PART II 



CHAPTER I 



THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS AND THEIR INHABITANTS 



Position — Soundings — Relationship — Islands — Area — Great Andaman 

 Mountains — Little Andaman — Rivers — Coral Banks — Scenery — Harbours 

 — Timber — Flora — Climate — Cyclones— Geology — Minerals — Subsidence 

 — Earthquakes — History — Aborigines — Convicts and the Penal System- 

 Growth and Resources of the Settlement — Products and Manufactures. 



The Andamans, which together with the Nicobars form one 

 of the minor dependencies of our Indian Empire, are situated 

 in the Bengal Sea, between the parallels of io° 30' and 14° 15' 

 N. latitude, and the meridians 92° 10' and 93° 30' E. longitude, 

 where they lie in a N. by E. direction. To the west the coast of 

 Madras is some 700 miles distant, and eastward Tenasserim, 

 bordered by the islands of the Mergui Archipelago, lies about 

 320 miles away. Intervening between them and Sumatra to 

 the south lies the Nicobar group, and before Cape Negrais in 

 Burma is reached the little island of Preparis must be 

 passed. 



Close to Cape Negrais terminate the Arakan Hills, one of 

 a series of ranges that run down from the Eastern Himalaj'as ; 

 and just south of Acheen Head we have the Gunong Mas, Batu 

 Mukuruh, and other mountains ; therefore, looking at a map of 

 the district, it seems difficult to avoid the conclusion that the 

 whole of the islands last enumerated are nothing less than a 

 continuation southward of the Arakan Hills. 



But although they form a chain that seems to indicate a 



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