【翻譯練習】南福爾摩沙紀行
Notes of a Journey in Southern Formosa
作者：John Thomson
來源：https://www.reed.edu/formosa/texts/Thomson1873.html
筆者於中國及其領土進行一系列考察之旅，為期二年，目的係蒐集有關當地人民和所訪省分之相片和確切資訊，本文簡要記錄其中一次行旅。
1871 年 4 月 1 日夜晚，我偕同馬雅各醫師搭乘汽船「福爾摩沙號」，從廈門出發。次日拂曉，汽船航經澎湖群島，當日 2 時於南福爾摩沙打狗港下錨。進入打狗港前，汽船會穿越高聳巨石劈開的狹窄通道，有頗長一段海岸都是由這種巨石構成。沙洲上的水道極淺，僅能容納吃水至多 12 呎的的船隻通行，這對打狗逐漸興盛的貿易而言是很大的障礙，因為來到打狗港的船隻必須在港外一哩處下錨，然後卸貨至小船上，由於洶湧浪潮一波波拍擊海岸，這項工作十分辛苦，也十分危險。
我們雇用一艘當地人的小船，小船不能駛入港嘴，所以我們在一處有掩護的岩石海灣靠岸。岩石屬於火成岩，上頭有許多晶格，整塊岩石看起來宛如在沸騰狀態下急速冷卻，邊緣參差不齊，像是打火石，我們難以立足其上。很多晶格裡有一層薄薄的砂質土壤，上面生長著幾種低矮的灌木和草本植物，還有一種矮小的棗椰樹，長出從未成熟的果實。
海岸的沙子很細緻齊整，沙子被海水打濕時黑得發光。一座海拔超過 1 千呎的山頭雄立在打狗港北端，外國人稱之為「猴山」，得名於有猴群以這座岩石山頭的高處為家。猴隻體型龐大，遠遠看來有點像婆羅洲的紅毛猩猩。山上有多種開花植物，我認出野薄荷和小型的旋花科植物，開著小黃花，爬滿了岩石和矮小的椰子樹。
我在猴山居高臨下俯瞰打狗港。港灣是一處淺潟湖，長約 6 哩，寬約 2 哩，東臨開墾成農田的平原，西有一彎沙岸，將潟湖與外海隔離開來，沙岸在入口處與岩岸會合，一直綿延至港灣南端，形成一道熱帶植物的綠帶。打狗的村莊、以及一小片外國人雜居地的其中一部分，就建在這個沙岸上。沙岸似乎是一邊有河流砂礫的沉積，一邊又有潮汐和海浪的作用，兩股力量共同堆積出來的。河流在打狗港之南，水道原本很深，如今幾近乾涸。十七世紀初期荷蘭佔領福爾摩沙期間，打狗港可能已是通往陸地的重要通道，因為現仍留有「紅毛港」這個名稱，當地人常給早期荷蘭殖民者的相關地點冠以「紅毛」之名。
福爾摩沙島的西半部一直在經歷新近且迅速的地理變化。從臺灣府發生的情形，我們可以合理推測，目前的打狗港形成於近二百年內，下面我就要來證明這個論點。打狗港的底部由柔軟的砂質與黏土構成，其沙洲應能輕易浚渫並挖深，成為中國海最優良的港口之一。清淤機具等設備，想必可對貿易快速成長的打狗港帶來明顯助益，然而中國的政策猶未規畫此一事項。
打狗港的進口貨物包含鴉片、棉織品與羊毛織品、棉花、麻布袋、南京布、菸草製品；主要出口貨物包含黑糖與白糖、芝麻籽、稻米、地瓜 (當地人廣泛作為主食)、花生、龍眼、薑。打狗港貿易量的增加，由 1870 年 12 月止的該季《海關報》可資證明：該季收取的規費與關稅總計達 15,489 兩 9 錢 8 分 3 厘，而 1868 年同期為 4,293 兩 6 錢 4 分 5 厘。貿易量及相對應的營收呈現如此巨幅的增加，主要得力於外國貿易商，不過也有一部分可歸功於中國政府的政策變得稍較開放，以及福爾摩沙島資源的迅速開發，本島物產豐饒，引人注目。
4 月 4 日夜晚，我和馬醫師一同前往臺灣府。我們登上汽船福爾摩沙號，翌晨黎明時分啟程，8 時於臺灣府外海 2 哩處下錨。打狗至臺灣府海路為 25 哩。下錨時風急浪高，但我們仍決定換乘當地人的小舟或雙體船，這種船是用藤綑緊好幾根長竹子搭造成竹筏，並再附設桅杆和草篷。筏上還放了個木盆，搭船登陸的乘客可坐於其中；木盆並未以任何方式固定在筏上，因此當波浪不時衝擊竹筏時，坐在木盆裡的乘客可能會被沖走漂至岸上。我們全身都被浪打溼，在熱蘭遮城遺址附近登陸，這座堡壘由荷蘭人在 1633 年建於孤懸海外的島嶼，衛護內海港灣。
荷蘭的福爾摩沙檔案記載，熱蘭遮城原是一座島嶼，與陸地間形成一大片空曠的避風港；1661 年 4 月 31 日的破曉，國姓爺的艦隊逐漸接近臺灣，長驅直入熱蘭遮城和普羅民遮城之間的廣大內海，下錨停泊。這二座城堡相距 3 哩以上，而那位來犯的漢人下錨所在的內海，如今已是乾涸荒涼的浮覆地，上頭有條路，並鑿出幾條運河，以與臺灣府的舊港口互相聯通。浮覆地有一小塊部分仍淹在深水中。圍著熱蘭遮城的海水現在變得極淺，船隻必須在城外約 2 哩處下錨。
臺灣府是福爾摩沙的行政中心，建有城牆，居民 7 萬餘人。城牆圈住了周長 5 哩的地帶，大部分為農田和菜園，普羅民遮城遺址仍可嗅到荷蘭佔領時期的殘存氣息；府城還有大片的空地，老樹遮蔭，修竹成叢。城外郊區有好幾條草路縱橫交錯，仙人掌科植物抽高如牆，當中錯雜著盛開的野生吊鐘花和成簇的大牽牛花，路旁竹籬形成尖拱，提供天然遮蔭。
南福爾摩沙此處的居民，多半為福建本省人，另外還有客家人，這是一支從中國北方輾轉遷徙而來的刻苦耐勞族群。這些人每天帶著手工藝品和農產品，進入原住民居住的地帶。
馬醫師和我在 4 月 11 日離開臺灣府，前往尋訪平埔番，這個半開化的原住民族住在靠近中央山脈的丘陵地。前 10 哩的路途，我們穿越了大面積開墾的平原，農田和村莊星羅棋布，外圍生長著竹叢、香蕉樹和檳榔樹。行經平原後，我們進入丘陵地，這裡比平原更能把中央山脈看得清清楚楚。在外海的船上以及在西海岸，經常看不見中央山脈，因為平原升起的一層薄霧，還有我們剛進入的這片破碎惱人的丘陵地，都有可能遮住中央山脈；其他時候，像是雨季期間陸地蒸騰而起的水氣，也會使得中央山脈消失於視野內。
我們必須穿行而過的這片丘陵，有很多都是砂質、黏土和石灰的裸露表面，僅有少數野草能夠存活，讓我比較聯想到採石場的殘渣石堆，而不是原本預期會在福爾摩沙見到的茂密樹林山丘。氣溫酷熱，走在炎熱、烤乾的黏土路面，腳底不免起了水泡，疼痛磨人。
多處土地曾遭山洪侵蝕而塌陷，崩落成不規則的大片山凹。住在此處破碎丘陵地的客家人，以竹子和覆蓋茅草的泥塊來搭建非常臨時性的住所，並且不時搬遷這些小屋和小農田，以適應經常變動的土質。他們經常選擇住在大片山凹的底部，該處在客家人遷來之時地勢最低。我們注意到有很多條乾枯廢棄的水道，先前在雨季期間河水曾順著水道沖刷丘陵地，沿路留下巨大的岩礫，證明足以搬動這些巨石的山洪力道有多麼猛烈。
我們在距臺灣府約 20 哩的拔馬 (今左鎮) 過夜休息，這是最靠近臺灣府的平埔番聚落。大批村民群起迎接馬醫師，馬醫師從前曾經付出諸多心力，為這些村民緩解病痛之苦。
平埔番在膚色、臉型、一般外貌上，與馬來人相像，不過平埔番似乎是較高大、較優秀的種族。許多平埔番和山地部族語言中的字彙，和新加坡與麻六甲的馬來語有極明顯的相似之處，令人認為不太可能是貿易往來的結果。各原住民的語言有歧異，原因很容易理解，原住民各族群各有自己的山林獵場，互相分開居住。
11 日清晨，我們出發前往位於臺灣府東方約 26 哩的木柵 (今內門)，不過從拔馬要步行約 10 哩才能到木柵，且必須翻越類似前述的丘陵地。10 時抵達木柵，我給當地的環境和平埔番照了幾張相。此處的丘陵較高大雄偉，許多地方是驚險的石灰岩峭壁。谷地高度開墾，種植稻米、地瓜、花生和薑。木柵這處谷地是福爾摩沙極美的森林幽景之一，環繞谷地的山丘林木繁茂，農舍外圍栽植竹叢和果樹。
木柵之東的山丘上，立著一塊巨大的石灰岩，名為「木柵懸岩」(Hanging Rock of Baksa)。這段上坡路走在許多破碎的岩石上，岩石由堅硬、打火石般的晶格組成，茂密草木覆蓋其上。那塊石灰巨岩像是只靠幾根細瘦的石灰岩柱固定在山丘上，巨岩下方有個陰暗的洞穴。陪同我們的當地人忙著砍除蔓生的藤類植物時，差點就被三條毒性足以致死的豆綠色毒蛇咬到，這種蛇的頭部呈扁平的三角形。我們把蛇趕出藤蔓，殺掉毒蛇，然後我才繼續拍巨岩的相片。
翌晨，我們前往甲仙埔，要走 26 哩海拔漸升的蜿蜒山路。我雇了六名內門的平埔番協助背負我的器材和行李。我以為這段路途會大大考驗平埔番的體力耐力，沒想到經過一天的奔波，他們竟還能熱情參與甲仙埔村民的娛樂活動。漢人苦力根本幹不了這份差事。
這些平埔番揹工性格爽朗溫和，為人誠信正直，令人印象深刻，這似乎是種族的天性使然，因為在平埔番的村莊，眾人不會小心防範竊賊，只有在與漢人混居之處，平埔番才會覺得最好把門鎖起來。整段行程當中，我的箱子成天開著沒關，然而半毛錢都沒有遺失。
我們在木柵以東約 8 哩的柑仔林稍事休息。接著得再穿越破碎惱人的丘陵地，在山凹裡上上下下，從相片可以得知些許端倪。溪流全乾涸了，我們口渴難耐。日正當中，豔陽熱力逼人，孤樹抵擋不了炎炎日照。黏土窪地的白色山壁反射著熱氣，空氣幾乎使人窒息。
