Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-08-10
PEARLS IN CLANS.


n WtscOusfn Town Goes Wu0 Over
valuable Finds I'm River.
A special to the Chicago Inter Ocean from
Albany, Wisconsin, says: This town has
gone wild. A great many citizens who were
ycsterdaypoor and beggarly are to-day rich.
Two weeks ago q worthless Young fellow,
who was n stranger to the citizens Of this
place, began fishing for clans In the bed Of
the river. No one suspected that tho man
whom they saw with a rake and row boat
was raking in snug little fortune. The
other day this fellow, thinking his luck
worth celebrating, went on drunk. He
gave his snap" away, and now men,
women and children are fortune hunters,
and with more or less success.
The pearls for these are treasures sought)
are found in the clans, and vary in shape
and size. One man found specimen yes
teriay which weighed forty grains. Five
hundred dollars worth was found yester-
day by one man. The one jewelry store at
this place Is thronged from morning till
night with anxious treasure seekers who
wish to know the value of their find.
Speculators have already made their APP
pearance, aud are around among the igno-
rant offering spot cash.
Yesterday the river was thronged for
three miles up and FIVE down. Whole
families were out. They came In wagon
loads from the surrounding country.
Everybody you meet on the street Is either
a pearl diver or speculator In pearls. 1t is
said that one old woman who had not been
cut of her house for twenty years, owing to
rheumatism, was yesterday one of the
widest enthusiasts, and was knee deep in
the water.
Your correspondent took row down the
river yesterday and found, about one mile
below town, seated In a sort of cave. an old
grizzled man diligently opening clans and
with his bony thumb prying for the future
happiness The village bellies are all fisher
maidens.
A young man who has always made a
living making photographs Is one of the
vast army of fortune seekers, and Is Just
81, 900 ahead. l called mt his studio to-day,
but IL was closed, and his neighbor said he
was five miles up the river working at his
new trade Interest In pearl searching
will not sl,bside very soon, as the Sugar
river is paved for miles and miles with this
species of hard shell clans. So long as the
claims hold out the excitement will be great.
To-day loads of people have come from
surrounding towns-some from Monroe.
eighteen miles away.
great many take bushel bask cts and
fill them with the clans, then take them
home and begin the opening.
Last evening young man came i'm with
n pearl which the jeweler Immediately Of
fered him 500 for.
l met a gentleman who had just receives
SIS from u New York firm for II small but
perfect specimen. The salutation on the
street is Found any yet9' Nearly every
one you sec carries a basket or pail full OF
clans.
The city of Albany is situated on Sugar
river In Green county, Wis, and noted to-
day for its pearl industry. You can stand
on tho bridge that spans tho river, in the
centre Of the city, and cast your eyes to the
north or south and behold hundreds OF
persons of all ages male and female, in the
pearl business. People are coming in from
all quarters. Excitement is high. Claims
are being staked out all along the river,
from its source to its mouth.