could
easily be caused by a mistake in copying Arabic manuscript, or in the
translation. The case related by Diemerbroeck in which a pearl diver
remained submerged half an hour, is more perplexing, especially as the
physician reports that this was done under his own observation. The
numerous reports of five or six minutes may have been based on a very
exceptional case.
These
statements are viewed as highly incredible by men who have spent scores
of years at the fisheries. A man may remain submerged for several
minutes, but the conditions are vastly different from the activities of
pearl-gathering at a depth of ten fathoms, where the pressure of the
water is nearly thirty pounds to the square inch, and the slightest
exercise is fatiguing. Unless the time is taken by a watch, it is easy
to overestimate the stay; the seconds pass very slowly when one is
waiting momentarily for the appearance of the diver's head above the
water, and certainly to the nearly exhausted fisherman with straining
chest and palpitating heart, the last few seconds must seem extremely
long indeed. An instance is noted in which an Arab diver remained
submerged seventy-one seconds, and on his reappearance, naively
inquired if he had not been down ten minutes. It seems doubtful whether
the no seconds herein noted has been greatly exceeded, in recent years
at least, by Arab or Indian divers, who do not appear to equal the
semi-amphibious natives of the South Sea islands in their exploits.
One
of the most curious features of the pearling industry is the manner in
which the fishermen secure supplies of drinking water. In the vicinity
of Bahrein, numerous fresh-water springs exist at the bottom of the
gulf in depths of two or three fathoms, and the fishermen dive into
the depth of the salt water down to where the fresh water is springing
forth and there fill a skin or other suitable receptacle which they
bring to the surface. By running a pipe down near the bottom in the
vicinity of one of these springs, an abundance of fresh water may be
pumped into the boat.
Three species—or at least three varieties—of pearl-bearing oysters are obtained in the Persian Gulf. These are known locally as mahar, sudaifee, and zinni. Of these, the mahar or
Lingah oyster, which corresponds to the Ceylon pearl-oyster, yields the
greatest quantity of pearls, and those of the finest quality. It
measures three or three and a half inches in diameter, and is found in
deeper water than the others. The sudaifee and the zinni, which are larger, yield pearls in much smaller quantities than the mahar.
On
large boats, which remain out for two or three weeks at a time, the
oysters are left on deck overnight, and the following morning they are
opened by means of a curved knife (miflaket), four or five inches
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