Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara Volume Ii Part 3

We found no mineral waters or warm springs. The hardened marl deposits of Nangkauri harbour we perceived however to be encased in a crust an inch thick of sulphate of magnesia, and fine silk-like glistening fibres; this results from the clay-marl containing sulphate of magnesia, so that very possibly by digging cistern-shaped cavities, a bitter saline solution might be obtained similar to that at present obtained under similar circ.u.mstances at Billin in Bohemia.

In consequence of the extraordinarily rich vegetation, the dampness of the soil, and the numerous mangrove swamps all along the coast, the climate, as may readily be conceived, is at present anything but salubrious. During the changes of the monsoons especially, a fever breaks out of so malignant a type that it is very frequently fatal to Europeans.

But, so long as dense forest, creeping plants, and swamps enc.u.mber the soil, there can be no country within the tropics favourable to the health of man, and all immigrants or other persons who make a sufficiently long stay in such localities, prepare themselves for being visited by maladies of the most formidable nature, among which fever and dysentery play the most conspicuous part.

Similar conditions are occasionally met with in certain parts of Europe where swamp and uncultivated land are exposed to the influences of a high temperature, of which examples enough are furnished in the malaria of Italy, and the marsh fever of the lagoons of Venice and along the coasts of Istria. And if such visitations make less impression upon us in Europe, it is not that there is little danger, but simply because, as habit is second nature, the regularity of their return has ceased to attract attention.

This is precisely what the English have experienced in the East Indies, it is what the German emigrant is now going through on the banks of the Mississippi and Ohio, in Brazil and in Peru, until the forests are cleared and rendered productive, until, in short, advancing cultivation has dispelled those miasmata, which are inevitably developed amid the undisturbed voluptuousness of nature.

When at certain seasons of the year the vital principles of millions upon millions of organisms begin to be active, they throw off oxygen into the atmosphere, replacing it by absorbing carbonic acid; while, on the other hand, different organisms, in conformity with known chemical laws, are destroyed under similar conditions, and, under the influence of the atmosphere co-operating with humidity, ferment and become decomposed. From all which processes result products of emanation, which, caught up into the atmosphere and whirled away by the wind, become in their turn the means of nutriment and fertilization to other plants, thus imparting to tropical vegetation that marvellous rankness and super-abundance so fatal to the human frame. But the conditions which produce this tendency in the atmosphere to generate fever are not peculiar to certain localities, or strictly confined to these; they can be averted, and with them the vapours so prejudicial to health may be removed. We have but to raise up a barrier against that mighty all-devouring process of life and vegetation, which imperils our own conditions of existence, we have but to withdraw from the powerful agencies of chemical action the substances undergoing decomposition, to constrain the waters of heaven to follow certain definite directions, to drain every swamp, to clear the forest, to sweep away the dense underwood in order that the wind may wander unchecked over the now fertilized soil, and a wondrous alteration will take place in the climatic conditions of the Nicobar Islands. Of what may be achieved under such circ.u.mstances by energy and perseverance, the island of Penang, some 350 nautical miles distant, furnishes the most striking example, which within a very few decades has, by dint of the progressive clearing and cultivation of the soil, been converted from a den of fever and malaria, a spot shunned by all men as a residence, into one of the most healthy localities in the East, so much so indeed that it has been made a resort for invalids!

Seduced by the attractive beauty of the harbour of Nangkauri, the various attempts at founding a settlement have almost without exception been confined to that site. Upon a more close examination however of the precise spot selected for these settlements, it becomes at once apparent that they were for the most part pitched upon the neck of land which divides the land-locked ill-ventilated harbour of Nangkauri from the Bay of Ulala, surrounded as it is on all sides by thick mangrove swamps.

