CHAPTER XX 



Keeling Island: — Coral Formations 



Keeling Island — Singular appearance — Scanty Flora — Transport of 

 Seeds — Birds and Insects — Ebbing and flowing Springs — Fields of 

 dead Coral — Stones transported in the roots of Trees — Great Crab 

 — Stinging Corals — Coral-eating Fish — Coral Formations— Lagoon 

 Islands, or Atolls — Depth at which reef-building Corals can live — 

 Vast Areas interspersed with low Coral Islands — Subsidence of 

 their foundations — Barrier Reefs — Fringing Reefs — Conversion of 

 Fringing Reefs into Barrier Reefs, and into Atolls — Evidence of 

 changes in Level — Breaches in Barrier Reefs — Maldiva Atolls; 

 their peculiar structure — Dead and submerged Reefs — Areas of 

 subsidence and elevation — Distribution of Volcanoes — Subsidence 

 slow, and vast in amount. 



APRIL ist. — We arrived in view of the Keeling or 



Cocos Islands, 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. Liesk, 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 Malay slaves, which now, 

 including children, amount to more than a hundred. Shortly 

 afterwards, Captain Ross, who had before visited these isl- 

 ands 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 Malay slaves soon ran away from the islet on which 

 Mr. Hare was settled, and joined Captain Ross's party. Mr. 

 Hare upon this was ultimately obliged to leave the place. 



The Malays are now nominally in a state of freedom, and 

 certainly are so s as far as regards their personal treatment; 



477 



