88 



wonderful properties and given a worth far in excess of its intrin- 

 sic value. It was known as coco de mer, coco de Solomon, and 

 coco des Maldives, this last name being applied because so many 

 of these nuts had been found floating in the sea near the Maldive 

 Islands. It was averred by these ancient people that it was not a 

 product of the earth but of the sea, and the Malay and Chinese 

 sailors insisted that it grew on a tree deep in the water off the 

 coast of Sumatra, but that the tree instantly disappeared when 

 they dived down to see it. The negro priests were firm in the 

 belief that it grew near the island of Java, its branches protruding 

 above the water, and that here a monstrous bird had its home, 

 from which it made nightly sorties to the land, killing tigers, ele- 

 phants and other large animals ; they further asserted that ships 

 were attracted by the waves which surrounded the tree, an attrac- 

 tion from which there was no escape, and that the sailors fell an 

 easy prey to this voracious bird. One can well understand with 

 what care the poor superstitious sailors of the Indian Archipelago 

 must have avoided this spot. 



Not only did these tales serve to bring the fruit into notice, but 

 its reputed value as an antidote to poisons made its acquisition 

 greatly to be desired by the princes of Hindostan, who, prone to 

 use such poisons on others, were constantly in fear of being made 

 victims themselves of some wily poisoner. 



It is not strange that they were willing to pay large sums for 

 these mysterious objects which would protect them from their 

 enemies. They firmly believed that water which had been kept in 

 one of these was purified from all harm, and could be drunk with im- 

 punity, no matter how active may have been the poison placed in 

 the liquid. The sovereign of the Maldives was not long in turning 

 this to his own advantage as a means of increasing his wealth, for 

 he made it a matter of death for any one to have in his posses- 

 sion one of these nuts — all ^vere his property, which he disposed 

 of at a high price or used in making royal presents. But in 1743, 

 upon the discovery of rhe tree which bore these fruits, this value 

 and repute quickly subsided, for, so they must have reasoned, 

 where there is no mystery how can there be any virtue. 



One of the earlier accounts of this palm occurs in a book of 

 voyages published in 1 776 in Paris.* A plate illustrating the 

 Seychelles themselves and several other plates depicting features 

 of the palm and its fruit are given. It is there stated that many 

 of these palms grow near the shore of the sea, most of the fruit of 

 such trees dropping into the sea and floating upon its surface. 

 The winds waft them, and the currents, the direction of which in 

 those parts is E.N.E., carry them to the shores of the Maldives, 

 the only part of the world where these fruits had been known 

 previous to the discovery of their origin on the Seychelles. 



The palm grows upon three of the islands of the Seychelles, 

 occuring in all parts of them, the best trees growing in deep gorges. 

 One such gorge on the island of Praslin is known as the Ravine 



* Voyage a la Nouvelle Guinee par M. Sonnerat. Paris. 1776. 



