sea ; but 
 of my friend, a European passenger, and the rest of the 
 crew there was no trace. 
 
 About the time of the New Year of 1865, I accom- 
 panied Mr. Maxwell, the Commissioner of Customs, from 
 Takao to the capital of the island, Taiwanfoo, to establish 
 a branch of the Customs service there ; and to my surprise 
 and gratification I shortly afterwards found myself ap- 
 pointed to the charge of the Customs at Anping, the port 
 of that city. 
 
 One chief cause of satisfaction to me in this promotion 
 was that in my improved status I had better opportunities 
 of mingling in Chinese society, and thus of enlarging 
 
SAVAGE TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR 105 
 
 my knowledge of the character of this interesting people, 
 and~of perfecting my studies of their language and their 
 classics. 
 
 At Anping the official residence was on shore another 
 advantage ; and I lost no opportunity of cultivating the 
 acquaintance of the people, of every rank and station. 
 
 On my installation at Anping there was much to do, 
 and all the organization to arrange. Mr. Maxwell stayed 
 long enough to choose my future official residence a small 
 house which had been used as a Chinese club ; after which 
 he was forced to hurry back to Takao. 
 
 He, however, left with me a man in whom he reposed 
 great confidence, to advise and assist me in establishing my 
 new station. 
 
 This man, a Manchu by race, and a Sze-yeh or govern- 
 ment secretary by official rank, inspired confidence and 
 respect by his striking personality. Tall, dignified, com- 
 posed, with most polished manners, deeply learned in the 
 sacred classics of China, and with a handsome face, he 
 seemed the embodiment of all that a cultivated servant of 
 the emperor should be. 
 
 Besides this imposing person, I had with me my Chinese 
 instructor from Fu-chau, who was also a Manchu, an 
 American tidewaiter to board the vessels on their arrival, 
 and several coolies to act as the crew of our boarding 
 catamaran. 
 
 We soon got the little club-house clean and ready for 
 my occupation. We then found it necessary to form a 
 small canal from the creek to the Custom House, up 
 which boats could bring import and export cargo, and to 
 erect sheds for examination. 
 
 The organising of this piece of work the illustrious 
 Manchu made his special business. He drew up plans, 
 engaged the contractor for the dyking and building, and 
 chose a gang of labourers from among the indigent 
 Chinese fishermen who lived near. His zeal was of great 
 
106 FORMOSA 
 
 assistance ; and when in a week or so he had to return to 
 Takao, I bade him bon voyage regretfully. 
 
 Time passed on until the monthly pay-day arrived. I 
 summoned all the labourers into the office, and proceeded 
 to pay every man his due. They got very good wages 
 for their work some five dollars, and some ten dollars a 
 month ; but as I placed the money in each outstretched palm, 
 I noticed anything but satisfied expressions upon their faces. 
 There arose a vague hum of discontent and grumbling. I 
 could not catch any distinct utterances of complaint, but 
 so much was evident to me, and I could not comprehend 
 their reason for dissatisfaction. 
 
 ' What is wrong ? ' I inquired frankly. 
 
 They, squatting on their hams, Chinese fashion, looked 
 up at the tiled roof, and down on the floor, everywhere but 
 at my inquiring face. 
 
 * Come ! ' I persisted, ' I am a just man. I would deal 
 rightly with every one. Why are you not satisfied ? What 
 is the matter ? ' 
 
 1 Oh, nothing, nothing/ they replied. 
 
 Still the murmurs went on. I could make out a few 
 phrases in the confusion. 
 
 1 Just look at this ! ' growled one to another. ' Not 
 enough to keep us in rice for a month ! And we have 
 wives and children ! ' 
 
 In despair I called in the assistance of my Chinese 
 teacher, but he professed to be ignorant of their meaning, 
 not understanding the local dialect well. 
 
 ' Come, tell me/ I tried again, ' what is wrong ? Are 
 you not satisfied with your money ? It is good pay.' 
 
 At last one man, bolder than the rest, broke out : 
 
 ' Good pay, you call it, do you ? When one-half of it 
 has to go to that Manchu man who engaged us ! ' 
 
 1 Yes/ then ventured another, ' and two-thirds of mine ! ' 
 4 And of mine/ said they all. 
 
 So indeed it proved to be. The immaculate Manchu, 
 
SAVAGE TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR 107 
 
 apparently so superior and so trustworthy, had not scrupled 
 to bargain with these poor labourers to himself receive 
 half their pay. 
 
 I questioned the contractor ; it was the same story. I 
 was highly indignant. Yet I was troubled as to the best 
 course to pursue. 
 
 The Manchu was implicitly trusted by Mr. Maxwell : 
 he was almost above suspicion, whilst I was young, and a 
 new-comer. 
 
 Moreover, even if I told Mr. Maxwell everything, 
 such was the evasive and cowardly nature of the Chinese 
 that the men would very probably deny their statements 
 made to me, and profess gratitude for the upright and just 
 Manchu. 
 
 At last my resolve was made. The truth, and justice, 
 at all costs. 
 
 ' Look here, my men,' I said, ' I will tell the great man 
 (Mr. Maxwell), and I will see you righted. But you must 
 stand by me and tell the truth to him, as you have told it 
 now to me.' 
 
 ' Oh, yes, yes, of course we will,' they replied. 
 
 Then I turned to my Chinese teacher, making him 
 listen to their story (which he could sufficiently understand), 
 that he might confirm it to Mr. Maxwell. He was by race 
 a Manchu also, and it was instructive to observe how very 
 dense he grew when requested to pay careful attention to 
 the men's statements. 
 
 However, I condemned him from his own sacred 
 classics. I impressed upon him the sinfulness of com- 
 plicity in unrighteousness, until I gradually worked him 
 into a state of indifference to the claims of clanship, 
 and I was sure of his confirmation, however reluctantly 
 given. 
 
 When Mr. Maxwell next visited the station I laid the 
 whole matter before him, and his indignation was extreme. 
 The Manchu was severely censured, and the workmen 
 
io8 FORMOSA 
 
 henceforth had the whole of their wages for their own 
 benefit. The Manchu's dignified presence was still to be 
 seen in Takao, and he always treated me with impressive 
 courtesy; but as I shortly afterwards left the Customs 
 service, he fortunately had no opportunity of expressing 
 his affection for me in practical Chinese fashion. 
 
 It was a few months after this, when I had settled 
 down in my new position, that the following incident 
 occurred. 
 
 One morning during the south-west monsoon (at 
 which season the anchorage is unapproachable, except 
 for a chance day or so in the course of the month) my 
 American assistant and I were agreeably surprised by 
 the appearance of a large fore-and-aft schooner, flying the 
 American flag. 
 
 My assistant boarded the vessel in the revenue 
 catamaran, and speedily returned, bringing with him 
 three gentlemen, who were respectively introduced to me 
 as Mr. Preston, the owner of the vessel ; Captain Page, 
 the master ; and a passenger. The schooner, we were 
 informed, was the * General Sherman,' and she had cleared 
 from Shanghai for Taiwanfoo in ballast. 
 
 We welcomed our visitors gladly. It was a relief to 
 have our monotony broken by the advent of three strangers. 
 We were eager to have news of the outer world, as for 
 two long months our society had been restricted to the 
 Anping fisherfolk. 
 
 The owner and captain made general inquiries of us 
 as to the possibility of obtaining a charter to load sugar 
 in Formosa, for North China or Japan ; but, on being 
 informed that during the south-west monsoon trade was 
 confined to Takao, they decided to go there, and cleared 
 the vessel for that port. 
 
 The passenger, we observed, was a small, dark man, 
 somewhat of a Welsh type, with keen black eyes. He 
 appeared of a reserved disposition, volunteering no in- 
 
THE END OF GENERAL BURGEVINE 109 
 
 formation regarding himself, and merely asking a few 
 indifferent questions as to the Chinese officials and the 
 people of the island. 
 
 Our visitors lunched with us, and we spent a pleasant 
 afternoon together ; after which the Americans returned 
 to their schooner, having invited us weather permitting 
 to lunch with them next day, before their departure for 
 Takao. 
 
 The elements proved kind, and we were able to take 
 advantage of the invitation, enjoying in consequence a 
 thoroughly American entertainment of the best kind, 
 which was a welcome change from our customary fare of 
 tough buffalo, skinny fowls, or curried frogs. 
 
 Tiffin over, the captain asked us to excuse him whilst 
 he superintended the preparations for getting under weigh, 
 and the owner retired to his cabin under the plea of writing 
 letters. The mysterious passenger still held aloof from 
 us, leaning over the rails, with thoughts apparently far 
 away, whilst I and my companion settled ourselves on the 
 stern gratings over the wheel chains, and solaced ourselves 
 with some of our host's excellent cigars. 
 
 Upon the gratings lay an open sketch-book ; and we, 
 as idle men will do, innocently examined more closely its 
 cleverly drawn contents. 
 
 Within its pages were sketches and plans of forts, 
 interspersed with water-colour paintings of scenery on the 
 Yang-tze. Beneath several of the sketches was scribbled 
 the signature, ' Burgevine,' in pencil. We looked at each 
 other with dawning intelligence. The conclusion was 
 obvious. The mysterious and taciturn passenger could 
 be no other than the famous or rather the notorious 
 General Burgevine, the American adventurer who had 
 preceded General Gordon in command of the Ever 
 Victorious Army. 
 
 This accidental discovery placed us in a very embarrass- 
 ing position. Burgevine, we knew, had quarrelled with 
 
i io FORMOSA 
 
 Li-Fu-tai (Li-Hung-Chang) and had gone over to the Tai- 
 ping rebels. He was, therefore, a dangerous enemy to the 
 Chinese Imperial Government, whilst we, as the Chinese 
 saying is, were ' eating the emperor's rice.' 
 
 After a perplexed consultation, we came to the con- 
 clusion that, as we had made the discovery under the seal 
 of hospitality, and as, after all, our surmises had no further 
 confirmation than a chance sketch-book, we were justified 
 in reconciling our consciences with our racial sympathies. 
 
 We therefore determined to make no use of the dis- 
 covery we had so innocently happened upon, but we decided 
 to quit the vessel as quickly as possible ; so, after a hasty 
 leave-taking, we dropped into our waiting catamaran, and 
 were paddled back to the Custom House ; whilst the 
 ' General Sherman ' weighed anchor for Takao, where she 
 would arrive that night or the following morning. 
 
 The same evening I received a letter per courier, from 
 the Acting Commissioner of Customs, Takao, informing 
 me that news had come from Amoy to the effect that 
 General Burgevine had secretly left Shanghai for Amoy to 
 join the rebels at their last stronghold, Chang-Chau-fu, in 
 Fuh-kien (near Amoy), and further, that the vessel in which 
 he had sailed had cleared for Taiwanfoo. 
 
 As the ' General Sherman ' would have reached Takao 
 before I could reply, we were relieved from any responsi- 
 bility. 
 
 We learned later that, upon the schooner's arrival there 
 that evening, the Chinese local authorities had requested 
 the Commissioner of Customs to search the vessel and to 
 arrest Burgevine ; but there being no American consul in 
 Formosa, and the mandarins having no force with which 
 to support the Commissioner, the captain and owner of 
 the ' General Sherman ' were able to defy the authorities, 
 and Burgevine was unmolested. 
 
 The schooner, however, hastened to leave for Amoy, 
 where it appeared an American negro servant was waiting 
 
THE END OF GENERAL BURGEVINE in 
 
 to receive Burgevine, to convey him with all speed to 
 Chang-Chau-fu, where the Tai-ping rebels were impatiently 
 awaiting him, relying upon his presence to revive their 
 failing cause. This servant, however, had treacherously 
 sold his master to the mandarins. After landing the 
 general at Amoy during the night, he quietly conveyed 
 him into the hands of the imperial authorities. 
 
 The Chinese officials decided not to run the risk of 
 losing such a precious prize by handing him over to the 
 American consul-general ; they therefore determined to 
 send Burgevine overland, under strong guard, to Pekin. 
 He was accordingly put into a sedan-chair, and carried to 
 the northern provinces. Before reaching Pekin, however, 
 by an extremely convenient coincidence, either the chair 
 coolies stumbled or the ferry-boat in which the chair was 
 being carried capsized : the exact details are shrouded 
 in mystery. Certain it is that, after a wild and romantic 
 career, General Burgevine met his fate by drowning ; where- 
 fore the Chinese Government was saved any further 
 anxiety or trouble on his account. 
 
 It is interesting to follow briefly the subsequent 
 fortunes of the * General Sherman ' ; the hapless fate of the 
 owner, master, and vessel is worth recording as a matter 
 of history in the Far East. 
 
 After landing General Burgevine, the skipper succeeded 
 in obtaining a charter in Amoy to return to Formosa for 
 the purpose of loading sugar. Taking advantage of a 
 spell of fine weather, the schooner came from Takao to 
 Anping to fill up ; but while she was lying in the roads 
 a typhoon came on, and she was forced to put to sea, 
 where, with her sails blown away, and dismasted, she 
 drifted helplessly round the South Cape and along the east 
 coast of the island. The captain and crew were obliged 
 to sit despairingly still, with two equally appalling alterna- 
 tives in prospect, either to be dashed to pieces on the rocks, 
 or to fall a prey to the tender mercies of the savages. 
 
ii2 FORMOSA 
 
 Eventually, however, the storm abated somewhat, and 
 Captain Page was able to navigate his ship round the 
 North Cape, by the Formosa channel to Takao, and from 
 thence he left Formosa with his ship for the last time. 
 
 The end was dramatic. There were, in those days, 
 wild travellers' tales of the wealth of gold and jewels to be 
 found in the native tombs in Korea, a country practically 
 unknown to Europeans at that time. The owner of the 
 ' General Sherman ' fitted her out for a filibustering expedi- 
 tion to Korea, fired with the desire to handle a portion 
 of this mysterious treasure ; but the Koreans arose and 
 massacred all hands, and destroyed the ship. 
 
 So, by some strange fate, the three men whom we had 
 entertained at Anping all came to a tragical end. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 COWARDICE AND PLUCK. VISIT TO THE SAVAGE 
 VILLAGES. MY LIFE AT TAIWANFOO 
 
 A FEW months after I took over the charge of the Customs 
 at Anping, some German and Danish vessels had received 
 special government passes permitting them to enter a port 
 to the north of Po-te-ts'ui, for the purpose of loading salt. 
 
 Reports shortly afterwards reached the Commissioner 
 of Customs that other vessels were smuggling this article. 
 Mr. Maxwell thereupon ordered me to proceed to the port, 
 to examine all the vessels lying there, and to inspect their 
 passes. 
 
 I accordingly set out from Anping one morning in a 
 native fishing boat, with a small crew, of whom a queer 
 little Chinaman, named Chiau-a, was the head. 
 
 We beat about for many hours, trying to make our 
 way up the coast, but the wind increased in strength, and 
 the tide was adverse ; we therefore made but little progress. 
 Chiau-a advised that we should run inshore for several 
 miles, where there was a channel between the sand banks, 
 through which our boat could be poled or tracked up to 
 the port for which we were bound. 
 
 Several of the crew objected to this plan, as this portion 
 of the coast was a notorious haunt of pirates, who lurked 
 there, waiting for small craft ; but it was finally agreed to 
 take Chiau-a's advice, and we therefore bore away for the 
 mouth of the channel. 
 
 On arriving we found, to the dismay of our crew, that 
 two suspicious-looking junks were already at anchor there, 
 
 I 
 
ii 4 FORMOSA 
 
 their sides covered with rattan shields. However, my 
 Chinese servant endeavoured to encourage the crew by 
 reminding them that the master had plenty of guns, and 
 that they had no need to fear, for if they were pirates they 
 would not dare to attack a European. 
 
 On this we entered the narrow channel ; the sailors 
 jumped overboard, and with a tow-line proceeded to track 
 the boat along, head to wind. 
 
 We had not progressed a quarter of a mile when 
 a gun was fired, and tom-toms began to beat on the junks 
 in our rear. 
 
 Our terrified men all climbed aboard, leaving the boat 
 to drift aground. Luckily she swung round on her heel, 
 with her head pointing towards the entrance. 
 
 The crew began to beat t heir hands and cry, whining : 
 
 ' We are all dead men ! They are pirates after all ! 
 They will rob us of all our clothes and leave us naked. 
 Why did we come ? ' 
 
 I was not experienced in such adventures then, and my 
 heart fluttered a good deal at the idea of pirates ; but even 
 at such a moment it amused me that the sailors should be 
 in so great a panic at the prospect of losing half a dozen 
 pairs of ragged cotton breeches. 
 
 They scurried below like rats to their holes, whilst my 
 servant and I on deck could see the junks' crews hoisting 
 sail and heaving up anchor. I hastily jumped down below, 
 and thrashed the fellows with a stick until they were forced 
 to come on deck. Then I said : 
 
 ' You rascals ! My guns and my clothes are worth 
 more than a hundred dollars, and I don't intend to lose 
 them so easily. Come, hoist the sail, and we shall get away 
 before the pirates can catch us.' 
 
 They managed, tremblingly, to hoist the sail half-mast 
 up, and we flew back out of the creek with the wind be- 
 hind us. 
 
 On seeing that there was a chance of escape, the sailors 
 
COWARDICE AND PLUCK 115 
 
 began to laugh and to shout abuse to the junks. Then 
 suddenly the boat grounded, and as suddenly their laughter 
 changed to tears. Driven overboard by the stick, they con- 
 trived to get the boat afloat again, and we passed the junks 
 before they could get under weigh. I bestowed a salute 
 upon them with my rifle, and down dropped their sails. 
 
 My crew absolutely refused to go any further, and in- 
 sisted on returning to Anping ; we therefore put out to 
 sea, and ran swiftly before the breeze, with full sail, out of 
 sight of the low land. 
 
 In gibing the sail a rope caught my cork helmet and 
 sent it flying overboard. To my surprise Chiau-a, who had 
 shown himself such an arrant coward, sprang into the 
 waves after it, and before we could bring the boat to the 
 wind he was half a mile astern. 
 
 We dodged about for an hour before we could pick the 
 man up, but he was eventually pulled on board none the 
 worse, and smiling with glee that he had saved my helmet, 
 which was worth about ten shillings. 
 
 It was in the autumn of the same year, 1865, and while 
 I was still in the Customs service, that I visited Sin-kang, 
 a village about nine or ten miles from Taiwanfoo. Here 
 I found the remains of an ancient Pepo-hoan village, 
 dating from the time of the Dutch occupation in the 
 seventeenth century. Sin-kang had been used by these 
 beneficent settlers as a principal mission station, and the 
 present village contains the descendants of the aboriginal 
 inhabitants. These Pepo-hoans, however, dress like the 
 Chinese, and have forgotten their old language. 
 
 The chief of this village was a Pepo-hoan, who was a 
 small mandarin, having gained some military rank as a 
 reward for his services in China during the Taiping 
 rebellion. He had brought back from the mainland a 
 singular trophy, in the shape of a small-footed Chinese 
 wife, whom he had captured by his sword and bow. 
 
 I became very friendly with this man, and in the course 
 
ii6 FORMOSA 
 
 of our conversations he told me that the majority of his tribe 
 had migrated into the interior, and that they had settled 
 in villages which were scattered even as far as the east coast. 
 
 I acquainted him with my interest in the aborigines of 
 the island, and he promised that if I felt inclined to visit 
 the savages of the high mountain ranges, he would give 
 me an introduction to his people in the lower hills, who, he 
 assured me, would welcome any ' red-haired relation/ and 
 who would pass me on to those of their tribe who were 
 upon terms of friendship with some of the savage tribes. 
 
 I was delighted to avail myself of this opportunity, and 
 having obtained the necessary leave of absence I arranged 
 for a fortnight's expedition into the interior. 
 
 Dr. Maxwell, my friend, who was a medical missionary 
 of the English Presbyterian Church, had just been driven 
 out of Taiwanfoo by the ignorant and prejudiced in- 
 habitants, and had been confined to the port of Takao. 
 When he heard of my projected expedition he expressed a 
 wish to accompany me, as he thought it possible that the 
 simple aborigines might show themselves more amenable 
 to the Gospel than the conceited Chinese had proved to be. 
 Dr. Maxwell's companionship was most acceptable to me, 
 not only because of his personal good qualities, but also 
 because I was aware of the wonderful cures he had ac- 
 complished on the fever-stricken and ophthalmic Chinese 
 cures which would undoubtedly appear miraculous to 
 the simple Pepo-hoan and the barbarous Ch'i-hoan. 
 
 Our intentions caused no little excitement, for with 
 the exception of my previous interview with the savages, 
 which I had been able to accomplish with the assistance of 
 the Spanish missionaries during my residence at Takao, 
 no European had ever communicated with the unsubdued- 
 aborigines of the south of Formosa, and none of their 
 villages had yet been entered by the white man. 
 
 One afternoon in November, 1865, we quitted Tai- 
 wanfoo with our servants and three Chinese coolies carry- 
 
VISIT TO THE SAVAGE VILLAGES 117 
 
 ing provisions, medicines, etc. We spent the night at 
 Sin-kang, at the abode of my friend the military mandarin, 
 who was very hospitable. He appeared to regret having 
 encouraged me to make the excursion ; he tried to dissuade 
 me from going further, for, he explained, although our 
 mutual ' kindred ' would do everything in their power to 
 entertain us and to assist us, yet the savages themselves 
 were utterly barbarous, and only anxious to secure the 
 heads of all strangers. However, when he found us un- 
 moved by all his doctrines of expediency, he furnished us 
 with a guide and accompanied us part of the route. 
 
 Soon after leaving Sin-kang we entered the lower 
 ranges of hills, and turned our backs upon Chinese im- 
 pertinence and civilisation. Early in the afternoon we 
 reached our preliminary destination, Kong-a-na, about 
 fifteen miles from Sin-kang. 
 
 I had already spent a night at this place, and we 
 received a most hearty welcome from the T'ong-su, the 
 headman of the tribe, responsible to the Chinese Govern- 
 ment. We found him a fine specimen of his race, frank and 
 simple, and without the sophisticated notions of his clans- 
 man, our friend the chief of Sin-kang, who had unavoidably 
 been to a certain extent corrupted by Chinese influence. 
 
 Here in Kong-a-na the people were proud of calling 
 themselves ' Hoans,' or ' barbarians,' and the old people re- 
 tained a knowledge of the language spoken by their fore- 
 fathers. They reverenced the memory of the good Dutch 
 settlers, loving all white men, and claiming kindred with 
 them for their sake. It was really very touching to hear 
 them, the old women especially, saying, * You white men 
 are our kindred. You do not belong to those wicked 
 shaven men, the Chinese. Yet what kind of people do you 
 call yourselves ? Ah ! for hundreds of years you have kept 
 away from us, and now, when our sight is dim, and we are 
 at the point to die, our old eyes are blessed with a sight of 
 our " red-haired relations " ' ! 
 
ii8 FORMOSA 
 
 Nothing could exceed the kindness shown to us by 
 these simple people ; appreciation extended to us chiefly 
 because of the traditions handed down amongst them of 
 the beneficent Dutch rule, and the wise brotherliness of 
 those old-time missionaries. 
 
 Dr. Maxwell was happily able to make them some 
 return, by effecting quick relief in cases of ague, fever, and 
 ophthalmia. 
 
 Bad weather and the kindly importunities of our enter- 
 tainers obliged us to stay two days in Kong-a-na ; but 
 early on the third day our host, with his sons and several 
 clansmen, accompanied us to another branch of the tribe, 
 who had settled on the outskirts of Chinese jurisdiction, 
 and were in communication with some of the independent 
 savage tribes. 
 
 A portion of this day's journey was through a wild and 
 barren tract of country, but in the afternoon we arrived at 
 a Hak-ka town, called Lam-tsng, situated at the western 
 foot of the last chain of mountains, which rise to a height of 
 about 4,000 feet, and which separate, as the Chinese express 
 it, ' the dominion of men from the mountains of barbarism.' 
 
 We were here most hospitably entertained by a flourish- 
 ing Chinese doctor and druggist, who felt amply recom- 
 pensed by our gift of a portion of the wonderful quinine. 
 
 After a good meal and a rest, we commenced our 
 ascent of the mountain range, where, on attaining the 
 summit, we were rewarded by a most ravishing prospect. 
 
 All the lower ranges, under Chinese rule, had long been 
 denuded of trees for the sake of firewood, but before us, 
 looking down, lay a fair and fertile valley, through which 
 ran a rapid rocky river ; whilst, beyond, the mountains 
 rose, covered with luxuriant jungle. Beyond, again, the 
 peak of Mount Morrison (nearly 13,000 feet) fitly crowned 
 this dense green verdure, and an additional charm was 
 imparted to the great peak's beauty by a slight covering 
 of pure snow, which glistened in the sun, confirming our 
 
VISIT TO THE SAVAGE VILLAGES 119 
 
 Chinese coolies' opinion of the wisdom of their ancestors, 
 who first named the peak the * Jadestone Mountain.' 
 
 Just before dark we arrived at Keng-chio-k'a, the last 
 village of Pepo-hoans who pay respect to Chinese authority. 
 The people here are chiefly engaged in protecting them- 
 selves from the oppressions of the Hak-ka Chinese, and 
 from the head-hunting incursions of tribes of savages. 
 
 Our friend, the old T'ong-su, was received by them with 
 great respect ; and when, in response to their inquiries, 
 he announced that he had brought them some ' red-haired 
 kindred/ we were welcomed heartily. They slaughtered 
 pigs and fowls for the suitable entertainment of ourselves 
 and our escort. 
 
 These people spoke Chinese but imperfectly, and 
 chiefly used their aboriginal language. They also inter- 
 married with the friendly savage tribes, and they were more 
 in sympathy with these barbarians than with the Hak-kas. 
 
 It was at our evening meal with them that we first saw 
 their custom of dipping the finger into the cup of samshu, 
 or potato whisky, and sprinkling a few drops towards the 
 four points of the compass before drinking, as an offering 
 to the spirits ; also* before eating they scattered morsels 
 of food in the same way, and for the same purpose. 
 
 After supper our Pepo-hoan friends entertained us with 
 native songs, whilst Dr. Maxwell's skill was entreated for 
 cases of fever and other ailments. 
 
 When we unfolded our project to them, our hosts 
 begged us not to venture amongst the savages, prognosti- 
 cating doleful results for ourselves ; but the old headman of 
 Kong-a-na reassured them, saying that even the great 
 Chinese mandarins were afraid of the ' red-haired hoan.' 
 They therefore agreed that the next morning they would 
 furnish us with a guide and an escort to accompany us to a 
 place called Lau-lung, which was situated on the further 
 slope of the first wooded range, in the valley at the foot 
 of Mount Morrison, in the central range of the island. 
 
120 FORMOSA 
 
 The Keng-chio-k'a people suffered much from the 
 attacks of two savage tribes, the Bangas and Bantaulangs, 
 who were in the habit of lying in wait in the jungle 
 bordering their rice fields during the harvest time. 
 
 Only a few weeks before our arrival the Bangas had 
 murdered several of their women. 
 
 At the same time, these two savage tribes were friendly 
 with the Pepo-hoan village called La-ku-li, some seven miles 
 south of Lau-lung, and they were also confederate with 
 three other tribes, the Pai-chien, Bilang, and Gani, in 
 order to protect themselves against the Sibukun, a power- 
 ful tribe of nearly one thousand fighting men, who lived 
 upon the eastern slope of the island. The Pai-chien, 
 Bilangs, and Ganis, in their turn, were friendly with Keng- 
 chio-k'a and Lau-lung Pepo-hoans, as they depended on 
 these villages for their supply of guns, knives, powder, lead, 
 and salt. 
 
 Early on the morrow our guide appeared, with one or 
 two companions. He was an old Pepo-hoan who had spent 
 his whole life in hunting and in fighting with savages or 
 Hak-kas. 
 
 He had never seen a white man before, and he was 
 immensely proud of introducing us to the Lau-lungs. 
 He assured us that our ' relations ' would be glad to wel- 
 come us. 
 
 Our Chinese coolies at this point declined to accompany 
 us any further ; but we speedily engaged other burden- 
 bearers, whilst our servants, after the manner of Chinese 
 boys, were rather glad to accompany their masters, for the 
 sake of seeing something new. 
 
 Our Kong-a-na friends now bade us adieu, with many 
 good wishes for our safe return to civilisation. 
 
 We crossed the broad valley and the river, which, as 
 it was the dry season, was confined to a narrow channel. 
 Arriving at the foot of the mountains on the further side 
 of the valley, our guide gave us the first intimation that 
 
NEW GROUND BROKEN BY RAIN-CENTRAL MOUNTAIN RANGE p. 121 
 
VISIT TO THE SAVAGE VILLAGES 121 
 
 we had left behind us our simple friends, by suggesting 
 the advisability of putting our arms in order, whilst he 
 and his followers loaded their matchlocks and lighted 
 their fusees. 
 
 I had with me a Colt's revolver, a double-barrelled 
 fowling-piece, and a seven-shooter Spencer rifle ; all of 
 which astounded the old man when he discovered how 
 many shots the whole amounted to, and how the guns 
 worked without any apparent fire. 
 
 He assured us, however, that no number of guns would 
 avail us upon the route which we were now to march, a 
 route usually haunted by his enemies, the Bangas and 
 Bantaulangs, who could perceive us whilst they themselves 
 remained invisible amongst the undergrowth. He enjoined 
 the strictest silence, and forbade the use of tobacco except 
 when he gave permission. 
 
 We now entered a narrow gorge, formed by the dry 
 bed of a mountain stream, filled with huge boulders, 
 hemmed in on either side by hills covered with the densest 
 jungle. At one point of our march we passed between 
 cliffs two or three hundred feet high, where our guide 
 hurried us through at the risk of our necks, it being a 
 favourite place of ambush for the foes of his tribe, several 
 of his relatives having been murdered there. 
 
 After several toilsome hours of ascent, we reached the 
 summit of the range, and saw below us a beautiful valley. 
 Here our guide informed us that we had passed all danger, 
 and that we were now in a friendly country. 
 
 The old man then persuaded us to sit down and tell 
 him all about ourselves. He particularly desired to know 
 why we, being his ' relations,' were yet so different in 
 appearance and habits to the Pepo-hoans. He also 
 entreated me to fire off all my guns, and expressed a wish 
 that we would come to help his people to exterminate 
 both the Chinese and the savages. 
 
 After a brief rest we descended into the valley, and 
 
122 FORMOSA 
 
 arrived about 3 P.M. at Lau-lung, a hamlet of substantial 
 farm-houses. 
 
 Our guide shouted triumphantly to the people : 
 
 < Ho6, hoe" ! come out and see some of our red-haired 
 relations, our relations of long ago, the men of whom 
 our forefathers have told us ! ' 
 
 Upon this the T'ong-su, or headman, hastened out, 
 followed by all his people, and after some explanations 
 from our old guide, he turned to us and welcomed us 
 heartily. He installed our hot and dusty selves and our 
 travel-worn servants in comfortable rooms, whence, after 
 refreshing ablutions, we were summoned to a goodly 
 feast of venison, pork, and rice, with delicious trout from 
 the neighbouring river. Here we found three savages of 
 the Gani tribe, who had arrived that day ; and, shortly 
 after we had finished our meal, the chief of the Sibukun, 
 with six attendants, appeared from the eastern side of the 
 island. These important guests had not visited Lau-lung 
 for two years. They brought with them bear and deer 
 skins, sinews, and bezoar for barter. The men were fully 
 armed with matchlocks, knives, spears, and bows and 
 arrows ; and they were gaily dressed in leopard-skin 
 jackets, red cloth, bracelets of wild boars' tusks, with much 
 elaborate adornment of beads and feathers. 
 
 Unfortunately the Gani and Sibukun tribes were at 
 deadly feud ; therefore our host demanded and temporarily 
 impounded the arms of both parties. 
 
 A pig was killed, cut up, and boiled in a large caldron, 
 and an al fresco feast was set forth, accompanied by several 
 buckets of samshu. The savage guests seated themselves 
 amicably, and prepared to do justice to the Pepo-hoan 
 hospitality. 
 
 The Sibukun chief was a noted warrior, having taken 
 as many as twenty to thirty heads in his time, whilst the 
 Gani chiefs, though in the minority, were all redoubtable 
 fighting men. 
 
VISIT TO THE SAVAGE VILLAGES 123 
 
 These rivals began the feast in a friendly spirit, 
 chatting amiably ; but, alas ! the influence of the samshu 
 did not make for peace ; and, as they came more and 
 more under its spell, their superficial courtesy fell from 
 them, even as it has occasionally been known to do 
 amongst highly civilised folk under like circumstances. 
 
 Each party began to boast of its superior prowess and 
 of its mighty doings. Alternate fits of conviviality and 
 warlike enthusiasm ensued, ending in a debauch which 
 ' made night hideous/ and effectually murdered our sleep. 
 
 Just before daylight the remaining wakeful ones sub- 
 sided into the sleep of intoxication, and they all presented 
 a sorry spectacle, prostrate upon the ground, around a big 
 fire, with their finery scattered in the dust. 
 
 The disturbances of the past night prevented us from 
 putting in a very early appearance, and, when we at last 
 encountered our host, he apologised to us for the discomfort 
 we had undergone. 
 
 The Gani men had already left the village, whilst the 
 Sibukuns seemed to be in a very dazed and subdued 
 condition after their night's orgie. This condition was of 
 distinct advantage to the Pepo-hoans in their subsequent 
 bargainings with them, as it enabled them to obtain 
 the merchandise, which their muddle-headed guests had 
 brought, on advantageous terms. 
 
 It is to be feared that the Pepo-hoans have absorbed 
 only too readily the lessons taught them by Chinese 
 civilisation ; and, with their new-found worldly wisdom, 
 they treat the savages as their conquerors have treated 
 them. 
 
 This day being Sunday we decided to have a complete 
 rest. We visited some of the neighbouring farms, and 
 Dr. Maxwell endeavoured to inculcate some elementary 
 notions of Christianity, speaking to the people in Chinese, 
 a language which all the Pepo-hoans understand. Whilst 
 thus caring for their souls he was also able to relieve 
 
I2 4 FORMOSA 
 
 many sick bodies by the administration of simple 
 remedies. 
 
 Later in the day we received an embassy from the 
 chief of the Pai-chien tribe. This chief had been a not- 
 able man in his time, but he was now crippled with 
 rheumatism, and could only give his tribe the benefit of 
 his advice. He had heard of our arrival on the savage 
 frontier, and sent out his adopted son to give us a friendly 
 invitation to visit his village. The young man was to our 
 surprise a Chinese, whom the chief had saved from some 
 massacre in his boyhood, and who had now become a 
 complete savage. 
 
 The following morning we prepared to start for the 
 Pai-chiens, accompanied by our old guide and an escort 
 of young men from Lau-lung ; but an unexpected check 
 occurred. 
 
 The Sibukuns were making ready to return home 
 when news arrived that the Gani men had started on the 
 war-path, and were determined to waylay their old enemies 
 upon their route. 
 
 Now the Lau-lung men were responsible for the safety 
 of their Sibukun guests, and they had more to dread 
 from them than from the Ganis ; they therefore hastily 
 formed a party to accompany their visitors until they 
 were out of danger, and we remained until this was 
 accomplished. 
 
 Upon the return of the Lau-lung men from this errand 
 we set out for the Pai-chiens, who were at that season 
 occupying a hunting station situated in a most inaccessible 
 spot in the mountains. 
 
 The Pai-chien tribe, we found, was decreasing at a rapid 
 rate, owing to the feuds with the Sibukuns. They could 
 only maintain their ancient reputation for valour by making 
 raids amongst the Hak-ka Chinese. 
 
 We received a hearty greeting from the principal men 
 of the tribe. Dr. Maxwell had already sent a bottle of 
 
VISIT TO THE SAVAGE VILLAGES 125 
 
 medicine to the chief, and on our arrival we found that the 
 remedy had produced so beneficent an effect that we were 
 welcomed as very great friends. They feasted us with the 
 best fare they had to offer, in the shape of dried venison 
 and boiled millet ; and we talked long and amicably, whilst 
 the old chief's son, Awang, was of great use to us from his 
 knowledge of Chinese. He was thus able to interpret 
 between us, and to give us information concerning the 
 various tribes and their habits and customs. 
 
 We passed the night with our savage friends ; but as 
 their hunting lodges consisted of nothing but thatched 
 roofs over holes in the rocks, at an elevation of 6,000 
 feet, we were miserably cold under our blankets and deer- 
 skins. 
 
 They themselves lay on the ground around a large 
 fire, with nothing but a piece of cloth round their loins. 
 Their spears were stuck in the ground, and their firearms 
 lay ready at their sides, as they lived in continual 
 apprehension of an attack from their enemies. 
 
 When Dr. Maxwell and I rose in the early morning 
 we were charmed with our surroundings. The situation 
 was most romantic ; at our feet ran a mountain stream, 
 with deep clear pools, into which fell cascades of sparkling 
 water. The opportunity was tempting ; we determined to 
 enjoy a good swim in the pools. No sooner said than 
 done, and we were disporting ourselves in the water, re- 
 velling in its fresh coolness, when we were disturbed by 
 much laughter. 
 
 To our dismay we discovered that we were being 
 watched by all the women and children, who were amused 
 and astonished^at our white skin. This brought our bathe 
 to a hasty conclusion. 
 
 We returned to the old chief, and after partaking of 
 breakfast we were conducted to the Pai-chien village 
 proper, which was composed of circular huts, with walls of 
 reeds and thatched roofs. 
 
126 FORMOSA 
 
 Our escort showed us a house which was occupied by 
 the unmarried men of the tribe. Here the walls were 
 ornamented with the skulls of their enemies of other tribes, 
 and the pig-tails of the Chinese whom they had slain. 
 Amongst this gruesome record I counted eighteen Chinese 
 queues. 
 
 After another entertainment here our old guide 
 suggested that we should visit the Bilang tribe. We 
 reached their village after two hours of wearisome climb- 
 ing, and here again we found the old chief was utterly 
 prostrate from rheumatism. He was delighted to see us, 
 as he had already been told of Dr. Maxwell's remedy for 
 the Pai-chien chief's complaint. 
 
 This old man had a very pretty little daughter, of whom 
 he seemed exceedingly fond, and upon whose dress he 
 bestowed unusual care. Fortunately we had with us some 
 few articles of adornment, which we presented, and which 
 were greatly appreciated. We were soon upon terms of 
 friendship with the Bilangs. 
 
 Our visit, however, was fated to be of but short dura- 
 tion, for we had not been with them an hour when our old 
 guide and the Lau-lung men rushed in, crying in conster- 
 nation that the Bangas were on their way to pay a visit to 
 their friends the Bilangs, and therefore we must leave at 
 once, as they dared stay no longer. 
 
 We therefore reluctantly made our adieux to our hosts, 
 accompanying them with a bottle of medicine for the aged 
 chief, and again started on our pilgrimage. 
 
 ' The best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft 
 agley ! ' As fate would have it, we had not been tramping 
 for more than half an hour in the thick jungle and high 
 grass when we stumbled upon the Banga party, which 
 consisted of four men and three women, all beautifully 
 attired, from a savage's point of view, and armed to the 
 teeth. 
 
 Dr. Maxwell and I were in front, and the savages were 
 
VISIT TO THE SAVAGE VILLAGES 127 
 
 so much astonished at our appearance that they stood still 
 striking their mouths with their hands to express their 
 amazement. 
 
 I called out to them in a conciliatory manner, in 
 Chinese, ' Ch'in-lang ! ' (kinsmen). 
 
 The Banga leader, a fine frank-looking man, smiled, 
 and repeated the word. The women had some knowledge 
 of the Celestial tongue, from being employed as go-between 
 in their bartering with the Chinese, and they came forward 
 to question us. 
 
 Our guide and the Lau-lung men scowled upon them 
 as enemies, and retired to a distance, whilst Dr. Maxwell 
 and I squatted down to have a chat with our new-found 
 acquaintances. 
 
 We lighted our pipes, and I exhibited my guns to 
 them, fired them off to further impress them, and let them 
 examine my white skin ; so we soon made friends. 
 
 The leader informed us that his name was ' Chau-po, } 
 and asked us what we were doing with his enemies, the 
 Lau-lung men. 
 
 We told him that they had been kind to us ; and we 
 assured him that they were equally 'relations/ and not 
 Chinese. 
 
 I presented Chau-po with some fine powder for priming, 
 with some other little gifts ; and he several times asked our 
 names, repeating them afterwards, thus, ' Pukkering,' ' Ma- 
 i-seng ' (Dr. Maxwell). 
 
 When it became time to part, and we were bidding each 
 other good-bye, our old guide stole up to us and whispered : 
 
 ' Ask the chief when he is going back home, and what 
 way, so that we can keep clear of him.' 
 
 I unsuspectingly asked him, and, having gained the 
 desired information, each party passed upon its way. 
 
 We put up that night at the solitary hut of a Bilang 
 man, and the next day we returned to Lau-lung, experi- 
 encing a slight shock of earthquake en route. 
 
128 FORMOSA 
 
 We slept the night at Lau-lung, pursuing our way next 
 day to Keng-chio-k'a, where we bade our old guide fare- 
 well, making him happy with various presents and a small 
 monetary remuneration. 
 
 The night before we left the village we observed that 
 there seemed to be a great secret consultation amongst the 
 Lau-lung people, and in the morning our guide informed 
 us that his eldest son and some of the young men of the 
 tribe had gone off on a hunting expedition amongst the 
 mountains. 
 
