COCOS— A TALE OF TREASURE 259 



spades and picks perforated with the rust of years, 

 corrugated remnants of huts, were to be found 

 along the shores. The records of many ships were 

 carved on great boulders at the mouth of the stream 

 that rushes down the ravine and spreads in a broad 

 shallow across the beach. The oldest ones might 

 have been written in a strange invisible ink, for at 

 low tide they were indecipherable on the sun-dried 

 tablets of the rocks ; then at high water, as the first 

 breaker dashed over them, the weather-worn letters 

 magically appeared like a picture resolving in a 

 crystal. The earliest date that we could read was 

 1797, left by "HIS BRIT MAG' SCHr LES 

 DEUX-AMIS." We looked in vain for Van- 

 couver's name and date, to the carving of which 

 he refers. Other inscriptions, some much garbled 

 and incomprehensible, are here set down: 



Bk VIRGINIA— MARKS— A. Savvely 1875 



H R VIGILANT Sept 3, 1862 



Jos GRANT Nantucket 



ADDISON 1861 



VAPOR 



BARK, Tybee, Feb/58 



G. Duffy Oct. 30 1843 



BRIG Adeon Wm Low Nov 20—1830 



J. Maria ZELEDON Julio 22 1879 



BK ANARORA J M E 



P. H. 1851 



S. ENTERPRISE N. T. Dec. 1855 



Ship SUSAN P. Howland Aug. 26 1851 



BARK Java Nov 14/56 



N. P. J. R. Lawrence 



