136 KONDUL AND GREAT NICOBAR 



He spoke English fairly, and said he was headman for the 

 west coast, producing a Port Register in support of his statement. 

 He formerly lived at Pulo Pet, but fled thence with his family 

 to Kondul to escape a raiding party of Shom Pen. 



The waters of the bay swarmed with shoals of little fish, 

 which were much preyed upon by the ikan parang,^ a long, 

 thin, sabre-shaped fish with a formidable set of teeth ; it is often 

 seen darting along above the surface of the water, which it 

 just flicks with its tail. Of the small fry we caught immense 

 quantities with a casting-net, and obtained larger varieties with 

 the seine, by fixing it on stakes across the mouth of the creek 

 at high water ; by the time the tide had fallen, several fish had 

 invariably become entangled in the meshes. 



On the loth we made sail, and proceeded a little further 

 along the coast to Ganges Harbour, anchoring just within its 

 eastern point. If the chart is correct, changes have taken place 

 on the coast since the last survey. We lay opposite a small 

 stretch of flat land, and where the plan gives the coast-line 

 nearly straight, a little bay now exists, where stand stumps 

 of dead trees, about which the low tides expose a broad expanse 

 of black mud. 



After wading through the mud to reach the shore, we found 

 that much of the low-lying ground was merely swamp. Part 

 however, was covered with tall, open jungle, in which were 

 numbers of pigeon and parrots. There were no monkeys, but 

 tupais [Tupaia nicobarica) were plentiful. These appear to be 

 entirely arboreal in habits, and are quite as active as squirrels 

 in running along branches, or climbing about amongst smaller 

 twigs in search of insects. Their cry is a sort of trilling squeak, 

 which is easily confounded with the call of a bird. 



In crossing to the further side we found plentiful traces of 

 Shom Pen — a faint path, a ruined hut, heaps of shells, and 

 split seed-cases of the Barringtonia speciosa. The edge of the 

 land was rapidly being eroded, and many tall casuarina trees, 

 with roots undermined by the water, lying prostrate in the sea. 

 * The ika7i parang is known to us as the "garfish." 



