XANCOWRY AND COMARTY* 1^$ 



jeant and three or four soldiers, a few black slaves, 

 and two rusty old pieces of ordnance, compose the 

 whole of their establishment. They have here two 

 houses, one of which, built entirely of wood, is their 

 habitation ; the other, formerly inhabited by their 

 missionaries, serves now for a storehouse. 



These islands are in general woody, but contain 

 likewise some portions of clear land. From the sum- 

 mits of their hills the prospects are often beautiful 

 and romantic. The soil is rich, and probably capa- 

 ble of producing all the various fruits and vegetables 

 common to hot climates. The natural productions 

 of this kind, which mostly abound, are cocoa-nuts* 

 paplas, plantains, limes, tamarinds, beetle-nuts, and 

 \hz meluri' i: -> a species of breadfruit > yams, and other 

 roots, are cultivated and thrive $ but rice is here un- 

 known. The t?iangostain-\.itZ) whose fruit is so justly 

 extolled, grows wild; and pine-apples of a delicious 

 flavour are found in the v/oods. 



The Nicobar isles are but thinly inhabited, and 

 some of them are not inhabited at alL Of those we 

 visited, Nancowty and Comarty appeared to be the 

 best peopled. There were thirteen villages, we were 

 told, upon both islands $ each village might contain, 

 upon an average, fifty or sixty people; so that the 

 whole population of these two will scarcely amount to 

 eight hundred. 



The natives of iXtuico-ztry, and of the JSicol\:r 

 islands in general, live on the sea-shores* and never 



* Mr. Fontama has given an accurate and learned description 

 cf this fruit. Vide Asiatic Researches, 3d vol. p. 161. 



K 3 erect • 



