300 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COTTESWOLD CLUB 



impossibility to catch these fish, and "a naturaHst in the 

 Celebes" only succeeded in obtaining a specimen after 

 hours of labour and by the use of numerous nets. The 

 Andamanese are adepts in shooting fish with their curiously 

 shaped bow, and their plain, straight, unfeathercd arrow ; 

 I have watched them on the shore following by sight a 

 fish in the water, until it came within bow-shot, and then 

 with unerring aim transfix it, when the fish would float to 

 the surface ; I also saw another example of the wonderful 

 accuracy of their aim. We were canoeing along shore, 

 when suddenly the man at the bow jumped on to the 

 gunwale, and threw his long bamboo punting pole at a 

 " Pylaka," an ugly fish with a big mouth and teeth, which 

 later on in the day made me a capital dinner. 



I ought not to omit some mention of the shells for 

 which this coast is famous ; so much so that collections 

 are made and sold in India for the benefit of the Andaman 

 "Home." The varieties are numerous, beautiful in form 

 and colour. Perhaps the largest is a Nautilus, which 

 appears to be so common that I found them used as 

 bailers for the boats. 



One of the most interesting excursions that a stranger 

 here can take is that over the Corals amongst the 

 Labyrinth Islands. The forms and colours are glorious, 

 though I beheve that the corals are all of the ordinary 

 kinds. The dexterity of the little Andamanese is mar- 

 vellous ; they propel and guide the long " dug-out " 

 through narrow passages between rocks, which rise 

 all round, intermixed with peaks of coral mountains, at 

 low tide, without touching. Now and then circumstances 

 in the shape of a very strong current are against the 

 polers and the result is a bump ; and the few bumps that 

 I experienced made me feel uncommonly nervous, for had 

 I been turned out into the water, either by capsizing of 

 the canoe, or by dropping through a hole made in the 

 bottom by the rock, nothing would have saved my 

 life. 



