Andre’s Reviews > Eine Reise in das Innere der Insel Formosa und die Erste Besteigung des Niitakayama (Mount Morrison): Weihnachten 1898 (Classic Reprint) > Status Update

His predictions for what the japanese could achieve in Formosa seem quite optimistic. I wonder why, because he mentioned several problems, but maybe he simply did not write it down.

a place where cold mountain water mixes with hot spring water... hm, sounds interesting.

a third of the forest is still primeval? Really?
and granted, that is one way to introduce christmas and giftgiving to the natives. In the cold they would probably mak good use of gloves etc.

Minus two degrees? Was he really high enough for it to be that cold?

so this Greisner lost his chinese workers to native headhunters. That must suck.

These natives believed that all chicken eggs should hatch so that there will always be chickens.... that rings a bell but I cannot remember where I heard it before.

I think he is referring to the incident where some Ryukyuans shipwrecked on the east coast and were attacked by natives and when the Qing officials said it was not their business, the survivors went to the japanese instead.

So according to him the first settlers on the island were Hakka who came to Formosa because the chinese despised them because they had no ancestor's graves etc? I mean, according to him they were there before the Dutch and that in great numbers.

Was he referring to the theory that at least some aborigines of Taiwan decend from Hokkaido? It sounds like it.

It is true that Taiwan was a good strategic place, and it is odd how no great power had any interest in it before the japanese and dutch in the 17th century, but maybe that is because in earlier times the pescadores had shorelines better for big ships than "Formosa."