40 ISLAND OF KOO-LUNG-SOO, [Cuap. III. 
as a turban, and allowing his tail to fall grace- 
fully over his shoulders, said to me in the most tri- 
umphant manner, “look at that.” I acknowledged 
it was very fine, and promised if he would allow 
me to cut it off, I would wear it for his sake. He 
seemed very much disgusted at the idea of such a 
loss, and the others had a good laugh at him. 
The hills in this part of the country are more 
barren than any I ever recollect to have seeneither 
before or since; consisting entirely of bare rocks 
and gravelly sand, as hard and as solid as stone, 
with scarcely a vestige of vegetation. In height 
they vary from five hundred to two thousand feet 
above the level of the sea. Further inland the 
ground is more level: it is also much more 
fertile, and yields good crops of rice, sweet potatoes 
and earthnut, besides a considerable quantity of 
ginger and sugar. 
The island of Koo-lung-soo is situated opposite 
to the town of Amoy, and commands it. At the 
time of the war this island was taken by the Eng- 
lish troops, and occupied until the spring of 1845, 
when the Chinese paid a part of the ransom money, 
and it was again placed in their hands. It is 
scarcely two miles long, and of irregular breadth, 
and seems to have been, before the war, the resi- 
dence of some of the principal inhabitants in this 
part of the country. Most of the houses on the 
island are in ruins, but their remains show what 
they were, and prove the wealth of their former 
residents. I could not look upon the ruined 
7 
