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IN THE ANDAMANS
AND NICOBARS
THE NARRATIVE OF A CRUISE IN THE SCHOONER
"TERRAPIN," WITH NOTICES OF THE ISLANDS,
THEIR FAUNA, ETHNOLOGY, ETC.
By C. BODEN KLOSS
"Where, beneath another sky,
Parrot islands anchored lie."
WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.
1903
TO
WILLIAM LOUIS ABBOTT
IN FELLOWSHIP WITH WHOM I SPENT MANY ENJOYABLE
MONTHS ON THIS AND FORMER CRUISES
PREFACE
The following pages are the result of an attempt to record a cruise, in
a schooner, to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bengal Sea, the
main purpose of which was to obtain good representative collections (now
in the National Museum, Washington, U.S.A.) of natural history and
ethnological objects from the places visited. Special attention was
given to the trapping of small mammals, which, comprising the least
known section of the island fauna, were the most interesting subject for
investigation. Sixteen new varieties were obtained in the Andamans and
Nicobars together, thus raising the known mammalian fauna of those
islands from twenty-four to forty individuals, while the collections
also included ten hitherto undescribed species of birds. All the
collecting and preparation was done by my companion, whose guest I was,
and myself, for we were accompanied by no native assistants or hunters.
Broadly speaking, one half of the day passed in obtaining specimens, the
other in preserving them; and such observations as I have been able to
chronicle were, for the greater part, made during the periods of actual
collecting and the consequent going to and fro.
In order to give a certain completeness to the account, I have included
a more or less general description of the two Archipelagoes, their
inhabitants, etc.; the chapters of this nature are partly compiled from
the writings of those who had had previous experience of the islands,
and for the most part the references have been given.
I cannot but regard the illustrations, which are a selection from my
series of photographs, as the most valuable part of this work, but I
hope that my written record, in spite of its imperfections, may
stimulate some more competent observer and chronicler than myself to
visit the latter islands--for the Andamans have already been
described[1] in an admirable monograph by one who dwelt there for many
years--before it is too late. Ethnically, much remains to be done, and
every day that goes by produces some deterioration of native life and
custom. To this end I have added many details about supplies,
anchorages, etc., that might otherwise seem superfluous.
Of those who entertained and assisted us during the voyage, thanks are
specially due to Mr P. Vaux of Port Blair, for his hospitality to us
during our stay in that place;[2] and I am greatly indebted to Messrs
O. T. Mason, G. S. Miller, and Dr C. W. Richmond, respectively, for the
photographs of the Nicobarese pottery and skirt, for permission to
include here much information from the report on the Andaman and Nicobar
mammals, and for a list of the new species of birds obtained, which,
however, up to the present, have not received specific designations.
I have also to gratefully acknowledge the help rendered me by Mr E. H.
Man, C.I.E., who, besides volunteering to read through the proof sheets,
has given me much information, and corrected a number of inaccuracies.
To my sister, for her superintendence of the book since my departure
from England, and to my publishers for their kindness and assistance in
many ways, I must not omit to offer my thanks.
_October_, 1902.
CONTENTS
PART I
INTRODUCTION
PAGE
The _Terrapin_--Crew--Itinerary of the Cruise--Daily
Routine--Provisions and Supplies--Collecting Apparatus--
Guns--Shooting--Path-making--Clothing--Head-dress--A
Scene in the Tropics--Native Indolence--Attractive Memories 1
CHAPTER I
BARREN ISLAND AND THE ARCHIPELAGO 9
Shipboard Monotony--Edible Sharks--Calm Nights--Squalls--Barren
Island--Appearance--Anchorage--Landing-place--Hot Spring--
Goats--The Eruptive Cone--Lava--Paths--Interior of the Crater--
Volcanic Activity--Fauna--Fish--The Archipelago--Kwang-tung
Strait--Path-making--The Jungle--Birds--Coral Reefs--Parrots--
Two New Rats--Inhabitants.
CHAPTER II
PORT BLAIR 19
We enter the Harbour--Surveillance--Ross Island Pastimes--
Visit the Chief Commissioner--The Harbour--Cellular Jail--
Lime-kilns--Phoenix Bay--Hopetown--Murder of Lord Mayo--
Chatham Island--Haddo and the Andamanese--Tea Gardens--Viper
Island and Jail--The Convicts--Occupations--Punishments--
Troops--Departure.
CHAPTER III
MACPHERSON STRAIT--SOUTH ANDAMAN AND RUTLAND ISLAND 28
Gunboat Tours--South Andaman--Rutland Island--Navigation--
Landing-place--Native Camp--Natives--Jungle--Birds--
Appearance of the Natives--Our Guests--Native Women:
Decorations and Absurd Appearance--Trials of Photography--
The Village--Food--Bows, Arrows, and Utensils--Barter--
_Coiffure_--Fauna--Water--New Species.
CHAPTER IV
THE CINQUES AND LITTLE ANDAMAN 36
Position of the Cinques--Anchorage--Clear Water--The
Forest--Beach Formation--Native Hut--Little Andaman--
Bumila Creek--Natives--Flies--Personal Decoration--
Dress and Modesty--Coats of Mud--_Coiffure_--Absence of
Scarification--Elephantiasis--A Visit to the Village--
Peculiar Huts--Canoe--Bows and Arrows--The Return
Journey--A slight _contretemps_--Andamanese Pig--We
leave the Andamans.
CHAPTER V
KAR NICOBAR 44
To the Nicobars--A Tide-race--A Change of Scene--
Sawi Bay--Geological Formation--V. Solomon--M[=u]s
Village--Living-houses--Kitchens--Fruit-trees--The
Natives--Headman Offandi--"Town-Halls"--Death-house--
Maternity Houses--Hospitals--Floods--"Babies' Houses"--
Birds--Oil Press--Canoes--Offandi--"Friend of England"--
"Frank Thomson"--"Little John"--Thirst for Information--
Natives' Nick-names--Mission School Boys' Work--A Truant--
The Advantage of Canoes--A Spill--Our Method of Landing--
Collecting Native Birds--A New Bat--Coconuts--V. Solomon--
The Nicobarese and Christianity--Water--Area of Kar
Nicobar--Geology--Flora--Supplies.
