Chapter X: Introduction (9)

The fishery then came into great favor. To the nobility of Livonia, in whose domains the brooks were situated, the crown accorded sixty rubles for each half ounce of choice pearls secured, and for every half ounce of the second class, thirty rubles; but the nobles were obliged to renounce their rights to the fisheries and to permit the lakes and brooks to be guarded by imperial soldiers. Owing to the very great destruction of mussels which yielded no pearls, a reward was offered to any one who would discover a method of determining from external characteristics those individual shells which contain gems of value.

In 1746, when the Empress Elizabeth passed the summer in Livonia, large quantities of pearls from the neighboring brooks were presented to her. But, owing to the cost of supervision, the expenditures soon exceeded the revenues and the government abandoned the guard and dismissed the fishermen. Little by little the search decreased, and by 1774 relatively few pearls were found.[237]

According to Hupel, the Schwarzbach River, near Werro, was celebrated for its pearls, which were noted for their size and beauty; one of the tributaries of this river is named Perlenbach (Pearl Brook). The Ammat and Tirse streams, and forty other brooks and lakes also yielded them. Pearls of slight value were likewise produced in the Palze and the Rause, near Palzmar; the Paddez, a tributary of the Evest which empties into the Düna, and the Voidau and the Petribach, each of which flows into the Schwarzbach. Near the Tirse was a very old road house, patronized by the peasants, which from time immemorial had borne the name Pehrlu-kroghs (Pearl Tavern).

Formerly some of the brooks of Esthonia on the Gulf of Finland, and principally those near Kolk and the adjacent lakes, furnished beautiful pearls. From these waters came the beautiful necklace which is yet an heirloom in the Kolk family. The choicest of these weighed from five to ten grains, and the color was grayish blue. The Emperor Alexander I is said to have received a present of pearls collected in the vicinity of Tammerfors, in the government of Tavastehus, in the grand duchy of Finland. The development of manufacturing in that region, however, has destroyed most of the mussels.

Von Hessling notes that in the province of Olonetz, pearls are found in the Poventshanka, in the Ostjor, and in the Kums, where they are secured by the neighboring peasants who sometimes make valuable finds.[238] When the brooks dry up, the mussels are easily secured; old inhabitants note that on one occasion of this kind many superb pearls were found in the Poventshanka, and a necklace of them was presented to the Empress Catherine Alexievna. These pearls rarely leave the province in which they are collected, as the inhabitants are fond of using them for personal decoration. Young girls attend to the fishing, and workmen pierce them for about two copecks each. Choice ones sell for thirty to one hundred rubles apiece.

In the government of Archangel pearls have been collected for centuries from the streams flowing into the White Sea and the Arctic Ocean. An extended account of the fisheries of this region was given by Von Middendorff.[239] He states that the _Unio margaritifera_ inhabits all the rivers in which the descent is not too rapid, and especially in the Tjura, the Tuloma, the Kovda, Kereda, the Kanda, etc. The fisheries have been conducted exclusively by the shore Laplanders; but they have been neglected in recent years owing to the small returns. Von Hessling notes that the pearls are dull in color; in the opinion of the fishermen this is caused by the mysterious influence of the copper money which they carry with them. The Tuloma was formerly a productive river; its pearls were sold in Kola, whence they were carried to Archangel, 335 miles distant, where they were pierced by expert workmen. The Tjura also yielded many pearls; but since a Laplander was drowned while fishing for them, a legend has spread that the spirit of the river guards the pearls, and the natives hesitate about seeking them.

Probably the occurrence of so many in the home streams had much to do with developing in Russia that great love for the pearl which has made it the national ornament, all classes finding pleasure in its possession. While the superb gems treasured by the nobility are mostly from oriental seas, a considerable percentage of those worn by the peasantry are from the native waters. An interesting account of this fondness among a certain class of Russian women—the Jewesses of Little Russia—was given sixty years ago by the German traveler Kohl.

RUSSIAN BOYARD LADIES OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, SHOWING CAPS AND
OTHER ORNAMENTS OF PEARLS
]

In Alexandria, a small city in the government of Kherson in South
Russia, a Jew kept a café, and his charming daughter served us with
coffee. We paid her compliments on her beautiful eyes and teeth. But
she seemed to be much less vain of these natural ornaments than of
the acquired ones in the magnificent glittering pearl-cap which she
wore upon her head. For all the women through South and Little
Russia even as far as Galicia wear a certain stiff, baggy cap which
is very disfiguring, and is covered all over with a great number of
pearls, upon a foundation of black velvet. It is called a “mushka.”
This cap, with very unimportant modifications, has almost always the
same form; the only difference is that, in the case of the wealthy,
the pearls are larger, and sometimes a number of small pearls and
precious stones are suspended here and there, set in the same way as
the earrings of our ladies. It is common for them to wear half their
fortune on their heads in this way. For these caps generally cost
from five hundred to one thousand roubles, and many are worth five
or six thousand and even more; they wear them every day, holidays as
well as ordinary days, and strut around the kitchens and cellars
with their “mushka.” They spend their last penny in order to secure
such a pearl-cap, and even when they are clad in rags their head is
covered with pearls. In order to furnish the requisite material for
this wide-spread fashion, the commerce in pearls of Odessa, Taganrog
and some other places in southern Russia is not unimportant. There
may live in the region where the pearl-caps of which I speak are
worn at least 2,000,000 Jewesses. Let us estimate that among them
there are but 300,000 adults, and that only half of these, 150,000,
wear pearl-caps (only the most indigent and the most aristocratic do
not wear the “mushka”); let us then estimate the average value of
such a cap at only five hundred roubles—these are the lowest minima
and fall far short of the real figures—and we have a total capital
of 76,000,000 roubles, which the Jewesses of this region wear upon
their heads. Naturally the annual diminution of this capital is
small, since these pearls are transmitted from the mothers to their
daughters and granddaughters. Still, if we estimate that they last
for a century, the necessary yearly contribution amounts to nearly
one million. It is, however, probable that a much larger capital is
employed in the commerce of pearls. They are, for the most part,
oriental and come by way of Turkey and Odessa or else by way of
Armenia and Tiflis. We inquired of our beautiful Jewess whether she
was not in perpetual dread on account of her pearl-cap, and how she
protected it from thieves. She answered that she wore it on her head
all day and at night placed it in a casket which rested under her
pillow. So that the whole short life of these Jewesses of the
steppes revolves around their pearl-cap as the earth does around the
sun.[240]