午後不久，我們攀上其中一個山凹的山壁，累得精疲力盡，停下腳步。我們尋找有灌木叢遮蔭的地方，坐在一顆石頭上；同一時間，一窩有著亮黃色足部的褐色蜈蚣跑出來，這些蜈蚣很大隻，身長 2 至 3 呎。我們累到沒力氣趕走蜈蚣，幸好蜈蚣並沒有螫人。
在接下來的休息點，我們隊伍裡的一個人不小心砍斷一株有毒灌木，結果灌木散發極濃烈的惡臭。福爾摩沙島的這塊地方還有一種很獨特的爬藤類，漢人稱之為「薁蕘」，其果實、或說果實內的種子曬乾後，可以用來製作果凍。將少許種子放在粗棉布袋，袋子浸泡在一杯水里，這杯水就會變成很營養的果凍，顏色跟外觀都類似牛蹄凍。同樣值得一提的是，當地人不只自己種菸草，連菸斗都種在自家附近，他們用竹子的根部和嫩莖來做菸斗。
登上高丘後，我們進入半開墾、半原始林的谷地。現在我們很靠近中央山脈的山腳，看得見層疊連綿的山巒，其中最醒目的是泛著深藍色、海拔約 11,000 呎的莫里遜山 (即玉山) 山峰。愈往內陸挺進，地景也愈來愈雄偉壯麗，荒涼未開發。
我們越過六龜里溪，抵達瓠仔寮這個小村落。我們行走的橋樑，只不過是把三根長竹子橫放在溪上，溪岸兩頭各用一堆鵝卵石來支撐固定住竹子。竹橋離溪約 12 高，若不慎失足，後果不堪設想。不過，我們把草鞋沾濕，讓草鞋變得更柔軟易彎，最終總算順利過橋。這裡的居民負責修繕這些陽春的橋樑，他們在溪岸找竹子，在離最近的雜木林找用來綑綁的藤枝，作為橋墩的鵝卵石則到處都撿得到。
在我們現在行經的山腳，此處的山林巨木參天，是山地原住民較低的獵場，大自然賜予的有利優勢仍無法滿足他們，有時山地原住民還是會襲擊較不野蠻的平地原住民，好好清算彼此之間的新仇舊恨。瓠仔寮平埔番的體態，比沿海平埔番更顯得未開化。他們身形高大，四肢修長健壯，膚色沒有那麼深。女性面容姣好，她們都抽著以銅圈裝飾的竹製菸斗，菸斗上還掛著一只裝菸草的小皮袋。一名老嫗試抽我的雪茄，並傳遍給整村的人抽抽看，最後雪茄鄭重交還到我的手上。婦女用一種繩索來紮束頭髮，她們先用紅布以螺旋形繞住繩索，再把整條布繩纏捲在頭上，形成天然的頭巾。服裝是短版緊身的藍棉布外褂，上衫亦為相同布料，不過另外搭配鮮亮的紅黃滾邊，垂至膝蓋處。此種服裝令我想起在暹羅和柬埔寨見過的寮族婦女，以及漢人書籍的彩色木刻版畫上描繪的中國本土山區「苗族」的服飾和習慣。男性如漢人薙髮，服裝為短版外褂和棉布短褲。附近山區滿滿都是果實熟透的野生芭樂樹。
沿著溪行，我第一次在東方國度品嘗野莓大餐，這裡的野莓很大顆，滋味跟當地栽種的莓果不相上下。從瓠仔寮走了 6 哩，我們來到甲仙埔，在當地人的小屋歇息。村民忙著給一間房子用茅草蓋屋頂，那位屋主則大方請客來幫忙的村民們，招待他們痛快喝酒。
入夜，我們住宿的小屋前方清出一片空地，燃起熊熊烈火，村民聚集跳舞慶祝。男女老少，還有多隻耳朵尖長直豎的獵犬，一同圍著營火席地而坐。火焰猛烈燃燒，紅色火光閃動在搖曳的竹葉間，以及周圍椰樹的黑色輪廓間；斷斷續續的火舌，有時突然照亮圍在營火旁的奇異人影，彷彿一幅以黑夜為背景的立體浮雕，然後又消失幻化為無形的暗影。木柴和乾草投入火中，火焰一飛衝天，眾人的情緒也激昂無比。年輕男女騰出一處空間，手拉著手，形成新月形，並在響起一道哀傷小曲時跳起舞來。時間走得愈來愈快，舞者的步伐也愈來愈急，速度終至變得兇猛狂暴，人們如鬼魅般輕盈躍動，在籠罩著紅色煙霧的塵土之中穿梭不已。最後歌聲以野性的長嘯取而代之，回音迴盪在山谷間。
翌日，主人為我們安排一位武裝嚮導，領我們步行前往甲仙埔以南 11 哩的荖濃。嚮導認為有必要再帶上另一位武裝的友人，因為我們必須穿越山間一處危險的隘口；他還吩咐我們絕對不可出聲。
這段行程集結了最壯麗動人的山、林、河之美景。我們休息的時候，有一隊捕魚的武裝隊伍超越我們，他們用弓箭在溪流射魚，又捕捉和生吃淡水蟹，自得其樂。
穿行荖濃高處的叢林，我們見到一些優良的樟樹品種，也注意到許多藤蔓，以及在一處沒有生長林下草木的局部空曠地上，發現一株巨大的百合花，挺著大約 8 呎高的身軀，葉子寬大而彎曲，還有一大球粉紅色白色相間的花朵。樹木的上方和周圍，懸掛著粗厚如肌肉線條的爬藤寄生植物，從這棵樹攀到另一棵樹，雜亂景象彷彿漢人戎克船上糾結成一團的繩索。
我們在山脊最高處遠眺莫里遜山，並遇見一名平埔番，他從島的另一側翻山越嶺而來。他必須提供三隻牛給住在這一帶的部落，當作保護費，部落才允許他安全通過。他說莫里遜山的山腳有個良港，在福爾摩沙島的東半部，外國人還不知道這個港的存在。
群山的山腳下有條急流沖激而過，荖濃位於這條溪的右岸。每年 5 月到 9 月的雨季期間，小溪便會暴漲成寬達一哩的巨湍，形成南部山區最大的洪水宣洩口之一。荖濃是最靠近山地原住民部落的村莊。
當晚我們留宿荖濃。東道主的兒子最近喪妻，他去附近山區拜訪友好的部落，有意再找續絃。隔天早晨，我們一走下河床去照相，就遇到一條大蛇擋在路中間，高舉頭部示威。我用我的竹竿敲蛇的頭，把牠趕走。那隻蛇約有 7 到 8 呎長，太大隻了，我們沒辦法把蛇帶走。
我很想渡河過去看看，但旁人勸我別這麼做，因為河的對岸住著他們的世仇，而且一個多月前有一隊獵人才在我們所站之處的正對面殺了二個人。
2 時出發，嚮導帶我們前往荖濃以南約 12 哩遠的六龜里，我們預計會在六龜里跟一隊前去交易貨品的原住民會合。我們所走的路徑，雨季期間會是河的右岸，此時則是面對著乾涸河床、高約 200 呎連綿不絕的斷崖。這裡同樣薈萃著令人歎為觀止的諸多美景。在一處地方，一道深山溪澗從幽谷縱身躍出，翻騰衝擊於岩石之上，而後又消失於密林，不知所終；叢山峻嶺之宏偉，動人心弦，壯闊的山體因常綠森林的蓊鬱遮覆而顯得柔和可親，更添姿色；即使在周遭岩石極細緻的裂縫上，也能發現含藏精微之美的不平凡天地。
我們一行人抵達六龜里，仙人掌科植物形成的籬笆護衛房屋，屋旁另植有椰樹、香蕉樹、龍眼樹和芒果樹。我們來到這晚欲投宿的屋舍，此時夜幕即將低垂。屋舍前方有著山豬和山羌骨頭結成的裝飾物，是打獵的戰利品。一位身高超過 6 呎的年輕男子在門口和我們打照面，站在身旁的是他從鄰近山區部落娶來的妻子。男子看起來兇猛，不太友善，他向他的老父告知我們的到來，那位父親正待在外間小屋抽鴉片。
經過一番折騰，我們總算有了過夜之處。不幸的是，我一直到凌晨 1 點多才睡，因為我得替之後的行程準備拍照用的化學藥劑。六龜里的水質非常鹼性；有一、二條小溪的溪岸遍布像是碳酸鈉晶體的東西，這使得顯影的時候遇到一些問題，後來才找出原因，並用漢人的醋進行酸處理。
在一、二條小溪的溪岸上，我注意到有很多板岩和頁岩，代表此地有煤，而煤礦正是福爾摩沙島北部的重要商品，福爾摩沙將會逐漸躍居產煤重鎮，為東方的發展和進步帶來物質上的貢獻。
回程行經的地帶，其自然形貌與前述情形大抵相同。
返回臺灣府後，我走陸路前往打狗，有意繼續往南深入原住民的領域。然而我最後只能止於打狗，因為福爾摩沙島南部山區部落正在攻戰。
宗教
平埔番基督徒現已超過 1 千人，他們自己建有小教堂，在一定程度上為當地提供了師資和學校。平埔番原有的宗教 (應該說是拜物主義) 漸漸式微。我們花了頗大的功夫，才說服岡仔林的一個家庭取出收藏的家神給我們看；他們似乎對此感到羞愧。
我們在一間黑漆漆的小房間，發現奇特的祭祀物品，固定在角落的泥牆上，看起來像是小一號的五月柱。那根柱子的頂端懸著山羌頭骨，柱身纏繞著乾燥花草做成的花圈。有一小壺水放在柱子的前方和底部，這便是平埔族女性神祇的象徵。女神配偶的具體意象，則是壺左方放置的竹製物品，我看著像是小孩的椅子。我認為有女祭司在主持祭祀儀式，據說福爾摩沙島受荷蘭統治前即是如此，文獻紀載當時原住民的大罪是在特定場合穿絲織品，例如建造房屋、收集木柴或捕捉牡蠣。「原住民的宗教儀式包含二種行為：獻祭和祈禱，由女祭司在其宗教場所舉行。女祭司將供品置於豬頭骨和山羌頭骨前方，這些頭骨即是基於祭祀目的豎立於宗教場所內。」
語言
以下字彙主要由馬雅各醫師和李庥牧師提供，從中可看出平埔番語言、中央山脈原住民部落語言、以及馬來語之間驚人的相似度，而且也十分近似菲律賓、新幾內亞、紐西蘭等地的語言。筆者僅於本文選出一、二個部落的數字用語加以比較，整體呈現共通性，差異處極細微。
(語言比對表已佚失。)
[P. 97] The following is a brief account of one of a series of journeys through China and Chinese territory, extending over a period of two years, and undertaken with the object of obtaining a collection of photographs of, and exact information regarding, the people and provinces visited.
