When I discovered the Indies, I said that they composed the richest country in the world. I spake of gold and pearls and precious stones, and the traffic that might be carried on in them.

The Caribbean Sea furnishes one of the most interesting chapters in the history of the pearl fisheries. In no region of the world have these resources caused more rapid exploitation or affected the inhabitants to a greater extent than on the shores of Venezuela.

Before the discovery of America, the natives of this region collected pearls from the mollusks which they opened for food in times of necessity, and also sought them for ornamental purposes. And although they had large collections which they used for personal ornamentation and for decorating their temples, it does not appear that they prized them extravagantly, readily bartering them for small returns.

In Columbus’s account of his third and fourth voyages to America, he repeatedly refers to pearls. On the third voyage, in 1498, after passing the mouth of the Orinoco River, he entered the Gulf of Paria, where the natives “came to the ship in their canoes in countless numbers, many of them wearing pieces of gold on their breasts, and some with bracelets of pearls on their arms; seeing this I was much delighted and made many inquiries with the view of learning where they found them. They replied that they were to be procured in their own neighborhood and also at a spot to the northward of that place. I would have remained here, but the provisions of corn, and wine, and meats, which I had brought out with so much care for the people whom I had left behind, were nearly wasted, so that all my anxiety was to get them into a place of safety, and not to stop for anything. I wished, however, to get some of the pearls that I had seen, and with that view sent the boats on shore. I inquired there also where the pearls were obtained. And they likewise directed me to the westward and also to the north behind the country they occupied. I did not put this information to the test, on account of the provisions and the weakness of my eyes and because the ship was not calculated for such an undertaking.”

In his letter to one of the queen’s attendants, written in 1500, Columbus says, in justification of his conduct toward his miserable detractors: “I believed that the voyage to Paria would in some degree pacify them because of the pearls and the discovery of gold in the island of Española. I left orders for the people to fish for pearls, and called them together and made an agreement that I should return for them, and I was given to understand that the supply would be abundant.”

And again in the same letter, after speaking of a quantity of gold which mysteriously disappeared when Governor Bobadilla sent him and his brothers loaded with chains to Spain, he says: “I have been yet more concerned respecting the affair of the pearls, that I have not brought them to their Majesties.... Already the road is opened to gold and pearls, and it may surely be hoped that precious stones, spices, and a thousand other things will also be found.”

A more detailed account of Columbus’s pearling adventures, and of the subsequent discoveries and explorations on the Caribbean coast is given by Francisco Lopez de Gomara in his “Historia general de las Indias,” published in 1554, of which the following is a literal translation slightly abridged:

Since there are pearls on more than four hundred leagues of this coast between Cape Vela and the Gulf of Paria, before we proceed farther it is proper to say who discovered them. In the third voyage made by Christopher Columbus to the Indies, in 1498, having reached the island of Cubagua, which he called “Isle of Pearls,” he sent a boat with certain sailors to seize a boat of fishermen, to learn what people they were and for what they were fishing. The sailors reached the shore where the Indians had landed and were watching. A sailor broke a dish of Malaga ware and went to trade with them and to look at their catch, because he saw a woman with a string of rough pearls (aljofar) on her neck. He made an exchange of the plate for some strings of rough pearls, white and large, with which the sailors returned highly delighted to the ships. To assure himself better, Columbus ordered others to go with buttons, needles, scissors, and fragments of the same Valencian earthenware, since they seemed to prize it. These sailors went and brought back more than six marcs (forty-eight ounces) of rough pearls, large and small, with many good pearls among them. Said Columbus then to the Spaniards: “We are in the richest country of the world. Let us give thanks to the Lord.” They wondered at seeing all those rough pearls so large, for they had never seen so many, and could not contain their delight. They understood that the Indians did not care much for the small ones, either because they had plenty of large ones, or because they did not know how to pierce them.

Columbus left the island and approached the land, where many people had collected along the shore, to see if they also had pearls. The shore was covered with men, women, and children, who came to look at the ships, a strange thing for them. Many Indians presently visited the ships, went on board and stood amazed at the dress, swords, and beards of the Spaniards, and the cannon, tackle, and arms of the ship. Our people crossed themselves, and were delighted to see that all those Indians wore pearls on their necks and wrists. Columbus asked by signs where they fished them, and they pointed to the coast and island.