Several species of marine mollusks on the coasts of Europe yield pearly formations, but none of much ornamental or commercial value. Probably the most interesting of these are from the Pinna on the Mediterranean coasts, and especially on the coast of Sardinia and the shores of the Adriatic. An interesting collection of these Pinna pearls was furnished to the writers by Alexandro Castellani of Rome.

IX

ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

SOUTH SEA ISLANDS, AUSTRALIAN COASTS, MALAY ARCHIPELAGO

IX
PEARL FISHERIES OF THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS

Sea-girt isles,
That, like to rich and various gems, inlay
The unadorned bosom of the deep.

MILTON.

Gathering pearl shells and pearls is the principal industry of the semi-amphibious natives of the hundreds of palm-crowned and foam-girdled islands of the southern Pacific, commonly known as the South Sea Islands. Among these the most prominent for pearl fishing are the Tuamotu Islands or Low Archipelago, the Society Islands, the Marquesas, the Fiji Islands, Penrhyn or Tongareva, and New Caledonia. These are under the protection of the French government, except Fiji and Penrhyn, which belong to Great Britain.

Almost ever since the South Sea Islands have been known to civilization they have contributed pearls; and the fishery has been one of the principal industries, not only for the natives, but also for the not inconsiderable number of sailors who, preferring the lotus on shore to the salt pork and monotony of ship life, have yielded to the insular attractions and formed domestic ties. The industry has been especially extensive during the last seventy years, when there has been a profitable market for the shells. Most of the natives—men, women, and children—follow it for a living. Domestic duties rest very lightly upon the women, and many of these, and even young girls, find employment in diving, in which at moderate depths these dusky mermaids are nearly, if not quite as expert as the men and boys.

Tahiti, the largest of the eleven Society Islands, is the center of the pearling industry of French Oceanica. It is situated in about Lat. 17° S. and Long. 150° W., and has an area of approximately 410 square miles and a population of 11,000, nearly one half of whom live in Papeiti, the principal town. This is one of the most agreeable of the “Summer Isles of Eden,” Nature furnishing food in abundance, and climate and social customs requiring little in the way of dress and habitation. Notwithstanding its importance as the headquarters of the pearling industry, few pearl-oysters are caught at Tahiti, most of them coming from the archipelagoes of Tuamotu, Gambier, and occasionally Tubai.

The Tuamotu Archipelago is the scene of the principal pearl fisheries of the South Seas; and from the local importance of this industry the group is sometimes called the Pearl Islands. These coral-formed islands are strung out for a distance of 900 miles in a northwest and southeast direction, and extend from Lat. 14° to 23° S. and from Long. 136° to 149° W. They number about seventy-eight, many of them made up of small atolls only a few feet above the surface of the ocean, and with an aggregate area of about 360 square miles. The total population is approximately 6000, with many visitors from Tahiti and other neighboring islands during the pearling season. The principal products are pearl shell and pearls, copra, and cocoanut oil; and nearly one half of the islands yield nothing but shell and pearls. The chief port is Fakarava on an island of the same name, and the trade is almost entirely with Tahiti.

As the Tuamotus are of coral formation, they produce little vegetable growth, and the people seem often on the brink of starvation, forming a striking contrast with those of the neighboring Society Islands. Drawing their subsistence entirely from the sea, except for the native cocoanuts and breadfruit, these people have, at times, been in great straits for food, and it was doubtless severe hunger that drove them to the acts of cannibalism with which they have been charged. And the sea which supplies them with food has also visited them with great destruction. As recently as January, 1903, a great storm swept over this group, drowning over 500 of the inhabitants, and destroying a very considerable portion of the pearling fleet and other property.

The pearl-oyster reefs of the Tuamotu Archipelago are very extensive, only eight or ten of the islands failing to contribute to the supply. They occur in the protected lagoons of the atolls, where the bottom is well covered with coral growth, with numerous elevations and depressions of various sizes; and it is about the bases and in the recesses of these coral growths that the best shells are usually found. Most of them are of the black-edged variety of _Margaritifera margaritifera_, which here attains a great size, reaching a diameter of twelve inches in extreme cases.

