LITTLE NICOBAR AND PULO MILO
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.
Sailing across the Sombrero Channel, some 30 miles wide, between Kachal
and Little Nicobar, we passed the islet of Meroe. It is low-lying, and
about 1 mile in length. A yellow beach separates the dark crown of
jungle and coconuts from the sea, except at the southern end, which is
slightly elevated and rocky.
On its western side, a tide-rip--to which the chart ascribes a strength
of 5 knots an hour at times--caught us, and we were in some danger of
being carried inshore, but that the breeze was just strong enough to
bear the schooner safely past. The tides in the channel set strongly,
and are said to attain in parts a velocity of as much as 5 knots at
springs.
South of Meroe are the islets of Trak and Treis, and from the deck the
red sandstone cliffs of the latter could be seen with much distinctness.
Little Nicobar, rising 1400 feet, showed broken and hilly, completely
covered with dense jungle, and beyond it Great Nicobar loomed faintly
above the horizon.
During the afternoon, when in the vicinity of Meroe, we were somewhat
excited by a glimpse at what was perchance a specimen of the killer
whale (_Orca gladiator_). The first hint we obtained of the presence of
such an animal, was conveyed by the sight of a long black fin showing
above the water immediately in the course of the schooner.
As we sailed over the spot where it had been, we perceived, while
looking over the side, a stout, rotund body of a deep black colour,
marked with large patches of a yellowish hue about the head and the
posterior portion of the back. Only a momentary glance was obtained
before it faded from sight in deep water, but we judged it to be some 15
feet in length.
The dorsal fin distinctly differed in shape from that figured in
descriptions of the killer; instead of being more or less triangular, it
was sabre-like, long, narrow, and curved.[68]
We were all day journeying from Kachal to Little Nicobar, and had to
anchor for the night somewhere west of Pulo Milo. As it became dark,
immense flocks of pigeons left the forests of Little Nicobar for Trak
and Treis, where they roosted for the night, and when day dawned we saw
them passing back again. That morning, however, we made sail again, and
reached our anchorage in a very short time.
The harbour is a fairly good one, and is formed by the coast of the
island here bending to form a right angle, and by the island of Milo,
which forms a protection on the west. Good shelter is afforded during
the south-west monsoon--the most important consideration; and at other
times only strong northerly winds need be feared.
We found 7 fathoms sand in the centre of the channel where we rounded
to; and soon after the sails were down, three wild-looking fellows in
black Chinese jackets came alongside, followed presently by a couple of
old men clothed in red cotton.
For some unexplained reason, they seemed much afraid, and were with
difficulty induced to believe that our intentions were nothing but good.
From answers to questions, we learned that the people of Little Nicobar
have nearly all died--a piece of information that one seems to obtain
everywhere but in Kar Nicobar and Chaura. The name of the island they
gave as Pulo Panjang (_Malay_=Long Island); it is called "Ong" in their
own language; among themselves the Nicobarese do not employ the names
familiar to us.[69]
Little Nicobar, the second largest island of the Archipelago, has an
area of 58 square miles. It is broken up into hilly ranges, the highest
summits being Mount Deoban, 1428 feet, near the centre of the island,
and Empress Peak, 1420 feet, at the north-east corner.
The bed rock is a calcareous sandstone, easily disintegrated, and
overlaid by a deep soil capable of sustaining a rich and varied
vegetation. The hills are thickly wooded from base to summit, and there
are no grassy spaces like those found on the northern islands.
The nature of the forest varies according to position and soil. In the
beach forest, _Pandanus larum_ and _P. odoratissimus_, _Hibiscus
tiliaceus_, _Barringtonia speciosa_, _Terminalia catappa_, and
_Calophyllum inophyllum_, are extremely plentiful; in the littoral
forest of the level inlets, _Mimusops littoralis_, _Calophyllum
spectabile_ (canoe wood), and _Eugenias_, are the best represented
species; while palms (_Ptychoraphis augusta_ and _Areca catechu_) and
cane-brakes are common in the moister parts. The high forest of the
hills contains fine specimens of _Terminalia procera_, _C. spectabile_,
_Myristica irya_, _Artocarpus lakoocha_, and _Garcinia speciosa_. No
Dipterocarpus trees occur.