 To our regret, we learned afterwards that, availing them- 
 selves of the knowledge I had innocently gained from 
 Chau-po, the party had waylaid the Bangas on their 
 return home, and had slain several of the savages. 
 
 Dr. Maxwell and I reached Taiwanfoo without further 
 adventure, after a very enjoyable excursion, which was 
 somewhat saddened by the knowledge that we had unwit- 
 tingly been the cause of the death of the people who had 
 met us in such a friendly spirit. 
 
 It is, however, just to the Pepo-hoans to remember that 
 they were taking the only means in their power to protect 
 themselves from the raids of savages whose sole object in 
 making warfare was the accumulation of human heads, and 
 who were therefore necessarily regarded as akin to wild 
 beasts, both by the civilised aborigines and also by the 
 Chinese, who were anxious to cultivate the land and to 
 develop the country. Our own countrymen in the last 
 century suffered the same kind of harassment from the 
 Red Indians in America. 
 
 The monotony being broken occasionally by these 
 excursions, I spent a busy life at the Customs in Taiwanfoo, 
 gratified by the continued kindly interest of Mr. Maxwell- 
 interest which, I have every reason for believing, would 
 have found practical expression in my speedy promotion, 
 had not that gentleman died in the August of 1865, at 
 Amoy. 
 
MY LIFE AT TAIWANFOO 129 
 
 His successor was a man of a very different type ; and 
 after waiting, with all the patience I could muster, from 
 August until Christmas, I sent in my resignation. This 
 was most promptly accepted. 
 
 I had already received a very favourable offer from 
 Messrs. McPhail, British merchants of Taiwanfoo, with 
 which I therefore closed, glad once more to be in the 
 service of my own countrymen. 
 
130 FORMOSA 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 ADVENTURES IN THE VICINITY OF TAIWANFOO 
 
 I ENTERED the service of Messrs. McPhail Brothers after 
 the Chinese New Year (February 1866). 
 
 The firm, trading under the Chinese style, * T'ien-li ' 
 ( * Heavenly profits ' ), was the principal European house in 
 South Formosa ; our credit was first-rate, as we were 
 supported by some of the principal British and American 
 firms in Hong Kong and Amoy. 
 
 We considered ourselves fortunate in possessing the 
 services of a Chinese compradore who was above suspicion, 
 a man of prepossessing appearance, on excellent terms with 
 the Chinese authorities, and possessing a domestic establish- 
 ment which reflected credit on his employers. 
 
 At that time we Europeans had not incurred the open 
 dislike of the mandarins, and Mr. McPhail, besides acting 
 as British consul for some months, was appointed consul 
 for France and the Netherlands. 
 
 My successor in the Customs at Anping, Mr. Gue, was 
 an old acquaintance and friend, and we employed the 
 leisure time during the south-west monsoon, when no vessels 
 dare approach the coast, in exploring the country around 
 Taiwanfoo on horseback. At that time the highways were 
 infested by bands of daring robbers, who defied the man- 
 darins with impunity, and considered all travellers and 
 unprotected merchandise as their lawful prey. 
 
 This caused us an amusing adventure on one occasion. 
 
 Gue and I arranged an expedition to the district city of 
 Ka-gi, about thirty-five miles to the north of Taiwanfoo, 
 
ADVENTURES AT TAIWANFOO 131 
 
 whence we hoped to be able to reach the savages, as 
 the mountain ranges are within a comparatively short 
 distance of that city. We were accompanied by our 
 servants and a couple of coolies to carry our bedding, 
 change of raiment, provisions, etc. As our journey took us 
 through the robber-infested districts, we were armed with 
 our revolvers, a rifle, and a double-barrelled fowling-piece. 
 
 Leaving Taiwanfoo by the north gate, after passing 
 through a marshy and uncultivated country, we came to 
 the market town of Hm-kang-boe. Here we were informed 
 that the traffic was stopped on account of the exactions 
 and outrages committed by the inhabitants of two villages 
 some seven or eight miles to the north. 
 
 I must tell my readers that between Hm-kang-boe" and 
 Ka-gi is a most fertile plain, highly cultivated with rice, 
 sugar, indigo, turmeric, ground nuts, etc., and producing 
 many kinds of fruit, such as oranges, shaddock, mangoes, 
 lung-ngans, etc., etc. Indeed, every prospect pleased, and 
 only man was vile very vile indeed, as the villagers were 
 almost always engaged in clan fights or as highway robbers. 
 Every village was surrounded by an impregnable stockade 
 of very high living bamboos, and had only two gates for 
 ingress and egress. 
 
 Our boys and coolies were inclined to leave us ; but as 
 we rode ahead out of Hm-kang-boe, they, fearful of being 
 left behind, followed us, accompanied by several people 
 in the town, who took advantage of our escort to go to 
 Ka-gi with merchandise. 
 
 The mid-day heat was intense, and we were clad in the 
 airiest of costumes, Chinese pyjamas and sleeping jackets ; 
 whilst, as protection for our heads, Gue wore a large 
 bamboo Chinese hat like a gigantic mushroom, and my 
 head was swathed in a black silk Formosa turban. At a 
 distance we could not be distinguished from the natives of 
 the country. 
 
 We picked our cautious way along the high road which 
 
132 FORMOSA 
 
 ran for miles across the solitary plain. I call it a high 
 road for courtesy ; in reality it was but a single line of rough 
 granite slabs, laid down more or less imperfectly on the 
 top of a mud bank which sloped down to the paddy fields 
 on either side. 
 
 In the distance, on one side of our path, were visible the 
 high clumps of bamboos denoting a village, but no sign of 
 life was to be seen in the fields. Our guides and coolies 
 began to murmur that we were approaching one of the 
 worst nests of highway robbers, and that they would be 
 sure to be stripped of all their clothing. As this consisted 
 merely of a very short pair of cotton trousers each, we did 
 not feel very anxious about their prospective losses ; so 
 telling them that we would compensate them with half a 
 dozen pairs each if necessary, we pushed on. Presently, 
 however, our attention was called to the gate of the village, 
 out of which poured a string of men, armed with spears 
 and matchlocks which glistened in the burning rays of the 
 sun. These men took positions on each side of the road 
 in the fields, leaning against the banks and awaiting our 
 approach. 
 
 We watched their manoeuvres with keen interest. The 
 Chinese who had joined us at Hm-kang-boe threw down 
 their burdens and refused to go further. Our coolies and 
 servants, after enduring from us some abuse and encourage- 
 ment, followed us to within about two hundred yards of 
 the armed men, when they too lay down, and began to 
 cry. 
 
 The robbers one by one arose and appeared to be 
 coming to meet us. Gue and I, revolver in hand, rode 
 ahead, and just when we came up to the rascals we threw 
 off our hat and turban, showing to the astonished robbers 
 our light hair and unshaven heads. With a British yell, 
 we fired our revolvers, and galloped into the middle of 
 them, crying, ' The red-haired barbarians are coming ! ' 
 On this, there was a general sauve qui pent, and the brave 
 
BAMBOOS FORMOSA 
 
 p. 132 
 
ADVENTURES AT TAIWANFOO 133 
 
 banditti scattered back into their village, crying, ' Run, run ! 
 Ayo ! ayo ! they are not men ! they are red-haired bar- 
 barians. They may be bears or they may be tigers ! Run ! ' 
 The road was clear. 
 
 The most ridiculous part of the affair was that our 
 ponies, though docile enough, had not undergone a military 
 training, and their riders were both sailors. At the report 
 of the revolvers, and in the general confusion, they became 
 frantic, and spilled us both in the fields, where, had not 
 the robbers been panic-struck, we should have been at 
 their mercy. We, however, soon remounted, and rejoined 
 our servants, coolies, and companions, who for some time 
 were helpless from laughter and joy. 
 
 We had no further trouble from robbers, and arrived 
 safely at Ka-gi, where we enjoyed a couple of days in the 
 city and vicinity, but were unable to visit the savage 
 country, though we did succeed in getting two or three 
 specimens of one tribe to come out to a village in the 
 lower ranges. 
 
 On our return journey we had another little adventure, 
 which served to show us the true inwardness of a high- 
 class Chinese gentleman's establishment, and gave us an 
 opportunity of experiencing genuine hospitality. We had 
 made a late start from Ka-gi, and had undergone the 
 stifling heat of the ride across the monotonous exposed 
 plain, when towards sunset our coolies, who had taken us 
 out of the regular route to avoid the dreaded robbers, 
 pointed out a village, and said, ' We will go there, and stay 
 the night. It is the residence of a Siutsai (a Chinese B.A.), 
 a mighty man of great family. He will be glad to see a 
 barbarian ; you can talk mandarin to him, and he will kill 
 a sucking pig for you, and we shall all have a fine time of 
 it.' We resigned ourselves into the coolies' hands, and, 
 after entering the village, we arrived tired and thirsty and 
 hungry at the portal of a fine Chinese mansion. 
 
 Whilst we sat on our ponies, staring irresolutely at 
 
134 FORMOSA 
 
 the closed gates with their three entrances, of which 
 the centre one was for the honoured guest, the people 
 gathered round us from the village street, and commented 
 audibly upon our unwonted appearance. 
 
 Presently from one of the side gates some two or 
 three of the long-robed literati class emerged, and spoke 
 to us. 
 
 ' Would we come within ? Would we see the Toalo ? ' 
 
 I replied politely in mandarin. It would delight us to 
 see the Toalo (or squire). 
 
 Then, after a pause, the big centre gate swung slowly 
 open, and we passed into the great courtyard. Here our 
 gaze fell upon pleasant flowers, green rockeries, with their 
 cool fountains spraying in the sultry air, whilst we were 
 soon surrounded by a number of curious retainers of many 
 and varied rank ; for this Toalo was a very great man 
 indeed, his ancestors having come to the island with 
 Koxinga, which is equivalent in Chinese eyes to our boast 
 of * coming over with the Conqueror.' 
 
 As we ascended the steps of the mansion, the venerable 
 mandarin himself met us upon the steps, and greeted us 
 with great cordiality. 
 
 We went through the usual etiquette : ' Your honour- 
 able name ? age ? place of birth ? ' etc. We must enter 
 his abode ; we must dine and rest with him. ' Pi-ki- 
 ling ? ' Ah, yes, he had heard of Pi-ki-ling (from our 
 coolies, I expect), who could even speak the language of 
 men (Chinese). We must make him happy by entering. 
 All that he had was at our service. 
 
 We politely demurred. We represented that we were 
 scarcely in suitable trim to accept his hospitality. Some 
 food, some water, and afterwards a quiet corner in which to 
 sleep was all that we dared desire. 
 
 * By no means,' he responded. ' You are my honoured 
 guests. Pray enter and refresh yourselves.' 
 
 It was an amusing predicament. Our attire was 
 
ADVENTURES AT TAIWANFOO 135 
 
 picturesque, but scarcely conventional, and our garments 
 all bore testimony to a long, hot day's ride, in their numerous 
 traces of sand and mud. 
 
 Gue and I consulted hastily, and arrived at the philo- 
 sophical conclusion that this was an occasion when mind 
 must rise superior to clothes. We thanked our host, 
 begging him to do with us as he would. 
 
 We were thereupon escorted by obsequious attendants 
 to a spacious bedroom, sumptuously furnished, with a 
 massive, handsomely carved, four-post bedstead, where 
 slippers, hot water, and towels were provided ; and after 
 plentiful ablutions, a good brush, and a change of clothes, 
 we emerged much refreshed. 
 
 We rejoined our host in the large hall, where, whilst we 
 sipped tea and smoked, we conversed amiably. 
 
 Out of compliment to the Toalo, as a learned man, I 
 first spoke in mandarin or court Chinese, but gradually 
 both he and I relapsed into the more informal local dialect, 
 and I found him a highly intelligent man. 
 
 What seemed to perplex him about Europeans, or 
 4 barbarians/ as he (quite innocently) termed us, was our 
 amazing energy. Why should we trouble ourselves so 
 much, and take so much pains about anything on earth ? 
 To the phlegmatic, literary Chinaman this seemed an in- 
 comprehensible trait in our character. Was anything worth 
 such fuss and bother ? What was the good of going to see 
 savages ? It was the dreary old pessimistic query, Cui 
 bono ? in far Formosa. 
 
 We talked of many things, but never of the ladies of 
 the household, for to a Chinese this would be considered a 
 great insult. 
 
 The womenkind were all invisible, but from low whis- 
 perings from behind the paper screens of the walls, the 
 suspicion of bated breath when our talk was interesting, 
 and a subdued rustling of silken garments at exciting 
 moments, I gathered that the fair ones were not very far 
 
136 FORMOSA 
 
 away. Indeed, I fancied more than once that I discerned 
 the scrutiny of some bright eye through the defects in the 
 frail paper windows. 
 
 Before very long there came the summons to the 
 dinner. Imagine several square tables, whereat ourselves 
 were assigned the places of honour ; and, in their 
 proper places, the literati, the relations, and most honoured 
 retainers of the household. There was somewhat of the 
 feudal spirit about all the arrangements. As to the 
 viands, we had a fine fat sucking pig, the equivalent to our 
 baron of beef or saddle of mutton, and sharks' fins, etc., 
 with many other delicacies, washed down with Shau-hsing 
 wines and rice spirit. The feast lasted long. After it we 
 adjourned again to the hall, where, sitting at our ease, with 
 our pipes and tea, we talked of many strange things. 
 
 Of the geography of our country these Chinamen knew 
 absolutely nothing. We were barbarians. We came from 
 some poor village of our particular tribe outside civilisation, 
 civilisation being solely within the dominion of the Celes- 
 tial Emperor. All the rest of the world if there were any 
 poor remainder was benighted, and but the home of 
 ' barbarians/ not * men.' 
 
 Still, they were politely curious about us. Had we 
 intellectual minds, we barbarians ? What could we do ? 
 
 I unfolded to them the mysteries of steam as a 
 propeller. I told them of our machinery. They were not 
 much impressed. Some of them had even seen and 
 travelled on a steamer. Yes, but that was not much ; 
 to invent those material things, was that worthy of a man's 
 intellect ? Such novelties were merely mechanical. 
 
 I told them somewhat of the stars, of our scientific con- 
 clusions. This appealed more to them. Then I quoted 
 to them passages from their own sacred classics. They 
 approved of me. 
 
 At length we obtained leave to retire, as we were weary 
 from our travels. The mandarin bade us most courteous 
 
ADVENTURES AT TAIWANFOO 137 
 
 adieus. He should not be up in time to see us off in the 
 morning, but his servants were ours. He would provide us 
 with a guide to show us the best route. We must make 
 him happy by returning some day. 
 
 Later, as I lay wakeful on my bed, I heard, through 
 the thin paper partitions, my host and his cronies consider- 
 ing their strange visitors. 
 
 ' Strange creatures, these barbarians/ grunted the 
 mandarin, as he puffed at his opium pipe. 
 
 1 Aye, they are, indeed,' acquiesced another. 
 
 A long pause, whilst they sucked their pipes reflec- 
 tively. 
 
 ' That Pi-ki-ling, he's a strange barbarian. Where did 
 he learn to speak the language of men ? ' 
 
 ' Aye, but he's clever for a barbarian. He is almost 
 a man.' 
 
 ' Nonsense ! he has not the eyes of a man. They are 
 round, like the rest of the animals', not turned up at the 
 corners, like we men have them. He's no man, I tell 
 you.' 
 
 There was a grunt from the man addressed. The 
 argument was conclusive. 
 
 ' Well, perhaps his mother might have been a man, 
 anyhow ! ' he volunteered. 
 
 * May be, may be ; but he is a clever barbarian,' settled 
 my host, and the discussion ended. 
 
 In the morning we found a good breakfast of rice 
 porridge, with fish and meat, prepared for us ; after which 
 we quitted the roof of the hospitable mandarin, and, with 
 our guide, made our way back to Taiwanfoo. 
 
 The Toalo had done us the honour to approve of our 
 good English leather saddles ; so we sent him a fine one, 
 with many courteous messages of thanks for his pleasant 
 hospitality. 
 
 It was during this south-west monsoon that one day, 
 after a heavy typhoon in which three German vessels, which 
 
138 FORMOSA 
 
 had taken the opportunity of a few fine calm days to load 
 sugar at Anping, were driven on shore, three ship's boats 
 appeared in the creek off Fort Zelandia. It appeared 
 that their occupants were the captain, his wife, officers, 
 and crew of the Dutch barque ' Pomona,' of Sourabaya, 
 bound from Chefoo to Swatow with bean cake, cotton, etc. 
 
 In beating down the Formosan channel they had 
 encountered the typhoon, and had been driven on the 
 sand banks to the north of Taiwanfoo, off Po-te-ts'ui, that 
 noted den of pirates and wreckers. Directly the vessel 
 stranded, the Chinese had come off by hundreds in their 
 catamarans to complete the wreck, and the crew had just 
 managed to escape with their lives, and loss of every- 
 thing else. 
 
 After receiving the unfortunates, and providing them 
 with food, clothing, and shelter, the captain consulted with 
 Mr. McPhail, as acting Dutch consul. He said that he 
 had left the barque in good order with all standing, and 
 proposed to sell her by auction. This was done, and our 
 compradore bought her for five hundred dollars, which 
 sum the captain received, and left with his crew by the 
 first vessel for Amoy. 
 
 The sum paid for the vessel and cargo was indeed 
 small, but we knew that we had slight chance of recouping 
 ourselves for even that trifle, after a vessel had got into 
 the hands of the Po-te-ts'ui men. 
 
 Mr. McPhail had a notice of the sale translated into 
 Chinese, to which he affixed the seal of the Netherlands 
 Government, and, our compradore being on good terms 
 with the Tao-tai's private secretary, we obtained a formid- 
 able document, stamped with the seal of the chief magis- 
 trate of the island, notifying all persons that * T'ien-li ' 
 had bought the vessel, and warning all Chinese to recognise 
 the sale, under the direst penalties for disobedience. 
 
 Now the question was, how could we make use of all 
 this power ? 
 
ADVENTURES AT TAIWANFOO 139 
 
 The weather had moderated ; so I was instructed to go 
 to the wreck, stick the two notices on the fore-mast, and 
 warn the wreckers to leave the vessel. I was only too 
 glad to have a relief from the general monotony of Formosa 
 life. Mr. Gue offered to lend us the Customs catamaran, 
 and Mr. McSwiney, the Customs boarding officer, a 
 descendant of the ancient kings of Ireland, from Kerry, 
 and a brave relict of Alma and Inkerman, offered to 
 accompany me, with a rifle, paste-pot, refreshment, etc. 
 The old coxswain of the Customs catamaran, with his 
 three sons, objected to the adventurous trip ; but as 1 had 
 got him into the service, and had saved his wages from 
 being absorbed by Mr. Maxwell's Manchu secretary, he 
 was fond of me, as were his sons. 
 
 Old Hok-a said, ' Ai-yo, Pi-ki-ling, you dare die ; 
 you are always wanting this kind of thing. Never mind, 
 we will all go ; but these Po-te-ts'ui rascals will rob us of 
 all our clothes.' 
 
 The weather having lulled somewhat, we started, 
 sitting in a tub lashed on the catamaran, armed with our 
 rifles, revolvers, proclamations, and a pot of paste. We 
 hoped, with faint hope, to interview the wreckers, to con- 
 vince them of the error of their ways and of the sacred 
 rights of property. 
 
 With an adverse wind, we arrived in sight of the wreck 
 in the afternoon. Her mizzen-mast was gone, but the 
 fore and main were intact. As we approached, however, 
 we saw the main-mast, with yards, etc., drop over the side, 
 and being towed towards the land. 
 
 As we drew near to the stranded barque, we perceived 
 that she was surrounded by crowds of catamarans, amongst 
 which there were several larger boats, fishing smacks, 
 laden with all the necessary implements for breaking up 
 and demolishing the unfortunate vessel, and forges for 
 repairing the tools used in the process. 
 
 Up the sides of the barque, and all over her decks, 
 
140 FORMOSA 
 
 swarmed Chinamen, like so many busy ants, chattering, 
 gesticulating, screaming at each other, whilst they plied 
 their work of destruction. 
 
 When they discovered our proximity there was even 
 greater excitement. 
 
 * What are you doing there ? ' I demanded in Chinese. 
 
 ' What has it to do with you ? ' their spokesman re- 
 sponded impudently. * We know you. Yes, yes ! you 
 are " Teng-lang-oe " (" Chinese Talk " my sobriquet in 
 Taiwan). You one wonderful barbarian. You just go 
 back home. What you here for at all ? J 
 
 I waved the Tao-tai's document before them. 
 
 ' See this,' I replied. ' You are not to touch the ship. 
 It is sold to the T'ien-li Hang (firm) for five hundred 
 dollars. Come out of it ! ' 
 
 To emphasise my words I fired off my rifle in the air. 
 Most of those on board jumped overboard and took refuge 
 in the catamarans. The hubbub increased, and their faces 
 grew dark and threatening. They evidently disliked my 
 argument. 
 
 * Look here, you barbarians, be wise/ they advised. 
 * You just leave us alone. If you touch one of us with 
 those guns of yours, we'll kill you both. Night's coming 
 on. Just you go back home, and don't interfere with us.' 
 
 For reply I got alongside, jumped on board, and held 
 the Tao-tai's authority before their shifty eyes. 
 
 ' Don't know it ! Can't read it ! Tao-tai ? What's 
 the Tao-tai to do with us, anyway ? ' 
 
 They stubbornly refused to understand it. 
 
 Then I got my pot of paste and pasted up the 
 despised document on the fore-mast, as high as I could 
 reach. 
 
 ' Now,' I repeated, ' this ship is sold to T'ien-li, and you 
 rob it at your peril.' 
 
 ' All right, Teng-lang-oe,' they replied conciliatingly. 
 1 Now just you go back home. It's getting late, and it's 
 
ADVENTURES AT TAIWANFOO 141 
 
 very cold. Where are you going to eat and to sleep, any- 
 way ? It's very miserable sitting in that catamaran. We 
 really cannot offer you any hospitality now ; but just you ' 
 come up to our village later on, and we'll sell you the chains 
 and the sails, the chronometers, the brass, and the copper 
 cheap. You're a wise barbarian, almost a man ! You 
 know our Chinese rules and customs, and you can judge 
 when it is wise to say good-bye.' 
 
 Unfortunately I did know, and I also recollected that 
 the better part of valour was discretion ; so with more 
 earnest reminders to them of the retribution that would 
 follow their evil-doing, we pushed off into the open sea to 
 return to Anping. 
 
 When we were a little distance off they attracted our 
 attention with triumphant howls and shouts of derisive 
 laughter. 
 
 1 Come by-and-by to our village, and allow us to 
 entertain you.' 
 
 Old Hok-a called our attention, and we turned our 
 heads just in time to see the fore-mast, with the despised 
 proclamation still upon it, waver, fall, and disappear over- 
 board. They had cut it down. 
 
 The old man said, ' Ai-yo ! Pi-ki-ling, heaven looks 
 after you ; if not we should all be dead men.' 
 
 Old Hok-a was quite right, but I did not appreciate 
 the fact at that time. 
 
 The sequel was worked out a few weeks later, when the 
 wreckers sent down to Taiwanfoo and invited me to visit 
 their village. They received me with humorous friendli- 
 ness, and I made some very good bargains with them 
 amongst the despoiled chains, copper, and gear of the 
 Dutch barque, and our compradore was well repaid by his 
 purchase. 
 
142 FORMOSA 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 SECOND TRIP INTO THE INTERIOR 
 
 TOWARDS the end of the same year, 1866, our firm inter- 
 viewed some Chinese, who brought specimens of tea and 
 cassia bark, stating that these articles were to be found 
 growing in abundance in the savage territory near La-ku-li. 
 We held a consultation, and it was ultimately arranged 
 that I should make a few weeks' trip into the interior, to 
 examine the country and to verify the correctness of these 
 statements, with a view to trade. 
 
 Our Chinese ' shroff,' or manager, enlisted the services 
 of a fellow-countryman who had dealings with the savages 
 at La-ku-li ; whilst my old friend, the T'ong-su of Kong- 
 a-na, gave me several introductions and guides to lead 
 me to the Pepo-hoans, who inhabit the hills and valleys 
 stretching between Taiwanfoo and La-ku-li. 
 
 Thus one morning in December I started off on my 
 pilgrimage, accompanied by a Chinese clerk and servant, 
 with coolies to carry our baggage, which consisted chiefly 
 of presents for the various savage chiefs. 
 
 We halted at a Chinese market town, Kwan-te-bio, 
 where two sons of the Kong-a-na headman were established 
 in business. They welcomed us as friends, and sent some 
 of their people along with us as guides. 
 
 The same evening we reached Bak-sa, a settlement of 
 the civilised aborigines, who received us hospitably, although 
 they had never before seen a white man. They accepted 
 us at once as * kinsmen/ and we slept that night at Bak-sa. 
 
SECOND TRIP INTO THE INTERIOR 143 
 
 The following morning we prepared to continue our 
 journey, but our Chinese coolies' valour had ebbed away ; 
 they refused to go further from civilisation. The Bak-sa 
 people, however, soon provided me with some of their men 
 in place of our recreant Chinese, and they also told off an 
 escort for us, as the remainder of our route to La-ku-li was 
 frequently made dangerous by bands of savages. 
 
 La-ku-li is situated upon the same river as Lau-lung, 
 and our route thither was very similar in character to 
 the country lying between Keng-chio-k'a and Lau-lung, 
 through which we passed in my previous narrative. 
 
 Some three miles from La-ku-li, upon the summit of a 
 high ridge, we were met by a hunting party of Pepo-hoans, 
 who, when they had somewhat recovered from their sur- 
 prise at the sight of a European in their Formosan wilds, 
 took charge of our party, and led us to our destination. 
 
 Here I was received by Lo-liat, the Chinaman whom 
 our 'shroff' had engaged as agent to procure specimens of 
 the tea and cassia bark. This Lo-liat was a man of a 
 stamp frequently to be met with upon the borders of 
 savage territory. Reckless, unscrupulous, a confirmed 
 opium-smoker, he carried his life in his hand, making 
 a precarious livelihood by trading with, and lending 
 money to, the simple-minded * hoans/ both civilised and 
 savage. 
 
 It chanced that the day after our arrival at La-ku-li, an 
 old Ban-tau-lang woman came to barter some deer horns, 
 etc., with Lo-liat. 
 
 A few attractive presents soon made us good friends. 
 She entreated me to go and visit her tribe, who lived on 
 the western slopes of Mount Morrison, promising me a 
 cordial welcome from her brother, who was a great warrior 
 of their tribe. This old woman, named Pu-li-sang, was no 
 novice to the ways of civilisation, as she had, years ago, 
 been married to a Chinese, and also had lived for some 
 time with the Bangas, a tribe who formed part of the 
 
144 FORMOSA 
 
 confederation whose object is to resist the encroachments 
 of the great eastern tribe, the Sibukun. 
 
 This confederation consists of the Bangas, the Bilang, 
 the Pai-chien, the Ban-tau-lang, and a few other tribes. 
 
 The unfortunate Ban-tau-lang, being situated near to 
 the Sibukun, are compelled to bear the brunt of the 
 quarrel, and they are consequently yearly diminishing in 
 numbers. 
 
 Lo-liat informed me that the only safe method of 
 visiting the Banga tribe would be in the company of a 
 certain famous Pepo-hoan hunter. 
 
 This man of warfare had a romantic history. He had 
 lost both his parents and family in some wild massacre by 
 the Bangas. He therefore devoted his life to revenge them. 
 He proved such a scourge to the tribe that they were glad 
 to make peace with him, and they had given him a daughter 
 of their chief for a wife. 
 
 I went to see this man, and found him to be the owner 
 of a large farm and of numerous buffaloes. He expressed 
 much pleasure at a visit from a European. I presented 
 him with some powder, and unfolded my plans to him. He 
 readily promised me his assistance with the Bangas, and 
 we settled upon a day for visiting them, sending Pu-li-sang, 
 the Ban-tau-lang woman, forward to inform the chief of 
 our projected visit. 
 
 There were two Chinese in La-ku-li, who had recently 
 crossed to Formosa from the mainland, and had drifted 
 aimlessly up to this village in search of a livelihood. 
 Keng-le, a youth of eighteen, hailing from An-k'oe (to the 
 north of Amoy), was of a decidedly enterprising nature. 
 The other, named Hoan-a, was a sort of harmless * ne'er-do- 
 weel.' These two unattached adventurers besought me to 
 permit them to join our party, offering to be our luggage 
 carriers. 
 
 Lo-liat also, who, during a residence of many years, 
 had never ventured to quit La-ku-li, now took his courage 
 
SECOND TRIP INTO THE INTERIOR 145 
 
 in both hands, and valorously determined to embrace this 
 opportunity of seeing a savage village. 
 
 I reviewed my stock of beads, looking-glasses, flint and 
 steel, red cloth and bangles, which I had stored for presents, 
 and when Pu-li-sang returned to us, bringing a favourable 
 reply from her savage friends, we one morning sallied forth. 
 
 Our little party consisted of the Pepo-hoan hunter and 
 Pu-li-sang as our guides, my clerk, Ah-san, and Lo-liat, 
 the two volunteer bearers, Keng-le and Hoan-a, and 
 myself. 
 
 After crossing the large river which flows down from 
 Lau-lung, past La-ku-li, we immediately began to ascend 
 a very steep range of hills, densely covered with jungle 
 growth. The immense trees and thick undergrowth 
 totally excluded the rays of the sun, and as a result it was 
 not merely cool, but very cold. We were about three hours 
 in reaching the summit of the ridge, the path in many 
 places being almost perpendicular. 
 
 Half-way up the ascent Lo-liat and Ah-san, the clerk, 
 lay down, and we could not induce them to move for some 
 time. The hunter and Pu-li-sang, however, came to the 
 rescue with such harrowing tales of unfriendly hunting- 
 parties and fearful murders perpetrated upon this spot, that, 
 in spite of a deadly want of opium, and with evaporating 
 courage, they were fain to push on with us to the top of 
 the ridge. 
 
 When we had succeeded in rousing their failing 
 energies, alack ! the two luggage bearers also gave in ; but 
 Pu-li-sang, with ineffable feminine contempt, took from 
 them the greater part of their load, swung it on her back, 
 and fixing it by a strap over her head quietly stalked away 
 in front. 
 
 Upon our upward route we passed gigantic camphor 
 trees and many specimens of the indigenous tea plant ; we 
 also came across a good deal of the cassia bark. 
 
 When we reached the top of the ridge Pu-li-sang 
 
 L 
 
I 4 6 FORMOSA 
 
 pointed across a wide valley to the opposite mountains, 
 saying that the Banga village was there, and informing us 
 that we must light a fire and discharge a gun to give 
 notice of our approach. When we had duly made these 
 signals there came the answering report of a gun, and a 
 trail of uprising smoke was to be seen in the direction 
 Pu-li-sang had indicated. The woman then gravely told 
 us that we must now wait until she had been in to see 
 whether we could visit the village, as it was necessary 
 to know that no unlucky omen had appeared to veto our 
 reception. 
 
 We found that at this point the narrow path was 
 thickly planted with bamboo spikes hardened by fire, which 
 proved that the Ban gas were at war with some tribe or 
 other. These spikes, though rendered harmless by 
 stout boots, were highly dangerous to the barefooted 
 natives. 
 
 Whilst waiting there for Pu-li-sang's return the spirits 
 of Ah-san and Lo-liat again drooped. They lamented 
 their foolhardiness in offering to accompany me. They 
 stated that Europeans, being so inferior, might be so 
 unwise as not to value their lives, and indeed it was pos- 
 sible for the same reason that the savages might not hurt 
 the * barbarians/ as they termed them ' kinsmen ' ; but 
 Chinese, being * men,' should be more prudent, and that if 
 they had behaved according to their superior enlightenment 
 they would then have been safely at home at Taiwanfoo, 
 not enduring all these risks and discomforts in the company 
 of barbarians. 
 
 Happily at length Pu-li-sang returned to us. The 
 omens were propitious ; all was favourable for our visit 
 to her friends. We therefore resumed our march, and in 
 about two hours we reached the Banga village. 
 
 This was situated on the brow of a steep and rocky 
 hill commanding a good view of the surrounding country. 
 The houses were built of small slates laid flat-wise, and 
 
SECOND TRIP INTO THE INTERIOR 147 
 
 lined with large slabs, and the doors were about four feet 
 high. 
 
 The natives, influenced no doubt by curiosity, were 
 standing outside their houses, but they made no great 
 demonstration beyond smiling at us and striking their 
 mouths with their hands, which is their expression of 
 surprise. 
 
 We were marched to the hut of the chief, and 
 here we were denuded of all our arms and valuables, 
 our host assuring us that he would be responsible for 
 everything. 
 
 We spent the interval until dusk in being examined 
 and questioned by men, women, and children, holding a 
 sort of informal reception, and while this was in progress 
 we had but little peace. 
 
 No lamps were used by the savages, but a large fire in 
 the centre of the hut, with several grass torches, served to 
 give an uncertain light. Suddenly from the outside dark- 
 ness a tall figure rushed into the circle crying delightedly, 
 ' Puck-a-ring ! Puck-a-ring ! Ma-i-seng ! ' 
 
 This unexpected greeting startled me ; and my ap- 
 prehension was not lessened when the new-comer seized 
 hold of me, repeating my name in great excitement. 
 
 To my astonishment I found that this exuberant friend 
 was none other than the amiable savage, Chau-po, whose 
 acquaintance I had so romantically made a year before, 
 when Dr. Maxwell and I were returning from our expedi- 
 tion to the Bilang tribe, and whom we had so unwittingly 
 betrayed into the hands of his enemies. He had escaped 
 from the Lau-lung men after receiving a severe wound in 
 his side ; and he had been carried home with great diffi- 
 culty by his comrade, who alone came out scatheless from 
 the Lau-lung attack. 
 
 Chau-po, I found, was one of the best men amongst the 
 Bangas, and a notorious head-taker. 
 
 I felt for a moment that it was inevitable that he should 
 
 L 2 
 
I 4 8 FORMOSA 
 
 regard me as being implicated in his misfortune ; but to 
 my surprise and relief Chau-po was most cordial. He was 
 genuinely delighted to see me again, and told me by signs 
 that we were brothers. 
 
 The night was spent in singing the plaintive songs 
 which are common in the mountains, the tunes of which 
 are familiar to both Chinamen and Pepo-hoan. 
 
 I discovered that the unmarried men and boys slept in a 
 shed raised from the ground. This building was regarded 
 as a kind of temple, in which the vanquished heads were 
 hung and feasts were held. The presence of the heads 
 of their enemies was supposed to give courage to the 
 youths. 
 
 At the period of our visit the Bangas were not in a very 
 flourishing condition as to food ; we therefore had to be 
 content with boiled millet and sweet potatoes, with a little 
 dried venison. 
 
 The custom was for each savage to entertain the 
 visitor in turn, and I was very gratified to see the genuine 
 hospitality with which every man gave what he pos- 
 sessed, though I must own that I occasionally found 
 this generosity somewhat embarrassing, as for example 
 at one hut a honeycomb in which the larvae predomi- 
 nated was produced for my delectation ! As my com- 
 panions seemed to consider this condition rather an 
 advantage than otherwise, I felt politeness demanded the 
 sacrifice of my prejudices. I accepted the comb when 
 it came to my share and munched it down with a paste 
 made of taro. 
 
 Thus we spent two days in smoking and chatting, 
 whilst the boys and girls of the tribe hunted the surround- 
 ing woods for cassia bark, which they succeeded in bring- 
 ing me. 
 
 We had some perplexity in the distribution of our 
 presents to please every one. Fortunately a very small 
 thing delights the child-nature of the savage, and a little 
 
ABORIGINES NORTH FORMOSA 
 
 p. 14 
 
SECOND TRIP INTO THE INTERIOR 149 
 
 powder or a bright button often turned a discontented look 
 into a smile. 
 
 My Chinese companions soon grew weary of such bar- 
 barous life, and sighed for civilisation again. The games 
 of the small children particularly frightened them. 
 
 The first playthings put into the hands of a savage boy 
 are a wooden knife and gun or a bow and arrow. With 
 these toys they play at lying in ambush and taking heads. 
 In this amiable game, upon the victim falling, the aggressor 
 would rush out of his ambush and pretend to cut off th 
 head of his prey, holding it up with a proud look. 
 
 My clerk, Ah-san, upon seeing this mimetic comedy, 
 expressed so much horror, with such a terrified face, that 
 some of the more mischievous boys delighted to summon 
 him, and, pointing to his head, to make signs of beheading 
 him, just to increase his peace of mind. 
 
 This prophetic teasing, together with a story they had 
 heard from the Pepo-hoan hunter, caused both Lo-liat and 
 Ah-san to be anxious to return. 
 
 The story ran that the Bangas were taught how to 
 build their slate houses by a ' man ' (i.e. a Chinese), who 
 was promised good pay in the shape of deer-skins, etc. 
 However so went the story when the work was finished, 
 the savages neatly cleared off their score by removing the 
 Chinaman's head. 
 
 I suspected this was but a yarn : the Chinamen believed 
 and trembled. 
 
 After a stay of three days, we bade a hearty farewell 
 to our friends the Bangas, and made our way back to 
 La-ku-li, with some bark, accompanied by an escort of 
 savages. 
 
 I remained some days at La-ku-li for the purpose of 
 collecting bark. Whilst there, I had an opportunity of 
 noticing the superstitions of the Pepos (civilised aborigines) 
 of this district, superstitions which, I believe, were almost 
 identical with those of the savages in the neighbourhood. 
 
FORMOSA 
 
 v I was one day invited to accompany some of the men 
 on a hunting excursion. All was ready ; we had still to 
 wait for lucky omens. These necessary omens are repre- 
 sented by the flights and cries of certain birds. 
 
 Upon two successive mornings we set off, encouraged 
 by favourable omens ; but, after tramping for hours over 
 the mountains, through river and jungle, birds were 
 observed and heard under such conditions that our leader 
 must perforce return. He gravely impressed upon us that 
 we should not. only get no sport, but that, by neglecting 
 the warnings of the tutelary birds, we should probably 
 come to grief, by meeting unfriendly savages. After this, 
 we actually had one day with nothing to stop us, excepting 
 no sport ! All this disgusted me, and I declined in 
 future to go out with Pepo-hoan hunters. 
 
 I witnessed a kind of religious ceremony performed by 
 the women of La-ku-li, which is dying out among the Pepos 
 who live near the Chinese. 
 
 A large reaping tub was brought out into the open, and 
 planks were placed upon the top to form a rude stage. On 
 either side of this were fixed two upright bamboos, with a 
 cross rail fastened to both. 
 
 A wise woman appeared, adorned with beads and 
 attired in a kind of surplice of the hempen cloth which 
 is manufactured by the Pepo-hoans, with bells sewn on the 
 border. 
 
 She was surrounded by a circle of girls and old women, 
 who, with hands joined, went round and round the tub, 
 chanting a monotonous dirge. The woman upon the stage 
 danced, at first slowly, but gradually increasing her pace, 
 the song meantime growing louder and faster. 
 
 She at length appeared to wax frantic in the midst of 
 the whirl ; she fell down and lay in a trance. She was 
 thereupon carried into an adjacent house, and her awaken- 
 ing was breathlessly awaited, as, when she regained her 
 senses, she was supposed to show by her utterances, what 
 
SECOND TRIP INTO THE INTERIOR 151 
 
 was the most favourable time to carry on field work during 
 the coming season. j 
 
 The females seem to be the privileged priestesses of the 
 Pepo-hoan religion ; and the younger women are, I believe, 
 initiated at a certain age into the mysteries of this occult 
 ceremony. 
 
 The Ban-tau-lang woman, Pu-li-sang, informed me 
 that her people were very desirous of seeing a white man, 
 and as a further inducement to me, she held out the hope 
 that the best man of the tribe, a brother of her own, named 
 Li-gai, would take me to the summit of Mount Morrison, 
 which was used as a common hunting ground by the tribes 
 of the east coast as well as by the Ban-tau-lang. 
 
 The prospect was tempting ; the La-ku-li people en- 
 deavoured to dissuade me, but I was eager to see this 
 redoubtable tribe, and I determined to accept their invita- 
 tion to pay them a visit. 
 
 I took with me only the two Chinese bearers, Keng-le 
 and Hoan-a, Pu-li-sang engaging to carry the baggage if 
 they failed. 
 
 Our route lay through the Banga settlement, and, as I 
 knew them, though kind and hospitable, to be most im- 
 portunate beggars for everything, even to the buttons on 
 a person's trousers, I had to distribute the presents I was 
 taking amongst our party, for the purpose of their better 
 concealment. 
 
 We set out one morning, and the journey, which took 
 us so long to accomplish before, we now executed in four 
 hours, marching boldly into the Banga village about noon, 
 sans ceremonie. 
 
 The tribe received us graciously, but we had to guard 
 our presents carefully from their inquisitive eyes. 
 
 We told them of our proposed visit, but they would give 
 us no encouragement in our scheme. 
 
 They informed us that some of the Ban-tau-lang had 
 recently been killed by the Sibukun, the great tribe on the 
 
152 FORMOSA 
 
 eastern slopes of Mount Morrison. A general fast was 
 being held in consequence, and we should probably not be 
 received. Pu-li-sang herself agreed that it would be wiser 
 to stay until further news came out. 
 
