VI] A CEYLON PEARL FISHERY 11 



may be further improved by marking the flags in- 

 dividually with distinctive numbers and signs. 



Advertisements are then published throughout the 

 East, especially in the vernacular, in papers reaching 

 the Persian Gulf and the two coasts of Southern 

 India, at the instance of the Colonial Secretary's 

 office at Colombo. As a result of these advertise- 

 ments divers, gem-buyers, speculators, moneylenders, 

 petty merchants and persons of very diverse occupa- 

 tions, make speedy arrangements for attending the 

 fishery. Indian and Cingalese coolies flock by the 

 thousand to the coast, longing to play even humble 

 roles in the great game of chance. The " tindals " 

 and divers provide boats and all essential gear for 

 the work afloat, while ashore the Government supplies 

 buildings and various forms of labour. Stories of 

 the mushroom growth of towns wherever gold is 

 found, or diamonds discovered, or oil struck, have 

 become quite commonplace. Tales of the uprising 

 of Klondike, Coolgardie, and South African cities 

 fade beside Marichchikkaddi — the city with no 

 foundation. Among its thousands of inhabitants 

 are only a few hundred women who merit the right 

 of being present through serving as water-carriers 

 to camp and fishing fleet. This place, with its un- 

 pronounceable name, is the pearl metropolis of the 

 universe. Probably there is not a stocked jewel 

 case that does not contain gems that have filtered 



