The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1907-05-05

task. In fact the divers themselves take
very good care To choose the best man
for the purpose Where the depth is no.
too great the diver usually stays on the
sea bottom for something over half an
. hour, while two Of the crew oil at tie
handles OF the air pump anldships. and
the tender balances himself on the rail
astern. When the diver wishes to come
Up. he closes the escape valve In his
/ helmet and his dress fills with air.
causing speedy return 10 the surface
the tender hauling him alongside by
means of the life line A ten minutes
rest. with the-to the Japanese-indis-
penSable cigarette, and he goes dovTa
again, leaving on the deck his catch of
she'll
1t must not be imagined that il 3 an
easy matter to ind the she'll Of q mem
trai color, il is not at all conspicuous as
I II les on Its gray coral bed itself COW
cred with coral or sponge, or hidden in
dense swaying masses Of gorgeous sea-
weed. Still less visible is the she'll on a
muddy bottom, for il imbeds itself In
the dark brown Ooze up to the Zip" or
outer fringe, and an expert might miss
the half-inch or so open to catch the
minute animalculae which form Its food
Every faculty Of the diver must be
constantly on the alert He must, i'm
PEELED by the tide, wait at a rate OF
about four miles an hour-and IT, In
stcoping to pick up the she'll he should
tdtl. II IS exceedingly likely that he will
shoot feet forward almost to the sur
race he has may dangers to avoid
Sharks are numerous in these clear.
tropical waters. but, as a rule although
accidents occasionally happen they are
exceedingly timid-a stream OF air bub-
DleS from the sleeve of the dress will
send them flying in terror More 70 be
feared is the diamond fish a huge fat
monster the size and shape OF a blanket
whose method OF demolishing its prey Is
10 wrap the side fms around him and
crush him, after the manner of a python.
The prudent diver viii not wait for a
closer view, but viii use his emergency
signal. Then again. there is the rock
cod. which turks in sea caverns. with
heac protruding' and toothless jaws
open vertically wide. He attains i'm
mense size, and tradition has il that the
exploring novice has walked unheeding
into his gaping mouth. with direful con-
SeruP~cCS'
Further danger-falling into holes a
fouled airline. or a broken pump-are
avoided with ordinary care and acti-
dents are quite remarkably rare. More
common are cases Of paralysis from
recklessly deeD diving or the bursting,
of blood vessels by reason Of an inn
perfect supnly Of air. Now the mother
of-pearl shell, which is to the WhitS+able
native in point OF size as the sunfiower
is to the daisv II left for a ve-,, few
e
since our colored brother has no SEN
timental regard for the rights Of prom
erty. he will deftly extract any real
pearl which NAV hanDen to be visible
while the shell lies or the deck of the
lCgger. This process Is not exactly
viewed with favor by the owner. am
81 is vital for him to collect the she'll
50 soon as possible after II is raised
To this end the largest Dearlers-an
English limited ccmpany-attach to
their schooner two fast motor launches
which make continuous collecting
rounds and deliver the unopened she'll
10 the schooner. There it is laid in
hears, to be Opened by the Europeans
and then begins the most exciting mart
of the pearler's rather dreary existence
and there for the present we will leave
IT,. Enough that in these tropics Eng
lsh resource and ability in transforming
one of the most ancient of ventures into
a steady and scientific industry.-Lon-
don Globe.