The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1900-11-29
MISSISSIPPI MUSSELS.
over $4,000, 900 Derived From the HanufAc
ture of Pearl buttons From the Shells.

a new industry that Promises to assume
| large proportions has STARTED i'll this coun-
| try, and annually over ~, 0U0, 900 is made
| from the formerly vaiueitss biyalves of the
| Mississippi and tributary rivers. In 1871
J. +. Boepple, who had previously en-
gagged in the business IN Germany. settled
on the banks of the Iowa River, near Co.
lumbus junction, Iowa, where he turned
out the first buttons made from fresh
water mussels in America.
Since 1891 the industry has grown rap
| idly, and thousands of men and boys are
| engaged i'll taking the musseis and dead
shells from the Mississippi, which has
| been found to contain an apparently mex
| haustible supply.
Opposite the city of Prairie du Chen
| Wis, i'll mid-chahnel, Il bed nearly Il mite
Ill length, 900 rect vide, and from six TO
IA feet thick was found and thousands of
tons have been taken from this bed alone
in the last four years. The prices paid
by the button factories are such that Il
man with IN Ontht of small tatboat,
hooks and boiling tank could make from
$50 L" - Der DAY. During the entire
summer the aver was dotted with boats,
each containing Il man or two, and all
fishing for the clam that lay sticking to
the mud at the bottom of the deep water.
IN the banks could he found men, women
and children, boiling and stcaming, after
Nhich the flesh or meats would TALL out
and the shell stored in sheds but for that
purpose.
Not only are all these people seeking
the shell, but Il large number are also
looking for pearls, winch are II factor in
the great hunt. Thousands of dollars have
been paid for pearls and SiugS. and at
l'rairie du Chen, the hcadquai tiers of the
clam industry, for the past year several
buyers for Eastern concerns have been
stationed. The famous Allen pearl, which
was bought by William Moore for $4,000,
was found near Lynxvile, Wis. This is
the largest fresh-water pearl yet found i'll
this country, weighing 10 giains, and
was sent to Paris not long ago. Another
beauty was found by Fred Wadeli near
the same place, which balanced at 81
grains and was sold by him for 81 900.
Among the freaks i'll the way of pearls |
have been found Il perfcctly-formed half !
rabbit, duck, II heart, II capsule etc. At
Victory. Wis, IL little town near La
Crosse, was found wonderful little gem:
it is shaped like Il dumb-beli; on one end |
is the face of a man, while on the other |
end the fnce of Il woman can be distinctly |
disccrned.
An pearls do not bring big prices; in |
fact. only Il few who have been seeking |
rare gems have been smiled upon by good |
fortune, but finds bringing from $50 to |
$50 are reported frequently, while the bulk |
of them will bring 30 cents to 81 an ounce
OF the shells obtained only about half |
are of value in the manufacture of but |
tons. The most desired is the sort known
as the negro head"
Those that cannot bs made into buttons |
are put to Il variety of uses. Prairie du |
Chen has several blocks Of streets graded |
with shells. which is praying to be Il very |
good material for that purpose At Ian
sing, Iowa, the refuse shell is ground up |
for land plaster and chicken feed, while in |
one or two other river towns they are
burned for lime and arGreported to make
an excellent quality. ts,
The Manufacture of buttons is very sim |
pie. The blanks are cut from the shells |
by a machine, on the, order of Il lathe,
EXCEPT that a circular saw is used,
against which the Shelf is pressed and the
blank sawed out, after which the blank is
split 10 the desired thickness, polished,
drilled and sewed to the card ready for
market.