PEARL FISHING AND ' BEACHCOMBERS: 255 



less, all floating in towards the still water of the lagoon, where 

 having arrived they sink to the bottom and settle doAvn for 

 life. Again, when the tide is going out they are not seen to 

 return to the ocean with it ; neither if a man will go and 

 watch upon the lee reef will he find any of them being carried 

 over there. This has proved to me that the savages tell the 

 truth though the white men are not willing to believe them 

 when they say that if a diver could get down and Avork 

 under the breaker on the outside of the coral reef he would 

 find there even more shell than is to be found in the lagoon. 



Wherever sea water becomes stagnant in the Pacific lagoons, 

 a sort of marine centipede makes its appearance, which enters 

 and soon devours the oyster. 



In the Pacific all oysters are opened by the knife, which, if 

 carefully performed, is the best plan. The best instrument for 

 this purpose is a common table-knife of good steel, ground thin 

 till the blade is flexible, and fitted into a good stout handle. 

 A skilful operator will open a ton of shells in an ordinary 

 day's work, and not miss the pearls if there be any. It cannot 

 be done rapidly without frequently cutting the hands (some- 

 times severely), as the edges are as sharp as glass. But men 

 working for themselves with a prospect of considerable gain do 

 not mind such accidents. The excitement is something akin 

 to gold-mining. White men, if they can avoid it, will never 

 let valuable shells be opened by any other hands than their 

 own, as the natives are sure to steal the pearls if they have 

 the chance, and are so skilful in concealing them that detection 

 is almost impossible. 



When the shells are landed it is the custom of the ' boss ' 

 fisherman to sort them into two piles ; those he supposes to 

 contain pearls to be opened by himself, and the rest by the 

 natives. In hard times it is usual for the men to eat the fish, 



