with
a formidable weapon in the shape of a flat projecting snout, reaching a
length of perhaps six feet, and armed along its edges with strong
tooth-like spines. In the presence of such a terrific weapon the diver
is almost powerless, and instances are recorded in which the poor
fellows have been comÂpletely cut in two. Nor are the attacks of
saw-fishes and sharks the only sources of danger. " Diving is
considered very detrimental to health, and without doubt it shortens
the life of those who much practice it. In order to aid the retention
of breath, the diver places a piece of elastic horn over his nostrils,
which binds them closely together. He does not enter the boat each time
he rises to the surface, ropes being attached to the sides, to which he
clings, until he has obtained breath for another attempt."
In
1853 these fisheries were described by Colonel Wilson ; and in 1865 an
official report on the Bahrein Pearl-fishery was prepared by Colonel
Pelly, the political resident at the Persian Gulf. According to this
latter document the richest banks for Pearl-fishing are those of the
island of Bahrein, where the oysters are found at all depths, from a
little below high-water mark down to eight-teen fathoms. The Arabs, who
monopolize the right of fishing on all the banks along the Arabian
coast of the Persian Gulf, cling to the old belief that the