I left Amoy, in company with Dr. Maxwell, in the steamer Formosa, on the night of April 1, 1871. We passed the Pescadore Islands at daybreak on the 2nd, and anchored off Takow, in Southern Formosa, at 2 o'clock on the same day. The harbour of Takow is approached through a narrow cleft in a bold ridge of rocks that for some distance skirt the shore. The channel over the bar is shallow, and can only be passed by vessels drawing at the most 12 feet of water. This is a great drawback to the rising trade of the place, as the majority of ships visiting the port have to anchor about a mile off, and discharge their cargoes in boats, an operation attended with difficulty and danger, owing to the heavy surf that rolls in upon the shore. We hired a native boat and landed in a sheltered bay in the rocks, as the boat could not make the mouth of the harbour. The rocks are of igneous formation, and are built up of a multitude of cells, the whole mass appearing to have been suddenly chilled while in a state of [p. 98] ebullition, presenting a series of jagged, flint-like edges, difficult to ascend. Many of the cells contain a thin layer of sandy soil, supporting a few dwarfed shrubs and grasses, and a dwarf species of date-palm, producing a fruit that never reaches maturity.
The sand along the shore is very fine, regular, and of a jet black when wet with sea-water. A hill, over a thousand feet in height, known to foreigners as Ape's Hill, rises above the northern extremity of the harbour. It derives its name from the tribe of apes that find a home in its rocky heights. They are of unusual size, and, viewed from a distance, bear some resemblance to the "mias," or orang-outan of Borneo. Among the variety of flowering plants on this hill I noticed wild mint and minor convolvulus, with a small yellow flower climbing in rich profusion about the rocks and stunted palms. I obtained a commanding view of the harbour from Ape's Hill; it forms a shallow lagoon, over 6 miles in length by 2 in breadth; bounded on the east by a richly-cultivated plain, and protected from the sea on the west by an arm of sandy soil which joins the rocks at the entrance and sweeps round to the southern extremity in a green belt of tropical foliage. The village of Takow, and part of the small foreign settlement, are built upon this bank, which appears to have been indebted for its formation to the combined action of a river depositing its débris on the one side and to the action of the tide and surf building up the land on the other. The river is at the south of the harbour; its deep channel is now nearly dry. During the time of the Dutch occupation of Formosa, in the beginning of the seventeenth century, it probably formed an important approach inland, as it still bears the name of the Estuary of the Red Haired Race, a name commonly given to the early Dutch settlers.
The western portion of the island has been undergoing recent and rapid physical changes. I will be able to show, from what has taken place at Tai-wan-fu, that it is perfectly reasonable to suppose that the present harbour of Takow has been formed within the last 200 years. The bottom of the harbour of Takow is formed of soft sand and clay, and with the bar might be easily dredged and deepened to form one of the finest harbours in the China Sea. Such appliances, however, as dredging-machines, so obviously of advantage to the rapidly growing trade of the port, are still in advance of Chinese policy.
The imports of Takow consist of opium, cotton and woolen piece-goods, raw cotton, hemp bags, nankeens, and prepared tobacco; and the chief exports, of brown and white sugar, [p. 99] sesamum-seeds, rice, sweet potatoes (extensively used as food by the natives), ground-nuts, lang-ngans, and turmeric. The increase of the trade of Takow is shown in the following quotation from the 'Customs' Gazette' for the quarter ending December 1870. The total dues and duties collected during that quarter amounted to 15,489tls. 9m. 8c. 3c., compared with 4,293tls. 6m. 4c. 5c. for the same period in 1868. This enormous increase in trade and the corresponding revenue is mainly due to the energy of the foreign traders, although partly to the slightly more liberal policy of the Chinese Government and to the rapidly developing resources of the island, which is remarkable for its fertility.
I left for Tai-wan-fu, in company with Dr. Maxwell, on the night of the 4th of April. We went on board the Formosa, which started at daylight next morning, and anchored 2 miles off the shore at Tai-wan-fu at 8 o'clock. The distance by sea from Takow to Tai-wan-fu is 25 miles. The surf was running high when we anchored. We, however, determined to land in a native surf-boat or catamaran, composed of a number of lengths of bamboo lashed together with ratan, so as to form a raft, to which is added a mast and mat sail. There is, also, a wooden tub placed on the raft for the accommodation of passengers going ashore; these tubs are never fixed in any way to the raft, so that when the raft is upset by a wave, a not unfrequent occurrence, the passenger is washed ashore in the tub. Thoroughly wet with the surf, we landed near the ruins of Fort Zelandia, a stronghold built by the Dutch in 1633, on an island, to protect the inner harbour.
In the Dutch accounts of Formosa it is stated that Zelandia was an island where a spacious haven was formed; and further, that on April 31st, 1661, at break of day, Koshinga's fleet appeared before Taiwan, and ran into the spacious haven between Zelandia and Provintia, and anchored between the two forts. The two forts, Zelandia and Provintia, are separated by a distance of over three miles; and the haven referred to, in which the Chinese invader anchored his fleet, is now a dry, arid plain, over which there is a road, and several canals cut to communicate with the old port of Tai-wan-fu. A small portion of this plain is still flooded at high water. The water off the fort is now so shallow, that vessels have to anchor about 2 miles out.
Tai-wan-fu, the capital of Formosa, is a walled city of 70,000 inhabitants. The walls enclose a space 5 miles in circumference, planted to a great extent with fields and gardens, and [p. 100] still showing traces of the Dutch occupation in the ruins of Fort Provintia, and extensive parks, shaded with fine old trees, and groves of tall bamboo. The suburbs are intersected by a multitude of green lanes, having walls of cactus, interspersed with the brilliant flowers of the wild fuchsia and clusters of major convolvulus, and shaded by hedges of bamboo, which form a pointed arch over the path.
The inhabitants of this part of Southern Formosa are chiefly natives of the Fokien province and Hak-kas, a hardy race of emigrants from the north of China, who are daily carrying their arts and agriculture further into the territory claimed by the aborigines.
Dr. Maxwell and I left Tai-wan-fu on the 11th of April, on a visit to the Pepohoans, the half-civilized tribes of aborigines occupying the hill-country nearest to the central mountains. Our journey for the first 10 miles was over a highly-cultivated plain, dotted with farms and villages, surrounded with groves of bamboo, bananas, and areca palms. Having crossed the plain, we entered a hill-country, from which we could see the central range of mountains much more clearly than from the lower plain. These mountains are frequently invisible from ships at sea and from the western shore, as they are obscured by a veil of fine dust that rises from the plain and from the broken and disturbed country upon which we were just entering; at other times they are shut out from view by clouds of vapour rising from the land during the wet season. Many of the hills over which we had to pass presented bare surfaces of sand, clay, and limestone, supporting a scant herbage, suggesting more the idea of mounds of débris from a quarry than of the wood-clad hills I had expected to find in Formosa. The heat was intense, causing painful blisters on the feet in walking on the hot, baked clay surface of the pathway.
The land, in many places undermined by the mountain torrents, had fallen in, in great pits of irregular form. The Hak-kas, who inhabit this broken country, erect very temporary dwellings of bamboo, and mud thatched with grass, transferring these huts and small farms, from time to time, to suit the shifting nature of the soil, usually selecting the bottom of the large pits, where the land, for the time, has found its lowest level. We noticed many channels dried and abandoned where rivers had formerly, during the wet season, torn their way through the country, depositing, in their course, huge rock boulders, affording evidence of the force and power of the torrents by which they had been moved. We rested at Pao-be for the night, distant about 20 miles from Tai-wan-fu. This is the nearest settlement of Pepohoans. The villagers turned [p. 101] out en masse to meet and welcome the Doctor, who had done much on former occasions to relieve their sufferings during sickness.
The Pepohoans in colour, form of face, and general appearance, resemble the Malays, although they seem to be a taller and superior type of the race. The vocabularies of the dialects of a number of the Pepohoan and mountain tribes show an affinity to the Malay language spoken in Singapore and Malacca, too striking to be the result of trading intercourse. There are differences in the dialects, easily accounted for by the division of the aborigines into tribes living apart from each other in their mountain hunting grounds.
We left at daylight on the 11th for Baksa, about 26 miles east of Tai-wan-fu. It is, however, a walk of about 10 miles from Poa-be, over a hill country similar to that described. We reached Baksa about 10 o'clock, where I obtained photographs of the place and types of the Pepohoans. The hills here are higher and more imposing, presenting in many places bold crags of limestone. The valleys are highly cultivated with rice, sweet potatoes, ground-nuts, and turmeric. Baksa Valley is one of the most beautiful sylvan spots in the island. The surrounding hills are well wooded, and the farmhouses are environed with groves of bamboo and fruit trees. On the hill to the east of Baksa there is a huge mass of limestone, known as the Hanging Rock of Baksa. The ascent is over masses of broken rock, composed of hard, flinty cells, and covered with luxuriant vegetation. There is a dark cavern beneath the enormous mass of limestone which appears to be poised on the hill with a few slender props of limestone. The natives who accompanied me, whilst engaged in cutting a trailing vine, narrowly escaped being bitten by three deadly-poisonous snakes of a pea-green colour, with flat lozenge-shaped heads. We dislodged them from the vine, and killed them before proceeding to photograph the rock.
