New Orleans daily crescent., 1860-07-02
|siig Crescent, aNouaay gaoniag, saly 2, 1860.

they placed on these shalt walls, whose object was
now clear to me. Near this improvsed kitchen
j they next built sheds, composed of four bamboo
4 poles supporting roof, beneath which the hol~
othufia would be dried in unfayorable weather.
A By nightfall all the preparations were completed,
and the next morning I'VE paid visit to the fisher
men, who received us with great politeness. Each
1 prao had 81 men on bdard and was provided with
six saanpans, or canoes, which we found all busily
engaged in fishing, and generally near the prao to
which they belonged. Seven or eight almost naked
men were diving to sefk the trepang on the bed of
the sea. The boatmfn alone stood upright and
surveyed their labors with masters eye.
4 a burning sun siAged the dripping heads OF
| the divers without causing them the slightest in
/ convenience, but no European would be able to
| carry on such fatiguEng operations for even a
| month. 1t was just about midday, and the Malay
captain informed us that this was the most favor
| able time for fishing. We also noticed the divers
emerging from the water with several captured
holotluria. 1t appears that the higher the sun
| rises the moro easily the animals can be distin-
guished and captured as they crawl on the ocean
bed The divers hardly took time to throw the
holothuria into the boat before they descended
again. So soon as tile sampan was filled it was
| sent ashore and another took its place.
| Our narrator followed one of the boats ashore to
witness the next PROCESS The Raffles' Bay holo-
thuria is about i've 10 six inches in length, and
about two in diameter. 1t forms a cylindrical
fleshy mass, in which hardly any external signs of
organism can be traced. As it lives exclusively at
the bottom OF the water, and is slow mover, it is
| easily captured The predominant quality of q
4
distinguish the sea-cucumber from the ground to
which it bears considerable resemblance in color
| The preparation OF the trepang for market is
effected BY throwing the still-liying animal in a
kettle of boiling sea-water, and stirring it about
continually BY meanso OF long pole resting ON a
fork driven into the ground. This first operation
s concluded in a few minutes; after which the
holothuria is taken out OF its hot bath and slit ID
with knife, in order|to remove the intestnes. 1t
is then thrown into second kettle, where small
| quantity Of water anil the carbonising bark of
munosa tree produce a dense vapor. The object
of this process is to smoke the trepang so that it
may. be kept for a lbnger period. Finally it is
dried in the sun, or under the shed have already
alluded to, should the weather prove nnfavorable.
u. Dumont wa was eolra ageous enough to taste the
tepang, and found lat it ha an affinity to lobster
The haul is eventually carried to the Chinese mar
kets, and sold by the Malays to the wholesale
dealers at Is rupees the plcui Of I25 lbs. On the
occasion | am describing, the captaif estimated
his cargo at 5000, the produce Of three months
fishing.
The Malays have held the monopoly Of this trade
during the memory If the oldest inhabitant, and
the europeans will Hardly deprive them Of it, for
the .eheapness Of the equipment and their extra
ordinary frugality render all rivalry impossible
The inhabitants of Waigian Island to the north |
of New Guinea, prepare the edible holothuria in |
the Malayan fashion, and exchange them fer cotton
and WOODEN stuiis brdnghtto them by few Chinese
junks. Lesson, in hill a Voyage Round the World
tells as that he found in every cabin piles of this
dried leathery substance, which he, however de- |
scribes as very poor eating and declares that it il
only esteemed by the Chinese because they ascribe
TO IT, as to other favprte geiatinous substances
such ~ the agar-aga the shark fins, and the edible
birds nestsa peculiar Strengthening effect and |
hope, by employing n to prepare their exhausted
powers for fresh excesses.
The inhabitants 1.-THE Feiee Islands are declared /
i've &c be- and with some TRUTH the greatest cannibals
and n,9st treacheroas savages in the whole of the
Southern Ucs anh yet the trepang slssrv NJ
tracts many an AmeFicah o. to
this dangerous archipelago WINES tells us III his
s United States Exploring Expedition that he I
met there eountrynan in Capt. EagIaston, who |
had frequently made the trip and explained to |
him fully all the details Of the trade. The first I
thing foreign Spectator does is to make bar |
gain with chief. The latter undertakes the erec-
ton OF cabin to Nry the holothtria, and orders
his subjects to fish dive, the best sort of seas
cucumber is found varying from six to twelve feet
while the smaller specimens crawl about on rocks |
left bare by the ebH-tide.
The animals are captured on the coraine bed of /
the sea, not only byday. but also by nloonshine or
torchlight SO transparent are the crystalline |
wataTs-for at that time they move about actively
IN search Of food The usual price the chieftan is
paid for eask OF freshly landed trepangs Is the
| tooth Of Q spermaceh whale; but musquito pow
der. bullets. vermillion, glass beads and blue cal
ico are also accepted payment. After the ami
mails have been slit open and Quilted, they are
thrown into large dhauldrons, where they stew for
about half an h0urin their sauce; they are them
laid to drain on grating, and finally conveyed to
| the smokehouse, where they remain for several
days exposed to slow fire, ill they perfectly
dried.
1t may easily be imagined that such labor, be-
meath torrid tropical sky, is not Of the most
pleasant; hut that is the last thing cheftain trou
bles his head abouFs In this way Captain Eagles
ton had collected ih seven months and at an outlay
Of about 5000, cargo Of 1900 piculs which he
expected to sell att Canton for S25,000
He had, in addition tortoise shell worth $4,000 on
board. So, You sde, it is by no means bad trade,
this trepang fishery; though hardly think can
recommend tito any speeuator among my readers,
for it is accompanied by such risks that no ship,
knowingly bound 10 the Feejees, can be insured.
Still, IL y man keeps his wits about him. he can
save his skin. The rules for safety are simple
enough; all that is needed is quick eye and
ready hand. The great rule is, never to alIow
canoe Of large size to lie alongside and always to
keep chief on leard as hostage. The sayages
try 70 get possession of smaller vessels in various
ingenious ways. Thus, when the wind Ii blowing
ON Shore they will swim under water, and lift the
anchor, or attach rope to the cable, and then
drag the vessel aHhere If they succeed then all
is up with the crew Uie 0icts Is the rule the salt
ors are murdered and then-eaten.
] Rpn1ferfng Gsaua for EVIL.