While pearl-oysters are found about nearly all of the Tuamotu Islands, the reefs are richest at Hikueru or Melville Island. When that lagoon is open it is the scene of the greatest operations, and it is credited with nearly one half of the total product of the archipelago. At the opening of the season, this is the resort of fishermen from all over the group, even from a distance of five hundred miles, and thousands of natives camp in temporary leaf-thatched huts among the cocoanut-palms on the beach, those from the different islands congregating in isolated settlements. As many as five thousand persons are sometimes brought together in this way.

THE PEARLING REGIONS IN OCEANIA AND MALAYSIA
]

The volcanic-formed Gambier Islands, with high peaks reaching, in one instance, an altitude of over 1200 feet, present a striking contrast to the Tuamotu atolls. This group consists of five large and several small islands, surrounded by a coral reef of an irregular triangular figure. The 1100 inhabitants of the Gambier Islands derive a large percentage of their support from the pearl fishery. The patches of pearl-oysters are located between the islands and the barrier reefs. They are numerous about the island of Mangareva, which is well surrounded by them on the north, east, and southeast. Oysters from the reef of Tearae, which extends from the eastern point of Mangareva to the small island of Aukena, a distance of two miles, are especially rich in pearls. On this reef, where the water is from one to four fathoms in depth, the mollusks are small, rarely exceeding five or six inches at maturity, but the shell is very thick and coral covered; these yield many pearls. In greater depths, the oysters attain a larger size, but they yield few pearls.

The first white man to attempt the exploitation of the pearl resources of the Tuamotus appears to have been Mörenhout. In a voyage to the Oceanic Islands in 1827, he learned of the great wealth of pearl shell, and applied to Queen Pomaré at Tahiti for permission to employ the natives in the fishery. With an eye to business, she required a fee of $5000 for herself before granting the desired authority.[241] Considering this excessive, Mörenhout attempted to deal with the natives without permission of the dusky queen, but under these adverse conditions he found the trade unsatisfactory and soon abandoned it.

In 1830, and the years immediately succeeding, desultory pearling voyages were made from Valparaiso, Chile, and these were followed by expeditions from America and elsewhere. An interesting account of the trade at that time is contained in Lucatt’s “Rovings in the Pacific from 1837 to 1849,” published in London in 1851.

The Mormon influx in 1846 resulted in a further development of the pearl fishery; and Grouard, the local leader of that denomination, is credited with making a fortune in the business.

From the beginning of the industry up to 1880, when control of the islands passed to the French government, it is estimated that about 15,000 tons of pearl-oysters were secured. The extent of the fishery during the few years preceding 1880 made such drains upon the productiveness of the reefs that many of them gave signs of exhaustion. With a view to adopting methods for conserving the industry, so essential to the welfare of the natives, the French Ministry of Marine and Colonies in 1883 inaugurated an investigation of its condition, and of the possibilities for improvement. This was made under the immediate direction of G. Bouchon-Brandely, whose interesting report[242] contains much data on this subject.

As a result of these investigations and recommendations, a restricted season for fishing was adopted, and only a portion of the reefs was thrown open each year, a decree of the governor, published in the “Journal Officiel” of the colony, determining the islands in which the fishery might be prosecuted. This interdiction, known locally as _rahui_, is for the purpose of permitting the oysters to develop, and thus prevent the exhaustion of the reefs.

By decree of January 24, 1885, a restriction was made against taking shells measuring less than 17 centimeters in diameter on the interior nacre, or weighing less than 200 grams per valve. But this was repealed in 1890, and since then there has been no restriction on the size of the oysters that may be fished.

The pearl fishery and the isolated leper station are the principal claims which attract the attention of the outside world to the island of Penrhyn or Tongareva, one of the Manahiki group, in Lat. 9° S., and Long. 158° W. This desolate atoll island consists of a ring of land a few hundred yards in width, inclosing a lagoon nine miles long and five miles wide, and it produces little else than pearls and pearl shell. The white gravelly shore yields little vegetation except cocoanuts, which share with fish in furnishing sustenance to the semi-amphibious natives.

At Penrhyn the pearl fishery is carried on in the clear, limpid waters of the atoll where the oysters are undisturbed by storms. The shells belong mostly to the golden-edged variety, and are of good quality, the value in London ranging from £100 to £250 per ton. Relatively few pearls are found, amounting in aggregate value to only about one fourth of the value of the shells. These are the principal objects of the fishery; the finding of pearls is incidental, but careful search is always made for them, and some choice specimens have been secured.

On the coast of New Caledonia, pearling is of recent origin, dating as an industrial enterprise from 1897, although previous to that time some shells and pearls had been secured by native beach-combers. This island is 220 miles in length and 30 in width, situated 850 miles southeast of Australia, and about the same distance from New Zealand. It is a French colony, and has been used by that government as a penal settlement since 1864.

In 1897, rich beds of pearl-oysters were discovered off the west coast of this island. They are most numerous between the shore and the barrier reefs on the west coast from Pouembout River to Gomen Bay, and especially about the small island of Konienne at the mouth of the Pouembout River. They are also abundant among the Loyalty Islands off the eastern coast of New Caledonia, and especially at the island of Lifu.[243] The shell is similar to that from Torres Straits, and the yield of pearls is very large. Several concessions have been obtained to exploit these beds, one of them covering 130 miles in length. The industry is carried on by means of scaphanders, in a manner similar to that of Torres Straits. Virtually all of the catch is sent to France.

