The morning call., 1891-02-08

wedge and tried again and again to pillow up
| the trap from its resting-place, but his one
| hand served then little better than none !;
the shell had been firmly infxed upon
the rock, perhaps for years. with a
| perfect network OF fibrouS moss connecting
IL With those which were closely clustered
| around. The man next hammered at the
crust IN desperate attempt 10 splinter it,
out me thick, spungy crust remained i'm
, passive to his blows. With desparing en-
ergy he frnitless|y tried to insert the wedge
| between the aperture and force it open,
| screaming aload in his helpeSsness as he
turned ms eyes and saw the waves steadily
| eDerOaehing upon him. for the tide had
| risen during all This time and kept rising
! Again and again with all the strength of his
| frame did he renew his onslaught upon the
| shell, but 1t remained like fate quietly and
lmperturbably clasping him by the hand.
| Not quietly came the waves. Higher aud
higher they dashed themselves upon the
! rocks which would soon now be entirely
submerged. As he watched the prog
reSS CT the breakers he rolled upon
to tear his flesh away from
its wise and then half delirious he thought
| he heard the waters laugh. You'll not have
| me yet, he cried, for at that instant the
thought OF the large clasp,knife in his
pocket flashed across his mind. Quickly he
withdrew IL and opening it by aid of his
teeth deliberately began to amputate his
hand from the limb, hacking like a madman
at his flesh: hercely enduring the terrible
pain as death stared more closely into his
face, for the waves were rapidly coming
nearer. Finally he fell backward freed,
leaving the flSh in GndSpnted possession of
tue hand which had helped to conquer so
many OF its kind, just as wave more eager
than the rest dashed over MIN. he stag
gered to his boat, which had not lost its
mooringS, and Skued himself to the land
wet. bleeding and faint
The abalone shell is susceptible to a most
ft,a u = t.
In superiatye deiicacy all the soft lambent
rainbow tints of which the shell is capable,
when 1t Is indeed in object of admiration,
especially In the eyes of visitors from the
eastern part of the Continent, who prize
them very highly, aid are doubtiessly some
times little surprised upon seeing tue
large abalOBe in its rough state, ornament
ing the Kitchen sink as a receptacle for soap,
which is frequently the case here, where
they are found so commonly.
The process of obtaining this glowing
brilliant polish Is not an occult fairy ART, as
the shlmmering glowing iris tints, springing
forth Cindereila-like from beneath the pre-
viously dull corrugated surface, might seem
to suggest.
Where the exterior of the she'll is unusu-
ally rough and excrescent the outside is
painted over with vitriol several different
times at intervals of about two days, until
the external eruSty layer has been corroded
and softened, care being taken 20 allow none
OF tie acid to touch the interior With the
smooth varieties the vtrioi is dispensed with.
The Shelf is then subjected TO the action Of
coarse emery-wheel, which cuts and
scrapes until nearly all the superhuous COW
erlEg has been scraped away and the bright
colors hidden underneath begin to look out.
fine emery-wheel is then still further
brought to beat upon all the Slight uneven
ness which may remain, until the shell is
perfectly smooth a polishing buff then
comes into play, until the whole surface
shines ike glass, and when the interior
undergoes a Frightening process, which is
simply by means of a little pumice stone
rubbed with chamois skin, the marine
product has become thing of beauty
and a jay to the behplder. a round, I'M
even spot, very slightly raised, which ap-
pears like small mass of broken pearls in
the center of the interior, indicates where
the body Of the animal adheres TO its cover
ing.
Sometimes the shells turn out from the
wheel beautifully fexured, when they are
considered having an additional loneliness
and value.
The finished abalones have a market value
OF from fifty cents TO one dollar and half
retail, according to quality. /. S.