CHAPTER VI
TILANCHONG 66
Batti Malv--Tilanchong--Novara Bay--Terrapin Bay--Form and
Area of Tilanchong--Birds--Megapodes--A Swamp--Crocodile--
Megapode Mound--Wreck and Death of Captain Owen, 1708--
Leave Tilanchong--Foul Ground--Kamorta.
CHAPTER VII
TRINKAT 73
Beresford Channel--A Deserted Village--_Jheel_--Bird Life--
Wild Cattle--Scenery--Photographs--Port Registers--Tanamara--
Population--Customs--The Shom Pe[.n]--The Sequel to a Death--
Interior of the Houses.
CHAPTER VIII
NANKAURI 78
The Harbour Shores--A Village--_Kanaia_--Canoe--Feeding the
Animals--Collecting-ground--Mangrove Creeks--Preparations
for a Festival--Burial Customs--Malacca Village--Houses--
Visit Tanamara--Furniture--Talismans and "Scare-devils"--
Beliefs--Festivities--A Dance--An Educated Native--Tanamara
and his Relations--Cigarettes--Refreshments--The
Collections--Geology--Flora--Population--Piracy.
CHAPTER IX
KAMORTA 95
The Old Settlement--The Cemetery--F.H. de Roeepstorff--
Mortality--Birds--The Harbour--Appearance of Kamorta--
Dring Harbour--Olta-moeit--Buffalo--Spirit Traffic--
Cookery--Ceremonial Dress--A Visit from Tanamara--
Geology--Flora--Topography--Population--Hamilton's
Description.
CHAPTER X
KACHAL AND OTHER ISLANDS 103
Heavy Surf--Teressa--Bompoka--A Native Legend--Hamilton--
Chaura--Wizardry--Pottery--Kachal typical of the Tropics--
Nicobarese Dress--West Bay--Lagoon--Mangroves--Whimbrel--
Formation of Kachal--Birds--Visitors to the Schooner--
Fever--Chinese Junks--Thatch--Relics--The Reef--Megapodes--
Monkeys--Full-dressed Natives--Medicine--A Death Ceremony--
Talismans--Fish and Fishing--Geology.
CHAPTER XI
LITTLE NICOBAR AND PULO MILO 118
A Tide-rip--Islets--A Cetacean--Pulo Milo--Timidity of the
Natives--Little Nicobar--Geology--Flora--Population--Site
for a Colony--Jungle Life--Banian Trees--The Houses and
their Peculiarity--The Natives--Practices and Beliefs--The
Shom Pe[.n]--The Harbour--We ascend a River--Kingfishers--
Water--Caves--Bats and Swallows--Nests--A Jungle Path--
Menchal Island--Collections--Monkeys--Crabs.
CHAPTER XII
KONDUL AND GREAT NICOBAR 131
The Anchorage--The Island--Villages--We leave Kondul--Great
Nicobar--Anchorage--Collecting--Up the Creek--A Bat Camp--
Young Bats--Traces of the Shom Pe[.n]--Bird Life--Fish--
Ganges Harbour--Land Subsidence--Tupais--We Explore the
Harbour--A Jungle Pig--"Jubilee" River--Chinese Navigation--
Rainy Weather--Kondul Boys--Coconuts--Chinese Rowing.
CHAPTER XIII
GREAT NICOBAR--WEST COAST 141
Pulo Kunyi--Area of Great Nicobar--Mountains--Rivers--The
Village--The Shom Pe[.n]--Casuarina Bay--An Ingenious
"Dog-hobble"--In the Jungle--A Shom Pe[.n] Village--Men
of the Shom Pe[.n]--A Lazy Morning--The Shom Pe[.n] again--
Their Similarity to the Nicobarese--Food--Implements--
Cooking-vessel--The Dagmar River--Casuarina Bay--Pulo Nyur--
Water--A Boat Expedition--The Alexandra River--Shom Pe[.n]
Villages--Kopenheat--More Shom Pe[.n]--Elephantiasis--Pet
Monkeys--Anchorage.
CHAPTER XIV
GREAT NICOBAR--WEST AND SOUTH COASTS 154
"Domeat"--Malay Traders--Trade Prices--The Shom Pe[.n]
Language--Place Names--Pulo Babi--The Growth of Land--
Climbing a Palm Tree--Servitude--Population--Views on
Marriage with the Aborigines--Towards the Interior--A Shom
Pe[.n] Village--The Inhabitants--Canoe-building--Barter--
The West Coast--South Bay--Walker Island--Chang-ngeh--Up
the Galathea River--Water--We leave the Nicobars and sail
to Sumatra.
PART II
CHAPTER I
THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS AND THEIR INHABITANTS 167
Position--Soundings--Relationship--Islands--Area--Great
Andaman Mountains--Little Andaman--Rivers--Coral Banks--
Scenery--Harbours--Timber--Flora--Climate--Cyclones--
Geology--Minerals--Subsidence--Earthquakes--History--
Aborigines--Convicts and the Penal System--Growth and
Resources of the Settlement--Products and Manufactures.
CHAPTER II
THE NICOBAR ISLANDS AND THEIR ABORIGINES 201
The Nicobar Islands and their Aborigines--The Islands--Coral
Banks--Nankauri Harbour--Population--Geology--Earthquakes--
Climate--Flora--History--The Shom Pe[.n]: their Derivation,
Appearance, Houses, Gardens, Cooking-vessel, Domestic
Animals, Manufactures, Trade, Clothing, Headmen, Position
of Women, Disposition, Diseases.
CHAPTER III
THE NICOBARESE 221
The Evolution of the Nicobarese--Description--Character--
Language--Legends of Origin--Origin of Coco Palms--Invention
of Punishments--Superstitious Beliefs--Diseases--Medicines--
Marriage--Matriarchal System--Divorce--Polygamy--Courtship--
Property--_Takoia_--Headmen--Social State--Position of Women
and Children--Domestic Animals--Weapons--Tools--Fishing--
Turtle--Food--Beverages--Narcotics and Stimulants--
Cleanliness--Clothing--Ornaments--_Coiffure_--Amusements--Arts
and Industries--Cultivation--Produce--Traders and Commerce.