Next morning we left for Kasampo, a circuitous walk of 26 miles over hills gradually increasing in height. I had hired six Baksa Pepohoans as bearers of my instruments and baggage. I thought that this walk would be a severe test of their powers of endurance. After the day's toil, however, they were able to join heartily in the amusements of the villagers of Kasampo. Chinese coolies could not have done the work. These Pepohoan bearers were remarkable for their cheerfulness, good-nature, and honesty; and these qualities appear to be characteristics of the race, as in the villages no precautions are observed against theft. It is only where they have been mixed up with the Chinese that they find it expedient to put locks [p. 102] on their doors. During the entire journey, my boxes were left open and exposed day and night without my losing the value of a cash. We halted to rest at the village of Kamana, about 8 miles east of Baksa. We had again to cross over a broken, disturbed country, ascending and descending pits, of which the photograph will convey some idea. We suffered from want of water, as the streams were all dried up. The heat from the midday sun was intense, and uninterrupted by the shade of a single tree. The hot reflection from the white walls of the clay-pits made the air almost suffocating. Shortly after noon we halted, quite exhausted with the ascent of one of these pit walls. Seeking the shade of some shrubs we sat down on a rock, dislodging at the same time a nest of chocolate-coloured centipedes with bright yellow feet; they were of large size, between two and three inches long. We were too fatigued to move out of their way; fortunately they did not sting us. At our next resting-place a noxious shrub was accidentally broken by one of our party, and was found to emit a perfectly putrid odour. There is another remarkable trailing vine found in this part of the island, called "Ok-gue" by the Chinese. The fruit or seed contained in a pod is used, when dry, for making jelly. A small quantity of the seed placed in a course cotton bag, and allowed to soak in a cup of water, will transform the water into a nutritious jelly, having the colour and appearance of calf's-foot jelly. It may be mentioned, too, that the natives not only grow their tobacco, but they grow their tobacco-pipes around their huts, the pipes being formed of the roots and young stems of bamboo. Descending a high hill we entered a valley half cultivated and half covered with old forest. We were now close to the foot of the central mountain chain, and could see the mountains rise range above range, and, above all, the peak of Mount Morison, of a deep blue colour. It has an altitude of about 11,000 feet above the sea-level. The aspect of the country gradually became more grand and wild as we advanced inland.
We crossed the La-ko-li River to reach the small settlement of Pa-ah-liau. The bridge we crossed was simply made of three lengths of bamboo that spanned the stream, and were supported by, and fixed to, a pile of boulders on each bank. The bridge was raised about 12 feet above the river, so that a slip of the foot in crossing would have been serious. We, however, damped our straw sandals to make them more pliant, and got over with safety. These primitive bridges are kept in repair by the people in the neighbourhood, who find the bamboo on the bank, the ratan for lashing in the nearest thicket, and the boulders for piers everywhere around. The [p. 103] mountains, at the foot of which we were now passing, were clad in forests of gigantic trees, the lower hunting-grounds of the savage tribes, who, not content with their advantages, make occasional raids upon their less savage kinsmen of the plains, as a means of clearing up old existing feuds. The Pepohoans of Pa-ah-liau have a much more savage bearing than those nearer the coast. They are tall, straight of limb, robust, and not so dark in complexion. The women had a very striking appearance; they were all smoking bamboo pipes ornamented with brass rings, and having a small leathern bag attached for holding tobacco. An old lady tried my cigar, which was handed round the village to smoke, and afterwards carefully returned. The women bind up their hair in a sort of cable, which they surround with a spiral of red cloth; the whole is then bound round the head to form a natural diadem. The dress is a short, tight-fitting jacket of blue calico, and a skirt of the same material, with the addition of a bright border of red and yellow, falling to the knees. This dress reminded me of what I have seen worn by the Laos women in Siam and Cambodia, and also of the coloured woodcuts in Chinese books illustrating the dress and habits of the "Miau-tsze" of the mountain regions on the mainland. The men shave the head as the Chinese do. Their dress consists of a short jacket and short trousers of calico. The neighbouring hills are covered with wild guava, which grows to great perfection.
Following the stream, I enjoyed, for the first time in the East, a feast of wild raspberries. They were of a large size, and equal in flavour to those of this country. A walk of 6 miles from Pa-ah-liau brought us to Kasanpo, where we found rest in a native hut. The villagers had been engaged in thatching a house, and the owner had entertained them with a wine feast. After dark a huge fire was kindled on the clear space in front of the hut where we lodged, and where the villagers had assembled to have a dance. The old men and women, the children, and a number of long prick-eared hunting dogs, sat round the fire. As it blazed up, the red flare sported among the quivering leaves of the bamboos and the dark forms of the surrounding palms; while, with the fitful flames, the strange figures round the fire would burst into bold relief against the black night, and again vanish into impalpable shadows. Wood and reeds were piled on until the flames rose high, and with them the spirits of the party. The young men and women clearing a space, crossed hands, formed into a crescent, and danced to the time of a plaintive minor song; the time becoming faster and faster, and with it the feet of the [p. 104 dancers, until the speed became furious, and the figures seemed to flit like phantoms through the dust that had risen in a red cloud around them; when the song was replaced by savage yells that woke the echoes of the hills.
Next day our host furnished us with an armed guide to proceed on to La-lung, a walk of 11 miles south. The guide thought it necessary to bring another armed friend, as we had to go through a dangerous pass in the mountains; he further enjoined us to observe strict silence. This part of our journey presented the grandest combination of mountain, forest, and river scenery. We were overtaken by an armed party on a fishing expedition, who, while we rested, amused themselves by shooting fish in the stream with bow and arrow, and by catching fresh-water crabs, which they devoured alive. Passing through the forest on the heights above La-lung, we were shown some fine specimens of the camphor-tree. We also noticed quantities of ratan, and on a space partly clear of underwood, a gigantic lily, standing about 8 feet high, having broad bending leaves, and a large cone of pink and white flowers. Above and around the trees were pendant with the thick, muscular-looking stems of climbing parasitic plants, passing from tree to tree, and forming a chaos like the confusion of ropes on a Chinese junk. We had a view of Mount Morison from the highest point of the ridge, where we met a Pepohoan, who had crossed the mountain from the other side of the island. He had to pay three bullocks as black mail to the tribes inhabiting these regions, for which they gave him a safe pass through the territory. He reported the existence of a fine harbour at the foot of Mount Morison, on the eastern side of the island, a harbour unknown, he said, to foreigners. La-lung is on the right bank of a rapid stream that sweeps round the foot of the mountains. This stream during the wet season, which begins in May and ends about September, swells into a torrent of about a mile broad, forming one of the great outlets for the drainage of the southern mountains. La-lung is the nearest settlement to the habitations of the savage tribes of the mountains.
We rested at La-lung for the night. The son of our host had just lost his wife, and had gone on a visit to a friendly tribe in the neighbouring mountains to find another. Next morning upon descending the bank of the river to obtain a photograph, a large snake reared his head across our path. I despatched him with a blow across the head from my bamboo staff. He was about seven or eight feet long; too large to bring away. I was anxious to cross the river, but was persuaded not to do so, owing to some existing feud, and the fact [p. 105] that a party of hunters had about a month ago killed two men just opposite where we stood.
We started with our guides at 2 o'clock for La-ko-li, about 12 miles south of La-lung, where we expected to meet a party of savages who had gone there on a trading visit. Our path lay along what, during the wet season, forms the right bank of the river, presenting at this time a continuous precipice of 200 feet fronting its dry bed. Here, too, one meets with a remarkable combination of attractions in the scenery. At one place a mountain stream leaping out of a dark chasm, tumbling and foaming over the rocks, and again disappearing in the forest and everywhere around, one was impressed with the surpassing grandeur of the mountains, their gigantic forms softened and beautified with the luxuriant foliage of evergreen forests; or charmed to find a modest world of microscopic beauty in the minutest fissures of the surrounding rocks. La-ko-li was now before us, its hedges of cactus enclosing the huts, with their surroundings of palm, banana, laungan, and mango trees. It was nearly dark when we reached the house where we intended to rest for the night. In front, the house was adorned with festoons of boar and stag skulls, hunting trophies. A young man, over 6 feet in height, met us at the doorway; he was accompanied by his wife, a woman from a neighbouring mountain tribe. He looked savage and inhospitable, and referred us to his old father, who was smoking opium in an outer hut. We obtained shelter for the night, after some trouble. I had unfortunately to sit up till 1 o'clock, preparing my chemicals for the remainder of the journey. The water of La-ko-ki is very alkaline; the banks of one or two streams were covered with what appeared to be crystals of soda. This occasioned me some trouble in photographing, until I discovered the cause, and applied an acid remedy in Chinese vinegar.
In the dry beds of one or two streams I observed quantities of slate and shale, and indications of the presence of coal, which is now forming an important article of commerce in the north of the island, and which in process of time will enable Formosa, as a great coal field, to contribute materially to the development and progress of the East. The country we passed through on our return route is much the same in its physical aspect as that already described.
After my return to Tai-wan-fu I travelled overland to Takow, with the object of penetrating to the savage territory further south. I was, however, stopped at Takow, as the mountain tribes were fighting in the south of the island.
Religion.
[P. 106] There are now among the Pepohoans over 1000 Christians, who build their own chapels, and who, to some extent, contribute to the support of teachers and schools. Their old religion, or fetishism rather, is dying out. It required a great deal of persuasion to induce a family in a hut at Kong-a-nah to show us their household god; they appeared ashamed of it. We found the strange object of worship in a small, dark apartment, stuck in a corner against the mud wall. It looked like a stunted May-pole. On the top there was a single stag skull, while a garland of dried grass and flowers was twisted round the pole. A small jar of water was placed in front and at the foot of the pole. This constituted the goddess. Her spouse was represented on her left by what I took to be a child's chair, made of bamboo. There is, I believe, a priestess employed in the rites of worship, as is said to have been the case before the island was ceded to the Dutch, when the greatest sins of the aborigines are described as the wearing a silk dress at certain times, the building of houses, the collection of timber, or catching of oysters. "Their religious services consisted then in two acts&endash;in sacrificing and praying, which in their temples are performed by priestesses. They place their sacrifices before pigs' and stags' heads, which are set up in their temples for the purpose."
Language.
The following vocabularies were chiefly furnished by Dr. Maxwell and the Rev. Mr. Ritchie. They serve to show the striking affinity which exists between the dialects of the Pepohoans and tribes inhabiting the central mountain range and the Malay language, and their closer resemblance still with the languages of the Philippines, New Guinea, New Zealand, &c. For the purposes of this paper I will simply extract the numerals of one or two tribes, which, with slight differences, are common to the whole.