The natives of the South Sea Islands, and particularly of Penrhyn and the Tuamotu group, are doubtless the most expert divers in the world. This can be readily appreciated by those who have read of Hua Manu in C. W. Stoddard’s thrilling narrative, or have heard the story of the brown woman who swam for forty hours in a storm with a helpless husband on her back. Accustomed to the water from infancy, these human otters swim all day long as readily as they would walk, go miles from shore without a boat in search of fish which they take by means of baited hook and line, and boldly attack a shark single-handed. Seemingly fabulous stories are told of their descending, unaided, 150 feet or more beneath the surface, and remaining at lesser depths for nearly three minutes, far surpassing any modern records of the divers of India.

The water in the South Seas is wonderfully clear, enabling the fishermen to detect small objects at considerable depths, and especially so when using the water-telescope, similar to that employed in the Red Sea fisheries. By immersing this to a depth of several inches and cutting off the light from the upper end as he gazes through it down into the waters, the fisherman can readily inspect the bottom at a depth of fifteen fathoms, and thus locate the shells before he descends.

The diving is quite unlike that in Ceylon and Arabia. The men do not descend on stones, but swim to the bottom. The diver is stripped to his _paréu_ or breech-clout, his right hand is protected by a cotton mitten or by only a wrapping of cotton cloth, and in his left hand he carries a pearl shell to assist in directing his movements and in detaching the oysters at the bottom. In preparing for a deep descent, he sits for several minutes in characteristic attitude with hands hanging over knees, and repeatedly inflates his lungs to the fullest capacity, exhaling the air slowly through his mouth. After five or six minutes of “taking the wind,” the diver inhales a good breath, drops over the gunwale into the water to give him a start, and descends feet foremost. At a distance of twelve or fifteen feet below the surface, gracefully as an otter or a seal, he bends forward and turns head downward and, with limbs showing dimly in frog-like motion, he swims vertically the remaining distance to the bottom. There he assumes a horizontal position and swims slowly just above the ground, searching critically for suitable oysters, in this way traversing a distance possibly of fifty feet or more. When he has secured an oyster, or his breath is approaching exhaustion, he springs from the ground in an erect position and rapidly swims upward, the buoyancy of his body hastening his ascent so that he pops head and shoulders above the surface, and falls back with laboring pulse and panting breath. In case the dive has been unusually extended, a few drops of blood may trickle from the nose and mouth. His find—consisting frequently of nothing and rarely of more than one oyster—is carried in a cocoanut fiber sack suspended from the neck, or is held in the left hand, or may be hugged beneath the left arm.

Ordinarily in actual fishing operations, the fishermen do not descend to greater depths than fifteen fathoms, and remain from sixty to ninety seconds. Writing in 1851, a trader who had spent several years in collecting pearls and pearl shells among the Tuamotus stated: “I timed several by the watch, and the longest period I knew any of them to keep beneath the water was a minute and a quarter, and there were only two who accomplished this feat. Rather less than a minute was the usual duration. It is unusual for them to attempt deep diving; and let the shells be ever so abundant, they will come up and swear there are none.”[244]

However, in mutual contests or in special exhibitions, reports of twenty, twenty-three, and even twenty-five fathoms are numerous, and they have repeatedly been timed two and a half to three minutes. Bouchon-Brandely speaks of a woman at Anaa, one of the Tuamotus, who would go down twenty-five fathoms and remain three minutes under water.[245] This seems very unusual, but there are numerous reports of two and a half minutes at about seventeen or eighteen fathoms. In October, 1899, at Hikueru Island, another of the Tuamotu group, a young native made an exhibition dive for the officers of the United States Fish Commission steamship _Albatross_. He reached bottom at a depth of 102 feet under the boat’s keel, and remained submerged two minutes and forty seconds. The water was so transparent that he was clearly seen from the surface. After he touched bottom at that great depth, he calmly picked over the coral and shells to select a piece to bring up.[246] The diver was ready to go down again only a few minutes after he came up.

In his work on French Oceanica, Chartier states: “There are three women well known in the archipelago [of Tuamotu] who have no equals elsewhere; they explore the depth at twenty-five fathoms and remain not less than three minutes before reappearing at the surface.”[247] However, these unusual depths and extensions of time are dangerous, and care must be taken or serious results follow. Most of the catch is obtained in about ten fathoms of water.

At the request of the writer, Mr. Julius D. Dreher, American Consul at Tahiti, made inquiries among the South Sea Islands in regard to the record of the best divers, and wrote as follows:

Mr. J. L. Young, who has lived in these islands for thirty years,
informs me that he has never seen a diver remain under water longer
than 80 seconds, and that at a depth of twelve to fifteen fathoms.
At one time he tested a man who claimed to be able to stay under for
three minutes, yet this man could hold his breath on land less than
80 seconds by the watch.

Elder Joseph F. Burton, who has spent many years as a missionary in
these islands, states that once in Hikueru, of the Tuamotu group, he
went out in a boat with the divers to time them. The best record
made was 107 seconds, but he was informed that there were better
divers on the island than those he tested. He thinks the water was
ten to twelve fathoms in depth. A native of Takaroa, named Metuaro,
told Mr. Burton that he could stay under water three minutes or
longer. When these divers come up they take a breath and immediately
put their head under water to prevent headache.

Mr. J. Lamb Doty, formerly Consul and now Vice-Consul at Tahiti, who
has spent eighteen years here, is willing to be quoted as affirming
that he once timed a diver who remained under water 2 minutes 35
seconds.

