The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1897-04-30
PEARL FISHING.

The agent of the English proprie.
tors of the concession granted by the
Mexican republic for monopoly OF
pearl fishing in the gulf of California
recently arrived in San Francisco and
gave some interesting details of the
present methods employed in their in
dustry, which has continued ever since
the occupation of the country in the
time of Cortes.
The whole coast of the gulf of Cali
fornia abounds in pearls, and the con-
cessions control the entire territory.
Until within the last few years native
divers were employed, and the depth
to which they could descend did not
exceed 35 feet. With the introduc-
tion of diving apparatus the limit of
depth was increased to 80 fathoms.
The best diver could formerly remain
under water not to exceed two min
utes. A modern diver thinks nothing
of a two hour stop in water 100 feet in
depth, though at greater depths the
stay is necessarily shortened on ac-
count of the enormous pressure of the
superintendent water. A diver when
upon the floor of the ocoan looks about
for the oyster, which he tears from the
object to which it is attached, and
places it in small bag hanging to a
rope, which is hauled into the boat on
a given signal. Sometimes the num-
Der of oysters secured is large and at
other times only few are caught.
The diver does not confine himself
to the peal oyster alone, but if he sees
a rare specimen of coral or new spe-
cies of shell he places it in his bag and
sends it to the surface, where it be-
comes the property of the concession
and one source of its large income.
Last year the value of the peals
harvested in Lower California was
alone $3.50, 900. In addition 5000 tons
of shells were exported, which were
valued at 81 ,25O. 900 more. Pearl fish
ing is the entire occupation of the ma
tives, and La Paz, the headquarters, a
city of the peninsula, with about 1000
inhabitants, is solely dependent upon
the industry. The business is one of
chance, and the pursuit is a fascina-
ting one to the natives, who are born
gamblers.
Every oyster does not contain its
pearl, and only at intervals, and rare
ones at that, is a really valuable pearl
discovered. The largest one ever found
was about three-quarters of an inch in
diameter, and was sold in Paris to the
emperor of Austria for $4,000. Many
|black pearls are found in Lower Cali
fornia and are valued higher than the
pure white. The large majority are
seed pearls and are only of moderate
value.
San Francisco is not the market for
Mexican pearls, though it ought to be.
The harvest is exported straight to
London and Paris and distributed
from those great markets.
The dangers of pearl fishing have
always been exaggerated, possibly to
give fictitious value to the beautiful
gems. The loss of life in the fisheries
IN Lower California was undoubtedly
larger before the introduction of the
diving dress. But it is not an estab-
lished fact that the deaths were al
ways caused by the shark or octopus,
though these marine monsters were
without doubt responsible for the loss
Of many lives. Every diver has plen-
ty of hair raising stories to relate of
narrow escapes from death, but as he
is the only witness of these affairs it
makes the difficulty to substantiate
them so much the greater.
The occupation at best is a hazar-
dous one, and those who were engaged
in it before the introduction of diving
apparatus were always short lived.
The demand in the worlds markets
for pearls of extra beauty is always
far in excess of the supply.