CHAPTER IV
DAMPIER'S SOJOURN IN GREAT NICOBAR, AND VOYAGE THENCE TO
ACHEEN IN A CANOE 254
CHAPTER V
AN OLD ACCOUNT OF KAR NICOBAR 276
CHAPTER VI
SOME CUSTOMS OF THE KAR NICOBARESE 285
The Feast of Exhumation--A Scene in the Graveyard--
"_Katap-hang_"--"_Kiala_"--"_Enwan-n'gi_"--Fish Charms--
Canoe Offerings--"_Ramal_"--"_Gnunota_"--Converse with the
Dead--"_Kewi-apa_"--"_Maya_"--"_Yintovna Siya_"--Exorcism--
"_Tanangla_"--Other Ceremonies--The "_Sano-kuv_"--The
"_Mafai_"--The "_Tamiluana_"--_Mafai_ Ceremonies--Burial--
Mourning--Burial Scenes--The Origin of Village Gardens--
Destruction of Gardens--Eclipses--Canoe-buying--Dances--
Quarrels--"_Amok_"--Wizardry--Wizard Murders---Suicides--
Land Sale and Tenure--Dislike to Strangers--Cross-bow
Accidents--Canoe Voyages--Commercial Occupations--Tallies.
CHAPTER VII
THE FAUNA OF THE ANDAMANS AND NICOBARS 320
APPENDICES
A.--AVERAGE WIND AND WEATHER IN THE ANDAMANS 335
B.--PRINCIPAL FOREST TREES OF THE ANDAMANS 336
C.--NOTES ON THE PRODUCE OF THE ANDAMAN FORESTS 339
D.--CENSUS, ANDAMAN ISLANDS, 1901 342
E.--GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS AT PORT BLAIR 343
F.--MEASUREMENTS OF SOME ANDAMANESE MET AT RUTLAND ISLAND 344
G.--PRINCIPAL FLORA OF THE NICOBARS 345
H.--CENSUS, NICOBAR ISLANDS, 1901 AND 1886 350
I.--TRADE ARTICLES AND THEIR VALUE IN THE NICOBARS 351
J.--PRESENTS AND BARTER IN DEMAND DURING THE CRUISE OF THE
_TERRAPIN_ 352
K.--MEASUREMENTS OF SOME NICOBARESE AND SHOM PE[.N] 353
INDEX 359
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
The "Terrapin" in Kwang-tung Strait _Frontispiece_
Andaman and Nicobar Islands _To face page_ 8
The Landing-place, Barren Island " " 10
The Eruptive Cone, Barren Island " " 12
Ross Island (northern extremity) " " 20
Andamanese Men " " 22
Andamanese Women " " 24
Andamanese Shelter " " 28
Oenge Hut, Little Andaman " " 40
In the Village of M[=u]s, Kar Nicobar " " 44
Kar Nicobarese Family and Dwelling-house,
with Lounge beneath " " 46
A Kitchen House, M[=u]s Village (showing method
of construction) " " 48
Death House, Hospitals, Maternity Houses, and
Burial-grod, M[=u]s Village " " 50
"Talik N'gi" (The Place of the Baby), M[=u]s
Village " " 52
Kar Nicobarese " " 54
"Friend of England" " " 56
Mission Boys and Burmese Teacher, Kar Nicobar " " 60
Women and Children, Kar Nicobar " " 64
Terrapin Bay, Tilanchong " " 66
A Megapode " " 68
A Megapode Mound " " 70
Inuanga Village, Nankauri Harbour " " 78
Nankauri Canoe, with Festival Decorations " " 80
Kitchen and Dwelling-house, with Festival Tree,
Nankauri " " 82
Tanamara's "Kareau" " " 84
Nankauri Man with Dancing Collar and Painted
Nose " " 86
Group of Dancers, Nankauri Harbour " " 88
Nankauri Man with Silver Necklace " " 90
Objects from Nankauri Harbour " " 94
Dwelling-houses, Dring Harbour, Kamorta
(partially constructed, and complete) " " 98
Fig Tree with Aereal Roots, Little Nicobar " " 122
Houses, Pulo Milo " " 124
Jungle Vegetation, Little Nicobar " " 126
Man with Pandanus Fruit, Kondul " " 132
Boys of Kondul " " 138
West Coast of Great Nicobar " " 140
Man and Woman of the Shom Pe[.n], and
a Nicobarese " " 142
A Village of the Shom Pe[.n] " " 144
Women and Girls of the Shom Pe[.n] " " 146
Men of the Shom Pe[.n] " " 148
Men of the Shom Pe[.n] (in profile) " " 150
Hut of the Shom Pe[.n] " " 152
Canoe at Pulo Nyur, Great Nicobar " " 154
Huts of the Shom Pe[.n] " " 158
Men and a Boy of Great Nicobar " " 160
On the Galathea River, Great Nicobar " " 162
Galathea River (highest point reached) " " 164
Hydrographical Chart of the Andaman and Nicobar
Islands " " 166
Oenge Man, Little Andaman " " 186
Andamanese Objects " " 188
Oenge Visitor at Rutland Island " " 190
Andamanese Bamboo Buckets and Cane Baskets
(conical); also Nicobarese Cane Baskets (5),
with Tray and Bucket of Spathe " " 200
Men of the Shom Pe[.n]; Men of the Shom Pe[.n]
(in profile) " " 214
Women of the Shom Pe[.n]; Women of the Shom
Pe[.n] (in profile) " " 216
Women of the Shom Pe[.n]; Women of the Shom
Pe[.n] (in profile) " " 218
Huts of the Shom Pe[.n] " " 220
Man of Nankauri; A Headman of the Shom Pe[.n] " " 222
"Tanamara" of Nankauri; "Tanamara" of Nankauri
(in profile); A Headman of the Shom Pe[.n];
Headman of the Shom Pe[.n] (in profile) " " 224
Man of Kar Nicobar; Woman of Kar Nicobar; Kar
Nicobar Boy (showing Epicanthus); Kar Nicobar
Boy (in profile, showing Prognathism) " " 226
Woman and Man Wearing the "Ta-Choekla," Kar
Nicobar " " 228
Man and Woman of Kar Nicobar (in profile) " " 230
Specimens of "Henta-koi," made and first used
in times of sickness to frighten away the
offending evil spirits " " 232
A "Henta," painted and first suspended inside
hut in time of sickness, to gratify good
spirits and scare away demons.
