1846.] Notice of the Nicobar Islands. 357 



a place for the stores, and making roads ; they have planted samples 

 of sugar-cane, coffee, nutmegs, &c. It appears that the luxuriant growth 

 of these plants exceeds the planter's expectation. 



I entertain very little doubt, that the Danes will finally succeed in 

 colonizing the Nicobar Islands ; but great patience is required, and much 

 money is to be expended for clearing the land. The fever, which attacks 

 the natives, and particularly foreigners trading thereto, especially when 

 they sleep on shore, is to be no doubt attributed partly to the dense 

 thick forest covering the ground. Of the four French Missionaries who 

 lived at Teressa, one of them died of fever soon after his arrival ; a 

 second one, after having been laid up with the same disease for more 

 than a year, breathed his last at Mergui. The two surviving are still 

 lingering under the same complaint, although they have left Teressa 

 • almost two years since. The natives of Car-Nicobar, when attacked 

 with fever, rub themselves all over before a fire with hogs' lard. I do 

 not know how far this remedy, which affords relief to those Islanders, 

 would succeed with foreigners. 



Should the Danish Government wish to go on with the colony, the 

 best plan in my humble opinion would be, to employ Malays or Siamese 

 to clear the forest ; they are the people most fit for that purpose ; the 

 Chinese are most certainly the best cultivators amongst the Asiatics, 

 but not being accustomed to the clearing of jungle, their work in that 

 line would not compensate for the high salary which they receive. They, 

 being accustomed to live on a good and abundant food, would certainly 

 prove a heavy burden on a new settlement, such as the Nicobar, where 

 provisions are, with so great a difficulty, to be had. The planters of 

 Penang, having been annoyed by the importunities of the Chinese la- 

 bourers, who are never satisfied with their present condition, have partly 

 employed labourers from the Coromandel Coast ; these coolies are a 

 hard-working people, receive low wages, and are not impertinent towards 

 their employers as the Chinese commonly are. It would be very easy 

 for the Danish Government to procure labourers from the Coromandel 

 Coast : rice and salt-fish being their food, they would be a lesser burden 

 to the colony. Should Government take a couple of hundred Malays 

 about the end of October, they would be able to cut down a consider- 

 able extent of the forest before the end of January : then their services 

 might be dispensed with. In March or April fire could be set to the 



