402 Incidents of Foreign Field Sport. 



them, and I employed them as workmen. I had one 

 European with me, a splendid specimen of a Scotch- 

 man, a master quarryman by trade. He could barely 

 read or write, but was thoroughly master of his trade ; 

 with a few blows of his hammer he would break a 

 block of stone to the requisite size and shape, 

 whereas our native stonecutters would take twenty 

 hours to do the same. Moreover, he could carry and 

 place in position a stone which four ordinary natives 

 could not move. He was perfectly sober and to 

 be depended upon to carry out his duties. So I 

 placed him on Table Island with the convicts, and 

 took up my own abode on the north end of the Great 

 Coco Island, where there was a natural bay that 

 served as harbour for a boat, and fresh water, 

 which was wanting on the opposite Island. There 

 had formerly been a settlement on the Great Coco, 

 but it had totally failed. The Europeans and 

 Eurasians with one exception died, and the sole 

 survivor was only rescued in time. When the 

 settlers took possession of this isle, they took 

 numerous pigs, both English and Chinese ; these 

 soon ran wild and were very numerous when I was 

 there. They were then still parti-coloured, but very 

 large and very fierce, and as they lived almost 

 exclusively on the fallen cocoanuts they were 

 delicious eating, and as fat as butter. As a place 

 of residence the Great Coco is not half bad. It is 

 about seven miles long, and about two in breadth. 

 The shores to the north, east, and south are low, 

 covered densely with cocoa palms to a depth of a 

 quarter to a half mile. The west face has a ridge 

 running down from north to south, which is covered 



