HOW SPONGES ARE PROCURED 



sharks, saw-fish, and sword-fish which may at least dis- 

 commode the diver or interfere with the gear, there is 

 always the possibility of something going wrong with 

 a man's heart when he is at work in great depths ; 

 the air-valves, too, cannot be guaranteed never to get 

 out of order ; therefore this signal is resorted to, unless 

 there are several divers working together on the same 

 spot. 



When he can remain down no longer, the sponge-fisher 

 very carefully fastens his bag and even ropes it to his 

 body ; then gives the " pull up " signal one long sus- 

 tained pull till the hauling begins. The care that he has 

 expended in making his catch quite safe is explained now. 

 To come up in the natural position, head foremost, re- 

 quires a certain amount of effort on his own part; an 

 awkward or half-exhausted diver may come up feet first, 

 or lying on his back or face; for there is no certainty 

 that the weights will " trim " properly when the dress is 

 inflated ; and that being the case, what would become of 

 a loosely fastened bag ? 



The hauling up of a diver is not greatly different from 

 the hauling up of a net or a dredge, as regards the rope 

 and the weight ; it is hard work for two men ; often im- 

 possible for one. But there is also the tube to be seen 

 to, and this is where the difficulty comes in ; for on the 

 one hand, the hauling of it should keep pace with that 

 of the life-line ; on the other, no undue strain must be 

 allowed to come on it. At last the weird, black figure 

 appears, totters up the ladder and waits while the men 

 lift him on board ; then off comes the helmet, and then 



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