(Specimen from Nankauri) " " 234
Old Nicobarese Skirt, "Ngong" " " 248
Baskets, Troughs, and Areca Spathe
Feeding-dish, Nicobar Islands " " 252
Group of Kar Nicobarese " " 284
ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT
PAGE
Little Andaman Canoe 41
"Scare-devil," or device for exorcising evil spirits 44
Oil Press (Kar Nicobar) 53
"Scare-devil," or device for exorcising evil spirits 78
Chaura Pottery 108
Shom Pe[.n] Cooking-vessel (Great Nicobar) 148
Iron Buffalo and Pig Spears 221
"Scare-devil," or device for exorcising evil spirits (Kachal) 231
Nicobarese Talisman 232
"Scare-devil," or device for exorcising evil spirits (Kachal) 232
Female Talisman (Kachal); Female Talisman, "Kario" (Nankauri) 234
1, Shom Pe[.n] Spear (Great Nicobar). 2 and 3, "Hanoi cha,"
Canoe Decorations for bow, stern, and outrigger (Kar Nicobar).
4, Turtle Spear. 5 and 6, Wooden Fishing Spears. 7, Ornamental
Canoe Stern-piece, "Misoka ap" (Kar Nicobar). 8, 9, and 10,
Iron Fishing Spears 244
IN THE ANDAMANS AND
NICOBARS
PART I
INTRODUCTION
The _Terrapin_--Crew--Itinerary of the Cruise--Daily Routine--
Provisions and Supplies--Collecting Apparatus--Guns--Shooting--
Path-making--Clothing--Head-dress--A Scene in the Tropics--
Native Indolence--Attractive Memories.
The _Terrapin_, captain and owner Dr W. L. Abbott, is a Singapore-built
teak schooner of 40 tons register and 67 tons yacht measurement. She is
65 feet long on the water-line, and 16 feet broad, and has been given an
almost box-shaped midship section, partly to afford sufficient inside
space for the ballast (iron), but principally with the idea that when
she takes the ground she may not heel to any uncomfortable extent. The
draught is 7-1/2 feet, but two years' experience has proved that this is
too much for the class of cruising she is engaged in. The crew are
berthed forward, and aft is a large hold where tanks containing about 3
tons of water, supplies, cables, etc., are stored. A large raised trunk
hatch about 2-1/2 feet high covers the central third of the boat,
leaving 3-feet gangways on either side. This structure affords ample
head-room below, and gives coolness and abundant ventilation by means of
windows which open all round it. Sailing in the tropics, with the
thermometer constantly standing at 84 deg. or so in the shade, necessitates
for any comfort a very different arrangement from what would be fitting
at home. Whenever possible, the boat, while anchored, is covered with
awnings from stem to stern. Under the hatch are a large saloon, two
cabins, pantry, etc.
The crew--five ordinary seamen, a _serang_ (boatswain), and
sailing-master--are Malays; for natives are far more satisfactory in
nearly every way on a small boat in the tropics than white men, even if
the latter could be obtained. They can put up with more restricted
quarters, are less inclined to grumble under the peculiar circumstances,
or be disobedient, are more at home in every way in the surroundings and
with the people one meets, are little trouble to cater for, and, most
important of all, keep in good health and can stand the sun. A Chinese
"boy" and cook are also carried.
Forward on deck there is a small iron galley for the preparation of
meals, and aft repose two boats--an 18-feet double-ender for four oars,
and a beamy 10-feet dinghy that best carries a crew of three. The
schooner steers with a wheel.
The _Terrapin_ left Singapore in October 1900 and, subsequent to calling
at Penang, cruised off the coast of Tenasserim and among the islands of
the Mergui Archipelago until I joined her late in December. A few days
were then spent in the peninsula, where several deer and wild pig were
obtained; then visiting High Island--where an unsuccessful search was
made for Sellung[3] skeletons, and a number of birds and small mammals
added to the collection--she left for the Andamans.
On the return voyage from the Nicobars we called at Olehleh, the
port for Kota Rajah, Dutch capital of Acheen. Even a dissociation
from them of only three months made the pink-white skins of the
Europeans--sun-avoiding Dutch--seem strange and unhealthy.
Having spent a day or two at this place, where we first heard of the
accession of King Edward VII., we skirted the north coast of Sumatra,
with its park-like stretches of grass and forest, drifting along almost
in the shadow of its great volcanic mountains, and then, crossing the
northern entrance of the Malacca Straits, anchored once more in the
harbour of Penang.
At Klang, in Selangor, we stopped a night to visit the museum at Kwala
Lumpor, and were passed by the _Ophir_ and her consorts as they steamed
to Singapore; which place we ourselves reached, after a slow passage
down the coast, on the 27th of April 1901, thus bringing the cruise to
an end.
The day's programme during the voyage was simple. We rose before 5 A.M.;
and after a hurried _chota hazri_, rowed ashore the moment it grew at
all light. The next five hours were passed collecting in the jungle; and
then returning on board, after a bath, change, and breakfast, the
preservation of specimens went on until two o'clock; next came tea, then
more work until about 3 P.M., when we once more rowed ashore and sought
for fresh material until darkness set in. Then after another bath and
change came dinner, and by the time the second batch of specimens was
disposed of, we were quite ready for mattress and pillow on deck; for
unless it rained we never slept below. The development of photographs
often kept me up till midnight, since they had to be manipulated in a
small pantry which could only be thoroughly darkened after sunset. I
have seldom been in a warmer place.
