The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1830-04-01
TBEpEARL FISHERY.
W0NDERs OF THE DEEP,

WX*Xt*bIh VIZ AhL bEEEf
7+as(o n nc Inisriior Of .Nerico in 1895
6-75. A Lfus. n. ". HardH X. NJ sro.
Pp. $40, 4endon. 1919. Colbnrn s. Ben
We an not Ho.ten.otu, but civilized
critics; and will not, therefore, receive the
accounts Of the gallant author of these
travels il The rude manner recorded in the
note at thebottom Of our page .772; though
Ike Mr.. Waterton, in his "Wenderings."
we coniess be has somewhat staggered us
with the strsuRe facts he relates. Being
Q commissioners for the Company formed
to fish for pearls and coral in the Gulf of
California, the worthy lieutenant certainly
proceeded op IN errand that was likely 10
produce unsxpected and extraordinary re.
sults; but we we're not prepared for the We.
Try unexpected and extraordinary results
stated in this volume. As an example, We
will begin with q sub marine tale, iounded
On dsscants-ts drag The peeriy Treasure
from the deep.
s"3hs oyster secures itself so firmly 10
the rocks by it's beard, that it requires no
little force to tear it away; and as its ex-
ternal surface is full ofsharp points, the
hands are soon seyerely cut by them,-
The effect ofthe bpoyanSy of the water is
also curious At the dePshi Of sevew or
eight falhoms, itrequres exortion 10 keep
down; and if you then attempt q lay hold
on rock with The hands, you find yourself {
as it were, suspended, 60 that ifyo let 20
your hold you will Immediately ti!Nble up-
yards! remember, the fret oyster syerl
met with was at the depth Of -four fathomso
only; my head was almost touching il, and
forgetting, in my pleasure, to strike out
with my legs, as stretched forward my
hand TO catch hold of tho prize, to my az
tonishment the oyster clipped from my
grasp, and / found myself nearly at the
surface ofthe water the next instant; 90
tbatl had al my labour for nothing. $50
frmlydoes us oyster fix himself 70 the |
rocks that. 10 order 10 tear him away, il is |
neS My to get SO purchase" upon him by |
placing The feet at the bottom. Tho ex-
cessiye difficulty of doing this, is incredi, |
Bile; il requires the muscular strength of
the whole body to overcome the resistance
Of the waters buoyoncy. Ihaye no doubt
that, by means Gifts long beard, the oyctor
has the power Of locomotion, and that il
changes it's situation according to its pleas
ure or convenience. One principal object
Of inquiry, however, was obtained; namely,
the true situation ofthe shells under water.
| found that he'd been in complete or.
ror in Supposing thom formed in beds; that
is, in hcaps as the word bed would seem
TO indicate. With this impression I loft
EDgland, and continued ia it till have
now convinced myselfby actual investiga.
ticB, OF the error into which bad been led
by every body with whom ! had converscd
on the subject. A moments reflection
would have pointed out the impossibility of
the oysters being piled in heaps together
il this gulf. This Gsb always seeks for
tranquility, which it could never find, in
situations exposed to currents, and motions
occssioned by the undulations of the wa.
ter. / always found them in sheltered
bays, the bottoms Of which warc covered
with largo rocks. This brings me TO con.
slider tho reason why a dying. boil, nj
least in the Gulf of California, can never
be proftably employed. After reaching the
bottom, if the greater surface be consider.
cd bottom, there are frequently found
chsems in the rock below, which extend
from one 20 two, or even three fathoms
lower. IL down these apertures that the
diver most generally expects to meet with
oysters, which even here conceal them
selves in the cavities Of the rock; and as
the power of vision fails in so dense q mo.
dium, particularly iftbs depth be consider
able, and the surface rough, the diver is
obliged 10 insert not his hand only, but ey-
en- lis head, into every hole ond corner,
like person cropping about in the dark;
holding on tho while. by the points Of the
rock, 10 prevent his rising TO the top, in
consequence Of the waters buoyuncy, al
the dspth, for example, Of seven or eight
fatAoms, beyond which cannot Gpeak from
experience. The perception OF objects
under water at this depth 10 very indistinct,
and their magnitude is augmented, so that
very small shell appears Of large dimen
sioDs, and the diver is frequently mortified
by the discovery Of the mistake when he
rises. II is strnngo that the deception
should not bo detected by the Touch, but it
would appear, that in the same way aS the
eyes measure the capacity Of the stomach,
so also do they convey TO the hands sort
Of conviction that the dpparenL is the trlt
size $50 that these organs take pleasure in
mutually deluding each other The ifs.
sures in the rocks, in these submarine Sit
uationS, do not frequently exceed ten inch.
es or foot; 80 that in descending, the
back, chest, and knoes, are sometimes
dreadfnlly laceratod.
Intact it might be said that tho men in
diWngbell would remain suspended half
way between hopes and realization, and
wonld feel, as ] Sometimes did when wos
crawling about the bottom, "like fish out
Of wuteT,"--tn odd expression, by tho by,
for fellow eight fathoRs deep I am
convinced that there is no stimulant so
great as hope. Under its influence, the
diver is insensible 10 danger, although he