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HISTORY OF THE INDIAN XAYT. 403

the crew of the ship 'Futtel Mine,' which was stated to have
been lost some months before on the ishmd of Nancowrie in that
group. Accordingly, in Decenjber, Lieutenant Collinson sailed
from Prince of Wales' Island, and in his report, dated the 15th
of January, 1823, states that he first searched the Great
Nicobar, when he learned from the natives that a ship had been
lost on the south-west side, about two or three years previous,
but that the siu'vivors had been removed from the island a few
months before by a brig with a European crew. He then
visited the islands of Little Nicobar, Nancowrie, Carmorta, and
Bampoka, the inhabitants of which he describes as "mild and
inoifensive," but he discovered no trace of the missing ship or
crew.
In 1820, on the conclusion of the Expedition against the
Joasmi pirates, a systematic survey of the Persian Gulf was
undertaken under orders of the Bombay Government, which
rightly considered that a thorough knowledge of every creek
and backwater of the pirate coast, was absolutely essential to
enable the Company's cruisers to follow or ferret out the Arab
craft, whose familiarity with the coast enabled them to elude
pursuit. Nearchus was probably one of the first Europeans
to traverse the waters of the Gulf, of which Benjamin of Tudela
speaks in 1292 ; but it was not until the visit of the illustrious
Niebuhr in 17()4, that any attempt was made to construct a
chart. As far as it goes, this chart is described by Lieutenant
J. R. Wellsted, I.N., in his "City of the Caliphs," as of
"extraordinary accuracy." Of the labours of LieutenantMcCluer,
of the Bombay Marine, we have already spoken ; he wrote a
meujoir as well as made a chart of the little traversed waters of
this inland sea, and, at a later period, surveys ctf portions of the
Gulf were made by some ollicers of the Service.
In March, 1811, when the 'Benares' and 'Prince of Wales'
were sent to cruise in the Persian Gulf, an officer was put on
board the 'Benares' specially to survey such places as the
cruising duties would permit fthese vessels returned to Bombay
in November of the same year, and of necessity, the scientilic
results achieved were of that elementary ovdrr known as a
" flying survey."
In November, 1817, Lieutenant Tanner visited the ports of
Bahrein and the pearl banks of that island, for his memoir
and surveys of which he received the thanks of Government, and
they were published in llorsburgh's Directory. To the credit of
this talented and energetic officer it may also here be mentioned
that he established the first regidar code of signals used in the
Bombay Marine, for which CJovernment highly conuuended
him.
Though it was not ujitil 1820 llial the survey of the Persian
Gulf commenced, it appears that the Court o( Directors had
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