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': n

FROM FAR FORMOSA

U\)c flslanO, its {People anb /iDtsatons

GEORGE LESLIE MACKAY, D.D.

TWENTY-THREE YEARS A MISSIONARY IN FORMOSA

EDITED BY THE

REV. J. A. MACDONALD

WITH PORTRAITS, ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS

FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY

New York Chicago Toronto

1896

pyright, 1895/

Copyrigh
by
Fleming H. Revell Company.

THE CAXTON PRES?
NEW >nRK

/.t

EDITORIAL PREFACE

I^ORiMOSA, at one time far off, has been brought near to
the Western world. All eyes were turned upon it when
it became the storm-center of the China-Japan War. Cut there
were those who had been looking across the seas to the Beau-
tiful Isle for more than twenty years before the war-cloud
darkened the sky. They were interested in its fortunes because
of one who had given himself, with Pauline faith and self-
renunciation, that it might be redeemed from error and sin.
George Leslie Mac Kay has long been the missionary hero of
the Presbyterian Church in Canada.

During his second furlough, which closed when he sailed
from Vancouver on October i6, 1895, Dr. MacKay was elected
moderator of the General Assembly of his church, and visited
many points throughout the Dominion, in the United States,
and in Scotland, addressing congregations and conventions.
Everywhere and on all occasions the impression made was that
of a great man and a hero. The demand for a fuller record
of his life and work became increasingly urgent. Friends who
knew that his information about Formosa was more extensive
and more reliable than that of any other living man, and who
believed that an account of his experiences and work would
stimulate the faith and zeal of the church, but who feared lest,
amid the uncertainties and perils to which his hfe is constantly
exposed, his career should be cut short before any record that

EDITORIAL PRi:MCn

might be given to the public had been prepared, impressed
upon him the (hity of meeting this reasonable demand. To a
man of his ardent temperament and active habits prolongtHl
literary work is the most irksome drudgery. lie would rather
face a heathen mob than write a chapter for a book. But con-
vinced of its importance, he undertook the task, receiving
valuable assistance from the Rev. W. S. McTavish, B.D. Vor
weeks together he did little else than ransack note-books and
journals, and explore the stores of his capacious memory.

A few months ago Dr. Mac Kay put into my hands a mass
of literary material — notes, observations, extracts from diaries
and reports, studies in science, fragments of description,
sketches of character — and laid upon me the responsibility of
organizing this material into form and life. This responsibility
was increased rather than diminished by the very full editorial
powers allowed me. I knew how easy it was to be "worlds
away " ; for, as Macaulay says about the writing of history, the
details might all be true and the total impression inadecjuate
and misleading. Every scrap of material was read and stud-
ied under the author's eye, annotations were made at his dicta-
tion, and the plan of classification and arrangement received
his cordial approval. As the work progressed and the gaps
in the story became apparent, additional matter was obtained,
and nearly all of the manuscript in its final form was revised by
him. The aim in editing has been to preserve in its integrity
not only the substance but die literary style of the author— to
retain something of the vigor, the boldness, the Celtic enthusi-
asm, so characteristic of Dr. MacKay's public speech.

It is believed that the intelligent public will api)rcciate solid
information as well as moving incident; and it was Dr. Mac-
Kay's desire that prominence should be given to what may be
least romantic, but is most instructive. The chapters in die
second division of the book, " The Island," are of necessity
brief and fragmentary, the exigencies of space preventing the

impressed
ul. To a
prolonged
aild rather
But con-
receiving
}.D. For
books and
mory.
ids a mass
om diaries
escription,
nsibility of
iponsiljility
11 editorial
le " worlds
listory, the
inade(]uate
[ and stud-
,t his dicta-
It received
d the gaps
s obtained,
. revised by
ts integrity
author — to
tic enthusi-
ch.

cciate solid
5 Dr. Mac-
hat may be
)ters in the
if necessity
venting the

llDlTORI.tl. PRF.FACF. 5

author's supplying fuller information about Formosa, its re-
sources .nd people. Tiie editor is responsible for much of
the personal element fountl tlu'oughout the book. Dr. iMacKay
reluctantly consenting to the introduction, necessary to an

'1 umlerstanding of a foreign missionary's life and work, of many

incidents and personal experiences elicited in the course of con-

P versation. \\\\\\q the book was being prepared the political

relations of Formo.sa were being changed ; these changes arc
referred to as likely to affect mission work materially, though
not injuriously, but the Chinese view-point is retained.

For several months I was in constant and intimate associa-
tion with Dr. MacKay, coming into closest touch with him,
coming to know him as one is known only to the nearest and
most symixithetic friends. To see the man of indomitable en-
ergy, unflinching courage, and iron will, shrink from anything
like self-assertion, and yield without dispute to another's judg-

1 ment, would be a revelation for which they are not prepared

who know him only as a man of speech and action. To see
his modest self-efTacement, and to know how real his faith is,
how personal God is to him, is to grasp the secret of his suc-
cess. Few men in any age of the church have had a vivider
I sense of the divine nearness. The God he serves is a pavilion-

ing presence and a prevailing power in his soul. Such a prophet
is Christ's greatest gift to his church. To him there can come
no failure ; whatever ought to be can be.

The publishers have spared no pains in the production of
this book. Maps have been specially prepared, the three of
North Formosa being reproduced from sketches made by Dr.
MacKay, tnat of the island from the British Admiralty chart ;
illustrations have been made from photographs taken in For-
mosa by Koa Kau, Dr. MacKay's Chinese student ; the cover
design represents the flower of the rice-plant, the rice in the
ear, and the method of rice harvesting described in Chapter
XXII. ; and the greatest care has been taken to avoid mechan-

Li*»

e lAnroRt.ii rRiii-iai

ical errors, to wliidi a l...ok clcaling with life in a forcML;ti

country is liable.

It remains only to ackno-.vledgc my i.ulfbt.Hlncss to the
Rev. R. P. MacKay, H.A., Toronto, secretary of the Ford^ii
Mission Committee of the I'reshytcrian Church in Canada,
without whose counsel and assistance the editor's work woul.l
have been less satisfactory, if, imleed, it could have been done
at all in the press of other duties.

" From Far Forme sa " is sent out with the prayer tual ii
may be used of Cod in stimulating intelligent interest in tlu;

cause of world-wide missions.

J. A. Macdonald.

St. Thomas, Omario,
November, 1895.

a foreign

L'SS to tilt'

ic Foriigii
II Canada,
ork would
been done

ycr that it
Tcst in the

DONALD.

CONTENTS

IMKoDITI'oRY

TAOE

1. KaKIV VKAKS ol' MIK AllIloR I3

2. Al I'KlMKldN AND El)INHUI<(ill 18

3. 'roUoNTO T(» TaMSII 26

4. FiKsr \'ir,\vs ok Formosa 33

Tm. Island

5. ('•i.or.KAriiv and History 41

6. (iKOI.fxlY 48

7. 'I'KI-r.S, ri.ANIS, AND Im.oUIKS 55

8. Animal Lii'k 76

9. i'/iiinoiocy in olti.ink 92

AMoNO itik Chinksf.

10. Thk Pkopi-k loi

1 1. doVKRNMKNl' AND JlSTICK IO4

12. iNDrSTRTAI. AND SOCIAI. LlI'K 1 13

13. Chinksk Rei.ic.ious Likk 125

14. I'.Kc.iNNiNcs OK Mission Work 13-

15. TiiK First Nativk, Trkaciier and his Ciu'Rch 142

16. F'.STAllI.ISHINO ClIURCHRS I53

17. How ir\N('.-KAii WAS Taken 164

icS. ToTRiNc, IN -iiiK Nourii 172

19. Tin: Wai riNr. Isles 182

20. Tin-. CoMiNc. OK 1 HE French 189

CONTENTS

TlIK CoN(Jli:liED AliORIGINKS

21. Pe-i'()-hoan Chakactkkistics

22. KlCE-I'ARMING IN FoKMOSV

23. MISSION Work .vmo.ng thk I'k-I'o-uoan

24. A Trii down the East Co.vst

25. A Sek-iioan Mission

26. Life among the Lam-si-uoan

The Movntain Savac.es
2-7 Savage Like and CrsroMS

28. With the Head-IIinteks

At IlEADi.n-ARTERS

29. A Sketch oi- Tamsci

30. Training a Native Ministrv

31. Oxford College

32. Native Workers for Nait\e Wo.me:

33. Medical Work and the Hositiai.

^4. Foreigners and the Missions....

35, With the English Prfsbn ieulvns.

36. Retrospect and rRosFKcr

rAGK

205
209

215

226

. 241

251

267

2SI

2S5
291
297
30S

Index

.vv

341

PACK
226

241

251

■ ^n?

. 281

• 2S5
. 291

• 207

■ 3"^

■ 31 '^

• 324
. ■ 33^^

• 341

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Dk. MacKay, Mrs. MacKay, and Family Frontispiece

Water-bufi-ai.of.s I. rawing Sugar-cam: Facing page 78

AnoRiGiNES eating Rice ^ «« im
A Village ix Eastern Formosa )

Dr. MacKay and Students on the March " 172

Dr. MacKay and Students descending a Moun-
tain " iSo

Chapel at Sin-tiam, iutilt oe Stone " 191

Winno\ying Rice with a Fanning-mili " 212

Bound for the Ki-i.ai Plain " 226

Armed Pe-po-ho-vn near Savage Ti.rritory " 234

Lam-si-hoan Chief and Party " 242

In a LAM-n-HOAN Village " 248

Unsuhdued Ahoriginks living in the Mountains " 256

Armed Head-hunters, known as "Black Flags" " 268

Oxford College, Tamsui " 291

A Pe-P(vhoan Weaver " 306

A Dental Operation " 315

MAPS

Island of Formosa Facing page 41

Geological Map of North Formosa ** 49

Ljtanical Map of North Formosa " 55

Map of North Formosa showing Mission Sta-
tions " 153

T-;*

i" — r'

INTRODUCTORY

^ aVaVaVaV^^^^^^^^^##^^^^

^.^MmwM^^^iSS3^^

^S^s^S^S^Ji^SS^

'^^fWW^mmm^^^^^^^

FROM FAR FORMOSA

CHAPTER I

EARLY YEARS OF THE AUTHOR

Point of view— Ancestors— Life in Zorra — William C. Burns— Home-
missionary service

FAR Formosa is dear to my heart. On that island the best
of my years have been spent. There the interest of my
Hfe has been centered. I love to look up to its lofty peaks,
down into its yawning chasms, and away out on its surging
sea. I love its dark-skinned people — Chinese, Pepohoan, and
savage — among whom I have gone these twenty-three years,
preaching the gospel of Jesus. To serve them in the gospel
I would gladly, a thousand times over, give up my life. Be-
fore what I now write has been read I will have set my face
once more westward toward the far East, and by God's good
hand will have reached a^ an my beloved Formosan home
beyond the Pacific Sea. There I hope to spend what remains
of my life, and when my day of service is over I should like
to find a resting-place within sound of its surf and under the
shade of its waving bamboo.

I love my island home, but not once in all these years have
I forgotten the land of my childhood or ceased to be proud

FROM FAR FORMOSA

of it. Many a time in those first friendless days, when tongues
were strange and hearts were liard and tlie mob howled loud-
est in the street ; many a time among cruel savages in the
mountains, when their orgies rose wildest into the night;
many a time alone in the awful silence of primeval forests, in
solitudes never before disturbed by a white man's tread-
many, many a time during these three and twenty years have
I looked back from far Formosa, \\\ fancy gazed on my Zorra
home, and joined in the morning or evening psalm. Memo-
ries of Canada were sweet to me then ; and now, when I come
to tell something of life in that far-ofT isle, the view-point I
take is life in the land of my birth.

My father, George INIacKay, a Scottish Highlander, with
his wife, Helen Sutherland, emigrated from Sutherlandshire to
Canada in 1830. There had been dark days in Scotland—
the dark and gloomy days of the " Sutherlandsliire Clear-
ances," when hundreds of tenant-farmers, whose fathers were
born on the estate and shed their blood for its duke, were
with their wives and families evicted, the wild notes of their
pibroch among the hills and the solemn slrains of their Gaelic
psalms in the glens giving place to the bleating of the sheep
and the hallo of the huntsman. Ruined cottages, deserted
churches, and desecrated graves were the " gloomy memories "
they carried with them from Scotland, and they crossed the
sea m time to face the dark and stormy days of the Canadian
rebellion. They made their home in what was then the wilds
of Upper Canada, and on their farm in the township -A Zorra
reared their family of six children, of whom I was the young-
estj and m the burying-ground beside the "old log church"""
their weary bodies rest.

Peace to the honored dust of those brave pioneers! They
were cast in nature's sternest mold, but were men of heroic
soul. Little of this world's goods <lid tl v possess. All day
long their a.ves rang in the forests, and at night the smoke of

E^RLY YEARS OF THE AUTHOR

when tongues

howled loud-

ivages in the

0 the night;
val forests, in
lan's tread —
ty years have

on my Zorra

ihn. Memo-

when I come

view-point I

ilander, with
rlandshire to

1 Scotland —
Isliire Clear-
fathers were
1 duke, were
otes of their

their Gaelic
of the shee])
;es, deserted
■ memories "
crossed the
le Canadian
2n the wilds
n'p of Zorra

the young-
og church "

srs! They
n of heroic
V All day
e snKjke of

burning log-heaps hung over their humble homes. But they
overcame. The wilderness and the solitary place have indeed
been made glad. And more. They did more than hew down
forests, construct roads, erect homes, and transform sluggish
swamps into fields of brown and gold. They worshiped and
served the eternal God, taught their children to read the Bible
and believe it, listen to conscience and obey it, observe the
Sabbath and love it, and to honor and reverence the office of
the gospel ministry. Their theology may have been narrow,
but it was deep and high. They left a heritage of truth, and
their memory is still an inspiration. Their children have risen
up to bless them in the gates. From the homes of the con-
gregation that w^orshiped in the "old log church" at least
thirty-eight young men have gone forth to be heralds of the
cross in the ministry of the Presbyterian Church.

In such a home and amid such surroundings I was born on
the 2 1 St of March, 1844. That was the year of the disruption
in Canada, and the Zorra congregation, with the Rev. Donald
McKenzie, its minister, joined the Free Church. The type
of religious life was distinctly Highland. Men believed and
felt, but seldom spoke about their own deeper personal spiritual
experiences. There were no Sabbath-schools or Christian
Endeavor Societies in Zorra fifty years ago. Children were
taught the Bible and the Shorter Catechism in the home, and
on the Sabbath in the church the great doctrines of grace
were preached with faithfulness and power. Men may talk
slightingly to-day about that "stern old Calvinism," They
would do well to pause and ask about its fruits. What other
creed has so swept the whole field of hfe wnth the dread artil-
lery of truth, and made men unflinchingly loyal to conscience
and tremorless save in the presence of God? The iron of
Calvinism is needed to-day in the blood of the church. It
may be we heard much about sin and law in those olden
days, but love and grace were not obscured. It may be the

FROM F/1R rORMOS.'l

clnldren were reticent and backward in the church, but thcv
knew wliat secret sorrow for sin meant, and t],ey found comfort
at the cross. / Before I reached the age of ten the ever-blessed
Aamewas sweet and sacred in my ear. The paraphrase
begmnmg witli tlie words tr t ^^

" While humble shc'i^hcrds watched their flocks
In Ik'thleliein's phxins liy niglit,"

repeated at my mother's knee in the quiet of the Sabbath
evenmg, early made a deep impression on my soul. It wi.
then that the thought of being a missionary first came m
ham C Burns had visited Woodstock and Zorra on his tours
through Canada, and poured a new stream into the current
of rehg^ous hfe. His name was cherished in the honu", and
something of his spirit touched my boyish heart. My g and-
father fought at Waterloo; his martial soul went into my
blood; and ,vhen on e I owned the Saviour King, the com-
mand, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to
every creature," made me a soldier of the cross To be I
missionary became the passion of my life. That was the
dominant idea through all the years during which I served a
school teacher at Maplewood and Maitlandville, as scholar a'^
^\oodstock and Omemee grammar-s.l.H.Is, as student of arts
cllirrBl" tr ■^^"^^^"^-'"■■-'•'--•y ^1--K the summer va"-
and Biddulph, Forest and MacKay.

_ A quarter of a century has passed since I served the church

in those struggling home mission fields. The greater part cf

at time I have been far hence among the hefthen, and a!;!

called a foreign missionary. But not now-not once in al!

home, or honored the foreign missionary above his equallv

heroic and ec,ially faithful brother who toils in the obsc

of a broken-down village, in the darkness of ultramontane

EARLY YEARS OF THE AUTHOR

ncli, but they
"ound ci)mft)rt
s ever-blessed
e paraphrase

tlie Sabbath
3iil. It was
came. "Wil-
on his tours

the current
-' home, atid

My grand-
'nt into my
g, the com-
c gospel to
To be a
at was the
I served as
' scliolar a'
lent of arts
ummer va-
ina, Lucan

Quebec, or amid the pioneer hardships of the newer settle-
ments in Canada. It is not for me— it is not for any foreign
missionary— to look loftily on the ministry at home, or think
of them as less loyal, unselfish, and true. We are all mission-
aries, the scut ones of the King, and not our fields, but our
faithfulness, matters. Many of the church's first may be last
when the Master comes.

the churcli
ter ])art of
n, and am
"ice in all
lior to the
is equally
obscurity
a montane

^^- -.

CHAPTER II

AT PRINCETON AND EDINBURGH
At Princeton Seminary—O/rer for i,..^\

devoted „,„,. 1, c'^en rr, ""'' '"'^■' "'''°"^' -'^

^-w .o,^d.s d.; or^rr: '-:j'^rr '^^■"'"'

energy and power. But it ,vas Dr r ,' o "'''•"■^'«™»"':
'leeply impressed himself o^ni " "°''*'"= "'''° '»«'

"en all ioLl l,im. No otwT '"," '•""' "f^- P™"'™'
'"■» monumental work on ■ ' " "-'"' """''■ ^ot in

Hodge be best see butTn the ?*''" ""°'"«^ '^■^" Charles
•"e Sabbath af.erno'o " f' „:':"t;:'"' "''" "" '"■'"->•»'
™™ and fel, his power. Can C P ''°'' '"'^ "-^ ^»'

sacred hours? How ,,a, 1 ^ ^ """""' "'■"' '"''get those

°f love! How awed w "'"' '™''" «''"' "'e hght

"^=.K mid diose Itps quivered with a

/IT PRINCETON AND EDINBURGH

»9

'er Dr. Duff in
■jy the General

n Toronto, I
f>7> and was
tJiere. T]ie
ill of interest
:ealou.s, and
gorous and
;g, lectured
laracterfstic
; who most

Princeton
h. Not in
Ln Cliarles

oratory at
V the real
rget those
ghten and
1 the h'ght
trembling
ed with a

strange and holy speech! To look in on a Princeton class in
those days would be to see what a well-founded reverence

meant,

On Tuesday, April 26, 1870, 1 was graduated, having com-
l)leted the full curriculum of the seminary. It was a memor-
able day. According to the old Princeton custom, the pro-
fessors and the graduating class met on the campus. The
graduates threw their prized diplomas on the ground, and with
the professors formed a ring, joining crossed hands. We sang
" From Greenland's icy mountains " and " Blest be the tie that
binds." Dr. Charles Hodge stepped into the circle. There
was a tremor in his voice as he prayed for us all and lifted
his hands in benediction. What a benediction! His eyes
were moist as he said good-by. We parted in tears. The
class of '70 was soon scattered. That night I was on my way
to Canada.

The summer of 1870 1 spent within the Presbytery of
Toronto, laboring in the mission stations of Newmarket and
Mount Albert. The Rev. Professor MacLaren, D.D., at that
time minister in Ottawa, was convener of the Foreign Mission
Committee. To him I stated my desire to go abroad as a
missionary. He encouraged me, and invited me to meet the
committee early in October. I have never forgotten that
meeting. It was not very hopeful or enthusiastic. It was a
new experience for the committee. They scarcely knew w^hat
to do with a candidate for foreign work. When I formally
offered my services to the Presbyterian Church, and asked to
be sent as a missionary to the heathen, one member looked
me in the face and said, " Mr. MacKay, you had better wait
a few years." Another argued for delay : " As he is going to
Scof^.and, let him go, and on his return we can think over the
matter for a year or two." A third suggested Madagascar as
\i field for future consideration. The convener pleaded for
immediate acceptance and appointment. I was told, how-

I ROM l\ll< IOUMOS,-i

ever, that the .subject woiilil be considered and the decision
made known to nic in duo time.

A fortnight hiter I found myself on board tlie steamship
"Austrian," of the Allan hiic, ^v/ tvith' from (Jucbec to Livcr-
I)()ol. Money was scarce, and I was content witii steerage
passage. It was dismal cnougii at best, but I was a novice
am! unprovided for. The dreariness of the voyage was
somewiiat relieved by a burly l^lnghshman who entertained
his fellows in the steerage and found expression for his loyal
soul in a song about King George, which he sang regularly
every night, and danced his own accompaniment. Vunw
Liverpool to Glasgow was a sickening run, on a coaster called
" Penguin," with a drunken crew and carousing passengers.
In Glasgow I spent a delightful hour with the great Dr. Patrick"
Fairbairn. 7'wo days later, xXovember 4ih, I arrived in Kdin-
burgh. I'hat was my destination, and to meet one man there
I had crossed the Atlantic. That man was the venerable mis-
sionary hero, Dr. Alexander Dufif. The story of his life had
already fired my soul, and when I met him I was not disap-
pointed. I was a young man, unknown and poor; but when
he learned the purpose of my life, and that I had cru.;sed tlie
sea to sit at his feet, his welcome was that of a warm-lieartod
godly Highlander. '

While in Edinburgh I took a postgraduate course, hearing
lectures from Professor John Stuart Blackie in the university
and from Drs, Smeaton, Plaikie, Rainy, and Duff, in New
College. T/.-, Ouff was professor of evangelistic theology, and
under ]m.< ^ui-erusion I studied Brahmanism and Buddhism
and learnrd Hindustani with Mr. Johnston of the Edinburgh
Institution, having in view the India mission field. Dr
Duff's lectures were rich in matter and tdowing with holy fire
At tunes he grew animated, threw off his gown, and gave his
Celtic nature vent. He was specially kind to me. I spent
many hours with him in his private room and at his home I

AT PRINCETON AND EDINBURGH

le decision

steamship
z to Liver-
h steerage
s a novice
'yage was
ntertained
T his loyal

regularly
t. Fr(jni
iter calletl
assengers.
>r. Patrick
1 m Kdin-
nan there
rable mis-
i life had
lot disap-
I>ut when
o.s.sed the
i-lieartod,

, hearing
niversity,

in New
ogy, and
iddhism,
linburgh
d. Dr.
loly fire,
gave his

I spent
ome. I

well remember the evening he showed me the Bible recovered
after his shipwreck off the coast of Africa. It was doubly
holy in my eyes. I saw him for the last time on March 13,
1 87 1. He had gone to Aberdeen to deliver a course of
lectures to die students in the Free Church College. Early
in March I followed, and the first day occupied a seat in his
class near the door. Mis unfailing kindness again was shown,
and his cordial words of introduction to the students secured
for me a hearty welcome : " Gentlemen, here is my friend from
Canada, bound for a heathen land. Show him that there are
loving hearts in the ' Granite City.' " A few days afterward,
at the close of his lecture, he walked down Union Street with
me. When near the Queen's Monument he stood still, looked
me in the face, grasped my hand tightly in both of his, spoke
words too kind and sacred to be /epeated, wheeled about, and
was gone. Heroic Duff! Let Scotland and India and the
churches of Christendom bear testimony to the loftiness of Uiy
spirit, the consuming energy of thy zeal, the noble heroism of
thy service.

There were great preachers in Edinburgh, under whom it
was a delight to sit. Who could forget Candlish or Guthrie?
Arnot was there then, and Lindsay Alexander, Cairns, Mac-
Grcgor, and Alexander Whyte. With Candlish and Guthrie
I became personally acquainted — both truly great men, but
how very dillerent! At Candlish's home I sat with him for
well-nigh t .vo hours, until the bell i*ang for dinner. He paced
the floor all the while. Sometimes he would turn sharply and
ask about something in Canada. Then, running his left hand
through his long, unkempt hair, he would take a few more
rapid rounds. It was not altogether reassuring to a backward
young man. Guthrie, again, was the soul of geniality. His
family was with him in the room, and at his side his favorite
little dog. He sat in an easy-chair with his long legs stretched
out, bubbling over with humor.

:i*

FROM FAR FORMOSA

That winter h Edinburgh gave me experience in city
mission work, and with other students I labored among tlie
submerged outcasts in the Cowgate and Grassmarkot I ile
every man who claims to have Scottish blood, I rarae to love
the famous old city, with its castle, cathedral, and palace its
iustoric scenes and thousand cherished memories I was
proud then of being in Edinburgh, and although I have since
twice circled the globe, not in Orient or Occident have I seen
a city to compare with " Scotia's darling seat "

After the dose of the colleges in March,' I went north to
Su,herlan<y„re, the land of my forefathers, spending the time
chiefiy at Dornoch, Tain, Golspie, and Rogart. The questioi
of my life-work now became pressing. , N„ word had come
from Canada, and I began to despair of service in connection
wi h the Canadian church. But on Friday evening, April
.4lh, while I was considering seriou.Jy the ad>isability of
offering my services to one of the Scottish or AmerLi
churches a letter came from Dr. Macf.aren stating that
Foreign Mission Committee had decided to recommend 1 e
Genera Assembly t ,at I be accepted as their first mission y
to the heathen worl.I. It sent a thrill of joy ,„ my heart
Accepted, and by my own beloved church >

The ne..t day I left the heathery hills, and tb.ree days later
w on oard the " Caledonia," bountl from Gla.sfiow to New
York. was again a steerage passenger, but for my com-
an ns ha over seven hundred Irish Roman Catholic em .
grant.s I have seen something of the under-side of life since
th n, . have boked upon human beings in all stages of da
.on and in all conditions of filth; but nothing ha .te,
able to blot out of my memory the impression mile bv
s.gh.s and sounds of that homew.-.rd voyage. Rig, If
was, after nearly three long weeks, to breadie on e mo' h

=i:::;rcLr'"'"'"'--"--™-''--^

•■* f.'' '

e in city
nong the
ct Like
le to love
a lace, its

I was

ive since

t'e I seen

north to
the time

question

id come

inection
g, April
)ility of
nerican
hat the
?nd the

sionary '■
heart.

's later
0 New

com-

f '

c emi-

-•

? since

Jcgra-
been

)y the
jiad I
■e the

were

/IT PRINCETON AND EDINBURGH

The General Assembly of the Canada Presbyterian Church
was called to meet in 'the city of Quebec on the second
Wednesday of June. I was invited by the Foreign Mission
Committee to be present at that Assembly. That venerable
court was opened by the retiring moderator, the late Principal
Michael Willis. The Rev. John Scott, D.D., then minister of
St. Andrew's Church, London, was elected moderator. There
were " burning questions " before that Assembly. The " Oi-
gan " was beginning to make itself heard in the church, and
the question of union with the " Old Kirk " in Canada was
quite to the front. But to me all interest centered around the
report of the Foreign Mission Committee. Would the Assem-
bly adopt the committee's recommendation? If so, to what
field would I be sent? The committee's report was presented
on Wednesday, Tune 14th. It urged the Assembly " to favor
mission work among the heathen." It stated: "A man has
offered, and the church s.ems prepared to meet the liability.
Mr. MacKay, a student of the church, having passed the
winter under Dr. Dufif, is now in this city, ready to undertake
the work which the church may appoint." Three fields were
suggested— India, the New Hebrides, and China. The report
preferred China. The Assembly decided :

" That the offer of Mr. George L. MacKay's services as a
missionary to the heathen be cordially welcomed, and that he
be, as he is hereby, called by this Assembly to ^o forth as a
missionary of the Canada Presbyterian Church to the foreign

field ;

" That China be chosen as the field to which Mr. MacKay

shall be sent ;

" That the Presbytery of Toronto be authorized to ordain
Mr. MacKay to the holy ministry, and to make arrangements,
in accordance with the Foreign Mission Committee, for his
designation to the work whereunto he has been called."

That evening I was introduced to the General Assembly
\

FROM F^R FORMOSA

as "the first foreign mis^sfonary of the Canada Presbyterian
Church, and was mvited to address the court. The "fathers
and bredu-en" were kin.I to me that night; some of 'them
thought me an "enthusiast," and pitied me Dr John H-dl
of New Vork was on the platform, as deputy from the Presby-
terian Cliurch of the United States; and when I luad finisJied
speakn^g he led the Assembly in prayer, commending "the
young missionary " to the care of the eternal God, prax^ing for
journeymg mercies" and the sure guidance of the Jehovdi
of Israel. j^'i^aii

In those days the church i„ Canada was divided and weak

B rid Tv "„°' "'?■ '.''"' '^^-''-J'-ted I'resbyterianism i,,'
B.,t,sh North Amenca ,„,o one hannonious, strong, and a«.
gressae church and that has n,a<le the Prcsbyteri.t Chnrd,
.n Canada not the .east in the great fan,ily „f ,„e chnrche
of the Keformat.on, had not yet been consummated. The
m.ss,onary effort of the church was directed ahuos. entirey
to work at home. X„w that a new tnove had been n.^ i^
was necessary , at funds be i.rovided to „,ee. the expens
To asstst ,n awakening an interest in the cause of forcig, ml:
s.ons I was appointed to ,.isit various congregations in Q , c
and throughout Ontario during the sumnK^of .8p. {^
a good many churches between Quebec and Go.I rich c v
.g out Pan is injunction to Timothy; but when I . ,:c 2,"
'1 0 Mas ers great commission," and undertook to "repro^

10 tlie exercise. Some very uncomphn.entarv lliin-s were

sa.d, and I was called "an cvcited young man " Tu..

a p-rPTf l^\r^■,^ ^c .1 , ' >uuug man. iJiere was

great deal of aj.athy, and ,1,,. church was verv cold I,

eems to me that was the "ice age." Put there wer sotne

Ct:"s:f";:iuC\Si';;;':,,e^'"'' r t-^-

^r PRINCETON AND EDINBURGH

esbyterian
e " fatJicrs
' of them
fohn Hall
e Presby-
J finisJied
tlie

ing

■aying for
Jeliovali

nd weak,
mism in

and ag-

Cliurch
-hurdles
1 The

entirely
made, it
■ X'pense.
'gn mis-
Quebec
t visited
, carry-
scussed
epro\e,

kindly
s were
■re was
Id. It
' some

Mon-
ourag-
ist, Sir
ttawa.

.^s

Rev. Dr. MacLaren was minister of Knox Church, and Dr.
Moore of Bank Street. Their noble words of commendation
and appeal stirred more hearts than mine. At Ayr I had the
good fortune to meet the pastor of one of the churches, the
late Rev. Walter Inglis. He was himself a veteran missionary
who had spent a quarter of a century in the Dark Continent.
He felt the coldness and apathy of the church, but his royal
nature touched it all with warmth and sunshine : " Never
worry, young man. People will lecture you and advise you
and talk about the cost. Put it in your pocket and go your
way. Things will change, and you'll see a brighter day."

I look back on the experiences of that first tour of the
churches, and I contrast them with things to-day. Surely the
predicted change has come. Rip Van Winkle saw no greater
in his day. Ministers now are all as " excited " as I was
twenty-three years ago, and they are much better informed.
Congregations are all organized for mission purposes. Mis-
sions is the most popular of all topics. People crowd to hear
the story of missionary work abroad. There are " mission "
evenings at every General Assembly. Missionaries are desig-
nated and sent out every year. The " brighter day " has come.
Thank God, I have lived to see it. The past is forgotten in
the joy of the present, and the future is pregnant with still
greater things. To-morrow will be as to-day, and much more
abundant.

CHAPTER in

TORONTO TO TAMSUI
Ordination-Departure- -On the way-Credentials-Alone-

Knglish Preshvterian U

Alone— Japan— Witii

-" 'I'liis is tlie land

iiMiss,onanes-In South Formosa-At T

am.su 1

'|.<

'pHE Presbytery of Toronlo, in accordance with tl,e instruc

cu my niaib. Jn tlie evening? the onlfmtmn .
M. >-n G „, s,rec. ChnrC, T,fe pa.::.'';:' R jX M^
i-.ng D D., now prmcpal of Manitoba Colkw ui "
preacbecl on ,I,e te.t, "His name .shall e,,dure£e '',':'

educational t:t^:::::^r^"z: i^r^^ r

churcl, ,vi,l, bonor and success and ins v"'"' *'

a^ong Canadian educa,ioni::'a:d : , T" .l; ■""'^•!""

wereto^etber'^att r::*fr"'''r^.^^^^^^^^
designated to our respective fin , ^"'P'' "™'»'0- m^d

Mission Cotnmittee ci!L , , ''" """•'="er of the Foreign
•■.charge., to tl^L: ^ Z^Z^Z """ *''-"^^' '^^■
— >• ^ddressed in tL nani^'^'^be Z:ZarcZ

'"%

TORONTO TO TAMSUI

niittee by the Rev. Dr. Laing, now minister in Dundas, The
speakers recognized the importance of the occasion as mark-
ing a forward movement in both the home and foreign work,
and as suggesting a union of aims and interests that must
never be sundered. The church's work is one. and conflict
will be fatal.

One month after ordination, October 19, 1871, I bade fare-
well to my old home in Zorra, to meet again an unbroken
family circle only when life's sea is no more. What was said
or what was felt need not now be told. God only knows
what some hearts feel. They break, perchance, but they give

no sign.

It was nearly noon when the west-bound train pulled out
of the station at Woodstock. Our first run was to Detroit.
Chicago was next reached — a dreadful sight — dust and ashes
and smoke. The " great fire " had just swept over the city, and
was still smoking and smoldering. The third run was to
Omaha, where I spent the first Sabbath day, and had the
privilege of preaching the blessed gospel to a crowd assembled
in the open air on the outskirts of the city.

Traveling was not the simple affair it is to-day. There
were no through tickets from Toronto to Hong Kong. The
missionary traveled over several roads and had to deal with
various companies. There was no recognized "missionary
rate," But the railway authorities were generous, and granted
me a reduction over their roads. At Omaha the agent looked
doubtful when I told him I was a missionary bound for a
heathen land and asked for the favor granted by the three
roads over which I had already traveled. " I do not know
you," he replied. " Where are your credentials? " I had no
credentials, nor any formal document by which I might be
certified. I was at a loss what to do. No one knew me.
Then like a flash the thought of my Bible came to me. It
was the parting gift of the Foreign Mission Committee. I

FROM FAR FORMOSA

produced it from my satchel and asked the agent to read the
inscription on tlie fly-leaf :

rRliSEXTED TO

Rev. G. L. MACKAV,

First .\fi.,sioiiary of the Cana.la Presbyterian Cl.ureh to
t una, l,y ,he Foreign Mission Connniltee, as n partin.
token of tlieir esteem, wlien al,o„t i„ leave his native land
for tlie splure of his future labors .among the heathen.
Ottau.a, 911, Oct., 1871. VVILI..A.M MacLake.v, Cmvf„tr.

Mm. xxviii. 18-20. P3„,,„ ^,^i^

These were my credentials. None could be better. No other
was reqtured. I was soon on my way again, and on October
37ih arnved at San Francisco. Here I was the guest of a
kmd-hearted Canadian, Mr. ^\•iIIia,n Gunn. On U'ednesday
November , St, I boarded the steatnship " America," bound
for Hong Kong. Jly host and two city missionaries, Messrs.
Cond.t and Loom.s, accompanied me on board to say fare,
veil. Ihe signal w.as given, the guns were fired, the stately
sinp we.ghed anchor, slowly steamed out through the " Golden
C^ale, and I was at last alone./ Such cvperiences are com-
mon enough now, but then they were new and strange I
d.d not feel afraid, nor sorry, ror glad. Thoughts of home
ante, thoughts of the lovc.l ones nunc than three th„u.,a™
nt.les behmd, antl though.^ of what tnight be before. The
sea was w,de. The regions beyond were dark „ i,h the tn'ght
of heathenism and cruel with the hate of sin. \\„M I eter
return to my native land? And my life-wha, woul.l it n.alter
aga,„s.^.such fearful odds? Could it be that I had n.adc .:

Such hours come to us all. They came to our Lord. They
are hours of testmg and trial. Sooner or later the soul enters
Gethsemane. I found mine that day, and in the liti s"

TORONTO TO TAMSUI

room the soul was staggered awhile. But it was not for long.
The Word brought light. The psalm marked by the committee
on the fly-leaf of the Book began, " I will lift up mine eyes
unto the hills;" and the promise was, " Lo, I am with you
alway." And then the Forty-sixth Psalm! Oh, how often it
has brought comfort and peace! When the waves dashed
in fury I read it. Aye, and when storms arose wilder, more
relentless, and deathful than any that ever vexed the broad
Pacific ; when heathen hate and savage cruelty rose like the
hungry sea, the blessed words, " God is our refuge and
strength," opened wide the door into the secret of His pres-
ence. On that day in my state-room I read it again and again
— precious truth ; glorious refuge ; God, the eternal God.
Hark, my soul ! he speaks : " Certainly I will be with thee."
Begone, unbelief! God in heaven is the keeper of my soul.
The glorified Jesus says, " Lo, I am with you alway."^

Voyaging on the Pacific is a pleasure now. A quarter of
a century ago it was otherwise. There were no palatial Can-
adian Pacific steamers then. After twenty-six days the snow-
clad peaks of Fuji-yama, the Holy Mountain of Japan, was
a welcome sight. There were several other missionaries on
board, whose fellowship was refreshing and helpful. From
the ship's library I derived benefit and pleasure through such
works as " The Social Life of the Chinese," by Justus Doo-
little ; " The Middle Kingdom," by S. Wells Williams ; " China
and the Chinese," by John L. Nevius ; and " China and the
United States," by Spears.

While our ship was lying at anchor in the harbor of Yoko-
hama I had my first introduction to life in the Orient. Every-
thing was new and interesting. The boatmen in the harbor,
with their rice-straw waterproof coats, reminded me of pic-
tures of Robinson Crusoe. Large, heavy wooden carts were
rolled slowly along with much pulling, pushing, and intermin-
able grunting. The smart rickshaw, a sort of overgrown per-

FROM F a' FORMOSA

ambulator, whisked by, the runners shouting, in tlieir Japanese
gibberish, " Clear the way, clear the way! "

Leaving Yokohama, we sailed along the coast of China until
we entered a narrow strait, and, following its serpentine course
were soon in the spacious harbor of Hong Kong. Magnificent
view!— liouses ranged tier after tier far up the steep siiles of
granite hills; and high overall waved the flag of "a thousand
years." I had scarcely got rid of the coolies, who in their
eagerness for the job of carrying my baggage had been pound-
ing one another with bamboo poles, when a Saxon accent
greeted my ears: "Are you MacKay from Canada?" That
night I was the guest of Dr. I-.itel' Next day I took the
steamer for Canton. There on the pier I was hailed by
McChesney, a Princeton fellow-student. The night was spen't
with the Rev. Dr. Happer, a veteran American missionary.

Having returned from Hong Kong, I took passage on the
steamship " Rona," and on the following Sabbath we dropped
anchor in Swatow liarbor. Xo sooner had the ship's ladder
been lowered than two Englishmen, whom we Iiad l)een
watching as they rowed out in a sampan, climbed on deck
and called out, " Is IMacKay from Canada on board?" It
did not take long to make myself known, and the strangers
proved to be Mr. Hobson of the Chinese Imperial Customs
and Dr. Thompson of the English Presbyterian Mission at
Swatow.

Before my designation the Foreign Mission Committee in
Canada had correspondence with the committee of the Presbv
terian Church in England. Mr. James E. Matheson of th^t
church had written inviting the Canadian church to share
with his the privilege of work in China; and in appointim^
me to China the General Assembly made special mention of
cooperation with the English Presbyterian missionaries The
brethren at Swatow were, therefore, made aware of my com-
ing, and right cordial was their welcome.

'|r44

1
1

»mi_«i>js,.if!u, mftmm<

^gu-v^.-.

TORONTO TO T/lMSUl

■tA-

There were strong iiulucemcnts presented in favor of settling
ill the Swatow district, but I rcsolvi'd first to see Formosa.
An up tiie-coast steamer carried me to Amoy, and tiiere I
got a British schooner, " Kin-lin," and crossed the chamiel to
Formosa. I had wo [)lans, but invisil)le cords were drawing
me to the " Beautiful Isle." 'J'he channel passage was the
last and worst of the entire voyage from Canada. It was a
night of thick darkness, howling Ijlasts, and a i)lunging sea.
We landed at Ta-kow, on the south of the island. Here I
was met by a noljle young physician, Dr. Manson, who took
me ahhore in a sampan. On the following SabbaUi morning,
in a British hong (warehouse) at Ta-kow, to a congregation
of captains, officers, engineers, and merchants, I preached the
gospel of a crucified Sa\ ionr. It was the last day of the year
187 I, and that was my first sermon in Formosa.

On New- Year's day, 1872, I set out from Ta-kow to find
die Rev. Hugh Ritchie, of the EngHsh Presbyterian Mission,
was at A-li-kang, twenty-six miles away. It was an in-
'■'ig walk, even though my Chinese guide was a man of
. range speech." In the evening, as I drew near the village,
I saw a man dressed in blue bcrge and wearing a large white
sun-hat. I took him to be Mr. Ritchie, and so accosted him.
" Is this MacKav from Canada? " he said, and with both
hands he made me welcome to Formosa. For twenty-six
days I enjoyed the hospitality of his home, and found him
a friend with a large heart, a Christian with a high ideal, a
missionary full of self-denying zeal, and his estimable wife a
laborer of like mind. I learned much about the island and
the methods of work in the south, and traveled many times
over the district occupied by the nine stations under Mr.
Ritchie's charge. I made good use of his Chinese teacher,
and mastered the eight " tones " of the Formosan dialect.

Where shall I settle? was a question still to be answered.
The missionaries on the mainland pointed to the "white

IROM MR FORMOS/f

fields" in the Swatow distrirt. Here in the soutli they told
me of North Formosa, with its teeming population in city and
plain and mountain fastnesses, for whose souls no man cared.
No missionary was there. The foundations of a mission were
not laid. To that work I felt called. " I liave decided to
settle in North Formosa," I said to Mr. Ritchie one day.
" God bless you, MacKay," was his p;lad response.

On March 7, 1872, Mr. Ritchie and I set out to explore
the field chosen for my future work. Wc took passage to
Tamsui, a seaport on the north of the island. At Tai-wan-
fu, in the southwest, the capital of Formosa, where the Eng-
lish Presbyterian Mission was established by the noble Dr.
Maxwell in 1865, we were joined by Dr. Dickson, leaving the
Rev. W. Campbell in charge of the southern chapels. The
" Hailoong " rolled and pitched for two days, and then we
steamed into the mouth of the Tamsui River and anchored
there. One look toward the north, another toward the south,
another far inland to the dark green hills, and I was content.
There came to me a calm, clear, prophetic assurance that here
would be my home, and Something said to me, " This is the
land."

they told
1 city and
an cait'd.
sion wt'ir
t'cidcd to
one day.

") explore
assage to
Tai-wan-
the Kng-
loblc Dr.
aving the
els. The
1 then we
anchored
•he south,
5 content,
that here
his is the

CHAPTKR IV

FIUST Vir.WS OF FORMOSA

A beautiful pnrish— First glimpses— I'lospectinc— First ni^lit at an iiui
—Malaria— A I'c-po-lioan villaiiL'— With the aborigines among the
mountains — Parting company— Alone in Tamsui

1)EAUTIFUL indeed was that first view of North Formosa,
) as seen from the deck of the steamer in the harbor at
Tamsui. We all stood and gazed, deeply imi)ressed. In the
evening we wandered out over the broad table-land and the
downs toward the sea. The fine large fir-trees, not found
near Ta-kow, attracted Ritchie's eye and reminded him of his
Scottish home. But when he saw the situation of Tamsui,
standing over against a solitary mountain peak that rose sev-
enteen hundred feet, and backed on the east and south by
range after ratige climbing two thousand, three thousand, and
four thousand feet high, his soul was stirred to its depth, and
sweeping the horizon with his hand he exclaimed :

" MacKay, this is your parish."

" And far more beautiful it is than Ta-kow," added Dr.
Dickson, with equal emphasis.

The next day was the Sabbath. There was no preaching
done that day. I could not speak the language, and Ritchie
and Dickson deemed it prudent not to arouse tl-.e opposition
of the people by untimely service. No preaching had ever
been done in Tamsui, or anywhere else in North Formosa, and
we left the people to surmise about us what they chose. We

l-ROM FAR FORMOSA

spent the day (luii'tly in a room in thi- hong of John Dodd,
F.sq., thf i)ioncc'r IJritisli nicrcliant at 'I'anisni.

As the puriioso of Messrs. Ritchie and Dickson was to visii
the most northerly stations of tlieir fieh! by overland rouic
from I'ainsui, I resolveil to acconii)any them and "spy oiii
the land" in which 1 was to labor. It was one hundred an.l
ten miles southwest to their nearest point. Karly Monday
morning we arose and made ready for the journey. It was to
be taken on foot. Ritchie and Dickson brought with them
one man each to serve as carriers. Our outfit was simple
and soon prepared. Some salted buffalo-meat, a few cans
of American condensed milk, pressed meat, biscuits, and
coiTee formed our food-supply. Ritchie wore a blue serge
suit, Dickson a Scotch tweed, and 1 my Canadian gray. We
started out three abreast, with the carriers behind in single
Walking toward the harbor along the north bank of the

nie.

'I'amsui River, we soon reached the ferry and crossed to the
opposite shore. Our shoes were off, anil stowed away in the
carriers' baskets. With feet bare and trousers rolletl u[» to
the knees, we sprimg from the ferry-boat to the shining sand.
It was a glorious morning. The tide was out, and our [)ath
lay along the sanely flats, left clean and cool by the receding
waters. All were in high glee. Soon we struck the trail,
that wound inland among little rice-fields, and in an hour or
two were on the high plateau. The scenery was charming.
Here and there were groves of fir, and around an occasional
farm-house waved the tall bamlioo. It was early spring, aiul
the grassy sward was decked with innumerable dandelions,
violets, and other wild flowers. The air was vocal with the
sweet song of the sky-lark singing clear up against the blue.
We descended into a large rice-plain and soon reached the
public road. Toward evening we arrived at Tiong-lek, a
town of about four thousand population, and got quarters for
the night at the best inn. It was on the main street, a low,

flKST I'lUlVS or lOKMOSA

in Dodd,

:is to visii
mcl route
"spy oui
idrt'cl and

Monday

It was to

vi'th tlic'in

as simple

few cans

nils, and
)lue ser^e
ray. Wo

in single
ink of the
>ed to the
vay in the
lletl U[» to
iiing sand.
I onr path
i receding

the trail,
m honr or
charming,
occasional
pring, and
andclions,
1 with tlu-
t the l)liK-.
ached the
ongdek, a
uarters for
eet, a low,

one-story building of sun-dried bricks. This was my first ex-
perience in a Formosan inn. Our room was small, allowing
no space for anything but the three beds it contained. There
was no stand, table, or chair. The beds were of planks with
legs of bricks, and, instead of springs and i)edclothes, had
each a dirty grass mat, upon which coolies had smoked opium
for years. There was no window or other opening to tiie
fresh air. The glimmer that came from a pith-wick in a
saucer of peanut-oil revealed the black, damp earth floor, the
walls besmeared and mouldy; and crawling everywhere were
three generations of creatures whose presence did not add
to the " barbarians' " comfort. A stupefying smell of opium-
smoking, the odor of pigs wallowing in filth at the door, and
the noisome fetor of the whole establishment were almost too
much for my unaccustomed senses, and I thought surely my
coini)anions were giving me a " strong dose." I soon learned,
however, that the inn at Tiong-lek was regarded as first-class,
and in some respects excclleil any I afterward saw anywhere
in Formosa. We came to regard it as the "Queen's Hotel."
Other inns make no arrangement for meals or feeding travel-
ers, but this one had in the open court an " earthen range "
for the use of travelers, and an open room with a table, two
chairs, and a bench. Many a time have I been grateful for
that " range " upon which to cook our food, and that room
in wliich to cat it. To be sure, the floor was earth, and the
hens and ducks had easy access, and the pigs grunted indoors
and out ; but it was the most homelike place we ever found in
any public house in all our travels on the island.

Leaving Tiong-lek, the road ascended to an upland, the
edge of which, called Table Hill, three hundred feet high,
overlooked a rich plain with many little farms. The houses
were encircled by bamboo, which gave the whole place the
appearance of a waving forest. Descending by stone steps,
we passed through the fields and bamboo-plantations, and in

FROM FAR FORMOSA

the evening entered the walled city of Tek-chham, with its
forty thousand inhal)itants. That night we spent in an inn
compared with which the one at Tiong-lek was palatial. Next
day we passed small fields of barley and wheat, and trudged
over the weary sand-dunes, and at night were grateful for the
grass hut at the halting-place for coolies, where the inevitable
pig, with her swarm of little ones, took up her headquarters

under our bed.

Next day Mr. Ritchie succumbed to malaria. He had
been in Formosa only four years, but his system was honey-
combed by the poison, and that day he had to take the sedan-
chair. The dirty walled town of Tai-kah was next reached,
and our path lay over a low piece of country toward Toa-sia,
an inland Pe-po-hoan village. We were nf)w within the terri-
tory of the English Presbyterian Mission, and at Toa-sia there
was a small chapel and a number of converts. They had
been advised of our approach, and about fifty of them came
out to meet us. They received us with great joy, for only
once before had a Christian missionary ever visited them. ^Ve
staved there nearly a week. On the Lord's day the chapel
was crowded with eager Pe-po-hoan worshipers, and many
Chinese from a neighboring town were attracted by the strange
"barbarians." Our next move was to Lai-sia, a Pe-po-hoan
village not far away, where we remained until the next Sab-
bath, when we returned to Toa-sia. On Monday we started
out for Po-sia, a Pe-po-hoan settlement within savage territory,
far in among the mountains. No white man had ever been
in that plain. Many of its inhabitants had moved in from
1 oa-sia, and now fifty-five of their relatives accompanied us
on our journey. They provided themselves with food for the
way. The men carried knives at their belts, and a few match-
locks, fearing the mountain tribes, who regarded tliem as
traitors. 1'he first night we spent in the woods. The fires
were kindled and burned all night.

FIRST VIEWS OF FORMOSA

, with its
n an inn
al. Nexc
I trudged
ul for the
inevitable
dquarters

He had
IS honey-
he sedan-
reached,

1 Toa-sia,
the teni-

L-sia there
rhey had
lem came
, for only
hem. Wc
he cluqiel
ind many
he strange
e-po-hoan
next Sab-
^ve started

2 territory,
ever been
d in from
ipanied us
lod for the
"ew match-
:l them as

The fires

The entrance to Po-sia was through a narrow pass made
by some volcanic eruption among the rocks. At places the
pass was not more than six feet wide, with the perpendicular
walls of rock on either hand two hundred feet high.

On Tuesday we emerged into a plain six miles long and
five miles wide, completely inclosed by densely wooded
mountains. This was the Po-sia plain, and here lived six
thousand Pe-po-hoan. At the edge of the rocks we were met
by an outlook party that had been sent to welcome us, and
on the way had been hunting the wild boar. There was great
jubilation when friends met friends. They gave us an ova-
tion, and as we did not wear the cue they called us their
kinsmen. That night a great ox was killed, and a powwow
of huge dimensions was held to celebrate our coming. They
sang their wild ch.anting songs and awakened the echoes
among the mountains. We remained there for over a week.
Mr. Ritchie held service every evening, and on Sunday a
great crowd assembled. There was no church there, nor had
the gospel been preached there before, but here was illustrated
the self-propagating power of Christianity. Some of these
Pe-po-hoan had heard the truth at the English Presbyterian
chapels in the south, and, according to Christ's command-
ment, had returned to their homes to show how great things
the Lord had done for them.

We returned to Toa-sia, and there we parted, Ritchie and
Dickson continuing their journey to Tai-wan-fu, and I with
one Chinese started back for Tamsui. I returned by another
route and reached Tamsui on April 6th, after an absence of
twenty-three days. Here began my work, alone, without an
interpreter, and among those who hated and despised the
" barbarian." What I had already picked up of the Chinese
language I must now utilize or submit to being imposed upon.
After four days 1 succeeded in renting a Chinese house that was
intended to be used for a horse-stable by military mandarins.

i-rOm r.-iR iORMOS/1

For this building I agreed to pay fifteen dollars per month. It
was a filthy place. A steep hill being dug out furnished the
site, and the road around separated it from the river. Situated
as it was, it could not be healthy at any time. In the dry sea-
son the atmosphere was hot and oppressive, and when the rains
came the water streamed down the sloping hill and ran through
the building across the floor into the river in front. One room
was floored with unplanetl boards, another with tiles, and the
others with nature's i)lack soil. I moved into my new home
with all my furniture— two pine boxes. The British consul,
Alexander Frater, Esq., lent me a chair and bed ; a Chinese, Tan
Ah Soon, gave me an old pewter lamp ; and I employed a
mason to whitewash the whole establishment. It was thor-
oughly cleaned, portions of the walls hidden with newspapers,
and openings curtained with red cotton. In full possession of
this retreat, here is the record entered in my diary under the
date of April lo, 1872/ " Mere I am in this house, having been
led all the way from the old homestead in Zorra by Jesus, as
direct as though my boxes were labeled, ' Tamsui, Formosa,
China.' Oh, the glorious privilege to lay the foundation of
Christ's church in unbroken heathenism! God help me to do
this with the open Bible! Again I swear allegiance to thee, O
King Jesus, my Captain. So help me, God!"

gjffi

mth. It
shed the
Situated
dry sca-
the rains
throucrli
ne room
and the
^w home
\ consul,
lese, Tan
ployed a
^as thor-
/spapcrs,
.ession of
mder the
ing been
Jesus, as
Formosa,
lation of
mc to do
0 thee, O

THE ISLAND

!£d~->n.

I : I;

r ^~"''^. _^. ^ r=.=.-=i

--■^r-
'^'-

s -4 ■ '>

-'■Ss^

CHAPTER V

^,^-

GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

Tosition— Climate— Rainfall— Depression— Malaria — First attack of fever
—Struck liy a typhoon — A cloud-burst — Historical sketch — " Ilha
formosa !"

HE island of Formosa lies off the east coast of China,
1 opposite the Fu-kien province. It is separated from the
mainland by the Formosa Channel, which varies in breadth
from eighty to two hundred miles. On the northeast and
southeast the island is washed by the waters of the Pacific
Ocean. It is about two hundred and fifty miles from north to
south. The average breadth is about fifty miles. It contains
an area of about fifteen thousand square miles, being about
one half the size of Ireland. Forest-clad mountain-ranges at-
taining the height of from seven thousand to fifteen thousand
feet run through the center from north to south, and from their
bases extends a broad stretch of lowlands, plateau and ravines.
This plain is drained by three large streams which run into the
Tamsui River. Precipitous cliffs from diree thousand to six
thousand feet, clothed with vegetation except on the sea-face,
with two large and many small plains, which are silted inlets,
compose the eastern side of North Formosa.

Formosa is under tropical conditions. It lies between
20° 58' and 25O 15' north latitude and 120° and 122^ east
longitude. The Tropic of Cancer runs through it not far from
the center, so that only the south is really within the tropics.

^'1

I ROM FAR l-ORMOSA

I i
i •»

;
i

On account of its i)ositioii and the altitude of its mountains
there is a considerable variety of climate, not only in that i)art
that lies within tlie troj)ics, but also in the north.

The climate of North Formosa is excessively trying to
foreigners. Those who have traveled in the Orient will untler-
stand that statement, but to the average ^\'esterner it will be
meaningless. In fact, it cannot be fully comjjrehended save
by those who have spent a number of years in such a climate.
From January to December flowers are in bloom and the
whole country is green. Foliage is renewed as fast as it de-
cays. We have no frost or snow, and those accustomed to
invigorating atmosphere cannot understand how at times in
Formosa we long for just one breath of the clear, crisp air of
a frosty Avinter morning. About once a year we do get a
glimpse of the snow's refreshing whiteness, but it is only a
glimpse, for it lies on the top of the highest mountains, and
around Tamsui remains only a few days.

March, Aj)ril, and May may be called our spring season.
June, July, August, and part of September are very hot, and
the months most dreaded, because, although the temperature
varies from forty-two to one hundred degrees at Tamsui and
Kelung, yet on account of the weight of moisture carried by
the atmosphere the heat is much more oppressive and enervat-
ing than in other and drier regions of South China. In August
and September the tropical storms and typlioons come, which
help to clear the air. October and November generally bring
delightful weather in the north. About the end of December
our rainy season sets in, and continues through January and
February. It is rain, rain, rain, to-day, to-morrow, and the
next day ; this week, next week, and the week after ; wet and
wind without, damp and mould within. Often for weeks to-
gether we rarely get a glimpse of the sun. All the year around
we have to fight against depression of spirits, and say over to
ourselves as cheerfully as possible :

GLOGRArHY AND HISTORY

loiiiUaiiis
that part

Tying to
ill iimk'f-
it will be
lIccI saAc

climate.

and the
as it (le-
onietl to

times in
sp air of
lo get a
s only a
lins, and

; season,
hot, and
perature
isiii and
irrieil by
enervat-
1 August
e, which
lly bring
eccmber
lary and
and the
wet and
eeks to-
;■ around
over to

" Ik- still, sail litart, :in<l crasL- rci)iiiini^ ;
IJchiiul llic cloiitis i-. the SUM still sliining.

Not only during the rainy season, but almost any time
throughout the year, we may e.xpect heavy floating clouds to
l)e arrested by the mountains and to eini)ly themselves into
the plains. Especially is this the case during the northeast
monsoon. As the warm waters of the Japanese " lUack
Stream " sweep northerly along the eastern coast of Formosa,
vapors ascend and are driven toward the island, there to be-
come heavy clouds, which condense, touch the mountain-toi)s,
and torrents of rain result. This accounts for the heavier rain
on the eastern than on the western side. During the south-
west monsoon, however, the wind drives these vapors away
from the northern part of the island, and then we have our
finest weather.

Keeping in view tl:e dampness of Formosa and the power-
ful influence of the broiling tropical r.un, it will be easily under-
stood that growth is very rapid. Scarcely a barren spot is to
be seen. The rocks are clad in moss and festooned with
vines; the very trees in their wild state are covered with
creepers. But if growth is rapid, so is decay, and hence
man's deadliest foe — malarial fever. This is the blackest
cloud that hangs longest over our beautiful island. Ikxause
of it disease and death work terrible havoc among the inhabi-
tants. Almost every form of disease is directly traced to this
one source. Seldom do three months elapse without one or
more members of every household being laid low. In the hot
season the natives are suddenly attacked, and in many cases
succumb in a few hours. The bacteria of Asiatic cholera and
malarial fever, carried on the wind, sweep over the country
like a deathful pestilence. Sometimes the fatal effects of the
climate do not appear for many months; but diey manifest
themselves so suddenly and unexpectedly that the physician

FROM F/IR FORMOSA

has little chance to save life. Therefore we have often been
called to follow the bcloveil members of our little community
to the grassy resting-place out on the hill.

My first attack of fever was exactly one year after my
arrival on the island. I had been on an extended tour with
Captain Bax of her Majesty's man-of-war. We pcnt^rated
far into the mountains, and were for a considerable time in
savage territory. 13ax, although strong and healthy when we
set out, had to be carried back in a sedan-chair. On return-
ing to Tamsui I found my rooms chilly, damp, and mouldy.
While I was absent the place was not occupied, and when I
returned and lay down to sleep I became cold as ice, shook
and trembled like an aspen-leaf, my teeth chattering so loudly
that A Hoa heard it in an outer apartment. He came to my
relief and remained at my bedside the whole night. As there
was no fireplace in the building, it was impossible to get
warmed. Heavy doses of quinine broke the fever, but my
system was not free from it for years. Many times, on trips
among churches and in the mountains, have the mats under
me been wet with perspiration during the liot stage of the
disease.

/ Personal experience has convinced me that but few for-
eigners can resist the enervating influence of the climate in
Formosa, and hence I have pleaded for a native ministry to
carry on the work of the mission. If European merchants in
their well-built houses in Tamsui or Kelung find it impossible
to maintain their health, what would become of them had they
to hve in Chinese houses on the east coast, or be exposed to
the wind and weather in inland traveling? /

The position and topography of Formosa expose it to the
dreadful typhoon which sweeps across the Malay Archipelago,
over the Philippine Islands, and then northward to Japan, tak-
ing Formosa in its course. The name is from the Chinese ta-
fung or " great wind." The intense heat in southern latitudes

G COG R.^ PHY /I NO HISTORY

It'll been
mm unity

ifter my
our with
'netrated
time in
when we
II return -
mouldy.
1 when I
e, shook
lo loudly
le to my
As there
e to get
but mj-
on trips
,ts under
e of the

few for-
limate in
nistry lo
■-hants in
ipossible
had they
posed to

it to the
lipelago,
pan, tak-
linese Az-
latitudes

conspires with other causes to produce this fearful outbreak
of the elements, that results every year in untold loss of life
and property. As the main path of the tyi)lu)on is al^ng the
Chinese sea-coast, the greatest destruct jjL^^s^on the shij^^ and
islands. Trees are torn up by the roo^l'toldings are .swept
away like chaff, great ships are broken to'pieces or lifted from
their anchorage and deposited elsewhere, and thousands of
lives are lost. My first experience was in 1874, when the
great typhoon swept over the land.. I was hurrying alone
from Kelung to Bang-kah. I camSto* deep stream, and was
feeling my way across a narrow pHiihk bridge, when a great
roar was heard, and before I reached the opposite bank the
typhoon broke. I was hurled headlong through the darkness
into the mud and water below. How I regained the slippery
bank and made my way through the storm-swept bamboo and
along the narrow winding path I cannot tell It was nearly
midnight when I reached lk\ng-kah, and ri;;lit glad I was to
find some shelter with the students there. That night a Brit-
ish merchant steamer bound for Tamsui was struck outside the
Kelung harbor, and in the morning only the fragments of a
wreck could be seen. Nearly all on board were lost, and now
on a rock a white marble cross commemorates their loss.

Some years afterward, with Sun-a, one of my students, I was
traveling to Kelung. When on the last mountain we looked
seaward across the harbor, and behold ! a black wall stood be-
tween the troubled sea and the lowering heavens. Thousands
of sea-gulls were pressing forward with long, loud cries. We
understood the signs and made all haste. Just as we were
entering the town, with one indescribable roar the storm burst.
First a few drops of rain, then the wind loosened and the tor-
rents fell. Every living creature sought refuge. We rushed
into a half-finished hut, and were companions in distress with
a number of black pigs. There we stayed the whole night,
listening to the fury of the terrific gales and surging waves.

FROM MR I'ORMOSA

Faily ill tho morning we looki-il out to sec the streets two feet
(leei) in the water, nardens and rice-fieUls Hooded, and every-
where marks of destruction and h)ss.

Turning now to the history of Formosa, we find many of
tlie annals untrustworthy, being both inaccurate and fanciful.
The Chinese claim to have sent an envoy to the island during
the Suy dynasty, which was overthrown in O20 a.d. This
claim is entirely probable. With junks, such as the Chinese
possessed hundreils of years ago, it is not credible ih.it tin y
could sail through the lM*mosa Channel year after year uiih-
oiit seeing the island antl touching it somewhere. Tiie first
Kuropeans to visit Formosa were Portuguese, who .settled
there in r5()0. The Dutch landed in 1624, and two years
later were followed by the Spam'ards. The Dutch expelled
the Spaniards in 1642, and they themselves were driven out by
Ko.xinga, the famous Chinese i)irate. Koxinga was loyal to
the Ming dynasty, and when the Tartars came down from
Manchuria, and Sun-ti was proclaimed emperor, Koxinga re-
fused to submit to the usurper. He continued to molest the
coast to such a degree that in 1665 the emperor ordered all the
peojjle to retire nine miles in and to escape Koxinga's grasj).
One might suppose that an emperor strong enough to secure
such obedience from his subjects might easily liave defended
his maritime j)rovinces against attack ; but such is Chinese
strength and weakness. Having thus failed to reach the sub-
jects of the empire, Koxinga crossed the channel, drove the
Dutch out of Formosa, and proclaimed himself first king of
the island. His reign was brief and stormy, and in 1683 his
successors were dethroned by the Chinese emperor and For-
mosa made a dependency of the Fu-kien province. In 1874
the Japanese invaded the eastern part of the island, but left
immechately after the Chinese government made reparation
for the loss sustained by the Japanese junks that had been at-
tacked by tiu. savages. In 18S7 Formosa first became a sej)a-

4 ' v

•

GllOGR/iPHY /INI) HISTORY

two fct't
ul every

many of

fuiuifiil.
il (luring;
I). This

ChiiK'se
:liat tlii'v
L-ar with
The fust
J settled
^vo years

expelled
ni out hy

loyal to
wn from
xiiiga re-
olest the
;d all the
I's grasj).
to secure
defended

Chinese

the sub-
Irove the
: king of

1683 lu's
:ind For-

In 1S7.,
, but left
?paration

been at-
e a sepa-

rate province of tlie Chinese empire. In 1894 war broke out
between China and Japan, and at its close the island of For-
mosa wa ceded to Japan and is now under the Hag of the
" Rising Sun."

The aboriginal or Malayan name of the island was I'ekan
or I'ekando. In 1430 the Chinese named it Ki-lung-shan
(" Mountain of Kelung"), and the best port in the north still
retains that name. Subsc(juently they called it Tai-wan (" Ter-
raced Harbor "), and by that name it is known to all Chinese to
this day ; and the capital of the island was therefore called Tai-
•,van-fu ("capital city of Tai-wan "). " Formosa" is a Portu-
guese word. It is a descriptive name meaning " beautiful," and
was first applied to the settlement at Kelung in 1590. Sailing
along the east coast, liieir brave voyagers, sighting the green-
clad mountains with peaks piercing the scattered clouds, cas-
cades glimmering like silver in the tropical sunlight, and
terraced plains waving with feathery bamboo, exclaimed with
glad surprise, " Ilha formosa, ilha formosa!" ("Beautiful isle,
beautiful isle!").

CHAPTER VI

GEOIXKIY

Formosan natural history unwrittin — A great sulisidcncc — Tlic island
given hack — Geological formation — Minerals found — Physical chanj'-es
— Earthquakes — Loss and compensation — 'i'lie eternal Refuge.

Hi}

THE natural history of Eorinosa is as yet an unwritten
book. I'"ven in the l)est authorities information is
meager and unreh'able. Anythint; pretending to be Chinese
science is empirical and must l)e carefully sifted; and foreign
scientists have done little i)ers()nal investigation on the island.
lUit the subject was too imitortant and too interesting to be
neglected, and so in all otir travels, establishing chm-ches and
exploring in the savage territory, I carried with me my geologi-
cal hammer, chisel, and lens, and brought back on nearly every
occasion some valuable contribution to my museum at Tam-
.sui. I ever sought to train my students to have eyes to see
and minds to understand nattire's great message in sea and
grove and moimtain gorge. In the hope that readers may be
interested without being burdened T shall set down here only
sufficient to convey a general idea of the formations, deposits,
and contents of the mountains and plains, arid refer brieflv to
the influences and agencies at work in modifying the topog^
raphy of the island.

Formosa is a continental island which became separated
from the mainland of China by the subsidence of the interven-
ing land some time during the 'i'ertiary ])eriod, and similar sub-

-Tlie island
sicalclianges
.cfiU'-L'.

unwritten
niation is
)e ("hincsc
nil foreiini
the island,
ting to be
jrclies and
ly j.(e()l(),i,M"-
?arly every
1 at Tam-
yes to see
n sea and
■rs may he

here only
, deposits,
' briefly to
he topog-

separated
; interven-
milar sub-

'I ''jr<

Geological Map

wn t

L -~^.

i••-■-■•.•.l:I^»•

S /fed earth or c/ay

^B Sandstone.
Limestone.

\^^j4//i/m/ so//.

^ran/te compounas G'ray- t
wmm ^/oneTrma^arf rods J^

mmk state w/f/j quartz - ^
too/es...^ /^Y^^

Copy R/ our /805 /jy
wsu CoMPAfjY Pue /i/y m,

^:f

1 .' -. 1

GEOLOGY

CoPYR/o^'r/805 /^y

sideiices have taken place all along tlie Chinese seaboard.
Ik'ginning at the south point of Kanitchatka Peninsula, and
embracing the Kurile, Japan, Loo-choo, rhilip])ine, ISorneo,
Java, and Sumatra islands, we have Formosa about the nn'ddle
of this line, which once formed the eastern boundary of the
Asiatic continent. The Okhotsk, Japan, Yellow, and China
seas, with the Formosa Channel, cover the submerged lands.
Formosa is still connected with the mainland by a bank sub-
merged to the maximum de{)th of one hundred fathoms. This
is, indeed, the deepest sounding anywhere near the island, but
tln'rty miles off the eastern coast the soundings suddenly fall to
the depth of one thousand fathoms, and going farther seaward
to two thousand, three thousand, and four thousand fathoms,
until the dark unsounded depths of the Pacific are reached.

There have been, too, partial and total subsidences and ele-
vations in the geological history of the island, and there are
evidences of a total submergence to the depth of at least one
hundred fathoms, during which period the coral insect built a
layer to a considerable extent over its surface. Then came a
sudden upheaval. The fierce energies within broke out Avith
mighty volcanic action amid the terrific thundering of nature's
heavy artillery. The igneous rocks were lifted to the height of
fifteen hundred feet above the surface of the ocean, and For-
mosa was given back to the light of day. The coral was car-
ried up to these mountain-peaks and then sent in huge masses
tuml)ling down the sides. Heavy rains and sweeping storms
carried it as del^ris out to sea. Remains are still found at the
height of two thousand feet, and this, togetlier with the coral
reef whose arms are stretched out beneath the waters around
the shore, attests the convulsions and changes of prehistoric
times.

The rocks of the island consist principally of sandstone,
slate, graystone, gneiss, limestone, shale, granite and trappean
compounds, basalt, clinkstone, coal, and coralline. In the

!Fl

rrrf

■*yJi4

FROM F^R FORMOS/4

nortliern, nortlieastern, and western sides tlieie are ferni-
ginoiis, argillaceous, gritty, and silicious sandstones, inter-
nu'ngled witii carboniferous quartzite and solid schistose rock.
I'he eastern precipitous cliffs exhibit beautiful contorted gneiss
and graystone masses. The curves and flexures in the lines of
stratification are marked with wonderful distinctness. Around
So Bay, on the eastern coast, and extending south and north,
pyritiferous slate is dominant. 'J'he iron pyrites are very al)un^
dant in the entire formation. Gray, brown, and reddish shales
are common in the northern parts. Mica-schist and micaceous
sandstone alternate with gneiss, and api)ear contorted, dis-
placed, and filled with lodes of cjuartz, varying from one eighth
of an inch to several inches, which ran through the fissures
when the mass was in a molten state. Massive limestone of
bluish-gray color is found with shales and gritty sandstones.
On the right bank of the Kelung River, near Pat-chien-nai
there is an interesting formation of (luartzosc sandstone, com-
posed of quartz-grains colored with non oxide. It was evi-
de?^dy carried by the waters tlirough the valley and deposited
along the flanks of volcanic rocks which were vomited as
molten material long before the now valuable quarry became
cemented into hard rock. Tai-tun range is itself a mass of
dark-blue igneous rock, with an extinct crater twenty-five
hundred and seventy-five feet In'gh on the southwest side.
Quan-yin Mountain is of the same material, and is extensively
quarried and dressed for door-steps, lintels, pillars, and the
foundations of buildings. Already such rocks are called quan-
yin stone by natives.

Conlh known to abound in two thirds of the island, and it
is more than probable that seams of different depths extend the
whole distance from north to south. The best-known mines
are at Poeh-tau, near Kelung. It is all bituminous, and is so
dislocated by upheavals and convulsions that die strata are full
of faults and fissures, wh.ich render the work less remunerative

GEOLOGY

are ferru-
les, inltr-
tose rock.
ted gneiss
ic lines of
Around
md north,
■ery abun-
lisli sliales
nicaceous
•rled, dis-
>ne eighth
le fissures
lestone of
ndstones.
chien-na,
)ne, com-
was evi-
:leposited
mited as
• l)ecame
mass of
enty-five
est side,
tensively
and the
ed quan-

[1, and it
tend the
n mines
ind is so
I are full
nerative

than it might otherwise be. Europeans employed by a gov-
ernor sank a shaft, but there was so much blasting and cutting
of sandstone that it has never been a profitable enterprise.
Natives start at the outcrop at the side of a hill, following the
seam on its incline ; they dig with picks, and with a small hand-
sleigh drag the pieces out. Opposite the Sin-tiam church there
is a seam two feet thick, tilted almost peri)endicular, and there
it stands between the equally dislocated sandstone rocks.
Lignite occurs in a few sandstone ranges on the western
slojies.

Rtrolciim is found at several points between West Peak and
Au-lang. At the seaside I took up a bottleful and kept it for
ten years. It appeared like olive-oil and burned with ease,
giving a bright light. Two Americans from Pennsylvania were
employed by the Chinese to sink a shaft, but at three hundred
feet the drills broke and the enterprise was abandoned.

Natural i^as is obtained in several localities, and one has
only to remove the black soil to the depth of a foot or two,
strike a matcli, and in an instant the whole will be ablaze.

Sa//. — Rock-salt has not been found in the island, but the
aborigines in the Kap-tsu-lan plain have a process by which
they extract the salt from the sea-water. Large quantities of
the water are poured over the hot sand on the beach until for
an inch or two in depth it becomes thoroughlv impregnated.
This sand is then collected into a large iron leach-tub, to which
heat is applied, and into which more sea-water is poured.
The water, percolating, carries the salt with it, and when
evaporated a beautiful white salt remains.

