The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-07-23

ocean bed. Whether there is anything val
liable TO practical pearl fishers in the INs
volumes reposing in the British Roya
sOcietys library is d question which time
alone NAV answer. In the meantime
there is much discussion i'm Colombo ana
London as to whether the shareholders IN
the Ceylon Company Of Pearl Fishers, nm
tied, viii come out ahead. Two tat years
were followed by two lean years. the last
of which was 1909 The shrewdest OF the
Dutch governors Of CeylOu suggested q
century and a half ago the leasing OF the
pearl banks, but nobody came forward 10
venture upon such speculative under
taking.
If the corporation succeeds. a pictur-
esqUe feature Of the pearl fishing VIII De
eliminated. Formerly peaTling was lot
terry in which all sorts and conditions OF
CeylOnese participated, and in which all
amounts from 2 cents. which bought one
rupees were ventuTed. In the Eaicyon
days. first at SilavatuTai, ana then AT
MaricnchlkkadGi which became the pearl
metropolis of the world because II was
nearer the Cheval and other producing
''paars," a Monte Carlo existed when the
northeast monsoon blew across the Gulf
of Mannar When the press Of India and
CeylOn announced a pearl fishery all
roads from the MalabaT coast. from Alden,
from Tuticorin, from Madras and kila-
kari led to the scene of the lOOting of the
ocean floor Black men, brown men ana
yellow men, Of various races and COun-
tries, came down TO Ceylon to dive for
pearls. Strange looking craft from many
ports put in at MaTichchikkaddi with div
ers to swell the army Of nude deep sea
athletes whose capacity for good work de-
pended upon their ability TO go down with
enough air in their lungs to utlast rivals
Of inferior physique.
There were rich pearl merchants from
Asian cities, with lakhs Of rupees where
with to purchase pearls worth fortunes.
many of them holding commissions from
oriental princes Equipped with safe.
a pair of scales red cloth called an OPP
pak1u, and an expert knowledge of
pearls. these men sat in the open street
in front of their quarters and drove bar
gains of such magnitude that the non
chalance of purchaser and vendor might
nave given stock broker thrills of a l-
miratlOn. Spectators who were in the
market for oysters by the thousands
rubbed shoulders with needy Adventures
who hoped 10 invest rupee i'm the lot
terry, draw pearl bearing oyster and be
come independent for life. The regular
price for single oysters was the euuiva-
lent of 2 celts in American money, and
the ''pikers'' at the pearl city were as nu-
merous, as optimistic and poor as the
student of the dope who used to follow
the races in the United States with the
nope OF running a shoestring up to a tan
yard. Now that a corporation has taken
over the fisheries the gambling feature
upon the beach is eliminated. but many
conservatives in Colombo business circles
insist that ere long it viii be proved that
been transferred from the beach to the
stock exchange.
Less Creditable to CeyIon than her IA
nous pearl fisheries is the merchandising
in precious stones that is followed in the
lObbies Of Colombo hotels Here native
merchants carry dazzling stocks of many
colored gems in bits of cloth. They con-
tldentialy whisper to the 'tenderfoOt'r
tourist of unprecedented bargains. Real
bargains are sometimes found but all
that glltters is not blue sapphire and all
tnaJ CLEANS is not cats eve, ruby. red
garnet, amethyst or tourmaline. Though
the Slnhalese gem merchant is guileless
looking, for ways that are dark and tricks
mat are vain he is the peer of Bret
Harte's heather Chinee. Yet despite the
speculative feature Of her pearl fisheries
and the frauds perpetrated I'm Colombo
CeylOn today, with her 200 gem mines. is
still Ophir, THE isle Of Jewels"
Tomorrow-In Ceylon's Spicy Isle. v
The Great Tea Trade
Do You kodak? We finish and also
sell the supplies Salt LIKE pboto