Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-11-07

of 1900. An old sunburnt fisherman was
the cause of it. He was fishing from a skiff
anchored in the middle of the Black river;
his bait ran out and he wanted some
more. The easiest way to sget it was to
rake up a clam from the bottom of the
stream, about eight feet below the surface
of the water. The biValve that he brought
up an innocent-lookng specimen, and
there was nothing in its appearance that
foreshadoWed the great excitement to come. .
The fisherman whistling little tune: in
serted his knife blade between the shells
and pried them apart. AS he did so a beau
uful round, lustrous pearl dropped out on
the thWart of the skiff and rolled to the
bottom of the craft, where it lay glistenng
in the forenoon sun.
The fisherman sat blinking at it for a
full minute, then made a dive for it, and
worked harder than he ever had before
in his life to get to shore on the double
quick. He sold the pearl to local jeweler
for $1c0 and retired to private life. His
retirement, however, lasted less than a
week, for the report of the find spread
far and wide, and the inhabitants of that
section, including the fisherman, rushed at
the sand beds at the bottom of the Black
river with all kinds of implements, from
pitchforks to scow dredges, and piled the
river banks with CLAIMS for miles up and
down the stream. The jeweer who had
purchased the pearl from the fisherman
sold it in New York for $1,000, which was
more than he had made in his little store
in three years.
Started the Fever
The excitement was intense in Arkansas
and in compare lively short time every
inhabtant in the vicinity of the Black river
both old and young, male and female, We're
delving for CLAIMS and pearls. Laborers
left the farms, clerks and business men
turned fortune seekers, and even society
women went down to the shores of the
stream and waded into the water, search
ing for pearl-bearing CLAIMS.
An old negro by the name of NelSe
Parks found a clam which netted him
something $500. With the proceeds
Nelse purchased fine buggy. Before he
could buy horse circus came to town,
and when 1t left the balance of Nelse's
bank account went with it, so he was COM
PEELED to sell his buggy without taking
ride in it.
farmer who was driving home with
wagonload of CLAIMS was attacked by
dog. He threw a couple of biValveS at the
dog. The owner of the dog picked up the
shells, opened them, and in one of them
found a pearl which made him much
of capitalist as the man who bought the
buggy.
A family of negroes that lived in a hut
and went partially unclothed all the year
round became wealthy, built a palace of
home and hired white men for servants.
Not one in the family could read or write,
yet they bought automobiles, steam
launches and horses.
Made Plenty Rich.
Boys to whom so cents was wealth
enough for a week of national holidays,
started bank accounts and amassed COM
Portable fortunes, and many a poor youth
in a few weeks got enough pearls to Sc
cure to him the college education he had
been forced to fOrego.
The excitement spread from the land to
to river steamboats,. Their crews deserted
them, and sometimes their captains, and
the Black river was the scene of the wild
est excitement. New towns were built and
old ones were increased to the size of cities.
Streets were laid out, banks and mercan-
tile establishments were started, mort
cages were lifted, money was plenty ana
times were prosperous. The section Sprang
into prominence, both financially and So
cially, in the state, and New York pearl
dealers focked there in great numbers,
l. and soon the pearl market centers OF the
| United States and Europe were nooded
with American pearls This was at a 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 i9OO
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 ana
bayous of Arkansas. No rich hshins was
struck however until White river was
reached Here the scenes on the Black
river were re-enacted.
Few in Big Muddy Streams.
The Mississippi has always been lazy in
the matter of dispensing pearls, and al
though they have been found there for the
past half a 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,
| more Mississippi gems were brought 10
| light. Because of its size the river could
accommodate q 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 CEN
tered there.
| 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 GEN.
| tered in Mus catine. 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
1 to get something for his labor, as the shells
bring from $12 to $1S 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 turn
! ed their attention to dredging for Shells
| with the result that both clans and pearls
are diminishing rapidly.
To Protect the Clam.
The government and the states affected
| have been unable thus far to make a law
] that will protect the clam. Various bills