iful and valuable tree is the Mango, the fruit of
which is extremely useful, both for eating and medicinal purposes. The
eatable part is inclosed in a shell, which lies in a thick, pulpy rind,
Its taste is spicy, very grateful, betwixt sour and sweet, and so
wholesome, that there is hardly any fear of eating too plentifully of
it. The shell is bitter and astringent, and the Nicobar doctors, or
sorcerers, administer a decoction of it against fevers and agues, to
which they, as well as strangers, are much subject.

There is also a vast variety of roots, fruits, and herbs, with the
medicinal virtues of which the sorcerers are well acquainted. They are,
no doubt, noticed by various authors, but I am not able to describe
them.

As to the beasts and reptiles existing in these islands, I shall only
mention what has come under my own observation, and remains in my
recollection. There are no wild beasts here, such as tygers and
leopards, as on the coast of Coromandel. Monkies are found in the
southernmost islands, Sambelong, Tavap, and Katsoll. In some others are
large herds of buffaloes and other cattle, originally brought thither
by the Danes, but which have run wild in the woods, since the
abandonment of the colony. They have increased prodigiously; and as the
upper regions of the mountains are covered with vast quantities of fine
grass, they find food in abundance, and grow to a large size,
especially the buffaloes. These are always seen in herds, and I never
ventured to shoot any, though I longed to procure some of their flesh
for our use. Dogs and swine are found in all the islands.

Serpents are numerous in some places, but they are far less abundant
and venomous, than on the coast of Coromandel. The chief cause of this
difference I am apt to ascribe to a custom, prevalent among the
natives, of setting the long grass on the mountains on fire, two or
three times a-year. As these reptiles like to lay their eggs in the
grass, great quantities of them are thus destroyed. One kind of serpent
struck me here as a singular species; it is of a green colour, has a
broad head and mouth like a frog, very red eyes, and its bite is so
venomous, that I saw a woman die within half an hour after receiving
the wound. She had climbed a high tree in search of fruit, and not
observing the animal among the branches, was suddenly bitten in the
arm. Being well aware of the danger, she immediately descended, but, on
reaching the ground, reeled