Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1896-02-20
MONEY IN PEARLS.
Some Valuable Gems Found In
the Streams Of Kentucky.


The continued dry weather Of the
past summer and fall, which has caused
many OF the creeks and rivers in Ken
lucky to go nearly dry, has been very
favorable TO the pearl hunters in the
Cumberland and other rivers, and quite
q number of fine specimens have been
found, especially in the Cumberland
river, which seems to be the most pro-
ductive of pearl-bearing mussels. One
of the well-known pearl hunters told
the writer that he had found several
pearls during the past summer TINT
were worth SIS to 500 each, and a largo
lot of smaller and cheaper ones
The leading pearl hunters, who pros
pect up and down the Cumberland. send
their pearls to Chicago, Pbiladelnh;a
and New York. Tiffany getting the hest
of them. Several years ago an old man
picked up a mussel from a sandbar in
the Cumberland river near Point Burn-
side, a station on the Cincinnati South.
ern railroad, and upon opening the
o,yster-like bivalve found a magnificent
pearl of fine size and color. A near,
hunter who ran across the old man
shortly afterward, and to whom he
showed the gem, at once recognized the
value of it, and bought it for a trifinp
sum, afterward selling it for $500.
Such finds as this, however, are few and
far between.
The pearl hunters work whenever the
water is not tooc cold for them to wade
in it. They find the mussels lying ON
the sandbars, pick them up, and prying
them open. ''feel" for the pearl, and if
there is no pearl drop the mussel back
into it's place in the river. The pearl
is found clinging to the wall of the mus
sells shell. and close to the mouth of it.
The large majority of the pearls, as a
matter of course, are oddly shaped and
irregular in form, and for that reason
are worthless. Now and then pearls of
beautiful color are found, but useless
because of a lack of desirable form.
The round pearls, usually found and
put upon the market by these wander
ing pearl hunters, vary in size from the
dimensions of the head of a pin to the
size OF u pea, and bring from 50 cents to
$50 apiece. Few Of them resch the $50
mark, however.
The pearl hunter who searches the
kentucky streams is usually q shift
less, easy-going fellow, who is at home
most any place, and makes his bed
upon the banks of the stream as readily
as he would in the most deliberately
furnished mansion. When he has good
luck on a trip lie waits until all of HIS
money is gone before he strikes out
upon another journey. Now and then
Il more businesslike operator is found,
who will carry a camping outfit, good
tent, etc., and live in true sportssnan-
like style while at work.
The pearl hunters say that one rea-
son why the streams of Kentucky are
more productive of pearls than the
rivers in some other states is because
of the limestone bedrock, which seems
more adapted to the purposes of the
pearl-bearing mussels than the forma-
tions underlying many streams in
other sections of the country. Pearl
mussels are. therefore, found in nearly
every waterway in the blue grass state.
but for some reason only a compara-
lively small number of men are en-
gagged in the hunting of them, which
frequently pays a great deal better
than most an, other form of common
labor. The excitement and anticipa-
ton attendant upon the industry, too.
has something of the effect of the fas-
cination of the diamond fields, for the
next one" is always expected to he o
$500 beauty. One of the most valuabie
pearls ever found in the United States,
the pearl hunters say, came from the
Miami river, in Ohio.-St. Louis Globe
Democrat.