NICGBAR ISLANDS, a group of islands situated in the Bay of Bengal, between the sixth and tenth degrees of north latitude, and between the ninety-third and ninetyfifth degrees of east longitude. They occupy the space from the north-west point of Sumatra to the most southerly of the Andaman Islands. There are seven large and twelve small islands. The principal ones arc Carnicoar, Teressa, Chowry, Bombocha, Kaichull, Carmorta, Nancowry, Toulongar, Sambelong, and Nicoar or Great Sambelong; besides a multitude of smaller islands without any distinct appellation. These islands are mostly hilly, and some of the mountains in them rise to a considerable height; but others, again, are flat, and covered with cocoa-nut trees. On the other islands also a large proportion of cocoa and areca palms, with timber trees of various kinds, some of them of an enormous size, and very fit for naval purposes, are produced; and so thickly are they interwoven in some places, that they are impervious to the beams of the sun. The falling of the leaves, twigs, and fruit below, with the heavy dews, renders the island extremely unhealthy, especially to Europeans. The best island for supplies is Carnicoar; and perhaps the worst is the large one, or Great Nicoar, to the north of which runs St George’s Channel; a very dangerous passage for ships, on account of the strength of the tide, and the rocks.

The wild beasts common in the Indian continent are not to be found here, such as leopards, tigers, &c. Large flocks of sheep and other cattle, originally brought hither by the Danes, and which have since run wild in the woods, are found in some of the islands; dogs and swine are also common in most of them, and being fed on cocoa-nuts, the quality of the pork is excellent. In some of the southernmost islands monkeys are found. Snakes also abound, but they are not so numerous nor so venomous as those on the coast of Coromandel. There are numerous alligators, some of them of large size, and a variety of crabs, which swarm everywhere. Shell-fish are found in such numbers, that the most beautiful collections of shells may be made here. The inhabitants appear, from their features and their figure, to belong to the Kalmuck race. They are of a copper colour, and have small eyes, small flat noses, large mouths, thick lips, and black teeth. They are well made and muscular, and are of a lively disposition, resembling the Piguans and Chinese in features, having scarcely any beard. Their mode of living is rude. They dwell in huts of an oval form, covered with cocoa-nut leaves, and supported on posts about five or six feet from the ground. These huts are always circular, resembling a stack of corn. They gain their subsistence chiefly by fishing, and trading to the neighbouring islands; whilst the women are employed in preparing the victuals, and in cultivating the ground. Vessels touching at these islands are abundantly supplied with cocoa-nuts, pine-apples, plantains, lemons, and other fruits, and also with ducks and fowls; all of which they readily exchange for cloth, tobacco, and any kind of cutlery; but they do not appear to set much value on gold and silver, such metals not being current amongst them, and tobacco being the ordinary medium of all barter and exchange. A considerable traffic is carried on amongst the islands, the chief articles of which are cloth, silver coin, iron, tobacco, and some other commodities, which they obtain from Europeans. The chief productions of these islands are the cocoa-nut and areca-nut trees. Wild cinnamon and sassafras also grow in them; and there is, besides, a nutritive fruit resembling in some respects the jaca fruit of Bengal, and growing on a species of palm which is found in abundance in the woods. The country is divided into villages, consisting of ten or twelve huts, each of which has a captain, who carries on a bartering trade with the ships that arrive, but who has no peculiar privileges. The clothing of the men is somewhat peculiar, consisting of a narrow piece of cloth about three yards long, which they wrap round their waists, and then pass between their legs, and through the girth behind, leaving the end of it to drag after them; a circumstance which [7:16:206]has given rise to the fabulous stories of men with tails related by Kioping, a Swedish navigator.

The religion of the natives is an absurd and unintelligible superstition, consisting of sorceries, conjurations, and other delusions practised on the ignorant multitude by the priests. Their language is remarkably poor in words; and the missionaries never having been able to acquire any considerable knowledge of it, have not succeeded in making many converts.

These islands were first settled by the Danes in 1756, for the purposes of commerce, and from that people they received the name of Frederic’s Islands. But, owing to the unhealthiness of the island, almost the whole colonists died. A new attempt was made in 1768, in conjunction with the Baptist missionaries; but in 1771 only two Europeans and four Malabar servants survived. The missionaries still persevered in their attempts to effect a settlementon theislands, and received supplies from Tranquebar, both of provisions and of recruits. But the mortality continued unabated; and no progress having been made in the conversion of the natives, the attempt was finally abandoned in the year 1787. The missionaries mostly died of fevers and obstructions of the liver.