[Missing a table of linguistic equivalents.]
作者：John Thomson
來源：https://www.reed.edu/formosa/texts/Thomson1873.html
筆者於中國及其領土進行一系列考察之旅，為期二年，目的係蒐集有關當地人民和所訪省分之相片和確切資訊，本文簡要記錄其中一次行旅。
1871 年 4 月 1 日夜晚，我偕同馬雅各醫師搭乘汽船「福爾摩沙號」，從廈門出發。次日拂曉，汽船航經澎湖群島，當日 2 時於南福爾摩沙打狗港下錨。進入打狗港前，汽船會穿越高聳巨石劈開的狹窄通道，有頗長一段海岸都是由這種巨石構成。沙洲上的水道極淺，僅能容納吃水至多 12 呎的的船隻通行，這對打狗逐漸興盛的貿易而言是很大的障礙，因為來到打狗港的船隻必須在港外一哩處下錨，然後卸貨至小船上，由於洶湧浪潮一波波拍擊海岸，這項工作十分辛苦，也十分危險。
我們雇用一艘當地人的小船，小船不能駛入港嘴，所以我們在一處有掩護的岩石海灣靠岸。岩石屬於火成岩，上頭有許多晶格，整塊岩石看起來宛如在沸騰狀態下急速冷卻，邊緣參差不齊，像是打火石，我們難以立足其上。很多晶格裡有一層薄薄的砂質土壤，上面生長著幾種低矮的灌木和草本植物，還有一種矮小的棗椰樹，長出從未成熟的果實。
海岸的沙子很細緻齊整，沙子被海水打濕時黑得發光。一座海拔超過 1 千呎的山頭雄立在打狗港北端，外國人稱之為「猴山」，得名於有猴群以這座岩石山頭的高處為家。猴隻體型龐大，遠遠看來有點像婆羅洲的紅毛猩猩。山上有多種開花植物，我認出野薄荷和小型的旋花科植物，開著小黃花，爬滿了岩石和矮小的椰子樹。
我在猴山居高臨下俯瞰打狗港。港灣是一處淺潟湖，長約 6 哩，寬約 2 哩，東臨開墾成農田的平原，西有一彎沙岸，將潟湖與外海隔離開來，沙岸在入口處與岩岸會合，一直綿延至港灣南端，形成一道熱帶植物的綠帶。打狗的村莊、以及一小片外國人雜居地的其中一部分，就建在這個沙岸上。沙岸似乎是一邊有河流砂礫的沉積，一邊又有潮汐和海浪的作用，兩股力量共同堆積出來的。河流在打狗港之南，水道原本很深，如今幾近乾涸。十七世紀初期荷蘭佔領福爾摩沙期間，打狗港可能已是通往陸地的重要通道，因為現仍留有「紅毛港」這個名稱，當地人常給早期荷蘭殖民者的相關地點冠以「紅毛」之名。
福爾摩沙島的西半部一直在經歷新近且迅速的地理變化。從臺灣府發生的情形，我們可以合理推測，目前的打狗港形成於近二百年內，下面我就要來證明這個論點。打狗港的底部由柔軟的砂質與黏土構成，其沙洲應能輕易浚渫並挖深，成為中國海最優良的港口之一。清淤機具等設備，想必可對貿易快速成長的打狗港帶來明顯助益，然而中國的政策猶未規畫此一事項。
打狗港的進口貨物包含鴉片、棉織品與羊毛織品、棉花、麻布袋、南京布、菸草製品；主要出口貨物包含黑糖與白糖、芝麻籽、稻米、地瓜 (當地人廣泛作為主食)、花生、龍眼、薑。打狗港貿易量的增加，由 1870 年 12 月止的該季《海關報》可資證明：該季收取的規費與關稅總計達 15,489 兩 9 錢 8 分 3 厘，而 1868 年同期為 4,293 兩 6 錢 4 分 5 厘。貿易量及相對應的營收呈現如此巨幅的增加，主要得力於外國貿易商，不過也有一部分可歸功於中國政府的政策變得稍較開放，以及福爾摩沙島資源的迅速開發，本島物產豐饒，引人注目。
4 月 4 日夜晚，我和馬醫師一同前往臺灣府。我們登上汽船福爾摩沙號，翌晨黎明時分啟程，8 時於臺灣府外海 2 哩處下錨。打狗至臺灣府海路為 25 哩。下錨時風急浪高，但我們仍決定換乘當地人的小舟或雙體船，這種船是用藤綑緊好幾根長竹子搭造成竹筏，並再附設桅杆和草篷。筏上還放了個木盆，搭船登陸的乘客可坐於其中；木盆並未以任何方式固定在筏上，因此當波浪不時衝擊竹筏時，坐在木盆裡的乘客可能會被沖走漂至岸上。我們全身都被浪打溼，在熱蘭遮城遺址附近登陸，這座堡壘由荷蘭人在 1633 年建於孤懸海外的島嶼，衛護內海港灣。
荷蘭的福爾摩沙檔案記載，熱蘭遮城原是一座島嶼，與陸地間形成一大片空曠的避風港；1661 年 4 月 31 日的破曉，國姓爺的艦隊逐漸接近臺灣，長驅直入熱蘭遮城和普羅民遮城之間的廣大內海，下錨停泊。這二座城堡相距 3 哩以上，而那位來犯的漢人下錨所在的內海，如今已是乾涸荒涼的浮覆地，上頭有條路，並鑿出幾條運河，以與臺灣府的舊港口互相聯通。浮覆地有一小塊部分仍淹在深水中。圍著熱蘭遮城的海水現在變得極淺，船隻必須在城外約 2 哩處下錨。
臺灣府是福爾摩沙的行政中心，建有城牆，居民 7 萬餘人。城牆圈住了周長 5 哩的地帶，大部分為農田和菜園，普羅民遮城遺址仍可嗅到荷蘭佔領時期的殘存氣息；府城還有大片的空地，老樹遮蔭，修竹成叢。城外郊區有好幾條草路縱橫交錯，仙人掌科植物抽高如牆，當中錯雜著盛開的野生吊鐘花和成簇的大牽牛花，路旁竹籬形成尖拱，提供天然遮蔭。
南福爾摩沙此處的居民，多半為福建本省人，另外還有客家人，這是一支從中國北方輾轉遷徙而來的刻苦耐勞族群。這些人每天帶著手工藝品和農產品，進入原住民居住的地帶。
馬醫師和我在 4 月 11 日離開臺灣府，前往尋訪平埔番，這個半開化的原住民族住在靠近中央山脈的丘陵地。前 10 哩的路途，我們穿越了大面積開墾的平原，農田和村莊星羅棋布，外圍生長著竹叢、香蕉樹和檳榔樹。行經平原後，我們進入丘陵地，這裡比平原更能把中央山脈看得清清楚楚。在外海的船上以及在西海岸，經常看不見中央山脈，因為平原升起的一層薄霧，還有我們剛進入的這片破碎惱人的丘陵地，都有可能遮住中央山脈；其他時候，像是雨季期間陸地蒸騰而起的水氣，也會使得中央山脈消失於視野內。
我們必須穿行而過的這片丘陵，有很多都是砂質、黏土和石灰的裸露表面，僅有少數野草能夠存活，讓我比較聯想到採石場的殘渣石堆，而不是原本預期會在福爾摩沙見到的茂密樹林山丘。氣溫酷熱，走在炎熱、烤乾的黏土路面，腳底不免起了水泡，疼痛磨人。
多處土地曾遭山洪侵蝕而塌陷，崩落成不規則的大片山凹。住在此處破碎丘陵地的客家人，以竹子和覆蓋茅草的泥塊來搭建非常臨時性的住所，並且不時搬遷這些小屋和小農田，以適應經常變動的土質。他們經常選擇住在大片山凹的底部，該處在客家人遷來之時地勢最低。我們注意到有很多條乾枯廢棄的水道，先前在雨季期間河水曾順著水道沖刷丘陵地，沿路留下巨大的岩礫，證明足以搬動這些巨石的山洪力道有多麼猛烈。
我們在距臺灣府約 20 哩的拔馬 (今左鎮) 過夜休息，這是最靠近臺灣府的平埔番聚落。大批村民群起迎接馬醫師，馬醫師從前曾經付出諸多心力，為這些村民緩解病痛之苦。
平埔番在膚色、臉型、一般外貌上，與馬來人相像，不過平埔番似乎是較高大、較優秀的種族。許多平埔番和山地部族語言中的字彙，和新加坡與麻六甲的馬來語有極明顯的相似之處，令人認為不太可能是貿易往來的結果。各原住民的語言有歧異，原因很容易理解，原住民各族群各有自己的山林獵場，互相分開居住。
11 日清晨，我們出發前往位於臺灣府東方約 26 哩的木柵 (今內門)，不過從拔馬要步行約 10 哩才能到木柵，且必須翻越類似前述的丘陵地。10 時抵達木柵，我給當地的環境和平埔番照了幾張相。此處的丘陵較高大雄偉，許多地方是驚險的石灰岩峭壁。谷地高度開墾，種植稻米、地瓜、花生和薑。木柵這處谷地是福爾摩沙極美的森林幽景之一，環繞谷地的山丘林木繁茂，農舍外圍栽植竹叢和果樹。
木柵之東的山丘上，立著一塊巨大的石灰岩，名為「木柵懸岩」(Hanging Rock of Baksa)。這段上坡路走在許多破碎的岩石上，岩石由堅硬、打火石般的晶格組成，茂密草木覆蓋其上。那塊石灰巨岩像是只靠幾根細瘦的石灰岩柱固定在山丘上，巨岩下方有個陰暗的洞穴。陪同我們的當地人忙著砍除蔓生的藤類植物時，差點就被三條毒性足以致死的豆綠色毒蛇咬到，這種蛇的頭部呈扁平的三角形。我們把蛇趕出藤蔓，殺掉毒蛇，然後我才繼續拍巨岩的相片。
翌晨，我們前往甲仙埔，要走 26 哩海拔漸升的蜿蜒山路。我雇了六名內門的平埔番協助背負我的器材和行李。我以為這段路途會大大考驗平埔番的體力耐力，沒想到經過一天的奔波，他們竟還能熱情參與甲仙埔村民的娛樂活動。漢人苦力根本幹不了這份差事。
這些平埔番揹工性格爽朗溫和，為人誠信正直，令人印象深刻，這似乎是種族的天性使然，因為在平埔番的村莊，眾人不會小心防範竊賊，只有在與漢人混居之處，平埔番才會覺得最好把門鎖起來。整段行程當中，我的箱子成天開著沒關，然而半毛錢都沒有遺失。
我們在木柵以東約 8 哩的柑仔林稍事休息。接著得再穿越破碎惱人的丘陵地，在山凹裡上上下下，從相片可以得知些許端倪。溪流全乾涸了，我們口渴難耐。日正當中，豔陽熱力逼人，孤樹抵擋不了炎炎日照。黏土窪地的白色山壁反射著熱氣，空氣幾乎使人窒息。
