66 WONDERS OF THE DEEP 



to a height of nearly ten feet. As these sponges have 

 no commercial value they are invariably left growing 

 undisturbed. 



In the Bahamas the sponge fisheries are carried on 

 entirely by the natives. The sponge fleet consists of 

 a variety of small vessels, and will often sail a distance 

 of ninety miles from the islands. Each boat has on 

 board a peculiar type of cooking box, in which the 

 food for the crew is prepared, and these cooking boxes, 

 it is strange to say, are exactly the same as those used 

 by the sailors of Columbus' time, over four hundred 

 years ago. They are filled with sand, on which a fire 

 is constructed. From twenty to thirty men, women, 

 and children make their homes on one of these boats 

 during the sponge season. A sponge fishing trip 

 usually lasts about six weeks. 



The native fishermen are each provided with a 

 bucket having a glass bottom, and a thirty-foot 

 grappling-pole containing a set of strong iron hooks 

 at the end. The position of the sponge is located 

 through the bucket, and then the fisherman seizes 

 it by means of his grappling-pole. Sometimes the 

 roots of the sponge run through the bed of the 

 sea for some distance, and then the native has the 

 greatest difficulty in tearing away a portion of 

 the sponge. While this is being done a number of 

 different kinds of fish gather round the spot, 

 anxiously waiting to seize any food that they can 

 find as soon as the sponge has been torn away. 



In some parts of the sponge beds the divers 

 descend to the ocean floor and tear the sponges off. 



