39 



fort bearing a name of historic interest at the mouth. 

 Devicotta, Tranquebar, Karaikal, Nagore, and Negapatam are 

 the chief of these and, save in the case of the last named, 

 are subject to the same causes of decay which have robbed 

 Porto Novo of its prosperity. 



The Coleroon opens some 4 miles south of Porto Novo 

 and if the bar were navigable the broad river within would 

 form a most magnificent harbour. As it is, the river opens 

 into the sea over a wide shallow bar on which the surf breaks 

 heavily for a considerable distance owing to the shallowness 

 of the sea in the immediate vicinity. Much silt is brought 

 down during floods, forming extensive shoals seaward of the 

 entrance ; the tendency of the river mouth to move northwards 

 is very pronounced. 



11. Tirumalavasal, 13 miles north of Tranquebar, is the 

 next port to be reached. One of the branches of the Cauvery 

 discharges into the sea near the town, but like the mouth of 

 the Coleroon, this entrance is somewhat variable. A fair 

 amount of trade is carried on chiefly with coasters which lie off 

 the port and are served by a number of cargo boats which cross 

 the bar into the river to load. At low water a depth of 2 to 

 2\ feet of water is found on the bar at the times when it 

 is open. During the last of the hot weather the bar usually 

 closes, reopening as soon as the monsoon floods arrive. In 

 regard to accessibility the river is rather better than 1hat at 

 Negapatam, but scarcely so good as at Cuddalore or Porto 

 Novo. 



12. Tranquebar, once the busy port of the principal Danish 

 settlement in India, comes next in order in our progress down 

 the coast. At the present day sea-borne trade has practically 

 abandoned the port, and the river is scarcely ever used by 

 coasting craft. 



For specially designed shallow draft fishing boats the bar 

 presents no particular difficulties, while the river within offers 

 snug shelter. During the greater part of the year the bar 

 carries about 2 feet of water at low tide, with 4 to 4j feet at 

 high water of spring tides. A considerable number of hardy 

 fishermen live outside the town and do a large curing trade at 

 certain seasons, helped substantially in this by the proximity 

 of the large salt factory maintained by Government at this 

 centre. These men in common with other fishermen betw r een 

 here and Negapatam already have some acquaintance with 

 deep-sea fishing and have already experienced the need 

 for larger and more stable craft than their ordinary three- 

 log catamarans. I found that from the end of May to 



