Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1889-10-18
SPONGE FISHING.
A PECULIAR INDUSTRY IN THE
GULF OF MEXICO
Where the Sponges are Found-How
They are Caught and Their
Preparation for the
Market

noted for its clearness, but at best our un-
aided eyes cannot, with any distinctness,
see objects further than six or eight feet
below the surface The water telescope
is therefore employed. Hyatt, i'll his ac
count of the commercial sponges, de-
scribes this as tube several feet long,
similar to that used in Norway; but the
only form have ever seen in Florida,
and which is known as a ''water-glass,
consits simply of an ordinary wooden
pail, into the bottom of which has been
set "a pane of strong glass. Sinking the
lower half of this bucket below the water
ndpushing his face down into it, while
the bail is showed over his head to hold
the bucket in place, the hooker shuts out
the reflection of the light from the sur
face.of the water and can look down into
theanore or less crystal depths as far as
the light penetrates.
In this posture, bent over the rail of
The canted yawl, his great pole resting
across the gunwales in readiness and his
head half concealed in the swimming water
glass, the sponge e-hooker is slowly moved
over the waves by his intelligent sculler,
while he scrutinizes the bottom for the
inconspicuous objects of his search.
Nearly dozen different kinds of
sponges are named by the Gulf fishermen.
The valuable ones are the "sheep ;"
''boat, :" yellow" "grass" and "glove'
sponges, but the last two are not of much
account. 'Loggerhead, @ finger "
sponges, and the like, are useless. EX-
pert fishermen can tell all these apart as
far under water as they can see them at
all, though in six or seven fathoms the
very largest-perhaps as big as a peck
measure-looks very small, just mere
purple spots on the bottom. Unless the
the water-glass will not enable man to
see the large, deep growing sponges, and
locality is often reported "played out, 5"
because it is so muddy nobody can tell
what is there. This is not a common OBJ
stacle, however; in fact, sponges would
not grow where the water was often
soiled.
Perceiving a sponge on the bottom
you or 1 would probably pass it over as
a stone or bit of coral, or not notice it
at all-the hooker sigrs to his mate,
who, by dexterous manipulation holds
the boat stationary, while the hooker
lets his long pole slide. quickly to the
bottom. Guiding it with one hand and
shoulder only and looking through the
water glass, he places the hook under
meath the sponge, taking care not to in
iure the body, and gives it a violent jerk.
If it breaks, it floats up at once and is
picked up; but sometimes several twist
ing Jerks are required to detach the tough
polvpore, and now and then one will hold
on so unexpectedly that the gunwale of
the boat will be dragged under, and the
two Conchs find themselves pitched head
first into the water.
The hardest of all species to detach is
the "sheeps WOOL" and the yellow"
the easiest.
When a sponge comes up bearing a
'bud" of good size, this is broken off
and thrown back. 1t sinks and survives,
but is said not to become affixed to a
rock, but to drift about on the bottom
with the motion of any storm or current
that may stir it. 1t increases in size, but
easily eludes the grasp of the clumsy
hooks that try to pick it up. These out
casts are called .'Rolling Johns" by the
fishermen.
At the end of week or fortnight
schooner collects her boats and carries
her spoils to the shore, where has been
set up an arrangement for preparing the
raw sponges for market This consists
OF circular pallsade OF poles bound to-
gether by withes into a pretty close pen
about twenty feet in diameter, and stand
ing in some protected shoal where at
high tide the water may be ten or
dozen feet deep. Such pen is called
''crawl," a word corrupted from the
Spanish corral. Into it is thrown the
first weeks catch and left to macerate,
process rapidly effected in the poorly
organized tissues of the sponge-animals.
When the vessel reaches it on the next
Saturday, these first sponges have been
swashing about and rubbing against the
poles until they are well rotted and par
TALLY cleaned of sarcode. They are
now taken to the shcre, placed upon
planks and thoroughly beaten with a