ABBOTT COLLECTION FROM ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 477 



tails" were appendages on their belts of pandanus leaves, the nearest 

 approach to clothing worn by them (PL I, figs. 22 and 23), the men 

 not attempting to conceal their nakedness, but the women through 

 modesty suspending a few green leaves from their belts in the form 

 of a very small apron (PI. 1, fig. 16). 



Dr. Abbott reports that at the time of his visit there were over 

 10,000 convicts at Port Blair. By means of presents of cloth, food, 

 iron, and other things dear to the savage heart, the officials cultivate 

 friendly relations with the natives, who in return render the Govern- 

 ment the most important services in keeping the convicts in check. 

 Indeed, without the aid of the natives the station would have to be 

 abandoned. "The convicts," Dr. Abbott writes, "are naturally a 

 pretty bad lot. Were it not for their fear of the Andaman ese escape 

 would be very frequent, and in the vast, dense forests of the islands 

 recapture would be almost impossible; but with the Andamanese 

 recapture is certain. It is great fun for the little black men, who do 

 not hesitate to kill the runaway if he makes any resistance." 



ENVIRONMENT. 



The islands are watered by numerous streams at the mouths of 

 which, as on all tropical shores, are great areas covered with a tangled 

 growth of mangroves and their allies, flooded at high tide, but exposed 

 at low water. From the slimy, muddy tracts thus uncovered, over 

 which crabs and other shellfish crawl and the strange little air- 

 breathing fish, Periophthalmd, hop about, offensive odors rise and 

 malarial gases are exhaled. Elsewhere along the coast there are 

 stretches of white sandy beach upon which the natives wade, visiting 

 the fringing reefs for crustaceans, mollusks, and other marine animals 

 used by them for food. It is interesting to note that, with the excep- 

 tion of a few spots, evidently planted by the early colonists, cocoanuts 

 do not occur in the Andamans, and this is especially remarkable from 

 the fact that the conditions are favorable for their propagation. 



The interior is taken up with an almost impenetrable forest of lofty 

 trees, many of which yield fruit, fiber suitable for making nets and 

 cordage, resins, and excellent hardwood. 



Unlike the islands lying eastward of the Malay Peninsula, the 

 Andamans are separated from the continent by deep water. It is not 

 surprising, therefore, that the fauna should be poor in mammals. 

 With the exception of bats and, perhaps, a tree shrew, all of the 

 mammals of the group may possibly have been introduced through 

 human agency. The wild pig. Sus andamanensisj & small species, of 

 which the full-grown boars weigh about 90 pounds, is allied to forms 

 on the mainland and in Sumatra. The palm cat. /'"/-adoxurus tytleri, 

 an animal allied to the civets, may have escaped from vessels visiting 

 the islands or wrecked there, and the rats and shrews were brought 

 thither by junks. 



