104 EAMBLES OF A NATUEALIST. [Oh. VII. 



were manufactured at Amoy; and their ammunition, con- 

 sistuig of very coarse powder, with a finer grain for the 

 priming, and bullets — some round, some oblong, some rect- 

 angular. 



We found nothing remarkable in this village, which was 

 essentially Chinese in its dirt, its pigs, and its inhabitants — 

 closely resembling in character the other towns of Formosa; 

 but our attention was arrested by a woman, whose handsome 

 and European-looking features, and peculiar voice, at' once 

 marked her as non-Chinese, and showed her to be one of the 

 aboriginal inhabitants. How she came thus domesticated 

 among the Chinese we could not learn, but we heard from 

 various quarters that a system of petty warfare is kept up 

 between the two races, and that occasionally some of the 

 women are carried off by the opposing parties. 



The following morning we landed on the southern side of 

 the bay, where we were to find the native village, of which 

 no trace however was visible from the ship. We were met 

 upon the beach by a number of men and women, who were 

 in no respect, either of dress or feature, similar to the 

 Chinese, and along with them, after the first expressions of 

 surprise and curiosity, we entered the village. This is 

 rudely walled, the entrance being through doors at either 

 side, by which we passed into an assemblage of huts con- 

 structed chiefly of grass and bamboos. The grass is woven 

 into a kind of treUis or mat, which is placed against the 

 sides, while the chief part of the walls is constructed of 

 upright sticks, the interstices being imperfectly plastered 

 with mud to keep out the weather. The door is of bamboo, 

 and fixed upon a rude hinge, the lower part revolving some- 

 times upon the bottom of an earthen cup, to give freedom 

 of motion. The roof is a thick thatch of grass and herbs 



