Sudden disappearance of the Native Females. 39 



offered to our view. The Frencliman already mentioned had 

 indeed apprized the inhabitants of our arrival, and had endea- 

 voured to explain to them our friendly intention, but it was in 

 vain, — the greater portion of the population had taken to flight, 

 and only dogs and armed men were left behind. Here also 

 we could not see a single woman. However, we were in- 

 formed by M. Tigard, who lived several weeks in the village 

 of Kankena, and had been treated by the natives as one of 

 themselves, that the Nicobar women have their hair cut quite 

 short, and simply wind round their dusky bodies, all smeared 

 with oil, a piece of white or red calico at the loins. They are 

 generally ugly, but strictly vii-tuous, and regard the Eu- 

 ropeans as an inferior race, as compared with their native 

 lords. 



■ As we were making for the land in what is called Komios 

 Bay, near the village of the same name (situate according to 

 our observations in 9° 37' 32" N. Lat. and 92° 43' 42" E. Long.), 

 a number of stalwart natives approached us from the forest, 

 one of whom, who called himself Captain Wilkinson, proved 

 to be the most intelligent and graceful of their number. He 

 was extremely eager to give us a lot of information resj)ecting 

 the more southerly islands of the Nicobar Archipelago, with 

 which the inhabitants of the southern coast appear to carry 

 on more extensive commerce than those on the northern 

 shore. Dm-ing the N.E. monsoons, canoes occasionally start 

 hence for the islands of Teressa, Bampoka, and ChoAvry. 

 Wilkinson himself once visited these islands in the barque 



