THE PANAMA PEARL FISHERIES
The bordring Ilands, seated here in ken,
Whose Shores are sprinkled with rich Orient Pearle,
More bright of hew than were the Margarets
That Caesar found in wealthy Albion.
Robert Greene, Orlando Furioso (1594).
From the point of view of the Spaniards of his day, the greatest result of Balboa’s immortal journey in 1513 across the Isthmus of Panama to the broad waters of the Pacific, was the discovery of the pearl resources of the Gulf of St. Michael, now known as the Gulf of Panama. Probably the best description of this is given by Lopez de Gomara in his “Historia general de las Indias,” published in 1554, from which we translate the following account.
After Balboa had reached the Pacific in 1513, he proceeded a short distance along the coast until he met with an Indian chief by the name of Tomaco. Being questioned about the gold and pearls which some of his people wore, Tomaco sent for some gold and 240 large pearls and a great number of small ones—a rich present, which filled the Spaniards with pleasure. Seeing the Spaniards so delighted, Tomaco ordered some of his men to go and fish for pearls. These went and in a few days obtained 64 ounces, which also he gave them. The Spaniards were surprised to see such pearls, and that their owners did not value them; they not only gave them away, but their paddles were decorated therewith, for the principal income and wealth of these chiefs was the pearl fishery. Tomaco told Balboa that these riches were nothing in comparison with those of Tararequi, which had pearls larger than a man’s eye, taken from oysters the size of sombreros. The Spaniards wished to go there at once, but fearing another tempest, left it for their return. They dismissed Tomaco and rested in the country of Chiape, who, at the request of Balboa, sent thirty of his men to fish. These did it in the presence of seven Spaniards, who looked on and saw them take six loads of small shells. As it was not the season for that fishery, they did not go into very deep water where the shells were. Not only did they not fish in September and the following months, but they did not even travel by water, on account of the stormy weather which then prevails in that sea. The pearls which they extracted from those shells were like peas, but very fine and white. Of those received from Tomaco, some were black, others green, blue, and yellow.
On the return of Balboa’s expedition to Darien in 1514, the sight of the pearls and the wonderful reports made by the men, caused his successor, Pedrarias, to fit out another expedition, an account of which we likewise translate from Gomara.
By command of Pedrarias, Gaspar de Morales went in the year 1515 to the Gulf of St. Michael, with 550 Spaniards, in quest of the island of Tararequi, which was said by Balboa’s men to be so abundant in pearls and so near the coast. The chief of that island sallied forth with many people to prevent his entrance, and clamored and fought three times with our people on equal terms, but the fourth time he was defeated. He then made friends, carried the chief of the Spaniards to his house, which was a large and good one, gave him food to eat, and a basket of pearls which weighed 110 marcs [880 ounces]. The chief received for them some looking-glasses, stringed beads, bells, scissors, axes, and small wares of barter, which he valued more than he had the pearls. He promised to give as tribute to the emperor, in whose guardianship he placed himself, 100 marcs of pearls every year. With these the Spaniards returned to the Gulf of St. Michael and from thence to Darien.
Tararequi is within five degrees of the equator. It possessed a great fishery for pearls, which are the largest and best of the new world. Many of the pearls which the cacique gave were like filberts, others like nutmegs, and there was one of 26 and another of 31 carats, pear-shaped, very lustrous, and most perfect, which Peter of the Port, a shop-keeper, bought of Gaspar de Morales for 12,000 castilians. The purchaser could not sleep that night for thinking on the fact that he had given so much money for one stone, and so he sold it the very next day to Pedrarias de Avila, for his wife Donna Isabel de Bovadilla, at the same price, and afterwards the Bovadilla sold it to Donna Isabella the Empress.
