THE FISHMEN 



them to half their diameter. His breath control was little 

 short of miraculous, not only in remaining under for 

 over four minutes, but in resisting the pressure at that 

 depth until he had accomplished his task. 



The Amas of Japan, professional divers attached to the 

 Mikimoto culture-pearl industry of today, make as many 

 as eighty or ninety dives daily and (wearing nothing but 

 their goggles) frequently go down to depths exceeding 

 120 feet, and remain under water without breathing 

 apparatus for periods exceeding three and a half minutes. 

 The world's record for remaining under water far exceeds 

 four minutes. It was set at San Rafael, California, by 

 Dr. Robert Keast, thirty-four years of age, on i8th 

 March 1956. The previous world's record, which Dr. 

 Keast tried to beat, was 6 minutes 29.8 seconds: made 

 forty-four years earlier in 191 2. 



Dr. Keast shattered that record by remaining under, 

 conserving his breath, for 10 minutes 58.9 seconds — only 

 one and a tenth second under eleven minutes. 



Depth pressure is not the handicap to diving that one 

 might imagine. The human body has almost the same 

 density as salt water itself, and the flesh of man resembles 

 that offish in its power of resisting compression. Only the 

 hollow organs in man, such as his lungs, are in danger 

 when subjected to pressure in the depths. Naked divers, 

 by long practice and intensive training, can develop 

 their lungs to resist enormous pressures for brief 

 periods. 



In his naked diving feats, without any kind of appara- 

 tus, man's nearest competitors have always been certain 

 birds : among them a family of swimming birds popularly 

 known as Divers, the Colymbidae. On land these birds are 

 awkward creatures, shuffling along with their breasts to 

 the ground, as though embarrassed and made awkward 

 by contact with solid surfaces. They seldom take wing, 

 and rise with difficulty, but when they are air-borne they 

 sweep along very rapidly, especially when they migrate 



157 