Sulphur is found in great abundance, especially in the
north. The best springs are at Kang-tau, near the Kelimg
River. I visited them in October, 1872. That was the first
time I had seen so strange a sight. Descending from the
height overlooking the Pang-kah plain, we found a winding
path, along which we liurried up the valley till we reached the

FROM FAR FORMOSA

springs. The ground, as we approached, resounded to our
feet like tlie rumbling of distant thunder. The narrow valley
was a place of interest and beauty. A score of springs boiling
and roaring, hissing like a great Mogul engine, sent up clouds
of steam antl poured out volumes of hot sulphur-water. The
sides of the boulders and the lips of the crevices were all
flaked with beautiful golden-colored suli)hur. A bath at any
temperature could easily be obtained, but the Formosans know
nothing about the medicinal properties of their sulphur-si)ring.s.
A valuable suli)hur industry is carried on by the government.
Coolies are employed in the neighborhood of the springs, dig-
ging up raw material, a lava-like substance, grayish in color.
When this is melted in huge i)ans the sulphur comes to the
surface, the sediment, when hard, being a beautiful specimen
of igneous rock. There is another region, northeast by north,
with solfatara springs ; but by far the largest sj^ring is seaward
from Vulcan's Peak, iifty-six hundred and fifty feet high,
on the way to Kim-pau-li. There it is hissing, roaring, and
bellowing, like tons of blazing oil in a seething caldron.
Sea-captains often mistake Vulcan's Peak for an active volcano.
In from Sin-tiam, within the mountains, there is a region where
the fires became extinct less than one hundred years ago.

Irou in some form must exist in the interior of the island, for
at the sea-shore one can easily fill a cup with hematite of iron
by dipping a magnet and collect ng the particles adhering to it.
There are also chalybeate springs along the bases of many hills
and mountains.

GoA/ was discovered in 1S90 by a Chinese w.,.-kman who
had been in California and Australia, and who was engaged in
excavating for the erection of a railway-bridge over the Kelung
River. Reports of this fact having been circulated, multitudes
were soon attracted to the place, and were from daylight to
dark digging for the precious metal. Gold-bearing rocks in the
interior are carboniferous quartzites, slaty and schistose, with

GLOLOGY

'g-

lodcs of quartz. It is (Hfficult to estimate the quantity procured
aniuuiUy, although it must be considerable.

Great physical changes are continually taking place on the
i>laiul. AVhat was once a large and l)eautiful lake is now the
fertile ]5ang-kah plain. Storms and freshets brought down
vegetable matter from the mountains, and the bottom of the
lake was gradually elevated. Meaii while the waters were
grinding and pressing against the spur that joined the Tai-tun
and Quan-yin mountains, forming the lower bank of the lake.
At some time a violent earthquake-shock rent this spur, and
the waters rushed madly ilown to the sea, leaving behind
;i rich alluvial plain, and cutting what is now the channel of
the 'I'amsui River,

l^arthquakes are very connnon and do enormous damage.
Jn 1891 on one day four shocks were felt, and a month later
tA\ () more. Years ago at Kelung rumbling sounds were heard,
and the waters of the harbor receded until fish of all sizes were
kfl wriggling and floundering in the mud and pools. Women
and children rushed out to secure such rare and enticing
j)rizes, but shrieks from the shore warned them of the return
of the water. Dack it came, furious as a charge of battle,
overleaping its appointed bounds, and sv.-eeping away all the
houses in the low-lying land along the shore. The story of that
tidal wave is handed down as one of the great catastrophes in
history. At Kim-pau-li, not many years ago, a shock was felt.
Rice-fields suddenly sank three feet, and the sulphurous water
rose and still covers the place. Sugar-cane is now cultivated
in large tracts where boatmen plied their oars in 1872, and the
waters of the Tamsui River glide over places where stood vil-
lages in which I preached the gospel tw^enty-three years ago.
Changes are taking place, too, all ahmg the shore. One might
sui>pose that the hard rocks on the east coast would be able to
resist all forces and influences. lUit no ; tides and waves of the
great Pacific tunnel, undermine, and wear away the bases of the

FROM F/IR FORMOSA

rocks, till needles, stacks, and arches stand up to attest the in-
ward march of the water. On the west coast, however, there
is compensation, for there the land is encroaching fast upon the
sea. During heavy rains the rivers transport large quantities of
mud, sand, and gravel from the mountains into the Formosa
Channel, building sand-bars, mud-banks, and extensive shoals
as though the island sought to bridge again a pathway back to
the parent land.

What mighty changes! What resistless power! Atmo-
spheric, organic, aqueous, chemical, and volcanic agencies are
ever at work lowering the mountains, elevating the seas, chang-
mg the face of nature. But note it well : they are blind and
mighty forces, but they are all under control of Him who lay-
eth the beams of his chambers in the waters, who maketh the
clouds his chariots, the flaming fire his ministers, who walketh
upon the wings of the wind, and by whom the foundations of
the earth were laid that it should not be removed forever We
will not fear though the earth do change, though the mountains
be carried into the midst of the sea. The eternal God is our
refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. I will sing
unto the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises unto my
(jod while I have my being.

J**

:est the in-
^ver, there
it upon the
lantities of
■ Formosa
ive shoals,
ay back to

! Atmo-
encies are
as, chang-
bh'nd and

who lay-
aketh the
3 walketh
lations of
ver. We
lountams
3d is our

will sing
unto my

/jri (i

Botanical

«»!»

CMAPTKR VII

TREES, PLANTS, AND FLOWERS

''T^llE richness of the soil and the humidity of the chmate
1 conspire to produce a luxuriant vegetation in Formosa.
'I'rees, plants, and flowers literally cover the ground. Apart
from a few exposed rocks, the crevices, ravines, and boulders
are overgrown with ferns, i)lants, grasses, and creepers of all
kinds and sizes. The trees are not tall, but large, having
enormous branches. The mountain-sides are clothed from
top to bottom with tangled undergrowth and trees of every
possible shade of yellow and green. Reference will be made
in this chapter to the many varieties found in this botanical
garden of nature. For the sake of brevity the names only of
many common or unimportant plants and flowers are men-
tioned.

I. Forest- trees

1 . Shaulam ( Thuya Forniosaua) is found in the mountains,
in rocky places, and upon the bare rock. It is an excellent
lumber- tree, has a beautiful grain, and when varnished with
certain Chinese preparations it takes on a fine finish that re-
flects objects like a mirror, and is the best in Formosa for
cabinet-work. It is nothing unusual to see boards and planks
of it from two to eight feet in breadth.

2. Oak [Qiicrcus ilex), a pretty evergreen, of which there
are several varieties. It is hard red wood, which is used in
the manufacture of hoe, ax, and adz handles,

S'' I'KOM MR l-QRMOS^I

3. 'Jallou'-trcc (.S///////,./,/ azcH/cra). TIk. h^rry r,f tli

alter the (•(.vcriiiK falls off, is about tl

IS tree.

"II f«jl<>r, and liai),t;.s in clusters fr

)in til

le si;a' of a ])ea, whitish

el)ranches. 'I'hc tallow

, . "iiiiviiLn. 1 lie tauow

.s extracted ,o,u the berry by pressure, aud is tnade into
candles ulucl,, ^he.) panUed red, are used for idol-worshin
especially in Jiuddhistic temples. The leaves of the tree re
semble those of the Canadian poplar, but in autumn ihcy as-
sume the red and ydlou tints of the soft maj^le "
4. Mulberry ^Morus >n,ra). This tree is indigenous and
grows everywhere. An attempt was made to establish a silk

- ustry on the islaiul, and the silkw<.rni was introdticl 1
Y the leaves of the mulberry proved coarser than those
the mamland, and the raw silk being of inferior quality, the
enterj)nse was abandoned. ^'

win 1 ^'''' 1 '^ '"' " ^'^'"'''' '" ^"■"''^' ^''^' ^^'^^'I'-ntations from
winds and storms.

I-'. I'iiH'. Only , f,„. ,„„„ ,„.„^,^ ^„,^. ^^_^^|

.sc'.'.i Mil ila. si.lm „f UK mountains.

7. 0"ni.h,.r {/„„„.,„ c,„„pk,n,). Carapl,„r.,rcc.s ar. ,1,,
.US.S, n, ,I,c foa-sts. On uK-asuring one I f„un.I i, ...n

« d, a nnndrcd y.,„ ago .as „.■ ,.„., „ , „,,., ^^, ^
u c I ,s a s,„gU.pa.cc of „,o,v ,han dght fee, squa,-., an,.

un ],U sap from ,l,c sngar-n,aplo, nor .Iocs it c.u,de lilcc pitch

'f an ,„ch broa.l, and with a han.IIe two fc:, lo,' ; ' ,

<-Apuu. i\^ the demand is oreit in t,',,..

ft! eat in l!.iiropean countries,

77v7;V;\.S', ri..lNIS, AND I l.OHHRS

i this tree,
■'I, wliitisli
I'iic tallow
iiadc into
i-worsliij),
(-' tree re-
» they a.s-

lous and
ish a silk
nxlucctl.
those on
ality, tile

>ns from

tlicy arc

arc the
Iwcnty-
a plank
■ chief's
ire, and
oes not
:c pitcli
An adz
is used

oi the
^d in a
course

vessel
until a
il)s for
intries.

the camphor industry is one of the most important on the
{.■.land.

8. Paper-plant {Aral'ut papynfeni). The so-called riie-pai)er
is made from the pith of this plant. 'I'hc roll of pith, varying
from half an inch to three inches in diameter, is cut into pieces
according to the width of paper desired. It is then placed
upon a very smooth tile, shaped somewhi.t after the fashion of
a slate, with a brass frame the thickness of the paper raised
above the edges. 'J'he operator, having made the pith per-
fectly smooth and cyliiulrical, rolls it backward over the tile
with his left hand, and with his right jiares it concentrically
with a long, sharp, thick-backed knife. 'I'lie knife rests on
the brass frame, which serves as a gauge, and is drawn steadily
back and forth. A beautiful paper is thus cut, which is used
in making artificial flowers, or is exported to Hong Kong, where
it is used in the manufacture of sun-hats. Chinese artists find
large employment in painting cards of this paper, which are
readily disposed of to European and American tourists.

9. Vwwg-XxQii^Liqiiidamhar Forntosaita), 'I'his beautiful tree
resembles soft maple. The leaves, especially when presseil
between the fmgers, are (juite fragrant.

10. Head-tree {Mr/id AzcdixracJi). This tree grows very rap-
idly. ^Vllen about a foot in diameter its wide-spreading
branches and lovely lilac flowers present a picture very at-
tractive to a lover of nature.

11. Banian {Ficus litdica). There can be no doubt that
the banian is a long-lived tree. Of all the several hundred
trees now in the college grounds at I'amsiu", I planted every
one from small branches, two inches through and five or six
feet long. These were cut from large trees which survived
several centuries of tropical storm. The banian is an ever-
green, with rootlets runm'ng from the branches, which, if not
interfered with, e\entually reach the ground, take root, and
grow as a support to the tree. The process of extension and

FRCM FAR FORMOSA

reduplKa,io„ mny go on until .ho branches, suppor.cl l,v
he, self.prodnced pilhrs, cover a vast area, and dfe or i, d

z !>::,::" "" ^^■"'""' ^•^■""'^ '™'" «''"^" "-»n>i^ -;

... ^Vill„„ (&/M). As is to be expected, willows of dilTer
ent var,et,es are fottnd growing on the lowlands and o ,e
banks of strean.s. "•

.3. Scrcnv.pine (P.„„/,„„s). The leaves of this tree -.r,.
arrange sptral.y in three rows, and bear sotne resend,! ce

a dark roont, and the va™!:;'!; ■„:,:":■;; \: '"■"'' '■.';

-iiTerent pef;. stf'ver l.^hr'^rr""' ■^"" '"^ ^■'"■' ™
n.aker.sestablishn,en,,re„ : gonl r """ '" '■" "^''■"^'-

:rL:^ f r;:;::r;: " '"'^^ "-^-^ ■'"- "''■■-'£

scarcely be opened I, """"""' ""' "'>' 'y^''^'^ ™"W
i."-.a.i,4a„dC„;,y L™ :;:,;" .^■;'-"'''''.''"' ■■• -.s very
truk, Ihottgh doubtless hi " "^"''' """' '■■•" ""=

■^nows in the e JdoTt: n ftC de''^,,:'? '""^"' "■"•^
>5. Thorn. Thi, as i , ' """"^"'^'"y "'^'iiwis.

.'j^unc.with .spines^fi^,. ■,:;,:: • ^r-^^'^ "'°".« "-^

the hillsides. ^^"^tlis, i.s f,ften met with on

■./'e::ttiei;;::;rt';:rrr7--''"'-"'^

TREES, PLANTS, AND FLOIVERS

Pportcd I)y
the original
Jsands may

's of differ-
»tl on the

s tree are
iil)hince to
hie. 'J'Jie
pineap])Ie,
'^ndy dis-
used for
lercd out,

ons from
e used in
lere until
effect on

cabinet-
Init such
3's after-
iial size,
's couhl
'as very

eat tlie
hI their

ng the
vith on

beauty
stands
fifteen

feet in length. It is used for posts, and its wood is manufactm-ed
into cigar-boxes.

I 7. Rattan {Calamus ivtaii^if) is a species of palm. It grows
from twelve to twenty feet high ; then it begins to creep along
in a vine-like fashion over other plants and above the branches
of trees, until it reaches fully five hundred feet. In pulling it
out the woodman often falls a prey to the savage head-hunter.
The exportation of rattan is an important industry.

1 8. Red bamboo. This is an ornamental tree, with reddish
stems and leaves, but it does not belong to the bamboo family.
It is a DraCiCiia fcrrt'a.

19. Betel-nut {Airca CatccJni). This is an elegant tree,
straight as a rod, rising sometimes to the height of fifty feet.
Leaves are found at the top only. Its fruit is the well-known
betel-nut, which is extensively used for chewing by the Malay-
ans in Formosa and other islands, as a kind of intoxicant.
This nut is the pledge of reconciliation. When offered by
one and accepted by another, it is understood that the hatchet
is buried.

20. IJetel-pepper {CJiavica Bct'e). This is a creeper that is
often planted by tlie aborigines beside the betel-tree, up which
it is trained to grow. The leaf of this creeper has a pleasant
taste and is much relished by the native tribes, who chew it
all day long with the betel-nut dipped in lime. This is a filthy
and injurious habit.

21. Castor-oil plant [Riciiius). There are two species in the
north — the orie with green stems and leaves, the other, more
lovely, with purple branches, leaves, and stems. Although
indigenous and of rapid growth, the seeds from which the oil
is produced are not utilized by the people.

22. Soap-tree {Sapindtis Saponaria). The fruit is about the
size of marbles, grayish in color, with a kernel inside. Savages
and others on the border-land use it when washing clothes.
But the style of washing is unique. Whether it be done at

FROM f\^R FORMOSA

l.".„l.., creeks, or rn-ens, ,l,e garinenls are laid upon a plaok

- a flat M,.„. a, ,l,e ed.-e of il,e wau,-. U'i,!, a s.ick uv„
nches , ,„.k a,al ,>v„ fee, lo„y, ,|,e ,,„-,„,„„ „, ,,,, .,„„

en ru he. w„h soa,,.,ree .see.ls, ,„rne.l over, and pounded'
■"•1 ■■'■1-1 agau, and again. W'l.en tile elod.es are con-
s.dered .sufte.ently clean they are given a fn.al rinse and taken

a iK.ght of fifty or .s,.v,y lect in the n.ountains, and produces
fimt snn.lar to ll,a, of the sa.ne fa.nily in An.eriea

24- Ce.lar (y7„,r,, ,vv,v,/„&). TI.ese are not large, an.l are
grown more for the ptnpose of ornan.enta.ion than utility

25. Cayenne pepper iCa/s/,,„„ Si,„„s,). ■■chilli" is'ti.e
Me..can „an,e for all the ,arie,ies. ■pha, i„ ,,,,,,0,, ,-, ,
shrub ,„.„ or ,h,,e f,,,, ,„,,, ;, ^^

arc much used for domestic purposes. '

26. Kiu.kiong (/.,,-.,v.y;,,™„ /,„&.„,. This is a very hard
i"-.", clo.se.gra,ned ,vo„d, and is used for seals, knol s, an.l'
other articles of that nature.

27. M-il.l mango {CWhr., O.hlhm), which grows t., die
-ght of twenty fee,, lias evergrce.l, wa.vy leaves. Its fruit is

'<■) pc,„l,ar an.l ,s ahont the size of a lien's eg At first it
■•s green, hut af.ei war.l i, heroines a heauliful' l-e.ldish pink
■ut how .le.-ept,ve: lusi.le it is .lothing ntore nor le.ss ,han
d,-y filie,-, neuhcr useful nor ..rnamemd

2.S ,.|,„.,.hhiu (CWs Si,n„si.). This ,ree resembles the
pc.i.IUnu ,ts wood, which is .s.,f, an.l while, is ,„„ vahiaMe

^^- I^riiits and Fniif tnrs
.. Longan (.\;//„,W l.„„.„„.„^ This is about the si...

tZ i :■ ' r"'i :',"'.■■"■ '•"*-'*^ -"'■ "'"»" '1-C rind
•or IS a pulp whi.h is c.lible, and in the center a kernel
black outside and white within.

TREES, FLINTS, AND FLOIVERS

upon a plank
til a stick two
lirst ])ouii(Ie(l,

and pounded
tlifs are con-
nse ami taken

tree groAvs to
and j)roduces
:a.

arge, and are
an utility,
-^liilli " is the
l''()rmosa is a
md the pods

a very hard,
l^nobs, and

rows to the

Its fruit is

At first it

-ddish j)ink,

or less than

icmblcs tlie
ot vahiaMe

)ul the size
1 that rind
r a kernel.

2. Loquat [Eryol'otrya Japoiiica). 'I'his is a yellow, juicy
fruit, with a kernel edible both in the natural stale and when
preserved.

3. Persimmon [jyios^^yros). ( )f this there arc several vari-
eties, but one is peculiar to Formosa. 'Phe m(>st common is
red and about the size and shaj)e of a tomato, for which,
indeed, it might easily be nu'staken. 'Phe other is hard and
green, and is eaten after being cut and dipped in water.

4. Arbutus or st.'awberry-tree (y//'"/v////i' Uiwdo). It resembles
a strawberry, but ^Mie has to acquire a taste for it before rel-
ishing it. It is often pickled and used as a coi' liment.

5. Angular friu't [Avrrr/ioa Cara»iboIa). 'J'his is a peculiar
fruit of angular shape, two inches long, and of yellow-green
color. When ripe it is \'cry juicy, of a green-gooseberry flavor,
and is much relished.

6. Pomelo or shaddock {Citrus (/cai/fiaua). The formation
of this fruit is sectional, similar to that of the orange ; but it is
considerably larger, being about the size of a citron, 'i'here
are several species of it. 'Phe fruit of one is reddish, and of
another whitish. The latter is preferred by foreigners.

7. Banana {ilfi/sa f(\x/i//s). 'Phe stem of the banana is soft
and does not resemble that of hard trees. 'Phe young shoot
springs near the old plant, which falls after the fruit is ripened.
In one year there may be three successis'e bunches, each weigh-
ing about forty pounds. The ground around a banana-tree is
always wet, and where cultivated the neighborhood is more or
less malarit)us.

8. Orange {Citrus Aurantiitm). The sweet and bitter grow
here. There is a wild orange found in the forest, but it is much
smaller than the cultivated one. 'Phere is one species which
bears white flowers nnd golden friu't nt the same time. The
natives call it the " four-season " orange.

9. Plum {Pruuiis ilomcstica). Considering the litde attention
paid to its cultivation, die Formosa plum must be described as

FROM F.^R FORMOS/I

excellent. One kind is reddish to the pit and makes a deh"-
cious preserve.

10. Pear {jynis communis). I'his is iiard and woody, h'ke
its wild uncultivated cousin in tlie West.

11. Crab-apple {Pynts Mains). The apple is indigenous.
How interesting and suggestive the fact that we have in For-
mosa the original of the northern spy, maiden's-bhish, pi])-
pin, baldwin— indeed, of all the varieties of api)le known in
the world; and that the difference between these fine fruits
and this scrawny crab is the result of horticultural care and
cultivation !

12. Guava {PsiJinm). The tree which bears this fruit is to
be found growing eight or ten feet high all over the hills; but
it is also cultivated in gardens or orchards, and its fruit is im-
proved thereby. Th.c natives salt it when green and eat it
when ripe.

13. Pomegranate {Punka ^^ranalum). Hie dark scarlet
flowers of the pomegranate are of surpassing beauty, but as
compared with that of Palestine the fruit is not to be desired.

14. Lime {Citrus Limctta). I'he rind of this fruit is dense, of
a greenish-yellow color, and really excellent when ripe It has
a bitter taste. There are also " four-season " limes, producin.^
fruit and flowers at the same time. ^

15- Citron {Citrus wcdica). It is much larger than the lime
and has a thick, tuberous rind. Its pulp is n<.t so acid as that
of the lime.

16 Peach {Prrsica vuJo-aris). The wild peach is small, round,
and hairy, but the grafted variety is delicious when fully ripe
_ 17. Pineapple {Ananassa sativa). The best pineapple^ grow
in light loam in the vicinity of the sulphur-springs, l^ie phmts
are two feet high. One looking at them growing in the dis-
tance might mistake them for a garden of cabbages. FA-por-
tation IS more disastrous to this fruit than to any other One
who has eaten the rich and luscious pineapple in its native For-

es a deli-

)ody, like

.ligenous.
e in For-
iish, pip-
:no\vn in
ne fruits
care and

ruit is to
lills; but
lit is im-
d eat it

scarlet
, but as
desired,
lense, of

It has
oducing

he h'me,
as that

, round,
lly rij)e.
es gi-ow
e i)hints
the dis-
PLxpor-
. One
ve For-

TRH[:S, PL/tNTS, AND FWIVEKS 6j

mosa cannot endure the very best offered for sale in foreign
markets.

18. Mango {Mangi/cra Iiuftca). Nothing can be said in
praise of this fruit as it is found m North Formosa. It has
the taste of turpentine.

19. Papaw {Carica Papaya). The tree which produces this
fruit grows to the height of about twenty feet. The fruit itself
is very edible, is yellow when ripe, and has a milky juice.
Formosan mothers boil this fruit in the raw state, and eat it
with pork, for they believe that on such a diet they can more
liberally nourish their babes.

20. Jujube {/.izyphns Jitjnba). The jujube-tree grows to
the height of thirty feet. Its fruit is eaten by the natives, but
is somewhat insipid.

21. Breadfruit {Artocarpits iiicisa). This fruit is used by die
aborigines exclusively. The plant has a viscid, milky juice.

22. Tichi [Nephdium Lite hi). It has a soft pulp, which is
very delicious. It is often dried with sugar and used as a pre-
serve.

23. Hong-kaw {Naiidca cordifoHa). This is a yellow fruit,
and is slightly larger than the egg of a common gray-bird.

24. Raspberry. Botli red and black varieties grow in
abundance everywhere on the cleared hills; but though the
fruit looks full and enticing when ripe, it has not the flavor of
the Western berry, and is never eaten, unless, indeed, occasion-
ally by the herd-boys.

25. Fig {Fic-iis). The only indigenous fig is a creeping one,
which is a parasite. Starting out self-dependent near a tree, it
will fasten itself to the trunk and climb up till it reaches and
overshadows the topmost branches. The Chinese regard the
fruit, when boiled to a jelly, as valuable for medicinal purposes.

26. There is a creeping plant which produces a berry some-
what similar to the strawberry.

FROM F^IR rORMOS.1

i I

I i

I i!

i (m;

III. Fibrous Flants

At the outset it is well to state that there is no hemp, flax,
or cotton in Nortli Formosa.

1. Jute [Coir /writs caj^sularis). This grows ten or twelve
feet high, and is manufacttn-ed into cords, bags, and cables.

2. Grass-cloth or rhea (Jhvliiiwria nivca). It is cultivated
with great care, fertilized with liquid manure, and made into
grass-cloth and cuius. It is found in Assam, Nepaul, and
Sikkim.

3. Triangular rush ( Cyprus tcgcfiformis). This grows in brack-
ish water, and is cultivated in the Tai-kah region, at tlie boun-
dary of our mission. That i)lace, indeed, has become famous
for its bed-mats made from this material. The mats vary in
price from two to five dollars each.

4. Banana. Out of the fibers of the stem a thin summer
cloth is manufartured.

5. Pineapple. \ ery luscious. Out of its leaves a cloth is
made, similar to that made from the l)anana fibers.

6. Dwarf palm. Cords are made from the fibers of the bark.

7. Rain-coat [Chanucrops cxccha). The brown fibers near
the leaf-sheets are sewn together with threads of tlie same
material. The product is converted into coats which are worn
during the heavy rains by peasants and boatmen. The coat is
certainly a durable one, for even though exposed to sun and
rain for fifteen years it will not rot.

8. Paper-mulberry {Broussonctia papyri fcra). TIic bark is
stripped from the trunk and lower branches, and afterward
immersed in tubs con'^iining water; but the liqaid is not ready
for use for several days. When it is prepared, a framework
four feet square is made, and on it is fastened a coarse mate-
rial like bag stufT. The frame is held on an incline- and the
liquid is poured gently over the canvas. The lower end of the
framework is then raised until the liquid spreads evenly over

... I illl|il^^ "I"*!!*;!

TREES, PL/iNTS, AND ELOn'ERS

^'5

hemp, flax,

I or twelve
ul cables,
s cultivated
made into
[epaiil, and

^vs in brack-
t the boun-
)me famous
lats vary in

lin summer

lolh ih

■s a c

of the bark.

fibers near
if the same
ch are worn
The coat is

to sun and

riie bark is
:1 afterward
is not ready-
framework
oarse mate-
in e and the
r end of the
evenly over

the surface and begins to thicken. It is then returned to the
inclined position and exposed to the drying rays of the sun.
The result is a sheet of gray paper resembling the material in
a wasp's nest. This paper is oiled and used in umbrella manu-
facture instead of cknh.

9. Getho {A/pinia CJiiucnsis). It grows wild on the hills,
among shrubs, everywhere. The leaves are long, and the
flowers are white and waxy, and yellow within. The fibers
are used in tl»e manufacture of soles for one kind of gra.ss
sandals.

IV. Leguminous PhDits

1. \xi(X\^o[rndigoferafinciona). There are two species. One,
with a small leaf, is cultivated in a sandy loam ; the other, with
large leaves not unlike the Irish potato, is cultivated in new
land, sometimes around sttimps.

2. Ground-nut or peanut {Arachis /lypoga-a). The appear-
ance of this plant in the field is like clover. It has pretty yel-
low blossoms. The legumes are produced underground ; hence
the Chinese name, lok-hoa-seng. To dig the nuts is very
laborious work. The Chinese, therefore, make what pioneers
used to call a "bee," and from fifty to one hundred men,
women, and children can be seen together digging with
little scoops in the right hand, and picking up the nuts with
the left. They are usually boiled and liaA-e salt thrown over
them, or else roasted. Every rice-stall throughout the coun-
try has these useful peanuts on the table. From them an oil
is expressed which is used for both food and light.

3. Eeans, of which there are many varieties, are cultivated •
extensively.

4. Peas are less common and have fewer varieties.

5. Siusi {Arhus prccaiorius). This has long, narrow leaves
and very lovely round yellow flowers. There are rows of
It in the college grounds, and when all the .inches are a

FROM r.tR I ORMOS.I

it-

mass of j-cllow the- sight Is cliarniint;. Nearly all the lea-plaii-
lations liavc these trees planted around to protect iheni from

the wind.

6. Scnsilive-plant {J/i/z/csa sc/isi/ira) grcnvs wiUl in culti-
vated localities.

7. Vetch {I'iciiJ Crdu-tt). 'I'his is not unlike the bean, and is
found both wiKl and under cultivation.

8. Cessimum, sometimes called til. it is a Cssi/iii/i/i orini-
talc, and has black seeds, from which a bland oil, dark in color,
is made. This is very highly prized by the Chinese ; in fad, it
is considered almost a household necessity.

V. Grasses

it T -

1. Rice {Oryza sa/iva). This is the great staple of the land.
Its culture is explained at length in another chapter.

2. ^Vheat {TrHiiUDi Tith^arc). This cereal is sown in Novem-
ber and harvested in May. At best the crop is jxior, and
now that American fluur i.-> iiuoorted its cultivation is rapidly
diminishing.

3. Barley {Ifoydnim Tul:.:arc). ^'here is but little barley
grown anywhere on the island.

4. Maize {Zea Mays). 'J'his is cultivated by both Chinese
and .savages. When the grains are cjuite hard it is boiled and
eaten off the cob.

5. Millet {Paukiim mUuiccum). Of this there are dilTereut
varieties. One kind is only three feet high, while another, the
So)\^hnin vuh^air, grows to the height of ten feet in good soil.

6. Oats are not cultivated. I experimented with Cana-
dian seeds. They produced straw four feet high, which was
like stalks of reed, but the kernels were worthless.

7. Sugar-cane {Saci/iani/ii Si/icnse vc'lolaii-iiiii). There are
two kinds of sugar-cane cultivated, the one for chewing, and
the other for the manufacture of brown sugar for export.

TREES, PLANTS, AND FLOiyEKS

lie tca-iilaii-
lliL'in froiii

iUl in culti-

bcan, ami is

■i III II III or'h'ii-
aik in color,
L' ; in fact, ii

of the land,
er.

n in Xovetn-
is poor, and
.)n is rapitUy

little barley

)oth Chinese
s boiled and

are dilTercnt
another, the

in good soil,
with Cana-

I, which was

There are
:hewing, and
export.

8. Bamboo [Bamhitsa aniinrniacea). There is one large
species which is split and made into baskets, hoops, etc.
Another kind grows to about the si/e of a large lishing-rod.
'i'here is still another with small and feathery leaves which is
planted for hedges. 'I'he young shoots are cut oiT and used
for pickles. Boats, houses, bridges, baskets, chairs, hen-coops,
bird-cages, jars, water- vessels, pipes, lamjjs, beds, masts, doors,
hoops, mats, paper, are all made from this indispensable grass.
The savages also make earrings out of it, and the only musical
instruments they possess. It is to the Chinese what the cocoa-
nut is to the South Sea Islander and the date-palm to the
African. It rarely flowers or produces seed, so that when
flowers are seen tliose who are very superstitit)us declare that
some great change will certainly soon take place.

9. Couch-grass {Triticiim irpcns) grows wild.
ID. Sand-grass [rsaiiuiia arciuvia).

II. A most useful reed {Sacchaniin proccnim).
There are numerous grasses, many of which bear red, white,
or black seetls. These seeds are used as beads by the wild
mountaineers. A most useful reed, lo-tek or arunde, is used
by builders; and the cellular tissues of lampwick {Lepironia)
we used in the early days in our little bamboo lamps.

VI. n III bo us Plants

I. Sweet potato {Batatas cdiiUs). This is really a convol-
vulus, with pretty flowers, creeping tendrils, and large bulbs
underground. It must be distinguished from tlie ordinary
potato which produces such nutritious tubers, and which be-
longs to a different order, the Solanum tiihcrosuin. The bulb
of the sweet potato is planted in March. In about .six weeks
tlie vines are cut into pieces eight inches long, which are
planted in drills, and from these vine-cuttings the bulbs crow,
and are ripe about the end of June. A second crop is planted

l-ROM r.lR FORMOS/1

:il

in a similar way in July and is ripe in November. Eulhs nro
never grown from bulbs, but invnriably from vine-cuttings.
There are three varieties, which ditTer in size, shape, and color.

2. Vani {Dicscona satii'd). There are several kinds — onr
white, another reddish, a third grows in water, while several
others are produced on dry land on the hillsiiles. 'l"he dye-
yam, which is i»rocured from the mountains, is used mainly by
the fishermen for dyeing their nets, clothes, and ropes.

3. Iloan-koah, This has a leaf in seven divisions, palmate
ill form. Above-grcund it is a creeping vine. The tubers, one
foot long, are beneath the surface. They are dried, grated to
powder, and used for food.

4. Taro {AriiCiuru'). Also edible, similar to the yam.

5. Turmeric {CiircHina /ofiga). The branches of the root-
stalk are used as a coloring-matter, medicine, and condiment.
The powder which is made from the root-stalk is of a Uinon-
yellow color. This enters largely into the composition of curry
powder.

VII. Vcge fables

1. Pumpkin {Cuciirh'ita maxima). It grows to a largr size
One can occasionally l>e found weighing as much as sixty
pounds. 'I'he savages have a small, sweet variety.

2. S(]uash {Cticiirbita lilvlo-pepo). Of considerable size.

3. Cucumber {Ciicumh sativus). The common variety grows
larger than in America, and besides there is a large, soft,
and good species which is pickled and used extensively with
rice.

4. Melon [Ciicitmis Mclo). This compares favorably with
that found in the ^^'est.

5. Watermelon {Ciicuinis Cilndlus). This is extensively
grown on sandy soil, and is very refreshing.

6. Bottle-gourd [Ciwi/rNfa Lai:;i'iiari(i). AVhen young and
tender this vegetable is sometimes e.itcn, but it is generally

TimiLS, PL/lhlTS, .4Ni) l-LOmiRS

Lulhs nre
le-cuttings,
and color,
dnds — one
lile several
'I'lu' dye-
mainly by

K'S.

IS, ])alniatc
tubers, one
, grated to

Mm.

f the root-
■ondiment.
f a lenion-
n of ciMTy-

largo size,
h as sixty

le size,
riety grows
large, soft,
jively with

rably with

.'xtensively

,'oung and
i generally

cultivated for its value as a water-bottle, water-dipper, water-
jar, or a jar for holding coral-lime.

7. Water-cress [Li/iiiiiftn sa/iviiDi). An excellent w ater-cress
is found in running streams, but it is rather strange that peo])le
who eat and enjoy so many herbs and vegetables of all de-
scriptions should never partake of the wholesome cress. The
European sailors, however, esj)ecially the blue-jackets from
her Dritannic Majesty's ships, soon found it out, and now
they can often be seen with their l)onnets full, returning to the
ship to enjoy a fresh delicacy at mess.

8. Tomato {Sola/m/n or Lycopcrsicum csculcutum). The
tomato is truly indigenous, for it grows wild on cleared spots
within the moimtains, among shrubs, and beside pathways. Vox
years I tried to induce the I'e-po-hoan to grow and use the
tomato, but so far my efforts have been in vain. The Chinese
themselves have an intense dislike to the taste. 'I'his is to be
regretted, for the large cultivated variety could be grown with
little trouble.

9. Ih'injal {Sohvium Afi'/ongena). The '"ruit is of a pin-|)le
color, five or six inches in length and an inch in thickness. It
grows on a plant somewhat like a standing tomato when about
eighteen ii' hes high. It is sliced lengthwise, boiled, dipped
in sauce, and eaten.

10. White cabbage {Bnissica). There are several varieties,
which have been derived from Brass/ca olcracca, the original
si)ecies. The foreign drumhead cabbage has been introduced
and cultivated successfully. Occasionally one is found weigh-
ing twenty pounds.

11. Onion {Allium Cepa). The bulb is very small. The
whole plant, having been boiled ro dissipate the phosphoric
acid, is eaten as a relish wiUi rice.

12. Leek {AUium Pornim). I'his is used as the onion, but
it is i)refcrred when it is in blossom,

13. Garlic {AlUinn sativum). This is extensively cultivated

/■ROM r.lK lORMOSA

and used lor its well-known irritant, stimulating, and diuretic
properties.

14. Celery {Apiiini :^iiivcolc}is). This is used green, never
blanched. It is boiled, cut into pieces an inch long, and eaten
with rice.

15. Sjjinach {Sftiuuia o/inurii). It is used as an esctilent
pot-herb.

if). 'I'urnip {/ir,rss/\-(r ra/^a). The diderent varieties are all
white. One large kind rescnibles that in Western lands, it In
sliced, salted, and tluis prepareil for future use. The small
round variety is very sweet and succulent.

17. Ik'an [/)r/i/ioiuurtr). Many types of bean are foimd,
some white, others black; some flat, others roimd ; some large,
others small. 'I'hey arc all etlible. The jxxls of a creeper in
the forest arc sometimes two feet in length, while the cultivated
bean, which grows over water on trellis-work, is eighteen inches
long. The DoIicJios S(>x<i nu'ght be designated the oil-bean.

iS. Tea {PapUioiiaccii). It is planted, not sown broadcast,
and its pods, when small, are picked, boiled, and used as a
vegetable.

19. I.ettucc ( ^.iUiiica sativa). This is nc\'er used in the raw
state, but is ah'. ays boiled before being ealen. Its property of
alleviating pain and inducing sleep is well tniderstood.

20. Parsley [Piiroscliiiitiit saCivitni) is cooketl in lard before
it is put on the table.

21. Mustard {Jh-assica Shiapis). 'I'his, when salted, is the
staple vegetable among the peasants.

22. Coriander [Coria/n/uDi safivinii) is used as a salad,
dipped in soy.

23. Feimel {Fiot'iculiini vul\:;a)r) is sometimes used as a food,
l)Ut more frequently as a medicine.

24. Ciinger {/jih^ihcr ofTicinalv). This very useful plant at-
tains the height of about a foot, and has long, pointed leaves.
The rhizomes or roots are taken when green, sliced, and i)re-

•^^^BBSL

TRf:i:'s, ruNTs, .iNP r/.oii'i:Rs

il diuretic

.'cn, iK'ver
ami eaten

1 esculent

I OS are all
ids. It is
riie small

ire found,
)me large,
creeper in
cultivated
?en inches
il-bcan.
)roadcast,
used as a

n the raw

roperty of

ird before

c'd, is the

a salad,

as a food,

jilant at-
ed leaves.
, and j)re-

parcd as a relish. Around the city of 'I'ek-chham there has
sjjrung up (piitc an industry in preparing it for market. It is
preserved dry, in sugar, in small earthen pots. It is not in
any way like the preparation in Canton which is brought into
Western huuls. I'lums, peaches, and pears are j)re.>erved in
small earthen pots like the Tek-chham ginger.

25. Ka-pek-sun {Cy/crus). This is a sedge found in drains,
watercourses, and rivulets. The shoots, in the autumn, are
used daily at meals. The root, when sliced, is of a whitish
color, with black spots. It is truly a well-flavored, palatable
vegetable.

VIII. Otiur Kinds of Plants

1. T('bacco [iVicotiiUui Tabacitni), On the eastern coast
tobacco grows sometimes ten feet high. I never saw a living
creature put to death more expeditiously than was a venomous
serpent one ilay when we were erecting Oxford College. He
was found under a heap of tiles. One laborer pinned him to
the ground with a pole. Another took from his tobacco-pipe
a small quantity of nicotine and put it to the mouth of the rej)-
tile. Instantly his snakeship drew himself up, stretched him-
self out, shuddered, and, l)eing released, turned his whitish
belly upward and expired. I would have thought this incred-
ible had I not witnessed it. It should be stated, however, that
the said pipe was an heirloom for four generations. No won-
der the nicotine was somewhat rank.

2. 'Y^'\ [Camellia thcifcra). The tea-plant is grown on the up-
lands and hillsides. It is generally planted in rows, and attains
a height of several feet. The pickers, stooping down, go be-
tween the rows and i)luck the tender lea\-es with both hands,
depositing tliem in baskets strapped on their backs. I'ea-
leaves are first of all dried in the sun. At times they arc
trampled with the bare feet, then partially drieil in heated

FROM FAR FORMOSA

pans, after which tlicy arc taken in sacks to the tea-houses in
the city. There they arc retired with great care, picked, and
graded according to quahty. Hundreds of women and chil-
dren can be seen on low stools engaged in sorting durinf-- the
tea season. Flowers are used to flavor the tea, especially the
gardenia, which is cultivated in fields for this express inu-pose.
Tea is the universal beverage, and it is the badge of hosi)(tal-
)ty. The moment one enters a cot, however humble, the order
is issued, "Tsoa te " (" Infuse tea"). A few leaves are put
into a tea-cup and boiling water poured ove: them, and that
cup is the one from which the tea is sipped. Neither milk nor
sugar is ever used by the natives in their tea.

3. Dandelion {LauiioJoii Tanixaciti/i). 'I'his is similar to its
New World relative.

4. Common thistle {Cardin/s). Similar to the common bull-
thistle, but smaller. 1"his is the only variety found on the
island.

5. Mint {Mentha). The three varieties are found — pe[)per-
mini, spearmint, and pennyroyal.

6. Plantain [Phi/ita-o major). This is said to follow in the
wake of man, and I snjjpose it does, for he would be a clever
botanist who could distinguish between the Canadian or
Scotch and Formosan plantains.

7. Rush {Juncacecc). This is used for cleaning tables, buck-
ets, and benches, as in North Britain and America.

8. Water-caltrop [Trapa Ncor/i/s). It is found in shallow
water, and is called by the Chinese " dragon's horns." Black-
ish outside, it certainly resembles the horns of the water-bulTalo.
It is boiled before being eaten.

9. Fern. There is an almost endless variety, but llie brake
is the most common. There is a beautiful cree])er of such
varieg.ited form that separate sections of the same plant would
be pronounced by any l)Ut skilled botanists to be parts of dif-
ferent species.

I
I

-■-tmiJii ??

TREES, PLANTS, AND FLOIVERS

a-houses in
kicked, and
n and chil-
during (he
oecially tlie

^f liospital-
J, the order
•cs arc put
11, and that
er milk nor

iniilar to its

nmon bnll-
nil on the

1 — peppcr-

llow in the
)e a clever
nadian or

.)les, buck-
in shallow
.." 151ack-
er-l)u(Talo.

the brake
'r of such
km t would
irts of dif-

10. Duckweed. This is the weed which causes the farmer
so mucli arduous toil in the rice-fields.

1 1. Thorn-apple {Datitra Siramoii'uDii). It has a prickly
capsule, and grows in great abundance in some localities.

12. Artemisia is put up over the doors with green branches
of the banian, and is supposed to confer health and prosperity
ui)on the family.

13. Wood-sorrel [Oxa/is Aceiosclhi) has beautiful flowers, and
trifoliate leaves which resemble the shamrock.

14. As might be expected in that climate, fungi, mushrooms,
puffballs, mildew, rust, dry-rot, and moulds are very common.
The reniciUiiun glauciiin is very destructive of books in hot,
damp weather, utterly ruining the best bindings in a few days.

15. Cactus with anomalous ferns is common.

16. Seaweed {yl/gcc) is found in green, red, and black vari-
eties in shallow water, and cast up in large quantities on the
beach by the waves.

IX. Flowers

1. Convolvulus {Convolvulus ByroniiC folius). It grows so as
to e.iurely cover large shade-trees. After the sun rises this
nujrn'ng-glory is truly gorgeous.

2. Rose. There are the creeping rose, which trails along the
ground, the white single rose, and ZcpJiyraufhcs rosea, Avith its
purple flowers. They grow wild on the hillsides and in open
spaces.

3. Afagnolia [Fuscaia). Owing to its choice fragrance this
is the favorite flower in all Ft)rmosa, the women especially
[trizing its sweet-scented odor above all others. The Ma^^noUa
pmnila is also found.

4. Chloranthus {lucouspkuccus). •

5. Gardenia. Cultivated for flavoring tea.

6. Hibiscus.

7. Crested cockscomb {Celosia cristaia).

FROM /v/A' rORMOSA

H'ii

8. Honeysuckle,
g. Marigold,
lo. White lily. During the months of INFarch, Ajiril, and

May this beautiful flower, so much prized in West

tern grcen-

lOll

ses, and called the Easter lily, bedecks a thousand hillsides.
I had se\-eral planted on good, i-ich, and prepared soil at
1'amsui, and they grew to the height of four or five feet.

1 1. A/.alea.

12. Hollyhock.

1.3. Vi/iui /v.sYtr. This bears i)urple-and-\vhite f!f)wers for
fully one half the year. So tenacious is it of life that it is
found at the seaside and in all kinds of soil, and the smallest
fragment of root left in the ground will sjjring up and grow.

14. Wild \iole{s. A'iolets, intermingled with lovely little
yellow l)lossonis, beautify all (he ujdands.

16. Pai-daiitliii<: C/iiiiciisis.

1 7. Asclcpias a/rassariia. 'J'his has a small yellow cup-like
flower, delicate and charming; grows wild on little knolls.

18. IJe-te {labcnuciiioutana nxitrva). This has attractive
while flowers.

19. Kui-hoe {Oka Jrcv^nvn). 'J'his flower is highly aj.preci-
ated by (he Chinese women as an adornmeiU in their headgear.

20. Balsam. Cultivated in gardens.
2\.\.o\v\^{Xy)i!phu'a Lotus). Found in ponds.

22. Chrysanthemum. Many varieties, carefnlly cultivated,
and brought to a high state of i)erfection.

23. To-tiau-lien [Ihyopliylhnu iaiyc'uiiim). 'I'he white flowers
of (his plant are often seen hanging over walls and rocks.

24. Un-tsu-chi(j (rW/As-.f/zv/rMv/).

25. Kim-chiain {IlcmcrocaWs diilkha). This is also used as
a vegetable.

26. Peony [I\riniia Monhvi') is cultivated.

^ 27. .Sien-(an {/.\ora a/^rris). It has bright scarlet flowers.
Several varieties were doubtless introduced fron^ China.

TRF.IIS, r/..lN7S, AND ri.OUI.KS

pril, and
■n green-
hillsides.
1 soil at
eet.

wers for

hat it is

smallest

grow.

}ly little

cup-like

lolls.

[tractive

n]>i)reci-
■adgean

Itivated,

' flowers
•ks.

used as

flowers.
I.

28. Orchids. A common and interesting variety is die
lady's tresses {lYeof/ia s/>/rd//s), called by the Chinese "cork-
screw," It seems to me that dn's orcln\l family surjjasscs all
others in the island for beauty and fragrance. Orchids rre
pretty when seen in (-onservatories, but to be viewed to ad-
vantage they must be met in their home in the dense forests,
on the ground or on the branches of trees. 'I'he e.\(|uisite fra-
grance of some, and the varied forms and colors of others, re-
seml)ling, as they do, spiders, birds, and butterflies, render tluin
all objects of indescribable beauty and interest. At times one
stands as if on enchanted ground. In those prime\al forests
the traveler becomes suddenly conscious of an influence that
soothes and charms, making him for a while oblivious to all
things else. It is the matchless fragrance of the orchid that
there year after year " wastes its sweetness on the desert air."

The botany of Formosa presents a subject of intensest inter-
est to tlie thoughtful student. For the missionary there is a
tongue in every leaf, a voice in every flower. Do we not, as
the great naturalist, Alfred Paissel Wallace, said, "ol)tain a
fuller and clearer insight into die course of nature, and in-
creased confidence that the mighty maze of being we see
everywhere around us is not without a plan " ? \\'ho can
tread the ever green carjjct of grass ; who can see the many-
colored flowers and blossoms on plant and vine and shrub ;
who c;in look up at the tangled growdis of the baml)oo, die
palm, the elegant tree-fern, or the stately pride of the silent
forests, and not be struck by the harmony between God's
^vork and Won] ? Understanding something of the flora of
Formosa, what missionary would not be a better man, the
bearer of a richer evangel? What convert would not be a
more enduring Christian? With reverent delight and adora-
tion we exclaim, " O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In
wisdom hast thou made them all. The earth is full of thy
goodness."

CHAPTKR VIII

ANIM.M, LIFE

Mammalia— Birds— Reptiles— Fishes— Insects— Mollusca

IT would require a volume rather than a brief chapter to dis-
cuss in detail the zoci'-^y of Formosa, 'i'he subject lias not
yet received tlie attention of naturalists, and no lists or classi-
fication has been made. There is being manifested both in
the East and in America a desire for information about the
animal life of the island, and to meet in part tlie acknowledged
want I have prepared lists under the various subdivisions of
mammalia, birds, reptiles, fishes, insects, and mollusca. Tliose
interested in the subject will be able to fill up the outline, and
the general reader may not find tL;.; ^-hapter uninslructive
reading.

I. Mannnalia

Mdiinnalia I\\:iliar (•> /u

'o nil OS a

I. Monkey, pouclied {Aracacns cy (■/<>/> is). Many of this class
are found. We fed and cared for half a dozen from babyhood
upward, and observed how similar they were to the earliest
fo.ssil monkeys.

2.'Yrte-Q\\'Qt {in/ictis sitliaurantiqca).

3. Wild boar {Si/s taivanus).

4- Flying-scjuirrel {Sciuroptcnis kalrrnsis).

5. White-breasted flying-squirrel {Pfcromys pcctoralis).

6. Red flying-squirrel {Picfoinys grandis).

'It ■

ANlM/iL LIFE

7. Field-rat [Hfns losea).

8. Country rat (J/z/j' canna).

9. A smaller rat {Mus Kox'uiira).

10. I'ruit-bat {Phropiis Foniwsus).

11. JJlincI mole {Talpa insulatis).

12. Mountain-goat {Ncmorhccdus SwhiJwH).

13. Deer {Cervus Swlnhoii).

14. Spotted deer [Psctidaxis).

usca

iter to dis-
ct lias not
or classi-
1 both in
ibout the
owledgcd
visions of
1. Tliose
tline, and
Lstructive

this class
•abyhood
; earliest

^).

Mammalia vol J\riiliar to Formosa, but Found There

1. Squirrel {Sciurus).

2. S(]uirrel {Siiunis iasfanrorcntris).

3. Indian rat {AIus Iiidicns).

4. Rat (J///.S- ■Ihvidicida).

5. Gem-faced civet {/{•gii/na /an\7fa).

6. Spotted civet ( Vivctrkula Afa/aarfisis). All these civets
are wild, ferocious, and untamable.

7. Chinese tiger-cat {/r/is Chiucusis).

8. Marten {Afarics Jlavigula).

9. Musk-rat {Soirx miirinus).

10. T.arge-eared bat (A5r////^v7///.s- r.-j/rw/).

11. ]]lack-and-orange bat (r^'j^^r/'///^ 7^i;;7w.y//.f).

12. Leopard {Fc/is pardns).

13- 15^'ar ( Ursus Malaya mis). We had one to keep company
with the monkeys It was amusing to see them tease and tor-
ment poor Bnr-, uhMl he was enraged. 11ien he would stamp
with his feet. Eut when he was pleased he would put his head
between his fore legs and turn a series of somersaults, like a
ball rolling round and round.

14- Hare {Lupus Siuaisis).

15- Scaly ant-eater [Manis longkauda). It abounds in the
niountams, is covered with scales, and is toodiless. It burrows m
the ground, and,, as its name suggests, feeds mainly on ants, with

■*,

PROM F.IR rORMOS.I

!l!

wliicii the island is inlcslcd. It luis power to raise its scales,
whicli are hard and liorny, and after disturbing the ants' nest
it allows the inmates to cover its entire body. Then it either
crushes them between its close-pressed scales, or, plunging into
a pool, releases them on the water. In either case it secures
its prey. The Chinese, r.-ferring to a man who would feign
weakness in order to accomplish mischief, have this saying:
" I'he manis feigr.s death to entrap ants." 'J'hey have also a
superstition whi'h leads them to pluck the seventh scale from
the end of the tail of this animal, and to hang it as a sort of
charm around the necks of children.

16. Wildcat {/r//s vivcrriiia).

17. Otter [Lutra 7'ii/i;irris).

DoDliStii .'lllil/hlls

1. Black goat. Smaller than the brown goat of Western
lands.

2. Dog. This animal is wolfish in appearance and habit.

3. Cat. Similar in appearance and nature to the AW\stern
house-cat.

4. Horse. There are only a few horses in the island, and
the few that are there have been l)rought from the mainland
of China. They are small and usetl only for riding.

5. Water-buffalo and ox. There seems to be a misconcep-
tion regarding these two am'mals. Wallace writes of Bos C/ii-
7i('iis/s, the South China wild cow, as being the same in form ;
Wright refers to the wild Formosan cow ; and Blyth says it is
a cross between the zebu and the European bos. I never saw
and ne\-er heard of suc-h an am'mal in the island. Under the
family Bovuhc there is first the ox {Bos foi/nts), descended from
the ]u)s pni)i'r:^cii'nis, the origin of all domestic cattle. The I'^or-
mosan cattle are smaller, of Jersey breed, and are not milked,
so that there is no butter, milk, or cheese made in North

■-.^.-.m^*^^. *'

c its scales,
e ants' nest
icii it eiilicr
uiiging into
c it secures
t'ould feign
his saying:
have also a
scale from
:is a sort of

of Western

incl habit,
he A\'cstern

island, and
e mainland

misconcep-
of 1)0S C/ii-
le in form ;
h says it is
[ never saw
Under the
;nded from
The For-
iiot milked,
I in North

mmmmmmmm

<>ii|

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'II

.-iNiM^ti. uri-

Formosa. Then there is tlie now almost extinct bison, the t^m
AmcriiiViits. 'I'lic so-called bulTalo-robe is really a bison-r()l)c.
Tile ])ison family is not found in Formosa. The thirtl branch
of this family is tiie buffalo {Buhulus hiffaliis), which is dis-
tinctly Oriental, takes the place of the horse in Formosa, and
is by far the most valuable animal reared there. It is called
water-buffalo because pools of water where it may wallow are
necessary to its existence. (See chapter on Rice-farming.)

II. Birds

f.athl lurds

Formosa may not have as many or as beautiful birds as some
otlier tropical countries, but the island is not williout its song-
sters, and has several species that are not found elsewhere.

Birds Prciiliay to Fortnosa

1. Thruslies [Jurdida).

2. Warblers {Syh'iidw). I1u-ee species.

3. Orioles {Oiiolidw), Ouc species.

4. Crows [Corvidic). One species.

5. Babblers (7/>//<?///;/^/'). Fight species.

6. Pheasants {PJtasianhhc). Two species.

7. Partridges ( 7;//vw//;/.<-'). Three species.

8. Pigeons. Three species. Early in the morning the bam-
boo-groves resound with the cooing of these beautiful birds.

9. Woodpeckers {Piddc). One species.

10. Flycatchers {Mz/sdor/Zda'). One si)ecies.

11. Shrikes [Caw/r/Atrx/dce). One species.

12. Tits [Paride). Two species.

13. Weaver-finches {Ploccidcc). One species.

14. Goat-suckers {Caprimulgidcv). One species.
'^'^. Owh {Strigidcc). Two species.

FROM l\tR rORMOSA

:n\

1 6. Jays lC(>rvi(/(C). Two spen'cs,

17. Skylarks (.-//(^W/y^). Two species. This is the sweetest
singer in Formosn. Many a time, traveling over the plateau,
where the dew-gemmed tea-j)lanlaii()nsand tall fir-trees sparkle
in the morning sim, have I been charmed by he cheery notes
of the skylark jKnired out now almost within reach, and now-
falling faintly from the deep empyrean.

lUrds not J\(ii/it!r to /•'oriiiosa

1. \\\n'^['\s\\K;r {J/(i/i\(>ii L(»-(>//iii/i(/(t).

2. \\i\\\k-C[vj}c [S/^iutf/tis A'i/^(i/r;tsis),

3. K\io [M/h'its iiiini/s).

4. Swallow [Ifintiido nistica).

5. Magpie (/'/(vc cti/ifahi),

6. Quail {Cot 11 mix Diissittii'irri).

7. Owl [Biilaca A- cw arm sis).
^. Qox\\\or:iW\. {Glitciiliis larbo).

9. Sandpiper ( l]>faiiiis Jtypcliiiciis).
xo.^wx^Q [Si(>h'pa.\ i^a Hi iiiv^^o).

Sea I'irds

1. Common gull (Zr/zv/.v^v ;';//<'.?).

2. P>lack gull [Lanis iiiariiitis). ■

3. Tern {Sterna Jiirtindo).

4. A\'ild duck {Anas l>oscas).
$.'VqvA {QitcnjiKutn/a iri'ua).

J>o}Jiosti'- />/r,/s
There are no turkeys on the island, but the universal custom
is to castrate male chickens of tlie hen family, and so there is
reared a capon which in flavor and si/e is not much inferior to
the gobbler. This fowl walks about l ic door quiet and tame,
and sometimes attains a weight of fifteen i)ounds. The goose,
common duck, and large Muscovite duck are common domes-
tic fowl.

r. O

steps to
pent, ei
help I
when al
mate, o
brought
'I'hey be
2. Oi
which i\
coiled 11
ready to
of other
museum

3- A

wrought
were fl}i
found a
iK'ail mo
it (Imvii,
in length
4. At
stoiy al)
night, al
which w(
noise wa?
Koa Kai
again, an
trous serj
of the bo

L.!

^NIM.lL /.//•/•

etest
can,
irklc

lOtCS

now

oin
c is
• to
ne,
)se,
les-

III. /i,/>fih'S

I . OiK' (lay, on returning from the country, and going up the
slq)s to thf door of oir 'louso in Tainsui, I foUnd a large ser-
pent, eight feet in Icui^iii, lying across the tlireshokl. With
helj) I succeeded in desi-atching him. The following day,
when about to leave my study-room, I was confronted by its
mate, of e(]ual size and \-cry tkTcr looking. A loud call
brought two or three students, ainl we en.led that one's life.
'I'hcy belonged to the .species /'/ivw )/iihvsiis.

2. Once, as I entered a small .shed like a hen-coop, a snake
which resembled the Iioop-snake sprang from the roof and fell
ceiled up in front of nic. Its head was u]. in a moment, and
ready to spring. 1 jnmi.ed backward, and with the assistance
of others I succeeded in >ecuring this rare .s])ecimen for my
museum.

3. A few years ago we had a i)igeon-cage, made (^f bamboo
wrought into the reqm'site shape. One niglit the poor birds
were fiying al.)out, greatly frightened. Upon in\-estigation we
found a large snake of the jiython family bent over with its
iK'ad moving at the pigeon-hoic. One \igorous blow brought
it down, \\-hen fully stretched out it was more than eight feet
in length.

.|. At Tamsiu", near the mission bungalow, I erected a second
story above an old kitchen for a small study-room. One
night, about eleven o'clock, I heard a noise among papers
which were lying over a hole in the floor. Supposing that the
noise was ])r(Kluced by rats, I called to those below. Presently
Koa Kau ran uj), l(H)ked into the room, then darted downstairs
again, and in a twinkling pinned the exposed part of a mons-
innis serpent to the wall below. % this time fullv three feet
of the body was through the hole into the room above. It was

IMAGE EVALUATrON
TEST TARGET (MT 3)

^,*

1.0

I.I

1.25

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1.8

U i 1.6

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Hiotographic

Sdences
Corporation

€S

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

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-/•■

l-ROM 1\1R I-ORMOSA

exceedingly violent, but I soon thrust its head through with a
long Chinese spear. It measured nine English feet. Its tri-
angular head was protected by nine plates, the body highly
marked, the fangs not very pointed, and the teeth small and
inclined backward. The thought of that midnight companion
was by no moans pleasant. It was similar to the hamadryad
type. The Chinese were greatly alarmed and would not rest
until it was buried out of sight.

5. Walking across the harbor, making the ascent to the pla-
teau, one day, my eye suddenly caught sight of something green
in the midst of the bushes at a turn in the path. At the same
instant it sprang to strike my hand; missing its aim, it
grabbed the end of my sleeve in its teeth. It proved to be a
green snake of \hQ DryoJ^Iiis fiilgida i=>]}Qc\e^, eighteen inches in
length, with flat, triangular head. It is now preserved in alco-
hol in my museum at Tamsui. The Chinese have a great hor-
ror of this species.

6. When among tall grasses and rocks, ascending the high
mountain-ranges, I was more than once struck at by the
deadly cobra-de-capello. Owing to the tall grass on each
side I did not observe him, but fortunately he missed his aim.
One successful charge would never need to be repeated.

7. I procured one of the species A^aja tripiidiaits^ and found
that keeping his head and neck in spirits of ammonia only
made him writhe in agony and lash his tail with fury. He
was four feet six inches in length.

Turtles

I. Green turtle {C/icI'>iiia viridis). They are found in large
numbers along the shore of eastern Formosa, and arc from
three to five feet in length. 'I'hey vary in weight from two
hundred to four hundred pounds. Going up from the water
at night, they dig holes in the sand on the beach with their
flappers, lay their eggs, cover them over, then with head erect

/INIMAl. LIFE

>^3

\Q. high

start back for their home in the sea. Hundreds never reach
their destination. Tlie savages are on the beach, with fires
kindled, awaiting their game. The turtles fight bravely, but
being clumsy they are scnn turned on their backs, in which
position they are helpless.

2, Hawk's-bill turtle {C/icIonia imhricata). The mouth is
similar to that of the hawk ; hence the name. It is the one
from which so many useful and ornamental articles are made.

3. Mud-turtle. These may be found in many of the fresh-
water streams.

IV. Fishes

Fish al)ound both in the waters around the shore and in the
rivers and streams, and every conceivable method is used in
fishing. Among the varieties may be mentioned:

1. Flounder {Platcssa flcsits),

2. Mullet [Mii/lus harbatiis).

3. Mackerel {Scomber).

4. Shad {Cli/J'ca alosa).

5. ]]lackfish.

6. Shark (G?n7wr//V/f/'). The peculiar hammerhead {Zyg(dna
inalleus) is eaten b)^ the poorer classes. The blue shark {Gxr-
cliarias glaucus)^ fnjm five to twelve feet in length, is cau;;ht
on the west coast, a day's journey south from Tamsui. The
flesh is eaten, though not relished. Oil is made out of the liver.
The fins, hoAvever, are counted a choice delicacy in all parts
of China.

7. Flying-fish {Exociiius volitans),

8. 'J'rout {Si7//iio fario).

9. Sunfish.

10. Remora. An extraordinary creature with a suctorial
disk with which it attaches itself to other animals and sucks
their blood. A shark was once discovered \n the mouth of the
Tamsui River, floundering about helplessly. We surrounded

f^mm

FROM FAR FORMOS^I

t Ji

ill H

and secured him, and fouiid a remora about six inches long in
his ear. This Httle creature luid power to make the monster
of the sea utterly stupid.

11. G\oh'C-?-['r,\\ [Dioihn /lys/rix).

12. Diodon {Os/riu'/o// con/i/^us).

13. Porpoise {Phoacna commiuiis),

14. Eel.

15. Thornback {J^ijir clava/a).

16. Sole [So/ai vu/i^ans). 'J'his is the most palatable of all
the finny tribes in Formosan waters, and is most prized by
Chinese as well as Europeans.

17. Periophthalmus. It is found in mud or muddy water, as
if depending on two leg-like fins for locomotion. With these
it jumps and bounds with great agility. Fhey are the keenest-
eyed creatures I have ever seen. They are never caught nap-
ping. The slightest movement is observed, and like a flash
they disappear into the mud. It was years before I succeeded
in securing a specimen.

ii'

V. Insects

I. Cicada. If the sacred beetle engaged the attention of
the ancient Egyptians, the cicada won the affections of the
Grecians, Homer and Hesiod sang of the light, bloodless, and
harmless cicada. In modern times, Byron, making use of
the Italian name, spoke of the "shrill cicalas." The males
have an apparatus for the production of musical sounds, while
the females are dumb and silent. There are three important
species in Formosa; one reddish, another green, and a third
large and black. The last, the FiiUciiia alirata, is most fre-
quently seen. The fernnle deposits her eggs on the branch of
a tree. In due time little grubs are hatched and creep down
the bark and into the earth, where they feed on the juices of
roots and bulbs. In a coiii)le of months, as large, living

*!'>

ylNIM.'lL LIFE

beetles, they come up again, carlh-stained, out of the ground,
and cHmb up the stem of a tree, very often a banian. Hav-
ing selected the sunny side, the beetle crawls on a fresh green
leaf, forces its claws through it, and there remains with its back
to the sun. The heat of the sun cracks its shell between the
shoulders ; a whitish-looking, soft-winged creature comes out,
leaves its coffin, and Ihes away, singing " Katy did" and
" Katy didn't." Its after-life continues for a couple of weeks,
and then, tlizzy-like, it drops, turns over, and life is extinct.
Its little course is soon run.

2. The praying maniis. What a misnomer! The "pray-
ing " is really waiting in diat attitude in which he can seize the
prey which seldom escapes his vigilant glance. This insect is
savage and cannibalistic in habits. A large female came near
my study-room one day. She was captured and put into a
paper box with a perforated top. I watched her movements
closely and soon had the rare privilege of seeing her deposit
one hundred eggs in a thick, spongy bag which she produced
and affixed to the side of the box. This spongy bag hardened,
and in a fortnight eight dozen small cannibals came forth, and
were so(jn devouring one another without mercy. These
emptied bags are seen on thousands of branches, but I never
met a native who knew what they were.

3. Cockroach [Biatta oru'iitalis^. In summer this cockroach
is almost as common as the house-fly. It is found among
dishes, in bureaus, and on sideboards. One night at eleven
o'clock, in my small upper room, I deserved a cockroach
moving slowly up the wall. Suddenly a gecko (chickchack)
appeared within three feet right abos-e. \\"\i\\ little jumps and
sudden movements he was soon close to the cockroach — so
close, indeed, that he grasped the left wing in his mouth.
Then he began to pull, shake his head, and .show other signs
of pleasure. Slowly the i)air were moving upward, when a
small lizard appeared, but was warned by very signi<icant tail

•if

FROM FAR FORMOSA

mc.ements to stand o(T. Soon the cockroach fell from his
enemy's grasp and tumbled to the floor. He was too unwieldy
for that active little chickchack.

4. Beetle. There are several species. Chinese boys make
a very ingenious and extraordinary-looking toy out of a variety
golden in color. The materials used in its construction are a
string about three feet in length, a tube four inches long, and
a stick slightly larger than an ordinary lead pencil. One entl
of the cord is put through the tube, and secured there by a
little key or fastener, so a^ to rotate without twisting. The
other end is attached to the center of the stick, to each end
of which there is tied a golden beetle. The boy, now hold-
ing the tube in his hand at arm's-length, gives the beetles an
opportunity of exercising their wings. Taster and faster they
go on their miniature merry-go-round, until they appear like a
yellow circle. Sometimes the effect is enhanced by fastening
little bits of bright-colored delf at intervals on the stick. I have
seen a foreigner give a Chinese boy a dollar for an exhibition
of this plaything.

5. Grasshoi)per {Acrida viridissiina). There are numerous
varieties. One large green kind, which might indeed be called
a locust, lays its eggs on i)aths. The female makes a hole the
size of a lead-pencil, and putting her body down into it deposits
a heap of eggs, which are hatched by the heat of the sun.

6. Water-bug {Ncpuhe).

7. Water-boatmen {A\)toncctidu).

8. Bedbug {AcantJiia Icctuiaria).

9. Mok'-cricket {GryllotaJpi vulgaris).
\o.Y\KAA-Q.ncVQ\. (^Grylliis caiiipi'stris).

11. Dragon-flies {Libel hi lUa). This is a large family. One
member has a red body and is of surpassing beauty.

12. White ants {Tcnnrs). They are not ants, but Tennis
hellicosi, and belong to the order Nniropfcra, while the true
ants belong to Uymcnopteni. 'l^licy work in the dark, and if

/INIMAL LIFE

One

moving from place to place on the surface of an object they
invariably construct a tunnel or incasement of earth and dust,
with a passage somewhat larger than a large quill, and tlirough
this they pass and repass, carrying on their work of destruc-
tion. They are extremely destructive of all kinds of wood-
work. They penetrate and riddle the large beams of a house
from end to end in a few months, leaving nothing but a thin
shell on the outside and the hard heart wilhin. When they
have dor.e ...>.irwork in the sill of a house there remains only
a crusi, sometimes no thicker than paper. They work uj)
through board floors, pierce the I)ottonis of trunks, puncture
furniture of every description, leaving the outside whole and
complete, but so honeycombed within as to be easily crushed
hi the hand. Once we left a chest filled with clothes in our
house alTamsui while we were absent for two months. ^Vhen
we returned we found pecks of white ants in it, the clothes in
shreds, and the boar Is of the chest so eaten away that it could
not resist the slightest pressure.

13. Glow-worm [Laiiipyris fiociihica).

14. yjeath-watch {AiiobiiiDi stria 1 11 iii).
into furniture and makes a ticking noise.

15. Stag-beetle [LtiLivnis).

16. Sacred beetle of Mgypt {Suini/nciis sturr). This inter-
esting creature may be seen almost any day along the path-
ways in the college grounds. It is small, but of remark-
able strength. The female deposits her larvie in the interior
of a ball about the size of a plum, made out of the excreta of
some herbivorous animal such as the ox. When this ball is p-re-
pared it is transported to a hole already excavated, into which
it is rolled, and where the eggs are hatched by the sun's heat.
The living creature eats its way out of the ball and comes out
the sacred flying-beetle, so famous in Egyptian mythology.
The transportation of this ball, sometimes over considerable
distances, is a very interesting sight. All principles of propul-

This insect bores

II ■

'66

FROM FAR FORMOSA

sion are employed, but the commonest is for tlie male to push
the ball from the rear with his hind legs, while the female goes
in front to steer its com"se and assist by puUing.

17. Golden beetle.

18. Tiger-beetle {Cicimicla campcstyis).
ig. Water-beetle [Ilydradcpha^a).

20. Whirligigs [Gyri/ii).

21. Elaicr or skipjacks {Elater'uhc).

22. True ants. Of these there are several species. One
kind makes large nests, like those of wasps, in a tree ; another
raises hillocks on the ground ; but the most provoking of all is
a tiny brown species. Unless the legs of a dining-table are
standing in bowls of water it is impossible to keep the food
from being literally covered by the ants. Everywhere, at
every corner and every turn, they can be seen during the
summer months, moving in long lines.

23. Wosps {Vvspa).

24. Bees {Afis). Hives are kept, but bees are often found
in nests in the woods.

25. House-fly {Mitsca doincsticii).

26. Mosquito {Ciilcx f>}picns). The female alone stings, but
so efficiently does she perform this service that there is not a
bed in the emperor's palace or the beggar's hut that is not fur-
nished with a mosquito-curtain to protect the sleepers.

27. Hawk-moth [Ac/iero/ifiti a/ro/os).

28. Clothes-moth {7}'//ea nistkclla). So destructive is this
insect that a second suit of clothes is an unprofital)le care.

29. Atlas-moth {Atlacns atlas). I procured one which
measured from tip to tip of its wings nine and three quarter
inches, and of exquisite beauty.

30. Moon-m.oth [AfhuNs /una).

31. Sphinx.

32. Walking-sticks {BacillKs iiataUs).
ZZ, Incased insects {PsycJiUa).

►

ANIMAL LIFI-

34. Fleas. As great a pest as anywhere else on earth.

35. Lice,

36. Butterflies.

(i) Swallowtailed {Papilio machaon). Numerous and beau-
tiful.

(2) Peacock butterfly {Papilio io).

(3) Leaf-butterfly {Kalliina panUckta). When this beautiful
specimen is on the limb of a tree one would reciuirc the eye of
a naturalist to distinguish it from a dead leaf. The resem-
blance is almost perfect, alike to form, color, and position.

37. ISIyriapod {Jiiliis tcrrestris),

38. Centiped {ScolopfiKini). Next to venomous serpents
most dreaded by the natives.

39. Spider [/Inviciiia).

40. Eardiworms.

VL Mo II n sea

To secure the glassy, shiny appearance of shells we place
them when alive in the ground. In a few days they are re-
moved and thoroughly washed. Those found at the sea-shore
dead are never perfect, for the water and sand grind and wear
off the external coat. These animals are found in sand and
mud, on timber, and resting on seaweed as they sail the sea.

1. Fountain-shell [Siromlnis).

2. The buckie of Scotland {Fiisiis or Cehrysodomus antiquus).
This is a shell in which the sound of the sea is always heard.

3. Whelk {Biucinum umlatiim). This has a rasp-pointed
tongue, with which it bores the shells of other moUusks when
in search of a delicious breakfast.

4. Cone {Qmiis iniperialis).

5. Cone {Conus auUcns).

6. '^ionQy-cowry [Cypnea fnofieia).

7. Tiger-cowry [Cyprcea tigfis).

8. Snail {Helix aspersa).

[ii

FROM FAR FORMOSA

9. Chiton {Miii^nijiciis),

10. Oysters {Ostrci(/(c),

11. Pectcn.

12. '^Iw^'AqX {Mj/i/us i'diilis).

13. U)ii(> Uttoralis.

14. Razor- fish [Soloi vagina).

15. Limpet {Paiclla rnlgata).

16. IJoring-sliell {J'holas dactyhis),

17. Sea-urchin [/u'/ii/iiis tSiii/fiifiis). On tlie sea-coast of
Formosa pickled sea-urchins are used as a condiment with rice.

18. Starfish [Astrrias nd'c/is).

19. Sea-anemone,

20. Hernu't-cral) {ragi/nis bcrtiJiardiis). This is one of the
most interesting of all the living mollusks on the sea-shore.
The fore parts are furnished ^vith claws and feelers and are
partially protected, but the hinder parts are soft, sensitive,
easily injured, and entirely defenseless. The hermit-crab has
no home, but is a semi-parasite, a kind of sea " tramp." It
depends on finding a home in the shell of some dead whelk
or other mollusk. I have often watched it on its search for a
suitable shell. One would be too large, another too small, a
third might be already inhabited, in which case a fight for
possession sometimes ensued. When a satisfactory one was
found and proved to be untenanted, the crab would whisk its
unprotected parts into it and march ofT, its house on its back,
as lordly as if it had a legal right to undisturbed possession.

21. King-crab [Limiilus gigas). 'J'his resembles the ancient
trilobite. It is found in the shallow water on the land side of
Kelung harbor.