Mr. Henry B. Merwin, a leading trader with the Tuamotu Islands, is
willing to be quoted as saying that he saw a diver remain under
water 4 minutes 45 seconds by the watch. This is generally regarded,
so far as my inquiries go, as improbable; but most persons
interviewed believe that men do remain under water 2½ to 3 minutes.
A native of Takaroa, named Tai, assured me in the presence of others
that there were twenty men in that island who could remain under
water 2½ to 3 minutes at a depth of twenty fathoms. He claimed to be
able to stay 3 minutes at that depth.

Pearl-divers of the Tuamotu Archipelago; men, women and children dive
in these waters
]

Settlement of pearl fishermen at Hiqueru, Tuamotu Archipelago
]

Diving-suits, or scaphanders, have been used at most of the South Sea Islands, but in a very irregular manner. In 1890 the use of scaphanders was restricted in the Tuamotu group, and by decree of December 28, 1892, it was interdicted altogether with a view to preserving the industry to the natives, as it represents their principal means of livelihood. The suit commonly employed at Penrhyn consists of a helmet and a jumper, neither boots nor trousers being worn. Owing to the absence of weights on the feet, it rarely but nevertheless sometimes happens that a diver turns upside down, and the unwieldy helmet keeps him head downward while the air rushes out under the bottom cord of the jumper and he is suffocated. Also, when a good patch of shells has been located, the temptation to remain down too long is great, and paralysis often results. On the whole, these diving-suits have proven very dangerous to the light, graceful swimmers of these southern seas, to whom they are about as much of an impediment as was Saul’s armor to the shepherd lad who slew the giant with the simple pebble from a sling.

And there are dangers also in nude diving, even to those who have spent a lifetime about the water. Sharks and sting-rays and devil-fish there are in abundance, and many of them know the taste of diver’s flesh; on the other hand many a daring South Sea Islander could tell of a fierce combat more thrilling than even those pictured by Victor Hugo. One of the chief advantages of the diving-suit is that in case a shark comes along, the diver can bide his time until the fish is ready to leave, or he can frighten it away by ejecting air bubbles from the sleeve of his suit or by other demonstrations; whereas a nude diver is obliged to seek the air without delay, and in the retreat is seized by the fish who, human like, has his appetite increased by the visible retreat of the object of his desire.

Not Schiller nor Edgar Allan Poe ever conjured up a picture more
ghastly than that of a Penrhyn diver caught like a rat in a trap by
some huge, man-eating shark or fierce kara mauua, crouching in a
cleft of the overhanging coral, under the dark green gloom of a
hundred feet of water, with bursting lungs and cracking eyeballs,
while the threatening bulk of his terrible enemy looms dark and
steady, full in the road to life and air. A minute or more has been
spent in the downward journey; another minute has passed in the
agonized wait under the rock.... Has he been seen?... Will the
creature move away now, while there is still time to return? The
diver knows to a second how much time has passed; the third minute
is on its way; but one goes up quicker than one comes down, and
there is still hope.... Two minutes and a half; it is barely
possible now, but—the sentinel of death glides forward; his cruel
eyes, phosphorescent in the gloom, look right into the cleft where
the wretched creature is crouching, with almost twenty seconds of
life still left, but now not a shred of hope. A few more beats of
the laboring pulse, a gasp from the tortured lungs, a sudden rush of
silvery air bubbles, and the brown limbs collapse down out of the
cleft like wreaths of seaweed. The shark has his own. (Beatrice
Grimshaw in the “Graphic.”)

At the end of the day’s work, the catch is opened by means of a large knife, and carefully searched for the much prized pearls. Usually the fisherman finds none; occasionally he discovers a small round one or a large baroque, and at long intervals—possibly once in two or three years—his search is rewarded with a fine pearl for which he may receive $50 or $60, and there is always the chance that the very next oyster will disclose a gem which will make him independent for the remainder of his life; and if no pearls whatever are found, there are the shells, the sale of which furnishes sufficient to purchase tobacco, knives, fish-hooks, the gaudy cotton cloths, the flour and other simple articles of food, and especially rum, that fatal gift of civilization which has been the curse of so many primitive peoples.

Some of the individual pearls secured have been remarkably large, weighing 100 grains and over. Returning visitors from Tahiti, with views magnified doubtless in proportion to the distance of the objects of their description, credited Queen Pomaré with the possession of some sufficiently large to be used for billiard-balls. Sixty years ago superb pearls could be obtained from the natives for a few gallons of rum or a small number of pieces of cheap calico, and several shrewd traders made great profits in the business. But as trade at the islands was open to vessels of all nationalities, the competition increased, with the result that the natives gradually learned the high estimation in which pearls are held, and in recent years it has not been unusual for one of medium grade to sell higher in Oceanica than it would in Europe.

It is difficult to form a reliable estimate of the value of the pearling industry of the South Sea Islands. The Tuamotu group, with 4000 fishermen, yields, in an average season, about 450 tons of mother-of-pearl, worth about £65,000 in London, where most of it is marketed. The yield at the remaining French islands is less than that of the Tuamotus. Probably the total yield of mother-of-pearl in all the South Sea Islands is not far from 900 tons, worth about $700,000.

