Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1900-09-11
VALUABLE AMERICAN PEARLS.
One Found in Fresh Water. Near Pat
erson. Now Valued at SO. 600

something Of romance and mystery
| clings to our ideas Of gems Of all kinds
| They associate themselves naturally il
! our minds with spices ana sandal
wood. with rich colorings from Persia
ana with the thrones Of India. They
suggest Damascus. Ceylon. ana far
away Burmah
Perhaps pearls more than any other
of the gems. suggest this sense Of the
romantic. They nave formed no small
part of the basis ~ expeditions whose
results are almost unreasonable. A
search for pearls was one Of the objects
Of Caesars expedition To what is now
Great Britain. The same desire and
expectation entered into the hopes ana
the aims of Columbus ana De Soto ana
Pizarrd. Yet they have prosaic side
which rarely occurs to u.s. That which
England and the United States are to-
day, is due in some measure to mans
desire for those dainty globules which
in all probability. are formed by hum
Bile mullusks in their effort to rid them
selves of an irritating pain.
Pearl-producing mollusks are to he
found both in salt and fresh water
throughout an extensive area. They
may be said to girdle the globe with a
belt, which includes the whole of the
tropical and considerable portion Of
the temperate zones.
The prices which the jewellers charge
us for those little globes Of dainty
iridescence. lead us to a distinct con-
clusion that it is their rarity which
makes them SO costly. The idea is
wholly correct so far as it relates to
the kind Of pearls We want TO buy. A
pearl is not desirable simply because it
is pearl. If that We're the case they
might almost be bought by the pound
IKE dried peas. The production Of un-
desirable pearls having no market val
ne whatever is rather astonishing
While We M today do not obtain them
in such quantities, the Old Indian
mound-builders. particularly those az
tine Ohio valley, gathered them ana
stored them in quantities, which the
openers Of these mounds have meas
urcd by gallons. Some proportion of
these We're doubtless worthy to be re-
garded as gems. but it is probable that
a large percentage Of them possessed
no special market value. When found
800, '''S iiaS H"Ne p.S-
n .oS' III .uE" ",c"y leSulO-
n, II ~, .'''
cred by a lOnE-eXtinct race. Of whom
we know 50 little, We're doubtless oh
tanned from the group of pcarl-making
mollusks known as the unios. Why so
many We're gathered, or how. is not
accurately known. They certainly were
""'dlilou III quantities "hlch seem re-
-. '.'o - 'I'i.-
~ 30
a. '''''.,'., '''11 1.''' my
- i'l o''"' 'uo' IL
l'' 'lI'-' vi 7''''''ci'''
an 10 80 IN On I'm '"I 'lii9S'
go "pl''".9 '""' '"''' uSe "dT
'.iil'1" ~ ie" ~ 'A' il'''e 'uIlui g"
iI"sS'
reference is made to the American
fresh-W1ter pearls in the histories Of
the early explorers and settlers m this
continent. but little attention was paid
% the subject until the year 1854. when
an important discovery was made near
Paterson. y. ]. Since that time local
excitement has been created by discov-
rrinS IN different places. Some Of these
have been IA sufficient Importance tu
arouse very considerable general inn
terest throughout tn country. ana
river beds have been raked ana
scraped ipr the unlos in much the same
Way tA3t other streams have been
treated IN search for gold. The re-
suits also have been much the same
M both cases. Oi the thousands who
nave thus hunted. 4 few have been
successful
"A high value has been placed on
some Of these American pearls. The
one found near Paterson, IN 1891. be
came known as the Queen Pearl ana
was sold to the Empress Eugene Of
France. Ii is today valued at $4,000
though the purchase price at the time
OF the sale was but one-quarter of that
amount, Mr.. kunz, in his pamphlet,
states that gem which would doubt
IeS9 nave peeh the hleSt pearl Oh
ln'pelh ameS, was ruined by the boil
ing Of the mollusk for the purpose OF