MEE VW, IDEAS 
ON THE 
ERObabLE ORIGIN 
Pee TRIBES OF FORMOSA. 
JOHN DODD, 
Formosa. 
SOTO SS 
a 
~~ aS x China and in all parts of Asia, there are to be found 
“of not only in remote regions high up in the mountains, 
RG e but even in less wild districts, types of men who have 
SSE defied for ages the march of civilization. It would bea 
very difficult task to write the early history of any of 
these savages, or to trace their origin with any feelings of certainty. 
Traditionary reports, handed down from one generation to another, 
cannot be believed implicitly, and, if followed up, are often found 
to be very conflicting and almost invariably lead the enquirer into 
a land of doubt and speculation. 
In handing to the Straits Branch of Royal Asiatic Society a 
short vocabulary of words used by the Tangao tribes, I have 
thought that perhaps a few ideas of mine on the probable origin 
of these tribes, who now occupy the lofty mountain ranges of 
North Formosa, might be acceptable. The tribes in question, 
who differ very materially in appearance, language, manners, &c., 
from the tribes of the plain called Peppowhans, have, J should 
imagine, the credit of being the first arrivals in this beautiful 
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