The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-11-06
CLAN BUTTONS.

Rapid growth of New Industry on the
| Up to the time Of the accession OF
| Ever since the white man eettlec
along the banks of the Mis- 81 ssippi ltivei
the small boy has found pleasure il
| hunting for fresh water clans. or al
the dozen or more varieties none have
acquired the fame that one known tt
the hunter as Niger head Now thf
| boy, until within a few years-iess tNa1
| half score in fact-nevar knew tha
| the shell of this clam was worth mucf
more than the bitter and stringY llesh
He did not realize that when he smash
ed Tie shell to get at the slam he was
destroying from 81 to $l5 a tor. Yet
such was the case.
Several of the varieties found in the
big river and it numerous slpughs are
useful in the manufacture Of buttons
Others which lack the requisite tnlck-
ness for button work can be and arr
used in making the pearl covers foi
pocketbooks and prayer books. To-day
the small boy Is not alone In his pre-
datory descents upon the truculent
clam For be it known that Mr.. Clam
is savage Of habit, and will bite upon an
iron hook and decline to loose his hold
even If withdrawn from his nnative
element.
Six or seven years ago an expert pearl
button maker from Vienna. the birth
place of the industry, was gust on
Mississippi River boat. ore of the
other gusts left the boat and walked
to sandy bank and dug UP big clam.
He broke open the shell and ate the
clam The expert took aa look at the
shell, then looked closer, and decided
that it would make as good buttons as
any shell dug up from the Danube or
wherever else they procure them over
in Austria This was the beginning of
the clam hunts along the big river,
where money and not idle sport is the
moving impulse,
un to the time Of the accession of
President Mckinley every pearl button
which adorned the raiment of an Ameri-
can was an imported button Then
Americans commenced to import and
manufacture the buttons Then this
Viennese expert revealed his secret and
there was furry in CLAIMS along the
Father of Waters. Imported shells ow-
ing TO the ariff regu'a ions. cost manu-
faeturer something like so cents a
pound. When 1t is rem mbered that
one shell may weigh a pound or the
majority fraction. and ais yield tut ne
or two buttons, some id of the expense
of importations can be gleansd.
So this man caused it to be made
known that he would buy good clam
chells in ton lots. It is now quite an In
dustry, as any one can see for himself
If he will sail the river from near Mem
phis to La crosse. He will see hundreds
of families eagerly fishing for muses.
and piling up the shells for sale.
Along the river are shacks in scores
Families live in them. Near by outs lie
are long troughs filled with water Huge
cauldrons are mounted on stone ( UNI
dations and the shells are taken away
by parbolling, Just enough heat is
generated to kill the clans. Punts old
fashioned, snub- nossd, and blunt stCrned
punts, are on the river and In the
sloughs. A trap made of heavy gas
pipe is placed over each punt Lines set
al six inch intervals are strung to the
pipe which runs fore and aft. -Four
pronsed hooks made of Cd wire are
fastened to the lines, Then the punt is
pushed out into the river and the fl hing
begins
Mr.. Clam points his nose upstream,
and invariably Keeps his mouth open,
He lies on the bottom of the river walt
ing for something to come his way,
when he will seize upon 1t, 1t is tradi
ton along the river that a clam Is like
a turtle in teacity of purpose. one will
never lose his grip till IT thunders. The
clam sticks to his point till the sun goes
down. The trap with the dozens Of
hooks is tilted oxer the side Of the punt
lying upstream, and at oncetheclams
lay violent hold on the hooks, as many
as can get grip on a prong. Then the
fisherman hauls in, and boatload in
very short time
He has bis troubles separating the
clans from the hooks, for the shell must
not be injured. But when this is done
the cargo is boiled gently. and the fam
lily lines up beside the trough and takes
away the shells. The boiled meat is fed
to pigs or chickens or thrown away.
Hundreds of such outfits as the one
oan be seen on the river, for
to the man who knows how to pick
shells the profit is considerable. Ii even
outpoints filling the soil
When the shells reach the factory thsy
are immersed in fiuind for couple of
weeks. This serves to render the pearl
easy of manipulation in the six or seven
processes necessary to turn a raw she'll
into q finished button. First an expert
takes the shell and saws out the cylin-
drical blanks. He knows just how
many blanks one shell will produce and
throws it away as soon as he has cut
them out Then the blanks are sorted
by a machine and put to soak again,
Then they are placed in machines which
cut them down to the requisite thisk-
ness. Then the shaper works at Them
Then the holes are drilled through, and
the button goes to tn poisher, Vt is
seWed onto a card and is ready for the
Chicago Chron lie,
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