Show J > WI I 1 T PEARL o o 1 0 r o o JT OfiO AV t FISHERIES OFoTHE 0 0 00 9 o o 0 a o 0 y M d ° 0 00 > RICN t 0 i ° rl Y 1bv N o 0 0 G 0 0 ° o 0 y THE WHITE DOTS tkJPAl O O e JOCATIOY Or me PRJftCJPAL PEARL o u ya rJHERCJ Or This AMERICAS t 1 t ct Rz mi Et1 VLR IN DRI W READY 127 DE3CEMD h6s HE HISTORY of tho pearl and pearl r fisheries In America begins with the cla discovery of the western world by t Columbus who wrote glowing accounts ° eR Q ac-counts to Queen Isabella of the beautiful t beau-tiful necklaces and bracelets of Or ° pearls which he found the Indians hl of the Gulf of Parla and Carlaco In rolrst Venezuela wearing and which theo tat the-o eagerly exchanged for broken nmn bits of gaudily decorated Vnlenclan Ii pQp plate In the account of his third gat f voyage In 1408 he wrote that on entering of en-tering the Gulf of PaHa the nn cs came to the ship In countless numbers many ual f pre them wearing pieces of gold on their breasts slak some with bracelets of pearly on tholr ru Igden t sw hIe i h they In what 111 ed mo were to bored ured In their own l sera j jghborhood As evl jce of the truthfulness lal IniJ his statements he sent murder ll queen an Inunenso Fassel rl I of exquisite orient 26 Jc J Ighlng over 300 grains rne lu en from these waters When Vasco Nunez de Wheel boa crossed tho Isth uildh I s of Panama In 1513 Is the U found the Indians employ ig the shores of the die the It 1 ot St Michael now ada Bay of Panama col paid to t leg pearls from oys g the ql washed ashore dur ted to li I violent storms as ists assn I as diving for them a tilcb wen I distance from the 51151 re ry told bl When Hcrnando Cor nver le la 152G discovered Joseph S jrer California he found because It j natives wearing many ik for S wtltul pearls taken dungerou1l the waters of theo the-o California Ills In from 10 toe nnd air pumps mul IB carried on GO to being depth 120 feet of water an average 4 continued from 3 to Tho work can only bo e 80 feet to tho tide which along 31h hours at a time duo variation of over 20 D ce this const has a maximum creating currents that make It ImpossIble feet hours before and 1V4 than work for more to tho turn of the tide after onehalf to two hours at tho of working of tho great dangers 0 Ono Is running Is the current ° 0 bottom when u strong n O from tho boat on risk of being carried far It p condition In tho case exhausted rlsln In an la f rising of Injury by being driven of tho head diver or rock or coral formation jutting some sharp against catch fast 0 O nation on which the Ufo line might their atom no food Into dives take little or The achs before commencing work as this would and make thorn moro deep breathing t hinder of 00 liable to cramps A diver wearing 25 pounds rubber garments and brass lead each shoe on J helmet to which uro attached air tubes signal remain at tho bottom from cord and life line can 4 ° kzSM o CJ onehalf to three hours according to the depth Tho pressure Is so working D at which he la great at 120 feet that ho usually remains under t S S r 4 10 o 5 S a o owiN rN yrA X N c J l t a NpW 4 ° ro fiNa g w + w c arxnarvwew irlt p Y 4i 1 0 f > to ti 10 r J YOMG 0fST RSA R RArES D ° t O CANALS JN WHMt THf + u w o 000 IJVEI IIY DRESS OEoSCENDIG 70 THE PEARL 11 < 5 ri tells us that when In the tezuma alighted from his regal palanquin 1 the grout f wait log with burnished gold and overshad nlftf hes 3 by a of featherwork ° canopy gaudy pow calves ung with Jewels and fringed with silver to the altar at audience to Cortez his cloak and golden ana a 3 sandals were sprinkled with pearls and tr precious Jewels tee of lie he pampered favorites of tho rulers of Utah ldabo pt and Rome valued their precious pearls with as the Indies no more highly than did the gan Comma an women of the Aztecs of Mexico or the jj purpose 01 1 of Peru When the king of Spain made ectlon ot twj ando do Soto governor of Cuba with com gan Ion to conquer Florida tho latter penetra tt aged 1J I Into the country of tho Yuckees along the tile explcsl mh river In Florida to their chief vII Salt bake CI Cufltatchlqul where ho found their queen lllod the can eg great strings of pearls The queen nd tamped it I teaming the Spanish explorer to tho hos ndk him In the Des of her nation even removed one of k skull lost beautiful of her pearl necklaces and 4 wit I urntnl lln 1 V t around i 1 neck fV 1 s rece ams t oftle G hus the Spaniards were not disappointed dent 1 htlr expectations of finding pearls among tho Denver eight I r treasure they sought to obtain from the IllS In risen es of the new world nail such adventur 0 IIglat Y train i I II Ponce de Leon Pantllo do Navarez Ca relent i hOld de Vac Hernando de Soto Coronado 1 he now wb j numerous others were lured on by this rowing of nslar I each member of Sir Walter Raleighs expedl IIOltllnt ° phcuCollected from the natives of Virginia The month fruil 6000 pearls of which he chose as many eight and W to fide a fayro chatno and the Indians of be snper ° r d Mississippi wore bracelets and earrings of tine shlPptd pearls which as Father Louis Hennepln t they t gave us to understand they rein tructlon co PpI e3 re-in exchange for their calumets from biggest died p 1 