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FORMOSA
Sylvia or Shan-chas-shan, 11,300 feet high, and a summit in the Middle, Western, or Dodds range, 12,800 feet. Be this as it may, Formosa, as far as its vertical relief is concerned, is divided into three regions,—the mountains proper, the broad western versant with its alluvial plains, and the narrow eastern versant terminating in a high and precipitous coast. The formation of the island appears to nave been due in part at least to volcanic agency; the Chinese accounts mention a mountain called Ho-shan or Fire Mountain, said to be a small volcano about 20 miles south of Kagee; and European explorers have described the jets of steam and sulphur-springs which occur among the calcareous rocks near Tam-sui. Coal, sulphur, and petroleum are the only mineral productions of Formosa which are known to exist in quantities sufficient to make them of economical importance. The principal coal-fields are in the north of the island, near Kelung and Tam-sui; and the coal is all shipped in Kelung harbour. Till 1877 mining operations were conducted after the simple Chinese fashion; but in that year Mr Tyzack, an English engineer, engaged by the Chinese Government, opened a pit with a regular shaft 300 feet deep, and all the necessary machinery and engines for the proper working of the mine. The bed of coal is 3 feet thick. The mineral is highly bituminous, and burns very fast, but can be used for steamers on short voyages. It is regularly employed by many foreign vessels, as well as in the Chinese men-of-war, and in the arsenal at Fuh-chow. In 1873, 45,000 tons were shipped in foreign ships; in 1874, 15,221 tons; in 1875, 27,665 tons; and in 1876, 31,593 tons. In the plains the soil is generally of sand or alluvial clay, covered in the valleys with a rich vegetable mould. As might be inferred from what has been already said, the streams that flow eastward are little better than torrents; but the western region is traversed by several rivers of moderate development—the Taiwanfu and Pakan rivers, the Black river, the Lokan, the Taika, the Heon-lang, the Tion-kan, the Tonk-shan, and the Tam-sui. Of these the Black river is the widest, but the Tam-sui or Tang-shui-khi alone is navigable, allowing sea vessels to proceed about 3 miles inland, and junks of considerable size about 10 miles farther. There is a fine lake 4 miles long by 2 broad called the Tsui-sia-hai, or Lake of the Water Savages, not far from Posia. The scenery of Formosa is frequently of majestic beauty; and to this it is indebted for its European name, happily bestowed by the early Spanish navigators. As seen from the eastern coast “the outline of the mountains is at once beautiful and fantastic; domes and peaks and wall-like precipices succeed each other in striking variety; a brilliant verdure clothes their sides, down which dash cascades that shine like silver in the tropical sunlight” (Bridge in Fortnightly Review, 1876). The climate, though a tropical one, is agreeable and healthy, being tempered by the influences both of the sea and the mountains. According to thermometric observations made at Kelung in 1874, the hottest months are June, July, August, and September, with an average of from 81·76 to 82·81° F in the shade, and the coldest month is January, with an average of 57·70°. The thermometer almost reached 90° in the early part of July, and in January was frequently about 52° or 55°. For the °same year the rainfall amounted to 118 inches, of which the most fell in January, February, March, and May. The vegetation of the island is characterized by tropical luxuriance,—the mountainous regions being clad with dense forest, in which various species of palms, the camphor-tree (Laurus Camphora), and the aloe are conspicuous. Mr Swinhoe obtained no fewer than 65 different kinds of timber from a large yard in Taiwanfu; and his specimens are now to be seen in the museum at Kew. The tree which supplies the materials for the pith paper of the Chinese is not uncommon, and Mr Pickering found the cassia tree in the mountains. Travellers are especially struck with the beauty of some of the wild flowers, more especially with the lilies and convolvuluses; and our European greenhouses have been enriched by several Formosan orchids and other ornamental plants. The pine apple grows in abundance. In the lowlands of the western portion, the Chinese have introduced a large number of cultivated plants and fruit trees. Rice is grown in such quantities as to procure for Formosa the title of the “granary of China”; and the sweet potato, taro, millet, barley, wheat, and maize are also cultivated. Sugar, tea, indigo, ground pea-nuts, jute, hemp, oil, and ratans are all articles of export, and some of them produce no inconsiderable trade. The principal tea district is about Banka, but the area devoted to this valuable crop is rapidly increasing. A large part of the tea finds its way to America. In some parts of the island it is probable that coffee may be grown with advantage. The Formosan fauna has been but partially ascertained; but at least three kinds of deer, wild boars, bears, goats, monkeys (probably Macacus speciosus), squirrels, and flying squirrels are fairly common, and panthers and wild cats are not unfrequent. A poisonous but beautiful green snake is often mentioned by travellers. Pheasants, ducks, geese, and snipe are abundant; and Dr Collingwood in his Naturalist’s Rambles in the China Seas mentions Ardea prasinosceles and other species of herons, several species of fly-catchers, kingfishers, shrikes, and larks, the black drongo, the Cotyle sinensis, and the Prinia sonitans. Dogs are kept even by the savages for hunting. The horse is hardly known, and his place is taken by the ox, which is regularly bridled and saddled and ridden with all dignity. The rivers and neighbouring seas seem to be well stocked with fish, and especial mention must be made of the turtles, flying-fish, and brilliant coral-fish which swarm in the waters warmed by the Kurosiwo current, that gulf-stream of the Pacific. Shellfish form an important article of diet to both the Chinese and the aborigines along the coast—a species of Cyrena, a species of Tapes, Cytheræa petechiana, and Modiola teres being most abundant.
The inhabitants of Formosa may be divided into three classes:—the Chinese, many of whom have immigrated from the neighbourhood of Amoy and speak the dialect of that district, while others are Hakkas from the vicinity of Swatow; the subjugated aborigines, now largely intermingled with the Chinese; and the uncivilized aborigines of the eastern region, who refuse to recognize the Chinese authority, and carry on raids as opportunity occurs. The semi-civilized aborigines, who have adopted the Chinese language, dress, and customs, are called Pe-pa-hwan (Anglice Peppo-hoans), while their wilder brethren bear the name of Che-hwan or green savages. They appear to belong to the Malay stock, and their language, according to Gabelentz’s investigations in the Zeitschrift der Morgenland. Gesellschaft, 1859, bears out the supposition.[1] They are broken up into almost countless tribes and clans, many of which number only a few hundred individuals, and their language consequently presents a variety of dialects, of which no classification has yet been effected: in the district of Posia alone, says Dr Dickson, of the Presbyterian mission, there are “eight different mutually unintelligible dialects.” Mr Corner of Amoy describes the people themselves as of “middle height, broad-chested, and muscular, with remarkably large hands and feet, the eyes large, the forehead round, and not narrow or receding in many instances, the nose broad, the mouth large and dis-
- ↑ Compare lists in Journ. of Roy. Geog. Soc., 1873, and in Collingwood’s Appendix.
