341 NO:1KHALI The wild animals of Noakhalí include the tiger, leopard (both now extremely rare, and confined to the neighbourhood of the hills on the borders of Hill Tipperal), buffalo, boar, and several kinds of deer. Of small game there are hares, pheasants, partridges, quail, plovers, snipe, duck, teal, etc. History'.—Little is known of the cariy history of Noakhálí; but it is supposed that the first Muhammadan settlements were made at the tine of the invasion of South-Eastern Bengal by Vuhammad Taghral, in 1279 A.D. In 1353 the country was overrun by Shams-ud-din, Governor of Bengal. In 1583, when the Afgháns were defeated by Khan Azim, many of them fled to the frontier, and some, in all probability, took refuge in these parts. A few of the early Arab settlers in Sind and along the Malabar coast may have found their way hither by sea, prior to any of the above named immigrations, as the writings of the early Arab geographers show that they had some knowledge of this coast. Cæsar Frederick, the Venetian traveller, in 1565 described the inliabitants of Sandwip as 'Moors,' and stated that the island was one of the most fertile places in the country, densely populated, and well cultivated. Provisions, he says, were very cheap; and he adds that two hundred ships were laden yearly with salt, and that such was the abundance of materials for shipbuilding, that the Sultán of Constantinople found it cheaper to have his vessels built here than at Alexandria. Purchas, circu 1620, mentions that most of the inhabitants near the shore were Muhammadans; and there are several mosques on Sandwip Island two hundred years old, and others at Bajrá and elsewhere on the mainland, of a still greater age. The Wuhanmadan population of the islands around the mouths of the Meghná practised piracy up to a comparatively recent clate. The last pirate of note was Dilai Rájá of Sandwíp, who kept a small arny in his pay. He was eventually captured by the Nawab of Bengal, and ended his days in an iron cage at Murshidabad. The Portuguese at one time played an important part in the affairs of this part of the country. They first made their appearance about the end of the 16th century, when they are mentioned as being in the employ of the Raja of Arakan, many of them holding high commands, and possessing extensive grants on the mainland and in the adjacent islands. In 1607 they gave offence to the Rájá of Arakan, who determined to expel them from his dominions. Many of them were put to death; but a number escaped in small vessels, and betook themselves to the congenial occupation of piracy, for which the numerous islands at the mouths of the Ganges afforded ample scope. Against these pirates, the Mughal governor of Sandwip, Fateh Khán, sent an expedition of 40 vessels and 600 soldiers, having first ordered
