The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 5, 1905, Page 6

T HE SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALL r cleaned and dry as When I tell you tons of mother s the on mer- n easily realize of no small con celculated that single boat is the value to $2400, tion of ce there are = con- represent- loy- a great the country contract, many dependent upon the in- In fact, it has t fully 6000 ws of Australia have always been very generous and any foreigner the stipulated d protection may siness with perfect free- s to reason that men s have salled in with two or three, gnd are the expectation find one of these fine agine for a single usts have missed y &s Australia or such as the oyster bed. and biggest of all big English companies and decided .- aking quite v as they ould The B s were big, it was true, but mnot « e enough on the amount of the They looked to see the trouble and their fell on a multitude of small companie§ and wners. That was the story in nut sheil. Too many people. The was being robbed of its treas- s too rapidly and the tiny oysters were not given a fair opportunity to grow Off to a member of Parliament they fiew with their grievances and it didn’t take very long to hatch up the idea to lease the ocean. Now fancy. Did enybody ever hear of such a bill be- fere? Well, the result was a mass meeting of the small traders, -2 Correrzrz, DIVIRG OUIETY, sailing into a For sub-lease apply appeal to them nd they couldn’t exactly man shou'd e ocean any- belongs to m alled to were to moonshine free of In short, they held the whoje up In such a ridiculou nd said it to rob America of her on in the trust line.” Bo the old ocean goes scot free this ime and we small people may go on ping d watching for the pearis hat n come. For be it known to the uninitiated of pearls taken are and comparatively ueless, though now and then gems found valuing as much as $5000 to 7600 each, and on the average each m of shell produces pearls to the value of $400. Coarse ones of extraordinary size are sometimes obtained, and now that barogque pendants, necklaces and jew- elry of all kinds are so fashionable, the price has gone up for such oddities. Officlal statistics regarding the take of pearis are not at all reliable, and many pearls never reach the hands of the owners, but are retained by the divers and disposed of by them secret- 1y at a price much below their real alue. As the best specimens of pearis and shells arg found in deep water, the diver has a splendid oppor- tunity to investigate if he has any rea- son to belleve that a pearl of any value has been discovered, and as he cannot very well be watched, who is to be the wiser? Ordinarily the shells are opened by the owrer or his represen- tative, who live on board the boat and examine for pearls. If none are discovered the shell is thrown into a box near at hand and the fish con- sumed by the crew or thrown away. Upon shell and shell alone do the peariers rely for subsistence, but the pearls are regarded as nice little ad- ditiéns to one’s income. With the exception of prospecting for gold there is probably no occupation more fascinating than pearling. As each shell is picked up it is an unknown quantity. It may contain & bit of mud and it is just possible that a small piece of creamy white may make your bank book jump ahead some five or six thousand. It is the glorious uncertainty that holds men and sends them cruising about in the trop- ical waters that contain untold dan- gers for them. The ocean is rather crafty and clever about her transactions, too. When the "tenderfoot” puts in an ap- pearance she seems to know it and throws out a tempting bait to lure him on. When I first went into the business she sent me a rare gem with her compliments and told me that I could market it for no less than $6000. Then when I was filled to the brim with enthusiasm, she closed up shop and has taken a vicious delight in keeping me on the anxious seat ever since. Of course now and then a lucky find is made, and some exceedingly beautiful and valuable gems are dis- covered, but more often, however, the pearls that are found are either badly shaped or otherwise defective. To be of any value a pearl must possess, in in addition to a good color and luster, a certain well defined shape. That is, it must be either a round pearl, drop or button. A drop is oval or pear shaped, and 2 button is similar to a rcund pearl hutton somewhat flat- tened. The theories regarding the origin of —ewam -y pearls are many. One authority claims that the pear] is a diseuss of the oyster, but the most accepted ane l; that a grain of sand, a particle of rock or coral or even a tiny plece of mud finds its way between the shell and causes an irritation. The 0)'5_19: must drink now and then, and eve? though it opens its double doonbe, very little wav the sea water FTasics in a grainer two of sa.m:} that mal :s it decidedly uncomfortable. Just o soon as the ragged atom begins 10 ¢ e and hurt its flesh it contrives to m;r come its enemy by returning good evil. In the oyster’s body there is a little store of clean and precious fiuLd with which it makes its mother o pearl on its shell. So it pours a little of the pacre gently over the grain of sand and makes it smooth and round and white. After this the annoyance and the pain cease, for the sharp, rugged points are neatly and nicely covered in a beautiful, snowy case. And this is what we call a pearl. Such is the ayster’s revenge. Instead of fighting the little foe that hurts it so cruelly, it closes and heals its wound with a 1 pes‘;meumes a pearl wfl: beco:?. a:; tached to the inner surface o shell, and, if left undisturbed, the fish will probably incorporate it with the shell itself by depositing layer after layer of nacre over it 3t The result is called a “blister,” and is, by the way, a delightful uncer- tainty, for they do not necessarily contain pearls. Anything that the fish objects to, but which it cannot get rid of, is built into the shell whether it is good or bad This watchword of the pearler is hope, and it is for this rea- gon that pearl-buyers and speculators frequently purchase a promising blis- ter at a high price, trusting to find a valuabl: gem. Should the hope be realized, and occasionally It Is. the hidden pearl may possibly be worth ten times the amount paid. But, on the other hand, nothing more precious than a bit of hardened mud may dis- close itself. It is difficult sometimes to believe that black magic has not been used when a single pearl turns out to be a handsome smooth one by a few mystic strokes. Yet in the hands of an ex- pert apparently worthless pearls are sometimes quickly converted into val- uable gems. BSometimes after the fashion of an onlon, it is possible to remove skin after skin until