Some consideration should be given to the provisioning of a boat when
cruising away from regular supplies for health is largely dependent on
this point.
For so long as flour will keep good it is pleasant to have fresh bread,
but experience on this and other cruises is that it gets full of weevils
after three months in a small boat. While tinned provisions and bottled
fruits are very well for a time, one rapidly tires of them, and then
there is nothing like the old stand-bys of salt beef and pork, ship's
biscuits, rice, etc. Potatoes and onions will keep well for six months,
and "sauerkraut," or Chinese preserved greens, are useful articles. Many
of the birds shot for specimens--on this cruise, megapodes, pigeons, and
whimbrel--form welcome additions to the table, and one gets occasionally
wild pig and deer; while even of such unorthodox animals as squirrels,
the larger kinds--_Sciurus bicolor_ attains almost the size of a hare,
which it much resembles in flavour--are by no means despicable. When we
were under sail, there were always lines towing astern of the vessel,
which often produced bonito, dolphin, barracouta, edible shark, and
other varieties, and we carried a seine, which, when stretched across
the mouth of a tidal creek, was nearly always certain to entangle some
kind of fish in its meshes, while with a casting-net catches of what one
might call "whitebait" were often made.
One is rarely able to obtain much else than fowls from natives, and
except in towns and large villages, where there are regular bazaars and
markets, even fruit other than coconuts and bananas is scarce. Tinned
and bottled preserves soon become insipid to the palate, but dried
fruit, such as apples, apricots and prunes, we found far more
attractive, and they should always be carried when native supplies are
uncertain. In fact, beyond a few necessaries such as milk, butter, jam,
tea, coffee, sugar, cheese and curry stuffs, and a few more luxurious
articles, like soups, pickles--but those who have tried a well-seasoned
piece of salt junk will admit that these and mustard are almost absolute
necessities--sauces, etc., the fewer tinned provisions there are the
better, so far as health in the tropics is concerned. When one can keep
the hen-coop well stocked, and there is plenty of rice on board, one
never feels like grumbling while there is any amount of work to be done.
In the matter of collecting apparatus, the newer powders are preferable,
as with them there is less chance, through absence of smoke, of losing
sight of the specimen as it falls, which is often the case otherwise. It
is well to have cartridge cases of different colours for ease in
selection, and the sizes of shot most useful seem to be:--SSG for pigs,
deer, and large monkeys; AA and II for monkeys, eagles, and other large
birds; V for pigeons, and others of similar size in high tree tops; VIII
for the same at moderate range, and for smaller birds and squirrels,
etc., when distant; while 2 drams of powder and 1/2 ounce of XI
shot--the cartridge filled out by several wads between the two--is most
useful for small birds and animals up to 20 yards, and for others at
proportionate distances. For such little things as sunbirds, and for
snakes, lizards, or for point-blank shots, we carried auxiliary barrels,
about 9 inches long, that can be slipped in and out of the gun like an
ordinary cartridge, and which fired an extra long .32 calibre brass
cartridge loaded with a pinch of dust shot (No. XIII). These were
invaluable for obtaining the smaller specimens without smashing, and had
a killing range of about 12 yards.
There is no more perfect weapon for the collecting naturalist than the
three-barrelled guns that we used--shot barrels fully choked, and the
third, placed beneath the others, rifled for long .380 cartridges. With
one of these, the auxiliary barrel, and a proper selection of
cartridges, one is ready for anything that may turn up other than the
larger "big game," for the equipment is so portable that there is no
temptation ever to leave part of it behind.
The only drawback to such an outfit lies in the time lost in selecting a
suitable cartridge for each shot, but the perfect specimens obtained by
this method are ample compensation for the extra trouble involved. Even
in this way accidents sometimes happen however, as when on one occasion,
while walking through some grass, a tiny button-quail sprang up, and was
knocked over at close range with what was thought to be a small charge
of No. XI shot. The specimen was not found at once, but as it was the
first of the kind obtained (and has since proved to be of a new
species), the search was persisted in until after a quarter of an hour a
little purple pulp attached to a wing was discovered. The collector had
forgotten which barrel contained the smaller cartridge, and, pulling the
wrong trigger, had fired a full charge of No. VIII from about that
distance in yards, at a wretched little bird about the size of a
sparrow!
To fire at flying birds in the jungle is both wasteful and unprofitable,
for while a bird is only to be seen for a moment as it flashes between
the branches, even if hit, it infallibly becomes lost in the dense
luxuriance of vegetation. The chances in the favour of the quarry are,
however, largely increased by a careful selection of the smallest
cartridge possible on each occasion, often a tiresome stalk, and a large
amount of dodging about to get a clean shot through the leaves and
branches, so that the event is by no means a more foregone conclusion
than sport in the open.
Besides bags for cartridges and specimens, with extractor, knife,
string, cotton-wool, and wrapping paper, it is absolutely essential, if
it is intended to penetrate the jungle at all, that one should carry
some sort of implement--cutlass, _parang_, or _machete_--to hew a way
through the tangled undergrowth.
It is far the best plan, when shooting in the tropics, not to indulge in
a too elaborate outfit. The most suitable and common-sense clothing
consists of a stout cotton suit of pyjamas, grey or brown in colour for
preference, with pockets; the ends of the trousers should be tied round
the ankles with string, to keep out the ants and leeches, and only when
these and thorns are very bad need stronger trousers and puttees be
worn. Such clothes are easily put on and off, are comfortable, and are
not heavy when soaked with water, rain, and perspiration.
On board ship, when away from civilisation, we invariably wore a similar
dress, or the national garment of Malaya, the _sarong_, than which
nothing is more comfortable in a hot climate, unless it be the
exceedingly sensible dress of the tropic-dwelling Chinese.