The population of Little Nicobar and Pulo Milo is 67: in fact, with the
exception of Kondul, the inhabitants are fewer than those of any other
island of the group. Its people speak, with some variations, the dialect
of Nankauri: only for certain objects, and these, singular to say, of
first necessity--coconuts, palms, pandanus, etc.--do they employ
different expressions.[70] The same language is spoken by the people of
Great Nicobar. According to Hamilton, they all partook, two hundred
years ago, of the unpolished nature of their mountainous islands, and
were more uncivil and surly than those of the northward!
Should the group again receive a European settlement, I know of no spot
more suited to the purpose than this: in accommodation for shipping only
is it excelled by the splendid harbour at Nankauri; in all else it is
far superior--in the formation and greater area of ground, in fertility
of soil, and in the presence of water.
We landed first on Little Nicobar near some ruined huts which once
formed the village of Makachia[.n], deserted since 1898, when the few
remaining people either died or removed elsewhere; and after passing
through a belt of coco palms, found ourselves in the jungle.
Much of the surface was level; but here and there little chains of
sandstone hills, rising two or three hundred feet, wound about. The
trees were of immense height, and in many places beneath them one moved
about as freely as in an English forest.
Although this open vegetation is much more pleasant to traverse, it is
not half so satisfactory for collecting purposes as the denser jungle,
for it contains far less, both in variety and numbers, of birds and
animals.
Megapodes, singly, in pairs, or in little flocks, ran about and sought
busily for food, calling to each other meanwhile, until, alarmed by the
sight of such unwonted intruders as white men, they scurried swiftly
away. Overhead, so high as to be almost out of shot, pigeons, grackles,
and parrots fluttered and cried, while, running up and down the
branches, we saw, for the first time, the Nicobar tupai or tree-shrew, a
little insectivorous animal, which, at a casual glance, might be taken
for a squirrel. They were very common; but, unlike their representatives
in the Malay Peninsula, etc., which are ground animals, we saw them only
in the trees.[71]
It was soon evident that we had no cause to regret not having obtained
more monkeys at Kachal, for here they abounded; and after discovering
how common they were we would cold-bloodedly arrange every morning as to
who should murder the specimen for the day.
Here a new bird was added to the islands' fauna (and to science) in the
shape of a little _Rhinomyias_, quietly clothed in dull-brown plumage,
which frequented the undergrowth of dense jungle and possessed a rather
sweet note.
A momentary glance of a pitta gave for a few days (until we obtained a
series of specimens) a fresh zest to collecting; this bird also was
hitherto unrecorded from the locality, and proved to be a new species,
although closely resembling _P. cucullata_.
A short distance from the shore, some immense banian trees grew so high
that the pigeons and parrots which swarmed in their branches for the
fruit were often completely beyond reach of the gun. The trees
possessed, moreover, some wonderful aereal roots (70 feet high), and,
standing on the edge of an open space within the jungle, offered an
opportunity for photography too good to be passed by. While the plate
was being exposed--an operation of some minutes--a diminutive pig,
bearing a striking resemblance to the Andaman species, trotted out from
the surrounding foliage and leisurely inspected the camera. It was the
first of the kind we had seen, and I had to reproach myself with leaving
my gun at the boat.
Pulo Milo is only about half a square mile in area, but is thickly
covered with a growth of pandanus and coconut trees and jungle, above
which hundreds of tall slim palms have forced their heads.
The little village of four houses lies on its eastern shore, fronted by
a coral-reef that offers but little impediment to a landing-party: one
tall pole, with bunches of palm leaf, stood on the beach--the last we
met with.
