26 V. Ball — Volcanos of the Bay of Bengal. 



feet, given on the chart, as authentic. This, it will he seen by the 

 sequel, I do not now adopt as coi'rect. In the Indian Observer for 

 the 10th of May, 1873, a short account of the present visit will be 

 found. 



General Description of Narkondam. — Viewed from the north-west 

 at a distance of about four or five miles, the island of Narkondam 

 appears to consist of a tolerably regular cone which rises from an 

 interrupted ring of irregularly piled masses. The apex is some- 

 what truncated, but has three distinct peaks. On the occasion in 

 1869 when I first saw the island, a dense mass of cloud rested on 

 the top, as is indicated in the accompanying illustration. I was 

 then unable to make out the character of the summit. But when 

 subsequently seen, it was observed that there were three peaks as 

 represented in the rough sketches published by Mr. Kurz and Dr. 

 McClelland. The upper parts of the cone, and the sides for more 

 than half-way down, are deeply furrowed by ravines, and what 

 appears to be a low scrub jungle spreads uniformly over the island 

 save upon some vertical scarped faces. 



With the observers above mentioned, who did not land, the conical 

 form alone seems to have been accepted as sufficient proof of the 

 volcanic character of the island. Dr. McClelland, as noted above, 

 speaks of the lined appearance being " doubtless formed by lava- 

 currents descending from the crater to the base." These lines are, 

 however, simply the result of erosion, and mark the position of the 

 watercourses. 



The elevation of the summit of the cone has been variously 

 estimated at from 700 to 2,150 feet. Since, however, according to 

 Horsburgh, the island first becomes visible from the deck of a 

 steamer at a distance of from fourteen to fifteen leagues, it is 

 probaWe that about 1,300 feet would be nearer the true altitude, and 

 such indeed, judging by the eye, appears to be a very fair estimate. 



Those who have seen Stromboli from the north-east, can scarcely 

 fail to be struck with the extraordinary resemblance between it and 

 Narkondam as represented in the accompanying illustration. 



On the occasion of our visit in March, 1873, we landed in a small 

 bay on the north-west side of the island. At about 100 yards 

 distance from the beach the water became so shoal, owing to a coral 

 reef, that we were compelled to land on a raft. We soon found that 

 the jungle, which in the distant view appeared to consist mainly of 

 low scrub, was really composed of large forest trees with a thick 

 undergrowth. So dense was this, just above high-water mark, that 

 at first it seemed probable that it would be impossible to penetrate 

 it. Added to the natural density of the jungle, another obstacle 

 was presented by the prostrate condition of many of the trees, which 

 in their fall had carried down tangled masses of creepers and the 

 lower vegetation. It soon became apparent that at no very distant 

 period a violent hurricane or cyclone must have swept across the 

 island. An entrance was at last found, and for three hours, cutting 

 our way and making constant detours to avoid fallen trees, we 

 endeavoured to force onwards to the summit, but were at length 



