contribute
information to the pearl-dealer of the East.

The calm period of the northeast monsoon is gentleness itself by the
middle of February, and the Gulf of Manar is seldom more than rippled by
its zephyrs. The fishery begins then. For weeks the divers have been
arriving by craft of every conceivable type and rig. They are the
aristocrats of the camp, and as they roam bazaars and streets or
promenade the sea-front they are admired by coolies and peons as
bull-fighters would be in Spain.

[Illustration: THE LATE RANA OF DHOLPUR IN HIS PEARL REGALIA

This Indian prince is said to have owned pearls valued at seven and a
half millions of dollars, the accumulation, perhaps, of his ancestors
during several centuries]

Sturdy fellows they are, lithe of limb and broad of chest. Each brings a
tangle of pots and kettles, bags and bales, but wears nothing throughout
the fishery save a loin-cloth and now and then a turban denoting
nationality or caste. There were forty-five hundred of them in 1905, and
those from the Madras Presidency were the backbone of the enterprise.
Nearly half the divers were registered from Kilakari, and hundreds came
from the tip end of India. The men from Tuticorin were of the Parawa
caste, and those hailing from Paumben were Moormen. The only Ceylon city
contributing divers was Jaffna, whose men were of the fisher caste, said
to be descendants of Arabs who settled sixty years ago at Jaffna. The
divers coming the greatest distance were the negroes and Arabs from Aden
and the Persian Gulf, most of whom landed at Colombo from trading
steamers, and made their way by small boat or bullock hackery to the
Cadjan City. These fellows have few equals as divers, but the
administrative officers of the camp always fear that they will come into
conflict with the police or launch a war in the name of Mohammed against
the Hindus or Cingalese. Consequently, only a limited number are allowed
to take part in the fishery.

An amusing incident was furnished last season by the arrival of a diver
of some renown in India, who had participated profitably in several
fisheries. Accompanied by his "manduck," the fellow had crossed from
Paumben as a deck passenger on a British India steamer. When the vessel
was anchored, the diver summoned a rowboat to take himself and traps
ashore. Wearing nothing but loin-cloth and turban, the man descended the
side-steps an example of physical perfection, and so thoroughly smeared
with