On such a site did the settlers erect their huts, and there, often at but a short interval after their arrival, did they find their grave; and if a very few of their number resisted the deadly influence of the miasmatic vapours, if even they were able for several years to drag along a miserable existence in such a scene, these can only be regarded as striking examples of an unusual vigour of const.i.tution. It is true that most of these missionaries who founded settlements here were by no means properly housed and fed, which in such a climate is a matter of absolute prime necessity for the preservation of health. Often when already attacked with fever they toiled, spade in hand, delving the ground amid the exhausting heat of a tropical day in order to secure the means of subsistence, or gathered sh.e.l.l-fish along the beach, or hunted for reptiles or birds through the swamps and forest, in order to provide themselves, by the sale of these natural curiosities in Europe, with the means of existence in those distant regions. Not without feelings of the keenest emotion and deepest sympathy is it possible to peruse the description given by one of these missionaries, Father Hansel, of his mode of life on the island of Nangkauri, where he lived for seven years amidst the greatest privations and hards.h.i.+ps. "On my frequent excursions along the sea-coast," says the n.o.ble, high-souled missionary, "it sometimes happened that I was benighted, and I could not with convenience return to our dwelling; but I was never at a loss for a bed. The greater part of the beach consists of a remarkably fine white sand, which above high-water mark is perfectly clean and dry. Into this I dug with ease a hole large enough to contain my body, forming a mound as a pillow for my head; I then lay down, and by collecting the sand over me buried myself in it up to the neck. My faithful dog always laid across my body, ready to give the alarm in case of disturbance from any quarter. However, I was under no apprehensions from wild animals; crocodiles and caimans never haunt the open coast, but keep in creeks and lagoons; and there are no other ravenous beasts on the island. The only annoyance I suffered, was from the nocturnal perambulations of an immense variety of crabs of all sizes, the crackling noise of whose armour would sometimes keep me awake. But they were well watched by my dog, and if any one ventured to approach too near, he was sure to be suddenly seized and thrown to a more respectful distance. Or if a crab of a more tremendous appearance would deter my dog from exposing his nose to its claws, he would bark and frighten it away, by which however I was sometimes more seriously alarmed than the occasion required. Many a comfortable night's rest have I had in these sepulchral dormitories when the nights were clear and dry, and the heavens spangled with stars."[17]

After such a description, one cannot but feel astonished that any of these men, jealous for the faith, should have been able to linger on for years in such a plight, and a.s.suredly no one will refuse to these heroes of Christianity their meed of the deepest admiration and grat.i.tude, which they merit none the less that their labours among these natives were almost entirely unattended by any permanent good results.

It seems specially worthy of remark that the crew of the Austrian s.h.i.+p _Joseph and Theresa_, which spent as much as five months here, and that too during the rainy season (April to September), almost entirely escaped fever. This fact sufficiently proves that the rainy season is by no means the most unhealthy, but that the periods of transition from the dry to the wet season, and _vice versa_, must be considered as invariably prejudicial. At these times light variable winds alternate with thunder-showers, after which there is usually experienced great heat by solar radiation, which at once liberates the noxious emanations of the humid soil. Further on, during the actual rainy season, when the heavens are almost continually veiled, and the condition of the atmosphere and the soil is alike one of complete saturation, this phenomenon appears much less marked, and becomes in a corresponding degree less dangerous to human organization.

We are also of opinion that the time from the end of March to the end of April, as also the months of September and October, are the most insalubrious parts of the year, although on the Nicobars a man may be struck down with fever at any season, so soon as those precautions have been neglected, which are so necessary to observe in the uncultivated regions of the tropics. An instance on this point is furnished in the case of the crew of the Danish corvette _Galatea_. Of thirty individuals engaged in an exploring expedition up what is known as the Galatea river, in the southern Bay of Great Nicobar, and caught one night in a thunder-storm, which compelled them to remain in the forest wringing wet, no fewer than twenty-one fell ill of fever, which ultimately proved fatal in four cases.

So far as our own experience goes, the state of health on board the frigate during a stay of thirty-two days was highly satisfactory. During that entire period, out of 350 men only six took ill with fever, which number, however, at a later period during our pa.s.sage to the straits of Malacca, was increased to 21. Singular to say, those of the s.h.i.+p's company, who during our stay had _never set foot_ on the Nicobar Islands, furnished the largest contingent of cases of fever, while of both officers and naturalists, who spent the whole day together among the swamps and the forest, and were exposed to all manner of fatigue, only three got upon the sick list. On the whole, however, even the few severer cases made an excellent recovery, and by the time we had anch.o.r.ed in the harbour of Singapore, all the fever patients were once more either quite well, or in a fair way towards convalescence.

