Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1898-07-08
DIVERS OF TUAMOTU.
ThEYDo WONDERFUL THINGS DOWN
DEEP IN THE SEA.

'THEYDO WONDERFUL THINGS DOWN
DEEP IN THE SEA.
Equally ut Home In Hunting For the Pre-
cious Pearl. Spearing Fish Under the
Coral Reefs and Staying Man Eating
Sharks Under Water.
Nowhere in tho world is fishing carried
on in so remarkable a manner as at the
Hawaiian Islands, where tho art not only
illustrates peculiar and what would BIO
deemed impossible methods, but tho fact
that without armor and tho appliances of
the modern diver certain natives ply their
vocation under water.
"When at the island" said a natural
list, II wished to investigate tho methods
Of fishing and was referred to q native
who was said to be very skillful in tho
methods still. in vogue. I was fortunate
in finding the mar on the beach, md he
very readily invited mo to accompany him
and his son, a boy Of 1S, who was also a
clever fisherman.
Gas we rowed out he told me that they
took fish by spcaring in two ways, one by
btriking from tho boat, the other by going
under water and taking the fish in their
native element. The latter method he pur-
posed following on the present occasion.
The spear was perhaps eight feet long, of
very hard polished wood and very slender,
and bore ut it's tip a polished steel or iron
spear point without barb of any kind.
This was essentially an underwater spear,
the man explained, yet without ocular
demonstration it would have been difficult
to make any ono believe that q man could
descend beneath tho surface and spear
fish.
0 reaching u certain portion of tho
reef the native ceased rowing and began
to look down into the water. Finding tho
head of coral which he was in search of,
he took tho slender pole in hand, stepped
over and disappeared. 1t was necessary
to move the boat away q few PAGES, so that
the fish would not be alarmed, which pre-
vented mo from observing tho whole oper-
alton.
"The native remained under water at
least three minutes, then suddenly came
up with q large rock1sh impaled on tho
spear. Holifted himself into tho boat and
did not appear to be Inconvenience by the
extraordinary dive, soon slipping over
again. Hanging to the side of the boat, he
inhaled several times rapidly. Then just
before he disappeared he filled his lungs to
the utmost extent. I found that when no
reached tho bottom he took u crouching
position by acoral head or rock, resting on
his left leg, with the right extending be-
hind.
"Tho fish seemed very tamo, and when
they passed within reach tho diver thrust
his spear quickly into onc, often sending
it entirely through the fish md inpaling
another, so that several OF them wcrc often
taken before the dive ended. This diver
thought nothing of remaining beneath
the water two minutes Il told some re-
1narkablc stories Of tho powers of his an
ccstors in dcfying tho elements. His
grandfather, he claimed, was famous all
over the island as IL great shark hunter,
hi whenever u native was killed by u
shark hc was called to revenge the deed,
and while he had killed II number Of these
animals he was never injured by one.
I'm shark hunting he was armed with
q sharp stick of hard wood about four feet
long and u long slender knife as sharp as
it could be made, and when tho shark
was seen he boldly entered the. water and
waited. When the shark approached, he
(. would lie perfectly quiet, but if it turned
to seize him quick rs q flash he divcd
and thrust tho stick into tho mouth or
! gills Of the animal md with The other
hand ripped up the lower surface of tho
| shark by plunging the sharp knife into
it and hauling it mp, often literally laying
it open with one stroke. Even this would
not dcInorali3o some sharks, and they
F. would still attempt to seize tho active enc
my, who would grasp it by a fin and lay
! ing alongside repeatedly stab it.
Such an attack made against u shark
in it's native clement requires the greatest
courage and must be the result of a pecul-
iarly savage nature OH the part of tho
diver. The nan eater shark is q cumbcr-
some, clumsy brute, turning slowly, cx-
cept when excited, and it is an easy mat
ter for a 1.-the, quick actioned man to slip
beneath one. Sometimes the tables arc
turned and the shark becomes the aggrcs-
SCR, but instances of this kind in northern
waters are rare. The most extraordinary
instance occurred in Massachusetts bay,
whero u large shark rose out Of tho water
and after several attempts sank IL boat by
falling on it and carried off the fisherman,
the act being seen from the deck of a
schooner lying not far away, whose crew
were powerlcss to interfere.
The natives OF Tahiti and Tuamotu arc
Perfectly uG nOIlc Ill inc water ana ac-
complish marvellous feats in diving. Tho
pearl oyster diver here is paid from $50 to
$50 per month. His sole outfit is tho
cloth about his loins and q pair Of spec
tacles, the latter used at tho surface to en-
able him to distinguish tho shells ut the
bottom. The Hindoos are popularity sup
posed to be tho finest divers, but they can
not compare with the divers Of Tuamotu.
The former go to the bottom by means of
weights held there by ballast which is con-
tanned in a belt, but the Tualmotu divers
merely plunge into the water and swim
down with remarkable celebrity to a dis
lance sometimes of $50 feet, almost tho
greatest limit of divers in ar1nor, who
have, it is believed, remained for a short
time at q depth of 200 feet. The Hindoo
remains below the surface 80 or 90 seconds,
while the Tuamotu thinks nothing Of two
minutes and Gun remain at this depth for
three minutes. The average dive of these
men is ~ minutes, two or three minutes
being exceptional, but not uncommon
Detroit Free Press.
Then He Popped.