bottom
at a depth of thirty-five fathoms, which is about the record, the
pressure of the water being nearly 90 pounds to the square inch. His
sons were also remarkably expert; one of them when scarcely thirteen
years of age would descend to a depth of twenty-five fathoms.1
An interesting story of an Arab's diving ability is told by Lieutenant Wellsted: "In 1827, we were cruising in the sloop Ternate on
the pearl banks. Whilst becalmed and drifting slowly along with the
current, several of the officers and men were looking over the side at
our Arab pilot, who had been amusing himself in diving for oysters.
After several attempts, his search proved unsuccessful. 'Since I cannot
get oysters I will now,' said he, 'dive for and catch fish.' All
ridiculed the idea. He went down again, and great was our astonishment
to see him, after a short time, rise to the surface with a small
rock-fish in each hand. His own explanation of the feat was, that as he
seated himself at the bottom, the fish came around and nibbled at his
skin. Watching his opportunity, he seized and secured his prey by
thrusting his thumb and forefinger into their expanded gills."2
Owing
to the character of the fishery and the lack of government supervision,
it is extremely difficult to determine accurately the extent of this
industry in the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf. All over this coast
extends the influence of the Hindu traders, who finance the fisheries
and purchase most of the catch. The pearls are sent mostly to Bombay,
and are not reported in the official returns of the Red Sea ports. The
fishermen are suspicious of outside inquiries, and are far from anxious
to impart reliable information. Probably the best estimates of the
catch are to be obtained from Bombay merchants, from whom A. Perazzoli
learned in 1898 that pearls to the value of 2,000,000 lire ($400,000)
were carried from the Red Sea to Bombay each year.3 In the last four or five years the output has been smaller than usual, owing to disturbed political conditions.
The
annual product of "Egyptian" and "Bombay" shells in these fisheries is
usually upward of 1000 tons, worth from $100 to $600 per ton, according
to quality. Most of these go to Austria and France, only about 200 tons
reaching London each year. Owing to the dark color and the lack of
thickness in the nacreous layer, they are scarcely suitable for
anything else than button-manufacture. Many of them are sent to
Bethlehem and Jerusalem, where they are cut into various shapes for
crosses, crucifixes, wafer-boxes, beads, and nearly every conceivable
article in which mother-of-pearl is
1 Wellsted, "Travels in Arabia," London, "'Bolletino délia Società d'esplorazione
1838, Vol. II, p. 238.
commerciale in Africa," Milan, June, 1898.
1 Ibid., Vol. I, pp. 268, 269.
