CHAPTER II 



PORT BLAIR 



We enter the Harbour — Surveillance — Ross Island Pastimes — Visit the Chief 

 Commissioner — The Harbour — Cellular Jail — Lime Kilns — Phcenix Bay — 

 Hopetown — Murder of Lord Mayo — Chatham Island — Haddo and the 

 Andamanese — Tea Gardens — Viper Island and Jail — The Convicts — 

 Occupations — Punishments — Troops — Departure. 



A FRESH breeze from the north raised an army of dancing 

 white-caps on the sea, as, rolling along with the wind astern, we 

 made the run to Port Blair in about seven hours. 



Easily picking up the Settlement while some distance off, on 

 account of its proximity to Mount Harriet — a pointed hill rising 

 about 1 200 feet — we came to anchor to the south of the j'etty inside 

 Ross Island, and were immediately boarded by one of the native 

 police — a representative of which body was always on board 

 during the day throughout our stay. This measure is taken to 

 see that the crews of vessels in the harbour hold no communica- 

 tion with the convicts, and also for the prevention of smuggling. 



Soon afterwards the doctor and port officer came aboard : 

 both these gentlemen seemed at first to regard us with some 

 suspicion, and indeed by this time, more than two months out 

 from port, we were certainly a rather ruffianly looking party. 



The island of Ross is situated at the mouth of the harbour, 

 and tends greatly towards its protection. It is hilly, about 200 

 acres in area, and is divided into two almost equal parts by a wall 

 running east and west across it ; the southern portion is occupied 

 by the barracks of the convicts, and the other contains the head- 

 quarters of the Settlement. 



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