Sketches from Formosa.

XVI
FINDING OF HUMAN BRAIN-CAKES
As I was crossing the mountains one day with a few
native friends, we came to the bank of a river and saw
many of the stones bespattered
with blood. After
following the trail up from the other side, we came upon
more traces of blood, and found one of the netted little
when out on the
head-bags which the savages carry
war-path. It was evident that some fatal encounter
had taken place there, and that the savages appeared to
have had the worst of it, for they never abandon those
head-bags, especially if, as on this occasion, they contain
one or more of those brain-glue tablets, which they guard
as the most highly-prized of their possessions. For it
should be known that some of the Formosan tribes boil
down every head brought in to a thick jelly, from which
thin oblong cakes are made, for being nibbled to inspire
fresh courage when another murderous attack is to be
made upon the invaders of their country. It is almost
impossible for any outsider to obtain specimens of those
and the two found at this time were sent by me
cakes ;
to the Imperial Ethnographical Museum at Berlin,
because I had an arrangement with Dr. Bastian that I
would send as many choice articles as I could to the
Museum if he supplied me with any rare pamphlets which
came his way for adding to my bibliography of Formosa.
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