Indian Antiquary Vol 59

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 277

JANUARY, 1930 1 REMARKS ON THE ANDAMAN ISLANDERS AND THEIR COUNTRY
53
to remain and to leave unmolested. After the hardships we had been through, this piece of news was really too discouraging.
I may as well add here what had really happened, though this we did not discover until a careful examination of the tracks the following day. A party of two or three men, & woman, and a child had left the last huts I had visited early in the morning. Proceeding by & Jåtawa track, to the river bed, their highway to the sea, they had come on the tracks of my party and followed them down to see who we were, and where we had come from. Having arrived at nearly the bottom of the river they broke off through the jungle in order to avoid the deep water, and came out on the coast, thus missing my boat. Here they found the launch, and after watching it for an hour and-a-half, and finding themselves unmolested, they had strolled off and found their way to Mr. Bonig's boat. Having looted this they returned, either to the huts from which they came, or to some others near by. While they were following my tracks, Mr. Bonig and his party had come on theirs, and were hurrying after them as fast as possible, arriving an hour too late, and it was then too late to hunt them further, so they had had the narrowest escape. I had been an hour or so too early for them, Mr. Bonig & bare hour too late, while the people on the launch had had them in view for & whole hour and more and had done nothing.
30th January-To-day was a day of comparative rest. As our efforts to come across the Jarawas in the jungle had all been fruitless, we tried to tempt them to attack us. For this purpose the Andamanese were ordered to bathe and play about on the beach, the three women we had with us being landed with the rest. Only two policemen, Mr. Bonig and myself landed and strolled about in an unconcerned manner. But all to no purpose. The wily savages, either from fright or some other reason, declined to oblige us. The Andamanese said that tinding so many people about, they had gone to give intelligence to the remainder of the tribe. However that may be, we could see no signs' of them and at halfpast one, after frequent blowing of the whistle, we left, Mr. Bonig took the steam launch mp to Kaichwa Bay, while I marched up the coast. I found an old shelter on the shore close to Port Campbell, and after that the whole way up the coast the only sign I could find of them was an old piece of wreckage with nails in it, out of which the Jarawas had evidently removed several nails. After the last two days' operations the journey was quite an easy. march of eight miles or so along the beach. On arrival I found Mr. Bonig had taken ' party in to search the jungle. He returned at 6 P.M., having found no signs of any one.
31st January.--Left Kaichwa at 6 A. M. for Port Anson, arriving at 9 A.M. Picked up two Andamanese who knew the country well here and proceeded to the southern end of the harbour called by the Andamanese Dum-la-chorag. Set off for the shore at once with four policemen and a large party of Andamanese. We rowed a short way up a creek called by the Adamanese Dum-la-chorag-jig, and then landed in the mangrove swamy, taking the precaution to hide our rowlooks in the jungle. We marched through this for two or three miles. It was fairly opon ground, but the mangrove mud was rather trying walking. At the end of the gwamp we diviaed into two parties and separated to search for tracks. My party soon picked up some footsteps, and after a little hesitation found a Jarawa path and proceeded along it. This was of the same description as those I had previously struck, and I know we were on a Jara wa highway.
After going about a quarter of a milo we overtook Mr. Bonig's party, which had struck the track a little sooner. We all proceeded along together, and after going up and down-bill for two or three miles, as we ascended a steep bill, a clearing was visible through the jungle,