The houses were all of quadrangular form, but with a peculiar feature
about the roofs; for the slope from apex to eaves, instead of being
straight, was in some markedly rounded, and in others the curve ran
unbrokenly across the top from edge to edge. They were thatched with the
leaves of the nipah palm, and the side walls, 2 to 4 feet in height,
were built of rough-hewn planks laid horizontally, or of slabs of bamboo
split and flattened out. The doors were closed by _chicks_ of palm leaf,
which in the daytime were propped out to shade the interior from the
sun.
The natives soon overcame their distrust of us, and one evening
"Shongshire," the headman, and others from the village, came on board.
The former was a stately old gentleman, in spite of his top-hat, and
somewhat resembled our old acquaintance, "Friend of England." With him
was another old man of a most vivacious temperament, who gave us
information in a very graphic manner as we all sprawled, chatting, on
the cabin roof.
"There were only about a dozen people in the harbour," he said,
"although in his boyhood many lived there; all however, were now dead
from sickness and the 'orang bubu.' The former, he believed, was caused
by eating turtle, and a kind of large fish that appeared near the shore
at that period. The latter (apparently) were evil spirits that eat men,
and are let loose by a wizard."[72]
Although the belief in evil spirits is quite as strong as in the
central group, there is a great falling-off both in the elaboration and
in the abundance of the instruments employed in exorcising them. In none
of the houses was there either a large figure or a picture, or more than
one or two of those minor charms which are met with in such abundance at
Nankauri, while outside the dwellings the only representative of the
signs and warnings to demon trespassers to "Keep off the grass," so
numerous in that place, was a rudely-carved post daubed with paint.
The dead here, once buried, are left to rest in peace, and the somewhat
loathsome process of digging up and cleaning the bones is not gone
through.
It is probable that all this is a case of desuetude rather than the
original absence of custom, and that such decay of ceremonial is due to
the little value of public opinion, which is of no weight now that the
population is so small. Taking into account that such religious
accessories as they do possess, and that similar articles in Great
Nicobar, together with the architectural type, etc., occur also at
Nankauri, it is to be inferred that there was a time when these people
in no way differed in observances from the inhabitants of that locality,
who still retain in full the paraphernalia by which they outwardly mark
the practice and maintenance of their superstitions.
Concerning the Shom Pe[.n], we heard that though resembling the
Nicobarese in appearance, they use a different language.
They are fairly numerous, and those living near the shore are on
friendly terms with the coast people, bartering jungle produce and
rattans. It is not wise, however, to go into the interior of Great
Nicobar, as the wild men (orang utan) will murder strangers for the sake
of their clothes and ornaments. They themselves are clothed in bark
apparel. Their houses are either light shelters, the materials of which
they carry about in their journeys, fitted with bunks one above the
other, beneath the lowest of which a small fire smoulders; or are of a
more substantial construction, with a fence[73] surrounding each house
cluster.
In shape, Pulo Panjang is roughly a parallelogram, but its north-west
side is somewhat eaten away; and the bay thus formed makes, together
with Pulo Milo, a most effective harbour.
At the apex of this is a small secondary bay, where a little river,
rising in the hills inland, debouches through a broad belt of mangroves.
The salt-water basin, although partially choked with coral, would, in
the event of settlement, serve well as a small boat harbour.
We ascended the stream several times in search of the big storkbilled
kingfisher (_Pelargopsis leucocephala_), which, strangely, occurs again
in Borneo, and at no spot between that island and the Nicobars; the case
of the megapode is exactly parallel.
The river at first ran through a forest of young, but lofty, mangroves
(_Bruguiera gymnorhiza_), whose straight stems, leaning towards each
other across the stream, bore a certain resemblance to an assemblage of
scaffold-poles. At length, when the land became less swampy, they gave
place to a fringe of nipah or attap palms, the fruit of which looks like
an exaggerated pine cone, and is sometimes eaten by Malays, while from
the tender inner shoot, the same people obtain a wrapper for their
cigarettes.[74]
Finally, where the banks became dry and solid, they were overgrown by
luxuriant jungle--a mixture of forest trees, bamboos, palms and rattans,
with here and there bordering the stream, a many-footed, white-skinned
pandanus, and often a beautiful tree fern (_Alsophila albasetecea_),
that immediately brought to my mind the blue hills and equally lovely
valleys of New Zealand.
