Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-03-07
SPONGE FISHING IN FLORIDA.
A Vacation Among the Keys That Can
Be Made to Pay For Itself.

SPONGE FISHING IN FLORIDA.
A Vacation Among the Keys That Can
Be Made to Pay For Itself.
"One of the most enjoyable Of my
winter vacations was spent in sponge
fishing among the Florida keys" de-
clared young married woman. 1--WE
made arrangements to take a trip
with a sponger who owned his own
boat, which was also his family home.
When I asked what supplies we must
take along in the way Of food the
question brought hearty laugh from
! both the sponger and his wife, with
a chorus of giggles from their two
young daughters.
THE wife explained that food was
| the one thing they never thought
about down there. All they had to do
was to drop line overheard for their
meat and take a walk along some
beach for fruit, while at any habi-
tation vegetables were always to be
had for the asking.
THE mistake I made was not think
ing to ask about the water Before
we were out week that very nec-
essary commodity became uncom-
fortably scarce You see the sponger
had depended on replenishing our
supply from a cistern on a certain
key. When we reached that key 1t
was found that something or some
body had not only emptied the cistern
but destroyed it. That meant going
without water for another six hours,
and was not at all enjoyable for me
at least.
"As that was the only time It hap
pened and was the only thing that
was the least bit unpleasant on the
cruise l always tell It first and then
go on to the charming and unusual
Incidents.
ITO begin with the boat we were
In was both commodious and COM
Portable. When 1t was recommended
to my husband by a merchant he
good new boat we might find the odor
of the spoages rather unpleasant be-
fore we finished the trip. We didn't,
not because there weren't enough
sponges taken but because we grad
ually became accustomed to the odor.
The actual fishing is done by two
or sometimes three persons in skif.
On our boat the wife and each Of the
girls had skiff. During the second
week skiff was assigned to me, and
can truthfully say never enjoyed
any possession more thoroughly. All
we women did was to scull, while the
man who accompanied us did the
fishing. This man was supplied with
water glass and sponge hook.
This water glass is nothing more
than a wooden bucket with glass
bottom. The sponge hook is attached
to thirty-foot wooden pole and Is
placed across the gunwales Of the
skiff, where II Is within reach Of the
fishers hand. when by looking
through his glass he finds sponge
on the bottom Of the bay.
1T is one of the oldest sights to
see these sponge fishers sculled about
with their heads in these wooden
buckets, which are thrust almost rim
deep In the water. The fisherman's-
hand goes back, reaching for the
sponge hook, the sculler stops the
boGt until the hook is adjusted about
the roots Of the sponge and 1t Is pull
ed up and into the skiff.
Looking through the water glass
at the sponge growing on the bottom
of the bays and rivers some Of them
are like fairy trees in a fairy forest.
1t almost seems a pity to tear them
up. Once they are out Of the water
much Of their beauty disappears,
slightly than seaweed. The odor that
so many people object to Is produced
by the decomposition Of the gelatin
Gus matter.
80 far as the cost Of such trip
is concerned 1t can be made to pay
for itself We paid our way, though
my husband had not planned that
we should. We were taken on the
sponger by the owner for stipulated
price, not very much to our northern
ears, but when one considers the
cheapness Of all food supplies and the
simplicity of our accommodations 1t
was uOuullCS5 QulbC dHiPiC " bbC bSoS
owner and his thrifty wife.
There was the understanding that
we were to have all the sponges we
took. AS I have been accustomed to
handling a canoe and rowboat all my
life ii was not long before l could
manage to scull my husband around
in our skiff. On two occasions we
brought in more sponges than any Of
the other skiffs, and you may be sure
we were praised.
1.-The skiffs always returned to the
large boat for dinner and to sleep.
The three meals day are bountiful,
and in our boat one would not have
found better cooking In any first class
restaurant, that Is Of the articles we
had Fish we had in an almost un-
limited variety. Fruit was as abundant
as fish, and vegetables were usually
served for dinner.
"One old sponge fisher was one Of
the attractions Of our experience. He
could remember the keys as they were
in the days before the government
built lighthouses and when the wreck
ers reigned supreme. He had any
number of yarns about the exploits Of
these outlaws. One was the way they
would tie lantern to the horns Of a
cow and chase her back and forth
over some dangerous key during q
storm. When we showed too much
horror he would usually end his story
with the assertion that such things
only happened occasionally and when
there hadn't been wreck for good
long while"