372 THE NATURALIST IN NICARAGUA. [Ch. XX. 



ledge, we may seek for it some simpler solution than the 

 migration of a whole people down through North to 

 Central America. That solution is, I helieve, to be 

 found in the fact not taken into consideration by Hum- 

 boldt, that the great Japanese current, after traversing 

 the eastern coast of Japan, sends one large branch nearly 

 directly east across the Pacific to the coast of California, 

 and an offshoot from it passes southward along the 

 Mexican coast and as far as the western coast of Central 

 America. In Kotzebue's narrative of his voyage round 

 the world, he says, " Looking over Adams' diary, I found 

 the following notice 'Brig Forester, March 24, 1815, 

 at sea, upon the coast of California, latitude 32 45' N. 

 longitude 133 3' TV. We saw this morning, at a short 

 distance, a ship, the confused state of whose sails showed 

 that they wanted assistance. TVe bent our course to- 

 wards her, and made out the distressed vessel to be 

 Japanese, which had lost both mast and helm. Only 

 three dying Japanese, the captain and two sailors, were 

 found in the vessel. TVe took these unfortunate people 

 on board our brig, and, after four months' nursing, they 

 entirely recovered. TVe learned from these people that 

 they had sailed from the harbour of Osaka, in Japan, 

 bound for another sea-port, but were overtaken by a 

 storm, in which they lost the helm and mast. Till that 

 day their ship had been drifting about, a mere butt for 

 the winds and waves, during seventeen months ; and of 

 thirty-five men only three remained, all the others having 

 died of hunger.' Is it not likely that in ancient times 

 such accidents may have occurred again and again, and 

 that information of the astronomical and chronological 

 systems of eastern Asia may thus have been brought to 



