172 KKPOliT OF COMMISSIONER OK FISH AND FISHERIES. 



prohibit the -^iiile of such spon^^es or the havinj^" of thciii in yjossession. 

 The hiw was amended in 1901 to cover these points, and will doubtless 

 prove useful in protectino- the small sponges from the depredations of 

 the s[)()no-ers. if properly enforced. 



DISASTERS TO THE FLEET. 



The spongers have not been exem])t from the many perils of the 

 deep, as is well shown by the following brief record of the principal 

 disasters to the Heet since 1880: 



Year. 



Vessel. 



Remarks. 



1882... 

 1881). . . 



1892... 

 1893... 

 1891... 

 1895. . . 



1897... 

 1898... 



1899... 

 1900... 



Minnie 



Sea Gull 



Ethel 



Silver Spray 



Adelaide 



Marion, Rosalie, Euphemia 

 and Ada Norman. 



Shamrock 



( lompetitor 



Rosalie 



Euphemia 



Speedwell 



Amanda Rosalie 



Vim 



Eveninj? Star 



Lone Star 



Struck on bar near Stump Pass. 



Capsized by cyclone near Cuba while on her way back from 



spoiigint; trij) to NicaraK'ia; 7 livi's lost. 

 Struck a drift log and foundered. 

 Burned. 



Capsized at Peckles Reef in gale. 

 Carried by cyclone up into tlie woo<ls, near Cedar Key. 



Capsized near Sea Horse Key; 6 men lost. 



Captured by Spanish gunboat while carrying cargo of contra- 

 band goods to Cuban insurgents. Crew condemned to deatli, 

 but saved tlirough intervention of United Stati'S. 



Capsized during cyclone; 1 of her crew lost. 



Capsized in gale. 



Capsized near Marcjuas Keys. Had just been launched and 

 was getting ready to go into sponging; 9 persons lost. 



Stranded during heavy blow. 



Beached. 



Strxick on St. Martins Reef. 



Struck a rock near Anclote and was sinik. 



SPONGE BUYING. 



The buying of sponges gathered ])y the Florida iishermen has 

 developed into a business of considerable magnitude and one quite 

 distinct from that of the gathering of sponges. 



AVhen tlie sponges :ire landed by the tishernuMi they have merely been 

 roughly cleaned of the mud and dirt adhering to them, and it is neces- 

 sary, })efore they ean be placed on the market, to thoroughly clean 

 them of the remaining dirt, see thtit no foreign su])stances are inside 

 the sponge, and trim otf the rough edges to give a symmetrical 

 appearance. This work is done b}^ the buyers, who lun-e large ware- 

 houses at convenient places on the coast. 



For many 3^ears Key West had almost a monopoly of this business, 

 but in 1891 serious competition began at Tarpon Springs. Owing to 

 the favoral)le situation of this latter place the business here rtipidly 

 expanded until in 1900 it amounted to almost as much as at Key A\'est. 

 The iSpanish-Amcrican war was a great help to Tarpon Springs, as the 

 Key West vessel captains avoided going to Key AVest with their car- 

 goes for fear of l)eing captured by Spanish war vessels, and so were 

 constrained to sell at Tarpon Springs. During 1S1>',) and IIHIO a few 

 sponges were sold at Lemon Citv, on the east coast. Some of the 

 "key" boats from the upper part of liisciiyne Btiy found it more con- 

 venient to sell to the one ])uyer tlicn^ than lo make the long trip to 

 Kev AVest. The business did not tli'-ixc. liowex'cr. as the spongers do 



