THE ISLANDS OF THE BAY OF BENGAL. 73 



bad black bat, considers bimself in full dress, and is seriously 

 offended if not dubbed ei Captain." 



All day long we plougbed our way southwards passing near 

 to Meroe, Track, Treis, Montscball, the Little ISFicobar, Cabra and 

 running down the western coast of the Great Nicobar till 

 towards evening we were off Galatea Bay. As we neared the 

 latter we had some slight squalls ; the bay very broad and open 

 was ringed with a tremendous belt of surf, no chart of the bay 

 exists, and the evening was closing red, angry, and stormy, 

 with a heavy sea driving into the bay from the southward. 

 On the whole it seemed wisest not to attempt to run in, but 

 rather to lay off and on, well clear of the shore until daylight, 

 and this we decided to do much to the dissatisfaction of the 

 Philosopher who had a strong objection on principle to be 

 played ci pitch and toss" with. Throughout our trip as yet we 

 have seen no single sea bird, Gull or Tern, anyiohere about the 

 islands. At sunset, however, outside the bay, we came across 

 a floating log on which was perched a solitary Black-naped 

 Tern. (0. melanauchen) 



Running down the east coast of the Great Nicobar, the whole 

 island seemed a chain of densely-wooded hills, some of them 

 I should judge over 2,000 feet in height. There are reefs every- 

 where about these islands, and our worthy Captain is the 

 most cautious of mariners, so that we never approached within 

 a mile of the coast and had only a panoramic view. We ran 

 into Galatea Bay early (12th) ; a good deal of surf was still break- 

 ing on the white beach, but by the help of Captains Long and 

 Short and their canoe we all got safely ashore. Huge Barring- 

 tonias covered with yellow blossoms overhang the beach, which 

 Avas strewed with their large four-sided pyramidal fruit. My 

 companions all hurried away into the jungle ; my broken back 

 never permitted my attempting to keep up with them ; and as 

 soon as I was alone, pacing the shore slowly, the first thing 

 that struck me was that directly I stopped, the whole beach 

 around me moved, while when I moved the beach stood still. 

 The effect was for a few moments bewildering, but it was soon 

 understood. The whole beach was coated with a layer of dead 

 shells, and every other shell, big and little, contained a hermit 

 crab. These crabs w r ere of all sizes, there were millions and 

 billions of them ; they were as the sands of the shores they haunt, 

 or the stars in the sky ; their numbers were alike incredible and 

 bewildering ; from the w r aters edge well into the jungle, and in 

 and about every hole and cranny in all the outermost trees up to 

 heights of at least 20 feet, it was crabs, crabs ; crabs. A few 



