Police Station and Jail at Cristobal-Panama. Isthmian-American & PAR Bews Agency & Advertising Bureau. A Dienkowski..

The Guardians of the Zone.

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REMEDIO DE RENGIFO Gran Depurativo Universal para ei Reumatismo y Enfermedades de la Piel.

DE VENTA EN LA

FARMACIA CENTRAL, Manuel Espinosa B., Avenida Central, No. 130.

erned by the main stations, all stations being in immediate charge of a lieutenant or sergeant, who is required to report daily to Police Headquarters. All stations and outposts are also immediately connected with Police Headquarters by telegraph and telephone.

chief of

The present strength of the force is one police, one chief clerk, six clerks, one first lieutenant, one second lieutenant, twelve sergeants, twenty corporals, 80 first class policemen, all of whom are white, and eighty colored policemen.

The uniform worn by the white officers is khaki, with regulation campaign hat; that worn by the colored officers is khaki, with khaki helmet. The side-arms used are the regulation policeman's club, and regulation 38 Colt pistol.

Nearly all of the first class police officers-corporals, sergeants and lieutenants-are ex-police officers with good records in the States, or are military men with excellent records and credentials from the United States Army.

The Zone penitentiary is located at Culebra, C. Z., where all criminals who are sentenced to the penitentiary are incarcerated.

The headquarters of the penitentiary is at Ancon, as the Warden, as stated above, occupies the dual position of Warden and Chief of Police.

The average number of prisoners in the Zone Penitentiary is about 65.

The offices of Coroner and Marshal of the Canal Zone also come under the head of the Police Department, and the headquarters of these offices is also located at Police Headquarters, Ancon.

All police officers in command of stations are, by virtue of their position, deputy marshals and deputy coroners, and report direct to Police Headquarters, Ancon.

THE PEARL INDUSTRY OF PANAMA.

For many, many years prior to the advent of the Conquistadores, the Pearl Islands (Islas de las Perlas), were known and exploited for the rich pearls that abounded in the shoal waters off the shore. These islands constitute an archipelago and lie well out in the Bay of Panama, about ninety miles from Panama City. There are in the neighborhood of 16 islands and 100 islets in the group, the largest of which is the Isla del Rey. San Miguel, the only town of consequence in the archipelago is located on

this island.

The pearl fisheries have been worked more or less vigorously ever since the Spanish occupation, and thous ands upon thousands of beautiful gems have been brought to light. At the present time the grounds are not SO prolific, and it is only now and then that a pearl of exceptional value is discovered. The pearls found in these islands are credited with having a superior brilliancy of lustre, and range in value all the way from $2 to $2,000.

The fishing is done almost entirely by negroes who live on the islands and dive for the pearls in the most primitive fashion. The usual method of fishing is as follows:-Upon reaching the banks which lie from fifteen to eighteen fathoms under water, the diver ties a rope about his body, and with a small weight attached to his person to facilitate sinking, plunges out of the boat straight to the bottom. Landing in the oyster bed, he seizes and

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tucks one oyster under his arm, and holding one in each hand with occasionally one in his mouth, he ascends rapidly to the surface to regain breath. Half a minute is usually consumed in the operation.

Sometimes

The results are often very discouraging. upwards of 1.000 oysters are opened before a pearl of value is found. In early Spanish times, slaves were pressed into the service, and many lost their lives from sharks and mantas that infest these waters. The manta is a flat fish of great size which wraps its fins about the object it sizes upon, and crushes it to death. Octopuses are also found in the vicinity of these waters. This element of risk makes the avocation of a pearl-diver anything but a pleasant one. The divers usually carry knives for protection, but notwithstanding this precaution, they often lose their lives. Most of the diving is done in the rainy season, that is from May to December, as during the other months of the year the temperature of the water changes, and on account of its coolness, the diver dislikes to go down. Pearl shells are also quite valuable and tons are shipped to the United States and Europe to be made up in buttons and buckles. The Panama Government exacts license from those engaged in the pearl industry. The life of the mollusc is only nine or ten years, and it is not until the fourth year that the pearl, formed of accretions, begins to develop.

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At the time of the Conquest, pearls were held in great estimation by natives in various parts of the New World. Hernando de Soto found them in Florida where they were used to ornament the tombs the tombs of the Indian princes. Gomara mentions that before Cortez made his triumphal entry into Mexico, he was presented by Montezuma with a magnificent necklace of pearls and precious stones. This necklace was afterwards given by Cortez to Emperor Charles V. Garcillaso records that the Incas of Peru set a great value on pearls, but the laws of Manco-Capac prohibited the natives from exercising the trade of diver on account of the great risk involved.

Humboldt describes the statue of a Mexican priestess in basalt, whose head-dress, resembling the calantica Isis, was lavishly ornamented with pearls. Las Casas and Benzoni have related, not without some exaggeration, the cruelties practiced on the Indian and negro slaves employed in the pearl industry. Pearls early came into demand by the inhabitants of Southern Europe, and were introduced in diametrically opposite directions. The Paleologi of Constantinople wore garments covered with strings of pearls, while the Moorish kings of Granada in Spain displayed them in profusion. The pearls of the West Indies were preferred to those of the East Indies.

The islands of Margarita, Cubagua, Coche and Punta Araya off the Spanish Main, the mouth of the Rio Hacha in Colombia, and the islands in the Bay of Panama were as celebrated in the sixteenth century as was the Persian Gulf, and the Island of Tarprobane with the ancients. The first Spaniard who landed on Tierra Firme, one of the early names given to the Isthmus, found the Indians decked out with pearl necklaces and bracelets. Shortly after the adventurers from the Old World began flocking to the Americas, the traffic in pearls grew amazingly. Acosta tells us that in 1587, six hundred and ninety-seven pounds of pearls were imported into Spain from its Western possessions. Those of the greatest size and beauty