22. "Holy- water pot" [Tridaciia squamosa). This receives
its name because it is often used to hold the consecrated water
in Roman Catholic cathedrals in France and Italy. 'J'here is
an enormous one in a cathedral in Paris. In the Malacca
Straits it grows to a large size, and has been found to weigh
several hundred pounds. Large ones are brought in junks as

\ f

ANiM^tL urn

ballast from tlic China coast to Formosa, l)ut smaller ones are
lound around the island. 'J'he preparing of them has heroine
(luite an industry, especially in the city of Tek-chham. The
Chinese use a toothless hand-saw, sand, and water, as granite-
cutters do in sawing granite. The pieces of this shell which
are sawn off resemble marble. They are cut as desired, three
or four inches thick, ground on sandstone, and then converted
into brvicelets, armlets, and oilier ornaments wliich are worn by
the savages, who value them very highly, and give in exchange
rattan, camphor, dye-root, and pith.

23. Periwinkle.

24. Triton (Z/v'Av/ viwici^iiium),

25. Trumpet-shell.

26. Conch-shell.

2'j. Cockle {C(rn/i/W<e ('{////e).

28. Harp {Ilivpa vcntricosa).

29. Thorny woodcock {Mtnrx hniiisjfiiius).

30. Trochus [Troc/iiis A'ilo/icus).

31. Scallop [Pi'Ltoi maxiiniis).

32. Ilaliotis tuhorulata.

33. Sea-acorn shells (/)W<?' //?/.«• ^///rr////.?).

34. T.obster {Homanisvuh^ans). Large; bluish green when
alive ; a redth'sh-brown color when boiled.

35. Shrimp [Pahcmon viilgans),
2fi. Pea-crab [Piniiot/tcirs J^isin/i).

37. Paper-nautilus {Argoiiauta argo). It is difficult to con-
ceive of anything more lovely than this thin, translucent, l)oat-
shaped shell, which is propelled by water ejected from its
funnel.

38. Octopus {^Octopus Tulgaris).

39. Scpiidic {Sepia ofl'uinaUs). " Cuttlebone," which is placed
in the cages for canary-birds, is the calcareous internal shell
of this animal.

40. Pearly nautilus {Nautilus pcimpiUtts), Its mouth is like
a parrot's beak, the outside white, with brown stripes.

CHAPTER IX

KTIINOLO(;V IN OUTLINE

Two classes — TIic dnniinaiU race — lOtlinolofrical talilo — Tlic aI>oiiginc»
Malayan — 'rraditinns — JMirci^n Mjiiiiiou — Migration — Habits ami
customs — Ktaturcs — linguistic dilTcrcuccs

I'^IIK inliabitants of North Formosa may he classified as hc-
longing to cillit-r one of two givat races; the aborigines,
both civih'/ed ami savage, are Malayan, tlie Chinese are Mon-
golian. To be sure, there are "foreigners" from lunope and
America; but their number is so small, and the part they play
in the life of the island so inconsiderable, that they may be
excluded from our i»resenl reckoning. The two great classes
have not to any extent mingled, and so there is no mixed race
on the island. 'J'he i)ur])()se of this chajoter is not an exhaustive
study, but rather to set forth in outline the ethnology of Nordi
Formosa, and to indicate the argument in su]i])ort of die
opening statement classifying the people as either Malayan or
Mongolian.

The dominant race, first in numbers, intelligence, and influ-
ence, is the Chinese. They do not j)rcsent any problem of
difficulty to die ethnologist, as their origin and racial relations
are easily traced. They are immigrants, or the children of those
who in earlier years crossed the Formosa Channel from the
thickly populated provinces of the mainland. I'hey brought
with them their habits of life and their household gods. 'J'hey
found the island wooded down to the water's edge, and the

HTHNOI.OCY IN 01 ll.lMi

home of tribes of wild, roaming savages, whose appearance was
strange to them, iind whose speech was rude and barbarous.
Their entrance was (h"spiited at every point, luit their greater
numbers and superior skill prevailed. The savages were
driven back out of some of the richest plains; rice-farms and
tea-plantations took the place of forest tangle and wild i)lateau;
the rude hamlets of another race vanished; tov i and cities
witli their unmistakable marks of the " Middle Kingdom " took
their jHace; anil the Chinese became a superior power in For-
mosa. They arc in the main industrious and aggressive, show-
ing all the characteristics of their race, and retaining their
ancestral modes of life and worship. 'I'he large majority have
emigrated from the Fu-kien province, anil sjjcak what is called
the Amoy dialect. These are called Uok-los. A few are the
descendants of a tribe who moved from the north of China and
settled in parts of tlic Canton province, whence they afterward
crossed to I''orniosa. These are called Mak-kas (" strangers "),
with distinct forms of life and languag'^.

The Chinese call all the aborigines of the island barbarians,
and classify them acconh'ng as they live iti the plains or on the
mountains, and according as they have resisted or submitted
to Chinese rule. In a large plain on the east coast arc those
who have acknowledged Chinese authority and a(h)pted their
mode of worship ; these are called " Pe-po-hoan " {" Ixirbarians
of the j)lain "). Tn a second plain farther down the coast is
another settlement of aborigines; these are called "Lani-si-
hoan " (" l)arbarians of the south "). ITnsubdued mountaineers
they call " Chhi-hoan " (" raw barbarians "). A few who liave
settled amf)ng the Chinese in the west are called " Sek-hoan "
("ripe barbarians "). These names are all Chinese, and indi-
cate the relations of the dominant race to the aborigines. Now
that Japan has possession of the island a new clement will be
introduced. The relations of the Japanese to the present
inhabitants cannot as yet be set forth, but die indications are

if/T

FROM FAR FORMOSA

that they will treat the aborigines with fairness. The following
table will show the ethnology of the people :

Mongolian

I
Chinese

Malayan

J
Aborigines

I I I I .1 I

Ilok-los Ilak-kas Pc po-hoan Sek-hoan Lam-si hoan Chhi-hoan

I';

i.r^

! -1

■

The classification of all the aboriginal tribes as Malayan
may, however, be regarded as an open question, and proof of
the statement may be demanded. There are several reasons
which have forced me to the conclusion that they are all descen-
dants of settlers from the islands around the Malay Archipelago,
and these I now submit

I. Aborii^inal Tnu/i/io),. — I have picked up at first-hand
from various tribes traditions which support the contention
that they are of Malayan origin. One is that their forefathers
came from a southerly direction ; that, beitig in boats, they were
wrecked ; that they lived near the sea on level ground, and after-
ward, when others came, moved inward even o^er the moun-
tain-ranges; that they caught fish and turde, entrapped the
wild bo-rr, shot the deer with bow and arrow, were clothed in
deerskins, reckoned the time by tying knots on the stem of a
tall grass, and when their numbers in any one place "ncreased
to upward of one hundred or two hundred they moved a little
distance away, cleared the ground, and called themselves the
"other village," "south village," "new village," or "large
village." Their houses were made of reeds, rattan, and bam-
boo. New-comers, bringing knives and similar utensils, pre-
sented them to the head r en, and afterward, when the Chinese
put in an appearance, they exchanged skins and horns of deer
for guns, powder, and knives. They remembered the coming
of the "red-headed kinsmen," who treated them kindly, and
with whom they had free mercantile intercourse. These the

ETHNOLOGY IN OUTLINE

Cliincse drove out and began to make settlements themselves.
Hatred sprang up, and head-hunting, which was prosecuted by
their fathers in their ancestral home, was resorted to.

There is a second tradition and a memorial custom which
point to the same conclusion. On the Ki-lai plain, on the east
coast, where the Lam-si-hoan are settled, two canoes are kept
to commemorate the coming of their fathers to the island. As
one shows marks of decay it is renewed or replaced. 'j1iey are
kept under a thatched cover in the open plain not far from the
sea. Once a year the Lam-si-hoan assemble and carry these
canoes to the water's edge, when a number of their men enter
them, paddle out a short distance, and return. Then with re-
joicings the canoes are restored to shelter. The Lam-si-hoan
declare that their forefathers came in similar canoes from places
south and east of Formosa, and this custom is intended to pre-
serve that tradition.

At Lam-hong-o, a Pe-po-hoan village near So Bay, men of
eighty years of age told me how in the days of their grand-
fathers forty or fifty strong fishermen took a dislike to the
rainy weather in the Kap-tsu-lan plain and longed for their old
home. They lashed planks together and formed rude boats,
in which they set out in a southerly direction, bound for their
fatherland. My informants were of the opinion that their
ancestral home was one of the Philippine Lslands.

At Sin-sia the villagers assert that their forefathers came, not
from the islands, but from the mainland of China, and were
non-Mongolian. It is certain that only one other village in
the Kap-tsu-lan plain speaks the same dialect as Sin-sia, and
these two villages recognize each other as kin, and are so
looked upon by all the rest. It is entirely probable that they
are descended, as they claim to be, from the aboriginal tribes
still found on the mainland of China.

2. Con sen sits of Foreign Opinion. — Travelers see in the various
tribes of Formosa the features and manners of the inhabitants

' ■■■if

■%

FROM FAR FORMOSA

1: ; !

;li!,>

of Luzon, Polynesia, the Malay Peninsula, the islands of Poo-
choo, Sunda, and Purneo, and of Siani and Yunnan ; and there
is great unanimity of oi)inion that the aborigines of P'ormosa are
descendants of emigrants from the Malay Peninsula and the
islands of the China Sea. It is contended by some, howe\er,
that the aboriginal inhabitants of Formosa were of the negro
race, and that they were driven back into the mountains by the
Malayans. I caiuiot admit the contention, as I have failed to
find the slightest trace of the negrito element, nor is the pres-
ence within the mountains of such a people suspected by any
known tribe. I have made careful inquiries among the moun-
tain tribes near Ta-kow in the far south, among the tribes at
Po-sia Lake in the center, and among more than a d();^en tribes
in the north, as well as among the Pe-po-hoan and Sek-hoan,and
everywhere I received the same reply. 'Hiey were all positive
that there were no woolly-headed races within the mountains
or anywhere else in the island. Superficial observers frequently
make strong assertions. Indeed, I was told a few years ago
that a white tribe, finely developed and with grayish eyes, was
to be found among the mountains. So i)crsistcnt was the con-
tention that I resolved to put it to the proof. Alaking my way
into the place where they were said to dwell, instead of the
descendants of the Dutch, I found short-set, brown -featured,
black, lank-haired Malavans.

3. N'atural Migration. — 'Phe ocean current that sweejis be-
tween Sunda, Java, and Sumatra on the one side and Pornco
on the other runs north through the China Sea and between
Formosa and the mainland. Another current sweeps between
Borneo and Celebes, tl)rough the Celebes Sea, and touches
the north Pacific current, which runs as a black stream (Kuro
Siwa) across to the eastern side of Formosa. This ocean cur-
rent would very easily and naturally carry' mercantile boats
and fishermen in their smacks from the islands in the Malay
Archipelago to the shores of Formosa. Indeed, examples of

s -

ETHNOLOGY IN OUTLINE

% '

sucli migration have taken place within my own time. Some
years after my arrival in Formosa strange-looking outriggers
sailed into the harbor of Kelung. In them were a number of
famished boatmen with tattoo marks from head to foot. They
were kindly treated, and in the course of time were taken to
Hong Kong, and thence conveyed to their home on the Pelew
Islands. Not infrecjuently boat-loads from the Loo-choo
Islands are wrecked on the shore of Formosa.

4. Habits and Customs. — The habits and customs of the
aborigines of Formosa will be referred to at length in subse-
quent chapters. Suffice it to say here that in nearly every
point they bear a marked resemblance to the habits and cus-
toms of the aborigines of Borneo. The tattoo marks follow the
same well-established i)attern. Their dress and ornaments are
similar, and their houses suggest a common architecture. Like
Malay Islanders, they worship their ancestors, and within the
mountains they have the unmistakable head-hunting proclivities
of the Dyaks of Borneo.

5. Physical Features. — The Chinese in Formosa are round-
headed, the aborigines mediimi between long and broad.
The sutures or lines where the bones of the skull are united, I
find in the skulls of the young to be only slightly traced ; the
skull has the appearance of a round l)all or bone. This is char-
acteristic of the islanders belonging to the lower races. So,
too, prognathism or projection of the jaws — " maxillary angle,"
" facial angle " — points to kinship w^'th the islanders of the
Malay type. The hair is round, thus showing that in its pos-
sessor there is no trace of the woolly-headed race. Its color is
black, identical with the Malayan, The eyes are Malayan in
color, and the nose conforms to the same type.

It may be objected that the various aboriginal tribes cannot
have had a common origin inasmuch as they now speak differ-
ent dialects. Linguistic differences, however, are not conclu-
sive. Scandinavians in Caithness, Finland, Orkney, and

<l>

FROM r.lR l-ORMOS.I

Iceland speak diakcts or languages (jiiiie (liffereiil from tl
kinsmen in Norwa)' and Sweden, Dilfercni eircumst,

leir

plain the difference. Similar chan;

inces ex-

the Chinese in Formosa. A mainland

;es have taken place am

man can be told

once from his Formosan cousin, and the " Kap-tsu-lan t\van<r "
marks the Chinese in that plain. In like manner crews and
passengers from the Malay Islands, shipwrecked at intervals on
the coast of Formosa, would be absorbed by the larger com-
munity already settled there, and would acquire the donn'nant
dialect; and where tribes have been isolated, with no means
of intercommunication, and with tribal enmities keeping them
separate, modifications and changes in their language^re to
be expected. Such changes have taken place in the Mighland
settlements in Canada, where the grandchildren of the pioneers
are entirely ignorant of the much-loved Gaelic of their fore-
fathers. An interesting instance came under my notice in one
of the Kap-tsu-lan villages where we have a church. 'I'here is
there a man who was shipwrecked on that coast. Years before,
he, with others, started in a boat from the Philippine Islands.'
They passed Eashee and were driven out of their course and
upon the shore of Formosa, and he alone survived to tell the
tale. He was able, however, to understand a few words of the
dialect of the aborigines among whom he landed. He soon
learned the Pe-po-hoan dialect, and was subsequently married
to a Pe-po-hoan wife, and became, to all intents and purposes,
Pe-po-hoan.

_ The foregoing seems to me a cumulative argument, irresis-
tible and conclusive, that numerous adventurers, fishermen, and
traders from the islands south and east of the China Sea, and
others from the north and east of Formosa, with perhaps a few
from the mainland, entered the island at intervals, and formed
what is now called the aboriginal race, and that that race is
Malayan.

AMONG THE CHINESE

i r

^ ^11. !

Ill

CHAPTER X

THE PEOPLE

Chinese in Formosa — The Ilok-Ios — The Ilak-kas — The language — The

" barbarians "

THERE are nearly three million Chinese on the island. Of
these about one million are in the four districts served by
the Mission of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. They are
divided into two classes, the Hok-los and the Hak-kas. The
Hok-los comprise seven eighths of the Chinese population in
North Formosa. 1'hey are emigrants, or the children of emi-
grants, from the Fu-kien province, opposite the island. After
Koxinga, the Chinese pirate, drove the Dutch out of Formosa,
that rich and beautiful island was opened up for Chinese emi-
gration, and became an outlet for the overcrowded province of
Fu-kien. They found it inhabited by aboriginal tribes who,
though they were friendly to the Dutch, resisted the aggressive-
ness of the Chinese. Gradually the Chinese crowded these
aborigines back into the mountains, and they themselves now
occupy the large and fertile plains on the north and west. Be-
sides those who have made their home on the island, between ten
and twenty thousand come over every year from Amoy to en-
gage in the tea industry. Of these a percentage remain. The
Chinese in Formosa have all the marks of their countrymen in
Fu-kien, except that emigration has done its work in changing
somewhat their customs and point of view. They speak the
Amoy dialect. The women bind their feet and wear the same
dress as those in Amoy.

lOI

v«

102

FROM F/1R rORMOSyl

hi
1' ' I

T]ie Hak-kas ("strangers ") are supposed to he descend

of a tribe that emigrated from Nortli CI

ants

proA-

and sul).'

Illy

!n'na into tlie Fu-kie

one

0 Canton. , ..
hundred thousand of tliem in Nortli Formosa. . .,._> ,„e urave
and vigorous, and have fought their way both on the mainland
and m Formosa. The women do not bind their feet, and as a
result are stronger and more robust than tiieir Ilok-lo sisters
'I'hey help their husbands on the farm and in all outside work'
and are remarkably industrious. In consecjuence of this the'
Hak-kas will thrive and become wealthy where the Ilok-los
would fail and the aborigines would starve. They are found
mamly ni towns and hamlets in the .Sin-tiak and Uiau-lek
(hstncts, and are the pioneers in the border-land between the
Clnnese and the savages. They speak a dialect of the Can-
tonese. I he younger generation learn the Ilok-Io dialect and
in tmie the Hak-kas may become cxtinc-t.
/ It should b,. remembered that the written language in For-
mosa, as throughout the Chinese empire, is evervwhere the
same, although the spoken language is so varied.' It is not
easy for a AWsterner to understand this. The written characters
remam fixed and represent the same ideas to all the Chinese
but the names of tl>ese characters are dilTerent in the dilTerent'
proymces of China. Not only so, but in Formosa there are
really two languages to be learned, the pronunciation of the
characters by the literary class being entirely distinct from
the colloquial. For instance, the character representing
man is pronounced " jin " by the literary class and " hlnc. '-'
by the masses. There are no declensions or conjugations'in
Clmiese, their place being taken by the "tones," of which
there are eight in the Formosan vernacular. A word that to
an Fnghsh ear has but one sound may mean any one of eight
hmgs according as it is spoken in an abrupt, high, low, or
any other of the eight " tones." Each one of the^e " tonics "
IS represented by a written character; hence there are upward

THE rroPLn

«o>?

of sixty Ihousaud written characters in the language. There
are numerous other variations and coniphcations which make
the learning of the Chinese language no simple task. A sharp
ear, a ready tongue, and a strong imitative faculty are requisite
for proficiency in public speech. Many foreigners never be-
come proficient in speaking the language, but may be none the
less useful in other departments of service. /

The Chinese in Fc^-mosa have great contempt for the
aborigines, and treat them very much as the Americans have
treated the Indian tribes, bartering with them, cheating them,
and crowding them back into their mountain strongholds. The
aborigines in the plains, whom they call " Pe-po-hoan," the
Chinese regard wiUi more favor than they do the savages,
but they are gradually dispossessing them and forcing them
back into territory to be reclaimed from the mountain tribes.

CHAPTER XI

GOVERNMENT AND JUSTICE

Form of government— The cue— Formosa a province— Official corruption
—Injustice in tlic yaiiun— " ^ran(larin eats casli "—Forms of punish-
ment-Money all-powerful—" Riddiny up "— Punislnncnt l.y proxy
—Oppression of Christians

I t

( ■'

n^HE government of China is patriarcluil. The emperor
X is in tlieory the fatlicr of two hmuh-ed and fifty miUion
Chinese. I'lie present emperor, Kong-su, is ninth in the h'ne
of the Tartar dynasty, win'ch succeeded the ^Ming dynasty in
1644. The first emperor of the Tartar dynasty was Sun-ti, who
belonged to Afanchuria. One of his " reforms " was the intro-
duction of tlie cue. All Chinese men were comi)elled to shave
the forehead and dress the hair in a long j)raid, according to
the Manchurian custom. The cue was made the badge of
fealty to the emperor, and not to wear it is to endanger one's
head. Westerners arc slow to learn that the cue has no reli-
gious or superstitious significance, but is purely political. It is
the "old flag" of the Chinese empire, the mark of loyalty to
the reigning dynasty. The people iiave become accustomed
to It, and what was once a disgrace is now regarded with pride.
A Chinese without a cue is a traitor and a rebel. When this
fact comes to be known by self-respecting people in the West
the emblem of Chinese loyalty will cease to be regarded with
ridicule, and the ofi-ensive "pigtail" will be blotted out of
English literature.

104

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lisfei

GOynRNMIihlT /IND JUSTICE

'05

'I'hcorctically the emperor rules Cliina, but practically the
affairs of the empire are managed by six boards, which appoint
all the higher officials in the various provinces.

After Koxinga was dethroned, in 1683, Formosa became a
dependency of the Fu-kien province. In 1887 it was raiseil to
the rank of a province of the empire, and a governor was ap-
pointed by the imperial authorities at Peking, as in the other
provinces. Under the governor were four oftkials, who had
rule over the four districts into which North Formosa was
divided. Under these magistrates others of lower grade,
having jurisdiction over smaller sections, were appointed, and
subordinate to these again were local officials and head men,
whose authority was correspondingly reduced. All these
superior officials were from the mainland, but the head men
usually belonged to North Formosa. All these magistrates
have judicial as well as governing powers. The administration
of justice is in the hands of the governor and his underlings.
Fach subordinate official holds his office at the will of the
next above him. The income attached to any of the offices is
not sufficient to support the retinue which must be maintained.
As a result there is universal official corruption. From the
highest to the lowest, every Chinese official in Formosa has an
" itching palm," and the exercise of official functions is always
corrupted by money l)ril)es. The mandarin supplements his
income by "siiueezing" his attendants and every man who
comes within his grasp. His attendants have the privilege of
recouping themselves by " s(iueezing " all who through them
seek favors from the mandarin. In the matter of bribing and
boodling the Chinese official in Formosa could give points to
the most accomplished office-seekers and money-grabbers in
Washington or Ottawa.

The chief opportunity for corruption is afforded in connec-
tion with the administration of justice. The yamen or court-
house is the scene of unmitigated lying, scheming, and

loC)

IROM r^lR rORMOS.'l

j I

; 1

oppression. 'I'hc mandarin comes in his sedan-chair, attended
!)>' his retinue, lie takes his seat on tlic dais in the yamen.
At his right stands his interi)reter, an inch'spcnsal^le function-
ary, inasmuch as the mandarin, l)eing a mainland man, is nof
su])posed to know the local dialect. On either side, in two
rows facing each other, stand the constables, and near at hand
the lictors and executioners. The yamen is crowded by friends
of the litigants and the rabble from the street. 'J"here are no
lawyers or counsel, and no trial by jury. 'J"he mandarin has
everything in his own hands. Me sits in state, clothed with the
awful authority of the " dragon " throne. The case in hand is
presented, and the accused kneels before the judgment-seat
the picture of abject humility. The mandarin examines hini
through his interpreter:

Mandarin. "Ask him if his name is Lim."
INTKRPKKTKR. "The Great Man asks you if your name is

Accused. " 'I'hc little child's name is Lim."
iNiEKi.RETKk. " His name is Lim."

Mandarin. "Ask him if he is guilty of the charge made
agamst him."

iNTKRi-RKTKR. "The Great Man asks ^( vnu arc guilty of
the charge made against you."

Accused. "The little child would not dare to do such a
thmg."

And so the case goes on. Sometimes witnesses are called •
«1'. , .>:;owever, is optional with the mandarin, who is subject to
'fv. r i;,nuences than the weight of evidence. The " almighty
c Ular" turns the scale of justice. The financial strength of
the ht.gants and of their friends has been inquired into, and
the one wlio sends in the largest amount of sycee-silver is
certam to get the verdict in his favor. To be sure, all this is
sufi;vs<r. 1 here is the greatest parade of righteous judgment
and a hmt at bribery would b. shocking. Eut the people all

'^4E'^T^^*'-Stf*^

'■'.^?ja;,-,ag-'^'«^(

(/•{)/ 7;7vWA//;/V 7 ,-/A7 ) // '.V 7/( .7;

107

know the facts. 'I'luy have ii haying connnonly apiilnd to
their t)fTu-ial.s : " Koa chiah clii " (" 'I'hc inandaiin t'ats('a>.h ").

The magistiMte has arbitrary jKJwer in the matter of puni^h-
nient. The sentence depends not a h'ttle on the humor the
mandarin may be in, but much more on the size of the brilie
[)aid. 'I'he most common sentence is the fine, and this is
graded accorch'ng to the abih'ty of the culprit to pay and ac-
conHng to the fee i)rivately given llie judge.

The next [)unishment is smiling on the cheeks. This is oftru
achninistered to false witnesses; inik-ed, it often ha[)pens that
a witness whose evidence is not pleasing to the manilarin is
immediately beaten. The Great Man expresses his disple.ihUre
at the evidence, and the constables lay hold of the witne.ss by
the cue and turn up his face to the lictor, who gives him the
appointed numbe/ of blows. If the witness continues obstinate
in his evidence he may be beaten again anil again.

Another punishment is the "bamboo." The cul[)rit is
stripped by the constables under the eye of the mandarin, and
receives on the thighs from ten to one thousand blows with the
bamboo cudgel. Sometimes the punishment is inflicted at in-
tervals, as the " cat-o'-nine-tails" in the West. The "bam-
boo " is always painful, and at times the flesh is lacerated and
mortification sets in, which ends the victim's life.

The cangue is an instrument of humiliation as well as i)ain.
It is formed out of heavy oak planks, is nearly three feet
square, with a hole in the center, antl is worn on the neck in
a public place for a month or two, in some instances both day
and night.

Imprisonment for a limited time or for life is a common
sentence. The prison is always a dark, dirty dungeon, where
tortures, illegal according to Chinese law, but cruelly real in
Chinese practice, are inflicted to extort money from the
prisoners and their relatives.

Decapitation is inflicted for murder, theft, incendiarism, and

108

FROM FAR FORMOSA

I '^ t

other grave offenses. Tlie Inirglar or firebug gets no mercy.
Ordinarily it is a swift stroke from a siiarp two-lKinded sword.
In the case of parricide the culprit's body is literally hacked to
pieces.

Pirates are punished by having their hands tied behind to
a post facing the glaring sun, and their ujjper eyelids cut off.
After several days of this torture they are beheaded in the
most excruciatingly painful manner.

In all these cases money wields all-powerful influence. It
corrupts the mandarin in his judgment, the lictors and execu-
tioners in carrying out the sentence, and the local officials in
disposing of the bodies of the dead. The lictor has his ojjpor-
tunity to "squeeze" when the sentence is the "bamboo," the
blows being heavy or light according to the l)ribe. Tlie exe-
cutioner carries out the death-sentence deftly in a short, swift
stroke or with prolonged torture according to the money paid.
I witnessed the execution of four soldiers condemned for
burglary. One was on his knees, and in an instant the work
was done. Three blows were required for the second. The
head of the third was slowly sawed off with a long knife. The
fourth was taken a quarter of a mile farther, and amid shouts
and screams and many protestations of innocence he was sul)-
jected to torture and finally beheaded. The difference in the
bribe made the difference in the execution.

So manifestly corrupt is the whole system, and so difficult is
it to bring infiuential criminals to justice, that a periodical
"ridding up" is necessary. I'he imperial authorities at Pe-
king every ten or twelve years appoint some high official, with
powder over all provincial magistrates, to go through the em-
pire and examine into long-standing grievances. This storm
of justice clears the air, and has done not a little to prolong
the life of the Chinese empire. I happened to be in Tek-
chham once when this "avenger of blood" was making his
rounds. There lived near the city a local magistrate who for

GOVERNMENT AND JUSTICE

109

many years had oppressed and imposed upon the farmers ami
fishermen in his locahty. He was always able to bribe the
superior magistrates, and was carrying on his extortions with
impunity. When it was known that the imperial official
would visit Tek-chham a petition was pre[)ared complaining of
the local magistrate's conduct. As these poor people would
not presume to enter the Great Man's presence, they availed
themselves of the privilege of constructing an efifigy or " grass
man " on the side of the road, in whose hands they jilaced
their petition. When the judicial cortege passed that way,
attendants, seeing the " dummy," brought tlie documeiU, and
the official read the appeal as he was carried along. On ar-
riving at Tek-chham he made inquiries, and finding the com-
plaints true he stmimoned the magistrate. Everything was
j)rearranged. The magistrate prostrated himself before the
high official, but while he pro- ested that " the little child would
not dare to do stich a thing," a signal was given, and without
warning the executioner severed his head from his body. This
had fine effect on the community and on other magistrates.

Criminals are sometimes punished by proxy. If the guilty
party cannot be found, or if he can bribe the magistrate, some
careless fellow can easily be procured to sufTer the punishment.
A little "cash" will do it. Once when complaint had been
made that a certain man had plundered one of our chapels,
the mandarin at Bang-kah reported to the British consul that
the man was under arrest. With several students I accom-
panied the consul to the yamen. No sooner had we entered
than a man was brought in wearing a cangue. I at once saw
that he was not the right man. When the consul told the
mandarin that this was not the man charged with the ofifense
he confessed that it was a case of proxy, but argued that by
punishing this man the real culprit would be so afraid that the
moral inilucnce would be quite as salutary. Another instance
happened at Sa-teng-po, on the way to Kelung, where the

■ ii

!' Ij :;i;

I'KOM r.'IR FORMOS/l

chapel was ransacked by runners of the mandarin. Com-
plaint having been made, the mandarin investigated (lie case,
and two men soon appeared before the chai)el v\'earing the
cangue. I was staying there at the time with my students. It
was an open .secret that these men had nothing to do with the
case, but were !)ribed to wear tlie cangue for six weeks. We
treated them kindly, and in wet weather allowed them to come
inside the chapel, and in other ways relieved them. I'hey did
not forget this kindness, ami years afterward, when the mob
howled after me in the streets of Bang-kali, one of these men
stood up in my defense.

My first experience of the duplicity and unrighteousness of
the yamen was in the second year of my work. A merchant
at Chiu-nih, a large village near Bang-kah, had heard me
preach at other points, and invited me to his village and gave
a room for a preaching-hall. The work grew wonderfully, and
soon the country for many miles around became interested, and
on the Sabbath packed the hall and the street. Among the
converts was a teacher and In's aged father. As the work
grew the enemy became more enraged and ins(jlent toward the
converts. A prominent clansman forcibly seized the teacher's
small rice-fields, and the head man refused to give redress.
The teacher and his father prepared an appeal to the mandarin
at Bang-kah. But meanwhile their enemies had forestalled
them and prejudiced the minds of the yamen men, telling
them that the whole country around was in rebellion, joining
tlie " barbarian." A plot was laid, ^^■hen the teacher and
his father, accompanied by six other converts, one of whom
was my friend the merchant, presented themsdves before the
mandarin in the yamen, and when the old man was on his
knees before the judge, he was told by tlie Creat Man that
it was insolent and disloyal to forsake the religion of their
fathers and to follow the "I)arbarian." 7'hen the plot was
revealed. All at once the constables shouted, rushed hither

:i:-^.--:^::^'u.^9^m^iiS^^S^^^mJ^f^^^^

GOVERNMENT AND /USTICE

III

and thither, cauglit the Cliristians by the cues, jostled them, and
hohh'ng up long knives in the air, they ruslietl to the mandarin,
crying, " Ihe converts brought these knives to assassinate
you." The mandarin pretended to be furious, and gave orders
to shut the doors and chain the prisoners. One of these was
a boy, the son of the teacher, but, being under sixteen, was
allowed to go ; his little companion was chaiiicd along with the
others. They were all dragged to the prison, and put in the
stocks in the darkest dungeon. Mock trials were held, during
which they were compelled to kneel on red-hot chains. Again
and again they wer*" bambooed and otherwise tortured. They
were then taken down seven days' journey to Tai-wan-fu
and imprisoned. The teacher and his father were dragged out
one morning to the execution ground. The son's head was
chopped off before his father's eyes. The old man was then
executed, and the two heads were put into buckets and carried
slowly back to Bang-kah. All along the way and at every
stopping-place the crier called to the multitude to see the fate
of those who followed the " barbarian." A poster with the in-
scription " Jip kon-c lang than " (" Heads of the Christians")
was fastened over the buckets. In this way they succeeded in
terrorizing the people. The heads were finally put on the
gates of the city of Bang-kah. The others of the party were
brought back to Bang-kah and imiirisoned. Two of them
died from torture and starvation. The merchant lived eight
years longer, during which time he continued faithful to Christ
and ceased not to exhort other prisoners to accept the Saviour.
At first it was very difficult for me to receive letters from him.
Several were sent inclosed in small bamboo quills. After some
years the strictness was relaxed and I received letters from him
regularly. The substance of all was this : " I, Tan Su-bi, be-
lieve all things — heaven and earth, angels and men — w-ere
created by the great God. I believe our Saviour Jesus be-
came man and died for Su-bi. I believe God loves me in

112

FROM FAR FORMOSA

prison, and his Holy Spirit gives me comfort and keeps me
cheerful. I thank God that the gospel came to Tamsui."
The last letter closed with these ^vords: "1 believe Jesus my
Saviour has power to save me and give me eternal life." He
died shortly afterward. The instigators and participants were
never brought to justice, but years after they all confessed the
plot and that the Christians were entirely innocent.^

This is only one instance of the corruption and inhumanity
of officialdom, and of the violence and injustice inflicted
upon Christians in North Formosa, witnessed during the past
twenty-three years.

>-♦

FoKMciSA Abokiginks Eauno Rich.

I I

A ViLLAGi-; IN Eastkkn Formosa.

'■(

CHAPTER XII

INDUSTRI \L AND SOCIAL LIFE

MovcmciU cityward — CliiLf centers — Industrial classes — Fatniing — Tlic
pii; a pet — Home life in tlie country — I'^ducation — A Chinese school
— A i^raduatr — Tiieaters, ]ilays, and actors — Aniusenients — Ilorse-
nianslii]) — A novel device — Woman — Marriage — ]>etrotlial — l>reak-
ing a lictrotlial — l'"irst (.'liristian nuirriage — Change in j)ul)lic opinion

''T^HE Chinese, like tlie Anglo-Saxons, are gregarious. There
X is a tendency to gather together and to h've in towns and
cities. In Formosa this movement gains headway by reason
of tlie protection which it .secures. With savages in the moun-
tains not far away, and with desperate characters of all sorts
watching their chance for plunder, the isolation of rural life is
not very desirable. Life in town is thought to be safer, if not
pleasanter, than in the country, and even country people them-
selves often live in close proximity, grouj)ing their dwellings
into little villages and hamlets. A dozen or a score of families
may live together, the men carrying on their farming-operations
in the neitdiborhood.

The three largest cities in North Formosa are Bang-kah,
with a population of forty-five thousand; Tek-chham, with a
[)opulation of thirty-five thousand ; and Toa-tiij-tia, with a pop-
ulation of thirty thousand. Five other centers — Tiong-kang,
Sek-khau, Sin-po, Sa-kiet-a-koe, and Iia-nih — have each a poj)u-
lation exceeding ten thousand. There are a great many towns,
a still greater number of large villages, and innumerable ham-
lets and peasants' homes.

113

-1 —

f • ll

f :l

I r

il '(

1.1

t'.i

W' '•!

I !i

114

FROM r.-IR FORMOSA

In the cities and towns all classes of worknuMi an.l traders
are to be found. Ml work is done by hand. The hum <.l
machinery is never heard. A list of workmen would include
blacksmiths, carpenters, cabinet-makers, undertakers, ulol-
carvers, silversmiths, jewelers, workers in pewter and brass,
implement-makers, locksmiths, weavers, tailors, dyers, shoe-
makers, masons, stone-cutters, brickmakers, lime and charcoal
burners Traders and merchants of all sorts have their shops
■md expose their wares. The silk merchants are important, and
fruit and fish merchants do a thrivi.ig trade. Skilled workmen
are paid from thirty to forty cents per day. Ordmary workmen
earn not more than twenty-five cents. They are generally
economical, and their expenses are light when compared with
the expenses of workmen in AVestern lands. But their life is
often empty and mean.

The farmer is not onlv more important than the mechanic
or the merchant, he is also more highly esteemed. He is
looked upon as being the real producer, and his work is more
honorable than that of him who merely handles Ins goods and
passes them on to the consumer. Farms are small and are all
under cultivation. Rice has long been the chief among farm
products In a subsequent chapter on rice-farmmg the cul-
ture of this cereal is fully explained. Tea-culture is now be-
coming important, and Formosa tea is already a popular
beverage in Britain and America. The large plateau to the
southwest of Tamsui, that twenty years ago was a meadow
broken in upon by little rice-farms, is now a magnihcent tea-
plantation. This industry gives employment every year to
thousands of people, many of whom are brought from the
mainland. Sugar-cane, sweet potatoes, and a litde wheat are
cultivated. Onions, leek, celery, spinach, cucumbers, water-
melons, a Chinese white cabbage, and other garden stuffs are
grown. The indigo and camphor industries are increasing in
importance. The Chinese farmer, like the Be-po-hoan in the

INDUSTRMI. AND SOCIAL IJlli

Kap-tsu-lan plain, uses the ox for dry plowing and the water-
bulTalo in the miry ricc-fields. The i)lo\v, harrow, hoe, and
sickle are his implements, and the ox, water-buiTalo, and pig
his slock. He brings all his produce in baskets to the town,
and oilers it for sale in an open space in the street. Failing to
tlispose of his supply in this way, he may hawk the remainder
about the streets.

'I'he pig is a great pet among the Chinese. It is always to
be found about the door, and often has free access into the
house. In our missionary journeys we frequently found our-
selves room-mates of an old black i)ig with her litter of little
ones. The affection of an Englishman for his dog is scarcely
stronger than the affection of a Chinese for his pig. Foreign-
ers in China should remember this, and not thoughtlessly excite
enmity and antagonism. Not long after my arrival, when in
my house at Tamsui, I heard loud voices and hurried tramp-
ing in the street in front. On opening the door I saw several
Euiopean sailors, from a ship lying at anchor in the harbor,
running in wild haste down the street toward me. As they
came near, one of them, mad with rage, asked if I had a gun.
'I'hey were followed by a mob that seemed to be furious and
eager to overtake them. I directed the sailors down a narrow
lane, by which they escaped to their ship. Turning to the
crowd, I asked the cause of the disturbance. They replied
that the sailors had been striking the pigs belonging to one of
their families with their walking-sticks. The })eople were very
indignant, and had they overtaken the sailors there would
have been trouble. I appeased them by the assurance that
should the offenders misbehave again complaint would be
made to the authorities.

Farming in Formosa is very hard work, and only by strict-
est economy can it be made e\-en fairly remunerative. Some
farmers own the land lliey work, but the majority rent. In-
deed, more than half of the cultivated land in North Formosa

FROM FAR FORMOSA

II I'

H9^

i :

■ i

ho rents to others, the rent bcuig paid

These tenant-farmers frequently h"ve all

ilace. The sons marry anil still con-

belongs to one man, w
generally in produce.
their davs in the same p
tinue to live in tlie old home with their parents, two and some-
times three generations occupying the same house at the same
time. They are, on the whole, hard-working, honest, reliable,
and, as men go, moral. The peasants are indeed the best
class in the community, instances of immorality being rare.
Among themselves they are very friendly and sociable, the
social chat of an evening, or what my Highland ancestors
called a "ceilidh," being (piite characteristic of rural society.

Education, as they understand it, is not by any means
neglected among the Chinese, li is more than a thousand
years since competitive literary examinations were established
throughout the empire, and those who succeed in passing these
examinations have always been the most honorable class in
Chinese society. They are not only socially the superiors of
all others, but from among them appointments are made to all
the chief positions of influence and power. Parents are there-
fore very anxious to have their sons educateil. There is in
Formosa no system of public instruction such as now exists
in the more advanced States of the American Union or the
provinces of Canada. The competitive examinations, held l)y
the government in the /// cities, provincial capitals, or in
Peking, according to the degree, are conducted with tiresome
attention to form and details. The Four P.ooks are the text-
books, and some saying of Confucius or Mencius the theme
of their essays. Without describing the system, which is very
elaborate, it may be said that the higher degrees can scarcely
be obtained by any who have not more than ordinary ability,
and the physical strain of preparation and examination very
frequently wrecks the health of the student. The perceiitage
of the successful competitors is very small, but the reflex mllu-
ence of this wide-spread interest in education is very powerful.

mDUSTRl.ll. /IND SOCIAL LHH

117

The unsuccessful ciindidutcs for the higliest degree, and the
graduates holding lower degrees, constitute tl-.e literary class.
'I'heyare the teachers, and, heing generally poor, their services

be oil

d f(

little fn

Tlu

■y

,-cry lutie imanciai remuneration, inej
iinil emi)loynient in the families of the rich or in teaching the
village school. Rich men frequently pay the salary of a
teacher for the children of their poorer neighl)ors. Ordinarily
the teacher secures a room and arranges with the parents in
the locality to have their children taught, the fees going to pay
the teacher.

A Chinese school is the scene of great industry and of great
noise. The students all study aloud, and their shrill drawling
voices make a disagreeable babel. 'I'he text-books are the
Chinese dansics, and the parents have no cause of complaint
on the score of frequent change. The books never change
from century to century. The characters are tlrst learned ; but
it is purely mechanical work, not the slightest attention being
paid to the meaning of the words. The book-language is
entirely different from the vernacular, and the boy has to
commit to memory [lages, and even whole books, without
understanding anything of their significance. After years of
such severe work the boys begiii to prepare definitely for the
competitive examinations. 'Hicre is nothing really educative
in the system. Unconsciously the style and sentiments of the
books are absorbed, but originality, in either thought or expres-
sion, is not only undesirable, but utterly impossible.

AVhcn a young man succeeds in passing the examinations
for even the lowest degree, preparations on a most elaborate
scale are made at his home for honoring him on his return.
No one but an eye-witness can imagine the scene. A feast is
prepared, theatrical performers are often engaged, a procession
goes out to meet the graduate, who afifects all the airs ima-
ginable, and his conceit is swollen beyond endurance. His
swagger is supercilious to the point of silliness. To recognize

iiS

FROM MR FORMOSA

his old companions is a cniuk'sctMision for which they feci ex-
tremely grateful. The whole i)erfornKince tends to make these
graduates the most (jbnoxious of all the i)eople one meets.

Mention has just been made of theatrical performances, and
it should be said that theatrical entertainments among the
Chinese are \-ery different from those with which foreigners are
familiar. 'I'he actors as a class are numerous enough, but
there are no opera-houses or halls erected for entertaimnent
jjurposes. These shows in Formosa are almost invariably ex-
hibited on a platform in tlie open air, and generally are asso-
ciated with idolatry. In the open space in front of the temple
plays are most frecpiently performed. No admission fee is
charged, the expense of the show being borne by previous sub-
scription, or defrayed by some wealthy cili/.en. There is not
much art in a Chinese play; to a foreigner, indeed, it ai;[)cars
absurd and dreary, 'i'he ///^'///is generally patriotic. Histori-
cal or fictitiotis scenes aie presented, in which some rebel or
traitor is the " villain," and after much intrigue, sedition, and
other crimes against the government, he is arrested, condemned,
and punished. This kind of play is patronized by the govern-
ment as tending to inspire the common people with respect and
awe for the emperor and his representatives. Love, marriage,
and murder, to be sure, are the stoik in trade of Chinese play-
wrights, and virtue is always rewanled, while vice is as surely
punished. The costumes of the actors are exceedingly ridicu-
lous, and the way in which they "speak the speech" would
excite the disgust of less particular personages than Shake-
si)eare, and make the "town crier" an artist in comi)arison.
Everything is spoken in a shrill falsetto di'awl, and accom-
panied with such endless, excessive, and excited action that
Hamlet's judgment that "some of nature's journeymen had
made men, and not made them well, they imitated humanity so
abominably," would seem to ha\e special reference to Chinese
players. In truth, the text of the play, being in the book-

it > \ <

INDUSTRIAI. AND SOCIAL IH'l:

I i()

■ iiiguagc, is very iini»cif('Clly uiuUrstoiHl by the aiulicnco ; ami
were it luil for the collociuial "asides" ami the exi)laiiati()iis
given by knowing ones to those abont them, ilie perl'oinuuuc
would indeed be a "dumb sIkjw " to most of the auditors. 1
have fre([uently stood in the crowd and watched the players,
and sometimes they would give spice to their parts by a refer-
ence to the " black-bearded stranger." There are no actresses
in these c()rii[)anies, the parts of female characters being taken
with remarkable skill by men. The social standing of actors
is low, but probably as high as th-.'ir merit or their morals
deserve.

I'uppet-shows art' very popular among almost all classes of
peoi)le, and are, in their way, decideilly clever. Kite-flying
among the ("hinese is a science compared with any like exhibi-
tion seen in Western lands. The children have their tops,
which they handle with exceptional skill, and their jackstones,
which never lo.se their popularity.

l}oat-racing is a common sport, and at I5ang-kah I once
witnessed an exhibition of military horsemanship, that regularly
draws immense crowds of spectators. The horses are run
singly in a .long trench several feet high, without bridle or
saddle. They are trained, and are eager for the race. The
rider carries a bow and arrow, and the <)l)ject of the game is
to shoot at a target set up on one side of the trench near the
end of the course, after the principle of the game of tent-
pegging. 'l"he horses recpn're little urging once they enter the
trench. A curious custom is slitting the horses' nostrils to in-
crease their speed. Jockeys observed that after the race a
horse seemed to have great difficulty in l)reathing, and this
extra pufhng they supposed was caused by an insufficient es-
cape for the air from the lungs. To relieve tins difficulty, ami
to add to the racer's speed, the nostrils are slit open.

Among the Chinese in Formosa the position of woman is
higher than among pagan and savage races, but inuneasurably

.-.--J '

I20

FROM FAR FORMOSA

:i;f'

\i.W

lower than in Christian lands. The birth of a daughter is no
occasion for rejoicing, if, indeed, it be not regarded as a
calamity. The inferiority of woman to man is not an open
(juestion. She is regarded as useful, but her death, even when
a wife and mother, is trivial compared with the loss of a
brother or son. As she advances in years, however, she is
treated with more respect, and in old age compensation is
sometimes made for the neglect of earlier years.

Marriage is in every way encouraged, not so much as a
satisfaction for cherished aiTections and a fulfilment of social
instincts, but in order to obtain male posterity, who shall
guard the graves of the dead and minister to the needs of the
departed spirits of their ancestors. Tlie bearing of this is
shown in a subsequent chapter dealing with Chinese religious
life. The social aspect of the (pastion is one of the most per-
plexing problems facing the advocates of reform.

Marriage is arranged by the parents of the contracting
parties, widiout regard to the feelings and preferences of the
parties themselves. A tln'rd party — a match-maker or go-
between — is a most important character. Through her the
arrangements are made. Prenatal betrothal is rare, but not
i)y any means unknown. The betrothal of children under ten
years of age is more common, but the general age for a girl is
between fifteen and twenty. Tlie most common method is for
the parents to purchase a young girl and bring her up in their
own home to l>e a wife for their son. This is much cheaper,
as she earns more than she costs, and no gifts or money need
be paid her parents at the marriage. In such a case the girl
is called Sim-pu, and is regarded as one of the family, but too
often is treated with great harshness and cruelty.

Parents may choose out a suitable wife for their son, and it
frequently happens that the son agrees in the selection and is
delighted with his betrothed. But human nature is the same
the world over, and sometimes the Chinese young man does

INDUSTRIAL AND SOCIAL LIFE

121

not take kindly to his parents' choice. If the girl has been
brought up with him in his home he may come to love her,
and not to marry her would be a real grief. But should his
wayward fancy fly far from home and picture maidens fairer
than the drudge of his mother's kitchen, he may refuse to ac-
cept his betrothed wife, and if so he will find some way of
evading the domestic arrangement and the custom of his
country. It is looked upon as a calamity for the betrothal to
be broken off, and it is believed dire calamities are sure to
visit the family of one who violates so venerable a custom.
Young men sometimes run the risks, however, and follow
affection rather than custom.

An instance of the breaking up of an early betrothal came
under my notice, illustrative of both the old and the new order
of things. At (lo-ko-khi, where our first chapel was built,
there lived a man of great local influence, named Tan Phauh.
He was a powerfully built man, who had been through sev-
eral rebellions on the mainland, and was not used to liaving
his plans thwarted by anybody. His services in connection
with the establishing of our first church are told hereafler.
He was a loyal Chinese, and, although he became one of our
earliest converts, he never was unpatriotic or disloyal as a cit-
izen. There lived with the family a girl who was betrothed to
his second son. She was a good, hard-working girl, and was
kindly treated, and really loved as a daughter. The whole
family became Christian, and this son joined my class of
students and traveled with us, preparing himself for the min-
istry. Association with other students, and college life at
'1 amsui, widened his horizon and gready developed his intel-
lectual powers. He began to think for himself, and self-con-
sciousness developed independence. His ideals were enlarged
and his standards of life changed. The thought of his be-
trothal began to be burdensome. He had nothing against the
girl, but she was not his ideal, and he could not cherish for her

122

FROM FAR FORMOSA

iM>i

ii^'

^'1

the " supreme affection for one " that philosophers call love.
She was uneducated, and look no interest in tlie larger subjects
and ambitions that now fired his soul. Under such circum-
stances young men who, thinking themselves in love, voluntarily
entered into an engagement without the advice or knowledge
of their i)arents have been known to fret and become discon-
tented. Poor Theng cannot, then, be blamed for fretting over
a betrothal to which he was not a party, made years before he
understood or cared. On the occasion of one of his visits
home the (juestion of his marriage to Sim-pu was raised, and
he distinctly refused. He did not love the girl and could not
marry her. The grief, disappointment, and anger of his parents
were almost beyond control. They were Christians, but the
custom was an old one, and, besides, they loved Sim-pu. The
father went to bed and stayed there till his anger cooled. 'J'he
mother felt even more strongly. I visited them and reasoned
with them, exj)laining the nature and terms of Christian mar-
riage, and the teachings of the IJible on the subject. The eld-
est son agreed v^'itli me, and thought his brother should be
allowed to choose for himself. The younger son stood by the
venerable social custom, and wanted to know what kind of a
lady Theng would like for a wife, that he should refuse one
whom tliey all loved so much. But 'J'heng was unmoved. In
the struggle between love and custom the tender passion pre-
vailed. He would not give his hand, for he could not give his
heart. The girl felt badly, for she had had her day-dreams.
'I'heng married a girl he 1o\ed, and Sim-jju married a young
farmer living a few miles away. The okl man often told me
tliat only Christiain'ty and the grace of Cod could reconcile
him to his son's action. The girl did not cherish any hard
feelings, as she would have done were she not a Christian.
When passing near where she lived, she insisted on my visiting
her new home, and her welcome to myself and the students who
were with me had no suggestion of animosity or secret regret.

k .r^

■- lUill 'JiJiJ_LJJJ.i|!!»Jje—

INDUSTRIAL AND SOCIAL LIFE

I 2

Marriage, according to Chinese law, is consummated l)y
the exchange of necessary documents between die parents of
the prospective bride and groom. No license is required, and
no one is authorized to perform the ceremony. There are
endless social preliminaries, formalities, and ceremonies, and
on the marriage day the bride is carried from her own home
to the home of the groom, and there with him bows before
the ancestral tablet of the family. Feasting and tablet-worship
mark the occasion.

It was at Go-ko-khi, the first station established in the
country, Uiat die first Christian marriage was celebrated. The
formal documents were exchanged, complying with the law of
the land, and dien the ordinance of marriage according to
Christian form and teaching was performed. The young man
belonged to die clan Tail, and was twenty-five years of age ;
the bride was of the clan Ti, and w-as in her seventeenth year.
He cotild not possibly marry one of his own clan. To do
that would be to violate the most sacred and inflexible cus-
tom. Such a diing as the marriage of two persons having the
same surname is not known among the Chinese.

The news that the missionary was about to perform a mar-
riage ceremony spread rapidly through the region; and the
whole neighborhood became excited, alarmed, and enraged.
The wildest stories were told: "She is going to be the mis-
sionary's wife for a week;" "The missionary is to kiss her
first;" " Her own eyes arc to be taken out and others put in
their places;" "The amount to be paid the missionary will
ruin the fmiily."

On t^ e afternoon of the marriage day a great crowd gath-
ered at the bridegroom's house. After a long wait music
was heard in the distance, and the children began shouting,
" They're coming, they're coming ! " Presently a sedan-chair
with an old woman, the go-between, appeared, and immedi-
ately behind a larger and more beautiful one, draped with red

rvr

124

FROM F.-1R FORMOSA

i: , i

cloth. Then came twenty-five pairs of bearers carrying pres-
ents of all descriptions in tables turned upside down and
susi)ended from poles borne on the bearers' shoulders. Fire-
crackers and squibs kej)t up an incessant noise, doing honor to
the occasion. The bride's chair halted before the door, and the
briilegroom, dressed as gorgeously as though he were a great
official, stepi)ed forward and removed the front ' nl of the
chair, and led his bride, whom he saw that hour for the first
time, into the house. They were then called out into the
courtyard, where hundreds of e.xcited spectators — the majority
of whom, of course, were women — crowded every available
space, eager to witness the ceremony. A Christian woman
acted as bridesmaiil, and the groom was suj)ported by a native
preacher. I then addressed the ])eop]( on the institution of
marriage as ordained by Cod and sanctified by Christ, and
emphasized the importance of monogamy and mutual resi)cct
and forbearance. 'I'he contracting jiarties were then ex-
horted, the " vows " put, and they were pronounceil husband
and wife.

As soon as the ser\-ice was over the young coui)le were taken
back into the house. In view of the suspicions of the peojjlc,
I deemed it prudent to take leave at once, and set out with
the students to the nearest chapel. In a few days the report
of the Christian marriage .spread far and wide, and now the
missionary was ])raised as liberally as he had pre\iously been
blamed. The Christian ceremony was i)rononnced everything
that was beautiful and good, and during all succeeding year.s,
although I not only performed the ceremony hundreds of
times, but also waited for the .subsequent festivities, and even
accepted invitations to heathen households, no unjust in.sinua-
tions were ever again made, or anything said against the
morality of Christian marriage.

~9,

CHAPTER XIII

CHINESE RELIGIOUS LIFE

llontlicnism in Formosa — Oods and goddesses innumerable — A new can-
didate— T'-ayinL; willi divining-blocks — Idol-makinL; industry — Wip-
ing out devotional arrearages — An olTering of two hundred hogs —
" Seventh jNIoon Feast," a hideous spectacle — Ancestral worship —
Annual family gathering — An "open sesame" — A burdensome
curse — Lifted by the gospel

img

1) ELIGIOUSLY the Chinese in Formosa are related to the
V Chinese on the niainlaiul, especially in the Fukien prov-
ince. They are all idolaters. Transportation and separation
from the huge mass may, indeed, have had the effect of loosen-
ing the bonds and making idolatry in Formosa less unyielding
in its hold and less hopelessly blinded in its outlook than it is
in China. The incessant struggle for life in a new country may
also have done something. At all events, it would seem as
though there were more laxity, more indifferentism, among the
masses of the people than may be found on the mainland.

But the heathenism of Formosa is of the same kind and
quality as the heathenism of China. It is the same poisonous
mixture, the same dark, damning nightmare. The original ele-
ment was Confucianism — a system of morality, with its worship
of heaven, its deification of ancestors, and its ethical maxims.
Centuries after, Tauism was added — a system of demonolatry,
with its spirit-sui)erstition and wretched incantations. Then
from India IJuddhism was brought — a system of idolatry, with
its shrines p ul smoking incense. These three systems existed

1^5

1 2C)

FROM F.^tR FORMOSA

If-

*"^^M

side by side until the divi-li.-sy-w'ills Ivgan to crumble; and
now the three are run t( . a commingling of conflicting

creeds, degrading the intell , defiling life, and destroying all
religious sentiment.?'. In Western lands one hears much about
Oriental religions, the beauties of rnuldhism, and the like.
One who knows is not deceived. These indiscriminating
laudations are false and vain, the outcome of ignorance or the
enchantment of distance. I know something of the delights
of ]juddhism, not as seen from the platform of a Parliament of
Religions, but as lUuldhism really is in its own country. For
twenty-three years I have been in the miilst of heathenism,
brushing against its i^riests and people ; and I know the poison
of its sweets, the fatal flash of its light, and the stagnant fetor
of its life.)

It is not needful that an exposition of the complex religious
system of the Chinese be here presented. Of late years the
literature on that subject has greatly increased, and students
will find in the works of such authors as \\'ells-Wil]iams, Ne-
vius, Du Bose, and others, intelligent and detailed discussion.
What they have reported regarding the mainland is to a large
degree true in regard to Formosa ; and for the purposes of this
book, beyond a general survey, all that is possible is some ref-
erence to points and customs not dealt with by the authors
mentioned.

The Chinese in Formosa have innumerable gods and god-
desses, many religious festivals, and countless superstitions that
burden their life. The names of their idols would fill pages,
and tlie details of their beliefs and worship volumes. There
are gods having authority over each of the various powers of
nature, departments of industry, relationships of life, states of
feeling, physical conditions, and moral sentiments. Some have
been worshiped for centuries ; others are of recent date. Some
are universal, receiving the adoration of all classes throughout
the Chinese empire ; others are local or special, and are rever-

I '■! n •

CHINESE RELIGIOUS UlE

diced only in particular localities or by certain orders. The
origin of the worship of many of the idols is a nnstery, but
modern instances are suggestive. In 187S a girl Uving not far
from Tamsui wasted away and died, a victim of consumption.
Some one in that neigiiborhood, more gifted than the rest, an-
nounced that a goddess was there, and the wasted skeleton of
the girl became immediately famous. She was given the name
Sien-lu-niu ("Virgin Goddess "), and a small temi)le was erected
for her worship. The body was put iiUo salt and water for
some time, and then placed in a sitting position in an arm-
chair, with a red cloth around the shoulders and a wedding-
cap upon the head ; and seen through die glass, the black face,
with the teeth exposed, looked very much like an l':gyptian
mummy. Mock money was burned and incense-sticks laid in
front. ' Passers-by were told the story, and as they are willing
to worship anything supposed to have power to help or harm,
the worship of this new goddess began. Ikfore many weeks
hundreds of sedan-chairs could be seen passing and repassing,
bringing worshipers, especially women, to this shrine. Rich
men sent presents to adorn the temple, and all took up the cry
of this new goddess. But the devotees were disappointed, for
the divining-blocks gave no certain answers ; and while they
might continue to reverence an unanswering goddess whom
dieir ancestors had worshiped before them, they had not the
same respect for a new candidate. One woman who had
heard die gospel several years before, while we were preaching
in the town of Kim-pau-li, was being carried to worship at this
temple ; and when on a high narrow path, through some acci-
dent she was tumbled down the bank in her sedan-chair. She
returned home very much displeased with herself, and angry at
those who introduced this new object of worship. Her confi-
dence in the idol was all the more easily shaken because of the
secret working in her mind and lieart of die gospel heard years
before. Indeed, all attempts to make die worship of this new

12^

IROM I .Ik lORMUS.-l

gotkless |i'ti)ular and niuvcrsal failed, and failed lifciiuse "the
li"ht of life was in the field." A hundred years ago, howexer,
she would soon have h;ul millions before her presenting their
oiTeriiigs and beseeching her fa\-or.

Idol-teniples are common throughout the country, and idols
may be seen under trees and near bi'idges for travelers and
chance devotees to burn money and toss the divining-blocks.
Their method of petition is saddening to behold. Divining-
blocks are used. These are made of l)aml)oo roots split into
two pieces, each piece having one side convex, the other flat.
With these two blocks, two or three inches in length, the peti-
tioner stands before the idol and oders his prayer. The peti-
tion is presented in the form of a question ; e.g., "O itlol, will
you give me wealth?" The blocks are Uien waved in the
hands three times and tossed on the floor. If either the two
convex or the two flat sides are turned upward the answer of
the idol is in the negative ; but if one convex and one Hat side
be upward the answer is in the affirmative. If the petition be
granted the blocks are returned to their place, and vows may
be made and mock money either burned or placed in front of
the idol. The offerings presented are in accordance with the
favors granted. .Should the divining-blocks retiun a negative
answer from the g(Ml, the petitioner, if very importunate, will
try again and again, and this " heads or tails " form of prayer
may be kept up until the desired answer is obtjiined.

Idolatry is the mother of a very extensive industry, as the
manufacture of idols is a thriving business. There is litde art
about it, as the Chinese idols are inartistic in form, grotesque,
hideous. They are made sometimes of stone or bronze, gen-
erally of wood or clay. The wood of the camphor-tree is
often used in idol manufacture. After much use the idol is
taken back for repairs — repainted, regilded, an arm or head to
be replaced, an ear reset, or the eyes to be touched up or made
new. The various parts arc cut out or moulded into shape and

-J

5
I

4
J

CHIi\'l:Sf: RnUaiOUS Llh'li

129

the

tew-

j)iu l(\i;cllicr by the idol-maker, and the devotee walks out of
the place with the (Wul of War or the Goddess of the Sea!
The paper money used in worshii) is made out of tinfoil, heatrn
thin, and sold in packages. A great ninnbcr of men are I'm-
ployed in the manufacture of candles for idolatrous purp.oses.

Many of the Chinese, especially the women, are devout
worshipers; many others are skeptical, and the majority are
careless. Idolatry has a powerful liold on their minds, but it
is only when reverses and troubles come that the average man
will resort to the temple. They believe the gods have power
to help or to injure them, but so long as things g(^ well they
are careless about their devotions. 'J'here are great occasions
when a feast is held or a general ofifering made, and then all
devotional arrearages are wiped out. I once attended an im-
mense gathering in honor of the God of Medic inc>, when an
ofTering of two hundred hogs was made. It was on the birth-
day of the god, and in a grass hut on a small plateau five miles
north of Tamsui the idol was seated. In front of tiic god,
pork, fowl, rice, fish, eggs, tea, and spirituous liquors were set.
A Tauist priest performed incantations, bowing, chanting, and
beseeching the god to be favorable and to i)artake of the feast
provided. Fragrant incense-sticks were burned, and at inter-
vals mock money was offered. Outside the hut men were busy
preparing the great feast for the god. Two himdred dressed
hogs, on frames prepared for the purpose, Avere ranged all
around in rows, an orange in the mouth of each, and a large
knife stuck in the back of the neck. These hogs varied in
weight from fifty 10 four hundred and eighty pounds. Fully
four thousand men, women, and children were present, each
family displaying its own articles to the best advantage. In
tlie evening torches, music, and theatrical performances added
to the honor done to the poor camphor-wood god in the grass
hut.

The most elaborate and hideous scene I ever witnessed was

'■!!

130

FROM h\4R FORMOSA

the " Seventh Moon Feast." The seventh month wns the time
for making offerings to all ck'iKnleil spirits. It was a lime of
great festivity anil L'.xcitement. 'Hie custom prevailed in all
the cities anil towns in North J''ornu)sa of erecting, in an open
space of several acres, great cone-like structures of bamboo
poles, from five to ten feet in diameter at the base, and some-
limes fifty or si.xty feet high. Around these cones, from bottom
to top, immense ciuantities of food, offered to the spirits, were
tied in rows. There were ducks and smaller fowl, dead and
alive, pork, fish, cakes, fruits, bananas, pineai)ples, and all
uianner of delicacies in season ; and fastened everywhere in the
uKiss were hundreds of huge fire-crackers. On one occasion 1
saw fifty such cones at a feast at I5ang-kah. It was a grue-
some sight. When night came on and the time for summoning
the spirits approached, the cones were illuminated l)y dozens
of lighted candles. Then the i)riests took up their positiim f)n
a raised platform, and by clapping their hands and sounding
a large brass gong they called the spirits of all the departed to
come and feast on the food provided. " Out of the night and
the other world " the dead were given time to come and to
gorge themselves on the " spiritual " part of the feast, the es-
sence, that was suited to their ethereal requirements. Mean-
while a very unspiritual mob — thousands and thousands of
hungry beggars, tramps, blacklegs, desperadoes of all sorts,
from the country towns, the city slums, or venturing under
cover of the night from their hiding-places among the hills —
surged and swelled in every part of the open space, impatiently
waiting their turn at the feast. When the spirits had consumed
the " spiritual " part, the " carnal " was the property of the mob,
and the mob quite approved of this division. IJut the time
seemed long. At length the spirits were satisfied, and the
gong was sounded once more. That was the signal for the
mob ; and scarcely had the first stroke fallen when that whole
scene was one mass of arms and legs and tongues. Screaming,

'- '^n«ttihs^^^3L.

CHINLSI-: KliUGlOUS Lll-li

»3«

cursing, howling, like demons of the pit, they all joined in the
onset. A rush was made for the cones, and tliDso nearest
seized the supports and jjulled now this way, now that. 'I'he
huge, heavily laden structures began to sway from side to side
until with a crash one after another fell into the crowd, crush-
ing their way to the ground. 'J'hen it was every man for him-
self. In one wild scramble, groam'ng and yelling all the while,
trampling on those who had lost their footing or were smoth-
ered by the falling cones, fighting and tearing one another like
mad dogs, they all made for the coveted food. It was a very
beillam, and the wiiJness of the scene was enhanced by tlie
irregular explosion of the fire-crackers and the death-groan of
some one worsted in the fray. As each, secured what he could
carry, he tried to extricate himself from the mob, holding fast
to the treasures for which he had fought, and of which the less
successful in the outskir's of the crowd would fain plunder him.
l-'.scaping the mob, he uurried to his home, expecting every
moment to he attacked by those who thought it easier to way-
lay and rob the solitary spoilsman than to join in the general
scramble in the plain.

One cannot estimate the demoralizing effects of such feasts ;
and it is to the credit of that progre^;sive governor, Liu Ming
Chuan, that the barbarities of the " Seventh Moon Feast " have
been entirely abolished in Formosa. Sucli a sight as has been
described will never again be witnessed diere.

In a general and broad sense all their worship is ancestral,
as their gods are the deified spirits of some of the distinguished
dead. But the worship of their gods is not the real religion of
the Chinese, the idol-shrine is not their most holy place. Their
real religion is the worship of their ancestors, their real idol the
ancestral tablet. The worship of ancestors is certainly of very
ancient date, and was sanctioned by the Chinese sage Con-
fucius. Their doctrine is that each man lias three souls. At
death one soul goes into the unseen world of spirits, the second

Tsr

I KOM l\-U< lORMOSA

{roes ilown into the grave, and the thinl hovers about the old
honvj-^icud. For the first the priest is responsible. The second
■ind third claim the services of living relatives, the grave being
tended for the one, while the other is invited to take up its
abode in a tablet of wood; and from that hour the ancestral
tablot becomes the most sacred thing in the possession of the
family. It is simply a narrow piece of wood, about a foot long,
two or three inches wide, and half an inch thick, set in a low-
pedestal, and on one side are inscribed the ancestral nanus.
The eldest son has charge of the tablet and its worship, it is
placed in the main hall of the house, olTerings are presented
before it, and incense burned to it every day. The son regards
that tablet as in very truth the abode of a personal being who
is far more to him for weal or woe than all the gods of the
empire. The gods are to be feared and their favor is to be
l)ropilic)ted ; but ancestors are loved and their needs in the
spirit-world generously supplied. The heathen Chinese have
no knowledge of the " Father's house of many mansions,"
where " they hunger no more, neither thirst any more." 'I'o
them the dead are dependent on their living relatives, and
should they be neglected they would become beggar spirits,
hungry, naked, penniless, with will and power to punish their
undutiful offspring for their neglect. Food must therefore be
offered before the tablet, to satisfy the hunger of the spirit ;
paper clothing must be burned to hide its nakedness, and paper
money to give it independence in the w^orld of shades.

There are some things that appeal to human nature in this
ancestral idolatry. Its moti\-e may be fear, but its basis is filial
piety. And there is something very solemn aliout their annual
family gatherings before the spirit-tablets of their dead. The
most sacred time in all the Chinese calendar is the last night
of the old year, when the chief family feast is held and sacri-
fices are offered to the ancestral guests. To be present on such
an occasion, the son returns home, it may be, from beyond the

'.\

CHINILSI: RLLUjIOUS Lll L

»3.;

•1^

'■

Pacific. The household asscinl)lij in tlicir family oratory.
No stranger is tlicrc. IJeforc them are the sacred tablets,
their household gods, and wilh reverence they present their
f)tTerings, burn their sacrifices, and bow themselves in worshij).
I'ork, fish, fowl, vegetables, rice, and some spirituous hquor
conslitule the Unn\, which is olTered smoking hot, anil the
spirits feast upon its essence carried up in the ascending steam,
i'aper clothing and mock money arc burned, and as the smoke
curls up the s|)irits are clothed and enriched. Lest any vaga-
bond spirit, neglected by its living offspring, should be hover-
ing about seeking an entrance into this hallowed place, a
supply of food is set outside the door, that llie hungry soul
may be satisfied and not intrude. This ancestral feast on the
last night of the year is to the Chinese what Passover night is
to the pious Jew.

It has been my custom never to denounce or revile what is
so sacredly cherished, but rather to recognize whatever of truth
or beauty there is in it, and to utilize it as an "open sesame"
to the heart. Many, many times, standing on the steps of a
temple, after singing a hymn, have I repeated the fifth com-
mandment, and the words " Honor thy father and thy mother "
never failed to secure respectful attention. Sometimes a frail
old man, whose cue was white, and whose hands trembled on
his stalT, would nod approvingly and say, " That is heavenly
doctrine." Having gained common ground, and having dis-
coursed on the duties to earthly parents, the transition of
thought to our Father in heaven is easily made. Prejudices
have been overcome in this way, and minds disposed to the
truth of the gospel. The worship of idols is first given up ;
but it may be months — perhaps a year — before the tal)let can
be forsaken. The truth about the soul, death, and the here-
after must be firmly grasped, or it will wring the heart to throw
away the tablet.

Ancestral worship has its beauties, and in its exaltation of

',;/

FROM F^R FORMOSA

III

marriage it may indirectly have been a blessing ; btit it has its
darker side, and in its train follow domestic infelicity, miscar-
riage of justice, and a social and moral bondage that subjects
tlie millions of the living to the degrading service of the dead.
A marriage that docs not result in the birth of a son, who will
guard his father's grave and worship at the ancestral shrine, is
a source of perpetual misery, giving the husband just cause for
ill-treating his wife, putting her away, or resorting to con-
cubinage. Should an only son whose parents are dead be
arraigned before a magistrate and found guilty of the most
heinous crime, the fact that there is no one else to attend to
the offices of ancestral worship would interfere with the exe-
cution of a just sentence, as the magistrate would shrink from
the responsibility of depriving the spirits of the departed of the
care and support they require. And this ancestral worship
blocks the way of all change and progress, because to make
any change in social customs or religious forms " would disturb
the status between men and spirits, and thus prove fatal to the
repose of the dead and the safetv of the living."

This venerable cultusj^the worship of ancestors, is indeed the
most stubborn obstacle Christianity has to face. It is so en-
grained in the nature, and appeals so touchingly to the heart,
that it requires the strongest conviction and the finest moral
courage to break its thraldom and brave the scorn of friends
and relatives, to whom neglect of one's ancestors in the spirit-
world is the most inhuman and crudest of crimes. The gospel
of the risen Saviour, shedding light on the immortal life, and
redeeming men from the heavy bondage of ignorance, super-
stition, and fear, is proving itself tlie only power that can save
to the uttermost. It drives out the false by the expulsive power
of truth, and under its vivifying influences the devotees of the
tablet turn from the darkening past and look forward and up-
ward to the hills of the Homeland, where the weary rest in the
light of God.

-■«»*

CHAPTER XIV

BEGINNINGS OF MISSION WORK

Purpose — LeainiuL; the lant,mage — Witli the herdboys — First sermon —
Ihc literati — Coming of A Iloa — Conversion of Go Ek Ju — A Chris-
tian family

IN April, 1872, I had secured a house in Tamsui, and faced
the question, Why am I here ? Is it to study the geology,
botany, or zoology of Formosa ? Is it to e.vamine into ques-
tions about the racial relations of the inhabitants ? Is it to
study the habits and customs of the people ? No ; not for
that did I leave my native home. Not for that did the church
in Canada ordain me and send me out. My commission is
clear; I hold it from the King and Head of the church: "Go
ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."
Whatever else may be done, that commission must be fulfilled.
More than that. Whatever else may be done must have a
real and positive bearing on the fulfilment of that commission, r
Whatever of history, geology, ethnology, sociology, or of any
other subject may engage the missionary's attention must be
regarded in its relation to the gospel. To get the gospel of
the grace of God into the minds and hearts of the heathen,
and when converted to build them up in their faith — that was
my purpose in going to Formosa. I had it clearly before me
at the beginning, and nothing has been allowed to obscure it
or make it less than supreme.

But the question of ways and means had yet to be answered ;

135

. I'.,

136

FROM F^R FORMOSA

■( ' ^

and taking things as they came, my first duty was to learn the
language. Already I had mastered the eight tones of the
Formosan dialect and had learned a few words. But what
was that compared with the task scarcely begun ? I had no
teacher, and there were then no books of much use to a be-
ginner. My Chinese servant, who returned with me from the
trip down the west coast with Messrs. Ritchie and Dickson,
was my only helper. I spent hours with him pronouncing
words and imitating sounds. He was not used to that kind
of service, and at times would look at me doubtfully, as
though he thought me a little daft. I kept away from the
main street and wandered out into die country in the hope of
meeting some peasant with whom I might converse, and from
whom I might learn something of the language of the common
people. Out on the downs I saw a dozen boys herding water-
buffaloes. As soon as I went near they yelled, "Foreign
devil, foreign devil .' " jumped on the ground, waved Uieir
large sun-hats, and disappeared behind boulders. The next
day I tried them again. They looked at me in silence, but
on the alert, and ready to run at the first sign of danger. I'he
third day I .spoke to them, and as I had carefully practised
my words they exclaimed, in utter astonishment, " He knows
our language!" That the "barbarian" could speak even a
few of their words interested them very much. I took out my
watch and held it up for them to see. They were around me
instantly, feeling my hands, fingers, buttons, and clothes. The
herdboys and I became friends that day, and ever after thcv
would wait my coming with eager interest. I was out there
on the plateau with them every day for four or five hours,
talking to tliem, hearing them talk, noting down new words
and phrases, until my vocabulary began to grow with a rapidity
that quite amazed my servant. I learned more of the spoken
dialect from those herdboys than in any other way, and years
after, when they grew to manhood, they continued friendly, and

Bf-CINNINGS OF MISSION U/ORK

137

were always delighted to recall the first days on the buffalo-
pasture. Several of them became converts to Christianity,
one a student and preacher.

All tliis time I was working away at the written characters
with my English-Chinese dictionary. It was slow and vexa-
tious. Without a teacher or helper, and having none of the
improved dictionaries, it sometimes took hours to find the
meaning of one character.

