The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1892-04-06
WITH A SPONGING VESSEL.
HOW AN IMPORTANT FLORIDA IN.
DUSTRY IS CONDUCTED.
The Men Work in Pairs, a "Hooker"
and a "Sculler"--Great Dexterity
and Endurance Required.

N CTIvE life on a sponging YES
N sci begins about A. NJ. in fine
~ weather, all hands being then
called by the cook to prepare
for the labor of the day. After the men
have dressed and washed, coffee is served
to them, and when that is disposed of
they turn their attention to mending any
cars, poles or boats that may need re-
pairing. Breakfast is served about
dawn, and finished before it is light
enough to begin the work of the day.
In summer the men are often in their
boats at 4:30 A. NJ, and searching for
sponges as soon as they have light enough
to distinguish one species from another.
Two men work in each boat, and
while one sails 1t the "hooker" lies on
his chest near the bow and closely scans
the depths below through his water
glass. This apparatus consists of an
ordinary wooden pail with a piece of
glass in the bottom. 1t is kept as deeply
buried in the water as the t'hooker" can
keep it with one hand without putting
its rim under.
The sea being usually clear the man
can descry sponges fifty feet below him,
and, il he is experienced, can distin-
guish the various species at a glance,
each having some popularity Of eye or
form to mark it from its congeners.
On noticing valuable sponge the
"hooker" signals or calls to the ''sculler"
to stop the boat, then takes hold of the
long iron-pronged pole which lies in
"chocks" beside him, lifts it over his
shoulder with the right hand and sinks
it to where the marine growth he desires
is fastened. If the prongs get under the
sponge the ''hooker" gives his wrist a
peculiar inward and upward turn which
may loosen the bunch Immediately, or he
may have to work at it long time be-
fore bringing it to the surface.
The poles used for gathering sponges
vary from eighteen to forty -four feet in
length, and while pliable and well
balanced are difficult to handle in tide
ways and deep water. They are gener-
ally placed in "chocks," lengthwise the
boat, about five feet of them being in
front of the "hookers." These men
must, therefore, lift the remainder over
their shoulders by main strength, raise
the further end almost perpendicularly in
the air, and send the hooked end down tc
the sponges as promptly aud directly as
they can.
When a sponge is torn from its home
and friends it is placed in its natural po-
sition in the boat to allow the blackish
fluid called "gurry" to flow away, and
to prevent the bunch from being injured
in shape and texture, for shape has much
| to do with its sale, the roundest and
most even bringing the highert price.
Spongers usually work with the tides and
take every advantage they can of cur
rents and shoals.
AS soon as a boat is loaded, the soul
Ter lifts an oar as a signal to bis vessel
to come up. The cook, who has charge
of the vessel while the crew are at work,
promptly responds to the signal, and on
coming up to the boat receives its load
aboard, each bunch being carefully
placed upwards along the railing.
The cook is kept busy aboard tho
vessel, for he must not ont only prepare
the meals and arrange the sponges on
deck, but he must also sail his craft in
such a manner that he will be able to
keep in sight of all his crews, which may
number from two to nine, and respond
promptly to their signals of ''boat full ;
take us aboard.
About IL o'clock the chef sails his
craft as closely as he can to the center of
the widely scattered boat crews and
blows a long, loud and mellow blast on
a punctured conch shell to announce that
dinner is ready. This melodious call is
answered by an immediate cessation Of
work, and within fifteen minutes every
boats crew is aboard. Alter washing
themselves carefully, they sit down to an
appetizing meal. The labor of the after
noon is similar to that Of the morning,
and is comprised in sculling, 'hooking," !"
or in vain efforts TO find marketable
sponges.
The "sculler" only uses one hand at a
time and can rest that at intervals, but
the "hooker" can have no change except
to transform one form of arduous labor
from his chest to his arm, and as that IS
done by the same set of muscles he is
often so weary at the close of the day
that he can neither sleep, eat nor think
calmly about any matter. The constant
leaning with his chest on the gunwale OF
the boat while searching for sponges
through the water-glass produces blood
''boils," which often burst while he is
tugging at a refractory bunch, and the
steady use of his right hand in handling
a heavy pole causes the veins on his BIZ
ceps and neck to swell and become so
sore that he cannot bear to be touched.
Some become so Injured to the labor af-
ter while that it does not cause them any
great inconvenience for a few years, but
the majority have to finally relinquish it
for something less arduous.
Even the ''scullers, whose lot is sup
posed to be an easy one, are not as
happy as one would imagine, for their
constant standing in the hot sun, and
the using of their arms give them severe
headaches and necks and faces that re-
semble boiled Holsters in hue.
The spongers work as long as it is
light enough to enable them to see tho
growths on the bottom, then return TO
the vessel. The vessels engaged in
sponge gathering in Florida work over
three separate long stretches close to the
western and southern coasts of the State.
The most northern grounds extend from
Cedar Key to Apalachee Bay; the second
from Cedar Keys to Anclote, and the
third from Biscayne Bay to Key West.