Pedrarias, who delighted in such fishery, requested the cacique to make his men fish for pearls in the presence of the Spaniards. The fishermen were great swimmers and divers, and seemed to have spent all their lives in that employment. They went in small boats when the sea was calm, and not in any other manner. They cast a stone for an anchor from each canoe, tied by strong, flexible withes like boughs of the hazel. They plunged to search for oysters each with a sack or bag at the neck, and returned loaded with them. They entered four, six, and even ten fathoms of water, for the shell is larger the deeper they go, and if at times the larger ones come in shallow water it is through storms, or because they go from one place to another in search for food, and having found their pasture they stay there until they have finished it. They perceive those who search for them, and stick so close to the rocks or ground, or one to another, that much strength is needed to detach them, and many times the fishermen cannot raise them and leave them, thinking they are stones. In this fishery many persons are drowned, either by remaining too long at the bottom, or because they become entwined or entangled in the cord, or such carnivorous fish as the shark devour them. This is the manner of fishing pearls in all the Indies, and many fishermen die from the dangers aforesaid, and from the excessive and constant labor, the little food, and the maltreatment they have. The emperor was led to enact a law among those whom Blasco Nunez Vela brought, which imposed the penalty of death upon him who should forcibly compel any free Indian to fish for pearls. He thought more of the lives of the men than of his interest in pearls, though they were of great value. The law was worthy of such a prince and of perpetual memory.[[281]]
CLARA EUGENIA, DAUGHTER OF PHILIP II
Painting by Gonzales, in the Galeria del Prado, Madrid Most of these pearls were doubtless from the early American fisheries
Gonzalo de Oviedo referred to the pearl resources of Panama in his “Historia natural de las Indias,” Toledo, 1526, mentioned in the chapter on pearl fisheries of Venezuela. After describing the resources of Cubagua and Cumana on the Venezuelan coast, he states, according to Eden’s quaint translation:
Lykewise pearles are founde and gathered in the South sea cauled mare del sur. And the pearles of this sea [the Caribbean coast] are verye bygge. Yet not so bigge as they of the Ilande of pearles cauled de las perlas, or Margaritea, whiche the Indians caule Terarequi, lying in the gulfe of saincte Michael, where greater pearles are founde and of greater price then in any other coaste of the Northe sea, in Cumana, or any other porte. I speake this as a trewe testimonie of syght, havyng byn longe in that South sea, and makynge curious inquisition to bee certenly informed of all that perteyneth to the fysshvnge of perles. From this Ilande of Tararequi, there was brought a pearle of the fasshyon of a peare, wayinge xxxi carattes, which Petrus Arias had amonge a thousande and soo many poundes weight of other pearles which hee had when capitayne Gaspar Morales (before Petrus Arias) passed to the saide Ilande in the yeare 1515, which pearle was of great prise. From the saide Ilande also, came a great and verye rounde pearle, whiche I brought owte of the sea. This was as bygge as a smaule pellet of a stone bowe, and of the weight of xxvi carattes. I boughte it in the citie of Panama in the sea of Sur: and paide for it syxe hundredth and fyftie tymes the weyght therof of good gold,[[282]] and had it thre yeares in my custodie: and after my returne into Spaine, soulde it to the erle of Nansao, Marquisse of Zenete, great chamberleyne to youre maiestie, who gave it to the Marquesse his wyfe, the ladye Mentia of Mendozza. I thyncke verely that this pearle was the greatest, fayrest, and roundest that hath byn seene in those partes. For youre maiestie owght to understande that in the coaste of the sea of Sur, there are founde a hundredth great pearles rounde after the fasshyon of peare, to one that is perfectly rounde and greate. This Iland of Terarequi which the Christians caule the Ilande of pearles, and other caule it the Ilande of floures, is founde in the eyght degree on the southe syde of the firme lande in the provynce of golden Castyle or Beragua. (Arber, “The First Three English Books on America,” Birmingham, 1885.)
In addition to the gems noted by Oviedo, these waters furnished many other beautiful pearls in the sixteenth century, and added largely to the collections of the Spanish court and of the cathedrals of Seville, Toledo, etc. The Italian traveler, Gemelli-Careri, who visited the Panama fisheries in 1697, reported that they yielded pearls equal to those of Ceylon. He mentioned one weighing 60 grains, for which the owner—a Jesuit priest—refused 70,000 pesos.[[283]]
In 1735, the Spanish admiral, Antonio de Ulloa visited the Panama pearl fisheries and wrote an extended description of them.[[284]] According to his account the pearls were then found in such plenty that there were few slaveholders in the vicinity who did not employ at least a portion of their Negroes in the fishery. These were selected for their dexterity in diving, and were sent to the islands in gangs of from eight to twenty men each, under the command of an overseer. They lived in temporary huts on the shore, and visited the pearl reefs in small boats. Anchoring in eight or ten fathoms of water, the Negroes would, dive in succession to the bottom, returning with as many oysters as possible. It was laborious work, attended with danger owing to the numerous sharks.
Every one of these Negro divers is obliged daily to deliver to his master a fixed number of pearls; so that when they have got the requisite number of oysters in their bag, they begin to open them, and deliver the pearls to the officer, till they have made up the number due to their master; and if the pearl be but formed, it is sufficient, without any regard to its being small or faulty. The remainder, however large or beautiful, are the Negro’s own property, nor has the master the least claim to them, the slaves being allowed to sell them to whom they please, though the master generally purchases them at a very small price.... Some of these pearls, though indeed but few, are sent to Europe, the greater part being carried to Lima, where the demand for them is very great, being not only universally worn there by all persons of rank, but also sent from thence to the inland portions of Peru.[[285]]
During the hundred years following, the pearl reefs of Panama were not very productive, and relatively little attention was paid to them. The development of a market for the shells in the mother-of-pearl trade, about 1840, enhanced the profits of the few natives engaged in pearling in a desultory manner, and led to an increase in the number of fishermen. During some years when industrial and market conditions were favorable, large quantities of shells were exported. In 1855, for instance, 650 tons of these shells were shipped to England alone, and in 1859 the reported quantity was 957 tons. Those from the Island of San José, one of the Pearl Archipelago, were said to be the largest and choicest in the bay. Many of them were used in decorating the twin towers of the stately old cathedral at Panama.
