The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-11-08

shells. opened them. and in OF them
found a pearl which made him as much
OF capitalist as the man who bought the
buggy.
A family of negroes that lived in hut
and went partially unclothed all the year
round, became wealthy, built a palace of a
home. and hired white men for servants.
Not one In the family could read or write.
yet they bought automobiles, steam
launches and horses.
Boys TO whom 50 cents was wealth enough
for week of national holidays, started
bank accounts and amassed comfortable
fortunes. and many a poor youth in a few
weeks got enough pears TO secure to him
the college education he had been forced to
forego.
A PEARL BOOM STARTED.
The excitement spread from the land to
the river steamboats,. Their crews deserted
them, and sometimes their captains. and the
Black river was the scene of the widest
excitement. New towns were built and old
one were increased to the size of cities.
Streets were laid out, banks and mercantile
establishments were started, mortgages
were lifted, money was plenty and times
were prosperous. The section sprang into
prominence, both financially and socially, in
the State. and New York pearl dealers
f1ocl1ed 'there in great numbers and soon
the pearl market centers of the United
States and Europe were flooded with
American pearls. This was at time when
Oriental pearls were scarce and when the
demand for them was constantly on the
jump. European pearl dealers began to
open their eyes to the beauty, size. and
quantity of the domestic gems.
The excitement in the pearling section
| continued throughout the summers of 1900
and 1901, and only subsidized when the Black
river was cleaned of pearls. Then the for
tune-seekers swarmed out to the Mississippi
river and explored the streams, creeks and
bayous of Arkansas. No rich fishing was
struck, however, until White river was
| reached. Here the scenes on the Black
| river were re-enacted
The Mississippi has always been lazy In
the matter Of dispensing pearls, and al
| though they have been found there for the
past half century hardly ever has there
been any great pearling excitement. With
| the new impetus, however, given that in
| dustry by the pearl fisheries of Arkansas,
I, more Mississippi gems were brought to
| light Because Of it's size, the river could
accommodate great many more fortune
| seekers, but the depth of the water In many
places prohibited fishing except in sections.
These sections were along the shores of
| Iowa and Wisconsin, and were richer than
anywhere else throughout its length, and
ultimately a great crowd of pearlers GEN.
| tered there.
A RESULTING INDUSTRY.
| Out Of all the great excitement there grew
an industry, and that was the utilization of
clam shells in the making of pearl buttons
| Factories were established all along the
Iowa shore. and fifty-five of them were CEN
| tered in Muscatine. The establishment of
these factories reduced the romantic work
| of pearl hunting to the occupation of shell
gathering, so that now the pearler is no
| longer required to toll all day in the hope of
| bringing up a prize bivalve. He is sure to
get something for his labor. as the shells
| bring from sl2 to SIS ton, and an indus
trious man can bring up from a quarter
| to half ton of shells day. Thus persons
who had given up pearl hunting again
| turned their attention to dredging for shells,
with the result that both clans and pearls
are diminishing rapidly.
The government and the States affected
| have been unable thus far to make law
| that will protect the clam. Various bills
have been introduced in the Legislature in
several of the States. particularly in Arkan-
sas, but all have been turned down, and
pearling everywhere in the Mississippi VAL
ley is unrestricted at all seasons of the
year. and by any persons or methods.
The methods of fishing for CLAIMS has not
| changed since the industry began. They
are tricked to their death. A clam has
propensity for Selling on to every foreign
| substance that comes within it's reach.
| This characteristic has been utilized by the
pearl fisher. He rigs up a lot of hooks on a
| rack and drags this rack along the sandbeds.
| The clam lies on its back with the shells
open and facing up the stream. AS the
| hooks dangle along, the shells close quickly
| over them and hold for dear life. Hence
| the saying, Don't be a clam" When the