oct. — mar. 1859-60.] Report on the Laccadive Islands. 253 



35. Annually a portion of the shore near the north end and 



within the lagoon is Avashed away 

 and deposited on the shore near 

 the south end, also within the la- 

 goon 10 or 12 feet of ground in 

 width and about 200 yards in 

 length, with the cocoanut trees 

 growing on it, is thus annually 

 removed from the narrowest parts 



of the island, and, if this continues at the same rate for 10 years 

 more, this part will probably have been wholly washed away and 

 the island will be of a far more round shape than at present. 



36. At the south east corner of the island among heaps of co- 

 ral stones (which appear to have been but little broken up or dis- 

 turbed since placed there by the sea centuries ago,) and in the jun- 

 gle where there are few cocoanut trees, there are some small 

 chambers which have been constructed under ground at an un- 

 known period, most of them are about 4 feet high, 3 wide and 10 

 or 12 long, many are smaller, they are but little removed from the 

 surface; the walls (like most others on the island) are built of 

 loose natstones laid one upon another and at the top of the pass- 

 age they are made to approach each other and form a kind of arch, 

 over which are laid large flat stones and over this 3 inches of loose 

 stones, no bone or other trace of man has been found in them ex- 

 cept a folded up sack which crumbled when touched (I could learn 

 no particulars of the nature of the sack) and the shells of a kind of 

 fish which has been eaten from time immemorial by the people of 

 the island, there are about 50 of these, and it may be surmised that 

 they were used as temporary places of concealment during incur- 

 sions of pirates, kc , time has not in any way cemented together the 

 stones above and around these passages or holes. 



Karkadaiim, Singarn, Kannee, ., . , . „ 



37. Winds.— In -J^— A^T Setpember the wmd 18 from 



the west, rather squally, with showers : In l^olam. d Vnshigom, 



October 1U November 



it blows from all four quarters. In J han0 ° and M>jarom f 



December January 



east and north-east with Bhowers in some years. In Kumb^h, 



February 



The storm which devastated the ] 

 Laccadives (in 1847) burstthrough 

 the north strip of this island at a 

 spot 1 00 yards from the end, where 

 it is 31 yards wide, and 3 yards 

 high, in a year or two the sea V 

 ceased to flow through a^'d it has 

 since thrown up a bank of stones, 

 the same storm formed a small 

 islet near the entrance to the la- 

 goon. 