 We therefore waited developments, amusing ourselves 
 during the three or four days which intervened in explor- 
 ing the country around, in being feasted at each of the 
 savage establishments in turn, and in being each night 
 entertained by a concert which lasted until daylight. 
 
 When the dawn appeared, the women and children, 
 escorted by two or three males fully armed, went off to 
 the small plots of cultivated ground, to plant sweet 
 potatoes. 
 
 During this stay I endeavoured to procure some curio- 
 sities from the Bangas, and I thus discovered that they, 
 in common with other tribes, had a kind of * taboo.' 
 
 For instance, if I desired to barter for a pretty pipe or 
 belt, the owner would refuse, saying it was * hiang,' meaning 
 that it was ' tabooed/ and so could not be parted with. I 
 ultimately found this word somewhat convenient to myself, 
 when the Bangas became too importunate, particularly 
 when they begged the buttons from my very scanty 
 clothing. 
 
 This diplomatic reply satisfied them for a time ; but 
 seeing from my face that I was making an excuse, they 
 realised that I was merely turning the tables on them, 
 and that we red-haired kinsmen had no such custom 
 among ourselves. 
 
 Whilst I was with the Bangas they were at war with the 
 Hak-kas of a village called Sin-ui-tsng, and also with the 
 Lau-lung people. I was wet through one night when 
 returning from an excursion, and my good friend Chau-po 
 lent me a complete suit of Chinese clothes, including a 
 turban, whilst my own garments dried ; and when I was 
 arrayed in the Celestial costume, he volunteered the grue- 
 some information that all the articles had belonged to 
 Chinese or Pepo-hoan whom he had slain. 
 
SECOND TRIP INTO THE INTERIOR 153 
 
 It seemed a curious anomaly when one witnessed the 
 fondness of the savages for their children, the happiness 
 which apparently existed between husband and wife, and 
 brothers and sisters, and the kindly humane disposition 
 evinced amongst themselves to remember their universal 
 delight in the death of their enemies. 
 
 Chau-po assured me that his wife and children received 
 him with the greatest joy and feasting when he returned 
 from taking the heads of his enemies. 
 
 After making many inquiries, I was forced to the con- 
 clusion that the Formosan savages were cannibals to a 
 certain extent, in that they mixed the brains of their 
 enemies with wine, and drank the disgusting mixture. 
 
 The maidens of the tribe were all anxious to marry a 
 great warrior or an expert hunter, though I do not think 
 it was essential for a man to have taken a head before 
 gaining a wife. 
 
 The highest ambition amongst the youths and boys of 
 the tribe seemed to be to distinguish themselves in tribal 
 warfare, and they would practise for hours, merely aiming 
 at a leaf placed fourteen or fifteen yards off, imagining 
 it to be some enemy. 
 
 They never fired at long distances, and rarely fought 
 fairly, except when surprised in the thick jungle by an 
 unexpected encounter with some party belonging to 
 another tribe. This contretemps had occurred just before 
 I arrived, between the Ban-tau-lang and the Sibukun, 
 with the result that the former tribe lost several of their 
 warriors. 
 
154 FORMOSA 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 MY VISIT TO THE BAN-TAU-LANG TRIBE 
 
 THE Bangas were not at all favourable to my intended 
 visit to the Ban-tau-langs. I smoothed the way, however, 
 by a liberal promise of gifts to be received on my safe 
 return to La-ku-li ; and, after an interval of four or five 
 days, we were ready to proceed. 
 
 Another day's delay occurred, caused by the arrival of 
 a party of Tunas, who had their settlement half-way be- 
 tween the tribes of the Bangas and the Ban-tau-langs, and 
 were eager therefore to make the acquaintance of the 
 * red-haired kinsman ' who had come so far to visit them. 
 
 High festival was held to celebrate the auspicious 
 occasion. The Bangas and Tunas had a great carouse, 
 which lasted until ten at night. 
 
 The Tunas then took their departure men, women, 
 and children being equally intoxicated. Some were 
 scarcely able to stand, and I dare not imagine the fate of 
 one poor baby, who was slung behind its mother's back by 
 a strap over her forehead. It had a perilous and unsteady 
 home-going, I fear. 
 
 We marched at daybreak, for the purpose of passing 
 their village before they could be expecting us. 
 
 As the Bangas still disliked our project, we slipped out 
 of the sleeping village without anything to break our fast ; 
 Pu-li-sang leading the way, and assuring us that she would 
 procure us a meal somewhere en route. 
 
 Our way was difficult and rugged ; we passed over 
 rocks and hills of bare slate. At one place we were forced 
 
MY VISIT TO THE BAN-TAU-LANG TRIBE 155 
 
 to pull ourselves up the side of a precipice by the help of 
 rattans, and here we found a quantity of blood, which had 
 evidently been caused by one of the drunken Tunas falling 
 down the night before. 
 
 Presently we came upon a river-bed about half a mile 
 in breadth. Here Pu-li-sang enjoined silence until we had 
 crept past the opening in the rocky banks, where lay the 
 Tuna village ; and beyond this point we were compelled 
 to cross and recross the river breast deep. 
 
 We followed the course of the river until noon. Its 
 banks, alternately formed by sandy beach and frowning, 
 precipitous rocks, obliged us to cross about every ten 
 minutes, a by no means simple feat when the stepping 
 stones were about a foot below the roaring current. 
 
 When, at one point, we chanced to be upon terra firma, 
 we scared a fish-hawk, which obligingly dropped a fine fish ; 
 this Pu-li-sang secured, observing that it would make us a 
 nice meal, in conjunction with some sweet potatoes which 
 she had scratched up in the vicinity of the Tuna village. 
 
 About two o'clock we reached a place which was sup- 
 posed to mark the half of our journey. This spot was a 
 natural stony-bedded amphitheatre, surrounded by high 
 wooded mountains ; and here three branches of the river 
 joined, forming a small lake clear as crystal. 
 
 Here Pu-li-sang assured us we were quite safe. We 
 therefore decided to rest, and enjoy our long-deferred 
 breakfast. 
 
 Pu-li-sang made a fire of sticks, and cooked the sweet 
 potatoes, whilst the two Chinamen and I climbed to the 
 top of a rock which jutted out into the lake. 
 
 To our surprise we could distinctly see some large fish 
 swimming about at the bottom, which appeared to be very 
 near the surface, owing to the deceptive clearness of the 
 water. The instinct of the sportsman awoke ; I was im- 
 patient to try my hand at the fish. 
 
 Hoan-a, indeed, feeling sure that the water was not 
 
156 FORMOSA 
 
 very deep, dashed his spear in amongst them. The fish 
 all made off scatheless, whilst, to our astonishment, we 
 could see the spear standing upright at the bottom, held 
 fast by its iron head, but still some distance from the 
 surface. 
 
 We were in a quandary. We could not possibly go 
 away without the spear ; but the two Chinese dared make 
 no effort to recover it. 
 
 Pu-li-sang left her cooking to climb up to help us, and 
 she was preparing to dive in, when I, feeling somewhat 
 ashamed, dashed in off the rock. The shock was more 
 than I bargained for ! The icy coldness was so intense 
 that the water seemed actually scalding, and my sole 
 energies were employed in getting out again as quickly as 
 possible. I struck out for shore, my teeth chattering as 
 though from an ague. 
 
 Pu-li-sang promptly dived in, and triumphantly fetched 
 out the spear ; and she and I made up for our wetting by 
 laughing at the two Chinamen, who could not swim. 
 
 After doing hearty justice to our al fresco meal, we 
 started again on our pilgrimage. 
 
 We crossed mountains and forded rivers until I began 
 to believe that we must soon reach the beach of the east 
 coast, when, a little before dusk, Pu-li-sang pointed out a 
 spot which she delightedly declared was the village of her 
 tribe. 
 
 This settlement of the Ban-tau-langs was perched upon 
 a crag high above all the surrounding hills. 
 
 We toiled up the side of a jungle-covered hill, which at 
 last brought us out upon a path which led to the village. 
 
 It was now quite dusk, and we were nearly dead with 
 fatigue and hunger and the discomfort of our wet clothes. 
 
 We sat still whilst Pu-li-sang reconnoitred, as she as- 
 sured us if there was a fast in progress we could not hope 
 to enter the village. 
 
 I waited thus for some time, my enthusiasm ebbing 
 
MY VISIT TO THE BAN-TAU-LANG TRIBE 157 
 
 away from exhaustion and fatigue ; and Pu-li-sang made me 
 still more dejected when she returned with the report that 
 the tribe were holding a silent fast, and would not speak 
 to any one. We were therefore doomed to lay outside for 
 the night. We were famished, and a heavy dew was 
 falling. The prospect was not cheering. 
 
 I determined that I would make an effort to bring 
 things to a more favourable issue. Firing off a seven- 
 shooter Spencer's rifle and a revolver, I awaited results. 
 
 Very soon we perceived some figures moving through 
 the gloom towards us. As they approached us, I flung off 
 my shirt, and so looked very white indeed. Two or three 
 men then came up, and, striking their mouths with their 
 hands, uttered a grunt of surprise. 
 
 I pursued this advantage by reloading and again dis- 
 charging my rifle. This broke the spell ; the savages 
 began to jabber away, and seized hold of me to examine 
 my wonderful white skin. 
 
 Pu-li-sang whispered to me that there was now a possi- 
 bility of our being received in the village. 
 
 I therefore shrouded myself in my shirt, and, calling to 
 my companions, made as though I would go back to whence 
 I came. 
 
 The savages made eager signs to me to stop ; I was 
 inexorable. I assured Pu-li-sang that I would not remain 
 to be treated so inhospitably. 
 
 The savages had a hasty argument between themselves ; 
 then, motioning to us to be seated, the party disappeared. 
 
 There ensued a period of suspense, during which I 
 cannot own to being comfortable in either mind or body, 
 though policy did not lie in flight, even if it had been 
 possible in the dark. 
 
 At last they returned with torches, and conducted us 
 up a rocky path which led to the entrance of the Ban-tau- 
 lang village. 
 
 Here they put us in a small grass hut, similar to those 
 
158 FORMOSA 
 
 used by watchmen in Chinese gardens. I realised that, 
 having aroused their curiosity, they would not willingly 
 lose me. I had them in my hands if I managed diplomatic- 
 ally. I therefore protested loudly in Chinese to Pu-li-sang 
 that without suitable food and entertainment I could not 
 think of stopping. 
 
 This had no immediate result, but the savages again 
 consulted together, and went off to ask their chief. 
 
 Ultimately we were taken into the village, to the house 
 of the aged chief, who, like most of the heads of the 
 Formosan tribes, was too old and decrepit to do more than 
 give advice to his warriors. 
 
 Here a large fire was blazing upon the floor, which was 
 a welcome sight to me, for I was chilled to the bone. I 
 revelled in its warmth, whilst an old woman gave us a few 
 baked potatoes to eat. 
 
 The people began to swarm in, evincing their surprise 
 at the unusual appearance of their guests by striking their 
 mouths with their hands, as they had done before. 
 
 They entreated me to again discard my shirt, which 
 I philosophically consented to do, and I underwent an 
 astonished examination from them all. 
 
 Pu-li-sang informed them that I could sing. They 
 immediately begged to hear a specimen of my talents, but 
 I excused myself on the score of fatigue and hunger, upon 
 which they regaled me with some dried venison. 
 
 After a little hesitation they gave me permission to 
 smoke, although, they said, they themselves were debarred 
 from that luxury by their fast. 
 
 About ten o'clock, when the moon was high, a deputa- 
 tion requested our presence outside the hut, where in the 
 open a large party of men and women had assembled to 
 see me and to hear me sing. 
 
 It was a wild and romantic scene. The quaint savage 
 settlement with its slate roofs, distinct in the moonlight ; 
 the rows of dark expectant faces pressing round for a sight 
 
MY VISIT TO THE BAN-TAU-LANG TRIBE 159 
 
 of their strange white-skinned kinsman ; the confused 
 chatter and movement amongst them ; and beyond, the 
 great dark mountains, baring their rugged breasts to the 
 solemn night sky, whilst the roar of the hill-side torrents 
 formed an unceasing accompaniment to the scene. How 
 far away England, and even Chinese civilisation, seemed ! 
 
 I was over-tired, and I had that day sown the seeds of 
 ague and fever in my system. For a moment I felt strange 
 and weak, but the thought that I had at last seen the 
 famous Ban-tau-langs, and the ambition to scale the top of 
 distant Mount Morrison, re-nerved me. 
 
 I excused myself from singing at first, begging them to 
 open the concert, but they declared that their fast tabooed 
 them from doing so. I started a Banga tune, in which 
 some of the men joined, the women took up the refrain, 
 and we were friends at once. 
 
 I sang all the old favourite home songs, both Scotch 
 and Irish, that I knew, whilst some bold sea-shanties with 
 rollicking choruses immensely took their fancy, and they 
 delightedly declared that we white kinsfolk were really 
 men, singing in manlike style, not screeching like women 
 as the Chinese did. 
 
 Every now and then some new arrival would beg for 
 a sight of my white skin, until at length I had to plead 
 ' hiang ' (taboo), upon which they desisted. 
 
 Pu-li-sang's brother and his two sons were away, we- 
 found, but they were expected back on the following 
 day. 
 
 We at length retired to dry our clothes in front of the 
 old chiefs fire, an occupation which took us nearly all the 
 night. 
 
 The next morning Pu-li-sang, with Li-gai's daughter and 
 another girl, took us for a tramp to look for cassia trees. I 
 shouldered my rifle, as the Sibukuns occasionally had an 
 unpleasing habit of lying in wait close to the village. 
 
 The scenery was very grand ; there were many dark 
 
160 FORMOSA 
 
 rocky precipices, whitened here and there by spraying 
 waterfalls, a wealth of cool green ferns of endless variety, 
 tall trees with their graceful drooping parasites, and, above, 
 a cloudless blue sky. 
 
 We appeared to be close to the summit of Mount 
 Morrison, but the girls judged that it would be dangerous 
 to venture so far, as the Sibukuns had so lately killed men 
 of their tribe. 
 
 We wandered about until afternoon amongst this wealth 
 of wild Nature's beauty, learning the names of strange 
 plants and picking up the Ban-tau-lang dialect 
 
 On making our way back to the village, we found that 
 Li-gai had returned. He was a plain-featured man, but 
 wonderfully strong and active for his age, which seemed o 
 be about fifty. His two sons, aged respectively twenty 
 and fifteen, were fine young savages who had shown their 
 prowess already, but had not yet taken a head, that hall- 
 mark of the savage warrior. 
 
 Li-gai gave me a very hearty welcome, and informed 
 me that, in consequence of my unexpected visit, the tribe 
 had hospitably determined to break up the fast, and that a 
 hunting party would sally forth in the evening to procure 
 game for us. 
 
 He arranged that in the morning we should go to meet 
 them, and have a chance to use our guns. Wherefore, the 
 next morning at daylight we set out, with Pu-li-sang, accom- 
 panied by some of the men and women ; and after about 
 three hours' quick walking over toilsome mountains, down 
 steep precipices, and through the rapid streams and torrents, 
 we at last reached the rendezvous. 
 
 Here we found Li-gai and about a dozen hunters. 
 They had killed a bear, a wild boar, and some small deer ; 
 and they were busy smoking the flesh. 
 
 When we had rested awhile, we tramped on for some 
 distance, hearing afar off the barking of dogs and the 
 shouts of men. Our guides therefore hurried us on, until 
 
MY VISIT TO THE BAN-TAU-LANG TRIBE 
 
 we came in sight of another party, who had seen a wild 
 pig, and were then beating for it. 
 
 Li-gai's son was the head of this party, and I was 
 stationed at a spot whence I hoped to have a chance of 
 trying my skill. However, at the end of an hour or so, 
 the animal still declined to come forth and be killed ; and as 
 the savages had already slain one boar, they came to the 
 conclusion that sufficient meat had been procured. They 
 therefore proposed returning. 
 
 The savages all gathered round me, and we spent some 
 time in trying my rifle and revolver at a mark. They 
 seemed thunderstruck at the great distance the rifle would 
 carry, and at the rapidity with which I could load and dis- 
 charge. They averred that with one white man and such 
 weapons they would soon put the Sibukuns to rout, and 
 make themselves lords of the surrounding country. They 
 entreated me to dwell amongst them, and to procure am- 
 munition and arms from the place that seemed to them 
 the greatest in the world Taiwanfoo ! 
 
 They were all so eager to sample my gun that I had 
 hard work to keep my ammunition from being entirely 
 expended. 
 
 When we reached home the meat was cooked, and 
 distributed in portions amongst the entire population, even 
 the dogs receiving their share. 
 
 I found the native hospitality somewhat oppressive, as, 
 directly I had been feasted at one house, I was dragged off 
 to another. To refuse would have been ungracious ; and, 
 my Chinese companions thoroughly appreciating all the 
 good cheer, I felt compelled to resign myself to politeness 
 and inevitable dyspepsia. 
 
 The Ban-tau-langs still maintained their fast to the 
 extent of abstaining from tobacco and spirits ; there was 
 therefore none of the disgusting intoxication which I have 
 too frequently witnessed amongst other tribes. 
 
 Their etiquette of hospitality was decidedly curious. I 
 
 M 
 
162 FORMOSA 
 
 was made to sit down beside the lady, or daughter, of the 
 house, who, with a large wooden spoon, fed me with beans, 
 millet, or broth, after just tasting each spoonful herself. 
 Then with her own fingers she picked out for me the 
 choicest morsels of venison, pork, bear's fat, or sausage from 
 the common dish. 
 
 Upon the conclusion of the meal, a long bamboo full of 
 water was handed to me to drink from ; but, being unac- 
 customed to this peculiar vessel, more water ran over me 
 than I drank. These water buckets are about six feet long, 
 and are formed of the largest kind of bamboo. 
 
 Two or three of these are slung in a frame, and are 
 carried on the back by a strap slung over the forehead. 
 It can, therefore, easily be imagined that it is no light task 
 for the women to toil up the rugged mountain paths with 
 these loads of water. 
 
 So far, the weather had been fine and bracing ; but I 
 began to feel the t need of a blanket and a change of 
 clothing, although the hope of ascending Mount Morrison, 
 and the prospect of returning to La-ku-li within a day or 
 two, had enabled me to be somewhat careless about the 
 discomfort of damp clothes. 
 
 Unfortunately, during the fourth night of my sojourn the 
 weather changed. Next day the wind was very boisterous, 
 and it was also wet ; they therefore all agreed that we 
 could not think of going out until the weather cleared up ; 
 so I had perforce to content myself with observing the 
 habits of my savage friends. The men, I found, spent 
 their whole leisure time in eating and sleeping ; the women 
 had to cut wood, cook the food, and draw water. 
 
 The rain, sleet, and cold continued, which, with the 
 discomforts of savage life and my continually damp 
 wardrobe, made me very wretched, and brought on 
 dysentery. 
 
 The savages warmed themselves by making a large fire 
 on the ground, lying round it nearly naked. Our apologies 
 
MY VISIT TO THE BAN-TAU-LANG TRIBE 163 
 
 for beds were arranged like berths in a ship, and I was 
 forced to huddle up in a few skins. 
 
 I felt extremely ill, with no available medicine but 
 chilli pepper and hot water, and I began to speculate 
 whether I should ever get back to civilisation again. I 
 therefore determined to make an effort to return whilst 
 strength remained ; and even their pressing invitation to 
 wait until the rains were over, that we might visit Mount 
 Morrison, had no effect upon me. 
 
 Keng-le and I arranged to start on the following morn- 
 ing, whether Pu-li-sang would conduct us or not. 
 
 When we announced our intended departure, it was 
 strenuously opposed by all our savage friends, and Pu-li- 
 sang emphatically declared that she dared not return. 
 
 However, Le and I would not be deterred, and in spite 
 of a great deal of argument we prepared to start off. 
 Hoan-a also wished to return with us, but his spear was 
 not to be found ; the savages had hidden it. 
 
 Pu-li-sang promised that if we would only wait a day or 
 two she would recover the missing spear and accompany 
 us, but I felt too ill to stay. I told her that Keng-le and 
 I would start at once, and press on to La-ku-li for medicine, 
 and that there I would make ready a stock of presents for 
 her to bring back. 
 
 This diplomatic arrangement had a good effect upon 
 the savages. They agreed that we should go ; and I 
 parted from them in a very cordial manner, receiving 
 from them several presents of skins, venison, and native 
 cloth. 
 
 Then we departed, feeling sure that we could find our 
 way back to La-ku-li. We reached the Tuna village without 
 any contretemps ; but, just as we had got past the opening 
 in the bank where the village is situated, we heard a 
 shout, and, turning, saw a man of the Tuna tribe running 
 after us. 
 
 His shouts had a contrary effect upon us, making 
 
 M 2 
 
1 64 FORMOSA 
 
 us hurry on ; for a detention amongst the Tunas, espe- 
 cially without presents to propitiate them, would have 
 been inconvenient, if not dangerous in my state of 
 health. 
 
 We contrived to dodge the man, but in doing so we 
 lost our way, and we were about an hour regaining our 
 track. 
 
 At last we reached the Banga village, about four 
 o'clock, where we found a party of Soa-mohais and Lanis, 
 two tribes whose settlements lay to the south, opposite 
 Takao. These visitors were gorgeous in all the splendour 
 of savage finery, such as beads, shells, red cloth, boars' 
 tusks, brass wire, flowers, and oranges. 
 
 I found that their language differed much from that of 
 the Bangas, being more like the Tagala dialects of the 
 South Cape. 
 
 As I have stated before, my opinion is that Formosa 
 has been populated from several different countries, such as 
 Philippines, Japan, and perhaps Mexico. 
 The new-comers were delighted to see me, as they 
 had never before seen a white man. I, of course, was 
 made to pledge friendship in the orthodox savage 
 fashion, by putting our arms round each other's necks, 
 and mutually drinking, at the same moment, out of one 
 basin. 
 
 These Soa-mohais and Lanis desired me to return with 
 them to their village, but I was obliged to decline for the 
 present. 
 
 I went off to Chau-po, who had always been my very 
 good friend, and informed him of my state of health, 
 begging him to convey me down to La-ku-li on the 
 following morning. 
 
 This he promised to do ; but to our astonishment 
 Pu-li-sang and Hoan-a appeared upon the scene, just when 
 we had arranged everything for our departure. It appeared 
 that the old woman feared that, since we had left the 
 
MY VISIT TO THE BAN-TAU-LANG TRIBE 165 
 
 Ban-tau-langs, we might forget our promised presents, or 
 that the Bangas might possibly monopolise them. 
 
 The spear was therefore speedily forthcoming ; and 
 Pu-li-sang and Hoan-a hastened in our wake, to overtake 
 us, and to accompany us to La-ku-li, that I might not be 
 tempted to forget my promise. 
 
 The next morning I proceeded safely to La-ku-li, ac- 
 companied by an escort consisting of Chau-po and others 
 of his tribe. 
 
 Here I made both the Bangas and the Ban-tau-langs 
 happy with very inexpensive, but, in their eyes, very valu- 
 able, curiosities, and many common articles for daily use. 
 I bade them farewell at length, feeling genuinely sorry 
 to part with them, as they had all been exceedingly kind 
 to me. 
 
 It chanced about three years later that some gentle- 
 men from Takao visited La-ku-li, and there happed upon a 
 party of Bangas who had come out to barter. Amongst 
 these was Chau-po, who, upon discovering that these gentle- 
 men were my friends, sent to me by them a beautiful long 
 knife, with ornamental sheath and tassels of hair, and a 
 handsome pair of deer's horns. These gifts, he intimated, 
 were to remind me to * tsap-tsap-lai ' (to make haste and 
 come), and that I ought to ' k'o-lian ' (pity) my poor 
 kinsmen, who longed to see me again. 
 
 Some twelve years after I had been settled in Singa- 
 pore, a gentlemen one day called at my office, and in- 
 formed me that he had been stationed at the South Cape,, 
 Formosa, to erect a lighthouse there. 
 
 During this residence he had made the acquaintance 
 of the savages and the Chinese of that district. Upon 
 hearing that he was returning to England, a deputation of 
 more than a hundred of the inhabitants waited upon him, 
 and entreated him to find out ' Pi-ki-ling,' and beg him to 
 come back to Formosa and fulfil his promise of returning 
 to visit them again. 
 
1 66 FORMOSA 
 
 Only a month ago I had the pleasure of hearing 
 from the Rev. Mr. Campbell that, even in the most 
 remote parts, my name is still kindly remembered by the 
 natives. 
 
 This goes to prove that it does not require civilisation 
 to give one a long memory for one's friends. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 AN EXCEPTIONAL CHINESE MERCHANT. GENERAL 
 LE GENDRE TO THE RESCUE 
 
 THE firm with which I was now connected, Messrs. James 
 & Neil McPhail, had their head-quarters at Takao ; our 
 Taiwanfoo branch being in the absolute control of our 
 Chinese compradore, or ' shroff.' Branch books were indeed 
 kept by me at the Taiwanfoo house, of out-going and in- 
 coming goods, with cash account, etc. ; all the rest, however, 
 was unreservedly in the hands of the compradore, in whom 
 the two brothers had the most unbounded confidence. 
 
 This compradore, as I have remarked elsewhere, was a 
 Celestial sans peur et sans reproche. He was presumably 
 of good family, with apparently a private personal income. 
 He had crossed to Formosa from Amoy, bringing with him 
 a small tribe of retainers, and his wife and family. His 
 house was luxurious, his generosity and hospitality un- 
 bounded. In appearance he was refined and mild ; his 
 manners were courteous, and his business abilities un- 
 doubtedly great He neither drank, gambled, nor smoked 
 opium ; his morals were unquestioned ; and he spoke 
 favourably of the European missionaries. 
 
 A pocket edition of all the virtues ! So immaculate 
 a man, in fact, that I, with the perversity of audacious 
 youth, waited vaguely to find some flaw in this piece of 
 perfection. 
 
 Meantime the brothers James and Neil admired and 
 trusted him unboundedly. He was such a credit to our 
 firm. He was a man of so much enterprise, of such 
 
i68 FORMOSA 
 
 resource. He had always some wondrous scheme on hand 
 which was to raise the firm to dazzling heights of prosperity. 
 I believe they would have listened to no word against 
 him, had any unwise person had the temerity to suggest 
 caution. 
 
 So time went on, until I returned from my adventures 
 amongst the Ban-tau-langs, and the New Year of 1867 
 opened. 
 
 My habitation was fixed outside of the west gate of 
 Taiwanfoo, the only European house of business, and it 
 was my custom, after I had dined, in the evening to stroll 
 down to the compradore's quarters to see how things were 
 progressing ; for it is the general habit of the Chinese 
 trader to sleep through the legitimate working hours of the 
 day, and to arouse himself to transact his business and 
 smoke opium in the evening, the night, and the early hours 
 of the morning. 
 
 Thus the evening was the time when our worthy com- 
 pradore was busiest, explaining to his wily countrymen, 
 with a bland smile, and in his sonorous voice, the advan- 
 tages of dealing with our firm ; and thus it was that, though 
 my business was done, I derived amusement and informa- 
 tion from the conversation of the Chinese traders. 
 
 I found that there was one man working there whose 
 occupation seemed scarcely relevant to Messrs. McPhail's 
 business. This man was an exceedingly clever wood- 
 carver ; his work was an unfailing delight to me, it was so 
 infinitely delicate and fine. Thus I frequently watched his 
 carving ; and to my mystification I discovered that he was 
 forming ' chops,' or stamps for seals ' chops ' of exquisite 
 workmanship. Moreover, I found on closer examination 
 that these particular stamps were for receipts for the Likim, 
 or government tax, which was levied upon all import 
 goods after they had paid the usual Customs duties. 
 
 I found occasion to inquire of the compradore what we 
 could possibly have to do with the Likim. 
 
AN EXCEPTIONAL CHINESE MERCHANT 169 
 
 He beamed upon me ; he interrupted my queries with 
 a frank burst of confidence. I was to wait and see. We 
 should shortly have all to do with the Likim. He had it 
 all planned in his head. We should make an agreement 
 with the Tao-tai, and we should ' farm ' the Likim. Then 
 our firm would become great indeed ! But when that time 
 came we should want * chops ' for the Likim receipts, to be 
 pasted on the bales of opium, so he had engaged the en- 
 graver to prepare them. 
 
 This sounded very plausible, and I was glad to hear 
 that we were going to gain such an advantageous position ; 
 but an incident a few weeks later aroused my vague 
 mistrust again. 
 
 Our firm had daily couriers from Taiwanfoo to our 
 head-quarters at Takao. The Tao-tai, being on most 
 friendly terms with Messrs. McPhail, often availed him- 
 self of our messengers to convey his official despatches 
 also. 
 
 Now a Chinese missive is not of inviolate security. 
 The large official envelope is merely closed, and sealed 
 down with rice, sago, or any glutinous matter that chances 
 to be handy ; then the part thus closed is stamped with the 
 official seal, it is addressed, and sent on its travels. 
 
 I was in the compradore's office one day when such a 
 despatch came from the Tao-tai to be forwarded to the 
 consul at Takao by our courier. 
 
 ' Good,' said the compradore, ' we will see what is in it.' 
 
 Whereupon this man of rectitude moistened the 
 mucilage and opened the despatch. 
 
 I was horror-stricken. For such an act a Chinaman's 
 throat was in peril. 
 
 * Why, compradore, you dare die ? ' I cried in the 
 vernacular. 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders with an easy smile. 
 
 * This belong Chinaman fashion,' he replied carelessly. 
 That was possibly true, I thought ; but a man who 
 
i;o FORMOSA 
 
 could play so low as that white man or yellow man 
 would do or dare anything. I felt that at last I had reason 
 for my distrust 
 
 Moreover, as the months passed on, the smallest, vaguest 
 rumours began to be stirred up, and hovered mysteriously 
 around our immaculate compradore. There was just a 
 breath of a whisper that he had been seen gambling with 
 one or two merchants in some low den. That he was 
 somewhat too extravagant for prudence ; that his word 
 was not quite above suspicion. How did I learn these 
 things ? Who first whispered them abroad ? I could not 
 tell. Suffice it that in my mingling with the people, 
 speaking their talk, and always trying to get at the back 
 of their affectation and guile, I somehow grew still more 
 uneasy about the doings of our firm in Taiwanfoo ; vague, 
 intangible, but very real trouble seemed to loom ahead. 
 
 At last I mustered up courage to lay my suspicions 
 before Neil McPhail. Alas ! how little foundation of real 
 proof my assertions seemed to have when I gave them 
 voice. ' They say ' ' I have heard ' ' It is whispered.' 
 My chief was indignant. He would, could, and should not 
 believe anything against his friend the compradore. What 
 right had I to suspect him ? He would trust him as him- 
 self. He was devoted to the firm's prosperity. 
 
 I ventured to point out that, though we were presumably 
 doing such great things, yet these large profits did not 
 appear to pass through our books. 
 
 That was the compradore's affair entirely, he replied. 
 The whole business was in the compradore's hands, and 
 he had every confidence in its being so. Let him hear no 
 more of it. 
 
 Well, I had done what I could, and had received the 
 usual reward of the prophet who predicts evil things. I 
 could but wait and watch. 
 
 So the days passed on until May, the time of the 
 breaking up of the monsoon, and the vessels ceased to 
 
AN EXCEPTIONAL CHINESE MERCHANT 171 
 
 come to Anping. James McPhail had come up from 
 Takao. He was with me in the office at the close of the 
 day, when the compradore came in to speak with him. 
 The subtle change which had mysteriously taken place 
 in his reputation seemed curiously reflected in the man's 
 dress and manner. He seemed indefinably to have lost 
 his old assertiveness, his former strong grip of things. His 
 face had changed, his very clothes hung differently in their 
 silken folds. 
 
 He had come, he said, to say that it would be well to 
 send some store of treasure, opium, and piece goods down 
 to Takao, and that he was going with them that night on 
 board the small cutter, which we were in the habit of using 
 as a lighter between the two ports. 
 
 I was surprised at this arrangement. It was somewhat 
 infra dig. for our compradore to personally take down the 
 treasure. It had usually fallen to my province to accom- 
 pany the cutter upon these journeys. 
 
 However, it was arranged, and no more was said. The 
 following morning I was aroused by my boy, who rushed 
 into my room in great excitement, saying that there was 
 a big row down below, that the compradore had ' tsau ' 
 (run away), and that the soldiers were outside our ware- 
 houses, sealing the 'hong' up. I hastily got into my 
 clothes, and hurried down to the Chinese quarter of our 
 house. 
 
 Sure enough, when I had made my way through the 
 chattering, gesticulating idlers, I found a group of the 
 Tao-tai's emissaries busily engaged in pasting huge pro- 
 clamations and seals upon our big doors, and searching in 
 the well, where they found false Likim brands used to mark 
 opium. 
 
 No time was to be lost. They must be bluffed. There- 
 fore I tore down the papers with great appearance of 
 indignation, and fiercely demanded an explanation of their 
 proceedings. 
 
FORMOSA 
 
 ' Oh ! ' they replied, with unction, ' your great compra- 
 dore ! If we but had him here, his head would soon 
 be under the sword of the executioner ! What has he 
 been doing these many months? Forging the Likim 
 seal ! and stamping the goods himself, thus cheating our 
 Celestial emperor of his revenues ! If we but had him 
 here ! ' 
 
 Turning them into the street until they could produce 
 an order from the British consul, I rushed within. The 
 office was bare ; all the compradore's men, his creatures 
 from Amoy, had gone. Only two quaking Taiwanfoo 
 clerks remained, stupid with mingled fright and guile. 
 They knew nothing nothing ! Ai-yo ! what should they 
 know ? 
 
 Then I spoke strong words to them, and would have 
 proceeded to stronger action if fright had not loosened 
 their tongues. 
 
 * Yes,' they said, ' it was true. The compradore had 
 run away. He was not coming back. He was a great 
 criminal. More they did not know.' 
 
 I rushed upstairs into the compradore's private estab- 
 lishment. Bare, dismantled everything gone ! Even the 
 women's sacred suite of rooms was not respected by me 
 in my excited progress. I tore the silken curtains aside. 
 Deserted, emptied of all their grandeur ! Evidently there 
 had been a hurried flitting. Then it was all too true. I 
 retraced my steps, and made my way to Mr. McPhail's 
 apartment, to break the news to him. 
 
 He appeared dazed. He scarcely seemed to compre- 
 hend my hurried narrative. He could suggest no line of 
 action. I got him up on to the roof of the house, where a 
 kind of observatory had been formed under an awning, for 
 peaceful evening smokes after the heat and burden of the 
 day. 
 
 He sank into a cane lounge, and hiding his face in his 
 hands would mutter nothing but ' Ruined ! ruined ! ' 
 
AN EXCEPTIONAL CHINESE MERCHANT 173 
 
 I was at my wits' end. I had already posted off a 
 messenger to Neil McPhail at Takao, but, even if he started 
 immediately on receipt of my news, he could not reach us 
 until the following day. Meantime steps must be taken 
 to protect our firm from the zeal of the Tao-tai and his 
 emissaries. What was I to do ? 
 
 Even as I asked myself this question, gazing despair- 
 ingly over the sea, my answer appeared on the horizon. 
 Just a little stream of smoke, which drew nearer and nearer, 
 until the outline of a big man-of-war, flying the American 
 flag and making for Anping Roads, was clearly visible across 
 the blue waters. Nothing could have been more oppor- 
 tune. It was the ' Ashuelot/ bringing from Amoy General 
 Le Gendre, who was American consul for that port and for 
 Formosa. Never before had I been so gratified at the 
 advent of Europeans. 
 
 Within an hour or two a party from the ship was below, 
 knocking loudly at our closed doors for admittance. The 
 General's lips formed a silent, long-drawn ' whew-w ! ' when 
 he viewed the collapsed McPhail, and I told him of our 
 plight 
 
 ' But there is still the opium in the warehouse below/ I 
 concluded. ( We are not quite done for.' 
 
 ' Let us go and see,' replied the General. 
 
 So we went down in a body to the warehouse where 
 the opium chests stood, twenty-five or thirty of them, piled 
 up, and all neatly sewn up in gunny bags as if they had 
 never been opened since they left Calcutta. 
 
 ' Let us open them,' suggested somebody. 
 
 And we did. Full chests indeed, but filled with bricks 
 and rubbish. Of opium there was not left enough to send 
 a cat to sleep. 
 
 Then followed a hurried consultation. General Le 
 Gendre was a friend of the firm of an American merchant 
 of Amoy, one of our chief creditors ; therefore it was 
 arranged that he should step in and take things over on 
 
174 FORMOSA 
 
 their behalf, thus saving us from the tender mercies of the 
 Tao-tai. 
 
 Next day poor Neil McPhail joined us from Takao. 
 He was heart-broken, not only at the wreck of his busi- 
 ness, but principally at the perfidy and treachery of the 
 man in whom he had placed such absolute trust. 
 
 The compradore and the cutter seemed to have 
 vanished from the Formosan seas : we could obtain no 
 tidings of them. The probability was, however, that the 
 compradore had crossed to the Pescadores, and was there 
 in hiding, waiting for a favourable opportunity of slinking 
 over to the mainland. 
 
 General Le Gendre, greatly to our benefit, had been a 
 lawyer at some earlier date in his career, and his wise 
 advice, and practical assistance with the Tao-tai, was 
 invaluable. 
 
 He obtained from that dignitary an authority for me 
 to search the Pescadores for the criminal, with a despatch 
 to the chief mandarin of the islands to assist me by all 
 the means that lay in his power, and a warrant empower- 
 ing me to arrest the compradore when discovered. 
 
 Though I received information that the compradore 
 had touched at one of the islands to burn incense, it was a 
 vain quest ; either the people of the Pescadores really 
 knew nothing of the culprit's whereabouts, or they had 
 been heavily bribed to be ignorant. I stayed about a 
 week at the mandarin's house, and then returned baffled 
 to Formosa. 
 
 Events moved rapidly then. The peculations and 
 entanglements of the dishonest * shroff,' combined with 
 some previous heavy losses consequent on the purchase 
 of a tea cargo wrecked on the Pescadores, etc., were too 
 much for the solvency of our firm. 
 
 Messrs. Elles & Co. took over what remained of the 
 business, and for the first and last time in my life I played 
 the part of auctioneer, selling off all remaining stock, with 
 
GENERAL LE GENDRE TO THE RESCUE 175 
 
 the compradore's goods and chattels, and obtaining good 
 prices for them. After which I was placed in charge of 
 the Taiwanfoo branch of Messrs. Elles & Co.'s business. 
 
 The two brothers, Messrs. James and Neil McPhail, 
 quitted the island shortly afterwards : I believe both have 
 now joined the great majority. Nothing could exceed 
 their kind and considerate treatment of me whilst I was 
 in their service ; they were highly esteemed in Formosa, 
 and it seemed a curiously bitter thing that these heavy 
 misfortunes befell them through their single-hearted con- 
 fidence and trust in an unworthy Chinaman. 
 
1 76 FORMOSA 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 WRECKS AND WRECKERS 
 
 CRUEL were the tender mercies of the Chinese fisher-folk, 
 even amongst the law-abiding population scattered along 
 the sea-coast between Taiwanfoo and Takao. Further 
 north, the wild and lawless settlers cultivated wrecking as 
 a profession, and woeful indeed was the fate of any unfor- 
 tunate vessel which chanced to be stranded upon the 
 sand banks near their villages. 
 
 I have known the catamarans to put forth from Anping 
 river in the morning, ten or twenty of them, bound for the 
 fishing ground, when some sudden gale would cause them 
 to return, and they would be capsized in the surf, on the 
 treacherous bar. 
 
 These drowning wretches would be clinging desperately 
 to spars and wreckage, drifting fast to death past the fish- 
 ing villages where their friends and relations lived ; whilst 
 these fraternal folk would stand clustering upon the shore, 
 or lie off inside the surf in their catamarans, by signs and 
 shouts, above the roar of the waves, bargaining with them 
 ' how much ' for a rescue. 
 
 Sometimes the tables were turned, and one of these 
 inhuman bargainers perchance coming to Anping to buy 
 twine or nets, one of the rescued fisher-folk might hap 
 upon him, and would give him rough greeting with a 
 bamboo. 
 
 A short time before the Customs service was estab- 
 lished at Takao, when the place and its inhabitants 
 were more barbarous and wild than when I first settled 
 
WRECKS AND WRECKERS 177 
 
 there, a German vessel was blown by the violence of the 
 typhoon upon the shore without the harbour below Ape's 
 Hill. 
 
 Instantly the beach was alive with wreckers eager for 
 the spoil. When the stout-hearted Teutonic captain 
 dared to expostulate, they promptly settled his side of the 
 question by killing him. 
 
 Nemesis followed in this instance. The Europeans of 
 Messrs. Jardine & Dent's receiving ships, in their righteous 
 wrath, took the law into their own hands, and, marshalling 
 their crews of Malays and Manilamen, speedily burned 
 the villages of the wreckers, as a gentle hint that Euro- 
 pean life must count, even to a Celestial. 
 
 Whilst I was first at Takao, living in the ' Ternate,' a fleet 
 of big junks came to the harbour from the mainland, and 
 were lying up for a long time taking in cargoes of sugar 
 for the northern ports. They remained thus at anchor, 
 waiting many weeks for the south-west monsoon. 
 