Inhabiting the coast of tho great lake 10 III construe n southward which I take to bo tho Gulph it awq I rids Ives miles st of IIO bit I or the sake of comparison of the principal o and tai I ttherles I of the Americas with those of mate 18 beteef lid world both as to wealth of production dollar methods employed u short description of aim m that mho oldest and richest fisheries In the world ul rlw to be of Ceylon is given Those arc located ors ° e G of what she Cult of Manar off tho western shore oHonuuum B hash 1 m wd to the south of the island of Manar ocecdlnfi al ° Q the Madras eido near Tlnneveliy The of regaining I Wins of Greece obtained pearls from tWO ntOntbl l Ferdon Gulf and tho Ptolemies slaves than equallas t4 the fisheries of the lied son from icnl I ot f I rl came poarl Jorl on 6 undoubtedly the famous orolutulamup llnal r0I10cut not e ° Patra b evpposed to hnvo ground up djT05 Tbe n In wino to her lover 1 your IlSsessll ent e old methods employed on time Ceylon I total hand which continued up until a few lO amounts compar 1o are the most Interesting The pearl co r 1010 nt ted8 are under the supervision of BOV for 19 ° 9 plslOI Ias Hectors who regulate tho fishing the nab d over announcoment lfY fired I Is to bu flaked over pcnlnB la O 51 Matt 1 tls imbllshod beforehand the season In construct inmot 1 lbeginnit ° g the first part of March and omo1l1o and etb1r U In C from four to six weeks according one track IB oneand the umber of theinn u a mile s m to the condition of the bed Fishing boats and divers from the neighboring coasts of Malabar native Indians Malays Arabs Polynesians the thousands from all and pearl merchants by parts of India assemble shortly before the appointed 25000 people are pointed day until as many as on the fishing grounds At midnight gathered the boats start for when the wind freshens the banks In groups of 50 to 70 so as to arrive there before sunrise Each boat carries from twelve divers who work In pairs one ten to line tends the signal while the other diving other from time to time relieve each and who Is tired and the fish At sunrise a signal gun The diver usually carries a stone ing begins attached weight of about 50 pounds or other descent facilitate his rapid line to to the haul basket made fast carries a and In addition waist in which he about his to the girdle found Some divers work places the oysters water as use no weight In descending shallower Ing In bottom work at the but while at scending IIL k an nia nit feet to seize make good use oi b n tin t within and wrench loose any oyster seen upon which they can work the limited area works over without diving apparatus The diver who diver working in who is called a head and which Is the aver 35 to 45 feet of water from 50 descents In a make from 40 to age can from 15 to oysters bring up morning and can Indian Malay and Poly each trip The remain native under from 50 to 80 neslan divers to the depth at which they seconds according can stand a much are working but some longer submergence signal gun about of another At the firing and the boats suspended is the diving noon ready for unloading beach race ashore and oysters are carried the On their arrival there corral and there piled Into the government each boats load being kept Into three heaps taking two heaps separate the government and the remainder catch of the or twothirds divers and tho crew the being divided among receiving the largest por the divers usually 4500 divers at work tion There are about averaging 1000000 oysters the dailY catch found clustered closely together which are often gether share Is then auctioned The governments of 1000 and usually In lots o off by the Inspector merchants divided Into small up by bought resold and smaller lots descends with diver never The true Indian against sharks for attack out first providing invoking immunity fish by or other dangerous charmers incantations alien through time shark among the East Indians lien edltan endowment usually accompanying one of these charmers this danger which In each boat Aside from comparatively small I waters however is sun and I theee working under a tropical diver working paralysis f Ie I the and often exposed to rheumatism shortlived man usually a this was the I Up until a few years ago method employed In gathering gath-ering ptfarls and the British Brit-ish government of India derived a revenue of from 300000 to 750000 annually annu-ally from the product of those fisheries but for the last few years they have been operated by an Eng L n 20year lease for u under a lisp corporation in addition to the per year stipulated sum cultivation of the beds under proper care and supervision government world has nover known richer pearl The of The pearls fisheries than those of Ceylon como from these waters finest orient and color motherofpearl shell Is the largest and the that most Iridescent It was from here and Pellegrina came said to bo tho finest and La in existence and which pearl most perfect well as most of the weighs 112 grains as royalty For centuries European pearls of crown tunes the Indian princes have amassed great wealth in pearls and those of the Rana of Dholpur were valued at 7500000 