The Red Cloud chief., 1905-09-01
THEPENRHYNDIVERS
FEATS OF THESE RECKLESS PACIFIC
OCEAN ISLANDERS.

Three native divers famous for their
deep water feats came out In a pearl
ing sloop with us one afternoon and
gave a fine exhibition, says a writer
In the London Graphic. The bed over
which we halted was about ninety feet
under the surface. Our three divers
stripped to a ''pareo" apiece, and then,
sQuatting down on the gunwale of the
boat, with their hands hanging over
their knees, appeared to mediate.
They were taking their wind" the
white steersman Informed me.
After about five minutes Of perfect
stiffness they suddenly got up and
dived off the thwart. The rest of us
fdgeted up and down the tiny deck,
talked, specialized and passed away
the time for what seemed an extraor-
dinarily long period. No one, unfor-
tunately, had brought a watch, but the
traders and schooner captains all agree
in saying that the Penrhyn diver can
stay under water for full three min
utes. At last, one after another, the
dark heads popped up again, and the
| divers, each carrying n shell or two,
swan back to the boat, got on board
and presented their catch to me with
the ease, grace and high bred courtesy
that are the birthright of all Pacific Is
landers.
AS n general rule, the divers carry
baskets and fill them before coming
up. Each man opens his own catch at
once and hunts through the shells for
pearls. Usually he does not find any.
Now and then he gets n small gray
pearl or n decent white one or n big,
Irregular ~"baroque" pearl Of the new
art" variety, and once in n month of
Sundays he Is rewarded by a large,
cleaning gem worth several hundred
pounds, for which he will probably
get f20 or ESQ.
Diving dresses are sometimes used
In Penrhyn, but In such an Irregular
and risky manner that they are really
more dangerous than the ordinary
method. The suit Is nothing but q
helmet and jumper. No boots are
worn, NJ clothing whatever on the
legs, and there are NJ weights TO pre-.
serve the divers balance. 1t some
times happens, though wonderfully
seldom, that the diver trips, falls and
turns upside down, the heavy helmet
keeping him head downward until the
air all rushes out under the jumper,
and he Is miserably s%uffocated. The
air pump above is often carelessly
worked, In any case, and there Is no
recognized system Of signals except
the jerks that mean Pull up"
They're the most reckless devils on
the face of the EARTH" said a local
trader. "Once let a man strike a good
bed Of shell, and he won't leave It
He'll stick down there all day, grab
bling away in twenty fathoms or more
till he feels paralysis coming on
"P~aralysis?"
"Yes-they get 1t, lots Of ZEN. II
you was to go down in twenty faith
oms-they can do five and twenty, but
anything over Is touch and go-and
stay 'alf the day, you'd come up owl
ing like anything and not able to move
That's the way 1t catches them, and
then they must get some one to come
/, and rub them with sea water all night
!, long. and maybe they dies, and maybe
they're all right by morning. SO ther
down they goes again, Just the same
as ever. Sometimes a man1l be pulled
up dead at the end of the day. How
does that happen? Well, I allow its
because he's been working at a bis
depth all day and feels all right, and
} then, do you see, he'll find something
/, a bit extra below Of him. In a hollel
, like, and down he'll 60 after 1t, and
the extra fathom or two does the trick
sharks? Well, I've seen you pop
ping at them from the deck OF thu
:, Duchess, so you know as well as l DE-
/, how many there are. Didn't 1T then
l wen when the fin was up? That's
because you 'aven't creased your bul
let, I suppose. You want to, II thu
water isn't to turn It aside. But abou
the divers? Oh, they don't minC
> sharks, none Of them, when they've go
the dress on. Sharks is easy scared
3 You've only got to pull up your Jump
ers a bit, and the air bubbles out ant
a frightens them to fits. If you meet
big sting ray It'll run its spine Int
you and spoil the dress, SOS the waite
o comes In, and maybe it'll stick tn
diver too. And the big devilfsh i
Q nasty. He'll hold you down on a rock
but you can use your knife on him
The kara mauaa Is the worst. Tn
Q divers don't like him. He's no a
big as a shark, but he's downright
wicked, and he's a mouth on him a
- - go ~ 49, II 49, ANNa AArnA