Pearl Fishing In The Indian Ocean

When cholera and its attendant quarantine forced us to abandon the trip to Baghdad, we lost a chance of seeing the pear] üsheries of the Persian Gulf. Here again, in Ceylon, we were fated to miss tbe same coveted Mght. The location of the pearl banks is the bay of Condatchy, less than a hundred and fifty miles north of Colombo. Despite the magnitude of this interest, which is a state monopoly, no town of any extent marks the f avored vicinity, and the surrounding landscape is parched, flat and inhospitable. Y et when it is announoed, af ter an official inspection, that fishing will be permitted during ceitain months, iually in the spring, the lif eless place becomes all auimation. A great fleet of boats gather from the neighboriug coasts, and a multitude of natives como frora the interior. At a given signal, that all may fare equally well, the exciting work begins. Hundieds of divers, ready with their sinkiDg stones, rope3 and baskets, instantly plunge into the sea. In a moment thev reappear, breathless from the long immersion, with their baskets full of the peculiar niolluskswkich bearthe precious gems. Then another set descends into the depths, eaeli craft kavíng several, and so on till th8 boats are laden. The divers are sometimes attacked by sharks and obliged to use their knives in self defense When the oysters are landcd a divi sion is made. The boatmen receive either a third or a fourth as their share (I am in doubt which) while the government generously takes the remainder. Those belongiug to the colony are at ouce disposed of at auctioD, in lot,a of a thousand. The result of these sales is, of course, au assured revenue. But such is not the position of tho buyer. His pinchase is distinctly a apeculation . There is no certainty that it will yield in pearls enough to exceed the aniount of his outlay. He could bid lor unclaimed expresa packages with equal hopo of proflt. A hundred oysters may not contain a solitary pearl, and yet two or three might be found in one shell. The mollu3ks are allowed to putrefy iu the burning sun, and are then carefully washed, to extract the dainty jewels from the foul dross. During this odorous process the owner must be ever vigilant, or his workmen will relieve Mm of his choicest treasures. In truth, pearl flshing, like ïniuing for diamonds and gold, is for all concerned a precarious occupation.