LEONARD'S EXPLOIT IN FORMOSA.
ABOUT the middle of November, eleven weeks after Mr. Graham and his
family had left England, they arrived in the beautiful island of
Formosa, whither they had crossed over from Amoy.
Three more persons were now added to the travelling party--the teacher,
a Chinese maid, and little Chu, the latter having already begun to show
herself really useful.
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE PORT OF TAKOW.]
There is but little fun in travelling, and one does not see half there
is to be seen unless one climbs; and as the Grahams were all bent on
having fun and seeing as much as they could, on reaching the port of
Takow, in Formosa, they ascended a very high mountain, called Monkey
Mountain, because it is the home of very many monkeys, and they were
rewarded by having, from its height, a capital view of the entrance to
the port. To the front of the mountain were some European houses,
belonging to English merchants from Amoy. The port of Takow is a very
difficult one at which to anchor, and is closed for commerce during six
months of the year, whilst the wind is blowing in an adverse direction;
but when the wind and tide are favourable, barks pass between some rocks
at the entrance to the port. It is only at the north that the water is
deep enough for merchant-ships to pass by. Here Leonard saw men fishing
quite differently from what he had ever seen people fish before; and as
they walked in the water behind their nets, which they seemed to manage
very cleverly, he wished so much that he could have been there with
them.
Takow is one of the four ports in Formosa which, through treaties, have
been thrown open to foreign trade, the others being those of Kelung,
Tamsui, and Taiwan-fu.
[Illustration: THE EXTREME NORTH OF TAKOW.]
Formosa, as its name implies, is a very lovely, picturesque island, and
the Spaniards, who first made it known to Europeans, named it "Isla
Formosa," which, in their language, means "beautiful island." Takow
seemed to abound in tropical vegetation, palm-trees being very
conspicuous. The gong, used everywhere in China, was much in use here
also; and as in other places men carried things by balancing them across
their shoulders, so also they did here. But as Mr. Graham's special
object in coming to this island was to visit Poahbi, the first centre of
the population of a tribe of aborigines, whom the Chinese have named
Pepohoans, or strangers of the plain, he moved on thither as quickly as
he could. The country through which they now passed was very beautiful,
palm-trees and bamboos overshadowing the way.
[Illustration: FISHERMEN OF TAKOW.]
Although it was the month of November, the weather was hot here, and
women, wearing white calico dresses, were hard at work in the fields.
Many of the women of Formosa had compressed feet, and most of the
children wore charms round their necks.
The Pepohoans used to live in fertile plains, but when greedy and
grasping Chinese drove them from the rich and beautiful lands that were
then theirs, and had belonged to their ancestors before them, they took
shelter, and made themselves homes, in mountain fastnesses.
Sybil and Leonard were charmed with the people of Poahbi, and thought
both their faces and manners very pretty. Although some of the people
stared at the foreigners, and laughed at them, many wished to make them
welcome in their midst. One woman gave them shelter for the night--a
very kind-hearted woman, with a dear little baby, and a very clean and
comfortable home. She was a Christian.
At Poahbi Mr. Graham saw a little Christian chapel, which the natives
had not only built, but which they also kept up, themselves. Pepohoans
are good builders, and do also much work in the fields. They have a most
affectionate remembrance of the Dutch, who were once their masters, but
who were afterwards expelled from Formosa by a Chinese pirate.
[Illustration: VIEW OF TAKOW, A TOWN IN FORMOSA.]
The huts, or bamboo cottages, of the Pepohoans, raised on terraces three
or four feet high, looked very picturesque, and consisted first of a
framework of bamboo, through which crossbars of reeds were run; the
whole being thickly covered over with clay. The houses were afterwards
whitened with lime. A barrier of prickly stems extended round the huts,
throwing a shade over them, whilst these dwellings often had for roofing
a thatch of dried leaves. Most things in Formosa were made of bamboo,
such as tables, chairs, beds, pails, rice-measures, jars, hats, pipes,
chop-sticks, goblets, paper, and pens. Many of the Pepohoans'
habitations were built on three sides of a four-cornered spot, with a
yard in the centre, where the families sometimes passed their evenings
together. The natives assembled here, in numbers, at about nine o'clock,
where they made a fire when it was cold. Old and young people here often
formed a circle on the ground, sitting together with their arms crossed,
smoking, and talking. It was not unusual for dogs also to surround them.
These people were fond of singing, but played no musical instruments.
