"_April_ 1.--There has been scarcely any wind, and we drifted N. by E. until Menchal and Kabra hove in sight. A school of sharks visited the schooner, and one about 7 feet long that was hooked, was given his quietus with a revolver bullet when hauled to the surface. "Our live stock is flourishing. The three sober-looking parrots down in the cabin are becoming tamer day by day, and the pair of nutmeg pigeons will already eat chopped coconut from our hands. "The monkeys, however, are of most interest, and are given daily exercise on deck. The male is an adept at the most horrible grimaces, but is an arrant coward, and, when startled, rushes to his companion, and, although the heavier of the two, puts his arms around her and is carried back downwards all over the place. When it is time to re-cage them, we have only to drive them together and they run into each other's arms, clasp convulsively, and incontinently roll over, when, as they lie squealing and grimacing on deck, they may be picked up and put back in their box. On one occasion this manoeuvre was executed on the rail, and they fell overboard, sinking without a struggle, locked in a close embrace. "Fortunately for them, the _Terrapin_ was becalmed at the time, and they were recovered, to be very subdued for a time after the rescue, but none the worse for their experience. "At 6 P.M. a light breeze sprang up, with signs of a squall from the north, and carried us along at a 2 to 3 knot pace through the night. A porpoise was harpooned under the bow, but broke away before it could be secured. "On the 2nd the wind was light all day, save for a squall that compelled us to lower the foresail. Towards evening, Mount Thuillier, bearing W. by N., was just visible 50 miles away. The breeze freshened, and with darkness the last sign of the Nicobars dropped below the horizon, while daybreak revealed ahead of us the rounded summit of Pulo Bras." PART II CHAPTER I THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS AND THEIR INHABITANTS Position--Soundings--Relationship--Islands--Area--Great Andaman Mountains--Little Andaman---Rivers--Coral Banks--Scenery-- Harbours--Timber--Flora--Climate--Cyclones--Geology--Minerals-- Subsidence--Earthquakes--History--Aborigines--Convicts and the Penal System--Growth and Resources of the Settlement--Products and Manufactures. The Andamans, which together with the Nicobars form one of the minor dependencies of our Indian Empire, are situated in the Bengal Sea, between the parallels of 10° 30' and 14° 15' N. latitude, and the meridians 92° 10' and 93° 30' E. longitude, where they lie in a N. by E. direction. To the west the coast of Madras is some 700 miles distant, and eastward Tenasserim, bordered by the islands of the Mergui Archipelago, lies about 320 miles away. Intervening between them and Sumatra to the south lies the Nicobar group, and before Cape Negrais in Burma is reached the little island of Preparis must be passed.