The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1884-11-01
until they could ding them into the

until they could fling them into the
boats.
One of the officers of the steamship
said that the rivalry of the divers was
all pretense to make the most they
could out of the strangers, as they were
really associated in a guild or company
and whatever the result of the days
work might be It would be equally
divided at the end. They were GER
tainly well paid, according TO the ORR
entail notions, as most of the passengers
emptied their pockets of small coins in
order to encourage the sport. Six
pences and smaller silver coins were in
great demand. and some of the passen-
gers threw out an occasional shilling.
Every copper coin that could be found
was thrown overheard, particularly I'M
current ones from Japan and China, but
the divers make no distinction. Some
times they refuse to dive for copper
money, under the pretense that they
can not see it in the water; they will
touch nothing but silver, and travellers
may tempt them in vain with the baser
currency. After the steamer has gone,
they proceed to gather up all the copper
that has been thrown out, and by this
shrewd device their gains are largely
increased
All the divers were young, the oldest
being not more than twenty-five years
old, while many were not far from ten
or twelve. One OF the best divers was
n girl, perhaps fifteen years old, and
the passengers tried to throw the coins
so that she would have better chance
for them than any of her rivals. She
certainly made larger harvest of six
pences than anybody else. and we were
all sorry when told that she would be
compelled to divide with the rest of the
party. One of the passengers threw out
a small brass ring as far as he could
project it from the side of the ship. and
offered shilling to the one that found
it. A dozen of the divers wenl n pur-
suit and it was brought in by the girl,
who received the promised shilling and
two or three others with it.
These divers were all of the Malay
race, and it is said the majority of the
inhabitants of the Malay Peninsula, or
rather of those dwelling along the
coast, are able to SWIM the first time
they are placed in the water. Whether
this is true am not prepared to say, but
have seen children, not more than two
or three years old, swimming as easily
as they could walk and with the same
confidence. One day saw party of
children amusing themselves in a little
nook where the water was shallow, and
the little fellows chased each other
about and Owed and swan as though
they had been so many seals or offers.
When l came in sight and walked close
t to the edge of the water, they began to
beg for money. / threw out a few coins
, and they Owed with nearly as much
success as those that frequent the har-
Dor and amuse the passengers OF the
steamers.
The pearl divers of Ceylon are a
famous race of men. They go down
+ with the aid of large stone fastened
to rope, and as soon as they loose their
hold the stone is drawn to the surface
and made ready for use again. Each
diver carries bag to hold the oysters
d and a knife with which he detaches
them from the rocks; if sharks happen
to be around the knife is used to defend
a its owner, and it generally succeeds. A
skillful diver will go down fifty times a
: day where the water is forty feet deep,
Q and he remains from a minute to min
ute and a half below the surface each
@ time. Occasionally diver will stay
down more than two minutes, but such
cases are rare. The work of the pear
Q diver is very exhausting and he rarely
- lives to an old age; but. in spite of this
there is always an abundance OF mel
e ready to engage in the business.-IhoS
d W. h7loI, IN COngregationdttSt.