Sybil said, directly she saw them, that they were just the sort of
people she liked, but this was before she heard that they ate serpents
and rats. The women had a quantity of hair, which they wound round their
heads like crowns. None of them painted their faces. Some of the men
were very badly dressed. All Pepohoans seemed to have very beautiful
black eyes. In the different villages the inhabitants were different,
and where they had most contact with the Chinese they dressed better,
but were less affable. They seemed to be a very honest race.
The Pepohoans are subject to the Chinese Government. Some of them, like
the Chinese, have been ruined by opium. The aborigines, consisting of
different tribes, talk different dialects. The people of one tribe, the
most savage of all, are very warlike, and think nothing of killing and
eating their Chinese neighbours when they get the chance to do so;
therefore, they are held in great terror. Sybil and Leonard would not
have liked to have visited this tribe, for they also hate Europeans.
[Illustration: MOUNTAINEERS OF FORMOSA.]
There was a grandness of beauty in this island of Formosa which could
not fail, more and more, to charm Mrs. Graham, and many a pretty sketch
did she here make, both for herself and for Sybil's letters. Sybil also
liked being here very much; "but if she had only seen," Leonard said,
what he and his father saw one day, when they went for a ramble
through the mountains, whilst Sybil was helping her mother to sketch by
keeping her company, and making clever little attempts at sketching
herself, "she would want to be off that very moment."
There were caverns in Formosa, and they were walking along, exploring
some, Leonard some little way in front of Mr. Graham, the teacher, and a
native guide, who followed a few yards behind, when the English boy
suddenly caught sight of two huge, yellow serpents twined round the
branch of an overhanging tree. No one but Leonard was near enough to see
them, and as the first creature stretched its dreadful-looking head out,
hissing towards him, the brave, self-possessed little fellow, who held a
stick in his hand, struck his deadly foe with it with all his might, and
hit and aimed so well that he had the satisfaction, the next moment, of
seeing the serpent roll over and over down the rock. But then the
further one (which, although rather smaller than the other, measured
about six feet) wound, in a moment, its wriggling body round the branch
of the tree, stretching its head out almost within reach of Leonard,
when the boy-guide and Mr. Graham, the same instant, came upon the spot.
The boy, accustomed to such encounters, at once dealt the snake a blow,
that caused it to lose its balance, and thus all were able to pass on
their way in thankfulness and safety.
When Sybil heard of the adventure she was very proud of her little
brother; but, as he had imagined when she heard that Formosa was
inhabited by serpents, she was glad also to think that it was settled
for them to leave that island for Swatow in two days' time.
[Illustration: PEPOHOANS AND THEIR HUT.]
That evening was spent very pleasantly comparing notes of adventure
with an English gentleman, who had been in Formosa for some time, and
now called upon Mr. Graham and his family, who were staying at the
consul's. He had seen and done a good deal, he said, but he spoke very
highly of Leonard's brave exploit.
[Illustration: HUT OF ONE OF THE SAVAGE TRIBES.]
In the course of his wanderings, he told them, he had visited the
village of Lalung, which is situated on the narrowest part of a large
river. During the rainy season the waters would here rise and cover a
vast bed, opening out a new passage across the land, and flowing away
towards the eastern plain. Great mountain heights surrounded the bed of
the river, and the violence of the torrent carried away very large
quantities of all sorts of rubbish, which the sea would collect, and
deposit, along the eastern coast. Mr. Hardy explained to Leonard how
this would account for the port of Thai-ouan disappearing, and that of
Takow forming lower down.
[Illustration: SERPENTS OF FORMOSA.]
[Illustration: THE BED OF THE RIVER LALUNG DURING THE DRY SEASON.]
"Formosa," he continued, "shows very plainly how the violence of waters
can quite transform the physical aspect of a country."
Mr. Hardy then told them that he, with a guide, had once visited the bed
of the river of Lalung, during the dry season, as an explorer, when he
had taken off his boots and socks, so as to be able to walk wherever he
chose, and fathom the depth of the water in different parts.
How Leonard wished he had been with him on this occasion, which seemed
to him a regular voyage of discovery!
Two days later, as arranged, the Grahams made sail for Swatow. In
crossing the channel, which separates the island from the mainland,
Leonard, as usual, had some questions to ask.
"What made the Chinese call Formosa Tai-wan?"
"Because that word means the terraced harbour."
"The east coast hasn't a harbour at all, has it?"
"No; mountains are on the east, and to the west are flat and fertile
plains, and all the ports."
"I suppose you know, Sybil, that there are some wild beasts in Formosa?"
Leonard went on.
"Yes, I heard Mr. Hardy say so: leopards, tigers, and wolves."
"I think it's my turn to ask a question now," Mrs. Graham said. "I
wonder if you and Sybil can tell me what grows principally in Formosa?"