In this Vv-ay I learned the spoken dialect in the daytime
from the herdboys, and studied the characters from the books
at night, all the while practising aloud in order to train both
tongue and ear. Something new was learned every day, and
my old servant had to listen to new words and sentences and
hear the old ones over again every night. It is entirely prob-
able that he said some things I did not understand, and that
were not very complimentary. I am quite stu'e he became
sick and tired of my questions and cross-qtiestions. After a
few weeks in my service he collapsed, and left me to march
up ami down the room reciting and rehearsing by myself. I
never saw him again. These exercises were not in vain, how-
ever, and as I shunned all Eiu-opeans and English-speaking
Chinese, and spoke to every other man who would listen to
me, within fi\-e months I had so far mastered the language
that I w\as able to preach my first sermon ; and while it was
much shorter than the sermons I was accustomed to hear in
Zorra, it was listened to by sonie of those heathen hearers
with strict attention. The text was, "What must I do to be
saved? " The room was full. Some sneered, others laughed
outright, but some were respectful and attentive.

While studying the language I was also coming into touch
with the people. The proud, conceited literati would enter
my room, open my Bibles and other books, throw them on the
lioor, and then strut out with a grunt of contempt. I got a
large sheet of Chinese paper, printed on it the ten command-

ir.S

FRO. VI FAR. FORMOSA

ji! : l!

y. 'If'

'm '

mcnts, and pasted it on the outside of my door. It was .soon
daubed with mud and then torn down. A second was simi-
larly treated. The third was put up and remained untouched.

One forenoon a young man, prepo.ssessing in ai)pearance,
and of more than ordinary intelh'gence, called upon me and
questioned me on many subjects. When he was leaving 1
invited him to return in the evening and have anoUier talk.
He promised, and was there at the time mentioned, and re-
mained during brief exercises and the singing of a hymn. 1
read one of our hymns, the subject of which is the brevity of
human life, and presented him with a copy of the hymn-book.
There was something about the young man that attracted my
attention and made me think more al)out him after he had
gone than about any of the others with whom I had met. lie
was intelligent and respectable, but there was a seriousness,
a downrightness, that marked him as superior. I luul been
pleading with God to give me as the first convert an intelligent
and active young man. Long before I had reached Formosa
that had been the burden of my prayer. That night when I
was alone in my room the thought flashed upon my mind that
my prayer was heard, and that this young stranger was the
man I had prayed for. So powerfully did the conviction
come home to me that, although I had not a tittle of evidence
of liis conversion, I slept little that night for very gratitude.

In a day or two the young man returned, bringing with him
a graduate of some note, who discussed (juestions of religion
with me for some time. It was clear now that there was to
l)e a conflict with the literati, and that day I began studying
their language and religion with more earnestness than ever.
The next time the young man came he brought with him six
graduates, who remained for two hours discussing and (jues-
tioning. A few days later he brought several others. Then
he came with a literary man of a higher degree, a /a/-Ji/i, and
twenty graduates and teachers. By diis time I had become

DliGlNNINGS or MISSION IVORK

139

so interested that with the utmost eagerness I entered into the
discussion and attacked tliem on their own ground. Question
after question was put to them touching their three reh"gions,
Confucianism, Buddhism, and Tauism. They were surprised
at the " barbarian's " knowledge of their sages and their teach-
ings. Their spokesman was soon entangled, and in a little
while they all left the room. Within half an hour the young
man returned. He looked more serious than ever. I read the
hymn "A day's march nearer home." His eyes brightened,
and he said, " What you read now suits me. I love those
words, and I am convinced that the doctrines you teach are
true. I brought all thi^se graduates and teachers to silence
you or to be silenced. I have thought a great deal about
these tilings of late, and I am determined to be a Christian,
even though I suffer death for it. The Book you have has
the true doctrine, and I should like to study it with you." 1
wrote down all the young man said in my journal, at his own
request ; and with the record now before me, my mind goes
back to that day in the month of May, 1872. I recall some-
thing of the feelings of that hour — the strange thrill of joy, the
hope, perhaps the fear, the gratitude, and the prayer. I look
back through these twenty-three years, see the earnest face of
that young m"an, and hear again his words of resolve and con-
viction. Were those true words ? Who can say one syllable
was untrue? That young man became a Christian, a student,
a preacher, and to-day, after twenty-three long years of trial
and testing, he is there still, the chief among the native preach-
ers, the man to whom, more than to any other, the care of
sixty churches in the mission in North Formosa falls. His
name is Giam Chheng Hoa, better known as A Hoa. Will
any one who knows anything about the history of mission
work in Formosa say that A Hoa's brave resolution, made on
that day so long ago, has failed?

Some time after A Hoa became a disciple, a painter in

T40

FROM P/IR FORMOSA

Tamsui named Go Ek Ju persisted in disturbing our meet-
ings and molesting us. \Vhen I was addressing the people at
night, with the door oi)en, he would j)a.ss by and throw peb-
liles inside. When the door was closed he would hujk through
holes and listen to all that \vas saitl. Ili^ habitual custom was
tf> lie in wait for A Iloa when on his way home after worship.
First alone, then with others, he would jerk A Iloa's cue, slap
him in tlie face, stand right before him in the street, and insult
him in other ways. We just pleaded with CJod i \ery day to
give the man light from above. One afternoon a medium-
sized, thin-faced, pock-marked, intelligent-looking fellow came
to me at our Iiouse and said, " I am sorry for my past conduct
toward A Hoa and you, and l)eg you to forgive me." It v/as
Go Ek Ju, the painter. lie took ln"s stand as a Christian that
night, and publicly declared his allegiance to Christ.

After his conversion he spent e\-ery hour of si)are time in
study. ]5ut his aged mother — how she cried, raged, and
threatened when she heard what her only son had done!
How true it sometimes is that " a man's foes shall be thev of
his own household "! Mis two sisters sent him word privately
to keep away from the liouse, lest something serious should
iiappen. The poor, warm-hearted son was to be pitied, and
A Hoa went with him to his former home. They were re-
ceived with bitterness, for relatives, neighbors, A constables
goaded the mother on to despeiation. At length 1 went to
the house Avith liim and A Hoa. Go Ek Ju sat beside me.
The mother, who was engaged poiuidiiig rice, looked angry
and fierce. She gave a few replies to my explanations, then
flew into a rage and moved toward h,cr son v,ith a mallet in
her uplifted hand. I intercepted her, grasped the mallet, and
threw it outside. We walked out, subject to abuse from the
infuriated mother. We now prayed for that woman. In a
few days one of the daughters was prostrated with a severe
illness. Sorcerers, doctors, and idols were consulted in vain,

V ' . J-J-

BEGINNINGS OF MISSION IVORK

141

(

t'uul the poor mother's lieart was bleeding. Some one advised
European medicines, and I was called in to prescribe. The
malarial fever from which the girl was suffering soon yielded
to the remedies. Willi the mother's heart now softened and
gladdened, tliere was no difficulty in getting Iter consent to the
son's continuance as a student. Before long, son, mother, and
daughter all shared in the hope of the gos[)el. It became a
('hristian household, and all ha\-e remained steadfast until this
day. The son has been a preacher for twenty-one years, and
the mother a Bible-woman for a third of that time.

chaptf:r XV

/■

THE FIRST NATIVE PREACHER ANM1 HIS CHURCH

The first student — A Iloa's early life — Study !ii<^ toi^etlicr — A lion's fir^t
prayer — Beauty in nature — First trials — I'irst testing — l-'irst baiitisui
— First communion — F'irst chajjel — First ^crvices — F'irst preaeher —
First female convert

NATIVE ministry for tlie native rlnn-cli was an idea that
jr\- took shape in my mind l)elore leaving Canada. My
prayer had been for a young man of such gifts as would mark
liim out for the sacred office. The prayer had been answered,
and the coming of A Iloa seemed to indicate the mind of the
Head of the church. From the very l)eginning I began train-
ing the first convert for the work of the ministry. He became
at once both pupil and companion. On the morning after his
confession he came to my house, and as my old servant had
wearied of my everlasting Chinese chatter, he set to work and
made the room clean and neat. The result was that he joined
himself to me and took full charge of all housekeeping affairs.
Tiie early life of this first convert and preacher is deserving
of notice. His familv surname is Giam. When his father
was ten years of age the family came from the mainland
of China. Their old homestead was near Foo-(-how. His
mother was born on Steep Island, northeast of Formosa, and
belonged to the clan Tan. When thirteen vears of age she
moved to Tamsui, and five years later was married to Mr.
Giam. There in Tamsui, in the very house I afterward rented

THE riKSr NATll^F. PRP./ICHnR .mO HIS CHURCH Hi

ill 1872, and in the very room I first ocrupi(.(l, their (Irst-born
son, who was to be so great an instruineiit in Ciod's hand in
overtln-owing the heathen reh'gion and hringing many of his
countrymen to a knowledge of the world's Redeemer, was
horn.

A Hoa opened his eyes to poverty and a hard life, for his
father died before he looked upon his face. His widowed
mother was left poor, and could ill alTord to prcn-ide nourish-
ing food for herself and child. As a result he was weak and
delicate, and his mother took lu'm to an idol in the town,
seeking advice. 'I'he answer was, " I,et him be called my
child, and name him Hut-a." In time this name, which means
" Idol's Child," was changed to Hok-a, then to Hoa, and lastly
to A Moa. lie grew up a filial son, and his care and respect
for his mother, who is still alive, arc very touching. During
boyhood his days were spent with his mother and his even-
ings with his teacher, a relative, who belonged to the Squeers
school of dominies. l"he years from ten to seventeen were
spent almost entirely in study. He then entered the service
of a mandarin, who gave him employment first as sctillion and
last as private secretary. He traveled considerably in China
from Foo-chow to Tientsin, and spent six months in Peking.
Shortly after this he returned to Tamsui, and not long after
his return I landed in Formosa. How he was led to the gos-
pel, and his decision to become a Christian, have already been
told. ^

A Hoa proved a faidiful servant and a most apt and diligent
student. I began by teaching him to read and write the
romanized colloquial, i.e., the Chinese spelled with English
letters. His progress was simply astonisln'ng. Nor was I
losing time myself. With a helper like A Hoa, who was as
eager as myself, I found my stock of Chinese words rapidly
nicrease, and the difficulties of pronunciation more easily over-
come. \\-hen in the hotise we read, sang, studied, drilled, the

144

FROM FAR FORMOSA

whole clay long. A neighbor entered one day to see if we
had both become altogether crazy. He meant well, but was
a little afraid of us. He brought us two cups of tea as a spe-
citic, and suggested a visit to the nearest temple as a good
thing for people affected as we were. Tiiere may have been
some humor in the scene, but we started a liymn, and, fearing
another outbreak, the man bolted out of the door, dropping
the tea-cups on the floor in his frightened haste. He would
not venture back, but in about an hour a little boy came in for
the fragments of the dishes.

As A Hoa advanced in his studies I procured a map of the
world, and it was amusing to watch him as his eye took in the
vastness of other countries than China. His Chinese notions
about geography were upset, and he soon began to have
thoughts about the wide world (uitside the Chinese wall and
beyond the broad Pacific. Astronomy, too, became a favorite
and inspiring study. Puit tlie chief subject was the Bible and
" that wonderful redemption, God's remedy for sin." He was
with me every evening as I preached to the people, and their
threats were as angry against him as against the " l)arbarian."
He traveled with me, too, on short trips into the country.
One morning we called on one of his old friends, a farmer,
living not far from Tamsui. When they recognized us two
fierce dogs were set on us, and the children yelled after us,
pelting us with stones.

In all these services A Hoa was only a companion, and
never did more than join in singing. 'I'he time had (ome
when his own gifts must be exercised. One evening, when we
were alone in our room, I asked him to engage in prayer.
He had never attempted audible prayer in his life, and the re-
quest came upon him unexpectedly. Immediately he fell on
his knees before a rickety old bamboo chair. He was terribly
in earnest, and his halting words and broken petitions were
charged with intense emotion. Grasping the arms of the

/•

v^-

'f?

THF. hiRsr N.irin-: rRL.u.m n ,./,v ms ciniu-.ii 1 1,

chair firmly with both hands, he shoved it about the Iriid, nn
t'vcu tlfKjr, iiiakiiii; a hiih'ous creaking acconijiauiinont to his
faltering sentences. Jiy the tinio the i)rayt'r was tuiislied he
had ni(n-fd half-way across the looni. The scene had even to
me a ludicrous asjjcct, and had others been present it would
scarcely have been to their edification ; but the prayer was sin-
cere, and to (Jod in heaven it was an incense of sweet smell.
I noted the words: " Lord, thou art the true (lotl. I did not
know thee a few months ago. Help me U) kmnv more and
more of thee. I know now that the idols our peo[)le worsliip
caimot .save their souls. I thank thee from the bottom of my
heart that Pastor MacKay came to u.s. Lord, help me by the
Moly Spirit to bring my mother, relatives, and neighbors to
Jesus. \\'e do not know much, but, O Cod, help me, help us.
This is my heart's desire."

One morning early 1 started out with A Ifoa, cro.ssed the
Tamsui River, visited a Jiuddhist priest in a temple, and then
began the ascent of the Quan-)in Mountain, the side of which
was covered with tall grass that would cut like a knife. \\'hen
we reached the summit, seventeen hundred feet above the sea,
our hands were sore and bleeding. The view from the moun-
tain-top repaid us for the pain and toil. It was magnificent,
r.ut poor A Hoa was greatly i)erplexed, wondering what
under llie whole heavens could be my purpose. Like all
other Chinese, lie had no eye for die beautiful in nature, and
to climb a mountain for the mere pleasure of gazing on the
scenery was to him past comprehension. At first he was a,
little afraid as we looked down upon Tamsui lying at our feet,
and far inland saw the broad stretches of the I3ang-kah plain.
His senses were dormant, however, not dead. Standing there
together we sang the One Hundredth Psalm, and before the last
verse was finished the great Spirit, who makes all things beau-
tiful in earth and sky and sea, touched A Hon's soul. His
nature was stirred to its very depths. It was the birth-hour

I.lf.

rnoM r.iR iokmos^

I ,

■|

of the beautiful. His new-born soul had now an eye ;uul e.ir
U>Y (lod's nie.ssage in creation, ami from that hour he became
a devoteil student and ardent lover of everything in natmv.

Ill the autumn of the same year we visited Kehmg for the
first time. On tlie way we passeil through i'.ang-kah, the
largest city in the north, where the citizens showed signs of
bitterest hostility, antl many followed, reviling and pelting us
with stones. A lioa was now becoming familiar with the
taunting cries that everywhere greeted us: "Foreign devil!
lUack-bearded barbarian!" At Sek-khau, on the banks of the
Kehmg River, broken bricks gave emphasis to the cries ^vhen
(.ur backs were tm-ned. As dark came on we were making
our way along a path through tall reeils and grasses, when, at
a sudden turn, a bantl of robbers with their long spears Hashed
their lights in oiu" faces. When I told them we had no nu)ney,
and that I was a teacher, they repeated the word "teacher"
and disai)peared. We were carrying torches, but a storm was
brewing, and soon a strong blast left us in utter tlarkness.
We were then on a strange road in an unknown territory.
Gu'.ity winds came howling down from the mountains, driving
sheets of blinding rain. What were we to do? We could
not return. To stand still was alike out of the (juestion. On
we went, creeping along the wet and shppery path, a Canadian
missionary, a Chinese convert, and a heathen basket-bearer.
Here we stumbled over boulders, there one slipi)ed into a
crevice in the mck, and somewhere else we all three staggered
into the mire of an unfenced rice-field. 15ut underneath and
round about us were "the everlasting arms." Kclung was
reached before midnight, and the rest of the night was spent
in a low (kmip hovel. A Hoa early learned that the path of
duty in the service of Christ is sometimes rough and sore, as it
was for Him who first went up to Calvary.

At Kelung we stood on the stone steps of a large heathen
temple, sang a hymn or two, and immediately the crowd

/^.

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n
4

THE FIRST N.niyi- riuiACHi:i< .iM) Ills c/n kc/i 147

gathered, fillin;; (he open space and the street. It was a iiiol)
of angry idolaters. Some of them were A Iloa's old ac(iuain-
taiices and companions, and when they saw him stand beside
t!ie hated "foreign devil" their contempt U<r the Christian
im'ssionary was as I'othing comj>ared with their feeling-> toward
the Cin-istian convert. I turned to A Hoa and invited him tn
address the people, , It v/as a moment of testing, lie IkkI
never before sj)oken for Christ in the jiublic street. It was
only a few nuiiiihs since he himself had first heard the gospel,
lie hearil the scornful and \ lie words of his old friends and
comrades, and when I turned and asked him to speak he was
silent and hung down his head, imiuediately I read the first
verse of a hynm, and we sang it together. The words were
those of the oUl Scotch i)araphrase that has so often i)ut iron
into the blood and courage into the hearts of treml)ling saints:

I'm iKil a^l:aiiiril t>> <i\vii my I.urd,

( >r to defend liis cause ;
Maintain tlie .L;liiry (if Ids cross,

And Iionur all his laws."

It was enough. A Hoa raised his head, and never again was
he "ashamed." Looking out over that angry mob, he said,
in the calm, clear tones of a man who believes and is unafraid,
" I am a Christian. I worship the true God. I cannot wor-
ship idols that rats can destroy. I am not afraid. I love
Jesus. He is my Saviour and Friend." His testimony was
brief, but it was his first, and it was brave and true. It is
easy for a young man now to take his stand for Christ ; there
are other converts to cheer and encourage him. Dut it was
diirerent then. That word uttered by A Hoa to that crowd
of rough and bitter heathen before tlic idol temple in K clung
was the first ever spoken for Christ to that generation by a
native Christian in North Formosa.

On the second Sabbath in February, 1873, exactly one yonr

I ■

148

FROM FAR FORMOSA

H'i

\A.

■■ ' .\

Mi'

alter my arrival in Tanisui, at the close of service I announced
that a number were to be admitted by baptism into the Chris-
tian church. The cry was raised outside, " We will stop him.
i.et us beat the converts." The house was filled, and the
street in front was crowded. After the singing of a hymn five
men came forward and made public confession of their faith
in Cliri.st. Each man spoke in clear, decisive tones. Their
names were: Ciam Chheng Hoa, aged twenty-two, scholar;
Go Ek Ju, aged thirty-one, painter; Ong Tiong Sui, aged
twenty-four, writer; Lim Giet, aged twenty-six, carpenter;
Eim Poe, aged forty-two, farmer. They were then baptized
into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Cihost, after which each addressed the pcojile. There were
many yells, jeers, and taunts, but A Hoa spoke with great
boldness and effect.

The next Sabbath these five sat around the Lord's table.
It was a memorable day for us all. Never before had they wit-
nessed such a service. Never before Iiad 1 presided at such
a communion, and when I read the solenm warrant for the ob-
servance of this sacrament all were visibly affected. Poor Lim
Giet broke down completely, sobbing out, " I am unworthy, I
am unworthy;" and it was only after he had spent some time
in prayer in the little room that he could be induced to par-
take of the sacred elements. That first communion marked
an epoch in A Hoa's .spiritual historj, and from that day he
regarded himself as no more his own, but fully committed to
Jesus Christ and called to his service.

But God, who had so strangely led this young man, and
who was so strangely fitting him for the work of tlie ministrv,
was at the same time preparing a place for the exercise of his
gifts and making ready a people to hear his word. Ten nn"les
up the river from Tamsui is a country village called Go-ko-
klii. One day, while I was preaching in our rooms at Tamsui,
a widow named Thah-so, from that \ illage, attended the ser-

THE FIRST N^ITIFU PREACHER A WD HIS CHURCH i-l9

tal)lc.

vice, and at the close came up and said, " I am a poor widow
living at Go-ko-khi. I have passed through many trials in
this world, and the idols never gave me any comfort. I like
the doctrines you proclaim very much, and I believe the God
you tell about will give me peace. I will come again and
bring others." Next Lord's day she was there with several
other women. Week by week the number of her companions
increased, until at last a boat-load would come down the river
and enter the preachihg-room. So interested were they, and
so much in earnest, that they persuaded us to visit their village.
At last A Hoa and I went up the river to Kan-tau, then to
the right up a smaller stream that ran through fine rice-fields,
until we reached Go-ko-khi. A number of the villagers met
us and led the way to the house of Tan Phauh, the head
man. He was a tall, strongly built, manly looking fellow, and
when I gave him some commandment sheets he pasted them
on the walls of his house in the presence of neighbors and
others ; then, turning to all, he said that he had lost all confi-
dence in idols, and was determined to live by the ten com-
mandments now put up.

1 procured an empty rice-granary for a sleeping-room and
preaching-place. There we began our work and made our
headcjuarters for several months, during which time w^e
preached the gospel in the beautiful valleys and villages in
that vicinity. Tan Phauh, the head man at Go-ko-khi, gave
a plot of ground opposite his owai house for a chapel site.
Stones were collected, sun-dried bricks prepared, and the
work of building the first chapel in North Formosa begun.
)kThere was great interest manifested by the villagers, but when
the walls were about three feet high a company of soldiers
and constables sent from the prefect in Bang-kah arrived and
ordered the work of chapel-building to cease. They were
armed with guns, spears, and knives, and by beating gongs
and drums, yelling, threatening, they thought to frighten the

I I

150

FROM I-Vl/i rORMOS^

jit 'I

1 I

1 i

ill '

■ i

! -■'

simple-minded villagers, \\1ien ihey entered the head man's
house Tan Phauh drew himself up to his full six-feet-two
and faced them. He was originally a mainland man, who
had been in several rebellions, and the bluster of a few soldiers
was nothing to him. Pointing to the commandment sheets on
the wall, he said, "I am determined to abide by the ten com-
mandments." The soldiers then made a rush for \\k\o\\'
Thah-so's house, but slie held up her hymn-book and said she
was res(»lved to worship only the true God. \Vry soon the
soldiers left the village, saying that the " foreign devil " had
bewitched the villagers, using some magic art ; and their supe-
rior officer, the prefect in P.ang-kah, reported the case to the
British consul, and asked that the missionary be prevented
from l)uilding a. fort and taking guns up the river by night.

]3ut desi)ite all intrigues and plots the Lord's work pros-
pered in Go-ko-khi, the building was finished, and on opening
day the room was crowded, while manj- stood outside. 'I'hat
was our first chapel, and there more than one hundred and
fifty declared their rejection of idols and their cksire for Chris-
tian instruction. It was a great day for us, and that night
our hearts were full of gratitude because of al! that the Lord
had done. We met in the chapel regularly for instruction and
worship. Many of those who came were still heathen idol-
aters, and none of them were accustomed to anything like a
Christian service or public addresses. Strange indeed are a
missionary's first exjieriences.x Sometimes when we had sung
a hymn and I began to address them, one or two would take
out their pieces of steel, strike a Hint, light their long pipes,
and when the smoke ascended I would pause and remind them
that they wanted Christian instruction and should keep quiet.
"Oh yes, yes, we must keep quiet," and with that they would
nod their heads with great politeness. No sooner would I
get fairly started again than some one would spring to his feet
and shout, "Buffaloes in the rice-fields; buffaloes in the rice-

ir-

THE FIRST NATiyH PREACHER AND HIS CHURCH i^i

fields! " Another reminder of their duty would bring another
reply : " Oh yes, yes, we must keep quiet." And for a few
minutes all do keep quiet and I go on with my address. Then
au old woman with her little feet hobbles to the door and
shouts out, " Pig has gone ; pig has gone ; pig has gone! " One
interruption follows another ; but we never blame those restless
people, for such services are strange and new to them. Within
two mouths, however, the congregation assembled in the chapel
ai (lo-ko-khi was just as attentive as any I ever addressed
anywhere in Christendom.

^ A I-Ioa,the first convert, was appointed preacher in the first
cha[)cl, and chief ainong his nelpers was the first female con-
vert, ^^'idow Thah-so. She was baptized there three years
afterward, when sixty-two years of age. A Hoa's natural abil-
ity, kindness of heart, devotion, and sincerity of purpose gave
him great inflluence in Cif)"ko-khi and the surrounding country.
Thah-so grew into great beauty and strength of character.
She contiiuied to the close a firm believer and zealous worker.
In 1S92 she told me that she had one daughter in China, who
luul never heard the gosi)el. I could see that the old mother's
heart had been greatly exercised, and that she was " again in
travail until Christ be formed" in her daughter's soul. A
passage across the channel was ari'anged, and Tiiah-so went
in search of her child. Her visit was not in vain. After
remaim'ng with her daughter for several weeks she returned
home, feeling that her work was done and the time of her de-
parture at hand. The end came soon. I visited her a day or
two before her death. For two days she was quiet and silent ;
then suddenly the familiar voice was heard again in clear,
strong tones singing a verse of the psalm, " I to the hills will lift
nn'ne eyes," and one of the hymn, " Forever with the Lord."
When she came to the line, " My Father's house on high," the
voice ceased awhile. Then the eyes opened wide, the face
^hone as with a radiant light, and in accents sweeter than any

'5- IKOM F^R FORMOSA

sounds of tarth the words came: "The golden gate is open.
'i"he large white sedan-chair is coming for me. Don't keep
me. Don't call me back. I'm going home." Thus in the
"white sedan-chair," too fair and beautiful for other eyes
than hers to see, the strong heroic soul of our first " mother in
Israel " passed away. Dear old Thah-so! For twenty years
she served her Lord on earth, and at the last there was given
her an abundant entrance into the eternal kingdom.

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-' " 4sf^KW^^BLAUTJ>'h '•'''^^^P,'

CHAPTER XVI

ESTAIiLISHIXG CIIUKCIIES

Christianity a life— Kvcry convert a missionary— Trn He — Church at Sin-
tiaiii — Work at Tek-chham — Aniuni; the llak-kas — At Kelung — A
l)ui;ilist — Subduing banditti — Chapel built ^n a month — Most l)cauti-
ful church in P'ormosa — At Tsui-tncj-kha

(■CHRISTIANITY is not a system of philosophy that may
-y be tauglit, but a life that must be hved. The reh'gion of
Jesus is (h'stinguislied from all other religions in its incarnation.
Its power is the power of a divine Personality. It is propa-
gated by personal contact. Christ gives life to men, and
then says, "As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you."
iM-ery Christian is a missionary. He may have been nursed
in the lap of Christendom and trained in a luxurious religious
home, or he may have been born a pagan and "suckled on
a creed outworn." It matters not. If he has been "born
again," and feels the throb of the Christ-life, he is a mission-
ary sent by the living Christ to touch dead souls to the new-
ness of life. This primary truth needs heavy emphasis, for
tliere is c\'erywhere perpetual danger of its being neglected.
The far-sweeping purpose of the election of grace is being
ignored, and the churches are crowded with people whose
largest thought of salvation is that their own souls shall be
cared for. Not until Christianity is not only believed, but
lived, will the churches either at home or in heathen lands
become the power the Ma- r meant them to be.

153

154

I-ROM l-AK l-ORMOS.I

,1 1

'■ I

The success of missionary cfTort in North Formosa is in no
small measure clue to the inculcation of this primary truth of
Christian discipleship. Converts are taught that the i.';race of
God has been given to theni, not for their sakcs alone, but in
order that they may be channels for the communieation of
that grace to others. One of the most delightful e.\])eriences
in a missionary's life is to observe how eager converts are to
be of service in helping others out of the darkness of heathen-
ism from which they have so recently emerged. Looking
back now and recalling the incidents connected with the estab-
lishing of chiu-ches, it is surprising to note in how many cases
the way was opened, humanly speaking, not by the mission-
ary's effort, but by the zeal and Christian entvrprise of the
converts. Some of the most conspicuous and useful workeis
in the mission were found as Andrew found Simon and brought
him to Jesus.

One evening in 1S73 a young man who had been attending
our services, and whom 1 knew, entered Uiy house at Tanisui,
accoinjanied bv a stranger who seemed reticent and i)aslifril.
The young man introduced his comijanion, sayini;, "This
friend of mine has heard the gospel and is now a believer in
Jesus Christ. We iiave talked it over a gieat deal, and
he desires further instruction, that he may tell oilier.^ of the
Saviour." I had some con\-ersalion with the stranger, anil
was impressed by his earnestness and modesty. He was a
farmer's son, known to several of the converts, and had been
attending the services, in which he became deej)ly interested.
As I came to know him better my confKienc:e increased and
he was enrolled as a student for the ministry, and one more
faithful never studied in any college. He is now known as
the Rev. Tan He, pastor of the church at Sin-tiam.

Sin-tiam is a conipact and busy town nestling at the foot of
the mountains some eighteen miles inland from Tamsui. A
man living tliere had been at Tamsui and had heard the gos-

*'4

/ ST. iBi.isiiiNr, cm i^aiiis

;■< ;i

;f tlu"

pel. On his return Iiome he reported to his frier.ds, where-
upon s(.\eKil others canii.' out, foUowed us in our touring I'roin
phice to place, and at lust persuaded us to visit Sin-tiain.
When we arrived there great crowds were in the town, it being
a season of leasling the gods. \'ery few of the [jeople had
ever seen an Anglo-Saxon, and on all hands the familiar cries,
" Barbarian ! Foreign de\il I" coiikl be h.eard. I'resentl}- a
rush was made toward a certain point, and angry voices were
heard shouting, " The barbarian struck a boy." This was an-
swered by wild cries from the outskirts of the crowd: " Kill
him! Kill the barbarian; he is not very big!" As we were
some distance from the center of attraction I pressed through
the crowd until I came to the boy, who had indeed an ugly
wound on the head, which was bleeding profusely. Having
the necessary surgical inst; lents, I dressed the wountl and
bound it with my handkerchief. Now a new cry was raised
by the crowd: "Ho sim, ho sim!" (" (lood heart, good
heart! "). A few days later an old man was injured by faMing
ui)on a heaj) of stones. One of the students carried him to a
shelter under a tree, where his sulTering was relieved, and
again the cry, "Good heart, good heart!" was heard. As a
result the people became friendly, and an old couple gave us
the use of a room for our services, A congregation was soon
gathered and a chapel became necessary. One rabid id(jla-
tress threatened to smash my head with a stone if we persisted
in buiUling a cliapel ; but the work went on, and the chapel
of unplastered stones was finished and dedicated to the W(^r-
ship of God.

The present church at Sin-tiam is one of the finest buildings
in North Formosa, and its situation one of the most pictur-
esque. The church stands on the rising ground at one end
of the towm, its stone s])ire being the one conspicuous object
visible for miles around. A stone wall incloses the church
property. The Sin-tiam River sweeps round in a wide curve

l^o

I ROM I -IK lOKMOS.-t

a few rods from the dodr th<^ space hctwccn befiii^ covcinl
Avith "sttiiic eii-is," c.hmViI down 1)\- freshets ami wmn siuoolh
by the water. At the hack of ilie ehiirch stands a liigh bhilT,
the slopes of which are covered with verdure. In front, across
the river, steep hills rise abruptly from the water'.s liIi;c, ascend-
ing tier after tier, like a giant stairway, tcrniinaliiii; in l(»fiy
niountain-i)eaks. Clinging to the slopes arc groves of trees,
feathery grasses, reeds and ferns of every description ; the
moss-covered rocks arc festooned with great masses of purple
morning-glory and trailing vines of pink and wliite roses; and
everywhere blooming myrtle-trees, pure v. hite I'laster lilies, and
the SAvect-scented honeysuckle add to the luxuriant beaiUy of
the scene.

What though idols of camphor-wood are enshrined in many
houses in Sin-tiam! Here stands the church of Je:.tis Christ,
and here are gathered, week after week, more ilian two hun-
dred who bow in adoration before the Cod of all the tarth.
They have endured hardships for the name of Jesus. rhej-
have been robbed and persecuted, and in the dark wr.tcrs of
the swift-flowing river two of the converts faced the death and
won the crown of martyrs for the faith.

The congregation worshi[)ing in the beautiful Sin-tiam chu.rch
is now self-sustaining, sup])orting their pastor, bearing all other
expenses; and although by no means wealthy, they contribute
to the general work of the church in T'ormosn, helji the jioor,
and send voluntary olTerings for the relief of famine-stricken
districts. Tan He, their faithful and beloved i)astor, wields
a great influence, and is growing in intellectual and spiritual
strength year by year.

Tek-chham, a walled city of forty thousand inhabitants, was
one of the places visited on my first trip down the west coast
the week after landing at Tamsui in 1872. ] had a " prophet's
chamber" there, and after frequent visits succeeded in renting
a small house for chapel purposes. No sooner had we got the

j;s T.'i BUSHING ( :hurchls

'57

place cleaned out than indij^naul cion.iIs filled ihc iiaiiow street,
jostling, reviling, spitting in our faces. After three ilay.'^ the
turmoil ceased, largely through the influence of a literary man
to whom I had given medicine on a previous tx'casion. With-
in a month thirty persons eiu'olled themselves as Christians,
and larger prenu'ses had to be securetl. ']"he work grew until
a still larger building was required, '{"here is now a large
preaching-hall, with real glass in the front windows ; and there
a once jn'oud Confucianist graduate is ]>reaching the gospel
of Christ. In the country rounel alxMU Tek-chham are many
Christians, but as the city gates are clo.scd at night they could
not attend evening service. The Christians in the city con-
tributed money, and in other ways assisted in securing a suit-
able building outside the wall, and there another literary man
is preaching Jesus as the only Saviour.

Ten miles from Tek-chham, toward the mountains, is a Ilak-
ka village called Gch-bai. To this village we were led by
several Ilak-kas who aitended services in the city church.
The villagers assembled mdcr a beautiful banian-tree, where
fully a thousand petjple could find shelter from the broiling
sun. They were greatly delighted, and one fine old gentleman
welcomed us to his house for the night, one of the largest and
cleanest in the island. The old man was genuinely interested,
and walked many times to Tek-chham to the Sabbath services
there. That evening a great crowd gathered in the open court
to hear the new doctrine. One man, seventy years of age,
exerted himself with such success that a house was rented, re-
paired, and fitted up for chapel services. The congregation
became organized, and when a native preacher was sent among
them four mont- > of his salary was paid in advance, 'i'here
in that Hak-ka \-illage, high among the hills, is a flourishing,
self-helping Christian congregation.

The church at Kelung wa.^ established largely through the
instrumentality of Ko Chin, a convert who afterward became

»5«

I'ROM MR IVRMOS.I

I f

I: !'

!
1'

1' >\

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iin t'UliT ntul prcaduT. Ih- Ii;m1 lived will) his family an)i>ii;.(
llio boa 11 til' 111 green hills aioutul the Ki-luiijj; liarl'nr. IJceom-
in^ lilled with the desire for more weahh, he tuoxeil to Sek-
kliaii and became an extensive cattle-buyer, liavchii;; throir^li
the whole of North l''orm«)sa. lie was an intense idolater,
and being souK-thing of a musician, became somewhat famous
as a drunnner and guitar-player in idolatrous [irocivs.M'oiis. In
1S72, a few months after I began to iMvadi in Tamsui, he
came to hear the " barbarian." The following Sabbath lie was
there .igain. When a chapel was oi)ened nearer his home he
attended there, walking generally ten nn'les to be present. In
Kelung he rented a house and furnished it as a i»hu-e of wor-
ship. On the appointed day I was escorted to the place to
conduct the dedicatory services. More than four hundred
were present. Ko Chin continued regular and faithful, arid
at the age of forty-five wms baptized. Finding his business
lucrative, but a hindrance to Sabbath observance, he gave it
up, returned to the old homestead, and brouglit up his entire
family to worship Ciod. In due time he was ordained an elder
in the Kelung church, and subsecpienUy became a student ami
finally a preacher at the Margaret Machar Memorial Church
on tlie east coast. During the French invasion in 1S84 his
dwellings at Kelung were destroyed by looters, his properly
was confiscated, and himself and family persecuted. In a
very Hteral sense he " took joyfully the spf)iling of his goods."
His serxices as preacher were blessed of (lod, and when he
fell a victim to the malarial fever the elders and deacons of
his ( hundi gathered about his bed and sang the One Hundred
and Twenty-first Psnlm, the first he ever learned. His " going
out" was kept by die God in wliom he put his trust.

The missionary aliroad, like the missionary at home, somc-
tim.'s <^nds the bread cast U[)on the waters after many days.
Back ot the Quan-yin Mountain, near Tamsui, i.i a beautifid
plateau in which stands a hamlet called I-khut ("Round

rST.mUSH/M) CJ/L KCUIS

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^ ani(m;.i;
Ilfcom-

to Sfl;

llil'i>li;j,h
iilolatiT,
; famous
oils. Ill
iiisui, lie
li he was
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; of wor-

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when he

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is "going

ne, some-

iny days.

beautiful

("Round

Pool "), where we have a eliajiel and congregation. 'I'Ik- (ir.sl
man to ^how interest in our work there was a i)iigili.-,t and
gambler whom I had met shortly after landing in I'orinosa in
1872. Going through the valley, I pa.sscd a small ri(e->liop
where were .several gamblers .s(iuatted on mats 011 the floor. |
entered into ronver.salion with them and asked if their sage
Confucius would not be displea.sed with them for their waste
of time. The majority seemed indilTerent, but one became
very angry. He was a powerfully built man, and had distin-
guished himself as a pugilist. It was his custom, when he lost
in gambling, to use physical fcnre in c(jmpelling the winner
to return the money. lOverybody— even his own brother-
dreaded him. Me was very angry on the occa.sion of our fust
meeting, but something of the words .spoken remaineil in his
memory and touched his conscience. In after-years he fre-
quently fell in with converts and native preachers, and began
to take a lively interest in our work. In due time he joined our
ranks, and with as much energy as he had put into the works
of sin he entered now on the service of Christ and his church.
He visited the people in that locality, exhorting them to accept
Christ, and the result of his enthusiastic efforts was a suitable
building and a flourishing congregation.

Twenty years ago the most lawless region in North FoniU)sa
was round about Sa-kak-eng, a town of two thousand inhabi-
tants, northeast from Toa-kho-ham. The people lived in
terror of a large band of ruffians and highwaymen who had
their headcpiarters in the mountains near by. The customary
method of redress— punishing the kindred of such crimijials—
could not be adopted, as the relatives of these banditti lived
either on the mainland of China or in out-of-the-way places in
Formosa. They were all the more daring because the towns-
people sometimes compromised with them, and when it suited
their purpose joined with them in resi.sting (jlficial investiga-
tion and interference. The subprefect and retinue narrowly

i6o

/7v'()A/ i.lli I'ORMOSA

m\>h

escaped death on one occasion, his sedan-chair iieing pierced
by spears and lances. The banditti would form a company
and march into the town, singing boastfully, with a wild kind

«fy^'l^' "Linkhokoa;

Cloan klu) so;i; "

which means, " Vou trust the mandarins; we trust the moun-
tains." 1 had very great diflicully in gaining an entrance into
Sa-kak-eng, and wlien the chief of :i, strong clan gave me a
room in the rear of his shop there were loud threats of drag-
ging us to the hills, gagging us, and gouging out our eyes. So
violent was the opposition that 1 had to change my (juarters
to the outskirts of the town. ,(. The mol) often surrounded the
buiUlinu, and once when A lioa and 1 came out of ihc door
a howl was raised, and a large Hat stone flung by a man near
by grazed the top of my head, and, striking against die wall,
was broken into Unee pieces. Neither of us llinched, but,
turning round, I jjicked U}) the pieces of stone as mementos of
the day. One of the pieces weighed three pounds; another 1
brought as a contribution (o the museum in Knox College,
Toronto.^ Several months afterward, on entering the chapel, 1
saw a man lying on a bench. He rose to his feel, and, bow-
ing low, said, "Will you forgive me?" He then confessed
that he was the man who threw the stone, and tliat his inten-
tion was to i)ut an end to my life. l'"or the next three months
he was with the native preacher every day, and before llie
year closed he passed away rejoicing in the Iiojjc of sahalion
through Christ. Sa-kak-eng is (juite a changed place. The
desperadoes have been scattered, their forest retreats clearetl
and cultivated, rhai)el buildings purchased, prejudices against
converts and preachers overcome, and every year marks pro-
gress. On our last visit we were escorted in high honor to the
next chapel, four miles away, a band of nnisic leading the
procession.

ES TABI.ISHIh'G CHURCHFS

161

g piercL'tl
company
wild kind

he nioun-
ancc into
ave nic a
; of drag-
cycs. So
1' (juarters
indcd the

the door
man near

die wall,
died, but,
;nento.s of
another 1
; College,
• chapel, I
:ind, bow-
confessed
liis inten-
je months
)efore the
' sahalion
ice. The
ts clearetl
es against
larks pro-
mor lo the
ading the

At Patdidiun, across the harbor from Tamsui, at the foot of
the Quan-yin Mountain, stands a solid and handsome chapel
that was built within one month. Our first place of worship
there was a banian-tree, our next a fisherman's house, then a
slender grass-covered structure, and then a building of dried
mud. This last being destroyed during the troubles with th.e
French, we resolved on erecting a more substantial structure.
On the iirst day of May the stones for the foundation were
ungathered on the mountain-side, the lumber and bricks were
up tlie Tamsui River at Toa-tiu-tia, the coral for lime was un-
burned, and the clay undug. The plans were drawn, masons
and carpenters employed, and the work pushed forward. The
thermometer stood at times at one hundred ar. 'wenty, and
the blowing sand inflamed our eyes ; but on the last day of
May the work w-as completed and the chapel ready for occu-
pation. The walls of sun-dried and burnt brick are two and
a half feet thick, plastered white on the inner side, finished in
stucco-work W'ithout, and strong as solid masonry, having with-
stood rain-storms, hurricanes, and earthquakes.

The most beautiful church in all the mission is at Toa-tiu-
tia. This town stretches along the Tamsui River about a
mile from Bang-kah, and almost connected with the new
walled city of Tai-pak-fu, and is the most progressive place of
business in North Formosa. The railw,, /-bridge across the
river is fourteen hundred and .sixty-four feet long. All the
British and other Western merchants have establishments there.
Our church is a splendid structure of stone, with turrets and
tower and a capacious auditorium. I have seen that church
crowded from platform- to door with eager and attentive hear-
ers; and on October 18, 1891, i.fter preaching to over five
hundred people from the text, "The Lord is a great God, and
a great King above all gods," I dispensed the sacrament of
the Lord's Stipper to one htindred and thirty communicants.
In the congregation there was a stranger, a Corean Christian,

i6a

FROM r.'IR FORM OS. -i

'! i

named Phok I Pt'iv.;-, wlio was tia\e'linL;' lliroui^h l''()rnK)sa in
search of Iiis liroilior. So impivssctl was he bv the eageiiiess
of the Chinese comerls and tlie hearliness of iheir woisljij)
that he said a.l llie close, "This is Inily tlie kingdom of (lotl
come down to earth. I can ne\er forget this scene Peace
to you all."

Ten miles east of the city of Iknig-kah, on the south bank
of the Kelung River, is a town of four thousand inhabitants,
called Tsui-tng-kha. Jn 1.S90 a new buikling, costing seven
liundred dollars (Mexican), was erected there by the nati\e
Christians. The entire cost of both site and building was jjaid
by the churches in Formosa, and the deed of the i>roj)erly is
.stamped in the name of the native church. A Iloa planned
the l;)uilding and superintended its erection, and now a luitive
preacher is stationed there.

The conduct of two members of the church at Tsui-tng-l;ha
is an answer to the cpiestion often asked about the stability of
Chinese converts. Several \-ears ago a man of the Tan clan
allowed his eldest son to attend the chapel services to see
what kind of doctrine was taught. 'i"he young man became
interested and brought two younger brothers. One of the
members of the chiuvh l;night them to read the romanized
colloquial, and they studied the gospel with growing earnest-
ness, uiuil all thr'^e confessed their faith in Jesus Christ. Then
they refused to worship idols and anc-estral tal>lets in their
home. This arou.sed the father's Vvrath, who, fearing there
would be no one to worship at his grave, forbade his sons'
going again to the chapel, and ordered them to attend idola-
trous ceremonies every night. To pacify their enraged parent
they resolved to " bow in the house of Rimmon," but while
they held the lighted incense-sticks before the idol they turned
their heads away. But they still attended the chapel services,
which when their father found out, he visited the chapel se-
cretly ; and wdien he saw his sons singing praise to Jehovah-God

EST.mi.ISHING CHURCHES

()rnn)s,'i m
c:igci'iK',ss
ir woisliip
)m of CI oil
e. TccU c

;outli bank
iliabitanls,
ling seven
the native
.;■ was paid
)!•()} KTty is
a planned
\\ a native

ui-tng-kha
stability of

■ Tan clan
ces to see
n became
ne of the
romanized
g earncsl-
ist. Then
s in their
ring there

■ his sons'
end idola-
fed parent
but while
ley turned
1 services,
:hapel se-
ovah-God

he shrieked and ran about like one mad. After this they met
together on the Sabbath in some quiet place in the mountains,
and sang, prayed, and read the Word, praying most of all for
their angry father. Then they would meet at night in a grass
watch-liouse among the rice-fields. But nowhere were they
long unni'dested. Their father's anger became nK)re cru<'l
and watchful. At the close of the year preparations were
being matle for the customary idol festival. They refused to
take part in the ceremonies. lie became wild with rage, and,
seizing a long knife, rushed at the eldest son. They all escaped
and found refuge in a con\e:t's house. The father would not
be appeased, and drove his daughters-in-law, with their little
children, out of the house. Neither the sons nor their wives
dared come near the place. Then the mother's heart relented.
Slse could not give up her children, and after much, pleading
the father gave her the kru"fe and promised not to injure the
sons should they retui-n. They did return. I'he father for-
gave them, and they were permitted to Avorship God in the
home ; and on every Ltnxl's tlay. with their wives and children,
they joined in the services in the chapel at Tsui-tng-kha.

CHAPTER XVII

now IlAXl',-KAH WAS TAKEN

Tlie strongliold — Waitiiii;; an op]iortuiiIty — Forbidden — Kxpellcd — IJack
again — Mul)ljL'd — N'ictoiiuus — Clianiics — Honored

(I,

.1 !

BA^^^;-KAH was the Gibraltar of heathenism in North For-
mosa. It is the largest and most important city, thoroughly
Chinese, and intensely anti-foreign in all its interests and sym-
I)athies. In 1872 I visited it with A Hoa and got a foretaste
of the reception awaiting me on every subsecjuent occasion.
In my journal of 1875 I find the following entry, made after
having experienced anew the malignant hate of the Bang-kah
people :

" The citizens of Bang-kah, old and young, are daily toiling
f(.r money, money — nis//, uts/i. They are materialistic, super-
stitious dollar-seekers. At every visit, when i)nssing tln-ough
their streets, we are maligned, jeered at, and abused. Hun-
dreds of children run ahead, yelling with derisive shouts;
others follow, pelting us with orange-peel, mud, and rotten
eggs. For hatred to foreigners, for pride, swaggering igno-
rance, and conceit, for superstitious, sensual, haughty, double-
faced wickedness, Bang-kah takes the palm. / But remember,
O haughty city, even these eyes will yet see thee humble in
the dust. Thou art mighty now, proud, and fuU of malice;
but thy pou-cr shall fall, and thou shalt be brougiit low. Thy
filthy streets are indicative of thy moral rottenness; thy low
houses show thy baseness in the face of heaven. Rei^ent, O

164

HO IV BANG-KAH IV AS TAKEN

165

;llcd— Back

rorth For-
:ioro uglily

and s}'!!!-
i foretaste

occasion,
lade after
Bang-kah

ily toiling
:ic, su])cr-
;■ through
:1. Hun-
? shouts;
11(1 rotten
"ing igno-
/, double-
eincinbcr,
unnble in
f malice ;
)W. Thy
; thy low
Lepent, O

Lang-kah, thou wicked city, or the trumi)et shall blow and thy
tears be in vain ! "

We had previously established churches north, south, cast,
anil west of Dang-kah, She sent hirelings to surrounding
villages and towns t;5 reprimand the magistrates, incite the
people, and frustrate us in the execution of our work. Three
large clans, through their head men, ruled the city. All the
others had to acquiesce in every proposal. Foreign merchants
never succeeded in establishing themselves there. Attempts
were made, but their Chinese agents were dragged out of the
city and narrowb^ escaped death. It might seem that mission
work should have been begun in Bang-kah first. Indeed, I
received a communication froii] a very devoted and excellent
missionary in China — one who has now gone to his reward —
in which he said, " 1 hear you have stations in several towns
and villages. Why don't you begin at Jerusalem?" Now I
did not begin at the "Jerusalem" of heathenism for the same
reason that I did not go to Madagascar or to India. I sought
to follow the lead of my Captain. Lie led me to Fonr.jsa,
and to point after point where chapels were already oi)ened. I
knew the time would come when Bang-kah would be entered.

The authorities of Bang-kah issued proclamations calling on
all citizens, on j)ain of imprisonment or death, not to rent,
lease, or sell either houses or other property to the l)arbarian
missionary. But in December, 1S77, ^1^^- ^'"le cainc for estab-
lishing a mission there, and in spile of all their attempts to
prevent our entrance I succeeded in j-enting a low hovel on
the eastern sitle. On getting possession I placed a tablet of
paper on a wooden frame abo\e the door, with the inscription,
"Jesus' Holy Temi)le." Shortly afterward several soldiers
who were returning to their encampment near by came, stood,
looked iq), read tlie inscription, and immediately threatened
me with \-ioleiue. Then tlicy returned to tlui'- encampment
and reported to the general, who despatched a number of

\ji >''! ! (

i66

r/WM l-AR FORM OS. '1

officers to order mc out of the place, stating that the site be-
longed to the military authorities. I demanded proof of their
statement. It was produced, and ii was at once evident that
I could not maintain my position tliere. We must respect
Chinese law and act wisely if we would successfully carry on
the Lord's work, and so I at once admitted their claim, but
staled that, as I had rented from a citizen, I would not leave
that m'ght. Till long past midnight angry soldiers paraded
tlie streets, shouting threatening words. At times they were
■It the door, on the point of smashing it, rushing in, and dis-
posiii:r of me with their weapons. Again and again they ap-
proached, and it seemed in that dark, damp ])lace as if my end
were at hand. On leaving the place in the morning great
crowds went in front ; otiiers followed aft. i', jostling and sneer-
ing ; and many viewed me from their low-roofed houses and
Hung filth and missiles down at me. It i .ok me .several hours
to make my way a short distance to the river's bank. Knter-
ing a boat, I went down the river to the 'roa-llong-],ong
chapel, three miles away, to find my students, ^\■e spent the
rest of the day there, and in the evening, after preacfiing in
the chai)el, we entered the little room and prayed to the Cod
of heaven to give us a- entrance into die city of P.ang-kah.
Rising from prayer, we returned immediately to the (-ify. It
was dark, Ivut some lights were visible. Not knowing exactly
whither we were going, we met an old man, and inquired if
he knew any one who would rent e\'en a small house for nu's-
sion work. " Yes," he replied, " I will rent you nnne." We
accompanied him, and, passing through dark streets and over
rubbish, came to a small back door opening into a dirty room
with mud-floor. We entered and began to write a rental
paper. The house had to be rented by a native, for foreigners
cannot hold property away from the treaty ports. To be par-
ticular I said, "Do you own the site?" ' " Oh no," said he,
"but I can secure the owner this very night." In half an

:!•»'

j*,M

H'^^^S^^I^-

HO IV DANG-KAH 1 1 '.IS TAKEN

167

hour the owner was with us, another paper prepared, and both
contracts signed and stanij)ed. I was in full possession, and
that according to Chinese law, by midnight. He gave us
possession at once, crept out a back way, and disappeared.

In the morning I i)nt up a tablet over the do(jr with the
same inscrii)tion as before: "Jesus' Holy Temple." Jn less
than an hour crowds filled the street, and the ojjen spac-e in
front of a large temple was thronged with angry citizens.
rc()2)le came and went the whole day long. The second day
the whole city was in an ujjvoar, and the htibbub produced
by their thousand voices fell very unpleasantly upon our ears.
Still I walked the street among them, now and again extracting
teeth, for we hail friends even among so many enenn'es. On
the third day lepers and beggars and other lewd fellows, hired
to .molest us, pressed around vrith tlieir swollen ears and dis-
gusting-lool:ing features. They tried to rub against us, expect-
ing us soon to (juit the premises. About four or five o'clock
the excitement grew to a white heat. Hundreds had their
cues tied aroun;! tlieir necks, and blue cloth about their loins,
to signify that Wm^v were ready for the fray. One stooped
down, picked up a stone, and hurled it against the building.
In a moment their screams were deafening. They were on
the roof, within and without, and the house was literally torn
lo pieces and carried away. No material was left. 'I'liey
actually dug up the stones oi the foundation with their hands,
and stood spitting on the site. A\'e moved right a(-ross the
street into an inn. No sooner had we done this than scores
were on the roof and many more climbing the walls. 1'he
crash of tiles could be heard as they attempted to force an
entrance. J5y this time the shouts and yells were inhuman.
One who has never heard the fiendish yells of a murderous
Chinese mob can have no conception of their hideousness.
The innkeeper came to us with the key of the door in his hand
and begged us to leave, lest his house be destroved.

aJ^

i68

FROM FAR FORMOSA

Tlien there was a lull. Hie Chinese mandarin, in his large
sedan-chair, with his body-guard around him, and with soldiers
following, was at the door. Just then, too, her Britannic Maj-
esty's consul at Tamsui, iMr. Scott, put in an apjjearance. W'c
sat down together. 'I'hc Chinese official tokl the consul to
order the missionary away from the city. 'J'he consul (juickly
retorted, "I have no authority to give stich an order; on iho
other hand, you must i)rotect him as a liritish subject." 1
love JJritish officials of that caliber. \\'hen the consul left 1
accompanied him to the outskirts of the city. On my return
the mandarin was literally on his knees beseeching me'to leave
the city. I showed him my forceps and my Bible, and told
him 1 would ncjt quit the city, but would extract teeth and
preach the gospel. He went away very much chagrined, but
left a s(iuad of soldiers to guard the i)lace. In two or three
days the excitement subsided. Jn a week I was offered a site
outside the city, and tlie promise of help from the Chinese
authorities to erect a building there. I refused point-blank.
As I was lawfully in possession of the site as well as of the
building which had l)een destroyed, 1 was determined to have
our mission building in J]ang-kah, and on that spot. 'J'he
officials then said that I would not be allowed to build in that
place again because it was within only a few feet of the exam-
ination hall, although, in fact, the hall was a mile and a half
away. Having exhausted their whole stock of excuses and
subterfuges, they yielded. I erected a small building on the
original site— not one inch one way or another— and ojjcned
it, u ith soldiers parading the street to preserve the peace. Still
the three strong clans continued to be bitterly opi)osed to us
and our work. Every citizen who dared to become even a
hearer was boycotted, '{'he former owner of the site had io
fiee for his life. In time a few became friendly. We pur-
chased a larger site and erected a good, commodious place of
wonship, roofed with tiles. During the Frencli invasion in

HOn' 1LI\G-I<^llf I! .IS l.-tl<i:N

I (m)

rin, in his large
nd witli soklicM-s
Britannic Maj-
pcarance. \\'c
\ the consul to
consul (juickly
I order; on the
.h subject." I
c consul left I
On my return
wj, me to leave
h'hle, and told
ract teeth and
chagrined, but
n (wo or three
s offered a site
n the Chinese
d point-blank.
well as of the
mined to have
It si)ot. 'J1ie
) build in that
t of the exam-
ile and a half
f excuses and
lilding on the
— and oj)ened
e peace. Still
apposed to us
icome even a
le site had io
ly. \\c pur-
lious place of
1 invasion in

1SS4 tliat building was destroyed by the looters, the materials
carried away, and indignities heaped upon die preacher and
converts. Within three months after the cessation of French
hostilities three stone churches were erected. One of these was
in IJang-kah. It is a solid, handsome, substantial church, with
stone si)ire seventy feet high, and lightning-rod three feet
higher, it is of stone hewn at the quarry; has pillars and
turrets of modern style; the msitle is plastered beautifully
white, die outsitle finished in slucco-plaster like colored stone-
work. There are rooms for the preacher, and an tii)per room
— the only one in the mission — for the missionary.

In 1S79 six students and I, on foot, and my wife in a sedan-
chair, were going through one of the streets after dark on our
way to the chapel. It was the tenth day of a heathen feast,
and the idolatrous procession was about to disband, so that
the devotees were wrought up to the highest pitch of fury and
agitation. There were thousands of them in the procession,
leaping and yelling as if under the afflatus of evil si)irits. We
were recognized. There was a pause, and a torch was thrust
into the face of my wife in the chair, nearly destroying her
eyes. ' do/en dragged two students by their cues, while
others were tumbling a third on the stone pavement. Wilder
and wilder irrew the infuriated mob. Louder and loutler

sounded their gongs and yells. Things looked dangerous,
when an old man from a house right there rushed up and said,
"This is Kai Bok-su, the barbarian teacher. Do not interfere
with him or his company. Take my advice and go <(n in your
procession." Fortunately there was a narrow lane at right
angles to the street where we met the processionists. Into this
he hurried us out of danger. We went (h'rectly to the chapel,
where I preached on the words of the psalm, " As the moun-
tain, are round about Jerusalein, so the Tord is round about
his ])(M)ple from henceforth even forever."

Changes have taken place in that once proud city. In 1S87

I70

i'Jr

. J ' !

FROM I'.tR l'ORMOS.1

I w;is there during the tfnic of iMohiiroiis rites and processions
Perhaps there never was sueli a gathering of people in that
city before. A II,, a and myself took our position purposely
at various places near thr tenii)le, on the cross-streets, by the
wayside, and on the ^\■all of the neu- city. Once we were
right above the gateway liirough wInVh the proce ionists
passed, but we were neither molested nor slandered. They
went along with smiling faces. That very evening we sat in
front of (he large temple where years before the mob met to
Ivill us. The same liang-kah head men were in the procession
aiKl as they came near us they halted and greeted us kindly'
Ilelore dark I extracted ri\e hundred and thirteen teeth and
addressed an immense throng. IJm what a cha.nge' AVho
ever dreamed .,f such a cliange! I never witnesred such a
halfdiearted, hstless procession. V.y removing an idol or two
the whole performance would have amounted to little more
llian a sight-seeing farce. I!ut idolatry is far from being dead
yet. There is indeed a great change, but hard battles must
yet be fought before heathen he:,rts will yield to Jesus and
follow him.

i:nt it was on the eve of our departure to Canada in iS.^,
that l!ang-kah gave evidence of the greatness of the chanir
produced in that city. In the chapel, on the occasion of (,m-
last visit, two marriage ceremonies were performed in the pres-
ence of a large assembly. The head men of the city ..ent their
vismng-cards, with a message to ask if I would be willing to
sit in a sedan-chair and be carried in honor through the streets
"f then- city. I begged some time to consider, and a^nCiK^a
lhat,as m the past they had acted louard us as thev chose so
now I would allow them to do the same. A proc'ession was
formed on the same level ground, near the same old temple
Ki.^ht bands of music, with cymbals, drums, gongs, pipes, gui-
tars, mandolins, tambourines, and clarinnets, took the lea .
Men and boys with Hags, streamers, and banners followed-

;i :

:i.i

* ; \

noir ii.iN(, K.iii n .IS /./A/rv

fji*

scfMX's witli scjiiibs aii<l fin.'-cnicki'rs si't <>(T .iftcr the in.iimi i-df
Chincvse cclcbnitioji^. I'lvchcad incii, a iiia-i.^liaU', a niiiitarv
ollicial, and two cIn il orfu iais caiiic ikai in onlfr; ami ilicn
three large red " lunhrtllas of lionor," widi tlirer lldunces cat h,
prcseiiU'd by the people, with tlieir namc.-i inscrilx'd, wirt- ( at
ried front of iiic, as I sat 'u a handsome silk-h'ned sedan-
chair. JH)llo\ving the rhair were six men on horseback, t\vent\ -
six sedan-chairs, three hundred footmen in regular order, and
various other parties behind. Thns we passed throiii;h the
streets of ]5ang-kah. and on all hands received tokens of re-
spect and honiir.

On arriving at Bang-kah "jetty," where the steam-launch
was wailing, our Christians stood and sang, " I'm not ashamed
to own my Lord." Heathen and CHiristian alike cheered us
as we boarded the launch. Two bands of music a(com])anied
us all the way to Tamsui, and from the launch right up to our
dwelling-house. In front of our door was the climax of the
demonstration. And all this was from the head men antl citi-
zens of I]ang-kah, the erstwhile Gibraltar of heathcm"sm. And
thus was Bang-kah taken. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
but unto thy holy name, be the glory!

^2i

^2 ^> '^^' r^%

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

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1.0

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U IIIIII.6

Photo^Bphic

Sciences
Coiporalion

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

CHAP^FER XVIII

TOURING IN THK NORTH

Traveling on foot-" I'crils of waters "-Scdan-cliair-Rickshaw-Rail-
way— Struggling with a donkey-Change and incident-With a hilj-
inan— An old Confueianist— Doomed savages—Among pioneers— \
man of faitli-At Lam-kham-An npinm-sn.oker-I'leasant memories

> ^PHE lieadquartcTs of tlie .nissfon in North Formosa are at
1 Tamsui, and from tJiat point tours are freciiiently made,
visiting the chtirches in order and exploring tlie regions beyond.'
This is a most important ])art of the missionary's work. Re-
sponsibility is put upon the native preachers settled at the vari-
ous chapels, but oversight is retiuired in matters of organization
and administration, ^fhese periodical visits are encouraging
to the preachers and stimulating to the members. In making
tours of the churches I never travel alone, but always with a
company of students, who are in this way introduced to the
work and become acijuainted widt missionary methods.

There are many modes of traveling, the chief of which is
traveling on foot. It is often dangerous and always wearisome.
The paths are so rough— now over mountains, now across hot,
blowing sands, now through jungle— and the mountain torrents,'
especially during the rainy season, are so numerous and diffi-
cult to cross, that there is little physical enjoyment. Sometimes
the traveler is carri(?d across the stream on the shoulders of a
coolie. Generally we wade the streams, going in pairs, hand
in hand, holding in the disengaged hand a long bamboo pole
with which to feel the way. On one occasion Lien Ho, one

172

4 j

kshaw — Rail-

-Witli a hill-

pioiicors — A

ant memories

iiosa are at
-iitly made,
)ns beyond,
vork. Re-
al the vari-
rgani;^ation
ncouraging
In making
ays with a
ced to the
ods.

'f which is
vearisome.
icross hot,
in torrents,
and diffi-
sometimes
ilders of a
airs, hand
nboo pole
1 Ho, one

i- ■-^'

w hi

I- c

Z V

S A

-I u

< %

v«

. -1

^0fl

1: ' I

i !i

!;:■'

■

,. J

itv'

9m*m0m iwmm

"*%

TOURING IN THE NORTH

of ihe preachers, was nearly drowned. His companion slipped
and fell, and losing his hold, he was swept down by the cur-
rent, tumbling over and over in the seething waters, until at
a sharp curve in the stream he was rescaed by two of the stu-
dents who were on shore. At some points there are ferry-boats,
and by holding on to a rattan stretched across the stream and
spiked to trees at either end. the boatmen cross with ease and
safety. Sometimes the boats are abandoned by their owners
and left on the rocks. Once we came to a broad, rapid stream
and saw a boat on the opposite shore. The boatman was no-
where t(^ be seen, and no answer came to our calls. At last
two of our students swam across and fastened the end of a long
rope to the boat, by which it was hauled to our side. Several
volunteered to be oarsmen, and when we had all crouched on
the bottom they shoved out from shore. Dnt they were power-
less in such a current. In spite of all their efforts the boat was
carried down the stream and dashed to pieces on the stones
of a dam a short distance below. Ik'yond a few bruises and a
thorough wetting we were none the worse. We never thought
of kindling a fire to dry our clothes, for we knew that another
stream and another had to be crossed, and a similar experience
might await us at each, 'i'ravelers are not always in "perils of
waters," for during fine weather in some districts the roads are
good and the streams bridged or easily forded; but in other
parts and at other seasons an unexpected bath is of frequent
occurrence.

On most of the larger rivers are numerous boats which carry
I)assengers up or down stream. These boats are made of
camphor-wood planks, wide, flat-bottomed, and light. They
are built to run the rapids, and are called " rapid boats."
Ooing downstream the steersman stands in the bow with a long
oar, and the trip is generally pleasant. The trip upstream is
very tedious ; the boatmen, wading through the water, grasp-
ing a pole tied across the bow, haul the boat slowly along.

'tlf^

PROM MR rORMOSJ

[,■■

■ 1

(ii

i.i

'I'lie sedan-chair is anotluT vdiiclc of (nuvl. It is earned
It two „r lour eooli.-s, ul.o ean -.. tweniv iniks a day. TI.c
sedan-chair is sometimes a necessity; l.ut t<. sit v^u^^i'd up ,•„
such a box ,.s to any fore igner wlio loves scenery and fresh air
a great discomfort.

The rickshaw, a h-ght co^•ered gig drawn l,v a coolie, is ^•ery
<"<mimon, especially on the roads connecting llang-kah Toa
tiu-tia, and Tai-pe-fu. 'I'hcse cities are sitnated ai the '])oints
c.f a triangle, each abont three miles from the others- and the
roads between are wide and good, having been built bv tluit
energetic and progressive governor, Liu Ming Chuan. Abotn
one hundred and fifty rickshaws run on these roads everyday
An eflort was made to establish a line of I^nglish carriages, but
liad to be abandoned because the horses could not compete
with the coolies.

A line of railway runs between Kelung and IVk-chham, about
fifty miles. The engines are all made in Cerma.nv or J.'.nuland
and the cars are fitted up in iMiglish style. ThJ road is now'
owned and operated entirely by Chinese.
_ I am sometimes asked wh'y we do not use a pony or (lon.kev
m traveling. I tried the donkey once, and am m>t enthusi-
astic over the experiment. There were no stables at the inns
or chapel.^, and no provision for caring for the animal. And
'u the matter of time nothing was gained, as a coolie had to be
employed to carry necessary lood and clothing, and the time
made by the donkey was lost l)y the coolie. The donkey was
a present from the commissioner of customs, who was retirin'^
from the island. We called him " lai-a," and the students had
con.siderable sport with him at Tamsui. One day we planned
a trip to a chapel five miles away. r,n-a was brought to the
door for my use, and as it was a great occasion Tmountcd
and led the way. The students followed, greatly enjoying the
sight of a foreign missionary astride a donkey. All went well
however, until we came to a narrow plank bridge crossing a

> ^:

' !

If is (Mrn'ed
a (I;i_\. The'
'<'<>l>i.'il lip in
and frcsli air

oolie, is \t'i y
ig-kali, Toa-
tt llic ])()ints
LTs; and I lie
)uilt I)y tluit
nan. About
s every day.
in-iages, but
lot C()ni])e((j

iliani, about

1)1" England,
"oad is now

^or donkey
ot emhusi-
at the inns
mal. And
- bad to be
id the time
onkey was
'as retiring
idents liad
7e planned
ght to tlie
[ mounted
joying tlic
went well.

erossmg a

rOURINC. IN THi: NORTH

'75

ravine twelve or fifteen feet deep. The bridge was not more
tlian three feet wide, and when Lu-a came he halted suddenly,
planted his fore feet well forward, and set his ears back in a
settled sort of way. Coaxing and urging both failed. 1 then
dismounted and began to pull. The students took in the situa-
tion and thought to assist by pushing, one of them taking hold
of lAi-a's rat-tail. But it was all in vain. I-u-a was "estab-
lished." A consultatior is then held and various plans dis-
cussed, 'i'hinking that the donkey might liave changed his
opinion, I made another effort, and seizing the halter, began to
pull with all my might. I'ut he braced himself all the more
firmly with his fore feet, and then began to kick. This had the
effect of scattering the students in the rear, but I kept pulling
in front. T.u-a then ojjened his mouth and brayed, making
sounds such as the students never heard before, and as only a
sulky donkey can make. The whole performance was so novel,
and the donkey's heels went witli such rapidity, that the stu-
dents, shouting "Cheng-bi, cheng-bi!" ("He's pounding rice,
he's pounding rice!"), lay down on the ground and laughed
themselves nearly sick. Rut l.u-a conquered; and wliat made
our defeat all the more humiliating was that one of us could
almost have carried him across, he was so small, and that we
lost an hour and a half of valuable time in the contest. Since
then I have not experimented in this kind of locomotion.

Our experiences in traveling are never monotonous, as there
is always change and incident enough to give interest ; but to
readers of the record one trip would appear much like another.
Sometimes we take the chapels along the much-traveled {jub-
lic road, at other times the scattered savage villages, and at
others the less frequented paths inland from the sea, where the
Chinese pioneers are subduing nature's wildness and opening
the way for the advancing settlements. In 1890 we traversed
the entire length of the field from north to south without once
approaching the public road. The narrow paths along which

itr'

176

FROM FAR FORMOSA

;l!i

iil

c «em skmcd an,l cl,„,be<l ,hc rugged m„„„,ains and „.,„„„l
thr ugl, ,sce,H.,y „f c.,K„,r,I,„ary U-auly. Th. Chinese, .e
e,aUy have l.ul feehle sen.se of ,he .sulA'me, and i, wa., grad '
■ng ,0 observe ,he Chinese s.nden.s ga.ing .i.h won.t I
a.lm,rat,.,n n,,„n ,he ,>ic.ures,|„e scenery ,l„-„„gh whi.h >ve
. sed Ihe ,ru,h of (.„, ,,„, „,,,„„, „,„.^ ^
t^> We llieTr (lormanl senses.

We. were accon,,,anied on that occasion by a In'lln.an, sev-
cmy-fonr years of age, who was „,y .raveli„g-<.„„,pani„„: Me

' ';;""" ;'f ^'^■^■' ^""l '"'-■1<- "f ■■■■"", an.l i, was a pleasure

>" -alk wuh one who I,a,l such powers of endnranci. The
others ,.f onr pa„y were of,e„ f:,r in ,l,e rear, and we had ,0

ound an occasional hallo for d.eir c.„co„ragemcn, and gui-
dance. After iraveling a long distance in ,his way uty c™,.
pan.on began ,0 show signs of fadgue, and a, las, when we
came ,„ a large flat stone at the top of a particuhnly .lilii-ult

ecc.,f clnnbu^g, he sat down, perspiring and pnOing; and sai.
m .1 beseeching lone, " w,, „„„.,. ,„„ f,,,, „

As wc walked along, this hilhnan .spoke a great .leal about

lod 1 ,"""■*■""'"' """■"' "'^' '"'^ «"•' ■"■ "-■ ■•"■"> l-l^-,
god of the kuchen, ,•„„! god of war, before uhich he had ,ecn

l«.wmg hnnself for seventy long years. Tin's offer uas n,ad
good, and on our return we carried ,hem wi,h us as a conlri-
bullon to my museum al Ta.nsui

ge he . Otn- g,„,le knew the way, and taking the lead he
ntshed on ahead to a village near by ,0 advise a school-tead
of onr comn,g V.'e were .velconted a, the school-roo.n by the
teacher, a parbcularly fine literary gentleman. Looking a ,out

the T bl ."!""«'" '">■ B''""-'. ^'"<1 layin.g his hand on

Book !>' "" ; r" ' '■"' "■'■'^' ' '""Ecd to know. This
Book tells me how tins world was made." And he wen, on to

«»

' ■ ' I

'lOURlNd /A' ////; NOKTfl

'77

and wound
hiiK'sc geii-
"•as gratify-
vondcT and

I wInVIi nc
'id touclied

II in an, scv-
anion. Jfc

a lilcasurc
nee. The
we had to
t and gui-
' ni)- com-
, Avhen \\c
ly dinieult
;', and said

leal about
orth polf,
liad been
vas made
a contri-

oving to-
lead^ lie
'1-teaclier
m by the
ng about
L' a cojiy
^'stanient
band on
/. This
nt on to

speak of the delight and profit he found in studying the story
of ereation. The native preacher, himself one of the literary
class, had given this teacher the Book, and as it was the open-
ing chapters of Genesis that first arrested his own attention, he
directetl the mind of his incjuiring friend to the same portion.
The teacher became interested, and soon the new light began
to ilawn. There was a chaiiel not far from the school, and on
the night we held service there he was i)resenl. During my
address he would give expression to his consent and approval
ill emphatic exclamations, hke the "Amen" of an old time
camp-meeting. At the close he rose and addressed the assem-
bly : " I am sixty-four years of age, and have taught school for
twenty-three years. I heard the gospel from the lips of the
native prearher who is here to-night. He came to my school-
room more than ten limes. I believe this new iloctrine with
all my heart. It is good. I was a Confucianist, but Confu-
cianism did not satisfy my soul. I read in the IJil^le how God
created the heaven and the eartli. I read, too, of eternal life
after death. These things impressed me deei)ly. Ike])t pon-
dering on them even in my school. Then an old friend came
and brought Kai IJok-su, the foreign missionary. My old friend
I iound to be a Christian, and though he is over seventy years
of age he is young again. He has fellowshii) with God. I
have come now to understand. For many years J have not
believed in idols. Now 1 am satisfied, and before all here I
declare myself a believer in God and in Jesus. The gospel
is good news to an old man like me." Tliere was i»rofound
silence all the time, for this old disciple of Confucius was re-
.spected by all. His words were earnest, for in them was the
reviving hope of an old man's life.

At Toa-kho-ham, a town near the mountains, we saw twenty-
four savages imprisoned and condemned to punishment for the
death of several Chinese camphor-workers in the border-land,
whose heads were taken by the head-hunters of the tribe. The

I7.S

IROM 1\.IR lORMOs,!

■llM

i!!-

r one. . wore scrnrcl whl, duins .I„„„ .lu-f,- Lg. TlKi,
■.llooed „„,„„, .Mroll.,1 al,.„„. „„fe,u.,c,l ,„kI ,„„.,„c«„

^yn.pa ,• .n „,.,> hear,. a,„l al,l,„„.„ ,„„, ,„,.., „,. .,, ' ;'
.f ,K.„ f„rc.s, rcmus, ,I,a, ■■„„„,, „f „a,„rc,'. 1„„, f,„. „,;
..s.n,Kl.sa„, s«„s, hound ,„.„, I,,- invisihl. <..:,,, ,„ , '

of their imprisonment. ^

Our nex, „igl„ ,vas spc-n, a, a village „f Hak-ka Chinev.

