Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-07-14

ers and make regular excursions to the
pearl fishing grounds. They divers who
wear diving suits and carry the business
after modern methods. The shells are used
In manufacturing knife handles, buttons,
paper cutters and other such things.
I am told that not one-tenth of the money
made from the fishing comes from the
pearls themselves. The shells are the most
valuable, the pearls being merely a by
product. This is so, i believe, in all the
pearl fishing centers. In the western Aus
tralian fisheries. for instance, the returns
for the shells in one year were 100000.
while the pearls found during the same
time sold for s15O.OOO.
The fishing goes on about the Island of
Basilan and in other grounds in the western
part of the archipe ago, such at Bongao
and Tawi Tawi. we'll as in the seas not
far from Sulu. The seas have not yet been
carefully prospected, however.
Among the Divers.
The method of diving for pearls as fol-
lowed by the natives is exceedingly simple.
They use no diving suits, but go naked into
the water. tying heavy stones to their feet
to help them sink to the bottom. They
usually choose grounds where the pearl
oysters are not more than forty feet below
the surface. The oysters are attached to
the rocks, and the diver cuts them loose
with his knife and puts them in net bag.
rope about his waist, and Is dragged to the
surface.
The Moros are expert divers and SWIM
mers- They have trained themselves to
holding their breath under water, and some
can remain below the surface for about
two minutes at a time. The business is ex-
ceedingly dangerous. for there are numer-
Gus sharks, and man is liable to lose a
leg or an arm, II not his life.
After the shells are gathered they must
De cleaned, and the oysters shucked out be-
fore they are ready for sale They are
often piled up on the shore and left there
to decay, in order that the pearls may be
squeezed out Not all of the oysters have
pearls In them. but a very poor shell may
sometimes contain a very fine pearl. so that
great care is used in handling the product.
How Pearls Are Formed.
Pearls, you know, are caused by some for
eign substance working it's way into the
flesh of the oyster 1t may be a grain of
sand, a small pebble or other foreign mat
ter. The oyster tries to protect himself
from it by putting a coating of pearl about
it, and this coating goes and on until at
last we have pearl.
Indeed, am told that pearls are now be-
ing made in Japan and China by taking the
oysters from the sea and carefully opening
them just wide enough to slip a particle of
sand between the leaves of the shell. The
oysters thus treated are planted and fed
ana Within snort Tune edch Deg1nS to
grow pearl 1t is said that the French
bore holes through the oysters shell and
insert a little silver of glass and about
this the oyster grows a pearl.
/ have seen something of the pearl fisher
les of different parts of the world. Some
of the best until recently have been in
Ceylnn. but more are now being discovered
in the Persian gulf. where about s20a0O 900
worth are taken out every year. The fish
ing there is done by naked Arabs who
plug up their noses and ears before they
go down into the water, and, like the
Moros here, tie great stones to their feet
to enable them to remain down the more
easily. In Panama the diving is done by
the native Colombians. They find both
pearls and shells, and some of the shells
are exceedingly fine. Not long ago a sea
captain made a contract with the natives
of Panama bay to clean the barnacles from
the bottom of his ship. They did so and
among the shells fastened to the hull found
an oyster containing pearl worth 5000.
The captain claimed that the pearl should
be his. but he was ,-ot able to persuade the
Colombians to give IT up.
| am told here that the best pearls come
from oysters which arc about forr years
Old. and that they range greatly in value
according to color and 3hcpe Those which
arc perfectly round are MIST priced The
most of the Sulu product consists of small
pearls. many seed pearls being found. The
largest pearl known TO the world is about
as big around as ;.n English walnut. Ii
weighs three ounces, but its shape is not a
perfect sphere.
l find it very difficult to get much infor-
nation from the English concerning the
perl industry here. ICY have succeeded
to tn. business of n ChAcsc who evidently
tnu@d it quite profitable, TO: he Is said to
be a millionaire and is one of the richest
men of the Philippines. The English evil
IDENTIFY have good thing and prefer to keep
the details concerning it secret.
What they pay the Sultan l do not know
but ! am told that the Chinese gave him
l,W1 month for the privilege of fiShing
in the deep waters of the archipelago
During the past week 1 have coasted