Columbus then sent to the shore two boats with many Spaniards, for greater certainty of those new riches, and because they importuned him. The chief took them to a place where there was a circular building that resembled a temple, where presently much bread and fruits of different kinds were brought. At the end of the feast he gave them pearls for sweetmeats, and took them afterward to the palace to see the women and the arrangement of the house. Of the numerous women there, not one was without rings of gold and necklaces of pearls. The Spaniards returned to the ships, wandering at such pearls and gold, and requested Columbus to leave them there. But he did not wish to do so, saying they were too few to settle. He hoisted sail and ran along the coast as far as Cape Vela, and from there came to Santo Domingo, with the intention of returning to Cubagua after regulating the affairs of the government. He suppressed the joy he felt at having found such treasures, and did not write to the king regarding the discovery of pearls, or at all events did not write it until it was already known in Castile. This was largely the cause for the anger of the king, and the order to bring Columbus a prisoner to Spain. They say that he did not so much intend to conceal this discovery from the king, who has many eyes, as that he thought by a new agreement to get this rich island for himself.

Of the sailors who went with Christopher Columbus when he found the pearls, the greater number were from Palos. As soon as these came to Spain, they told about the country of pearls, displayed many, and carried them to Seville to sell, whence they went to the court and into the palace. Excited by this report, some persons there hurriedly prepared a ship and made Pedro Alonso Niño its captain. He had from the Catholic king license to go in search of pearls and land, provided he should not go within fifty leagues of any discovered by Columbus.

Niño embarked in August, 1499, with thirty-three companions, some of whom had been with Columbus. He sailed as far as Paria, visited the coast of Cumana, Maracapan, Port Plechado, and Curiana, which lies united to Venezuela. There he landed, and a chief, who came to the coast with fifty Indians, conducted him amicably to a large town to take water, refreshments, and the barter he was in search of. He bartered for and secured fifteen ounces of pearls in exchange for pins, rings of horn and tin, glass beads, small bells, and similar trifles. The Spaniards stayed in the town twenty days, trading for pearls. The natives gave a pigeon for a needle, a turtledove for one glass bead, a pheasant for two, and a turkey for four. For that price they also gave rabbits and quarters of deer. The Indians asked to be shown the use of needles, since they went naked and could not sew, and were told to extract the thorns with them, for they went barefooted: Niño brought to Galicia ninety-six pounds of rough pearls, among which were many fine, round, lustrous ones of five and six carats, and some of more. But they were not well pierced, which was a great fault. On the route a quarrel arose over the division, and certain sailors accused Niño before the governor in Galicia, saying that he had stolen many pearls and cheated the king in his fifth, and traded in Cumana and other places where Columbus had been. The governor seized Niño, but did not keep him in prison very long, where he consumed pearls enough.^[270]

This expedition of Pedro Alonso Niño was the first financially profitable voyage to America. After his return, the Cubagua pearl fishery became the object of numerous speculations, and many other Spaniards fitted out voyages, most of them sailing from Hispaniola or Haiti, nine hundred miles distant. Owing to the ill-treatment of the Indians and excessive cruelties toward them, much difficulty was experienced in securing divers. This was relieved in 1508 by transporting large numbers of Indians from the Lucayan or Bahama Islands and impressing them into the service. These were so expert in the work that individuals sold for upward of 150 ducats each.^[271] With their aid the fishery prospered so greatly that in 1515 a settlement, called New Cadiz, was established on Cubagua Island by the governor of Hispaniola, Diego Columbus, son of the discoverer. This small island was dry and desolate, without water or wood, which were brought from the mainland twenty miles distant, or from Margarita Island about three miles to the northward.

An interesting description of the manner of securing the pearls by these early adventurers was given by Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes (1478–1557) in his “Historia natural y general de las Indias,” written less than thirty years after the discovery of the mainland of America. A translation of this book was published in 1555 by Richard Eden in his “Decades of the New World”; from which we extract the following account, the retention of Eden’s quaint phraseology seeming permissible owing to this being one of the very earliest books on America.

