From The Absence
Of Any Better Explanation, I Came To The Conclusion That
It Must Have Come Entangled In The
Roots of some large tree:
when, however, 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, [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 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 seated in such shade, and drink the cool pleasant fluid
of the cocoa-nut. In this island there is a large bay-like
space, composed of the finest white sand: it is quite level
and is only covered by the tide at high water; from this
large bay smaller creeks penetrate the surrounding woods.
To see a field of glittering white sand, representing water,
with the cocoa-nut trees extending their tall and waving
trunks around the margin, formed a singular and very pretty
view.
I have before alluded to a crab which lives on the cocoa-nuts;
it is very common on all parts of the dry land, and
grows to a monstrous size: it is closely allied or identical
with the Birgos latro. The front pair of legs terminate in
very strong and heavy pincers, and the last pair are fitted
with others weaker and much narrower. It would at first
be thought quite impossible for a crab to open a strong
cocoa-nut covered with the husk; but Mr. Liesk assures me
that he has repeatedly seen this effected. The crab begins
by tearing the husk, fibre by fibre, and always from that
end under which the three eye-holes are situated; when this
is completed, the crab commences hammering with its heavy
claws on one of the eye-holes till an opening is made. Then
turning round its body, by the aid of its posterior and narrow
pair of pincers, it extracts the white albuminous substance.
I think this is as curious a case of instinct as ever
I heard of, and likewise of adaptation in structure between
two objects apparently so remote from each other in the
scheme of nature, as a crab and a cocoa-nut tree. The
Birgos is diurnal in its habits; but every night it is said to
pay a visit to the sea, no doubt for the purpose of moistening
its branchiae. The young are likewise hatched, and live for
some time, on the coast. These crabs inhabit deep burrows,
which they hollow out beneath the roots of trees; and where
they accumulate surprising quantities of the picked fibres
of the cocoa-nut husk, on which they rest as on a bed. The
Malays sometimes take advantage of this, and collect the
fibrous mass to use as junk. These crabs are very good to
eat; moreover, under the tail of the larger ones there is a
mass of fat, which, when melted, sometimes yields as much
as a quart bottle full of limpid oil. It has been stated by
some authors that the Birgos crawls up the cocoa-nut trees
for the purpose of stealing the nuts: I very much doubt the
possibility of this; but with the Pandanus [8] the task would be
very much easier. I was told by Mr. Liesk that on these
islands the Birgos lives only on the nuts which have fallen
to the ground.
Captain Moresby informs me that this crab inhabits the
Chagos and Seychelle groups, but not the neighbouring Maldiva
archipelago. It formerly abounded at Mauritius, but
only a few small ones are now found there. In the Pacific,
this species, or one with closely allied habits, is said [9] to
inhabit a single coral island, north of the Society group. To
show the wonderful strength of the front pair of pincers, I
may mention, that Captain Moresby confined one in a strong
tin-box, which had held biscuits, the lid being secured with
wire; but the crab turned down the edges and escaped.
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