THE ISLANDS OF THE BAY OF BENGAL. 69 



Directly we passed Bird Island and opened np the mouth of 

 the Straits, we found the breeze freshen and could see the heavy- 

 surf beating on Bird-nest Cape. As we neared Escape Bay, 

 the barge, ' a great clumsy, dockyard sort of thing, began to 

 roll about in a rather helpless way, and moreover to pitch so 

 ■vigorously that the screw was continually entirely out of 

 water. The barge, an iron one, was very broad, her bows 

 reminding one no little of those of the fair craft we had so 

 recently parted company with. She was, however, very strong 

 and sound, well decked, with only two hatchways, which we 

 secured and covered with tarpaulin, and the engines in a 

 separate compartment aft. There were no bulwarks, only 

 stanchions and ropes, and as we got out of the Straits we found 

 a very nasty jerky cross sea that deluged us. M., a thorough 

 seaman, who had taken charge of the barge, directly she 

 showed an inclination to be too lively, piloted us out however 

 all safely, to where about a mile out the old Scotia was lying off 

 and on, waiting for us. Everything had been stowed below, 

 but how none of our people went overboard is more than I 

 know. The old barge would lie over on one side till her deck was 

 at an angle of 60°, then stand almost on her nose, her screw far 

 out of water, rattling round a hundred to the minute, then 

 sweep round till she was gunwale under on the other side, and 

 lastly heel down at the stern, so that it was touch and go that 

 the engine compartment, which of course was open, did not fill. 

 However we got her all safe alongside the Scotia, on board 

 of which we and all our traps were safely shipped, and then 

 we bid farewell to our convict captain, (the old Pathan) and 

 his convict crew, who steamed away due north to Port Blair, 

 while we shaped our course southwards for the Nicobars. 



We steamed away all day and night ; the Scotia is a dear old 

 thing, and one of the strongest vessels for her size, that ply 

 to and fro Calcutta, but rapidity is not her forte ; still very 

 early next morning Ave sighted Tillano-chong. This island is 

 long and in shape much like the Italian Peninsular, It 

 has a high central mountain ridge, mostly densely wooded, 

 but with some few bare grassy slopes such as are un- 

 known in the Andamans, though characteristic of the Northern 

 Nicobars. The foot points south, the heel lies east, the toe 

 westward. We landed just at the instep. As we neared the 

 shore we noticed numbers of cocoanut palms, of which none are 

 found wild in any part of the Andaman group. The beach, a 

 rather steep one, the usual white coral, studded with numerable 

 shells, was soon crossed, and then we found ourselves in a dense 



