COCHIN. 
13 
white inhabitants two thousand are reckoned at Cochin ; but they call 
those white who are not decidedly black.* This part of the Malabar 
coast is much visited by sharks ; and as we walked over the green near 
to the Commandant’s house, we saw a large collection of the fins and 
tail of this fish, which were exposed to the sun to dry ; and which, we 
were informed, were intended for the China market. The roe of the 
mullet, known by the name of Botargo f in the Levant, and reckoned 
there so great a dainty, is also esteemed and eaten by the inhabitants. 
On the banks of the river are great numbers of fisheries, which con¬ 
sist of a net suspended to long bamboos, mechanically placed, and 
attended by two fishermen, who reside in a small hut near at hand. 
Chaussard, in his Table Geographique attached to his translation of 
Arrian, alluding to the inhabitants of Mekran, the Ichthyophagi of 
Nearchus, says, “ Le poisson qu’ils mangent, c’est le flux et le reflux 
qui le leur apporte ; a cet effet ils tendent sur la cote un fillet .soutenu 
par des pieux dans une longueur de 200 yards^ a la maree montante, le 
poisson vint se prendre au fillet.” X This mode of catching fish is prac¬ 
tised in the Bosphorus, in the Tay in Scotland, and other rivers. 
In stepping into the boat, to return on board, we remarked that 
amongst the many natives who lined the beach to see us depart, there 
was scarcely one who had legs equally paired. The people of Cochin 
are subject to a swelling, unattended with pain, which commences 
at the knee and descends to the ancle, and which does not hinder 
them from walking about as well as with both legs perfect. Such a 
limb is known throughout India by the name of a Cochin leg. Some 
impute it to the water, others to the fish. The water which the com¬ 
mon people drink is very unwholesome, and we were advised not to 
use it as we valued our health. The English officers, as well as the 
* Distinct from these is a tribe of Jews at Cochin, inhabiting a distinct quarter of the 
town, the investigation of whose history would be curious and interesting. 
f Avyto Tupuyco, 
J Vol. iii. p. 867. 
