Sketches from Formosa.

THE SEK-HWAN ABORIGINES 39
elaborate than the night before. Owing to greater
fatigue, incessant chirping of insects, and the occasional
crash of some animal or savage through the woods, we
got very little sleep, and, accordingly, we were again on
the move by the faintest streak of light.
It was a stiff pull to reach the summit of the high mountain
before us, and even the descent on the other side had
its own little incidents : the whole reminding me of a
climb I once had to the top of Ben Nevis minus the
footpath. I think I can still hear the loud cry which
startled us after leaving the base of this mountain. It
came from no great distance, and appeared to be a
rallying call, or the signal for some horrid onslaught of
savages. In an instant, all of us were brought to a
standstill, guns begun to be unslung, and silent prayer
to ascend that God would interpose. What a relief it
was at that moment to see some of our own brethren
emerging from the wood, and showing their unbounded
delight at the sight of their friends ! A hunting party
brought them word that we had started, and made the
suggestion about coming out to meet us. They now led
the way till, to the satisfaction of every one, we reached
Aw-gu-lan,
A few words may
the first of our Po-li-sia stations.
be said here about Po-li-sia itself.
The name is given to a large, beautiful, and well-watered
plain in the heart of those lofty ranges which divide the
Island from north to south. As the road winds, it lies
about thirty miles eastward from the county city of
Chiang-hwa. It is peopled by an almost exclusively
Sek-hwan race, one of the two main divisions of the
civilized aborigines of Formosa, the other being the Pi-po-
hwan, among whose settlements no fewer than six of
our southern churches have been planted. There are
thirty-three little villages and hamlets scattered over
the Po-li-sia Plain, and from inquiries made while visiting