82 SUMMER ISLANDS AND A SUMMER SEA 



sea-worms, and Crustacea, and a few species of 

 mollusks and fishes, all of great rarity. 



Afterwards we landed on South Sentinel, a little 

 solitary islet not one square mile in extent, which, 

 small though it is, is of special interest as being one 

 of the few spots in Indian seas where the giant hermit- 

 crab, Birgus latrOy is found. Though the weather was 

 perfectly fine, and the open sea quite smooth, yet 

 there was quite enough surf breaking on the steep 

 and open beach to make landing a matter of some 

 trouble. In the clear, deep water close to shore, we 

 saw shoals of porpoises and turtles, but fortunately 

 there were no sharks, as we had to land in water 

 nearly neck deep. The island seems to be nothing 

 more than a coral-reef raised a few feet above high- 

 water mark, for loose coral rock crops up everywhere, 

 and even in its very centre we found masses of coral 

 whose specific structure was still quite plainly recog- 

 nisable. It is covered with huge forest trees, but 

 except for a thin belt of screw-pine near the shore, 

 there is no undergrowth, so that the jungle, unlike 

 that of most tropical islands, is easy and surprisingly 

 pleasant to walk in. The principal inhabitants of the 

 island are turtles, which only land at night to lay 

 their eggs ; huge water-lizards ( Varamts salvator), as 

 big as young crocodiles, which seek their prey upon 

 the reefs, and bask upon the burning beach ; and 

 land-crabs of many sorts, which rule the jungle. 



