The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1900-05-03
QUEST OF THE ELUSIVE PEARL
Particulars Given by Two Noted
Divers from the south Sea
Islands.

| Two famous pearl DIVERS recently
visited San Francisco to buy large
quantity of air pumps, diving suits
and like paraphernalia of the sea.
Opu and Taipu are their names, says
the New York Sun, and they are gen
orally regarded as stars in their peril
Gus line of work They were born on
one of the islands of the Dangerous
Archipelago group. They speak good
English, however, and both are thor
oughly familiar with the civilization
of West Australia, where they have
spent most of their lives as pearl
hunters. Although these men do not
look unlike many South Sea islanders,
a close view shows that they have
! powerful chests, and they would
doubtless be taken for athletes, with
| great powers of endurance. This
| comes from the fact that they spent
their early years as naked divers, de-
veloping in that way an abnormal ex-
panse of lung area.
1--WE can remain under water with
out trouble for so or 90 seconds" said
Opu, land it was the old free-hand
diving that expanded our lungs; but
diving suits and air pumps have done
away with the native method of div
ing for pearls. AS result we now
remain under for an hour or two at
time varying according to the depth
and pressure
Taipu is the principal native pearl
merchant of the many hundreds who
have embarked in the trade since the
natives of the Panmotu islands first
dabbled in that form Of commerce
He owns n pearling dredcer and a
ship; both are engaged in the trade
in southern waters. His snip, how
ever, is mere hulk that travels less
than 9G miles along the coast.
"We depend principally upon pearl
shells for our income" said he, "sinre
TO stake our earnings on the pearls
alone would be TO invite loss. Nalud-
bic pearls are not frequent enough to
make it pay, but the commercial
mother-oS pearl is made from the
shells that we deal in. When ID come'
to hunting for the real pearl there
is not any kind of a scoop or dredgol
that can take the place of mems eyes;
diving and treading the deep is the
only way to find valuable pearls. As
a rule these are some distance apart,
scattered over the rocky beo of tn
ocean Sometimes a man Will pick
ND quite a fortune in a few weeks and
sometimes he will hardly make eX-
penses in season"
There is great fascination in the
business and few pearl divers ever
give it up. They become so accus-
toned to walking around in subma-
rine places thar they enjoy the coral
landscapes the ,e pms the conchts,
that abound in silent gardens OF
the sea. Bnt in - of the pleasures
and profits Of their business there has
been little improvement in the meth
DDS of diving since the earliest days,
Safety appliances have done but little
70 reduce the risk to human life.
Sharks do not bother us" said
Taipu, neither do swordiish; for
will swim away from diver if he
loosens the sleeve of his coat and lets
the air escape in bubbles. We some
times get very much alarmed, how
ever. by big turtles and sharks, though
they are usually quick to get away
from us. | once saw an enormous
shark hidden among some sea tangle
not ten feet from me; il was about
30 feet long, and it had evidently not
seen me. and when first caught sight
of il there was no motion, save
trembling of the fins. In n twinltling
it heard me and gave a quick sweep
OF its tail and was face to face with
me on the bed of the sea. For mo-
ment | could not move, but stood
looking into its vicious jaws, so large
that they could have snapped me in
two like bit of paper. Nearer and
nearer II came, as if about to seize
me. ! could not stand the suspense
any longer. so | let some air escape
ana the shark got out Of the way
as fast as it could swim, stirring up
the mud and pebbles as it swan"
Pearling is still very profitable. for
the crude shells are sold at from $500
to $3.50 ton, and there is always the
chance that diver may make enough
in one day to quit for life. I'VE do
not dive further than so to 100 feet"
said Opu, "for the pressure IS too
great. Even at these depths men can
not remain down over five or ten min
utes, and the average life of the deep
diver is very short
Foreign hut Pertinent.
A North Omaha Sunday school SUI
perintendcnt always conducts the les
! son reNinAN In his schmnl. lie snends