AMERICAN PEARLS 245
termination
of the Napoleonic Wars, resulted in much speculation and the promotion
of stock subscriptions in many visionary schemes. Among these was "The
General Pearl and Coral-Fishing Association of London," which in 1825
equipped and sent out to Mexico, by way of Cape Horn, two vessels
prepared to exploit the pearl resources by the use of diving-bells
similar to those formerly employed in submarine construction. This
expedition was under the direction of Lieutenant R. W. H. Hardy, whose
report thereon presents an interesting exhibit of the condition of the
pearl fishery at that time.
Hardy
found the fishery at a very low ebb, owing, largely, to the scarcity of
oysters and the uncertainty of depending on the native divers. He adds
with peculiar naïveté: "I had almost forgotten to mention a very
curious circumstance with respect to the pearl-oyster, namely that on
the coast of Sonora there are none at all, except at Guaymas." He
states also that to the northward of 280 30' not the trace of a shell could be discovered on either side of the gulf.
The
center of the industry was then at Loreto, a village of 250
inhabitants; but another small station existed at La Paz. At Loreto
six or eight vessels of twenty-five tons each were employed, each
having three or four sailors and fifteen or twenty Yaqui Indians who
served as divers. Head-diving was in vogue, the work proceeding from 11
A.M. to 2 p.m., and the
depth ranging from three to twelve fathoms. The annual catch of pearls
was "4 or 5 pounds' weight, worth from $8000 to $10,000."1 After
the government's claim of one fifth had been set apart, the owner and
captain of the vessel received one half and the divers the other half.
It
was found impossible to use diving-bells when the sea was at all rough,
and even during calm weather they were impracticable on account of the
unevenness of the ground and the strong undercurrents. An effort was
made to employ native divers, but owing to the disorganized state of
affairs only four could be secured. In the Gulf of Mulege a large
number of oysters were collected, but when these were opened "six very
small pearls" were all that could be found. After spending about three
years on the coast, Hardy returned to England, and the company
abandoned the enterprise.
In
the early history of the Mexican pearl fishery, the shells were of no
market value ; but about 1830 a French trader named Combier made
experimental shipments to France, securing cheap freight rates by using
the waste shells largely as ballast for the vessels.2 The best quality sold for about 600 francs per ton, and the market was found
