PREFACE 



Foe fifteen months I dwelt in Cocos-Keeling atoll. The 

 charm of so remote a spot, the romance of its story and of its 

 proprietor, and the fact that it was Darwin's atoll, were the 

 reasons for my residence — its purpose was the medical care 

 of the handful of men engaged in working the cable which 

 breaks its journey from Australia to Africa upon the shores of 

 the most northern islet of the group. 



Upon this islet — Pulu Tikus — I lived, and shared its 

 inconsiderable strip of coral land — some thousand yards in 

 length — with fifteen Europeans, some twenty Chinese servants, 

 three Malay boatmen, and two Hindoo clerks. The outlets 

 for medical enthusiasm were therefore strictly limited, and 

 much time was to hand for the study of the place and its 

 fauna, and for speculating upon the problem of how so tiny a 

 speck of land came to be made in the midst of that great 

 waste of ocean. 



I arrived early in June 1905, and lived upon Pulu Tikus 

 until September 30, 1906. In January 1907 I returned, and, 

 for a time, lived with the Governor at his home on Pulu 

 Selma. During all these months I examined every portion of 

 the atoll, became familiar with its living creatures, and made 

 every endeavour to appreciate the life-processes of those most 

 misunderstood of architects — the reef-building corals. Most 

 of my days were passed in wading about the barrier flats, 

 sailing or paddling a boat in the lagoon, or making excursions 

 ■to the other islands of the atoll ring. The beauty of the clear 

 water of the lagoon and the breaking surf of the barrier made 

 these journey ings a perpetual delight, for the whole field-work 



