PEARL FISHING AND ' BEACHCOMBERS: 257 



known to have made more than 1000 in this way, a great 

 part of which was found in his chest by his wives after he him- 

 self had been very summarily disposed of by his own men. 

 Another gentleman of the beachcombing persuasion, named 

 Henry Williams, of Manihiki, amassed silver coin enough to fill 

 a powder-keg ; and on one occasion having had quite as much 

 as was bad for him of ' chain-lightning gin,' he broke up his keg 

 with an axe, scattering the contents on the sand, and telling 

 the savages among whom he lived to take as much as they 

 wanted. The savages were of course equal to the occasion, and 

 carried the dollars home to their houses, exclaiming : ' Aui ! 

 au6 ! the white man has gone mad, and broken the barrel in 

 which he kept his gods.' 



Fine calm weather is of course most favourable to pearl- 

 fishing, but not indispensable, as the amphibious natives 

 of some groups seek the shell by swimming with their heads 

 below the surface of the water ; and having discovered it, 

 inhale a good draught of air, and then go down and fetch up 

 as many as they can readily lay hold of. Polynesian divers do 

 not use any stones to immerse themselves, or any apparatus to 

 close the nostrils, as do the Cingalese. They will stay under 

 water about three minutes, sometimes longer, and can bring 

 up shell from 20 fathoms deep. They want some extra 

 inducement to go down to that depth, and of course they can- 

 not persevere long ; but Penrhyn islanders, Tuamotans, or 

 Rapa men can do it if they like. The shells found at that 

 depth are of enormous size, as much as 18 inches in diameter, 

 so that a pair when opened out by the hinge will measure 

 a yard across. This kind of pearl-diving is very difficult, and 

 the heat of the sun, aggravated by its radiation from the still 

 waters of the lagoons, is very excessive. On many islands 

 women are more skilful at this work than men ; and being 



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