"March 21.—A light breeze set in shortly after 8 A.M., and we weighed anchor. It soon freshened somewhat, and we worked down the coast, tacking on and off. First we passed the point forming the north extremity of Casuarina Bay, distinguished by a single palm tree which rises high above the jungle, and next came abreast of Kópenhéat, marked by a grove of palms and a hut, finally bringing up at 1.15 P.M. in 9 fathoms, at a spot well protected by a reef from the S.W. swell, with a conspicuous round house bearing E. This anchorage was a little bay formed by the shore running roughly N. and W., and we were in an indentation of the reef, which, when the latter dries at low tide, is about 300 yards wide.
"The village here is called Pulo Nyur (Malay = Coconut Island), seven houses in all, and lies in the shade of palm trees broken into groups by intervening stretches of jungle.
"Going ashore in the afternoon we met in the largest house several men and boys from Pulo Bábi, the next village southward. Of the other buildings, four or five are uninhabited and falling to pieces. There was only one regular inhabitant in the place—a man whose father, brother, and wife had all died six months previously, and who, unless he could get another wife shortly, intended to leave the spot, which will probably soon be deserted, for his female acquaintances—not unnaturally—objected to such a lonely life.
"A year ago a man was killed by the Shom Peṅ on the outskirts of the village, and at the same time the man we saw at Pulo Kunyi barely escaped with his life.
"Several paths lead towards the interior, but the village has no (friendly) relations with the aborigines.
"Behind, and to one side, lay a large stretch of grass-covered swamp, on which a herd of monkeys was playing until we appeared, while numbers of herons, big and little, were perched in the surrounding trees. The morass was composed of a sort of sawdust-like paste, into which one sank up to the knees, yet the feet, when withdrawn, were not in the least soiled. In the jungle we got Nicobar pigeons, and a serpent-eagle that seemed to differ from the variety of Little Nicobar and Kachal (Spilornis, sp. nov.).
"A path from the beach led to a water-hole, which only required clearing out to afford a plentiful supply; the men set to work at this, and when they had got rid of the water, took from the hole a pailful of mudfish and eels.
"Learning in the evening, from people who came on board, that there were Shom Peṅ on the Alexandra River and at Kópenhéat, we determined on an expedition in search of them next day."
"March 22.—At sunrise we put off in the whaleboat, and now rowing and now sailing, as the wind served, and all the time keeping well out from shore, to clear the rollers that occurred at irregular intervals in most unexpected places, reached Casuarina Bay (about 6 miles) at 8 A.M.
"The breakers at the mouth of the Dagmar were too big for us to enter the river without an almost certain wetting, to avoid which we pulled back to the south end of the bay, and first wading ashore with the contents, ran the boat through the surf and quickly beached her. Almost at once we perceived within the jungle a deserted Shom Peṅ village of three huts, of a kind similar to those beyond Pulo Kunyi. In the camp were two or three platforms or lounges, roughly shaded by a few palm leaves, and some odds and ends were lying about; a small pig cage, food baskets made from the butt of a palm leaf, and a rude lamp—a shell, in which lay a bit of greasy rag supported on half a coconut.