Since then the industry has fluctuated greatly, depending on the market for the shell. Many outsiders have experimented in the fishery, but most of these attempts have resulted in financial loss, through mismanagement, storms, sickness, or other causes. A story is told locally of a party of thirty men, principally from Scotland, who arrived at Panama equipped with a diving-bell and such necessary machinery as air-pumps, windlasses, etc. Much was expected of their operations, but soon yellow fever broke out among them, and within six weeks two thirds of the members of the party had died. The remaining members, becoming disheartened, and in fear of the dread disease, lost no time in leaving the country. The diving-bell and machinery remained for several years as a curiosity at Panama, for no one returned to claim them, nor has the use of similar apparatus been attempted since then.
The scattered pearl reefs extend from the east side of the Bay of Panama nearly to the Costa Rica boundary. However, this gives an exaggerated idea of their area, as much of this territory yields no pearl-oysters whatever. The principal reefs and the headquarters of the fishery are at Archipelago de las Perlas or Pearl Islands, which are from thirty to sixty miles southeast of the Pacific terminus of the projected Panama Canal. This archipelago contains sixteen small islands, on which are about twice that number of small settlements of Negro and Indian descendants, with a total population of perhaps one thousand. About half of these live on Isla del Rey, the largest island, about fifteen miles long and half that in width. The chief village, San Miguel, is the center of the pearling industry, and consists mostly of palm-thatched huts and a handsome stone church, more costly than all the remaining buildings of the town combined. While the soil is fertile and some vegetables are raised, the inhabitants depend almost wholly on the fisheries.
In 1901, the Republic of Colombia invited bids for the right to operate the pearl and coral fisheries for a term of fifteen years, but nothing seems to have come of it, and the establishment of the Panama Republic in 1903 terminated the authority of Colombia in these resources.
The Panama fisheries differ widely in their character from those of Venezuela. The mollusk is much larger, averaging about six inches in diameter when fully grown, thus furnishing a valuable quality of mother-of-pearl. The shell constitutes the principal object of the fishery; the pearls themselves are of incidental importance, but are always looked for and anxiously expected.
The season extends from May to November, with a rest during the remaining five months of the year. The fishery is open to natives and to foreigners alike. While the leading fishermen employ diving-suits, which were introduced here about 1890, nude diving is yet practised to a considerable extent, the men descending in eight or ten, and some even in twelve fathoms of water. There is no restriction whatever on the nude fishermen, but for each machine diver an annual license fee of $125 United States currency is exacted.
Owing to the low market price for Panama shell during recent years, the fishery has not been vigorously prosecuted, and it has even dwindled to low proportions. A letter from one of the leading pearling companies in Panama states that the machine divers number about twenty, while there are about four hundred nude fishermen; and another firm likewise prominent, estimates these fishermen at twenty and three hundred respectively.
Yet a third pearling company writes that there are fifteen machine divers and two hundred head divers; and adds that the small demand for this quality of mother-of-pearl has made the condition of the industry about as bad as it could be; many who have capital invested are getting out of the business, and unless the market improves, the industry may be abandoned. Probably with the introduction of new capital and methods in the infant republic, the pearl resources may receive greater attention and a large development ensue.
The Panama pearls are of good quality and frequently of large size. In color they range from white to green and lead-gray, and frequently greenish black. Valuable pearls are not common, but occasionally the fisherman is amply rewarded. A letter from the American consul at Panama states that in 1899 a native boy, fifteen years old, fishing in shallow water, as much for sport as for profit, found a pearl which he sold to a local speculator for 4000 silver dollars ($1760); this speculator delivered the same pearl to a dealer in Panama for 10,000 silver dollars ($4400), and an offer of 30,000 francs was refused for it later in Paris. A pearl worth $2400 was reported as found within half a mile of the steamship anchorage at Panama. A pearl from a giant oyster resembling Tridacna, was an absolute egg-shape, pure cocoanut white, and weighed 169 grains; it was 21 mm. at the longest and 16.5 mm. at the narrowest part. The surface showed very distinctly a wavy structure, occasionally with a tiny, brighter central point; the surface under the glass resembling a honeycomb network. At the smallest point there was a radiated center with quite a brilliant field. It was worth only $100.
Not always, however, does the poor, ignorant fisherman receive the full value of his find; and many a story is told of some thoughtless improvident native, who, for less than a mess of pottage, “like the base Indian, threw a pearl away, richer than half his tribe.”
Most of the Panama pearls are sold in Paris, relatively few of them coming to America direct. This is not because of any greater estimation of them in Paris or higher prices obtained; but the trade relation has been long continued and the credits are well established. From Paris many of these pearls reach the American market.