384 Voyage of the Kovara. 



reach, so as to fill his landing net. He crawls along in this 

 manner during the minute of his submersion, over a space of 

 from 40 to 50 feet ; and so soon as he pulls the cord attached 

 to his plaited basket-edge, it is immediately hauled up, and 

 he himself speedily follows it to the surface.* 



The utmost depth at which the diver can safely remain 

 seems to be about 40 feet, beyond which blood is apt to issue 

 from the nose and ears. They seldom remain above 50 or 

 60 seconds under water, although cases occasionally occur in 

 which the stay under water is protracted to 80 seconds. The 

 diving is carried on for 5 or 6 hours without intermission, so 

 that each of the ten divers can, in the course of a day, bring 

 up from 1000 to 4000 oysters. By dint of good fortune, and 

 close packing, about 150 oysters are brought up in each basket- 

 net, while occasionally an unprolific bed does not give more 

 than five or ten oysters. So soon as the oysters have been 

 dragged to land, they are sorted in shares, of which one goes 

 to the oyster fisher as his remuneration, and tlie remainder 

 are sold in lots of 1000 each to tlie highest bidder. 

 Now begins speculation. Chance presides here, quite as 

 capriciously as at a lottery or another game of hazard. It 

 often happens that a single oyster contains thirty or forty 

 pearls, of which some may be worth a sovereign on the spot ; 



* The clivers are mostly old men, vigorous and healthy in appearance, thus dispell- 

 ing the general notion that deep-sea diving weakens the body and shortens life. 

 We were told of one diver, employed during the j-ear 185(), in the pearl fishery, who 

 was so stout and fat, that in addition to tlie ordinary diver's stone, he had to make 

 fast a considerable weight to his body, in order to sink liimself in the water. 



