The Arizona sentinel., 1886-10-30
DIVING FOR PEARLS.

The Dangers of the Business and a Use-
 full invention to Make It More Safe.
 You know pearls are found in a shell fish, at the very bottom of the sea, and the little fish sticks to the rocks. We do not know certainly what those pearls are, nor from what they are formed.
 There are several opinions on the sub ject, and you must read all about it in your natural history. want to tell you something about the dangers ot looking for these precious pearls, and then you will never see one that you will not think about the risk of human life which has led to its being found. It is between the island of Ceylon and Cape Comorin that pearl oysters are mostly found. The strait in which the
 bed of oysters is situated is very dan gerous from rocks and wbirlpools. The men who learn this business begin in early youth, for it requires great prac- tice and much courage. They have to exercise a great deal in diving, and see how long they can remain under water. The season commences in April, and weeks before, the di- vers begin to diet and rub them selves with oil. At sunrise they go Tn boats to the bank of pearl oys- ters, about five leagues from the conti- nent. Then the diver takes off his clothing, and under one arm fastens sponge which he uses for breathing, and ties a plant before his mouth, which will not absorb the water. He puts cord around his waist, the end of which is fastened to the boat, and puts a thirty-pound weight to his feet, in order to sink the faster. He takes knife and net, and plunges into the sea. He picks up the oysters as fast as possible. If he wants breath. he pulls the cord, and his companions draw hlm up. The oysters are laid upon the sand, exposed to sun and air until the shells open. There are gen. erally found in them dozen pearls, which are cleaned and prepared for sale. They brings iargo gum, and the oyster shells are sold for mother Of-pearl. Before the divers go into the water they take oil into their mouths, which they discharge on reaching the bottom, and it makes the water clear CT. Many accidents occur to these poor men. Some are seized by the inhabit- ants of the deep, and. sometimes re- maining too long in the water, they are strangled. Some divers have killed oth- CTS at the bottom of the sea, because one would pick up the oyster which the other wanted. The best diver can re- main under the water only about eight minutes generally, but some Indians have remained fifteen minutes. This employment is so hard that divers usu- ally die young. They seldom can fol- low it more than ten years, and some much less time.
 During the last century, an invention was made for the help of divers; for the pearl fisheries. It resembled a bell, and the diver places himself in it. This bell is filled with air, and therefore prevents water from filling the inside of the machine as it falls into the sea. You will understand this if you will plunge the mouth of little glass into a tub of water, when you will see that the water comes up only to a certain height in the glass. The bell is GOV cred with lead, to make it sink; at the bottom is a floor, and scat, so the diver can work, sitting or standing, and, in good weather, he can read or write in his bell, at the bottom of the sea. A glass window at the top gives him light, and cock lets out the air which he has breathed. He can re- ceive air without the water coming into the bell, by means of leather pipes, which reach up to the vessel from which the bell IS suspended. The air in one of these pipes being ex- hausted, another is let down. A leaden mask was also invented, which covers the head, and enables him to leave the tell and go some distance in the sea. This mask contains enough air to last some minutes, and has an air pipe communicating with the bell, and guides him back to it, that he may not miss his way. which would of course be death to him. By this machine, they go for pearls to the very bottom of the | deep, and remain more than an hour. When the diver finds that he must | ascend. he gives signal to the vessel by pulling his rope, that goes up from | the bell. When he first comes up, however, he must be cautious how he | breathes, as a sick man recovering has | to be cautious about the quantity of | food ha oatS - PdOSn