The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-10-13
PEARL DISCOVERY.
Drawback to Continuous Finds in
 Any One Locality.
RrOOkIV EapIa

Brookly Eagle.
 The discovery in stream in Minnesota of pearl valued at 5000 will probably result in the extermination of the she'll fish in that river. and the obliteration of what might be. with encouragement, a remunerative, If not important industry. Not all pearls come from the sea, by any means. The fresh water mussel occasion ally yields these precious particles, and they are of great beauty. While the pearl of sea mollusks Is usually white-the dead, ivory white of the clam, or the brilliant and delicate (" hite of the so- called pearl oyster-the fresh water crea- lures secrete pearls of variety of tint Those found in Wisconsin, before greed had destroyed the fisheries in that State. were of unusual shape, and in color they ranged from white to a purplish bronze. Thousands were of pale pink, and a few showed an iridescence almost as re- markable as that of mother-of-pearl from the eastern fisheries.
 Gathering sea pearls is a following that involves danger and is difficult and ex- pensive. Natives are usually engaged in this trade, and they must be experts in diving They go armed with knives to do battle with poisonous marays and big inouthed sharks. and they must be of such lung capacity as to enable them to remain beneath the water for a time that would drown the unpracticed. In the fresh water fisheries, on the contrary, there is no danger of anything worse than rheumatis to be incurred in wad- ing cnllly SlTbdIS anu bldHulHB the premises with wet clothing after | ward The mussels are found in creeks | that often in the summer dwtndle to mere | threads of water, and are sunk in mud | that Is readily explorable by hand or by rake The drawbacks to continuous pros | perity in these cases and such places 1 is that the hunters are unlicensed and l unregulated All the men and boys of the yicinAge rush to i the scene or taM the weeks they have destroyed. all the mus | sels in the streams
 Pearls are almost never found in the smaller shells, yet these shells are ,,si mot | creatures that inhabit them are left to die on the banks, the process Of decIy | creating malarial conditions about Nle neighborhoOd, If proper supervlslon' l State or local or private, were inauSu- rated in these instances the breeding or the nussels would be encouraged, the l'Snud could be raked at intervals Tor old and misshaDen shells, such as most com
 TnonIv contain the pearls, and the ln-
 dnstry could thereby by kept alive Tor
 u@St Put such is not the way of Ameri-
 aans The immediate dollar is the only dollar in their view. To get the most ou!
 of the streams out of the woods. out of
 Ua mines, before anybody else arrives
 has heen the common policy in the past
 T, i is to this carelessness and greed that
 we owe the shrinking and almost disap,
 naorance of many of our streams and
 Iands the failure of water power, the
 p',ii,p ,i, of thousands of miles of forest, the
 L5ui,.,re Lui,' away and extermination of our
 cy ranoe the horrible slaughter of our birds
 and consequent increase in the insects de,
 trI,ctiye to vegetation, the conversion oi silmo saos of scenic beauty into deserts and
 S,nI'b Smst heaps and we find the same haste
 aus on same frantic appetite for money
 smong si1o pearl hunters as in all our other
 a.',,7ris.s It Is the case where tho eeno,a ene,i ,nipht intervene. with ultimate ad
 o,t. oLat 9o not merely to itself and to the
 EIt,sssIs Eam,.,II hut to the very men who would
 nain by the seeking.