 The crews of these vessels were naturally much on 
 shore during these weeks of enforced idleness, fraternising 
 with their countrymen in Formosa. At last a morning 
 dawned which seemed favourable for their departure. The 
 sea lay calm in the sunlight, and no angry surf was to be 
 seen. They hurried through their preparations, and bade 
 their friends adieu. But, as the hours passed, the elements 
 began to mock them. A cruel head wind beat upon 
 their sails, wild clouds scudded across the stormy sky. A 
 typhoon arose, which beat the junks, helpless as cockle- 
 shells, upon the rugged, deadly rocks of the Saracen's 
 Head. 
 
 As the hours of darkness came on, bringing death 
 each moment nearer, these unfortunate Chinamen cried in 
 agony to their fellow-countrymen on shore to help them. 
 But these were too busy on their own concerns, when the 
 wild waves were washing in a rich harvest of wreckage to 
 their feet. 
 
 N 
 
i;8 FORMOSA 
 
 All the good things from their former friends' junks 
 were not to be wasted. They pushed, and fought, and 
 scrambled, wading up to their necks in the white surf to 
 secure some bit of spoil. 
 
 And if perchance some of the poor drowning wretches 
 were dashed upon the shore, more dead than alive well, a 
 quiet blow from some handy piece of timber disposed of 
 any inconvenient claim they might have made, at once. 
 
 Along this dangerous and treacherous west coast of 
 the island the sea yearly claimed a heavy number of 
 victims. 
 
 Each year, beating down the Formosan Channel against 
 the full force of the south-west monsoon, would come 
 unlucky vessels which were cast on the sand banks and 
 shoals to the north of Taiwanfoo. In almost every case, 
 directly the ship grounded, she was surrounded by hundreds 
 of catamarans filled with jubilant wreckers, who swarmed 
 over her as their lawful prey. The unfortunate crews were 
 stripped naked, and sent on shore ; whilst, in one or two 
 instances, as the wedding rings of the German captains 
 did not come off their fingers easily, the Chinese just cut 
 off the fingers, as a direct method of saving themselves 
 trouble. 
 
 One day, to our consternation, some twenty or thirty 
 Europeans were brought to ourh'ouse in Taiwanfoo, in a 
 state of almost perfect nudity. It appeared that, having 
 been stripped by the wreckers, they passed the night 
 covered with sand to keep themselves warm', ,arid- they then 
 had wandered disconsolately to a small town, where the 
 magistrate, compassionating their shivering plight, gave 
 them some food and a small sum of money, and supplied 
 each with a new rice bag. 
 
 Cutting a hole in the bottom of these, they thrust 
 their heads through, and were thus decently, if not artistic- 
 ally, clothed. 
 
 The humane mandarin also supplied the men with 
 
WRECKS AND WRECKERS 179 
 
 a guide to conduct them to the European's house at 
 Taiwanfoo. 
 
 Unfortunately, however, on their way thither, they were 
 obliged to pass through a robber village %i the coast, 
 where the inhabitants decided that they could not permit 
 such valuable property as new rice bags to pass unappro- 
 priated. They therefore stripped them of their single 
 covering, and the men at last reached me in the primeval 
 state I have described. 
 
 One day, early in 1 867, two miserable Chinese soldiers 
 were brought into the British consulate at Takao. They 
 had a tragedy to relate. They stated that they were the 
 cook and steward of an American barque, the ' Rover, 5 of 
 which vessel they were the sole survivors. 
 
 It transpired that their ship had gone down off the 
 South Cape, Formosa ; and that the captain, with his wife, 
 officers, and crew, had taken to their boats, landing upon 
 the beach near the extreme south point of the island. 
 
 Here these unfortunates were set upon and murdered 
 by a savage tribe called the Ko-a-luts. All had perished 
 but these two men, who contrived to escape along the beach 
 to a Chinese village. 
 
 H. M.S. 'Cormorant' was lying at Takao at the time 
 this news arrived, and Captain Broad, accompanied by 
 the British consul, proceeded at once to the South Cape to 
 make an investigation. 
 
 They went on shore to hold communication with the 
 savages, but were inhospitably greeted with a hot matchlock 
 fire. Two of the boat's crew were wounded, and some of 
 their oars were broken. They were forced to retreat on 
 board the vessel, and returned to Takao, having accom- 
 plished nothing. 
 
 It was to avenge the massacre of the ' Rover's ' crew 
 that General Le Gendre, the U.S.A. consul general, had 
 come over to the island in the warship ' Ashuelot.' He 
 endeavoured to induce the Tao-tai to send Chinese troops 
 
 N 2 
 
i8o FORMOSA 
 
 on a punitive expedition to the savage Ko-a-luts. The 
 governor, however, declined to interfere ; arguing that 
 Liong-kiao, the district in which the ' Rover ' people were 
 murdered, was outside Chinese jurisdiction, although it 
 contained many Chinese settlers, both Hak-kas and 
 Hok-los. 
 
 General Le Gendre therefore steamed away to lay the 
 matter before the American minister and the Tsung-H- 
 yamen at Pekin. 
 
 In the meantime the American frigate ' Hartford ' and 
 the corvette ' Wyoming,' under Admiral Bell, were sent 
 from Japan to avenge the murders. Upon these vessels 
 arriving off Takao, where at that moment I chanced to be, 
 Commander Mackenzie, of the ' Hartford/ came on shore 
 to invite me to accompany the expedition as interpreter. 
 I was nothing loth to go and see some fighting, and 
 the British consul asked to be allowed to accompany our 
 party. 
 
 We started the .same afternoon. Admiral Bell having 
 asked my advice^ I suggested that we should anchor for 
 the night in Liong-kiao bay, on the west side of the South 
 Cape. Here, I knew, was a Chinese village of Hak-kas, 
 who supplied the savages with arms, and who had inter- 
 married with them, thus acquiring a knowledge of their 
 ways and haunts. 
 
 I suggested that by moral pressure of superior force, 
 and by offering them monetary bribes, we might possibly 
 induce the corruptible Chinese to provide us with guides, 
 in order that half our party might attack the Ko-a-luts on 
 land from their rear, whilst simultaneously the other half 
 marched upon their village from the sea beach. 
 
 The admiral, however, doubted whether the Chinese 
 might not be more likely to inform the savages of our 
 intentions. 
 
 The following morning at daylight we reached the 
 South Cape, and anchored off the scene of the massacre. 
 
WRECKS AND WRECKERS 181 
 
 The admiral proceeded to land about one hundred and 
 eighty blue-jackets and marines, under the leadership of 
 Captain Belknap and Commander Mackenzie. 
 
 I was attached to Mackenzie's party, who went on 
 ahead on skirmishing duty. 
 
 We could perceive no signs of any inhabitants, and 
 progression was difficult ; the country was covered with 
 thick jungle, excepting a break here and there, where we 
 came upon open spaces of grass and rocks. 
 
 We had not penetrated a mile from the beach when 
 our unseen foes fired a volley upon us, but did no harm. 
 
 The sun grew very hot as the day advanced, and our 
 track was uphill and very rugged. 
 
 The men grew exhausted ; the lurking savages began 
 to fire upon us from all quarters, both before and behind, 
 whilst chasing them was difficult and futile. So far there 
 had been no casualties, with the amusing exception that a 
 marine shot away his major's epaulet or shoulder-strap. 
 
 The savages ceased firing for some time, and we could 
 see no signs of any village or native track. 
 
 At last the captain halted the force under some 
 rocks for a brief rest and refreshment, as the men were 
 greatly distressed by the heat and the difficulties of our 
 progress. 
 
 No sooner had we cast ourselves down in the shade, 
 than another volley came from the bush close by, but it 
 fortunately did no harm to our party. 
 
 Mackenzie then called for volunteers to drive the 
 enemy from their haunts in the thick jungle. We rushed 
 up the hill, firing wildly at the points whence the smoke 
 had issued ; but though we heard great howling, when we 
 reached the spot, no bodies were to be found. 
 
 On coming to some high rocks, we few volunteers 
 halted, to see if it were possible to obtain the solace of a 
 pipe. I happened luckily to have a match or two upon 
 me, and Mackenzie, with my companion, gathered closely 
 
182 FORMOSA 
 
 round me to lose no flicker of the precious match for their 
 waiting pipes. 
 
 At that instant our hopes of a soothing whiff were frus- 
 trated. There came another volley, right upon us. 
 
 Mackenzie, in deep exasperation, cried : 
 
 ' Come on, my lads ! Let us give a rally, and finish off 
 these rascals ! ' 
 
 We all rushed ahead, cheering loudly. Our greeting 
 was another volley through the green leaves. We were 
 wild with excitement and wrath, pressing forward with all 
 speed. I only had time to see Mackenzie turn ; his hand 
 sought his breast, and he just said in a queer, quiet voice, 
 ' Somebody please go down and call the doctor.' 
 
 Then I was borne ahead by my excited companions, 
 and we rushed on until we were suddenly arrested by the 
 sound of the recall. 
 
 When we rejoined the main force, it was to find poor 
 Mackenzie dead. He had been shot through the heart 
 when he had asked for the doctor. 
 
 As there seemed to be no chance of our finding the 
 Ko-a-lut village, Captain Belknap decided to return to the 
 ships, whilst our party covered the|,retreat ; whereupon 
 the Ko-a-luts, emboldened by our retreat, followed us down 
 to the beach, but their weapons did no harm. 
 
 The surf had grown very violent, and we had consider- 
 able difficulty in reaching the boats. 
 
 On arriving on board, and reporting matters to the 
 admiral, he decided to return to Japan until the time of 
 the north-east monsoon, the dry season, when the jungle 
 would be burned. 
 
 He landed the consul and myself at Takao, and buried 
 poor Mackenzie in the cemetery there. It was pitiful 
 that, after passing unscathed through the whole of the war 
 between the Confederates and Unionists, this gallant officer 
 should be killed at last by the chance bullet of a wretched 
 savage in Formosa. 
 
WRECKS AND WRECKERS 183 
 
 A man-of-war came to Takao shortly afterwards, and 
 conveyed his body to the States. 
 
 When I got back to Takao, I found awaiting me there 
 a Mr. James Horn, who had come on behalf of the rela- 
 tions of the wife of the unfortunate captain of the ' Rover.' 
 He desired to obtain her remains, for the purpose of con- 
 veying them to her friends in America. 
 
 He accordingly went down to Liong-kiao, but after 
 spending time and money in a vain effort, he returned and 
 requested me to help him in his melancholy task. 
 
 It being the time of the south-west monsoon, I had 
 leisure to assist him. I therefore accompanied him on his 
 return to Liong-kiao. 
 
 For an account of how we fared in our quest, and of the 
 adventures which befell us at the South Cape, I cannot do 
 better than quote some leaves from a journal kept by my 
 friend Mr. Horn at the time, and published in the China 
 Mail newspaper. 
 
 Extract from Mr. James Horn's Journal. 
 
 ' On July 30 I returned to Takao from Sialiao, a 
 village in Liong-kiao Bay, after a stay down at the South 
 Cape of upwards of a month, endeavouring to obtain 
 information regarding the " Rover." Not being satisfied 
 with what information I obtained, nor with the interpreter, 
 I called on Mr. W. Pickering of Taiwanfoo, a young 
 gentleman who is reckoned one of the best authorities 
 regarding the savages on the island, and a good linguist, 
 and he kindly agreed to accompany me to the South Cape, 
 and try to recover the remains, etc., for me. 
 
 ' On August 3 we started for Sialiao, and on the 4th 
 entered the little river there, and put up at the same house 
 I had before. 
 
 ' August 5. We got here in time, as a typhoon came 
 on, and two junks were wrecked off the cape and three 
 drove out to sea from Liong-kiao. Mr. Pickering found a 
 
1 84 FORMOSA 
 
 great deal of difficulty in obtaining information regarding 
 the bodies, as the interpreter (Atowat) had tried to 
 frighten the people by telling them that the Americans 
 were coming to punish them for the murders. In the 
 afternoon went to the Hak-ka village, Poliek ; found that 
 the remains and sundry articles were in the hands of a tribe 
 of savages named Ling-nuan, living near the Ko-a-luts 
 (the murderers of Captain Hunt and crew). Here we saw 
 several savages who are kept as slaves to the neighbouring 
 tribes ; engaged a guide to take us to Toa-su-pong, a 
 village in the bay, about two miles from where Captain 
 Hunt landed. 
 
 ' 7th. Started on our journey south. At 4 P.M. came in 
 sight of a fresh-water lake, about two miles long by one 
 broad, which the Chinese say abounds in fish, and in 
 the winter is covered with wild-fowl ; about 6 P.M. arrived 
 at Sin-keng, a farm-house near the sea-shore, where we 
 put up. 
 
 ' 8th. Started, and arrived at Toa-su-pong about 6 P.M. 
 
 ' 9th. Went to the house where Atowat had his infor- 
 mation. Here we saw three of the Ling-nuan savages, 
 who told us that the bones were still with them, but in a 
 very bad state, as Atowat had only offered fifteen dollars 
 for them, and told them that, if they would not give up 
 everything belonging to the " Rover," in a few days a 
 steamer would come and destroy their village, also the 
 Chinese villages around ; so, being frightened, they had 
 thrown the bag containing the remains under a tree near 
 the Ko-a-luts, and that since then the wild pigs had 
 destroyed a portion of the bones. These savages speak 
 Chinese. Mr. Pickering had a long talk with them. They 
 told him that they were very much frightened when the 
 steamers were there ; also said they were honest men and 
 never killed any person, and that had Captain Hunt come 
 three hundred yards further to the westward to their 
 village, they would have saved them all. They also said 
 
WRECKS AND WRECKERS 185 
 
 that every year they save some Chinese from the Ko-a-luts ; 
 that about ten years ago they rescued three European 
 sailors from the Ko-a-luts, who had just killed eighteen of 
 them. The names of the sailors were Jim, Alex, and Bill ; 
 they belonged to a vessel wrecked off the cape. The 
 three sailors stayed with them and the Chinese for upwards 
 of a year, and were taken off by a ship passing round to 
 the eastward. The Chinese say that about a year after- 
 wards Alex came back and gave them a present of two 
 hundred dollars. 
 
 ' In the afternoon we went to the Ling-nuan village, 
 which is situated on the west side of the same hill that the 
 Ko-a-luts inhabit. We only saw three savages there, the 
 others had gone to the mountains. The savages showed 
 us the place where the body was buried, under a tree near 
 the beach, a little distance from the village nearer the 
 Ko-a-luts ; the skull, breast bones, ribs, etc., were there, but 
 the large bones of the legs and arms were gone. The 
 savages had heard from Atowat that Mr. Hunt was a 
 mandarin, so they demanded an enormous sum for the 
 bones ; they also reasoned that she must have been some 
 great lady or the men-of-war would never have come here. 
 Mr. Pickering very patiently explained everything to them, 
 also showed them how much it would be to their advantage 
 to be friendly, and what benefits they would derive from 
 trade with the white men, and that no harm would come 
 to them from the arrival of vessels, and that they would be 
 rewarded for any assistance they rendered to the American 
 vessels in punishing the Ko-a-luts or in assisting ship- 
 wrecked seamen. They promised to do all in their power, 
 and agreed to bring the remains of Mrs. Hunt to a hut 
 near Toa-su-pong in the morning. 
 
 ' August 10. Heard that there was a Bashee islander 
 in the village, who, with nine companions in a canoe, had 
 been driven on the east side of the island. On nearing the 
 land they had been fired on by the Bootan savages and 
 
1 86 FORMOSA 
 
 one killed. They came further south and landed near the 
 Tilasok village, where they met a deaf and dumb savage, 
 who took them to his house. When there the rest of the 
 tribe demanded their heads, but the deaf and dumb man 
 placed himself in the doorway and defended them with a 
 club, and showed the other savages that they must kill him 
 before the islanders. This deaf and dumb man, being 
 brother-in-law to the chief, was allowed to keep them, but 
 afterwards the savages got one of the men out and took 
 his head. We got this information from the Chinese, to 
 whom one man had been sent to see if they could under- 
 stand him and get a boat to take them back. The Chinese 
 wanted us to see the man. Thinking we might be able to 
 speak to him, we went to the house where he was, but ol 
 course could not understand him, and were going away 
 when Mr. Pickering remembered that the Spanish traded 
 with the Bashee Islands, and tried Spanish. To our 
 surprise he answered, and informed us he was a Christian, 
 repeating the Lord's Prayer, etc. He corroborated gener- 
 ally the Chinese account. Mr. Pickering promised to do 
 all he could to get them liberated, and told the Chinese to 
 send and request the savages to treat them well and they 
 would be rewarded. 
 
 ' From there we went to the place where the remains 
 had been brought to. It was there ready for us. As we 
 had no money to pay for it, Mr. Pickering had some 
 difficulty in making arrangements ; after some trouble, got 
 one of the Chinese to be security to the Ling-nuans, and 
 another to secure him ; I, agreeing to stay at Liong-kiao 
 until the money was paid, gave them the bargain money. 
 We had to assure them that this was the last they would 
 hear of the matter before they would give up the bones. 
 We then got the bones put into a grass box with a lot of 
 gilt paper to pay the spirit's way to heaven, as the Chinese 
 said, and strapped on my back, as the Chinese would not 
 touch it. We had to fire off all our arms towards the 
 
WRECKS AND WRECKERS 187 
 
 Ko-a-luts to show our indignation against them. After we 
 got them pleased, we started for Sialiao, and arrived there 
 about 7 P.M. Both on the way south and back we were 
 very well treated by the people. They are more than 
 one-half savage, very little Chinese blood amongst them. 
 Should shipwrecked mariners land to the westward of the 
 Ko-a-lut Rock, they would be well received and kindly 
 treated, but should they land to the eastward, they would 
 be sure to fall into the hands of the savages. 
 
 ' Just to the westward of the rock is a tribe of savages 
 named Ling-nuans, who are comparatively civilised, but 
 are not to be trusted too far, as they would not scruple to 
 rob foreigners could they screen themselves. 
 
 ' Mr. Pickering started for Takao, promising to send or 
 come down soon. 
 
 ' 1 2th. Went in company of a guide to a Pepo-hoan 
 village on the banks of the lake in search of the trunk and 
 sundries belonging to the " Rover " ; got the trunk for five 
 dollars. Made search after the chronometer and portrait 
 that I had seen before ; found that the savages wanted a 
 large sum for them. 
 
 * 1 7th. Mr. Pickering returned from Takao, being com- 
 missioned by Mr. Carrol, the English consul, to obtain the 
 release of the Bashee islanders. 
 
 1 August 1 8. Proceeded to Toa-su-pong, where the 
 islander we had seen before was staying. Paid for the 
 remains of Mrs. Hunt ; called at the house where the 
 islander was ; found that the savages had sent another out. 
 Mr. Pickering tried everywhere to get a guide to take us 
 into the Tilasok village to see the chief concerning their 
 release. We could not succeed in getting a guide, as we 
 should have to pass through the Ko-a-luts (the tribe who 
 murdered the crew of the " Rover "), and the Chinese would 
 not go with us, as they said that if any harm came to us 
 they would be held responsible for it. Mr. Pickering 
 offered rewards to some of the Ko-a-lut women who came to 
 
i88 FORMOSA 
 
 Toa-su-pong to show us the way, but they said that they 
 dare not, as, since the steamer left, the savages' crops had 
 been severely damaged by wild pigs, and one of their men 
 had been bitten by a shark, also they had had a quarrel 
 amongst themselves, in which two men were killed. The 
 Ko-a-luts, after holding a religious ceremony to inquire into 
 the reason of all these calamities, found that the Americans 
 had left an evil spirit behind them to destroy the savages, 
 so they had determined to be revenged on all white men. 
 Finding it was in vain to think of going inside, we sent a 
 savage woman to offer the chief of the Tilasok the sum of 
 seven dollars each for the islanders. In two days she 
 returned, saying that the chief wanted more, as the 
 islanders had made signs to him that if he would send 
 them back they would give him two rice measures full of 
 dollars. Mr. Pickering then offered two hundred dollars, 
 and said it was all we could give, and explained to the 
 savage woman how foolish it was to expect people who had 
 only a strip of cloth round their waists to have dollars. 
 In two days the woman again returned and said that the 
 chief demanded five hundred dollars for the men, and that 
 there were four Chinese from Liong-kiao who had offered 
 four hundred dollars, as they said that the foreigners would 
 buy them from them, as they wanted to take them to 
 Takao, to make opium of or sell them as slaves (the people 
 there have some very strange notions about the Roman 
 Catholic missionaries making opium of their converts). 
 Mr. Pickering sent word to the chief that he had better 
 sell the men to the Chinese, as we could not offer that sum, 
 knowing that the Chinese had only offered four hundred 
 dollars in the hopes of selling them to us for five hundred 
 dollars. We then returned to Sialiao, and kept quiet for 
 two days, giving out that we had returned to Takao in 
 disgust, and gave a Chinese, who was married to a savage 
 woman, two hundred dollars on security, telling him that if 
 he could get the savage to give up the men the money was 
 
WRECKS AND WRECKERS 189 
 
 his. In the meantime, having an invitation from the 
 Labosee tribe, about six miles off in the mountains, went 
 in to see them. Were very well treated ; had a grand 
 feast, and on leaving the next day got a present of a bag 
 of millet and some fowls ; also about a dozen savages well 
 armed accompanied us as an escort until we were clear 
 of the mountains On returning to Sialiao found that the 
 chief had sent word that he would not take less, that he 
 had just heard that the mandarins were coming down with 
 7,500 men to destroy the Ko-a-luts and other savages of 
 whom he is the chief, some of the Hak-kas having gone in 
 and showed him the proclamation and explained it to him, 
 warning him to get ready. 
 
 ' The savage woman said that the Bashee islanders 
 were kept in strict confinement, and when she made signs 
 to them that the chief would not let them go they cried 
 much. Mr. Pickering was anxious to get back to Takao, 
 and yet, not liking to go back without the men, agreed to 
 pay the sum demanded. The woman took the money in 
 on the 3Oth on good security. 
 
 1 On the 3 ist seven men came out, accompanied by two 
 old savage women and the wife of the deaf and dumb 
 savage. They dilated very much on the goodness of their 
 chief in letting the men go for that sum. These women 
 promised to bring the remaining man from Toa-su-pong 
 the next day, and pay all the expenses the Chinese might 
 demand for keeping him so long. We waited two days 
 for the arrival of the man, and the two women came back 
 saying that the Chinese would not deliver him up. Next 
 day we went down, well armed, and took the man away 
 from the Chinese, telling them to settle with the chief. 
 They at first made a great disturbance, but we explained 
 everything to them and parted on very friendly terms. 
 
 'We then returned to Sialiao, and Mr. Pickering 
 intended to start directly for Takao (I agreeing to stay as 
 security for the money we had borrowed from a Hong). 
 
i go FORMOSA 
 
 He was going on board the boat about 1 1 P.M. on Sep- 
 tember 6, but, seeing the weather was very unsettled and 
 the wind commencing to blow from the north-east, decided 
 very fortunately to stay until morning, as the typhoon began 
 directly afterwards and continued constant gales of wind 
 and rain, no boats being able to go out. 
 
 ' Sept. 8. To-day the head of the Fokeen Chinese 
 here came to Mr. Pickering and said that he had heard 
 that the mandarins were coming down to Liong-kiao with 
 8,000 men to fight the Ko-a-luts and savages, and the 
 Fokeeri men were much afraid that the soldiers would 
 cause a good deal of distress and do no good, as the 
 savages all knew of their designs (the mandarins having 
 foolishly circulated proclamations announcing their 
 intentions), and had all joined together, eighteen tribes, 
 under one leader named Tok-e-tok (the same man 
 who had the Bashee islanders), and could muster eleven 
 hundred men armed with guns, besides about fifteen 
 hundred other savages called Amias, who are servants or 
 slaves, with bows and spears. These tribes had deter- 
 mined to resist the mandarins, and if they found that they 
 were too strong for them, they would go up north and 
 wait until the mandarins went back. 
 
 1 The Fokeen men said that the Hak-kas, who, as well 
 as themselves, hold their land from different savage chiefs, 
 had great influence with the different chiefs and thought 
 they could influence Tok-e-tok to agree hereafter not to 
 hurt any foreigners that were shipwrecked. 
 
 ' The Hak-kas and Fokeen Chinese say that they are 
 very comfortable as they are (they pay a certain sum of 
 money every year to the different chiefs under whom they 
 hold their land), but that if the mandarins came down the 
 soldiers will do all the damages to them, their crops, etc., 
 etc., and not be able to do anything to the savages ; they 
 also say that they do not want to fight against the 
 mandarins, but if the latter do not destroy all the savages, 
 
WRECKS AND WRECKERS 191 
 
 when they return to Taiwan, the savages will come down 
 and be continually at war with them for not helping them 
 against the mandarins. 
 
 ' The Fokeen people and Hak-kas were continually 
 fighting amongst themselves, but the latter, living amongst 
 the savages, are very friendly with them, and do all their 
 trade for them. 
 
 ' The two races of Chinese have agreed to make common 
 cause now with regard to the Ko-a-lut business, and the 
 head of the Hak-kas, Lin-a-kow, came to Mr. Pickering 
 and said that he would call out the chief of the Tilasoks, 
 Tok-e-tok, and get him to agree that after this the 
 Ko-a-luts and all other tribes under his command should 
 abstain from murdering any foreigners who might be cast or 
 land on their shores, and assist them as far as lay in their 
 power. Thinking that such an agreement would do no 
 harm, but save a deal of expense and loss of life, Mr. 
 Pickering agreed to see the chief, but told them that he 
 could only report the matter to the proper authorities. 
 
 ' The mandarins had sent to request the Hak-kas to 
 assist them against the savages, but the Hak-kas said that, 
 from what they heard of the mandarins in the north of 
 Formosa and in the mainland, they treated friends and foes 
 alike. Hitherto the Hak-kas and Fokeen men never agreed, 
 but that they were all so much afraid of the damage that 
 the presence of bodies of mandarin soldiers would cause in 
 the country that they now agreed together to call the chief 
 Tok-e-tok out, and make a treaty to help all foreigners 
 who might fall into their hands. The Hak-kas and Fokeen 
 men agree to be security for anything that Tok-e-tok 
 agrees to, and should anything happen any government 
 could easily find them. 
 
 ' The Hak-kas have great power over the savages, as 
 they can deprive them of ammunition, but they say they 
 are unwilling to go to war with them, as they have always 
 been at peace and hold their land from them. 
 
192 FORMOSA 
 
 ' I ith. To-day we have had a meeting of all the heads 
 of Hak-kas and Fokeen men at Poliek, and after a long 
 discussion, in which the principal point was that the Hak-kas 
 feared the foreigners would not agree to anything until 
 some lives were lost in revenge for the murders of the 
 " Rover " crew, Mr. Pickering told them it was out of 
 his power to promise anything, but that from what he knew 
 of foreigners' hearts he thought that if such an arrange- 
 ment was not too late they would accept it, as slaughter 
 was not an object with us. 
 
 ' They begged us to send up as soon as possible to the 
 proper authorities and try to get the soldiers delayed until 
 some arrangements were made with the savages. 
 
 ' 1 2th. Being tired of waiting for a chance to get up by 
 boat, and no signs of the weather clearing up, we determined 
 to start by land for Takao ; the Chinese tried to dissuade 
 us from it, as we had to pass through the savage territory ; 
 but we managed to get guides and started with the Bashee 
 islanders ; passed through the village of Cha-sia ; found a 
 petty mandarin had arrived Mr. P. heard him telling the 
 people to have nothing to do with us. He was astonished 
 when Mr. P. went up to him and spoke in the mandarin 
 dialect. 
 
 ' Got to Hiong Kang about 6 P.M., after walking about 
 fifteen miles over a hilly country, through the savage terri- 
 tory : raining the whole day. Started in the morning ; came 
 to a rapid river too deep to ford ; had to return towards 
 noon ; got a boat on to Pangliao ; arrived thereabout 5 P.M. 
 Could not get further, as it was blowing fresh ; found that 
 the Chinese troops had arrived here, and that some 
 foreigners were here. A Chinese conducted us to a house, 
 where we met General Le Gendre and a French gentleman. 
 General Le Gendre informed us that he was going down to 
 Liong-kiao on account of the " Rover" business, and engaged 
 Mr. Pickering to go with him as interpreter. Mr. P. 
 gave him every information we had received, and proposed 
 
WRECKS AND WRECKERS 193 
 
 the treaty to him. There were between four hundred and 
 five hundred soldiers here, but they could not get down for 
 some time. 
 
 * Next day I proceeded to Takao by land, the Bashee 
 islanders being forwarded by boat. 
 
 1 1 6th. Arrived at Takao. The Bashee islanders were 
 sent by Mr. Carrol, per the gunboat, home to the island. 
 
 ( On the 26th I returned to Sialiao, and found General 
 Le Gendre and the Chinese troops there, but nothing done 
 yet, as the mandarins were putting every obstacle in the 
 way. The whole of the business lay upon Mr. Pickering's 
 shoulders. He was the first to go, in company of some 
 Hak-kas, in to the Tilasoks, and had an interview with the 
 chief, and since then has had several interviews with him. 
 I do not think that anything could have been done by 
 General Le Gendre towards making a peaceable arrange- 
 ment with the savages without Mr. Pickering. I know I 
 would never have got the remains of Mrs. Hunt without 
 his assistance. 
 
 ' Mr. Pickering is well liked by both Chinese and savages, 
 and been more among the savages of north and south than 
 any other man on the island. 
 
 ' JAMES HORN/ 
 
 Mr. Horn was so attracted by what he saw of the 
 Pepo-hoan character, during our dealings with them at this 
 time, that he ultimately returned to Formosa, and settled 
 with a German friend upon the north-eastern side of the 
 island, where they formed a colony of these simple-hearted 
 people, for the purpose of cutting down and disposing of 
 timber. 
 
 All went prosperously, until Mr. Horn one day went 
 round by sea to Tamsui, to engage the services of more 
 Pepo-hoans. He was returning with about a hundred men 
 in a large native boat, when a sudden typhoon arose, the 
 vessel capsized, and every soul on board was drowned. 
 
 O 
 
194 FORMOSA 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE TRIUMPH OF DIPLOMACY 
 
 DURING the time that I spent down at the South Cape 
 upon this melancholy mission, I embraced every opportu- 
 nity of making friends with the tribes of Hak-kas and 
 Hok-los who had settled in the savage territory of Liong- 
 kiao. They were exceedingly hospitable, and inclined to 
 fraternise with the red-haired barbarian within their 
 gates. 
 
 I also was so fortunate as to rescue (on two occasions) 
 some twenty or thirty shipwrecked Spanish sailors from 
 the tender mercies of the savages on the east coast. 
 
 Just as I was about to return to Takao, there came a 
 rumour throughout the country that the Chinese com- 
 mander-in-chief and the American consul were coming 
 down with a large army to punish the Ko-a-luts. 
 
 This prospect created great consternation amongst the 
 Chinese settlers. They called me in, and entreated me to 
 assist them. They argued : * We have no desire to be 
 under the yoke of the mandarins ; whilst as to Chinese 
 soldiers, you know what they are ! They are worse than 
 locusts. If we should be good to them, they will take all 
 we have ; while if we do not find them supplies, they will 
 seize our w r omen and kill us. They will never be able 
 to stand out against the savages ; they will be com- 
 pelled to flee at last ; then the savages will revenge them- 
 selves upon all of us who wear tails ; they will stop our 
 irrigation water, and our lives will not be safe by day nor 
 night.' 
 
THE TRIUMPH OF DIPLOMACY 195 
 
 The headmen assured me that both races of Chinese 
 settlers had determined to abandon all their feuds, for the 
 purpose of bringing united pressure to bear upon Tok-e- 
 tok, the chief of eighteen savage tribes, to make it worth 
 his while to spare all shipwrecked crews who chanced to 
 come ashore on their coast, and to hand them over to the 
 Chinese villagers, who would forward them to the consul 
 at Takao. 
 
 They informed me that the savages were entirely de- 
 pendent upon them for guns, ammunition, and salt. They 
 therefore did not think that it would be very difficult to 
 bring them to terms. 
 
 These same headmen besought me to go up to Tai- 
 wanfoo, to lay their proposal before the consul and the 
 commander-in-chief, General Lau, a gallant man and 
 distinguished officer, who had been rewarded by the 
 emperor with the honour of a yellow jacket for services 
 under General Gordon. 
 
 I accordingly started off overland, and had the good 
 fortune to meet the invading force half-way. It consisted 
 of two hundred disciplined Hunan braves, armed with 
 Enfield rifles, men who had fought under Gordon, and who 
 were clansmen or fellow provincials of the commander-in- 
 chief. These were accompanied by three or four hundred 
 militia, armed with matchlocks, spears, etc. 
 
 The valiant commander-in-chief, and another general 
 who had gained much credit in a rebellion some twenty 
 years before, were in charge of the expedition ; and General 
 Le Gendre, with the sub-prefect, the civil administrator 
 and diplomatist of the island, was also with them. 
 
 It transpired that General Le Gendre had been to Pekin, 
 and had frightened the Chinese government into tardy 
 action, by threatening that if the emperor did not exercise 
 jurisdiction over Formosa, the English would take the 
 island. He had called at Amoy, en route for Formosa, and 
 had obtained the permission of the head of our firm for me 
 
 o 2 
 
196 FORMOSA 
 
 to accompany the expedition. This gratified me ex- 
 ceedingly. 
 
 I ventured to lay the proposition of the Liong-kiao 
 Chinese before General Le Gendre. He appreciated their 
 motives, and affirmed that he should be only too glad if 
 such an arrangement could be carried out. He proposed 
 that I should accompany him to the Chinese generals, to 
 consult with them. 
 
 These gentlemen, unfortunately, were not so pacific. 
 They at once expressed great indignation. They said that 
 4 they had received the emperor's commands to exterminate 
 the barbarians, and they were going to do it.' 
 
 Possibly prudence came with reflection. Just after dark 
 the commander-in-chief sent his secretary to request my 
 attendance. I went over to his tent, and found the other 
 general (who was an old acquaintance of mine) and the 
 sub-prefect all in consultation. 
 
 They desired me to repeat the proposal that I had made 
 to General Le Gendre. We had a long council, lasting 
 through the night ; and ultimately the commander-in- 
 chief agreed that if I could fulfil that which I had promised 
 on the Chinese settlers' behalf, he on his part would keep 
 his men out of Liong-kiao, and would engage to help in 
 every possible way. 
 
 1 My braves,' he said, * are all gathered from the north 
 of China, and they cannot long endure this climate. They 
 are already beginning to die of fever. I know too well 
 that the local troops have no fight in them. Moreover, I 
 do not desire to hurt the poor Chinese who are living in 
 savage territory.' 
 
 The roundabout methods of Chinese diplomacy had, 
 however, to be respected. The following morning we 
 visited General Le Gendre in a body. I had, of course, in- 
 formed him of all that had passed ; and he again made 
 proposals that they should accept my terms. This the 
 mandarins opposed for some time, in order to ' save their 
 
THE TRIUMPH OF DIPLOMACY 197 
 
 face,' but after a discreet resistance they ultimately allowed 
 themselves to be convinced. 
 
 The army was accordingly marched down south, and 
 encamped just without the borders of Liong-kiao. In- 
 evitably the soldiers began to plunder the villages 
 near, but the commander-in-chief promptly had two men 
 arrested and led out for execution. General Le Gendre 
 interceded on their behalf, and they were let off with 
 one or two hundred blows with the bamboo. 
 
 Leaving the army thus bivouacked on the borders, the 
 sub-prefect and I went down amongst the Liong-kiao 
 people. We were introduced to their great chief, Tok-e-tok, 
 to whom I was made a sworn brother in the usual mode, 
 by mixing blood. 
 
 The result of our pacific diplomacy was that a treaty 
 was negotiated which was satisfactory in character to all 
 parties. 
 
 When all was in train for ratification, General Le 
 Gendre joined the sub-prefect and myself, whereupon, 
 accompanied by the Liong-kiao Chinese headmen, we all 
 proceeded in state to Tok-e-tok's village, where the Chinese 
 produced buffaloes and pigs to celebrate the occasion by a 
 great feast. 
 
 The treaty was signed by the Chinese sub- prefect, the 
 American consul, myself, and the Liong-kiao headmen, 
 whilst the savage chief made a daub with his hand, as his 
 mark. 
 
 I may here say that this treaty was faithfully respected 
 during the three years in which I remained in Formosa. 
 It saved the lives of many unfortunate shipwrecked 
 crews, who were thenceforth spared and forwarded to 
 Takao. 
 
 We had considerable difficulty to induce the savages to 
 complete their share of the making of the treaty. The 
 Chinese settlers, in their joy at thus escaping from the 
 ravages of their own troops, had brought quantities of 
 
198 FORMOSA 
 
 rice whisky, in which the savages indulged to their hearts' 
 content. 
 
 The result was that we were compelled to wait a day 
 or two before they were in a fit condition to comprehend 
 the terms of the contract. 
 
 It was just before this critical period of our negotiations 
 that an amusing incident occurred, which might, but for 
 my prompt measures, have had a grave result, indeed which 
 might have rendered all our efforts nul and void. 
 
 On arriving at Liong-kiao, we Europeans were quar- 
 tered upon some very good friends of mine, three fine- 
 looking young Chinamen, brothers, who had previously 
 shown me the sincerest hospitality, and with whom I had 
 become very intimate. 
 
 General Le Gendre had fixed his tent in the courtyard 
 of their house at Sialiao, and his Chinese cook from 
 Amoy had joined the settlers in their gossip round a big 
 blazing wood fire, away at the further end of the yard. I 
 had been absent, busy on many things ; and upon my 
 reappearance in the courtyard, my hosts, the young Hok-lo 
 brothers, drew me aside, with gravely perturbed faces. 
 
 ' Pi-ki-ling,' one said, ' we always thought you a great 
 man amongst the barbarians ; we understood that your 
 words had weight and power. But that Chinaman over 
 there, the great general's man, he says you are no account 
 at all ! ' 
 
 ' Yes, indeed,' broke in another, * he says that over in 
 Amoy, such as you barbarians are just kicked about the 
 streets.' 
 
 ' Now, Pi-ki-ling,' concluded the third brother, ' what 
 are we to think ? We have treated you well, not only 
 because we liked you, but also because we thought you a 
 great man, and one who spoke the truth. But how are we 
 to know? This man says you are nothing at all. He 
 bids us look at your clothes ; he says such as you would 
 be kicked at Amoy ! ' 
 
THE TRIUMPH OF DIPLOMACY 199 
 
 Well, there was some excuse for these simple fellows 
 to doubt. My attire could not be taken as a just criterion 
 of my merit, I was aware. It was useful, but scarcely 
 elegant ! And they had only my word to go upon, whilst 
 their countryman was very plausible. 
 
 Yet, if my reputation were taken from me, there was an 
 end of all hope for our negotiations. It was the moment 
 for prompt action. 
 
 ' Come and see,' I said indignantly to the brothers. 
 
 Striding into the chattering circle round the fire, I fixed 
 a wrathful eye upon the cook. 
 
 'Who says he wants to kick a red-haired barbarian 
 about ? ' I inquired of him. 
 
 The coward shivered in his seat. He shrank back in 
 terror. 
 
 ' My no savee ; I no hear any man talkee so fashion, 
 master ; my no talkee nothing. How can any man talkee 
 allo same so fashion ? } 
 
 1 None of your pigeon English for me/ I roared. ( Speak 
 your own language, that all these around may judge be- 
 tween us. Who says that the red-haired barbarians are of 
 no account in China ? Who says they are kicked about 
 the streets ? ' 
 
 1 Ah, not I, not I ! ' he whined terrified. 
 
 The bystanders all corroborated the brothers' story, so 
 I waved my arms right and left. 
 
 ' Make room,' I commanded. ' Come along, brothers, 
 and see ; I will show you how the red-haired barbarians are 
 kicked in Amoy.' 
 
 Whereupon I took this craven cook by the pigtail, and 
 kicked him energetically round the circle, and round again, 
 giving him a little lesson to respect barbarians in future 
 days. 
 
 Then when I had finished with him, I went off in a 
 great state of heat to General Le Gendre, and told him the 
 whole affair, and when we had laughed until we could 
 
200 FORMOSA 
 
 laugh no more, I grew cool, and felt much better for this 
 salutary exercise. 
 
 But this slight contretemps increased our desire to 
 bring the affair of the treaty to a speedy conclusion. 
 
 As I have previously mentioned, the difficulty lay with 
 the savages, who, though ostensibly with us for the pur- 
 pose of ratifying the treaty, had drunk ' not wisely but too 
 well ' of their hosts' potent rice whisky, and were therefore 
 not in a fit condition to negotiate. 
 
 I at last hit upon a plan not, I believe, wholly original 
 on my part by which we could perhaps arouse them to 
 intelligence through their fears. 
 
 General Le Gendre had fought all through the American 
 war, and was covered with honourable wounds ; above 
 all, he wore a glass eye. I held a secret consultation with 
 him, and we arranged a little plot. 
 
 Then, seizing my opportunity, when the savages were 
 recovering from a debauch, I summoned all parties before 
 the general, who assumed an expression of fierce im- 
 patience. 
 
 I then proceeded, through the medium of a Liong- 
 kiao Chinese interpreter, to harangue the savages. 
 
 1 Come, my brothers/ I said impressively, * we must 
 trifle no longer. This great man grows angry. We must 
 get to work. Beware of his displeasure : he is no common 
 man ; he can do things you have never seen done before ! ' 
 
 I looked intelligently at General Le Gendre, whereupon 
 he,, spoke American phrases in a mighty voice, stamped 
 his foot, and, taking out his eye, he cast it on the table 
 before them. 
 
