Pearl Shell

Industry Revived in French Oceania

Prom Our Own Correspondent

Papeete, Dec 4

FOR the first time in fifty years or more the pearl fishing grounds of the Tuamotu archipelago are open for unrestricted winning of mother-of pearl shell.

Indeed, so diminished had the world market for this commodity become, dur ing recent years, that little or no diving had been carried on for a long period In normal times, only one lagoon at a time was open for diving, and that of one of the large atolls. Hikuero. Takume or Makemo. Now we have shell from islands seldom heard of in the past— Marutea, Katiu, Takapoto and others.

Were the duchess or Mrs. Traohagen (wife of the popular pork packer of Council Bluffs) aware of the nerils of pearl diving, they might value each bauble of the string they wear about their throats as a DSO, or other symbol of valor. Diving machines are not allowed in the Tuamotu lagoons. Anv native may go down into the deaths and whatever he brings up—be it shell or a pearl worth a king’s ransom—is his per sonal property.

The adventure is far from easv. The diver must be sturdy and deen of chest for the shell lie at great depths, and he must stay down to grope for his treasure far beyond the endurance of ordinary mortals. If he escapes the dangers of the deep—the prowling shark, the lurking octopus, the savage conger-eel, Tridacna traps, or stinging hydrozoa—naralysis awaits him at the end of the road, should he persist long in deep-water diving.

The pearl oysters are always opened at the fishing grounds and the flesh (which contains the spawn), after care ful search for pearls, is cast into the water. Had this procedure been followed in the Gambier Islands in the early davs of near! fishing, that vast lagoon would stul be one of the richest sources of wealth in the South Seas.

Many exquisite pearls were taken from the Gambier lagoon. The largest and most beautiful of all was set in the tabernacle of the high altar in the vast church on Mangareva.

Whether the gem now there is the true original pearl of great price or a clever imitation—installed to conceal the rape of the original jewel—is a riddle which has remained unanswered, after many years of discussion and speculation.

Pearl shell is again in request, for some purpose or other not revealed to us. re y ived market for shell and higher returns for copra have rescued the people of the Tuamotu atolls from a pretty grim state of privation On November 30. copra in Papeete was S 6 l a in f fr ’ 10 per kilo > and Pearl shell at 10 francs per kilo. fi^? 6V e ?* F Goldie ’ who has charge of e ,, Islands section of the Methodist Mission, left Australia recently for New Zealand, after many harassing months spent vainly in seeking infor mation of compensation likely to be paid in respect of mission properties destroyed bv war. Mr. Goldie’s headquarters, on the Munda coast of the Roviana Lagoon, New Georgia, British Solomons, are now actually the headquarters of the Japanese

thereabouts.