As the examination of this Archipelago was, in consequence of the all but impenetrable forests, confined to the narrow strip of land along the sh.o.r.e, we had almost said to the region of cocoa-palms exclusively, its various geognostic features were very inadequately, yet withal approximately, ascertained. If we admit that a covering of vegetation of the utmost variety and primeval luxuriance, untouched by the hand of man, and entirely unreclaimed by cultivation, may be considered as the expressive feature by which an estimate could be arrived at of the different geognostic conditions of soil beneath, we may succeed in our attempt from the characteristics of this primeval vegetation, to come to some definite conclusion as to the quality and the greater or lesser productiveness of the ground. According to this method of computing, it would seem that,

I. The forest, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, includes 70/100 of the entire surface of the island:--the soil being limestone, rich in alkalies, spungy, with clay-sand, and exceedingly fertile.

II. On the other hand, the gra.s.s vegetation proper may be set down at 15/100 of the surface: a barren, clay soil.

III. The cocoa forest may be estimated at 5/100 of the entire area; upon a fruitful soil of coral conglomerate, coral sand, and dried alluvium.

IV. In like manner the screw-pine forests cover 5/100 of the entire insular surface, the soil marshy but well suited for cultivation, with fresh-water bogs, and moist fresh-water alluvium.

V. Lastly, the mangrove forest in like manner may be roughly estimated at 5/100 of the superficial area, and is a swampy soil, unfitted for cultivation, consisting of salt-water marshes, and alluvium, moistened by salt-water.

The entire superficial area of the islands may be computed at about 627 square miles. Reckoning only 7/10 therefore of the surface as consisting of soil suitable for culture, which may undoubtedly be a.s.sumed as a fair approximation, we have a surface of 439 square miles capable of being made productive. But even the very ground now exclusively covered with gra.s.s, might be made productive with a more numerous population and a corresponding improvement in cultivation, so that these islands, now the abode of about 5000 savages, could easily support in comfort a population of over 100,000 industrious men.

At present the chief product of the islands is the cocoa-nut palm, which grows for the most part on the sea-sh.o.r.e, so far as the coral sand reaches. Within the same limits is the existence of the inhabitants confined, dest.i.tute as they are of industry or the capacity to cultivate the soil. This invaluable plant seldom extends far into the interior, and from this circ.u.mstance was named by a celebrated German traveller and botanist, Martius, the "Sea-sh.o.r.e palm." It is, however, as yet undecided whether the cocoa-palm is indigenous to the Nicobar Islands, or whether, cast on these sh.o.r.es by the waves, it has, by virtue of its well-known property of putting forth shoots even in salt-water, gradually propagated itself without any a.s.sistance from man.

It is said that the profit realized by those engaged in the trade in these nuts, amounts to from 20 to 40 per cent., and could greatly be increased, if, as for example in Ceylon, oil-presses were erected, by means of which the expense of transporting the heavy bulky loads of nuts would be economised, the oil being exported direct. On the more northerly islands the cocoa forest embraces proportionately a far larger area, those more to the south being much less abundantly supplied, especially Greater Nicobar, where there is hardly any. Accordingly the more northerly islands are much the more densely peopled, and the cocoa-palms are there subdivided as property, while on the southern islands they seem to be freely enjoyed in common.

Next in importance to the cocoa-nut palm, as a means of subsistence to the inhabitants, is the _Panda.n.u.s Melori_, of the family of the Pandaneae, the fruit of which (Melori or Caldevia of the Portuguese, the Larohm of the natives) supplies the place of rice and Indian corn, neither of which are grown on the island, owing to the ignorance of the islanders of the principles of cultivation, although the nature of the soil seems eminently suited to the production of both. From the huge fruit of this Panda.n.u.s, a species of bread is prepared, very similar to apple-marmalade, which is eaten by the natives along with the soft white kernel of the ripe cocoa-nut. The leaves are prepared as mats of every sort and description, and are occasionally used for the manufacture of sails.

