DAMPIER'S SOJOURN IN GREAT NICOBAR 255

The privateer Cygnet of London, Captain Swan, originally fitted out to trade in the South Seas, in which Dampier made that part of his voyage round the world, extending from Realejo in Western Nicaragua to the Nicobars, had left the north-west coast of Australia on March 12, 1688, and anchored nowhere until she reached the islands where he was permitted to quit

her.

Since Captain Swan had been left ashore at Mindanao and his place taken by Read, it had been Dampier's continual desire to part from the vessel, and he explains in his narrative the reasons for the captain's objection to his desertion.

“... The 25th day of April 1688 we crossed the equator, still coasting to the northward, between the island Sumatra and a range of small islands lying 14 or 15 leagues off it. . . . "The 29th we saw a sail to the north of us, which we chased, but it being little wind, we did not come up with her till the 30th day. Then, being within a league of her, Captain Read went in a canoe and took her, and brought her aboard. She was a prau with four men in her, belonging to Achin, whither she was bound. She came from one of those coconut islands that we passed by, and was laden with coconuts and with coconut oil. Captain Read ordered his men to take aboard all the nuts, and as much of the oil as he thought convenient, and then cut a hole in the bottom of the prau and turned her loose, keeping the men prisoners.

"It was not for the lucre of the cargo that Captain Read took

which compelled them to remain in the forest wringing wet, no fewer than twenty-one fell ill of fever, which ultimately proved fatal in four cases.-Vide Corvetten Galathea's Jordourseiling, 1852.

(6) During a stay of thirty-two days amongst the islands, the frigate Novara, with a crew of 320 men, had six cases of fever, but, when in the Straits of Malacca, fifteen more developed the same illness. All recovered, and those of the company who had never set foot on shore, furnished the largest contingent.-Vide Cruise of the Novara, 1858.

(c) of the five from the Terrapin who ascended the Galathea River and spent a night in the interior of the island, each was down with malaria either during the voyage to, or after arrival at, Singapore.

this boat, but to hinder me and some others from going ashore, for he knew that we were ready to make our escapes, if an opportunity presented itself; and he thought that, by abusing and robbing the natives, we should be afraid to trust ourselves amongst them. But yet this proceeding of his turned to our greater advantage, as shall be declared hereafter.

"May the 1st, we ran down by the north-west end of the island Sumatra, within 7 or 8 leagues of the shore. All this west side of Sumatra which we thus coasted along, our Englishmen at Fort St George call the west coast simply, without adding the name Sumatra. The prisoners who were taken the day before showed us the islands that lie off Achin Harbour, and the channels through which ships go in; and told us also that there was an English factory at Achin. I wished myself there, but was forced to wait with patience till my time was

come.

"We were now directing our course towards the Nicobar Islands, intending there to clean the ship's bottom in order to make her sail well.

"The fourth day, in the evening, we had sight of one of the Nicobar Islands. The southermost of them lie about 40 leagues N.N.W. from the N.W. end of the island Sumatra. The most southerly of them is Nicobar itself, but all the cluster of islands lying south of the Andaman Islands are called by our seamen the Nicobar Islands.

"The inhabitants of these islands have no certain converse with any nation, but as ships pass by them they will come aboard in their praus and offer their commodities to sale, never inquiring of what nation they are; for all white people are alike to them. Their chiefest commodities are ambergris and fruits.

"Ambergris is often found by the native Indians of these islands, who know it very well; as also know how to cheat ignorant strangers with a certain mixture like it. Several of our men bought such of them for a small purchase. Captain Weldon also about this time touched at some of these islands

DAMPIER'S SOJOURN IN GREAT NICOBAR 257

where we lay, and I saw a great deal of such ambergris that one of his men bought there; but it was not good, having no smell at all. Yet I saw some there very good and fragrant.

"At that island* where Captain Weldon was there were two friars, sent thither to convert the Indians. One of them came away with Captain Weldon; the other remained there still. He that came away with Captain Weldon gave a very good character to the inhabitants of that island, viz., that they were very honest, civil, harmless people; that they were not addicted to quarrelling, theft, or murder; that they did marry, or at least live as man and wife, one man with one woman, never changing till death made the separation; that they were punctual and honest in performing their bargains; and that they were inclined to receive the Christian religion. This relation I had afterwards from the mouth of a priest at Tonquin who told me that he received this information by a letter from the friar that Captain Weldon brought away from thence." +

But, to proceed :-" The 5th day of May we ran down on the west side of the island Nicobar properly so-called, and anchored at the N.W. end of it, in a small bay, in 8 fathoms water, not half a mile from the shore. The body of this island is in 7° 30′ N. lat. It is about 12 leagues long, and 3 or 4 broad. The south end of it is pretty high, with steep cliffs against the sea; the rest of the island is low, flat, and even. § The mould of it is black and deep, and it is very well watered with small running streams. It produceth abundance of tall trees, fit for any uses; for the whole bulk of it seems to be but one entire grove. But that which adds most to its beauty off at sea, are the many spots

* Nankauri (?)