>vhm. ,vc. l.a.l ,„ .lofn,,] ,„„.s,|«..s a^ims, ,I„, I„„. ,t"

n«- b,„o„.,„i,.., „„„„„,,„,, , „,„. .:;„,„:,::,'■"!;:;;;

cgular ,varn„,-s, an.i a sm„„,.. „f ..„,s ,vas l,„. , r ,U

"•"• F„rc,Knc,-s ,n FornK.sa i..v.-,rial,lv carry n, ,«,„,„.,! ,

At a rhnpd among ,1,.. l„i|,„en ,,,, ,verc given a recenti,,,,
ha, whatever n„g,„ ,.. .„■„ „f .-.s s,y,e, lacke,, no, „ ;"■

cr „ hear„ne.s. Guns and ,l,e-cracke,.s .souud'd ,

IHU glad we con,o. A «„„,,„.„» fea,, of f„„., a„d fiV, w

opared a, , e el.apel. and ,l,e building was fille.l „ . ^i

clay, llnee hours were spen, in listening ,„ .heir ,eei,a, ,

'.f r.s.-.lms, hyntns, and ,!i,,,e sdecions, .^^.ne i , c '

ilialcct and .nl.eis in ,lie Hok lo v,

ncers are finding thefr way i,ack tc God ^ ^

On our way toward the sea the first man to greet us w.s

(lul It without medicine " .\dvnrn.« . /• '^'^

.]• , ;^''"-'"<- '^^'^"cates of faith-cure mirrht -idd

this man to their number and reirard h;« n. •«

TOURING IN THI: NORTH

'7')

gs. Their
concerned,
then," wa:,
It' frc'cdoii)
I' for tlicir
> the place

1 Cliinesy,
ct's of tile
rh<y were
or j-rotec-
inito-cur-
1k' (lone

reception
"g m the
ided out

fish was
he entire
■citations

Mak-ka
long the
ary jjio-

11 s was
■d. lie

caught
en, and
. God
?ht add
mswer-
iVQ was
lia and
for the

tor'ng ui) of his system, and a wash was prepared for his eyes.
Reckless Ii\-ing was strictly forbidden and hygienic regulations
enforced. Under the care of the native preacher he had
made slow but sure progress, until his health was restored and
his sight became clearer. When the supply of meilicine was
exhausted he no doubt jtrayed UKjre earnestly and lived niorr
consistently, antl he thought that as his eyesight was restored
when he was not taking drugs, his cure was exiepiional and
nn'raculous. "(iod did it," was his testimony, which, indeed,
was true; but means were suited to ends, as must always be
done if we would be- blessed of (lod.

On returning from an inland tour we sought refuge for the
night at Lam-kham, a day's journey southwest from Tamsui.
There was no pul)lic inn, and no one would give us lodgings.
We found a ileserled cart-shed, in which we took shelter. A
young man who was baptized at our lirst country station lived
in that neigliborhood, and when he found us out escorted us
to his home. One evening a place was prepared and arrange-
ments made for a service. I preached the gospel to the peo-
ple, and set on the table eight idols which had been surren-
dered by their devotees. There is at Lam-kham a gnarled
banian-tree twenty-live feet in circumference, said to have
been planted by Koxinga. It is supposed to have in it (he
.spirit of one of Koxinga's followers, and is reverenced, if not
worshiped, by many of the people.

On my next visit tt) that place a man fifty-eight years of age
came up and expressed great interest in us and our work. He
followe'^ us to Tamsui for the express purpose of overcoming
the opium habit, which was fast ruining him. The pipe was
placed in my museum, and then tlie struggle began. It was
terrible beyond description. Those who have never experi-
enced it cannot understand the i)ower of the habit. When the
craving came on, his body writhed in agony. Remedial mea-
sures were adopted, and by Christian fellowship and divine

i8o

IKOM h\-IH lOKMOSA

grace, he lK-1,1 on.gomK from strength tosta-ngth, until the vie
t<>ry was w.,„. H. tuhl Mu. ,ha, it w.Ts he. wh„, .s hc.a<I n.an
1'^ the vi lagc, lal the peupl. ..f I,a,u-kha,n in their opposition
to us ana nt retusn,g us shelter. Me spoke afteru-ard at .nany
"' <'t.r large gatherings, and always ntade three points pronii

n-H : fust, that he had been an opium-s.nuker a.id had been
'•••mi; second, tha, he had resisted o.n- entrance and vilif.e.l

-..tKa,n-iKun;,hird,,hatlK.wasno^^^

Ch.ist, and by his grace feared nehher men nor devils ' He

wetit ku-k to his h,.nu. and led his friends in constrtH^ing a
tl>m( led bu.hhng for chapel purposes. After this buildhv^
was destroyed by a typhoon a substantial ami con.f(,rtable half
|;<>'>I-I wuh tiles, was erected, at a cos, of one hundred and'
/.fty-s.x- .\rex,can (h.llars, one hundred and twenty-six of which
were g.ven by the poor peasants themselves. Two poor old
women, who walked fo.n- nn-les every .Sabbath to attend the
scrv.ces, brought two fowls each as an offering. These were
sold, and wid> d,e price Hve hundred tiles were- p.nrhase.l for
the new cha])el.

I.<.c>ki„g „™- n,yj„urnals, I liml ,1,. ,v,n„l „f „K„,y mmk
"""'V; ;'"-'"■""■■"- ■'""- -V ,n.„y I,,,.., ,,„nV.s of s'r-
uc .'S lu-i,l, rluMvlK's „,,cnc'<i, .•,„,l s,,.,,„„,„,s ,|isl,™sf,l Tllm-
.s n,™,,,,,, „r i,,u.,„i„, „„,, „„, ,,„,„„„^,. , , „,.^.„„,^

.k-n|.s ,vc.„.,K.,|. The j.,„n,al „f „„., „,„ „f f„,,y_,i,\|..,vs
n-Ic WMh >i,. R.V. Tan 11., h, ,1,. au.unn, „r ,888, s c,,nv,l ni

;|Pl'"inl.,K.,H ; iH„ a glance a, ,l,c. r«-,.r,l iv.allsn,,, ,!,..,., hin.-s

I" - Mrangu- all would i,, nu^aninglcss, ha. ,o „„■ .1,. very

nanu-s of ,1,. ,,la„.s awakn, pleasant nionmnVs. TIktc ^,J,

..•..-sia, l,„ng-kang, and Tck-chhamy As 1 >,ri,. ,h«c- nanus
.here nses before n,y inner vision ,,iel„re after j.ielure of eaL-er
o.ngrcgat.ons asse.nMed in pleasant ,.|,a,,els, singing praise to

■I

ntil thfvi'c-
hviul man
opposition
I'tl at many
i'lts pronii-
1 Iiad l)c't'n
nd vilifiL'd
'1" of Jc-siis
.•vils. I If
itriiciin^r ;i

■^ l)Uil(lilln;

•tahk- liall,
Hired and
^ of wliicli
poor old
ttfnd \hv
Iifsc were
liasfd for

-mj' trij)s

.'S of SIT-

I. There-
>ericncis.
• by inci-
■iiv days,
crowded
ami dis-
c things,
tile very
L'l-e were
Vu-lan-,
e names
)f eager
•raise to

Dr. MacKay and Studknts DrschNDiNo a Mountain.

i ■

TOURING IN THH NORTH

iSi

Jc]i(>vah-Go(l, of wlinm until a few ycris ago iliey bad never
heard, listening with appreciative attention to the gospel mes-
sage, sitting down together at the holy table and coinmemo-
rating the dying love of the Man of Calvary, and coming with
their little children, in response to Christ's gracious in\itation,
and covenanting in the ordinance of baptism to bring u[) their
chikhvn "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord"; and
then their heart-felt good-bys as we left them one by one, to
l)reach the gos])el and establish tlie church of Christ at other
stations. It is easy to name over the chapels and to reckon
up the staiistic-'. ; and for all these UKirvelous tokens of Cod's
blessing we are humbled into gratitude. But the real story can-
not thus be told. Tt is not written in the reconls of ink, but
in hearts that have learned to love the Saviour — hundreds of
them now before him in the glory, hun.lreds more loyally serv-
ing him in the church upon earth. They are our epistles, and
in their hearts anil lives is written the record of our tours in
North Formosa,

!!•

ii'i.i

CHAPTER XIX

THE WAITING ISLES

The

-.ca larls ,.1,,h| l,„i„»_Ag,„c„„r, U\,,ul-.\„ „I,| f„,,_,v,,„„

^HL ,slcs .shall ,va,t f.„- His huv! TI,.-,, Old Teslamcu
X pn,plK.cy has been a„ ,-,.pi,,ti„„ i„ ,„y,i,v. j „„,, ^
H fulfilled ,„ lonnosn. Ji has been fulfilled ;„ .Jk- a,vhi„eh,
of .he South Sea. The islands ...' .he frozen no t

CSS dream. He has spoken ,t whose words are sure, \\hen

k nts sh dl have eo.ne lo ,l,e brigh.ness „f his kingdom snrelv
*~rg,s,essludl".^^^

When l.-or„,„sa had heard the gospel o„r eves began to look
.. g.ngly c.a.s, and north toward the lonely litt'le isla.r.ls , eyo cl
the blue ho,v.on.line. 0(1 the northeast cast a few hotnVs
•s Steep Island, ^ye talked ,n„eh abon, i, because AIIov!
mother „.,s b„r„ „,,,.,, ,„^^ ,,^.^.^,„^^ ^ __^ • ■

C, nnese dwelt there, ,„any of who,„ had never heard the t'

a junl loa.led «„h pkmks was engaged fro,,, Ta,„s„i. We set
om btu the w,„ds we,-e , .„,„-a,,v, a„,l afler ,„o davs of tos'i'g
■""I seas.ckness we ,-ou„,ied the northern point \,f l.„r,„<„!;

THE II'AITING ISLES

i«3

}

and ran into Kim-pau-li, on tlie northeast. Here we got water
and food, for our supply was well-nigh exhausted. Setting sail
again, we were driven far out of our course, first eastward and
then to the north. For five days and nights we were carried
hither and thither by the merciless waves. On the fifth day,
scarcely knowing where we were, having been driven back over
our track, we sighted land. What was our delight when we
found that we were on the lee side of Steep Island, and right
grateful were we for the welcome of the islanders.

The Chinese call Steep Island Ku-soa (" 'J'urtle Mountain "),
and from certain points of view the island does resemble a luigc
turtle standing on guard with head erect. One side is almost
perpendicular, fully twelve hundred feet high. The rock for-
mation is a laminated kind of slate, argillaceous sandstone,
and igneous rocks. On sailing aroimd the island we noticed
sulphur steam ascending its sides, and near the sea-line were
wliitish cinders and hot water. The whole is evidently an ooz-
ing, seething mass of sulphur.

The inhabitants are nearly all fishermen. They grow on die
island sweet potatoes, Indian corn, and several kinds of vege-
tables. There is only one village, and on the occasion of our
visit the peojjle were suffering from the elTects of a fire which
left forty families homeless. Near the village there is a natural
pond, with no visible outlet, but having some underground com-
munication with the sea. At low tide the water is fresli, but
at high tide it is brackish. During certain seasons hundreds of
wild ducks make this pond their rendezvous. The only spring
of fresh water sends a stream trickling down an irregular ledge
inio the i)ond. Near it stands a solitary eboi/y-tree, the last,
no doubt, of a numerous family.

The poor people were very hearty in their welcome, and
gave us the best of what liule ihey had. They brought their
sick and suffering, ati! we sought to give tliein relief. \\\{\\
glad heart-, tliey listened to the gospel message, and their des-

. I

■:^:';

1 I »

titution

^^P-nt ami pathos to then- plea,lin.f<

preacliei-. WJicii we left

"■s to tlie sliore, and with

them tlic wliole vill

u-s to return, they watclied

many words of gratitude

'g lor a native
'ige accompanied

hour

"s in an

ennen against a heav

open boat rowed by

us sail out of tlieir life

and beLi'ai

8H'

a crew of their stal

'gain. Five

of I

^-hapel.*-

ormosa

wJi

y sea, and we were landed

opposite Steep Island, and

wart iisii-
on the shore

i, u-Jiere we found

nva\-

y to tlie northeast of F

I'est and food.

near to one of

our

miles from Kelun

and A

are tl
gmcourt. Tlie Cli

n-ee

;"''-""«-i, more (ha., a luimlrd
'■■^Lincls, called I'innacle, Crai-

isiands l,el„a., ,„ p' ,° "'"'"'■'■'■ ^'l'i"-"!"iate. Tl,ese

<-aMy indepenrie,;; '""■ '"' "'^ -■"-8—n.mg and p,.ac,i.

a i-esting-Dlace for so. I • i ' ''"'' ''■''^'^''^ only as

c™s/s a.:.' ■ .'■:,:;r.:irv~-";' '"^■"" ""■« '"«■"

flocks ,„a, a. .,-,„e, „■;;'""''""* "»' i-">- "here /„
island is a ru.-.red ,, , ^ ' ■-? ""-' ■^'^>-- On one side ll,e
feet high. ;,: ri', ;"""■ """ "' '"^'^ '- '>""<'-!

f-™-"« a snrfaee .,f ,1:', . ,:;"::,"""", '" "- — s edge,
""' 're- orsl,„,I,s, iHU ,.„„„,,'■"■'"'■'' '""'""Il',wi.l>-
-l'fc'> tl.e birds lav.l, ," f-^' '''""''^■'' "i"' -f' S-'ass, i„

Insects, inelndin^ the dreaded ■,"""' '" "" """'■■«.

of ix-etle, abotnu'd. , H'i.''''''''.'^^'"" «■«■-' species

Wnl-h-fe. Gttlls and ,e, s , , "'■^"'' "' "'^' '■^'^""' '^ '^^
retun, ho„,e„-a,-d ,1 ' , -.^ ' T '" ""■"'™^- '^^ "'"■
.I'en settle doua, li ', , ' "™V" "'""' f'"' ^' '""«■ ™'

"•i->e s.„,.i„. sta; e i : 7' :t' ':;'^"".^' " -'^^- ■"-

*r>

for a nati\-c
cconipanied
iiul l)cg<(ing
'gain. Five
-tJwart fi.sii-
II the shore
■JJie of our

a hundred
^I*-', Craig^
liird, and
^- Tliese
ncl practi-

iiVh noili-
tands OIK'

■•^ only ;is

liglit.
y heaved
■ tlicie in
^ide tlie
hundred
r's cdgL-,
tJi, witJi-
?i'a.ss, in
of nest,
nowers.
■'^pecies
1(1 is its
^s tliey
le, and
. The
•Ih the
us the

THH IVAlTlNCj ISI.HS

1^5

beauty of the scene. On one occasion while we camped there
a dozen or a score of men came from Agincourl to gather the
cgs, and their large baskets were soon tilled. When the birds
came home in the evening and settled down in the grass, the
men, carrying lighted torches, caught them alive and crammed
them into large sacks. They were then taken to a large stone
n(.'ar which a tire was kindled, and there, one by one, they weie
dashed to death and piled in heaps several feet In'gh. The
sight and the wailing screams of the poor birds were sickening.
In the morning they were dressed, salted, and dried. After se-
curing: the birds the men hooked turtles of immense size. Our
crew made purchases, and on our return trip we were surrounded
by birds living and dead, eggs sound and unsound, whole and
broken, and in one corner a huge turtle live feet long lay on its
back, groaning all night like a human being, ^\■hat a night !
Agincourt is much larger than Pinnacle or Craig, and staiuls
out of the water five hundred and forty feet. It contains i)er-
haps ten acres, and is the home of more Uian a hundred Chi-
nese, who came originally from Kelung, Formosa. 'I'hey live in
low stone huts on one side of the island, and about their huts
are trees, shrubs, grass, and flowers. Maize is cultivated and
eaten in every form, but generally pounded in a mortar and
made into porridge. Millet, pumpkins, cucumbers, and beans
are "rown, which, with their salted birds and shell-hsh, consti-
tiite their food. Unlike the Chinese elsewhere, they care little
for rice. Skipping from hillock to hillock I saw flocks of
goats, but no other animr.ls were seer..

On a high place abc v- :he huts I came upon an old fort
like the Pictish remains seen in Sutherlandshire, Scotland. It
looked to be very ancient, but who were its builders and what
its purpose remained a mystery. The oldest inhabitant, a man
past fourscore, cotild give no account of it. One wondered if
it belonged to the Dutch regime, and if, when the/ fortified
Palm Island, at the mouth of the Kelung harbor, they also

I '

i't

'I'"

i86

FROM l\^R FORMOSA

planted tlieir cum here n,- ,

of some sliipwrecked rreu- • f , ^' '^ ^^^^ ^^'"^'k

"•■•' -evc-canu, .i*.,,,-,;!:^:;; ^''-^ '"■"">• ^"■- '"^- -'

.«79. our party « ,s , , ' ' l;' *'" "'"' "'''' "^''- ">

"■ill.m speaking <lis,a„ce ,vl ° ''"■ """' "■'■' »■■-■'■'-•

-'■• ^'-^ "- .^1.- 1 ;; .:;,f ^>„:--'f , -.^ - - .o- ...

'•- -ais, a ,-,,,e, U^c J , "' ';"' ' ''">■"■« f-''->^" '■'"."-■
"•!'«. l.e ,va Ak™ , , "■'"'■'> >™s «curecl to a ro,.|<.

i""^. -e ..e,: ;.t,:; ;:;;: ™;,', •.•■^' 7^ ......ec ,„.

»'Hl as llie wave, carri.,! ,1, , '''^'•"' ™ ''">' '-"KS"!,

"> '-■ .-Hh-ami t ; , J " '";* "^■■"- "'""S". --■'■ '."eVha,

-'--«.,.... a,K, ..,,;'::';;:;"»"• ™" -- " f-

"-■ ""failing icitKh,; 1 2^';;;:'"r'^ ?'"^' "'-«"' '■>•
">« «<«iK.i «-c p:l ,:,:;:■" ■""">•• '■"" "■*■■>-' -th i,uc,-os, ,„

'"'""" ""V..1 to sl,„,,. i, '";"', ■™" •■""' ^' "■av.li..s-co,n.

^:^

n some pass-
it the work
' oi" veritable
Certain it is,
t stone u])()n
"If, i>erliaj)s
foi- tile sail

unci to be
■"^t visit, in
riend from
^iglited us
il we ^vcre
to try to
n plunged
led round
to a rock,
'd to oui-

-' ''uggf'l,
one had
our new-
t not for
ur nuni-
asant by
oor and
erest to

Jcahned
ig-com-
■ retiu-n
until it

■IHH IVAiriNG ISI.HS iSf

found shelter in Kclung harbor. The captain reported the
catastrophe, and a steamer was sent in search of the missing
men, but no trace of them was ever found. The islanders may
have been blamed, but I am confident that in their hands the
young men would have been kindly treated. It was not the
poor i.slanders that did the deed, but the merciless, hungry sea.

I set out a third time to visit Agincourt. This time our
junk was a small coal-boat that had been cleaned and ballasted
with sand. With a good supply of food and fresh water, we
set sail at dark. Our course lay in a northerly direction, but
when morning dawned we were far down the east coast of For-
mosa, opposite So Bay. Putting about, v.-e had to fight our
way back against wind and wave. We were cairied eastward
until land was out of sight and night came down. Dense
fogs had settled on the Formosa hills, and the crew were ter-
rified and almost helpless. There was no compass on board
except a small one attached to my watch-guard. The helms-
man had completely lost his bearings, and our boat began to
drift. The seamen were hoiTor-stricken, but the students were
calm and undismayed. In such circumstances nothing but a
real trust in the living God can stand the stress and strain.
Meanwhile I watched the scudding clouds, on the lookcnit for
the beacon-hghts of heaven. At last there was a rift and the
glorious stars were seen, steady and true as of old. The
helmsman was changed, the boat's course altered, and next
day we sailed into Kelung harbor and found shelter at the
mission-house there.

Our boat was repaired, a new crew secured, and we put out
atrain. This trip winds and waves were favorable, and in due
time the three islands were sighted. Craig was passed and we
steered for Agincourt. The people went wild with joy, and
not in vain did we tell " the old, old story." Their lot is hard,
like life in St. Kilda, and their island is one of " tlie loneliest in
a lonely sea" ; but the gospel is for them, and the v/ord spoken

iS8

/■ROM I-.IR /Oh'Mosj

on those jonrncys will not return void. For H. said, "Surely

llic isles shall wail for nie'" and 111.- V, ;,.,., r , . .

rnn,. „.;ii K.. , , ... ' ' '"''*"'' '^^ Ntorm-swept Ayui-

coiirt will be heard when

" '.Mi(lst (lie streams of ,ii\[a,it lan.Is
I li'J islands sdiiiid his praise;
Ami, all cniiilniial, with one accord
Jehovah's glories raise."

irM

11^'

iM i

^ V.

I, " Surely
vcpt Agin-

CHAPTER XX

THK LOMIN'C; OK IHK FRENCH

'riireatcninss— The first sIh.I— Ilostilitios— The lUack Flat;s— The mis-
sionary's epitaph— rersLrulions in Siii-tiam— At Keluni;— My \al-
uahles-A perih.r.s liour— A>tri<le a shell— Collapsed— Shut out— A
narrow escape— A prisoner ol war— The h'reneh leaving—" The mis-
sion wiped out "—Indemnity— New ehurches— TenL^-shuy— " Nee
tamcn consuniebatur "'

IN 18S4 a Mack cloud hvj^iiv In sliapc itself on oin- liori-
/on, anil soon the 1iea\ens were overcast and tlnealening.
Those were days of darkness in North l''orniosa. China had
become involved in a (hspute wiUi France about a ])oundary-
line in Tonciuin. It was not settled satisfactorily, and France,
without declaring war, sent a Heet to the China Sea and bom-
barded the forts at Foo-chow and other places. As Formosa
was under the jurisdiction of China it became one of the cen-
ters of attack, as was die case more recently in the war witli
Japan. In the summer of 1SS4 several I'rench war-ships ap-
peared, and very soon the news spread throughout North For-
mosa diat llie French were coming. The [.eople were both
alarmed and enraged. Their animosity was aroused against
all foreigners and those associated with them. The missionary
\vas at once suspected, and the native Christians were accused
of being in league with nice. Torture and death were
threatened against all our converts. Chinese soldiers ground
their long knives in the presence of the Christians, and some-
times caught the children, brandished their sharpened knives

1S9

' W

190

PROM r,-1R FORMOS.I

■■ i

' P

! i

«'vn- tiK-ir IK....I.S, an.l sw,,,-. thai they wouM all h. cut (o nfcres
^vh(.•^ the first barbarian shot should bo fire.l

T c,,.,-s from preachers a.ul convert. \n mvnm parts of the
fiyl. were brought to ,ne at Tanrsui at all honrs of the .lay an.l
n-.Uht. A cloud hung over o,u- entire mission work. In h.iv
I was on Palm Islan.I, at the mouth of Kelung harbor, teach
ini; the students in the mission-liouse there. Chinese soldiers
pnradcd m front of the buihiing, son.etimes, indeed, strutlin.'^
into our stu<ly-room, jeering and vilifying us all the while, and
-eatet.^

>" the harbor, take action. One day a movement was seen
among the French n... One large man-of .ar weighed
""^•'""•/''"'l took position near the Chinese fort. The ".uns
were dn-ected and readv. The Chinese in the for, u.;;"

readuK^s for attack and would have answered then,., ehar^e
We wa ched eve,-y movenu.nt, awai.ing anxiously the openmg
shot. Hut all remained (nn'et that day "^

Shortly afterward a letter can.e f,-om a native preacher re-
questing me to visit a Christian fa.nily, ten nn^les fron. Kehuv^
-lK.,-e the,-e was sickness. ^V•e left Palm Island on this nrand'
>"t our departu,-e was none too soo„ for on August ,th in^^
I rench war-slnps bombarded and destro^ed the Chine.se fort
I^our days after the bombardment, in con.panv with an Mn-^^
.shma,, I went around the coast in a steam.ship, and was al-
K'wed '- ^n on shore to examine the s.noking fortin.-ations
Sohhers we,-e lymg on their faces, with bodies shattced. Kvi^
c en ly they hac been fleeing when exploded shells ended their
-. 1 use s .ells were sent with su<-h terrific- force as to cut
off branc-hes of a tree that were half a foot in dian.eter. A
n.agaxme that had c.xj.lode<l hurled n,asses of c-onc-rcte to an
ncred,l,le distance. The Englishman and mvself, with one oJ
nn stuaents, were invited on board the flag-.ship "La Calis
sonair' and tak.n,hrongh every part of, he vessel. WheiM.;
went down below our attention was directed to three holes,

-7

-TS3:3sskaStKMtBBl

THF. COMING OF THF. FRFXCH

i()i

nearly a foot in (lianultT, jii>i above thf surface of ilic watir,
mack" by sliflls from the Chinese fort. The vice aihniial
>[ioke ill the hii^hest terms of tlie gmniers who ;iime(l so truly.
'rhou^;h he was a man of war, this olTicer was also a man o(
svmpathy ; for when my student looked afraid as the soldiers
under drill and their olTicers dashed to and fro with >word^
dangling at their sides, he said, " I'oor fellow! 'I'l'll him not
to be afraid ; we have no jileasure in killing peoi.le."

Now that the llrst sliot had been tired and hostilities really
begun, the joy of the ever-enlarging mobs of looters knew no
bounds. They had nothing to lose in the w;ir, but everything
to gain. It was a rare opportunity for plunder and vengeance.
They hoisted and carried l)lack Hags, butchered swine, drank
tnm-shu (li(iuor),and carried on their work ([uite methodically.
It seemed as if there would l)e wholesale bloodshed. The
Christians were their first and special object of attack. Seven
of the W'.A of our churches were utterly destroyed, and others
were greatly impairetl. At Toa-liong-pong, near the home of
Koa Kan, the mob tore down the chapel, and, having made
on the site a huge mound, they erected beside it, out oi the
bricks of the ruined chapel, a pile eight feet high, and, after
plastering it over with black mud, they inscribed on Uie side
facing the road, in large Chinese characters, the epitaph:
" MacKay, the blackd^carded devil, lies here. His work is
ended."

At Sin-tiam the mob entered the chapel, took the communion-
roll, which was in the drawer of the desk on the platform, and
beginning with the first name, they marked every member as a
victim. The name of the first having been announced, forty
or fifty were despatched to set fire to his dwelling, plunder his
property, beat his family, and <lestroy all their belongings. So
suddenly was the attack made on the mission buildings that
the native pastor's wife and family narrowly escaped with their
lives. A man and his wife, each over sixty years of age, were

192

FROM FAR FORMOSA

3 ;.

1 ■ 1 ,

I J ^!

|!i

taken ,0 the ,vater% edge in front of tlie clunch and eiven
e,r d,o,ce between denying tl.ei,- God and death b^ d'o™
•«■ li.ey sp„r„e.l the th.eal and would no, tecanl TlTen
hey were token into the water knee-deep and tl.e tern.t e

e ;rnnr,s;f "r '"°"7 ■^^■'■"« '*™' '' "■'■"-"•

tneir tailli. A second tnne ihev refused. Tlicn in
mad rage they were dragge.i .still further h,to the flow, « ^i
m,n, and a ,hir<i chance given, to be a third time f„fe "

polled tighter, and yet ,nore tightK ^^ L Ho , 7"'"

- *e tinger-tips. S,il, he refu^ed^;':;: .^ °°, .^s'',::;;

.^ a,,d ...,ure the ntetnber. :^1^^::JTZ:^-Z

-nting,^r;';^:'.^ri;::r::::rwr"^

not your God protect you? " ^ ^^ ^'^' "^'^"-

..er::;:^;::^:;;:fLi-™X:rir"'''"r

awTv iv'.oi.^ 1 11 ^' ^'^^ ^^gS until he swooned

a^va> Kicked and beaten, he was left for deid • hut h.

y aia not satisfy tlieir malignant rage, for, while

THE COMING OF THE FRENCH

'93

spitting upon him and jeering at him, they sneered, " This is
one who joined the barbarian's clnu'ch."

An elder and his family escaped to a coal-nn'ne in the neigh
borhood, and for ten days they continued there, going out at
night into the fields in search of potatoes to keep themsches
alive. It was impossible to cook food, for the smoke would
have betrayed their hiding-place. Thirty-six families at that
once prosperous station were left homeless, houseless, penniless.

Three years afterward the Sin-tiam Christians sent me a let-
ter to the eflfect that, though they had to begin life, as it were,
anew, after the days of trial, they were in as good circumstances,
and some of them in even better, than previously. Thus the
true and loving God vindicates his own cause. Their enemies
perished miserably ; several of the ringleaders were murdered
by the savages, others died of fever, and others were imprisoned
by officials. "For e^'l-doers shall be cut off: but those that
wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth."

At Kelung the entire town was deserted by the Chinese.
There was there an elderly female convert who owned a small
house and some property. Wrapping the deed in a handker-
chief, she placed it between her shoulders under her gar-
ments. Having bound feet, she could only hobble along with
the aid of a staff, but still she hoped to evade the searching
eyes of the persecutors. Unfortunately, how .er, they caught
her, stripped her of her upper garments, found the deed, took
possession of it, beat her with the sides of their long knives
until she was horribly bruised from head to foot, and then they
let her go. After peace was re!-:tored she returned to Kelung,
and continued one of the most zealous followers of Jesus at
that station.

These are only a few examples of the trials and sufferings
endured by Christians in North Formosa as the result of the
French attack.

In October the French war-ships were in position b^-^'ore the

't . hi
I . I.

i \

' I

194

FROM FAR FORMOSA

lamsui forts. An Englisl. man-of-war was by tin's time in the
iKu-bor to protect foreigners, and I was asked to go on I,oanl
witli my fan^ily and to take my valuables wiih me. I told the
good friends that my valuables were in and around the col-
lege, and that I kuew they could not go on board. Valuables'
Ihe men who were my children in the Lord, who journeved
Av.th me, mmistering to me in sickness, wading streams, scal-
ing mountan.s, facing danger by sea and by land, never once
fl.nclnng before any foe-they were my valuables ! VMnic
hey were on shore I would not go on board. If they were
to suffer we would suffer together.

When the bombarding began we put our little children under
tl^e floor of the house, that they nn'ght not be alarmed. My

1Z^T.^ °'i '"' "-^I"'"^" '""■ ''^'''^ ^^""-- ' P-ed the

on of he house with A Hoa, while shot and shell whizzed

and burst around us. One shell struck a part of Oxford Col-

ege, another a corner of the Girls' School, and still another a

s one in front of us, and sent it into mid-air in a thousand atoms.

A httle to the west of us another went into the ground, goug-

;ng a great hole and sending up a cloud of du:t and stones

1 he suction of one, as it passed, was like a sudden gust of wind"

Amid the smoke from forts and .hips, and the ro.r and it

der o ,,,, ,,, ,, ^^.^ ^^.^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ 2

God was round about us. " Thou shalt not be afraid for the
terror by mglu, nor for the arrow that flielh by day "

n hen the in-ing ceased, six unexploded shell^, weighing fortv
pounds each, were found within a hundred feet of our door
V.th great care we had them conveyed to the river, placed in
a boat, and sunk.

One pool- heathen, not far from the college, found a shell

sa astride it, and began to work with chisel and hammer to

ex ract the powder. It burst, carrying off both his limbs into

he branches of a tree under which he was sitting. He lived

for a few minutes, the explosion having so twisted the flesh

THE COMING OF THE FRENCH

195

and arteries that the escape of blood was s(mie\vhat iiitcrftrc'd
with. But for that last moment, with half his body blown
away, his mind was still on die treasures of earth. Seciiii.;- the
contents of his pocket on die ground, he said widi his last
breath, " Pick up that dollar." Poor, dark, hopeless heathen-

ism :

From the commencement of hostilities until that date I had
no rest night or day. After the bombardment 1 was ill and
unconscious for some time. Mere is the written statement of
C. II. Johansen, M.I)., wIk^ attended me at the time : " I have
been the medical attendant of Pev. Dr. MacKay, who in the
befinninc of the war was overburdened with work, and in
anxiety about the Christian people of the stations. This, com-
bined with the pernicious influence of the hot Tamsui climate,
brought on inflammation of the brain (meningitis cerebralis
acute). During many days he was without sleep, and this
brought on utter exhaustion of his system. The fever was
never less than one hundred and two degrees during those days.
One day a crisis seemed to approach ; everybody's opinion was
that the result would be fatal, all medicines having failed to
produce sleep. Fortunately I heard that the steamship ' Ilai-
loong' had brought ice to Tamsui for .Mr. John Dodd. At
my re(iuest, Mr. Dodd gave all the ice he had to cool Dr.
MacKay's burning head. Almost immediately after the appli-
cation of the ice he fell into a sound sleep, which lasted for
thirty-six hours. Then the ice was finished, but he awoke

saved."

The second week of October, my wife, children, and the
Jamiesons left Tamsui for Hong Kong in accordance with the
orders of die British consul. On the 21st I was induced to
board the steainshii) " 1' u-kieu " to make a round trip and re-
turn to Tamsui. Four da\-s afterward, as we entered the
Hong Kong harbor, we heard that Tamsui was blockaded, and
that we could not return. At length, hearing that the block-

'01^

iy6

FROM F/1R FORMOSA

Cil'li

•A i

ade had been raised, I left my family still at Hong Kong and
went on board the steamship " Hai-loong." When half-way
across the Formosa Channel we had to tack about and return
to the mainland for shelter, because of a terrific storm and
heavy sea. After some delay we again headed for Tamsui ;
but when in sight of that port we saw two large French men-
of-war, one on either lumd, guarding the entrance. We started
as if to pass between them, and signaled, "blockade raised."
\Ve were answered by a blank shot. Our captain signaled
again. This time ^v■e were answered by a shell whizzing across
our bow. Immediately the bugle sounded, and we saw guns
run out, and men at their posts ready to give us two full broad-
sides. Our little merchant steamer moved slowly back, and
when the captain boarded the French war-ship he was told that
the report of the blockade being raised was false, and that if
we had moved a foot farther forward the third shot would
have sunk us. We then steered to Amoy, on the mainland,
and after a delay of one hour there we steamed for the Pesca-
dore Islands, not far from Formosa, where the French head-
quarters were. There the French admiral was interviewed,
and after returning to Amoy we once more set sail for Tamsui.'
One day, at two o'clock in the afternoon, I stepped ashore, and
was met by preachers, students, and converts, many of whom
wept for joy.

After some time, desiring to visit the churches, I procured
a pass, of which the following is a copy :

"lilUTlSH CoXsri.ATK, TAMsri,
" May 27, 1SS5.

"To THE Officer in Chief Command of the French
Forces at Kelung :

" The bearer of this paper, the Rev. George Leslie MacKay,
D.I)., a British subject, missionary in Formosa, wishes to enter
Kelung to visit his chapel and his house there, and to proceed

:|i

THE COMING OF THE FRENCH

197

through Kehing to Kap-tsu-lan, on the east coast of Formosa,
to visit his converts there. Wherefore I, the undersigned,
consul for Great Britain at Tamsui, do beg the officer in chief
command of the French forces in Kekmg to grant the said
George Leshe MacKay entry into, and a free and safe passage
through, Kelung. He will be accompanied by two Clnnese
followers belonging to his mission, named, respectively, Giam

Chheng Hoa and lap Sun.

" A. Frater,

"Jlcr Britannic Majesty's Consul at Tamsui^

I took a bamboo pole, twenty feet in length, and tied there-
on the old flag of Great Britain ; and, with the two preachers
mentioned in the pass, and a burden-bearer, proceeded up the
river. Through Bang-kah we passed, the flag waving in the
breeze. In a few hours we neared the Chinese encampment.
Soldiers rushed out and shouted in their own dialect, " The
British flag!" We marched right on. Soldiers opened right
and left. We passed through thousands of them, and right
up into the presence of the Chinese commander-in-chief, Liu
Ming Chuan. A few words inspired mutual confidence, and I
chanV'd my flag for a flag of truce. The general stated that
I would be treated with respect by all the soldiers under his
command, but he advised me not to approach the French,
lest I should be fired upon. An American was in the employ
of this military official, and he drew up the soldiers under his
command into two lines to present arms as we passed between.
W^e were then escorted within sight of the boundary between
the Chinese and the French, who were still in earthworks on
the tops of the hills and peaks.

W^e crossed the river in a longboat, and went into a cleared
spot of ground-a tea-plantation-planted our flagstaff, stood
beside it, and waited for the French signals. We were observed
immediately, and eight soldiers ran down the steep hillside to

198

FROM FAR FORMOSA

one

\ , ■

' 1

^il^l

1, : 1

|i •;

,- ■,

■■' i

■■.}]

1='.:

i}..

!li

»[

accord -

meet us. When within hailing distai
1 understood that to mean that we sho

ingly we moved forward. When in a winiling path, where the
reeds were in some places above our heads, marching single
file, we came suddenly face to face with the soldiers. I was
in advance of our party. Straightway four of the soldiers
dropped on their knees, the other four stood still, and all
leveled their rifles at my breast. I'urning around, I pointed
to my flag of truce, and signaled the bearer to step to my side.
One of the soldiers advanced. I stepped forward, saluted him,
and showed him my pass. He glanced at it, and after some
altercation, in which one of the Frenclimen who knew a little
English acted as interpreter, we were blindfolded with our
pocket-handkerchiefs, and conducted by the soldiers, one on
each side of me, and one with each of my followers. 'I'hey led
us through streams of water, among tall grass, under a burning
sun, for seven long hours. Had we been taken in a straight
course we could have covered the distance within an hour.
About six o'clock in the evening we were brought into the
presence of the French colonel in the Chinese custom-house,
and there a number of impertinent questions were put to us.'
We were told that we could not remain ashore for the niglu,
but would be sent on board a man-of-war in the harbor^ as
prisoners of war. We were then led away to the water's edge,
taken into a boat, relieved of the blindfold, and in five minutes
were alongside of the man-of-war. There was much sneering
and laughing among the soldiers and sailors, for they sup-
posed that in me they had captured a German spy. We were
ordered upon deck, where the white-haired commander, after
a short interview, gave orders that my party should be kindly
treated. I was taken into his cabin, not as a prisoner of war,
Init as a guest. The good old Frenchman said he had heard'
about our mission work, for they had an English pilot in the
fleet who was an old Formosan friend of mine. In the morn-

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THE COMING OF THE FRENCH

199

ing he went ashore with us himself, and the insolent colonel
was much more civil. The old commander said he regretted '
that we would have to be blindfolded again in gomg back
through the lines, but it was in accordance with the usages of
war. In returning through the lines all were more respectful
and friendly when they learned who we were. Soldiers were
told off to take us within sight of the Chinese lines. They
shook hands cordially, and watched us until we recrossed the
stream in the same boat and went outsu:'» of their boundary-
line. , 1 • .1

Once more at liberty, we visited the Kap-tsu-lan plam, on the
cast coast, and found the chapels clean, and the converts cheer-
ful and happy. The persecutions and hardships they endured
only bound them more closely to the cause of Christ. There
were no desertions from his standard, and everywhere the
heathen marveled to see men and women prefer suiTermg and
even death to peace, dollars, and life that could be theirs only
by denying their Lord.

Leaving Tamsui in June, 1885, under a burning sun, we pro-
ceeded to Kelung, and l)oarded the French man-of-war com-
manded by Vice- Admiral Lespes. We were told we could get
ashore anywhere, as the French would soon be away. I im-
mediately rowed to Palm Island, and arrived in time to save
our property from the mobs that were gathering in crowds to
loot and plunder before the owners returned. I hoisted the
British flag over the mission premises. In half an hour we
heard the bugle sound, and there was commotion among the
ironclads. A tremendous cheer rent the air, for the French
sailors were glad the war was over. One ship steamed slowly
up followed by another and another, until eight were m line
oui at sea. One remained to pick up stragglers. I boarded
her the following day, and the commander assured me that
he was disgusted with the whole affair, as was also the admiral
himself.

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FROM F^R FORMOSA

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On sliore T found not a vestige of tlic Kdung chapel
H)isli. I lie teninles li.nd l^,.,.n ,,i i....,..i .,. .

save

leniples had been i)lun(lcrcd, the carved work
lus overthrown, rnnfv: tMvn fv.>.,, 1 ._ . _ ,

de-faced, build.uys overinrown, roois t(,rn troni Houses, and poor
Ivclung was lying silent and deserted. The Chinese were on
the lulls, waiting the departure of the French, when they would
return to their desolated homes in the town

When the French left, the heathen were jubilant. They

liought Christianity was blotted out because the chapels had

been destroyed. Everywhere the shout of derision was made

vT^ ''IT ""'"'■ " ^'«"S-^^^^"S bo-khi!" the meaning c.f
which IS, 1 he mission is wiped out." We were not discour-
aged, however, and I prepared a statement of our losses in the
destruction of mission property by looters, and submitted it
to Liu Mmg Chuan, the commander-in-chief of the Chinese
forces. AV.thout delay or argument, and without reference to
I eking, he paid as indemnity the sum of ten thousand Mexican
cioiiai s.

When I receive,! ,l,e indcnni.y ,„o,Ky and pla.nK.l ,l,c re-
bu,lcl mg of the chapels I had to dcci.Ie whether to erect t,ve„ty.
(om fragtle strttcture, or ovclve ntedit.m ones or si. substan-
tlal, commodtofs buildings. J.eci.Iing on the last, I <lrew
plans and „,ade .nodels. Standing on the site of the ruins at
Sm.ttam, we hfted a song of praise to God. ;vi,I, „„ ,,„,,,,

Tzv'^'p'tT '7";'T'''''-'.""" ""-- l-ki"gon thonght'us
crazy, hut out of llie rums another buiWing would rise anil
so we sang with glad and l.opeful hearts. I c'mploy d ; o
go .no the netghhoring l,i„ and quarry sandstot^e ; and others
wtth thetr boats to bring poles, boards, and lime for b.nldin^
N tther the worlcnten nor the overseers ever saw a building HL^e
th one we„ow p anned to erect. I tnade sotne of the nfo.lels
out o tunnps, others out of brick an.l n,ortar, and still other,

-at S,n-t a,n, Bang-kah, and Sek-khau-and in twelve weeks
we fintshed three splendid edifices. How i.nposing they looked!

.-j^"'""'^i"iM*rTiinii

THE COMING 01' THE h'RllNCH

201

with their seventy or cij.;bty feet of tower and spire of solid
masonry! And how our spirits revived as we saw them rise
ill their splendid beauty on the site of our ruined cluurhes!

Ikit why use money hi huildinjj; spires? Was it for orna-
mental or for useful purposes? For both ornament and use,
especially as a standing (lisi)n)of of the Chinese sni>erslition
about feng-shuy, by which in a general way people mean
" -rood luck," anil which has reference to a thousand things.
They suppose, for instance, that there is a sort of ecpiilib-
rium, or indefmable something, in earth or air, which nuist not
be recklessly interfered with. It is only necessary to con-
tinue the wall of a new chapel a few inches above the surround-
ing buildings to arouse neighbors into fury and consternation,
for that would interfere with feng-shuy. Thousands of dis-
turbances have l)cen caused by foreigners carrying on their
own work in their own way, but unwittingly running counter
to this Chinese notion. Knowing that the governor was pro-
-rossive in his ideas, diat he was friendly to myself and the mis-
■on, and that he had no great affection for the Bang-kah peo-
le, who through all the French troubles had maligned and
abused him, I thought it opportune, now that new churches
were being built, to erect spires upon the chapels at llang-kah,
Sin-tiam, and Sek-khau, to show the heathen that their notion
of good luck was vain superstition. AVe continued the tower
above the gable of the roof seven feet, and then higher and
h.igher. The people would stand and gaze for hours in won-
der and amazement. But they made no disturbance, save that
they (luan-eled among themselves. The point in dispute was
whether it was the scaffold or the newly erected spire that was
swaying in the wind, and once the contention almost ended in
a hand-to-hand fight. We finished the spires. On the front
of each, in stucco plaster, I put the burning bush, with the his-
toric motto, " Nee tamen consumebatur," in Chinese characters.
The cry about the mission being wiped out now ceased to

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202

I'KOM r.lK rORMOS !

be heard, and the people called tiiemselves fools for tearing
down the old chapels. " J.ook now," ihcy said, "the chapel
towers above our temple. It is larger than the one we de-
stroyed. If we touch this one he will build another and a
bigger one. \\'e cannot stoj) the barbarian missionary."

While the work of rebuikling chapels went on, other depart-
ments were not neglected. Medicines were dispensed, the
students were taught, the various liehls were visited, and every
night the gospel was preached.

New churches were erected in i)lace of those destroyed.
Repairs were made wherever needed. And that was not all.
Not only had we our forty chapels, as before the coming of
the French, but five new stations were oi)ened, and at each a
chapel was erected. Month by month and year by year the
work prospered. Point after point was occupied. Chn!)el
after clunpel was built. The forty became fift\', and the fifty
increased to sixty. That was iiow the mission was wii)t'd
out! The fire of God was indeed in the bush, but over it all
was inscribed " Nee tamen consumebatur."

)

THE CONQUERED ABORIGINES

203

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CHATTKR XXI

PE-rO-HOAN CHAUACTEKISTICS

SuluUiing the savages— Cliincsc and ro-po-lioan— Original houses—
Trankncss of Te-po-hoan— Pe-po-hoan cruelty— Nature-worslup-
Dislike of idolatry

AS has already been indicated, the Chinese in Formosa have
X V been gradually overcoming the various aboriginal tribes
and subduing them to their own modes of life and worship.
We have, therefore, on the island aborigines in all stages of
civilization. In the mountains are the wild, unconquered sav-
ages, who scorn the intruder's claim, and never lose an oppor-
tunity to wreak vengeance on some ill-fated Chinese head.
These the Chinese call Chhi-hoan ("raw barbarians"). lUit
the power and patience of the superior race are too much for
the unskilled and shifdess savage, and tribe after tribe is being
brought under subjection. We come now to speak of these
conquered aborigines, and of life and work among them. The
most important are the Pe-po-hoan, with whom are allied the
few settlements of Sek-hoan. The Lam-si-hoan, farther souUi,
are not far removed from savage, and have only recently sub-
mitted to Chinese authority.

The Pe-po-hoan are found in many parts of the island ; but
their home in North Formosa is in the Kap-tsu-lan plain, a
rich, low-lying tract on the east coast, between the mountains
and' the sea. This plain is of recent geological date, and was
formed by the fiUing up of a large bay by sand and debris

205

206

FROM F^R FORMOSA

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waslied down by mountain streams. The soil is admirably
adapted for rice-culture, which is, indeed, carried on very ex-
tensively by the iniiabitants. The atmospliere, liowcver, is
very damp ; heavy vapors driven in from the sea, and floating
clouds tapped by the mountain-peaks, not only make traveling
uncomfortable and at times well-nigh impossible, but make life
itself, to both native and foreigner, a burden too heavy to be
borne. The dread malaria works havoc in every home. Prior
to their subjugation by the Chinese the Pe-po-hoan lived in
houses very different in style and very much superior to those
they now inhabit. Their raised floors were much more con-
ducive to health than the damp mud-floors of the Chinese
dwellings now to be seen everywhere in the plain. In this re-
.spect, at least, the change has been for the worse. 'Hie Pe-po-
hoan is by nature simple, easily imposed upon, thriftless, and
improvident. He has still a streak of the savage, and in those
qualities that go to insure success he is distinctly inferior to his
Chinese conqueror. There were at one time thirty-six thriving
villages in the Kap-tsu-lan plain. The Chinese settlers came
in, enterprising, aggressive, and not overscrupulous, and little
by little the weaker went to the wall. The Pe-po-hoan were
crowded out of the cultivated land, many of their villages were
scattered, and they had to begin life anew in the waste jungle.
And very often, when they had succeeded in reclaiming land
to grow rice and vegetables enough to supply their meager
wants, the greedy Chinese would again appear, and, either by
winning their confidence or by engaging them in dispute,
would gain a foothold and in the end rob them of their lands.
Peing unable to read and being ignorant of law, they are
almost entirely at the mercy of their enemies. It sometimes
makes one's blood boil to see the initjuities practised upon
these simple-minded creatures by Chinese oflkials, speculators,
and traders.

When foreigners first come in contact with the Pe-po-hoan

—'^mSmt

BifiiTniini- inmiHii'inirnrfrfiiri I

PE-PO-HO^N CHARACTERISTICS

207

they are delighted with their frankness of manner and warnUh
of emotion, and forthwith express the opinion that this race is
superior to the Chinese. I never shared that view. The
U)nger my experience among them the pkiiner appears to me
tlie inferiority of the Malayan. For downright cruelty and
cut-throat baseness the Pe-po-hoan far outdistance the Chinese,
and with all their easy good nature they manifest the revenge-
ful spirit of the race to which they belong. One example will
illustrate Pe-po-hoan cruelty. A girl was engaged to be mar-
ried to a young man. One night, when the whole village was
staggering in a drunken carousal, the girl was lost. Her dead
body was found by a search-party, stripped of its clothes.
Suspicion fell on her lover. He tried to escape, but was seized
and placed in the stocks, a rude construction of logs extem-
porized for the occasion, capable of inflicting great agony.
His hands were stretched out above his head and tied. In a
few days he was removed to the sand-bank beside the sea.
The father and mother of the maiden took an old knife,
slashed his limbs, and cut portions of his body and put them
into his mouth. He was left there on the burning sand with
the blood oozing from his wounds and drying in the heat of
the sun. His thirst became intolerable, and he cried piteously
for some one to end his misery. But no ; his sister was not
allowed to go to him with one small " bamboo " of water to
quench his thirst. There he perished, and his body was left
to the ravenous dogs of the plain. Such is Pe-po-hoan venge-
ance.

Originally the Pe-po-hoan were nature-worshipers, like the
savages in the mountains. They had no temple, idol, or
priest. They had no idea of a personal God, but believed in
the existence of innumerable spirits, whose favor and help it
was to their interest to propitiate. They reverenced the spirits
of their ancestors, who had gone away, as the American Indian
would say, to the " happy hunting-ground." They had all the

MUA

2oS

J ROM i-AK rORMOS.-1

superstitions of the savage, and indulged in such feasts and
orgies as still constitute the reHgi<nis rites of the untamed
mountain tribes.

But all this was changed when they bowed their necks to
the yoke of civilization. Their con(|uerors forced upon them
not only the cue and their style of dress, but also the whole
paraphernalia of Chinese idolatry. Whenever a tribe submits,
the first thing is to shave the head in token of allegiance, and
then temples, idols, and tablets are introduced. At the pres-
ent time the religion of the Pe-po-hoan is the potpourri of
Confucian morality. Buddhistic idolatry, and Taiu'stic demon-
olatry, to which they have added relics of dieir own nature-
worship and superstition. Some of the younger devotees are
the most bigoted idolaters in China, but very many of the
people hate the new order of things. Idolatry does not suit
the average Pe-po-hoan, and it is only of necessity that he sub-
mits to even the formal observance of its rites and ceremonies.
It is political rather than religious, and to the large majority
is meaningless, except as a reminder of their enslavement to
an alien race.

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CHAPTER XXII

RICE-FARMING IN FORMOSA

Tlie honored farmer— A Formosa farm— Irrigation— The water-buffalo
— Rice-cuhure — Tlie farmer's lot

I^ORMOSA is essentially an agricultural country, and the
farming class is both important and honorable. In all
parts of China the place of honor is given to the literary man ;
but the farmer makes a good second, and is much more highly
esteemed than either the mechanic or the merchant. The em-
peror pays honor to husbandry once a year by holding the plow.
In Formosa the agricultural class is the mainstay of the coun-
try. They are, on the whole, hard-working, honest, and free
from many of the vices that characterize city life. As the
Kap-tsu-lan plain is one of the richest parts of the island, and
as rice is the great staple of the land, special reference may
now be made to this department of industry. A plain and
brief account of rice-farming should find interested readers
among other classc than those who themselves till the soil.

When we spen of a farm in Formosa one must not ima-
gine broad fields inclosed in high fences, and each farmer the
proud possessor of one hundred or one thousand acres. 11ie
entire farm of a family in Formosa would make but a garden
for an agriculturist in America. The owner of eight or ten
acres is looked upon as in easy circumstances. The farms are
all small and are entirely without fences. A rice-farm is

209

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V I

rR0A4 F/}R FORMOSA

divided into little irregular plots for the purposes of irrigation.
These plots are made by throwing up around each low mounds
of earth, by which means the water is retained at the required
dejjth.

Rice is grown in fields flooded with water, and the farmer
exhibits great ingenuity in the various modes of conveying the
water to where it is required. I'he most efticient is by a great
watercourse constructed along the circuitous bank of the river
near Sin-tiam, by which the whole of the Bang-kah plain is
tlioroLighly irrigated by watt, taken from within the moun-
tains. In the construction of this watercourse a tuimel eight
feet l)y Ax was made through an extensive rock ; an aqueduct
fifty feet high carries the water over another river, and when
it reaches the Bang-kah plain it is divided into ini umerable
drains and conveyed to all the farms. A clumsy contrivance
like a treadmill is sometimes used for slight elevations ; a wind-
lass fixed in a box-trough, the lower end of which is in the
stream, is operated by two men, and works an endless chain
of carriers conveying the water up the trough and depositing
It ni a drain on the bank. Another method of irrigation is
comparatively simple. On the uplands a circular reservoir is
excavated and is supplied by the heavy rains. These reser-
voirs are exceedingly useful, nc only for the purposes of irri-
gation, but also as bathing-places for the water-buffalo. J!y
these methods every foot of rice-lands is adequately supplied
with water.

For dry plowing the ox is used, but in rice-cultivation the
water-buffalo is indispensable. He is, indeed, by far the most
valuable animal to the farmer, and so highly prized diat proc-
lamations are often issued forbidding the people to slay him
for food. He is more uncouth than the ox, and on account
of his mtractability of temper would seem to have been only
recently domesticated. Large pools of water are absolutely
necessary for this creature to wallow or bathe in ; hence the

RlCE-FARMlNG IN FORMOSA

21 1

name water-buffalo. As soon as released from the plow lie
will plunge into the pond and remain there a considerable
time, with only part of his head, his nostrils, and his iiorns above
water. The implements required by the farmer are few and
simple, and are no improvement on those used centuries ago.
A broad hoe, a wooden plow with an iron share, a heavy
wooden harrow or " drag," and a harvest-sickle are all that he
recjuires.

The rice grown in Formosa must be distinguished from the
rice {Zizania aquatica) found growing wild in Rice I.ake, On-
tario, and other parts of America. It is a distinct \ariety
{Oryza sativa) and of superior quality. A mountain-rice is
grown on the dry uplands, and does not require irrigation, but
it is quite inferior.

Rice is not sown broadcast in the open field, like wheat and
other cereals, but requires to be transplanted. The seeds are
first steeped in water and spread out in large baskets under
cover tih they have begun to sprout. They are then sown
thickly in a small bed, which is protected from winds and birds
and watered with a liquid fertilizer. At the expiration of three
months the crop io about six inches high and is ready for
transplanting.

Meanwhile the large rice-field has been plowed, harrowed,
and prepared for the plants. The field slopes down to one
side, and the plots already referred to are submerged in about
three inches of water. The water from the reservoir or aque-
duct is first run into the plot farthest up the slope, from which
it is let into the others, one by one, by opening a place in the
dividing mounds or dikes. The entire field must be kept under
water from before the transplanting until the grain is ready to
harvest.

Transplanting rice is a very ardtious and wearisome task.
The farmer digs up the plants from the bed in spadefuls, leav-
ing a liberal supply o.f mould about the roots. With a large

FROM F/IR fORMOS^l

flat ba,.ket of these seedling jilaiits he rrccs into thr miry ficUl,
where the mud and water reach Iiis ,: )• • The basket floats
on the water. Carrying a supply o; ,.- plants in his left
liand, the farmer wades backward from end to end of the
row, and breaking off tufts, he sinks them in the soft mud be-
neath the water at intervals of about eighteen inches. 'I'he
rows are about two feet apart. Then a fortnight later he goes
over the whole field again on his bare knees, removing the
duckweed and other obnoxious growths. This is perhaps the
most distasteful part of the farmer's work, and is a fruitful
source of rheumatism. Before the grain is ripe he may pos-
sibly go through once more, bending the bunches down to
protect them from sweeping winds.

Three months after the transplanting comes the harvest.
This is a busy season with the husbandman. The water is
drained off ; the rice is cut rapidly by a reaper with the sickle
or bill-hook, and made into bunches large enough to be held
conveniently between the hands. The reaper is followed im-
mediately by a thresher, who draws after him a portable tub.
This tub has poles set up around almost the entire mouth, to
which is fastened a canvas screen to prevent the rice-grains
from flying away. At the open space the thresher stands, and
taking a bunch of rice, he gives it two .smart strokes on a lad-
der-like framework placed within the tub after the fashion of
a wash-board. The straw is then bound into sheaves, and
when dry is stacked away to be used as fodder for the water-
buffalo. The grain is carried home in large ba.skets and placed
on a winnowing-floor in front of the house. There it is cared
for, heaped up, and covered every night with rice-straw, and
spread out in the morning with wooden hoes. It is then win-
nowed in a fanning-mill similar to that used l)y Western farm-
ers, and is stowed away in granaries. The next process is the
hulling, which is done in a hand-mill constructed on the prin-

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RlCE-FARMlNG IN FORMOSA

213

ciple of the millstone. This removes the chaff. The bran-
like shell is removed by pounding the grain in a mortar. The
rice is then ready for the pot.

The sheaves are no sooner removed from the field than the
plowman is once more in the mud and water, a second crop,
which is now ready for transplanting, is inimediately " set," and
the second liarvest is reaped in September or October. After
the second crop is removed, some plant s\s eet potatoes, others
mustard or rape for fertilizing. Three crops can thus be se-
cured in the course of a year.

As two crops, and sometimes three, are reaped every year,
the farmer is kept busy from spring to autumn. During seed-
time and harvest his wife rises at three o'clock in the morning,
cooks rice and salted vegetables, prepares hot water for the
men to wash with, and about four calls them up to breakfast.
The men are in the field about fi\-e o'clock and work till ten,
when a lunch of boiled rice and some salted vegetable is car-
ried out to them. At noon they return home for dinner, and
rest for an hour and a half. In the afternoon the same kind
of lunch is taken to the field. At seven o'clock they retu.n,
wash their breasts and limbs, and sit down to a better meal,
generally conbisting of a tiny cup of hot liquor, pork, and fresh
vegetables boiled with rice. At nine they retire.

The farmer's lot in North Formosa is not altogether an
unhappy one. He works hard and is generally thrifty and
economical. His wants are few and easily supplied. There
is monotony, perhaps, but then he knows nothing of the
" nameless longing " that fills the breasts of much-read farmers
in the restless West. He has no high ideals, and if he suc-
ceeds in providing himself and his family with rice and vege-
tables he docs not object to the drudgery of his lot. I'he
]\'-po-hoan farmer in the Kap-tsu-lan plain would be tolerably
comfortable were it not for the oppression of the Chinese

!l!!i

Il!;»

214

I'KOM /•>/« lOKMOSA

Ian<Iovncr, and yamen men, who often rob hi,„ „f hi, |,a,,|.
caraec,-,,.,/, „„., evi., him from his h„Kh Under >he h
"ese regime nil .his is hkely to be ehange.I, anc th vd ,':

h.!'

Ills hanl-
he Ja])a-
c various
mder the

CHAPTER XXIII

MISSION WORK AMONG THE PE-rO-HOAN

l'.fginnings— Traveling— Ni^lit in a ricc-ficld—" Discouraging"— The
first chapol— Results — " No room for barbarians " — Night in an ox-
stable— An old feud— Savage craft— A surgical operation— At Sin-
sia— Service at I'ak-tau— Dr. Warburg

HAVING gained a foothold for the gospel and established
chin-ches among the Chinese in the north and west, our
attention began to be directed toward the civilized aborigines
in the Kap-tsu-lan plain on the east. 1 had already learned
something of the Pe-po-hoan character, and was prepared to
find them more emotional, approachable, and responsive than
the Chinese, although, perhaps, less solid and stable. The
obstacles to the gospel among them were not different from
those meeting us everywhere. They were all heathen, blinded
by superstition, degraded by idolatry, and with few and weak
aspirations after higher things. Many of them are poor, and
are kept in poverty partly by their own indolence, partly by
untoward circumstances, and mainly by Chinese exactions and
oppression. They are warm-hearted, and, notwithstanding
many weaknesses and failures, work among them has been full
of inspiration and encouragement.

Setting out from Tamsui with a party of students, we made
our way over the mountain-ranges south of Kelung and entered
the Kap-tsu-lan plain. As this plain is but a few feet above
the sea-level, and as the rainfall is very much greater than in

215

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f-ROM /v/A' rORMOS^l

i .1

otlicr parts of the island, traveling is always attended with
(hscomfort and difficulty. IJy keeping near the sea .n.e ra.i
find a rather dry path, hut inland, during the rainy days, one
has to wade throuL;h sticky nuid, sometimes a f(.(,t an.l a half
in depth. The paths through the rice-fields are narrow and
wnuhng, and when the fields are irrigated are at times com-
pletely submerged. Traveling near the base of the mountain
we passed by the mouth of a ravine, and there we heard yells
and screams. Immediately a Chinese came up, breathless, an.l
reported that four of his companions had just been speared
and beheaded by the savages, and that he escaped by do.Ig-
ing. On entering again on the steep brow of a hill overlook-
ing the sea, I was in advance, and was just past the mouth of
the gorge when three savages with spears rushed out and at-
tacked several elders who were a little wav in the rear. The
elders, with great presence of nn'nd, threw 'themselves into the
water and got out of reach of the deadly thrust.

Once, overtaken by night, we got astray and went miles out
of our way. The night was dark, and we were wet, hungry,
an( absolutely without our bearings. A\'e staggered round
and roimd the plats of a ri<e-field, stumbling into the mud
and water, until we stood still and thou^iht awhile. Jt was a
moment for serious thotight. \\\ were lost and in a stran-e
territory. No light could be seen near or far. Uut we ix-
membered that we were on our Master's business. My stu-
dents uttered no word of complaint; indeed, they were posi-
tive y cheerful. AVe thought of God in front, God in the rear,
God on the right, God on the left, God within, God abo^•e,
and underneath the everlasting arms. So we plodded along,
tu.nbhng nno mud-pools, scrambling out, and pushing on
agam Ihe first object with which we c-an,e \n contact I
knew by touch to be a rice-stack, and we i^assed the night
under its bulging sides.

The next night was spent in a grass-covered hut. Its sides

MLSSION WORK AMONii lllli I'L-PO-UOAN 217

'tided with
■a 011c can

days, one
and a lialf
i'lrrow and
inics ((un-
nunmiain,
ifard yt!!;i
tlilcss, and
n .sj)t'ar(.'d

by dodg-
(nx'rlook-
montli of
It and at-
■ar. 'I'lic
s into the

miles out
, lunij;ry,
-'d round
the nuid
It was a
I strange
It we re-
My stu-
L'lX' j)()si-
tlie rear,
I ab()\-e,
d along,
hing on
intact I
le night

[l6 sides

wore of reeds, but tlie mud had been washed from the inter-
htiecs and now the rain was driven in on the blaek Hour,
doing right to one of the villages of about three hundred in-
habiiaiu>, we were received with disdain. The men grunted,
aiid cailiiig out "P.arbarian!" and " Foreign devill" walked
away. Women ami childien ran into their In.uses, and then
urged wolfish-looking dogs upon us. We stood listening to
the yelping of these hungry creatures, and were obliged to
leave, for not a soul in the village would hear our words. We
visited another village and received similar treatment. This
experience was repeated in a tliird village. Up and down
through that plain we labored, tour after tour, and still no one
came^orward to accei-t our message of salvation. "How
discouraging! " 1 iu-ar some one say. Who calls such e.\i)eri.
cnces discouraging ? 1 do not. I never did. Our business
is to do our duty, and to do it independently of what men call
encouragement and discouragement. 1 never saw anything
to discourage in twenty-three long years in North Formosa.

At length three men from a lishing-village by the sea came
and said : " You have been going through and through our plain,
and no one has received you. Come to our village and we will
listen to you." One was a very old man who was fittingly nick-
named " Black-face." A second was middle-aged and had once
been an actor on the stage. The third was a young man. On
arriving at their village we sat on large stones in front of the
head man's house. We talked over matters with some of the
influential men, and partook of rice and fish. When evening
came on a tent was constructed out of poles and sails from
their boats on the beach. Several stones were placed at one
end and a plank laid upon them for a platform. At dark a
man took a marine shell with the end broken off, such as they
used in days gone by when setting out on the war-path, and
with this "trumpet" he summoned an assembly. Families
brought benches out of their huts and arranged them in rows.

2l8

FROM FAR FORMOSA

II ' ■(

.ii;.;^

, !

I! i ' I

1 ''

i i 1

i
• ;

Hiese preparations completed, they invited us to proceed with
our service. We sang, preached, conversed, (h'scussed, an-
swered questions, till the small hours of the morning. 'J'he
following day the inhabitants decided to have a house in which
to worship the true God. They sailed down the coast into
savage country for poles, and although they were attacked
and wounded, returned with their load. Bricks were matle
out of mud mixed with rice-chaff, moulded into shape, and
dried in the sun. We erected the walls, covered the roof with
grass, and built a platform of mud. 'i'hen every evening at
the blowing of the " conch," the whole village turned T)ut.
'I'hey continued to carry their old benches till we procure^l
new ones, and there they sat to be taught the everlasting gos-
pel of our Redeemer. In several weeks— not months— boys
and girls learned many of our psalms and hvmns, while the
elder people acquired more or less Christian knowledge.

After laboring there day and night for six or eight weeks I
came to be much impressed by three different classes who at-
tended our services. There were poor old toothless women,
who had wrought hard in the constant struggle for existence
squatted on the bare earth, weaving, and as they threw the
thread they crooned in a low voice :

" There is a liappy land
Far, far away."

That land was very real to them-jnst as real as to their sisters
m Christendom-and they came to look wistfully for the sign
that would call them, not to the grass-thatched chapel out in the
narrow street, but away to the temple not made with hands in
the land where the weary rest. Then there Vvcre the boys, w'nh
then- bright young faces, into whose lives our songs brought
something of hope ; and all day long they sang in their own
tongue our children's hymn :

" Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so."

«3

ceed with

isscd, an-
ng. 'i'he
' in wliich
oast into
attacked

-TC llKUle

ape, and
roof with
ening, at
ned out.
procured
ting gos-
is — boys
/hile the
5e.

weeks I
wlio at-
women,
'iistence,
rew the

r sisters
ihe sign
It in the
mds, in
ys, with
wrought
2ir own

MISSION IVORK AMONG THE PE-PO-HOAN 219

And not the least attractive were the hardy, bold, brave fisher-
men going out in the mornings through the surf, standing—
not sitting— in their boats, and as they pushed their long oars,
kept time to the stroke, singing the old Scotch paraphrase :

" I'm not ashamed to own my Lord,
Or to defend his cause."

It was grand. Standing away yonder on the sandy beach
looking at them and listening to their voices, I wished that it
were possible for the critics of foreign mission work to drop
d(^wn and, just for once, see for themselves that die gospel of
Christ is still " the power of God unto salvation to every one
that believeth ; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

Despite many weaknesses and imperfections in diese poor
aborigines, quite a number of that first village remained con-
stant to the end, and have gone home to God. The village
became nominally Christian. My apartment during those
weeks was a low, musty room, where I slept on a box at night.
To that place the cast-of? machinery of idolatry was brought,
and more than once I dried my clothes before fires made of
idolatrous paper, idols, and ancestral tablets. Three men were
employed to carry other paraphernalia of idol-worship to the

museum in I'amsui. _ _

A deputation from another village came to make inquiries.
I detained them, that they might be present a^ an evening
service. Thev heard fully two hundred voices ring out the
praises of Almighty God, and they were so charmed that they
at once invited us to visit their village. I do not know what
others would have done, but I formed a procession, headmg
it with A Hoa at my side, and arranging the converts m
double column behind. We marched slowly along the circu-
itous path, singing as we went. At the end of our short jour-
ney we drew up into a compact body, and another stirnng
song of praise rose from our lips. With God's message sung

220

FROM FAR FORMOSA

"( '.I

: I.

■j 'i, !

r I

:; •: I ' J

;!i

^1^

i i

and preached we captured that village, and the people decided
to have a place of worship. Willing hands soon completed a
building, and a native preacher was left in charge of the work,
as another had heen in the first village. We thus had fivJ
hundred who had thrown away their idols and were nominally
Christian ; and when they all assembled in the open air to sing
the songs of Zion I forgot the dark night in the rice-field, the
cruelty of our first reception, and the many weary hours at
night, among old baskets, roj.cs, and nets in a damp room, a
stranger and alone. Oh, it was soul-inspiring, refreshing, glori-
ous! We visited other villages and preached the gospel year
after year to those dark-skinned aborigines. A third chapel
was erected, a fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, yes, even a
nmeteenth chapel in that Kap-tsu-lan plain, and over each a
native preacher was placed.

'I'he most southerly village in the plain is Lam-hong-o
C' South-wind Idarbor "), on the south side of So Lay. It was
visited on a previous occasion, but we were scorned and our
message rejected. We resolved to revisit it. It was nearly
dark when we climbed the steep mountain near the sea, and
had yet to descend on the other side. Holding on to the
rocks with our hands, we slid down in safety and then followed
a long bend inward. When we reached the village the rain
was desce.iding m torrents. Approaching a house, I asked if
we could remain o^•ernight. " No room for barbarians," was
the curt reply. We went to a second house and received a
sunilar rebuff. The door of the third was slammed in my face
It was hopeless. The night was so dr.rk and the Pacifi,^ Oc-evi
so tempestuous that we could not go east ; mountains stood
to the south ; on the north was the harbor, and on the west
savage territory. We thought of one Chinese family in the
corner back of the village, and hoped for better things than
from the Pc-po-hoan. We set out, making our way now over
seaweed, now thumi)ing against a boat, and now caught by

^1*

e decided
iiplcted a
the work,
IkkI five
loniinally
ir to siu'^
field, the
hours at
I room, a
ng, glori-
■ipel year
d chapel
■i, even a
r each a

i-hong-o
It was
and our
s nearly
sea, and
1 to the
ollowed
the rain
asked if
IS," was
eived a
ny face.
; Ocean
s stood
lie west
■ in the
5S than
)w over
iglit by

MISSION IVORK AMONG THH FE-PO-HOAN 2ri

the prickly screw-pine. When we reached the door I called
out, "Can we get any accommodation here for the night?"
A white-haired man slowly opened the door and drawled out,
"No room here for barbarians," and slowly closed the door.
We stood there in the dark and rain, not knowing what to do.
Then the door opened again and the old head reappeared.
Avian's better nature triumphed, and it was with gratitude we
heard the Chinese drawl once more : " It is ^•ery stormy. You
can go into the ox-stable if you like." I see it still, there on
the left, with its bars across like an old-fashioned farm gate.
\\'e crawled through. The old man held a light until we could
see the one empty stall, and then all was dark. We secured
rice-straw and prepared to spend the night with die water-
buffaloes. In about half an hour a dim light appeared at the
door, and there stood the Chinese with a bowl of warm rice
for each on a tray. And what was strangest of all was his
refusal to accept cas/i for either the lodgings or the rice. We
had with us Ko Chin, an elder, who, though born in Formosa,
liad never spent a night in an ox-stable before. He told me
afterward that the thought that I was so far from my native
land, and in such a place, exercised him greatly. It made
that night memorable in his life, for, though he was a good
Christian before, he was more determined, more devoted, more
self-sacrificing ever after.

On the morning after the night in the ox-stable we went up
the mountain to the site of a Pe-po-hoan village called Kau-
kau-a. There oranges now grow, and peaches, pumelos, per-
simmons, plums, and bread-fruit, It is almost within savage
territory, and the savages had been friendly until some of the
villagers gave them dog's flesh for venison. When the truth
came to be known the savages swore vengeance and began
hostilities. The Kau-kau-a people had to leave the place. They
moved three miles north to So Bay. There many died of
malarial and other forms of fever. Those who survived chose

222

FROM FAR FORMOSA

filiH

another site and founded the village of Lam-hong-o. There
are now eleven families descended from the Kau-kau-a vil-
lagers. Fifty years have elapsed since the feud began, but
no reconciliation has ever been effected, and the savages are
still their sworn enemies.

A chapel was in due time erected at Lam-hong-o, and,
despite my protestation, was named " iMacKay Church," in
memory of my father. xMany evenings, when 1 was address-
ing them, bitter, burning tears rolled down their checks as they
thought of the cold-hearted manner in which they received us
at first. The chapel came to be a place of safety as well as
of worship. Many nights the women and children, for fear (jf
the savages, slept on the tiled door, while their husbands and
fathers were out on the sea in their fishing-smacks, 'i^ie
savages were very artful and daring. Sometimes they would
make marks in the sand in imitation of turtle tracks, so that
when any villager went huiuing the turtles they would spring
from their ambush and run him through with their long lances.
Cue evening, on going toward the gate, I heard in the hedge
a whistling noise. Hastily .stepping back, I learned that a
dozen savages were outside ; but my sudden movement made
them think they were discovered, and so they decamped.

In 1884, at one village near the sea where we had a teacher,
but as yet no chapel, the people had to guard their families
nightly with loaded guns. On the occasion of one of our vis-
its the savages were out on a head-hunting expedition, and
the converts, men, women, and children, sat up till daybreak,
and at intervals luade the hills ring with our sweet hymns, sung
to their wild mountain airs. The savages prowled around and
occasionally threw stones and other missiles. A\'hile there I
cut out of a man's thigh an iron arrow-head that had been
shot from the bow of a savage. It was embedded nearly five
inches in the flesh, and as it had been there for four months it
was an ugly sight. The poor fellow sat tlay after day watch-

MISSION IVORK /IMONG 'I I ill l'l--rO~lh).IN

). There
vau-a vil-
egan, but
vages are

g-o, and,
lurch," in
; address-
>cs as thcv
ccived us
IS well as
or fear of
auds and
ks. 'i'he
ey would
V so tliat
Id spring
ig lances,
he hedge
■d that a
LMit made
ped.

