VISIT OF THE JIACEDONIAN TO FORMOSA. 499 



tempestuous weather through nearly the entire voyage. The ishand was made at its northern 

 end, and the entrance to Kelung was not very phxin. Certain landmarks, however, were noted 

 by the officers, upon further acquaintance with the locality, and liy these and the charts made 

 by the surveying party during the stay of the ship, information was obtained which may be 

 relied on, and which is recorded in the nautical appendix. Very violent currents were found at 

 the north end of the island, though these may have been stronger than usual at the arrival of 

 the Macedoniaa, as there had then been a tempest of some days' continuance. A pilot came 

 oflf and took the ship safely into the harbor. 



As to our supposed shipwrecked and captive countrymen, Captain Abbot made the most 

 diligent investigation, through the medium of his Chinese steward, but could gain no intelli- 

 gence, although his inquiries were made, not only of the mandarins or officials ia and about 

 Kelung, but also of all classes of the people. The report from all was uniform ; they declared 

 that they neither knew nor had heard of any shipwreck of any American or European vessel on 

 any part of the island ; nor had they ever known or heard of the existence of the crew, or any 

 part thereof, of any such vessel anywhere in Formosa, and Captain Abbot became quite 

 convinced that, in this particular, they told the truth, and reported to the Commodore accord- 

 ingly, that he had " no belief that any of our missing countrymen are alive on the island of 

 Formosa." 



But after this conclusion had been reached, and no doubt correctly, a specimen of cunning 

 was exhibited, on the part of the island authorities, such as meets us at every turn in the story 

 of our intercourse with all the eastern people, and indeed seems characteristic of oriental nego- 

 tiation. The chief mandarin of Kelung came to Captain Abbot, just as he was about sailing, 

 (he had doubtless purposely deferred his visit until that moment, to forestal the possibility of 

 strict inquiry,) and informed him that he had been making more particular investigations 

 concerning shipwrecks, and had learned that some six or seven years before a ship had been 

 wrecked, forty or fifty miles from Kelung, on the western side of the island, having a number 

 of black men on board as well as white ; that the white men took the boat and went off to an 

 adjacent island, while the black men were left, and all died on board the ship ; and that he 

 would send some of his war-junks with the Macedonian to show Captain Abbot the place. This 

 story was a lie too transparent to deceive Captain Abbot for a moment, and was evidently a ruse 

 by which he hoped to induce the commander of the Macedonian to do what, for several days, he 

 had been unavailingly persuading him to perform. He had been endeavoring to prevail on him 

 to take the ship, in company with some of his war-junks, to the western side of the island, a 

 run that, in going and returning, would occupy, he said, four or five days only, and there assist 

 him in driving ofi" the rebels who were there collected, with whom his troops had lately had a 

 fight and been beaten, with a loss of thirty men killed and wounded. The fact was that he 

 lived in constant fear of an invasion from Amoy. He told Captain Abbot that if he would 

 render him this assistance, he would, immediately on his return, make him a present of a large 

 ship-load of coal. It is needless to say that Captain Abbot paid no attention to his proposals 

 for a moment ; he then seemed very anxious that the ship .should prolong her stay at Kelung, 

 as he supposed her presence there would insure the place from any attack by the rebels during 

 her stay. 



As to another object of the mission to Formosa, the search for coal, this was confided to the 

 chaplain, Mr. Jones, of the Mississippi; and Midshipmen Breese and Jones, with Mr. Williams, 



