In the kingdom of Denmark no pearl fisheries are now prosecuted, but three centuries ago the gems were taken in the Kolding Fjord in the province of Veile, Jutland. The great Holberg, who ranks first in Danish literature, wrote that the governor of the castle at Kolding employed as a pearl fisherman a Greenlander who had come to Denmark in 1605 or 1606, and who “had given the governor to understand that in his native land he was accustomed to fish for pearls.” Being required to work continuously, both winter and summer, he fell ill and died, and as no one else wished to pursue the occupation, the fishery ceased.[[225]]
In many of the Norwegian brooks, pearl fishing has been carried on for two or three centuries, and often with satisfactory results. It appears from ordinances dated November 10, 1691, May 14, 1707, and May 28, 1718, that the fisheries were under special supervision as a royal prerogative of the queen of Denmark.[[226]] Jahn notes that in 1719 and in 1722, Saxon pearl fishermen were sent for. In 1734 Charles VI of Denmark requested the elector of Saxony to send one of the pearl fishermen of Vogtland to examine the brooks of Norway in reference to the pearl resources, and to determine the practicability of establishing fisheries there. In response to this request, C. H. Schmerler was sent to Copenhagen and thence to Christiania, where he began an investigation of the Norwegian waters, the governor himself attending at the beginning of the work. So great was the estimation of its importance, that Schmerler was soon afterward received in audience by the king and queen of united Denmark and Norway at Frederiksborg palace near Copenhagen, and was awarded a gift of one hundred ducats and a life-pension.[[227]]
In 1751, according to Pontoppidan, Bishop of Bergen, the Norwegian pearl fisheries were placed under the jurisdiction of the diocese of Christiansand. Among the principal pearling regions at that time were the Gon, Närim and Quasim rivers in the Stavanger district or amt; the Undol, Rosseland and other brooks in the Lister and Mandal province; and several streams in the district of Nadenäs.[[228]]
The returns from the Norwegian fisheries gradually decreased. After 1768 the rights were leased, and the revenue therefrom was paid into the royal treasury. Owing to small returns, this source of revenue received less and less attention, and about a century ago it was altogether neglected, although from time to time choice finds were made. Due to unusually low water in 1841, a number of valuable pearls were found near Jedderen in the province of Christiansand, some selling as high as $300 each; several of these were shown at the London Industrial Exhibition by the diocese of Christiania.
PANAGIA OR ORNAMENT WORN ON THE BREAST OF A BISHOP IN RUSSIA
The pearl fisheries of Sweden were noted, nearly four centuries ago, by Olaus Magnus, Archbishop of Upsala.[[229]] The gems were sought for by expert fishermen in the interior districts, and were brought in large quantities to the coasts for sale, the women and girls of all classes, rich and poor, using them extensively in personal decoration.
The celebrated Linnæus left a detailed account of the method by which mussels were caught in Sweden nearly two centuries ago. He wrote: “In the summer season, if the water is shallow, the fishermen wade in the stream and gather the mussels with their hands. Should the water be deeper, they dive for the mussels and place such as they find in a vessel made of birch bark, which they carry with them. Sunny days are selected, because then they can see deeper into the water. But, should this not suffice, they traverse the river on rafts which are painted white beneath so that the bed of the stream may be illumined by the reflected light. The men lie prone on the rafts and look down into the depths so that they may immediately seize with wooden tongs the mussels which they discover. Or else, hanging by their hands to the rafts, they seize them in the water with their toes. If the water is too deep even for this, they dive and feel around on the bottom with their hands until it becomes necessary to rise again to the surface in order to breathe. However, out of a hundred mussels, scarcely one contains a good pearl; but sometimes as many as twenty pearls of the size of a grain of sand are found in one shell. Many of the larger pearls are reddish or dark, but occasionally a beautiful white pearl is hidden under such a covering; although, naturally, it is rare that this is altogether perfect. It has been noted that mussels seven years old contain pearls; and in each of two mussels eighteen years old, a pearl was found attached to the shell.”[[230]]
The list of streams in Sweden from which pearls were taken, as noted by Olaf Maimer, J. Fischerstein, and Gissler[[231]] a century and a half ago, seems to cover nearly all the rivers and brooks which flow from the mountains of this beautiful country.
In Russia the love for the pearl has been almost as great as in Persia and India. During the Middle Ages, pearls were worn upon the clothes of nearly all well-to-do Russians. The great head-dresses of the women were ornamented with them; and they were used in decorating the stoles, vestments, crosses, and the priceless relics in the churches.