The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1857-08-06

oentai' the J~erseymen no more supposing that pearl
oysters existed in their fresh water brooks than that
diamonds grew on their peach trees, or that eyerv
neaa Oh cabbage in the land was stuffed with rubies
and emeralds. In the latter part of February. Mr..
David Howell, a poor shoemaker of Paterson, finding
work scarce, money hard 10 get, and bread difficult
TO procure without either, at the suggestion of n
neaghoor, collected a quantity of muscles from a little
stream known as the Notch Brook, to make n dainty
meal for himself and family. He first boiled the
smell nsh, but finding that u single cooking did not
render them tender and palatable, he afterwards fried
the same over in fat, which So far softened their OBJ
duracy as to render them eatable. In the course of
the repast, MIR. Howell discovered in one of the mus
Giles n stony substance of q spherical shape and Of
considerable size. Having some vague idea upon the
subject OF jewels, he preserved the curious stone and
submitted it to a jeweler for examination.
He was then informed that the stone was q genuine
pearl, OF dimensions which dealers in precious stones
considered fabulous until the specimen was placed
before their eyes, and which, lad not its luster been
utterly ruined by the several Urinary operations to
which it had been subjected, you'd have been worth
at least S25,vOO. Here was c. -lpatra outdone with
a vengeance She regaied her sweetheart Anthony
with a few small pearls dissolved in a vinegar stew,
and for this tri6e, the world has called her extrava-
CANT What will they now say of the Jersey journey
man shoemaker who served up to the partner of his
bosom for lunch a S25, 900 pearl in a fried clam?
Mr. David Howell, this fortunate unfortunate,
res1iyed to make the most of his happy or unhappy
fortune. He accordingly sold the big pearl for
twenty-five or thirty dollars. as a curiosity, and,
recalling to mind the old proverb 'sThere are as
good fish in the sea as have ever been caught he
took of his coat and set to work to find more. He
has since that time abjured the lapstone, and success
fully continued his search for treasures. His labors
have been rewarded by the discovery of a number Of
smaller pearls of considerable value, none of them,
however, approaching III size the first one; although
he considers these smaller ones luxuries too costly
for his table, he has disposed of them to persons who
could better afford all the delicacies of the season,
and who are at perfect liberty to cook them if they
see fit
The news of Mr.. Howell's fortune soon leaked out
his neighbors became interested in the matter, and
resolved to 90 n pearl-fshing. Messls. Jacob Quack-
enbush, a boss carpenter, of Paterson, and his brother
John, went on an exploring expedition in the Notch
Brook, and found several valuable gems, and among
them the largest one that has yet been offered for
sale, and which was purchased at a risk by Tiffany
& Co. for $500, and is valued by its present holder
at 81 800, and it is not impossible may yet be dis
posed of for a much larger sum. The other smaller
ones found by Mr.. Quackenbush and his brother were
sold for sum ranging from So to SIS each. 1t is
the intention of Tiffany & Co, TO send the largest one
to Paris to find a market. and it is not at all impossi-
bic the big Jersey pearl may yet adorn an Imperial
diadem-
There is a prospect that the waters of New Jersey
will be pretty thoroughly fshed, iDasmuch as several
Of the residents of Paterson have gone into the busi-
ness and are engaged in searching the promising
! brooks; They have already made excursions fifty
fnhes is little doubt that before
many months have passed, pearl fishermen will be
found in every part of the State, and that all streams
.ihety 10 cOnLtln II precious Sneli-nSn, VIII DE
thoroughly and Systematically explored. If any Of
our city readers are at all skeptical on the subject,
hey may sltis fy all their doubts az to the genuine
ness of the report and of the gems by a call al
Tiffany's, or Ball, Black * Co.'S, at both of which
places Jersey pearls have been purchased and are
now on exhibition.
The pearl muscle is found on the bottom of tho
b0ks, or sticking in the soft mud at the sides, and
the manner of taking them is by wading in the water
and cropping in the mud with the naked hands
The streams in which they are found are. throughout
most of their course, very shallow-not more than
mid-leg deep. Numbers Of the shells contain deposits
Of the peariy matter, in jagged, ~shapeless scales which
are valueless, except as mere curiosities. Some Of
those of a form partially globular are worthless on
account of some imperfection in size or color. Many
Of them are of a lead white, or dull ash color, and
lack entirely the peculiar rainbow-hued, semi-trans
parent glisten of the valuable peari-what those
learned in such matters term the "Orient luster,'
and these are good for nothing. The shells of thu
largest OF the muscles in which they are found are
perhaps six or seven inches in their long diameter
and about two thirds as wide. Some of the pearls
found are not larger than the point of a pin, and ART
therefore of no use TO the jeweer.