Page:On the Coromandel Coast.djvu/23

 They say that it is the result of the curse laid upon the descendants of the murderers of St. Thomas; and cholera, they aver, is the work of the malign goddess, Kali.

The boats return between five and six in the evening, sailing landwards with their square sails set. The patches of brown upon the horizon redden in the glow of the setting sun. The colour of the sea deepens to a rich purple. The sky overhead is spanned with broad belts of rosy light stretching from the west to the very verge of the sea-line on the east. The log-boats rise on the long rollers, and sink out of sight in the trough of the waves until they are near the breakers. The paddles twirl with marvellous rapidity in the endeavour to keep the rudderless boats straight on the waves. Usually they ride in successfully, but now and then it happens that in spite of all his efforts the Muckwa gets caught broadside on by a vicious wave. The logs part company, letting him drop through into the sea. He seizes his basket of fish and leaves the rest of his property to take care of itself. Through the boiling surf he comes with a debris of floating planks, logs, mast, sail, and paddles. Unceremoniously the sea rolls him ashore, tossing his disintegrated boat after him. Its wrecking causes no damage whatever, and the morrow sees the little fishing craft reconstructed with all its pristine strength and durability. No one is anxious about the result of the accident, for no one doubts that the amphibious Muckwa will reach the shore safely and retrieve every stick of his scattered property.

The harbour at Madras was in course of construction in 1877, and it was not sufficiently advanced to allow of ships anchoring within it; we therefore had to pass through the surf just as men and women of all ages had done before us. There had been a storm recently, and the sea was rougher than usual in the month of September. The prospect of boarding the heaving masulah boat that