El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-07-20

places one foot upon the lead, with
the rope between his toes, stretches the
rope with one hand held against his
chest. UtIsrS several loud yells to empty
his lungs, refliIS them quickly with
pure air, and descends rapidly. feet
foremost, TO the bottom OF the lagoon.
His goggles exclude the water and en-
able him to see from II to 10 feet.
He tears the shells from their support.
usually a piece of dead coral. to which
they are firmly fastened. He may fiji
the basket with 80 or 50 pounds of
shells at once and he may have 10 dive
several times to fill it. When his time
is UP the diver ascends by means of the
rope and Immediately wipes himself dry
with a towel. He rests and warns him
self in the sun from 10 to Is minutes
before going down again. A good
diver will go down from 20 TO % times
in the five diving hours AS the basket
Is filled il is drawn up and the shells
are emptied into the boat. The mans
wife or some other member OF his
family, who accompanies him in the
canoe, occupies herself by opening the
shells. putting the contents in a bucket
and washing the shells, from which she
also removes the barbs. Having fin
ished the diving for the day, the man
assists the woman in her work. The
matter in the bucket is crushed in the
hands and then thrown overheard. a
part of the mOllusk is good to eat
when thoroughly boiled. then fried in
canned butter, and served with wine
or white sauce, but the natives care
little for ii, especially as they have
plenty of money during the season to
buy other food. While he is gathering
the shells the diver often comes up TO
get harpoon TO spear fine fish, which
he is easily able TO do, as the fish seem
to pay no attention TO his presence and
movements in the water. In this way
he helps out his scanty larder After a
good breakfast the diver eats very little
until o'clock, when he IS ready for a
meal and sound sleep.
The Worlds Best Divers.
This colony has the best divers in the
world They dive all the way from
to 40 feet rarely mOre) in their work
and remain under water a minute and a
half for the average man, two to two
and one-half minutes for a good diver
and three minutes for a few exceptional
experts. Among the pearl divers OF
Ceylon the highest record is 10 seconds.
Diving for shells is hard and wearing
work Like many other industries it
exactS its toll of human life At
the beginning of each season
the nose and ears of the diver
bleed when ne comes up out of the wa
ter, and sometimes he vomitS blood
His eyes become affected and paralysis
of the arms and legs is not uncommon
He is at his best between the ages of
20 and 25; after so he begins TO decline
and is able to dive less and less as he
grows older. Boys who wish TO be-
come divers for shells begin to practice
soon after entering their teens. Be
tween Is and II, when they have not
yet learned the limit of their capacity,
they occasionally stay down a little too
long and give out before the boat is
reached by the rope 1t is said by
those well informed that half a dozen
men lose their lives IN this manner dur
ing each season.
The Pearl Trade-Pay OF the Divers.
The finding of pearls in the snollusks
adds singular fascination to the hard
work of the toilerS in the deep. Occas-
ionally the rare black pearl is found,
but nearly all the pearls are of the
usual color, and not many Of them are
of any considerable size. The pearl
buyers show no little Nsctivity in going
the round of the islands to make pur-
chases, but no statistics are kept, and
the dealers are reC1cent as to the ex-
tent of their business. 1t is estimated
that about $4,000 is paid for the
pearls found in a season. AS the pearls
as well as the shells. are the perquisites
Of the divers, the best OF the men are
able to make from 5000 to 1000 francs
1885 to S135) during a season; but the
average diver probably realizes about
5000 francs (S579). chiefly from the sale
Of shells to the agents of Papeete mer-
chants who are on the ground for that
purpose