LIFE ON A PEARLING LUGGER

Northland Age, Volume VIII, Issue 10, 27 October 1911, Page 2

LIFE ON A PEARLING LUGGER

(By "C.R.” in the "‘Railway Gazette.”) A flnc morning in September and a (air breeze blowing wli n we left our moorings for a spot on the pearling grounds 25 miles to the south-west of Brome. In about three hours' sail we arrived at our destination. We hove to, and our diving gear being brought on deck, thoroughly overhauled and inspected, everything was made ready for the diver's descent into the depths of the ocean. Before describing the pr, ceedlngs necessary to the getting of the shell 1 will first, as far as I am able, describe the lugger, its crew, etc. The lugger is a bluff built craft, not remarkable for its sailing capabilities, and varies from 25 to 50 tons burthen ; its length from 25 to 30 feet over all, rigged with tw 0 masts and square cut sails, and presents when running under a stiff breeze a not unpicturcsque appearance. She has two hatches and cabin aft, containing from four to six bunks, which are not remarkable for their freedom from vermin. In fact battalions of cockroaches insist on obtruding themselves even to the extent of dining with you. Tho crew i: composed of one European, who is in charge, and docs all the shell opening for 30s. per week and 10 per cent, of nett proceeds at end of the season. The diver ts generally a Jap or Malay. The lugger I was on the diver was a Jap, and a fine fellow too. The diver gets £45 advance before signing on for the season, and his wages vary according to the class of man he is, with a bonus at the end of the season. In addition to his duties as diver he is in many cases nominally in charge of the lugger so far as sailing her is concerned. The other members of the crew, four in number, are Filipinos or Javanese, and get from £2 to £3 per month and a small bonus. Their period of service is from three years upward—they being, in tho majority of cases, brought from Broome under the indenture system to be returned to Penang and other Dutch ports at the end of their indenture. Having described the crew, I will now proceed with the business. We have now drifted to the spot which the diver has selected making his descent; the ladder Is over the side, the pump and ropes, air pipes and the barometer have been examined ; the diver has given his last instructions to his assistants and is waiting to have the helmet screwed on. This being done his basket is attached to the belt, and he proceeds to the ladder. Gradually he disappears and for some little time nothing is seen but bubbles caused by the descent.

Later a tug at the guide rope indicates that ho has arrived at the bottom, and another signal is given to pay out, as he is now commencing to walk along the floor of the ocean. The only indication that is given of his movements is by the signal or guide rope. Hallo ! Three tugs, and again three more ; the diver is returning, and gradually he Is hauled to the surface. Another step and he is once more on the deck of the lugger. The helmet is unscrewed, basket removed, and sh 11 emptied out. After a short spell he once more descends and the same procedure Is carried out four or five times according to the depth of the water, and the day’s work is over. The shell-opener then proceeds to work, and opens the shell and eiamIneß same for the purpose of discovering any pearls that may be there. The fish is scooped out of the shell into a tub and left there until it becomes a liquid mass, when it is poured through a very fine hair sieve, for often the pearl becomes embedded in the fish and would likely become lost were it not for this course. The evening is now on, and tea Is finished. We have had a very successful day, having got a fair quantity of shell and some likely looking pearls. I don’t wish the reader to run awa yt with the idea that every Bhell contains pearls. Not by any means. The writer has seen hundreds of shells opened without a solitary pearl. The next lugger to me was the one t that was lucky enough to get the famous Southern Crr, -i pearl, which ■brought several then sands in London some years ago. A schooner is fast 1 iving in sight, and most likely has he mail, also stores and water, sc everything is made .ready for a vi: /, to her, this being one of the most agreeable breaks In the monob y 0 f the life. The diver and ir elf row the dinghy, with which c. ry lugger is provided, to the sc! ouer, and on arrival find she has he mall, which arrived shortly afte our departure from Broome, and a' o find that other congenial spii ts have also come over from the other luggers. Here we fraternise, compare notes, swap lies, etc., and th skipper being a good fellow we sample his liquor, inspect the slop chest, and make otlt a list of our requirements, hand over our mail, and receive any instructions as to oar future movements, etc., before returning to our respective luggers and proceeding cncc more to the business of pearling, and until the arrival ol the next schooner, which probably brings some of ns instructions to return to headquarters for the clean up. ; The greatest care ha« to be taken fcjr the shell opener that the coloured JR deciphers of the crew have not In- ■ -

spcctcd tne contents of the shelf before him and careful though he may j be, hundreds of pounds worth of j pearls find their way into the market ■ by other means than the correct one. In fact it is a well known fact in Broome that several of the prominent ! pearlers, notwithstanding all precautions, have bought pearls found |by their own luggers, but the difflj eulty is to prove it. Before closing I will endeavour to I give my readers some idea of what It is like to go down in a diver’s rig, tho writer having had that experi- ; enee. One day I suggested to the diver that I should descend in place jof him, so we selected a likely looking spot, aud I for once, but never again, became the diver, and after being rigged in the gear with the exception of the helmet, I can assure you all sorts of queer thoughts commenced to flow through my mind, but sooner than show thb white fea'ther before the grinning black faces that stood around me, I gave inj structions for the helmet to be placed, lin position, which is done with the | window in the face of helmet open, |and when the helmet Is properly adjusted and screwed on and the air hose attached the window or peephole is closed, and slowly, with regu- | lar strokes, the air is pumped into the diving dress. The sensation is most peculiar, seeming to the diver like the incessant beating of a number of drums, but this gradually wears ofl.

After everything had been examined I moved with difficulty, owing to the j heavy boots, to the side of the lug- ! ger, put my feet on the ladder and jcommenced the descent as gracefully |as I was able, but can assure you | when it came to the last rung on ; the ladder I was reluctant to let go. j However when I did I found myself | slowly descending until I reached the j floor of the ocean, i A minute or so elapsed before I 1 could realise that I had reached my ! destination. I commenced to walk about. Presently I came across what I descended for, and with the aid of my knife collected several shells, a pair of which, together with a straw colored pearl, X still retain as mementoes of my first and probably last diving exploit. The sensation of walking around under water is to say the least about it peculiar. Fishes approach with mouths wide open as if they intended to swallow you ; enormous crabs, or rather they appear so, scuttle about in all directions ; large jelly fish float by ; all manner of things move about, and you feel Impressed by an intense loneliness. It is almost impossible to describe the marvels and wonders that exist on the ocean bed. After moving around a little while longer I gave the signal to be raised to the surface, and once more returned to the lugger’s deck and had the helmet removed, together with the rest of the kit, and again resumed more congenial garb, but I can assure my readers that was not the ending to the experiment, for I suffered from a frightful headache, and for many weeks after dreamt of enormous fish and broken air pipes.