Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-02-05
#tiseellaneol1s 8eadina.
DEEP SEA DIVING A GAMBLE.
Pearl Fishers Who Are Not Averse
to Speculation.

Pearl Fishers Who Are Not Averse
to Speculation.
The commuters were telling fish sto-
ries. The Englishman, who Is visiting
a married daughter in Jersey, listened,
with the normal Englishman's interest
in sport.
Much Of fisherman yourself?" ask
ed one Of the commuters.
"well, I don't go in for it now. I
never saw a tarpon or muskallonge,
but I've landed g. salmon or two in my
time" said the Englishman modestly.
Then he added: I've seen queer fish,
ing, though, and once caught fish
that sold for $780,"
The commuters looked impressed.
They had been testing the elasticity OF
truth a trifle themselves.
What were you fishing for?" asked
the most curious.
Pearls" said the Englishman quiet
ly.
That was outside Of the commuters
preserves so they quieted down.
1T was a long time ago." the Eng
lishman went on, "but 1t was good
sport. I think I prefer 1t to salmon
fishing. I'm unpatriotic enough to Hke
the Far East better than the Scottish
country. was born in India. Give me
a blue sky and a broiling sun and
sea bluer than the sky. I hate your
gray worlds.
II was sent home to my grandfather
when I was a youngster, but as soon
as I grew up and was my own master,
F5ebegan gi4be trottiSks I trotted into
a good many out Of the way corners;
most Of them in Asia. Southern Europe
isn't so bad in the summer time. Did
you ever go coral fishing down on the
coast Of Corsica or Sicily? No; we'll,
that has its picturesque features too.
And 1 suppose you never fished for
sponges?
1--WE gone out with coral and sponge
fleets, but once I spent whole season
with pearlers on the Bahrein banks In
the Persian gulf.
IT hadn't an idea Of staying there
when I happened along. I was travel
ing with a couple Of jewel merchants
I had seen pearl fishers on the Ceylon
banks. The government ran things
down there, you know, but the Ceylon
haul had never equaled the Persian
pearl harvest. Anybody could fish IN
the Persian gulf. The divers came
from all along the coast, but the. rights
of the different outfits were defined by
custom. The Bahrein boats stuck to
their limits, the Pirate coast boats to
theirs.
II dropped down there early in June.
The pearl season begins in June, but
most of the June diving is done in shall
low water. At least, that's the way 1t
used to be. I suppose diving apparatus
has changed things there as every
where, although they tell me that the
native divers still work along in the
old way in the gulf. I got the pearl fe-
YER. It wasn't that I cared so much
about the pearls, but the whole thing
interested me. So I stayed, bought
boat, hired some divers and went Into
business. One literally bought the d.
yers. The fishermen were beastly poor.
The whole trade was run by merchants.
They owned the boats and loaned the
divers money for the seasons work at
a. Shylock rate of interest. If the fish
ers had big luck, they might pay out
and find themselves rich at the end Of
the season. II they had poor uck, they
might be in debt up to their eyebrows
and starve. My men thought they had
a snap. I put up the money and gave
them equal shares with me in all find
ings.
Now, I tell you, the pearl business Is
the biggest lottery speculation I ever
ran up against. 1t beats the Derby and
Monte Carlo and your national game OF
poker. Merchants, fakirs. spectators
all f1ocked to the pearl district IN sea-
son. Nobody knew what he was getting
IL he bought the oysters unopened.
They were worth about 81 hundred In
that state. You might buy carload
and get nothing. Then again knew OF
natives who bought small basketfuls of
oysters and found enough pearls In
them to set them up for life.
Sometimes the divers received wa
ges-starvation wages. More often they
got a certain share Of the oysters. U.s.
ually there wasn't fixed scale. A man
was paid according to his skill. The
boats were of different sizes, ten to
twenty tons. There were usually three
or four thousand Of them on the banks
from June to September, and I remem-
ber the year I was there, the value OF
the annual haul was estimated at be-
tween G4O0,00O and 945O,OOO sterling
Ordinarily ten men went with a boat
and took along five big diving stones.
When they reached the fishing grounds
they anchored, and half the men strip
ped and went over the side. Then the
diving stones fastened to ropes, were
lowered from the boat. The diver stop
ped up his nose with clay or wax, put
small basket on his arm, drew a long
breath, set one foot on the diving stone
and held the rope. The chum in the
boat let the stone go. Tip-down to the
bottom. You'll hear all sorts of wild
stories about the length Of time these
chaps will stay under water, but they
are fairy tales. Men who know told
me that 80 seconds was the limit, and
that there were mighty few divers who
could stay down minute. only two