L teacher,
■ fann'lies
f our vis-
tion, and
lavbreak,
nns, sung
)untl and
s there 1
lad been
?arly five
nonths it
y watch-

ing it slowly corrupting, and suHcring increasing pain. 1 had
surgical instruments with me, and, after two hours, sut:ceedcil
in performing the operation. \\'hen the a'Tow-head was re-
moved and laid on the man's liantl his gratitude knew no
bounds. He was at that time a heathen, but he listened to
the message of a Saviour who " healeth all our diseases, antl
bintleth up our wounds," and it was delightful in after-years
to hear him tell the heathen around how he was led to forsake
idolatry and worship the living and true God.

Sin-sia is a Pe-po-hoan village with cpu'te a percentage of
Chinese. On the bank of a clear mountain stream stands our
chapel, called " Burns's Church." Beautiful is the situation,
and the structure is worthy of the site. It is built of stone,
plastered, and well lighted with glass windows. 1 drew the
plans, but the construction was superintended by a native
preacher. Tan He. It is extremely difilicult to get a building
erected in Formosa for the sum specified in the contract ; but
so shrewdly did Tan He do his work that there were no ex-
tras. The splendid donation from Mrs. MacKay, of Detroit,
sufiliccd to complete the building in memory of one of the
world's greatest evangelists and missionaries. The preacher
is Pe-po-hoan, and both aborigines and Chinese meet for the
worship of the God of all the earth.

Nearly south of Tai-tun ^Mountain, and nestling at its base,
is Pak-tau, a Pe-po-hoan village, with upward of a hundred
aborigines in the homesteads around. It is two hours' brisk
walk from Tamsui, three from Bang-kah, and four from Sek-
khau. We secured a place of v/orship there in 1891. Sulphur-
springs hiss and roar in the vicinity, and a warm medicinal
stream runs within five minutes' walk from our chapel. I had
in view the establishing of a chiuxh there fully fifteen years
ago, for we knew something of the value of the springs.
Scabies can be completely cured by bathing in these waters;
and tinea, in various forms, can be so far removed that other

iitfji;

i.,-^

224

/ROM l-.tR rORMOS.t

'•■ !
'■ {

% 'ill

f i r

^■p:;:-'

}

i''':.

'■ ■

li'l * ■ ! i

;" "!

medicines eradicate the fungi ur bacilli uith greater effi-
ciency.

In conducting a mission few things rc(|uire more attention
than the placing of the right man in the right place. Who,
then, should be sent to I'ak-tau? ^\'hy, an able, earnest Chi-
nese preacher whose wife was a I'e-po-hoan, whom we brought
up from childhood, and who received careful Christian instruc-
tion. Success attended the young preacher's mission work.
One Sabbath, my wife, three children, women from the Cirls'
School, and students from the college attended service at Pak-
tau. They found the building literally packed, and scores in
the branches of a tree where they could both see and hear.
It was a great day, and the speakers were carefully selected.
First came one who had been a Tauist priest, because many
of his old associates were jiresent ; then a l*e-po-hoan from the
east coast and another from one of our southern stations, be-
cause their relatives were among the hearers ; then four Pe-jx)-
hoan women whose homes were in Kap-tsu-lan rose and sang
"Jesus loves me," because their Malayan sisters were sitting
near by ; six Chinese iJible-women sang another liymn, because
Mongolians were listening. Such a variety made the services
both interesting and profitable. Each hearer got a sm'table
portion of the bread of life. I addressed them on Joshua
xxiv. 15: "Choose you this day whom ye will serve," ami
called on them to decide for or against the world's nn'ghty
Redeemer. A few weeks afterward ten young Pe-po-hoan
women who became interested in the way 0/ salvation went
out to Tamsui to see the Girls' .School, Oxford College, and
the museum. Agreeable and intelligent, they .showed a h'vely
interest in all that they saw. 'J'he work at Pak-tau goes on
prosperously.

Touring in the Kap-tsu-lan plain is full of interest, but one
trip is much like another. Variety is sometimes given by the
company of some European traveler or scientist. In 1888,

it!

siUmg

MISSION' irORK AMONG TI'F. ril-PC-! lO.V^ 225

Dr. Warburg, from TTamburg, Ccrninny, joined us ai Kduug
for a tour. He was a young naturalist colltTting siiL'timcns
for his college, ami he procured many plants and flowers, and
many relics and weapons belonging to the aborigines. lie
had an open eye for mission work, and was greatly interested
when more than three lumdred assembled for worship. As
we marched inward to newly reclaimed valleys, upward of
thirty tattooed savages from the mountains presented theni-
selves and were photographed. At one aboriginal village, near
a mountain-spur, fully five hundred of our converts met, and
we had a glorious gathering. When wc were parting the

doctor said :

" I have seen sixteen chapels, and people in them worship-
ing God. I have also seen native preachers standing on plat-
forms preaching the truths of Christianity. I never saw any-
thing like it before. If people in Hamburg saw what I have
seen they would contribute for foreign missions. If scientific
skeptics had traveled with a missionary as I have, and wU-
nessed what I have witnessed on this plain, they would assume
a different attitude toward the heralds of the cross."

ami

I ■ *

CHAPTER XXIV

A TRIP DOWN THE EAST COAST

'mi

i 1

i ;;'

Setting out— Eager for a cliapcl— Ordinances and sacraments— Afloat—
Ik-auties of the ocean— In siglit of savages— In Kidai— 'I he cook-
preadier— liurning the ichds — Five hundred— A i)erih)us pull— A
sample program— Edihcation— Glengarry Chapel— In a new plain-
Home again

/""XN August 27, 1890, at 8 a.m., T sot out fiom Tamsui, with
y J Tan He, Sun-a, and Koa Kau, on a trij) far down the
cast coast of Formosa. Tlie reason for never traveling with-
out several students or preacliers is tliat they may become
practically acciuainted with all departments of mission work,
efficient in service, and prepared for all emergencies. The
work is divided, and each has his allotted task. Our purpose
on this trip was to visit chapels in the Kap-tsu-lan plain, and
to go farther south to another plain, where a number of Pe-po-
hoan families have settled. 'J'hat south district is the Ki-lai
plain, and is the home of al)out four thousand semi-civilized
aborigines called Lam-si-hoan. Of life among that people we
will speak in another chapter. In this attention will be directed
to the Pe-po-hoan villages.

We took a steam-launch up the river to Piang-kah, railway-
train to Tsui-tng-kha, and walked the rest of the distance to
Kelung. Sun-a, who is a most dexterous tooth-extractor,
practised his profession on a mimber of patients ])y the way.
At Kelung a service was held. Next morning we passed
Ki-a-Hau, with Chhitn-o Moimtain rising twenty-eight hun-

226

ri'^;:i'^

14-

»^4

i!t«

11 1

'JS'^^ii-it

// 7/C//' DC)//•^/ 7 hi: l:\ISr L(h!Sl

227

(Irecl feet high, and extending its base, rough with recently
fallen boulders, to the water's edge. 'I'riveling was very dan-
gerous, owing to the loosened rucks overhead and the wet and
slippery stones beneath. Once 1 disturbed a mass by leai)ing
over a chasm, and it came tumbling down at my heels. To-
ward evening we turned a point and were in full view of Lam-
a-lin, a fishiug-village with thirty or forty families. Lim Kau
I'au, the head man and owner of the entire range of hills
around, came out to welcome us. There uas no chapel there,
l)ui we sang and preached. In the morning Mr. Lim took us
over his estate, and, pointing to one place here and another
there, he would say, " 'Hiat would be a nice site for a chapel."
It meant something for tliat Chinese landowner to make such
an offer, for he knew what a chapel meant. lie knew that
idols and tablets would be cast away. When we were leaving
the village he ordered out two boats to carry us down the
coast past a difficult and dangerous promontory. On return-
ing from this trip, as we neared his homestead, his servants
came out yelling, running, and beckoning to us, followed by
his son, who begged us to remain overnight. We could not
wait, but that evening the son and the servants followed us to
the Teng-siang-khoe chapel. Is there not an "open door" at
Lam-a-lin?

That day at Phi-thau the villagers pleaded for n chapel.
Before leaving, medicines were dispensed, teeth extracted, and
then the gospel was preached to a large crowd. Off again
through bamboo-groves, across " the point " to Na-tang. We
reached " lUirns's Church," Sin-sia, about dark, and spent an
hour singing, speaking, and examining inqiuVers. The next
day being die Sabbath, we held three evangelistic services, had a
Sabbath-school, and dispensed the Lord's Supper. Another
day's tramp brought us to Ta-ma-ien. a Pe-po-hoan village,
where thirty-nine communed, four infants were baptized, and
an elder and deacon were ordained.

!J»8

FROM FAR FORMOS.I

til inMnti

n^mjra^

fl!

^^^■S't

^^^^Km

1, ■■

A nver-bonl took us near Iloan-sia-ihau on Tuesday, Sep-
tember 2, ,8.jo, at lo A,^r. licatiriK of the .Iruin I.roiighi men
from their nets, women from their looms, and chllchen from
tlicn- play. At once we attended to the sulTering, exann'ned
mquM-ers, listened to recitations, ordained two ofHce-bcarers
addressed hearers, and administered the sacrament to forty-o,u'
'•omnuinicants. After .linner wo crossed a narrow strip ,.f
san.l to tile sea and entered a llshing-boat with eight rowers
Ilicy i.i.lled with great energy, and by sundown entered tl„.
month of a mountain stream, then rowed „„ the fresh water till
« V.M., when we landed at the I.au-lan-a ciiapel. Services soon
began, and at ilu- .-lose a young couple stoo.l up, attended I,v
t"<. others, and by the ceremony of diristian marriage wer'e
made husband and wife. This e^ent was unexpected, for the
bnde arrived only an liour before from another iV-po-hoan vil-
lage. At daybreak a f.shing-outtU was engaged. We put out
-n tlic face of a heavy sea and bri.sk gale. AVe were to.ssed
cU^out all day, and could not enter S<, Uay harbor till 4 i- m
Once there 110 time was lost in ad.lre.ssing our people at Lam-
long-o church, and in .securing a boat suitable for oiw trip
l>eyond. The only available one was about twelve feet loiv-
;^"'l <iu.le open. This little c-raft we manned with six Pe-p,;.
Ix'^n rowers, all Christians, and pushed away at 5 p.m., sing-
>»g a hymn, while preacher and converts stood on the shore
waving us God-speed.

Once round the point, away down the coast the rowers
pulled, huggmg the .shore. Night came on, but no one thou-dit
of sleep E.di selected a .spot in which to sit or crouch, ami
be out of the row^ers' way. I sat in the stern beside the hdms-
man-agood posilion for surveying the scene. It is grand
at any time, but that night it was sublime. Pong and^hi-h
ranges of forest-clad mountains stood like dark perpendicular
^vaIIs on the right. On the left lay a broad and boundless
expanse of water. Stars were twinkling brilliantly above-

' X

.ariB-.

cs(l;i\, Scp-
rotight incM
ililrcn from
, examined
ict'-bearcrs,
<) forty-one
>w slnji (if
ilU rowers,
■ntereil llic
li water till
■vices soon
tended I)y
riage were
-hI, for the
)-lu)an vil-
'e put out
ere tossed
till 4 I'.M.
.' at Lani-
" onr trip
feet lon^'
ix Pe-])o-
'.M., sing-
Lhe shore

c rowers
Mlionglit
iich, and
le iielnis-
is grand
nd high
■ndicular
onndlcss
above ;

./ 77vV/' DOirN THli ll.tST CO.tST

22Cf

Afniu.uc, Xt'irii/tr, and /njiisoritj, children of the ocean, were
bla/ing below. 1 have seen many wonderful sights in the
steamer's track in the 15ay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea,
but never before witnessed anything comparable to the phos-
phorescent glory of that night. Sitting low in the boat, on a
level with llu- surface, 1 scooind out handfuls of jellydike
globules, my fmgcrs like so many rods of red-hot iron, droj)-
ping balls of molten fire. Countless millions of Xocti/iii-.t
iniliiins rose to the surface with lightning speed, then darted
hiUier and thidier, like sparks from a blacksmith's anvil. Oars
scattered jets of light at very stroke, and our little craft seemed
gliding on a glittering sm-face and through flames of amber

and gohl.

*' Witliin tlie sliiidow of tlio sliip

I watclicd tlicir ricli attire —
Uliic, j^lossy ^rccn, ami velvet lilaek;
They eoiled ami sv.aiu, and every traek

Was a Hash uf golden fire."

Now and then westerly winds blew between long ranges
and filled our little sail. By dawn we were close to the shore,
where stretches a long level piece of ground. Savages were
at the beach, and their houses couUl be seen a short distance
up the mountain-side. Our boat was cptickly headed seaward.
I recognized the place at (jnce — the " spur," the creek, the
rocks. It was the spot where, on June 4, 1876, II. B. M.
man-of-war "Lapwing" dropped anclun- on the rough sea,
while her commander, chief officer, and myself got into one
of her lifeboats, manned by six "blue-jackets," without any
weapo!i of defense, and were rowed toward the shore. Sev-
eral hundred savages came down the spur of the mountain
and watched lis. Our boat tried hard to land, but the surf
was against us. We hailed, beckoned, and threw several shin-
ing silver dollars toward them. They were naked and vicious-
looking, but no one dreamed of danger— only to land and see

230

FROM FAR FORMOSA

.,: 1 '!■

'■■A

I- 1

1 1 ,

^!;i''

• -1;

them. The surf save<l us. Had we succeeded in landing; no
one would liave returned. Many an unsu.spe.ling explorer
iKis been murdered there I)y that tribe. God holds tlie winds
atid tlie waves in his hand, and was behhid tlie surf tliat day.
A\'e pulled away, and at noon, under the scorching sun"
theniK.meter 120 in the open boat, we drew up at Hoe-lien '
l-iny, a trading-post at the sea in the Ki-Iai plain. This is
the plain I longed to visit during the past, where Kap-tsu-lan
people moved, and where a c.^ok from Oxford College went
"f Ins own accord, and began to teach and preach t„ Hk-
I'e-po-hoan. Hoe-lien-kang lies on a sea-washed sand-bank,
ami has two rows (.f that.'hed luuiscs, wiih a street t.-o hun-
<h-e.l feet wide, l-s inhabitants arc n,osllv Chinese, wid. a few
rc-po-, oan families in the outskirts, .n^aued in ira.le with the
aborigmes. Close at han<l is an encampment of Chinese sol-
diers under a militarv offlrial.

Our boat was no sooner hauled on the peb])lv beach tlian a
Chmese officer, the head man, sent a.i invitation'to have dinner
u-u!, lum, and showed us other attentions. I was surprised to
hear my natne on every Iiand. \\^ were iK^ver there before
but some of them knew about our work in the north Our
newfnend ordered his hostler to saddle a ponv, and of course
put on the string of bells. Thus tJie unexpecied did happen
f^n- 1 rode a fine, plump, if not fiery steed, preceded bv a groom!
Al)out dark we entered Ka-le-oan, the I'e-po-hoan settleuK-nt I
longed to visit for upward of a dozen vears. We found the
cook who turned out preacher \n a small grass-covered ba,n-
boo dwelhng that had b.en ercc-ted for In'm. As thev had
!;een wrmng and waituig for us a long time, tlte warmth of
tlietr welcome cati hardly be in.agined. The room was so<m
packed and a large crowd stood in front of the door. Instead
<>r ronnnued preac-hing, we tried to grasp the state of alTairs.
keally good work had been done by the cook-preacher. Not
a ^<^^s had a clear idea (,f the gospel message, while many

finding no
; cxijlorcr
the winds
that day.
Iiing sun,
Hoc'-Iicn-
This is
ip-tsu-Ian
(-'ge went
-h to ihc
nd-I)aiik,
t^^'o linn-
idi a f(.-\v
witli die
ncsc sol-

h tlian a
■c dinner
)rised to
.' before,
h. Our
f coni'se
haj)pen,
I grooMi.
enieiU I
und the
■d bani-
ley had
rmth of
as soon
Instead
afTairs.
. Not
? luanv

A TRIP DOWN THE HAST COAST

131

more were evidently weary of idol-worsliip. 'I'he}- seemed ripe
for decisive iction. Being told that the military maiuhuin
declared that they must continue idolatry as being a token of
sul)jection to China, I rode up to the en(\impment, had ;in
interview, and got a gracious reception. Whatever was said
or done in the i)ast, it was all right now. Soldiers began to
praise our mission : one had got medicine from me at Tamsui,
one from a preacher at Kelung, and another knew the liang-
kah preacher. Yamen men joined, ] raising the men, the
museum, etc. There was only one opinion, and the ollieer
wished me " peace." 1 galloped back, and asked all who were
f(jr the true God to clean their houses of idols and take a de-
cided stand. A council was held at dark in an open space ;
it turned out to be a noisy and boisterous meeting. The
chiefs were declaiming aloud in their native tongue. 1 stepped
among them and asked an explanation, and if there were diifer-
ence of opinion. An answer came quickly. The five villages
were unanimous to a man. They wanted to worship the
Jehovah-Cod. They went further. An idol-temple built for
themselves at a cost of two thousand dollars was handed over
for chapel services, 'i'he following was a joyous day. No
one went to work. The head man invited our party to join
liim, and ordered four boys to follow, carrying eight baskets,
one on either end of a pole. We then went from house to
house and from village to village, until the idolatrous para-
phernalia of all were collected into the baskets and carried
to a yard near the temi)le. There was a large pile of mock-
money, idols, tablets, incense-sticks, and flags. A great crowd
assembled, and several vied with one another in tiring the
heap. Many showed their contempt for the dirty, dusty,
greasy old idols. One chief took special delight in poking
the burning objects of worship, while roars of derisive laugh-
ter ft)llowcd the pulling out and holding up of a blazing
" goddess of mere) ." The temple was liglUcd up long l)efore

-* /

I'!,

1.^|

:^^'-:"i!

it!!'!

'T in

'it! ' ! i

i i

232

/7C0A/ FyiR F0RM0S.4

dark, and tlie people crowded in. I called on all to join in
sniging :

" All people that on earth do (hvcll,
Sin<,r to the Lord with eheerful voice."

Precision of attack may have been wanting, some voices may
have been off the key and out of tnne, but they sang with
heart and soul, and never was the old Hundredth Psalm more
httingly sung than on that night when it signalized the conse-
cration of an idol-temple to the hotmr and glory of the eternal
(jod.

Ka-le-oan is the name given to the settlement, no doubt
after one of the same name in Kap-tsu-lan, whence most of
the people liail. There are five villages : Toa-sia, which means
large village," where the church now stands; Tek-a-na, IJu-
loan, lan-ko, and Chhit-kiet-in all about l^ve hundred This
IS the entry in the record of our trip to that settlement-
_ "Nearly five hundred idolaters cleaned their houses of idols
in our presence.

"They declared themselves anxious to worship the Lord
and Redeemer.

"^Pliey gave a temple built for idols as a house in which
to meet and worship the only living and true God. Are
missions a failure? "

For an entire week the pony and groom were at my dis-
posal, without charge, and I went this way and that throu-^h
the ki-Iai plain, preaching, dispensing, tooth-extracting, aiul
studymg .he rude life and manners of the ],am-si-hoan. On
AVednesday, September ,o(h, we made ready to return north-
watd. We gave medicines in the nn'litary encampment, by
permission of the official. The nK.ndarin himself threw off all
mandann ceremony, and talked, hu,ghed, haudled the forcei.s,
and had his teeth examined. He even stood at our backs to
see us attending to the sick and suffering among the soldiers

\ !i .4

..iiteii.

A TRIP DOWN THi: FwiST COAST

233

all to

join in

i voices may
!y sang with
Psalm more
tl the conse-
'f the eternal

it, no (lonbt
nee most of
vhicli means
.'k-a-na, IJu-
dred. 'I'his
neiit :
.ises of idols

p the Lord

se in \v1h"c1i
God. Are

at my dis-
lat througli
U'ting, and
hoan. On
turn north-
il)ment, ])y
irew off all
he force] )s,
ir hacks to
le soldiers.

There were not a few malaria patients among them, and 1 am
quite sure we left the soldiers and their general all wishing for
our speedy return.

A crowd followed us to the seaside and shoved our craft
afloat. The rowers had to pull hard against a northeaster.
At dark we were skirting the shore near the steep mountains.
Here and there, like flaming l)eacons along the shore, the
night llrcs of savages burned holes in the darkness of tangletl
foliage and forest. All night long the rowers struggled against
wind and wa^e, afraid to go too near the shore, for the rocks
were sliarp and the savages cruel; afraid 'o launch out into
the deep, for our craft was light and the sea was wild. Morn-
ing came, and, drenched and weary, we were still amid while
billows. All that day we pulled almost in vain, thankful that
we were not dashed on the rocky ledges. No one had tasted
food since the previous morning, for though we had a supply
of rice we could not land to have it cooked. The weary
rowers were fast becoming weak. Eyes brightened when at
3 P.M. we turned a point and ran into a basin three hundred feet
wide, one hundred feet deep, with fifty feet of a pebbly beach,
and a perpendicular wall several hundred feet high standing
at the back and sides. There was a veritable security from
storms and savages. A sweet spring of water tumbled over
the high cliff above, forming a stream of fresh water, which
ran into the bitter sea. Rice was cooked in the water-jar 1
was carrying back as a sample of Lam-si-hoan pottery, and
with a condiment of salted venison it was a delicious meal.
V>\ 7 p.ivi. the sea calmed somewhat, and we struck out again.
Toward cock-crowing So Bay was entered, and a breath car-
ried us to I.am-hong-o. Soon preacher and people were astir,
and all day was spent in the cliapel. Children were examined,
three were baptized, and sixty-five sat down around the Lord's
table. ]5y sea-boat we ran to Ka-le-oan, there gave medicines
to the sick, intiuired after members, arranged matters with

234

FROM F^IR FORMOS.4

elders and de«„ns, and walked over 1„ Lin I.„ ■, ,

lar work was done an.l ,l,e ni,i,t !„, ' " """■

LeavnigLaudan-a, wevf.sitedevpru.,,,- • ,
'»" plain, spent a nigl,. at cI, on ' "' '" ^"^^^''''■

■•-peced work at six'o,,, ' . ; ^^ " '"■^"•>' '''^'l'*. -kI
'-rfore as on this oec.sion ' •""" "'"'•■'"' ""^'''^

';'--M..-actica.,e,,:::r.oea ;;'"«„::

."^e,t.s,,eda,Jn^.:.;;:;::>— ;;;;;- '^;;;^^^^^

dark streams, with irecs an,l 1 „ I, , '^ "''"■'">■

•■■-nring sp^ts con , i' ' "r "i r'"""^ """ ""^""•"S'
»™ s"o„e at intervals tl,;, ^^ :;= .s fl '■""^'"' '"' "'"
Arriving at and leaving a P -p , o , """'° .'"■''■*^™'-

">»Pin"g. As onr partj won., t , ' "'" ""''"'>• "'"'-

-omen, and childre'n w!,n,„ „ ; ,'™ ":"' " ;™; '' "' ""-

»'"' joyful notes. I alwavs enj ,v thi m T " """""''

than singing in a ehinel ' u H'o'isand t,n,es more

mality, thns'to praL ., ;, ;,: f"' ^ ^^ '"-" ""■
fees, and within hearing o! Zu^^u'"' T"' "'"""' ''"'
-onid be wearisotne to the ' ., , ' '"' "' '" ^'"S' "
many strange places and s, at , " "'?' ""' """"'^ "< "'

•sample of „„r progran, tna.v t llf i,;,:,::,"™" "' '^»''' ^ '"" ^
I- On arn"\-al we \isifpfl fi,,, .; i • , . ,

our stand ontside iltlroeV ;";.":"• ''°'"^'» ^ "-'■ ''^^■■"e
e.vlracted leell, The 111,1 , I ? »'''™ medicines an,l

i'""m-"ence. The fonr , I ^ZT' r"'-^'"^''"^
""■ongh ,ny han.is for dia.nn.sl ' ''■■"'^'"' ^'""""^

i>o:e";::;r;';:r ",i^"' '"^^ '^'"'"-' -"> ••■- --icny

movais tonewsetd ;„„ ;:;:'\""T^^'^>-"" -"■"« of .V-

■■f e>ery fatnih- and w, ,' „ " '^"""">"'>en,nstan,.es

•seif-sttppor, • " "" ■^''■""'"^ "'•-•• "We to do towar.l

■'■iam

»^^

, wher

c sinii-

lie Kap-tsu-
■Jiapels, niul
Lvelfd tJicre
^^•c rowed,
fair chance
iish rapidly
1 the level
e boat liad
esc narrow
fJ meeting,
% and (he
:>verhead.
i"J)iy soul-
d of men,
s resound
'lies more
from for-
nong (he
sing. I(
ics of so
Ii; i)ut a

1. taking

ines antl
tracting
t passed

n'orldly
t of re-
stances
toward

as
<

-«-n Y

-r" 'f

it', i ■'

1 ' ■'

i 1

■ K

^hi''

// iRir DOiiN THi- i:.isr co./.sy

3. We held meetings with the elders and deacons eonecrniiiL;-
contributions, chapel repairs, Sabbath attenilance, etc. Here
is progress. Every chapel in the plain was either re-roofed,
plastered, and ot'nerwise repaired, or materials were on the
ground ; and only in one village did an elder ask for assistaiK-e.

4. Children, young men and women, were examined in pres-
ence of all on stibjects previously assigned, and other subjects
to be studied were selected.

5. Singing practised for an hour by the people in divisions,
such as old ni'm, women, young men, girls, and children.

(). We preac.ied in turn, short addresses being most pn.lh-
able, and I immediately questioned them on what was spoken.

7. Office-bearers elected by the congregations, and 1 or-
dained them.

8. Baptized infants and adults, though the reception of
many adults was delayed for further instruction.

9. Observed the Lord's Supper, having not a few refreshing
communions.

The above labor was accomplished, and much more. The
effect at every station was marked. Converts were stirred
up, and the contrast in their condition and demeanor on our
arrival and at our departure w^as very marked, especially where
we remained overnight and had opportunity for meetings,
afternoon, evening, and morning. There is a world of mean-
ing in the words " edification," "building up," " grow up into
Him in all things," " for the perfecting of the saints." I have
stated that at one place nearly five hundred cast their idols
away. Some good people may think the work among them
was about done then. If I know anything about it, if twenty-
three years' experience be of value, then 1 should say the work
was only begun. Paul knows best, and says they must be
built up. I do not believe in perfection on this side of the
"river," but such converts as we have in Formosa, like some
we have in America, are a long way fror what is attainable

236

/■ROM r.lR /'ORMOS.'I

f 1 s;

'? 11

I !

!''!

I t

!.i '■ !^

here. Many things are needed in lea(h"ng tliem on. One
thing before all things else is needful, viz., patience.

Cne of the churches \-isite(l was "(Jlengarry Chapel," at
'iang-mng-thau, where a spreading gourd served as a dispens-
ing-room. At the service all were orderly and reverent. \\'c
sang many hymns, and I told them about (Uengarry in Can-
ada, and the kind young friends there who raised the money
for the building of that chai)el. 'J1iey were greatly interested,
and the thought that jjcople at home would deny themselves
for poor heathen in far Formosa was not without its inlliR'ncc
Leaving Kap-tsu-lan, we entered the plain of Toa-o, which
is a triangular extension running far inland from Kai)-tsu-lai),
flanked on two sides by high, steep, densely wooded moun-
tains. It is new ground, only now being reclaimed from tlic
jungle. The reeds are cut with knives, then the whole set on
fire, large hoes dig the roots, farmers sow or plant their grain,
and in this way much is cleared. Houses are built in a feu-
days. Poles are i)ut in the ground, a thatched roof i)ut on,
sides closed in with r 'cds. plnstcred with mud, a door of split
bamboo tied to one side, holes left instead of windows, and the
family move in. At times it is dangerous to travel in any part
of that plain, on ac(-()unt of savages who have been driven to
desperation by Chinese soldiers. On arrival at the east end
we called on one Colonel Tan, an old friend, who persisted in
sending a number of men with spears to escort us by the way.
The night was spent at Phoa-po-o, where one hundred assem-
bled and we preached the gospel. 'Hie morning following was
lovely, and, according to every day's work, men were armed
to lead the way to a new village through reeds and grasses.
No one goes out to work without weapons at his side. Forty
odd-looking fellows went along with us, several of whom had
Martini-Henry or Remington rifles, some carried old Ameri-
can muskets, the most swung over their shoulders Chinese
matchlocks, and others held long spears in readiness. Four

A TRIP POlfN THE HIST CO. IS I

^-M

on. Oiif

hapcl," at
a dispens-
•cnt. We
y in Can-
he money
ntcrcsted,
licmselvcs
inlliienct'.
i-o, whicli
p-tsn-lan,
.'(1 nioun-

froni tlic
;)k' set on
icir grain,

in a few
f i)Ut on,
)r of split
S and the

any i)art
driven to

east end
rsisted in

tile way.
'd asseni-
wing was
re armed

grasses.
.\ Forty
honi liad
.1 Ameri-

Cliinese
s. Four

times the nutnl)er of savages would liavc had to flee before
them tliat day. 'I'iie Pe-podioan welcomed us at ^reng-i)hoa-
po-o. We followed our usual program and set off with half
the village at our heels. At length wc came to Thicn-sang-pi,
the most inland settlement in all that region. People are only
beginning to test the virgin soil and erect huts.

Wc walked half a mile farther, mostly through wet grass, to
the rather sharp curve in the mountain. There I got up into
;i tallow-tree out of the wet rushes and sat on a large branch,
admiring a pool of water in the bend which no foreigner ever
gazed upon before. Crescent Pool is an appropriate name for
it. It is full of nearly a dozen varieties of fish, and the marshy
land around has eels thirty and forty pounds in weight. Two
savage villages were visited, one at the base and the other on
the spur of the mountain. Old and young 1 ed dissipated

and haggard.

At Cheng-kui-sia upward of one hundred met outside, and
we had an open-air service, then crossed several streams, and
walked dirough rice-fields to Ang-chha-na, where three times
die bricks were made for a chapel and destroyed by the rain.
Being (piite within the mountains, they have very few dry days.
At dark oil was put into bamboo poles six feet long, stuck in
an open space, and in that flickering light we proclaimed the
message of salvation to a crowd of poor toil-worn aborigines.

Thus we labored in that plain, taking all the chapels in order,
then back over the hills to Kelung, Tsui-tng-kha, Bang-kah,
I'oa-tiu-tia, and out again to Tamsui, after an absence of forty
days. It was one of many such tours, not much different in
experiences and results from others. If the reader has gained
a more accurate idea of the lights and shadows of mission-
ary life, and if hearts are stirred up to more earnest prayer and
more consecrated service, the recital will not have been in vain.

'5/

'{■

CHAP'I'KR XXV

A S K K - II () A N MISSION

Refused accoinmndation— Onk'ml nut— Iin hod hack— A plot ^The Ir.u-

tor — liuildiiiy a cliapcl

/"\N the west coast arc settlements of aborigines that liave
V 7 made considerable progress \\\ Chinese civilization. They
are called Sek-hoan ("ripe barbarians "). On one of om- visits
to Sin-kang, a village of these civilized aborigines in the IJiau-
lek district, on the west coast, three days' walk from 'iamsui,
and as many miles from the sea, the people refused ns acco/n-
modation for the night. At dark, however, a stalwart-looking
native made provision for my.self and students under his
thatched roof. On inquiry we learned that preparations were
being made for worshiping the .spirits of their ancestors. Their
own sa\-age customs and superstitions had been mingled with
those of the Chinese, with the result that no outsider' could be
allowed within the precincts for three days. Accordingly our
h(;st was urged to expel us; but though he stood alone h'e re-
fused. Later on a letter was iianded me from the head man.
It read thus:

" Y()u black-bearded l.)arbarian, with your Chinese disciples,
must either leave in the morning or stay in the house for three
days."

After a while 1 sent this reply:

"We the servants of the Lord Jesus Christ will neither
leave in the morning nor stay in the house, but by the power

238

'^.afariiat'

// Sf:K-H().IN MISSION

2.V)

—The trui-

that luivu
m. 'I'lu'y
our \ isiis
the IJiaij.
laiiisui,
s acco;ii-
t-looking
ndcr his
ons were
s. Tlicir
jled wiih
could l)c
ingly ciir
lie lie le-
:ad man.

iisciples,
for three

neither
e power

of our God we will preach his gospel in your streets on the
morrow and following days."

Immediately the whole village was gready excited, and
many gathered arcnmd the place where we were. Some weie
for killing, some for beating, and otlicrs for leaving us alone.
The counsel of the last prevailed. Morning ilawned, and I
told my students to choose between remaining or going bac k
to the north. In a moment they were at my side, ready to
abide all consequences. We walked into the streets and
found villagers in groups, scjuattcd on the ground, wiUi stones
and other missiles in readiness. They were true pictures of
men witli pent-up rage, and with vehement grunts did they
denounce us. A stone thrown by a young man passed the
shoulder of a student and grazed my head. We sang several
hynms and then returned to the house. On the scccmd day
we were out again, and on the third. On the fourth day a
number came near u> and spoke somewhat friendly. They felt
not a little ashamed of their conduct which feeling was never
overcome; for not once in subsequeni years did they refer to
our first reception. Once converted to die religion of Jesus,
the man who threw that stone became a student, tiavi.-ling
ovei mountain and valley with us, acijuiring knowledge, and
later a preacher laborini, in Kap-tsudan, till he fell a victim
while bravely nursing sufTering ones during an epidemic.

Weeks rolleil by, and I was approached at Tamsui by two
men from Sin-kang, with an earnest recjuest to visit them and
preach the gospel. We accompanied them back, and ere long
had a chapel in course of erection. When tlie walls, which
were built of sun-dried bricks, were five feet high, a rum-
bling noise was heard and ino earth shook with convulsions.
The earthquake left the building leaning over. Unfortunate
omen! "The earth is against them, and the spirits opposed,"
shouted some, and all resolved to unite to quash our proceed-
ings at once. Every hamlet and town within miles joined in

■ 1*

' ■'

1
1 '

iiii:

i ' 'I

FROM MR rORMOSM

the cry, and cxn'tcmcnt ran so high that dnngcr and death
threatened us every ini.meni. Wc maintained our f)()sition,
however, finished the ihalelied ciiapel, and proclainuHl Christ,
and him nnicified, night after night to upward of a hunch'ed
hearers.

One Sabbath afternoon, when engaged iu service, a letter
was put on the table before nie. I was therein warned not to
enter savage territory again or death would be the result. Onr
I»lans were previously arrnnged to enter the next day. At
cock-crowing we were on the mareh. When on the top of the
first mountain-range a piercing yell told of savages at hand
and at a stream in the valley below we uwt more than filty of
them. Salutations were exchanged. The wild mountaineers
pointed their guns upward, fired a volley, and bade ns follow
them. They welcomed us to their mountain retreat, where we
spent the night, and they were entirely friendly. The origin of
the letter warning us against the savages remained a mystery
for years. But when on my last visit to that village, before re-
turning to Canada in 1893, the mystery was solved. A man
of eightv ve.nns of age, Ap Hoan, confessed that he wrote it,
and that he u -ged to the utmost the savages to waylay and
kill us. Th;y not only refused, but in time forced him and
his family beyond the domain of their tribe. There being evi-
dence of his conversion, I baptized him at his own request,
and along with him two others who, like him, had passed the
limit of fourscore years.

This uncultivated valley was gradually transformed into rice
and potato fields. A chapel was built, and has served as a
center for work in that region. From that village trips are
made into savage territory. 'Jlierc are about o!ie thousand
Sek-hoan at Sin-kang, and in all i)oints work there is similar
to work among other semi-civilized aborigines.

i
i

CHAPTER XXVI

LITE AMONG THE LAM-SI-HOAN

The Ki-lai plain— A tropic.il scene— Racial marks— C.ovcrnnK'nt— A^vi
culture— I'ottery-makint;— The village well— Ardiitcclure -A simple
costume— A novel shade— Tol)acco and l)etel— A public hath— Morals
and manners — Forecast

^T'^HE Ki-lai plain, far down the cast coast of Eormosa, is
1 the home of about four thousand aborigines who have
been subdued by the Chinese, but who are scarcely started on
the road to civilization. To this plain 1 have made several
trips, and liave learned not a little about the people. On my
first visit I had the use of the pony already referred to, and
enjoyed many a ride over the broad, clean, winding roads.

'I'he plain is about thirty miles long from north to south, and
about six miles in widdi between the mountains and the sea.
It was formed out of mountain debris carried down by the
streams, and '^,ands washed up by the waves. Along the shore
is a stretch of sand, and back of this an upland, upon which
more than a thousand water-buffaloes find pasture. Earther
inland the soil is light, and in places stony, but suitable for
grazing purposes. The land nearer the mountains is a rich,
deep black loam, mosdy of decomposed vegetable matter
washed down from the densely wooded mountains. The beds
of the mountain torrents reveal that up in the country of the
savages, where the explorer dare not go, there are granite, coal,

slate, and mica.

241

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I 1"^ 1*"., ,H I,y far tl.o moM tropic.H„„H„, nlnr. I l,,vc
eva- seen „n ,hc i.land. The n,a,ls arc r™,arh,l ly g.,, ,
evKlent y rece.ve no. a li„l. .-arc. 0„ d,l,er side ar^
green shade-trees sometimes gr„,v, a,u, everv .nilo „rt r •

laKl «h,Ie tlie earners sit ,l,„vn, eat betel-,„,t, and rest The
■scenery ,s refreshing after the narrcnv paths. pa.Idv.fields d
.nevttnh e water-hnffaloes of the north. Tl, re i.s a, 'r
™H,ma,n-r,ee that needs no artifieial irrigation; nev L
ra eh of ,aro, then „-i,d indig,,, „.atern,eIons, s.e , ZZ^

.,g,ee„ grass. ,n „,e fields grow rows of pride-of-
■n t e s, nd a, n„ervals are ere,-,ed sn,ali s.^ari .shade-
luils Ihe i,„,ls s,ng an,.,„g ,|,e l,r,,nd,es. U,e sun shines
overhead, and one feels " ,l,e wild jovs of livin- "

1 l.e ,nl,al,i,a„,s of thispiain. whe.e " everr |,r,"per, pleases "
e perhaps the latest .arrivals of ,„e ahorig'ines'of ,' 1 :,
ke he o ,er tr.hes. i,o,h eivili.ed .and sav.;ge, thevare ,

to the M,d.,>-an rare, an.l in snn,e res,,e,-ts show e>-en tnor,.
.*"..«.y n,arked iiU-ness to ,he present-dav island ri

., iT;:t- ''■'■: 'I"''"' '■^i'-"'-->-'''i."V.dis,ine, fro

Z ■ ""■'■ ^ '""™- ^""I'""'V is neknowled.vd and

- e„,.an,pn,en, of <-,,i„ese soldiers „„der a nn'litarv nan 1

-.^.nl.oned„, ,he plain; hn, the people do no, ;,,aee
:;"^ "'■ 7';- "— -'l-'M tnen have their hai si ,.
m sotne of ,l,eyo„nger .gcateration are in,l,il,i„g other n .'

;;;;;'- .,.".e Ptottd of their ,„ng hlack loe.s^,ar,ed i,,;;::

Their goyernntent is trilxal, or perhaps their contpanie., mid,,

.e oalletl cans. .A,, ,he ,„en are .livide.I into .'nks ordc

pnnc,ple of seniority. Tl,e,-e arc nine snch contpa 'ie te

first he,„g co„,,,„sed of all the „,e„ f,.,,,, tifty.fi,, , , ,;,.,. Z

{

•lacf J have
y good and
large evcr-
f>r so rest-
Hirdoiis are
rest. ^I'he
-fields, and
an acre of
next is a
t potatoes,
' \\elc()nie,
'■ pnde-of-
ire shade-
'Un shines

t pleases,"
I''oi-niosa.
are allied
\'cn more
-I's in tlic
inn finni
e entirely
■<'s no hV
K*-'<l, and
nandarin
tve tlieir
ir slinrt ;
notions,
d in the

es mi gilt
, on the
ies: the
ty years

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LIFE AMONG THE I.AM-SI-HO.-IN

243

of age ; the second of those from fifty to fifty-five ; and so on
down to the ninth company, made up of the youtlis from fif-
teen to twenty. Every five years the senior company is re-
tired and a new one formed. On a day appointed a contest
of running a mile and back decides who is to be chief of the
new company. The chief of the whole tribe is chosen in a con-
test among the chiefs of the several companies. Each com-
pany is subject to the one above it in rank, and to each some
si)ecial task is assigned. One company makes roads, another
tills the soil, a third attends to the wicker-work, and other de-
partments have each a company to carry them on. When any
special work has to be done, such as hunting, harvesting, fight-
ing, several companies may combine. Inferiors in age and
rank are all under control of superiors. In case of an offense
being committed superiors drive the offenders out of the village,
and they dare not return until after six days, on pain of being
beaten, having their property destroyed and family driven out,
and they themselves exiled from the village until called back.
One evening at Ka-le-oan a dozen fine, strong fellows were
performing tricks and feats for their own and my entertain-
ment, when three of their superiors ai)peared, and the young
men bounded out of sight in a moment, thus signifying ready
obedience and fear. The inferior company was out on a hunt-
ing-expedition, and when the superiors saw these young fel-
lows taking it easy instead of sharing with their comrades the
trials of the chase, they were very angry and drove them from
the village in punishment. A day or two afterward word
came that tliree of the tribe had been killed by the savages,
and then the young men were summoned l)ack to go on the
war-path.

The rich soil is pretty thoroughly worked, the farmers being
hard-working and industrious. ]\Iountain-rice, millet, and taro
are grown extensively, and fine sweet j^otatoes, Indian corn,
beans, watermelons, and small pumpkins. The short-handled

244

FROM FAR FORMOSA

i i

Ml,! ■

hoe is the chief implement, cind is used in the fields very dex-
terously. Wherever they learned the art, there are in that tribe
blacksmiths able to do all the making and mending required.

Pottery is manufactured, both the mixing and moulding being
done by the hand. At Sa-ka-eng, in the north, the Chinese pot-
ters use a horizontal wheel, like the people in Palestine ; and
Thomson's description in " The Land and the Book " accu-
rately describes the Chinese process. But these I.am-si-hoan
pottery-makers do not belong to that school ; they use neither
mould nor wheel. The clay is dug up, pounded in a wooden
trough with a stone, and mixed with water. A lump is then
taken and bit by bit nd/ied, made into the required shape, and
then smoothed with the hand and water. The jars are similar
in shape to those made in Syria and Judea, but not so high, and
have an "ear" on each side for the hand. They are always
carried on the head ; if empty they are inverted, the mouth,
Vy'hich is about six inches across, fitting like a cap. Twenty or
thirty women returning along the road from the village well,
talking, laugliing, singing, their figures well developed, their
carriage erect, their hands hanging at their sides, each with a
filled water-jar on her head, make a picture that even a weary-
eyed globe-trotter turns to see.

The people live mainly in villages. Each village is sur-
rounded by stately bamboo-trees, and inclosing all is a deep
moat or ditch. On entering the large gate into the village
there, on one side, stands a long open .shed of bamboo, in
which a number of men sit, making various kinds of wicker-
work and discussing questions of the day. Near at hand,
shaded by large trees, is the village well, a circular hole twenty
feet deep, fully a hundred feet in diameter at the mouth, and
narrowing down to two or three at the bottom. At one point
the side is cut down, making a more gradual slope, up which
the earth had been carried, and which now serves as a path
down to the water. Around the mouth of the well and down

I -II

LIFE AMOKG IHE LAM-Sl-H0A>1

this incline a railing of bamboo is run. .Ml day long the
women come and go with their water-jan on their heads, gel-
ting their supply from this general reservoir.

The houses are all after one design, entirely diiTerent from
the Chinese, and in the matter of floor distinctly superior.
Each house is about fifty feet long, twenty feet wide, twelve
feet high at the ridge, and sloping down U) about four feel ;ii
tlie eaves. Boards are lashed with rattan to a sort of balloon
frame. The grass roof is fully two feet thick, and projects over
the eaves three or four feet, making a kintl of low veranda.
The building is constructed will: regard ncjt so much to the
comfort and convenience of the inhabitants as to the power and
destructiveness of the typhoons, which swoep over the plani
every year. Every house is floored with ralian abt)ut an inch
thick, laid close together and bound or laced wilh rattan splits.
This makes a strong, neat, and. clean floor, and, being raised a
foot above the ground, is much healthier than the mud-floors
of Chinese houses. Indeed, it makes a very comfortable bed,
and is generally put to that use. At one end of the room a
sitace is built up with earth, making the " flreplace." There
are two doors to the house, one on each side, nKule of bamboo.
The houses a';c not arranged in any particular order, each one
being quite independent of every other and of any general plan
or survey. At every door there is at lea>t one ugly dog, al-
ways lean and hungry.

A typirn^ Lam-si-hoan costume is simply made and easfly
kept in repia. The women all wear earrings made of bam-
boo, and geaeraUy a kind of waisl-cloth. The men are con-
tent with the earrings, and do not worry if even llial sugges-
tion of clothing be lacking. The wonaeii have a fondness for
necklaces made of shells an incli square, lied together wilh
thread and beads. The more extravagant of the young women
set their liearts on bracelets of brass and oilier urnamenls, w huh
they keep bright and shining. Tallooing is not practised by

246

FROM F/iR FORMOSA

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any of the tribe, and they are unable to explain the origin of
the custom among their kinsmen in the mountains, or its dis-
use among themselves.

The tropical sun is very hot and the rain heavy, and as a
protection they have deviseil a .simi)le Init effective shaile.
A frame of light wood is made, three feet long and eighteen
inches wide, across which the fine tops of reeds are laid, ami
secured close together with rattan bands. A thin piece of
board across the middle acts as a support, and to it strings are
attached, with which 'lie shade is tied around the neck; ami
in this way it is worn on their shoulders l)y the workers bend-
ing over their task in the sun or rain, without interfering with
their movements or the freedom of their hands.

Rice is the staple food, ami at meal-time (he whole family
squat around a large plate set on the floor, and, not with
sj)oo IS or chopsticks, but with two Jhigers and the thumb,
each "takes rice." .\ jjiece of raw meat is relished as a sweet
morsel, and is not cut with a knife, but torn with tuigers and
teeth.

Tobacco is grown very largely, and the dried leaves are
rolled as re({uired into huge cigars six or eight inches long ami
about an inch and a half thick. Cigar-smoking and betel-nut
eating are universal with both sexes. Tnder the shade of the
trees, in their houses, by the roadside — ever\\vlure — men and
women may be seen, singly or in gionps, cath with a small
gourd full of lime made from Inuiied sea-shells and coral, and
bags of tobac(-o-leaves and betd-rnit. Their mouths are dirts,
disfigured, and seciuingly tireless, ^\'hen walking or resting
the whole time is employed in i)reparing or using the betel
and cigar, 'i'he habit is not only unspeaka!)ly filthy, but de-
grading and ruinous to their lu alth.

But lest one might think them indifferent in the matter of
cleanhness, one will be taken to see the public baths with which
some of these villages are iiro\-ided. I was invited to inspect

Lll-R AMOKG TlUi L-IM-Sl-HO.IN

-'4 7

ihc one at Clihit-kha-clilioan, a village of more than a iliou-
sand people, gathered together at the base of a hij;h, slee[»
mountain. A clear, cocjI stream from a mountain spring is-
sued from the side of a rock and supplied water for the inhabi-
tants of the village. The bathing arrangements are very sini-
l)le. Two sets of split-baml)oo spouts, one four feet long, the
odier eight, are erected seven feet high, and convey the water
out from the side of the rock. I'Vom these spouts the i)iire,
fresh water is pouring all the yearrt)und, and Ukmc, with noth-
ing but the sky or clouds for walls or covering, is the public
bath. lUit even in that primitive state of society there are
rules and regulations, and the fixed law at that bathing-place
i- that the men stand under the outer streaIn^^ and the women
under the inner. At all hours of the day they are coming and
going; the women with their jars, which they fn^t fill and set
aside; then they stand, sit, or crouch under the water-streams,
chuckling and grunting with delight as the cool water falls u\H)n
them; and when they have exhausted that pleasure, or other
duties call, the jars are raised again, and with heads erect they
march homeward, singing, it may be, some snatch of song.

In society constituted as it is among the l.aiu-sidioan, neither
ret'inement of h'fe nor elegance of manners need be looked for.
Their lives have not l.)een touched by those great luovemenls
that have lixed the standard of manners '"n Christian civiliza-
tion, and they never indulge those habits of dunight and intro-
spection that awaken self-consciousness and a sense of shame.
They ne\er heard the name of God, and ha\e no knowledge
of his grace and truth. The life they live is full of toil and
hardship, and their nature- wonshij) is powerless to redeem or
sanctify. To their minds, darkened by imuimerable su|)ersti
tions, the thought of anything unseen mat is not to be dreaded
is liard to grasp. 'Hie spirits they believe in are vengeful and
cruel, and were it not for their direful jxnver would be neglected
altogether. Without priest or idol or temple, they hve in

248

FROM F^IR rORMOS.^

bondage to a fear of spirits everywhere, in earth anil air and
sea. To Christianize them would retjuire a distinel and sep-
arate mission, as their plain is ditru-ull of aceess, and the voy-
age down the coast dangerous. A\'ith " very much land to be
possessed " in the more enduring cities and settlements in the
north, it seemed unwise to expend much of our strength on
this unstable and vanishing tribe. The aborigines caimot sur-
vive the conn'ng and presence of the dominant race. 'I'he re-
peating-rifle and spear of the mountain savage on the one side,
and the unscrupulous greed and destructive vices of the Chinese
on the other, are making inroads on this people, who have not
the compensating strength and endurance of either the savage
or die civilized.

The future of the I.am-si-hoan is not liard to forecast. They
have little moral or social recuperative power, and they imbibe
nothing of the rejuvenating life-streams of civilization. Theirs
is the tragedy of many savage tribes alike in the J'last and in
the West: the first touch of the civilized man is tlie touch of
dead). China's civilization in the Ki-lai plain is represented
by the soldier and the trader; and in their footste])s follow car-
nal i)assion and tleadly lust. Already poisonous litpiors and
corroding licentiousness have begun their havoc, and instead
of strength and vigor, physical haggardness and wreckage are
added to intellectual degradation and moral poverty.

unl air and
ct antl sep-
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land to be
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:)n. 'i'lieirs
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le toucli of
represented
f(jlk)w car-
litpiors and
md instead
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THE MOUNTAIN SAVAGES

IMAGE EVALUATION
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■i

CHAPTER XXVII

SAVAGE LIFE AND CUSTOMS

Of Ininiiin interest— reisonal contact— Trip witli Captain T'ax— A crafty
cliicf — Social organization — Houses — Food — Dress — Tattooing —
Musical instruments— Marriage— Morality— Religion— Superstition
— Ascent of Mount Sylvia — Disappointment— On a grave— Hospi-
tality—Cliristmas nitli the savages — Destructive inlluences —
Woman's lot — Missionary work

IT matters little how far removed the civilized may be from
the savage, or how many generations may have come and
gone since our ancestors lived in huts and dressed in skins ;
we are all of us interested in the life of those tribes who have
maintained their wild independence, and with much heroic
endurance roam the plains or pierce the jungles, scorning die
sweets of civilization, living only for to-day, and counting a
calamity whatever checks desire or curbs tlieir restless will.
The savage's will "is the wind's will," and there is a fascina-
tion about his reckless dash and careless abandon.

Savage life can be seen in all its lights and shades in the
primeval mountain forests of Formosa. How many centuries
the deer and boar have been hunted among these hills l)y
swarthy Malays history does not know. A thousand years is
as far back as the annals go, but th.e island was theirs before
the annals were kept. Save for the encroachments of the
Chinese, circumscribing their territory and furnishing them
with the destructive repceiting-rifle, these savages in the moun-
tains are to-day in life and manners what they were ten centu-

251

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252 FROM /-V/Zv' FORMOSA

rics ago. Wliat I have learned of their customs and beliefs
has been through personal contact with them for weeks to-
gether in their hamlets and villages. 'J'here was constant
danger, for no one can tell how or when the savage nature will
manifest its savagery; but intercourse with them was always
interesting and instructive.

One year after landing I made an extensive trip into sav-
age territory in company with Captain Ba\, of H. B. M. ship
" Dwarf," who was desirous of seeing the natives in their
mountain home. Three days' journey from Tamsui a party of
friendly natives, with their chief, got ready to escort us. We
were led through many streams, along and over many hills,
and halted beside a cool spring at the base of a high moun-
tain-range. After dinner we began to ascend the mountain,
but it was steep, rugged, and literally covered with rank vege-
tation. Those in advance had to cut the creepers and other
growths with long knives, and so difficult was the ascent that
"the boldest held his breath for a time." Before we reached
the top, thirty-five hundred feet high, the chief himself com-
pletely collai)sed and had to be hauled up with a long rattan.
That range was the dividing-line between the Chinese and the
savages. To penetrate farther was at our peril, but we had
counted the cost and were resolved on taking the risk. After
cutting our way over another range we stood on the summit
of the last, and our leaders shouted. The answer was returned,
and a i)arty from the tribe in the valley below, with guns,
spears, bows and arrows, started up in our direction. When
half-way down we met them face to fr.cc ; signs were made,
and we were allowed to pass on, they following closely. Tat-
tooed women and naked children came out to see the .strangers.
At dark we were in a large valley, where we came upon a
group of .several hundred savages squatting on the ground to-
gether. A halt was called, and as there were no houses or huts
to be seen our people started fires, cooked rice, and prepared

nd beliefs
weeks to-
> constant
nature wili
•as always

< into sav-
3. M. ship
s in their
a party of
t us. We
lany hills,
gh moun-
mountain,
ank vege-
and other
scent that
e reached
iself coni-
ng rattan.
c and the
It we had
^k. After
e summit
returned,
:ith guns,
I. When
?re made,
;ly. Tat-
strangers.
e upon a
round to-
ss or huts
prepared

S.il\-t(JR III I: .IND CUSTOMS 25,^

a shelter for the night. Standing around that glowing fire,
shut in by mountain and forest, those savage cliicfs, witli their
wild-eyed braves, heard for the hrst and perhaps last time the
solemn strains of David's Hundredth Psalm, 'j'he "people"
understood not, but the night wind brought bac k the echoes
telling that mountain and valley understood and answereil the
call to "sing to the J.ortl with cheerful voice." The chiefs
fixed their eyes on us in silence all the while, and when we
lay down they squatted round the fires. It was too cold for
us to sleep, and all through the night, like sentinels on dutv,
those sa\age eyes kept sleepless watcii against anything sus-
picious on the part of the strangers.

At daybreak we persuaded the chief and his son to take us
to see their dwellings. After much hesil;Uion and parleying
more than thirty started with us. Through jungle, over wind-
falls, our clothes torn by thorny shrubs, we pushed our way.
A sound was heard, and looking up a large bird was observed
perched on a tree. Suddenly all were breathlesslv still. 'I'he
old chief crawled up like a cat, and wluni under the tree let
drive a heavy charge from his Chinese matchlock. The beau-
tiful bird was brought down, jmt into a liag, and one of the
men carried it on his shoulder. Captain llix and I were be-
ginning to suspect the chief's leading. I'reseiitly we came to
a clearing, and the chief stepped brck and told us that there
were Chinese in the huts, and if we would go around and engage
them from the open he and his men would attack them from
the bush, and they could not escape. The old rascal thought
to make us tools for his head-hunting braves. V\'e were in-
dignant, and in no mild terms told him that he was not honor-
able ; that we came far to pay him a visit, anel he deceived
us. They all listened as the interpreter translated, and anger
gleamed from every eye. Then after a little conversation
among themselves they seemed mollified ; the chief acknow-
ledged he was wrong, and promi.sed to take us to their own

^ I

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254

FROM F/IR FORMOS/1

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villages. Going in an almost opposite direction we were sur-
prised to come upon a well-beaten path, winding, to be sure,
but good for traveling ; and when on the top of a very higli
range we were ordered to halt and remain silent. A peculiar
shout was raised and immediately answered from another moun-
tain-top. Going down one range and up another, we saw their
village, with several hundred men, women, and children gaz-
ing at us, and lialf-starved dogs yelping like very devils. Other
terrible noises, wild and hellish, were explained as the shouts
of rejoicing at a feast that was being held over a Chinese head
that had been brought in fresh from the border-land.

We were invited to a seat, and several to whom I had given
(luinine for malaria the evening we were in the valley came
forward and claimed me as a friend. We wer:^ interested in
thr architecture of their huts, and produced note-books and
pencils to make sketches. The savages stared at us for a
while, and when tliey understood what we were doing ihcy
began chattering angrily among themselves. The youn"- men
darted into the huts and reappeared with long iron-i aded
spears. They were wild with rage. Every eye flashed. We
took in the situation and quietly put away our books and pen-
cils. Gradually the excitement subsided and we tried to ex-
plain. l]ut no explanation would satisfy. In our ignorance
we had committed a great offense, 'i'liey have a superstition
that making a photograph or picture extracts the essence of a
thing, and they believed that our iimoccnt .sketches would not
only take tlie essence out of their houses, but could be used
to our advantage and to their hurt. \\c were afterward as-
siu-ed that had we persisted neither of us would have returned
to tell the tale.

That evening we were again in the valley, and when our
fires were lighted fully five hundred savages from the bush
gathered round. We made some presents, and then by means
of an interpreter I told them of the great Father and of Him

;5|

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SAVAGE LIFE AND CUSTOMS

255

were siir-

0 be sure,
very higli
\ peculiar
hermoun-

saw tlieir
Idren gaz-
Is. Other
the shouts
nese liead

liad given
lley came
erested in
looks and

us for a
oing llicy
">\vv^- men
)n-i aded
led. We

and pen-
cd to ex-
ignorance
pcrstition
lence of a
vould not

1 be used
rward as-
? returned

when our
the bush
by means
lof Him

who " died to make us good." Our party sang hymns for an
hour or two, and with a prayer that the Holy Spirit would seal
something of our message in those dark heathen hearts we lay
down to rest. Next day we made our way, through a drench-
ing rain, down slippery paths, out into the cleared land. We
had gone farther than white man had ever penetrated before ;
but on emerging from the bush the captain was prostrated
with fever and had to b uried back to Tamsui in a sedan.
I kept up until the first night in my own house, when for tlie
first time I felt the dread fever's hands of ice and fire.

There are many different tribes in these mountains, and
each tribe has its peculiar features in language, customs, and
modes of life ; but all that is distinctive of savage life is com-
mon to each. They usually live in hamlets or villages built
on the top of a mountain or high upland. 'I'he largest village
I saw had about seven hundred inhabitants ; tlie average pop-
ulation is about one hundred and Rfty. Each village has a
head man, and each tril)e a chief. The greatest brave, the
one most gifted to command, is generally chief ; and his son,
if brave and popular, sometimes succeeds him in office. The
chief's authority is absolute, but he has a kind of council,
composed of a half-dozen of the older braves, with whom he
confers in matters of unusual importance.

Their houses are usually constructed of planks, bamboo, or
wickerwork; sometimes of reeds daubed with mud. Their
best houses are floored with rattan ropes half an inch thick,
but are without division or partition. The parents sleep on
the east side, the boys on the west, and the girls on the south.
A village consists of a half-dozen such houses ; a score makes
a large village. The skulls of boar and deer fastened on the
walls, shining black with smoke, served for interior decoration ;
and outside, under the eaves, is an entire row of these orna-
ments, relieved by an occasional Chinese cranium, some fresh,
others old and weatlier-beaten.

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The hunt is the main source of savage food-supply. In tlie
forests game is plentiful, and with guns, spears, bows and arrows,
boar, bear, deer, and smaller game — indeed, anyihing diat has
life — are secured for food. They are not at all dainty, and
eat what they can get, if they cannot get what they want;
but as the choicest of morsels they enjoy a pie(x> of raw llesh
cut warm from the slain animal before it is dead. A little
farming is done, the work generally falling to the women.
Three or four acres of ground are sufficient for a ^•illage of one
hundred, each family having a separate plot. Mountain-rice,
maize, taro, a little sweet potato, and pomelos are cultivated,
while berries, plums, and a small variety of orange grow wild.
A hoe with a short handle is the one implement required.

The dress of the savage is not altogether unpicturesque.
A sack of coarse linen, open in front, and with holes for the
arms, serves the purposes of a coat, and is often ornamented
with bright red or blue threads plucked from a piece of flan-
nel obtained in barter, interwoven about the bottom. Caps
are made of rattan, and besmeared with the blood of the deer
or boar, and sometimes covered with the .skins of animals
killed in hunting. Buttons, beads, and brass wire are greatly
prized for ornamentation. Women have artistic head-bands
of beads, shells, and carnelian. Rows of brass rings are worn
on the legs and arms, and armlets of white .shell are thought to
look well against the reddish brown of a woman's arm. Men
and women wear earrings, the woman's style being a stick of
bamboo five inches in leng»:h and half an inch thick, wound
round at intervals with a fine yellow grass ; the men are con-
tent with ones of a larger size, but shorter. These are stuck
through holes made in the ears, and to a foreigner look neither
comfortable nor pretty ; but custom has laid its hand heavy
on these dusky children of the forest, as on the aristocracy of
European or American society. However much or little other
clothing is worn, every man must have a broad belt of braided

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rattan, in which he carries a long, crooked, sharp pointed
knife, so useful for cutting tol)acco, betel-nut, wood, and in
case an animal is to be skinned or a Chinese beheaded. This
belt is also very useful when food is scarce; an exiru t\vi>t or
knot is said to greatly mitigate a hungry man's distress.

Tattooing is practised by all the mountain savages, and is
done with great care. A well-defined pattern is carefully
followed. The blue-black lines on the forehead are short,
straight, vertical ; those on the cheeks are invariably curved
and are regularly arranged. From the ear to the side of the
mouth are three ciu-ved lines; underneath them a row of
diamond-shaped marks; lower down three more curved
lines extending from ear to ear below the mouth; below thi-,
another row of ornaments ; and lower still three curvetl lines
complete the design. No prize-winner on presentation day
feels prouder than a savage when standing up to be tattooed'.

They have only two musical instrument.s— one a simi)le
affair made of the hard rind of the bam])oo, three inches long,
half an inch wide, with a "tongue" cut in the center and a
string attached to either end. It is made on the principle of
the " jews'-harp," and produces a similar sound. The other
is a " nose-flute," made of bamboo, a foot long, blown into
with the nose, and played upon with the fingers like a flute.

The savages all marry; old bachelors and old maids are
"alike unknown. Marriage, however, is a social privilege from
which a man is debarred until he has proved liis merit as a
hunter and has brought in at least one Chinese head ; but if
the Chinese are unusually careful about their heads, and keep
beyond spear-reach of the mo.st daring brave, the chief nxiy
grant a special dispensation to one who has won his spurs in
a deer-hunt or in a contest with the wild boar. The parents
of the girl make arrangements for her, and answer all proper
questions. There is no great ceremony, except that the bride
is gaily decked with ornaments and articles of many colors

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before slie is led to the house of her Inisbaiul, and that danc-
ing, drinking, and wild carousing express the good wishes of
the tribe.

These savages are singularly free from many moral and
social vices common alike among civilized and uncivilized
peoples. (Janihling and opium-smoking are viiy rare ; mur-
der, theft, incendiarism, polygamy, and social impurity are al-
most unknown, except where the baneful influence of Chinese
traders and l)order-men has corrupted the simplicity of the
savage. 'I'ril)es are continually at war with one another, and all
agree in regarding raids on the Chinese as both legitimate and
praiseworthy ; but among themselves crime is rare. Should a
brave be convicted of incendiarism or wounding another in a
drunken (juarrel he is condemned to procure a certain number
of deer-skins and to give a feast at his own expense for the
tribe.

Whatever of religion these savages possess may be called
nature-worship. They are entirely without any of the notions
or the symbols of Chinese idolatry. They do not bow down
and worslnp anything seen or unseen, and have no conception
of a supreme perstMial Cod. There are feasts, however, that
have a certain religious significance. At the end of harvest
they have a dance and feast expressive of reverence and grat-
itude to the heavens and the earth. 'I'hey believe, too, in the
existence and continued influence of innumerable spirits, the
spirits of their ancestors and great braves who have left the
body. The distinction between the soul and the body is marked
by the names given — ta-jii-sa/i, meaning the soul, and <".;;i7^, the
body. Their notions of the place of the departed spirits are
very vague and general, but the belief in their direful [)Ower is
a source of perpetual fear and torture. Food and licpior are
sometimes set for the spirits of the departed, and then con-
sumed with some sort of invocation to the spirits to bless and
prosper. I was present on one occasion when one tribe was

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259

engaged in this ceremony. The riglit hrind was held up \\\\\\
the iiulex-finger exlendeil, and all joined in tlu- iiuocati;)!! :
" Na-c-un [Heaven], liang-ni-ngi-sa-i-a-ku [give us luarts of
peace, give us long life, give us [JiDsperityJ ; han-pai-ku [we
are about to eat]." At the same time the forefinger was dipped
foiu- times in the licjuor, and then the following words were
adtled : " Ma-ra-nai | ICarth], han-pai-ku [we are about to eat) ;
ai-mu na-vadii [you .spirits that ha^-e already departed, give us
peace]."

Some tribes have ceremonies in coimeciion with the worship
of their ancestors three times a year. 'J'hey regard it a duty
to praise and reverence their progenitors for the hardships
they encountered and for their skill in killing the boar and
deer. In an open .space in the village the tribe meets; men
and women join hands in a circle around licpior, cakes, millet,
and salted fish, placed there for the spirits expected to be
present. At times they join hands in a long row, two or three
of the leaders waving white-and-red flags at the en Is of long
bamboo poles. This ceremony invariably takes place at night,
and a weird thing it is to watch their half-naked bodies bound
forward and backward, with many wild lea[)s into the air, their
flags flying in the lurid torch-light, and all the time the most
unearthly yells and shrieks keeping up a sort of pandemonium
chant.

They reverence to the utmost degree of superstitious vener-
ation the chirp and movements of little l)irds. Should any
expedition be under consideration — especially hunting, and
most of all head-hunting — they will go out and throw sticks
up into some tree and disturb the birds. Should the chirp be
a certain soimd and their flight be in a certain direction, notic-
ing could induce the cln'ef to call out his braves. Their rev-
erence for the litde tailor-bird has more than once been the
cause of annoyance and inconvenience. On one occasion I
planned the ascent of Mount Sylvia, whose peak towers more

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than eleven thousand feet above the sea. The services of a
chief and a dozen braves were secured. The chief's son, who
afterward became a Christian, acted as interpreter. Our point
of departure was a place we called " Huts." When Captain
Ea\ made his t:ip this was the farthest inland point then
reached. Two of the men went in advance, cutting the
prickly creepers; but the first day our clothes were torn and
our hands sorely lacerated. The second day, on a high peak,
tlie signal-shout of our guides was answered by several shots
in rapid succession, and then another band of savages met us.
They surrounded me, scrutinized me from head to foot, then
grinned and said, " You have no cue ; you must be our kins-
man."

After spending the night in their villag'-. we crossed another
range and followed a dark defile, where, looking over the
ledges of rock, an impetuous torrent could be .seen dashing
over boulders two hundred feet below. In the afternoon we
were within the bounds of another tribe. A halt was called ;
rice-balls were ranged in a circle, a large bamboo of native
liquor, with a drinking-cup, in the center. They all sat down,
diank, and fired several volleys. Two dozen of the local tribe,
with their chief, who lud been watching us from concealment
all the time, suddenly appeared with their matchlocks ready.
Our chief made signs and the guns were lowered. Each one
advanced in turn, and putting his hand first on my breast,
then on his own, said, "You are our kinsman." Then the
members of the two tribes tln-ew tiieir arms around one an-
other's necks, and with their faces togeilier drank to 'he health
of both.

On the morning of the fourth day v.-e were making the
ascent of Sylvia. Tiiere is excitement and interest in the
thought, for .Sylvia is the pride of our mountains. Higher and
higher we wound and cut and climbed. Far up we reached a
little open space among the tangle, and could .see that next

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day would take us to the topmost peak. Below could be seen
all the ranges, with their intervening valleys. All around was
the wild luxuriance of cypress and camphor, orange, plum, and
apple, chestnut, oak, and palm, while the umbrella-like tree-fern
rose majestically some thirty feet high, with its spreading
fronds fully twenty feet long. Far up in the crotch of the
camphor or cypress could be seen the ribbony ferns, i\m\
han^incc down from the branches orchids varied and beautiful.
On one side is a grove of bamboo with sky-blue stems and
feathery tops. In the jungle the trees are interlaced by a net-
work of prickly rattan. Standing there on that jutting crag,
gazing on that marvelous scene above, around, below, listen-
ing to the music of a torrent tumbling from a chasm high
overhead, far to the west the waters of *,he Formosa Channel
gleaming like a long line of blue light, and, between, the moun-
tain-ranges, looking as though the dark-green sea stood still,
"with all its rounded billows fixed and motionless forever,"
the effect of it all was overwhelming.

But after that night of ecstasy came the morning of disap-
pointment. With the snow-capped heighis of Sylvia almost
within reach, the chief announced his decision to return to
" Huts." He had been out interviewing the birds, and their
flight warned him back. There was nothing for it but to fall
into line and retrace our steps. Reluctandy, but with much
more rapidity, the descent was made, and we arrived at die
village in time for the braves to participate in the devilish jubi-
lation over a head brought in during our absence. One ugly
old chief, wild with the excitement of the dance, put his arm
around my neck and pressed me to drink with him from his
bamboo, mouth to mouth. I refused, stepped back, looked
h'm sternly square in the face, and he was cowed and made
apologies. When we left them they were urgent in their in-
vitations to their " black-bearded kinsman " to visit them again.
When in the forests near West Peak, nine thousand feet

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high, I strolled about outside a savage village, and was sud-
denly called to halt by strange and angry shouts. Looking
around for an explanation, I saw savages with their chief stand-
ing a little way off, their hands on the handles of their long
knives. They gesticulated wildly and seemed almost frantic.
I then advanced to the chief, put my hand on his shoulder,
and immediately the turmoil ceased. The cause of it all was
that I had been standing upon an old grave, and, according
to their superstitious notions, to touch a grave is sure to bring
dire calamity to the tribe. They bury a dead body in a hole
several feet deep, the knees drawn up to the breast, and all the
weapons of the dead deposited in the grave. It is covered
over with twigs and leaves, and then all rush away, not daring
to look back or to return to repair the grave.

I was in that region with some of the students for three
weeks, unable to return to the cleared land owing to the im-
passable state of the streams, swollen by continual rains. We
had no provisions and were entirely dependent on the savages.
]]ut we lacked for nothing. What food they had or could get
we shared. They brought us Indian corn and wild honey
preserved in bottles made out of the bamboo. They offered
us a spirituous liquor made out of mountain-rice, of which they
are very fond, and which seems to make them drowsy. Mr.
E, C. Baber, the British consul, who was wiUi me on one tour,
sampled the liquor and pronounced it "poor stuff."

One year I spent Christmas day with the savages. Koa
Kau, another student, and an elder from Sin-tiam accompanied
me. We crossed the river at Sin-tiam and were soon within
the mountains. Next day, when walking some distance in
advance of the others, I came upon a savage woman with a
child on her back. She looked afraid at first, but when I
spoke she smiled and the child laughed aloud. A little farther
on her husband appeared, his hand grasping his knife and a
fierce look on his face. The woman spoke to him and then

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263

he was friendly. Hearing that I wished to visit their chief,
who holds rule over eight villages, they offered to guide nie.
Through reed-marshes and jungle, up hill and down, over
rocks and fallen trees, we made our way. Again and again
bird-listening was resorted to, but always with favorable results.
When we reached the chief's village we were taken into his
august presence. He received us graciously. The students
and myself were to be his guests, while the rest of our party
should be given quarters in another house. A bear had been
killed that day, and a fresh piece of his tlesh was brought in
for us ; but we were not equal to raw bear's meat not yet cold,
and had to decline with thanks. The women gathered some
rice, threshed it, tramped it in a large tray to remove the husk,
and pounded it in a tub with a wooden stamper four feet long,
grasped by the middle, until in a very short time the hulls were
off and the rice ready for the pot. The pot was supported
by three old knives stuck in the ground as spits. At supper
each made rice into a ball for himself with a wooden ladle and
his fingers, and reached for some of Bruin's haunches, broiled
to suit the taste of a brave.

The chief's house was one large room fully thirty feet long,
with a fire blazing at night at either end. Men stood around
one fire, women squatted beside the other. There were five
beds on poles along the walls. The highest was given to me,
and one close by to the students. We had candles made from
the heart of the fir-tree, and as one burned out it w.-.s replaced
by another. On one couch across the room lay the savage
mother with her sleeping new-born babe. She was human and
had the instincts of a mother ; but she was an untutored sav-
age, and, savage-like, she smoked incessantly her long bamboo
pipe. The men smoked, told stories, and discussed the chase
and an expedition to tlie l)order-land to be undertaken soon.
The women were busy thread-making on the spinning-jenny;
and as they wound the rhea they laughed, twitted one another,

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FAJOM F^R rORMOS/1

and chatted as their sisters do in Christian countries. Ves,
sisters! for He made them, died for them, and from the glory
bends on them a Brother's eye. We proposed a song — " one
of the songs of Zion." They all looked and listened with evi-
dent interest. The aborigines are much more musical than the
Chinese. We sang several hymns, and through the chief's son,
who once visited me at Tamsui, I told them of the far-away
home and of God's love for the world. It was Christmas
night ; and away there in a wild place, where no white man
had ever been, and in the company of men and women and
little children who never before heard of his coming, it sent a
thrill to ihe heart to tell of the Babe of Bethlehem, the Man
of Nazareth and Calvary. I could not help thinking of their
sad state, and of the opportunity and responsibility of the thou-
sands in Christian lands who on that very day took up the
Christmas carol :

" Hark, tlic licralil an_i:;els sing
Glory to the no\v-l)orn King."

