212 NICOBAR ISLANDS AND ABORIGINES 



and offering to pluck the same, it shrunk down into the ground, 

 and sinketh unless you hold very hard. And being plucked 

 up, a great worm is at the root of it : and look how the tree 

 groweth in greatness the worm diminisheth. Now as soon as 

 the worm is wholly turned into the tree it rooteth in the 

 ground, and so groweth to be great. This transformation is 

 one of the strangest wonders I saw in all my travels. For the 

 tree being plucked up little, the leaves stripped off, and the 

 pill by that time it was dry, turned into an hard stone, much 

 like to white coral ; so that the worm was twice transformed 

 with different natures : of these we gathered and brought home 

 many." * 



Towards the middle of the century, Koeping, a Swede, touched 

 at one of the islands in a Dutch vessel and thought he per- 

 ceived men with tails, "like those of cats, which they move in 

 the same manner," but he was deceived by the peculiar clothing. 

 He further credits the Nicobarese with cannibalism, for a 

 boat's crew of five men that went ashore never returned, but 

 next day their bones were found strewn over the beach ! f 

 Next, Dampier was put ashore by the privateer he piloted on 

 the N.W. coast of Great Nicobar, and after a short sojourn left 

 with his companions in a native canoe, and succeeded in reaching 

 Sumatra. 



The first recorded murder of a European by the natives 

 seems to be that of Captain Owen, who was wrecked on Tilan- 

 chong, and from thence taken to Nankauri, where he was put 

 to death on account of his ill-judged behaviour towards the 

 inhabitants. This incident is related by Hamilton in his account 

 of his own experiences in the East Indies from 1688 to 172^, I 

 where he gives a little information about the Nicobars. 



The first attempt at a settlement on the islands was made 

 by Jesuits on Kar Nicobar in 171 1, but they succumbed to the 

 climate, and the effects of such results as they had attained 

 to soon disappeared. Hitherto no efforts had been made to 



* Lancaster's "Three Voyages to the East Indies," Hakluyt Library. 



t Koeping, Stockholm, 1743. 



X Pinkerion! s Collection of Voyages. 



