Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1899-04-07
QUEENSLAND'S ILL-LUCK
A TERRIBLE HURRICANE ALMOST DE-
STRoTS HER PEARL FISHERIES.

feriious Industry, But, if the Taies Are
fropitious. ID IL Extremely Lucrative
The Divers Get Many Scares Below
Prom Sharks aud Poisonous Fish.
The terrible hurricane that recently
overwhelmed the pearl and pearl shell
fishermen of the northeast coast of
Queensland, Australia, destroyed the
lives OF about half the men and half
the vessels Of the fleet engaged in the
fisheries. On an average about 1000
men and 200 boats are engaged IN
these fisheries for FIVE months in the
wear, The dispatch from Brisbane,
Queensland, says that three school ers
and eighty luggers were wrecked and
400 colored and eleven white men were
drowned. The vessels employed in
these fisheries consist chiefly of strong,
lugger-rigged craft averaging ten tons
I burden. The crew of each lugger in
cludes the diver, the tender who holds
the life lines aud attends to all sig
mails from the diver, and four working
hands. Most of the men are colored,
of various nationalities, aborigines liv-
ing near the fisheries, South Sea ISL
anders and Manila, Chinese, japanese
and Malay divers.
If the fates are propitious pearl div
ing in these waters is lucrative, but
the dangers are numerous. The great
est peril is that brought by the terri
BILE windstorms which visit this coast
aud carry everything before them.
Few vessels of the pearl shell fleet
ever outlive one of these storms. The
tender keeps his eye out for any signs
of hurricane and when they are dis
covered the pearl-ishing business is
suspended and the boats seek refuge
i'll some sheltering cove The divers
get many scares below. The sight of
tifteen-foot shark making a Decline
for man is enough to weaken the
stoutest nerve; neither is it pleasant
to have large turtle persist in cult
waiting neighborly relations. The lit
tie stonetish is one of the enemies of
the divea. 1t seems TO make its habi-
tation beneath the pearl shell and the
/ diver is sometimes bitten when he
picks up the shell. The bite is poi
sonous, though not fatal, and the vic
tim often suffers severe pain for sew
eral days. The business of diving is
most injurious to health. Some of the
men do not withstand.its effects, but
+ die in few months, while deafness
and incipient paralysis frequently at
/ tack the divers.
The shell is now pretty we'll worked
out Ill the shallow waters aud so the
naked native divers are not 50 much
employed as they formerly were, for
/ they cannot work with success beyond
depth of sixty feet, and most OF the
shells are now obtained only by means
Of men wearing the well-known divers
/ dress. One hundred and twenty feet
is the greatest depth from which the
shell is proftably taken and few
/ divers can stand the strain of pro
! longed work under the pressure at
that depth. The man in diving
dress usually remains under water an
hour or two.
Pearl shell fishing was formerly
carried on along the north coast of
western Australia, but those grounds
are pretty we'll worked out. The new
grounds lie on both sides Of Cape
York Peninsula, across Torres Strait
to New Guinea aud down the north
east coast of Queensland nearly to
! Cooktown. The quest for pearls is
merely incidental to these fisheries,
which are carried on for shell, or
mother f-pearl. On an average about
1000 shells are taken for every pearl
that is found and yet the ever present
| hope of securing a fine pearl stimu
lates the interest of the workers. The
finest pearls of fashion are said to be
| yielded only by toe mother. of pearl
shell, such as is found in these waters
and in the Persian Gulf. The pearls
of the Queensland region are of fine
size and quality, but not one shell in
thousands produce perfect spec
imen The most valuable pearl find
thus far on the Queensland coast IL
that known as the Southern Cross, a
cluster of six pearls in the shape of
crucifx, which was valued when it
was exhibited in London in 1886 at
$4,000. 1t was found at low water
by an old beachcomber, who sold it
for $50. The best pearl shell is three
or four years old and large shells
weigh from six to eight pounds pair;
but as the possible shells they may
contain do not depend upon the age
or size of the shell, many small shells
are ruthlessly opened as though there
was no law for their protection.
Nearly all the pearl shell goes to the
London market and the pearls to
Paris. Sydney and Brisbane capital
is chiefly interested in the industry,
but in 1892 the Japanese also entered
the field and now hold about fifth of
the trade.
These fisheries have for years held
an important position among the
industries of Queensland, fuctuating
between the sixth and eighth place in
the list of her principal exports.
The calamity that has destroyed half
of the pearl she'll fisheries fleet has
accordingly badly crippled one of the
leading commercial enterprises of the
colony.
Ants and Their Antidotes