20 
most energetic of those who shot birds ; he paid hut little attention to other branches, relying 
principally upon the collections of invertebrates which were made by his servant. He was in 
truth “ on pleasure bent,” and while he thoroughly enjoyed himself, his good fellowship was 
the cause of not a little of the pleasure from the trip which was derived by others. One 
incident, of which he was the hero, deserves particular mention, though the facts cannot for 
want of ’space he detailed in full here. Having landed, towards evening, with some others of 
the party on the Island of Meru, one of the Nicobars, he became separated from them and 
was lost in the jungle. After several attempts by his companions to find him had failed, 
and news of his loss had been brought to the steamer, a regular search party was organised, 
and at length, by his replying to our shots, he was discovered about midnight, fairly hemmed 
in, in the midst of a thorny jungle into which he had wandered. 
The joyful news that he was found, and was unhurt, was conveyed to those who were on 
board by a preconcerted signal discharge of fire-arms, and by three such cheers as it may 
safely he said were never before heard in that island. 
The scene presented in that jungle, when seen by the lurid blue lights which we carried, 
and as the motley group of English, Indian Lascars, and Nicobarese stood on the white coral 
strand, is one which is not likely to be forgotten by any of those who were present. As a 
memento of the occasion we brought away a fine specimen of the gigantic crab known as the 
cocoa-nut thief, Birgns latro, which we interrupted in his nocturnal rambles, and when we had 
subsequent experience of the tremendous powers of his claws, it was a matter of congratu- 
lation that neither Stoliczka nor any one of the relief party had unwittingly placed his foot 
within their reach. Ominous rustlings in the jungle had caused Stoliczka, after he had given 
up all hope of finding his way out, to climb up a tree, and it was only when ho heard our 
shots that he descended in order to reply. The crab is now in the Calcutta Museum. 
Copious doses of quinine which were taken by all the party served, perhaps, to ward off 
what otherwise might have been the unpleasant consequences of this memorable night’s 
adventure. 
After visiting, on the return route, some of the smaller islands lying off the Andamans, the 
Cocos, Preparis, and the volcanoes of Barren Island and N arcondam, we returned to Calcutta 
by the end of March. 
It had been arranged that Stoliczka, together with some other members of the Geological 
Survey of India, was to go as a deputation to the Vienna Exhibition in charge of a large 
collection of minerals and fossils intended to represent the Geology of India. 
Eor Stoliczka it would afford an opportunity of re-visiting his home and seeing and con- 
ferring with his scientific friends ; it is needless to say, therefore, that he looked forward to it 
with the utmost pleasure and ardour, hut it was not to be, a still greater attraction presented 
itself. The Government having recently received an Envoy from the newly appointed Atalik, 
or King of Yarkand and Kashgar, resolved to send a mission with return letters and 
presents. Mr. Eorsyth, now Sir Douglas Eorsyth, was chosen as the Ambassador and chief 
of the mission, and five other officers were selected to complete the number, six, which had 
been agreed upon with the Envoy as the limit of the party. These five officers were 
Dr. Bellow, Lieut.-Col. Gordon, and Captains Biddulph, Trotter, and Chapman. Stoliczka’s 
application to the Government to be appointed a member of the mission was not answered 
for some weeks, and rumour was rife as to whether the authorities would or would not recog- 
nise the importance of sending a geologist and naturalist. The difficulty as to the limit to the 
number of members constituting the mission was, however, got over, and at length, after 
