| override_editor

“ Mr Corner of Amoy describes the people themselves as of “middle height, broad-chested, and muscular, with remarkably large hands and feet, the eyes large, the forehead round, and not narrow or receding in many instances, the nose broad, the mouth large and disfigured with betel.” The custom of tattooing is universal. In the north of the island at least, the dead are buried in a sitting posture under the bed on which they have expired. Petty wars are extremely common, not only along the Chinese frontiers, but between the neighbouring clans ”

“ The inhabitants of Formosa may be divided into three classes:—the Chinese, many of whom have immigrated from the neighbourhood of Amoy and speak the dialect of that district, while others are Hakkas from the vicinity of Swatow; the subjugated aborigines, now largely intermingled with the Chinese; and the uncivilized aborigines of the eastern region, who refuse to recognize the Chinese authority, and carry on raids as opportunity occurs. ”

“ The Dutch were the first, however, to take footing in the island; in 1624 they built a fort, Zelandia, on the east coast, where has since risen the town of Taiwanfu, and the settlement was maintained for thirty-seven years. On the expulsion of the Ming dynasty in China a number of their defeated adherents came over to Formosa, and, under a leader called in European accounts Coxinga, succeeded in expelling the Dutch and taking possession of a good part of the island. In 1682 the Chinese of Formosa recognized the emperor Kanghi, and since then it has formed part of the empire. ”

“ The Chinese influence is rapidly spreading, and the island is more and more attracting the attention of foreigners.
The island of Formosa must have been known from a very early date to the Chinese who were established in the Pescadores. The inhabitants are mentioned in the official works of the Yuan dynasty as Tung-fan or southern barbarians; and under the Ming dynasty the island begins to appear as Kilung. In the beginning of the 16th century it began to be known to the Portuguese and Spanish navigators, and the latter at least made some attempts at establishing settlements or missions. ”

“ A Roman Catholic mission has also been in existence in the island since 1859. In 1867 the United States consul at Amoy made a treaty with Tok-a-Tok, a chief of the aborigines of the southern part of the island, by which the safety of foreigners was secured in that district. An attack made on the Protestant and Roman Catholic missions at Feng-shan-hsien in 1868 led the British consul to authorize the occupation of Fort Zelandia and Amping by Colonel Gordon; but his action was afterwards disapproved by the home Government, and the indemnity demanded from the Chinese restored. ”

“ The formation of the island appears to nave been due in part at least to volcanic agency; the Chinese accounts mention a mountain called Ho-shan or Fire Mountain, said to be a small volcano about 20 miles south of Kagee; and European explorers have described the jets of steam and sulphur-springs which occur among the calcareous rocks near Tam-sui. Coal, sulphur, and petroleum are the only mineral productions of Formosa which are known to exist in quantities sufficient to make them of economical importance. The principal coal-fields are in the north of the island, near Kelung and Tam-sui ”

“ The office of chieftain is sometimes held by women. Intermarriage between the Chinese and the natives is very common.
The Chinese portion of the island was till 1876 divided into the districts of Komalan, Tam-sui, Chang-hua, Kia-i, Tai-wan, Feng-shan, of which Komalan or Kapsiulangting was the only one on the eastern side; but the districts of Komalan and Tam-sui have been abolished, and a department of North Formosa established with three dependent magistracies. A highway runs from Bangka in the north to Pangliavu in the south. ”

“ Travellers are especially struck with the beauty of some of the wild flowers, more especially with the lilies and convolvuluses; and our European greenhouses have been enriched by several Formosan orchids and other ornamental plants. The pine apple grows in abundance. ”

“ The climate, though a tropical one, is agreeable and healthy, being tempered by the influences both of the sea and the mountains. According to thermometric observations made at Kelung in 1874, the hottest months are June, July, August, and September, with an average of from 81·76 to 82·81° F in the shade, and the coldest month is January, with an average of 57·70°. ”

“ Beginning at the north we find the following places of importance:—Kelung, the ancient Pe-Kiang, a treaty port in the neighbourhood of the mines; Tam-sui, or properly Howei or Hobay, also a treaty port with 100,000 inhabitants, on the harbour of the same name, which is formed by hills upwards of 2000 feet high and has a depth of 3 fathoms and a bar of 7 feet ”