They Have No Sheep, Poultry,
Or Fruits, And Subsist Wretchedly On A Few Shell-Fish, Such As Cockles,
Muscles, And Periwinkles, Living Without Any Government Or Order, And
Cohabit Promiscuously Like Brutes.
Their bodies are straight, thin, and
strong-limbed, having great heads and eye-brows, with round foreheads.
Their eye-lids are constantly half closed, to keep out flies, which are
here very numerous and troublesome.
They have large bottle noses, thick
lips, and wide mouth; and both men and women, young and old, wanted the
two front teeth of the upper jaw. They have no beards, and their hair is
short and curled like the negroes, their complexion being equally black
with them. Their weapons are a kind of wooden swords or clubs, and long
straight poles sharpened at one end. Of their language I can only say
that they speak much in the throat. We landed several times, and brought
the natives to some degree of familiarity with us, by giving them some
old clothes, but could never prevail on them to assist us in carrying
water or any other thing, as they seemed quite averse from labour.
We sailed hence on the 12th March, and on the 7th April got sight of
Sumatra, whence we directed our course for the Nicobar islands, which we
came in sight of on the 4th May, and anchored next day in a small bay at
the N. end of the island of Nicobar Proper, in lat. 7 deg. 30' N. This
island produces plenty of cocoa-nuts, and mallories, a fruit as large
as the bread-fruit of Guam, which the natives boil in covered jars.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 462 of 825
Words from 124977 to 125252
of 224764
