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Taganac, and in confirmation of his report, occasional 

 single specimens have been obtained. A bed also 

 exists, without much doubt, on the 'Rene" shoal 

 off Tambesan, but the mouth of Darvel Bay has 

 to be crossed to the southwards before ground is 

 reached, where they are constantly found. Inform- 

 ation apparently trustworthy has been received of 

 an in'portaut bed, extending from Port Elphiustoue 

 to some sixty miles to the southward, called the Ada 

 Bank, so named after the wife of Mr. Fryer, the 

 Resident of the East Coast. Shells from this bank 

 are sent in occasionally, and some pearls are said 

 to have been found. The price of shell is usually 

 about $ib a picul. Exports hitherto in this article 

 have principally been composed of a few shells that 

 have, from time to time, found their way over from 

 the Sooloo islands to Sandakau. 



Pearls. — These are found in the above-mentioned 

 mother-of-pearl or tepai oysters. Hitherto but very 

 few have been found on our own coast, and those 

 which are offered for sale in our market have come 

 principally from the islands of Tawi-Tawi, Skobong, 

 Ubian, &c., in the Sooloo Archipelago. Pearls of 

 very high price are not unfrequently to be bought 

 in Sandakan. The largest one that has been seen 

 was valued at $8,000. The diving powers of the 

 people who bring up these shells is something extra- 

 ordinary, and is probably not to be exceeded any- 

 where in the world ; without any stone or weight 

 they turn over on the surface of the water and 

 swim down head foremost to the bottom, collect 

 shells, and bring them up, each one weighing six 

 or seven catties. In this manner they will descend 

 to an ascertained depth of twelve fathoms, and claim 

 to be able to go down much greater depths. In 

 waters much infested by sharks, a sort of plough 

 shaped trawl, here called " baujer " is used. 



Seed-pearls. — These are found in a thin flat pinkish- 

 shelled oyster, known locally as Selisiep, which occurs 

 usually in shallow water on the mud at the mouth of 

 rivers. This oyster is somewhat peculiar in character, 

 the water in which alone it can thrive must be 

 slightly brackish, as it cannot live in entirely salt 

 water, while ©n the other hand, an admixture of 

 too much fresh water kills it at once. There used 

 to be large beds of it in Sandakan and Lakuk Bays, 

 but very heavy rains in the year 1879, so thoroughly 

 destroyed the oysters, that they have never properly 

 recovered yet, (December, 1885.) On several occa- 

 sions it has been said that the oyster was beginning 

 to be found again, and that minute pearls were 

 forming in them, but rains always came at the 

 critical moment and destroyed them. In Maroap 

 Bay, a certain amount of collecting has been in 

 progress for the past two years, and there are 

 places in Darvel Bay, where these oysters are 

 abundant, but other natural produce, more easily 

 collected, is so plentiful in its neighbourhood, that 

 they are never touched. Seed-pearl collecting is 

 great fun. It is always necessary for several boats 

 to rendezvous, at the same time and place for the 

 purpose of frightening away the crocodiles and 

 sharks, and for the same reason, as much shouting 

 and splashing about as possible, is indulged in. 

 The consequence is that there are rarely less than 

 fronx twenty to thirty persons m the water at one 

 time, all diving, splashing, laughing and shouting 

 at once, and rarely bringing up less than three to 

 four sheila at a dive, whilst extra yells from all 

 hands salute a rather larger find than usual. The 

 mode of obtaining the pearls is by opening the 

 oysters and throwing their contents into some ves- 

 sel, and there leaving them to decompose, stirring 

 them up daily during the process, until at last the 

 liquid putridity being poured off, the pearls are found 

 at the bottom. Very few of them are large enough 

 to be of any value individually, but they are sent 

 to China where they are pounded up and made into 

 powder and there swallowed by ladies who desire 

 to improve their complexion, at least so we are told. 

