The record-union., 1895-02-07
NEWS ABOUT SPOEGES,
A Hazard Gus Calling is That OF the
sponge Fisher.

sponge Fisher.
Sponges are found in CULTS in warm cli-
mates-in the Mediterranean Sea. the
Adriatic and the Gulf OF Mexico. Tbev
usually grow in small inlets which are
protected from wind and free from rough
water. They are found in a depth Of from
| ten to forty feet, and by American fisher
men are nshed up with graphing hooks,
The Key Vest fishermen are known bv
the name of Conch. They live in that
portion of Key West called Conch Town.
| the name being derived from the Bahama
flag, which has picture of conch shell
on 1t.
The work Of catching sponge is ex-
tremeIy hazardous, owing to the fact that
the seamen are exposed to the inclement
! weather, hurricanes not being infreauent.
| Only recently, says the Dry Goods Econ
omtSt, great many boats were driven
into the pine forests Of Northern Florida
by the severe hurricanes. Usually after
these storms the water becomes SO black
and muddy that the fishermen cannot see
TO grasp the sponge, and are compelled to
wait Tor three or four weeks on the sponge
grounds for clear water. In former years
boats IN trips ranging from eight TO
twelve weeks have brought in as much
as y, oOO 10 $1,000 worth of sponges each,
There are now III Florida waters about
seVenty-hve boats, each carrying from
ten to twenty men, and each boat having
LOuA VI IlNS ullgeSS or row boats. Inc
boats average from fifteen to forty tons
| The rOwbOats are sculied by one man
very slowly, while another man sits in
the DOW OF the boat looking down through
water glass. The water glass is pail
shaped and projects from four to live
inches into the water, having ai piece Of
glass at the end through which the fisher
man IS enabled TO see the sponge on the
bottom OF the gulf In former years the
fisherman used only the naked eve. and
was often very much deceived, and even
now, with the aid of the glass they are
unable to tell the size OF their catch, as
| the glass at times Inagnifies and at other
times has diminishing effect
For the past few years the fishermen
nave been In the habit of receiving from
Slo0 TO 500 each for their trip OF ten TO
twelve weeks. and owing to severe eli
matte changes they have been reduced to
an average of $40 apiece on their mer-
chandise, or about 81 per week, the boat
being very often in debt instead of max
ing a profit.
About three years ago sponge COM
one was formed in New York, for TN g
purpose OF obtaining cheap sponge from
fIoriqa. Inc amount the fishermen re-
celVed. IN some instances as much as S3
per bunch ia bunch is equal to A Doundl
was reduced to about ffty cents nor
pound after the combination was formed.
those that were unable to hold out against
thls trust being compelled to sell their
merchandise at very low prices.
Some OF the store-keepers of Kew West
seeing their difficulty, advance money
TO the fishermen to help them hold on To
their goods; but one house outside of the
trust and one of the leading houses in the
trade, went to Florida and secured the
entire stock at the price offered by the
combine, the stock amounting to so ono
The combine then offered S5 per bush for
Tor sponge, IN order TO freeze their com
petitors out, but the fishermen were de-
terminec not TO sell TO the combine. even
going SO lar as to form union among
themselves, with an agreement that anV
fisherman who should sell 10 tie combine
should suffer death. This enabled the
new competitor of the combine 10 hold on
TO the Key West market In order to
compel Its adversary to give in, the com