File:The Cuba review (1907-1931) (20617327989).jpg

Title: The Cuba review
Identifier: cubareview07muns (find matches)
Year: 1907-1931 (1900s)
Authors: Munson Steamship Line
Subjects: Cuba -- Periodicals
Publisher: New York : Munson Steamship Line
Contributing Library: New York Botanical Garden, LuEsther T. Mertz Library
Digitizing Sponsor: The LuEsther T Mertz Library, the New York Botanical Garden

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Text Appearing Before Image:
16 THE CUBA REVIEW SPONGE FISHING AT BATABAN6. In Cuba, at Batabano, sponge fishing is pursued with all the primitiveness and lei- sure associated with sponge fishing since classic times. Cuban fishermen still employ the old sky- glass and rake methods, which were in vogue in Florida also before the latest commercializing methods revolutionized the industry. The Cuban goes out in a small chalupa, a cross between a river boat and a canoe, carrying his professional instru- ments. These latter drop a pole 20 to 50 feet long, fitted at the end, with a three- pronged rake, and a large bucket from which the bottom has been knocked out and substituted by a piece of ordinary win- dow glass. By means of this glass the sponges can be distinctly seen on the bot- tom of the sea. With iio small skill the rake is brought into play, the sponge harpooned and the catch brought to the surface. The whole process of sponge fishing a la Cubano is tedious and trying and it requires a pa- tience beyond belief. To maintain one's self in a shallow skiff without upsetting and at the same time to spy out sponges through the glass bottom of an inverted bucket, and further to acquire those sponges on the end of a fiftj'-foot pole is a complication of arts. The sponge being an animal, it is neces- sary to kill it. This is done by exposing i^ for several hours on the broad decks of the boats. In summer they soon die, but in winter it takes a long time, owing to the weaker force of the sun. After death they are brought ashore and put in the cradles. These are inclosures made on the seashore by setting stakes a little apart from each other. The ebb and flow of the tide wash the animal matter from the sponge and the work is completed by man- ual labor. They are then taken to the packing-house, graded, strung, baled and dispatched to their destination.—Florida Times Union.
Text Appearing After Image:
Fishing for sponges off Batabano. Skiffs and crews from the fishing fleet at work. Searching the bottom through glass-bottom buckets, by means of which the sponges can be distinctly seen.

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