THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE m 



allow of its discovery, I was almost afraid of imagining a 

 means of transport apparently so improbable. It was there- 

 fore with great interest that I found Chamisso, the justly 

 distinguished naturalist who accompanied Kotzebue, stating 

 that the inhabitants of the Radack archipelago, a group of 

 lagoon-islands in the midst of the Pacific, obtained stones 

 for sharpening their instruments by searching the roots of 

 trees which are cast upon the beach. It will be evident that 

 this must have happened several times, since laws have been 

 established that such stones belong to the chief, and a pun- 

 ishment is inflicted on any one who attempts to steal them 

 When the isolated position of these small islands in the 

 midst of a vast ocean— their great distance from any land 

 excepting that of coral formation, attested by the value 

 which the inhabitants, who are such bold navigators, attach 

 to a stone of any kind, 7 — and the slowness of the currents of 

 the open sea, are all considered, the occurrence of pebbles 

 thus transported does appear wonderful. Stones may often 

 be thus carried; and if the island on which they are stranded 

 is constructed of any other substance besides coral, they 

 would scarcely attract attention, and their origin at least 

 would never be guessed. Moreover, this agency may long 

 escape discovery from the probability of trees, especially 

 those loaded with stones, floating beneath the surface. In 

 the channels of Tierra del Fuego large quantities of drift 

 timber are cast upon the beach, yet it is extremely rare to 

 meet a tree swimming on the water. These facts may pos- 

 sibly throw light on single stones, whether angular or 

 rounded, occasionally found embedded in fine sedimentary 

 masses. 



During another day I visited West Islet, on which the 

 vegetation was perhaps more luxuriant than on any other. 

 The cocoa-nut trees generally grow separate, but here the 

 young ones flourished beneath their tall parents, and formed 

 with their long and curved fronds the most shady arbours. 

 Those alone who have tried it, know how delicious it is to 

 be seated in such shade, and drink the cool pleasant fluid 

 of the cocoa-nut. In this island there is a large bay-like 



* Some natives carried by Kotzebue to Kamtschatka collected stones to 

 take back to their country. 



