PART II

CHAPTER I

Position

THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS AND THEIR INHABITANTS

Area

Soundings Relationship — Islands Great Andaman Mountains-Little Andaman-Rivers-Coral Banks-Scenery-Harbours -Timber-Flora-Climate - Cyclones-Geology-Minerals - Subsidence -Earthquakes-History-Aborigines-Convicts and the Penal SystemGrowth and Resources of the Settlement-Products and Manufactures. THE Andamans, which together with the Nicobars form one of the minor dependencies of our Indian Empire, are situated in the Bengal Sea, between the parallels of 10° 30′ and 14° 15′ N. latitude, and the meridians 92° 10' and 93° 30′ E. longitude, where they lie in a N. by E. direction. To the west the coast of Madras is some 700 miles distant, and eastward Tenasserim, bordered by the islands of the Mergui Archipelago, lies about 320 miles away. Intervening between them and Sumatra to the south lies the Nicobar group, and before Cape Negrais in Burma is reached the little island of Preparis must be passed.

Close to Cape Negrais terminate the Arakan Hills, one of a series of ranges that run down from the Eastern Himalayas ; and just south of Acheen Head we have the Gunong Mas, Batu Mukuruh, and other mountains; therefore, looking at a map of the district, it seems difficult to avoid the conclusion that the whole of the islands last enumerated are nothing less than a continuation southward of the Arakan Hills.

But although they form a chain that seems to indicate a

past union of Sumatra and Burma, investigation proves that this is far from being the case. For soundings in this part of the ocean show that between the Nicobars and the group of islands adjacent to the north-east point of Sumatra-entering from the open sea to the west, and thence trending north between the Andamans and Malay Peninsula almost as far as the latitude of Narkondam-there runs a long tongue of depressed ocean bed with depths everywhere over 1000 fathoms. This fact, together with the shallowness of the sea-bottom around and connecting the Andamans with the Arakan Yoma Peninsula, suggests the inference that the former were at one time past the termination of a seaward extension from Cape Negrais of the Arakan Yoma Range · a conclusion that is in some degree emphasized by the zoological and botanical conditions common to the two.

The principal islands are, Great and Little Andaman, Rutland and the Labyrinths, the Archipelago, North Sentinel, Interview Island, Landfall Island, and the Cocos, but there are many smaller adjacent, while to the eastward are the off-lying volcanic islets of Narkondam and Barren Island. The total area of the group is 2508 square miles.*

Great Andaman-in which may be included Landfall and Rutland Islands, for the whole land mass is so compact and divided up by such narrow shallow straits that it appears to be one single island that has been broken up by subsidence and adjoining volcanic action—is 142 miles long, and 17 miles broad at its widest point.

There are generally stated to be two straits, but as one of them bifurcates, the Great Andaman proper is really cut into four parts.

Austin Strait, which divides North from Middle Andaman, is very narrow and intricate, and not to be traversed by boats at low tide; but the Andaman Strait,-generally 2 to 3 cables wide-which separates South from Middle Andaman at a spot where the hills are lower than elsewhere, although intricate, and possessing a bar at its eastern mouth with a depth of 9 or 10 * This was the estimated area before Col. Hobday's survey of 1883-5.

GREAT ANDAMAN MOUNTAINS

169

feet at low water, has depths from 10 to 14 fathoms throughout the narrower part, and nowhere less than 3 fathoms at low water. The stream is never strong, and the R.I.M.S. Investigator passed through three times while surveying the islands in 1888.

Homfray Strait cuts off Báratáng Island from Middle Andaman, and joins the Andaman at its western mouth. It is intricate and rocky, but has good depths, except at the eastern entrance, where there is a broad bar of 8 feet. The tidal stream is weak, and the narrowest part is 60 yards across.

The surface of Great Andaman is extremely irregular, and a central range of mountains runs from north to south, with an escarped face on the east, and a sloping declivity on the west, where marshy localities abound.

The highest point is Saddle Hill (2400 feet) in North Andaman Mount Harriet (1200 feet) stands on the north shore of Port Blair; and Ford's Peak, in Rutland Island, rises 1400 feet; while there are half a dozen unnamed summits with heights between 1000 feet and 1700 feet.

Narkondam rises 2330 feet, from an oval-shaped base whose greatest diameter is 2 miles, and the crater walls of Barren Island, 2 square miles in area, attain an elevation of 1158 feet.