The Bread-fruit tree (_Podocarpus incisa_), which furnishes such excellent nutriment, that, according to Cook,[18] three trees suffice to support a man during eight months, is found on the islands in single individuals, and we never happened to see its fruit used by the natives. The plantain too seemed but sparingly planted, although the elegant leafy green canopy of this the most important and nutritious plant, after the cocoa-nut, requires but little care in cultivation. The sugar-cane, the muscat-nut tree (_Myristia Moschatea_), and the _Cardamum Elettaria_,[19] grow and flourish on most of the islands, and orange and lemon trees of the most stupendous proportions may be met with, growing wild in the immediate vicinity of the native dwellings.

Of tubers we only found the yam growing in considerable quant.i.ties, but it seems to be cultivated by the natives more as an article of exchange with the s.h.i.+ps visiting the islands, than for their own use. So far however as we could ascertain the capabilities of the soil, the Jucca (_Jakopha Manihot_), the sweet potato (the _Camote_ of the Spanish colonies), and other American tuberous roots, might flourish here at least as well as on the hot damp coasts of the western continent.

The number of plants collected by our botanists throughout this group of islands, amounts to 280 different species; however by a more thorough exploration of the Archipelago, the _Phanerogamous_ species may be increased one half in number.

There are also two plants, which, although they cannot be included among the vegetable products suited for the sustenance of man, must nevertheless be taken into account as contributing in an important degree to the subsistence of the natives. These are the Areca palm, and the Betel shrub.

The nut of the _Areca Cateehu_, and the green leaf of the _Piper Betle_, const.i.tute as already mentioned, together with coral lime, the chief ingredients of _Betel_, that singular salivatory compound, which has become a prime luxury for the inhabitants of the Indies, and the adjacent islands. The Areca palm, with its graceful straight stem and elegant tuft of leaves, is indigenous to the entire group, and is found in considerable quant.i.ties. With the enormous demand for it as a salivatory, as also as an article of medicine, it might, had the natives the slightest turn for cultivation, yield a large profit as an article of commerce. The Betel shrub is also found in large quant.i.ties in these islands, and needs but little looking after.

The wealth of the forest in ornamental timber, and wood fit for building purposes, is so great that, if carefully surveyed and judiciously thinned, they would not only furnish the settler with cleared soil suitable for cultivation, but would likewise permit an immense profit to be realized.[20]

The Nicobar Islands had been recommended by a learned member of the Society of Physicians of Vienna, as a special subject of inquiry as to whether this group were not by position, conditions of soil, and climate, particularly suitable for the cultivation of the Peruvian bark tree, whose importance for medical purposes is daily increasing. So far as our brief stay admitted, we did not lose sight of this object, but the practical observations we made in the course of our voyage led us to conclusions widely different from those which, representing the quinquina tree as in danger of being extirpated on its native soil, South America, by the carelessness of the Indians, regarded its transplantation into other countries as a question of the utmost importance for the interests of the human race. The China tree, very far from becoming extinct, is carefully cultivated in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. The bark is systematically cropped in most of these localities, and consequently there is no occasion to antic.i.p.ate any considerable increase in price, or failure in the supply of this precious drug. We shall have an opportunity, when describing our stay at Java and at the west coast of America, to revert at length to this question, and shall have only to add the remark, that the great expense of such an attempt, and the extraordinary watchfulness and care which must be bestowed on the China tree for a number of years before the slightest profit can be derived from it, seem alone to render hopeless such an undertaking as its introduction in the Nicobar Islands, even were the climatic conditions better suited to such an experiment than we have reason to believe that they are.

As for the zoology of these islands, it seems to be much less developed, whether as regards numbers, or size, than might be expected, considering the luxuriance of the vegetation. The forests are by their very nature poor in living denizens, the majority of these consisting of various species of birds. In like manner the sea is but little productive, and the nets which we cast over the s.h.i.+p's side at Kar-Nicobar, Pulo Milu, and Ganges Harbour, like the hook and line, brought up but few specimens, and those hardly deserving of notice. The natives have no nets of any sort, their mode of fis.h.i.+ng consisting simply of raising a succession of weirs, in which they can harpoon or take their prey.

