The Portland daily press., 1891-10-27
SPONGE HunTInc.
An Industry In the Bahamas which
Employs Thousands OF People.
From Science.l

The number Of persons engaged In the
business Of gathering sponges In the BAHIA
mas, handling them, and preparing them In
various stages for market, is from 5000 to
5000. all Of whom, except the ship owners,
brokers and shippers are colOred people.
Hands employed In clipping. washing, pack
ing and preparing finally for shipment
abroad, get from 30 to rs cents per day Of ten
hours. The amount earned by the men who
go fishing for sponges can not be given, as
their pay depends entirely on the number Of
sponges obtained. The owner of the yes
sells fits her out st his own expense, and the
profits Of the voyage are divided up In
shares among the owners. the master, and
the men. They are never hired by the
month. nor do they ever get specified wages.
The most that can be said is that men make
tolerable living. and the sponge fisherman
who earns over $500 year is the exception.
The owners of the vessels, as a rule. have
their own ships, from which the vessels are
fitted out. and on supplies thus furnished
Others The Sc sfip sI owners, seneraIiv sns.E
ing, find considerable profit In the business
whilst the fishermen, II not able to Law M
any money from the pursuit. are yet enabled
The method Of gathering sponges Is by
means Of iron hooks attached to long poles.
By using water-glass the fisherman can
readily discover the spoDges at the bottom
and then with his pole and hook he Will
bring up those he may select as fit for mis-
purpose, leaving the smaller ones untouched.
Some sponges adhere firmly to the bed of
the sea, while others are not attached at all,
these latter being known as "rollers,"
About ten years ago an attempt was made to
introduce dredges; but 1t was found that
in passing over the bottom they dislodged
and brought up not only the good sponges,
but the young and unstable ones as well,
killing the spawn and working great mis-
chief. The ordinary fishermen also made an
terfered with their rights. An act was
passed by the Legislature forbidding the
use Of dredges, and only the pole and hook
are now used.
When the sponge field is reached the ves-
sci anchors, and the men. putting of in the
small open boats, do the fishing In the man
ner above indicated, returning to the vessel
before nightfall with thelcatch. The sponges
when brought to the vessel, are at once
spread upon the deck. and are left exposed
time the animal matter that covers the
sponge gradually dies. This Is black,
gelatlnous substance of very low order OF
marine life, which during the process Of de-
cay emits most Objectionable odor: The
vessels visit what Is called the "kraap once
a week to land the load from the deck. The
kraal is an inclosed pen, fenced In by sticks
of wood so as to allow free circulation Of
water through 1t, usually built In sheltered
and shallow bay or cove, on one OF the bays
near by. The sponges are placed In the
kraal and lett to be soaked and washed by
the action Of the water from four to six days.
when they are taken out and beaten with
sticks until the decayed covering is entirely
removed. Having been subjected to this
course of exposure, soaking, beating and
washing, the sponges are quite clean, and
are taken on board the vessel, packed away
In the b I'D, conveyed to Nassau, and In this
condition are sold In the local market.
The average catch per trip can not be
stated as the carg0eS very greatly In size
and value. OF the larger sponges catch
Of 5000, or OF the smaller ones 1900, would be
considered fair lot Occasionally a cargo
Of from 1900 to 1900 large sponges has
been brought in. but this success Is excep-
tioDal. The vessels are provisioned and ft-
ted out, as a rule Tor voyage Oh about SIX
weeks, and generally from seven to eight
voyages are made per annum.
There can not be said to be any season for
sponge-gathering, as IL goes on all through
the year. A number OF vessels are often
laid up. however, during August ana Septem-
ricanes during that period. Ofcourse the
ouieter the weather and smoother the sea,
the better the chances are for making a
| good catch, as nearly all the work Is done In
| small open boats from 10 to II feet In length.
| Much also depends upon the energy and the
| industry OF the crew, and there Is luck In
| finding locality where the sponges are valu-
| able and abundant.
As to the length of time required for
sponges to grow to good marketable size lit.
| tie definite can be said; none Of the fisher
men are able to tell. though many volunteer
| opinions that differ widely. 1t is matter tC
i be determined by future scientific investiga
tion, but 1t is believed 1t will be found that 9
healthy sponge will reach marketable size
i In from II to Is months under ordinary con
ditions Of growth. No attempts have beer
made, worthy Of mention, to cultivate the
sponge In these waters.
The spoDges are prepared for export In the
following manner. After being bought In
the local market they are carted to the ship
ping yard of the purchaser, where they ars
cut and trimmed into proper shapes and
sizes; they are then washed and Thoroughly
dried, being generally spread In the sun Iot
| that purpose upon canvas or OLD saIs, neAs ..s
they are assorted according to varieties anu a1
then packed by means OF hand presses Lnse
bales Weighing from 20 to $50 POUNDS pome-
| tImas the spOnges are bleached Dy DeIng
| passed through a solution OF whlte halo anu
water, weak as not 70 i65sse dss not S knoW Of
sny nrocess resorted to for coloring the
sponSes, and few. indeed, are even bleached
at present: L,o, .ha ,o.,
the sponges are either piled up loose OF
ten sponges each. The best sponges are
usually made into strings Of from
| eight to ten each; the price averag-
/ ing about 60 cents per string.
Others are generally sold in lots not strung.
The buyer, however. is not guided In his
| purchase by the number Of sponges on a
string, but by what a certain lot will weigh,
and the weight Is never given, but the buyer
must estimate 1t. Hence practical experience