For head-dress there is no better gear than an old felt hat (_terai_),
which can be rolled up and put away in the game-bag when one is in the
shade of the forest. In one of the most delightful books that has been
written about the East, the following lines occur:[4] "Given a thick
jungle, trees 200 feet high, and a mushroom-helmeted sportsman, it will
be seen that comfort and a large bag are incompatible. A long training
in the Sistine Chapel is necessary for this work. Absurd as it may seem,
my spine in the region of the neck eventually became so sore that I was
on more than one occasion compelled to give myself a rest." With the
latter part of the passage I perfectly concur, for one often stands for
minutes at a time staring vainly upwards, to where, right overhead, the
specimen that one knows is there, is vocally proclaiming its presence,
and the effect on the back of the neck is, after a time, often one of
excruciating agony. Strangely enough, large birds like parrots and
pigeons are often the most difficult to see.
But why the helmet in the shade of the forest? We ourselves never wore
hats except when out in the open or going to and fro between the
schooner and the shore, while the sun was high, and experienced no ill
effects from being without them at other times, although one of us made
it a practice to keep his head shaved for the sake of coolness. Though
they perhaps lay me open to an accusation of thick-headedness, I mention
these facts to show that it is not necessary to burden oneself with an
awkward _sola topee_ with the idea of evading danger from the sun in
such circumstances.
* * * * *
A cloudless sky and a blazing sun; a long stretch of yellow beach lapped
by a calm sea of brilliant green above the reef, verging into an intense
sapphire in the distance. Inland, swelling hills clothed in densest
jungle--the topmost ridge capped by a delicate tracery of foliage that
stands out clear cut in the pure atmosphere. Adjoining the sandy shore a
grass-grown level expanse, with a grove of stately palm trees, through
which runs a rippling brook, and lastly, two or three native huts and
their occupants, so that one can lie, pyjama-clad, in the shade, and
consume young coconuts without first having to climb for them.
"Only to hear and see the far-off brine,
Only to hear were sweet, stretched out beneath the pine."
Is it fair that we should call the native of the tropics lazy because in
some parts of his domain the labour of an hour supplies his daily wants?
The working man of colder climates, by eight and even twelve hours'
occupation, obtains no more, and often less. The others are the true
lotos-eaters, and when one is amongst them one often feels, as
doubtless they do themselves, could they formulate their sensations:
"... Why should we toil alone,
We only toil who are the first of things,
And make perpetual moan,
Still from one sorrow to another thrown:
. . . . . . . . . .
'There is no joy but calm!'
Why should we only toil, the roof and crown of things?"
These are one's thoughts, while captivated by the charm of the islands,
and if feelings change when analysed in more virile countries, the
transformation of ideas only goes to show how relative to circumstances
are such things as industry and idleness.
The foregoing are a few prosaic items about a form of life which,
although when indulged in too long, it perhaps causes now and again a
desire for the amenities of civilisation and a shirt-front, yet when it
is over, always leaves a longing for further experiences whenever one is
haunted by thoughts of the palms, the sunlight, and the sea; wanderings
in the jungle; strange birds, animals, and vegetation, and pleasant
memories of easy-going islanders.
CHAPTER I
BARREN ISLAND AND THE ARCHIPELAGO
Shipboard Monotony--Edible Sharks--Calm Nights--Squalls--Barren
Island--Appearance--Anchorage--Landing-place--Hot Spring--Goats--
The Eruptive Cone--Lava--Paths--Interior of the Crater--Volcanic
Activity--Fauna--Fish--The Archipelago--Kwang-tung Strait--
Path-making--The Jungle--Birds--Coral Reefs--Parrots--Two New
Rats--Inhabitants.
We were six days out from land before Barren Island hove in sight. Since
New Year's Day,[5] when we got up anchor amongst the islands of the
Mergui Archipelago, the schooner had been carried by the lightest of
breezes towards the Andamans. The days slipped by, each one as
monotonous as its predecessor; there was no change in the wind, save
when it fell calm for a space, and the sun was so hot that we gladly
sought shelter in the cabin, where occupation might be found with a
book. Once we harpooned a porpoise, but he broke away from the iron, and
now and again, on a line trailing astern, we caught a small shark,
immediately claimed by the cook, to appear later on the table; for
although the name seems instinctively to prejudice one against them, all
sharks are edible, and the smaller species, which can scarcely include
human material in their dietary scale, are by no means to be despised
when fresh provisions are unobtainable, in spite of being often somewhat
dry and flavourless.
But the nights were ample compensation for any possible discomfort by
day. Around was the calm flat sea, and overhead a pale blue sky, across
which swung the tropic moon, so bright that all but the larger stars
were drowned in light. Then, when the heat of day was over, we would
take our pillows on deck and--in a perfect silence but for the creaking
booms and the water gurgling in the scupper-pipes--watch mast and stars
swing slowly to and fro until sleep brought unconsciousness of the night
and its beauty.
But it is not always so even in the tropics, and the contrary, and not
infrequent, experience, without going to extremes, is the squall of a
moonless night.
As the dense clouds rapidly advance from the horizon and blot out the
stars, one is left in inky darkness broken only by the glimmer of the
lamps in the binnacle. Soon the wind comes tearing down and whistles
loudly in the rigging, while with lowered sail, the vessel seems to fly
through the water--judging by the rolling wings of foam that stream from
her shoulders and gleam weirdly in the green and red rays of the
sidelights. Presently the rain falls in a stinging chilly torrent,
killing the breeze and leaving the boat rolling uncomfortably on the
surface; and when the furious downpour is over, and the night is quiet
once more, all that remains to show the past disturbance is sodden
canvas, stiffened cordage, and the uneasy heave of the wind-whipped sea.
So the squall passes--generally leaving a calm behind it--having in a
little space squandered enough unavailing breeze to have helped the
vessel on her course for hours to come.
At last, one evening, we saw Narkondam from the masthead, about sixty
miles away; and next morning Barren Island had risen above the horizon.
These two little islands, eastern outliers of the Andamans, and
connecting links between the eruptive regions of Burma and Sumatra, are
both of volcanic origin, though the former is now extinct.
Barren Island, about two miles in diameter, is merely the crater of a
volcano rising abruptly from the sea, which, a quarter of a mile from
shore, is nearly everywhere 150 fathoms or more in depth.
