The New York herald., 1870-02-10

riously estimated; but there are certainly
not less than thousand boats. pronuclng,
annum This would give an average OF $500 Isl, 500
per boat, and Us the fishery can only DO carried on
from June 10 the end OF September tnat might seem
very fair return. But none OF the boats are
manned With Tess than eight and some OF tnen with
M many as thlrty.tlve or forty hands, ana great
deal or the money made does not ind its way into
tho pockets OF the men who earn u. so poor are
the majority OF these fishermen thar they are hope.
lessy In debt TO the pearl mercnans oi nusnie anu
Ouy food and necessaries, aud In return stpuate
not only for the repayment OF the loan Win usnrious
for The FIRST opslon buying all the pearls that may
bc found the ensuing season by their boat ''at the
py Considered less snan the peas would rSa
from i the exactions OF their merchants" the
divers have To pay tax OF from dollar and a half
10 seven dollars head, according TO The SIZE oil the
boa. to the SheiEh OF Bahren. 1t IS quite certain
that apart the drawbacks, the fishery Is by no
means so renaneraLiye as ~ supposed. Inc diving
is done by men who; having weighted themselves
with stoues, are lowered to the bottom by a rope.
fathOms, and as no diver can stay below water for
more than minute the oysters are gathered very
slowly Generally one day is devoted to collecting
the fish anu the next TO opening them. During the
Inter operation all the men each others sight;
Ior 1t not unreaucntly happens that one OF the fish
ernen attempts to conceal an unusually large PEARL
But perhaps whole weeks nshng VIII not produce
a single pearl of any value. When the English
sner@ea de sell aooqs bactss as Of pearl
oysters 10 the crew AZ q kcraun or little
less than quarter OF dollar, a BUCKET IA these
oysters pearls have been often found. but the specu
latlon Is now looked upon as a bad one by tnooe
who have tried It, As there is no outward distinc-
ton by which the pearl oyster can be picked out
from Its fellows ana as there is always the chance
tnat one particular oyster may be worth b.o0O
kerauns lsl,s5o, It IS pretty certain tnat the Arabs
cure prize. they would not be wiling ~ sell
whole bucAetlrl for 30 paltry a consideration. Of
late years. however, the pearl market has percep-
tlDly lQDrOVeu ESPECIALLY Tor pearls or large size
and fine quality For pearls OF rst quality India
now better market than Europe, ana as pearls are
as necessary a part OF q HmdoO marriage ceremony
goid ring IS among Christians the demand IS
pretty constant for the poorer pearls Also in Cen.
tral Asia ana Mesop0famia and Persia the native
physicians sti frequently grind up pearls to powder
as an lngredent Ol their pOtiOns. Pearls are simply
suphate OF lime. and are the result OF disease IN the
oy9ier.
Not inrrequently there. is ON exceptionally bad
season, and when the fishing has ended the men are
still III debt TO the merchants VINO then refuse to
make any further advances. Widespread distress en-.
sues; for, although the Arabs produce a few dates
ana find occasional employment during the winter
In the carrying trade OF the guif, they are mainly
dependent, as before stated OH the pearl fishery for
tue means TO import from more favored countries
the dates and gram and curry which form their
daily bread Untii recently, years such as these,
they had the unlalllng resource OF piracy, wnlch,
Indeed they practised without the special provoca
ton or hunger. When one remembers the WHd
blood that runs IN their VEINS their chronic poverty
their good seananshiD and their reckless bravery
1t Is by no means strange Inat they should make an
occasional ioray upon peaceful traders.
PIRACY.
At the beginning OF the century piracy in the gulf
was at Its height, and the entirc occupied by
The pearl fishers was put down on tho charts as the
Pirate Coast" one OF their great leaders was
man named Rama Ibn Java, whose memory Is still
green In the minds OF all who live IN The gull. He
had been at one time dealer in horses, but subse-
was SO successful that he gathered together large
feet OF bungalows and carried on his calling upon
nsre oa and a. held It 70 ransom
al length the various powers or the guli combined
against hin and after hard light ne was defeated,
His end, however was worthy or him; Tor, having
called 1or his chibouque, he cOoy thrust 1t into the
powder magazine and blew up the Bungalow, with
himself and its lawless crew. lbn Java lell about
the beginning oi the present century, and since
that time the pirates have always been pretty well
he'd In check; but US every sheikn among The
various AraD tribes possessed piratica bungalows,
and as unless these were detected IN the very act
OF plunder they could not being the Sheikhs war
boats be punished Tor carrying an armament, the
English gunboats were unable completely TO sup.
