110 A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS 



from Gopalpur to Bimlipatam. Unfortunately this 

 coast is of very moderate interest. Away 20 miles 

 and more in the background are the Eastern Ghdts, 

 whose natal beauty is not entirely concealed by verdure, 

 and whose peaks, some of them, attain a height of 

 nearly 5000 feet, and look very fine in a cold weather 

 sunset. But the shore itself is as dry and bare as 

 the Sahara. Mile upon mile of drifting sand, broken 

 occasionally by a muddy creek with its treacherous 

 fringe of swamp, and the diurnal alternation of the 

 land and sea breeze make up the conditions of life 

 upon this dismal coast. For vegetation, there is the 

 creeping convolvulus [Ipomcea bilobd) with its leathery 

 leaves, the trailing "sea-pink" grass, the screw-pine, 

 and occasional groves of coconut palms : for animals, 

 there is the red Ocypode crab (Ocypoda macrocera), 

 with its mortal foes the jackal and the Brahminy 

 kite : for sounds, there is the everlasting thunder of 

 the surf. As for man, there are a few villages of 

 poor fishermen, who, however much or little they may 

 regard the scriptural exhortation as to meat and 

 drink, certainly take next to no thought wherewithal 

 they shall be clothed. There are, indeed, a few small 

 ports, such as Barwa, Calingapatam, and Bimlipatam ; 

 but such annals as they have belong, for the most 

 part, to the past, when the French and the Dutch 

 still had hopes of an Indian dominion, and they are 

 now of little interest except to the student of early 



