A NOTICE OF THE SANON DISTRICT
113
The temperature of the water varies at different times, and the several springs also differ in their temperature. The hottest of them is always of too high a temperature to allow of the hand being immersed in it, and at the time the traveller visited it, a thermometer immersed in it registered 108° Fahr. About twenty yards from its source is an artificial tank, which is used as a bath by people who are suffering from cutaneous diseases, who often return home cured.
Where the water is stagnant, deposits of sulphur are observed. The Chinese fancy that great treasures are concealed around these springs, and requested me to show them to them, they being of opinion that a foreigner is able to see several feet deep into the earth.
The inhabitants of the Sanon district are divided into the Pun-ti and Hak-ka; only a few speak the Mandarin or Hak-lo dialects. Some Hak-lo families are, however, employed in the imperial salt fields.
A list of the Sanon villages was made about 40 years ago, and they then numbered 854; of these 279 were inhabited by the Pun-tis, and 275 by the Hak-kas. Many of the villages mentioned in this list are now deserted or destroyed, but many new ones have also appeared, and we may fairly say that their numbers have rather increased than diminished.
The Hak-ka villages are in many instances small clusters of houses, whilst the Pun-ti villages sometimes number from 10,000 to 30,000 inhabitants. The Hak-kas dwell in the mountainous region of the eastern and more interior parts of the district, and are hence nick-named by the Pun-tis “Ngai-lu” ✯, or mountain-fellows; Pu-kakis the most important Hak-ka settlement; and in the western Hak-ka territory, U-shek-ngam #· a market-place at the foot of the Yeong-toi mountain, is of chief note.
The large plains previously noticed, are exclusively possessed by the Pun-tis. There are in the district forty places where markets are held; one-fifth of these only are possessed by the Hak-kas. Populous towns, such as Nam-tow, Sai-heong, and San-keaou, have spacious streets, where, every day, besides market days, large quantities of goods are exposed to sale.
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Page 121
A NOTICE OF THE SANON DISTRICT
113
The temperature of the water varies at different times, and the several springs also differ in their temperature. The hottest of them is always of too high a temperature to allow of the hand being immersed in it, and at the time the traveller visited it, a thermometer immersed in it registered 108° Fahr. About twenty yards from its source is an artificial tank, which is used as a bath by people who are suffering from cutaneous diseases, who often return home cured.
Where the water is stagnant, deposits of sulphur are observed. The Chinese fancy that great treasures are concealed around these springs, and requested me to show them to them, they being of opinion that a foreigner is able to see several feet deep into the earth.
The inhabitants of the Sanon district are divided into the Pun-ti and Hak-ka; only a few speak the Mandarin or Hak-lo dialects. Some Hak-lo families are, however, employed in the imperial salt fields.
A list of the Sanon villages was made about 40 years ago, and they then numbered 854; of these $79 were inhabited by the Pun-tis, and 275 by the Hak-kas. Many of the villages mentioned in this list are now deserted or destroyed, but many new ones have also appeared, and we may fairly say that their numbers have rather increased than diminished.
The Hak-ka villages are in many instances small clusters of houses, whilst the Pun-ti villages sometimes number from 10,000 to 30,000 inhabitants. The Hak-kas dwell in the mountainous region of the eastern and more interior parts of the district, and are hence nick-named by the Pun-tis “Ngai-lu" ✯, or mountain- fellows; Pu-kakis the most important Hak-ka settlement; and in the western Hak-ka territory, U-shek-ngam #· a market-place at the foot of the Yeong-toi mountain, is of chief
note.
The large plains previously noticed, are exclusively possessed by the Pun-tis. There are in the district forty places where markets are held; one-fifth of these only are possessed by the Hak-kas, Populous towns, such as Nam-tow, Sai-heong, and San-keaou, have spacious streets, where, every day, besides market days, large quantities of goods are exposed to sale.
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