8 



It runs as follows : — 



" Having now related, all that we know of the natural riehes of the land of 

 " Ceylon, we shall describe those which its sea produces. The pearls which arc procured 

 " from the coasts of the island, and more especially from Aripo, are of the highest value. 

 " As few persons know how that fishery is conducted, we shall here relate what we 

 '•'• know of it. 



" At the beginning of March there assemble on that coast 4,000 or 5,000 boats 

 "got together and paid by Moorish or Heathen merchants and by some Christians.* 

 c; These merchants have many partnerships among themselves, and they first make up 

 " a fund to arm four, five or six boats, more or less, according as the entire adventure 

 " is greater or smaller. Each of these boats has generally from ten to twelve sailors, 

 " one master and eight or nine divers. All the boats go out together, and seek where 

 " the fishery is likely to be most profitable : and they anchor at the spots where the 

 " sea is only five, six or at most seven fathoms deep. Then they send off three boats 

 " to a league distant round about, each in a different direction ; each of these boats 

 " brings back a thousand oysters. These are opened in presence of the merchants and 

 " the pearls found in them are examined by the whole party and their value estimated, 

 " as the pearls are much finer in some years than in others; and accordingly as the 

 " merchants find the pearls to be large, clear, round and of good water, they bargain 

 " with the King for the fishery of that year. When the bargain is made the King 

 " usually gives them four vessels of war to defend them from the Malabar and other 

 "pirates. Then each merchant goes to the sea-side and constructs a sort of enclosure 

 " with stake and thorns, only leaving a narrow passage for the boats to enter and go 

 " out again, which come there to discharge the oysters they have fished up. 



" On the 11th of March, at four in the morning, the officer in command of the 

 " four vessels of war fires a gun as a signal, and immediately all the boats put off to 

 " sea, steering for the place which they have selected to fish at and casting anchor 

 "there. Each of these boats has on board stones of the weight of 60 lb. each, 

 " fastened with strong ropes, of which one end is attached to the boat. The diver 

 " places his foot on one of the stones, and passes another rope round his body, to which 

 " is tied a basket or a small woven bag like a net ; this second rope is held by two of the 

 " sailors, and the diver thus secured descends into the sea ; he remains there whilst 

 " two credos can be said, and fills his little bag or basket with oysters which he 

 " sometimes finds in heaps on the rocks ; as soon as his basket is full, he makes a sign 

 " by pulling the rope held by the sailors in the boat, and one end of which is round his 

 " waist, and they draw him quickly out of the water ; but if in the time he is below, 

 " he can contrive to open an oyster and finds a pearl in it, it is considered his own ; f 

 " as soon as his head is above water another diver goes down, and thus they descend 

 " by turns. This fishery lasts till four in the afternoon, when the officer in command 

 " fires another gun as a signal to cease the fishery for the day. Then all the boats go 

 " to their several enclosures, and the noise and confusion that ensue in the two hours 

 " that are allowed to discharge and pile up the oysters cannot be described. 



" Besides the people belonging to the boats the children of the neighbourhood 

 " never fail to assemble at the sea-side, offering their services, rather however to steal 

 " the oysters than to assist the sailors or merchants. As soon as the boats are 

 " unloaded they put to sea again, and go about half a league higher up by the sea-side, 

 " where the merchants assemble and hold a splendid fair ; there are magnificent tents 

 " aud all sorts of merchandise of the most valuable kind are to be had there, as vendors 

 " come from all parts of the world. Heathens, Jews, Christians and Moors, all have 

 " some speculation for profit ; some sell by wholesale, others by retail ; the sailors and 

 " children bring the pearls which they have stolen, and people of every kind have 

 " bargains to offer. Persons having but a small capital buy small ventures, which 

 " they immediately sell to larger merchants with a middling profit ; not only pearls 

 ' : are bought and sold, but jewellery of every kind, bargold, dollars, fine Turkey 

 " carpets, and beautiful stuffs from India. 



* An escort of armed men always accompanies the pearl divers, on account of the Malahars, who come from the coast 

 of that name or from the Maldives, and who live by piracy, so that no buat, canoe or prahu is tafein those seas. The 

 fishers or divers cease their work at i oon, on account of the swell caused by the wind, and which annoys the divers, who 

 can only descend in calm weather. (Note by the French translator.) 



t Uhis is an error in translation and in fact. In translation from the original Portuguese it reads, "the diver as 

 soon as he rises to the surface is at liberty, until he who is at the bottom of the sea aeeends, to open with a Inife as many 

 oysters as he can and whatever he finds therein is his." 



