The Saint Paul globe., 1901-09-03

tropics give place to the browniSh sedi>
ment of a sluggish river current. The
1.-THE diver IN picturesque nudity is the
antithesis of the Individual in overaIls
and gum boots who hes no predilection
for water save as Chaser fer some
thing red, liquid and hot and whose vo-
cabulary OF descriptive and awkward
profanity would make a heather vince.
or course, all Mississippi pearl hunters
are not of this class. There are some
thrifty. shrewd men among them But
the life Ola aEl~huRtef-i hard one
and not conducive to comfort or religion.
OF the thrifty class take Albert Fred
erickson, for instance. OF Red Wing.
F'rederickson, has averaged five tons OF
shells per week. He found a pearl that
netted him Sl67.50, and in six weeks from
starting had tucked away $3.50 clear
money in the bank.
Pearl hunters. make pretty fair wages.
Two men Will average. five and six tons
of shells per week. Early in the season
the factory price was $3.50 per ton on
the shore. 1t has been rising gradually
till $3.50 is the ruling figure now Every
Pc aTl found is clear profit.-About once
In two weeks steamboat with couple
or barges III tow. comes along and takes
the shell catch down to the lower river
factories. rs ~ s'5f>se ,A7Liatff4N
The Mississippi clam lies on the bot
tom of the river, with it's shells hait
open. As the hooks attached to a pole,
ten feet in length. pass over and touch
the shells they close on the disturbing
metal with viseltke grip. which does
not relax fer hours. When he thinks his
hooks are full the ''clammer' ,zraises the
pole, hangs 1t on the uprights on his
scow, them turning his @-craft. drops
another pole into the water, ana while
keeping therscow broadside to the cur
Vsd,1f ~ aI.
and tosses them into the bottom
The shore outfit comprises a tent for
shelter and usually sheet iron oblong
anair twenty inches by, six feet The
CLANS are boiled in this until the shells
open and then-the process of picking
over the meats begins. This is simply
running the finger through the clam after
it is separated from the shell TO discover
| II any pearls are concealed in it. After
this the meat is thrown into the river
TO become food for the fishes
While the clans found here at Red
wing are the best for the button trade,
becauSe they are thinner and larger and
pfSeree pf6e m95e otanhs to the Shell than
they are not noted for pearls The mig
ger head, thick black shell, useless
FOR commercial purposes. Is the. real pearl
Tor they are rare. @-4X hen pearl hunter
pulls up niger head he never waits
to steam it. but breaks it open at once
to discover II IT contains prize
Some wonderful stories are told about
the value of pearls found along the Mis-
slsslpp1. Fer the most part they are
1akes- The most valuable pearl found
this summer in this vicinity sold for $500
Yesterday a pearl was sold here to a
New York buyer for $3.50. There are hale
dozen buyers mostly from the East.
who journey up and down the river ali
the season, which lasts from April till
November 49,
In the nomenclature Of the hunter there
are pearls and -slugs.s Pearls are the
beautiful and uniformly round stones.
'S1ugs' are irregular masses of pearl
varying in size from pea to an English
walnut. The story was extensively cfrcI-
lated some weeks ago that $4,000 had
been refused and -S5e, coo asked for pearl
found In one of the Mississippi beds. IT
was well enough for the dealer who had
the jewel to get the free advertising he
did out Of the bauble, but one-tenth the
figure named would have represented its
actual value.
"A dealer who handled the jewel is au-
thority for this statement. It is a spIeN-
did slug" resembling a mass of pearls
melted together. Its play of colors is
said to be remarkable. The highest
priced pearl found in the river this wear
was pulled up by Prairie du CHEN
hunter. who sold it for 81 500 The sale
OF pearls within the pastssMeeks in. and
around Red Wing to one dealer alone
Adler. of New Yorh--fasI exceeded 81 900.
1t is very difficult to set any approxi-
mate estimate of the value of the pearl
and shell industry. John Stone Pardee.