The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear[[85]]
to run their course of existence and decay unseen and unknown. Perishable while in the seas, almost as cereals and fruits on land, the harvest must be gathered with promptness or it is wasted. And it seems probable that only a small percentage of the beautiful gems produced in the waters have gladdened the sight of man.
With considerable hesitancy we have attempted to estimate the number of persons employed in the pearl fisheries of the world, and the aggregate local value of their catch. For two or three regions, this is not a matter of great difficulty. For instance, the divers employed in the Ceylon fishery are numbered each season, and the auction sales of their catch furnish a reasonably satisfactory basis for determining the value of the output. Likewise in Australia, Venezuela, and some minor localities, the fishermen are numbered; but the reports are less satisfactory as to the value of the pearls. In the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Gulf of California, and the islands of the Pacific, where pearl-diving is a profession and a regular source of livelihood, the number of employees is fairly constant. But in the rivers and ponds of America, as well as of Europe and of Asia, where neither experience nor costly equipment is required for the industry, and pearls to the value of very many thousands of dollars are obtained by men, women, and even children, on pleasure bent, as well as in the widely fluctuating professional fisheries, the problem is far more difficult.
Contending with these many difficulties, we venture to present the following estimate of the number of persons employed in the pearl fisheries of the world, and the value of the output in 1906.
| Localities. | Fishermen No. | Pearls Local Values. | Shells Local Values. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asia: | ||||
| Persian Gulf | 35,000 | $4,000,000 | $110,000 | |
| Ceylon[[86]] | 18,500 | 1,200,000 | 40,000 | |
| India | 1,250 | 100,000 | 95,000 | |
| Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, etc.[[87]] | 3,000 | 200,000 | 150,000 | |
| China, Japan, Siberia, etc. | 20,000 | 400,000 | 50,000 | |
| Total | 77,750 | $5,900,000 | $445,000 | |
| Europe: | ||||
| British Isles | 200 | 15,000 | ||
| Continent of Europe | 1,000 | 100,000 | 3,000 | |
| Total | 1,200 | $115,000 | $3,000 | |
| Islands of the Pacific: | ||||
| South Sea islands | 4,500 | 125,000 | 500,000 | |
| Australian coast[[88]] | 6,250 | 450,000 | 1,200,000 | |
| Malay Archipelago | 5,000 | 300,000 | 800,000 | |
| Total | 15,750 | $875,000 | $2,500,000 | |
| America: | ||||
| United States rivers | 8,500 | 650,000 | 350,000 | |
| Venezuela | 1,900 | 275,000 | 10,000 | |
| Mexico | 1,250 | 210,000 | 200,000 | |
| Panama | 400 | 40,000 | 75,000 | |
| Miscellaneous | 1,000 | 75,000 | 25,000 | |
| Total | 13,050 | $1,250,000 | $660,000 | |
| Grand total | 107,750 | $8,140,000 | $3,608,000 | |
Our returns do not represent the annual output of pearls in the values best known to gem buyers. The difference in price between pearls in the fisherman’s hands in the Persian Gulf or at the Pacific islands, and that for which they are exchanged over the counters in New York or Paris, is nearly as great as the difference in value of wool on the sheep’s back and of the same material woven into fashionable fabrics. For each dollar received by the fisherman, the retail buyer probably pays three; and it is not unreasonable to suppose that the pearls herein represented probably sold ultimately for an aggregate of $24,420,000.
This summary falls far short in giving a correct idea of the importance of the pearl fisheries in furnishing a livelihood to humanity; for it takes no consideration of that great body of men who contribute incidentally to the prosecution of the fisheries, such as shell-openers, pearl-washers, watchmen, cooks, laborers, etc. In the Ceylon pearl fishery of 1906, for instance, our estimate shows 18,500 fishermen; but there were 40,000 persons engaged at the pearl camp alone, and many others were given employment in boat-building, supplying provisions, selling the pearls, etc., and this does not include the wives and children depending on the industry for sustenance. Indeed, it seems not unreasonable to estimate that instead of only the 18,500 fishermen, 85,000 persons were in a large measure dependent for their livelihood on the Ceylon fishery in 1906.
Estimated on the same basis, we have a total of 500,000 persons depending largely on the pearl fisheries of the world for their support. Thus we see that pearl buyers and pearl wearers not only gratify a commendable admiration for the beautiful, but contribute largely to the economic balance whereby one class of humanity either sustains or is dependent upon another, even though these classes be so widely separated as the crown of Russia from the half-starved diver of the tropical seas. How strange is the providence of God, who, by granting the pearl to the poor Arab, the Tamil of India, the South Sea Islander, and the forgotten Selang of Mergui, makes the greatest and wealthiest in the world contribute to their support.
VI
PEARLS FROM ASIA