2U NICOBAR ISLANDS AND ABORIGINES 



harbour, and for a time also lived on Trinkat ; but after three 

 years he returned to Europe, and some time later published his 

 experiences. 



The year Rosen left, two Catholic missionaries arrived at 

 Kar Nicobar from Malacca, and lived on Teressa and Kamorta, 

 but after a time one of them, Borie, died of fever, and the 

 survivor left. This was the last of the series of missionary 

 endeavours to found a settlement and convert the inhabitants. 



In 1845, Mr Mackay, Danish Consul at Calcutta, chartered 

 a schooner and made a voyage to the group in search of coal, 

 which was prospected for without success.* 



A year later the Danish corvette Galathea,-\ voyaging round 

 the world, spent some months among the islands, and her 

 commander, Steen Bille, took possession of the central group 

 for Denmark, and invested two natives with the insignia of 

 chief magistrates. Two years afterwards, however, the Valkyrien 

 was sent to the islands to bring away the flags and batons, 

 and the last of several ineffective annexations came to an end. 

 The Galathea expedition surveyed much of the coasts, sought 

 for coal and other minerals, and named the principal river the 

 " Galathea." 



In 1858 the Austrian frigate Novara% spent a month in the 

 group, during which, half the time was passed at sea. Many 

 parts hitherto unsurveyed were charted by them, and valuable 

 knowledge as to the ethnographical and geological conditions 

 of the islands was obtained. 



The islands were finally taken possession of by the Indian 

 Government in 1869 — the British had officially annexed the 

 group in 1807, but not occupied it — and a settlement was formed 

 at Nankauri Harbour to check the piratical proceedings of that 

 place, and although this was given up in 1888, after it had served 

 its purpose, the history of the Nicobars is now bound up with that 

 of the Andamans, to which they are affiliated. 



* H. Busch's Journal of a Cruise round the Nicobars. 



t Corvettcn Galathea^ s Jordourseiling, Steen Bille, 2 vols., Kjobenhaven, 1852. 



+ Voyage of the Novara^ Dr Karl Scherzer, 3 vols., London, 1862. 



