As a rule, one man was left in each little boat to follow the movements of the divers as they returned to the surface.

Not only did these divers wear no mechanical "dress," but they used no stimulants or palliatives of any kind to aid them in their work.

All they carried was a small sheath-knife hung from the waist by a piece of string.

The water for the most part was only two or three fathoms deep, but sometimes it would be as much as eight fathoms,--which was the greatest depth to which the men cared to go.

When he reached the bottom, the diver would grope about for shells, and generally return to the surface with a couple, held in his left hand and hugged against his breast; the right hand was kept free and directed his movements in swimming.