Sketches from Formosa.

148
SKETCHES FROM FORMOSA
Un Ong, the chapel-burning at Ka-poa-soa, and many
other acts of assault and plunder of the native Christians.
Proceedings were carried on in a large Temple, and had
rather an imposing appearance, about two hundred
armed soldiers being present as a body-guard. At one
stage some of these were told off to accompany the Second
Commissioner to have the mouldering remains of Un Ong
taken up for examination. This item of our complaint
was altogether new to those high-class mandarins, as the
local Thong-su had failed to report the matter. At the
close of a very long examination of witnesses, and on my
stating that several well-known persecutors were still
openly boasting of what they would do, the Second
Commissioner at once replied by saying that the heads
of those law-breakers would be sent down to Taiwan-fu
to-morrow. It was ultimately agreed that all the ringleaders
should be seized for punishment ; that the
Thong-su and Goa-in of the district should be degraded
from office ;
that the Authorities should have a new chapel
erected in Ka-poa-soa, and that suitable Proclamations
should be posted up all over the county. I need only
add that the services of Consul Frater have been simply
invaluable at this time. Under God, it is to his firm and
considerate action that a brighter day has now commenced
to shine for us in the Ka-gi region.
On Thursday, our party halted at several large towns,
where crowds of people were addressed, and hundreds of
tracts were readily purchased. Tau-lak is the name of
one of these towns. It lies about thirteen miles to the
north-east of Ka-gi city, and would make a very good
stage on our journeys to or from Po-li-sia ; being, more-
over, a place where we have always been able to reckon
on having large companies of attentive hearers. We
spent that evening in the village of Liu-liu-pan. There
was no inn here, but the local civil officer kindly secured