either a good pearl is disclosed or a plece of nacre proved to be utterly worthless. For instance, I saw wu rough, ugly lump reduced from over a hundred grains to fifty-seven grains and the re- sult was a beautiful drop pearl which ‘wag sold for about $5000. ‘he pear] fishing industry is carried on altogether by Asiatic labor, sach as Japanese, Filipinos, Chinese and Bouth Sea Islanders. Some few are im- ported from the Singapore or Dutch Government for a term of threa years, and after their contracts have expired they must be returned to their government. The “white” man as we call him, coyld not be induced to work for the same wages that these natives do, for they are perfectly happy and consider themselves lucky If they draw down the princely amount of 25 cents a day. The diver is the onlv high-priced em- ploye, and for his services he receives the immense sum of $15 a month and an additional $100 for every ton of shell that he raises. A good ex- perienced deep water diver will raise as much as six tons of shell during the sgeason’s work, or about nine months. So you see, he really makes in the neighborhood of $750 a year. The tender, who has charge of sail- ing the boat and looking after the aiver's 1ife line, gets $15 also, though that is the extent of his wages, as he receives no percentage. The crew, who comprise a diver, a tender, a cook ana four sallors, are not permitted to go ashore during their contract with- out a written order from their mas- ters, and as the laws are very strict upon this subject, they have no par- ticular fondness for the shore and are perfectly contented and willing to re- main peacefully at home. v Getting and retaining good divers is a strenuous bit of business and as so much depends upon them, it is an all important one. He knows to a T what localities have been raked, and the master pearler is able to figure, to a certain degree, on his profits. But to do all this he frequently has the pleasure of advam money, earnings, v forced to raise h offers the the highest wages secures the diver's ser- vices, quite as a matter of course. The position of the 4 one of great responsibil diver's life frequen depends upon the care ‘and v e exercised by him. While the diver is on e bot- tom he must keep all his wits about him. Not one m ing, for he has th which demand careful ting attention—the pipe and the pl rope used for is usually allo the anchor is 850 adjusted t is controlled. travels the gea-bed, he hells he sees and pla cing ta rge sums of vessel To be gure flukes are network bag which dress for that pur sends the bar to sponse to a signal ¢ means of the s 1 to his full he refilled wi The oyster is cl not quite as clever diver. As you know, instinct tells commotion th little rough and a fe the oys: turbance is there rudely snatched fror comfortable undied hwith off to pear! buttons with may adorn them In comparatively shallow water the diver is in can remain coming up for ater it is quite . in twenty remains down not minutes at when he chances to ters he remains a e longer for fear he will be ur locate it azain. but nearly every time some bad r sults are sure to follow. A rheumatic cramp will cat. double him up or the blood head and he oke of paralysis then will suffer a str and there. In the early ays of T whin e ¥ the Industry, Y was obtained by nude divers, the rk r;;gr.c-d supreme, and a4y he makes his presen po comfortably felt sometimes, e Every diver is provided wi s ide th a large dagger with which to proteet himselt In case of an emergency, but even that is not always sufficient v oz 3 nt and the diver loan him a diver had disappeared. At first I lhfia::: 5 he was joking, but when I wen: 1s vessel I saw that it was a z:e:vl:ax:: certainty. In response to a Jerky siz- nal, the diver was hauled uD. As the men worked they thought he seemed strangely light and a great fear be. gan fo break in upon them. ‘When the top of the water was reached only the helmet and the corslet were visible and to this day no one knows what happened to the man, though Wwe naturally supposed a shar| been one too many for him, Akndh?ig you suppose I coul persuade diver to go down and in tigate ? to save me. He wasn't afraid of shark, but he was afraid of the mhost and no amount of threats or Promises could outweigh his superstitions. Diving operations are conducted In varying depths of water, from a few fathoms to as great a depth as A:hs diver is capable of attaining. To coun- teract the pressure of the water suff cient alf must always be retained in the dress to keep it distended and away from the body. The pressure of the water increases with the depth. urtll the limit is reached at which ine diver must choose between being suf- focated by the tremendous air pressure or belng crushed by the great pressure of the water. A depth of twenty-five fathoms is often attained, but only ° with great risk. The amount of air pumped into the dress is always prac- tically the same, but the helmet is fur- nished with a valve by which the diver is enabled to control the amount to be retained within the dress, any excess being allowed to escape. In this way, you see, he is able to please himselt to a greater or less degree. To & novice a descent In the diving dress Is a peculiar but not unpleasant experience. As he is lowered into the water a sense of utter helplessness overcomes him, and he begins to won- der if b will ever see the light of day again. "About this time he remembers his instructions and tries to balance himself, and when he reaches the ocean’s fioor he finds it just all he can do to preserve a footing, owing to the wonderful buoyancy of the water. ‘When at last it is possible to maintain an upright position, without a constant struggle, the confused roaring in the ears has to be contended with. But in speculating about it and wondering if all is as it should be the eyes natur- ally look through the thick face glass, and the sight instantly rivets the at- tention. Gorgeously tinted corals stretch their branches toward the surface, while dellcately colored seaweeds sway gently in the clear green waters. Clusters of fan-shaped marine growths —some vermilion, others orange, green or purple—spring from tall stems and from falry bowers., from which one rather expects to see a beautiful mermaid emerge. Myriads of strangeiy shaped shells lie about the feet and shoals of brilliantly colored fish dart in every direction. In the distance, dimly seen, misty shapes, enlarged to an enormous size by the magnifying qualities of the water, invite further inspection, but the strong sweep of the tide whispers that occasiomally it is folly to be wise. The whole is like an enchanted fairyland, though no trans- formation scene in a pantomime fash- foned by human hands could ever ba balf so beautiful