The moat extensive pearl oyster grounds of the world are situated on the northern and western coasts of Australia The richest pearl fisheries in the Americas those of the Gulf of at the present time are California centering around La Paz and along tho outer coast of Lower California In Mexico Unnnnln oO Hernando These fisheries were discovered Ul Mexico In Cortez when he marched across 152G The principal beds are near La Paz In Point oft Santo Lorenzo the Gulf Espirltu and Mu tho Island of Cerrabro Los Coyotes lego bay and in fact along the entire west coast of the Gulf of La Paz to above the island of Loreto and Tlburon on the east side In addition to those found along the outside coast of lower California pearl oyster beds arc coast of found at points along tho southern Mexico and Nicaragua Cortez and the Spaniards after him obliged the Indians to work the La Paz beds and to give onetenth of their catch to the church and onetenth to tho crown The beds were soon depleted anti later abandonod Over fifty later after having recuperated fishing ears was renewed and it is said that a Spaniard who later worked them took yearly from them 300 to 500 pounds of pearls which ho packed on mules and sold by the bushel Up to 30 years ago bozos de cabeza or head divers only were employed but on the revival of tho fisheries about this time modern mod-ern diving apparatus was Introduced and today they are being worked under concession by San Francisco lirms who employ from 800 to of schooners and a number run 1200 men which collect the oysters from smaller boats working on the beds and carry them to the companies sheds on shore where they are opened and the pearls found sorted by passing them through small brass sieves of graded slz sIn s-In the gulf the season commences In July and continues to October but while along the iiinrotccteil outer coast It commences earlier the hurricane In March It is terminated by this coast In Juno that swoop Most of the diving Is done by divers using the most Improved diving apparatus helmet but 10 to 15 minutes while In 60 feet of water ho might be seen moving about on tho bottom for several hours The pearl shells from these waters are not as large as those of Ceylon but run from 0000 to 7000 to tine ton The true pearl oyster the Melengrinn of tho Indian and south Pacific oceans varies in diameter from two to eight Inches according to ago six inches being the average One diver working with helmet and air pump can secure aa many as 16000 oysters in a season The greater part of the shell from the La Paz fisheries Is shipped to San Francisco Fran-cisco while most of the pearls go to Mexico City and Paris In 1908 tho production of these fisheries fish-eries was valued at 5000000 tho pearls repro seating 3000000 and tho motherofpearl shell the balance According to Dr George F Kunz one of the worlds greatest authorities on pearls a pearl of tho first water should possess a perfect skin fine orient or delicate texture be free from specks or flaws and be of n translucent white color with a subdued Iridescent sheen It should also bo perfectly spherical or If not of symmetrical pear shape White or pink pearls aro the finest owing to their delicate sheen Sometimes the outer layer can bo removed the subjacent surface revealing a finer skin than the outer one and in this way a pearl may bt Improved The Lower California pearls are of a groal variety of shapes and color round pear shaped button pearl or Hat on ono side baroque or pearl of Irregular shape and In color ranging from white and pink to blue green brown and black Some very famous pearls of history havo been taken from these waters < With hardly an exception there are American pearls among tho crown Jewels of every ruler of Europe In 1889 at the worlds fair In Paris thero was exhibited a sot of seven black pearls from these Mexican fisheries valued at 22000 at that time and today worth much moro One of tho largest pearls over found hero was sold In Paris to tho emperor of Austria for 10000 and tho Snanlsh government presented Napo lean i III with a black Mexican pearl valued at 25000 In Venezuela tho principal oyster beds are located around the island of Margarita which word in Spanish means pearl and at Cubagua El Tirana Gulf of Panda and Coro Porlamar Mnrncnpann and Macanao so that this part of Venezuela became known to the early Span lards as the Pearl coast Of the Pearl islands of Panama bay Rey island is the largest of the group rho only village of any slzo among these islands Is San Miguel as old as tho fisheries themselves tho tower of its little masonry church being thickly Inlaid with beautiful nacreous shells from the fishing grounds on all sides From the United States and Canada come tho frishwater pearls which are produced principally prin-cipally by tho Unto a species of mussel common com-mon to all tho mountain streams throughout the country although a pearl may be found In any mollusk having n nacreous interior lining Pearls have been brought to the Now York market from almost every state In the Union and Canada principally from Ohio Indiana Illinois Kentucky Missouri Arkansas Michigan Minnesota Minne-sota Tennessee and Mississippi to |