made by the European lion-ant.
[6] Physical Description of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, p.
354.
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 1st.--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 islands 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
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