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Show 546 KEELING ISLAND. April, 1836. or porous coral rock acts like a sponge; and that the rain water which falls on the ground being specifically lighter than the salt merely floats on its surface, and is subject to the same movements. There can be no actual attraction between salt and fresh water, and the spongy texture must tend to prevent all admixture from slight disturbances. On the other hand, where the foundation consists only of loose fragments, upon a well being dug, salt or brackish water enters ; of which fact we saw an instance on this same island. After d,inner we stayed to see a half superstitious scene acted by the Malay . women. They dress a large wooden spoon in garments, carry it to the grave of a dead man, and then at the full of the moon they pretend it becomes inspired, and will dance and jump about. After the proper preparations, the spoon held by two women became convulsed, and danced in good time to the song of the surroundinP" children and women. It was a most foolish spectacle, b~ Mr. Liesk maintained that many of the Malays believed in its spiritual movement. The dance did not commence till the moon had risen, and it was well worth remaining to behold her bright globe so quietly shining through the long arms of the cocoa-nuts, as they waved in the evening breeze. These ·scenes of the tropics are in themselves so delicious, that they almost equal those dearer ones to which we are bound by each best feeling of the mind. The next day I employed myself in examining the very interesting yet simple structure and origin of these islands. The water being unusually smooth I waded in as far as the living mounds of coral, on which the swell of the open sea breaks. In some of the gullies and hollows there were beautiful green and other coloured :fishes, and the, forms and tints of many of the zoophytes were admirable. It is excusable to grow enthusiastic over the infinite numbers of organic beingo;; with which the sea of the tropics, so prodigal near the surface, having been overlooked ; it has been supposed that sand possessesthepower offiltering the salt which is dissolved in the sea-water. April, 1836. KEELING ISLAND. 547 of life, teems; yet I must confess I think those naturalists who have described in well-known words the submarine - grottoes decked with a thousand beauties, have indulged in rather exuberant language. APRIL 6TH.-I accompanied Captain FitzRoy to an island at the head of the lagoon : the channel was exceedingly intricate, winding through fields of delicately branched corals. We saw several turtle, and two boats were then employed in catching them. The method is rather curious : the water is so clear and shallow, that although at first a turtle quickly dives out of sight, yet in a canoe, or boat under sail, the pursuers after no very long chase come up to it. A man standing ready in the bows, at this moment dashes through the water upon the turtle's back; then clinging with both hands by the shell of its neck, he is carried away till the animal becomes exhausted and is secured. It was quite an interesting chase to see the two boats thus doubling about, and the men dashing into the water trying to seize their prey. When we arrived at the head of the lagoon, we crossed the narrow islet and found a great surf breaking on the windward coast. I can hardly explain the cause, but there is to my mind a considerable degree of grandeur in the view of the outer shores of these lagoon islands. There is a simplicity in the barrier-like beach, the margin of green bushes and tall cocoa-nuts, the solid flat of coral rock, strewed here and there with great fragments, and the line of furious breakers, all rounding away towards either hand. The ocean throwing its waters over the broad reef appears an invincible, allpowerful enemy, yet we see it resisted and even conquered by means which at first seem mo~t weak and inefficient. It is not that the ocean spares the rock of coral; the great fragments scattered over the reef, and accumulated on the beach, whence the tall cocoa-nut springs, plainly bespeak the unrelenting power of its waves. Nor are there any periods of repose granted. The long swell, caused by the gentle but steady action of the trade-wind always blowing in 2 N 2 |