Acheen. MS'- 



martial race than tlie rest, nnd these latter naturally g-ave in. 

 So they rowed South, till the wind shifted and then they ran 

 straight on to Pilo Milu at the head of the little Nicohar. By 

 this time they were short of provisions and water. Khoda 

 Buksh was equal to the occasion ; Pilo Milu had heen visited, 

 twice in old days by European ships, by the Austrian Frig-ate 

 Novara, and the Danish Galatea, and later, when we took posses- 

 sion of the Nicobars, in Colonel Mann's time, an Officer from 

 Camorta had gone down in a boat and erected a flagstaft' there. 

 Khoda Buksh had gone down I believe with this Officer. He 

 now landed, and informed the Nicobarese that he had come to 

 inspect the flagstaff. The Nicobarese had no objection — putting' 

 up flagstaves and then coming two or three years later to inspect 

 them, was an idiotic amusement, quite in keeping with their 

 conceptions of European character — it pleased us and it didn't 

 hurt them — and so they conducted him to the flagstaff, (to which. 

 he made several polite salaams), gave him water,, cocoanuts, 

 fowls, and saw him depart with mingled feelings of " did you 

 ever," and " what next T' Before leaving, however, he said " there 

 will be a steamer with two white funnels down here soon, mind 

 you give this letter to the Sahib on board."" In this letter, 

 which he addressed to General Stewart, he gave the names of all 

 the men with him, remarked that all were well and very happy, 

 that he was well provisioned and was going South. South he 

 went, beached the boat at Acheen Head, and then and there 

 started off with his four companions and one of the twelve, un- 

 willing fugitives, onward by land. Five or six days afterwards 

 the fifth returned, he had been unable to keep up with Khoda 

 Buksh and party, who knew thoroughly that no time was to be 

 lost. Nothingmoi'e has been since heard, I believe, of these men. 

 They were brave, resolute, strong, and are said to have had a 

 thousand Rupees between them, and may, for all I know, yet turn 

 up some day as Sultans of New Guinea, or Kings of the Canni- 

 bal Islands. The remaining twelve loafed about, sold the boat 

 worth some $200 for $40, and endeavoured (and I understand- 

 not without success) to make themselves jolly under the un-- 

 toward circumstances of being their own masters. 



In the mean time Davison, who was collecting for me in the 

 Andamans and whom General Stewart had kindly taken with 

 him for a cruise through the Nicobars, arrived with the General 

 at Camorta. Thei'e they at once heard of the escape, and steamed 

 South, enquiring at all the islands until at Pilo Milu, Khoda, 

 Buksh's letter was duly delivered. Thence they went on to 

 Acheen, found the boat, and after some negotiation with the 

 Sultan, recovered her and the twelve rupaway^. 



