The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1878-04-19

"they nave come great way,
many of them, to pitch their tents
here on the coast, and dive every
day, during eight or nine weeks,
Tor the pearl.oy ysters."
"Pearl,oystersW asked Thought;
"why what are pearl-oystersW
'EYou have seen baskets of oys-
tcrs, of course, many times in the
fish markets." the gilt-edged book
continued. 81 mean oysters in the
shells, just as they came out of the
river. Have you ever noticed,
when the shells have been opened,
and the oysters taken out, how
pretty and glossy the inside of the
shell isl Well, that polished in
side is called 'mother. .ofpearl,' and
is frequently cut ont for kufe-han-
dies and many other things. Some
times, after oysters have grown
old, IA juice runs from them and
collects on to this mothcr-of-pearl
in the shape of pea. In time it
grows very hard, and becomes a
pearl. A few of these oysters CON
tanning pearls have been found in
the United States; but nearly all
the best pearls that we see in the
jewelers. windows or in peoples
rings come from away of here in
the Persian gnlf."
a great many of the men had
how got into the boats and pushed
away from the shore. Laura could
see that they were going away to
the diving ground, and she began
to feel excited and anxious to find
out the way they got the oysters
from the bottom of the deep water.
In a moment or two forty or fifty
of the boats glided away under the
midnight moon, while the men were
singing a wild, plaintive song.
Their paddles dipped the ripping
water as regularly as the tick of a
clock their voices rose louder and
clearer as the boats grew smaller
aud smaller in the distance.
At sunrise they had come to the
end of their journey. The men who
were to dive dropped the paddles,
and stood up ready to begin their
dangerous work They had color.
ed cloths bound their hips, and
their uecked bodies and legs were
shiny with oil. Laura could see
for she was near, of course-that
the divers were filling their ears
with cotton, and placing wooden
pincers on their noses to keep out
the water. A bag to put the oys.
tcrs in WAS fastened around the
neck of each; long, sharp knives
we're given them to fight the
sharks with; and then quick
plunge and splash, and the divers
dalted through the clear water TO
the rocky bottom.
"Therc are two moments IN n divers life !:
One whrn bcggar, he prepares to plunge;
| Then when, a prince, he rises with his
pearl"
They have been down only one
minute, for they cannot hold their
breath any longer, and are coming
up. Their faces are very red, their
eyes blpodshot, and the nose and
ears of each are bleeding. Those
who have been waiting in the boats
pull them in, empty the, shells that
have been picked up, and then take
their turn in going down.
"If You will look closely at these
divers said the gilt-cdged book to
Laura's thought, "you will see that
they look yellow and Sickly; that
many OF then have bent backs.
crooked limbs, or sores on their
bodies, They seldom live to be
very old"
The most of them dove a good
many times while Laura looked OF;
and she began to wonder when they
would go home and take the pearls
from the oysters. AT noon IL great
swarm of sharks came around the
boats, and tried very hard to catch
man between their teeth. These
great fish are hard to escape from
when you are in the water, because
they are large, have great mouths,
and are very quick. But the pearl
divers know how to manage with
them. They wait until the shark
is near, then they dive under him
as quickly as you could wink, and
stab him with IA long knife. The
gilt-edged book told Laura allabout
this; and when the divers had re-
turned to their tents and emptied
the oysters from the boats, it ex.
planned to her how they get the
shells open. They turned them in
to deep holes dug along the shore;
and when the sun came out bright
and hot, its heat, after while,
made them fall apart. When the
pearls are all picked out, they are
put into sieves. washed, and then
spread out OH cloths to dry.
"Here they are" said the book,
"hundreds of them, pink and white
and sky-blue, large and small, all
precious gems. They are going to
Paris, Londcn and New York, per
haps to all Of the great cities of the
world. They will be put in the
rings, the necklaces, the pins OF
the rich some of them may find a
place in the crown Of great king
or queen. Which shall we choose
for our owng Here is this one as
large as a cherry and as pure and
white as a lily-leaf, 1t is next to
the largest that is ever found, and
is called a Iiadem PEARL Some
one of the divers has risked his life