午後不久，我們攀上其中一個山凹的山壁，累得精疲力盡，停下腳步。我們尋找有灌木叢遮蔭的地方，坐在一顆石頭上；同一時間，一窩有著亮黃色足部的褐色蜈蚣跑出來，這些蜈蚣很大隻，身長 2 至 3 呎。我們累到沒力氣趕走蜈蚣，幸好蜈蚣並沒有螫人。
在接下來的休息點，我們隊伍裡的一個人不小心砍斷一株有毒灌木，結果灌木散發極濃烈的惡臭。福爾摩沙島的這塊地方還有一種很獨特的爬藤類，漢人稱之為「薁蕘」，其果實、或說果實內的種子曬乾後，可以用來製作果凍。將少許種子放在粗棉布袋，袋子浸泡在一杯水里，這杯水就會變成很營養的果凍，顏色跟外觀都類似牛蹄凍。同樣值得一提的是，當地人不只自己種菸草，連菸斗都種在自家附近，他們用竹子的根部和嫩莖來做菸斗。
登上高丘後，我們進入半開墾、半原始林的谷地。現在我們很靠近中央山脈的山腳，看得見層疊連綿的山巒，其中最醒目的是泛著深藍色、海拔約 11,000 呎的莫里遜山 (即玉山) 山峰。愈往內陸挺進，地景也愈來愈雄偉壯麗，荒涼未開發。
我們越過六龜里溪，抵達瓠仔寮這個小村落。我們行走的橋樑，只不過是把三根長竹子橫放在溪上，溪岸兩頭各用一堆鵝卵石來支撐固定住竹子。竹橋離溪約 12 高，若不慎失足，後果不堪設想。不過，我們把草鞋沾濕，讓草鞋變得更柔軟易彎，最終總算順利過橋。這裡的居民負責修繕這些陽春的橋樑，他們在溪岸找竹子，在離最近的雜木林找用來綑綁的藤枝，作為橋墩的鵝卵石則到處都撿得到。
在我們現在行經的山腳，此處的山林巨木參天，是山地原住民較低的獵場，大自然賜予的有利優勢仍無法滿足他們，有時山地原住民還是會襲擊較不野蠻的平地原住民，好好清算彼此之間的新仇舊恨。瓠仔寮平埔番的體態，比沿海平埔番更顯得未開化。他們身形高大，四肢修長健壯，膚色沒有那麼深。女性面容姣好，她們都抽著以銅圈裝飾的竹製菸斗，菸斗上還掛著一只裝菸草的小皮袋。一名老嫗試抽我的雪茄，並傳遍給整村的人抽抽看，最後雪茄鄭重交還到我的手上。婦女用一種繩索來紮束頭髮，她們先用紅布以螺旋形繞住繩索，再把整條布繩纏捲在頭上，形成天然的頭巾。服裝是短版緊身的藍棉布外褂，上衫亦為相同布料，不過另外搭配鮮亮的紅黃滾邊，垂至膝蓋處。此種服裝令我想起在暹羅和柬埔寨見過的寮族婦女，以及漢人書籍的彩色木刻版畫上描繪的中國本土山區「苗族」的服飾和習慣。男性如漢人薙髮，服裝為短版外褂和棉布短褲。附近山區滿滿都是果實熟透的野生芭樂樹。
沿著溪行，我第一次在東方國度品嘗野莓大餐，這裡的野莓很大顆，滋味跟當地栽種的莓果不相上下。從瓠仔寮走了 6 哩，我們來到甲仙埔，在當地人的小屋歇息。村民忙著給一間房子用茅草蓋屋頂，那位屋主則大方請客來幫忙的村民們，招待他們痛快喝酒。
入夜，我們住宿的小屋前方清出一片空地，燃起熊熊烈火，村民聚集跳舞慶祝。男女老少，還有多隻耳朵尖長直豎的獵犬，一同圍著營火席地而坐。火焰猛烈燃燒，紅色火光閃動在搖曳的竹葉間，以及周圍椰樹的黑色輪廓間；斷斷續續的火舌，有時突然照亮圍在營火旁的奇異人影，彷彿一幅以黑夜為背景的立體浮雕，然後又消失幻化為無形的暗影。木柴和乾草投入火中，火焰一飛衝天，眾人的情緒也激昂無比。年輕男女騰出一處空間，手拉著手，形成新月形，並在響起一道哀傷小曲時跳起舞來。時間走得愈來愈快，舞者的步伐也愈來愈急，速度終至變得兇猛狂暴，人們如鬼魅般輕盈躍動，在籠罩著紅色煙霧的塵土之中穿梭不已。最後歌聲以野性的長嘯取而代之，回音迴盪在山谷間。
翌日，主人為我們安排一位武裝嚮導，領我們步行前往甲仙埔以南 11 哩的荖濃。嚮導認為有必要再帶上另一位武裝的友人，因為我們必須穿越山間一處危險的隘口；他還吩咐我們絕對不可出聲。
這段行程集結了最壯麗動人的山、林、河之美景。我們休息的時候，有一隊捕魚的武裝隊伍超越我們，他們用弓箭在溪流射魚，又捕捉和生吃淡水蟹，自得其樂。
穿行荖濃高處的叢林，我們見到一些優良的樟樹品種，也注意到許多藤蔓，以及在一處沒有生長林下草木的局部空曠地上，發現一株巨大的百合花，挺著大約 8 呎高的身軀，葉子寬大而彎曲，還有一大球粉紅色白色相間的花朵。樹木的上方和周圍，懸掛著粗厚如肌肉線條的爬藤寄生植物，從這棵樹攀到另一棵樹，雜亂景象彷彿漢人戎克船上糾結成一團的繩索。
我們在山脊最高處遠眺莫里遜山，並遇見一名平埔番，他從島的另一側翻山越嶺而來。他必須提供三隻牛給住在這一帶的部落，當作保護費，部落才允許他安全通過。他說莫里遜山的山腳有個良港，在福爾摩沙島的東半部，外國人還不知道這個港的存在。
群山的山腳下有條急流沖激而過，荖濃位於這條溪的右岸。每年 5 月到 9 月的雨季期間，小溪便會暴漲成寬達一哩的巨湍，形成南部山區最大的洪水宣洩口之一。荖濃是最靠近山地原住民部落的村莊。
當晚我們留宿荖濃。東道主的兒子最近喪妻，他去附近山區拜訪友好的部落，有意再找續絃。隔天早晨，我們一走下河床去照相，就遇到一條大蛇擋在路中間，高舉頭部示威。我用我的竹竿敲蛇的頭，把牠趕走。那隻蛇約有 7 到 8 呎長，太大隻了，我們沒辦法把蛇帶走。
我很想渡河過去看看，但旁人勸我別這麼做，因為河的對岸住著他們的世仇，而且一個多月前有一隊獵人才在我們所站之處的正對面殺了二個人。
2 時出發，嚮導帶我們前往荖濃以南約 12 哩遠的六龜里，我們預計會在六龜里跟一隊前去交易貨品的原住民會合。我們所走的路徑，雨季期間會是河的右岸，此時則是面對著乾涸河床、高約 200 呎連綿不絕的斷崖。這裡同樣薈萃著令人歎為觀止的諸多美景。在一處地方，一道深山溪澗從幽谷縱身躍出，翻騰衝擊於岩石之上，而後又消失於密林，不知所終；叢山峻嶺之宏偉，動人心弦，壯闊的山體因常綠森林的蓊鬱遮覆而顯得柔和可親，更添姿色；即使在周遭岩石極細緻的裂縫上，也能發現含藏精微之美的不平凡天地。
我們一行人抵達六龜里，仙人掌科植物形成的籬笆護衛房屋，屋旁另植有椰樹、香蕉樹、龍眼樹和芒果樹。我們來到這晚欲投宿的屋舍，此時夜幕即將低垂。屋舍前方有著山豬和山羌骨頭結成的裝飾物，是打獵的戰利品。一位身高超過 6 呎的年輕男子在門口和我們打照面，站在身旁的是他從鄰近山區部落娶來的妻子。男子看起來兇猛，不太友善，他向他的老父告知我們的到來，那位父親正待在外間小屋抽鴉片。
經過一番折騰，我們總算有了過夜之處。不幸的是，我一直到凌晨 1 點多才睡，因為我得替之後的行程準備拍照用的化學藥劑。六龜里的水質非常鹼性；有一、二條小溪的溪岸遍布像是碳酸鈉晶體的東西，這使得顯影的時候遇到一些問題，後來才找出原因，並用漢人的醋進行酸處理。
在一、二條小溪的溪岸上，我注意到有很多板岩和頁岩，代表此地有煤，而煤礦正是福爾摩沙島北部的重要商品，福爾摩沙將會逐漸躍居產煤重鎮，為東方的發展和進步帶來物質上的貢獻。
回程行經的地帶，其自然形貌與前述情形大抵相同。
返回臺灣府後，我走陸路前往打狗，有意繼續往南深入原住民的領域。然而我最後只能止於打狗，因為福爾摩沙島南部山區部落正在攻戰。
宗教
平埔番基督徒現已超過 1 千人，他們自己建有小教堂，在一定程度上為當地提供了師資和學校。平埔番原有的宗教 (應該說是拜物主義) 漸漸式微。我們花了頗大的功夫，才說服岡仔林的一個家庭取出收藏的家神給我們看；他們似乎對此感到羞愧。
我們在一間黑漆漆的小房間，發現奇特的祭祀物品，固定在角落的泥牆上，看起來像是小一號的五月柱。那根柱子的頂端懸著山羌頭骨，柱身纏繞著乾燥花草做成的花圈。有一小壺水放在柱子的前方和底部，這便是平埔族女性神祇的象徵。女神配偶的具體意象，則是壺左方放置的竹製物品，我看著像是小孩的椅子。我認為有女祭司在主持祭祀儀式，據說福爾摩沙島受荷蘭統治前即是如此，文獻紀載當時原住民的大罪是在特定場合穿絲織品，例如建造房屋、收集木柴或捕捉牡蠣。「原住民的宗教儀式包含二種行為：獻祭和祈禱，由女祭司在其宗教場所舉行。女祭司將供品置於豬頭骨和山羌頭骨前方，這些頭骨即是基於祭祀目的豎立於宗教場所內。」
語言
以下字彙主要由馬雅各醫師和李庥牧師提供，從中可看出平埔番語言、中央山脈原住民部落語言、以及馬來語之間驚人的相似度，而且也十分近似菲律賓、新幾內亞、紐西蘭等地的語言。筆者僅於本文選出一、二個部落的數字用語加以比較，整體呈現共通性，差異處極細微。
(語言比對表已佚失。)
[P. 97] The following is a brief account of one of a series of journeys through China and Chinese territory, extending over a period of two years, and undertaken with the object of obtaining a collection of photographs of, and exact information regarding, the people and provinces visited.