No statistics whatever are available regarding the yield of pearls, and the estimates sent from the islands are small compared with those made by London and Paris firms who import the pearls. A large number of persons living in Papeiti and many traders visiting the islands depend very largely on pearl-dealing for a livelihood. From the yield of pearl shell and estimates made by dealers, we are inclined to put the value of the pearls secured in an average season from all the South Sea Islands at about $125,000, only a small portion of which goes to the fishermen themselves, the greater part representing profits of the traders.

PEARL FISHERIES OF AUSTRALIA

Ocean’s gem, the purest
Of nature’s works! What days of weary journeyings,
What sleepless nights, what toils on land and sea,
Are borne by men to gain thee!

UNKNOWN.

As regards area of distribution the most extensive pearl-oyster grounds of the world are situated on the northern and western coasts of Australia. These are located within the jurisdictions of Queensland, Western Australia, and South Australia; and extend in irregular patches from near Cooktown on the northeast almost to Fremantle at the southwest, a distance of nearly 3000 miles. Those in Queensland are commonly known as the Torres Straits fisheries, as they are especially important there; but they extend a considerable distance beyond each end of the strait, and pearling expeditions are made from the limits of the Great Barrier coral reef northward to the vicinity of New Guinea.[248] Those of Western Australia are commonly spoken of as the Northwest fisheries.

The fisheries of Queensland and of Western Australia are approximately equal in extent, as regards number of vessels, boats, and men employed, and the quantity and value of the catch, with the advantage slightly in favor of the Northwest fishery in the last four or five years. In 1905, according to the official figures, the Queensland fishery gave employment to 348 vessels and 2850 men, and yielded shell and pearls worth £135,000, which was the smallest output since 1890. The Western Australia fishery, exclusive of Sharks Bay, employed 365 vessels in 1905, and about the same number of men as in Queensland, and yielded £196,000 worth of shell and pearls. The fishery of South Australia employed about 60 vessels and 375 men, and yielded about £25,000 worth of shell and pearls. This makes for the whole of Australia, except Sharks Bay hereinafter noted, a total of 773 vessels, 6075 men, and an output worth £356,000. It should be understood that the South Australia fishery is not prosecuted on the southern coast of the continent, but on the northern coast, in what is known as the Northern Territory of South Australia.

Three species of pearl-oysters are found in Australian waters. The largest species, _Margaritifera maxima_, which is by far the most important and widely distributed, occurs to a greater or less extent throughout the whole of this region. This yields the standard motherof-pearl of commerce. Although the pearls which it yields are among the largest and finest in the world, this mollusk is sought more particularly for the shell, the value of which from season to season averages three or four times as much as that of the pearls. Ordinarily this shell is uniformly white over the entire inner surface, and is commonly known locally as “silver lip”; but some “golden-edged” shell occurs on the muddy grounds in narrow passages between the islands on the northwest coast.

While this species is gregarious, it is not located in densely covered beds, but is scattered in patches over the reefs. Some of these are miles in length and contain scores of tons, but visually they are very much smaller. The oysters occur principally on rocky bottom, and also on clay and sand when well covered with seaweeds, but are rarely found on muddy ground. They are most numerous in the channels where the current is strong. The small oysters are generally loosely attached by the byssus to rock, gravel or other shells; while the mature ones lie loosely on the bottom or slightly turned in the sand.

The second species of the Australian pearl-oysters, _Margaritifera margaritifera_, is smaller, rarely exceeding eight inches in diameter and a weight of two pounds. The distinguishing characteristic is the black edge bordering the inner surface of the shell, whence it acquired the local designation “black lip.” This variety is not rare in Queensland, and in Western Australia its range extends as far as Champion Bay in Lat. 29° S. However, the catch is small compared with that of the _Margaritifera maxima_, amounting to only two or three per cent. in Queensland. In 1905, the export of “silver lip” and “golden-edged” from Thursday Island was 527 tons, and of “black lip” only 11 tons; in 1904, these figures were 778 and 7 respectively. In Western Australia the percentage of yield is much larger than this.

The third species, _Margaritifera carcharium_, is confined almost entirely to the limits of Sharks Bay, on the extreme western coast of Australia. At maturity it is the smallest of the three, averaging three or four inches in diameter, and about equals in size the Lingah pearl-oyster of the Persian Gulf. The percentage of pearls therefrom is relatively greater than from the larger variety; but, owing to its small size and lack of thickness, the shell is of little commercial value. The value of the output in recent years has approximated two or three thousand pounds sterling, which is very much less than formerly, the value of the shell having greatly decreased since the introduction of the Mississippi shell in button manufacture.

The pearl fishery on the coast of Australia originated about 1861. It appears that an American sailor named Tays was the pioneer in the business; and on his death by drowning, the business was conducted by his partner named Seubert.[249] This was on the northwest coast, and the output reached the market by way of Singapore. At first the oysters were so abundant in shallow water that they could be picked up at low tide, and beach-combing was profitable, especially when carried on with cheap native labor. As the beach-beds became exhausted, the natives were encouraged to wade out to greater depths, and soon they became accustomed to “bob under” for those oysters visible from the surface. The Australian blacks were thus taught to dive, and in 1867 diving from boats in two or three fathoms was attempted with such success that in the following year the practice was generally adopted, the depth in which they worked gradually extending to six or eight fathoms. In diving from a boat, the men imitated “bobbing under” which they had practised in shoaler water; they slipped off the gunwale feet foremost, and when six or eight feet below the surface, turned and swam downward.