Of domestic animals we saw only swine, hens, dogs, and cats, all of which live upon cocoa-nut. The dog, a smooth-haired cur of a light brownish-yellow colour, with pointed ears, is a sad coward, and his bark rather resembles a prolonged howl. The cats and the hens are exactly like those of Europe. Cattle for draught or the dairy, are as yet entirely unknown to the natives; yet they might easily be introduced from the adjoining sh.o.r.es of India. The zebra breed especially, already acclimatized in the tropics, would be of conspicuous utility as beasts of draught, supposing any attempt made at cultivation of the soil.

Judging by the experiments made at Pulo Milu, the introduction of goats and sheep could only be accomplished with much difficulty. On the other hand all manner of poultry would be found to thrive in these islands.

In pa.s.sing from this very cursory consideration of the natural history of these islands[21] to the race of man who inhabit them, we find ourselves confronted with a people, who, on account of the primitive manner in which they live, attract our interest in the highest degree. The natives of the Nicobar group, whose entire number may be estimated at from 5000 to 6000 souls, are, as we have already remarked, large and well formed, the skin of a dark brown, bronze-like hue, and owing to the prevailing custom of anointing their bodies with cocoa-nut oil, usually presenting a glancing appearance, and emitting a peculiar odour. This inunction is apparently intended to obviate superabundant perspiration, as also any skin diseases, just as the Indian races west of the Mississippi are accustomed to protect their naked bodies against the direct influences of the cold, by rubbing in the fat of animals. The practice of daubing the face does not seem to be so extensively resorted to, as previous descriptions of the Nicobar islanders had led us to believe. We saw only one solitary native, at the village of Malacca in the island of Nangkauri, who had painted his forehead and cheeks with the red pigment obtained from the seeds of the _Bixa Orellana_ (the well-known Annatto dye). Instances of tattooing we never fell in with, nor do these islanders seem to have any desire to imitate the beautiful, sometimes absolutely artistic, designs punctured on the hands and feet of the Malays and Burmese who occasionally visit them.

Moles and blotches on the breast and arms are of frequent occurrence. The forehead of the Nicobar islander is slightly rounded, and in many cases may even be said to be well formed, but it falls away somewhat suddenly; the face is usually broad, and if we except the rather prominent zygomatic process, approaches the oval type; the hinder portion of the head is flat and seems as though crushed inwards, a circ.u.mstance of which Fontana, in his well-known journal already mentioned, takes special notice, and which deserves the more attention, that we think we are in a position, by means of actual measurement, and inquiries made on the spot, to say with certainty that this modification of the normal form of the skull is not natural to this race, but is artificially produced. We especially rely upon the circ.u.mstance, that among the natives of Nangkauri and others of the islands, the custom prevails of pressing quite flat the head of the newly-born infant, probably in conformity with Nicobar laws of taste and beauty: in order to make the result more certain, they keep continually repeating this experiment by a variety of different means during a considerable time. The nose is of ordinary dimensions, but is always of unusual breadth, and coa.r.s.e of outline; we found a few individuals with noses of exorbitant length. Owing to the incredible extent to which the disgusting practice of chewing the betel-nut is carried, their mouth, naturally large, is hideously distorted. On the island of Treis we saw an aged native, whose tongue, in consequence of the incessant betel-chewing, had been attacked in a similar manner as his teeth. The chin is for the most part without any marked characteristic, and is usually rather retreating. The maxillary bones are broad and projecting, and the zygoma has a rather bold curve. The ears are small, but the flaps on the other hand are so broad, that when pierced they are ornamented with a piece of bamboo an inch thick.

Some of the natives make use of this broad aperture to store away cigars.

The thin eye-brows do not curve over the whole of the superior arch of the eye. The hair for the most part is beautiful, thick, black, and soft, in many instances depending low on both sides. The beard is universally very thin, and instances of mustachios or goatees are very rarely encountered.

