Page 303 - Travels in Arabis (Vol I)

264 TRAVELS IN OMAN. [CH.

for at other periods they complain that the
cold is too severe. During the season every

person who can procure a boat himself, or
obtain a share in one, is thus employed, and

their villages have no other occupants than
children, females, and men who are too aged
to follow this pursuit.

The pearl bank extends from Sharja to
Biddulph’s Group. The bottom is of shelly

sand and broken coral, and the depths vary
from five to fifteen fathoms. The right of

fishing on the bank is common, but alterca­
tions between rival tribes are not unfrequent.
Should the presence of a vessel of war pre­

vent them from settling these disputes on the
spot, they are generally decided on the islands

where they land to open their oysters. In
order to check such quarrels, which, if per­

mitted, would lead to general confusion, two
government vessels are usually cruising on
the bank.

Their boats are of various sizes, and of
varied construction, averaging from ten to fifty

tons. During one season it is computed that
the island of Bahrein furnishes, of all sizes,

three thousand five hundred ; the Persian coast,