Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-10
SEARCHING FOR sPoNGEs.
How the Sponge is Found and Gathered
in Waters Around Kew West.

IT ioiAua OOTIespOuueHce.J
L remember using sponges in my school
boy days without a thought of whence
they came, how obtained, or their pre-
vious scondition. Although 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 various
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 sou h to Pensacola
on the northeast. The sponge schooners
have two places to clean their spongeswhen
coast sponging-one at Anclote Keys, the
other at Rock Island.
OF the sponge we have several varieties,
classed according to their marketable value,
as " sheep-wool," yellow" ''fox-glove,
grass, etc, besides one class, the clog
gerhead, " which has no value, and is not
thought worth picking up. The first
named is the variety most 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 of
number of long poles with hooks fastened
on the end for gathering, and from three
to seven small boats called "dingys,"
from seven to fifteen men-according to
the number of boats-with provisions for
from eight to twelve weeks, water-glasses,
etc.
Having curiosity to see actual sponge
gathering, last Monday morning found me
aboard the schooner Samfler, spinning to-
ward the bars but owing to light winds
during the day we did not arrive till after
night-fail. Tuesday morning, however,
sponging commenced in earnest Shortly
after sunrise the "dingys," manned by
two men each, with water glasses, sponge
One of the men in the "dingy" SOULS
the other, lying across the boats
glass, scans the bottom for sponges
The water-glass used by the spongers is
nothing but common deep wooden pail,
with circular pane of glass for a bottom.
Putting 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 six or seven fathoms of
water. The spopger, when he sees
sponge, by the waving of his hand directs
the sculler how to 60, and when in desir-
able position he 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 on 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 their wood and water ON board
and prepare for the next week. The
sponges which they gather one week are
put in crawls or pens, made by driving
posts in the sand, where at low water they
will be quite or almost dry. Here they are
left until the next Saturday to be washed
by the tides. On the following Saturday
they are cleansed by striking them one or
two light blows with a paddle. When the
sponges are cleaned they are taken aboard
the schooner.