I left Amoy, in company with Dr. Maxwell, in the steamer Formosa, on the night of April 1, 1871. We passed the Pescadore Islands at daybreak on the 2nd, and anchored off Takow, in Southern Formosa, at 2 o'clock on the same day. The harbour of Takow is approached through a narrow cleft in a bold ridge of rocks that for some distance skirt the shore. The channel over the bar is shallow, and can only be passed by vessels drawing at the most 12 feet of water. This is a great drawback to the rising trade of the place, as the majority of ships visiting the port have to anchor about a mile off, and discharge their cargoes in boats, an operation attended with difficulty and danger, owing to the heavy surf that rolls in upon the shore. We hired a native boat and landed in a sheltered bay in the rocks, as the boat could not make the mouth of the harbour. The rocks are of igneous formation, and are built up of a multitude of cells, the whole mass appearing to have been suddenly chilled while in a state of [p. 98] ebullition, presenting a series of jagged, flint-like edges, difficult to ascend. Many of the cells contain a thin layer of sandy soil, supporting a few dwarfed shrubs and grasses, and a dwarf species of date-palm, producing a fruit that never reaches maturity.
The sand along the shore is very fine, regular, and of a jet black when wet with sea-water. A hill, over a thousand feet in height, known to foreigners as Ape's Hill, rises above the northern extremity of the harbour. It derives its name from the tribe of apes that find a home in its rocky heights. They are of unusual size, and, viewed from a distance, bear some resemblance to the "mias," or orang-outan of Borneo. Among the variety of flowering plants on this hill I noticed wild mint and minor convolvulus, with a small yellow flower climbing in rich profusion about the rocks and stunted palms. I obtained a commanding view of the harbour from Ape's Hill; it forms a shallow lagoon, over 6 miles in length by 2 in breadth; bounded on the east by a richly-cultivated plain, and protected from the sea on the west by an arm of sandy soil which joins the rocks at the entrance and sweeps round to the southern extremity in a green belt of tropical foliage. The village of Takow, and part of the small foreign settlement, are built upon this bank, which appears to have been indebted for its formation to the combined action of a river depositing its débris on the one side and to the action of the tide and surf building up the land on the other. The river is at the south of the harbour; its deep channel is now nearly dry. During the time of the Dutch occupation of Formosa, in the beginning of the seventeenth century, it probably formed an important approach inland, as it still bears the name of the Estuary of the Red Haired Race, a name commonly given to the early Dutch settlers.
The western portion of the island has been undergoing recent and rapid physical changes. I will be able to show, from what has taken place at Tai-wan-fu, that it is perfectly reasonable to suppose that the present harbour of Takow has been formed within the last 200 years. The bottom of the harbour of Takow is formed of soft sand and clay, and with the bar might be easily dredged and deepened to form one of the finest harbours in the China Sea. Such appliances, however, as dredging-machines, so obviously of advantage to the rapidly growing trade of the port, are still in advance of Chinese policy.
The imports of Takow consist of opium, cotton and woolen piece-goods, raw cotton, hemp bags, nankeens, and prepared tobacco; and the chief exports, of brown and white sugar, [p. 99] sesamum-seeds, rice, sweet potatoes (extensively used as food by the natives), ground-nuts, lang-ngans, and turmeric. The increase of the trade of Takow is shown in the following quotation from the 'Customs' Gazette' for the quarter ending December 1870. The total dues and duties collected during that quarter amounted to 15,489tls. 9m. 8c. 3c., compared with 4,293tls. 6m. 4c. 5c. for the same period in 1868. This enormous increase in trade and the corresponding revenue is mainly due to the energy of the foreign traders, although partly to the slightly more liberal policy of the Chinese Government and to the rapidly developing resources of the island, which is remarkable for its fertility.
I left for Tai-wan-fu, in company with Dr. Maxwell, on the night of the 4th of April. We went on board the Formosa, which started at daylight next morning, and anchored 2 miles off the shore at Tai-wan-fu at 8 o'clock. The distance by sea from Takow to Tai-wan-fu is 25 miles. The surf was running high when we anchored. We, however, determined to land in a native surf-boat or catamaran, composed of a number of lengths of bamboo lashed together with ratan, so as to form a raft, to which is added a mast and mat sail. There is, also, a wooden tub placed on the raft for the accommodation of passengers going ashore; these tubs are never fixed in any way to the raft, so that when the raft is upset by a wave, a not unfrequent occurrence, the passenger is washed ashore in the tub. Thoroughly wet with the surf, we landed near the ruins of Fort Zelandia, a stronghold built by the Dutch in 1633, on an island, to protect the inner harbour.
In the Dutch accounts of Formosa it is stated that Zelandia was an island where a spacious haven was formed; and further, that on April 31st, 1661, at break of day, Koshinga's fleet appeared before Taiwan, and ran into the spacious haven between Zelandia and Provintia, and anchored between the two forts. The two forts, Zelandia and Provintia, are separated by a distance of over three miles; and the haven referred to, in which the Chinese invader anchored his fleet, is now a dry, arid plain, over which there is a road, and several canals cut to communicate with the old port of Tai-wan-fu. A small portion of this plain is still flooded at high water. The water off the fort is now so shallow, that vessels have to anchor about 2 miles out.
Tai-wan-fu, the capital of Formosa, is a walled city of 70,000 inhabitants. The walls enclose a space 5 miles in circumference, planted to a great extent with fields and gardens, and [p. 100] still showing traces of the Dutch occupation in the ruins of Fort Provintia, and extensive parks, shaded with fine old trees, and groves of tall bamboo. The suburbs are intersected by a multitude of green lanes, having walls of cactus, interspersed with the brilliant flowers of the wild fuchsia and clusters of major convolvulus, and shaded by hedges of bamboo, which form a pointed arch over the path.
The inhabitants of this part of Southern Formosa are chiefly natives of the Fokien province and Hak-kas, a hardy race of emigrants from the north of China, who are daily carrying their arts and agriculture further into the territory claimed by the aborigines.
Dr. Maxwell and I left Tai-wan-fu on the 11th of April, on a visit to the Pepohoans, the half-civilized tribes of aborigines occupying the hill-country nearest to the central mountains. Our journey for the first 10 miles was over a highly-cultivated plain, dotted with farms and villages, surrounded with groves of bamboo, bananas, and areca palms. Having crossed the plain, we entered a hill-country, from which we could see the central range of mountains much more clearly than from the lower plain. These mountains are frequently invisible from ships at sea and from the western shore, as they are obscured by a veil of fine dust that rises from the plain and from the broken and disturbed country upon which we were just entering; at other times they are shut out from view by clouds of vapour rising from the land during the wet season. Many of the hills over which we had to pass presented bare surfaces of sand, clay, and limestone, supporting a scant herbage, suggesting more the idea of mounds of débris from a quarry than of the wood-clad hills I had expected to find in Formosa. The heat was intense, causing painful blisters on the feet in walking on the hot, baked clay surface of the pathway.
The land, in many places undermined by the mountain torrents, had fallen in, in great pits of irregular form. The Hak-kas, who inhabit this broken country, erect very temporary dwellings of bamboo, and mud thatched with grass, transferring these huts and small farms, from time to time, to suit the shifting nature of the soil, usually selecting the bottom of the large pits, where the land, for the time, has found its lowest level. We noticed many channels dried and abandoned where rivers had formerly, during the wet season, torn their way through the country, depositing, in their course, huge rock boulders, affording evidence of the force and power of the torrents by which they had been moved. We rested at Pao-be for the night, distant about 20 miles from Tai-wan-fu. This is the nearest settlement of Pepohoans. The villagers turned [p. 101] out en masse to meet and welcome the Doctor, who had done much on former occasions to relieve their sufferings during sickness.
The Pepohoans in colour, form of face, and general appearance, resemble the Malays, although they seem to be a taller and superior type of the race. The vocabularies of the dialects of a number of the Pepohoan and mountain tribes show an affinity to the Malay language spoken in Singapore and Malacca, too striking to be the result of trading intercourse. There are differences in the dialects, easily accounted for by the division of the aborigines into tribes living apart from each other in their mountain hunting grounds.
We left at daylight on the 11th for Baksa, about 26 miles east of Tai-wan-fu. It is, however, a walk of about 10 miles from Poa-be, over a hill country similar to that described. We reached Baksa about 10 o'clock, where I obtained photographs of the place and types of the Pepohoans. The hills here are higher and more imposing, presenting in many places bold crags of limestone. The valleys are highly cultivated with rice, sweet potatoes, ground-nuts, and turmeric. Baksa Valley is one of the most beautiful sylvan spots in the island. The surrounding hills are well wooded, and the farmhouses are environed with groves of bamboo and fruit trees. On the hill to the east of Baksa there is a huge mass of limestone, known as the Hanging Rock of Baksa. The ascent is over masses of broken rock, composed of hard, flinty cells, and covered with luxuriant vegetation. There is a dark cavern beneath the enormous mass of limestone which appears to be poised on the hill with a few slender props of limestone. The natives who accompanied me, whilst engaged in cutting a trailing vine, narrowly escaped being bitten by three deadly-poisonous snakes of a pea-green colour, with flat lozenge-shaped heads. We dislodged them from the vine, and killed them before proceeding to photograph the rock.