 The savages were absolutely dumbfoundered. They 
 gave us very little more trouble, and the treaty was 
 signed forthwith. 
 
 The Chinese generals were overjoyed, and thanked 
 me enthusiastically. They bestowed a new name upon 
 me, to be inscribed upon my visiting cards ! Hitherto I 
 
THE TRIUMPH OF DIPLOMACY 201 
 
 had spelt my name phonetically, with three Chinese 
 characters, Pi-ko-lien, which had no special significance. 
 The great yellow jacket now, however, decreed that in 
 future my appellation must be the character of the ki-lin, or 
 unicorn, that sacred, mysterious beast which only appeared 
 at the birth of some great sage. In the Hok-lo dialect I 
 was to be ' Pit-ki-lien,' in Pekinese ' Pi-chi-lien ' ; for surely, 
 they said flatteringly, * you must be indeed a ki-lin^ to 
 have been able to bring us such good luck ! ' 
 
 They also reported my deeds to Pekin as * worthy of 
 being written in letters of gold, and carved upon stone.' 
 
 The army returned to Taiwanfoo, and there I received 
 the thanks of the American, the Spanish, and my own 
 government. 
 
 It may be imagined how elated I was with my success. 
 None needed to begrudge me one morsel of my satis- 
 faction ; for this was the last occasion upon which I was 
 ever praised and had my doings appreciated by a man- 
 darin, or, indeed, had any peace or comfort in Formosa. 
 
 I indirectly reaped some benefit, in the troublous times 
 which now awaited me, from the fact that I numbered the 
 commander of troops and the sub-prefect as my friends, 
 which gave me several chances of escape during the perils 
 that were before me. 
 
202 FORMOSA 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF THE CAMPHOR WAR 
 
 UPON my return to Takao, after the adventures at South 
 Cape recorded in my last chapter, I found that orders had 
 come from our firm in Amoy, instructing us to engage in 
 the camphor trade. 
 
 There had gradually arisen a great demand for this 
 article in America, and prices had gone up to a great 
 height in consequence. 
 
 Hitherto there had been but little demand for camphor ; 
 in Formosa the Tao-tai's monopoly had therefore not 
 been interfered with, and that dignitary had made great 
 profits from farming the camphor sales out to wealthy 
 natives. 
 
 In former years a good deal of the drug was clan- 
 destinely produced and smuggled across to the mainland, 
 where it was bought up by European speculators and 
 transmitted to Calcutta, where the Hindustani made con- 
 siderable use of it. 
 
 The gigantic laurel (Laurus camphora] which yields 
 the camphor is to be found covering the whole line of 
 high mountains extending north and south through the 
 heart of Formosa. 
 
 The method of obtaining the drug was primitive in the 
 extreme. 
 
 The trees, as they were required, were selected for the 
 abundance of their sap, for many were too dry to repay 
 the labour of the undertaking. The best part of the felled 
 tree was secured for timber, and the refuse was cut up into 
 
BEGINNING OF THE CAMPHOR WAR 203 
 
 chips. These chips were boiled in iron pots, one inverted 
 on another, and the sublimated vapour was the desired 
 result. 
 
 The camphor was then stowed in large vats, with 
 escape holes in the bottom, through which an oil slowly 
 exuded, known as camphor oil, which was a much-valued 
 remedy amongst Chinese doctors for rheumatic diseases. 
 
 From the vats the camphor was placed in bags con- 
 taining about a pecul each, or in large tubs holding three 
 peculs (400 Ibs.) each, and it was then ready for shipment 
 to Taiwanfoo, where we packed it in air-tight cases for 
 exportation. 
 
 When our firm decided to take up the camphor trade, 
 we had offers from a wealthy landowner, the head of an 
 important clan (Ch'oa), to supply us with any quantity 
 of the drug. We accordingly contracted with him to do 
 so, and our agreement was officially endorsed by the 
 consul. 
 
 We also made large advances in cash, and established 
 warehouses and Chinese agents at Go-ch'e, a small port 
 lying about sixty miles north of Taiwanfoo. Thus an 
 extensive fresh field for British enterprise seemed opening 
 in the south. 
 
 We reckoned, however, without the cupidity of the 
 Tao-tai, who would not let his valuable monopoly go so 
 easily. That worthy, with the other officials, quickly took 
 alarm. They tried clandestine opposition, and at first con- 
 tented themselves with inciting another powerful clan to 
 attack the clan of our agent. In the course of this feud 
 our camphor that was ready for shipment was plundered to 
 the value of 6,000 dollars. 
 
 This could not be endured passively, and I was pro- 
 ceeding to Go-ch'e to investigate the matter, but the wily 
 Tao-tai refused to sign my passport, though he was bound 
 by treaty to do so at the consul's request. The consul, 
 in spite of this opposition, gave me his permission to 
 
204 FORMOSA 
 
 proceed to Go-ch'e, and informed me that he would send 
 over to Amoy for a gunboat, to bring the mandarins to 
 reason. 
 
 The Tao-tai's next move was to cause researches to be 
 made in the musty official records, in order to find ground 
 for some trumped-up case against our Go-ch'e agent. 
 
 This was speedily accomplished. It was found that 
 Ch'oa's late father, when but a youth, had been concerned 
 in some forgotten rebellion of long ago. 
 
 However mythical this might be, it gave the necessary 
 power to the Tao-tai to harass our agent. That amiable 
 official forthwith ordered two hundred soldiers to march to 
 Go-ch'e, to arrest Ch'oa, on the plea of his father's com- 
 plicity in the ancient rebellion. 
 
 I contrived to reach the place in a few hours, going 
 round by way of the sea, in a large European-built boat, 
 rigged with Chinese sails ; whilst it took the troops some 
 days to march overland. 
 
 I had a Malay employe of the firm with me, named 
 Assai, who was worth many a Chinaman in a fight, as we 
 had soon occasion to prove. 
 
 On arriving at Go-ch'e, we found our warehouse 
 besieged by the clan Tan ; but, with the help of our 
 seven-shooter rifle and two boat guns, we and our agents, 
 Clan Ch'oa, succeeded in routing the enemy for the 
 moment. 
 
 Go-ch'e was practically populated by these two clans, 
 Tan and Ch'oa, each of which, according to North For- 
 mosan fashion, possessed a strong loopholed mud tower, 
 into which the warriors could retreat during a clan fight. 
 
 Things quieted down for a few days, but, when I had 
 been up there about a week, the Tao-tai's troops, composed 
 of militia under the district magistrate of Lok-kang, came 
 in sight. 
 
 The Clan Tan's evaporating courage returned to them, 
 whilst our clan, on the contrary, promptly removed their 
 

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 5 2 
 
BEGINNING OF THE CAMPHOR WAR 205 
 
 women and children and furniture in carts, and ran away, 
 leaving me, with our old agent, the Malay, my servant, and 
 a leper, to defend the fort. 
 
 We thereupon proceeded to load the boat guns with 
 chain, nails, and shot, and, the tower being situated in an 
 open plain extending for three miles in the direction the 
 troops were coming from, we were able with these and our 
 rifles, to make a great deal of noise, without doing any 
 material harm. We, however, thoroughly and completely 
 cowed the approaching troops by the fierce ' whiz ' of the 
 chain, and the * ping ' of the rifles at a range incomprehen- 
 sible to the Chinese mind. 
 
 The terrified chair-bearers dropped the mandarins and 
 took to their heels, whilst the troops wavered in their 
 march, and their commander sent messengers to propose a 
 parley, the result of which was that he engaged to do us no 
 harm, if we on our part would let him alone. He then 
 valiantly turned his attention to wrecking all the Clan 
 Ch'oa's deserted property. 
 
 As the soldiers marched into the village, we completed 
 our preparations for a defence of our fortress. 
 
 We barricaded the principal entrance with the large 
 tubs of camphor, whilst behind a small side door we placed 
 one of our boat guns, loaded to the muzzle with nails and 
 small bits of chain and iron, and we lighted joss-sticks 
 ready to fire it in the event of the enemy trying to 
 get in. 
 
 Very soon a crowd of the rabble militia collected round 
 our enclosure. They began testing the doors, shouting 
 and demanding to see the ' barbarians.' 
 
 I harangued them reasonably from above. I told them 
 that if they pushed the door down they would inevitably 
 be blown to pieces, and I advised them to go to their 
 official, who had taken up his residence in a large house in 
 the debatable ground between the Tan and Ch'oa quarters 
 of the town. 
 
206 FORMOSA 
 
 Whilst I was thus engaged, an inferior official appeared 
 upon the scene, bearing the mandarin's card, inviting me 
 to visit him, to talk matters over. Our agent and my 
 Malay entreated me in terror not to leave the fort, as they 
 were convinced that I should be captured, and that so they 
 would all be ruined. 
 
 I thereupon scribbled off a reply in Pekinese colloquial, 
 to the effect that I dare not quit my present place of 
 security whilst he was so powerful in troops and in the 
 assistance of the Clan Tan fighting men. I reminded him 
 that I was but acting in accordance with the treaty ; that 
 the Tao-tai was illegally oppressing Europeans and break- 
 ing the treaty, wherefor he would certainly suffer in the 
 end. 
 
 After a short interval the messenger returned with a 
 letter, guaranteeing my safety if I would call upon his 
 honour. 
 
 As the mandarin was the lawful authority, and there- 
 fore possessed the right to summon me to explain matters, 
 I determined to accept his assurance, in all good faith. 
 
 Leaving my Chinese servant in charge of the gun, I 
 took as my attendants the Malay and the leper. I was 
 armed with my revolver and a seven-shooter Spencer rifle, 
 whilst the Malay had a rifle and revolver, and the leper 
 carried a spare double-barrelled fowling piece. As a 
 pacific weapon, I took with me a copy of the Tien-tsin 
 Treaty in Chinese, to back up my arguments. 
 
 Directly we were without, the door was barred behind 
 us. The streets were crowded with an excited throng of 
 the Clan Ch'oa people and the militia. 
 
 The Ch'oas upon seeing us waxed triu mphant, cheering 
 us and abusing the soldiers, shouting, ' Look out now ! 
 Pi-ki-ling is here ! You will see how he will wipe out your 
 " braves " and the Tans.' 
 
 I was fearfully embarrassed by this. The least contre- 
 temps just then would probably do for us, or cause a fierce 
 
BEGINNING OF THE CAMPHOR WAR 207 
 
 fight. I therefore appeared indignant, and, smacking some 
 of the loudest shouters on the face, I called out : 
 
 ' You braves need not waste your feelings ! You are 
 good soldiers. I have no quarrel with you. Take no 
 notice of these beasts of the Clan Ch'oa. They dare not 
 fight themselves, and they want to make us fight.' 
 
 We made our way into the main street, still followed 
 by a hooting, chattering crowd, until we reached the man- 
 darin's house. 
 
 Here we found a guard of some twenty men, armed 
 with spears fifteen feet long, with banners attached, whilst 
 behind them was gathered the whole of the Clan Tan. 
 
 Then some of the Ch'oas shouted : 
 
 1 Hut, Pi-ki-ling ! Hut ! ' (Attack, Pi-ki-ling ! Attack ! ) 
 
 The spearmen immediately charged wildly. A match- 
 lock went off from the Tan side, whilst our leper fired his 
 gun, but no one was hurt. 
 
 At this critical moment the mandarin himself rushed 
 out, in full uniform, long boots, peacock feather, and other 
 official paraphernalia, whilst he grasped a horsewhip in his 
 hand. 
 
 He hurriedly dragged me into the house, the Malay 
 and the leper bringing up the rear. 
 
 I pulled out my revolver, and with the treaty fast in 
 my other hand, I followed the mandarin upstairs, where 
 we sat down upon a bed to begin our diplomatic interview. 
 
 I informed him that I should hold him responsible 
 for our lives, and that if any treachery was attempted I 
 assured him that his life would be the first to go. 
 
 Having thus put matters on a comfortable and 
 straightforward basis, we proceeded to enjoy our pipes 
 and tea together ; after which we had a long argument, 
 in which I proved that I was supported on all points by 
 the Chinese text of the treaty, signed by the Emperor 
 of China. 
 
 The mandarin, whilst owning all this to be so, said that 
 
208 FORMOSA 
 
 he had but to obey the Tao-tai's commands. He entreated 
 me to leave the place, and return to Taiwanfoo. 
 
 This I absolutely refused to do. I assured him that I 
 was prepared to resist all attacks, but I agreed to compro- 
 mise the matter, by promising to buy or ship no camphor 
 until I had communicated with the consul ; meantime I 
 advised him to write to the Tao-tai putting all the circum- 
 stances frankly before him. 
 
 The official was very cordial throughout the interview. 
 He was an old acquaintance ; I had visited him at Lok- 
 kang on my first arrival, and had shown him my passport. 
 During the whole of our conversation there was a great 
 hubbub and shouting in the street outside. 
 
 After gaining his promise to write to the Tao-tai, and 
 to take his soldiers away next day, on condition that I 
 would cease buying camphor, I brought our interview to a 
 close, and rose to return. I took the precaution to pull 
 the mandarin with me to the door, and made him clear a 
 passage for us. 
 
 We had not proceeded far from the house, however, 
 when the soldiers and Tan men gave a mighty howl, and 
 went for us, whereupon our patience gave out. We faced 
 round, and firing down the street, at first above the level 
 of their heads, we made a dash at them, which sent them 
 flying hither and thither for shelter from the terrific bar- 
 barians. We drove them all into the houses, whilst some 
 of the soldiers actually held children up before them, using 
 them as shields, behind which they fired after us ; but 
 fortunately they were too terrified to aim correctly. 
 
 We cleared the whole of the Tan quarter, and returned 
 to our tower by a new and devious way. 
 
 The following morning the wives of some of our 
 wounded adversaries came to us, and had the impudence 
 to ask us to give them some medicine to cure the slight 
 wounds their husbands had received in the melee. 
 
 I supplied them with some pills, assuring them that 
 
BEGINNING OF THE CAMPHOR WAR 209 
 
 they were very lucky to have any husbands left alive 
 at all. 
 
 We kept guard all that night until the next day, when 
 the mandarin and his troops left the town with a great 
 noise of tom-toms and waving of banners. 
 
 I then drew up a report of the whole affair, which I sent 
 to my employers and to the consul, and waited for further 
 instructions. 
 
 Meantime, the retirement of the Lok-kang mandarin 
 impressed the Clan Tan with some slight respect for my 
 power. They ceased open hostilities, contenting themselves 
 with pot-shots from the roofs of their houses when we 
 chanced to exhibit our heads above the parapet of our 
 tower, and by annoying our leper whenever he visited the 
 market to buy provisions. This leper, by the way, was 
 the man who once cut off his own tail to save his life. 
 
 They, however, gradually wearied of this one-sided 
 enmity, until at last we ceased hostilities to the extent of 
 joining in a model yacht or junk race upon a big pond 
 outside our fort competitors on both sides being armed 
 in case of misunderstandings arising. 
 
 Thus the days passed, while I waited for instructions 
 until I was quite down-hearted. We were living on a diet 
 of rice and water, with roasted peas for coffee. I could not 
 return to Taiwanfoo, as at sea the weather was fearful, 
 whilst I dared not attempt the journey by land on account 
 of the risk of falling into the hands of the troops. 
 
 At length, after I had been in Go-ch'e a week or two, 
 a courier secretly conveyed to me a letter from the consul, 
 begging me to escape any way I could, as, he wrote, the 
 weather prevented any communication with the mainland 
 of China, and he had received secret information, on good 
 authority, that the Tao-tai had determined either to have 
 me poisoned, or to accuse me of murder ; in which case, 
 after securing me by treachery, he would feign to send me 
 down, according to treaty, to the consul, for investigation, 
 
 P 
 
210 FORMOSA 
 
 a prisoner in a sedan chair. He would then, probably, 
 order the chair-bearers to stumble, and thus to let the chair 
 fall into one of the rivers, swollen by the late rains. Thus, 
 of course, by a most regrettable accident, I should be got 
 rid of without further trouble or inquiry. General Burge- 
 vine, the reader may remember, had been quietly disposed 
 of in this manner two years previously. 
 
 I communicated all this information to my trusty Malay, 
 Assai, who had so bravely supported me through all my 
 troubles in Go-ch'e. 
 
 His cheery countenance fell as my narrative proceeded ; 
 he seemed to become a changed man. 
 
 Going in silence to his box, he produced a kind of 
 amulet which he ceremoniously strapped round his arm. 
 
 * Master/ he then said, ' it is of no use doing any more. 
 Let us " amok," and kill as many of the Chinese beasts as 
 possible before we die. 5 
 
 I had read of ' amok/ but I was not at all inclined 
 to finish my career in that manner. I therefore made 
 answer. 
 
 ' Assai, I don't believe in " amoking." I just want to 
 get back to Taiwanfoo, and not to kill any Chinamen, nor 
 to be killed, if we can help it. Cheer up ! You believe 
 in Allah ; so do I. You believe in Ibrahim, Isaac, and 
 Yakub ; so do I. What's the use of caring about those 
 Chinese ? Let us get on board the boat, and trust to 
 Allah to take us somewhere. There is no good in dying 
 before we are obliged.' 
 
 I communicated the news I had received to our agent. 
 He was by no means loth to get rid of us, as he said that 
 he and his clan would then contrive to make peace with 
 the mandarins. 
 
 I forthwith sent a man to order our boatmen to pre- 
 pare to receive us on board, as the weather was somewhat 
 improving. To our dismay, the messenger returned with 
 the news that the boat had been taken out of harbour 
 
BEGINNING OF THE CAMPHOR WAR 211 
 
 that afternoon, a man having given the crew orders, as 
 from myself, to convey her up a small creek for the pur- 
 pose of loading camphor. 
 
 I felt desperate at this news, for I could trust none of 
 the Chinese about me, since there were evidently such 
 traitors around. 
 
 Our agent continued to urge me to depart, proposing 
 that he should take charge of all our store of opium, and 
 render an account for it when affairs were settled. I could 
 not agree to this, but I smoothed matters over by arranging 
 that he should retain half, whilst he should put the re- 
 mainder in baskets, and obtain coolies to take it and our 
 traps to the boat immediately. 
 
 The Malay somewhat sulkily acquiesced in my plan, 
 and we at once set off in the dark, arriving about midnight 
 at our boat, which we found high and dry in a narrow 
 creek. 
 
 I railed at the boatmen, but I found that they had 
 merely obeyed what they believed to be my orders, but which 
 really was a ruse of the officials to prevent our escape. 
 
 We waited impatiently for the tide to rise, but at high 
 water we found that she was still aground. By the pro- 
 mise of a ball of opium, I bribed the fishermen of the 
 place to try to get her off. We took every bit of ballast 
 out of her, and at length managed to get her afloat. 
 When we desired to replace the ballast, however, the 
 rascals refused to allow us to do so ; and they also appro- 
 priated the remainder of the opium. 
 
 The tide was ebbing, there was no time to fight nor to 
 argue. We poled down the creek into the harbour, where 
 we speedily discovered that the boat could not stand 
 up at all against the strong breeze which was blowing, 
 and which was increasing every minute, with squalls and 
 rain. 
 
 Assai worked like a man, and between us we contrived 
 to get a heavy caboose, or cooking-place, down into the 
 
 P 2 
 
212 FORMOSA 
 
 hold, which steadied the boat somewhat. We then put 
 her before the wind, and scudded swiftly to the northward 
 under bare poles, before the gale and the heavy sea. 
 
 We could not distinguish the land for the enshrouding 
 mist ; and we could only steer, with three men at the 
 tiller, guided by the sound of the surf. 
 
 Assai despairingly decided that fate was against us, 
 and went below to await the final catastrophe in sleep. 
 The Chinese crew were all good sailors, with no opium 
 smokers amongst them ; but our case seemed hopeless, as 
 unless the land showed out we must scud past the island. 
 The heavy seas followed us, each moment threatening to 
 swamp us. 
 
 I knew the men and their families personally, and I 
 endeavoured to keep their hearts up as much as possible 
 by supplying them with pipes, filling and lighting them 
 for them whilst they wrestled with the tiller. 
 
 We scudded wildly along through the seething water 
 like some possessed thing the steersmen praying and 
 crying, working for their lives until the afternoon, when 
 the peaks of the highest mountain ranges began to peer 
 through the mist, giving us some idea of our position. 
 
 About five o'clock the wind fell, and the sea abated ; 
 the sky cleared, and to my joy we saw two high hills, 
 which my boatmen told me formed the entrance to the 
 port of Tamsui. 
 
 The Malay recovered his spirits as soon as the weather 
 cleared. He reappeared on deck, and seemed to take a 
 renewed interest in life, whilst I took care not to offend 
 him by any untoward remarks regarding 'fate' or such 
 things, for he certainly had behaved splendidly until he 
 had good reason to believe that there could be no further 
 hope for us. 
 
 As for the Chinese crew, they had surprised and 
 delighted me with their skill, their endurance and 
 patience. The Chinaman is an unfathomable creature ! 
 
BEGINNING OF THE CAMPHOR WAR 213 
 
 a mixture of every best and every worst quality in human 
 nature. 
 
 Our little craft sailed calmly into harbour before 
 sundown ; and in Tamsui port I received a hearty welcome 
 from Mr. John Dodd and his partners, Messrs. Crawford 
 Kerr, and Bird. 
 
 We learnt that the British consul had sent down a 
 gunboat to Go-ch'e to inquire after us, but owing to 
 stress of weather she had been unable to communicate 
 with the shore. 
 
 I stayed with Messrs. John Dodd & Co. until a favour- 
 able opportunity occurred of crossing to Amoy. 
 
 Upon my arrival on the mainland, I found that a new 
 consul had been appointed, who with Lord Charles Scott 
 in H.M.S. * Icarus ' was just about to cross to Formosa to 
 endeavour to bring the authorities to terms. I therefore 
 returned to Takao in our schooner, the ' Eliza Mary.' 
 
 Lord Charles Scott, the consul Gibson, and an escort 
 marched into the city of Taiwanfoo for the purpose of 
 interviewing the Tao-tai. 
 
 I was included in the party, and I remember an amus- 
 ing incident which occurred on that occasion. 
 
 Lord Charles Scott's escort consisted of some twenty 
 blue-jackets and marines, under the command of the boat- 
 swain or gunner. 
 
 When we had passed through the big city gate, and 
 we were threading our way through the narrow, slippery 
 streets, it occurred to me that it would be dangerously 
 easy for the mandarins, if they so chose, to cut off the 
 whole party. 
 
 Upon arrival at the yamen, we marched into the court- 
 yard, and, after being made to wait sufficiently long to 
 prove that the Tao-tai was not at all disposed to be 
 respectful, our party was at length admitted into his 
 excellency's audience hall. 
 
 Here again we endured an ominous delay. At last 
 
2i 4 FORMOSA 
 
 a body of Cantonese guards appeared, armed with won- 
 derful mediaeval halberds, tridents, and spears, and clad 
 in gaudy uniform. These silently entered, and formed two 
 sides of a square around us, the other sides being the 
 great gates and the Tao-tai's judgment seat. The great 
 doors slammed to with an ominous ' clang/ and we were 
 shut in. 
 
 Our trusty boatswain started forward, with his hand 
 on his cutlass, exclaiming : 
 
 ' Get ready, my lads ! There's bloody treachery here, 
 my lord ! ' 
 
 We could not refrain from smiling, although the situa- 
 tion certainly did appear critical. 
 
 Just then, however, there was no time for thought. 
 The great man entered with his retinue, and took his seat 
 most majestically. 
 
 The consul argued our case with him. It was of no 
 avail, however. The Tao-tai insulted the consul and naval 
 officer in every way possible. He refused to listen to reason, 
 evinced an utter contempt for any treaty, and insisted 
 that no European should buy camphor except through him 
 and upon his terms. I think the warrant officer and escort 
 were disappointed that affairs passed off so tamely. 
 
 As the weather would not permit the ' Icarus ' to remain 
 lying off the coast, and as she was too large to get into 
 Takao, nothing further could be done until the north-east 
 monsoon. Lord Charles Scott therefore returned to China 
 for further instructions, after handing the Tao-tai a protest 
 and ultimatum. 
 
 This temporary evacuation of the position was regarded 
 by the mandarins as a great victory, of which they took 
 every advantage, seeming to lose their senses. They 
 incited the people all over the island to rise against the 
 foreigners. The mission houses, both Roman Catholic and 
 Protestant, were plundered and burned, and converts were 
 persecuted and murdered. European firms in Takao and 
 
BEGINNING OF THE CAMPHOR WAR 215 
 
 Tamsui were wrecked by the irresponsible mob. One 
 European merchant was stabbed, and an ambush was set 
 to waylay and kill the consul himself. Messrs. Elles & 
 Co.'s worthy compradore at Taiwanfoo was arrested. His 
 beautiful house was plundered ; the women's sacred apart- 
 ments were sacked, and costly furs, silken robes, and 
 jewellery were ruthlessly appropriated by the Tao-tai's 
 soldiery. 
 
 Our compradore was a man of good family and of 
 official rank. His arrest was on the customary frivolous 
 plea of some political offence, and upon an accusation 
 brought by his uncle, concerning some law-suit regarding 
 the division of the family estate. 
 
 This uncle was a notorious character, who had himself 
 been concerned in a rebellion some years previously, upon 
 which occasion he had only escaped decapitation by feign- 
 ing death. It was rumoured that some wise Chinese 
 doctor had administered to him some strange potent drug 
 which caused all the appearance of death ; and so he was 
 carried out in his coffin for burial, lying quietly in his tomb 
 until the rebellion was suppressed. This was done in the 
 usual way, by buying over the leaders, and punishing the 
 unfortunate followers. When this was accomplished, the 
 man was resuscitated, and lived to practise more mischief. 
 
 He had now discovered reasons for accusing his nephew, 
 in order to gain favour with the Tao-tai, and in the hope 
 of sharing in our unfortunate compradore's confiscated 
 property. 
 
 When, however, the cases of merchant and missionary 
 outrage were tried before the Chinese commissioners and 
 the new Tao-tai, our compradore was completely vindi- 
 cated, and his accuser received two hundred strokes with 
 the big bamboo. 
 
 But I am anticipating : the end of the troubles was not 
 yet. In fact, a reign of terror and disorder existed in the 
 island until the end of December, when news arrived that 
 
216 FORMOSA 
 
 in consequence of the grave reports made by Lord Charles 
 Scott of the condition of affairs on the island, the China 
 fleet under Admiral Keppel had been ordered to proceed 
 to Formosa from the Yangtse, where it had been engaged 
 in quelling outrages. The Pekin government was evi- 
 dently roused to action by this order, as two Wei-yuans, or 
 high commissioners, promptly came over from Foochow, 
 armed with full authority to inquire into all complaints, 
 and, if necessary, to remove the Tao-tai. 
 
 Then a little stern justice ensued. After several sit- 
 tings the commissioners promised full compensation for all 
 outrages and damage caused by the Tao-tai or the people ; 
 that all offenders should be brought to judgment ; that 
 Messrs. Elles & Co.'s compradore should have a fair 
 trial, and also that proclamations should be circulated, 
 containing a full apology for the Tao-tai's past conduct, 
 notifying the legality of the camphor trade, and assuring 
 freedom and protection to the missionaries for preach- 
 ing Christianity. Subsequently, after due inquiry, it was 
 decided that the Tao-tai should be removed, and an 
 official more amenable to reason was appointed in his 
 stead. 
 
 The old Tao-tai, however, seemed unaffected by these 
 drastic measures ; he ignored the commission and waited, 
 trusting to his influence at Pekin. 
 
 Even whilst the commissioners were arriving at these 
 decisions at Takao, and whilst I was attending in court 
 with the other Europeans, the news was brought that the 
 Anping forts were manned by the Tao-tai's soldiers, and 
 that the garrison had fired upon the boats of H.M.S. 
 ' Algerine.' 
 
 Her commander, Lieutenant Gurdon, forced to action 
 by this daring insult, landed with a few blue-jackets in the 
 night and attacked the fort, which speedily surrendered, 
 the Chinese commander, or Hiap-tai, evading his share of 
 the consequences by committing suicide. 
 
BEGINNING OF THE CAMPHOR WAR 217 
 
 Then did Lieutenant Gurdon and Consul Gibson 
 proceed to demand righteous damages, and an indemnity, 
 which was forthwith paid, with a heightened respect for the 
 barbarians who would brook insult no longer. 
 
 When the fleet arrived, Admiral Keppel found that 
 events had marched so rapidly that, beyond the moral 
 effect of the presence of a few vessels in Formosan waters, 
 there was but little remaining to be done ; so leaving the 
 ' Rinaldo/ ' Pearl,' and a gunboat, the admiral took the 
 rest to Hong Kong, his flagship not appearing in Formosa. 
 
 Unfortunately about this time a change of government 
 took place in England, and what was then called the ' free 
 breakfast-table ' ministry came into power. 
 
 Orders were sent to our minister at Pekin that in future 
 all grievances were to be redressed by diplomacy, and that 
 our vessels of war were no longer to be used as persuasive 
 methods. Consul Gibson, who a few years previously had 
 been decorated by the Emperor of China with the famous 
 yellow jacket for his bravery in action against the rebels 
 in Manchuria, was removed, Lieutenant Gurdon quitted the 
 navy, and the indemnity was returned to the Chinese 
 officials. Indeed it appeared at that time that the home 
 government was determined to have no trouble with China, 
 however British subjects might suffer loss. 
 
 The American minister, Mr. Burlingham, had under- 
 taken a mission to Europe to show that China was anxious 
 * to enter the comity of nations/ and * to plant the shining 
 cross on every hill ! ' 
 
 The British Government accepted this vapouring : they 
 professed implicit belief in the Pekin Government, and 
 would believe no ill of things Celestial. 
 
 As a proof of this, I may mention one anomaly. The 
 governor-general of Fuh-kien and the Tao-tai petitioned 
 the emperor against me, for the many outrages I had com- 
 mitted during the camphor troubles ; more especially for 
 resisting the armed force sent against me at Go-ch'e. 
 
218 FORMOSA 
 
 According to them, I had a dangerous influence over the 
 people, through my knowledge of their language and cus- 
 toms. I aroused them to revolt and rebellion against the 
 mandarins. I was now no longer likened to the classic 
 and mystical unicorn ; I was degraded from my high 
 estate, being now said to resemble a restless and interfering 
 little mongrel Manchurian terrier. The favour of the great 
 is but fleeting ! 
 
 Our minister at Pekin thereupon sent two commis- 
 sioners, Messrs. Adkins and Swinhoe, to the island, for the 
 purpose of investigating the affair. 
 
 The result was that I was cleared from every charge, 
 and that all the trouble was proven to be the inevitable 
 result of the Tao-tai's unscrupulous and illegal action 
 against British interests and British subjects who were 
 carrying on their business according to the Treaty of 
 Tien-tsin, and with the knowledge and sanction of their 
 consul. 
 
 Notwithstanding this, before returning to Pekin, the 
 two commissioners summoned together the European 
 residents, merchants, and missionaries of Taiwanfoo and 
 Takao, and regretfully impressed upon us that, although 
 we had been acting legally and as good subjects, yet 
 there must be no trouble ! If disputes arose, even in de- 
 fence of our just rights, the person who caused the trouble 
 would be deported from the island ! 
 
 In the face of such a policy as this, can there be any 
 wonder that the Chinese have been emboldened to dis- 
 regard the rights of British merchants and missionaries in 
 the Celestial Empire ? 
 
 We gradually resumed our dealings in camphor, but we 
 removed our agencies to a place called T'ai-kah, and ulti- 
 mately to Aulang, some fifteen miles to the north of that 
 port, in the Tamsui district. 
 
 Fortunately camphor represented but one small portion 
 of our business, for the old Tao-tai, who had never left the 
 
BEGINNING OF THE CAMPHOR WAR 219 
 
 island, was reinstated, since the moral persuasion of our 
 fleet was withdrawn. He immediately renewed his perse- 
 cutions, and I had to undergo a new course of troubles. 
 
 The Tao-tai this time confined his anger to the camphor 
 trade. Our warehouses and boats were repeatedly plun- 
 dered, the Chinese agents were arrested and imprisoned, 
 whilst all the redress we could obtain from our consul was 
 that he would refer the matter to the minister at Pekin. 
 
 Now, it is curious and instructive to notice that while 
 the Tao-tai was in possession of the decision of our 
 government even before our consul got his mails, yet it 
 took six months for the Chinese Government at Pekin to 
 receive news from the Tao-tai with which to reply to the 
 questions of the British minister ! 
 
 The true inwardness of this was that the Tao-tai 
 exerted his privilege of communicating directly with the 
 emperor, ignoring the viceroy at Foochow ; and thus the 
 Chinese foreign office excused their delays by stating that 
 the governor of Formosa was subordinate to the viceroy, 
 and that they had received no despatches from Foochow. 
 Wherefrom it was apparent that they possessed a flourish- 
 ing branch of the circumlocution office in the Far East. 
 
220 FORMOSA 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 FURTHER CAMPHOR TROUBLES. A REAL GHOST STORY. 
 THE ULTIMATE TRIUMPH OF THE TAO-TAI 
 
 As I have mentioned, after being driven out of Go-ch'e, 
 we had established our fresh branch of the camphor busi- 
 ness at T'ai-kah, and things progressed fairly smoothly 
 until the south-west monsoon ensured an immunity from 
 the presence of the British gunboat, when our old enemy 
 renewed his attempts to destroy our intercourse with the 
 camphor districts. 
 
 The T'ing, or magistrate, of the sub-district of Lok-kang, 
 who was an old acquaintance of mine in the time of the 
 troubles at Go-ch'e, was despatched to T'ai-kah, under the 
 pretence of examining into the validity of our contracts 
 with our agents and also to inspect my passport. 
 
 The mandarin arrived in pomp, accompanied by the 
 usual official retinue, and an escort of some fifty ' braves,' or 
 local militia, fiercely armed with rusty knives, spears, and 
 matchlocks. 
 
 After taking up his residence in the small ' yamen ' of 
 the place, his honour sent me a card, courteously inviting 
 me to pay him a visit for the sake of our old acquaintance- 
 ship at Go-ch'e. 
 
 I accordingly visited him, accompanied by my trusty 
 Malay, Assai, taking the precaution that we should each be 
 fully armed, not only with our usual weapons, but also with 
 our passports. I also bore with me my vade mecum, an 
 official copy of the Tien-tsin Treaty in Chinese. 
 
 I was most honourably received. The mandarin and I 
 
FURTHER CAMPHOR TROUBLES 221 
 
 had a very pleasant conversation on indifferent topics ; but 
 no allusion was made to the real motive of our meeting, 
 the camphor business, excepting that the magistrate assured 
 me that he would be happy to assist me, as he was bound 
 to do by the terms of the passport, and we parted very 
 good friends. 
 
 Some days after this interview, one of my people brought 
 me a placard, bearing the seal of the district magistrate of 
 Chiang-hoa, which had been posted all over the country, 
 accusing me of many breaches of the treaty, and offering a 
 reward of five hundred taels (i6o/.) for my arrest, in order 
 that I might be handed over to the British consul for 
 punishment. 
 
 This district magistrate had been formerly sub-prefect 
 at Taiwanfoo, but when the Tao-tai was removed he also 
 had been degraded, and appointed to the inferior post at 
 Chiang-hoa. 
 
 I had known him very well in the old days, and he and 
 I had worked most cordially together during General Le 
 Gendre's expedition to the South Cape, where, it will be 
 remembered, he accompanied us. 
 
 I was therefore not a little shocked to find that he could 
 issue such a proclamation, and I determined to proceed at 
 once with the notice to our consul at Takao. 
 
 Whilst making my arrangements for leaving T'ai-kah, 
 the Lok-kang mandarin's secretary waited upon me, and 
 begged me to go to the ' yamen ' at once, as his master 
 urgently desired to speak to me. He added that I need 
 not trouble to wait to dress, as his master was in so great a 
 hurry. I foolishly hurried off with the messenger, omitting, 
 in my haste, to take any weapons but a knife, which was 
 hidden in my stocking. 
 
 The magistrate received me most pleasantly. He said 
 that he merely wished to see my passport again. I had 
 left it behind, and offered to go back for it, but he smiled 
 and said, * Oh, never mind, never mind, we can do without 
 
222 FORMOSA 
 
 it ! ' He then began to discourse upon the camphor trade. 
 He entreated me, as a friend, to quit the business, as it 
 would only cause me much trouble, the Tao-tai being, 
 he assured me, determined to retain the monopoly in his 
 own hands. 
 
 In reply, I quoted the treaty, and said that I was 
 but a servant, and must do my duty. I also brought the 
 placard to his notice, but he asserted that he had nothing 
 to do with that ; the Chiang-hoa magistrate was alone 
 responsible. He continued his argument by saying that 
 the treaty was very good for China, but that Formosa was 
 different. It was a peculiar place ; the people were wild 
 and turbulent, and that if I obstinately persisted in my 
 course I might lose my life. Whereupon I represented to 
 him that if I were killed it would but make it unpleasant for 
 the authorities, as the gunboats would come, they would 
 be punished, and ten better Englishmen would proceed to 
 take my place. 
 
 The mandarin called for tea and pipes, but even with 
 the aid of their soothing influence we could arrive at no 
 satisfactory conclusion. 
 
 I therefore asked permission to take my leave of his 
 honour, as I desired to proceed to Takao, to consult with 
 my consul. 
 
 The mandarin, however, paid no heed, but continued 
 talking, until I assured him that I must really return home. 
 Upon my rising with this intention, he began talking very 
 loudly, and pushed me back into my seat. At the same 
 instant I observed a number of ' braves ' entering the 
 ' yamen ' enclosure. 
 
 My suspicions were aroused. I administered a push 
 to the mandarin, which knocked him backward, and 
 with my knife unsheathed in my left hand, and my 
 right hand in my bosom as though grasping a revolver, 
 I dashed out amongst the braves, shouting, ' Look out ! 
 Pi-ki-lien is coming ! If any of you come near me, 
 
FURTHER CAMPHOR TROUBLES 223 
 
 I'll kill you with my seven-mouthed pistol ! Pi-ki-lien's 
 coming ! ' 
 
 The cowards scattered right and left, and I managed to 
 get safely back to our warehouse. 
 
 After this warning I would linger no longer. I imme- 
 diately started off on foot for Takao, with my Malay and 
 a coolie guide. 
 
 We arrived about dark at the walled town of Chiang- 
 hoa, where we put up for the night at a coolie's lodging- 
 house in the suburbs. Here, as we had been advised to do 
 by our Chinese agents in T'ai-kah, we ate our rice and fish 
 out of the same bowl as the coolies, for fear of poison. 
 
 I engaged sedan chairs for the Malay and myself, and 
 we drew down the blinds to screen us from the public 
 gaze. 
 
 We started at daybreak, taking a circuitous route outside 
 the walls. 
 
 We had not proceeded far, however, when, as fate 
 would have it, we heard the sound of a gong, and our 
 chair coolies shouted, ' Lo-tia-lai ! ' (' His honour is coming ! '), 
 and, sure enough, we saw approaching us on the narrow 
 path the district magistrate in his official chair, followed 
 by a small retinue. 
 
 There was nothing for it but to put a bold face upon the 
 matter. The path was so narrow that our chairs had to 
 be put down in the fields at the side to permit the official 
 to pass. I knew my coolies would court discovery by 
 saying that they had barbarians within. I therefore sprang 
 out of my chair, and, assuming as unconcerned an air as 
 possible, I said, ' You are very early this morning ; good 
 morning, your honour. You see, I have come to give you 
 a chance to take me.' 
 
 The mandarin looked extremely surprised, but he 
 quickly regained his composure, and replied smilingly, 
 ' Pi-chi-lien ! I am glad to meet you again. Where are 
 you going ? ' 
 
224 FORMOSA 
 
 I replied that I was on my way to the consul, regarding 
 the proclamation which he himself had issued. I upbraided 
 him, saying : 
 
 * How could your honour offer a reward for the capture of 
 the man who was your great friend when you were in trouble, 
 and the man who saved you from disgrace in Liong-kiao ? ' 
 
 ' I only obey my orders,' he replied. ' I don't want to 
 hurt you, Pi-chi-lien, but you must take care of yourself. 
 The Tao-tai will certainly punish you, treaty or no treaty. 
 Taiwan is not China, you know.' 
 
 I assured him I should continue to do my duty, and to 
 obey the orders given me by my superiors. I also bantered 
 him discreetly, proposing that, as he had six or seven 
 soldiers with him, he should effect the capture of the Malay 
 and myself, and thus personally secure the reward he had 
 offered. 
 
 The old gentleman laughed good-humouredly, and pro- 
 posed, in his turn, that we should each pursue our journey ; 
 so, shaking our own hands to each other, in the approved 
 Chinese fashion, we parted amicably. 
 
 I was not, however, disposed to trust too much to 
 official friendliness. I thus considered it best to push 
 forward boldly on foot before emissaries could be despatched 
 to Taiwanfoo. 
 
 I accordingly dismissed the sedan chairs, and by walking 
 hard all day, at dusk the next day we reached Hm-kang- 
 boe, a village some ten or fifteen miles from Taiwanfoo, 
 having given a wide berth to all the towns and large 
 villages on our route. 
 
