CHAPTER XXV 



SILICIFIED CORALS AND FLINTS 



SILICIFIED corals, together with siliceous minerals (quartz, chal- 

 cedony, jasper, &c.) and siliceous concretions are evidently widely 

 distributed in these islands. Kleinschmidt in his journal refers to 

 large blocks of flint on the island of Ono, from which the natives 

 used to obtain their musket-flints, 1 and he collected from this 

 island as well as from Viti Levu, Ovalau, &c., numerous specimens 

 of these and other siliceous minerals and rocks, such as hornstone, 

 chalcedony and jasper, which were examined by Wichmann and 

 described in his paper. 2 Mr. Andrews observed silicified corals on 

 the summits and higher slopes of Vanua Mbalavu. 3 The Fijian 

 name for flints, " ngiwa " (thunderbolt) or " vatu-ngiwa " (stone- 

 thunderbolt), affords a good instance of that curious superstition 

 connected with the origin of these stones, which came also under 

 my notice in the Solomon Islands, 4 and in fact is widely spread. 



In Vanua Levu these siliceous rocks and minerals are in places 

 abundant. They are especially frequent on the surface of the 

 extensive low plains on the north side of the island which consti- 

 tute the basins of the Sarawanga, Ndreketi, Wailevu, and Lam- 

 basa rivers ; but it is in the low-lying district of Kalikoso, in the 

 north-eastern part, that they exist in the greatest quantity. They 

 do not occur usually at greater elevations than 300 feet, and are 

 found as a rule at much lower levels. 



It must be understood that reference is not here made to quartz- 

 veins, such as are found in certain localities and of which mention 

 is made on pages 106, 116. It is not with the ordinary products 



1 Reisen auf den Viti-Inseln, as quoted on p. 22. 



2 Petrographie des Viti-Archipels^ quoted on p. 293. 



3 See work quoted on p. 378. 



4 Solomon Islands and their Natives, by H. B. Guppy, p. 78. 