Next morning we left for Kasampo, a circuitous walk of 26 miles over hills gradually increasing in height. I had hired six Baksa Pepohoans as bearers of my instruments and baggage. I thought that this walk would be a severe test of their powers of endurance. After the day's toil, however, they were able to join heartily in the amusements of the villagers of Kasampo. Chinese coolies could not have done the work. These Pepohoan bearers were remarkable for their cheerfulness, good-nature, and honesty; and these qualities appear to be characteristics of the race, as in the villages no precautions are observed against theft. It is only where they have been mixed up with the Chinese that they find it expedient to put locks [p. 102] on their doors. During the entire journey, my boxes were left open and exposed day and night without my losing the value of a cash. We halted to rest at the village of Kamana, about 8 miles east of Baksa. We had again to cross over a broken, disturbed country, ascending and descending pits, of which the photograph will convey some idea. We suffered from want of water, as the streams were all dried up. The heat from the midday sun was intense, and uninterrupted by the shade of a single tree. The hot reflection from the white walls of the clay-pits made the air almost suffocating. Shortly after noon we halted, quite exhausted with the ascent of one of these pit walls. Seeking the shade of some shrubs we sat down on a rock, dislodging at the same time a nest of chocolate-coloured centipedes with bright yellow feet; they were of large size, between two and three inches long. We were too fatigued to move out of their way; fortunately they did not sting us. At our next resting-place a noxious shrub was accidentally broken by one of our party, and was found to emit a perfectly putrid odour. There is another remarkable trailing vine found in this part of the island, called "Ok-gue" by the Chinese. The fruit or seed contained in a pod is used, when dry, for making jelly. A small quantity of the seed placed in a course cotton bag, and allowed to soak in a cup of water, will transform the water into a nutritious jelly, having the colour and appearance of calf's-foot jelly. It may be mentioned, too, that the natives not only grow their tobacco, but they grow their tobacco-pipes around their huts, the pipes being formed of the roots and young stems of bamboo. Descending a high hill we entered a valley half cultivated and half covered with old forest. We were now close to the foot of the central mountain chain, and could see the mountains rise range above range, and, above all, the peak of Mount Morison, of a deep blue colour. It has an altitude of about 11,000 feet above the sea-level. The aspect of the country gradually became more grand and wild as we advanced inland.
We crossed the La-ko-li River to reach the small settlement of Pa-ah-liau. The bridge we crossed was simply made of three lengths of bamboo that spanned the stream, and were supported by, and fixed to, a pile of boulders on each bank. The bridge was raised about 12 feet above the river, so that a slip of the foot in crossing would have been serious. We, however, damped our straw sandals to make them more pliant, and got over with safety. These primitive bridges are kept in repair by the people in the neighbourhood, who find the bamboo on the bank, the ratan for lashing in the nearest thicket, and the boulders for piers everywhere around. The [p. 103] mountains, at the foot of which we were now passing, were clad in forests of gigantic trees, the lower hunting-grounds of the savage tribes, who, not content with their advantages, make occasional raids upon their less savage kinsmen of the plains, as a means of clearing up old existing feuds. The Pepohoans of Pa-ah-liau have a much more savage bearing than those nearer the coast. They are tall, straight of limb, robust, and not so dark in complexion. The women had a very striking appearance; they were all smoking bamboo pipes ornamented with brass rings, and having a small leathern bag attached for holding tobacco. An old lady tried my cigar, which was handed round the village to smoke, and afterwards carefully returned. The women bind up their hair in a sort of cable, which they surround with a spiral of red cloth; the whole is then bound round the head to form a natural diadem. The dress is a short, tight-fitting jacket of blue calico, and a skirt of the same material, with the addition of a bright border of red and yellow, falling to the knees. This dress reminded me of what I have seen worn by the Laos women in Siam and Cambodia, and also of the coloured woodcuts in Chinese books illustrating the dress and habits of the "Miau-tsze" of the mountain regions on the mainland. The men shave the head as the Chinese do. Their dress consists of a short jacket and short trousers of calico. The neighbouring hills are covered with wild guava, which grows to great perfection.
Following the stream, I enjoyed, for the first time in the East, a feast of wild raspberries. They were of a large size, and equal in flavour to those of this country. A walk of 6 miles from Pa-ah-liau brought us to Kasanpo, where we found rest in a native hut. The villagers had been engaged in thatching a house, and the owner had entertained them with a wine feast. After dark a huge fire was kindled on the clear space in front of the hut where we lodged, and where the villagers had assembled to have a dance. The old men and women, the children, and a number of long prick-eared hunting dogs, sat round the fire. As it blazed up, the red flare sported among the quivering leaves of the bamboos and the dark forms of the surrounding palms; while, with the fitful flames, the strange figures round the fire would burst into bold relief against the black night, and again vanish into impalpable shadows. Wood and reeds were piled on until the flames rose high, and with them the spirits of the party. The young men and women clearing a space, crossed hands, formed into a crescent, and danced to the time of a plaintive minor song; the time becoming faster and faster, and with it the feet of the [p. 104 dancers, until the speed became furious, and the figures seemed to flit like phantoms through the dust that had risen in a red cloud around them; when the song was replaced by savage yells that woke the echoes of the hills.
Next day our host furnished us with an armed guide to proceed on to La-lung, a walk of 11 miles south. The guide thought it necessary to bring another armed friend, as we had to go through a dangerous pass in the mountains; he further enjoined us to observe strict silence. This part of our journey presented the grandest combination of mountain, forest, and river scenery. We were overtaken by an armed party on a fishing expedition, who, while we rested, amused themselves by shooting fish in the stream with bow and arrow, and by catching fresh-water crabs, which they devoured alive. Passing through the forest on the heights above La-lung, we were shown some fine specimens of the camphor-tree. We also noticed quantities of ratan, and on a space partly clear of underwood, a gigantic lily, standing about 8 feet high, having broad bending leaves, and a large cone of pink and white flowers. Above and around the trees were pendant with the thick, muscular-looking stems of climbing parasitic plants, passing from tree to tree, and forming a chaos like the confusion of ropes on a Chinese junk. We had a view of Mount Morison from the highest point of the ridge, where we met a Pepohoan, who had crossed the mountain from the other side of the island. He had to pay three bullocks as black mail to the tribes inhabiting these regions, for which they gave him a safe pass through the territory. He reported the existence of a fine harbour at the foot of Mount Morison, on the eastern side of the island, a harbour unknown, he said, to foreigners. La-lung is on the right bank of a rapid stream that sweeps round the foot of the mountains. This stream during the wet season, which begins in May and ends about September, swells into a torrent of about a mile broad, forming one of the great outlets for the drainage of the southern mountains. La-lung is the nearest settlement to the habitations of the savage tribes of the mountains.
We rested at La-lung for the night. The son of our host had just lost his wife, and had gone on a visit to a friendly tribe in the neighbouring mountains to find another. Next morning upon descending the bank of the river to obtain a photograph, a large snake reared his head across our path. I despatched him with a blow across the head from my bamboo staff. He was about seven or eight feet long; too large to bring away. I was anxious to cross the river, but was persuaded not to do so, owing to some existing feud, and the fact [p. 105] that a party of hunters had about a month ago killed two men just opposite where we stood.
We started with our guides at 2 o'clock for La-ko-li, about 12 miles south of La-lung, where we expected to meet a party of savages who had gone there on a trading visit. Our path lay along what, during the wet season, forms the right bank of the river, presenting at this time a continuous precipice of 200 feet fronting its dry bed. Here, too, one meets with a remarkable combination of attractions in the scenery. At one place a mountain stream leaping out of a dark chasm, tumbling and foaming over the rocks, and again disappearing in the forest and everywhere around, one was impressed with the surpassing grandeur of the mountains, their gigantic forms softened and beautified with the luxuriant foliage of evergreen forests; or charmed to find a modest world of microscopic beauty in the minutest fissures of the surrounding rocks. La-ko-li was now before us, its hedges of cactus enclosing the huts, with their surroundings of palm, banana, laungan, and mango trees. It was nearly dark when we reached the house where we intended to rest for the night. In front, the house was adorned with festoons of boar and stag skulls, hunting trophies. A young man, over 6 feet in height, met us at the doorway; he was accompanied by his wife, a woman from a neighbouring mountain tribe. He looked savage and inhospitable, and referred us to his old father, who was smoking opium in an outer hut. We obtained shelter for the night, after some trouble. I had unfortunately to sit up till 1 o'clock, preparing my chemicals for the remainder of the journey. The water of La-ko-ki is very alkaline; the banks of one or two streams were covered with what appeared to be crystals of soda. This occasioned me some trouble in photographing, until I discovered the cause, and applied an acid remedy in Chinese vinegar.
In the dry beds of one or two streams I observed quantities of slate and shale, and indications of the presence of coal, which is now forming an important article of commerce in the north of the island, and which in process of time will enable Formosa, as a great coal field, to contribute materially to the development and progress of the East. The country we passed through on our return route is much the same in its physical aspect as that already described.
After my return to Tai-wan-fu I travelled overland to Takow, with the object of penetrating to the savage territory further south. I was, however, stopped at Takow, as the mountain tribes were fighting in the south of the island.
Religion.
[P. 106] There are now among the Pepohoans over 1000 Christians, who build their own chapels, and who, to some extent, contribute to the support of teachers and schools. Their old religion, or fetishism rather, is dying out. It required a great deal of persuasion to induce a family in a hut at Kong-a-nah to show us their household god; they appeared ashamed of it. We found the strange object of worship in a small, dark apartment, stuck in a corner against the mud wall. It looked like a stunted May-pole. On the top there was a single stag skull, while a garland of dried grass and flowers was twisted round the pole. A small jar of water was placed in front and at the foot of the pole. This constituted the goddess. Her spouse was represented on her left by what I took to be a child's chair, made of bamboo. There is, I believe, a priestess employed in the rites of worship, as is said to have been the case before the island was ceded to the Dutch, when the greatest sins of the aborigines are described as the wearing a silk dress at certain times, the building of houses, the collection of timber, or catching of oysters. "Their religious services consisted then in two acts&endash;in sacrificing and praying, which in their temples are performed by priestesses. They place their sacrifices before pigs' and stags' heads, which are set up in their temples for the purpose."
Language.
The following vocabularies were chiefly furnished by Dr. Maxwell and the Rev. Mr. Ritchie. They serve to show the striking affinity which exists between the dialects of the Pepohoans and tribes inhabiting the central mountain range and the Malay language, and their closer resemblance still with the languages of the Philippines, New Guinea, New Zealand, &c. For the purposes of this paper I will simply extract the numerals of one or two tribes, which, with slight differences, are common to the whole.
[Missing a table of linguistic equivalents.]
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