232 THE BOOK OF THE PEARL
partly
on account of the money he owed, was ruined. In fact, the business and
its anxieties drove him crazy and he was exposed to the mockery of all
the world as a lunatic. In the end, after dragging out five years in
this miserable condition, he died in this isle of Cubagua."1
The
average size of these pearls derived from the Venezuelan fisheries was
small, specimens rarely exceeding twenty grains. In 1577, Urbain
Chauveton wrote : "The pearls of Cubagua are mostly 2, 3, 4, and 5
carats. But the quantity of them is so great that the fifth part which
is paid to the king of Spain yields every year the value of more than
15,000 ducats; this besides the frauds committed and the pearls which
stick to the fingers of those who manage the business, and who pilfer
the most beautiful in great numbers, sending them here and there for
sale. They place themselves in great danger if the facts become known,
but they do it all the same."2
The
enormous demands made by the Spaniards soon had its effect on the
resources, for Chauveton adds: "It is apparent they decrease and not so
many are found as in the beginning. The reason for this is that the
Spaniards are so eager to gather large quantities of them quickly that
they are not content to use their divers to search for them in the
depths of the sea, but they have conceived and invented I know not how
many machines of rakes and drags to scrape up everything. In fact they
have at times collected them all so that another could not be found,
and have had to abandon their fishing for a considerable time to give
the oysters a chance to lay their eggs and grow their pearls."3
The
decrease noted by Chauveton was probably not very serious, for the
Spanish historian, José de Acosta, reports that in 1581 he saw "the
note of what came from the Indies for the king; there were 18 marcs of
pearles, besides 3 caskets ; and for private persons there were 1265
marcs, and besides them, 7 caskets not pierced, which heretofore we
would have esteemed and helde for a lie."4 Also the records
show that in 1597 Spain received from the Venezuelan fisheries "350
pounds' weight of pearls." It is to be regretted that the Spaniards so
frequently reported the yield of pearls by pounds' weight, for—owing to
the great variation in quality—this is about as unsatisfactory as to
report the wealth of an individual by the pounds' weight of his
title-deeds or of his stock certificates. The value of "350 pounds of
pearls" might have been anywhere from twenty thousand dollars to as
many millions. Assuming that all were two grains each in weight and of
