Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1895-12-13
PEARL FISHING.
4 PICTURESQUE TNDU>TRY ~
LOWER CALIFORNIA.
Mexican PeOas IN Diving Armor
Rake the Bottom of the Sea
Tor Pearl-IieidinE Oysters
- Valuable Finds.

Examiner. Ever since the
days OF Cortez the Gulf of California
and surrounding waters have been
noted for their pearls, and La Paz has
always been the headquarters of the
fishers.
These searchers for Jewels Of the
deep are a race by themselves, and if
one could imagine such thing as the
aristocracy of passage, he might find
1t here among these pearl divers, who
can trace their lineage back to the
Spanish conquerors. They have al
ways been diver, and generally held
IN q state OF vassalage to their employ
els. Although their occupation has
been a most hazardous one, and they
have gained untold riches for others
by the daily risking OF their lives, not
few divers have ever accumulated the
semblance of a competence.
Within few years the element of
personal danger which attached TO the
pursuit OF the calling has largely dis.
appeared, and the naked pearl diver
goes to the bottom of the sea no more
Encased in a rubber suit with n glass
front helmet and his boots weighted
with lead the diver steps over the side
OF his boat, descends to the bottom
and, walking around with wire
basket at his side, picks up pearl oys.
tiers with as much unconcern as n
farmer gathers potatoes. He now
laughs to scorn the jaws of the
'ghastly grinning shark, and if the
air machine works all right aud the
rubber tube does not break, he con.
tinues to be supplied with the breath
OF life from above and strolls about
the Sea Kings halls entirely at his
ease.
But there is yet one creature that is
more of terror to the armored diver
than the shark used to be to the IN.
protected one. That is the mautel
tsE, the largest member of the raw
family, which frequents the waters of
the gulf and frequently attains a
length OF twenty feet aud a breadth
OF twelve feet. 1t has been known to
envelope a diver in its folds as with a
blanket and crush out his life beneath
the eyes OF his companions in the boat
above,
There is fleet consisting Of several
/ schooners and score OF small boats
hallIng from La Paz which are en-
gagged in the pearl fishery. During
/ the fishing season the force of divers
is divided and located in camps at con.
venlent distances along the coast.
Each of these camps is provided with
an air machine and one or more suits
OF armory. The boat in which the air
machine is kept is rowed out from the
camp every morning, generally start.
Ing as early as o'clock, until the
fishing ground is reached. Then the
diver descends, fills his basket and
rises to the surface. The divers do
not work more than four hours a day.
Formerly the naked divers seldom de.
scended to a greater depth than ten
iathoms, and their longest stay under
water was two minutes, generally
about half that time. Now the
armored diver goes down from fifteen
to twenty fathoms, and there is no
special limit to the length of time he
remains beneath the surface. So still
and clear are the waters of the gull
during the fishing season that the
diver can be distinctly seen while al
work from the boat, though he Is 1OC
feet below.
The shells gathered each day are
taken ashore to the camp, where they
are kept until one of the schooner,
come along, when they are placed on
board. These vessels are kept con
stantIy on the move to supply the
camps with provisions and transport
the shells to La Paz. On arriving
there the shells are taken to the beach
where they are opened and the oyster!
carefully examined for pearls.
1t is only the pearls found in the
oyster itself that are of value. If they
adhere to the shell they are simply
classed as mother. of-pearl and nc
effort is made to detach them. The
shells are packed into sacks anC
slowed away ready to be shipped tC
Europe for manufacture into buttons
knlfe-handles and the innumerablt
ornaments for which mother of-pear
is used. OF the 1000 tons of pear
shells which are annually supplied by
tho different GSheries of the worft
nearly one-haif cs4ne from the Gulf O.
California.
The pearl, when it is released from
its mprisonment, the cradle within
which it has been netamorphosed from
a lowl y grain of sand into a pale
quivering jewel, which may adorn
royal diadem, is carefully polished
and locked up in the company's safe
The pearls are separated into various
grades according to their grade anC
proportions The smaller sizes ant
irregularly shaped pearls are greatly
in the majority. 1t is on the large
symmetrically shaped jewels that thu
value of the seasons product depends
The value of the yearly product o
the La Paz fisheries varies greatly
Perhaps it would be safe to estimat,
the average at $500, 900 for the pearl
ond $780,, 900 for the shells. The result
af the present seasons catch will fal
below these figures somewhat.
Five years ago the annual value o
the product of the fisheries was esti
mated at $350,000 for pearls an
$780, 900 for the mother-of-pearl il
the shells. The best year of recen
times was 1881. Then there wer
many gems of large size and grea
value taken. One black pearl wa
secured which sold in Paris for 81 0,