These tribes are continually changing their headquarters.
When a chief or the head of a family dies they do not care to
remain in that vicinity, but begin anew in some other quarter.
The abandoned site is soon overgrown by shrubs and vines,
and only the absence of immense trees marks the place of their
former habitation. Their mode of clearing the forest-land is
rather novel. Climbing tlie trees, they lop off the branches
with their knives, then girdle the trunk, and in time the storms
lay the dead trees low. The land is afterward cleared for the
village and rice-fields. Some of the tribes are rapidly dimin-
ishing in numbers and losing their independence, and will, in
course of time, be absorbed by the superior race. Natural
increase does not keep pace with the waste. The hard lot
of the savage woman unfits her for maternity, and makes her
progeny less able to endure the hardness of savage life.

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SAVAGE LIFE AND CUSTOMS

One of the sad things about their Hfc is the condition of
woman among them. The heaviest burden rests upon her.
All day long she toils in the fields, and at night carries home
the fruit of her work. Then she goes out into the bush and
gathers firewood, returning with a heavy load on her back.
Exposure, drudgery, poor food, and all the other ills of her
burdened life soon tell on her strength ; the strong, healthy,
finely developed girl is old before her time, and at an age
when her civilized sister is in her prime she is worn, haggard,
and utterly repulsive in her decrepit ugliness. Centiu-ies of
civilization and the influence of Christianity would equalize the
burden of men and women, and teach those idle braves that
the weaker sex is not the beast of burden for the lords of the
tribe. Whatever new burdens might be imposed by the sharper
struggle for existence in a more highly organized and comp-li-
cated state of society, they could scarcely be more cruel or
crushing than those that make a savage woman's life too dreary
for pleasure and too unromantic for tragedy.

As yet our missionary work among the savages is little more
than skirmishing. Occasional tours to their villages may do
something — have, indeed, done something — for their benighted
souls. But we do not call that mission work, and at present
it seems difficult to do more. No missionary from the West
could live long in the mountains, so great is the rainfall, and
so ruinous to health. The multiplicity of dialects presents an-
other obstacle. A native may yet be raised up to carry the
gospel to his fellows. Till then we hope to do what may be
done by such methods as . .!\ within our reach. Several of the
chapels in the border-land are attended by savages with more
or less regularity. We keep in constant touch w'th them, and
under ordinary circumstances have no fear of personal violence ;
but all attempts to evangelize them must, for the present gen-
eration at least, meet seemingly insuperable obstacles. The
blankness of their moral life, the blindness of their spiritual

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vision, the dcadncss — not absence — of their receptive faculties,
make the effort to move them with the dynamic of truth a
seemingly hopeless task. Add to this the extreme hardness of
their lot, the keenness of life's struggle, the barrenness of life's
outlook, and, most of all, take account of the utterly damning
effect of intoxicants introduced by the wily Chinese trader, for
which, when once awakened, the savage thirst is insatiable.
Facing a conspiracy of such resisting and demoralizing forces,
mission work indeed seems hopeless. But the obstacles are
only seemingly insuperable ; the task is only seemingly hope-
less. The gospel has brought light to the savage mind. Men
and women have believed and been made free. Their fiercest
passions have been tamed, their deadliest lusts curbed and
sanctified. Some are still fighting life's winning battle among
their native mountains ; some have gone to the better world.
With confidence I look forward to meeting in the land of die
hereafter one and another who first heard of God and heaven
around the gleaming night fires in the forests of Formosa.

CPIAPTER XXVIII

WITH THE HEAD-HUNTKRS

Their rulin- p:ission-r.-..l.ul)lc origin-lIcrccUtary hatred of Chhiese-
I'c-i.o-hoan a traitor-I5y nature a hunter-Ile;.l-hu!UcT-s .u.llil-
1-huining a raid-Attaek by daylight-Under ontrnf nii^lu-l^.tmu
(,f the victors— A head-hunting feasl— Disposing of the hea.l— A
f.ght Nvitli Chinese-FaiUue-In Chinese hands-\engeanee-lle-
trayed by kinsmen— After British ' ' blue-jackets "

HEAD-HUNTING is the ruling passion among the sav-
a<.es in Formosa. This is the one crime of violence laid
to their charge. To this, as to nothing else, they give them-
selves from earliest youth to decrepit age, following it with an
ardor that never cools and a cruelty that never relents. 1 he
deer and the boar may lose their power to stir the old chief to
enthtisiasm, but to his dying day his right hand never loses its
cunning ; and to see his braves return with the spoils of a head-
hunting raid is as life to his bones. The last desire of the
dying is that his sons may prove worthy of their sue and by
steaUhy step and certain thrust add to the trophies of the tribe
Hideous and gruesome as this passion appears to all civili/.ed
peoples, it must not be taken as incompatible with the coexis-
tence of moral qualities not always found, oi found but feebly
developed, in other savage or half-civilized races. As has
already been said, in several points of morality these mountain
savages will compare favorably with other and higher races.
Like their nearest of kin, the Hill Dyaks of Borneo, w-hom they
resemble with significant closeness in most of their distinctive

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features of character and in their customs and habits of hfc,
they are truthful and honest to a remarkable degree ; and gross
immorality, when found among them, is nearly always trace-
able to border-land association with the Chinese.

Head-hunting may be traced back to the petty village and
tribal wars ; and as life has no sacredness in the eyes of the
savage, and an enemy has no rights, it became simi)ly a ques-
tion of mode as to how their enemies should be put to death
and some wrongs atoned for. The bringing back of the head
was regarded as satisfactory evidence — a kind of medical cer-
tificate— that the sentence of the tribe had been carried out.
When hostilities became fixed, and certain tribes or races were
regarded as unforgivable enemies, a jtrcmium was put upon
their heads, and the brave who showed most skill was counted
worthy of greatest honor and made head man of his village or
chief of his tribe. So it may lave come about — at all events
it has come about — that the hill savages of Formosa look upon
the enemy of their tribes as a mark for their spears, and his
head as specially designed to ornament their huts.

These aboriginal inhabitants held the island to be theirs by
the right of centuries of possession ; and when the Chinese
came they were regarded as intruders, who would not respect
native rights. The Chinese justified every su.spicion, and shrank
from nothing that would give them possession of the land.
The natives were driven back into the mountains, their liber-
ties curtailed, and their life molested. The Chinese, therefore,
became the hated enemy of the savage, and to avenge the
wrong of his tribe not only merited applause from men and
maidens still living, but won the approval of ancestral braves,
whose spirits, watching the fortunes of the tribes, had powers
for weal or woe, and would surely punish the family whose
sons held back from the work of vengeance.

While the Chinese are hated with the intensest hatred, and
their heads prized as trophies of highest price, the savages have

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no tenderness of feeling fur ihcir kindred who have acknow-
ledged Chinese authority. The various tribes of comiuered
aborigines in the plains are looked upon as traitors, and wlu'n
opportunity offers they are made to pay iIil' penally. A Chi-
nese head may be a first prize, but the chance of a I'e-po-hoan
is never missed. Indeed, it would almost seem that the treason
of those who have yielded to the oppressor inspires a bitterer

hate.

The savage is by nature a hunter. He has the instincts,
the senses, and the hardy endurance reipiired. He knows the
haunts and habits of game. He can wait long and follow far.
His foot is soft, his aim sin-e, and into the chase he throws all
the passion of his soul. When the game is human, not animal,
there is added zest in the chase, and his vengeful hate suffers
not his energies to flag. No sleuth-hound is truer to the scent,
no tiger is stealthier of foot. Everything is pkv.med before-
hand. I-'or weeks, perhaps months, back of all other thoughts
is the prospective raid. From some ambush on the hilltop the
movements of the fated victims on the plain are watched.
What time the farmers come and go, when the rice will be
reaped or the vegetables dug, when the fishermen leave home
and when they return, who among the country people go into
town, what the defensive strength of a village is, where and
when the raid could best be made— all this the scouts know
long before the appointed day arrivet-.

The outfit of a head-hunter is simple. The necessary things
are a spear, knife, and bag. The spear is of bamboo, about
twenty feet long, with an iron arrow-shaped head eight inches
long. This is light, strong, and easily used, and always car-
ried in the hands. The knife is of iron, eighteen inches long,
sharp-pointed, and generally crooked, with a one-sided open
liardwood sheath. This knife is always in the savage's belt,
and the belt is always worn. The bag is of strong twisted
rhea-cord, open like a net, carried over the shoulders with

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strings tied rouml tiic neck, and capable of holding two or
tlirt'c hcails. Mvcry hcad-lumtcr has the spear, knife, and bag.
Sometimes bow and arrows are taken, antl occasionally a
matchlock gini.

Always on the lookout for Chinese, they will attack them
anywhere and at any time, should the opportunity be favor-
able. IJut shouUl a month or two go by without a head being
brought to the village they become restless and unha[)py. The
old-time i)assion begins to burn, and anangemcnts are made
for a head-hunting expedition. The chief calls his council
braves together, the matter is talked over, and proposals con-
sidered. The raid having been settled on and preliminaries
arranged, the hunters then look to iheir weapons. As many
as fifty sometimes join the expedition; but when they come
near the border territory, where the Chinese may be seen, they
divide into small companies under the guide of the oldest and
bravest.

Sometimes they start out during the day, in which case tlic
savages go singly. They know where and when their victims
may be found, and rely more on the surprised attack and sud-
den thrust than on the skill or strength of open combat. W ilh
all his daring the savage is at heart a coward, "bol'i .' i .mi-
bush, base in open field." lie watches from behind a boulder
or l)ush until his victim is within spear-thrust, when suddenly
and without warning he strikes the blow ; or lie creeps up be-
hind the unt.ai. v.'ed workman and takes him unawares. This
is his metli;r ' u Mi '^^o rattan and (-amj)hor workers in the for-
est. The ralhia industry is very extensively carried on by the
Chinese, and many woodmen are employed. The rattan grows
sometimes to the length of five hundred feet, creeping vine-
like over other i)lants and above the branches of trees. The
workman cuts the stalk near the root, and, going backward,
pulls it' out of the entanglement like a long rope. While he is
so engaged the savage creeps up and thrusts him through with

tif^

H'lTH THE Hl-AD-HUNTIIRS

his long si)ear. Cami)lu)r-\v()rki!ig is equally dangerous. Tlie
Chinese clnp the trunks of the caniphor-iree wiih a short ad/,
on their knees or bending over all the while. 'Ihal is the
hunter's chance, antl many a Chinese hcatl is olT before its
owner has time to turn arouml. 'I'he farmers are exposed to
danger in their fields near the mountains. Often the faic of
a hill is cleared and planted, while the top and opposite side
are still bush. The .savages are concealed in the bush, and
having observed the coming and going of men and women to
the potato-patch, watch their chance, and before the .d.um
can be given the deed is done. The head-hunter freciueiuly
conceals himself beside lonely paths tlirough fields of reeds,
tall grass in the plains, or at the mouth of a mountain gorge
near the sea. Then he waits the coming of some solitary
traveler, and the first warning of danger is the k-st thrust of
the spear. In such ways head-hunting is carried on in the
daylight, and in a surprisingly short time the hunter is back
again in the security of the forest, with the proof of his skill
in the rhea-net on his shoulder. A wild yell gives the signal
to his village, and in the plain below friends are begiiming to
wonder what is keeping husband or father — l.c never was so
late before.

But night is the favorite time for the head-hunter. Then
the men go in companies. Their plan is to select a house
standing apart and to surround it, making a wide circle, and
gradually closing in until at a signal the attack is made. Some-
times one creeps up and sets fire to the dry tliatch of the roof,
and when the inmates are aroused and rush out tliey are in-
stantly speared, their heads thrust into the bags, and in a mo-
ment not a sound is heard but the crackling of the burning
embers. If there is no rreason for such haste, the hunters first
secure the door, then thrust damp grass smudges through the
chinks and openings, smoke the inmates to suffocation, and
then secure their heads. This is safe only when a hotise is in

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a lonely place, where there is no danger of relief from neigh-
bors. Failing to find a house to their liking, the hinittrs will
take accoinit of any theatrical performance in town, or other
attraction that may be depended on to draw the coimtry
people and detain them until a late hour. Stragglers are never
safe on these roads at night. Or, failing in this, they lie iti
wait for the farmers and their men, who go to the har\-est-
field early in the morning and return when the light has failed
in the evening. A man or woman bent over the hoe all day,
or trudging in the rice-field, is not always on the alert, and
proves an easy mark. The women and children in the fishing-
villages are always afraid for the terrors of the night ; and men
never know, when they push off in the evening, but that their
loved ones will have fallen victims to the cruel savages before
they return ; for on the mountains behind die village the sav-
age spies are taking note of all.

The heads having been secured, the hunters return with all
haste to the village. When on the peak of the nearest moun-
tain they shout their wild whoop of victory. The villagers
have been waiting, and when that yell is heard a party is sent
out to meet the braves and escort them home. All the village
is out of doors. Old men and women, youths and maidens,
the youngest child in the settlement, even the very dogs, all
know the meaning of the yell, and go wild with excitement.
They are all on the way to welcome home the heroes. Such
shouting, shrieking, and demon-like howls! The dogs seem
as though they were made for nothing but yelj)ing on that one
occasion. The hunters recite their experiences — how they es-
caped detection, how they did the deed, perhaps what wounds
they got in the fray. Everything is told with many gesticula-
tions, and every point is greeted with fresh demonstrations of
delight.

In due time the hunting-party reaches the chief's house, and
the spoils are exposed to inspection and further jubilation. If

lyiTH THE HEAD-HUSlllRS

I .■>

there be more than one head the joy of the village knows no
bounds; but one is sufficient to call out all the Hcndish noises
that men or devils could well desire. The head is placed in
the middle room, or, if the crowd be too large, in an open
space outside. Beside it is set a \-essel with li(|uor distilled
from the mountain-rice ; this is for the spirit so rudely suritrised
out of its body, and in rettirn it is asked to put the hunters in
the way of securing other Chinese heads. A circle is formed
round the head, all joining hands — old hags with girls of six-
teen, boys of ten with men of seventy. An old man carries
a hollowed gourd-shell full of liquor, and with a bamboo ciij)
supplies old and young. They all drink, and the liquor, which
is mildly intoxicating, adds to the excitement. Round and
round the head they circle, dancing a sort of double step, the
braves leaping and yelling, the shrill ^•o'ces of tiic children
mingling with the bxoken-voiced utterances of their grand-
mothers, who are the most hideous and excited of all, and
over all the old chief urging on his tribe to fresh manifestations
of delight and gratitude. All the while a wild bacchanalian
song is chanted, the sound of which is like nothing outside the
caverns of perdition. No alphabet I know can be so arranged
as to represent such sounds. The nearest approach to spell-
ing the song I heard in the village at the foot of Mount Sylvia
would be"IIi-yah; hi-yeh; hi-yodieigh! " That begun low
and ending in a high nasal screech, with many reduplications,
and punctuated with many fiendish yells, might give some
idea of the song of the savage at a head-hunting feast. The
meaning of the song is that they are rejoicing now over their
enemy, and arc grateful for the head brought back ])y their
braves.

This demonstration is kept up all night and until the third
day. Should any get dizzy with the dance, >/r drunk with the
liquor, their places are given to others, and they given time to
recruit. On the third day the head is finally disposed of. In

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FROM FAR FORMOSA

this the tribes differ. One sets up a tripod of poles in the
village, with the head on the top. Others leave it expo.sed
till the flesh drops oft'. Only rarely is the head boiled and
the flesh eaten ; but it is common enough to boil the brain to
a jelly and eat it with vengeful relish. They offered it to me
as a rare treat.

When the flesh has been removed the skull is hung up as a
trophy to be prized, sometimes on the wall inside, oftenest out-
side under the eaves. The brave who can exhibit the lon'jjest
row of skulls is the envy of the tribe. Every house has this
decoration, and the chief's looks like the museum of an anato-
my specialist. They are never taken down, and the smoke
and rain of years only adds to the ghastliness of the sight.
The cue is always hung up on the wall inside. I have more
than once, during hours of sleeplessness, counted the .skulls
and cues in a savage's house and thought of all that passion
meant to them and to sorrowing families out in the plains. I
cannot say that I dreaded a like fate, or thai those ugly evi-
dences of cruelty kept sleep away or made sleep miserable
with fearful dreams.

Far inland from Toa-kho-ham there is a Chinese settlement
and trading-post, where in 1877 I witnessed a fight between
the settlers and a band of two dozen head-hunters. The band
had divided into two companies and attacked different points.
One company had already secured their prize and were mak-
ing their escape with three heads. The other party had sur-
rounded the camp in which we wx're, but the yells of their
comrades alarmed us and \\e rushed out in time to resist at-
tack. A few moments more our stockade would have been
burned and the inmates beheaded. The alarm was now
sounded and the entire settlement was in hot pursuit. The
savages fled beyond the cleared land, reunited their forces,
then turned viciously upon their V)ursuers. A battle ensued.
It was a wild and bloody scene. Both sides were armed, but

IVITH THE HEAD-HUNTERS

275

the rapidity with which the savages dropped on their backs,
lifted one foot, steadied their leveled matchlocks between
their toes, and faxxl was something marvelous. Leaping, fir-
ing, yelling all the while like demons, these bloodthirsty Malay-
ans held their ground for nearly an hour. l!ut the Chinese
were no cowards, and at last, fearless of death, dashed forward
and drove the savages back into their mouiuain retreats.

Should the head-hunting expedition end in failure the biaves
are utterly ashamed, and in some tribes dare not return to their
own village for three days. Failure is in any case a disgrace,
and they take care to fail but seldom. But should one of their
number be caught or killed, then there is wild lamentation in
the tribe, and the fatal i)lace is shunned for years.

And woe to the head-hunter that falls into the hands of the
Chinese. The mercy he has sliown is meted out to him. At
Sa-kiet-a-koe, a Chinese city of sixteen thousand inhabitants
in the Kap-tsu-lan plain, I witnessed a scene illustrative alike
of the character of both races. A month before, at a Chinese
house a mile out of the city, where many were assembled at
night for idolatrous worship, one came in and reported a mys-
terious stirring among the stalks of hemp outside. Savages
were at once suspected, and the men armed themselves with
guns and other weapons and started in pursuit. The savages
fled. Five were killed, five escaped to the luish, one sought
refuge in a tree ; but the dogs traced him, and he was taken
prisoner, brought to the city, and imprisoned. He was kejjt
in ignorance of his fate until on the appointed day he was led
to the execution ground near the military mandarin's yamen.
People crowded about in large numbers. Two executioners
arrived, each with a heavy broadsword about two feet in length.
Men and boys stood around feeling the weapons and remark-
ing on their worth. The third gun sounded, atul in a few
tninutes twenty soldiers with musty Remington rifles came
hurriedly along. Behind them two coolies carried the miser-

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FROM FAR FORMOS/I

able creature in an open, shattered scdan-chah. A bamboo
stick, holding a jiaper Avith written characters stating the crime
for which he was to die, was stuck through his hair and down
his back, inside the cords which bound his hands behind him,
and extended two feet above his head. A\'hen the chair was
dropped the wretch crouched and had to be dragged out. His
face was horribly contorted and the very picture of despair
and cowardly fear. He crouched for a moment, then fell for-
ward. One blow was struck from behind, then the other exe-
cutioner advanced and sawed the head off with his large blade.
The head was tied to a bamboo pole and carried away to be
put up on the west gate. Scores were there on purpose to get
parts of the body for food and medicine. Under such circum-
stances, or if a savage is killed inland, the heart is eaten, flesh
taken off in strips, and bones boiled to a jelly and preserved
as a specific for malarial fever.

Sometimes the savages are taken by the treachery of their
kinsmen, the Pe-po-hoan. One famous old chief was on the
top of a mountain widi a band of twenty-four braves, when
he was beckoned by a party of Pe-po-hoan to approach and
drink one another's health. After much hesitation the savages
came ; but hardly had the liquor been tasted when the crafty
design was revealed and the savages attacked. After a des-
perate hand-to-hand struggle die men escaped, but the chief
was taken a prisoner. He was handed over to the Chinese
authorities, who gave a reward to his captors. After being
imprisoned, beaten, tortured, he was dragged through the
streets, and women rushed forward, thrusting long needles
into his flesh by way of avenging the death of their husbands,
sons, and friends. When the signal was given for him to
kneel, with diabolical glee he said he was not ashamed to die,
for at his house on the mountains was a row of Chinese heads
lacking only six of completing the hundred, every one the
prize of his own daring skill. Around him were several Chi-

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IVITH THE HEAD-HUNTERS

-11

nese border-men who had adopted die cannibahsm of the sav-
ages, and these cut away the skull and ate the brains, in die
hope that they too would be brave like the chief whom they
so greatly feared.

The savages do not scruple to take the heads of foreigners,
and sometimes those who are unacquainted with the shores
have narrow escapes. In 1S76 I was in\ ited on board II. 15. M.
ship "Lapwing" as the guest of Lieutenant Shore, now
commander of the Coast Guards of England, and went for a
sail down the east coast of the island. At So Lay the gnat
man-of-war stood at anchor, and two dozen of the blue-jackets
got leave to go ashore. They were told ofT under charge of
navigating ofificer Murray, and soon had a fire kindled on the
rocks and were otit with their drag-net for fish. I accompanied
the officer, and was strolling along the beach. Suddenly a
Chinese rushed up to me, pointed his finger toward some
boulders near the water, and without .speaking disappeared. I
looked in the direction indicated, and a few yards away saw
ol)jects moving toward us. I'hey were the head-hunters, with
their eyes on the blue-jackets, creeping stealthily, like so many
tigers, until they would be within reach. Without giving any
reason I had the fire moved to another spot. This told the
savages that the) were discovered, and they vanished into the
darkness. Had they not been detected they wotild certainly
have succeeded in their designs, and in the night cotild not
have been overtaken. The blue-jackets returned with the fish,
broiled them on the hot stones, ate them with relish, and not
until their jollification was over and we were safely back on
board were they made aware of their danger.

Many other incidents might be told, but the foregoing will
illustrate the kind of life the savages live, and will suggest
something of the obstacles in the way of all effort to make
mild a savage people and " subdue them to the useful and the
good."

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AT HEADQUARTERS

279

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CHAPTER XXIX

A SKETCH OF TAMSUI

Nearing port — Up the river — The mission buiklings — The town — Pop-
ulation — Industries — Hospital

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SAILING northward from Hong Kong, through the For-
mosa Channel, on the left is seen the mainland of China.
At Amoy we turn eastward, and, crossing the channel, the
vessel steers for the harbor at the port of Tamsui. If it is
high tide she glides smoothly over the sand-bar that guards
■le entrance ; if low tide, anchor must be dropped. From
'• upper deck of our steamer lying at anchor we get a bird's-
,ye view of Tamsui. Before us, looking eastward, in the
background, stretching north and south, and rising tier above
tier in stately grandeur, are those massive mountain-ranges
left by tremendous volcanic upheavals of past ages, and now
clad in perennial verdure. Here and there on their sloping
sides are seen patches of tea-plantations. Farther down, and
interspersed with trees and grasses, lie the rich green rice ter-
races. No fences, no straight lines, no precise measurements,
but leveled fields of every size and shape, edged with green,
and forming a regular descent, each distinct and lower than
the other, down through the valleys almost to the sea-shore.

At last out swings the signal. Up comes the anchor, and
with leisurely dignity our vessel heads forward into the mouth
of the Tamsui River. On the south, at our right as we enter,
lies Quan-yin Mountain, seventeen hundred feet high, covered

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with tall grass, groves of bamboo, banian and Hr trees. Nest-
ling at its feet are villages and farm-houses, almost concealed
under ancient spreading bam'ans, swaying willows, and prickly
scrcw-i)ine hedges. There, too, at times buried in several
feet of water, lies a mud-bank, where oyster-beds ha\-e been
arranged. To the left is a hjw stretch of sea-sand bounded
by black volcanic rocks a\u\ broken coral, where women and
children are gathering oysters ami seaweeil. There, among
tlie diift of sand, stands "the black l)eacon," and a little
farther on " the white beacon " ; then a fishing-village, with
boats drawn uj) on the beach, and rows of nets hanging out
to dry. There is a battered Chinese fort, and up the hill just
behind it another fort, with modern massive earthworks, con-
cealing guns and soldiers.

Going slowly on, we pass low whitewashed buildings —
Chinese customs offices, with their European residents. iJut
here the hill rises abrui)tly two hundred feet, antl on its face
stands a tall, red, weather-worn, solid-looking structiu'c, the
old Dutch fort, now the British consulate; and there from its
height iloals the flag of world-wide empire. IJcneath its
shadow, surrounded by well-kept gardens, is the handsome
residence of the British consul. And there, just oi>posite us,
right on the summit of the hill, surrounded l)y avenues of
trees, are those two red, airy, and artistic-looking buildings that
we espied far out at sea, and that present a style of architec-
ture different from anything seen in any of the treaty ports
of China. They are Oxford College and the Girls' School —
the mission buildings of the Presbyterian Church in Canada.
Near them, and almost hidden by trees, are two white dwell-
ing-houses occupied by the missionaries. These are one story
high, with tiled cottage roofs and thick whitewashed walls, and
are called bungalows. Farther on stand two other bunga-
lows— one, a little in the rear, for the customs secretary, and
the other, on a line with the mission buildings, occupied by

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conccalod
nd prickly
in .scvcnil
have been
bouiuk'il
omen and
10, among
ul a little
llage, with
nging out
le hill jnst
orks, con-

uildings —
;nts. Uut
>n its face
dure, the
e from its
.■neath its
handsome
iposite us,
venues of
dings that
■ architec-
eaty ports

School —
1 Canada,
u'te dwell-

one story
walls, and
er bunga-
}tary, and
:upied by

A SKllTCH 01 TAMSUl

283

)

the foreign commissicmer of the Ciiinese imperial customs.
I''rom there a Chinese gra\eyard sU>pes down to a gully, where
a small stream runs and empties itself into the river in froiu.
Right there begins die town of I'amsui, and it extends along
die low bank of the river and the face of the hill at the back.

The Chinese do not call the town by the name Tamsui ;
that is the name of the district in which it stands. They call
the town " Ho-be." The consular papers call it " Tamsuy."
Foreigners mistook the name of the district for that of the
t(nvn.

The population of Tamsui is 6148, with 1013 families. Just
liere it nn'ght be explained that the Chinese in North Formosa,
in giving the i)opulation of a town, invariably include all the
villages and surrounding country coming under the jurisdiction
of the town magistrate. Thus, in the case of Tamsui, there
are four such villages: Sio-pi-teng, with a poi)ulation of 73;
Sin-tsng-a, with a population of 11 12; Sio-pat-lidiun, with a
population of 1580; Sio-koedang-a, widi a population of 1320.
The whole population of Tamsui, therefore, according to the
Chinese method of reckoning, is 10,233.

Tamsui is a busy enough place. Like other towns, its
market is crowded with fishermen, farmers, gardeners, and
hucksters, noisily disputing over their wares. Rice-shops,
opium-dens, Chinese temples, and drug-stores, side by side,
claim i)atronage, and carpenters, blacksmiths, barbers, and
chair-coolies ply their trades. But it is, on the whole, rather
a smoky, dirty town, not particularly noted for anything but its
shipping-trade, and that it is one of the treaty ports where
foreigners can hold property. This is really what gives it its
importance.

Close by the chief thoroughfare stands the MacKay Hos-
pital. From a sanitary view, no building could be better sit-
uated, because the ravine, with its unfailing stream of water,
sweeps around three sides of it. All filth and garbage are

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284

f/v'O/W /•>//? FORMOSA

immediately carried away. To this institution patients come
from miles inland, ami are treated for various diseases. Just
adjoining the hospital are the chapel and the preacher's dwell-
ing-place. Only a few rods away are the steamship company's
hongs. To the east stands the North Hill (Tai-tun), thirty-
one hundred feet high ; and away northeast, with its head
toward heaven, stands the highe:it i)eak, thirty-si.\ hundred feet
above the sea.

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idrcd feet

CHAPTKR XXX

TRAINING A NATIVK MINISTRY

The clcminant idea — Reasons for a native ministry — An educated ministry
— First colIet,'e — Methods of work — 'liie missionary's museum —
"Cui l.ono?"

\ flSSION work in North Formosa is dominated by the
1*1 idea of a native ministry. The purpose is to t'vangeh"/e
tlie people, to enh'gliten their darkness by the power of divine
truth, and to (h-ive back the mists of error and the bUick
clouds of sin that have through all the past obscured their
vision of the City of God. That is the purpose of all foreign
mission work. But in the carrying out of that purpose meth-
ods must be adopted suitable to the circumstances of the case.
What would lie reasonable and effective in one field would
be absurd and useless in another. \\'hat would succeed in
Europe or America would fail in Asia. China is not India,
and Formosa is not China. The man or the mission that
supposes that a good theory must be capable of universal
application, and that social forces, hereditary customs, or even
climatic influences need not be taken into account, makes a
grievous mistake.

All the reasons that led me to lay such emphasis on a native
ministry in North Formosa need not now be recited. They
had to do with the language, climate, social life of the people,
and the capabilities of the natives for Christian service. I
was at the first convinced that the hope of the mission lay not

285

286

FROM FAR FORMOSA

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in foreign workers, and every year only confirms tluU opinion.
Tlie Lord of the harvest has raised np from among the natives
of tlie island laborers wliose services in those white fields will
not be fully appreciated until we and they shall, at the harvest-
home, come with rejoicing, bringing our sheaves wiUi ns.

One reason for a native ministry that will be appreciated by
all practical and genuine friends of missions is that it is by far
the most economical, both as to men and money. Natives
can live in a climate and under conditions where any foreigner
would die, and they can be hale and happy where I would
tremble with chills and fever. And the cost of a native
preacher and his family is so much less, that the contributions
of the churches can be made to support a very much larger
staff than if foreigners alonc> were employed. It is much more
exi)ensive to live in Formosa than on the mainland, but even
with us the expense of a native is only a fraction of what is
absolutely reqnired for one accustomed to life in the West.
The total cost per month for a preacher and his family is cov-
ered l)y nine dollars and eighty-three cents Mexican money —
less than nine dollars in gold. The following table presents
the average:

Rice per montli $3"00

Salt vegetaljles 4-00

Coal or wood I ■ 50

Carryint; water and cleaning rice 65

Siiaving lieads 3°

Shoes, stockings, and cl(Jthcs 38

Total $9-^'^3

But having setded on a native ministry, and having among
the first converts those fitted and desirous to begin their stud-
ies in preparation for the work, the (luestion of their training
came early to the front. Let it be clearly understood that the
mission stands for a trained ministry. Whatever good an

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h us.

jciatod by
it is by far
Natives
■ foreigner
e I would
a native
itributions
ucli larger
iiuch more
, but even
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TRAINING A NATURE MINISTRY

287

uneducated minister may accomplish in Christian lands, he is
next U) useless among the heathen. Be it foreign or native,
the ministry that will command the respect of the people and
will endure must be intelligent as well as zealous. lUit in order
to an educated ministry, great buildings, large libraries, and
wealthy endowments, however helpful they may b'..-, are not, at
the first, absolutely indispensable. As good work cannot lie
done without these, but if the work done is genuine, increased
facilities will follow^ Our tirst college in North Formosa v,as
not the handsome building that now overlooks the Tamsui
River and bears the honored name of Oxford College, but out
in the open under the spreading banian-tree, with God's blue
sky as our vaulted roof.

Beginning with A Hoa, 1 invariably had from one to twenty
students as my daily companions. We began each day's work
with a hymn of praise. \\'hen weather permitted we sat under
^ tree — usually the banian or a cluster of bamboos — and spent
the day reading, studying, and examining. In the evening we
retired to some sheltered spot, and I explained a passage of
Scripture to the students and others gathered with them. In-
deed, wherever night overtook us, in all our journeyings, I
spoke on a part of God's truth, ever keeping the students in
view. They took notes, studied them, and were prepared for
review on the following day.

Another favorite resort was on the rocks at Kelung. In the
sampan we placed an earthen pot, rice, leek, and celery.
Then we rowed ourselves out to the tables and pillars of sand-
stone by the sea. At noon each one gathered small sticks for
a fire with which to cook our food. But we often dispensed
with cooking, for each had provided himself with a sharpened
nail with which to open the fresh oysters taken off the rocks.
Study continued till 5 p.m., after which we coasted in shallow
water. Several would plunge in and bring up shells, living
coral, seaweed, sea-urchins, for study and examination. Some-

288

FROM FAR FORMOSA

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times an hour was given to fishing with liook and line, for the
double purpose of supplying us with food a?Kl securing speci-
mens for examination.

As chapels were established we remained at each a day,
week, or month, studying daily till 4 p.m. All were trained in
singing, speaking, and debating. After four we made visita-
tions to converts and heathen in the vicinity. Students were
frequently invited to dine with friends, and thus they had
golden opportunities for presenting the truth, livery evening
a public service was held in the chapel where we were.

A fourth method, and by no means the least profitable part
of their training, was on the road in our traveling together.
All manner of subjects were then discussed — the gospel, the
people, the way to present the truth, and God, the Author of
all. It was the daily habit of each one, when on the road, to
collect specimens of some kind — plants, flowers, seeds, insects,
mud, clay — and then to examine them at the first halting-place.

In all these ways, during the early years, and sometimes
even since the college buildings were erected at Tamsui, the
students were trained to become efficient workers, fluent speak-
ers, skilful debaters, successful preachers. The college is now
the center of our work, but whatever helps to develop the
faculties of the students, inform their minds, or chasten their
hearts, is pressed into service.

My own study and museum in Tani.sui are open to the
students, and good use has been made of their resources.
After twenty-three years of accumulation the study is well
furnished, having books, maps, globes, drawings, microscopes,
telescope, kaleidoscope, stereoscope, camera, magnets, galvanic
batteries and other chemical apparatus, as well as inntmierable
specimens illustrative of geology, mineralogy, botany, and
zoology. What would be otherwise a parlor is in our house a
museum. In that room is a vast collection of every conceiv-
able kind of article of use or interest to Chinese, Pe-po-hoan,

TRAlNlh'G A NAinil MINISTRY

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e, for the
ing speci-

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trained in
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table part
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ly is well

TOSCOpCS,

, galvanic
lumerable
any, and
ir house a
• conceiv-
-po-hoan,

or savage. There are collections of marine Siiells, sponges,
and corals of various kinds, classified and labeled. All sorts
of ser[)ents, worms, and insects are preserved. 'I'here are idols
enough to stock a temple, ancestral tablets and religious curios,
musical instruments, priests' garments, and all die slock in
trade of Chinese idolatry, as well as models of implements of
agriculture and weapons of war. The various savage tribes
in the mountains are well represented. There is one idol ten
feet high, dilTerent from any other I ever saw, and a complete
collection of relics representing every aspect of savage life.
Some things are cjuaint enough, others suggestive of sad
thoughts, others gruesome and repulsive, because indicative of
ferocit.y and savage cruelty. Keeping watch and ward over
the whole scene are four life-size figures representing four sides
of life in Formosa. In one corner is a Tauist priest, arrayed
in his official long red robe, with a bell in one hand to arouse
the devils possessing any man, and a whip in the other to drive
them out. In the next corner is a bare-pated Buddhist priest,
robed in drab, one hand holding his sacred scroll, the other
counting his string of beads. Opposite to him is a fierce-look-
ing head-hunter from the mountains, his forehead and chin
tattooed, his spear at his sitle, bows and arrows strapped across
his .shoulders, a long knife at his girdle, and his left hand
clutching the cue of some unfortunate victim. In the fourth
corner is a savage woman, rudely attired, and working with
her " spinning-jenny," as they may be seen in their mountain
home.

There may be good j eople in Christian lands who will read
these pages with paiuiul astonishment, horrifietl that a mission-
ary should spend time collecting and studying such things. I
do not attempt to justify my conduct in the eyes of such per-
sons. Had they any conception of what it means to train
native-born heatlieu to become missionaries of the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Ch.rist, or could they conceive the reflex infiu-

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290

FROM F/IR FORMOSA

ence of all this study on mission work, in humbling the i^rouil
graduate, conciliating the haughty mandarin, and attracting
the best and brightest of the officials, both native and foreign,
they would not so readily write across these paragraphs their
ignorant and supercilious " Cui bono ? "

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CHAPTER XXXI

OXFORD COLLEGE

The building — Canadian liljerality — The grounds— Reflex influence —
College work — Curriculum — Students — An evening in the college
hall — Drill — Addresses — An inspiration

OXFORD COLLEGE stands on a beautiful site about
two hundred feet above the waters oi the Tamsui River,
which it overlooks, facing south. The building is seventy-six
feet from east to west, and one hundred and sixteen from
north to south. It is built of small, red, burnt bricks from
Amoy, on the mainland of China. The entire outside was
oiled and painted, as a protection against the heavy rains.
The main hall has four arched v.-indows of glass. A raised
platform extends the entire breadth, with a blackboard of
ei^ual length. There are desk and stool for each student ; a
map of the world, astronomical diagrams, and a rack for tunes
on cotton cloth. The college has accommodation for fifty
students, two teachers, and their families. There are two
lecture-rooms, a museum and library, bath-room, and kitchen.
Every room is well ventilated, lighted, and furnished. There
is an open court, around which runs a porch or veranda two
hundred and fifty feet in length.

It was during my first furlough in Canada, in 1880, that the
people of my native county, Oxford, Ontario, at the sugges-
tion of the " Sentinel-Review " newspaper of Woodstock,
undertook to raise funds sufificient for erecting a college build-

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I'ng in Formosa. Ministers and other Christian friends ap-
I)roved of the proposal, and it was carried out with enthusiasm
and vigor. At an immense farewell meeting held in the
Methodist cliurch, Woodstock, on the eve of my return to
Formosa, the sum of .$6215 was presented to me; and with
that money the college l,uilding at Tamsui was erected, and,
as was fitting, it was called Oxford College. It is with grati-
tude and pleasure that I recall this and other tokens of regard
on the part of my home friends ; and when I think of that
farewell meeting in 1881 there stand out against the back-
ground of loving memory the form and features of O.xford's
greatest son, the late Rev. John Ross, of Brucefield, wliose life
of faith was to me an inspiration, and whose labor of love the
Canadian church ought not to forget.

After finishing the building, the next work was to lay out
the grounds. In the proper season, trees, shrubs, and seeds
were planted. These had to be attended to, lest the ravages
of worms and white ants would destroy them all. To-day
there is an avenue of evergreen banian from the new public
road (named by the foreign community College Road) up to
the college door. It is th.ree hundred and sixty feet in length.
The trees meet overhead and form a great shelter for the
students during exercise hours. 'Inhere is another avenue,
(juite similar, between the college and the Cirls' School. It
is three hundred and seventy feet long, and extends to the
wall behind the two buildings. There is also an avenue,
though not so long, on each side of the college. The paths
are about ten feet wide, and are coNcred with coral gravel
from the sea-shore. A hedge of privet and hawthorn incloses
the mission property ; it is four feet across the toj;), several
feet high, thirteen hundred and four feet in length, always
green, and at times covered with beautiful purple flowers.
There are twelve hundred and thirty-six evergreen-trees planted
on the grounds as groves, and one hundred and four oleanders

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0A70AV) COI.UIGB

bctwcL-n five hundred and fifly-onc banian-trees; and when
the oleanders are in bloom— and they bloom for months —
their lovely flowers contrast beautifully with the dark foliage
of the evergreen spreading banian.

My evenings at I'amsui are sometimes spent walking round
and round the paths among the trees and groves, exercising,
superintending, meditating. The order and beauty are refresh-
ing, and the fine appearance of things is a help to the college.
Chinese people and officials visit, wonder, and admire ; con-
verts walk around and rejoice. Is such a part of mission work?
Yes ; most emphatically, yes. I, for one, went among the
heathen to try to elevate them by making known to them the
character and purposes of God. Our God is a God of order.
He loves beauty, and we should see his handiwork in trees,
plants, and flowers ; moreover, we should endeavor to follow
die order which is displayed so visibh- throughout the God-
created, star-studded universe.

In Oxford College I addressed the students daily from one
to five times. They always took copious notes. Subjects
wer2 regularly review^ed and the classes constantly drilled.
On being questioned as to what lines of thought were most
convincing, one who is a literary graduate said, " The fulfil-
ment of prophecy, especially the resurrection of Jesus Christ."
Another thought the ten plagues and their critical import
would influence many if studied. But twenty out of twenty-
five unhesitatingly declared that the reasoning from effect to
cause, and particularly from design to designer, would deeply
impress the native mind. Thus I have been right all along as
to how best to present the eternal truth of Jehovah to Chinese

minds.

The Bible is used as our great text-book. Biblical geogra-
phy and history are studied with special reference to Judea,
Egypt, Persia, Greece, Syria, .■\rabia, Jermalom, Rome, Baby-
lon, Nineveh, Corinth, Ephesus. Courses o. study are fol-

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lowed in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. A
study is made of the lives of the great men of the Bible.
Attention is given to the zoology, botany, and mineralogy of
Uible times. Nor are the modern sciences neglected. Due
prominence is given to all the important subjects in the cur-
riculum of a Western college. Si)ecial attention is given to
the systematic study of the doctrines of God's Word, The
biblical doctrines of God, man, sin, the person and work of
Christ, the church, sacraments, death, judgment, future rewards
and .punishments, with an examination of proof-texts and
arguments on all sides, are the subject of much study and ex-
position.

In the college are freshmen, students of several years'
standing, and helpers who have had considerable experience
in preaching. About a dozen students are Chinese, and the
rest Pe-po-hoan. Perhaps the former surpassed the latter
in mental acumen and unabated diligence ; but it must be
admitted that all studied widi a commendable spirit, energv,
and zeal. P'very hour was turned to good account in the
development of the physical, mental, and moral man. We
devoted hours to church history, biblical theology, zoology,
geography, astronomy. Addresses, varying from one to six,
were given every day. The (juestions of the .Shorter Catechism
were all discussed and committed to memtiry. We met every
night in the college hall for one or two hours, and there women
from the Girls' School sat in the center, surrounded by the
college boys. It would be impossible to estimate the sound,
solid, and far-reaching results accruing from these continuous
nighdy meetings ; but a sketch of an evening in the college
hall may be of interest.

Promptly at seven o'clock the college bell is rung. Students
file into their places along two sides and the end of the hall.
Women from the Girls' School occupy die center ; (-hildren
take seats in the front and corner ; onlookers gather about the

OXrOIW COLLEGE

295

iicnt. A
he Bible,
ralogy of
xl. 13ue
I the cur-
given to
rd. The
1 work of
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exts and
y and ex-

al years'
xperience
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zoology,
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latechisni
net every
"e women
d by the
ie sound,
3ntinuous
e college

Students

the hall.

children

ibout the

door. In all, over a hundred busy workers assemble. The
illness is serious indeed that will keep any one away at this
hour; sometimes a student appears shaking with malarial fever
and wrapped in a blanket. The desks are movable, so that
all can sit closely together if necessary. On the platform arc
table, lamps, and generally flowers. Behind it, and in ccMistant
use, are blackboard, maps, and a frame containing twenty-four
hymn-tunes neatly copied by a student on while cotton. On
the table are laid copy-books ready for inspectit)n.

First we sing a hymn, then have a few words of prayer, in
which one of the students leads. Children, then women, read
and recite in turn and answer questions. All the exercises are
enlivened by singing. There are no organs in Nortii Formosa
churches, and the truth is, we do not feel in need of them.
All the people, old and young, endeavor to take part in the
service of praise ; and, whatever maybe su 1 of our music, we
have never had indifferent, half-hearted >inging. Foreigners
of many nationalities, who could not understand one word of
the language, have enjoyed and heartily commended this part
of our worship. Many have been evidently touched as they
looked and listened.

Our college drill is varied Init orderly. One student takes
the platform, pointer in hand, to indicate notes in the tune to
be learned ; all in the hall stand and beat time with the right
hand. One, with the children, leads off with the first line, and
the rest chime in. A second verse may be sung by the women
alone, the third by the students, the fourth by the whole band.
One row of students may sing the first line, another row the
second, the women the third, and so on. Xo one knows when
his turn will come, and so all are kept on the alert. If the
sounds are not full and clear, we have a few minutes for cales-
thenic exercises, esi)ecially such exercises as develop the throat
and chest. Then they sing again. Scripture lessons, geogra-
phy, history, or any subject may be taken up next.

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Students take turns in fivc-minutc addresses on the platform.
Kaeh is critici/cd by his fellows, and any fault in the manner,
dress, expression, or the matter is pointed out. New-comers
tremble, but as months pass by they overcome bad habits,
learn to stand fire, and become ready platform speakers. They
develop their own Tiatural talents without aping any one, and
in time learn to speak in public widi a confidence, and yet
with a freedom from conceit, that could not be obtained with-
out such persistent training.

In the miilst of all I often take twenty or thirty minutes to
address all asseinl,>led on some biblical or scientific subject.
Our drill and worship over, the women retire first, students
follow, and all disperse for fresh studies. Sometimes there is
a debate, sometimes an exhibition of magic-lantern views, with
an address. \o two evenings are exactly alike throughout the
season. They are most enjoyable meetings. Cramming,
dullness, and monotony have no place in Oxford College.
Would that mission critics could see for themselves the glist-
ening eyes and the eager faces of little ( hildren, strong young
men, and gray-haired women in that crowded hall! Would
that some echo of those soul-stirring songs of praise — many of
them mountain airs — could reach my native land! In the
midst of care, sickness, and toil, what an inspiration to hear
those converts from heathenism, many of them preparing to
carry Christ's blessed evangel into the darkness from which
they have been led, ring out on the midnight air " The Lord's
my Shepherd," or "A day's march nearer home"!

1'^

CIIAPTKR XXXII

NATIVE WORKF.US FOR NATIVE WOMEN

Woman's niiiiistry — Roacliint; I''(irmu.san women — A j;limi)-.c at ('l'.inL'-.c
social life — Tin-afrom l)irth to marriage — The foreign worker amon;^
native women — " I.nw-iiorn liarl>arian" — Meaningless etiiiuelte —
].\.ver — Tlie native I'.ilik'-woman — Her training — At work — The
Girls' School — Cuiiicuhun — Students — The plan that succeeds

"^1 THEN Jesus went through every city and village preach-
W ing, the l'\veh-e went with him, "and certain woinrn
also." The great Head of tlie chiucli knew well the lu'cd
that existed, and would exist in all futiu-e ages, for the special
ministrations of women in the living temple he was erecting.
In North Formosa some of the most zealous and successful
workers, who were one with the little band of students in our
early struggles, and who bravely, and almost single-handed,
stemmed the tide of bitter persecution, were woinen, of whom
fragrant memories are still cherished by the church there.
With terril)le odds against them, some of them lived and died,
clinging to the one Uving God with a simple confidence, te-
nacity, and determination not easily understood by those who
spend their lives in the walled gardens of Christendom.

How is it possible to convey to Christians in \\'estcrn lands
any definite conception of the life of a Chinese woman? How
is it possible to present the difficulty of liridging the chasm
that exists between Circassian and Mongolian, or of reaching
women to whom the customs, ways, and ideas of their Western

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sisters are altogether incomprehensible, and in many cases lu-
dicrous and absurd ? But without some insight into Chinese
social life one cannot understand the nature and obstinacy of
the difficulties in the way of reaching Formosan women with
the gospel, or how those difficulties are to be overcome. Only
a glimpse can be given, but to those who care to think a
glimpse may be full of meaning.

The Chinese wife who is childless has a sorrowful life and
often a miserable death. Those who have no children of their
own frequently buy or adopt a child, or the husband may take
to his home a second wife. As might be expected, there is
even less happiness when a second mistress has been installed.
If the first wife be loved by her husband, all the more intense
is her grief that no son of hers will ever worship at her hus-
band's tomb. The fact is, barrenness is considered sufficient
justification for ill-treating a wife, or casting her out on the
cold charities of the world.

When a daughter is born, little notice is taken of the event.
If she should be deformed in any way, such as having a hare-
lip, she may be immediately destroyed. If the parents already
have girls, and are poor, even though it costs the mother a
terrible struggle — for the maternal instinct cannot easily be
eradicated — the child must sooner or later be put out of the
way. As the struggle for life is hard and keen, the sooner the
unwelcome baby girl is sacrificed the better.

But let us follow little Tin-a. If she come into this world
in, say, a fairly well-to-do merchant's family, she is destined
to grow into womanhood in a respectable circle. But how
many strange superstitions are connected with her childhood!
When four years old her pink plump toes are bent tightly to-
gether under the foot, cramped into position, and firmly bound
by strong cotton bandages. The foot is then thrust into a lit-
tle pointed shoe, the large toe being the prominent part of the
foot. This wretched shoe she wears night and day. The

NATIVE IVORKERS FOR NATIVE IVOMEN 299

The

Am.

mother steels herself against the daughter's screams, for tlie
feet must not be neglected, lest Tin-a's chances for a good
marriage be spoiled, and she be doomed to slavery all her

days.

For several years she is allowed to play with her brothers
about the door. She becomes the plaything of those around
her, and is scolded, indulged, and beaten by turns. It is
understood that she must be submissive to her brodiers, who
rule over her ; and in due course she must learn to cook rice,
wash clothes, and to sew and embroider dresses. She must
use every artificial and natural means of rendering herself out-
wardly as attractive as possible, for she believes that the great
end of existence is to be well married. Heart and intellect.
receive a wretched kind of training, if training it can be called.
She is taught some Chinese proverbs and the moral maxims,
which pass glibly over the tongue, while her mind is filled with
ill-natured gossip, low jests, filthy sayings, and a thousand
slavish stiperstitions.

When about ten years of age she is confined to the house,
and no man, save those of her own family, is allowed to con-
verse with her. If strangers enter her father's house she may
peep through the cracks from an inner room, but she must
on no account permit herself to be seen. Whatever she may
be in reality, the parents, who are looking forward to a few
hundred dollars at least when she shall leave their home as a
bride, represent her as being endowed with numberless virtues ;
and she herself, at New Year's or on heathen festivals, with
the aid of silks, satins, powder, jewels, embroidery, and per-
fume, must make a fine show. Above all things, she must,
with due amount of simpering, profess to be so exceedingly
modest that she cannot bear to have men look upon her.
This period of close confinement is an anxious one to the par-
ents, because such is the state of society that, should she break
through the restraints and be seen alone on the streets, all their

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labor would be lost, the familv would be disgraced, and the
girl's chances of niariiage ruined forcN'er. One would like to
draw the veil o\er such a state of alTairs, but we arc facing the
fact that the morals in heathen lands are \er\ low. Could we
expect them to be higher? Perhaps not, and yet the picture
has a brighter side. It is under such conditions that the power
of the gospel of Christ is seen. Already its power has been
manifested in raising out of such surroundings women and
girls who become neat and cleanly in appearance, ladylike in
deportment, and lovely in character.

When Tin-a is about fourteen years of age, a go-between,
who is generally an aunt or some quick-witted old woman, is
secured. This almost indispensable lady, by making many
journeys and holding many conversations, arranges with the
parents of some young man for a betrothal, which is usually
settled in consideration of a sum of money, say from one hun-
dred to three hundred dollars, which is paid over to the father
and mother of the expectant bride. The augurs having been
consulted, and an auspicious day fixed upon, a feast is pre-
pared at the bridegroom's home. The bride is carried thiilier
in a closely covered sedan-chair, over which a red cloth is
thrown. After bowing with him before the ancestral taljkts
and household gods, and going through many other ceremo-
nies, she belongs henceforth, soul and body, to this man and to
his mother, to use or misuse as they see fit. Those of us who
love the Chinese most are saddest to confess the cruel bondage
that too often faces the Chinese bride.

And now the question comes, How are women in such a
state of society, with such social customs, and in such a coun-
try as Formosa, to be reached and taught the gospel of Jesus?
A foreign lady goes to take up her abode in Tamsui. Rosy-
cheeked, healthy, and hopeful, she thinks she can do her ov^n
housework while studying the language. In this she proceeds
for a few months. But the hot weather comes, and with it

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IJATiyE WORKERS I- OR NATiyE IV OMEN

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fever. The color gone from her face, and strength from lier
arm, the lady must hand the housework over to a Chinese
male cook. Slie studies faithfully, but the Chinese language
is of all things earthly the most intricate and difficult to mas-
ter. Even if she learn to articulate clearly, she is suri)rised to
find at the end of one year how few ideas she can express.
Enthusiastic, perchance, and eager to be at work, she goes
out among the Chinese, who crowd about to stare at her.
Her dress is not like theirs, and some dispute as to whether
she is a man or woman. Presently ihe cry is taken up, and
it follows her everywhere: "Barbarian! low-born barbarian!"
The very fact of her being there in a foreign land, far away
from relatives, lowers her in their estimation ; for however
much the heathen in North Formosa have learned during the
last twenty years about Western lands, they are so busy earn-
ing their rice that they will not take time to study Western
ways and customs. The foreign lady, in the simple act of
going out on foot into their streets, offends against their ideas
of propriety.

She has heard, perhaps, that a little girl, with whose parents
she is acquainted, is ill, and with Christian sympatliy and
desire to help she makes her way to their home, taking some
delicacy with her. They may not seem frightened, and, pos-
sibly with a great show of welcome, they invite her in. She
tries to speak a little to them, tells them of one God, but she
feels helpless amid their chatter and questions about dress, hat,
buttons, and why foreign ladies bind their waists and not their
feet. They urge and entreat her to stay, to drink tea, to come
again. In time she will learn that a great deal of this is only
part of Chinese etiquette and politeness, empty and meaning-
less. The trudi is that the Chinese are amazed at her utter
disregard of the ordinary rules of polite society, that forbid
visiting in this way where there is sickness, and forbid any but
members of the family entering the sick-room. They scarcely

, ,<?>'•■

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502

FROM FAR FORMOSA

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wait till she is out of hearing before they begin to ridicule
barbarians in general, and this one in particular. The foreign
lady, kind-hearted, sincere, trying to converse in broken Chi-
nese, and really anxious to do good — who could fail to sym-
pathize with her under such circumstances ? Time and the
leveling power of Christian influence may change these cus-
toms ; meantime they must be reckoned with, and stolid facts
faced with oj)en eyes.

The foreign lady finds she is confined almost entirely to the
s..'aport ; for a week or ten days inland means more fever, and
the suspension of her work for a time, if not permanently.
To go over mountains to join JJible-women working in the
Kap-tsu-lan plain is simply out of the question. Apart from
the fact that the way is often impassable, the climate is so
damp and the region so unwholesome that e\en native work-
ers dread it. No foreigner has ever spent many days there
without suffering, and no medical man who knows the country
would dare give lu's consent to a foreign lady making the
attempt. Even with the best of care in the north she may
often be prostrated with fever. At the end of the fourth or
fifth year of faithful study and efTort, compared with the little
Chinese woman at her side, she is still almost helpless in teach-
ing. This native Bible-woman is thoroughly familiar with the
language and customs of her own people, and has been trained
in the lioly Scriptures so that she can (juote and explain with
aptness and effect, while her foreign sister struggles with the
idioms of the language, and is in perpetual danger of violating
one of the thousand rules of Chinese society.

Let us now turn to any one of these native iJible-women
and see what she is accomplishing. Who is she? ^Vhat is
her history? How does she work? There is A So, a gray-
haired widow, one who has reared a family, has grandchildren,
and will, therefore, command respect. Some of her sons are
married, and she has an infiuenre over their households. At

}^ATiyE IVORKERS FOR NATiri: irOMnN

3°3

one time she knew not of Jesus, but a chapel was opened near
her door. At first slie reviled tlie " foreign devil," but liked
to hear the singing through her lattice-window. Then she
hstened to the preacher, and noticed the students, who seemed
so neat, clever, and affable. At last she began to enjoy the
services in the building, and more and more was delighted
with expositions of the truth. Especially did she love the
psalms and hymns, for she found comfort in their consolatory
truths. Her idols were thrown away and she publicly declared
herself a Christian. By and by Canadian ladies gave a large
sum of money, and the Girls' School was erected. Having
spent several sessions there, A So was sent to a chapel, where
her time was fully occupied in teaching children and young
girls, visiting the neighbors, answering their thousand cpieries
regarding the mission, the missionaries, God, and heaven, and
in telling them of the truth that she had learned, and of how
she came to cast her idols away. She reads, and they are
surprised ; prays, and they listen ; sings, and they are delighted.
She finds out their ailments and afflictions, and, in common
with the preacher and his wife, she endeavors to comfort tliem.
She knows when and how to appear in a neighbor's dwelling,
and how to act in such a way that her visits may be accept-
able. She is respected on account of her gray hairs, neat ap-
pearance, and woman-like manners, and the heathen women
look up to her because, like the preacher's wife, she is better
posted in all the affairs of life than they are. She sympathizes
with the women, for she has suffered just as they. She knows
all about foot-binding. Sickness and death have been in her
home, and when the little ones they love are taken away she
knows how to sympathize, and with the comfort wherewith
she herself was comforted of God in the dark days of her own
sorrow she goes in to bereaved mothers, and not in vain talks
of the Shepherd and his fold. Every Saturday she visits the
houses of new converts, and tells women to be ready at a certain

^. -^^

304

FROM FAR FORMOSA

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hour the next day, when she will call for them to go to wor-
ship. Gradually and almost imperceptibly the women are
drawn toward the truth, and they scarcely know how much
they have learned to love this devoted Bible-woman till she
is transferred to another station. Not a few of these Bible-
women are most enthusiastic and efficient workers, and all are
of great assistance to the native preachers. Some of them
have been the means of bringing whole families to Christ, aiul
more and more is the Master's seal set to the work of these
native workers.

As a college was needed to train men for the ministry, so also
a large school building was rec^uired at some central point where
women and girls could spend months at a time, under constant
supervision and such influences a;; would remodel the lives of
the older, and direct in the right channels those of the younger.
The ladies of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the
Presbyterian Church in Canada came fcnward widi hearty
enthusiasm and gave the necessary funds for the building.
Near the close of 1883 we began the work of construction on
the same grounds as Oxford College, and but a few rods away
from it. We often worked till midnight with a large gang of
men. Students would stand outside and sing hymns to cheer
the workmen. In eleven weeks the neat, roomy structure "f
cut stone was ready to be opened. It is the same size and on
the same frontage as Oxford College. The front door leads
direcdy into the hall or assembly-room. On each side of this
is a small class-room. Behind the hall is an open court, sur-
rounded by dormitories, and there are kitchen, servants' bed-
rooms, and storage-rooms. There is no need for comforts
such as arc to be found in a T^uropean or American ladies'
college. These would only unfit the women for their own
homes, where foreign luxuries are not to ])e had. A sufficiency
of light and ventilation is most important and is amply pro-
vided for.

NATIVE WORKERS FOR NATlil: WOMEN 305

;o to wor-
omcn are
low much
in till she
ese Bibk'-
md all are
e of them
Christ, ami
Ic of these

try, so also
oint where
T constant
lie lives of
5 yomiger,
ety of the
ith hearty
building,
ruction on
rods away
je gang of
s to cheer
ructure "f
ze and on
loor leads
ide of this
court, sur-
-ants' bed-
comforts
-an ladies*
their own
sufficiency
.mply pro-

On the whole, only native preachers are employed ; there-
fore running expenses ha\e amounted U) but a small fiaetiou
of what they would otherwise have been. Two native matrons,
a preacher, and his wife live in tlie building. Much of the
teaching — indeed, most of it — Ins been entirely voluntary.
Older ones, or those further advanced, have taught the new-
comers and HtUe children. Often it is convenient to have a
preacher's wife and children, or his mother, in the Girls' School
while he is at college ; so that in this home for Christian work-
ers there are gray-haired women and little children, daughters
and daughters-in-law, all busy reading, writing, and singing
side by side. Teachers from Oxford College can easily carry
on the work of the two institutions. The English language is
not taught. If desired, a Chinese teacher can teach them to
read and write their own characters. Native women can sur-
pass a foreigner in teaching the romanized colloquial ; that
is, Chinese words spelled with English letters. That is the
hope of our women, for it is useless to expect them to accjuire
the Chinese characters. Each one who learns the romam"zed
colloquial can read her own Bible. There is a girl there who,
when seventeen years of age, learned in one month to read
the Catechism of the New Testament. Chinese girls and
women are not in need of foreign ladies to teach them sewing,
dressmaking, and embroidery ; they are experts in the art. In
other mission fields it is very different.

It is inconvenient, if not impossible, throughout North For-
mosa to secure girls, Chinese or Pe-po-hoan, to remain in the
Girls' School at Tamsui for any great length of time. It is
demanding too much in the present state of our work to expect
poor little girls to journey from the east coast away from
their parents. There is a hard struggle for existence, and the
larger girls cannot be spared from the Kap-tsu-lan plain. In
considering a sensible and useful plan for the education of the
girls in any mission, the daughters of those employed by the

3o6

FROM FAR FORMOSA

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mission, and whose interest it is to patronize the institutions of
their employers, must not be taken into account. A school
managed on those principles, and reaching only those selfishly
interested, is not likely to be largely influential. Our object
must be to reach the daughters of independent farmers,
mechanics, laborers, and merchants. To attain that in China
the plans adopted must be large, flexible, and Chinese-like.
Recognizing these fundamental facts, the Girls' School was
established. Bible-women are there trained for service at
every station in the mi.ssion. These are " looked out" by the
native preachers just as candidates for the ministry are in
Christian lands. They are bright Christian women, and come
up from the various churches, often bringing with them two
or three girls, the daughters of converts there. It is entirely
Chinese-like for a mother to intrust her daughter to another
woman who will care for her while absent from home. Some-
times the Pjible-women bring their own daughters, daughters-
in-law, or odier relatives. In this way the Girls' School has
had as many as eighty during one session.

The women are taught reading, writing, and singing, Bible
history and geography, the Scripture catechisms, and also at-
tend addresses in the college during the day and take part in
recitations and other exercises in die evening. They are
trained in methods of teaching, and in every way equipped
for their work. Then Uiey are sent to stations where their
gifts will yield the best service. In this way a hundred little
communities are reached, and women and girls, Christian and
heathen, in the remotest part of the mission are brought into
touch with the stronger and healthier life at the center,

I am not speaking for other missions or other missionaries.
Neither am I theorizing about work in Formosa. I am simply
explaining the plan adopted there, and stating results which
are evident and verifiable. After an experience of more than
twenty years I may be permitted to say that, in my opinion,

stitutions of

A school

ose selfislily

Our object
nt farmers,
lat in China
Jliint'se-hke.
School was
• service at
Dut " by the
islry are in
1, and come
1 them two
t is entirely

to another
me. Some-
, daughters-
School has

nging, Bible
and also at-
take part in
They are
ly equipped
where their
nidred little
hristian and
)rought into
;nter,

missionaries.
[ am simply
isults which
f more than
my opinion,

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NATIVE IVORKilRS FOR NAriVll IVOMiN

..^7

only by some such large, flexible, aiul Chinese-like plan uill
North Formosa ever be evangelized. The exi)ense of main-
taining a large foreign staff is so great, the language and social
customs of the people present suih formiclaI)le obstacles, the
climatic conditions are so wasteful of life, making the field.
except in and about Tamsui, a hungry devourer of men. and
the success which by God's manifest favor has attended the
work of those native Bible-women has been so real and abid-
ing, that I have stood and still stand, now as confidently as
ever, for the plan that is least expensive, most e(Tecti\c, and
that succeeds. In North Formosa that plan is native workers
for native women.

) '

I ^1 <i

CHAITKR XXXIII

MEDICAL WORK AND THE HOSPITAL

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Importance of medical missions— Native doctors— A doctor'-^ charges-
Classification of diseases— Diagnosis— Diseases of the seasons— The
medicine-man— Cures for cholera, catarrh, dyspepsia— Malignant
malaria— Treatment by Tauist, Huddhist, sorcerer, doctor— Malarial
poison— I'oreign treatment— Dentistry— First attempt— Instruments
—Methods and results— MacKay Hospital— Iniluencc of medical
work on mission

THE importance of medical missons does not any longer
need to be emphasized. It is admitted by all who know
the history of modern missionary work. From the very begin-
ning of our work in Formosa heed was given to the words and
example of the Lord, and by means of the healing art a wide
door for immediate usefulness was opened. No part of my
preparatory training proved more practically helpful than the
medical studies pursued in Toronto and New York. I found
the people suffering from various ailments and diseases, and
the power to relieve their pain and heal their diseases won for
the mission grateful friends and supporters.

But it must not be supposed that there are no doctors in
Formosa. There are large numbers of them, and the practice
of medicine, if it is not scientific, is certainly interesting and
deserving of study. There are no authorized schools of medi-
cine, no examinations, and no degrees. Custom is the only
law, and success the only diploma. By experimenting on
himself or on others a man may come to know something of

308

smrmmmmnmo-*" ■

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MP.DICAL IVORK AND THF. HOSPITAL

309

or's charges —
seasons — The
ia — Malignant
ctor — Malarial
— Instruments
cc of medical

t any longer
ill who know
c very begin-
le words and
ig art a wide
) part of my
pful than the
rk. I found
diseases, and
;ases won for

10 doctors in
1 the practice
teresting and
lools of medi-
n is die only
rinienting on
something of

the medicinal values of certain compounds. Or he may be
associated with an older practitioner and learn from experi-
ence. Or by studying books on medicine anil coi'ving the
important parts, he may learn enough of theory to be-in [irac-
tice. One who has himself been a sulTerer and filed many
remedies has all the knowledge rorpiired for prescribing for
other people. A clerk in a medicine-shop, by reading and fill-
ing prescriptions sent in by doctors, may begin himself to pre-
scribe. Failing in other lines, a man may purchase a stock of
recipes and set out as a doctor. 'I'o be sure, one must have
either knowledge or shrewdness ; otherwise he will lose the
confidence and patronage of the people, and then his occupa-
tion will be gone.

A Chinese doctor's charges would not be regarded as exor-
bitant by Western physicians or patients. For one call one
hundred cits/i — eijual to about ten cents — will be expected.
The regular practitioner holds a high place in the estimation
of the people, and his services are fairly remunerative. The
traveling doctor, however, who generally combines sleight-of-
hand tricks with the sale of plasters and nostrums, does not
enjoy their confidence or respect.

The native doctors classify diseases as either internal or ex-
ternal, and it is but rarely that both classes of disease are
treated by the same man. As internal diseases are more mys-
terious because of their secret operations, those who devote
themselves to their cure are counted worthy of greater honor
than those whose specialty is external sores and wounds.

Diagnosis is made by feeling the pulse. The doctor seats
himself opposite his patient, whose hand rests on a piece of
cloth on the table. If the patient be a male, the doctor, using
his own right hand, first feels the pulse of the patient's left
hand, then that of his right ; if th.e patient be a female, the
doctor, using his own left hand, takes fir>t her right and then
Jier left. He places his thumb on the prominent part of the

V »

310

FROM FAR FORMOSA

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bone of the wrist, and the first three fingers on the pulse. The
different states of the pulse are described by five different
words. The first means that it is high and full ; the Seconal,
that it is low or deep and slow ; the third, that it is deeper and
lower still ; the fourdi, that it feels as if empty ; and the fifth,
that all motion is gone and nothing can be felt.

The heart and liver are supposed to produce these different
states of pulse. It is believed that the heart has seven open-
ings, through which wind and an evil principle enter, causing
these changes in the pulse. Diseases differ according to the
seasons of the year. Those of the spring are supposed to be
caused by the liver, those of the siunmer by the heart, those
of the autumn by the lungs, and those of the winter by the
kidneys.

The doctor invariably writes out his prescription, which is
taken to the drug-shop and filled. The druggist weighs out
the various ingredients with considerable care, and wraps them
together in a paper, inclosing the prescription along with the
medicine, and marking the names of the articles on the outside
of the package. The masses are kept in ignorance, however,
for very familiar substances are given names (juite unknown
in the language of the common people. Minerals, rocks, and
shells are often ground to a powder and roasted. Vegetables,
roots, flowers, barks, and seeds are used as infusions.

In matters of surgery the natives acknowledge the superior-
ity of foreign practitionerc, but in dealing with internal diseases
preeminence is claimed for their own doctors. It is only slowly
that their ignorance is exposed and their superstitious notions
overthrown. When one thinks of many of their remedies one
wonders at the simplicity of patients that makes such prescrib-
ing profitable.

For Asiatic cholera many trust to a counter-irritant and ex-
ternal applications. The skin on several parts of the body is
pierced with needles, and jerked or pinched between the

'*->

MEDICAL ll'ORK AND THli HOSriTAI.

,11

Lilsc. The
i different
lie second,
ieeper and
.1 the fifth,

e different
;ven open-
er, causing
h'ng to the
Dsed to be
eart, those
iter by the

1, which is
iveighs out
vraps them
ig with the
the outside
, however,
; imknown
rocks, and
k^egetables,

IS.

e superior-
lal diseases
3nly slowly
)us notions
nedies one
h prescrib-

mt and ex-
he body is
;tween the

knuckles of t'-e index and middle fingers until it l)ccomesred.
Hair and ginger are sometimes mixed with camellia-oil and
rubbed over the body. A specific for catarrh is made out of
three ingredients infused in boiling water— a chip cut from a
coffin after it has been put into the grave, a piece of the hem-
pen mourning-clothes, and a handful of the earth out of the
grave or taken from beside the coffm after it has been lowered.
The tartar allowed to collect around the teeth— of which, I
can bear testimony, a supply may be easily obtained— is con-
sidered a valuable antidote for dog-bite. The sallow counte-
nance and disagreeable flatulence of a dyspeptic may be cured
by a diet of dog's flesh, that of a puppy being preferable, and
that of a mad dog not to be despised. A common remedy for
gastritis is jerking the skin of the neck with the fingers after
steeping them in warm water or spirituous liciuor. If an in-
fant's skin be of a black or dark color, pieces of a broken fry-
ing-pan are ground together with a screeching noise until the
child begins to cry. If a man has been exposed to winds or
rain, and painful cracks in the skin result, it is supposed that
the real cause of the trouble is that the man offended the
moon by pointing at her with his middle finger; and to be
cured he must face the offended mistress of the night, placing
his hands together as in the act of worship, and politely bow,
htmibly confessing his sin, and asking forgiveness.

It must not be inferred from what has just been said that
the Chinese are simple-minded and gullible beyond all others
that dwell upon the earth. It does seem incomprehensible,
however, that so shrewd a people can be deceived and blinded
by such ignorant quackery. And yet is it so very strange ?
What about the most enlightened nations of Europe in the
last century? What about some Western peoples and coun-
tries to-day ? One does not need to travel far to find those
who are willing to be duped.

The most malignant disease, the one most common and

312

FROM FAR FORMOSA

■1,

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ill

most dreaded by the people, is, as has been suggested, ma-
larial fever. They suppose the disease to be caused by the
patient unluckily treading on mock-money put in the street or
on the roadside by a priest or sorcerer; or by a conflict be-
tween the hot and cold principles in nature ; or by two devils,
one belonging to the negative principle in nature, fanning the
patient, thus causing the chills, and the other belonging to die
positive principle, blowing a furnace and producing heat and
fever. But to mention the names of these devils would be to
incur their displeasure, and so the people never use the name
" chills and fever," but call it " devils' fever," " beggar's fever,"
or some other harmless name.

The treatment for malaria depends upon the adviser. The
Tauist priest makes charms out of peach-leaves, green bam-
boo, and yellow paper, which are tied around a button of the
sick one's clothes, or to the cue. Sometimes red thread is tied
around the wrist, and kept there for weeks at a time. Or a
stamp, like that of Lau-tsze, the founder of Tauism, is pressed
on the back. But perhaps most effective of all is for the priest
to arouse the devils by ringing a bell or blowing a kind of
horn, after which he proceeds to drive them out with a whip.

The Buddhist priest prescribes tea made from the ashes of
burnt incense, or he writes such a word as " arsenic " on a
puffed cake, which he puts into boiling water and, when cool,
gives it to the patient. Failing other remedies, he sends the
afflicted to the nearest temple, where he must remain for some
time under the table of an idol to escape the attacks of the
designing devils.

The sorcerer takes three bamboo sticks about three feet in
length, ties red cloth around one end of each, and charms the
fever demons away from those possessed. Or he makes a
figure like a man out of rice-straw, into which he invites the
wicked spirits to enter, and having carried the straw man some
distance from the house, he presents to the spirits an offering

i'.i

MEDICAL WORK AND THE HOSPITAL

i^i

ted, ma-

I by the
street or
iflict be-
0 devils,
ning the
ig to the
heat and
ild be to
he name
's fever,"

sr. The
;en bam-
jn of the
id is tied
e. Or a
s pressed
the priest
. kind of

a whip.

ashes of
ic " on a
hen cool,
jends the

for some
ks of the

se feet in
larms the
makes a
ivites the
nan some

II offering

of mock-money, pork, duck eggs, rice, and vegetables. As
effective a remedy as any other used by the sorcerer is the
tying of seven hairs plucked out of a black dog around the
hand of the fever patient.

The native doctor will talk wisely about the disagreement
between the two principles in nature, which nothing but his
medicines will overcome. The chief ingredients of his remedies
are seeds of plantain, prepared orange-peel, licorice root, root
of white peony, Ftcrocarpus flavus, Sida, Faiiax (ginseng),
Lcvisticum, Luplcuntm, Sciihi/aria, Clematis Ubanotis, and

quince.

I have no more faith in the prescriptions of the native doc-
tors than I have in those of the priests or sorcerers. Indeed,
I have known doctors to write out prescriptions for their pa-
tients and collect their fees, but for their own use they kept
carefully folded in paper from five to twenty grains of quinine.

