Sketches from Formosa.

WELCOMED BY THE TSARISEN TRIBE 203
suppose the most prominent feature appeared to be a
pretty general sort of tippling in weak spirits which was
briskly going forward among the men. I observed that
they made use of a peculiar loving-cup, or rather two
cups carved out of one long piece of wood, so as to allow
of two persons putting their arms round each other's
neck and drinking close together at the same time. From
anything I saw or could learn, I do not think they are
at all what one could call a drunken people, as the sodden
Tsui-hwan and Ku-a-lut savages are. We did not remain
long after dinner, but went on to Ku-la-lutch, a somewhat
larger village than Tu-kuh-vul ; and where, too,
the people treated us in a very respectful and generous
way.
Our brief stay there was spent under the shade of a
great tree overlooking the Palaver-ground, where many
of the villagers soon gathered. They commenced proceedings
by inviting me to partake of a yellowish brose-
like compound I thought it safest to decline ; but which,
with much apparent relish, was speedily drunk (or eaten
up, as one might say) by the male portion of the grownup
people. It appeared that when we arrived, the
discovery was made of there being no supply
of native
spirits on hand wherewith to make merry ; so that,
rather than omit this mark of hospitality, they had re-
solved on using the contents of the few big jars before
us. They contained a wet mass of the millet already
suitable
referred to in the earlier stages of fermentation ;
enough for the purpose intended, but certainly neither
safe nor pleasant for consumption in its present raw state ;
and yet, it was remarkable the extent to which some of
the older hands be-slobbered themselves.
On returning to Ka-piang, it was found that a considerable
number of people from other villages had
assembled in view of our departure the following morning ;