Approaching from the east, we caught a glimpse, while still some
distance off, of the black tip of an eruptive cone, showing above the
rim of the crater, which at a nearer view proved to be of igneous
basalt, clothed on the outer slopes with a growth of creepers, bushes,
and of trees 50 to 60 feet high, frequented by numbers of fruit pigeons.
On the north-west side of the island the wall of the old crater has been
broken down, and a large gap about a hundred yards wide at the base
affords an easy means of access to the interior. It is through this
opening that the best view of the cone is obtained from seawards.
As we sailed past the gap that afternoon the scene was one of striking
beauty. Against a background of bright blue sky the little island rose
from a sea of lapis-lazuli, which ceaselessly dashed white breakers on
the rocky shores. The steep brown slopes, part clothed in brilliant
green, framed in the cone--a black and solid mass, round which a pair of
eagles circled slowly.
Fortunately for those vessels which may visit the island, there is one
place off-shore where soundings can be obtained with the handline, and
there we came to anchor in 15 fathoms, a little beach and clump of
coconut palms bearing N.N.E., a quarter of a mile away.
Sails were soon stowed and we rowed off to reconnoitre the gap, which is
the only practicable landing-place; everywhere else the land slopes
steeply to the sea. To the south a heavy swell was breaking on the
shore, but in the little cove formed here the sea was perfectly calm,
and so clear that as we passed into shallower water the coral bottom, 10
fathoms down, was plainly visible.
A rough wall of lava about a dozen feet high stretches across the
opening, and to the left of this, among the stones and boulders of the
shore, we found, below high-water mark, a little stream of fresh water
trickling to the sea; it is the only water on the island, and at that
time was at a temperature of 97.5 deg. F.[6]
The only inhabitants of any size that the island can boast of are a
large herd of goats, whose well-worn tracks show plainly on every slope
and cliff. A score of these animals, left in 1891 by the station steamer
from Port Blair, have so thriven that their descendants must now be
numbered in hundreds, and are so free from fear, and unsuspicious, that
had we needed them we could have butchered any quantity.
From the landing-place the ground slopes gently upward to the floor of
the crater, which is about 50 feet above sea level. In the centre of
this rises the little cone of slightly truncated form. Symmetrical in
outline, 1000 feet high and perhaps 2000 feet in diameter at the base,
there is nothing it reminds one of more closely than a huge heap of
purplish-black coal-dust, with patches and streaks of brown on the top.
To right and left of the base, and thence towards the sea, flows a broad
black stream of clinkery lava, the masses of which it is composed
varying in dimensions from rugged blocks of scoriae a ton or more in
weight to pieces the size of one's fist. The journey across it would be
one of some difficulty, were it not that the goats, coming from all
parts of the island in their need for water, by constantly travelling to
and fro in the same line, have worn a smooth and deep path from side to
side, some 200 yards distant from the sea.
The level ground at the base of the cone, widest on the southern side,
is covered with tall bamboo grass and various kinds of low bushes. On
the inner slopes of the crater, the south and east sides, which are of
rocky formation, support a certain amount of small forest, in which we
quickly noticed the absence of such tropical forms as palms, rattans and
lianas, and of trees more than 60 or 70 feet high and 4 or 5 feet in
diameter;[7] the remaining sides, composed mainly of volcanic ash,
afford foothold only to a coarse tussocky plant growing in clumps on the
loose black dust. We found these latter slopes not at all an attractive
scene of operations, for the feet sank and slipped at every step, and
raised at the same time clouds of fine black dust.
During the day the heat in the interior was extreme, for the sun's rays
beat down upon, and were reflected from, the dark slopes, while the wall
of the crater completely cut off any sea breeze. We did not ascend the
cone, for our stay was to be short, and we wished to investigate the
fauna as fully as possible; but from reports of the visits paid to the
island once every three or four years from Port Blair, it would seem
that the slight signs of activity still existent consist of an issue of
steam and the continued sublimation of sulphur; while of the two cones
which form the top, one is cold, and already bamboo grass and ferns are
beginning to clothe the entire summit. There is ample proof in those
details which have been recorded of the island during the last century
that the volcano is rapidly becoming quiescent, and is indeed, perhaps
verging on a condition of extinction, as has long been the case with
Narkondam.
Captain Blair, who passed near in 1795, writes of enormous volumes of
smoke and frequent showers of red-hot stones. "Some were of a size to
weigh three or four tons, and had been thrown some hundred yards past
the foot of the cone. There were two or three eruptions while we were
close to it; several of the red-hot stones rolled down the sides of the
cone and bounded a considerable way beyond us.... Those parts of the
island that are distant from the volcano are thinly covered with
withered shrubs and blasted trees."
A few years later Horsburgh records an explosion every ten minutes, and
a fire of considerable extent burning on the eastern side of the crater.
In the next thirty years, the subterranean forces had considerably
diminished in activity, and at the end of that period only volumes of
white smoke with no flame were to be seen. Drs Mouat and Liebig, who
visited the island within a few months of each other in 1857, write
respectively of volumes of dark smoke, and clouds of hot, watery vapour.
In 1866, a whitish vapour was emitted from several deep fissures, and
about 1890, steam was seen to be issuing at the top from a sulphur-bed,
which was liquid and pasty, and a new jet was coming from a lump on the
sloping side of the cone; while the sole evidence of activity now to be
observed is the deposition of sulphur, and an escape of steam that often
condenses on the surface rocks.
Concerning the fauna of the island, birds--inside the crater--were not
numerous: commonest were a little white-eye (_Zosterops palpebrosa_),
and the Indian cuckoo, which swarmed everywhere, its loud cries, "ko-el,
ko-el," resounding in all directions. The only mammals other than the
goats were rats, which, while of one species (_Mus atratus_, sp. nov.),
afford a rather curious example of range of colouring, for while many
were of the usual brown shade, a great number were of a glossy
coal-black, much resembling in tint the lava and volcanic dust in which
they made their homes. The island is everywhere riddled with their
holes, but though so numerous, the land-crabs may fairly claim to divide
the place with them. Trapping for rats was a failure, for no sooner was
one caught than it would be torn to pieces by the crabs, who in other
instances would spring the trap long before the others were attracted by
the bait.
