pearling
in a desultory manner, and led to an increase in the number of
fishermen. During some years when industrial and market conditions
were favorable, large quantities of shells were exported. In 1855, for
instance, 650 tons of these shells were shipped to England alone, and
in 1859 the reported quantity was 957 tons. Those from the Island of
San José, one of the Pearl Archipelago, were said to be the largest and
choicest in the bay. Many of them were used in decorating the twin
towers of the stately old cathedral at Panama.
Since
then the industry has fluctuated greatly, depending on the market for
the shell. Many outsiders have experimented in the fishery, but most
of these attempts have resulted in financial loss, through
mismanagement, storms, sickness, or other causes. A story is told
locally of a party of thirty men, principally from Scotland, who
arrived at Panama equipped with a diving-bell and such necessary
machinery as air-pumps, windlasses, etc. Much was expected of their
operations, but soon yellow fever broke out among them, and within six
weeks two thirds of the members of the party had died. The remaining
members, becoming disheartened, and in fear of the dread disease, lost
no time in leaving the country. The diving-bell and machinery remained
for several years as a curiosity at Panama, for no one returned to
claim them, nor has the use of similar apparatus been attempted since
then.
The
scattered pearl reefs extend from the east side of the Bay of Panama
nearly to the Costa Rica boundary. However, this gives an exaggerated
idea of their area, as much of this territory yields no pearl-oysters
whatever. The principal reefs and the headquarters of the fishery are
at Archipelago de las Perlas or Pearl Islands, which are from thirty to
sixty miles southeast of the Pacific terminus of the projected Panama
Canal. This archipelago contains sixteen small islands, on which are
about twice that number of small settlements of Negro and Indian
descendants, with a total population of perhaps one thousand. About
half of these live on Isla del Rey, the largest island, about fifteen
miles long and half that in width. The chief village, San Miguel, is
the center of the pearling industry, and consists mostly of
palm-thatched huts and a handsome stone church, more costly than all
the remaining buildings of the town combined. While the soil is fertile
and some vegetables are raised, the inhabitants depend almost wholly on
the fisheries.
In
1901, the Republic of Colombia invited bids for the right to operate
the pearl and coral fisheries for a term of fifteen years, but nothing
seems to have come of it, and the establishment of the Panama Republic
in 1903 terminated the authority of Colombia in these resources.