However a beard does not seem to be cla.s.sed among those objects which add to the Nicobar ideal of beauty. At least, as often as they found an opportunity of seizing a pair of scissors from our dressing-cases, we used always to see the natives eagerly setting about extirpating the few hairs, which despite all their endeavours would persist in appearing upon the upper lip on either side of the mouth. The expression of their face is grave, tranquil, and rather _insouciant_. We never saw in their features any expression of emotion, such for instance as might have been imparted by delight at having obtained some coveted object, not even when they had manifested the utmost eagerness to possess it. The only excitement which their ordinarily impa.s.sive countenances were however many a time called on to indicate, took the form of an expression of pain and anxiety, as often as they saw a number of strangers make a descent upon their islands. The singularly marked similarity of feature in each and every individual, may safely be ascribed to the similarity of condition universally prevalent, to the small scope given to the play of their affections, and to the frequent intermarriage, which must necessarily be the case where, as in these islands, a couple of hundred human beings form the whole population of an island, and where intercommunication with the adjoining islands is so confined.

The a.s.sertion by Fontana, that the natives never cut their nails, but on the other hand shave off their eye-brows, we have never found confirmed in any of the islands we visited, although very possibly some few individuals, certainly so far as we could find very scanty in number, may ape the customs of their Malay and Chinese visitors, by letting their nails grow. Of cripples, or at all events of individuals stunted in their growth, we saw but two, the first case being that of a native of Kar-Nicobar, who in consequence of a dislocation of the _radius_ at the wrist joint was entirely powerless of the left arm; while the second, a sort of dwarf, who was likewise an inhabitant of that island, presented a well-marked corpulence in the extremities, and fingers so swelled up and short, that he was known among his neighbours by the nickname of _Kiutakunti_ (short finger).

Hitherto the natives seem to have escaped the ravages of syphilitic diseases. As to any instances of visitations of virulent though temporary epidemics, we could not get any information of such having occurred; they have however in their language a word (Mallok) for the small-pox, of the existence of which we had convinced ourselves by personal demonstration in the case of a Malay, whose face was frightfully disfigured by the marks of this appalling disease.

Although in a climate the annual average of which is 81 Fahr., clothes are all but unnecessary, the natives nevertheless manifest an extraordinary pa.s.sion for European clothing, and when it seemed impracticable by any other means to elicit an expression of pleasure on their calm, indifferent, emotionless countenances, it was always possible to succeed by presenting them with a s.h.i.+rt, a coat, or a black silk round hat. As however the natives have seldom been presented with more than one such article at a time, and many a year is apt to elapse ere he gets another, by which he might succeed in gradually completing his dress, the Nicobarian makes his appearance before strangers attired in the most extraordinary fas.h.i.+on, almost entirely naked, sometimes with only a black hat on his head, or pluming himself on being spruced up in a frock coat (but without s.h.i.+rt, stockings, or head-gear), which on the plump naked brown skin of this child of nature has far more the appearance of a straight-waistcoat than a comfortable article of dress.

The natives show infinitely more vanity in the selection of a piece of clothing, than calculation as to its real necessity or suitability. A large low-crowned white hat with broad rim, which we presented to one native, gained not the slightest approval, although both in form and colour it was far better suited to protecting the wearer against the rays of the tropical sun than a high, narrow-brimmed, fas.h.i.+onable black silk hat, to the possession of which the natives of Kar-Nicobar and Nangkauri attach quite an inordinate value. For such an article, in the course of barter, they offer 1600 ripe cocoa-nuts, while for a long piece of wide dark-coloured muslin, in which they are wont to envelope their dead, they will give only 1200 such fruits. But the most characteristic head-gear of the Nicobarians is a bandeau made of dried leaves of the cocoa-nut palm, which gives them quite a picturesque appearance. We saw but few ornaments worn, such as necklaces, bracelets, &c., only one or two of the younger men having their hands and their necks adorned with ma.s.sive rings of silver and iron wire.

The dwellings of the natives are usually round, beehive-shaped huts, resting on a number of stakes of from six to eight feet in height. Simple as is the construction of these huts, it nevertheless, especially on the island of Kar-Nicobar, possesses a certain degree of ornament, we might almost say elegance, while the thatching of dried palm-leaves, as also the beams and the walls constructed of reeds (_Calamus Rotang_), are a branch of industry which would do honour even to civilized races of the world.

