Seale: Shells of Mindanao and Sulu 



257 



company. On May 5, 1914, a Japanese member of the company 

 gave me a list which showed the number of boats as thirty-one. 

 The actual number of boats operating through the Jolo custom- 

 house that claim to belong to this company is thirty-five. When 

 I visited these boats and asked each capatas who owned the 

 boat, each gave the name of the individual Japanese and not one 

 gave the Sulu Pearling Company as owners. I quote the fol- 

 lowing from a local newspaper : 



The Ohta Development Company have combined with the Sulu Pearling 

 Company, taking over the latter company which gives the Ohta Development 

 Company 46 pearling boats. — Mindanao Herald of May 23, 191Jt. 



COST OF OPERATING A PEARLING BOAT 



Statements of the cost of operating a pearling boat were se- 

 cured from most of the principal pearlers. These statements 

 ranged from 250 to 450 pesos for one month. 



Average cost of operating a pearling boat. 



Item. 



Per 

 month. 



Per 

 year. 





Pesos. 

 85 

 40 

 •20 

 b25 

 65 

 140 



1,020 

 480 

 240 

 300 

 780 



360 

 140 

 200 

 90 

 150 

 500 

 250 





I diver 





















Half cost of saila . . 













Total 







C6.190 







• Plus 8 per cent of the shell. 

 " For three months. 



<= One pearler insisted on adding the following: Loss of advance, 350 pesos ; burial expenses, 

 100 pesos ; and loss of time. 



The amount paid to the diver is from 20 to 40 pesos per month, 

 with from 8 to 10 per cent of the shells as a bonus. Some owners 

 pay 300 pesos extra for each ton of shells, some pay 20 centavos 

 extra for each shell, some allow the diver 10 pesos per picul for 

 shells and 10 per cent of the pearls. Almost all allow a share in 

 the pearls, ranging from 7 to 12 per cent. All are allowed 