+ Dalrymple, in his Oriental Repertory, states, that Captain Weldon surveyed the Nicobars in 1687, and sent the survey, together with a history of the islands, by a Spanish priest to the East India Company. It does not appear to have been ever printed.

The parallel of 7° N. lat. bisects the island.

§ In this sentence of his description, Dampier's observations are incorrect.

R

of coconut trees which grow round it in every small bay. The bays are half a mile or a mile long, more or less, and these bays are intercepted or divided from each other with as many little rocky points of woodland.

"As the coconut trees do thus grow in groves, fronting to the sea, in the bays, so there is another sort of fruit-tree in the bays, bordering on the back side of the coco trees, farther from the sea. It is called by the natives a melory tree.* This tree is as big as our large apple trees, and as high. It hath a blackisht rind and a pretty broad leaf. The fruit is as big as the breadfruit at Guam, or a large penny loaf. It is shaped like a pear, and hath a pretty tough smooth rind of a light-green colour. The inside of the fruit is in substance much like an apple, but full of small strings as big as brown thread. I did never see of these trees anywhere but here.

"The natives of this island are tall, well-limbed men ; pretty long visaged, with black eyes; their noses middle-proportioned, and the whole symmetry of their faces agreeing very well. Their hair is black and lank, and their skins of a dark copper colour. The women have no hair on their eyebrows. I do believe it is plucked up by the roots, for the men had hair growing on their eyebrows as other people.

"The men go all naked; only a long, narrow piece of cloth or sash, which, going round their waists, and thence down between their thighs, is brought up behind and tucked-in at that part which goes about the waist. The women have a kind of a short petticoat, reaching from their waists to their knees.

"Their language was different from any that I ever heard before; yet they had some few Malayan words, and some of them had a word or two of Portuguese, which, probably, they

* "Larum." If they called it so, the name was probably acquired from Portuguese visitors.

+ Always greyish-white.

This is the true bread-fruit (Artocarpus incisa), which does not grow in the Nicobars, and with which the fruit of the pandanus is nominally confounded by the English-speaking natives and by several of those Europeans who have visited the Archipelago.

DAMPIER'S SOJOURN IN GREAT NICOBAR 259

might learn aboard of their ships passing by this place; for when these men see a sail, they do presently go aboard of them in their canoes. I did not perceive any form of religion that they had; they had neither temple or idol, nor any manner of outward veneration to any deity, that I did see.

They inhabit all round the island by the seaside, in the bays, there being four or five houses, more or less in each bay. Their houses are built on posts, as the Mindanayans. They are small, low, and of a square form. There is but one room in each house, and this room is about 8 feet from the ground; and from thence the roof is raised about 8 feet higher. But instead of a sharp ridge, the top is exceeding neatly arched with small rafters about the bigness of a man's arm, bent round like a half-moon, and very curiously thatched with palmetto leaves.*

"They live under no government that I could perceive, for they seem to be equal, without any distinction; every man ruling in his own house. Their plantations are only those coconut trees which grow by the seaside, there being no cleared land farther in on the island; for I observed that when past the fruit-trees, there were no paths to be seen going into the woods. The greatest use which they make of their coco-trees is to draw toddy from them, of which they are very fond.

"The melory trees seem to grow wild. They have great earthen pots to boil the melory fruit in, which will hold 12 or 14 gallons. These pots they fill with the fruit, and, putting in a little water, they cover the mouth of the pot with leaves to keep the steam while it boils. When the fruit is soft, they peel off the rind and the pulp from the strings, with a flat stick made like a knife, and then make it up into great lumps as big as a Holland cheese, and then it will keep six or seven days. It looks yellow, and tastes well, and is their chiefest food; for they have no yams, potatoes, rice nor plantains (except a very few), yet they have a few small hogs, and a very few *This type of house is still built. See photograph taken at Pulo Milo, p. 124.