The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-07-23
LIFE ON SOUTHERN RIVER.
from the Chicago Record.1

PERHAPS the dreamiest, LATEST exist
ence in America is the life on the south
ern rivers in summer 1t is at this sea-
son of the year that thousands of peo-
ple=uen women and children-are to
be seen catching turtles, hunting pearls,
collecting mussel shells, fishing on the
sand bars. capturing water snakes or
dragging submerged walnut logs from
the water Hundreds of Shanty boats,
taking fish and barter1ng all sorts of
goods with the natives. ply from one
landing to another. The river people
are satisfied with no other mode of ex-
istence and rarely ever abandon its
seductive charm.
The Tennessee river is the greatest
fresh water turtle stream in the world,
and the Cumberland is famous for it's
prolific turtle fields. The Tennessee has
it's source in the mountains and cuts its
way through a rocky country, rendering
1T perfectly clear at normal depth The
turtles of the clear streams, though
smaller. are more valuable in the mar
kets than the huge monsters taken
from the muddy Mississippi. There are
huge turtle pens along the Tennessee
river where hundreds or them are kept
securely after being captured. Some
turtles have been taken from the Ten
nessee and Mississippi rivers which the
natives swear would weigh from 400 to
600 pounds These enormous catches are
rare and the money is made by selling
the smaller ones. Washington and New
York furnish the best markets. and
many "a dfamond-backed Chesapeake
came from Tennessee.
Turtle meat is as great q favorite dish
with the SOutherner as the postum
The southern negro has proverb that
the turtle feeds on fish, chicken, eggs,
crosses and the choicest country deli
cacies, until his own flesh partakes of
all their various davors- They positively
assert they can distinguish all these
havors The small turtles are captured
for food and the larger ones for their
Shells of which many domestic articles
are made. The heaviest hauls are taken
in huge frame traps set IN the SW1fteSt
channel of bayou The negro locates
a turtle sitting in shallow water and
wades in after him with forked stick
They tease the turtle until he becomes
mad and pol1es out his head to hiss,
then the forked stick goes over his
head and the turtle is hauled out of the
water. The large ones are killed out
right and boiled in giant pots until the
shell comes Off The shells are then
Scraped and polished
The pearl hunters throng the river ev-
ersv summer Thousands of them are
wading and dredging for the mussel or
fresh water clam. The shells of several
varieties are gathered by the ton and
shipped up the Mississippi river to the
pearl button factories. There are a
dozen varieties of the musseI but only
two-the niggerhead and the sand shell
are valuable to the factories Along
the river are shackS in scores, in which
the families engaged IN the hunt find
shelter Outside are long troughs filed
with water. Huge caldrons are mount
ed on brick foundations, and the shells
are boiled in these. Punts. RATS, fat
boats and sIxiffs are used in the catch
A trap made of heavy plumbers pipe
is placed over each boat. To the pipe
are strung lines set at Six-fnch intervals,
which run fore and aft. F'our-pronged
hooks made of old wire are fastened to
the lines The boat Is pushed out from
the bank for work.
The fresh water clam points his nose
I'D stream and invariably keeps his
mouth open He lies on the river bot
tom waiting for something to come
along when he will greediIy seize it and
never let go. The trap with the dozen
of hooks is tilted over the side of the
punt lying upstream and the clans at
as can get a grip on prong. The fish
erman hauls them in until his boat is
filed