( 160o ) 



BAHAMAS. 



(See Plan, p. 92.) 



THE population of the Bahamas by the census of 1881 was 44,000 about 10,000 whites, 

 the remainder blacks and coloured. The majority of the population can handle a boat, are a 

 hardy and an adventurous race, and face any dangers in saving life and property. 



The fishing-boats, numbering 100, and employing 500 men, are usually of the sloop rig, 

 with a leg-of-mutton sail, and a well for keeping the fish alive. The sponging and wrecking 

 vessels, numbering 500, employing 5000 men, are of schooner rig, fine models, and fast sailers. 

 They are built by the Islanders, the timbers being of native hard wood (horse-flesh), the 

 planking of yellow pine, from North Carolina, and vary in tonnage from 15 to 60 tons. The 

 spongers ship on the share principle. The cost of the outfit is first deducted from the sale of 

 the sponges, then the shipowner takes one-third, the crew two-thirds. 



Fish are caught with fish-pots, hand-lines and nets, the nets being taken out some 

 distance from the land, and hauled slowly in to the shore, when a great variety, many of 

 brilliant and variegated colours, is usually secured. It forms an important article of food, but 

 none are exported, with the exception of turtle (Chelonia Mydas), and the hawksbill (Chelonia 

 imbricata) yielding the tortoise-shell of commerce. 



The bait used in line-fishing is usually the conch. The fish are drummed up by 

 striking two shells of the conch together, and are ground-baited as in English rivers. During 

 the boisterous north-west winds, prevailing between November and February, they^ are 

 difficult to catch, and are brought alive in the wells of the boats, and thus sold in the market- 

 place. The estimated value of fish used in home consumption is 18,000 per annum, and of 

 turtle exported 600 per annum. 



King, queen, and common conch-shells are exported in large quantities, being used for 

 cameos, and in the latter is found the beautiful pale pink pearl now becoming so valued. The 

 value of shells exported is 1200 per annum, and of pearls 3000 per annum. 



Ambergris is also found on these shores, and sea-cucumber (trepang). The value of 

 ambergris exported is 1000 per annum. 



Corals and small shells, which are very beautiful, are largely collected, and find a ready 

 sale among the American visitors, and in England. 



The value of the sponge exports for 1883 is estimated at 60,000. In 1882 it was 

 59,033. From a report by the American Consul at Nassau I extract as follows : " That the 

 sponge-trade gives employment to several thousands of persons and some hundreds of vessels, 

 the sponges being divided into coarse and fine. The principal varieties, in the order of their 

 value, are known as sheep-wool, white reef, abaco velvet, dark reef, boat, hardhead, grass, 

 yellow, and glove ; and of some of these varieties there are several grades, designated by 

 numbers, all being used for mechanical, surgical, and bathing purposes. Bahama and 

 Florida sponges are about equal in texture and value, but both are inferior to those of 

 the Mediterranean. The vessels employed in sponging are small, with crews of from six 

 to twelve men. About six weeks' provisions are taken on board, and they then coast along 

 the banks and reefs, where the water is shallow, and generally so clear that the sponges 

 are readily seen, and are brought to the surface by hooked poles or sometimes by diving. 

 When first brought up they are covered with a soft gelatinous substance as black as tar 

 and full of organic life, the sponge as we know being only the skeleton of the organism. 

 The day's catch is spread out on the deck so as to kill the mass of animal life, which, in 

 dying, emits a most unpleasant smell. Then the spongers go ashore and build a pen or 

 ' crawl ' of stakes close to the water's edge, so that the action of the tide may wash away the 

 black covering, in which it is aided by pounding the sponges with sticks. When this operation 

 is completed the sponges are strung upon small palmetto strips, three or four to a strip, which 



