242 KEELING ISLAND. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Keeling Island — Singular Appearance — Scanty Flora — Transport 

 of Seeds— Birds and Insects— Ebbing and riowing Springs- 

 Fields ol' dead Coral— Stones transported in the Koots of Trees 

 —Great Crab— Stinging Corals— Coral-eating Fish— Coral For- 

 mations — Lagoon Islands or Atolls — Depth at which reef-build- 

 ing Corals can live— Vast Areas interspersed with low Coral 

 Islands — Subsidence of their Foundations — Harrier Reefs — 

 Fringing Heels— Conversion of Fringing Heefs into Barrier 

 Reels and into Atolls — Evidence of Changes in Level — Breach- 

 es in Barrier Reefs — Maldiva Atolls; their peculiar Structure-^ 

 Dead and submerged Reefs — Areas of Subsidence and Eleva- 

 tion—Distribution of Volcanoes— Subsidence Slow, and vast 

 ia Amount. 



KEELING ISLAND (OUAL FORMATIONS. 



April 1st. — We aiTived in view of the Keeling 

 or Cocos Lslaiuls, situated in the Indian Ocean, and 

 about six hundred miles distant from the coast of 

 Sumatra. This is one of the lagoon-islands (or 

 atolls) of coral formation, similar to those in the 

 Low Archipelago which we passed near. When 

 the ship was in the channel at the entrance, Mr. 

 Licsk, an English resident, came off in his boat. 

 The history of the inhabitants of this place, in as 

 few words as possible, is as follows. About nine 

 years ago, Mr. Hare, a worthless character, brought 

 from the East Indian Archipelago a number of Ma- 

 lay slaves, which now, including children, amount 

 to more than a hundred. Shortly afterwards. Cap- 

 tain Ross, who had before visited these islands in 

 his merchant-ship, arrived from England, bringing 

 with him his family and goods for settlement : along 

 with him came Mr. Liesk, who had been a mate in 

 his vessel. The INIalay slaves soon ran away from 

 the islet oil which Mr. Hare was settled, and join- 