To this dreaded disease foreigners give such names as sun-
pain, intermittent fever, chills and fever, fever and ague, dumb
ague, jungle fever, African fever, and I have heard it called
Tamsui fever. Its real cause, no doubt, is malarial poison
generated by the decomposing of organic matter, and its in-
tensity depends on the constitution, climate, and surroundings
of the sufferer. I spent weeks with the savages in the moun-
tains near Blount Sylvia, and found them generally healthy.
Pe-po-hoan farmers moved into that neighborhood and began
to build their huts and cult.^-ate the land. Within one week
the entire settlement was prostrated with fever in its most in-
tense form, and the sufferings of those poor savages were sad
to see. Another instance of the p )ison being generated by
the upturning of the decomposed matter in the soil occiuTed
in connection with the building of the Girls' School at Tamsui,
where, after digging down several feet for the foundation, the
workmen suffered more or less until the building was finished.
A singular thing is that one Umb or one hand or one side may

) I

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314

I'ROM I'.IR JORMOS.l

be affected nnd may go through all the stages, and the other
parts of the body remain as before.

Several methods of treatment are followed. A first attack,
in a good constitution, may be overcome by anything that will
produce a good sweat ; but when the system is saturated with
the poison, long-continued and persistent treatment isretjuircd.
Lemons cut in slices and boiled till all the juice is extracted
make not only a refreshing drink, but, if used liberally, an un-
(|uestionably good medicine during a fever attack. I have
usctl PodopJtyUutn and Taraxacum in pill form at first, then
fre(pient doses of (juinine, followed, if necessary, by perchlorate
of iron. A licjuid diet, exercise, and fresh air are always in-
sisted on. My prayer is that some discovery may be made
that will do in the case of malaria what vaccination does in
the case of smallpox, and that by killing or eradicating this
devouring poison life in tropical lands may be made less cruel
alike for native and foreigner.

It is not an uncommon thing in Formosa to find half the
inhabitants of a town prostrated by malarial fever at once. I
have seen households of twenty or thirty with not one able to
do any work. In such circumstances the native preachers,
living in the midst of the sufferers and knowing their life, are
able, by means of foreign medicine, in the use of which they
have been trained, to do incalculable service to afflicted hu-
manity, and so to commend the gospel of their Master, who
" healed many who were sick of divers diseases,"

Dentistry should be mentioned, along with the treatment of
fever, as a most important department of medical missionary
work in Formosa. Toothache, resulting from severe malaria
and from betel-nut chewing, cigar-smoking, and other filthy
habits, is the abiding torment of tens of thousands of both
Chinese and aborigines. There are numberless superstitions
cherished by the people regarding the growth, defects, and
treatment of the teeth ; and the ways by which they attempt

the other

St attack,
: tliat will
iitcd with

1V(1U11H il.

extracted
ly, an uii-
I have
iirst, then
■rchlorate
Iways in-
be made
1 does in
iting this
less cruel

half the
once. I
le able to
)reachers,
r life, are
hich they
icted lui-
ster, who

itment of
lissionary
e malaria
her filthy
■i of both
(erst it ions
ects, and
/ attempt

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MEDICAL llORK ASi) THl: HOSPITAL

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to drive out the hlack-licadt'd worm, hclicvcil lo be gn.iwiiig
inside and causing U^olhache, arc, some of lluin, amusing,
sonic disgusting, and some, indeed, ingenious.

The methods by \vhicli the natives extract teeth are both
crtidc and cruel Sometimes the olTenchng tocjih is pullcil
with a strong string, or pried out with the blade of a [tair of
scissors. The travehng doctor uses a pair of pincers or >mall
tongs. It is not to be wondered at that the peoi)le all dread
the operation, as jaw-breaking, excessive hemorrhage, faiiuing.
and even death frecpiently result from the l)arl)arous treafneiu.
My first attempt to extract a tooth was in 1S73. On leav-
ing Tek-chham with the students one day we were folio ved
by a dozen soldiers who liad been sent to watch our move-
ments. One of theii- number was suiTering intense pain from
a decayed tooth ; he said, " There is a worm in it." I had n(j
forceps, but after examining it I got a piece of hard wood,
shaped it as desired, and with it removed tlic tooth. It was
primitive dentistry, to be sure, but the tooth was out, and the
poor soldier wept for joy and was most profuse in his grati-
tude. Years after, when a number of soldiers were reviling
the " barbarian missionary," a tall officer stepped forward and
reproved them, saying that 1 was the teacher who relieved him
of the aching tooth.

My first dental instruments were very rude, having been
hammered out by a native blacksmith according to my direc-
tions. Now I have the very best instruments made in
New York. The lance is rarely used, and the key, hook,
punch,, or screw, never. A chair is not needed, and with
a hundred other suiTerers waiting their tiun any elaborate
preparations would be a waste of time. The Chinese Have
considerable nerve, and endure the pain of an operation won-
derfully well.

Our usual custom in touring through th. country is to take
our stand in an open space, often on the r ne steps of a tern-

3i6

FROM FAR FORMOSA

ji f

I !!' i

1 '

i t

1 -■.

' \\

i x\

Ii^'.

i' ■

pie, and, after singing a hymn or two, proceed to extract teeth,
and then preach the message of the gospel. The sufferer
usually stands while the operation is being performed, and the
tooth, when removed, is laid on his haml. To keep the tooth
would be to awaken suspicions regarding us in the Chinese
mind. Several of the students are experts with the forceps, antl
we have fre(iuently extracted a hundred teeth in less than an
hour. I have myself, since 1S73, extracted over twenty-one
thousand, and the students and preachers have extracted nearly
half that number. The people now know that they do not
need to suffer the excruciating pain of toothache, and that
they need not run any risk in obtaining relief. The priests and
other enemies of the mission may persuade people that fever
and other diseases have been cured, not by our medicines, but
by the intervention of the gods ; but the relief from toothache
is too unmistakable, and because of this tooth-extracting has
been more than anything else effective in breaking down pre-
judice and opposition.

Patients are treated in all the cities and villages where we
may happen to be. Medicines are given, and treatment pre-
scribed for them in their homes. Tne headquarters of this
department, however, like those of all others, are at Tamsui.
There is the hospital building, with its wards and necessary
equipment. At first I had only one room, but in 1S80 a com-
modious building for hospital pur[ioses was erected at a cost
of three thousand dollars, the gift of Mrs. MacKay, of De-
troit, in memory of her husband, C;\pl;i!n MacKay, and is now
known as the " MacKay Hos])ita!." Tin's has been a great
blessing to thousantls of people. Referring to tb.e report for
1894, during which time I have been on furlougli in Canada,
I find that thirty-one hundred and fifty-six new patients and
seventy-five hundred and eighty old patients were treated in
the year.

Now it is not claimed that all treated were cured, or that all

L„M.'"

MEDICAL IVORK AND THE HOSPITAL

317

ract teeth,
le sufferer
d, and the
• the tooth
e Chinese
)rceps, and
ss than an
wenty-one
;ted nearly
,ey do not
, and tliat
priests and
that fever
licincs, but
toothache
acting lias
down pre-

. where we
tment pre-
srs of this
it Tamsui.

necessary
180 a com-
l at a cost
ay, of De-
and is now
en a LTeat

rejM)rt for

n Canada,

itients and

treated in

or that all

cured became Christians. Large numbers were cured during
these twenty-three years, many mure were relieved, and the
services rendered made them much more kindly disposetl to-
ward the mission. Many became converts themselves, and
their example told with their relatives and friends. 'The retlex
influence of all this medical work cannot be estimated. The
direct results in the conversion of patients cannot be told. \\e
could tell of many interesting cases. Bun Mien, a man of
fifty-six years, almost blind, formerly a ringleader of bad ihar-
acters, was cured of his blindness and converted to God, bring-
ing his children and grand( hildren with him. A young woman
who took opium to commit suicide was treated, and recovered ;
and as a result her father-in-law, sixty-two years of age, came
to the chapel and believed the gospel, living ( ' -istently on to
the close of his life. A man named Chiu wa. adly burned,
and a native preacher dressed his wounds successfully, so that
they were healed ; and Chiu came to the chapel, bringing his
seven children, and they all became Christians. But space
would fail to tell of Chhi Hok, of Lim O, a gong-beater, of
Kho Ban, whose son was healed after being gored by a water-
buffalo, of Chhi, a fever patient, of Ku, who was bit by a dog,
and Ong, an opium-smoker, of a Confucianist teacher who was
a victim of " furious insanity " — space would fail to tell of
these and of hundreds of others who by being healed of physi-
cal infirmities were led to a knowledge of the Saviour who
heals the great trouble of the soul. Many of them were ad-
versaries of the truth, and were brought to consult the foreigner
only as a last resort ; but out of enemies they became friends.
Some of them are now in the presence of their Lord ; others
are constant in his service in the church on earth.

CHAPTER XXXIV

FOREIGNERS AND THE MISSION

Reported hostility — Sympathetic relations in Formosa — Experiences with
ff)reigners — Foreign kindness to native preachers — " IJarharian "
rarely lieard — Address and presentation from foreign community

/: <

: !'

I ' !

it '■ i i.

;' I

IT is a comtiion complaint on tlie part of missionaries that
foreigners, whether mereliants residing in the country or
travelers passing through it, are either indifTerent or hostile to
Christian missions. One reads of the haughty contempt,
sometimes ill concealed, oi the foreign community for mission-
aries and their work. One hears of a chasm deep and wide
between the missionaries and the other foreigners in the cities
and port towns of China and Japan. We are told by mer-
chants, officials, and travelers that tlu- missionaries are weak,
narrow-minded, entirely without influence, and that their work
is a failure or a fraud. Missionaries, on the other hand, hint
that the foreign merchants are worldly, the military and naval
officers and men loose livers, the consuls unsympathetic and
unsi)iritual, and the average traveler a one-eyed, prejudiced,
vagabond globe-trotter, whose presence in the vicinity of a
mission is a distinct calamity.

It is not for me to speak of things as they exist in other
mission fields, although I should be sorry to think of what one
hears regarding the relations of foreigners to mission work as
having any very substantial basis in fact. There may be a
chasm such as has been leferred to, and, if so, it has probably

318

rORl-IGNl.RS AND THL MISSION

J '9

icnces with
iJiirhai ian "

luunily

[iries that
oiintry or
hostile to
ontcmpt,
r mission-
and wide
the I'ities
. by nier-
are weak,
heir work
Kind, hint
and na\al
.hetic and
rcjiuhcc'd,
inil}' of a

t in other
what >nc
n work as
may be a
; probably

been dug by both parties. liut speaking nf Formosa, ami
looking back over the entire liistory of our mission there, 1 am
bound to say that the most cordial relations have ever existed
between the workers in the mission ami the resident or tran-
sient foreign community. Again and again in the preceding
chapters reference has been made to kindnesses shown and
services rendered by European and American merchants, ami
by consuls, commissioners of customs, and })hysicians. The
representatives of the great foreign linns of 'I'ait ^S: Co., J'oyd
& Co., Douglas, I. a Praik cS: Co., as well as others in the
employ of the Chinese, have always taken a genuine interest
in our work. Consuls and commissioners of customs like
Frater, Allen, Hosie, Ayrton, Morse, Hall, Lourne, and Hob-
son have been my personal friends, and 1 recall then- names
with gratitude. More than (jne trip into savage territory was
relieved by the company of one or another of those gentlemen.

Hobson, when commissioner of customs, went with me
once, and neither of us will forget o ir experiences in the
mountains. Shivering with cold, we spent the greater part of
one day in a hut filled with smoke from the wet firewood, and
at night poor Hobson was kept awake, partly, perhaps, by the
savage atmosphere of the place, and partly by the noise of a
dry deerskin in which I had wrapped myself, and which at
every movement cracked like the going ofT of a pistol. I
remember, too, one hot evening when Hobson and Dr. Ringer
walked from Tamsui to Pat-li-hun to share with me such a
dinner as I had not seen before in a twelvemonth.

Medical men have invariably manifested a desire to assist
our work, and ha^e rendered valuable services in many ways.
Dr. Ringer not only waited upon me in tiines of serious illness,
but during his residence at the port of Tamsui rendered gra-
tuitous service to the mission, having our hospital under his
charge.

Scientists from various countries have visited us at Tamsui,

320

FROM F.IR FORMOSA

and an hour or two in my ninseiim si-curcd for the mission
thfir sympathy and interest. 'I'hey saw there what would take
them years to discover for themselves, and not infrecjuenily
have they been made friends of foreign missions by accom-
panying us on a tour of tlie chapels.

One Sabbath in 1S73, when at Go-ko-khi, I was surprised
by the sudden ajjpearance of a tall stranger, who saluted me
by name with an accent that suggested the Stars and Stripes.
He was J. !'>. Stecrc, an American scientist, now professor in
the University of Ann Arbor, Michigan, who was making a
tour through the tropics, collecting specimens for the museum
of his college. He became our guest at 'I'amsui, and for a
month we had delightful intercourse together. He took great
interest in my students, and once during my absence, when he
was left in full possession for several days, he undertook to
teach the students two tunes. He did not know the language,
but he could use a hymn-book in the romanized collociuial.
He put the notes of the tunes on the blackboard and drilled the
students in singing them, and on my return I was greeted
with the Unc Hundredth ami the One Hundred and Twenty-
first psalms, su'ig to tunes that are still favorites, and are called
the "botanist's tunes" to Un's day by those who were in the
class then.

So I might go on to tell of ship-captains, officers, and
engineers who have in difTerent ways rendered aid to our work
in Formosa. High and low have expressed their sympathy,
and the foreign residents have gone out of their way to show
kindness to the native preachers and converts. British Am-
bassador O'Connor and British Admiral Salmon visited Oxford
College, as did also the commander of a British man-of-war,
and, addressing the students, myself interpreting, spoke in the
kindliest terms of greeting and good will. I have found for-
eigners of all nationalities ready to acknowledge their indebt-
edness to Christianitv, and willing to help the mission and

• mission
)iilil tako
■c'liufiuly
! acfoin-

surpriscd
liilcd nic
1 Stripes,
ifcssor in
inking a

muscuni
iml for a
)ok great

when he
•rtook to
anguage,
ollo(]uial
rilled the
j greeted

Twetity-
ire called
re in the

:ers, and
our work
ympathy,
,' to show
itish Am-
d Oxford
in-of-war,
)ke in the
ouiid for-
ir indebt-
;sion and

FORfUCNF.RS /tNf) TH!- MtSS/ns'

.^2 1

missionaries. The fart that tluy were not thcmstlves mi»iiin-
aries gave peculiar emphasis to their words, not only in Mumiie
and America, but also in heathen communities. In return the
students and converts have been taught to treat with respe( t
and honor all foreigners, and the contemptuous epithet "b.ir-
barian," so often cast at foreigners twenty years ago, is rarely
heard in North Formosa to-day.

That the relations existing between the mission and the for-
eign commimity are symi)athctic and cordial is testified to by
the address, engrossed on silk, and accompanied by a magnifi-
cent telescope, presented to me on the eve of my departure
for Canada in 1893. I value this adtlress, even though it
does me honor overmuch, and I have consented to its repro-
duction here because it expresses in unmistakable terms the
interest of the entire foreign population in the work into which
I have put my life.

" To Uri'. G. L. ]\[acKa}\ D.D., on the eve of his departior from
Formosa.

" Tamsci, i7tli August, 1S95,

" Dr. MacKav : We here assembled felt that we could not
let you depart without wishing you God-speed and a i)lcasant
voyage home, and expressing our regard for you, and our
estimation of the great work you have so nobly undertaken in
Formosa, and carried on so successfully during the past twenty
years.

"We have not always given expression to our thouglit, but
we have highly appreciated your great success, and the mar-
velous progress you have, by God's help, been able to make
in getting at the hearts of the Chinese people around us; a
success which, we think, is without parallel in the history of
Christian missions in China.

" You cannot but regard with much thankfulness and satis-
faction the great and noble work you have been engaged upon,

322

FROM I'AR I'ORMOS.l

! ■

fil- P ^ '

i!"

, -:■ ■(

!' ii

m r 1

■HI ^Ij

: 't^i

and to which you have devoted your life these many years.
In material blessings alone, resulting from your labors, residi's
sufficient cause to make any man proud and happy; and if
there were nothing else to show than the good feelings be-
tween natives and foreigners, due to your teailiing, that alone
would be sufficient cause for triumph. Those of us who
remember Formosa as it was at the time of your arri\al recog-
nize a great alteration for tlie better in tlie demeanor of the
natives generally ; and we ascribe the im[)ro\enient in a great
measure to you. Suspicion has given place to confidence, antl
the most timid never dream of fearing molestation, let them
roam the country where they will. Who with time to ramble
can forget the neat and wh')le.-,ome-looking mission chapels
scattered broadcast through the laud ? And who can fail to
remember the bright and cheerful welcome receixed at such
spots as Sin-tiam, when on i)leasure bent amid the glorious
scenery of Formosa the Beautiful; the kindly reception and
smiling welcome, the glad readiness to anticipate one's wants,
the keen desire to make our stay at the mission station com-
fortable, and to give us a briglit memory to look liack on?
AH this is the outcome of your teac:hing and your influence.

" Besides the admiration and resjjcct we feel for yotir work,
and the gratitude for the benefit we derive from the good feel-
ing between Chinese and foreigners, which you have done so
much to develop, we also feel that we liave e\-en, as a com-
munity, a special relationship with Kai Bok-su. ^'ou have
been a standing .symbol and example to us of faith in the
Unseen, especially at those times when one or another lias
passed from among us and from the visible world. You ha\e
been ever ready to sympathize with us and hel[) us, and to
remind us of the great realities, sharing with us, as only such
a man as yourself can, in all our last offices for those who have
gone from us. Had we marriage or other occasions for joy
among us, we feel that yon would then equally sympathize

nany years.
)or.s, resides
)l)y ; and if
feelings be-
:, that alone
of us who
ri\al recog-
anor of the
t in a great
idenee, antl
n, let them
e to ramble
ion chapels

can fail to
red at such
.he glorious
reption and
me's wants,
tation com-
: liack on?
influence.

your work,
e good feel-
ive done so
, as a com-

^'ou have

"aith ill (he

mother lias

You ha\e

us, and to
s only such
e whf) have
ons for joy
sympathize

FOREIGNERS AND THE MISSION

*♦ "> J

§.

with us and help us. Therefore, individually and as a com-
munity, we wish to express our appreciation and our gratitude.
"It only remains to ask you, Dr. AlacKay. to aecejit from
the foreign community of North Formosa, and the captains,
officers, and engineers of the visiting steamers, a feeble token
of our esteem. If our offering should serve to bring nearer
to your vision the 'glory which the heavens nightly declare,'
and give you delight and rela.xation in the bringing, we shall
all rejoice.

L. TE BRI/rON,

B. P. White,
Charles Pye,
Alfred G. Robson,
J. R. Wilson,
R. Mussen,
Arnold C. Clarke,
Harrison W. Lee,
G. Ball,

F. W. E. DULBERG,

William Gauid,

William Davis,

Fred B. Marshall,

F. M. Tait,

R. H. Obiy,

M. Jenssen,

B. C. Matheson,

F. Fenwick,

E. A. Donaldson,

Paul Schabert,

J. Merlees,

F. C. Angear.

James Cromarty,
Isaac Roberts,
J. D. Edwards,
V. Larsen,
J. Remusat,
H. B. Morse,

\V. S. AVRTON,

O. E. Bailey,
G. M. Hinrichs,
G. Schneider,
G. Nepean,
W. Cloxey,
A. F. Gardiner,
A. Butler,
P. W. Petersen,

A. SCHWARZER,

J. S. Roach,
William Roberts,
F. F. Andrew,

E. Hansf.n,

F. Ashton,

liiiii

CHAPTER XXXV

WITH THE ENGLISH PRES13YTERIANS

Hi'

\ ll^. ^.

North and South — IMutual respect — Foumlinj; of their mission — Staff of
workers — ^'isil of Mr. Caniphell — Tour with Mr. Ritcliie — Stations
and sl;Uistics — Medical work — Education — A noljle history

ALTHOUGH the island of Formosa is not more than two
. hundred and fifty miles in length, those living in the
south are separated from us in the north as far as if the length
of a continent lay between us. There is no direct connection
by sea, and the overland route is tedious, difficult, and dan-
gerous. The mission in South I-'ormosa, carried on by the
Presbyterian Church of England, although reaching northward
to a point not far from the most soutlierly station supplied by
our mission in North Formosa, is still so far away that for all
practical purposes we are in different countries. Once in
years missionaries from Tamsui and from Tai-wan-fu may
meet, but it is only as

" Ships that i)ass in the niglit and speak each other in passing."

No two missions c(Hild possibly be more friendly ; and al-
though we have not touched each other except remotely, and
ahhough our methods of work differ very materially, we are
"one in hope and doctrine, one in charity." They have a
larger foreign staff, while we throw greater emphasis on a na-
tive ministry ; but God has no fixed method by which his ser-
vants must work, and each according to his ability and his

324

am^-

IVITH THE ENGLISH PRESBYTERIANS

3-'5

n— StaiT of
e — Stations

•y

than two
ig in the
he length
3iniection
and dan-
)n by tlie
lortlnvard
pplied by
lat for all
Once in
ti-fii may

ising."

; and al-
)tely, and
y, we are
y have a

on a na-
h his ser-
I and his

circumstances must serve our common jSIaster. The mission-
aries in South Formosa are indeed brethren beloved. \\'lK'n I
landed in their midst, a stranger and a novice, those then in the
field gave me the heartiest welcome, initiating me into the
work, and then accompanying me on an exploring expedition
through my own chosen field. The story of their work has
been told by one of their number, the Rev. William Campbell,
F.R.G.S., in his " Missionary Success in Formosa." I have by
me only the two most recent reports submitted to the Synod
of the Presbyterian Church of England, upon which I depend
for extracts and statistics.

The work in South Formosa was begun in 1865 by J. L.
Maxwell, M.D., a devoted Christian physician. Writing of
his service in 1S70, the convener of the Foreign Mission Com-
mittee under whom he labored said: "It is in some respects
almost romantic in its incidents, and very glorying to Cod in
the large results of the work as compared with the smallness of
the human agency ; for it is principally through one mission-
ary, a noble Christian physician, who went out for us in 1865,
Dr. Maxwell, that the work has been carried on." The
founder of the mission is indeed a noble Christian, and since
his retiral from the field he has continued in the service of
foreign missions, being editor of " Medical Missions," published
in London, England.

When I arrived in 1871, Revs. Hugh Ritchie, William
Campbell, and Dr. Dickson were on the field. The present
statT, according to the report for 1S94. includes Rev. William
Campbell (1871), Rev. T. Barclay, M.A. (1874), Rev. Dun-
can Ferguson, M.A. (1889), Peter Anderson, L.R.C.S. and
P.Ed. (1878), W. Murray Cairns, M.P., CM. (1893), Mr.
George Ede (1883), Miss Annie Butler (1885), Miss Joan
Stuart (1885), Miss Barnett (1888). The report records " the
unexpected removal by death of the Rev. William Thow,
which has left a deep wound in the hearts of all the brethren

326

FROM FAR FORMOSA

t • .

.^" I

i|,

and of tlie entire native church. Mr. Thovv was a noble mis-
sionary, and liad got into remarkable t(juch with the Chinese
Christians, from many of whom the most tender, sympathetic
communications have been received." It was my privilege to
know Mr. Thow, having met with him on the field, and he de-
served the v>ords of appreciation that have l)een spoken by his
fellow-workers and his church. Mr. Ritchie and Dr. Gavin
Russel have also been called to rest from their labors in
Formosa.

The first missionary to visit me at 'Jamsui was the Rev.
William Campl)ell, who traveled inland with me, preaching the
go.spel in the towns and ^iUagcs. \ears afterwartl he visited
me a second time, and made a trip through the Kap-tsu-lan
plain. He was a delightful companion. One evening at
Kehmgwe agreed to spend ten days without speaking English,
beginning on the following morning. We were to set out on a
tour in the morning, aivl before daybreak the call to rise was

heard : " Lions

tsong khi lai."

Wc were soon making our

way along winding paths, talking all the time, but never using
an English word. At last my friend turned to mc and snid,
" MacKay, this jabbering in Chinese is ridiculous, and two
Scotchmen should have more sense ; let us return to our mother
tongue."

In 1875 the Rev. Hugh Ritchie came up to Tamsui, and,
accompanied by nine of our preachers, I set out with him on
a trip that lasted seventy days. We inspectcil all our work in
the north, visiting all our stations, and then journeyed south-
ward, over mountains, across sands, through forest jungle and
rocky gorge, until we reached the most northerly stations in
the South Formosa mission. We went from station to station,
iaspecting their entire work. Then we met widi the mission-
aries and native workers in a conferenre of preachers and
office-bearers at Tai-wan-fu, where for several days we took
sweet counsel together, myself and the preachers fnMu the

loble mis-
e Chinese
mpathelic
rivilege to
Liul he de-
ken by his
)r. Gavin
labors in

the Rev.
idling the
he visitetl
ap-tsu-ian
rening at
5 Engh'sh,
t out on a
) rise was
iking our
;ver using
and said,

and two
ur mother

isui, and,
h him (Ml
r work in
ed south-
uigle and
:ations in
o station,
: mission-
hers and
v/e took
from tlie

14/ITH THE ENGLISH PRESBYll-RI.-l\S

3-2?

north being privileged to take part in the discu>.si()u.^ along
with the southern brethren. 1 have vi.sitcd South Formosa
several times since then, and have lost none of my affeciioii
for the mission whose missionaries have lal,)ored so devotedly
and whose converts impress a stranger as being earuest and
sincere.

At the close of 1894 the South Formosa mission reported
twenty organized congregations, eighteen not yet organizetl,
with twelve hundred and forty-six members on the coinmunion-
roll. The work was greatly interfered with by the sickness of
several of the most efficient and experienced missionaries.
Malarial fever is their foe, as it is ours in the north. Their
stations are among Chinese, Pe-podioan, and Sek-hoan. In
the Tai-wan district there is one station among the Chinese
and four among the Pe-podioan. In the Tong-soa district
are eleven among Chinese and on ; among liak-ka Chinese.
In the Ka-gi district are five among Chinese and four among
Pe-po-hoan. In the Chiang-hoa district is one station among
Chinese and five among Sek-hoan. On the east coast are
three stations among Pe-po-hoan. There are twenty-six na-
tive preachers, none of whom have yet been ordained, anil
eight students studying with a view to the ministry. Cheering
items of news are reported from several churches, and the re-
port says that, "at a general conference of preachers and
office-bearers to be held in February, it seemed aU but certain
some decisions 'vould be reached by the native brethren which
would lead to tf.eir assuming a greater amount of responsibil-
ity in the management of the church's affairs. The brethren
are of opinion that the day is not very distant when they will
be able to go forward to the ordination of one or two native
pastors, which would indeed be a red-letter day in the For-
mosa mission."

Of the influence of medical work in their mission the Pvcv.
William Campbell writes: "Work in our hospital reaches two

328

FROM FAR FORMOSA

,i' !

i ■,.■■'!.

classes, the out-patients and those, every Tuesday and P'riday,
who have n->edicines dispensed to iliem. Thus every year a
wide door and effectual is opened for seeking to influence
thousands of persons — coming, moreover, not from one town
or village, but from a region covering many hundreds of
s(]uare miles." A deeply interesting work for the blind was
initiated l)y ?>Ir. Campbell, and is contributing its {[uotato the
success of the mission, being conducted with every token of
blessing.

The missionaries — ^ome of them, at least — are convinced of
the importance of throwing more responsibility on die native
preachers and teachers, and hence oi developing native talent
by thorough education. Mr. Campbell writes: " It is a source
ol much regret to us that the work in our college does not de-
velop as we wish to see, or as the necessities of our field now
urgently require. With very little effort about twenty students
could be accommodated in the present college buildings ; and,
taking the usual percentage of loss into account, this number
ought to be always at work if we are to make anything like
healthful and necessary progress. During 1892 we hud the
names of only eight regular studetils ok our roll ; one a native
of Chin-chew, two Ilak-ka Chinese, and \\\{^ children of Pe-
po-hoan j)arents. There is obviously nnuli neetl for full and
sympathetic iiKjuiry into tiie causes which for years past have
been preventing a larger number of Chinese youths frcjm ac-
cepting our offers to bring them within reach of college instruc-
tion. Chiefl . on account of having no Christian teachers, oin-
congregational schools have been few indeed, and it is well
known to friends at home that, for want of jji-oper accojnnioda-
dali(jn, Mr. lule's middle school had to be given up in the
autumn of iS()o. The few years' work of this latter institution
convinced us all of its exceeding- importance and value at the
present stage of our mission. It was only necessary that it
should have gone on a number of years longer in order to

J->

iiriH THii i:ngush rRiisnvTi-.Ki.-ixs

3-^9

md Friday,
I'ery year a

0 influence
n one town
undreds of
.' blind was
[uota to tlie
ry token of

onvinced of

1 the native
lative talent

is a source
loes not de-
ir iield now
ity students
(lings ; and,
this number
lything like
we lud the
)ne a native
dren of I'e-
for full and
rs past have
hs from ac-
lege iiistruc-
eachers, oui-
d it is well
crojnmoda-
1 up in the
r institution
value at the
sary that it
in order to

furnish young men for the college, for managing local schools,
the hospital, and almost any other department of Christian
etlort."

The mission in the south was founded under trying condi-
tions, but it has done a great work and has a noble history.
There are worthy names on its roll of service. It has been a
light in a dark place, a witness for Cod and tiulh, a bringer
of good tidings to thousands. The methods adopted dilTer
from ours, but the spirit is the spirit of the gospel of Jesus, aiul
I rejoice with the brethren there in every success achieved, and
hail with supreme delight any " forward mo\-ement " for the
ingathering of souls and the upbuilding of the City of God in
South Formosa.

i i

CHAPTER XXXVI

RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT

Survey — Foreign medical assistants — Rev. J. R. Frascr — Rev. K. F. Juiior
— Rev. John Janiicson — Klv. Wni. (lauld — Mr. danld and tlie native
preachers — Stati^iics for 1894— Mr. (iauld's report — Ciiapels — Xalive
preachers — Self-siiiipurt — 'I'iic ciianyed relations — " Eben-ezer "

ii'- I'!

STANDING on the prominence of ilie present, one is dis-
posed to look backward over the [last and forward into
the future. Twenty-four years ago, in the autumn v)f 1.S71, I
first left my native land, young and inexperienced, the iirst
foreign missionary sent out by my church. I went out not
knowing whither, for my field of labor liad not been chosen.
Ikit the God who " shajjcs our ends " led the way, and early
in 1872, lifting my eyes to the green-clad mountains that stand
round about Tamsin", clearer than human voice e\er spoke to
the outward ear, I heard the voice of God whisper to my list-
ening spirit, "This is the land." In the autumn of 188 j, at
the close of my first furlough, I set out a second time, not
alone now, and not unknowing, for Formosa, the land of my
labors, the native home of my wife, had been written upon my
heart. And now for the third time, in the autumn of 1895, at
the close of my second furlough, I am setting out again, this
time with my wife and our three children, and Koa Kau, my
Chinese student-companion. Farewells have all been said, and
trusting the guidance of Him who knows the way and never
leads astray, we g«j out in the glad confidence that in Formosa

330

/w'.//v().S77:(:V //A7) I'ROSriiH

o.>'

we have work to l)t' clone ami a witness lo he Iiornr lor Jc>U:>
our Saviour and Ring.

thii

ahoul

missionary exiierictucs m
North Formosa that are still untold. Looking haek .)\er tlu;
years I see one helper after another entering into our life and
taking part with us in our work. Mention has already heen
made of Dr. Ringer, the resident physician to the f(..vi-n i oni-
munity, who from the beginning until iSSo gave such valuable
service in connection with the hospital and mediral v.ork, tak-
ing upon himself the chief responsibility of that department.
Dr. Johansen followed him, and for six years, until 1S86, dur-
in"- which there were trying and troublous times, he la,d the
mission under obligation. Then came Dr. Reiinie, and from
1S86 till 1892 he was chief officer of the hospital and mediral
work. Since then Dr. F. C. Angear has had eliarL'.e and over-
sight of this important department, and, like his predecessors,
has given generously of his time and rendered most eifrcieiU
service to the mission.

In 1875 we were joined by the Rev. J. 15. Frascr, M.D.,
and wife. Dr. Fraser, sc- of the late Rev. W. Fraser, D.I).,
for many years one of the clerks of die Ciencral Assembly of
the Presbyterian Church in Canada, had two years' experience
in medical practice, and, after graduating in theology, was
ordained and designated by the Presbytery of Toronto m
September, 1874, and sent out by die Foreign Mi>si(.n Com-
mittee to have charge more especially of die medical work.
After a faithful service of nearly three years his home was
broken up by the death of his wife, in October, 1877, and lie
was compelled to return to Canada with his children. He is
now minister in Leith, Ontario, and is an active and useful
member of the Foreign Mission Committee.

The year following, in the summer of 1878, the Rev. Ken-
nedi F. Junor arrived at Tamsui, having been commissioned
by the Canadian church, and he continued in the service until

33-

FROM r,IR rORMOS.t

i 1

, i I .1

;i/' .1

li i

1 ''»

18S2. For a considerable part of the time, during my first
fiirlougli in 1880-S1, he was the only foreign nn'ssionary in
the field, and, with the native preachers, had oversight of the
entire mission, which at diat date had twenty 'hapels, each
with a native preacher, and in all over three hundred members
in full communion with the church. Mr. Junor's health broke
down, and in November, 1S82, he returned to Canada. He
i.s now engaged in important city nn'ssion work in New York.

In 1883 the Rev. John Jamies(^n and his wife arrived and
entered upon their work, which was carried on against great
odds until 1891, when Mr. Jamieson, after repeated and pro-
longed jieriods of physical weakness, was called away by death,
and his wife returned to Canada.

In May, 1892, the Rev. William C.auld, having completed
his college training, was appointed to Formosa by the Foreign
Mission Committee, and in September of the same year he
and Mrs. Gauld arrived in Tamsui. They were most heartily
welcomed by the workers in the field, and with commendable
ability and zeal began the study of the language, people, and
methods of work. During my present visit to Canada Mr.
Gauld has been the only foreign missionary in the mission,
and through all the times of disturbance and unrest consc(iuent
upon the recent war and the long-continued resistance of the
islanders to Japanese rule, the affairs of the mission have been
managed with great discretion and success. The Foreign
Mission Committee was enabled to report that " Mr. Cauld
has entered upon the work in Formosa widi such sympadiy
and judgment as encourages us to expect gratifying results.
The committee was somewhat alarmed lest l^r. MacKay's
return home so soon after Mr. Gauld',, arrival would lay upon
him a responsibility he nn'ght not be able to bear. These
fears have been disappointed."

A Hoa, Sun-a, and Hn'en Leng were associated with Mr.
Gauld in conducting the mission, and their experience and

RinROsri.c'i ISO rKOsnu.i

jud'MiKjnt wi I" i>e ik'pcnilcd upon. Of A lloa Mr. (laiiM
wrote at the close of 1893: " Though ('on>i:uiily in coiisuUa-
tion, tlicrc has never been tlie sh'L;htest ;ii)[.roach to frit lion
between us, ami the longer ami beltrr 1 know liini the nioiv I
can love him, trust in hi^ honesty, and respect his ju(li4uu'm.
In cases of difficulty Ui.. . ive arisen he has invaiiably been
tlepuled to visit the locality in which the disturbance look
place. On his return his smiling face, no leN> than liis words,
invariably announced his success in rest(^ring harmony. \'et
tliis man receives only .^^20 (silver) <>r ij^r 1 .43 (^old) per moiuh
from the mission for his services."

In the report submitted to the General Assembly of 1S95 the
statistics of the mission showed : j foreign ordained mission-
aries; 2 native ordained missionaries; 60 unordained native
preachers; 24 native ISible-women ; 173S native conmuini-
cants (male 1027, female 711) in good and regular standing
in the church; 2633 baptized members; 60 dispensaries at
chapels; 10,736 treatmeius at the liospital ; $2375.74 contrib-
uted by natives for mission purposes; .$264. 10 contributed by
natives for the hospital; .$269 contributed by foreign commu-
nity for the hospital.

In his report for the same year Mr. Gauld says; "Oxford
College is .still closed, pending Dr. MacKay's return. It has
been one of the most useful institutions in connection with the
mission, and we doubt not will continue to exercise its influ-
ence for good in days to come.

" During 1S94 the Girls' School was kept open for a short
time. After the commencement of the war it, was deemed
unwise to keep the girls so far away from their pareiUs, and
accordingly they were sent home.

" The longer our experience the more do we value the native
ministry as an important factor of the work. The majorityc)f
our native agents are doing excellent work, and the two native
ordained pastors are superior men. When I last visited Pastor

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334

/••A'OA/ VAR hORMOSA

Tan He's congregation at Sin-tiam — a country town, or rather
village — worslnp was held on Saturday evening, when about
seventy were present. On the Lord's day there were present
in the morning about one hundred and seventy, in the after-
noon about one hundred and twenty, and in the evening ab(Hit
seventy. Of course many of the country-people returned to
their homes, not remaining for the evening service. What a
delight to address such attentive audiences! At week-night
services, besides singing and prayer, an attempt is made to
teach the people to read. In this young church tliere is cer-
tainly a variety of gifts. To know Tan He is to love him.
He is not so good a superintendent as Pastor Giam Chheng
Hoa, but in his own sphere is a most useful man, cheerful,
orderly, cleanly, and true, a faithful pastor, a good preacher,
a sympathizing friend. He has now for many years been ex-
ercising a Christian influence upon his countrymen, and still
continues, by God's grace, the same blessed work. Pastor
Giam Chheng Hoa is a remarkable man. Well taught in tlie
doctrines of the gospel, he preaches them with faithfulness and
power. By nature he has very high executive abih'ty, which
has been improved by twenty years of experience. He knows
his own people, from the governor of the island to the ragged
opium-smoking beggar, and has influence with them all. His
services in the mission are invaluable, and we trust we shall be
permitted for many years to enjoy the benefits of his influence
and counsel. Other preachers and Bible-women are doing
their work in their own way, and to good purpose. We long
for the time when we shall have a native church supporting a
native ministry without foreign aid, and also helping the needy
in other parts of this poor sin-cursed world. It is a cause for
thankfulness that, while the death-rate here was very high
during the past year, not one of our mission stafl", foreign or
native, was called away from the work in which all are so
much needed.

;ii.

:■■! 1
ij

RETROSPECT .-IND PROSPHCT

00, -(

>\vn, or rather
, when about
were present
in the after-
vening ab(Hit
i returned to
ce. What a
t week-night
t is made to
there is cer-
to love him.
liam Chheng
an, cheerful,
od preacher,
?ars been ex-
len, and still
ark. Pastor
:aught in tlie
hfulness and
bih'ty, which
He knows
3 the ragged
2m all. His
t w^e shall be
his influence
n are doing
We long
supporting a
ig the needy
i a cause for
s very high
r, foreign or
h all are so

"We long for a rapid increase of true believers, an 1 \w de-
sire even more earnestly, that those received into the iluiiih
may be true to Christ, steadfast in the iaith, showing ckaiiy
by their Hves that diey daily live with him."

In preceding chapters reference has been maile to many
points where mission work is being carried on and wluTe
chapels have been erected. The location of eacli thaiiel is
hulicated on one of the maps, whicli gives the names of die
sixty points occupied by the mission. The comi^lete list is as
follows :

1. Tmn-sui.

2. rut-li-liun.

3. Go-ko-kbi.

4. Cliiu-nili.

5. Lun-n-tcng.

6. Toa-tiu-tia.

7. Bang-kah.

8. Sin-ts'.ig.

9. Sia-au.

10. Sa-kak-eng.

11. Tho-a-hng.

12. Ang-mng-kang.

13. Tek-chham.

14. Tiong-kang.

15. Aulang.

16. Sin-tiam.

17. Sek-kliau.

18. Tsui-tng-kha.

19. Koc-kuig.

20. Sin-sia.

21. Ta-nia-ian. 41.

22. Iloan-sia-lliau. 42

23. Ki-lip-pan. 43

24. Ka-k-oan. 44-

25. riio-lo-sin-a-oan. 45.

26. Lau-lau-a. 4*^-

27. Lain-liong-o. 47-

28. Sai-tham-tiie. 48.

29. Chin-tsu-li-kan. 49.

30. I'i-thau. 5"-

31. Ta-iia-bi. 5'-

32. Sau-hut. 5-'

33. Tang-mng-thun 53-

34. Sin-a-liaii. St-

35. I5u-ioan. 55-

36. Ki-bu-laii. 56'

37. Ki-lip-tan. 57-

38. Toa-tck-ui. 5^-

39. Thau-sia. 59-

40. Sa-kiat-a-koe. Oo.

I'dcli-oug-sia.

Aiig-clilia-na.

Tliiau-sang-iii.

'ri;ng-i)lioa-j)i>-n.

Tang-koe-soa.

Tciig-siangklioe.

Ile-is-.a.

Tak-tau.

I'al-cliiaii-ua.

rang-kii>.

T(ia-kh(i-liain.

ri-ti'iig.

I.ani-kliain.

Ti(ing-lfk.

Toa-o-kliaii.

Pak-ning-kliaii.

Cck-bai.

Tho-gu.

Siii-kang.

na-nili.

At each of these chapels a native preacher is stationed, and
in many cases there is associated with the preacher a native
trained Bible-woman. The students of Oxford College gne
valuable services, assisting the preachers at various stations,
preaching the gospel and teaching die people from house to
house Irregular and occasional services are held at many

fff"'

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33(

/^/?0A/ I\^1R I-ORMOSA

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points where there is no chapel or organized congregation. In
tills way the mission is gradually extending, and its growth is
substantial and healthy.

Several of the preachers are engaged in the superintendence
of the mission and in the educational work at Tanisui. The
following native preachers, trained and equipped for their
work, are in charge of chapels:

1. Tan lie.

2. Tan l.cng.

3. ("lo Ek Ju.

4. Tan 'Jhcng.

5. Chlioa Seng.

6. Liin Clict.

7. Tsun Sim.

8. Siau Tien,
g. Li Kui.

10. Lau Clihcng.

11. Tan Ho.

12. Tan Ban,

13. Keh Tsu.

14. Tan luig.

15. Eng Goan.

16. Tan Siah.

17. A Lok.

18. lap Tsun.

19. Tliicn Sang.

20. Lau Tsai.

21. Tan Kui.

22. Kng Jong.

23. Ang An.

24. Thong Su.

25. Jim Sui.

26. A Ilai.

27. i^at Po.
2S. Jit Sin.

29. Chin ("link.

30. Ki Siong.

31. Pa Kin.

32. 1 1 ok I'lng.
^i^. Tn Lien.

34. I long Lien.

35. Kai Loah.

36. Sam Ki.

37. Kcng Tien.
3S. A Seng.

39. (long A.

40. Tong San.

41. Tsui I'-ng.

42. Chlieng He.

43. Clihun Hok.

44. Tin Tliiam.

45. Bio Sicn.

46. Lng Seng.

47. Chiiong Lim.

48. Teng Cliiu.

49. Bcng Tsu.

50. Tck Bong.

51. Tu lau.

52. Li lau.

53. Tsan Un.

54. 'i"an Sam.

55. Li Sun.

56. Eng Chhung.

57. Tsui Seng.

58. Klio (loan.

59. Lim i!an.

60. Bun Sentr.

'I'lie all-important (juestion of self-support is constantly kept
before our minds, and ihe native Christians in North Formosa
are taught to give of their means for the maintenance of ordi-
nances and for the extension of the church. A self-sui^porting
mission is our ideal. ]>ut what is meant by self-support ? What
I understand by a self-supporting mission is one in which all
the work is carried on and all the agents supported by those in
the mission itself. The church in North Formosa will be self-
supporting when its college, school, hospital, chapels, and all

Ration. In
i growth is

intendence
isui. The
. for their

1-,- He.

n I^ok.

'ilium.

icn.

^eng.

ng Lini.

Cliiu.

Tsu.

!ong.

111.

11.

I'll.

iiiiii.

11.

"Iiluing.

Song.

[loan.

I!an.

Song.

taiUly kept
h Formosa
ce of ordi-
supporting
irt? What
I wliich all
3y those in
^'ill be self-
}ls, and all

RETROSPtlCT AND PROsriiCT

337

other departments, with aU laborers, whether native or foreign,
will be supported by the members and adherents of the native
church. We are as yet a long way from that position, but we
are on the way, and are moving in that direction. Four of
our congregations are now entirely self-supporting; and last
year the contributions from the natives themselves amounted to
$^(2639. 84. There is a great work to be done, not in I'ormosa
alone, or China, but throughout the entire foreign mission
l^eld, before help from the churches in Furope and America
can 'be dispensed with. The statistics of native contributions
call for patience on the part of ministers and churches in the
home field. It is too much to e.xpect the heathen, either at
liome or abroad, to pay for his own conversion. Converts
must be taught self-reliance and self-denial, but it sometimes
happens in heathen countries that to accept Christianity is to
invite oppression, boycotting, and robbery. In many native
congregations there is not one member who, even according to
native standards, has " a competent portion of the good things
of this life." But out of their poverty I have seen them give
willingly for the support of gospel ordinances.

Another problem facing the mission in North Formosa is
the coming of the Japanese. We have no fear. The Kmg
of kings is greater than emperor or mikado. He will rule and
overrule all things. We do not speculate. We do not prear-
range. The Japanese questicni must be faced, as all others
have been faced, with plans flexible enough to suit the changed
circumstances, and faith strong enough to hear the voice of
God across the storm. There will be difficulties, dangers, and
trials before things are adjusted, but Formosa is given to Jesus,
and the purposes of God shall be fulfilled.

Why should we fear? Surely we can say, " Hitherto hath
the Lord helped us." I look back to the iirst days, and recall
the early persecution, and perils, of which the reader will never
know. I remember the proclamations issued and posted up

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FAIOA/ /v/A: rORMOS^l

on trees and temples, charging me with unnnngmable crnnes,
and forbidding die people to hold converse with mc. In 1879
I was burned in effigy at an idolatrous feast. Again and
again have I been threatened, insulted, and mobbed. Ihit
" the things whicli happened unto me have fallen out rather
unto the furtherance of tlie g(«pel," and now the church of
Jesus Christ is a real factor and a positive power in the moral
and spiritual life of North Formosa.

After what has been told, will it be said that missions are a
failure? With more than two thousand confessed followers
of Jesus Christ now in the churches of North Formosa, who
were born, most of them, in the darkness of heathenism, and
with the social and moral life of the people impregnated with
Christian ideas, am I to be told by some unread and untrav-
eled critic that mission money is wasted, that missionary suc-
cess is mere sentiment, and that converts do not stand ? I
profess to know something about foreign mission work, liaving
studied it ; first-hand on the ground, and having examined it
at the distance of half the globe's circumference. I profess to
know something of the character of the Chinese, heathen and
Christian, and something of men in other lands than China.
And I am prepared to affirm that for integrity and endurance,
for unswerving loyalty to Christ, and untiring fidelity in his
service, there are to-day in the mission churches of North
Formosa hundreds who would do credit to any community or
to any congregation in Christendom. I have seen them under
iire, and know what they can face. I have looked when die
fight was over, and know diat it was good. I have watched
tliem as they lay down to die, and calmly, triumphantly, as
any soldier-saint or martyr-hero, they " burned upward each
to his point of bliss." Tell me not that they will fall away.
Four hundred of them have been counted worthy and have
entered into His presence, the first-fruits of the harvests now
ripening in the white fields of North Formosa.

'Wi I

RETROSPECT AND riiObPEC'}

oc>')

" crimes,
In 1879
jain and
:'C1. Ikit
Lit rather
luirch of
he moral

Dns are a
followers
osa, who
lism, and
ited with
\ untrav-
nary suc-
and ? I
k, liaving
imined it
•)rofess to
ithen and
m China,
idurance,
ity in his
of North
inimity or
lem under
when the
; watched
hantly, as
/•ard each
fall away,
and have
vests now

But the half has not been told. These chapters arc but a
fragment. Not to-day or to-mornnv can the story be written.
The real story is not finished; it has only begun. There are
chapters to be added from the yet unread pages of the book
of God. Formosa is rooted in God's pin-i)()se as surely as
Orion or the Pleiades. That purpose " will riper, fast, unfold-
ing every hour." To help on its fulfilment this snatch from
the history of the past is l)rt)ken off and se-.u out to the
churches at home, while we g(^ out again to far Formosa,
stretching forward to the things which are before. We are
not afraid. Our confidence is in the eternal Cod. Oh, may
Jesus our exaked Redeemer-King, keep us all, and all his
church, here and yonder, true and faithful till he come. May
we live in the light of certain victory. The kingdom of the
world shall yet become the kingdom of .)ur Lord and of his
Christ. The isles shall wait for his law.

' 1

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INDEX

Aberdeen (Scotland), Free Churcli

College at, 21.
AboriLrinal tradition, 94.
Al)oritrines, Chinese contempt for,

102 ; conquered at t\)rmosa, 20; ;

and the dominant race, 24b ; sav-

AddSss to author from foreign com-
munity at Tamsui,^ 321.
Agincourt Island, 184.
Agricultural course, Tamsui nns-

sion, tlic, 209.
Among the Chinese, lOi.
Ancestors, worship of, 131. 259-
An gear. Dr. F. C., 331-
Animal life of Formosa, 70.
Asiatic cholera, 43: »^tive treat-
ment of, 310- .
Author, the, 3; ^''^ parentage, 4.
home life at Zorra, Canada, i...
Christian upbringmg, ib; eariy
drawn to mission work, TO ; pre-
paratory studies at Torcnto, iM
graduation, and first missionary
duties, 19; theological studies at
Edinburgh, 20; great ScoUish
preachers, 21 ; called to work m
foreign fields, 23 ; tour among the
Canadian churches, 24; ord'iKi-
tion, 26; departure for I' ar For-
mosa," 27; crossing the 1 acita.

29; at Yokohama, 30

masters
eight tones of Formosan dialeet,
II ; takes passage for Tamsui, 32 ;
arrival at scene of labors, 33.:
spying out the land, 34; cxpeii-
ence of Formosan inns, 35 ; visits

Fnglish Tresbyterian Mission at
Toa-sia, 36 ; mo%x's into hi^ home
at Tamsui, 3« i '"""st attack of
fever, 44; difiicullies in acquir-
ing the language, K^(^; ac<iuires
facility in spoken dialect I nun
herdboys, 137; tour with A lloa,
14; ; records of missionary toiir.^,
174; experiences during the
I'-rench bh.ckade, 1S9; sulfers
from acute meningitis, 195: ""''-
sionary labors among the 1 e-po-
hoan, 217; "lakes a trip -lown
the east coast, 226; threatened
by savages, 240; visits tlic J.am-
si-hoan, 241; departure on a visit
to Canada (1893), 170, 32': ad-
dress and presentation of foreign
eommunity to, 321; retrospect
and prospect of authors work,
330; persecutions and penis
things of the past, 337-

Baber, E. C, T-ritish consul at Tam-
sui, tour with, 202.

" P.amboo," the, punishment ot, 107.

P.anditti, subduing, iho-

Bang-kah, 45; population o, 11.,,
how taken, 164; hatre.l o f.;.-
ei-ners at, 164; hostilities tonus-
sionaricsat, 165; great change of
demeanor toward, 170; author
hoiiored at, I'l-

r.aptism of converts, I4X. _

'I , > H ^ , rHA /'111

" r.arbarian" as an

epithet

ad-

dressed to Europeans, 13". H*^.
238, 301. 321-

0lM

m :

342

INDEX

I I

'^ )

in.

\\\

I I

j . -(I

I?atlis, public, muoiif; the I.ani-si-
hoan, 246.

Bax, Captain, trip into savage terri-
tory with, 252.

Beginnings of mission work, 135.

15etel-nut eating, filtiiy iiai)it of, 246,

Bihle-womcn, native, 141, 301, 335.

Birds, veneration for their chirps,

259-
Birds of Formosa, 79.

Blind, the, mission work among,
328.

Bombardment of Tamsui, perilous
position during, 194.

Botany of Formosa, 55.

Bralimanism and Buddhism, studies
in, at Edinburgh, 20.

" Bread cast upon the waters," 158.

Bryce, Rev. Dr. George, of Winni-
peg, 26.

Buddhistic idolatry, 208; cure for
malaria, 312.

Burning the idols, 231.

Burns, William C, 16.

" Burns's Church" at Sin-sia, 223,
227.

Calvinism, stern old, 15.
Campbell, Rev. William, of South

Formosa, 325-328.
Canada, financial aid given by, for

mission work in Formosa, 292,

303-
Canada Presbyterian Churcli, 3, 6,

23, 28, 304.

Candlish, Dr. Robert, 21.

Catarrh, native specific for, 311.

Cheng-kui-sia, open-air service at,

237-

Chief's village, visit to, 263.

Chinese, the, physical features of,
97; among the people, loi ;
government of, 104; criminal
justice among, 109 ; corruption
and inhumanity of, iio 112; in-
dustrial and social life of, 113;
farming, 115; education, 116;
theaters and amusements, 118;
marriage cistoms, 120; religious
life of, 125; idolatry among, 128;
degrading feasts of, 131 ; worship

of ancestors, 134; feeble sense of
the sul;lime, 176; baneful iiitlu-
ence t)f Chinese traders, 258;
hated by the aborigines as intru-
ders, 268; attacked by native
tribes, 270; the prey of the he:ul.
hunters, 272 ; social life of, at
Tamsui, 298 ; doctor's charges,

309-
Christmas with the savages, a, 264.

Churches, establishing of, 153; de-
stroyed during hostilities, 191.

Coal-boat, adrift on a, 187.

Coal-mines at I'oeh-tau, 50.

Coming of the French, the, 189.

Communion services, 148, 161, 227.

Confucianism, 125, 177, 208.

Confucianist, an old, 177.

Converts, baptism of, 148; eager-
ness of, 162.

Cordial relations between the laity
and the mission, 32 1.

Craig Island, 184.

Curriculum of study at Oxford Col-
lege, Tamsui, 293; at Girls'
School, 306.

Dawson, Sir J. William, of Mon-
treal, 24.

Dead, mode of Ijurying, among the
savages, 262.

Dentistry and the medical missions,

Departed spirits, savage notion ot

place of, 258.
Dialects, multiplicity of, 265.
Divining-blocks, ])raying with, 128.
Doctors, native, and their diagnosis

of diseases, 309.
Dodd, Mr. John, of Tamsui, 34,

195-
Donkey experiences, 175.

Dress of savages, 245, 256.

Duff, Rev. Dr. Alexander, 20.

Earthquakes, jirevalent, 53 ; at Sin-
! kang, 239.

j ]''ast coast, triji down the, 226.
; Edinburgh, posi-graduate (theologi-
cal) course :■!, zo : great preachers
of, 21 ; mission work at, 22.

INDEX

343

Kducated ministry, need of, 2S7.

Knj^lish l'ri-,l.ytcri:ui Mission at
fai-wiin-fu, 32, 3-4: aiiioiit; the
Chinese, I'e-pu-hoan, and Sck-
hoan, 327.

Kstablisliing churches, 153.

Ethnology of Formosa, 92.

Farmer's lot, 213, 243.

FarmiiH' i" I'ormosa. 20C).

l<easts, savage, religious significance

of, 25S.
Fihrous plants, 64.
Fishes of Formosa, 83,
Flowers of Formosa, 73.
" Foreign devil " as an epithet, 130,

I4(), 150.
Foreign Klission Committee of I'res-

byterian Church in Canada, 30.
Foreigners and the mission, 225,

?>^^- ■ ,

FoVest land, mode of elearuig, 2(14.

Formosa, its geography and history.
41 ; the climate and its enervating
influences, 42-44 ; destructive
Chinese typhoons, 45; the Dutch
an<l the Japanese in, 46; aborigi-
nal (Malayan) name of island, 47 ;
geology of, 48 ; mineral resources
of, 5(>-52; earthtpiakes in, 53 ; j
atmospheric, a(pieous, and vol- 1
canic agencies at work in, 54!
plant life of, 55-C'o; fruits and
fruit-trees of, 60-63; grasses oi,
66; vegetables, 6S-71 ; tobacco,
tea, and other plants, 71-73;
flowers of, 73-75 ; animal life, 76-
78; birds, 79, 80; reptdes, 80-
82; fislies, 83; insects, 84-89;
mollusca, 89-91 ; races of, 92-98 ;
the Chinese in, 101-103 ; form of
government, 104; criminal jus-
tice, 109; outrages upon native
Christians, 1 10-112; industrial
and social life, 1 13; farming in,
115; education in, 1 16, 117; the
theater, sports, and amusements,
118, 119; betrothal and marriage,
120-124; Chinese religious lile,
125 ; idolatry, 128 ; ancestral wor-
ship, 133; heathenism in, 164;

nxxles of travel, 172 ; sedan-chairs
and the rickshaw, 174; touring in
tlie north, 1 75; the gospel mes-
sage and il-^ n-.uh>, i7*»-l8i;
the wailing i^les, 1S2; the coming
of the French to, iSq; attacks on
mission churches and outrages
upon native converts, ii)l-l<)4;
looting of mission buildings, and
indemnity therefor, 2ck); nlmild-
ing of the chapels, 202 ; essentially
an agricultural country, 20M ; mis-
sions (iMiglish i'resliyi.riaii) in
South Formosa, 324; need ot
self-supporting mission-, in, 33*).

Forms of punishment, 107.

French, coming of the, iSij; leaving

French invasion m 1SS4, 15S.
Fraser, Kev. J. 15., M.I>.. 3,^'-
Frater, Alexander, liritish coiiMil at

Tamsui, 38, 197.
Fruits and fruit-trees, 60.

C;auld, Kev. William, 3,7,2.

Geh-bai, flourishing Christian con-
gregation at, 157.

Geography of Formosa, 41.

Geology of Formosa, 48.

"Gibraltar of hcatlieniMu," ISang-
kah, 164.

Girls' School at Tamsui. 224, 2S2,

292, 31. V 3.1v , „ ,,,
"Glengarry Chapel," lang-mng-

thau,' 236.
Gods, Chinese, 126.
Go Fk Ju, the painter, conversion

of, 140- - , ,

Go-ko-khi, erection of tirst cliapel
at, 121, 148; work prospering m,
150.
Gold (m the Kelung River, 52.
Government and justice, 104.
Gunn, Mr. William, of San I'raii-
j cisco, 28.
! Guthrie, Rev. Dr. Thomas, 21.

i Ilak-kas, among the, 102, i57-

Harvesting operations, 212.
! Hatred of foreigners at I'.ang-kali,

! 164.

fll'

344

INDEX

t. :

lf.'"'«

t '

i'li

:i:fi,|ii';

!!,

7'! i
^ i 1

; .1 «

li '■'

mJk.

Ilcud-liunters, with the, -267; imir.
(Icrous ef|uipim.Mit of, 270; siivin^c
proponsivics of, 271 ; hideous, rev-
els of, 273; reprisals of Ciiincsc,
275 ; menace of, to Europeans,
277.

IleadijiKirters at Tamsui, 135.

Hciithcnisni of Formosa, \?'

Hill Dyaks of Borneo, Formosa.,
kindred, 267,

Hindustani, author learns it at Kdin-
l)ur^di, 20.

History of Formosa, 46.

Hoa, liiam Chheng (A), 139, 142,
2iq, 3.S2.

Hodj^e, Dr. Charles, 18, 19.

Ilok-los, the, 101.

Ilon^j Kong, 28, 195.

How Hang-kah was taken, 164.

Idolatry, Chinese, stock in trade,
289.

Idol-making industry, 128.

Idol-temi)le offered for chapel ser-
vices, 231 ; idol-hurning, 231.

Idol-worship, natives weary of, 231.

Importance of medical missions,
308.

Industrial and social life, 113.

Inglis, Kev. Walter, 25.

Insect life in Formosa, 84.

Intertrib.il wars, 258,

Irrigating rice-fields, 210.

Jabbering in Chinese, Scotch, 326.
"jamieson, Kev. John, 332.
Japanese, coming of, 337.
Junor, Rev. Kenneth F., 331.

Ka-le-oan, cook-preacher at, 230.
Kap-tsu-lan plain, 215; many chap-
els im, 220, 234, 239.
Kau-kau-a, 221.
Kelung, 45, 47; church at, 157,

237-^
Ki-lai j)lain, the, 241.

King, Rev. Principal J. M.,

Winnijieg, 26.
Knox College, Toronto, 18, 160.
Ko Chin, the convert, 158, 221.
l.aing, Rev. Dr., of Dundas, 27.

Lam-a-lin, " onen door " ut, 227.

I,am-hong-o, cmapcl .it, 222.

Fam-kham, night sojourn at, 179.

FaiM-si-lioan, life among, 226, 241 ;
heathen darkness among, 247;
futur,' of, 248; deadly result of
civilization anumg, 248.

Language and dialect, 97, 98, 102.

Lau-lau-a chapel, 228; native mar-
riage at, 228.

Licentiousness, corroding, 248.

Life among the I.am-si-hoan, 226,
241 ; future of, 248.

Lights and shadows of missionary
life, 237.

Liquors, trade in poisonous, 248.

Lord's work jirospering, the, 150.

McCosh, Dr. James, iS.

Machar Memorial Church, 1 58.

MacKay, lleorge, 14.

Mac Kay, Rev. C. L., D.D. (See
under Author. )

MacKay, Rev. R. 1'., 0.

MacKay, Mrs. (of Detroit), church-
building don.iticm from, 223, 316.

" MacKay Church " at Lam-hong-o,
222.

MacKay Hospital at Tamsui, 283,
316.

McKenzie, Rev. Donald, 15.

Macl.aren, Rev. Professor William,
19, 22, 25, 28.

MacVicar, Rev. Principal, of Mon-
treal, 24.

.Mc ravish, Rev. \V„ S., 4.

Malari.i, 43 ; native remeily for, 276,
312; need of cure for, 314; a foe
to missions, 327.

Malays, the, 207, 224, 242, 251.

Maplewood (Ontario), school-teach-
ing days at, 16.

Marriage among savages, 257.

Martyrs for the faith, 192.

Maxwell, Dr. J. L., 324.

Meaningless Chinese eticpiette, 301.

Medical work and the hosjiital, 308 ;
intluence of, on mission, 3I7'_

Mission, English Presbyterian,
work of, 325.

Mission work, beginnings of, in For-

INDIL\

345

215; location <>f ml^<sl.)ns m

North Formosa, 335-
MUsio.Kuy, to be one the passion

of the author's life, lb.
Missionary experiences, 150. I

Mollusca, I'ormosan. »9' I

Money, thirst for, among the Chi-

nese, 164.
Moore, Kev. Dr., of Ott.v.a, 25.
Morals and manners among the

Lam-si-hoan, 247.
Mountain forests, savage l".c m,

251.

Mountain savages, 251.

Museum at 'Pamsui, 2S«.

Musical instruments of the savages,

257-

work among tlic, 215; i-ncourag-
ing naliiri' ni, 215, 214; I'.'ighsli
Presl)yterian work among th-,

327.
I'c-po-hoans, the, 37, 205; coii-
(lueretl aborigines, 205; tlioir
home in the Kap-lsu-lan i-lam
(North Formosa), 205; smial
characteristics, 20(); their crucHv.
207 ; nature-worshipers, 207 ; C lii-
nese idolatry forced upon llu-in !■>•
tliiir inn(|U''rors, 2oS ; murderous
[iK.pensitic. of, 216, 276.
Perils of waters," in, I7.V
Persecutions suffered by native con-
verts, 192.
Phoa-po-o, gospel preached at, 230.
Phosphorescent glory of Formosan

waters, 229.
Pinnacle Island, 184.

1 '

Native Bible-women, 302- i-iant life in Formosa, 55-

Native ministry, need ( f, 44. 2»5 . '^'"

church, 142- . ' << Privvcr of God unto salvation"

Native workers for native women. , J --^;;|,^^,,g.

NS;-worship among the savages, i i;-chers natU;e.^^^ .

Newmarket (Ontario), missionary

labors at, 1 9.
Night in an ox-stable, a, 221. ^^
" No room heit for barbarians,

22 !•

Non-failure of missions, 338.

Official corruption, 105.
Opium-smoking habit overcome,

179-
Oppression of Christians, no.

Ordinances and sacraments, 235.

Oxford College, Tamsui, I94, 224,

230, 282, 291, 304, 20b' 320, 333,

335-

Pak-tau, church at, 223; sulphur-
springs at, 223 ; prosperous mis-
sion at, 224.

Presbyterian Church in (.anada,
Tamsui mission of, 10 1, 2S2.

Presbyterian (English) missions in
South Formosa, 324.

Presbyterianism in Canada, consoli-
dation of, 24. ...

Princeton Theological Seminary,
author a graduate of, IQ-

Railway operations in Formosa, 174.
Rattan industry, 270.
Refused accommodation, 238.
Religious life among Chinese m

Formosa, 125.
Reptiles of Formosa, 81.
Retrospect and prospect, 330.
Rice, the staple food, 246.
Rice-farming, 209.
Rickshaw, locomotion by, l74-
Khv'cT, ')r., of Tamsui, 319- 33i-

raS;ice„e«i(u. in the work of co„. Ri&^, R-. Hug.,, of South Kor-
te.po.liom, villaije of, 36: """.on ! Caiuda, 292-

1' '■

r;:

1' \

I
i

346

INDEX

( M

H;'

' I

^! M'

i I

i ■■''

,1 !

1; i

■'J
1

Sa-'xak-eng, 159.

Savage life and customs, 251.

Scott, iMr., British consul at Tam-
sui, 168.

Sedan-chair, the, as "a mode of
motion," 174. i

Sek-hoan mission, a, 23S.

Self-supporting missions in North
Formosa, 337.

Sent ones of the King, ths, 17.

" Seventh Moon Feast," 1)arbari-
tic:, of, abolished, 131.

Sin-kang, opposition at, 238 ; earth-
(juakc at, 239.

Sin-sia, church at, 223.

Sin-tiam, 154; church at, 156.

Social life, Chinese, 298.

South ]''ormosan mission, 324; no-
ble history of, 329.

Steep Island (ku-soa), visit to, 182.

Steere, Professor J. 15., of Ann
Arbor, 320.

Sulphur-springs of Pak-tau, 223.

Suthcrlandshire (Scotland), au-
thor's visit to the " land of his
forefathers," 22.
Sylvia, Mount, ascent of, 260;
snow-capped hoights of, 261, 313.

Tai-wan-fu, capital of Formosa, 32,

47-
Ta-kow (Formosa), author's first

sermon at, 31.

Tamsui, blockade of, 195 ; sketch
of, 281 ; mission biv'dings at, 282 ;
population of, 283 ; a treat) port,
283; MacKay Hospital at, 283.

Tan He, Re/., 154; missionary trip
with, 180, 226; builds church t
Sin-sia, 223 ; at Sin-tinm, 334.

Tattooing, 245, 257.

Truism, 125, 208, 224.

Tauist priest, incantations of, 129,
280, 312.

Tea-culture, 114.

Teeth-extracting, 168, 227, 315.

Tek-chham, 113, 156.

Thah-so, Widow, first female con-
vert, 151 ; death of, 152.

Tin-a from birth to marriage, 298.

Toa-kho-hum, 159, 177.

Toa-tiu-tia, population of, 113;
church at, 161, 237.

Tobacco-growing, 246.

Tonquin, dispute with France, 189.

Toronto Canada), mission labors
within Presbytery of, 19; or-
dained at, 26.

Toronto to Tamsui, 26.

Torturing of converts, 192.

Touring in the north, 172.

Trader, Chinese, wily character of,
266.

Training a native ministry, 285.

Travel, modes of, 172.

Trees, plants, and flowers, i;^.

Tribal life, 255.

Trip down the east coast, a, 226.

Tsui-tngkha, church at, 162, 163,

237-
Typnoons, destructive character of,

245-

: Village life among the savages, 244,

255.

Waiting isler, the, 182.

Warburg, Dr. (of Hamburg), bota-
nist, visit of, 225.

With the Fnglibh Presbyterians in
South Formosa, 324.

Woman's Foreign Missionary So-
ciety of Canada gives aid to Girls'
School at Tamsui, 304.

Woman's ministry, 297.

Woman's jiosition higher amongChi-
nese than among pagan races, 1 19.
! Women, savage, fondness for orna-
ments, 256 ; hard lot of, 265.

Woodstock (Ontario) Grammar-
school, 16.
[Woodstock "Sentinel Review,"

Work of the missions, prosperity of,

202.
Worship of ancestors, 131, 259; a

stubborn obstacle to Christianity,

134-
Yokohama, 29, 30.

Zorra (Canada), early life in, 14;
bids farewell to, 27.

of, 113;

ranee, 18c,.
5ion labors
f, 19 ; or-

92.

liaraeter of,
ry, 285.

rs, KS.

t, a, 226.
t, 162, 163,

;haracter of,
avages, 244,

burg), bota-

ibytorians in

isionary So-
aid to Girls'
14.

r among Clii-

in races, 119.

CSS for orna-

of, 265.

Grannnar-

1 Review,"

)rosperity of,

131, 259; a
Christianity,

life in, 14;

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oping the Missionary Life. Edited from the material of the
educational department of the Student Volunteer Movement for
eign Missions. With 57 full page charts prepared by R. J .

Foreign

" A ^usefui"and"should ' be an inspiring manual."— The Inde-
pendent.

Kellogg. i6mo. cloth :••.-••-.••■. "ZS

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Travel and Exploration.

PealHy versus Romance /o South Central Africa. Being an
Account of a Journev Across the African Continent, from Ben.
Buella on the West Coast, to the mouth of the Zambesi. By
Tames Johnston, M.D. With 51 full-page photogravure repro-
ductions of photographs by the author, and a map. Royal bvo,

cloth, boxed • • •5-*'"

" Dr Johnston has the courage of his c inions gained by
what he has seen. . . . The merits ol this volume are
incontestable. The photogravures are as novel as tliey are ex-
cellent."—7y;(? A^fiu i'or^ Times.
Chinese Characteristics. By Arthur H. Sraitli. Second Edition,
Revised. With 16 illustrations from original photographs. 8vo,

cloth ;• ""^

" Cannot be praised too highly."— 77;^ Independent (X. \ .)
" Not only one of the ablest analyses and portrayals f)f the
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Twenty-two years' residence among the people, with command
of their language, has enabled Mr. Smith to see them as they
are."— 77W Nation.

'• A completely trustworthy study."— T/zt- Advnnee.

'Combines rare insight into facts with clear and forcible

fotms,of expression. Most delightful readir.g. -hev. A. i.

Pierson, D. D.

Th^ Chronicles of the Sla; or, The Life and Travels of Adcha

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"^ "''If Miss Ga'tes is not the great American traveler it would

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Paper '

" This volun e is as fresh and striking as ^as Miss IsabeUa

Bird's fi St notable venture the much appreciated L n. .Ucn

Tracks in Japan.' "-7'A^^. V- ^'"'«-
r^n Years Dlzzlnz la Egypt, 1881-1891. By W. M. Flinders

"etrtr wfu' a^mapTnd 1x6 illustrations. SeeondEdU.on-^

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"ThP inrro-ise of our knowledge of the history of ancient

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Mr. Petrie."— 7"/u- Outlook.
The Ainu of Japan. The Religion, Superstitions and Generia

History of the Hairy Aborigines of Japan. By Rev. John

Batchelor. With to illustrations. 8vo. cloth i-50

A Winter In North China. By Rev. T. M. Morris. With a map.

\2mo, cloth

*m*See also Pen and Pencil Series, By-Paihs of Bible Knowieagh
and Missions,

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Missions and Missionaries,

ftore/M Missions After a Century. By Rev. J. S. Dennis. D.D.
Princeton Seminary Lectures, 1893. r/itr^i Edition, 8vo,

cloth • :-»'5°

"Abroad, philosophical and systematic view of missionary
work in its relation to the living Church."-r/z* Independent.

The Student Missionary Enterprise. ProccedinES of the Second
Internali.mal Convention of the Student Voluntary Movement
for Foreign Missions. Detroit, 1894. Svo, cloth, gilt top. . . . 1.50

The World's Missionary Conference Reports. Proceedings of
the Centenary Conference on the Protestant Missions of the
World, London, i388. Edited by Rev. James Johnston, F.S.S.,
Secretary of the Conference. Two large Svo voiumes, over
1,200 pages, cloth '•°°

Manual of Modern Missions. Containing Historical and
Statistical Accounts of the Principal Protestant Missionary
Societies in America, Great Britain, and the Continent of
Europe. By Rev. J. T. Gracy, D.D. i2mo, cloth 1.25

The Story of Uganda and the Victoria Nyanza Mission. By

Sarah G. Stock. With a map and illustrations, lamo, cloth, 1.25

Amonir the Matabele. By Rev. David Carnegie. With an
a?"^unt of KhaZ Chief of the Bechuanas, and many lUustra-
lions. i2mo, cloth

KItt-da-shon's Wife. An Alaskan Story. Bv Mrs Eugene S
Wmard, Home Missionary to Alaska, of the Presbyterian Boara
of America. Illustrated. T/urd /edition. Svo, cloth 1.50

Heavenly Pearls Set In a Life. A Record of Experiences and
Llbo« in America, India, and Australia. By Mrs. Lucy D
Osborn. Illustrated. i2mo, cloth ^-5°

The Holy Spirit In Missions. By Rev. A. J. Gordon, D.D,
Graves Lectures, 1892. i2mo, cloth, gilt top i>25

The Life of John Kenneth ^acte/«/f, Medical Missionary to
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Medical Missions: Their Place and Power. By John Lowe.
Secretary of the Edinburgh Medical Society. T/nrd Edtiton.
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The Evangelization of the World. A Record of Consecration^
andanAppeal. By B. Broomhall. 4to. cloth net, i.oo

The Greatest Work In the World: The Evangelization of all
PeoE?^ the Present Century. By A. T. Pierson D.D. i2mo
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"Do Not Say;" or. The Churches' Excuses for Neglecting the
Healhen. By J.' H. Hosburgh, M.A. 97 P^S^^^^^^^i
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