The stream, although maintaining a depth of 5 to 10 feet, at length
became very narrow, and we were compelled, in order to proceed, to chop
away the network of vegetation that overhung the water. Now and again it
ran through open spaces covered with tall and matted grass, and then
between banks a dozen feet high; but when we were forced to stop, unable
to proceed further, the water was still brackish, although we had almost
reached the hills in which it takes its source. The banks were
frequented by herons, redshanks and other waders, and kingfishers (both
_P. leucocephala_, with sandy head and body and blue wings, and the tiny
_bengalensis_, the counterpart of our English bird). Several beautiful
butterflies were seen, a rather common species, with velvety black
wings, blotched with turquoise, constantly flitting up and down the
course of the stream.
We obtained good water in the harbour; slightly to the west of the
little bay, a rocky hill makes an angle with a little beach of bright
sand, and at the point of junction a path leads to the spring a few
yards inland, where, in the jungle, the trickling water runs down a face
of black rock, and collects in a stony basin. By forming a slight dam at
the foot of the rock, any quantity can be collected.
In the rocky hill just mentioned, we discovered several caves, which run
inwards from mouths situated at the water's level. These are the homes
of thousands of tiny leaf-nosed bats (_Hipposideros nicobarulae_, sp.
nov.), and immense numbers of the bird's-nest swift (_Collocalia
linchii_).
The largest of these caves is about 50 feet deep, and 20 feet high at
the entrance; but at the back the accumulation of guano is so great that
there is barely room to stand. As we entered with a lantern, our feet
sinking ankle-deep into the soft chocolate-coloured floor, there was a
continual rush of little bats and birds overhead as they sought to
escape, and with a leafy branch we knocked over a number of each kind
before going to the end.
The rock at the back was covered with countless numbers of the shallow
cup-shaped nests of saliva-gummed moss: so closely were they built, that
in many cases one could not place a fingertip on the rock between them,
and often they were constructed one on the side of the other. Nearly
every one contained two comparatively large, white eggs, or ugly,
unfledged nestlings. Fortunately for the birds, they are builders of the
green variety of nest; for had these been white, they would not long
have remained undisturbed by the Chinese.
Swifts and bats--the one as graceful as the other is hideous--would seem
queer neighbours, although there is a certain affinity between the two,
for both enjoy the same food--flies and other insects--and obtain it on
the wing without mutual interference; for the first hunt by day, and the
others are nocturnal. In the cave, the swallows breed at the inner end,
while the bats congregate near the mouth.
Another small cave was inhabited by bats only, and so thickly were they
suspended from the walls, that one could kill a dozen at one blow. For
long after we left the spot, clouds of swifts whirled about the
entrance; but the bats, when disturbed, immediately disappeared in the
jungle above.
The only path on Little Nicobar runs across its northern peninsula. It
starts near a couple of dilapidated huts opposite Pulo Milo, and,
running first through a belt of tangled scrub, crosses the little range
of hills near the western coast, and then, traversing a stretch of rich
flat soil, covered with splendid open forest, and great numbers of the
Nicobar palm (_P. augusta_), finally comes out on the east coast
opposite the small island of Menchal, which lies a mile or so distant,
and is only half a square mile in area. It is covered with forest,
containing many coco palms and tree ferns, and also clumps of two
species of giant bamboo (_Bambusa brandisii_ and _Gigantochloa
macrostachya_). It is of sandstone formation, covered with deep soil or
sharply-worn coral. Somewhat farther down the coast is a small village,
and the path has been made to connect this with Pulo Milo.
