r wind, just as day was
dawning, we rounded an elbow-shaped reef, and let run the little anchor,
near the shore. At sunrise a portion of the crew were landed on the
beach, and under the shady lee of a rocky bluff, tents were pitched, and
all the necessary arrangements for an encampment promptly made.

From the first discovery of the peninsula, in the sixteenth century, by
Hernando de Grijalva, the shores of the gulf have been famous for their
valuable pearls. Many of the inlets and bays were then resorted to, and
continued to yield large quantities for more than two hundred years; but
from the beginning of the present century the trade has gradually fallen
off, and at the breaking out of the war with the United States, there
were but two small craft employed in the fisheries. Still there is no
doubt that the pearl oyster abounds in immense quantities, and were the
ground properly explored, the labor would be attended with profit; but
the natural indolence of the natives throws a wet blanket upon
everything like industry or enterprise, and as a consequence these
submarine mines hide their beautiful treasures from view.

In the harbor we visited there were a number of squalid Indians, farmed
out by some more sagacious _armador_, or patron, who provided them with
jerked beef and paper cigars, in exchange for rare shells or pearls.

The season is chosen during the prevalence of calms and light winds, so
that the water be not disturbed during the operations; for they

"Dare not dive
For pearls, but when the sea's at rest."

We had three _buzos_, or divers of great celebrity, but in the end we
were not so highly impressed with their skill.

The manner of conducting the performance is a very simple one. The boat
is slowly urged over the calm water--perfectly clear and transparent it
is, owing to the white sandy bottom. The _buzos_ stand in succession on
the prow, each provided with a short sharp stick to dislodge the shells,
whilst another with shaded eyes close to the surface, peers down into
the pure blue depths, and marks the object of their search, or warns
them of the appearance of the _tintero_--a ravenous species of shark.
_Mira!_ says the look-out man, pointing with his stick. Splash! down
plunges the swarthy figure. You see him squirming and groping on the
bottom, reflected in the mirage-like fluid, when presently he shoots to
the surface, in one hand holding the prize, which is tossed