Even in the good old times this coast was simply
visited during the period for fishing. Temporary huts were
erected for thousands of natives, who thronged to Ceylon from all
parts of the East for the fascinating speculations of the pearl
fishery. No sooner was the season over than every individual
disappeared; the wind swept away the huts of sticks and leaves;
and the only vestiges remaining of the recent population were the
government stores and house at Arripo, like the bones of the
carcase after the vultures had feasted and departed. All
relapsed at once into its usual state of desolation.
The government house was at one time a building of some little
pretension, and from its style it bore the name of the "Doric."
It is now, like everything else, in a state of lamentable decay.
The honeycombed eighteen pounder, which was the signal gun of
former years, is choked with drifting sand, and the air of misery
about the place is indescribable.
Now that the diving helmet has rendered subaqueous discoveries,
so easy, I am surprised that a government survey has not been
made of the whole north-west coast of Ceylon. It seems
reasonable to suppose that the pearl oyster should inhabit depths
which excluded the simple diver of former days, and that our
modern improvements might discover treasures in the neighborhood
of the old pearl-beds of which we are now in ignorance. The best
divers, without doubt, could never much exceed a minute in
submersion. I believe the accounts of their performances
generally to have been much exaggerated. At all events, those of
the present day do not profess to remain under water much more
than a minute.
The accounts of Ceylon pearl fisheries are so common in every
child's book that I do not attempt to describe the system in
detail. Like all lotteries, there are few prizes to the
proportion of blanks.
The whole of this coast is rich in the biche de mer more commonly
called the sea-slug. This is a disgusting species of mollusca,
which grows to a large size, being commonly about a foot in
length and three or four inches in diameter. The capture and
preparation of these creatures is confined exclusively to the
Chinese, who dry them in the sun until they shrink to the size of
a large sausage and harden to the consistency of horn; they are
then exported to China for making soups. No doubt they are more
strengthening than agreeable; but I imagine that our common
garden slug would be an excellent substitute to any one desirous
of an experiment, as it exactly resembles its nautical
representative in color and appearance.