Of the maner of fyshynge for perles

The Indians exercise this kynde of fyschynge for the moste parte in the coastes of the North in Cubagua and Cumana. And manye of theym which dwell in the houses of certeyne particular lordes in the Ilandes of San Dominico and Sancti Iohannis, resort to the Ilande of Cubagua for this purpose. Theyr custome is to go fyve, syxe, or seven, or more in one of theyr Canoas or barkes erly in the mornynge to sume place in the sea there about where it appeareth unto them that there shulde bee greate plentie of those shell fyshes (which sume caule muscles and sume oysters) wherein perles are engendered. And there they plonge them selves under the water, even unto the bottome, savynge one that remaynethe in the Canoa or boate which he keepeth styll in one place as neare as he can, lookynge for theyr returne owte of the water. And when one of them hath byn a good whyle under the water, he ryseth up and commeth swymmynge to the boate, enterynge into the same, and leavynge there all the oysters whiche he hath taken and brought with hym. For in these, are the perles founde. And when he hathe there rested hym selfe a whyle, and eaten parte of the oysters, he returneth ageyne to the water, where he remaynethe as longe as he can endure, and then ryseth ageyne, and swimmeth to the boate with his pray, where he resteth hym as before, and thus continueth course by course, as doo all the other in lyke maner, being all moste experte swymmers and dyvers. And when the nyght draweth neare, they returne to the Ilande to theyr houses, and presente all the oysters to the master or stewarde of the house of theyr lorde who hath charge of the sayde Indians. And when he hath gyven them sumwhat to eate, he layeth up the oysters in safe custodie untyll he have a great quantitie thereof. Then hee causeth the same fyssher men to open them. And they fynde in every of them pearles other great or smaul, two or three or foure, and sumtymes five and syxe, and many smaule graines accordyng to the lyberalitie of nature. They save the pearles bothe smaule and great whiche they have founde: And eyther eate the oysters if they wyl, or caste them away, havynge so great quantitie thereof that they in maner abhorre them. Those oysters are of hard fleshe, and not so pleasant in eatyng as are owres of Spayne. This Ilande of Cubagua where this manner of fysching is exercised, is in the Northe coaste, and is no bygger then the Iland of Zelande. Oftentymes the sea encreaseth greatly, and muche more then the fyshers for pearles wold, bycause where as the place is very depe, a man can not naturally rest at the bottome by reason of the aboundaunce of aery substannce whiche is in hym, as I have oftentymes proved. For althoughe he may by vyolence and force descende to the bottome, yet are his feete lyfted up ageyne so that he can continue no tyme there. And therefore where the sea is verye deepe, these Indian fyshers use to tye two great stoones aboute them with a corde, on every side one, by the weyght whereof they descend to the bottome and remayne there untyl them lysteth to ryse ageine: At which tyme they unlose the stones, and ryse uppe at their pleasure. But this their aptenesse and agilitie in swimming, is not the thynge that causeth men moste to marvaile: But rather to consyder how many of them can stande in the bottome of the water for the space of one hole houre and summe more or lesse, accordynge as one is more apte hereunto then an other. An other thynge there is whiche seemeth to me very straunge. And this is, that where as I have oftentymes demaunded of summe of these lordes of the Indians, if the place where they accustomed to fysche for pearles beynge but lyttle and narrowe wyll not in shorte tyme bee utterly without oysters if they consume them so faste, they al answered me, that although they be consumed in one parte, yet if they go a fyschynge in an other parte or on another coaste of the Ilande, or at an other contrary wynd, and continue fysshing there also untyll the oysters be lykewyse consumed, and then returne ageyne to the fyrste place, or any other place where they fysshed before and emptied the same in lyke maner, they find them ageine as ful of oysters as though they had never bin fysshed. Wherby we may judge that these oysters eyther remove from one place to an other as do other fysshes, or elles that they are engendered and encrease in certeyne ordinaire places. This Iland of Cumana and Cubagua where they fyshe for these perles, is in the twelfe degree of the part of the said coaste which inclineth toward the North.

The cupidity of the proprietors of the fishery led to most cruel treatment of the divers and, if the accounts of the time are to be relied upon, a large percentage of them died under the harsh regime. About 1515 the unfortunate natives obtained an earnest and influential advocate in Bartolomé de las Casas, who, in 1516, prevailed upon the youthful Charles V to decree that the fishery should be prosecuted only in summer, that the divers should not be required to work more than four hours a day where the depth exceeded six fathoms, that they should receive good nourishment and half a quart of wine daily, should have hammocks or beds in which to sleep, and should be provided with clothes to put on as soon as they left the water.^[272] And by later ordinances it was stipulated that death should be inflicted on any one forcing a free Indian to dive for pearls.

