152 Pearls. 



locally as " cock-eyed bobs ;" they come off the 

 shore and last from half an hour to four hours. The 

 wind, heated by passing over the scorched plains, is 

 very trying, parching the skin and burning the 

 nostrils ; this wind is very furious, and the vessels 

 at anchor, even with top masts on deck, heel over 

 as far as scuppers under before they can swing to 

 it. In one squall in Roebuck Bay nine anchors 

 were lost, and various quantities of chain, most of 

 the dingies being miles away from their ships at 

 the time ; whilst two vessels were cruising about 

 close reefed, having lost both anchors, and waiting 

 for the squall to pass to borrow others. 



On average ground, a diver does a fair day's 

 work if he finds one *^ pair " of shells in eight dives, 

 but two or three pairs are frequently brought up 

 at once, and even five, the man carrying two in 

 each hand and one under his arm. His daily "take'' 

 averages from ten to twenty five pairs, but a diver 

 has been known to get one hundred in a single 

 day. In the "Dawn" in 1882, the best day's take 

 was 2,320 pairs to '^J men ; and in 1883, the highest 

 tally was 840 pairs to 42 men on the same ground ; 

 350 pairs being the lowest. This plainly shows the 

 exhausting effect of a season's fishing. 



From December to March the sea is rough, 

 and the white man's task of sculling the dingy all 



