ih'd!îfelâtiŸe'ÿÈ&tëiöfTefïiiemé'nt(>'compared tb these islanders* . The’popu-
iiÉiêrifóf Hfeë ©ï'tót Andaman, and all-itulependencies; does not,daaaèEding
to Gaptaiii' Stbktië, ^exceed iï,O0Qfiö» %;&&() teoulsis i tkeseiaref disposed in
smdlbsöiSiffi^ alörig! théicôâàts;!br SfijSfoa lèsser.islands withimtherhaTbauiV
thaô thè pJtngBÉjâ, thte; forests,' whidh«holdî' ç&te
little inducement fb’r them to enter, ah-they-contain no atóntófcfitö (Sfqbplyi
them with food. Their sble occupation seems to he that of chnihinga'Qcks,
or roving along the margin óf the sea in quest of a precarious mj^feff:fishr
which during the- tempestuous season they often; seek :for knvain;-
The Andamaners are not more favoured in^the conformation of their
bodies; than in the endowments o f their mind. In stature,! they seèdoïh?
exceed five feet; their limbs are iEsproportionably'.:^l6n%r,*;'fhtfcAèffies
protuberant* with high shoulders and large heads; and, Jstrangd1 to-fînd'in.
this part of the world, they arc a degenerate race of Negroes withwopljy -fe
* Mr. Marsden, ip his excellent history of the Island of Sumatra, is of opinion, that the
inhabitants of the Batta country, in the northern part of that island, eat Eùmânnesh j and
the authorities on which he grounds his belief, seem to authenticate the fact : it does not, however,
appear, that human flesh was substituted by them in place of ordinary food, hut eaten
rather as a barbarous ceremony, to indicate revenge op their enemies, or abhorrence of crimes,
the only victims being prisoners taken in war, orcapital convicts. ,
t I t is a matter of much curiosity to discover the, origin of a race of people, so widely d if-,
fering, not only from all the inhabitants of that vast continent ip the bosom of which the
Island of Andaman is embayed, but also from the-natives of the Nicobar Islands, which
are immediately contiguous to it. Hitherto,'the inquiries of travellers seem to have produced
no satisfactory conclusion : some have supposed that a Porlugueze ship, early in the
16th century, laden with slaves from Mosambique, had been cast on these shores, and that the
present Andamaners are the descendants pf such as escaped drowning. This conjecture is
proved to be grossly erroneous, from the account given by the two Mahommedan travellers,
long anterior to the navigation of those seas by Europeans. The Arabians, however, who
hair, flat noses, and thick lips ; their eyes are small and red, their ,skj$pf
aideep .^jjy^foé^iwhüsfatbein§ouplfenadcé9ie^hibj^the extreme of wretchy..
edness : a horrid mixture of famine and ferocity. - They go quite naked,
and îarafaseaisjhi^MîJ^W shame ygmxg^WOfppn,
allured hyt'the j . t s m p i a t i q a t t o f i l i i s a n d brought on board a
’■shiig.i 5at ; anchor) in tln^îjp,Apns ithij-grieat, kuy
manity ; they soon got rid of
offered to, their chastity, whsqh^ h ë ihAp.110,1 duet with unremitting vigilance :
although they had 1a small apartment allotted to themselves, and had no
1 eal cause for apprehension, one always watched whilst 11 iej,ot^çr^ffçptjjj
afe^yjfu&tpA-ÇliitÜÇiSuWehêupÿLtïOQî'feiBist^âfebîihi in ^auif^a^ÿîprij jÿ
apilffrtqpKv offered and lluc\\ ilu.pi aw a y <1 q lUfejrçn] jjy.i.p, os J Aj^Lónï
',4hei^ffe,pSoW^^eri0v,efö thdyfhec,p,H^@,,Gto®ful,^6h^t4§reci with
Mere, ânexp^essiblÿ, dj,ver|ed at tliptsjgJ^jftfi^their#§$Mpsiî§g|nSf ijn, a-rjdrvFOE ;
tjjcv wcic loud, of singing, sgmcLimcs iii^cjanphi>l>^^aiialifv,ti atjÿj^eys
in ado>ü‘>*,kb), and often danced about*,ihq-ekoh,w ilh{gyeat agility, slapping
ilipii ipoblyiuis with tjie.batk,of. thcii Jitcl. j\Jjanc^md^spmuitjus
Jiqi^is were disagreeable to, them; 11,o, food seemed sueualatahl^tasfel^,t
rice, anr^sugar., In a {cyv, wce^s, b ^ p ig ^ ^ ^ ^ < L ^ q ,i;g tk { 41 .uJf.bcqf
wore tb^n.half-famished,state,iujwbidi the) wpic bioijghttqrS
Ijpard, ,theyLbegap jp.,think epijfiqejiipnt i r i ^ m ^ <an^Imgeriytjgj 1 cgain
sailed on the Indian Ocean so caily as the 7th.century..apd who,ngtonly explored tbeconti^
Ittdreas fatjsithe Ghpese sea, but likewise gained a knowledge of mgstof the eastern
islands, might, by anaccident similar, to that which has been ascribed to the Portugueze vessel,
have peopled Andaman with its present Negro race. ' It deserves remark, that on the c ontr-i
nent of India'extra Gan'gem, figures t>f Boodh, or SfiShbo, the' i^n d fi3* ^ t^B ih n% # a n d
Siamese, are often seen with the characteristic hair and features of the Negro. ^