The sun., 1903-11-08

opened them and IN one of them found
earl which made him as much of can't
ta',: as the man who bought the buggy
4 family OF negroes that lived in q hut
became wealthy, built fine home and
hired white men for servants. Not one
IN the family could read or write, vet they
bought automobiles, steam launches and
Boys to whom so cents was wealth enoupb
for a week of national holidays starred
oank accounts and ann sssd fortunes
ard many poor youth in IA few weeks got
enough pearls to secure to him the college
educ tion he had been forced to forego.
ne excitement @ spread from the land
deserted them, and sometimes their cap
teins; and the BIZ ok River was the scene
OF the widest excitement.
=, New towns were built and old ones were
incres sed to the size of cities Streets
were laid out, banks and mercantile estab-
ilshinents were started, mortgages were
lifted, money was plenty, and times were
prosperous.
New York pearl dealers focked there
IN great numbers, and soon the pearl market
centres of the United States and Europe
we're flooded with American pearls. Tl.is
was at time when Oriental pearls were
scarce and when the demand for them was
constantly on the jump. European pearl
de2iers began to open their eyes to the
gems.
The excitement in the pearl region
continued throughout the summers Of
1900 and 1901, and only subsidized when the
back kIver was cleaned of pearls, Then
Mississippi River and explored the streams,
creeks and bayous of Arkansas.
NO rich fis4 ing was struck until White
River was re1cled. Here the scenes on
the Black River were reenacted.
Ilttf 81 all
grew an industry, and that was the utiliza-
ton OF clam shells in the making Of pearl
buttons. Factories were established all
along the Iowa shore, and fifty-five OF them
were centred in Muscatine.
The establishment of these factories re-
duced 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
prize bivalve. He is sure to get some
thing for his labor as the shells bring from
sl2 to slS ton. and an industrious man
can bring up from quarter to half ton
OF shells day.
not changed since the industry began.
They are tricked to their death.
every foreign substance that. comes
within it's reach. This characteristic has
been utilized by the pearl fisher.
He rigs up lot of hooks on 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 on for
dear life. Hence the saying, Don't be a
clam" When the rack is loa aded the grasp
ing clam is hauled to the surface.
When skif load Of clans has been OBJ
tained the fisherman makes for the shore,
builds fire and boils them out. Some
times they are stored in bins on the river
bank ard the boiling out process is left
for a time when the weather conditions
are insult able for pearl fishing on the river.
Nearly all of the pearls are snapped up
by New York buyers at ridiculously low
figures. Not long ago, Alfred Hastings. a
boy 10 years old, found button shaped
gem, weighing 1853 grains. He sold it to
a local buyer for s2,l6s. The buyer brought
it to New York, took off its outside skin,
set a'price on it of $4,000 and got 1t.