The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-07-14

others belonging 20 two diffefent owners;
we also pack and ship their shelf. for
which. Of course. they are charged so
much per ton.
THE reason that full moon Is chosen
as watering time Is because then the tides
are nearing high springs and therefore
running very swiftly which, Of course,
impedes the divers and often stirs up the
mud, making the water too dirty to work
IN. This occurs once a fortnight, about
full and new moon. Another reason for
watering at full instead of new is that
this coast abounds in small islands and
coral reefs, and that, combined with the
swift running tides, makes 1t dangerous
to sail at night unless there is much
moonlight. No matter how well you can
navigate. you run a great risk. for the
tides don't set in any particular direction.
At every island and reef, sometimes. you
get two or three distinct streams, swirl
Ing around. The actual set Of the rising
stream is, of course. charted. but the
cross currents are not.
She'll Lies on Reefs,
II haven't mentioned the depth Of wa
ter at which the shell Is procured. Well,
it is found from on toy Of the reefs to
twenty fathoms at low water. This reef
work is carried on in small cutters, and
we call IL beaeh-eombing. The tide rises
in places on this coast as much as thir-
ty-six feet; so you can imagine that at
low water there are a good many reefs
exposed The favorite depth down here
is about six 20 eight fathoms The divers
don't care about going into much over
ten. II they can help it.
THE regular work is carried on from
April until about Christmas. Then the
schooners lay in q big supply Of ratiOns
and gear and go to some snug little har-
Dor or creek, where there is a good. sandy
beach, and there moor securely for the
'Willy-Willy' season. 4 'Willy-Willy is
the native name for cyclone. These are
liable 70 occur any time from November
70 April. and, though pretty rare. when
one does happen along il does about as
much damage as one OF your American
tornadoes. While the schooners lie in the
creek, the boats work as close as pos
siDie. so as TO be able to get in on the
indication Of a William coming.
"One or two at time. they are brought
in and thoroughly Overhauled. New gear
Is rove of. where required, copper re-
paired, and the boats are well painted in
side and out. and right smart little YES
sells some Of them look, too. Last Of ALL
the schooner is done up and I've seen
worse-lookiDg yachts than some of them
would make when just fresh from dry
dock. Our docks consist Of the before
mentioned sandy beaches, which, aided
by the high rise and fall Of tides make
excellent docks.
Cost of Boats.
1T costs from $50 to e500 per year TO
run a boat successfully. and as from
three TO four tons is an average season
take. you can see that. at the present
low price Of shell, unless we happen on
a pearl or two. there isn't much profit in
the business. Speaking Of pearls, must
describe how they are found. The shells
are opened with a long knife by insert
ing the blade IN the lip and cutting
down through the body OF the fish, and
so dividing It into two parts. one of
which is on each of the shells, to which
they adhere by a gristiy substance, which
leaves those peculiar marks in the cen
ter of the shell. The knife is then passed
down between the shell and the fish, cut
ting the gristle, and the whole thing falls
out.
I'VE feel carefully all through the flesh
for pearls. which are generally hidden
from sight Sometimes they are found
adhering 10 the shell itself, and some
times embedded right in the shell. The last
kind we call blisters. and they are indi-
Gated by lump or even a slight irregu-
larity on the shells face. These are cut
out with punches and cleaned down.
Many fine pearl has been found In that
way"