"Rice," Sybil began, "sugar, wheat, beans, tea, coffee, pepper."
"Cotton, tobacco, silk, oranges, peaches, and plums," Leonard ended. "We
saw most of these things growing ourselves, so we ought to know."
"Yes; and flax, indigo, camphor, and many fruits that you have not
mentioned."
"The Chinese part of the island, I suppose, belongs to Fukien?" Sybil
said, "as it is painted the same colour on my map."
"Yes."
What religion had the aborigines? she then wanted to know.
Mr. Graham answered this question by telling her that he believed they
had no priesthood at all.
"What a pity it is," Sybil said, "that a number of missionaries could
not be sent out there. I do so like the Pepohoans!"
"How long is it now since the Dutch were driven away?" Leonard asked.
"And how long were they in Formosa?"
"About 1634 the Dutch took possession of the island, and built several
forts, but a Chinese pirate drove them out in 1662, and made himself
king of the western part. In 1683 his descendants submitted to the
authority of the Chinese Emperor, to whom they are now tributary. The
Chinese colonists, however, often rebel."
"People have not known very long, have they, that the island of Formosa
is important?"
"No; only since about 1852."
"About how many inhabitants has Thai-ouan, the capital?" Leonard asked.
"I should think about 70,000, but it is now decreasing in population."
"How much you know, father," Sybil said. "I wish I knew all you did!"
"I am afraid that is not very much; but if you notice things that you
come across, and try to remember what you hear and what you read, you
will soon gain plenty of knowledge and useful information."
[Illustration: SWATOW.]
"I wonder what Swatow is like?" Leonard then said; but he had not long
to wait to find out, for a week after leaving Formosa they landed at
Swatow, the port of Chaou-Chou-foo, in the province of Kwang-tung, where
once again, for a fortnight, they were made very welcome: this time by
some friends of the missionary with whom they had stayed at Amoy.
[Illustration: E-CHUNG.]
Their home, for the present, was very prettily situated on a range of
low hills. Many pieces of granite were scattered about on the summit of
these hills, as they were about Amoy, which some people say have been
caused to appear through volcanic irruptions. On them also were Chinese
inscriptions. Leonard was delighted because the Chinese teacher cut his
name on one of these pieces of granite. The houses of Swatow were built
with a kind of mortar, made of China clay, and attached to some of them
were very pretty gardens.
In front of the Consulate, which was a very large building, was a
flag-staff, with a flag flying.
[Illustration: WOMAN OF SWATOW.]
The ceilings of the house, in which the Grahams stayed, was painted with
flowers and birds, and some of the windows were also painted so as to
look like open fans. The Chinese are fond of decorating their rooms and
painting their ornaments, and the people of Swatow seemed to be better
painters than the Chinese; but they kept their pictures hidden, only a
very few of them producing any to show our friends. The people of Swatow
are also noted for fan-painting.
Sybil thought some of the women of Swatow rather nice-looking, but, like
other ladies of the "Flowery Land," they had a wonderful way of dressing
their hair. One woman, Leonard declared, had hers done to represent a
large shell. A young lady, to whom Sybil was introduced, had the
thickest hair that she had ever seen. She and other Chinese girls wore
it hanging down their backs in twists. She was just fifteen, and Sybil
was told that she was going to be married in about a year's time, so she
would soon have to begin to let her fringe grow. She was the daughter of
a rich man, and had such pretty, dark eyes.
Round a girl's and woman's head, or to fasten up her back hair,
ornaments are generally worn. E-Chung wore rather a large one round her
head. Sybil was allowed to spend an afternoon, and take some tea, with
this young lady, but they could not talk much together. E-Chung knew,
and spoke, a little of what is called pidgin, or business English,
because many business, or shop, people and those who mix most with the
English, speak this strange language to them; but Sybil could understand
hardly any of it. Before E-Chung heard that Sybil had a brother, she
said to her, "You one piecee chilo?" meaning to ask if she were the only
child. Then she was trying to describe somebody to Sybil whose
appearance did not please her, so she made an ugly grimace and said,
"That number one ugly man all-same so fashion," meaning "just like
this." Another time she meant to ask Sybil if she were not very rich, so
she said, "You can muchee money?"
The hair down Sybil's back was such a contrast to her friend's, as was
also her rather pale complexion. E-Chung wished very much to enamel
Sybil's face, as she did her own, and could not understand why she
should so persistently refuse to have it done.
Chinese ladies seldom do without their rouge, and often keep their
amahs, or maids, from three to four hours at a time doing their hair.
[Illustration: SYBIL.]
[Illustration]