XX 
STONES TRANSPORTED BY TREES 
491 
ever, I considered the great distance from the nearest land, the 
combination of chances against a stone thus being entangled, 
the tree washed into the sea, floated so far, then landed safely, 
and the stone finally so embedded as to allow of its discovery, I 
was almost afraid of imagining a means of transport apparently 
so improbable. It was therefore 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 punishment 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, 1 —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 possibly 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 
1 Some natives carried by Kotzebue to Kamtschatka collected stones to take 
back to their country. 