 Another and rather larger kind of oyster known as 

 beloong, found in somewhat deeper water than selisiep, 

 also always contains seed-pearle. Exports 1682 fi7i, 

 J983 »m, and 188i «3,101, 



Tortoise Shell. — The name applied to this article of 

 commerce is somewhat of a misnomer, as it is sup- 

 plied by a turtle; these turtles are fairly common 

 in our seas, and are usually obtained by means of 

 spearing as they lie asleep on the surface of tho 

 water. It is averred that the turtle-egg collectors, 

 if they find a lay of eggs, less than one hundred 

 and thirty in number, return to that spot twelve 

 nights afterwards when the same turtle comes again, 

 and, being secured, is always found to be of a good 

 kind. (The ordinary turtle is not interfered with.) 

 The usual price of tortoise shell is about §6 to $12 

 for the produce of one turtle, but occasionally, 

 single shells are valued at extraordinarily high prices. 

 Seme short time since one was secured by Panglima 

 Ypel, which was said to have been sold for §500, 

 and more recently, we have heard that $2,000 was 

 asked for a single specimen brought to Sandakan. 

 No people but Chinese, would pay such prices for 

 such an article. 



Turtle Eggs. — Some of the sandy shores of the 

 islands about the East Coast, aboundf with turtle eggs, 

 which are collected by boats which go in search of 

 them, and quite a large trade is the result, baskets' 

 full always oeing exposed for sale during th^ season 

 in the shops at Sandakan. The island of Bergoan 

 is the one most favoured by the turtles, and tho 

 season is during the continuance of the southern 

 monsoon, viz., fron April to October. 



Sharks' i-'iTis.— Sharks abound in these seas, and 

 are caught chiefly by the Bajaus, in a variety 

 of ways, sometimes by hook and line, sometimes in 

 keelontjs (fish-stakes or fish-weirs they would be better 

 known as in England), and sometimes by spearing, 

 but by none of these methods cam the very largest 

 be captured, and they sometimes are seen of immense 

 size. A Bajau boat however rarely returns from a 

 trip of any duration, without bringing a bunch of 

 tails and fins, usually cut off from nsh four to seven 

 feet in length. The quantity in the sea may be de- 

 scribed as inexhaustible, and the larger our sea* 

 population grows the more sharks fins are likely to 

 be brought to market. Our sharks are, to a certain 

 extent, dangerous, but not so very much so; an occa- 

 sional mother-of-pearl shell diver is carried off, but 

 otherwise accidents happening to persons going into 

 the sea are rarely heard of, not by any means so 

 often, as from crocodiles up the rivers. I have seen 

 a canoe pass over the spot, where, a few minutes 

 before, the two back fias of a shark had been visible, 

 and between which the canoe (a, very small one) 

 could almost have been placed lengthways. A cro- 

 codile of similar s ze i^if such a thing were possible) 

 would almost certainly have tried to upset it, Dr at 

 any rate knock the man overboard. The trade in 

 sharks' fins, like most of the other articles hitherto 

 mentioned, is carried on exclusively with China. 

 Prices range from §8 to §25 a picul, and Exports 

 were in 1882 §837, 1883 §1,105, and 1884 $1,516. 



Sponges.— ThesQ are frequently washed ashore all 

 along our coast line, wherever there exists much 

 coral. I have seen one or two pretty fair specimens, 

 but if sponges of any real value could be obtained 

 by systematic searching or by a slight amount of 

 culture, remainti yet to be seen. 



Edible Oysters. — In some places these abound to 

 such an extent, that there are as many lying on the 

 rocky shores as there are stones, and at first sight 

 it is difficult to distinguish one from the other, boat 

 loads could be obtained without any trouble. They 

 are very good eating and quite innoxious so long, 

 that ia as the rock variety iu procured. There is 

 another kind found adhering in masses to the roots 

 and branches of the mangrove trees, which ought 

 to be carefully avoided, for, if eaten, this oyster 

 occasionally produces an attack very much resembling 

 colic, and even more dangerous. When dried, how- 

 ever, its harmful qualities are, I believe, to some 

 extent destroyed. It is expected that a certain amount 

 of export business will in time be developed in both 

 these kinds of oysters. 



Fisk. — Nowhere in tho world, probably, is there 

 such a guantity and variety of good eatable fisb, 

 Kawarming in tb9 seas, as on the ast Coast of Hcxii) 



