CHAPTER XVIII
FORMOSA, 1912
On January 27th, 1912, Mr. Price and I arrived at Hongkong and found the change of climate very marked, for though the thermometer kept up to about 8o° until zoo miles from Hongkong, it then suddenly became quite cold.
On February 1st we left by a steamer for Amoy, calling on the way at Swatow, where I found a French Customs Officer who was an old colleague of Dr. Henry in Yunnan and who entertained us most hospitably. At this place is made a fine linen-like cloth from the fibre of Boehmeria nivea and other fine fibres. These are most beautifully embroidered in silk by the Chinese women, who have been taught this work by Belgian missionaries, and the products are sold at what seemed to me a very low price, having regard to their delicacy, durability and beauty. We were so much taken with these that I bought a much larger quantity than I could pay for. The Chinese merchant made no difficulty about this, but invited me to come to the bank, where he was sure they would advance the money. There I found a manager from my own county who knew my name, and the very clever Chinese merchant was triumphant and sent the goods off by parcel post without any more trouble. These purchases, in the form of tea-table covers, bedspreads and summer dresses, were very much admired by all the ladies who have used them, and wash very well.
At Amoy we called on Mr. Wallace, manager of the Hongkong Bank, who is a great gardener, and showed me many nice things in his garden, but, as is so often the case in English gardens abroad, he took more interest in exotic plants than in those native to the country. The environs of Amoy at this season weie not attractive, consisting of dry rocks and barren hills of granite, often covered with great boulders. I saw nothing like forest, and was surprised to hear that tigers, though not numerous, were often found in the neighbourhood of Amoy, where they live in the caves of the hills, and are hunted by a few Chinese hunters, who will for a high reward show them to European sportsmen, among whom Mr. Bruce of Sumburgh in Shetland was said to be the most successful tiger hunter. Two days after arriving at Amoy we got passage in a Japanese steamer to Tamsui in Formosa, where we landed on February 7th after a rather rough voyage. We were met by my friend Dr, Shirasawa, who had got all our baggage passed through the Customs without delay and went on with us to Taihoku, where we found a really first-class modern European-style hotel built and managed by the Railway Department.
Next morning we went to call on General Count Saluima, the Governor- General of Formosa, a very nice old gentleman who was most agreeable and promised me every help, though he did not encourage my desire to visit what are called the savage parts of the island. For the aboriginal
tribes were still at war with the Japanese, as they had been for generations
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