As the ship sailed upstream, he stood silently upon the deck gazing out at the impressive mountains and wide waterway. "Truly beautiful," is how he later described the view in his memoirs. The lofty mountains inspired in him loftier thoughts, while the tall, thick forests reminded a companion of his home in Scotland.
溯河而上，他從甲板靜立眺望台灣北部的山巒大河，「實在美麗」，他在《台灣六記》中描述，濃綠層疊的山嶺令他悠然神往，高大茂盛的樅樹則讓他的同伴想起蘇格蘭的家鄉。