Altogether we landed four times, but soon found that very little variety
was to be obtained: the sea, however, swarmed with fish, and many fine
catches of rock-cod, trigger-fish, and mullet, 20 to 70 lbs. in weight,
were made by the crew.
Late one evening we left Barren Island, and with a fair though moderate
breeze, which, however, soon drew round against us, covered the 36 miles
to the Andamans proper, and anchored before noon next day in the
Kwang-tung Juru.
From a distance, all the islands of the Archipelago appear to rise to
about the same height,--between 500 and 600 feet--presenting a fairly
level sky-line from north to south, and with the exception of East
Island, which shows a white sandy beach, all seem fringed with thickets
of mangroves.
The strait, which is about a mile wide, separates the islands of John
and Henry Lawrence, and with its smooth water and low banks, on which
the veil of mangrove and jungle, extending to the water's edge, is
broken at short intervals by small bluffs of pale clay shale, might
easily, but for its brilliant blue colour, be mistaken for a quiet
river.
We landed in the afternoon on the eastern shore, and at once set to work
cutting a path, for here was the densest kind of Andaman jungle, and
although within it one comes across little patches where the bush is
fairly open, it is, on the whole, a wild tangled mass of trunks and
branches, bound together by countless ropes of creeping bamboo and
thorny rattan.
Cutting right and left, avoiding a thick bush here and a hanging screen
of creepers there, perspiring at every step, we forced a sinuous way in
from the beach, until, coming upon a well-trodden pig-track, we found
progress so much easier, that, with a little chopping now and again, we
were able to move about with some degree of freedom, and along the path
so slowly made, a long line of traps was set and baited in readiness for
night.
Such a performance is one that regularly occurs during the first visit
to each fresh locality in which one collects, and on these occasions the
noise caused by chopping away branches and crashing through the bushes
very naturally makes the denizens of the jungle conspicuous by their
absence.
Afterwards, however, as you move quietly along the path, with all the
faculties freely given to the detection of those various objects to the
desire for possession of which your presence is due, the jungle seems a
much less lonely place, and after days spent in wandering in its shade,
during which a bit more path has been cut here, and a few more yards of
open space added there, you find that you can take quite a long walk,
entirely uninterrupted by use of the _parang_ hanging at your side.
Among the few birds shot that first afternoon were the beautiful
Andamanese oriole, with gorgeous plumage of black and yellow, and a
peculiar cuckoo--_Centropus andamanensis_--soberly clad in brown and
grey. This bird was a source of much disappointment on one occasion.
There are no squirrels known to the Andamans, and seeing what I took for
one, without waiting, in the momentary excitement of an apparently fresh
discovery, to look more closely, I made a rapid snap-shot, and down
tumbled a cuckoo; my consequent disgust may be imagined. The bird,
however, can easily be mistaken for a small mammal, for besides
resembling one, with its dark brown plumage and fairly long tail, its
habit is to spring from bough to bough and creep along the branches in a
very rodent-like manner.
Warned by the fading daylight, we returned to the shore, and found a
quarter of a mile of dry coral between ourselves and the water, with the
dinghy high and dry, so, after making it fast to the mangroves, we
picked a way across the reef and hailed the schooner for another boat.
These coral-reefs, although their beauty of form and colour--an endless
change of myriad shapes and tints--when seen through the clear water
from a boat above is quite beyond description, awaken far less
admiration when they have to be crossed on foot while the tide is low.
It is impossible for even natives to cross them barefooted. Nearest the
shore comes first a belt of mud and coral _debris_ that is easily
traversed; next lies a broad strip of sharp and brittle madrepores which
break and crumble beneath one's weight; while, seaward, rise from deep
water the Astraeas--great solid masses of which the reefs are mostly
built; and as one jumps from mound to mound, one vaguely wonders at
which of those in front a slip may occur, and as the least result plunge
one head over heels into the pools around. With a small boat, however,
shallow and quick-turning, it is generally possible to pass through
these latter and reach a point, where, protected by boots, the shore
may be attained at the slight expense of a wetting below the knees.
To escape this unpleasant little journey, we moved a day or two later
farther up the strait to where the shore was free from coral, and
therefore more accessible, although having reached it, we were
confronted by a precipitous cliff of crumbling earth, but when the top
was gained, after a zigzag climb, we moved on level ground covered with
heavy jungle.
The smaller species of birds were very rare here, but we got almost
immediately the first specimen of the island parrots--the brilliant
green _Palaeornis magnirostris_. This bird is the local representative of
a continental form, from which it differs only in the enormous size of
the bill, which in the male is of bright scarlet.
It is a somewhat callous thing to attempt to do, but should one succeed
in only severely wounding a parrot, others of the species are sure to be
obtained. The cries of the injured bird so attract its companions that
they will gather near from all parts within hearing, and seem so
possessed with curiosity to know what is wrong, as to be, for the time,
perfectly oblivious of the collector and his gun, while they sit around
or fly nearer and nearer to their wounded companion and answer its loud
croaking notes with others equally harsh.
Parrots of three species were very numerous, and perhaps the most
frequent noise in the jungle was their shrill scream, uttered as they
flew from tree to tree. Many big black crows, too, flopped--a word which
exactly describes their movement--noisily about, and, when hidden by a
screen of leaves, we mimicked their cawing notes, more bewildered birds
it would be difficult to find. In these woods the larger birds were
fairly common, and the traps obtained for us numerous rats of two
varieties, one of which squealed pitifully when approached (_Mus
stoicus_, sp. nov., and _M. flebilis_, sp. nov.).
The Archipelago is inhabited by a tribe known as Aka-Balawa, now on the
verge of extinction, as it numbers only twenty individuals; but the
sole traces of occupation we came across were the decayed remains of a
canoe, lying up one of the mangrove creeks that branch off from the
strait.
We remained here three days, all that could be spared from the time
given to the cruise, and early on January 11th left for Port Blair.