The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-02-09

seen was owned by the Empress Euge
ME 1t was composed of three hundred
and forty pearls Of the first quality
AT that time it was valued at one hun
dred and fifty thousand dollars.
THE pearl-fshing season along the
inner shore of Lower California usual
ly lasts through July, August, septem
Der and October. The season on the
Pacific coast side of Mexico and Cen
tral America usually begins in March
and closes when the season of suddeI
Whirlwinds and hurricanes, SO common
In the tropics, begins in June.
"A pearl hunter goes through eacl
oyster carefully, feeling for the precious
pearl, which is a great rarity, as il
opening ton of shells he will find only
about one hundred seed pearls, anc
seldom one as large as a pea The
pearl is formed either by the intrusion
OF some particle that initiates the oys-
ter, causing 1t to cover the irritant with
coat of nacre, which, when hardened
becomes the pearl, or as many divers
believe, by parasite, for it has been
found that old shells bored throughout
by these parasites contain the largest
"iiu hHCSt peailS. Liz pearl 10 louiiu
embedded in the oyster, and not, as
many suppose, attached to the she'll
Yankee invention and the introduce
ton of business methods have very
much altered the life and ways of pearl
fishers in the Gulf of California and
along the Mexican coast Formerly it
was a haphazard occupation, The di-
vers could work in shallow water only.
| Now all is changed. The six hundred
and Seventy-tive men employed by our
company are divided into gangs and
move about in four or five schooners of
one hundred tons burden. About sew
enty modern diving suits are employed
and each gang has one. The diver re-
mains down an hour or more, gathering
the shells and loading the wire basket
that is lowered to him.
| However safe we try to make the
occupation of pearl diving it always will
be a very dangerous and debilirating
work The average American would be
a nervous wreck after one or two sea-
sons of pearl diving. Nearly all divers
are partly, if not totally, deaf, Incl
pient paralysis is another affiiction. I
know some Indians who were fine spec
linens Of humanity a few years ago, and
who, now less than thirty-five years old,
are hopelessly paralyzed from too much
pearl diving during a few seasons.
"The effects of diving on the nervous
system are very apparent The more ed
ucated and thoughtful the diver, so
much the worse for him. While he is
5at work he is usually in bad temper
= ~ 81 o.
or one hundred and eight feet is the
deepest safe depth. A diver can re-
main only about ten minutes in this
depth, while in five fathoms he can
work for two hours or more.
"Our company has strict orders that
no diver shall descend if he has had
more than a light meal of toast Of cof
fee. Heavy eating, and particularly
meats, tend to make respiration diff
cult, but, strange as it may seem, we
have to keep close watch on our men
to force them to obey this rule for their
own safety. While walking over the
sea bottom the diver adopts swinging,
rapid gait, and his eyes scan as much
as possible of the ground. Even expe-
rienced divers are nervous while I'M
der water. A strange object, such as a
rock, looming suddenly in sight a
strange fish, or an unusual growth, will
make the heart beat more rapidly and
feeling of uneasiness prevail.
'The pearl oysters are not found ip
beds, like our edible oysters, but are
scattered singly over a large area, the
diver sometimes having to walk many
miles before filling his bag. The shells 4
are about the size of small soup plates
weighing about a pound each, and
shaped much like our oyster SHE'LL only I
more round. Sometimes in grasping a
shell the hand comes in contact with a
stone fish, so named by the divers, a
venomous little fish hiding under rocks
and shells, and secreting poison. This
fish punctures the skin of the hand,
causing the entire arm to swell with !
great pain. The remedy is to remain
below and suffer, for the pressure OF the /
water causes the wound to bleed freely |
and the poison thus escapes.
1.-THE Chinese We're the first to make
artificial pearls. They were al 1t centu-
ries ago. Some of the Chinese artif-
cial pearls used to be very deceiving.
The French caught the idea from the
Chiense and nowadays they make a
fine imitation Of the genu-
inc article. Pearl making in China is
confined to two villages in the northern
part of the province of Chin Kiang. In
the months of May and June large
quantities of mussels are brought in
baskets from lake thirty miles dis
tant, and the biggest of them are selec-
ted for the operation that is to be per-
formed. Into the shell Of each mollusk
are introduced small objects which 1T is
Intended the bivalve shall coat with the
oearly substance it secretes. Some
times little balls of earth are used.
Such pellets are made of mud from the
bottom of water courses. dried and
powdered with the juice of the seeds Of
he camphor tree.
ITO place these nuclei inside Of the
nussels is process of no little difficult
". The shell is opened with a small
instrument of mother-of-pearl, the
mantle of the animal is gently lifted
md the pellets are laid beneath the
mantle. The shell is then permitted to
lose Finally the mollusks are deposit
ed in canals or pools. They are placed
i've or six inches apart, at depths of
rom two to five feet, in lots of from five
thousand to fifty thousand.
"In November they are lifted and
pened. The animals are removed from
he shells and the pellets are detached |
With a sharp knife. By this time they