The natives usually cower or squat on the ground, or seat themselves upon some cocoa-nut that has chanced to fall, while at night, stretched out upon the flowers shed by the Areca palm, and with their heads elevated by a piece of hard wood, they find anywhere a sufficiently comfortable couch.

The means of subsistence of the Nicobar islanders are anything but abundant. As they are utterly ignorant of cultivation, they are entirely indebted for the very first necessaries of life to the provision which a bountiful nature has supplied to them, without the a.s.sistance of man's labour. Their chief articles of food are the cocoa-nut and the panda.n.u.s fruit. As with the natives of India, so among the natives of the Nicobar group, the cocoa-palm is applied to the most various purposes, although it would be difficult to make it fulfil all the ninety and nine useful purposes which the Hindoo proverb a.s.signs to this n.o.ble individual of the royal race of palms. The cocoa-palm likewise const.i.tutes the chief article of export of the entire group, while the profit from the Trepang (b.i.+.c.he de Mar of the English, a sort of c.o.c.kle), edible swallows' nests, tortoise-sh.e.l.l, amber, and so forth, is of the highest importance in the interchange of commerce.

The betel shrub (_Piper Betle_), next to the cocoa-nut and panda.n.u.s fruit, one of the most important necessities of the inhabitants of these islands, is not indigenous, but has been introduced hither from the peninsula of Malacca, and formed for a long time an article of commerce and exchange.

At present this creeper, which spreads with hardly any particular care, is found in such quant.i.ties that only a small proportion of the leafy produce can be consumed by the spa.r.s.e population. It was always incomprehensible to us in what could consist the great charm of betel-chewing, that a habit so loathsome should be so extensively practised by the very lowest slaves of the princes of India, by poor as well as rich, nay, should fling its chains, as it actually does, even over women and children. A lucky chance, however, threw in our way a Sanscrit poem (_Hytopedesa_) which celebrates as follows the thirteen cardinal virtues of the betel-leaf:--"Betel is pungent, bitter, aromatic, sweet, alkaline, astringent, a carminative, a dispeller of phlegm, a vermifuge, a sweetener of the breath, an ornament of the mouth, a remover of impurities, and a kindler of the flame of love!

O friend! these thirteen properties of betel are hard to be met with, even in heaven!"[22]

It would be an inquiry of considerable interest to trace the influence which the incessant betel-chewing exercises over the longevity of the inhabitants, and the changes caused in the masticatory organs, which are so constantly exposed to these pernicious practices.

That which most deeply struck us throughout the Nicobars, was the frightful decomposition of the teeth, whereas in other betel-chewing races these were stained only of the same deep crimson as the lips and the gums.

We at first ascribed this difference to some variation in the mixture of the ingredients, but we repeatedly perceived afterwards that the betel used on the Nicobar group consisted of nothing else than a small piece of Areca-nut, which, sprinkled with a little chalk, was enveloped in a green aromatic betel-leaf, and so was popped into the mouth. The Hindoos, on the other hand, add to these ingredients, which they always carry about with them in elegant cases, a certain astringent substance (formerly called _Terra j.a.ponica_, because it was long supposed to be a mineral product) made out of the pith of the _Acacia Catechu_, a species of Mimosa; or occasionally add to the usual masticatory composition a species of resin obtained from the _Melaleuca Cajeputi_, as also a little tobacco.

The frightfully destructive effects of the betel on the teeth and lips of the Nicobar natives, is apparently attributable only to some difference in the proportions of the ingredients used, very probably to the use of a larger quant.i.ty of coral lime. What is alleged of a custom the Nicobarians have of filing down their teeth and rubbing them with some corrosive substance, rests exclusively upon conjecture, and is confirmed neither by personal observation nor by the account given by the natives themselves, nor by the Malay traders who frequent Great Nicobar and Nangkauri.

In social as well as in religious matters, we must consider the inhabitants of this Archipelago as among the child-races of the world.

They consider it a duty to marry very young and take but one wife, but they age with uncommon rapidity. Of about 100 natives with whom during our stay on the various islands we were in communication, hardly one was above forty, and the majority may be roughly estimated at from twenty to thirty.

If, moreover, we set it down as improbable that all the aged men should have taken to flight like the women and children, it should seem that these natives never attain a very extended duration of life.