Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1879-11-27
Searching for SpOnges.

Searching for SpOnges.
l remember using sponges in my
school-boy days without a thought
whence they came, how obtained, OF
their previous condition. Although
little, the sponges which we may find
exposed 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 va
rious subtrOpiCal 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
sponging-one at Anclote Keys, and
the other at Rock Island.
Of the sponge we have several va
rieties, classed according to their mar
ketable value as "sheep WOOL" "yel-
low," "fOx glove" "grass," etc., be-
sides one class, the "logger-head," >"
which has no value, and is not thought
worth picking up. The first named is
the variety mostly 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 sponge schooner consists in a
number Of long poles with hooks fast
ened on the end for gathering, and
from three to seven boats called
"dingys," from seven to fifteen men
according to the number of boats-with
provisions for from eight to twelve
weeks; water glasses.
Having curiosity to see actual
sponge gathering, last Monday morn
ing found me aboard the schooner
Samfler," spinning toward the bars;
but owing to the light winds during the
day we did not arrive till after night
fall. Tuesday morning, however,
sponging commenced in earnest.
Shortly after sunrise the " dingys,"
manned by two men each, with water
glasses, spOnge-hOOks, etc., set out 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 a common
deep wooden pail, with a circular piece
of glass for a bottom. Placing this
right in the water, and putting the
head in far enough to exclude most of
the light, one can easily see an object
on the bottom in six or seven fathoms
of water. The sponger, when he sees a
sponge, by the waving of the hand di-
rects the sculler how to 90, and when
in desirable position thrusts his long
pole down and hooks his sponge.
The vessels usually remain out upon
the bars from Monday until Friday
evening 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 int the crawls, put |
UhOlA WOOu huu WdGoL OlL DOhLuy duu
prepare for the next week. The sponges
which they gathered one week are put |
in crawls or pens, made by driving
posts into the sand, where, at low
water, they will be quite or almost dry. |
Here they are left until the next Satur-
day, to be washed by the tides. On
jhe following Saturday they are
by striking them one or two
light blows with a paddle. When the
Iponges are cleansed, they are taken
aboard the schooner and strung on
strings usually about five and half
'eet long, when they are thrown upon
he beach to bleach and dry.
The number of vessels engaged in
Iponging from Key West probably
caches one hundred and twenty-five,
gathering sponges to the value of about
$1,000 annually. Besides the Key
Vest schooners, we have about forty
,r fifty fitted out from Cedar Keys and
)glockney Florida Farmer and Fruit
4T0aOeT.