In 1528 the resources of Coche Island were exploited with so much success that within six months “1500 marcs (12,000 ounces) of pearls” were secured. Pearl banks were successively found at Porlamar, Maracapana, Curiano, and at various places on the coast from the Gulf of Paria to the Gulf of Coro, a distance of over five hundred miles, which became designated the “Pearl Coast.” For a number of years previous to 1530, the output exceeded in value 800,000 piastres annually, approximating one half the produce of the American mines at that time.^[273] It was largely these pearls that enriched the cargoes of many of those famous caravels that crossed the Atlantic to Spain. Indeed, for several decades, America was best known in continental Europe as the land whence the pearls came.

An interesting account of an early effort to use dredges in the Cubagua pearl fishery was given by Girolamo Benzoni, who had lived in America from 1542 to 1555, and was familiar with the conditions. He states:

“At the time the pearl fishery flourished on this island there came here one Louis de Lampugnan with an imperial license authorizing him to fish such quantities of pearls as he pleased within all the limits and bounds of Cubagua. This man set out from Spain with four caravels loaded with all the necessary provisions and munitions for such an enterprise, which some Spanish merchants furnished him. He had made a kind of rake, the fashion of which was such that in whatever part of the sea it was used, not an oyster would escape. At the same time he would have raked and drawn out all that bore pearls if he had not been disappointed. But the Spaniards in Cubagua all banded against him in the execution of his privilege. They said the emperor was too liberal with other people’s goods, and if he wished to give he might give his own as he wished. As for themselves they had conquered and kept that country with great labor and at the peril of their lives, and there were far better reasons why they should enjoy it than a stranger. Poor Lampugnan, seeing that his patents did not avail him the value of a straw, and at the same time not daring to return to Spain, partly through fear of being ridiculed and partly on account of the money he owed, was ruined. In fact, the business and its anxieties drove him crazy and he was exposed to the mockery of all the world as a lunatic. In the end, after dragging out five years in this miserable condition, he died in this isle of Cubagua.”^[274]

The average size of these pearls derived from the Venezuelan fisheries was small, specimens rarely exceeding twenty grains. In 1577, Urbain Chauveton wrote: “The pearls of Cubagua are mostly 2, 3, 4, and 5 carats. But the quantity of them is so great that the fifth part which is paid to the king of Spain yields every year the value of more than 15,000 ducats; this besides the frauds committed and the pearls which stick to the fingers of those who manage the business, and who pilfer the most beautiful in great numbers, sending them here and there for sale. They place themselves in great danger if the facts become known, but they do it all the same.”^[275]

The enormous demands made by the Spaniards soon had its effect on the resources, for Chauveton adds: “It is apparent they decrease and not so many are found as in the beginning. The reason for this is that the Spaniards are so eager to gather large quantities of them quickly that they are not content to use their divers to search for them in the depths of the sea, but they have conceived and invented I know not how many machines of rakes and drags to scrape up everything. In fact they have at times collected them all so that another could not be found, and have had to abandon their fishing for a considerable time to give the oysters a chance to lay their eggs and grow their pearls.”^[276]

The decrease noted by Chauveton was probably not very serious, for the Spanish historian, Jose de Acosta, reports that in 1581 he saw “the note of what came from the Indies for the king; there were 18 marcs of pearles, besides 3 caskets; and for private persons there were 1265 marcs, and besides them, 7 caskets not pierced, which heretofore we would have esteemed and helde for a lie.”^[277] Also the records show that in 1597 Spain received from the Venezuelan fisheries “350 pounds’ weight of pearls.” It is to be regretted that the Spaniards so frequently reported the yield of pearls by pounds’ weight, for—owing to the great variation in quality—this is about as unsatisfactory as to report the wealth of an individual by the pounds’ weight of his title-deeds or of his stock certificates. The value of “350 pounds of pearls” might have been anywhere from twenty thousand dollars to as many millions. Assuming that all were two grains each in weight and of good quality, the total value would approximate $600,000 according to the valuation of that period; and on a basis of eight grains each, it would be $9,600,000, or sixteen times as much. But as original parcels of pearls from the fisheries, these figures should be divided by three.

