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Show A WONDERFUL GEM FOUND PEARL THAT SOLD FOR 1 60,000 pesos. ; It Was Found In 8ea Near Sulu J Islands and Was as Big as a Mar- ; ble and of Beautiful Color. A single pearl worth 60,000 pesos! The possibilities of pearl fishing in the ' Sulu sea seem unlimited. According to Stephen Jurlka, of Jolo, who Is now ', a visitor in Manila, the greatest pearl ever claimed from the sea in the Sulu ' archipelago was recently marketed in Singapore for 60,000 pesos. It Is the size of a marble, perfectly round and of beautiful color. The finding of the gem by a poor Mora fisherman, its seizure by the sultan, and tho Interference Interfer-ence ot Gov. Stccver, who took the part et the poor man and saw that ho had Justice, make good reading matter. Unotr tho old Moro law, In forco when th American ticops first took charge et Jolo, all pearls ot unusual, slzo must be, sent to tho sultan, who In turn ma'do the 'finder a "present."-1 Tho only alternative tho finder of a largo pearl had was to sell his treasure treas-ure privately to the pearl traders, thereby placing his life in .Jeopardy, for the trader, If ho could not buy at his own price, would report to tho sul-tain sul-tain who had power to seize tho fisher-mat) fisher-mat) and cxecutehlm If ho so desired. Of bourse, under tho American administration, admin-istration, this unjust law was abolished, abol-ished, but so great was the fearf the poor Moros ot their powerful dattos that it has been the mi? torn during the last few years for them to carry on their business secretly with the traders. In this Instance the Mora fisherman, somewhat more enlightened than his predecessors, when forced to give up hU great find to the sultan trekked into Job) and made complaint to Col. Steever, governor ot the Sulu group. The matter was soon brought to the courts and the greedy sultan forced to disgorge the pearl. Gov. Steever commissioned the Jolo Trading company to sell the gem for the benefit of the finder, and It was reeeUly sent to Singapore and there sold for 60,000 pesos. The Jolo Trading Trad-ing company received a commission ot ten per cent. So far as Is known this 1b the largest pearl taken from the Sulu sea. Three years ago a pearl, found somewhere to the south of Jolo, was carried to Batavta and there sold to an European buyer for 36,000 pesos. As previously stated, however, the business has been carried on so secretly, owing to the old law, that pearls of great value rarely seo the light before they reach Singapore, ana many 01 mem noi snort of Europe. Mr. Jurlka states that during the recent re-cent fair at Jolo, instituted by the government gov-ernment for tho purpose of bringing the Moros together, Capt. Trana of the Jolo Trading company exhibited a Xn lucent black pearl, valued at 7,-pesos, 7,-pesos, a rare gem of unusual size and beauty. The firm ot Hernandez & Co., of which Mr. Jurlka is a member, has been employing Japanese divers for pearling, but find them to bo unsatisfactory. unsatis-factory. As has been elsewhere In the Islands, tho Japanese as soon as they get a llttlo money ahead ignore their contracts and outfit balandras (sloops) of their own, entering Into active competition com-petition with their employers. The best and most reliable divers, according accord-ing to Mr. Jurlka, aro the Malays, who stand the hardships and do the work better than any others, and spend their earnings In the country. The Japanese Japa-nese have already established Bettle-mentb Bettle-mentb ot their own at Zamboanga and Jolo, and trade only among themselves. them-selves. The Moro who secured the great pearl was only a poor fisherman, using the three-prong deep sea rake ot his forefathers. Ho refused to divulge to anyone the vicinity in which he made bis lucky find. When ho receives the proceeds of the sale he will be ono of the wealthiest Moros In tho Sulu archipelago. |