press buccaneellng until 1s43, when the British
governments forced the various sheikhs 10 sign a
treaty providing Tor truce OF ten years" by this
treaty IL agreed that Arab boat should carry
arms, and that the tribes should not war even
among themselves upon the waters OF the gulf. In
1883 Tits truce expired, but was followed Dy treaty
or perpetual peace among the tribes OF the Arab
coast, stipualag that q, 10 future time, however
OF the gull. II any tribe olfends against
this treaty the tribe attacked must not
Isaaa n a ,ne su % may yno W nns5 70 tine te
guilty parties as pirates. Since this treaty was
signed couple OIL British ships nave been constantly
kept III the gun, and piracy has now practically
ceased Occasional Outrages take place. but 1t is
now nearly year since any instance or the kind
occurred The lasG was perpetrated by buggalow
belonging to aiaii0ned BIN hhirieefa. The tohehn OF
Bahreln, ana he was punished by being turned cut
oi his sneikhdonl.
have now shown how IT WAS that the British gov
ernmcut lirst acquired sort OF vested right Ill the
o. ee a sut ay af PACK ase as ry years
negro slavery IN Jamaica-there was another ques-
ton besides piracy which was selzed upon as pre-
text for lnteIferenceTne slave trade between Africa
ana the gaiI An English agent was Tor many years
Sharak, whose special duty IL was to give
information as 10 expected arrivals slave cargoes
&c and Of time treaties were made between
Great britain and Persia, Oman and the various
Arab sheikhs, giving the former power and author
Suppression OF the slave trade however, the British
nave been less successful than tie matter or
piracy; ior the annual import or slaves Is sui as
large as ever, about 500 finding their way annually
TO various ports. Wherever one goes, indeed,
whether 10 Muscat, Llnga Bushire or Bussoran, he
VIII find abundant evidence that the business Is
stl brlshly carried Stroll about the streets of
either place for haf an hour and you Will almost
certainly encounter q dealer with two or three
slaves IN his wake, for whom, by loud shouting he
endeavors to OBTAIN purchaser The slaves are not
bound, and seem by no means unhappy;
stop the procession and examine tue hu-
man merchandise, carefully looking at their
teeth, feeling ,nelr biceps aud putting them
through various ply Sical exercises, such as jumping
running &e Inc negroes take this scrutiny III per-
feet good parl, and appear anxious to secure some
more permanent owner than the dealer. or course,
am now speaking only OF men; female slaves, who
are cnely sol0 Tor purposes OF concubinage are
kept III the house or the dealer and can only pe ex
amIncd by persons VINO are very probable 10 prove
buyers. The enlre system or slavery among the
Arabs, however is Of very mild type. The Arab
has neither energy nor the Immature TO be an
acting hard master, and MS Religion while 1t
courages human bondage, restfains 1t by many
,nercllul PROVISIONS. Thus a slave can complain to
the cad If he is overworked or illtreated, and the
cadi ness he bribad to do otherwise) declare
the slave free il the charge be proved woman
can demand TO I've sold to a new master even II her
dislike TO her owner be merely feminine caprice
And the AraD and mis- slave are OF the same faith for
the negro taxes TO Mohammedanlsn 10 Arabia or Per-
sia as kindly as he does Methodism In the South
ern States and unity OF faith among Mussulmen is
In very fact bond Of brotherhood.
SLAVE FIELDS.
Most OF the negro slaves are Slds, and come from
Zanzibar, but good number are brought from
ADyssina and are known rs Hubshees. These latter
are very much the more valuable, on account or
their superior Intelligence and trustWorthness. The
Slds are all brought by sea from Zanzibar, but the
Hubshees generally come overland from Jedda and
Mocha the servants Of devotees who nave been to
Mecca on pilgrimage and who make money on their
return trip by bringing home for sale few choice