Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-11-22
HOW sPoNGEs ARE CAUGHT.
Shiny Masses OF sss.fver,' which BE.
come Clean and Dry.


Shiny Masses OF silver, which be-
come Clean and Dry.
Nassau Letter in New York Times
The sponging fleet is composed Of small
schooners ranging from ten to forty tons, or
even smaller. Each schooner carries from four
to six men, and makes periodical trips out to the
sponge beds. Around AbacO, Andres Island,
and Exuma are some of the principal fisheries;
there are hardly any of value in the immediate
vicinity Of Nassau. The men do not dive tor
them. as sponge fishers In the Mediterranean
do, but use long handled things like oyster
tongs to fish them out of the water. They do
not go it blind" and probe in the mud like
oystermen; In this clear water they can see
every inch or the bottom and make up their
minds what sponges to take, and seize hold of
each one carefully. detach it from the rock to
which 1t clings, and lift it into the boat They
arc not the nice, delicate and light-colored
things we see in shop windows.
When first taken from the water they look
and feel more like piece of raw liver than any
thing else. They are slippery Shiny. ugly. and
smell bad. Their color is generally a sort of
brown. very much like the color of gulf weed
only little darker. Most people are taught
In the days of their freshness and innocence
that the sponge is an animal, and when they
visit Nassau they expect perhaps to see sponges
not surprise some of the more athletic ones
climbing trees or making little excursions over
the hills. But they are disappointed when they
learn that the animal part disappears entirely
long before the sponge reaches market. and
that the part we use for mopping up fluids is
only his house. the many-roomed residence In
which he sheltered himself while at sea--a regu-
lar marine tenement house, built with great
skill and architectural precision. in which many
of the little beasts lived and died. After the
sponges reach the deck of the vessel they are
cleaned and dried and go through curing pro-
cess. They then become the sponges of COM
merce. and are divided into eight varieties in
the Bahamas.
Some. called Glands wool" or ''sheeps WOOL"
are as fine and soft as silk and very strong.
Others. although large and perhaps tough. are
coarse and comparatively worthless. There are,
too, boquet sponges, silk sponges, wire sponges
and finger and glove sponges. The process fer
curing them is to keep them on deck for two or
three days. which ''kills'' them. Then they are
put in crawl and kept there from eight to ten
Gays, and are afterwards cleaned and blcached
in the sun on the beach. When they reach Mas
sau the roots are cut off and the sponges are
trimmed and dressed for expectation. Nearly
every darkey in Nassau understands how to do
this trimming part. The symmetry of the
sponge must be preserved as much as possible,
and If there are any places where coral sand has
adhered to the sponge, those places must be cut
out. Tor no amount OF skill or care will get rid
OF sand in sponge, and the sand is sure to
scratch anything it touches. The trimming is
generally done very expertly, SO that a novice
would hardly see that sponge had been cut. !
Movements Of Actors.
Frank Bangs. sthOse who have seen him only
on the stage may be interested to know, is
mlddle-aged man, of the portly, white-hair and
ruddy-face style. He is sufficiently different
from his footlight self to be generally unrecog-
nized lounger about town. A majority of
Americas well-known actors are now in the
city, waiting until after the Presidential cam
paign shall be concluded before essaying to get
the publc's consideration. In an audience this
week in theater which was willing to fill itself
on other than cash terms, the theatrical people
werein an actual majority. The assemblage was
like that Of a professional matinee, land theex-
hibitOn of grOtesque millinery-that strong char
acteristic Ofactresses-wasq quite startling all
sides were familiar faces. intersperscd with those
which. though strange to me- were none the less to
be identified as belonging to the profession. The
lack OF whskers in the men and the plenty of
paint in the women left no room for doubt
They were mcmbers OF the army of Thespians
who at most seasons rove to and fro throughout
the land. An incident Illustrated their full ac-
quaintancc with the experiences of railroad
travel. Eric Bayley was acting the title role in
1.-The Colonel" do not know whether he was
frustrated by the kind of audience which he had
10 OT Hdu u COlC. OF is permanently DOS
sessed OF a hot potato in his mouth. 1t is Ger
tain that his utterance was thick mumbled
tWO-thirds unintelligbe. He entered one of
the scenes briskly. stood in the center of the
stage and delivered a sentence in his worst
manner. "Change co s-fr-yap-yanvile-t mint-f-r'
freshm'ts." was interpolated by somebody loudly |
enough to be heard over half the house The |
words transformed poor Baylev Instantly and |
wildly into the railroad brakeman with his in |
articulate announcements at way stations, so
lot
laughed eXplosvely. In the lobby of another
theater between the acts OF italian opera. there
We're by chance some curiously related persons |
The manager ofthe company sauntered about.a
blonde beauty in exquisite evening dress
James Barton Key. He has now resumed the |
use of his whole name. Previously he was in
the bills of comic opera performances and far |
cical pieces as James Barton only. He is the |
son of the Key whom Gen. Sckles VIGOROUSLY |
killed in Washington aquarter ola century |
ago. In the same thrOng was Sckles |
too. He is hale. handsome, bearded
man, who walked with clutches instead
of replacing his war-lost leg with cork one
He has inherited and manifolded wealth. and |
resides in town. managing the real estate which
constitutes his fortune. The woman who in
volved him in tragedy died many years ago. |
She became Incorporate after her disgrace and |
her forgiying husband could not effect her re-
form. Do you recall the Richardson murder of
period ten years later? Albert D. Richardson |
leading Journalist and author, was shot in the
Tribune office by drunken LAWYER named Mac |
Fariand on account of jealousy. Horace Gree
hey was related socially and in business to the |
persons concerned. and the trial of MacFarland |
ending in his acquittal. was reported by the page
in the newspapers of the day. The murderer
rapidly became sot a frequent prisoner in the |
police courts and finally died in a western hospi- |
tai. Well, strkingly handsome reproduction |
of Albert d. Richardson was In the lobby in the |
person OF Leander Richardson. a journalist; and |
one of the important witnesses, who saw the |
tragedy as an Office boy, was present in Dan
Froham, the theatrical manager. third fam |
Gus homicide was represented by Edward S. |
Stokes the slayer Of Jim Fisk. He retains all
OF the good looks which enabled him to divide |
the favors of Josie Mansfield with the original
partner of Jay Gould. His family was all but |
ruined financially by the expense of his two |
trials, but he has made money rapidly since his |
emergence from prison and is thought to be at
least half millionaire There were no signs of
former shadows upon the present fashionable |
diversion of these men.-Ne,o York Letter in
Rochester Herald.
Women and Politics.
From the Poughkeepsie Eagle
Women talk as oddly as they throw stone |
Here is sample:
Good morning. Mrs. Dusenbury."
"Good morning, Mrs. Sullivan