New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-12-03
FORMOSA
THE PRIZE NOW COVETED ny rpAvcr
AN ACCOUNT or THE ISLAND rrs pyoptv No..
DUCTS AKIN rnyvpyn,.. '"'~


Ys., +, IAN htI, Fornosa. October q,
~ the frcnch take and colonies ofmnsa H.
VIII have such possession NJ they have nowhere o,.
tas world IL u AN island ~ great posslbite. 80"
v'"pent u "a rich In soil. nearly all IT, even D, -
mote valleys ana high mountain slopes capable ., ,
vaon. and II has . mild. eqnablc climate ,b., 4, '''
healthy and IA suitable 10 grains and frnit, ana -
vegetable productions ~ far northern and .o,,h r
tnies Coal Is known o. exist here aud thcrs A., ,,
mountains In great quantities. aud thoro are "
po largo deposits OF toi' silver and other mineral.
precious nnd useful awaiting Intelligent dogelon,sn,
We're II hlled with French farmers and its inl canacn
tested there IL no predicting what might No, 10 Az,
with IT, There Is no question that the French can -,
II they see NJ. for matter how well tho Chinese
able 10 defend themselves on land they have No NO..
10 rctake territory which has been once taken ~
them. "'" RON
Formosa lies directly opposite the southern nroyi..
or CHINA from which II Ia divided by - channel ucrb,,
100 miles wide at it, broadcast point and eighty MIL, ~
the narIowest that Il the strait between Tam si an,
nearest land In the Fo KEN province. Its mean tom,
peraic IL therefore that OF these districts OF China az
cept that being surrounded by the 10 Ia much roo,
and II presents aspect OF universal greenuass vh
the whole OF the mainland Is brown as California a.
summer time. The entire length OF the island {. o,o
miles and its extreme width seventy. It forms pre,,v
piece OF territory, far saubrlous than Tonan 90
COCHIN China and II not more fertile, having AZ e,st
the advantage Of being habitabe by Europeans Thu
Chinese claim the merit OF having discovered il 80 o ID
the Japanese It would be strange considering its
ness that the navgaors Of other these people
should not have visited it, But its first settler.
were the Dutch, who. from India Java and Siam nush.
round into the China seas and reached here in 1894
Iber occupation only continued few years though ia
gave them time to finish two forts Of sodIty ons
at Iam-Wan-Foo, the capital and the other at Tam SUI
tue seat OF the present troubles II about the time
OF 'he tartar Invasion, and they were speedily dis
possessed ~ the pirates under KoksInga who infested
! these seas and rendered commerce impossible.
After the departure OF the Dutch and the partial ub-
Jugaon OF the pirates by the dynasty. the Chinese
tegan to emierate from the neghb0rng province OF 10
Men, partly OF their own free will and partly at the sug-
geston Of or to get far possible FROM their Tartar
masters. This immigration has been going on gradually
till now the population Of Chinese and half breeds nun.
| bers from 100000 to 100000. OF late years tho
Chinese authorities have been trying to accelerate it,
| Placards are posted in Annoy. swatog and adjacent
villages, Offering land in the interior all who will cul-
tvate It, This land H. OF the frontier and adj
acent to or the upper slopes OF the mountains stu
occupied by the sayages whose property has been
purchased and who object to being dist assessed When
the deuded immigrants arrive they told where their
property Is located and directed and take IT, Its
this that has caused the trouble with sayagcs and lei
to the high premium they place Chinese heads. 80
highly these valued that they considered
tal to the worship Of the aborignes and among
tribes young brave is allowed TO marry till he
bring proof Of his valor at least head skull
with pigtail attached
THE ABORIGINEs
When the Chinese they found TWO distinct Peoples
though perhaps not inhabrlng the island-ths
Pep-O whans the western coast and the plain. and
foothills to the east of them. ana the whose
various tribes occupied the entire mountain range
the extreme north to the extreme SOUTH and portion
Its western slopes and valleys The Pep-o-wbans easily
affiliated with the invaders They had before been
friendly with the Dutch and tn this day there found
among them those who pretend with considerable pride,
to strain OF Dutch blood. When the Protestant mis-
sonares came few years ago they found them quito
apprOachable, and claim many OF them sihcers
converts. They have internarred with the Chinese,
partially adopted tho Chinese dress aud habits and
lost much of their distinctive character They farm
by occupation aud mild and friendly I'm dispositions
The described "a large and finely formed AMI
wearing peculiar hcad-dress made by braling rel silk.
or worsed with the hair and then coing It about tho
head into crown corone Possibly per cent ~ tho
'hlneac portion ~ the population are Pop o-whan' AMI
the two closely allied IN interest iendct
then 10 nli Intent aud purposes ono people.
Scattered along tho eastern frontier ~ Tho thnos,
settlements are tho iiahhea who may number 10000
fhey hogan to onlsra, from kweng runs. the canton
| province. anu kwans ~ iual weat ~ a. ~ opm'
pafalNey recent period They race uf nhuisnos,
who speak dialect uniAe any oihor hoard Ia CHINA but
muatil irarmhng thp mandarin, lhrA arc hlrhl,
hardy nnd brave. the pioneers ~ this ANAL world
which they have chosen "a ihrr home lhnr work b. 10
t the nods aud eur down tho eanphor foresl or thln-
cal lillsls aud landowners. OF late they have been
brought In from tho fields and made eeabe la night
Ing tho French. without them IL is barely Ioss,ho lh,
late ropuso of the landing party az Tam sui would never
have occurred In most respects these people aro
Chinese OF better class 10 IS true-and need no minute
description Like tho sayages they thought a. be- NJ
N, ID ne isl 4
much more recent date.
SAVAGE LIFE AND TRAITS.
The "savages" known by other name among
the Chinese, by whom they greatly dreaded. They
live in stOckadcd villa IN the mountains. They
occasionally IN the cities on the coast but AR,
rarely visited by es in THEW native forests. Though
they bitterly hostile and warke they being
gradually forced back their mountain Businesses and
their litigation extinction is but question Of
a comparatively few years. Those in the southern hall
of the island are best known These described by
who have visited them having the brown smooth
skin OF the Malay, and being symmetrically made They
have never TILED the ground ill lately. having hitherto
lived by the chase They back-haired, sharI-feai-
ured aud not bad-lookirg. Judging them by Oriental
standards Their women spoken Of Is finely made
and darky handsome. Disease has never been known
among them until smallpox was communicated ~
foreigners some years ago Their ideas OF rci on are
vague and often ferocous. Among certain tr. es tie
chief object Of alteration IS post decorated with three
suills Chinese skulls considered the most appro-
pirate Offering their bloody affairs ether tribes Fiih
a geuter sentiment worship beautiful echo IN an on'-
door temple In valley among picturesque hills Cnll'
basm is still common, though it IS not known that all
tie tribes practise IT,
The Botaugs are eighteen OF the southern tribes CONF
bined for mutual protection. There are seven Known
savage dialects, Indicating probably many distinct
and widely separated immigraons. Tie fact that hess
people are faithful single wife has caused them to "a
accredited with considerable degree o. virtue They
satisfy their daily In the simplest manner iIo
boiled rice or miet and game, warmed rather than
cooked suficipg for sustenance intoxicating liquor
was never known among them till imported by the
Chinese Through the medium they are learning
the use Of opium. Their weapons are OF the moss