 I decided to leave Assai behind me there, to follow the 
 next morning to Taiwanfoo, where his wife lived, whilst I 
 would push on in order to pass the capital under cover of 
 the night, and so make my way to Anping, whence I could 
 take boat to Takao. 
 
 I started alone directly the moon rose. The road was 
 a familiar one to me. Shortly after leaving Hm-kang-boe, 
 

s 
 
 si 
 
 U E 
 
 I fc 
 
 h 
 
A REAL GHOST STORY 225 
 
 for several miles of the journey, my way was along the top of 
 a high dyke, the path broken by sluice-gates and hummocks 
 which had formerly been rocks or small islets of the sea, 
 but which, the sea having receded, the Chinese were 
 draining and reclaiming for cultivation. For the whole 
 length of the dyke there were no houses, whilst the hum- 
 mocks had been utilised by the Chinese as graveyards. 
 
 The night was most beautiful ; the brilliant moonlight 
 made every object appear almost as distinct as by day. It 
 was very still too, and, but for the hoarse croaking of in- 
 numerable frogs in the surrounding marshes, it seemed as 
 though I had the world to myself. 
 
 I walked briskly along for some time, keeping up my 
 spirits by whistling, and marching quick-steps to the tunes. 
 
 At length I felt that I had earned a rest and a smoke. 
 I thereupon squatted down on my hams, Chinese fashion, 
 beside one of the tombs, and searched in my badger-skin 
 sporran or purse for my iron pipe. 
 
 This I proceeded to fill with cut cavendish from a com- 
 partment of the sporran. I lit my pipe with my flint and 
 steel, and began to smoke contentedly whilst I reviewed 
 my position. 
 
 My prospect of getting past Taiwanfoo city undis- 
 covered and in safety was somewhat hazardous. I was 
 overwrought by the strai-n and excitement of the day. 
 Trouble lay behind me, and vexation and danger lay 
 ahead. How far I had wandered from Old England, from 
 home and security ! I looked around me, with a half 
 smile, at the old Chinese burying-ground, the tombs show- 
 ing white and distinct in the glorious moonlight. Ah, 
 what a change danger and adventure had worked in me ! 
 In those long-ago days of my boyhood no possible bribe 
 would have served to induce me to sit in our village 
 churchyard at midnight, that ' witching hour ' 
 
 * When churchyards yawn 
 And graves give up their dead. ' 
 
226 FORMOSA 
 
 I should have dreaded the sight of some ill-resting 
 ' boggart/ and the less I saw the more I should have 
 feared. 
 
 Then my mind wandered to all the stories I had ever 
 heard of ghostly visitants, of sights and sounds that made 
 men's blood run cold. Could such things indeed be ? I, 
 in all my wild life, had never had any experience of the 
 supernatural, but I had r?eard strange tales of ghostly ap- 
 pearances from people who, I had every reason to believe, 
 were serious and truthful. 
 
 I, however, came to the philosophical conclusion that if 
 the ghosts of the Chinese were no more courageous and 
 dangerous than their living descendants, I had not much 
 to fear, even should the whole company around me appear 
 upon the scene. 
 
 One should beware how one speaks disrespectfully of 
 ghosts, even in self-communion. I had but just arrived at 
 this valiant decision regarding them, when a sudden wild 
 flame burst before me ; I saw stars innumerable ; my pipe 
 was whirled from my mouth ; and I fell sprawling on my 
 back, utterly helpless from fear, my limbs trembling and 
 my heart beating violently. When at length I regained 
 my scattered wits I exclaimed inwardly : 
 
 ' If I can but get out of this, never, never again will I 
 speak slightingly of ghosts ! ' 
 
 I was powerless to stand up, so scared was I ; so, sitting 
 on a grave, I waited until I grew calmer, when my reason 
 reasserted itself, and I, base sceptic, began to doubt 
 whether any ghost had been concerned in the matter. 
 
 Nature lay so still and calm around me ; no being was 
 in sight, either human or supernatural. 
 
 Suddenly a thought struck me ; I grasped my sporran, 
 and examined it carefully. 
 
 It contained several divisions or pockets. In the lower 
 one was loose tobacco, with my flint and steel, and in one 
 of the upper divisions was a quantity of small metallic 
 
A REAL GHOST STORY 227 
 
 cartridges for use in my Smith & Wesson's revolver. I 
 eagerly searched amongst my tobacco, and to my relief I 
 found amongst it one or two of the tiny cartridges which 
 had fallen through an unwary hole in the upper pocket. 
 
 The whole affair was thus made clear. I had un- 
 wittingly stuffed, with the tobacco, a cartridge into my pipe, 
 and, having smoked on until it became red-hot, it had ex- 
 ploded, producing the mysterious shock which had given 
 me such a severe fright 
 
 I searched around in vain for my pipe, and proceeded 
 on my journey at last with very weak knees ; in fact, I did 
 not completely recover from my shock until I reached 
 Anping, and was able to lie down in the boat, which the 
 next day landed me safely at Takao. 
 
 Before removing our camphor business from T'ai-kah to 
 Aulang, one of the partners of Elles & Co., Mr. Randall 
 Pye, determined to visit the camphor districts. Accom- 
 panied by myself, he left Takao in our large boat, with a 
 quantity of treasure for the purchase of camphor. We also 
 enlisted the services of two Manilamen as guards, in case 
 we might chance to encounter any of the coast pirates. 
 
 Soon after passing to the north of Taiwan foo our pro- 
 gress was arrested by a head wind, which forced us un- 
 comfortably near the sand banks, whilst, to add to our 
 discomfort and danger, heavy showers of rain obscured the 
 coast. 
 
 We were tossed about helplessly through the whole of 
 one long night, and before daybreak we were beginning 
 to feel very apprehensive as to our position. 
 
 Providentially we had a skilful Tai-kong, or steers- 
 man, who was acquainted with all the intricacies of the 
 dangerous shoals. 
 
 After dodging about until the dawn, he ran us in-shore 
 at high water, and brought us up in a kind of lagoon 
 formed by the sand banks, where we were able to lie in 
 safety. 
 
 Q2 
 
* 228 FORMOSA 
 
 In spite of this relief from the dangers of the sea, we 
 were in an awkward predicament, for our quiet haven was 
 close to the notorious Po-te-ts'ui, and, as the day advanced 
 and our presence became known, we were surrounded by 
 hundreds of the merciless Chinese wreckers, who, when the 
 receding tide left us high and dry, came alongside our 
 vessel. 
 
 They observed that we were well armed ; they there- 
 fore contented themselves with asking our Chinese crew 
 who we were, and what cargo we had on board. 
 
 ' We know nothing,' our men discreetly replied. * We 
 are only " hands and feet " ; ask our " heads," the red- 
 haired barbarians. We merely eat their rice/ 
 
 We meanwhile held a consultation as to the wisest 
 mode of procedure. Wind and weather rendered it im- 
 possible to continue our voyage north 'to Aulang, yet we 
 were reluctant to return baffled to Takao. At the same 
 time we were convinced that the wreckers would plunder 
 us if they dared. 
 
 Eventually we determined to put to the test the 
 Chinese traditionary sense of reason and righteousness. 
 
 Personally, I maintain that no people in the world 
 understand these two principles so thoroughly as the 
 Chinese of all classes, from the lowest coolie to the highest 
 mandarin ; that is, that the fundamental principles of 
 reason and justice are due to themselves, and to their 
 neighbour, when he has power to enforce their practice. 
 
 Heaven, reason, righteousness, and mutual sincerity 
 are continually on the lips of a Celestial, especially when 
 he is about to act contrary to these principles ; but he 
 will submit to the strictest rule of government, and will 
 endure any punishment whatsoever if it only be enforced 
 in pursuance of reason and justice. 
 
 As the men crowded round, every moment increasing 
 in numbers, I stepped forward to address them in accor- 
 dance with our policy. 
 
ULTIMATE TRIUMPH OF THE TAO-TAI 229 
 
 * Well, brothers,' I began, ' what business have you 
 here?' 
 
 ' Oh, nothing,' they replied. ' What business have you 
 here in our place ? What are you come for ? ' 
 
 1 For a sail. To amuse ourselves.' 
 
 ' This is a queer place to amuse yourselves/ they 
 laughed. ' There is nothing but salt water and sand here ! 
 You barbarians are queer people in amusing yourselves.' 
 
 ' Well ! you can all go away,' I responded. * There is no 
 need for you all to stay here. Go home to your wives and 
 children. It is cold here. We have no wish to trouble 
 you. We need nothing from you.' 
 
 k No, no, we shan't go away/ they said knowingly. ' Oh, 
 is it you, Pi-ki-ling ? What have you got on board ? ' 
 
 ' Why do you ask ? Are you come to plunder ? ' 
 
 ' Plunder ! ' they virtuously replied. * No ! how dare 
 we do such a thing ! You know we never plunder, do 
 we ? ' There was a general laugh. ' We are all most re- 
 spectable people here ! ' 
 
 * Well, of course I know that/ I responded unconvinced ; 
 ' but I tell you, you won't get any plunder here. We are 
 not wrecked. We shall go away next tide.' 
 
 ' No, you won't ! The weather is coming on bad. You 
 won't get away/ they cheerfully assured me. 
 
 ' Now listen, brothers/ I said. ' I will tell you all about 
 us, and we will talk reason.' 
 
 1 Yes, yes/ they cried, ' let us talk " cheng-li " (correct 
 principles of right). It is worthy of us that we should 
 talk reason.' 
 
 ' True, it is. Now if you have come to plunder, we 
 have plenty of dollars on board, which we are taking to 
 Aulang to buy camphor/ I said ; * so there is plenty of 
 plunder. But then there are two red-haired men and 
 two black-faced Manilamen. We have thirty or forty 
 barrels of guns between us, six and seven shooters. We 
 shall not let you plunder us before many tens of you are 
 
230 FORMOSA 
 
 killed. That would be a great trouble and waste of life 
 for you, whilst at home your wives and your children would 
 grieve not to see their men again. Shall we talk reason, 
 now, and save all this ? ' 
 
 They hastily consulted together, and then they said, 
 * Let us hear what you have to say ; we will be reasonable.' 
 
 ' Well now/ I continued, ' supposing all you brethren 
 will carry the treasure to the nearest village where we can 
 hire sedan chairs and coolies, we will go overland, as it 
 would be a waste of time to turn back to Takao. We 
 will pay you what is proper, and give you drink money 
 besides.' 
 
 1 How much will you give ? ' they inquired. 
 
 * Here is our compradore, who knows the proper 
 charges,' I said ; * he shall settle, and whatever he fixes we 
 will make it double.' 
 
 ' No, no, you fix the amount yourself/ they cried. ' We 
 Chinese folk are clever at " eating men " (imposing upon 
 each other). You barbarians are straightforward ; one sen- 
 tence is one sentence with you ! ' 
 
 * Oh, no/ I protested, ' we are foolish, and not up to you 
 " men." We must not go on foolish principles, but upon 
 Chinese rules of justice.' 
 
 Ultimately it was agreed that our compradore should 
 fix the price, and that we should give a good amount of 
 earnest money. 
 
 The chiefs of these ruffians soon brought themselves 
 prominently to notice by taking charge of the negotiations 
 and receiving the advances. 
 
 The dollars were forthwith apportioned into burdens, 
 and slung upon the men's shoulders. 
 
 When this was done I said to the headman, ' Now we 
 are trusting you. Heaven is above and sees us all.' 
 
 ' Yes, oh, yes/ all cried. ' Heaven is above our head ; 
 we dare not deceive you ; trust us ! ' 
 
 ' We trust you/ I replied ; ' but the Manilamen have 
 
ULTIMATE TRIUMPH OF THE TAO-TAI 231 
 
 orders to shoot the first man who leaves the line of 
 carriers.' 
 
 These preliminaries arranged, we all got on shore with 
 our baggage and servants, and trudged along in line 
 through the heavy sand for some miles, until we reached 
 the large market town of Pak-kang, where we put up 
 at the house of a Chinese merchant, a friend of our 
 compradore. 
 
 The wreckers were well paid for their novel experience 
 of honest labour ; they were made happy by an extra bonus, 
 and went home well satisfied. Meantime our boatman had 
 availed himself of their absence to get the boat away to 
 sea, and had returned to Takao. 
 
 Two days later we arrived at Aulang, having travelled 
 chiefly through the night, to avoid the intrusive and curious 
 villagers en route. 
 
 After completing the necessary business in connection 
 with the future transaction of our camphor trade at Aulang, 
 Mr. Pye determined that, as we were now so conveniently 
 near the port of Tamsui, we should proceed thither to visit 
 our good friends, Messrs. Dodd & Co. 
 
 In two days we reached Bang-kah, the chief inland 
 town in the north of the island, at the head of the Tamsui 
 River. 
 
 The inhabitants of this town were extremely anti- 
 foreign in their sentiments ; we were therefore relieved to 
 arrive there in the early hours of the morning, when the 
 town was wrapped in slumber. 
 
 Here we left our chairs and coolies, and took boat to 
 Tamsui, which place we reached at daylight, much to the 
 surprise of our friends. Having spent a very pleasant day 
 at Tamsui, we started to return at sunset, Mr. Dodd accom- 
 panying us as far as Bang-kah, and his partner returning 
 with us to Takao. 
 
 I had with me my Highland military pipes, and I well 
 remember that we amused ourselves, whilst passing up the 
 
2 3 2 FORMOSA 
 
 river, by serenading a gentleman who was suspected 
 of Nationalist (or, as they were then termed, * Fenian ') 
 sympathies, with the tune of ' Boyne Water.' 
 
 I had some time previously adopted a kilt as the 
 best costume for my continual excursions into the moun- 
 tains, aad for wading through rivers, etc., whilst others of 
 our party had followed my example, having improvised 
 these garments at Tamsui. 
 
 One of us bore a claymore which had seen service in 
 * the Forty-five,' and with this formidable weapon, our kilts, 
 and the bagpipes, we flattered ourselves that we had a truly 
 Highland appearance. 
 
 We reached Bang-kah about midnight, hoping to get 
 to our sedan chairs as unobserved as we had come ; but to 
 our disgust we found that it was the night of some special 
 feast, and that the whole population was abroad in the 
 streets. 
 
 Our landing was the signal for a rush by the shouting 
 mob, who cried, * The barbarians are coming ! ' We started 
 our attendant coolies off to wait for us with the sedan 
 chairs outside the town at the further end, for we dared 
 not render ourselves helpless by taking our seats in them. 
 
 Retaining one of the bearers as a guide, we endeavoured 
 to push our way through the howling, excited crowd. 
 When we reached the market-place we came upon a grand 
 theatrical stage, lighted brilliantly by flaring lamps, where 
 one of the interminable native plays was in progress. The 
 actors were, however, at that moment enjoying a brief rest, 
 for their audience had rushed off upon the fresh excitement 
 of our arrival. 
 
 A happy inspiration struck us to turn the tide of 
 hostility into more congenial sentiments. 
 
 We jumped boldly on the stage. I struck up a rollicking 
 Strathspey, and my three companions danced heartily to its 
 measure, the claymore and the kilts having a fine effect in 
 the lamplight. 
 
"ft? 
 
 W. A. P.. 1869 
 
ULTIMATE TRIUMPH OF THE TAO-TAI 233 
 
 At the unaccustomed sound of the skirl of the pipes the 
 actors fled, but the music and the dancing brought down 
 the house, which was now crowded indeed. 
 
 The mob was delighted, and encored us enthusiastically 
 in Chinese, until we grew weary, and began to fear that 
 they appreciated us too well. 
 
 We at last seized our opportunity, and, jumping down 
 in the midst of them, we hastened out of the town before 
 they had recovered from their surprise. 
 
 Mr. Dodd bade us farewell, and started to return to 
 Tamsui. He had no apprehension, being well known all 
 over the Tamsui district, and being liked, respected, and 
 feared both by the Chinese and the aborigines. 
 
 We all arrived safely at Takao, having had a most 
 pleasant journey through nearly the whole length of the 
 island. 
 
 In spite of the proclamation which had been issued by 
 the authority of the viceroy of Fuh-kien, to the effect that 
 the camphor trade was open to all Europeans complying 
 with the consular regulations and paying the tariff duties, 
 the Tao-tai renewed his persecutions. 
 
 Our firm, in partnership with Messrs. Tait & Co., had, 
 upon the settlement of the troubles, advanced large sums 
 of money for the purchase of camphor ; and early in the 
 year 1869 six small junks, containing 500 piculs l of the 
 drug, left the port of Aulang for Taiwanfoo. 
 
 One evening shortly afterwards, the captains and crews 
 of these junks appeared before me, camphorless, and full of 
 trouble. 
 
 Their story went that, soon after leaving Aulang, they 
 had been compelled by stress of weather to put into 
 Po-te-ts'ui, that noted haunt of pirates and wreckers. 
 
 Whilst our boats were lying here for shelter from the 
 fury of the storm outside, the Po-te-ts'ui men swam off 
 during the night and cut their cables. 
 
 1 A 
 
234 FORMOSA 
 
 Thereupon the boats drifted with the tide on to the 
 shore, where the crews vrere stripped of their clothing, and 
 the camphor was plundered to the value of nine thousand 
 dollars, the pirates asserting that they were merely obeying 
 the orders of the Tao-tai. 
 
 I had some knowledge of Po-te-ts'ui, having visited 
 the village years before to recover goods plundered 
 from a wrecked Dutch vessel by the inhabitants. The 
 heads of Messrs. Elles and Tait having obtained the 
 permission of the consul to visit Po-te-ts'ui for the pur- 
 pose of investigating the matter, we organised an ex- 
 pedition consisting of four Europeans, Messrs. Pye, 
 Masson, Taylor, and myself, accompanied by three 
 Malays or Manilamen carrying guns and a plentiful 
 stock of ammunition ; for, to venture with any degree 
 of safety into such a district, it was essential to be well 
 armed. 
 
 We arrived at Po-te-ts'ui just before daylight, com- 
 pletely taking the ruffians by surprise. 
 
 They had hitherto been accustomed to view Europeans 
 as their helpless victims, shipwrecked and at their mercy : 
 our appearance therefore, belligerent, fully armed, deter- 
 mined if possible to regain our property, completely cowed 
 them. 
 
 After some searching amongst nets, sails, and fore- 
 shore rubbish, we discovered the greater portion of our 
 camphor ; whilst, with a little gentle persuasion, we in- 
 duced the headman to give us receipts for the whole 
 amount, and a written promise to deliver it all in our boats 
 at Taiwanfoo. 
 
 To ensure the due fulfilment of these contracts, we 
 took three or four of the chief men back with us to Tai- 
 wanfoo, the result being that we received the greater 
 part of the stolen camphor within forty-eight hours of our 
 leaving the village. 
 
 We returned in triumph to the consul, reporting all 
 
ULTIMATE TRIUMPH OF THE TAO-TAI 235 
 
 things to him, expecting his congratulations upon our suc- 
 cessful raid. 
 
 To our astonishment and chagrin we were informed 
 that we had been guilty of a great crime, and that the Tao- 
 tai had sent in a complaint against us, accusing us of a 
 cruel attack upon the port of Po-te-ts'ui, and of forcibly 
 abducting peaceable subjects from their homes. 
 
 I immediately hastened to our house, where the * ab- 
 ducted ' chiefs were detained. 
 
 I spoke good words to them. In my kindly considera- 
 tion I feared that they might find the hours long, I there- 
 fore gave them a few dollars each, and granted them my 
 permission to go forth to see the sights of Taiwanfoo, the 
 capital, and to enjoy themselves. Of course, I suggested I 
 should hope to see them again in the evening. 
 
 They were delighted, thanking me for my kindness, 
 and assuring me that the evening should see them again 
 on my doorstep. I departed, rightly convinced that they 
 would not return to perplex me. 
 
 The Tao-tai having formally presented his official 
 complaint of our conduct, our consul took up the matter 
 seriously, and established a court, in which we were all 
 respectively tried, judged, and fined various sums each, 
 from 2,000 dollars for the Europeans to 100 dollars for the 
 Malays. 
 
 This was my first visit to a European court of justice 
 of any kind, and the whole scene seemed very imposing to 
 my unaccustomed eyes. 
 
 The consul occupied a bench covered with black cloth : 
 there was a specially constructed witness-box, with a dock 
 in which all the prisoners were placed. 
 
 Since those days a long experience of our legal pro- 
 cedure compels me to say that this trial was carried out 
 in a peculiar manner. 
 
 There was no prosecutor, except that the Tao-tai had 
 sent in his written accusation, with as many Chinese 
 
236 FORMOSA 
 
 witnesses as he had been able to collect under fear of his 
 dire displeasure. 
 
 The consul was to all intents and purposes the real 
 prosecutor as well as judge. 
 
 I was the only defendant who understood Chinese, and 
 was thus competent to explain what took place between 
 ourselves and the Chinese Po-te-ts'ui ; Messrs. Pye and 
 Masson therefore requested that I, as a subordinate acting 
 under orders, might be released and allowed to give evidence 
 for the defence. 
 
 My release was permitted, but the consul immediately 
 announced that he should use me as evidence for the 
 prosecution. 
 
 The pirate headmen themselves, though brought for- 
 ward as witnesses by the Tao-tai, acted very honourably, 
 refusing to give evidence as to having been ill-treated in 
 any way ; but the fact of our having been able to bring 
 such well-known pirates down to Taiwanfoo was pressed 
 hard against us. 
 
 I gave my statement of the whole affair, and I was 
 severely cross-examined to prove that force and intimida- 
 tion had been used to bring the Chinese down to Tai- 
 wanfoo. 
 
 I was able with a clear conscience to exonerate all the 
 rest of our party from the charge, and to take all the 
 blame on my own shoulders, I being the only member who 
 could communicate with the robbers. This did not, how- 
 ever, avail to prevent wholesale conviction of all but the 
 forced ' Queen's evidence.' 
 
 We proceeded to appeal to the supreme court at 
 Shanghai, where we gained our case against the consul, 
 whose judgment was reversed. 
 
 We had also fortunately recovered our camphor ; but 
 the fact of four European gentlemen, who lived on terms 
 of daily intimacy with the consul, having been marched 
 through the public streets of Taiwanfoo by the consulate 
 
ULTIMATE TRIUMPH OF THE TAO-TAI 237 
 
 constable, and afterwards tried as criminals for merely 
 recovering their own property from the clutch of pirates 
 and wreckers, made the Chinese wonder with awe at the 
 great power now exercised by their Tao-tai. Moreover 
 that wily official was emboldened by his success to harass 
 us still further. 
 
 Shortly after this I returned to Aulang to develop the 
 business there. We purchased a great quantity of camphor, 
 and contracted for large amounts ; but the Tao-tai's exac- 
 tions became more vindictive and arbitrary, until the people 
 dared not fulfil their contracts, and our agents were perse- 
 cuted until life was not worth living. 
 
 At length the situation became so impossible that I 
 was obliged to go down to Takao to consult with the 
 firm as to the advisability of relinquishing our camphor 
 business. 
 
 I started off one morning overland, leaving our depot 
 in charge of a valiant Chinaman, who, according to his own 
 estimate of himself, was a very fine soldier. 
 
 This man possessed discharges and favourable notices 
 as a sergeant in the U.S. army. He had been kidnapped 
 in a New York drinking saloon, and had been sent into the 
 army, serving there throughout the war. He had risen by 
 merit to the rank of a non-commissioned officer, so he 
 apparently had some reason for his belief in himself. Be 
 that as it may, a few days after I had reached Takao 
 he, with the rest of our staff appeared, with a sorry tale 
 to tell. 
 
 It transpired that, a few hours after I had quitted the 
 depot, the local mandarin and a few soldiers appeared at 
 the gate. My valiant sergeant meekly admitted them, after 
 which the official drove him out, with the rest of our men, 
 just as they were, and proceeded to plunder the depot and 
 to burn my clothes and books. 
 
 A somewhat amusing incident occurred at this time. 
 An American merchant from Tamsui was visiting Aulang 
 
238 FORMOSA 
 
 upon camphor business, and he had the curiosity to stroll 
 round to look at the wreck of our house. 
 
 The mandarin's soldiers discovered him there. Before 
 he could draw his revolver, they threw him down, secured 
 him, and dragged him before their superior officer. 
 
 As the American could not speak Chinese, and had no 
 interpreter, the mandarin actually sent for a Pepo-hoan to 
 translate ; he in his ignorance of foreigners believing that 
 one barbarian language was as good as another ! 
 
 When it was found, however, that the gentleman had 
 no connection with Elles & Co., he was permitted to go 
 about his business. 
 
 This last outrage finished our connection with the 
 camphor business. We were obliged to content ourselves 
 with making our claims for due compensation to the consul r 
 who forwarded them to Pekin. 
 
 It was not, however, until the year 1876 that our firm 
 received the money granted by the Tsung-li-yamen as 
 compensation for the losses we had sustained. 
 
239 
 
 < 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 MY FAREWELL TO FORMOSA 
 
 I NOW resided at Taiwanfoo, in charge of the general busi- 
 ness there, but my health was completely broken up by 
 fever and dysentery ; in fact, a chronic form of the latter 
 terrible complaint was rapidly killing me. Providentially 
 my good friend Patrick Manson had a year or two before 
 settled in Formosa, and by his skill and kind care he not 
 only saved my life, but practically cured me. 
 
 Since those days I have been in every circumstance 
 calculated to produce a renewal of this fell disease ; but, 
 although I shall never recover completely from its effects, 
 I have not had a recurrence of the attack. I rejoice to 
 know that the medical career begun in far Formosa has r 
 through indefatigable study and experimental research, 
 prospered so greatly that to-day Dr. Patrick Manson, 
 LL.D., is at the head of his profession as an authority upon 
 tropical diseases. 
 
 By a most curious coincidence, whilst I was so unwell 
 in August 1870, an old friend of mine, Captain Farrow, 
 came into Takao, commanding the Chinese Customs 
 steamer. This gentleman when a boy, in 1859, had been 
 wrecked in the ship * Chieftain ' of Jersey on the Pratas 
 shoals, and he was sent home as a passenger in the * Lady 
 Macdonald,' on board which vessel I was an apprentice. 
 
 I was desirous of visiting our firm at their head- 
 quarters, and Captain Farrow kindly invited me to share 
 his cabin to Amoy, an offer of which I gladly availed my- 
 self. 
 
240 FORMOSA 
 
 On the passage thither we called in for a day or 
 two at Foochow, where I received a most cordial wel- 
 come from those of my old messmates who still re- 
 mained on board the Customs hulk ' Spartan ' at Pagoda 
 Anchorage. 
 
 When Messrs. Elles & Co. at Amoy saw my state of 
 health, they most liberally gave me a free passage home, 
 with twelve months' leave of absence. The Franco- 
 German war had just broken out, and I determined to re- 
 turn home by one of the Messageries Imperiales boats, in 
 order that I might have an opportunity of seeing some- 
 thing of the state of things in France. 
 
 I accordingly left Amoy in the steamer ' Yesso,' com- 
 manded by that genial old China coaster, Captain Ashton. 
 We reached Hong Kong in the morning of the day upon 
 which the M.I. mail steamer ' La Guienne' was due to sail 
 at noon. 
 
 I was in the very highest spirits, which was natural, 
 with plenty of money and the prospect of a whole year 
 at home with my friends, for whom I had brought large 
 packing-cases filled with curios. 
 
 I proceeded to the Messageries' office, where I was in- 
 formed that I must procure a passport from the French 
 consul, as it was. war-time. I spent so long at the consu- 
 late that when I returned to the office with the necessary 
 credentials, I was informed that the accounts were closed, 
 and that I must procure my ticket on board. 
 
 Accordingly I boarded the steamer with a small cargo 
 of luggage, and was handed over to the commissaire, 
 who escorted me below to choose my berth, there being 
 ample choice, as there was but one first-class passenger. 
 After my free, rough and tumble life in Formosa, the 
 gorgeousness of the saloon appeared oppressive : I there- 
 fore requested the commissaire to show me the second- 
 class. Here I did not find very much difference, so I 
 roused the man's impertinence by demanding to be shown 
 
MY FAREWELL TO FORMOSA 241 
 
 the third-class quarters. * Oh, very good ! ' he said, ' but 
 it is full of Spanish non-commissioned officers, and a sick 
 Englishman being sent home by his consul from Japan.' 
 It was quite a pleasure to me to contemplate spending 
 some time amongst the Spaniards, and having the oppor- 
 tunity to rub up my knowledge of their language ; so, 
 upon rinding that the third-class saloon was better 
 than any cabin I had been used to in my old sailor days, 
 I ordered my traps to be put there, and took up my 
 quarters. 
 
 I had no reason to regret my decision. I saved half 
 my passage money, and found the Spanish officers a very 
 jolly set of fellows ; whilst I was able to be of assistance to 
 my sick countryman, and contrived to enlist the maitre 
 d'hote? s services on his behalf. 
 
 Thus the days flew by until on a Saturday night we 
 reached Saigon, where the pilot came on board. Then 
 ensued a great chattering, with much excited comment. 
 He brought a small bundle in his hand ; the Messageries 
 Imperiales flag, ' M.I./ was hauled down, and his bundle 
 was hoisted to the mast-head in its stead. As it gradually 
 unfolded itself to the breeze, we discerned the characters 
 '"M.M.' (Messageries Maritimes). After this significant 
 change was effected all hands united in singing the 
 ' Marseillaise.' 
 
 Upon the vessel arriving at Saigon, tables were 
 set all over the deck, officers and men embraced and 
 kissed each other ; the whole night was spent in con- 
 viviality, and the quiet hours were made hideous by the 
 continual roaring of the ' Marseillaise ' in every note of 
 discord. 
 
 The following day was spent on shore, where the whole 
 town seemed to have gone mad. All traces of imperial 
 government were torn down and exchanged for republican 
 emblems. 
 
 At Saigon we embarked a company of marine ar- 
 
 R 
 
242 FORMOSA 
 
 tillery, all Bretons, fine tall men, on their way to increase 
 the garrison of Paris. 
 
 We had a very pleasant passage as far as Aden. I 
 pleased the Bretons with my bagpipes ; but, to their 
 disgust and mine, the Provencals and the Corsican crew 
 invariably insisted on the ' Marseillaise.' 
 
 As soon as we dropped anchor at Aden, news of the 
 Metz disaster was brought on board. 
 
 At first none would believe it to be possible. * It is 
 English news,' they cried. ' Perfidious Albion desires it ! ' 
 When it was confirmed beyond possibility for doubt, there 
 was a terrible scene. 
 
 The southerners vowed that it was the work of the 
 priests and ' Madame La Caesare,' who had betrayed 
 France. 
 
 The Bretons retorted that God was but punishing 
 France for her atheism. Whereupon they came to blows, 
 and the officers had some trouble in separating the two 
 enraged parties. 
 
 At Aden we took on board a crowd of the most 
 disreputable people I have ever seen. 
 
 They were described to me by one of the officers as 
 the scum of Mauritius and Bourbon : card-sharpers, touts, 
 billiard-markers, who were bound for France to fight as 
 franc-tireurs, and the Messageries Company was giving 
 them free passage and food. 
 
 Henceforward we had but little peace on board. 
 
 Every one seemed wild with excitement ; wine was 
 apparently served out ad libitum to these volunteers, 
 who gambled, fenced, and quarrelled throughout the 
 passage. 
 
 The Suez Canal had just been opened. I went on 
 shore at Ismailia for an hour or two during the night we 
 stayed there. The place appeared to be a rendezvous 
 for all the bad characters of the Levant and the Danube 
 States. 
 
MY FAREWELL TO FORMOSA 243 
 
 We found on arrival at Marseilles that the railway 
 communication with Paris was cut. I therefore had to 
 wait for an opportunity to go round by Gibraltar. 
 
 Upon presenting myself at the douane with my 
 luggage, I had an amusing adventure. 
 
 All my boxes and cases were placed for inspection, and 
 the first one to be opened was my cabin trunk, wherein, 
 on the top, reposed my beloved bagpipes in a disjointed 
 condition. 
 
 The douaniers gazed at the curious instrument as 
 though it were a species of infernal machine ; but they 
 would not touch it, fearing consequences. * Mais qu'est- 
 ce que c'est cela, monsieur ? ' 
 
 ' C'est une cornemuse, messieurs,' I responded. 
 
 ' Cornemuse ! Cornemuse ! ' they repeated puzzled. 
 
 * Oui, messieurs, une cornemuse. Les Bretons 1'ap- 
 pellent un binion.' 
 
 They either could not or would not understand ; 
 so growing impatient I put the instrument together, 
 inflated the bag, and striding about amongst them I 
 struck up the * Marseillaise,' an air which the pipe 
 gamut can compass, with the exception of the highest 
 note. 
 
 The effect was electrical. Enthusiasm rose to a high 
 pitch. ' Bravo ! Bravo ! ' shouted the small crowd which 
 had collected. ' Encore ! Encore ! Monsieur, que vous 
 etes un brave garden ! ' 
 
 I was made to blow until I was wearied out, and 
 my mind reverted to the scene on the theatre at 
 Bang-kah. 
 
 At last I was obliged to desist, and the bag groaned 
 out its collapse. 
 
 ' Embrassons ! Embrassons, monsieur ! ' I was forced 
 to undergo a lot of oppressive affection. Some wise- 
 acre informed the crowd that the * cornemuse ' was a 
 Scottish instrument ; they therefore saluted me as * un 
 
 R 2 
 
244 FORMOSA 
 
 brave Ecossais ! ' Although I knew what an honour I was 
 declining, truth compelled me to confess that I was but a 
 poor Southron ' un Anglais ' which lowered me some- 
 what in the general estimation. 
 
 I overheard one or two say, ' You know, the Scotch are 
 friends of France. Have you not read ? ' 
 
 I almost began to regret my candour ; but I was com- 
 forted subsequently when I heard a Frenchman describing 
 the Scotch to his friends as ' montagnards ; une espece 
 de sauvages ' who wore no ' pantalons ' ! 
 
 After the fraternal embraces were over, the chief 
 douanier cried out, * Laissez passer monsieur et son 
 bagage ' ; so my pipes served my purpose well. 
 
 Some of my fellow-passengers, Italian silk-worm 
 dealers returning from Japan, advised me to accompany 
 them to a cheap and comfortable inn, the Hotel de Danube. 
 I had not been installed there long, before the proprittaire 
 waited upon me to say that the people had collected out- 
 side, and that they prayed that I would step without on 
 to the balcony and play them a tune upon my wonderful 
 instrument. 
 
 I thought it prudent to acquiesce. I found, however, 
 that there was but one tune which would satisfy their 
 patriotic enthusiasm, and during my stay in Marseilles I 
 was continually liable to this friendly tyranny. 
 
 I remained two weeks in Marseilles, unable to get a 
 passage to England. I spent this time in seeing as much 
 as could be seen of the French character and habits at this 
 crisis in the national history. 
 
 The people apparently had completely lost their 
 heads. 
 
 It was dangerous work at times to visit the cafes : my 
 fair skin and light hair rendered me liable at any mo- 
 ment to be pounced upon as * un Allemand,' but I always 
 managed to convince them of my nationality. 
 
 The maire was summoned by the restless people almost 
 
MY FAREWELL TO FORMOSA 245 
 
 daily to address them, and to give them news of some 
 victory. 
 
 The papers announced daily French successes, and no 
 idea of defeat seemed to have place in the national mind. 
 
 I at length decided to proceed to Bordeaux, as the sick 
 Englishman had already made his way there, and wrote 
 assuring me that we could get home by that route. 
 
 I started one night at ten o'clock, and did not reach 
 Bordeaux until twenty-six hours later. We were continually 
 detained at the stations by trains arriving with wounded 
 soldiers, but no hint was given that French affairs were 
 not prospering. 
 
 We found the Bordeaux people excitedly preparing 
 to receive the Chamber of Representatives from Ver- 
 sailles. 
 
 We remained a week in this port, and then left for 
 London in a steamer trading in arms. 
 
 I arrived in London on December 6, 1870, and to my 
 surprise, upon opening the Times, I received the first nti- 
 mation that France was at the feet of the German con- 
 queror. 
 
 When I had been at home for some nine months, I re- 
 ceived an offer from Sir Harry Ord, governor of the Straits 
 Settlements, inviting me to join the civil service of that 
 colony ; and through the kindness of Messrs. Elles & Co. 
 I was enabled to accept that offer. 
 
 After sixteen years' service in the Straits, as Chinese 
 interpreter and Protector of Chinese, I retired on pension 
 in 1890. 
 
 If my readers have had the patience to follow me 
 through the adventures recorded in the foregoing pages 
 they will, I am sure, agree with me that I have great reason 
 to be thankful to God for all the preservation and pro- 
 sperity that He has vouchsafed to me. 
 
 My memory recalls with gratitude the innumerable acts 
 of kindness from my own countrymen and the genuine 
 
246 FORMOSA 
 
 hospitality I received, not only from the aborigines, but 
 also from the Chinese of all classes in Formosa. These 
 pleasant memories, and my appreciation of the scenery and 
 the climate, in the north-east monsoon, often fill me with a 
 keen desire to revisit the island. This is now, however, out 
 of my power, and I must perforce conclude my account ot 
 old times with the sincere expression : 
 
 * Absence makes the heart grow fonder ; 
 Isle of Beauty, fare thee well ! ' 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 WARNINGS AND PROPHECIES WITH REGARD 
 TO BRITISH INTERESTS IN THE FAR EAST 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM JOURNALS AND MAGAZINES, 1883-4 
 THE FRANCO-CHINESE WAR 
 
 To the Editor of THE TIMES 
 
 SIR, Would you kindly grant space in The Times for some 
 remarks on the Tonquin question by one who, in consequence of 
 a residence of more than twenty years in China and the East, passed 
 in intimate communication with the Chinese of all classes, has 
 gained a fair knowledge of their ideas and language, and who has 
 also in the course of duty during the last two years been brought 
 into contact with Annamese officials now opposed to the French 
 in Indo-China ? 
 
 The unanimous tone of the British press at this moment seems 
 to be one of sympathy with China, combined with an unaccount- 
 able solicitude for France, and a fear lest she should ruin her 
 already declining fortunes by a conflict with the increasing power 
 and resources of the government of the Celestial Empire. 
 
 As far as we are concerned, the French occupation of Cochin 
 China has been beneficial to our trade and colonies, and any 
 extension of their power must augment the commercial importance 
 of Hong Kong and the Straits Settlements. French rule means 
 security for life and property, which cannot be ensured by China 
 or any other Asiatic government ; and, notwithstanding the pro- 
 tectionist views expressed by individuals, the mass of intelligent 
 Frenchmen must be aware that it would be impossible to develop 
 the wealth of Indo-China and the trade of the Red River except 
 by giving every reasonable privilege to the merchants and 
 shipping of America, Germany, and Great Britain. 1 
 
 1 These opinions have not been justified by subsequent facts. The French 
 have endeavoured to strangle our trade with their Colonies in the Far East 
 by enforcing a protectionist policy. W. A. P., 1898. 
 
248 FORMOSA 
 
 Having endeavoured to show what, in my opinion, are a few of 
 the just claims of France to our sympathies as the representative 
 of progress and civilisation, I will, with your permission, in a future 
 letter examine the case of China, and hope to be able to prove 
 that the imperial government at Pekin, by interfering with France 
 in Tonquin, is actuated merely by the fear of European influence, 
 and represents a retrograde policy, opposed not only to European 
 commerce, but also to the best interests of the millions of indus- 
 trious and oppressed natives of the Celestial Empire. 
 
 Yours, 
 W. A. PICKERING, Protector of Chinese, 
 
 Straits Settlements. 
 41 Cavendish Place, Eastbourne, Nov. 23, 1883. 
 
 To the Editor of THE TIMES 
 
 Sir, Being encouraged by your kindness in inserting my 
 letter of the 23rd inst., I will now try to prove the correctness of 
 some of the statements contained therein. In doing so I must 
 confess that the wind has been considerably taken out of my 
 sails by the able telegram from your Paris correspondent published 
 in your issue of the 24th. He at any rate seems to have dis- 
 covered that the war in Tonquin is being waged by the French 
 'against a band resisting at random,' and that China is ' as puerile 
 in military as in diplomatic matters.' I trust that his suggestions 
 as to England insisting on the trade of the Red River being kept 
 open to all the world will have their due effect, and that the 
 French in carrying out their laudable mission of restoring order to 
 Tonquin will, by keeping a mental equilibrium, avoid making 
 enemies of the only people in the world who are inclined to wish 
 them well. 
 
 Before proceeding, I would explain that when using the words 
 ' France ' and ' China ' in the following remarks, by France I of 
 course imply the French people as represented by a ministry and 
 parliament, virtually elected by popular vote. In speaking of 
 China, on the other hand, I do not include the people of China, 
 or the numbers of talented foreigners now in Chinese government 
 employ ; I mean an oligarchy of Tartars and Chinese, including a 
 few able and patriotic ministers, but containing a majority of con- 
 ceited, ignorant, and prejudiced old men and women, who from 
 Pekin try to rule the Celestial Empire in the name of Kuang-Su, 
 the young Emperor of the present Manchu dynasty Ta-Ts'ing. 
 
 In considering the probability of a rupture between China 
 and France this, in my opinion, is the proper view of the question. 
 The French cannot, after having declared war, be expected to 
 tamely submit to their movements being checkmated through 
 assistance rendered to China by European mind and matter. I 
 submit, too, that it would not only be unjust but also impolitic were 
 
APPENDIX 249 
 
 the Western Powers to extend any protection to their subjects 
 who for mere pecuniary considerations might choose to remain in 
 the service of an Asiatic government ; and especially so as that 
 government has always opposed European influence and the 
 improvements of civilisation, excepting just as far as these seemed 
 to offer China an ultimate prospect of ridding herself of the 
 foreigner, and of returning to her former state of isolation. 
 