Owing to the close labor relations existing between the natives and the sheep-raisers of northwestern Australia, the latter were brought into the business, and for a number of years pearling and sheep-raising were closely associated. The blacks were employed in various duties in connection with raising and shearing sheep, and it was important to find some occupation for them when ranch-work was slack, not only for their own subsistence but for the protection of the herdsmen and their property. Fortunately, this opportunity was furnished by the pearl fishery, for which these men were well qualified.

The profits of the business soon attracted many outside capitalists, and it became difficult to procure divers. Not only did the pearlers—and particularly new-comers—resort to impressing the blacks into service, but skilled fishermen were brought over from the Malay Archipelago, and in some cases the methods used in securing them were by no means regular.

In 1871 the Northwest pearl fishery gave employment to 12 vessels of 15 to 50 tons each, and yielded about 180 tons of mother-of-pearl. During the same year, in Torres Straits, where the industry had extended about 1868, there were 10 vessels—mostly from the port of Sydney—and the catch of mother-of-pearl approximated 200 tons, valued at £60,000 in London.[250] Each vessel was commonly manned by two or three white men and from ten to fifty divers, who worked from dinghys, in gangs of six or eight each with an overseer in charge.

As the fishery increased rapidly in extent, the problem of securing nude divers became a serious one, and “nigger hunting” became rather common, the Australian black man representing the cheapest form of labor, working for his food, tobacco, and the simplest articles of clothing. There was no complaint that the men thus impressed were treated with inhumanity; on the contrary they were well fed and cared for; yet, with a view to protecting them and preventing even a suspicion of wrong-doing, the Australian government enacted regulations restricting pearling contracts with the natives. Nearly every year these regulations became more stringent, affecting the hours for diving, and limiting the work to depths of six and a half fathoms, so that the employment of Australian aborigines in the fishery became extremely troublesome and annoying.

The government of the Netherlands also placed severe restrictions on the employment of natives of the Dutch Indies, requiring security of £20 per head for the repatriation of each man; and the local chiefs or rajahs also expected a rake-off before permitting their men to ship. These Malays—from the islands of Solor, Allor, Adonare, etc.,—also expected much better pay and better provisions than the Australian blacks.

The following interesting account by Henry Taunton gives a graphic description of the fishery as carried on at that time:

The work was far from easy. It was exhausting and perilous for the
divers, and full of privation, exposure, and danger for the white
men. Only the hope of a prosperous season reconciled one to the
life. When shells were plentiful and the weather fine, the work was
exciting and interesting enough; but during rough weather, when one
had to be constantly straining at the oar to keep the dinghy from
drifting too rapidly, or when hour after hour might pass without the
men bringing up a single shell, the discouragement was great. The
rays of the vertical sun beating down on one’s shoulders at such
times seemed as if it would never reach the western horizon, which
was the signal for returning on board.

As may well be imagined, when three or four white men had to control
and compel some thirty or forty natives to carry on work which they
detested, a very strict discipline had to be maintained. It was the
rule that no talking was allowed amongst the divers when in the
dinghy, nor were they even permitted to address the white man,
unless, maybe, to answer a question as to the nature of the bottom,
whether _nanoo_ (sand) or _bannin_ (shelly bottom), etc., or unless
some urgent necessity arose. Sometimes, indeed, I have pushed off
from the vessel’s side of a morning and have not heard a word spoken
until we returned on board at night, unless chance might take me
within hail of some other dinghy, when felicitations or condolences
would be exchanged, as good or bad luck might happen. At times, when
the “patch” was small, the dinghys of the whole fleet might be
congregated on a very small area, in which case the scene was
animated enough. On all sides you could see divers slipping into the
water and others just coming to the surface, puffing, blowing, and
coughing to clear their eyes, ears, and mouth from the salt
water—some with, others without shells. Others would be swimming to
regain their dinghy or squatting in their places for the few
minutes’ rest permitted, and, if the wind were at all fresh,
shivering with cold; for although the weather might be extremely
hot, the constant plunging in and out for many hours at a time
tended to reduce the bodily temperature considerably. The white men
would be seen standing up in each dinghy. They were lightly clad,
with shirt sleeves and trousers rolled up, in all varieties and
colours of costume, from the regulation shirt, trousers, and felt
hat, with leather belt sustaining sheath-knife and pouch, to the
more comfortable pyjama suit, or even the Malay sarong. Some would
be straining hard at the end of the scull-oar, forcing the boat
against wind and tide in the endeavor to keep it as long as possible
on the “patch,” which was marked by the discoverer’s buoy, which
also might be observed nodding on the surface, and canted over by
the swiftly rushing tide. Others, their men all being below, just
kept the dinghy’s head to wind until, by judicious use of the oar
and well-calculated drifting, all the divers reappear on the surface
within a short distance from their own boat. This is the secret of
saving the divers from wasting their powers and time uselessly....
As may be supposed, where the tide sweeps the divers along the
bottom at the rate of three or four or even six miles an hour, they
have to be very smart in seeking and grabbing any shell within
reach. I have never tested them with a time-keeper; but by counting
seconds on many occasions, from the moment a diver’s head sank below
until it again came above the surface, I estimated the average time
under water was fifty-seven seconds. Part of this is of course
expended in swimming to the bottom, where they can remain only a
very few seconds, as time must be allowed for reaching the surface
before letting go their breath. Practice in ever-varying depths
enables them to gauge this limit of time to a nicety. But sometimes
they cut things too fine, and then a catastrophe was inevitable,
unless much watchfulness was exercised by the white man, who has to
keep his eyes turned in all directions once his men are down. So
long as a diver can hold his breath the pressure forces him to the
surface at a speed which seldom requires accelerating by strokes
with the hands or feet; but the moment he lets go his breath—if
under water—his upward course is arrested and his body commences to
sink. Now, when the white man sees this, either he must plunge in to
the rescue himself, or direct such divers who may be on the top to
do the needful.

