110 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF INDIA. 



damp his ardour, only expressed in parting a hope that he might 

 not be drowned, adding that I felt less anxious, than I should 

 otherwise have done, owing to the firm conviction I entertained 

 that he was reserved for a more exalted fate. 



The cork cushions were about 6 feet apart, and across them, 

 was placed the companion ladder, on which the passenger was 

 perched. A lascar swam at each side of each of the cork 

 cushions. The raft progressed most favorably for some little 

 distance, riding most buoyantly on the swells. My friend turned 

 round to wave a half contemptuous, half compassionate farewell, 

 and the next moment the whole concern was caught in a good 

 curl, turned head over heels, two of the lascars were flung off in 

 one direction with their cork cushion, the other two in the opposite 

 direction with their's, the ladder turned topsyturvy, the passenger 

 disappeared. Altogether it was as good as any pantomimic 

 transformation scene I ever saw, and I grew so excited over it 

 that D. has since reproached me with the fact that the last words 

 he heard, as the dark waters closed above him, were shouts of 

 " bravo I" f < encore \" 



However he soon got on shore, and then by signs (forgiv- 

 ing mortal as he was) most kindly offered to send the raft back 

 for me. My extended fingers returned a courteous, but decided 

 negative to his invitation to land. I lit a cheroot and (aliquot 

 dormiatj SfG.) very soon fell asleep at the bottom of the boat. 

 When I woke wind and sea had lulled, the surf had subsided, 

 and I was able to get the boats in quite close to the beach. 

 The first party that landed had procured two specimens of the little 

 Hornbill, which I had seen so many of and that was all. They 

 had made desperate attempts to scale the hill, but found the 

 jungle impassable. They had found nothing but volcanic rocks, 

 but no recent lava and no certain evidence of the mountain 

 itself ever having been an active volcano. 



I should guess the island to be some six miles in circum- 

 ference, and about 1,200 feet in height at its highest point, 

 which is a rather short, truncated, irregular cone, seated between 

 two high, unequal shoulders, the northern one of which is pro- 

 longed for nearly a mile as a gradually sloping spur. 



Years ago Colonel Tytler had a number of goats and fowls 

 landed on this island (he did not land himself, indeed we 

 were, I believe, the first Europeans who ever did land here), but 

 we saw nothing of them, and as we all failed to find any, traces 

 even, of fresh water, it is probable that the poor things all died 

 soon after they were put ashore from the want of this necessary. 

 There is much reason to apprehend that vessels are not unfrequently 



