72 TILANCHONG 



we found traces of visitors in the remains of two tumble-down 

 huts and a liberal scattering of pigs' skulls. 



We weighed anchor at lo A.M., but it was an hour and a half later 

 before we passed the two off-lying islets, for, every few seconds, 

 flaws of wind, coming over the high land, so changed in force 

 and direction that we could get no steerage way, but helplessly 

 boxed the compass all over the bay before we caught a steady 

 breeze. We found deep water between the islets close to the 

 southernmost ; everywhere else the ground seemed foul. With 

 a 3- knot breeze we sailed along the western shore, which at this 

 end is much lower than the north, and densely wooded, present- 

 ing to view several white beaches and groves of coco palms, 

 while not far from shore are numerous off-lying rocks that continue 

 in a south-easterly direction for about 3 miles from the end of 

 Tilanchong and terminate in a fair-sized islet, named Isle of 

 Man.* 



The island of Kamorta lies some 12 miles to the south, the 

 adjacent part rising in low grass-covered hills, with occasional 

 trees dotted about : along the coast runs a fringe of vegetation 

 and coconut trees, while in the centre, where the island is about 

 450 feet high, it is more thickly covered with forest. Trinkat, 

 closely adjoining it on the east, is very low, and from the sea, 

 seems overgrown with jungle. Darkness had fallen before we 

 reached the southern entrance of Beresford Channel, that runs 

 between it and Kamorta, and proceeding inwards for a short 

 distance, we anchored at 9.45 P.M. 



* After Mr E. H. Man, by Col. Strahan, R.E., when surveying the 

 Nicobars in 1886-7. 