Following 1597, the productiveness of the Cubagua beds rapidly decreased. By acts of cruelty and oppression the Spaniards had converted the surviving Indians into deadly foes, ready to take advantage of any opportunity to avenge themselves on their oppressors, and thus terrifying the settlers into abandoning the enterprise. Early in the seventeenth century the development of mining resources in Mexico, Peru, etc., attracted the adventurous Spaniards. A considerable decrease in the value of pearls, brought about by the skilful manufacture of imitations at Venice, and elsewhere in southern Europe, also affected the prosperity of the fisheries. As a result of these combined influences, the output in Venezuela was greatly reduced, and it ceased long before the close of the following century. Thus ended an enterprise which, for a number of years, represented the greatest single industry of the European people on the American continent.

According to General Manuel Laudecta Rosales, the Venezuela archives contain no reference to any renewal of the fishery until early in the nineteenth century. At the time of Humboldt’s visit in 1799, the fishery was entirely neglected around the islands of Margarita, Cubagua, and Coche, and the only evidence of pearls was a few very insignificant ones picked up about Cumana and sold among the natives at a piaster per dozen.^[278]

After the overthrow of Spanish authority on this coast, Messrs. Rundell, Bridge and Rundell, a firm of well-known goldsmiths of London, obtained, in 1823, from the government of Colombia, a ten-year monopoly of the fishery at several places on the coast of the new republic, in consideration of one fifth of the pearls secured.^[279] After the independence of Venezuela in 1829, the taxes imposed were so heavy that the industry languished, and about 1833 it was practically abandoned.

Owing to the improved physical condition of the reefs, the fishery developed largely in 1845; and for several years an average of 1600 ounces of pearls were secured, an ounce of good quality selling for 150 to 500 bolivars (one bolivar = 19½ cents), and the inferior quality at 80 to 100 bolivars.^[280] At that time there was a tax of sixteen bolivars per boat monthly. In 1853 this was increased to forty-eight bolivars per boat, and the use of dredges (arrastras) was interdicted, soon reducing the fishery to a very low stage. Subjected to frequent changes in regulations, and burdened by heavy taxes, the industry remained in poor condition until about 1895. Since then the enhanced value of pearls, and the increased industrial activity on the coast, has resulted in a very large development of the fishery.

In recent years the government of Venezuela has granted concessions to individuals and to companies for the exploitation of defined areas for a limited period, exacting 10 per cent. royalty on the proceeds of the enterprise. In granting these concessions, the government usually reserves the right to examine the books, and to intervene when necessary in any phase of the enterprise. For protecting its revenue, the government requires that shipments of the pearls must be signed by its agent, and bills of sale must be countersigned by the Venezuelan consul in the place where the sales are consummated.

The Venezuelan pearl fishery now gives employment to about 350 boats, manned by five or six men each, sailing from the ports of Juan Griego, Cumana, and Carupano. These are sail craft, measuring from two to fifteen tons each, and are licensed by the Venezuelan authorities at a charge of 15 bolivars ($2.92) each. Most of the boats use dredges, but some of them resort to nude diving, after the manner of the sixteenth century. Attempts have been made to use the scaphander, or diving armor, but without success, owing largely to the difficulty in obtaining experienced workmen, and also to local prejudice against this form of fishery. It is claimed that in using the scaphander, all oysters are removed from the reefs, whereas the arrastra or dredge spreads the oysters and thereby enlarges the reefs. This is the principal and, except those at Sharks Bay and the Sulu Islands, the only important pearl fishery in which the oysters are secured by means of dredges. These are made of iron and are similar to those implements used in the scallop fisheries of New York and Rhode Island. They are dragged over the beds, and when filled are lifted and their contents emptied into the boat, the fishermen culling out the desirable oysters from the mass and throwing the refuse material overboard.

The pearl-oyster (Margaritifera radiata) secured on the coast of Venezuela is closely related to the Ceylon species. It averages slightly larger in size, and there is a much greater range in coloration. The pearls are of good quality. In color they range from white to bronze, and occasionally a so-called black one is found. The total output is valued locally at about 1,750,000 francs ($350,000) per year. Most of them are sold in Paris.

Owing to their small size and lack of thickness, the shells of the Venezuela pearl-oyster are of little or no value in the mother-of-pearl trade. Thousands of tons of them, the accumulations of scores of fisheries, lie in heaps and ridges along the coast, as though in years long past vast armies of oysters, engaged in deadly combat, had left their innumerable myriads of slain comrades to bleach on the shores.

THE PANAMA PEARL FISHERIES

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.

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]

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.

THE PEARL FISHERIES OF MEXICO