ai Jcetuut of tht Pearl Fifiieyy in thi Gulph of Afanar. 



bind round t^veir buUy, fo that their feet may be free. At prefent thefe are articles of trade 

 at Condatchey. The nioft common, or pyramidical ftone, generally weighs about thirty 

 pounxla. If a boat has more than five of them, the crew are cither coiporally puniflied or 

 fined. 



The diving, both at Ceyhn and at Tutuceriity is not attended with fo many difficulties as 

 authors imagine. The divers, confiding of different cafts and religions, (though chiefly of 

 Parraiver* and Mujfelmam^) neither make their bodies fmooth with oil, nor do they (lop 

 their ears, mouths, or nofes with any thing, to prevent the entrance of fait water. They 

 are ignorant of the utility of diving bells, bladders, and double flexible pipes. According 

 to the injun£tions of the fliark conjurer they ufe no food while at work, nor till they return 

 on (hore, and have bathed themfelves in frefti water. Thefe Indians, accuftomed to dive 

 from their earliell infancy, fearlefsly defcend to the bottom in a depth of, from five to ten 

 fathoms in fearch of trcafures. By two cords a diving ftone and a net are connedled with 

 the boat. Tlie diver putting the toes of his right foot on the hair rope of the diving ftone, 

 and thofe of his left on the net, feizes the two cords with one hand, and ftiutting his nof- 

 ttils with the other, plunges into the water. On reaching the bottom, he hangs the net 

 round his neck, and collects into it the pearl ftiells as faft as poflible, during the time hfi 

 finds himfelf able to remain under water, which ufually is about two minutes. He then 

 refumes his former pofture, and making a fignal, by pulling the cords, he is immediately 

 lifted into the boat. On emerging from the fea, he difcharges a quantity of water fron^ 

 his mouth and nofc, and thofe who have not been long enured to diving frequently dif- 

 charge fome blood ; but this does not prevent them from diving again in their turn. When 

 the firft five divers come up and are refpiring, the other five are going down with the fame 

 ftones. Each brings up about one hundred oyfters in his net, and if not interrupted by any 

 accident, may make fifty trips in a forenoon. They and the boat's crew get generally from 

 the owner, inftead of money, a fourth of the quantity which they bring on fhore ; but fome 

 are paid in ca(h, according to agreement. 



The moft fkilful divers come from GoUyhy on the coaft of Malabar s fome of them are fo 

 much exercifed in the art, as to be able to perform it without the afiiftance of the ufual 

 weight ; and for a handfome reward will remain under water for the fpace of feven minutes ; 

 this I faw performed by a Coffry boy, belonging to a citizen at Karu-a/, who had often fre- 

 quented the fiftieries of thefe banks. Though Dr. Halley deems this impoflible, daily ex- 

 perience convinces us, that by long praftice any man may bring himfelf to remain under 

 water above a couple of minutes. How much the inhabitants of the South Sea iflands dif- 

 tinguifti themfelves in diving we learn from fcvetal accounts ; and who will not be furprifed 

 at the wonderful Sicilian diver Nicholas, furnamed the Fi(h f ? 



* Fiihermen of the Catholic religion. 



t According to Kircher, he fell a viftim amongft the Polypes in the gulph of Charybdis, on his plunging, 

 for the fecondtimc, in its dangerous whirlpool, both to fatisfy the curioiity of his king, Frederic, and his 

 indinatioa for wealth. I will not pretend to dttermiDc, how far this account h»s beeti exaggerated. 



Every 

 3 



