The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1879-12-04
Sponge Gathering Around Key West.

l remember using sponges in my
school-boy days without a thought of
whence they came, how obtained, or
their previous condition. Although lit
tie, the sponges which we may find ex-
posed for sale in drug-stores and other
places, look unlike animals, yet by our
naturalists they have been classed with
the lowest order of the animal species
The sponge may be found in the vari-
Gus sub-tropical waters of the world.
The principal sponging- grounds of the
United States are the waters around
Key West and along the western coast
of Florida, from Tampa Bay on the
south to Pensacola on the northeast
The sponge schooners have two places
to clean their sponges when coast-spong-
ing. One at Anclote Keys, the other at
Rock Island.
Of the sponge we have several varie-
ties, classed according to their marketa-
BILE value as "sheep WOOL" yellow"
q" fox glove" grass" ETC., besides one
class, the " loggerhead,'' which has no
value, and is not thought worth picking
up. The first named is the variety most
ly sought, as it bears the best market
price. The most of the vessels engaged
in the sponge trade are owned and fitted
out at Key West. The outfit of a sponge
schooner consists in number of long
poles with hooks fastened on the end
for gathering, and from three to seven
small boats called "dingys," from to
Is men-according to the number of
boats-with provisions for from to -
wapEc. wafnr-rlac cSaS atc
Having curiosity to see actual
sponge gathering, last Monday morn
ing found me aboard the schooner
Samiler," spinning towards the bars;
but owing to light winds during the day
we did not arrive till after nightfall.
Tuesday morning, however, sponging
commenced in earnest. Shortly after
sunrise the "dingys," manned by two
men each, with water-glasses, sponge
hooks, ETC., set off in quest of sponges.
One of the men in the "dingy'' sculls
the boat about here and there, while the
other, lying across the boats thwart
with his head in the water-glass, scans
the bottom for sponges. The water
glass used by the spongers is nothing
but common wooden pail, with a cir
cular pane of glass for bottom. Plac-
ing this upright in the water, and put
ting the head in far enough to exclude
most of the light, one can easily see an
object ON the bottom in 6 or I fathoms
of water The sponger, when he sees a
sponge, by the waving of his hand di-
reefs the sculler how to go, and when in
a desirable position he thrusts his long
pole down and hooks his sponge.
The vessels usually remain out upon
the bars from Monday until Friday even
ing of each week, coming into the Keys
Friday night, in order to clean the
sponges which they had gathered the
week previous, put those gathered the
present week into the crawls, put theil
wood and water on board, and prepare
for the next week. The sponges which
they gather one week are put in crawl'
or pens, made by driving posts into the
sand, where, at low water, they will bt
quite or almost dry. Here they are lef
until the next Saturday, to be washed by
the tides. On the following Saturday
they are cleansed by striking them ont
OF two light blows with paddle. Wher
the sponges are cleaned, they are taker
aboard the schooner and strung OF
strings usually about five and half fee
long, when they are thrown upon th'
beach to bleach and dry.
The number of vessels engaged il
sponging from Key West probabl..
reaches 125, gathering sponges to tn
value of about 100000 annually. Be
sides the Key West schooners, we hav'
about 40 or so fitted out from Ceda
Keys and Oglockney.-Farnaer AM
Fruit GroaCer.