The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-11-25

more quickly and a feeling Oh uiie"''''N
A thrilling adventure hapr'l ca b 70 de- de-
American diver during OnSf swiftly
scents. the lugSer was uii'ne zinc Ipt
with a strong tlde, and the an P itd0 oud
out too rapidly, became sldCheItou the
dIagged On the bottom, u Cd"7nne. -. onIv
base Of a coral cup, ana ths u III nine
realized the siturGon Wne . h. turned
caught him UP with JERK ne 49, a. 80
to run back 10 uniasten ~ III Nnt on
the life line became slack nu So NV
tangled, 'the boat was ut1lnhe ItnS
and constantly letting out NOR mn ta
The diver saw death close upon ii nbancs
knew there was one desperate ,'.,it
so, sCrewing up the air FdINe ahJ or.
ing until 10th liIes cracked WIN tnT 70 10
rible strain, with a stroke OF ms nh,tS
he cut the air pipe, MADE Ieau'C ,,,,
dish for the life line, sucoeedeu ~ Iii
fastening il from the reel anu Was PN''
ed TO the surface UNCONSCIOUS .,t..
The luggers are good saIlll5 vi, for
and speed Is needed for the w2fh; ioI
there is much bottom over whiCh ~
travel. The lugger beats up dsaIhsI ~
wind to the grounds, ana men ~
back by means Of f0ul alCu9I' uia5
cling over the bottom The speed - Ic6
ulated by letting ont more cram. oouhs
times in swift tides the diver mas 10 run
at full speed. barely stopping now anu
then to pick up a shell; by nearly Closllt'
the air valve and by 50 DONG compress
ing the air he can bound over the bot
ton of the sea Ike an India rubber ball,
easily. carrying a heavy weight anu
traversing long distances III the Wdtti
world Indictment weather does not ~
terfere with the descent, for after iS"
feet Of surface water the sea Is ever tne
same. descent was made one mig ~
by the diver. and curious ana htehaeIy
interesting observation Of the snlnlnb
phosphOIence was made. EVefythihS
was aglow with this wondrous light; the
diver himself became transformed, me
fish sent forth the soft radt1uce anu the
fantastic reefs and tropical CROWNS
were enhanced by this strange, falnt'
yet luminous medium
The pearl shells are the bread ana put
ter OF the diver 800 or 100 PAIR pelns
gathered I'm a day, and are worth 10 the
owner about 81 a pair. The anemones and
other growths on the outside ar the smells
are ely scraped off while fresh, the
oyster is thrown overheard, the oIr
edible norton being the muscle That holis
the shells together and which the Mo-
hammedans eat in their diet Of fish and
rice. The inside Of the shell Is the beau
ttfully polished and eXquisitely hued sur
face called mother-ot-pearl.
A diver goes through each oyster care
fully feeling for the precious pearl, which
is a great rarity, as I'm opening ton OF
shells he will find only about 100 seed
pearls. and seldom one as large as a pea.
'rro pearl Is formed either by the m
truslOn Of some particle that irrltateS the
OYSTER causing IL 10 cover the irrltant
with a coating Of nacre. which. when
hardened, becomes the pearl or. az many
divers believe, by parasite; for II has
been found that old shells bored through
out bv these parasites contain the largest
and finest pearls.
The pearl is found imbedded In the
oyster, and not. as many suppose, at
tached to the shell The diver puts the
precious stones in bottle, ana the shells
are then cleaned and packed BY the Ma
laws ready for the London market. Here
they are sold by auction 10 agents. es-
pecially from Austria. where so many
beautiful battons and mother-of-pearl
ornaments are made.
The value Of the lovely pearl, which
needs no polishing or cutting, as do the
gems that come from mines, depends on
the color lustre. and shape. Though
many prefer the pink or black Jewel for
their Oddly the Oriental and white
pearls are the most valuable. with a
lustre that reflects its polished home. and
form that Is perfectly round. though
the pearl and button shapes are available
for many ornaments.