Southern Arabia | Page 5

are the
fishing grounds of seed pearls, and of pearls which are sent to these
realms of Portugal, for they are better and more lasting than any that
are found in any other of these parts.' This is also the verdict of the
modern pearl merchants, who value Bahrein pearls, as more lasting and
harder than those even of Ceylon. Evidently Albuquerque got an order
from his sovereign for pearls, for he writes,[2] in 1515, that he is
getting the pearls which the king had ordered for 'the pontifical of our
lady.' To this day in their dealings the pearl merchants of Bahrein still
make use of the old Portuguese weights and names.
The pearl oyster is found in all the waters from Ras Mussendom to the
head of the Gulf, but on the Persian side there are no known banks of
value. They vary in distance from one to ninety miles from the
low-lying shore of 'Araby the Blest,' but the deep sea banks are not so
much fished till the 'Shemal' or nor'westers of June have spent their
force. The three seasons for fishing are known as 'the spring fishing' in
the shallow water, 'the summer fishing' in the deep waters, and 'the
winter fishing' conducted principally by wading in the shoals. The
pearls of these seas are still celebrated for their firmness, and do not
peel. They are commonly reported to lose one per cent. annually for
fifty years in colour and water, but after that they remain the same.
They have seven skins, whereas the Cingalese pearls have only six. The
merchants generally buy them wholesale by the old Portuguese weight
of the chao. They divide them into different sizes with sieves and sell
them in India, so that, as is usually the case with specialties, it is
impossible to buy a good pearl on Bahrein.
Diving here is exceedingly primitive; all the necessary paraphernalia
consists of a loop of rope and a stone to go down with, a curious horn

thing to hold the nose, and oil for the orifice of the ears. Once a
merchant brought with him a diving apparatus, but the divers were
highly indignant, and leaguing against him refused to show the best
banks. In this way the fisheries suffer, for the best pearls are in the
deeper waters, which can only be visited late in the season. The divers
are mostly negro slaves from Africa; they do not live long, poor
creatures, developing awful sores and weak eyes, and they live and die
entirely without medical aid.
At present the pearl-fisheries employ about four hundred boats of from
eight to twenty men each. Each boat pays a tax to the sheikh. The
fishing season lasts from April to October.
Very curious boats ply in the waters between Manamah and Moharek;
the huge ungainly baggalas can only sail in the deeper channels. The
Bahrein boats have very long-pointed prows, elegantly carved and
decorated with shells; when the wind is contrary they are propelled by
poles or paddles, consisting of boards of any shape tied to the end of
the poles with twine, and the oarsman always seats himself on the
gunwale.
Perhaps the way these boats are tied and sewn together may have given
rise to the legend alluded to by Sir John Maundeville when he saw
them at the Isle of Hormuz. 'Near that isle there are ships without nails
of iron or bonds, on account of the rocks of adamants (loadstones), for
they are all abundant there in that sea that it is marvellous to speak of,
and if a ship passed there that had iron bonds or iron nails it would
perish, for the adamant, by its nature, draws iron to it, and so it would
draw the ship that it should never depart from it.'
Many of the boats have curious-shaped stone anchors, and water casks
of uniform and doubtless old-world shape. The sheikh has some fine
war vessels, called batils, which did good execution about fifty years
ago, when the Sultan of Oman and the rulers of El Hasa tried to seize
Bahrein, and a naval battle took place in the shallow sea off the coast in
which the Bahreini were victorious. Now that the Gulf is practically
English and piracy at an end, these vessels are more ornamental than
useful. His large baggala, which mounted ten tiny guns and was named

the Dunijah, is now employed in trade.
Then there are the bamboo skiffs with decks almost flush with the side,
requiring great skill in working. Boats are really of but little use
immediately around the islands. You see men walking in the sea quite a
mile out, collecting shellfish and seaweeds, which form a staple diet for
both man and beast on Bahrein.
The shallowness of