Evening star., 1903-09-05
l.. O. DeLashmmtt,
142l G St. NV.
nacre, thus making pearls of them. at the

nacre, thus making pearls of them. at the
same time retaining the animals shape
Frequently pearls have an Opaque ap-
pearance and seem to be worthless. but on
the removal of their outer layer are found
to be clear and iridescent. The outer layer
may be removed by dipping them In a weak
solution OF acid. which dissolves the opaque
coating. or 1t may be peeled with knife,
like an onion. although this Is hazardous
as sometimes the pearl is not Of the same
material throughout and cannot be re-
stored after being peeled.
Examinat tiOnS which have been made of
some OF the mounds of the Mississippi val
ley. particularly in the Miami and Scioto
valleys In Ohio. have revealed the fact that
the long forgotten race that erected these
remarkable structures gathered and used
the freshwater pearls to an astonishing ex-
tent Bushels OF pearls have been found on
the hearthS of some Of these Ohio mounds
Inese are. or course. worthless, as they
nave been damaged and half decomposed
oy centuries Of burial and by the heat OF
sacrfhcial fires. An idea of the quantity
round In certain OF these mounds NAV he
sathereo from the fact that all the pearls
Whlch nave been found In the recent vears
OF search and excitement would mot an.
ploach In numbers those found in anv one
OF these mounds. 1t Is probable that the
houna builders used the mussels for food
ana tnus naturally accumulated large nun
Ders OF pearls. which were nrohah hIy, rsas
for ornaments u'eo
Spanish Explorations.
I he Spanish explorers who accomnaniad
lie soto IN his memorable expedition fro,,
FLORIDA to the Mississippi in 1910 give mapv
remarkable accounts of the near,s soar 80,
procured from the natives with whom tbev
came in contact in their extensive wand.r
fngs through the region of tbe e,,,f s+o,o,
ana q hundred years later some o1 tha
English colonists made reference to a sjmi
.. lar KIND IN their accounts of the more
northern tribes. AS these early settlers
were kept quite busy with more pressins
matter. little attention was paid to the
search for pearls until about forty-tbrae
years ago. In 1S47 pearl of fine lustre
We!shng nlnety-three grains. was found at
Notcn Brook near Paterson. N j. It sub
sequenty became known as the Queen
Pearl. and was sold to the Empress Ell
genie Of France for $500. It is TO-DAY
worth nearly five times that amount The
news of this sale caused great erctta,oant
not alone in New Jersey, but throuebo,If
the country. and the search for pearls was
prosecuted with ardor in all favorable spots
Mliiions OF un1os were gathered at Notch
Brook and elsewhere and DESTROYED ren-
orally with little or no result. One pearl n
large round one. weighing over 400 grains.
was the greatest find. but 1t was ruined BY
element nearly $4,000 worth of pearls
came to New York from nearly every state
In the Union. The excitement gradually
died away. owing mainly to the civil war
wh0n
many fine pearls were obtained from Little
Miami river. Ohio.
There was another pearl excitement in
1876 when some of the finest American
pearls were found near Waynesville. Ohio.
The Pearl States.
Since 1880 pearls have come from COM
paratively new districts further west and
south. and in a few years Kentucky, Ten
nessee and Texas became the principal pear.
producing states. One sky blue" pearl
from Caney Fork. Tenn. was sold for $3.50.
and subsequently brought $500 in London.
During the summer of 1850 quantity Of
magnificently colored pearls were found in
the creeks and rivers Of Winconsin in
Rock. Green. Lafayette. Grant and Craw-
ford counties. One OF these pearls sold for
over $500. and some among them were equal
to any ever found for beauty and colorinR
They were principally purplish red, copper
red and dark pink. These discoveries led
to increased activity in this region, and by
1880 1t had extended through other portions
of Wisconsin, and appeared also In Illinois.
along the Maclkinaw river and its tributary
creeks. in Mclean. Taxeweu and Woodford
counties. The pearl fisheries OF Wisconsin
have produced nearly 100000 worth Of
pearls since 1889.
The excitement subsidized in few seasons,
~ the others had done In turn before by
ths exhaustion Of the mussel beds. A Pc
cullar feature Of this fever for pearl hunt
ing IL that 1t seesns 10 run In cycles Of ten