OCEAN, THE UNIVERSAL HIGHWAY 201 



man more venturesome than his fellows balanced 

 himself upon a floating log while bathing in the sea, 

 and, with a sense of mingled terror and delight, found 

 himself being carried along over the mysterious and 

 unstable element. Doubtless, as the current gradually 

 swept him seaward, and he became aware of the in- 

 creased distance between himself and the land, terror 

 dominated his feelings, but instead of paralyzing his 

 energies it drove him to try and direct the course of 

 his log by paddling with his hands. Not, of course, 

 at first by breaking off a branch and using that as 

 an oar, although I believe such great inventions did 

 come at once by an intuitive flash, such as we may 

 often see among animals who suddenly discover for 

 themselves an improved way of doing things, which 

 almost argues the possession of high reasoning powers. 

 Now, lest this preliminary supposition may appear 

 far-fetched and improbable to some of my readers, let 

 me say at once that as it is a well-known physiological 

 fact that the whole history of the evolution of a type 

 may be seen in the development of its embryo, so 

 to-day the evolution of seafaring from its earliest 

 inception may be witnessed by the observant traveller 

 round the world. Even in so highly civilized a 

 country as Hindostan the simple native of some parts 

 of the coast may be seen seafaring under the most 

 primitive conditions, only one stage, indeed, removed 

 from the original floating tree-trunk. The fisherman 

 of the Coromandel coast procures three rough logs, and 

 lashes them together with yarn spun from cocoanut 

 fibre, or, as we say at sea, seizes them together in three 

 places. It is the first timid, tentative step towards 

 shipbuilding ; from it to the dug-out or canoe hollowed 



