GEMS IN HIDING

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 306, 20 September 1921, Page 5

GEMS IN HIDING

It would be interesting to discover ths actual number of gems and precious stones that yearly “go west” from mines and pearl hatcheries throughout tho world, writes Albert Dorrington in tho “Daily Mail.” The Kaffirs of Kimberley, who used to make incisions in their flesh wherein to conceal stolen diamonds, are object-lessons in the dubious art of “getting away with tho goods.” The methods adopted by the pearl shelters of Torres Straits baffle the official investiga- " tor, and make him feel'small. The case of Oku Hayadi, as reported by the Pearling Commission, held at Thursday Island in 1904, is one example of many. Havadi was employed as a naked, or “ekin’’ diver in a lugger. He was known-do have brought up an oyster which Aas afterwards found to contain • a pearl of considerable, value. The pearl was missing. Hayhdi was suspected, tried, and dealt with summarily on board the lugger. Some “hurley” or oyster offal was scattered to ' attract sharks; Havadi, with a rope attached to his waist, was flung overboard! Tiro captain allowed him to retain his shellknife. A notorious man-eating shark was in the vicinity. Attracted by tha offal and the sight of Hayadi’s body in the water, it Attacked without delay. Hayadi thrust his left hand into the open jaws of tho shark, and quickly stabbed it to death with his knife. Hayadi, with a mutilated arm, was drawn aboard the .lugger, his punishment concluded, and his wounds properly attended to. The dead shark drifted with the tide on to a distant beach. That night Hayadi’s brother reached the beach in a dingy, opened the shark, and took from tho gullet the pearl which had been in Hayadi’s palm when ho thrust it into the open jaws. The pearl was sold to a Chinese'buyer at Thursday Island for a few pounds. A report, taken from the “Sydney Morning aid,” 1879, relates how the late “Bully’ Hayes, buccaneer and bogus trader, ' “held up” a small island in tho South Pacific with the intention of "acquiring” the stock of pearls obtained there during the season. The island, lagoon, boats, and shelters were owned by a Chinese named Woiy Foo. and although Hayes searched ihe island for a whole week, including the nest-houses of a largo flock of pigeons that hovered about the island, not a pearl of any size was found. Hayes left tho island in disgust, swearing that Chinese were always in league with the devil. Ho I’earned 1 afterwards that the season’s slock of pearls had been put into fifty tiny sacks, and that attached to each pigeon’s ankle as it hovered above his search parties was one of these sacks. Tho lonely Chinese pearler is always ready for visitors. \