TERRAPIN BAY 67 



patches of luxuriant forest. We passed three small beaches, 

 above which grew a few coco palms, and then came to Novara 

 Bay, about 3 miles from the north end of the island, where 

 the Austrian frigate anchored in 1858. It was, however, on 

 account of the steepness of the land, an impracticable place for 

 collecting. South of this point the island is everywhere covered 

 with dense jungle, and for the next 4 miles expands to a breadth 

 of more than a mile, attaining in the centre its greatest 

 elevation in Maharani Peak, a little over 1000 feet in height. 

 A short distance further on, and opposite two rocky islets, 

 each about 80 feet high, we found a good anchorage, which, 

 being unnamed on the chart, was promptly christened 

 "Terrapin Bay." It affords fair protection in the north-east 

 monsoon, and shoals gradually from 12 fathoms to the beach. 

 The latter is about three-quarters of a mile long, and is divided 

 by a huge mass of rocks covered with casuarina trees, behind 

 which is a small stream of brackish water. Numerous coco 

 palms shade the beach, and beyond them is a stretch of flat, 

 jungle - covered land. Good water maybe obtained at a little 

 sandy spot beyond the rocks forming the northern point of 

 the bay. There is also an anchorage on the other side of 

 the island in Castle Bay. 



Tilanchong is 9 miles long and i^ miles broad at its widest 

 point, and has an area of about 7 square miles. It is rocky, 

 and everywhere covered with jungle, except in the north, and 

 in shape resembles a flying bird with the north and south 

 extremities as wings, and the broader part in the centre, head, 

 and body. 



Our landing at midday was a pleasant contrast to the 

 experiences of Kar Nicobar; the sea was fairly calm, and 

 damage to guns and ammunition was no longer to be feared. 

 On entering the jungle, which at first was somewhat thin, we 

 were immediately struck by the extreme fearlessness of the 

 birds, and the immense number of lizards, of a species peculiar 

 to this island {Gonyocephalus humeii), which abounded everywhere. 

 Every tree-trunk in the forest was the resting-place of two or 



