Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-01-11
THE PEARLS OF ARKANSAS.
Thousands of Persons Find PrOfita-
BILE Employment In Hunting For

Thousands of Persons Find Prof1ta-
BILE Employment In Hunting For
Them.
Within few years the pearl indus
try in the vicinity Of Memphis has as
sumed such enormous proportions that
1t has even attracted world wide no
tice, and yet there are a number Of
ize that annually these fisheries in Ar
kansas turn out not only some Of the
finest and most valuable pearls in the
world, but at this time an army Of
many thousands of persons Is engaged
in this pursuit and that fortunes are
made from the industry by dealers,
hunters and button factories.
The best of the Arkansas fisheries
are in White and Black rivers, and
while the latter stream has yielded
many thousands Of dollars worth Of
marketable gems, 1t has of late been
scarcely as popular with the hunters
as the former stream, and many of the
hunters have moved their operations
in consequence to the magnificent
river that has its source in the foot
hills of the Ozarks on the extreme
western border Of Arkansas and flow
ing entirely across the state empties
in the Mississippi a few miles above
Rosedale, Miss.
In illustration of the great propor-
tions of the industry II Is estimated
| by J. M. O'Hara, a dealer and pearl
expert of this city, and a man who has
done much to foster the industry, that
the past season over $4,000 persons
found profitable employment in the
pearl and kindred industries Of the
Arkansas fisheries on White and Black
rivers and the lakes in the eastern
| portion of the state.
Incident to the pearl fever has been
the development of the button indus
| try in Arkansas and the shipment Of
large quantities of shells from the
state to button factories elsewhere. At
first the shells were cast aside. as USE
less by the hunters in their mad rush
for wealth, but 1t was soon found
that the saving Of the shells was al
most as profitable as the pearls and
had the added advantage Of assuring
the hunter of at least making some
thing for his work. Shells sell for
from IS to 81 per ton and the hunter
averages from $3.50 to 81 day from
this source alone. Button factories
have been established on Black and
White rivers and the shells are sold to
these or shipped in carload lots to the
factories in other states. AS the shell
beds of the Mississippi river, the source
Of principal supply in former years,
are practically exhausted, the Arkan-
sas shells are in ready demand, and 1t
Is claimed for them that they excel
the Mississippi shells in many re-
spects.
The hunters are an indiscriminate
lot, and nearly every class and condt-
tion of men are found in their ranks.
The women are not absent, and the
children even participate in the indus
try, and frequently prove more fortu-
1
nate in their finds than the older hunt
ers. 1t is not uncommon to see several
hundred to several thousand hunters
at one bar or on one stretch of the
river, all bent on making a fortune In
day and all occupied in fishing for
and opening the shells.
The pearl industry was started In
Arkansas about seven years ago, and
Mr.. O'Hara claims much Of the honor
for starting it, as we'll as the distinc-
ton Of establishing the first button
factory in the state. From a very
small source the Arkansas pearl indus
try has grown into one Of the most
profitable sources Of wealth In the
state, and gives employment to many
persons.
The past season was a very profita-
BILE one, but many claim that the year
1902 will far exceed the output of the
present year.-Memphis Commercial
|