 France cannot be accused of undue haste in her dealings with 
 Tonquin and Annam, as the present operations originated in a 
 treaty signed, I believe, in 1874, when China could, if she wished, 
 have entered a protest against the transaction. There is no doubt 
 that, had the French been wise and known their own minds, a 
 well-conducted expedition of 15,000 men despatched to Tonquin 
 in 1874 would have enabled them to annex the whole country up 
 to the frontier of China, and we should have heard very little of 
 the claim of suzerainty. 
 
 Since then, however, China has had the benefit for some 
 years of instruction in western political science, and has also 
 acquired some superficial knowledge of modern military tactics 
 and discipline ; she has also carried out a successful campaign 
 against rebels in Kansuh, and disputes with Russia and Japan, 
 which she, no doubt, considers victories. Besides having pur- 
 chased the newest style of vessels and guns from Europe, China 
 has also arsenals and dockyards of her own, and troops disciplined 
 after the European manner. To the short-sighted ideas of the 
 Pekin oligarchy, all these acquisitions are rendering China more 
 capable of resisting European nations ; the insane policy of 
 France at home and abroad having isolated her from the sympathy 
 of most nations of Europe, the Pekin government, no doubt, has 
 some idea of trying conclusions with her on this favourable oppor- 
 tunity of the suzerainty question. 
 
 The presence of her ambassadors at the European courts has 
 also, no doubt, given China much encouragement ; but it is a 
 question whether this has not injured the real interests of the Pekin 
 government. There is no doubt that the high tone taken by the 
 Marquis Tseng, and his statements as reported in the daily papers, 
 have placed his superiors in a position from which (unless they 
 receive the help of some great European Power) they can only 
 extricate themselves by either appearing ridiculous before the 
 world, or by entering into a conflict which will waste the already 
 impoverished revenues of the empire, injure European trade, 
 perhaps cause a rebellion in China, and certainly end in a defeat 
 for themselves. Besides this, China now appears as sponsor for 
 the Black Flags (really rebels against her authority) : the French 
 will soon drive them out of Tonquin, and then they will appear in 
 China, where the Pekin government must waste more money in 
 their purchase or extermination. As long as the French keep to 
 
250 FORMOSA 
 
 their programme in Tonquin and do not enter China, they when 
 at Marseilles are almost as near the seat of war as are the Chinese 
 in Canton (of course I mean as far as the facilities for transport, 
 etc., are concerned). We hear much about the legions of troops 
 which China could bring to bear on France in Tonquin. I do 
 not know where the Chinese military depots for war material, 
 stores, etc., are supposed to be placed, or what number of dis- 
 ciplined troops they are prepared to bring into action. As far as 
 raw material goes, in spite of opium, I suspect China can show 
 as fair a proportion of well-built men as most countries in the 
 world. It may, however, be taken for granted that, if the military 
 depots are superintended, the artillery handled, and the troops 
 drilled and led by Europeans, then the Chinese army will give 
 some trouble to the French ; if, on the contrary, affairs are 
 entrusted to native officials, then the stores will be embezzled, the 
 arms ruined, and the troops, however well disciplined before, will, 
 by the time they reach Tonquin, be only dangerous to their 
 Chinese officers and countrymen, and they certainly will be 
 inferior to the Black Flags in fighting power. 
 
 Tso-Tsung-Tang, no doubt, is a most talented man for a 
 Chinese, and with unlimited funds, no scruples or law to fetter him, 
 he has been and would be a formidable man against Chinese 
 rebels badly armed, without resources, and, above all, fighting 
 against the law. When, with these advantages, he gives himself 
 two or three years to perform his task, he has every chance in his 
 favour j but supposing these rebels to have on their side a European 
 like Colonel Gordon, I am of opinion that General Tso would 
 not reappear before his imperial master at Pekin. 
 
 What can Tso-Tsung-Tang expect to do against France, when 
 the latter Power (content merely to hold its own in Tonquin) can 
 in a very short time attack the coast of China with an overwhelming 
 fleet, and, with a minimum of damage to European commerce, cut 
 off one of the chief items of the imperial revenue, take the Chinese 
 arsenals and their new gunboats, torpedoes, etc., and, while 
 Tso-Tsung-Tang is blundering through the mountains towards 
 Tonquin, force the Pekin government to come to terms ? 
 
 My sympathy is altogether with the people of China, and I 
 feel that it would be a real calamity were the present dynasty to 
 be overturned by a rebellion. The rulers now at Pekin have the 
 machinery for carrying on the government of the empire, such as 
 it is. Were a revolution to take place, it could only be accom- 
 plished after temporary anarchy and damage to the country. After 
 all, too, there would be no improvement in the general state of 
 affairs, as the fault does not lie so much in any one set of officials 
 as in the low state of the people from whom they spring. My 
 sympathy with France only goes as far as the operations demanded 
 by her position in Cochin China ; but I feel deeply that any 
 
APPENDIX 251 
 
 person who would encourage China to risk war for the sake of a 
 punctilio is an enemy to the welfare of the Celestial Empire. 
 
 Within the Chinese Empire, as far, at least, as the three 
 southern provinces, Kwang-tung, Kwang-si, and Fuh-kien, are 
 concerned, there is no doubt that the local officials are powerless 
 to keep order or to protect their people from lawless oppression. 
 I do not, of course, mean to say that in a comparatively civilised 
 nation like that of the Chinese there are not some really con- 
 scientious and able officials ; but I think it will be acknowledged 
 that in the provinces I have named the majority of mandarins 
 are either weak and corrupt or cruel and oppressive. In the rivers ^ 
 piracy and dacoity almost universally prevail ; brigandage and ' 
 clan fights defy the law ; torture is used by the mandarins, not I 
 only to extort evidence, but to procure squeezes of money ; the 
 local authorities are almost always found powerless to protect 
 European missionaries, even if they do not often themselves excite 
 the feelings of the populace against the strangers. 
 
 Under these circumstances China now appeals to European 
 sympathy on the ground that France is attacking her honour by 
 extending influence in Annam, and she is ready, for a question 
 of suzerainty over an outlying State over which she cannot 
 exercise any beneficial influence, to rush into a war which will 
 not only end in her own defeat, but will also injure European 
 commerce and other western interests. 
 
 I cannot think how China can expect any assistance from 
 Europe in this matter. Western interests on the coast of China 
 are identical, and any reverse suffered by the French would only 
 increase the arrogance and opposition of the Pekin government 
 towards all foreigners. 
 
 The old regime of ignorant bliss and conceit received its first 
 real blow when we came into collision with the empire some forty 
 years ago ; since then China has been thoroughly humiliated by 
 foreigners twice or three times, and the present dynasty has really 
 been kept in its place, and the empire kept together for the last 
 twenty years, solely by European influence chiefly by the power 
 of Great Britain. To England the Pekin government owes the 
 inestimable services of Colonel Gordon and our fleet, which 
 crushed a rebellion that otherwise would have utterly ruined the 
 empire. At the present day everything that is worthy of being 
 called good government is performed by Europeans, and Western 
 Powers have a perfect right now to dictate to China as to the 
 course she should pursue in a matter concerning their interests. 
 
 It has been advanced by some writers that China cannot run 
 the risk of losing prestige and humiliating herself in the eyes of 
 the people by withdrawing from the position she has now taken 
 up. As I intend, if the patience of yourself and your readers has 
 not been already exhausted by the prolixity of my present letter, 
 
252 FORMOSA 
 
 to make some remarks as to the interest the Chinese people can 
 have in the dealings of Pekin with Europe and America, I will 
 merely say that, supposing my statements in the preceding para- 
 graph to be approximately correct, then China's prestige is nil, 
 and she has been already sufficiently humiliated in the eyes of 
 her people without recklessly seeking further disgrace. 
 
 France, on the other hand, in spite of her faults and mis- 
 fortunes, has a prestige to maintain which is of importance to 
 herself and the world, both in Europe and Asia. In Europe the 
 effacement of France would certainly have a disturbing effect on 
 the balance of power ; in Asia, if France were to succumb to 
 China, she would endanger the interests of all Western subjects 
 in the East, and entail on Great Britain or some other Power the 
 burden and expense of repressing the increased arrogance and 
 assumption of the Pekin government. 
 
 With regard to the present state of China, I am not afraid to 
 maintain that, bereft of foreign advice and assistance, she is less 
 capable of either keeping good order in her own dominions or 
 resisting invasion than she was fifty years ago. 
 
 Were the European and American governments to decide to 
 withdraw from the Celestial empire their fleets, ministers, and 
 consuls, China would not only be unable to oppose even a second- 
 rate European Power, but would be vulnerable at a hundred 
 points to the attack of a strong filibustering party, if led by men 
 such as the late General Ward, who are to be found in numbers 
 in the cities of Europe and the United States. 
 
 Within two years of the departure of the European fleets, etc., 
 the Chinese Empire would be in a state of anarchy, torn by rival 
 factions, each anxious to destroy, but unable to reconstruct on 
 any firm moral basis. The leaders of each faction would bid high 
 for the services of European or American military adventurers ; 
 no doubt a splendid trade in munitions of war would spring up, but 
 China would be ruined. Although such a catastrophe cannot be 
 expected from a war with France, yet there is reason to fear that, 
 besides the inevitable defeat, some parts of the empire would 
 break out into petty rebellion, the suppression of which would 
 entail loss of life and ruin of thousands of the poor Chinese ; and 
 in my opinion the best advice a friend of China can give to the 
 Pekin government is that it should cease to cherish any hopeless 
 schemes of opposing French progress in Annam by romantic 
 antiquated claims of suzerainty over outlying countries, but should 
 by a scrupulous fulfilment of treaty obligations enlist the as- 
 sistance of W T estern Powers while paying its whole attention 
 towards the consolidation, good government, and moral elevation 
 of its people dwelling in the eighteen provinces. That such 
 advice would be followed I can scarcely hope, as, however talented 
 and far-seeing may be some Chinese officials, civil and military, 
 
APPENDIX 253 
 
 there is no doubt that the Pekin majority only appreciates 
 Western science, political, military, or engineering, just as far as 
 the adoption of it will, at some future and not far distant time, 
 enable the present dynasty to expel the hateful foreigners with 
 their missionaries and traders, and allow it to fleece three hun- 
 dred millions of people under the pretence of 'following the 
 maxims of the ancient kings.' 
 
 The venerable officials who rule from Pekin see plainly that 
 the nations of Christendom, however intellectually inferior they 
 may be, certainly enjoy an immense physical superiority to China 
 and the rest of the world ; they in their ignorance attribute all 
 this to the fact that we possess splendid steam vessels, enormous 
 guns, and scientific appliances for war, manufactures, and com- 
 merce ; they also vainly hope that in a few years (already pos- 
 sessing a superiority in intellect) by a smattering of scientific 
 knowledge, military discipline, and engineering skill, they will be 
 able to more than equal us in material strength. 
 
 The Chinese government, like other nations, and individuals 
 too, is apt to mistake effect for cause, and cannot be expected to 
 know (what some of us are trying to forget) that the source of any 
 superiority we may possess over the rest of the world is to be 
 traced chiefly to the advent of the Divine Man whose birth we 
 are now commemorating this Christmas-tide. 
 
 Could China know this she would leave off her abortive 
 attempts to exclude Western ideas and men, and cease from a 
 wasteful expenditure of money on arsenals, forts, vessels of war, 
 etc., and would instead devote her attention towards a course of 
 progress which alone can enable the Middle Kingdom gradually 
 to take a position among the nations commensurate with its 
 geographical extent and the undoubtedly sterling qualities pos- 
 sessed by its enormous population. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 W. A. PICKERING. 
 41 Cavendish Place, Eastbourne, Dec. 30. 
 
 THE WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN, 1895 
 PALL MALL GAZETTE, February 25, 1895 
 
 MR. W. A. PICKERING ON CHINESE AFFAIRS 
 
 Some months ago Lieutenant- General Sir Andrew Clarke in- 
 formed me, writes our representative, that no European knew more 
 about the Chinese than Mr. W. A. Pickering. I approached that 
 gentleman, therefore, recently on the subject of the present 
 Oriental embroglio. 
 
 * You know a good deal about China, Mr. Pickering ? ' said I. 
 1 1 have had,' he returned, ' an experience of about thirty years 
 
254 FORMOSA 
 
 among the Chinese, in China, Formosa, and the Straits Settle- 
 ments. I speak tolerably well four dialects as well as the man- 
 darin, and have a fair knowledge of the written character. My 
 experience of the Chinese ranges from the highest officials to 
 pirates and rebels.' 
 
 ' And you agree generally with the views recently expressed 
 by Professor Kennaway Douglas in the columns of the Pall Mall 
 Gazette ? ' ' Yes,' replied Mr. Pickering, ' my opinions entirely 
 coincide with those of Professor Douglas, and I think that the 
 Japanese are the benefactors of the world, though, in their turn, 
 they will have to give way to Russia.' 
 
 * And what of Russia ? ' ' Well, it is no ivay in the interest of 
 Russia that there should be a strong government at Pekin ; neither 
 is it in the interest of the civilised world nor of Christianity.' 
 
 'And why not, please?' 'A strong government at Pekin,' 
 observed Mr. Pickering, * means non-fulfilment of treaty obliga- 
 tions, and the continuance of the policy of shutting up the Celes- 
 tial Empire to trade and commerce.' 
 
 ' But might not a crash at Pekin produce grave disorders and 
 danger for European residents?' 'Whatever danger,' resumed 
 Mr. Pickering, ' to the lives of Europeans may result from the 
 downfall of the present dynasty would be more than compensated 
 by the nuts which the Japanese would, if finally victorious, get 
 out of the fire for all nations. If, as I have reason to believe, 
 General Le Gendre is advising the Japanese from the United States, 
 I feel sure that this is the end he will pursue.' 
 
 European Mouth-pieces 
 
 ' You are acquainted with him ? ' ' Yes, I was with him in 
 Formosa. Now, ever since in the sixties Burlingham brought 
 forward China to enter the comity of nations, and in the name of 
 the mandarins talked bunkum about erecting the shining cross 
 on every hill and in every valley, the Chinese have used Europeans 
 to talk our language, and to utter the sentiments of Christianity 
 and civilisation.' 
 
 ' In order to deceive us poor Westerns ? ' ' Yes, quite recently 
 I imagine Lord Rosebery to have been taken in by listening to 
 European mouth-pieces, while the Chinese official is really think- 
 ing in Chinese, and has pagan and semi-civilised sentiments in his 
 heart.' 
 
 ' And how does that work out ? ' ' Well, if you come to reflect, 
 you must be aware that the Chinese now frighten us by Chinese, 
 I mean the literary class,- who, by so-called competitive examina- 
 tions, rule the masses or unlearned by saying : " If the govern- 
 ment should be overthrown, we cannot secure the safety of your 
 missionaries and traders." ' 
 
 ' And that is humbug ? ' ' Yes, they never have done this ; 
 
APPENDIX 255 
 
 but the literary class has always egged on the mob, in the hope 
 that by continued acts of violence they may frighten Europeans 
 from the interior. You will have noticed that before the Chinese 
 had got chastised by the Japanese, their soldiers began to murder 
 European missionaries. Now, since they have found out how 
 utterly helpless they are, the officials take every possible step to 
 protect the lives of Europeans ; and though, a few years ago, the 
 Pekin government professed their utter inability to protect 
 foreigners from the savage hate of the ignorant common people, 
 now they protest that the government are quite able to protect our 
 missionaries in the interior, that is, for a consideration that the 
 Japanese do not take Pekin and upset the government. The 
 fact is, the Chinese government are helpless and have always 
 been helpless to protect us from the people, if the people hate us ; 
 but the people have never hated us very much more than ignorant 
 people in most countries hate strangers.' 
 
 * Then the literati are at the bottom of the whole mischief ? '- 
 ' Yes,' went on Mr. Pickering, ' from the beginning of our inter- 
 course with the Chinese government it has been the official class, 
 the literati, who have set the people against the foreigners ; and I 
 feel sure that our people are quite as likely to live safely in China, 
 when the mandarins and the expectant officials are so frightened 
 for their own lives that they have no time or spirit to incite the 
 common people against quiet, law-abiding missionaries and mer- 
 chants. As I believe that the Russians, French, and Americans 
 know this, I do not wonder that they refuse to interfere, and I 
 only wish our government would withdraw all our people employed 
 by the Chinese, and keep them in our service. They would 
 honour our service, and would deserve the highest rewards ; now 
 they must either serve two masters or not serve us.' 
 
 ' And what further points would you make, Mr. Pickering ? ' 
 ' Well,' he replied after a few moments' pause, ' I think I have 
 said perhaps more than enough already ; but my great wish is 
 that our government may not, through any misplaced sympathy 
 with the Chinese, neglect the interests of our own countrymen. 
 Every year the power is inevitably getting more and more into the 
 hands of the working classes, and every day the working classes are 
 becoming more and more dependent on the enlarged scope of our 
 foreign markets for the disposal of the manufactures which they sell, 
 in order to procure the necessaries of life, and not only for this, but 
 for the supply of the food they eat. These markets can only be 
 secured by the increase of our influence in such countries as China? 
 
 Chinese Military and Civic Virtue. 
 
 ' And what do you think of the Chinese as soldiers and civil 
 servants ? ' 
 
 ' Well, though I say this in opposition to most people, I hold 
 
256 FORMOSA 
 
 that the Chinese are eminently pugnacious, at any rate in the way 
 of clan fights and provincial jealousies ; yet I believe that the 
 influence of Confucius and of other ancient sages has kept them 
 from being sufficiently warlike to be dangerous to any robust 
 race which has got past the educational system of Confucius and 
 Mencius. 
 
 ' Yes, the latter touched on military matters. He describes 
 the classical mode of warfare as follows : "The two armies 
 approach each other at the sound of the drums ; they meet, and 
 after the weapons cross one side throw away their coats of mail, 
 trail their arms, and run away." Excepting when they have been 
 cooped up in the island at Wei-hai-wei, the Chinese throughout 
 the present war appear to have followed faithfully the maxims of 
 the ancient sage.' 
 
 ' Their officers seem to be no good ? ' * They are honey- 
 combed with vice,' returned Mr. Pickering, ' and generally venal 
 and unpatriotic. Though the Chinese fought well under Gordon, 
 it must be remembered that they were fighting in the cause of the 
 Son of Heaven, the cause of law and order, under the command 
 of English gentlemen against rebels forsaken of heaven and for- 
 saken of Confucius. The rebels, too, were led by ignorant, 
 dissipated, and unscrupulous runaways from the merchant ships 
 at Shanghai, or in many cases deserters from the ranks of 
 European and American armies and navies.' 
 
 * What as to the civil service, Mr. Pickering ? ' ' No doubt 
 there are good officials, loyal and faithful, just and benevolent, in 
 the Chinese civil service ; but the majority are corrupt, rapacious, 
 and cruel, who only fill office with a view to enriching and repay- 
 ing themselves and their relations for the capital spent in gaining 
 office and promotion, although these are supposed to be gained by 
 competitive examination and merit. In fact, competitive examina- 
 tion holds the heterogeneous population of China together that 
 is, the desire to keep intact the sheep to be fleeced by the officials 
 and the class from which the officials spring.' 
 
 ' Then China generally is in a bad way ? ' ' For all that I have 
 said I believe that were China Christian, and granted a set of 
 officials like we possess in our Indian civil service, then the 
 Celestial Empire, ruled by Chinese law, would be the happiest in 
 the world. I have spent most of my life among the Chinese : I 
 like them very much, and feel that they are the best specimens of 
 the human race under the conditions set forth in the first chapter 
 of St. Paul's epistle to the Romans, and I don't believe that any 
 other nation left in the same condition for, say, five thousand 
 years would have remained a nation so strong and so good as the 
 Chinese are to-day. This, however, is not much to say for human 
 nature.' 
 
APPENDIX 257 
 
 [April 27, 1895] 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE TREATY OF SHIMONOSEKI 
 AN INTERVIEW WITH MR. W. A. PICKERING., C.M.G. 
 
 There are not many men> we imagine, who have had better op- 
 portunities of forming a sound judgment on the present situation in 
 the Far East than Mr. Pickering. In 1878 Sir Robert Hart said that 
 no single European had ever possessed such opportunities of learning 
 the Chinese character in all its phases ; and though we dare say that 
 some of Mr. Pickering's present opinions would make Sir Robert 
 doubt his capability of learning wisdom by experience, yet the ex- 
 perience remains a fact. From 1877 to 1888 Mr. Pickering was 
 virtually the ruler of some hundreds of thousands of Chinese in the 
 Straits Settlements and in the native States. In 1883 he was asked 
 by the Intelligence Department of the War Office to write a paper 
 on the state of the Chinese army, and again requested to make 
 suggestions as to the best mode of attacking China in case of 
 war. For this paper he received the thanks of Lord Wolseley 
 and of the commander-in-chief, and certainly all his statements 
 and opinions have been more than confirmed in the course of 
 the present war. ' My whole life,' says Mr. Pickering, * since I was 
 eighteen years of age, has been spent with the Chinese or in 
 studying Chinese affairs, while at the same time I have kept up 
 my interest in European affairs, and have always remembered 
 first of all that I was an Englishman.' From this record it will 
 be evident that Mr. Pickering's views on any matter affecting China 
 are not without value and authority ; and a representative of The 
 Westminster Gazette waited upon him accordingly to learn what 
 he thought of the Treaty of Shimonoseki and of England's atti- 
 tude thereto : 
 
 China a Sponge and a Cancer 
 
 ( There seems to be a conspiracy of lying spirits abroad,' said 
 Mr. Pickering, ' regarding the terms of the peace between China 
 and Japan.' 
 
 * Do you mean the story of the offensive and defensive alliance ? ' 
 
 ' I am quite sure,' replied Mr. Pickering, ' that the Japanese 
 will never enter into an offensive and defensive alliance with 
 China. They know that to her allies China would only prove a 
 sponge to suck up their resources, or a cancer to corrupt their 
 bodies and eat out their vitals. I don't think China has sta- 
 bility enough to carry out the terms of any treaty.' 
 
 ' Then what is the end to be, in your view ? ' 
 
 ' The end,' returned Mr. Pickering, * must be that she is divided 
 between Russia, England, and France. What have we, however, 
 to fear from any favourable terms Japan may make ? Surely we 
 can't go to war because of trade rivalry ! ' 
 
 S 
 
258 FORMOSA 
 
 1 And Formosa ? ' 
 
 1 Well, we have had lots of chances to take Formosa. Certainly 
 we can't allow Russia or France to take it, and it could not be 
 in better hands than those of Japan, or in worse than those of 
 China.' 
 
 Japhet and Shem 
 
 ' And Russia, Mr. Pickering ? ' 
 
 * Russia will stir up the water till she gets a port in the Pacific 
 open all the year round, and some portion of Manchuria? 
 
 1 And France and Germany ? ' 
 
 'France will coquet with Russia to spite us, and Germany 
 can do nothing but act as a cuckoo, and place her young ones in 
 the nests of the other Powers, so that they may make money out 
 of our markets and undersell us.' 
 
 ' And as to our native land, Mr. Pickering ? ' 
 
 ' If England be wise,' he replied, * she will make ready together 
 share in the coming inevitable scramble in China. In the mean- 
 time our interest lies with Japan's successes. Sic vos non vobis 
 mellificatis apes? 
 
 1 But what about an invasion by yellow men, and jaundice at a 
 premium ? ' 
 
 ' There is no fear,' returned Mr. Pickering, with a comfortable 
 smile of assurance, 'of any Mongolian invasion of Europe by 
 Chinese and Japanese, except in the way of cheap labour and 
 commercial rivalry. Shem will never dwell in the tents of Japhet. 
 The contrary must be the result of all this upsetting of the present 
 state of things.' 
 
 THE OUTRAGES ON MISSIONARIES AT FOOCHOW, 
 
 1895. 
 
 THE MISSIONARY QUESTION IN CHINA. 
 
 To the Editor <?/THE TIMES. 
 
 Sir, In addition to other excuses and pleas, the Pekin govern- 
 ment will always take advantage of that complicated subject, 
 the missionary question, and use it as a most powerful lever with 
 which to force European Powers to recede from their treaty 
 rights as to residence in the interior provinces of the Celestial 
 empire. 
 
 This access to the interior by missionaries and traders must 
 be ruinous to the tyrannical and corrupt official system by which 
 China is closed to civilisation and progress, and its people ground 
 down for the benefit of the literati and mandarins. The mission- 
 aries introduce ideas which, if accepted by the common people, 
 
APPENDIX 259 
 
 must render them more accustomed to liberty of spirit, and make 
 them dissatisfied with the present state of things political. Mer- 
 chants and traders visiting the interior under treaty rights must 
 also interfere with the squeezes and illegitimate taxes by which the 
 officials exist and grow rich. 
 
 There is no doubt that the Chinese government, weak as it 
 is, can and will keep order amongst its people towards foreigners, 
 if it only be forced to do so by motives of fear or advantage to be 
 gained. Both these motives have been removed by the inter- 
 ference by Russia and of France with Japan, and now the officials 
 have resumed their old game of forcing the hands of foreigners to 
 quit the country because residence will never be safe. The farce 
 of a central government is held out to Europe, while really there 
 is no central government, and the European advocates (as 
 mentioned in a letter from Hankow in your Monday's issue) are 
 fascinating Englishmen by benevolent platitudes unknown and 
 unintelligible to their Chinese employers. The only way to keep 
 China quiet and enforce the fulfilment of treaties until the inevi- 
 table partition of the empire arrives is to revert to the old gun- 
 boat system, and to make the viceroys, tao-tais, and prefects 
 responsible for the peace and good order of their respective 
 provinces, etc., and in case of riots to enforce good order and 
 redress without reference to Pekin. This may be considered 
 retrograde policy, but it is quite advanced enough for the present 
 condition of the Chinese government, which has only improved 
 since 1860 in the knowledge of fooling the European. 
 
 I regret that my opinions on religious subjects will cause 
 hurt and offence to many old friends ; but, as I base my opinions 
 on the only safe guide (the words of our Lord and His apostles), 
 I am quite ready to stand contra mundum, if that mundus even 
 be the whole religious world. 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 W. A. PICKERING. 
 
 August. 
 
 To the Editor 0/TnE TIMES. 
 
 Sir, I have lived nearly forty years with the Chinese of all 
 classes, from the highest mandarin to the lowest coolie, and have 
 read most of the works written on China during that period. I 
 have, however, never seen any description of the Chinese cha- 
 racter equal to that given in your Article No. 2, on the state of 
 1 China after the War.' 
 
 There is no doubt that, as far as our position in the East, 
 England is in a very serious dilemma. 
 
 There are two important ingredients for a remedy for the pre- 
 sent state of affairs : 
 
 First A man like Sir Robert Hart as our British minister at 
 Pekin. 
 
 S 2 
 
FORMOSA 
 
 Second A complete understanding with Russia as to what she 
 demands, and ivhat we can afford to give her in the Far East. 
 I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 W. A. PICKERING. 
 
 September, 1895. 
 
 THE MEKONG TREATY. 
 
 ASIATIC QUARTERLY REVIEW, April, 1896. 
 
 Since writing my article in the last issue of this Review on the 
 'Straits Settlements,' Great Britain has signed a treaty with France 
 regarding the affairs of Siam. 
 
 Under these circumstances I will venture to express my 
 opinion as to our prospects in the Far East, as affected by the 
 recent treaty. 
 
 There never could be a more unjust libel or a more undeserved 
 compliment (according to individual opinion) than that contained 
 in the accusation made by Continental nations, that Great Britain 
 and her statesmen have persistently followed a Machiavellian 
 policy to extend our rule over the face of the globe. There 
 certainly have been, and we must hope that there always will be, 
 administrators of provinces and governors of colonies whose 
 knowledge and patriotic foresight have determined what ought to 
 be our policy for the good of our race and for the benefit of the 
 people over whom Providence has ordained that we should rule ; 
 but certainly it cannot be said that for many years any statesmen 
 in charge of our Foreign and Colonial Offices have been aggres- 
 sive or have been actuated by any other desire than to keep 
 things quiet and to diminish the responsibilities of Great Britain 
 as much as possible. Indeed, it has been diffidence, suscep- 
 tibility to the criticism of the opposition, and a fear to offend 
 foreign Powers that have caused trouble and expense during the 
 past thirty or forty years all of which might have been avoided 
 by a bold and straightforward policy. 
 
 Fifty years ago we could afford to dally with the questions of 
 extending our influence in Africa and the Far East ; but the 
 exhibition of 1851 and the German victories of 1866 and 1871 
 have changed all this. 
 
 Continental nations have not only learned from us and become 
 able to compete with us successfully in manufactures and trade, 
 but Germany, Russia, and especially France, have entered upon a 
 career of colonial enterprise, and are now prepared to dispute with 
 England for every square mile of unoccupied territory. We must 
 be prepared to take what falls in our way or to allow other nations 
 to appropriate it ; but the difference is that, while we colonise not 
 only for our own advantage but also for the benefit of every other 
 nation, every colony established by France, Germany, or Russia,. 
 
APPENDIX 261 
 
 though primarily intended for the aggrandisement of each respec- 
 tive nation, is really used as a weapon against the prosperity of 
 British trade that is, the existence of the inhabitants of these isles. 
 At the present time we cannot persist in our old policy without 
 serious danger of involving this country with one or other of the 
 Great Powers. 
 
 We must always bear in mind that if Germany, in spite of its 
 many disintegrating elements, such as socialism, religious differ- 
 ences, capricious autocracy, etc., should continue to be a united 
 empire, it will, on the first opportunity, absorb Holland, and with 
 that country her colonies in the Eastern Archipelago. 
 
 Great Britain will then, in the East and Far East, be closely 
 hemmed in by Russia on the north and west, by France on 
 the east, and by Germany on the south, east, and south-west. 
 
 The immense empire of China, too, is a ' sick man ' awaiting 
 partition. One of our statesmen has said that in the Far East 
 there is enough for all the Western Powers ; but only the Powers 
 who boldly take will be allowed to possess ; and it is a certain 
 fact that while every extension of our empire means food and 
 clothing for the working men of the British Isles, every appropria- 
 tion of territory by any other nation means the shutting out of 
 our manufactures from that market. If France and Germany 
 were to lose their colonies, it would be rather advantageous than 
 otherwise to the mother countries ; but for Great Britain a loss of 
 colonial trade or a restriction of her markets implies danger to 
 her very means of existence. 
 
 This needs to be most urgently impressed on our working 
 classes ; for at a time when we have nearly attained to that 
 panacea, universal suffrage, we can scarcely blame ministers of 
 state if they hesitate to disregard or go beyond the mandate of 
 their creators. In the republics of ancient Greece and Rome 
 demos and plebs could indulge in politics, and enjoy their 
 panem et circenses at the expense of the labouring hordes of 
 helots or gangs of slaves ; but their modern representatives, in 
 our own country at any rate, must either work hard and steadily 
 or starve, unless they choose the expedient of plundering the 
 goods of the classes which supply them with capital, work, and 
 wages : this last method would speedily reduce us all to an equality 
 of poverty and barbarism. 
 
 Any class which is not intelligent enough to understand that 
 under God, not only the prosperity but the very existence of our 
 teeming population depends on the maintenance of an over- 
 whelming command of the sea and the extension of markets in pro- 
 portion to the increase of that population, is not worthy to exercise 
 the franchise, and should be kept in tutelage until it can compre- 
 hend that the revision of the register, local veto, disestablishment, 
 the higher education, etc., are luxuries, not necessaries of life. 
 
262 FORMOSA 
 
 Though the new treaty as to Siam seems to have effected one 
 good result, the abolition of that greatest and most objectionable 
 of all diplomatic shams, a ' buffer State,' yet it is to be feared that 
 we have only got rid of a smaller evil for the probability of a 
 greater. 
 
 The kingdom of Siam can never stand long by itself, as the 
 government is hopelessly corrupt and effete ; therefore the ad- 
 ministration of the country must, at no distant period, be under- 
 taken by France or England, and until this event occurs Bangkok 
 will be the scene of intrigue and a continual cause of soreness 
 between the two European governments. Indeed there can be 
 no permanent and cordial agreement between Russia, France, 
 and Great Britain in Asia until our sentry-boxes on the various 
 frontiers stand back to back, and our officers and men fraternise 
 in their messes and canteens, while our ministers at home nego- 
 tiate face to face without the intervention of semi- barbarous Moham- 
 medan or Buddhist kinglets. 
 
 If such an arrangement could be arrived at, there is a grand 
 future for the hitherto down-trodden Asiatic races, and also great 
 benefits in store for their European protectors. But England, 
 above all, must take the initiative, by putting aside her fears, 
 boldly declaring her policy, and abandoning the ' buffer State ' 
 idea, which so often has set up * Monroe doctrines,' impossible 
 and inadvisable to insist upon when the time came to enforce 
 them. 
 
 With the present abnormally strong government, there ought 
 to be every hope for the future ; but nowadays, when the minds 
 of the people move as it were by railway and telegraph, it will 
 never do for statesmen to persist altogether in the old dallying 
 style of diplomacy, although we have to be thankful that their 
 minds are not quite so easily determined as they are pressed to 
 be by would-be Little England advisers. 
 
 If our Foreign Office be inspired by the spirit of the illustrious 
 Burleigh, and the Colonial Office by that of the patriotic and un- 
 daunted Cromwell, while the nation at large acknowledge God 
 and His righteousness, we need not fear that England will be 
 allowed to lose or diminish her proud position as pioneer of 
 liberty and promoter of prosperity for the whole world. 
 
 And supposing the other Great Powers, through an unreasoning 
 jealousy, should not choose to allow us to go on our way in peace, 
 then 
 
 ' Come the three corners of the world in arms, 
 And we shall shock them. ' 
 
APPENDIX 263 
 
 THE REVISION OF THE TARIFF IN CHINA, 1896-97 
 BRITISH INTERESTS IN CHINA 
 
 To the Editor of the LONDON AND CHINA TELEGRAPH 
 
 Sir, I see in your last issue that there is a practical unanimity 
 amongst British commercial bodies as to agreeing to the increase 
 of customs duties in China, on the understanding that this 
 increase shall be the sole charge levied, and cover lekin, transit, 
 or any other duty or impost whatever. This unanimity of opinion 
 shows clearly that we British must have forgotten everything and 
 learned nothing during the past forty years' experience of China 
 and its government. It will be the easiest thing possible to in- 
 crease the customs duties, but no power in this world will ever 
 be able to compel or induce the Chinese government to fulfil its 
 part of the bargain. The only good result from the change will be 
 that a state of things will be arrived at which will force on a war, 
 and bring about the destruction of the imperial government. 
 Whether Great Britain, France, or Russia acccomplish this end, 
 there can be no doubt that the Chinese people will greatly 
 benefit from such a catastrophe to their corrupt and utterly 
 incorrigible oppressors. Yours faithfully, 
 
 LAU TAI-WAN. 
 
 64 Warwick Gardens, W. , November 24. 
 
 Sir, Referring to my letter of November 24, and to your 
 appreciatory strictures thereon, I would call your attention to the 
 most valuable series of articles now appearing in the Times 
 on the subject of our commercial relations with China. I con- 
 tend that, in spite of his agreement with you as to the comparative 
 success of new regulations concerning such a special and de- 
 creasingly important article of trade as opium, Mr. Chirol says 
 plainly that the Chinese are both unable and unwilling to give 
 due compensation for the permission to increase the tariff duties 
 on imports. 
 
 The special correspondent of the Times bases all the 
 advantages to be hoped for by allowing the Pekin government to 
 impose increased duties on foreign trade on such conditions as 
 the following : 
 
 1. That sufficient security be furnished by the Chinese for 
 the effectual fulfilment of obligations which it undertakes to 
 perform, and which in the past have been a mere dead letter. 
 
 2. The value of all provisions must necessarily depend upon 
 the good faith of the Chinese in carrying them out, and on the 
 ability of foreign governments to enforce their strict observance. 
 
 3. The transference of the lekin collection to the control 
 and supervision of the Imperial Maritime Customs ; in fact, to 
 
264 FORMOSA 
 
 amalgamate the native Customs at the non-treaty ports and 
 on native-borne trade with the Imperial Maritime Customs, and 
 entrust the latter with the collection of the whole revenue derived 
 from trade. 
 
 Now these conditions imply a radical and total change of the 
 nature of the Chinese and their government, and a perfect 
 European concert with regard to the Celestial Empire. I affirm 
 confidently that such ideas are Utopian in the extreme. If it 
 were possible for the central government to entertain such an 
 idea as to allow the empire, as far as trade revenue is concerned, 
 to be handed over to the administration of foreigners, that 
 government has not the power to overcome the immense oppo- 
 sition of the provincial officials. 
 
 As to any European concert, it has been proved clearly in 
 the case of Turkey that mutual jealousies prevent any united 
 action, and that no member of the so-called concert dare take 
 up his instrument and begin to play for fear that, while his eyes 
 were fixed on the music, the other members of the orchestra 
 would knock him down or rend each other. In the Far East, 
 where the interests of Great Britain are far greater than in 
 Turkey, and where, until within the last few years, we had 
 gained, at our own great expense, almost a monopoly of in- 
 fluence, whatever England will propose is certain to be opposed 
 openly by Russia and France, and, in an underhand manner, by 
 Germany. 
 
 China is well aware of this, and will always take advantage of 
 this state of things : she has no desire for anything but money 
 to keep her going, and would willingly eject all barbarians (mer- 
 chants and missionaries) from the sacred pale' of the Middle 
 Kingdom, so that her officials may stew in the juice of the 
 * ancient sages.' 
 
 The fact is this, Mr. Editor, and you with your long ex- 
 perience know it : the only difference between China one 
 thousand years ago and the present day is then she was a 
 powerful and comparatively civilised empire, surrounded by 
 inferior races and shut out from the rest of the world ; now she 
 is utterly helpless, bankrupt in patriotism, power, and available 
 resources. All the king's horses and all the king's men cannot 
 set China up again ; she must, like Turkey, fall from worse to 
 worse, until she is partitioned by Western nations, and, if our 
 people and statesmen will keep their heads, we deserve to get the 
 British lion's share. 
 
 Even such a talented and far-seeing man as Mr. V. Chirol 
 can only suggest, as the surest guarantee for the fulfilment of 
 the conditions on which increased duties are to be granted, 
 that in case of China's breach of faith we must return to the 
 status quo. 
 
APPENDIX 265 
 
 Would it not be far better for British merchants to prepare 
 for the inevitable crisis, and to endure the ills we know, than 
 to hastily fly to those we know not of, but of which there is 
 almost a certainty that they will be greater than those existing at 
 present ? I am, etc. 
 
 LAU TAI-WAN. 
 
 64 Warwick Gardens, W. 
 
 Sir, It is an encouraging sign during this critical condition 
 of our most vital interests in the Far East that the affairs of 
 China, with regard to Western nations, are being brought 
 prominently before the public by most able writers in our 
 magazines, reviews, and journals. During the present month 
 the Contemporary contains an admirable article by Mr. Henry 
 Norman, ' Down the Long Avenue,' and another on * The Russo- 
 Chinese Treaty,' by an anonymous writer. To Blackwood 
 Mr. Michie has contributed 'The Chinese Oyster,' and the 
 Times' special correspondent in the Far East continues his 
 articles in the form of an excellent critique on ' The Mission of 
 Li Hung-chang and its Sequel.' 
 
 Let us hope that all these timely warnings and sound advice 
 so patriotically given may have the same good effect in arousing 
 Englishmen to a due sense of their responsibilities and interests 
 in the Chinese Empire, as the writings of talented pamphleteers 
 and journalists have accomplished with regard to the question of 
 strengthening our navy. 
 
 Mr. Norman, although as he avows himself to be pessi- 
 mistic, seems to have most thoroughly grasped the whole sub- 
 ject. If the experience gained by him during his tour in the 
 Far East three or four years ago, and given to the public in his 
 book, had been availed of by our statesmen, there can be little 
 doubt that Great Britain would still be the predominating power 
 in China. 
 
 Mr. Michie states, with truth, that hitherto our * solid interests 
 in China ' have been but imperfectly recognised by the general 
 public : he might have added that they have been scarcely 
 realised at all by our statesmen of either party. Certainly with 
 our Foreign Office, our ministers at Pekin, consuls in China, as 
 well as by the people at home, attention has been too much 
 turned 'to quaintness of custom or costume, to superstitions, 
 cruelties, corruption, and things useful to put a spice into news- 
 paper paragraphs, while the real, live China has been ignored.' 
 
 To the British official mind in the Far East, China has been 
 chiefly interesting as a field of study in which to gain a literary 
 distinction by learned works on the language or philosophies of 
 the ' black-haired ' race. 
 
 But, as Mr. Michie observes, ' the China ' on which the feed- 
 
266 FORMOSA 
 
 ing and clothing of our working classes must increasingly depend 
 is ' the peaceable, law-abiding, clothes-wearing, industrious, frugal 
 millions, whose willing muscles are a mine of wealth to themselves 
 and indirectly to us.' 'A tithe of the energy spent by us on ex- 
 ploration amongst savages would have brought China near to our 
 hearths and homes ; a percentage of the good seed scattered in 
 the howling wilderness would, if sown in the arable land ' (until 
 four or five years ago virtually in our own hands), ' have yielded 
 rich harvests to our workers? 
 
