23 



his sink stone, the diver quits the stone, which is at once 

 pulled up by the thodai, and swims slowly over the 

 bottom hunting for the brown lump that denotes a shell 

 or for the rut or track the animal makes when slowly 

 crawling about. The local men are good trackers— they 

 follow up the faintest of spoors and many shells are 

 obtained in this way. It is this s|:eciai skill which enables 

 the local men to hold their own against divers of stronger 

 physique. Thus the Arab pearl-fishers, better divers 

 than the Tamils, take several weeks before they acquire 

 this faculty of tracking home the chank and till they do, 

 their catches are poor. 



The divers take very little food with them, but have a 

 hot meal before they set out. They seldom take more 

 than one-eighth measure of rice atloat with them and 

 when the catches are good they frequently throw this 

 overboard. If a man oets loo chanks he is assured of 

 Rs. 3 for the day's earnings and he argues that if he takes 

 a meal of rice he won't have room for all the toddy he can 

 afford to buy — so the rice goes overboard and the 

 fortunate diver has acquired a first-class gold mohur thirst 

 when he reaches shore. 



Between three and four o'clock the little fieet of eight 

 or nine canoes head into the bay before the spanking 

 sea breeze that usually comes on in the afternoon. The 

 Chank Department staff are ready at the godowns which 

 are s'tuated about three-fourths of a mile north of the town 

 in order that the distinctive odour of decaying chanks may 

 not disturb the appetites of the over-dainty. A clerk is 

 there with a big bag of rupees, the rule being to give 

 cash on the spot for all shells brought in ; a second clerk 

 or gumastah supervises and assists in the gauging and a 

 peon or counter and one or more lascars examine, gauge, 

 and count the piles of shells as laid out by the divers. 

 Usually each diver works for his own hand and so there 

 are as many heaps as there are divers. The gaugmg is a 

 ticklish operation and requires great patience and tact on 

 the part of the gumastah and counter as the divers wax 

 argumentative over every shell that is rejected as under- 

 sized (under 2^ inches in diameter) and a wrangle goes on 

 over many of the " worm-eaten" shells which are confiscat- 

 ed as useless. The total catch of each canoe is paid for 