The forest through which the path ran was our favourite collecting
ground. We met there for the first time the beautiful little sunbird
_Aethopyga nicobarica_, with crown and tail dark shining blue, throat
and breast scarlet, through which ran two moustachial streaks of
brilliant blue, the remaining plumage olive grey, but further
ornamented by patches of bright yellow beneath the wing and on the back.
This is the male, for the hen bird, as in all sunbirds, is of very
inconspicuous plumage. This species is very local in distribution, and
does not occur in the northern islands.
_Astur soloensis_, the forest hawk, was not uncommon, but took pains to
obtain, for it was very wary. Before beginning to call, one had to hide
in a bush, or behind a tree trunk, and the chances were that when the
bird did arrive it would perch behind you, and then, since its swooping
flight is perfectly noiseless, one remained in ignorance of its
proximity. Then, too, it might rest five yards away or fifty: in the
former case, if you were not prepared with a suitable cartridge, the
bird was lost, for there would be no time to reload; in the latter
event, it was better to knock it over straightway than run risks in
bringing it closer. Once they become frightened, or see what is making
the call, they are off, not to return, "charm you never so wisely."
A parrot--_Palaeornis caniceps_--restricted entirely to the two southern
islands of the Nicobars, was very common about here, where its screams
and chattering often broke the prevailing silence of the jungle. For
such a bird, it was clad in sober colours; for, saving a grey head,
across the front of which--like a pair of spectacles--there ran a patch
of black feathers, the plumage was of green only. The whole scheme was
somewhat relieved in the male by an upper mandible of scarlet.
Monkeys abounded, and on some days we might see as many as fifty or a
hundred. They are so numerous that in both Little and Great Nicobar the
coco palms, except in the neighbourhood of villages, are altogether
unproductive, and this, according to the natives, is because the monkeys
screw off every nut the moment it begins to form.[75]
They, too, are very timid in some ways, but one is able to get at them
through their intense curiosity. The attempt to stalk a herd of these
animals is often a futile proceeding; but if, when you have seen them,
you keep quite still, and attract their attention by some unusual noise,
such as a continued tapping on your gun-barrel, you will generally have
them all round you in a very short time.
The effect, on the monkey, of man's appearance, is most interesting. The
expression of their emotions is certainly almost human, as they sit and
stare at him, coughing and snarling with anger and contempt, drawing
back their heads and throwing the hand before the face with a gesture of
abhorrence, and other movements indicative of shocked and outraged
feelings. But predominant is the expression of absolute horror, which,
coming from those we consider our still degraded cousins, is to our
superiority very aggravating.
A troop of monkeys travelling through the forest and feeding as they
move, is also worth watching. Their presence is plainly indicated, even
when some distance off, by the crashing noise made as they leap from
tree to tree. Having reached the extremity of one branch, the monkey,
with a swing and a flying leap, conveys himself to another, not
alighting as a rule on a bough of any size, but generally coming down on
all fours amongst the small twigs, a bunch of which is immediately
embraced.
In their manner of feeding they show a perpetual craving for change, the
most fruitful tree not detaining them for many moments; while for each
fruit from which a single bite is taken, half a dozen are plucked and
thrown down.
Crabs swarmed nearly everywhere: scarlet hermits, that dragged about
their variously-shaped domiciles in which they shut themselves up and
lay inert when disturbed; and the hideous, purplish land-crabs, that
scrambled away waving threatening claws at sight of a stranger. So
numerous and rapacious were all these, that a week's assiduous trapping
for mammals only produced one specimen, since the baits were always
immediately discovered and devoured by the unwelcome and valueless
crustacean.
Before we left, a number of men from Great Nicobar arrived in a large
canoe: they were proceeding to Nankauri on one of the expeditions
undertaken by the Nicobarese when they desire to obtain the pottery
manufactured only by the women of Chaura.
We weighed anchor at sunrise on March 4th, having added a pitta, an owl,
and the _Rhinomyias_--all new species--to the avifauna of the islands
during a most satisfactory visit of seven days.