. The gateway to the Sahara; observations and experiences in Tripoli. aul is made and the spongesare sold, the commission to the Turks, who main-tain a war-ship here, is first taken out of the pro-ceeds, a third of the remainder goes to the cap-tain for ships expenses and equipment, and fromthe remaining two-thirds must be taken the ex-pense for the provisions. Of the final balance,one and a half shares go to the captain andsupervisor each, four shares to each diver, andone to each sailor. Not only to increase the proceeds, but to comeout even on the outfit, the captains are obligedto treat th
. The gateway to the Sahara; observations and experiences in Tripoli. aul is made and the spongesare sold, the commission to the Turks, who main-tain a war-ship here, is first taken out of the pro-ceeds, a third of the remainder goes to the cap-tain for ships expenses and equipment, and fromthe remaining two-thirds must be taken the ex-pense for the provisions. Of the final balance,one and a half shares go to the captain andsupervisor each, four shares to each diver, andone to each sailor. Not only to increase the proceeds, but to comeout even on the outfit, the captains are obligedto treat the divers with great severity, and hireoverseers who devise most brutal means of forc-ing them to fish at any cost. On the other hand,the divers give much cause for complaint. Theycome from all parts of Greece and the Archi-pelago; many are nondescripts who have neverbeen sailors and are persuaded to go into this foreasy gains, failing to realize the dangers of thelife; for once they are injured or disabled by theirarch enemy, divers paralysis, they become un- [134]. The bag of dark, heavy sponges . . was hauled aboard THE GREEK SPONGE DIVERS fitted for any other work, and are provided forby the captains during the winter. The deck of the El-Pish, where I slept, savefor its dirt and confusion, was not unHke that ofthe ordinary fishing schooner. At daybreak Ithrew off the dew-soaked canvas that served asmy covering at night. A number of spongeboats disturbed the placid rose surface of thewater; high up in the air several white gull formsoverhead broke the tender blue, mingling theircries with the voices of the men and the creakingblocks. The first rays of the sun lit up thebronzed features of the overseer, as he stopped toexamine the air-pump, in which are three cylin-drical, leather-lined compartments. Throughthese the air, is pumped to the diver below. Thewarmth of this air which is often blown from theheated sands of the Desert, is increased by fric-tion in the compartments, a
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