Pearling Life at the Present Day. 177
they
treated the latter with the utmost contempt as unclean animals. The
Australians, however, proved themselves by far the best shell-getters.
In
order to avoid the excessive cold, the "Sree Pas-Sair" and another boat
went north, to the Montebello group, where the water was quite warm and
clear. This was the first time the group had ever been dived, and
magnificent shells were found averaging 380 pairs to the ton. (The West
Australian technical term is " a pair of shells," i.e. one
oyster). Six weeks of steady diving went on, and after "their ears were
broken," the Sooloo men did fairly well. If a man ceases to dive for a
few months, he experiences great pain in his ears on again commencing,
and this is slightly alleviated by oil and laudanum. After persevering
from four to six days, something suddenly appears to give way in the
ears when under water, and then all pain disappears ; the man can at
once proceed to greater depths, and will suffer no inconvenience for
the rest of the season. There is no discharge of blood, neither is the
sense of hearing impaired.
Christmas
day was spent at the Montebellos ; and on Boxing day a magnificent
Pearl weighing 40 grains was found. This is the finest and best-shaped
Pearl yet obtained from this coast. As
the fresh water was now running short, a likely
M