 This is a simple fact ; and yet, while we are preparing to go to 
 any expense, and to brave France and Russia for the subjugation 
 of the Soudan (in the interests of a country which we are pledged 
 ultimately to give up), we view with apathy these two Powers 
 gradually depriving us of our political and commercial influence 
 over more than three hundred millions of Chinese those mil- 
 lions who, under our influence, might be rendered invaluable as 
 contributors to the existence and prosperity of our working 
 classes, who now hold the government of this empire in their 
 hands. 
 
 Mr. Michie scarcely seerns to realise our present position 
 when he deprecates the importance of England being able and 
 desirous to take her share in the partition of the Celestial Empire, 
 which partition, he admits, has already begun ; he rather recom- 
 mends our ensuring a preponderance of the trade to be developed 
 in China by railways and other improvements. I submit that to 
 expect to retain a commercial superiority, if we neglect to take 
 our share in the territorial partition, is unreasonable. Experience 
 teaches us that the advance of France and Russia will be chiefly 
 utilised for the detriment of British commerce. The writer on 
 4 The Russo-Chinese Treaty ' gives most interesting information 
 as to the diplomacy which patriotic Russians have successfully 
 carried out for the benefit of their countrymen. The treaty, how- 
 ever, is now a fact, with all its possible and probable injury to our 
 interests and prestige, and has doubtless practically existed since 
 we first heard of it twelve months ago. We of all people should 
 have been prepared to meet this danger, as we have had enough 
 experience that, when a fairly authenticated rumour of Russia's 
 diplomatic encroachments has been followed by an official dementi, 
 the rumour has always proved to contain a fact. 
 
 Mr. Chirol dwells chiefly on the corruption of Chinese official- 
 dom, which, however interesting to those who do not know 
 Chinese affairs, can have little bearing on the position of Great 
 Britain in the Far East. Mr. Norman hits the nail on the head 
 when he points out our fatal mistake in not coming to an under- 
 standing with Russia, when we occupied a favourable position, 
 while we have supinely allowed the Tsar to become not merely the 
 protector but the real ruler of China. 
 
APPENDIX 267 
 
 Whether China be progressive or retrogressive, her officials 
 pure or corrupt, her intercourse with Western Powers is now 
 entirely in the hands and under the control of Russia, backed up 
 by France, and foolishly encouraged by Germany through insane 
 jealousy of England. 
 
 Whether we seek to share in the partition of the empire or 
 demand a share of its commerce proportionate to our rights and 
 absolute needs, we can only obtain our desires by showing the 
 Pekin government that we have naval and military strength 
 sufficient to enforce our just demands, and that we are more to be 
 dreaded than France and Russia combined. 
 
 Even when our prestige was at its highest, our diplomatists 
 have seldom been anything but children in the hands of those 
 feeble but wily old men of the Tsung-li-yamen, and have never 
 maintained any right or secured any privilege or advantage 
 except when the Pekin authorities have come to the conclusion 
 that an admiral was behind the British minister, waiting and 
 anxious to enforce his demands. What can we hope from mere 
 diplomacy at a time when the Chinese ambassador-elect, Lo 
 Feng-loh, is reported to have expressed his opinion that Great 
 Britain is played out, and that Russia and China can conquer the 
 world ? l It is very certain that we have no chance of getting 
 either territory or facilities of trade in China unless our govern- 
 ment, forced by the people of Great Britain, shall take the neces- 
 sary steps to prove that this is the fallacious opinion of a young 
 man utterly ignorant of the world and spoilt by a thin veneer of 
 Western civilisation. 
 
 Whatever we may demand will be resisted by the ruling 
 powers of China, France, and Russia, who are now checkmating 
 us in every part of the world, from Abyssinia to Washington, from 
 Bangkok to Herat. It is more than possible that were we to 
 attempt to enforce any demands on the court of Pekin, we should 
 be confronted by the military and naval forces of these two 
 nations, posing as guardians of the ' Son of Heaven.' 
 
 The coalition of these two Great Powers will not only shut us 
 out from the trade of Manchuria, north, and south-west China, 
 but they will also, by their supreme influence at Pekin, endanger 
 our possessions in the Straits, the Malay States, and Hong 
 Kong. The backbone of all these possessions is the large 
 Chinese population, on whose industry and enterprise their wealth 
 and prosperity chiefly depend. Now the great majority of these 
 Chinese have left their parents, wives, and families behind in 
 China ; and I maintain that with Russia and France virtually 
 ruling at Pekin, in case of a war between Great Britain and 
 those Powers, the Chinese officials could bring such pressure to 
 bear on our Chinese colonists, through their families at home, 
 
 1 ' Russo-Chinese Treaty,' Contemporary Magazine, February. 
 
268 FORMOSA 
 
 that we should be most seriously hampered in the defence of 
 our most valuable dependencies from Hong Kong to Rangoon. 
 
 Our chief general, some years ago, seemed to labour under 
 an unreasonable fear lest the Chinese Empire should become a 
 danger to Europe, and that the times of Tamerlane or Genghis 
 Khan might be renewed. Left to herself China is contemptible, 
 but the millions of robust Chinese, disciplined and led by France 
 or Russia, would certainly prove a most serious danger to our 
 empire in India. 
 
 There can be no doubt that we have lost, and more than lost, 
 many advantages we gained in 1860 : we have thrown away our 
 splendid opportunities with a light heart. When Sir Robert 
 Hart shall, on account of age, be obliged to vacate his post, we 
 shall be in a worse position still ; while that gentleman has most 
 loyally served his employers, and has for many years practically 
 upheld the Chinese government at Pekin, he has at the same 
 time been the embodiment of British prestige, more so than most 
 of the ministers we have possessed. When the war between 
 China and Japan broke out it was certainly not our duty or 
 interest to interfere in order to preserve the Chinese government 
 from the consequences of its own conceit and wrong-headedness, 
 so long as the other European Powers preserved their neutrality. 
 But, on the other hand, directly Russia and France showed their 
 hands two nations whose immediate interests in China were 
 small and sentimental compared with our own why did not the 
 guardians of our people, the statesmen of Great Britain, at once 
 seize the opportunity and make themselves heard, and felt if 
 necessary? Why was not our minister at Pekin immediately 
 ordered to declare that England was perfectly willing to act in 
 concert with Russia and France for the common cause of civi- 
 lisation and progress ; moreover, that we were ready to acquiesce 
 in Russia's reasonable desire for an ice-free port, but that as the 
 commercial interests on which the life and prosperity of English- 
 men depend were paramount in China, so therefore the British 
 government must have, and was ready if necessary to fight for, 
 a paramount influence in all arrangements consequent on the 
 success of Japan ? But what did we do ? Lacking a mandate 
 from an enlightened democracy, our government simply did 
 nothing. While Russia a country chiefly interested in China 
 as far as the future is concerned and the French who are 
 greatly actuated by love of harassing us had grasped the situa- 
 tion, and taken the Chinese government out of our hands under 
 their protection and guidance, we English, who have 70 per 
 cent. 1 of the foreign commerce of China, who have a popula- 
 tion of thirty millions almost entirely dependent on the extension 
 
 1 According to Mr. Norman ,32,000, 000 = 3^ times trade of Continent > 
 Russia, and United States combined. 
 
APPENDIX 269 
 
 of foreign markets for their very means of subsistence, looked on 
 the whole affair from a dilettante point of view ! 
 
 It appears astounding that such an apathy can exist at a time 
 when the condition and prosperity of our country are perhaps more 
 critical than at any period of our history. At the beginning of 
 this century, with a small population independent of foreign 
 countries for food and for the raw material which, manufactured, 
 enabled us to carry on a lucrative trade all over the world, we 
 were able, with comparative impunity, to carry on wars with the 
 nations of the Continent. These nations, too, were not serious 
 competitors with us in our foreign commerce, yet our statesmen 
 were most vigilant in securing every possible outlet in distant lands 
 for the enterprise of Englishmen. 
 
 At the present time our agricultural population is disappearing : 
 we do not grow enough corn for three months' home consumption, 
 and, with the exception of coal and some iron, we are almost 
 entirely dependent on foreign countries for all the raw materials 
 which supply the means by which the majority of our population 
 must gain the necessary wages in order to clothe and feed them- 
 selves and families. The truth is that both money and food 
 are dependent on countries outside the United Kingdom. Any 
 shrinkage of markets and trade areas implies increase of poverty 
 to our working classes ; and a loss of command of the seas would 
 result in speedy starvation and misery only comparable to the 
 accounts we read of the siege of Jerusalem. We have freely 
 given to the whole world every commercial advantage we possess 
 in the mother country, and in our enormous possessions and 
 colonies ; and, while Continental nations are successfully com- 
 peting with us in all these markets, they studiously prevent us 
 from enjoying any reciprocal benefits in their own states or in any 
 new territories they may gain and colonise. Three-quarters of a 
 century ago the government of the empire was held by an 
 oligarchy composed of men possessing ample means from landed 
 property or accumulated in trade ; but, at the same time, they 
 were educated and able to take broad views of foreign policy. To- 
 day power is in the hands of a democracy whose very subsistence 
 depends on extension of markets for the works of their hands, and 
 on the opening out of new fields for commerce ; these can only 
 be acquired and secured by a continuous and spirited foreign 
 policy supported by an overwhelming navy. 
 
 It is to be feared, however, that these most vital questions 
 are those on which our working classes are most ignorant, and 
 therefore in which they take the least interest. They require to 
 be taught that prudent and just extension of empire and of 
 imperial influence is not 'Jingoism,' but chiefly for their own 
 benefit ; and that an insufficient or incompetent navy means their 
 utter ruin. It ought to be made clear to them that any govern- 
 
2;o FORMOSA 
 
 merit, Whig or Tory, which fails in performing its duties in these 
 matters should be considered as the enemy of the working 
 classes. Ministers of any political party are always tempted to 
 divert the attention of the people, and catch their votes by such 
 questions as Extension of the Franchise, Education, Women's 
 Suffrage, etc., all of which objects, though good, perhaps, in their 
 place, can only be possible on the condition that the country 
 continues to prosper materially, so that the voters may be able to 
 live. 
 
 On questions which involve great responsibility and the 
 danger o f international complications, or the assertion of our rights 
 by force of arms, statesmen will rarely move any farther than they 
 are pushed by an enthusiastic popular voice. Now, if ever, it is 
 absolutely necessary for the people to force our government to 
 protect their important interests in the Far East. 
 
 Could our democracy only realise the potential advantages to 
 be obtained from the development of British influence in China, 
 our ministers would be obliged to make up their minds as to 
 what are our just rights and imperious necessities in the Far East, 
 and to determine that, whatever France and Russia may choose to 
 do, Great Britain will never give up her share in any partition of 
 territory, or participation in the benefits which may accrue from 
 the opening up to foreign trade of the immense resources of the 
 eighteen provinces and the outlying dependencies of the Celestial 
 Empire. We shall then have no more British ministers at Pekin 
 who will dare to say that they will never allow the interests of 
 twenty-nine millions to over-ride those of three hundred millions ; ' 
 or officials at our Foreign Office so ignorant of their duties as to 
 object to the idea of our occupying the Pescadores because these 
 islands belong to Spain. 2 
 
 We must not content ourselves with monopolising the carrying 
 trade of the world, or congratulate ourselves (as some would teach 
 us) because we can build vessels and sell them to foreigners who 
 are trying to cut us out of this monopoly. A very small portion of 
 our people can be benefited by the fact that British vessels, 
 manned largely by Scandinavians, Germans, and Lascars, are 
 carrying raw materials and manufactured articles to and from the 
 Continent and the United States. What we absolutely require for 
 our existence as a nation is a steady expansion of our foreign 
 trade which will keep in remunerative employment the whole of 
 our mining and manufacturing population. If the greatest happi- 
 ness of the greatest number be the true object of government, then 
 British statesmen are bound to use all their power to secure the 
 possession of the best and largest fields which will provide unlimited 
 scope for the industry of our toiling millions. At the present 
 time, China presents that field, ready for the harvest ; but only on 
 1 'Cycle of Cathay,' Dr. Martin. 2 Fact. 
 
APPENDIX 271 
 
 the condition that we all realise the necessity of seizing the oppor- 
 tunity before it passes irrevocably away. 
 
 I am, etc. 
 
 LAU TAI-WAN. 
 
 64 Warwick Gardens, W. , February 6. 
 
 THE GERMAN SEIZURE OF KIAO-CHAU AND THE 
 PROPOSED LOAN TO CHINA, DEC. 1897, JAN. AND 
 FEB. 1898. 
 
 DAILY NEWS, December 30. 
 
 INTERVIEW WITH MR. PICKERING. 'WHY PLAY THE DOG IN 
 THE MANGER ? ' 
 
 As the Far Eastern diary continues it does not lose its charac- 
 teristics as a colossal Chinese puzzle, ' What Russia means, what 
 Germany has done, what England may be expected to do ; what 
 line of conduct may be looked for from Japan, what indefinite 
 thing the United States will prefer, and the measures which will 
 finally commend themselves to France ' these constitute the con- 
 fused Briton's daily fare. There is a multitude of prophets, but 
 few seers ; and it was in the hope of finding a counsellor (writes a 
 correspondent) that I conferred with Mr. W. A. Pickering, C.M.G., 
 yesterday. In 1888 Mr. Pickering, as Protector of the Chinese 
 Straits Settlements, was virtually the ruler of some hundreds of 
 thousands of Chinese. I have some recollection that in 1878 Sir 
 Robert Hart declared that no single European had ever possessed 
 such opportunities as Mr. Pickering of learning the Chinese cha- 
 racter in all its phases, and certain it is that in 1883 the late Pro- 
 tector was requested by the Intelligence Department of the War 
 Office to prepare a paper on the state of the Chinese army, 
 embodying suggestions as to the best method of attacking China 
 in the event of war. This he did, receiving in return the thanks 
 of the commander-in-chief and of Lord Wolseley. But this is 
 not all. Mr. Pickering has spent a lifetime in China since the age 
 of eighteen. Here, then, was surely a wise man of the East to 
 lighten the darkness. 
 
 ' You ask me,' said Mr. Pickering, in reply to my initial ques- 
 tion, ' what is the value of Japan in the present development of 
 affairs in the East ? Well, Japan is an Asiatic nation, in spite of 
 her modern civilisation and her Western ideas. Against any 
 European Power Japan can do absolutely nothing ; in fact, there 
 is no European nation that has any reason to fear anything from 
 any Asiatic race, however civilised. Japan, however, would be 
 splendid as an ally ; and, per contra, she would be just as 
 dangerous in alliance with any other European Power. That she 
 would be a splendid ally to us I have not the least doubt.' 
 
272 FORMOSA 
 
 * That being so, how do you expect present events to unravel 
 themselves ? ' 
 
 ' As to that point, why should we pursue a dog-in-the-manger 
 policy ? If we were prepared to bite it would be another matter. 
 But if we growl without biting if we protest against any other 
 party trying to get a share while we ourselves do nothing where 
 is the use of it ? ' 
 
 ' Then you think Russia must get her portion ? ' 
 
 ' Certainly ; why not ? She must have a port free from ice, 
 and what is more she will have it. So what is the use of our 
 protesting, with the certainty of having to give in at last ? The 
 only result of such a course of action must be to make us appear 
 foolish in the end. France, again, has her interests in Tonquin ; 
 but why should we make a pother concerning any action she may 
 take if we do not mean to act ? ' 
 
 ' Then what do you suggest as the best course of action ? ' 
 
 * Simply this. We had better agree with Russia and France 
 for France must have her share as to the sphere of which each 
 shall take control.' 
 
 ' Then you think that the partition of China is inevitable ? ' 
 
 ' Undoubtedly ; and, that being so, it should never be for- 
 gotten that our own interest in China is greater than that of all 
 the other Powers who will be engaged in the scramble. There 
 are thirty millions in this country who require to be fed. China is 
 a market that enables them to earn food-purchasing wages. Have 
 South Africa and other places the same marketable capacity as 
 China's four hundred millions ? No. Bear in mind there is no 
 Jingoism in this ; it is merely a matter of national necessity. Our 
 working men have votes, but unfortunately they do not know how 
 to use them in these matters of foreign policy. Why, a foreign 
 policy is a necessity of our existence ; but it is always lost sight 
 of in our tremendous concern for Local Veto or Women's suffrage, 
 or something of that kind. They are all good in their place, but 
 they are possible only on the condition that the country con- 
 tinues to prosper materially, so that the voters may be able to live.' 
 
 1 That being granted, what section of China do you suggest 
 the government should indicate to the Powers as constituting the 
 British claim ? ' 
 
 'Why, all that section of the country lying between the 
 Canton River in the south and the southern portion of the 
 province of Shantung in the north. That, let me tell you, is the 
 very best portion of China. There our interests lie, and there 
 dwell the Chinese population who give us our trade. Having 
 done that, we should say to France and Russia, " Take your share 
 with welcome." ' 
 
 * And Germany ? ' 
 
 * Oh, she is there to give us a prick, and Russia and France 
 
APPENDIX 273 
 
 are helping her. Germany does not need to open fresh places 
 in the same way as we are bound to open them ourselves.' 
 
 * Not open fresh places ! What do you mean by that ? ' 
 
 ' Simply this, that whenever we open a new place we make it 
 free to the whole world. Germany comes along and benefits 
 there almost as much as we do ourselves. My dear sir, perhaps 
 you do not know that British-born Chinese prefer to charter 
 German or foreign vessels. Why ? Because foreign vessels are 
 not hampered with restrictions and regulations as our own ships 
 are in our own ports. The Germans know that well enough. So 
 do the French. We open new country, and both of them are better 
 off than they are at home. When they open a place they impose 
 heavy protective duties, but the thing does not pay. Look at 
 France and her enormous colonies ; she never gets a cent out of 
 them. Yet a Frenchman sinks everything, even religion and 
 party differences, immediately he hears the name of France men- 
 tioned. And that should be our kind of patriotism. Anyway 
 you can believe me that Germany has no need of colonisation in 
 the same sense as we have need of it.' 
 
 1 From what you say, then, I presume your opinion to be 
 that in the partition of China there will be no need for fighting ? 
 
 'None whatever. There is no reason to fear any serious 
 result from the action of Russia at Port Arthur, or from that of 
 Germany at Kiao-chau. If the foreign minister and the people 
 know what they want, and if the country is intelligently informed 
 by the press, there will be nothing to fear. Supposing Germany had 
 the whole of her fleet in Chinese waters -what then ? Her fleet 
 could never get back to Germany again. The only thing left for 
 her to contemplate in that case would be an invasion of England, 
 and she would never go to that length for the sake of securing a 
 portion of China.' 
 
 4 But what about our waning influence in the Chinese 
 Empire ? ' 
 
 1 That is a serious fact that must undoubtedly be admitted. 
 From 1856 to 1865 we could do anything we pleased in China, 
 and the Chinese regarded it as right, for we were the only people 
 who had expended blood and money in the country. In those 
 days Pekin had little to do with matters, the provincial govern- 
 ments being dealt with direct. The result was that whenever 
 murder or disturbance occurred it was only necessary to send a 
 gunboat or a force to the spot to have things rectified at once, the 
 viceroy of the province concerned being the chief authority. 
 Since that time our influence has gradually waned. The ambas- 
 sadors of Russia, Germany, and France have used their influence 
 simply in the interest of their respective countries, while our own 
 efforts have been almost solely directed towards the protection of 
 the government at Pekin. The course we should follow now is 
 
274 FORMOSA 
 
 that which I have suggested : we should claim as our sphere the 
 whole of the area which includes the province of Kiang-su in 
 the north, and the province of Kwang-tung in the south. 
 That would give us Shanghai : it would not interfere with the 
 French sphere to the south of us, and it would not affect the 
 occupation by Germany of Kiao-chau north of us under the 
 Shantung promontory, or the occupation by Russia of Port 
 Arthur still further north of us. If that were done, our sphere in 
 China, you will observe, would extend right across the country to 
 the Burmese frontier.' 
 
 1 What about Yunnan ; would that come within our sphere ? ' 
 
 1 Yes, but I will not say anything about that. For the rest, let 
 Russia and France fight it out between them. So far as the area 
 I have mentioned is concerned, we should reserve our rights, and 
 we should be prepared to back them up. China must break to 
 pieces, and what we have to do is to accept the inevitable. We 
 must have markets, and we should take the best we can while we 
 still have time. Even Russia does not want all the land, and 
 France has to pay dearly for everything she gets. The great 
 difficulty is that the Powers cannot trust us. How can they, 
 when they cannot tell whether Great Britain's policy will be 
 backed up by the next government to come into power or not ? 
 And how can they trust us, again, when we declare that we shall 
 bite, yet when the time comes we do nothing of the kind ? 
 Foreign statesmen have no such conditions as those which obtain 
 here to contend against, and they can therefore act as they think 
 they will. What we should remember is that we have only six 
 weeks' bread in the whole of the kingdom ; and, remembering that, 
 we should support our statesmen when they reveal boldness 
 and wisdom. And what I have said of China applies with equal 
 force to Afghanistan. Like China it must go to pieces. It 
 would be better to have Russia touching our boundaries at all 
 points, for then both of us would exactly know each other's 
 position.' 
 
 4 Then I take it that you are no admirer of the principle of 
 maintaining buffer States ? ' 
 
 'Most decidedly I am not. Buffer States are of not the 
 slightest real use. In a buffer State what do you have? Why, 
 simply a lot of barbarians who steal your women, raid your 
 cattle, and give both of you no end of trouble and expense. A 
 buffer State simply means that you are usually subsidising a tribe 
 of blackguards, who play the very mischief over the borders on 
 each side of them. No, let us understand each other ; let us 
 come close together, and let us make the best terms with each 
 other that we can. When the terms of peace were being arranged 
 between China and Japan I said the end must be that China 
 would ultimately be divided between Russia, Great Britain, and 
 
APPENDIX 275 
 
 France ; and that partition must come. The present is the 
 time to recognise that fact, and we should begin to act without 
 delay.' 
 
 THE PROPOSED LOAN TO CHINA. 
 
 MORNING POST, January 12. 
 WRITTEN BY W. A. PICKERING, C.M.G. 
 
 For expressing to a special correspondent, who sought me 
 out, my opinion that it is the duty and policy of the British 
 government and people to amend their ways and to be prepared 
 to uphold and develop British interests in the Far East by force 
 if necessary, I have been stigmatised as a Jingo ; and in one 
 journal it has been declared that 'it is not the fault of the 
 Pickerings of this world that the Armageddon referred to so 
 apprehensively in the ministerial speeches of the last two years is 
 not already in full blast.' I cannot believe that any amount of 
 hostile criticism should prevent Englishmen who possess any 
 special knowledge of China and the Chinese from pressing this 
 knowledge on their fellow-countrymen at such an important crisis 
 as the present. I am encouraged, too, by the opinions of 
 Mr. Colquhoun, as given in the Morning Post, since that 
 gentleman certainly accords a general support to my views. The 
 very people who object to what they are pleased to sneer at as 
 ' Jingoism ' seem quite willing that the British people should with 
 a light heart advance ^16,000,000, a payment which would well- 
 nigh certainly hasten the ' partition ' of China, a necessary ' grab ' 
 of territory on our part, and an inevitable battle sooner or later 
 between the European Powers interested in the Far East. Of 
 course, if we clearly understand our position, if we have counted 
 the cost, and if the whole nation is prepared to accept the risks, 
 ^"16,000,000 will be a moderate sum to pay for the advancement 
 of our immense interests in the Chinese Empire. But on what 
 security is it proposed that we should lend this large sum of 
 money? The only reliable asset of the Pekinese government, 
 the Imperial Maritime Customs Revenue, is to a large extent 
 already hypothecated, and even that security is chiefly dependent 
 on the personality of Sir Robert Hart. 
 
 Supposing that the Chinese should promise the land revenue 
 of the empire as a security for the proposed loan. To make this 
 pledge of any real value would necessitate the presence of a 
 British official, with a staff of clerks and interpreters, and a 
 military force at each of the principal yamens of the eighteen 
 provinces. Without this support our officials would be useless ; 
 for they would at every step be thwarted and opposed by the 
 venal and semi-independent provincial mandarins. These with 
 their underlings would oppress and squeeze the common people, in 
 the name of the 'barbarians,' to such an extent that in a few years 
 a general massacre of our officials would probably take place. 
 
 T 2 
 
276 FORMOSA 
 
 This would entail either our retirement from the country with loss 
 of money and of prestige, or would oblige us to invade the empire 
 in order to retrieve our position. What would Russia, France, 
 and Germany say to this ? If as security for the loan we demand 
 railway, mining, or territorial concessions, these must be confined 
 to the middle provinces. The Pekin government may promise, 
 but dare not give us and protect us in concessions in the north 
 or south-west of the empire. The partition of China has already 
 virtually begun in these portions of the empire. We can hope 
 for nothing there unless we are prepared to fight Russia, France, 
 and Germany. In reply to our demands for fulfilment of engage- 
 ments the Tsung-li-yamen officials would be perfectly justified in 
 pleading non possumus. 
 
 We have since 1860 had a treaty with China which ought to 
 satisfy our present needs. But this treaty, owing to the utter 
 supineness of successive British governments, has never been 
 carried out. We have never been able to induce the Chinese 
 government to fulfil its stipulations as to residence in the interior, 
 exemption of our trade from illegal and ruinous imposts, or indeed 
 in any other particular obnoxious to Pekin, except by the use of 
 force ; no, not even when Great Britain was the paramount 
 influence in the Far East. It is now stated that our government 
 has decided on the policy of insisting on the strict fulfilment of 
 the treaty of Tientsin with regard to every right and privilege of 
 British subjects in China. What can the British people wish for 
 more than this ? Yet we must bear in mind that if we mean to 
 carry out this strong policy we must be prepared to use force 
 against China or to allow all our diplomacy to be neutralised by 
 the intrigues of European powers in the Tsung-li-yamen at Pekin. 
 If we decide to use force we must be ready for the eventuality of 
 facing China, plus Russia, France, and Germany. Supposing that 
 British interests are to be maintained - as provided for by treaty, 
 or to be developed in ratio with those of other European nations, 
 we must count the cost of a decided policy with the risk of a great 
 war call it by whatever name we like. 
 
 To speak of British policy in China being merely ' pacific and 
 commercial ' is simply absurd. No European individual or com- 
 munity can exist in the Celestial Empire on such terms. We 
 must be prepared to be treated as inferior beings, with whom no 
 faith need be kept, to be driven our of the country, or to prove 
 that we can more than hold our own by physical force if necessary. 
 We must remember that all foreigners in Chinese estimation 
 belong to races who, however powerful and wealthy they may be, 
 not having received the teaching of the sages, are akin to the 
 ' birds and beasts.' Finally, if we British are ready to hand over 
 ^16,000,000 to the Chinese under the impression that Pekin can 
 give us any security for which we shall not have to incur the risk 
 
APPENDIX 277 
 
 of a possible conflict with European Powers in the Far East 
 (unless there can be arranged a real and working concert between 
 London, Paris, St. Petersburg, and Berlin), it would argue that 
 neither the government nor the people of this country recognise 
 the gravity of our present position in China. On the other hand, 
 granted that position is perfectly understood, and the risk 
 intelligently accepted by the nation, ; 16,000,000 is a com- 
 paratively small sum to stake for British potentialities in the 
 eighteen provinces of the Celestial Empire. 
 
 MORE 'COPYBOOK.' 
 
 To the Editor of Tuft WESTMINSTER GAZETTE. 
 
 Sir, Referring to your most sober and reasonable leader 
 of this evening, allow an old ' China hand ' to ask why, of all 
 things just now, should Great Britain demand the opening of 
 Talien-wan (within the Russian sphere) and Nan-ning (bordering 
 on French Indo-Chinese conquests) if it were not with the de- 
 liberate intention of showing that we are determined to oppose 
 both Powers more than to benefit ourselves ? Surely the province 
 of Hu-nan and the Yangtze valley would be enough addition to 
 our trade for the present : that, with security in the shape of con- 
 trol of some branch of the revenue and the strict carrying out of 
 the Tientsin treaty, ought to be sufficient grounds for a loan if we 
 British are so anxious to invest our millions in China. 
 
 Can there, Sir, be any doubt that the very fact that our rivals 
 have no coaling stations and a comparatively weak navy will 
 render it inevitable that any conflict concerning our interests in 
 the Far East must be fought out in Europe ? We are not the 
 only people in the world who know what we are about. 
 
 Doubtless our interests in China are well worth fighting for, 
 considering that we exist by foreign trade and should perish with- 
 out foreign markets. But is it necessary that the empire should 
 be put to the chance of a general war, which would be a veritable 
 Armageddon ? Would it not be wise to secure our needs by a 
 better way ? And should not the nation sit quietly down and 
 consult whether wich our ten thousands we are prepared to meet 
 those three or four kings who will come against us with their 
 twenty thousands of men ? 
 
 I am, Sir, yours faithfully, 
 January 22. FAR CATHAY. 
 
 THE CRISIS IN THE FAR EAST. 
 
 To the Editor of THE WESTMINSTER GAZETTE. 
 Sir, The Times leader of this morning on the above subject 
 fully justifies all your arguments as contained in what may be 
 termed the ' Copybook ' series of leaders on our real interests in 
 
278 FORMOSA 
 
 China. Let us hope that the government is now prepared, if 
 necessary, to waive the demand as to Nan-ning and Talien-wan, 
 as long as the other conditions of the loan are complied with. 
 
 The loss of prestige accompanying this modification will 
 indeed be infinitesimal compared with the loss to British influence 
 in the Far East which would ensue were the loan with its other 
 most substantial advantages allowed to fall through. 
 
 We must not, however, permit ourselves to vociferate so much 
 as to our disinterested motives and self-denying resolutions regard- 
 ing the acquisition of additional territory. China and the Euro- 
 pean powers will take all these professions for what they are worth, 
 and for no more. 
 
 We must always bear in mind that if we, as a manufacturing 
 nation, intend to profit by the present crisis, we must have a per 
 sistent policy of enforcing the treaty of Tientsin and any future 
 developments there must be no relapse into our former state of 
 apathy. 
 
 After pocketing our twelve millions the old schemers of the 
 Tsung-li-yamen, in their childish recklessness and cunning, are 
 quite capable of evading their engagements, and of diverting the 
 consequences from themselves, by freely giving to Russia and 
 France extension of territory in the north-east and south-west of 
 China, so that the European Powers may be obliged to fight 
 amongst themselves. Supposing such a state of things, Great 
 Britain would be absolutely obliged in self-defence to seize Chusan, 
 Shanghai, or some other point whence she could control her 
 sphere of legitimate and vital interests the central provinces of 
 China lying between the northern boundary of Kiang-su and the 
 southern bank of the Sikiang branch of the Canton River as far 
 as Ng-chau or Wu-chou, and then up the Wu-ling-kiang across 
 into Burmah. 
 
 China is already a corpse politically ', to be kicked about by 
 Western nations. No amount of sentimental language can dis- 
 guise this fact. Any real settlement can only be made with 
 Russia and France perhaps Germany. To fight these Powers 
 or any of them, if we had China as an ally, would be like rushing 
 into war with an ' old man of the sea ' on one's back. 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 January 29. FAR CATHAY. 
 
 THE CHINESE PROBLEM. 
 
 To the Editor of THE MORNING POST. 
 
 Sir, In this wonderful generation, when the people are ready 
 to believe anything in the world but their Bible, we are all very 
 liable to be deceived by concise and nice-sounding aphorisms. 
 Just at present it seems that there is a tendency on the part of 
 
APPENDIX 279 
 
 journalists and political leaders to minimise the gravity of our 
 position in China, by using on every possible occasion the phrase, 
 ' Great Britain's interests are commercial, not territorial.' This 
 sounds very fine, and the saying is easy to remember ; but at the 
 same time it is absurd and untrue. On what can our commerce 
 subsist but on the existence of territory which supports the popu- 
 lation with whom we have commercial dealings ? Our country is 
 now thoroughly aroused with regard to our interests in China ; 
 but the zeal now created must be persistent if we wish to reap 
 any permanent advantage from the crisis which has been forced 
 on us by our ignorance and apathy more than by the rapacity of 
 other nations. If we suffer another relapse, the next catchword 
 will be * Our interests in China are celestial not terrestrial,' and 
 the food and clothing for our toiling millions, which might be 
 drawn from the Far East, will vanish into thin air. There is 
 Russian, French, and German territory now in the Celestial 
 Empire, and unless we secure an influence over the central 
 provinces British commercial interests will most probably be 
 gradually destroyed. 
 
 May I put the following questions for the consideration of 
 your readers? i. Has Great Britain at any time undertaken to 
 defend the integrity of China from the attacks of all other nations ? 
 If so, are we not now bound to aid the Pekin government against 
 the designs and encroachments of Russia, Germany, and France 
 in the north, east, and south-west provinces of the empire ? If 
 we have not undertaken this obligation, on what grounds of inter- 
 national law can we object to these nations by diplomacy or by 
 force taking under their control any part of the empire they may 
 desire for the benefit of their own people? 2. Supposing that 
 France, Russia, or Germany acquires by diplomacy or by other 
 means portions of Chinese territory, by what principles of inter- 
 national law can the British nation claim to demand that the 
 territory so acquired shall be open to the free trade of the whole 
 world? We, having turned our native land into an immense 
 workshop without sufficient food or money, except that dependent 
 on foreign trade, must for our existence believe in and practise 
 free trade. Other nations are not in the same condition, and 
 believe that protection secures their prosperity. What if they 
 were to demand that we place Hong Kong under the rules of 
 protection ? Should we obey them, or should we not tell them 
 to mind their own business ? Of course, if we are strong enough 
 and ready for the effort, we can enforce what we like in the Far 
 East on the Chinese or on our European rivals ; but, if not, we 
 must take what we can get. 
 
 At the present moment ought we not to give our whole atten- 
 tion towards securing the sphere of influence left open to us, and 
 to enforce the existing treaty with China in every part of the 
 
280 FORMOSA 
 
 empire which the Pekin government may be able to keep intact 
 from the encroachments of Germany, France, and Russia ? More 
 than this we cannot do, unless we are prepared for a general 
 European war. The time has gone by when we could have 
 secured a well-earned supremacy of influence in the Far East 
 by the presence of a strong minister at Pekin, backed by an 
 energetic admiral and a moderate-sized fleet. When in 1868 
 the * free breakfast-table ' government handed over British 
 policy in China to the American gentleman, Mr. Burlingham, we 
 entered on a course which has culminated in, or descended to, 
 our present position, i.e. we are confined to the alternative of 
 quietly taking what is left to us, or of kindling the flames of a 
 general European war. 
 
 Yours, etc. 
 February 5. W. A. PICKERING. 
 
 To the Editor of THE MORNING POST. 
 
 Sir, The ministerial speeches of last evening have greatly 
 cleared the atmosphere with regard to the state of affairs in the 
 Far East. The specialists and prophets (myself of course in- 
 cluded) must feel a little ashamed now they find how little they 
 really knew as to our present position in China. One fact is clearly 
 shown by the government, and that is, our immense commercial 
 interests and treaty rights in the Celestial Empire are in exactly 
 the same state of security as were those in Madagascar and Tunis 
 before the French conqueror ' protected ' those countries. In the 
 case of China we have an advantage. Instead of one written 
 guarantee that our treaty rights and trade privileges shall be safe- 
 guarded we have two, one each from Russia and Germany. My 
 alarmist views as to a European war seem to be now groundless. 
 But for all that I would suggest to both political parties, and 
 especially to the working classes of this country, that the British 
 nation should keep on the alert, and follow a bold and persistent 
 policy in China. Though peace seems secured in Europe, with- 
 out the greatest vigilance history may repeat itself in the eastern 
 hemisphere. 
 
 Yours, etc. 
 February 9. W. A. PICKERING. 
 
 ADDENDA TO APPENDIX. 
 
 From a leader in the Times of this morning it would 
 appear that in my last letter to the Morning Post I have been 
 too sanguine as to the validity of the written guarantees given by 
 Russia and Germany. 
 
APPENDIX 281 
 
 If the people of this country do not thoroughly arouse them- 
 selves as to the importance of the ' Chinese problem/ some 
 British government, in saving us from the horrors of war, may, 
 by repeated graceful concessions, lose for the masses the means 
 by which they must live in time of peace. 
 
 Unless we at once secure our influence over the central pro- 
 vinces of the empire, from the Yangtze to the Canton River, we 
 shall some day awake and find that the Chinese treaty ports, through 
 which, by the payment of a reasonable tariff, British merchants are 
 carrying on an enormous trade have been transformed into a 
 chain of so-called * free ' ports under Russia, France, or Germany. 
 
 These ports, cutting off our own free port Hong Kong, will, 
 it is to be feared, greatly differ from it in character, in that, while all 
 other nationalities are free to reside at, and their vessels to trade 
 with, Hong Kong, on exactly the same conditions as our own people, 
 British merchants and vessels will be freely admitted to enter the 
 Russian, German, or French ' free ' ports on the terms of com- 
 pliance with prohibitive tariffs, specially framed in order to ruin 
 British commerce. 
 
 Trusting, however, that these gloomy forebodings may not be 
 realised, still it appears more than probable that for the future 
 Great Britain will not be able to accomplish more than the strict 
 enforcement of the Tientsin treaty, and any additional privileges 
 extorted from China, in that portion of the empire left untouched 
 by the other European Powers. 
 
 Holding these opinions, I feel constrained to make a few 
 closing suggestions as to the best mode of dealing with the 
 Chinese government, whether as at present established at Pekin, 
 or, as may yet be the case, removed to the old southern capital 
 Nan-king : 
 
 1. That our ambassadors in future be chosen for their strong 
 common sense, absolute justice, firm will, and thorough knowledge 
 of their own language. From what we know of the past, our 
 present minister at Pekin possesses all these qualifications. 
 
 2. That they be interdicted from study of the Chinese 
 language, written or spoken, and especially from the study of the 
 classics knowledge of the language and customs of the natives 
 is most useful for the subordinates, or, as the Chinese term them, 
 * hands and feet ' ; but the * head ' has no need of these Oriental 
 accomplishments : his influence is the one thing needful, and it 
 can only be gained by showing the qualities of his race and 
 religion, which have gained for us the foremost rank amongst the 
 nations. The Englishman may well be proud of the monarch 
 whose millenary we are now celebrating ; but had Alfred the Great 
 been fed on no better spiritual food than the Chinese classics 
 Great Britain would now be in no way superior to the Chinese in 
 power or in civilisation. Our ambassador should be furnished 
 
282 FORMOSA 
 
 with the English copy of the present and any future more advan- 
 tageous treaties, and be directed to meditate on these treaties day 
 and night, remembering that his sole raison d'etre at the Chinese 
 court is the maintenance and furtherance of British interests, in 
 strict accordance with the terms of the treaties signed by the 
 Chinese and British governments. 
 
 3. That the ambassador's assistants in the embassy be 
 thoroughly acquainted with the Chinese official language, spoken 
 and written, and that the consuls be chosen and promoted not 
 merely for their capabilities in the court dialect, but for their 
 acquaintance with the local dialects and knowledge of the 
 resources and requirements of their respective districts. 
 
 4. That the consuls be instructed that their principal duties 
 are the protection and fostering of British mercantile, missionary, 
 or any other legitimate interests, and the supervision and control 
 of all British subjects in accordance with the provisions of our 
 treaties. Instead of, as in the past, devoting their time to the 
 translation of the old dry-as-dust Chinese philosophical or 
 mystical works, the consuls should be encouraged to devote their 
 leisure to raising the character of our nation in the eyes of the 
 conceited Chinese by translating such works as Shakespeare, 
 Milton, etc., into the language of the Middle Kingdom. 
 
 5. That the Admiral on the China station should be per- 
 manently furnished with a fleet strong enough not only to 
 enforce all just demands made upon the Chinese government, 
 but also to overcome any alliance of the other European powers, 
 in case they may choose to act as sponsors to the Chinese 
 government in breaches of the treaty, or to make injurious 
 encroachments on our commerce and sphere of influence. 
 
 6. That the consuls be instructed to report at once to the 
 minister any breach whatever of the treaties on the part of the 
 Chinese officials, and that in case the Tsung-li-yamen do not at 
 once take in hand and redress all grievances, then our admiral 
 shall be instructed to inquire into the matter, with the assistance 
 of our consul, and to enforce redress at the hands of the highest 
 Chinese local or provincial authorities. 
 
 Were the above programme carried out persistently, I feel 
 sure that the central government would at once realise its true 
 position and amend its ways. We should not in any way inter- 
 fere with other European Powers in their own sphere, acknowledged 
 already by us, and we should within our own particular zone be 
 acquiring an influence over and acquaintance with the viceroys 
 and higher mandarins of the central provinces, which, when the 
 inevitable partition of the Celestial Empire shall arrive, will enable 
 us to organise a separate native government under our direct 
 supervision and control. 
 
 As Professor Douglas has wisely stated in a letter to the 
 
APPENDIX 283 
 
 Times, it is easy to conquer China, but difficult to hold and 
 govern the country. A second-rate European Power might 
 without much trouble overrun the empire, but I maintain that 
 the most powerful Western nation would find it impossible to 
 keep in order the teeming population of two or three provinces 
 without using largely the assistance of the Chinese official classes. 
 
 March i, 1898. 
 
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