Little Andaman, some 25 miles south of Rutland, 23 miles long and 17 miles wide, with an area of about 220 square miles, is, on the contrary, level throughout, and gradually rises to a height of 600 feet in the centre. None of the other islands save Rutland attain this elevation.

Owing to its shape and conformation, there are no rivers and but few streams on Great Andaman, and during the dry season— January to April-there is some scarcity of water. Several creeks, however, are of sufficient depth to allow passage of boats for some distance into the interior. In the South Andaman the greater part of the drainage runs into the creeks, which ultimately leads off to the eastern shore, and in the North and Middle Andaman the bulk of the drainage seems to flow through gaps in the eastern range.

Little Andaman is swampy in many parts, and possesses a few small creeks.

On the western side, in which direction Great Andaman slopes gradually, banks of coral occur at distances of 20 and 25 miles from land. There are three of these, varying in length from 9 to 25 miles, all composed of dead coral and sand, with here and there single bunches of live coral 1 or 2 feet high. The water, which is so clear that on a calm day 8 or 9 fathoms looks like 20 feet, varies in its least depths from 3 to 6 fathoms, and, judged from the appearance of the bottom and the absence of reef-building coral, it seems probable that the surface débris of the banks is disturbed by the send of the sea, and that the rollers topple and break on the middle bank in the south-west monsoon, though they may not do so on the others.

This western coast is fully exposed to the south-west monsoon, and is by no means a desirable locality to be in at that

season.

Dalrymple Bank, of the same nature, lies adjacent to Little Andaman, on the same side; but Invisible Bank, to the eastward, has depths of 17 to 50 fathoms, with a rock awash in the centre. This is of bluish-grey sandstone, so that the Bank, taking into account its irregular surface and the rapidly-increasing depths around, may be considered a submerged mountain-range, of the same formation as the oldest part of the Andamans-of which, Flat Rock, an isolated peak, rises alone above the sea. All these banks probably formed islands, or part of the Andamans, when the latter stood at a higher elevation than they do to-day.

Throughout the Archipelago the scenery is of exceeding beauty. The picturesquely undulating surface is clad everywhere, save where artificial clearings have been made, with the most luxuriant jungle, for, situated within the tropics, with a fertile soil, and a climate that for two-thirds of the year is somewhat moist, the islands are covered from hill-top to seabeach with an unbroken mantle of dense vegetation, rendered almost impenetrable by cane-brakes and undergrowth of rattans and other creepers. All along the shores are either stretches of

yellow sand or brilliant green mangroves, and the seas round the islands are of the clearest water imaginable.

The coast-line is everywhere deeply indented, and affords a number-most unusual for such a small group of deep-water harbours and other anchorages, where complete shelter can be found for large ships in all weathers and seasons. The most known and the best-although Port Cornwallis is nearly as good, and has the advantage of being some twelve hours' steaming nearer to Calcutta and Rangoon-is Port Blair, where the Settlement has been placed; but on the same coast of Great Andaman are many others, the more important being, Macpherson's Straits, Shoal Bay, Port Meadows, Colebrooke Passage, and Stewart's Sound. On the west coast are situated, Port Andaman, Kwang-tung Harbour, Ports Campbell and Mouat, while in the Archipelago perfect anchorage is to be found either in Outram Harbour or in Charka-Juru,* Kwang-tung Strait, or Tadma-Juru.

These are well distributed all along the coasts, and were the Andamans situated in some position of greater political or commercial importance, they would form an invaluable possession for this reason. As it is, the islands are exploited merely as a convict establishment-an Indian Botany Bay-and the only industry of any magnitude appertaining to them is that of timber, for which indeed the harbours are very convenient, as the forests worked are all in the neighbourhood of the seashore, or are so placed that after the trees are felled the logs can be hauled by elephants to the many creeks, and floated down to where the vessels engaged in the business are anchored.

The geographical conditions, and more especially the Tertiary sandstone of which the large area of the islands consists, point to a former connection with Arakan, and, in accordance with these indications, it is found that the bulk of the flora is Burmese; but the forest trees are finer, being very lofty and straight, while not a few purely Malayan species find their northern limit in the Andamans. The flora is not related to "Juru," Andamanese=Sea.

*