On a calm day, when one can see far into the blue clear depths
below, I have often seen one of my men shooting rapidly upwards
until within perhaps a foot or two from the surface, when a sudden
gush of bubbles from the man’s mouth would tell its own tale.
Instantly he would begin to sink gently downwards, and only quick
action could save this diver who had miscalculated his time.
However, as it was not infrequent for divers to go down and never
come up at all, one may conclude that, where the time to be allowed
is comprised in so few seconds, even the most experienced make fatal
errors.[251]

The difficulties in securing labor at length resulted in experiments with the scaphander or diving dress, and gradually its adoption by most of the pearling fleet. The labor problem and the exhaustion of the oysters in medium depths developed more quickly in Torres Straits than on the northwest coast, and diving outfits were introduced there about 1879, while this was delayed about five years longer on the northwest coast. The outfit did not immediately supplant nude diving in either locality. In 1883, only 80 of the 206 Queensland vessels were supplied with scaphanders, the others continuing to use nude diving, and even yet nearly one third of the vessels depend on that form of fishery. Of the 353 vessels fishing in 1904, 108 depended on nude divers and 245 were supplied with armored equipment.

In 1881 the Queensland government took cognizance of the rapidly developing industry, and enacted a license system and other regulations. For every boat under two tons an annual license fee of £1 (in 1886 this was reduced to ten shillings) was enacted, and for every vessel of ten tons or under, the sum of £3, with an additional amount for vessels in excess of that measurement; but not exceeding £20 in any case.[252] In 1886 it was required by the Queensland government that every person employed “as a diver, and using a diving apparatus,” must be licensed annually, for which a fee of £1 is exacted.[253] And in 1891 it was required that “every diving dress and air-pump and all air-tubes and gear used in the fishery in connection with diving must be submitted to an inspector for examination once at least in every period of six months.”[254] The license system was adopted in Western Australia in 1886, a fee of £1 per annum being exacted for each vessel engaged in the fishery.[255] In 1891, South Australia adopted the license system, requiring that every boat of two tons or under should pay ten shillings, and that each boat over that measurement should pay twenty shillings.

With a view to protecting the reefs, the government of Queensland in 1891 enacted a law forbidding the sale or removal—except for cultivation purposes—of any pearl shell “of the kind scientifically known as _Meleagrina margaritifera_, and of either of the varieties commonly known as ‘golden-edged’ and ‘silver lip,’ of which the nacre or mother-of-pearl measures less than six inches from the butt or hinge to the opposite edge or lip, but this does not apply to the variety commonly called ‘dwarf-shell.’”[256] Owing to the difficulty in enforcing this regulation, the size restriction was reduced in 1897 to five inches from the hinge to the opposite lip, or six and one half inches exteriorly, shells of this size weighing approximately one pound. It is claimed that many oysters less than five inches in length are raised, opened for pearls, and then cast back into the water.[257] In 1899 the governor of South Australia interdicted the capture in the waters of that territory of any shell of “_Meleagrina margaritifera_ measuring less than four inches from the butt or hinge to the opposite edge or lip.” Competent evidence exists that a good-sized pearl has been found in an oyster measuring one inch in diameter.

Pearling boats at Hiqueru, Tuamotu Archipelago
]

Australian pearl-diver (armored) coming up from the depths
]

The fishermen of Western Australia rendezvous at Broome, about one thousand miles by water north of Perth, the nearest railway station. With only a thousand or so inhabitants, under normal conditions, this is a scene of great activity, and bears a reputation of being no Sunday-school when the fishermen are in, with tons of shell and many a pickle bottle more or less full of pearls. Cossack and Onslow are also important stations.

In 1905, 340 luggers and 25 schooners were employed in the pearl fisheries of Western Australia, exclusive of Sharks Bay. Of this number about 85 per cent. hailed from Broome. The schooners ranged in size from 13 to 133 tons, and the luggers were mostly about 12 tons, with a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 14 tons. The total number of fishermen approximated 2900, a medley of races, Japanese, Malays, Chinese, Arabs, native aboriginals and South Sea Islanders working together more or less harmoniously. The yield consisted of 1394 tons of mother-of-pearl, with a declared value of £146,225, and about £50,000 worth of pearls, a total of £196,255 for the year, which was an increase of £32,286 over 1904.[258]

The headquarters for the fishery of the Northern Territory of South Australia are at Port Darwin. In 1905 this fishery employed forty-nine sail vessels and two canoes manned by Europeans, and two proas and twelve canoes manned by Malays. The crews, numbering about 375, consisted mainly of Malays, Japanese and Filipinos. In 1905, 42 per cent. were Malays, 24 per cent. were Japanese, and 20 per cent. were Filipinos. Owing to the low price of pearl shell, the fishery was not prosecuted actively, and many of the Asiatics left for the pearling reefs at the Aru Islands. The total value of pearl shells reported among the exports for that year was £18,526; during the preceding year it was £28,391. No record is available for the value of the pearls.