400 AN ACCOUNT GF THE 



thofe who fall fick many die, and many more return 

 home with fevers, fluxes, or other equally fatal dis- 

 orders. 



The many difappointments, ufually experienced by 

 the lower clafTes of men in particular, make them of- 

 ten repent of their coining here. They are often 

 ruined, as they rifk all they are worth to purchafe 

 pearl (hells ; however, there are many inftances of 

 their making a fortune beyond all expectation. A 

 particular circumltance of this kind fell within my 

 own obfervation : a day labourer bought three 

 oyfters * for a copper fanam (about the value of two- 

 pence) and was lb fortunate as to find one of th& 

 largeft pearls which the fifhery produced this feafon. 



The clonies appointed for the fiihery are not all 

 p:ocured at Ceylon-, many came from the coafts of 

 Coromandtl and Malabar, each of which has its dif- 

 tinguifhmg number. About ten o'clock at night a 

 gun is fired as a iignal, when they fail from Con- 

 datcliey with an eafterly or land wind, under the di- 

 rection of a pilot. If the wind continues fair, they 

 reach the bank before day, and begin diving at fun 

 rife, which they continue till the weft or lea breeze 

 fets in, with which they return. The moment they 

 appear in light, the colours are hoiftcd at the flag 

 fiaft, and in the afternoon they come to an anchor, 

 io that the owners of the boats are thereby enabled to 

 get their cargoes out before night, which may amount 

 o.ooo oyfters, if the divers have been active and 

 fuccefsful. 



Each boat carries twenty-one men and five heavy 

 diving ftones for the ufe of ten divers, who are called 



* The Eajl India pearl flieU, is well known to be the matrix f>ir~ 



nirurn (m :arl) of Rumphius, or the Mytilus margariti-. 



fcrus of Linnbus ; consequently the general term pearl oyfter muft 



he erroneous ; ;. , as it has long been in n ufe, I 



hope to b« excufed for continuing it. 



