The Pulaskian., 1919-04-18
PEARL FISHING
 By H. L. Gardner. Special Correspondent to e"The Pulaskian."

Pearl fishing, like trapping, is a very fascinating work, the uncertainty of results, the element of chance which is always present in the work, and the possibilities that the work offers, are factors that appeal to all red-blooded outdoor people. One may open several thousand mussels and not be fortunate enough to find a single pearl of value, while an amateur fisherman" may go out someday and the very first mussell he opens con- tain $1,500 pearl.
 The clements of chance-the possi- bilities of finding a fortune in any one of the mussells he finds is what makes the work so fascinating.
 Pearl fishing is one of he very oldest of industries. As far back as the year $50 B. c. mention is made of pearls being found in oysters that were taken from the waters near the shore of Armenia, Persia and Baby Iona. It is known that Julius Caesar presented very valuable pearl to the mother of Brutus in the year 54 B. C.. St. John the apostle, also mentions the pearl in his writings in the New Testament, Rev. XXI-21.
 In the first beginning of the fresh water pearl industry in the United States it was generally thought that only certain streams in the country yielded the pear bearing mussell- that is mistaken idea, as pearls are liable to be found in mussells wher- ever mussells are found. Many different outfits are used in gather ing the mussells; the outfit depends solely upon the condition of the lake or stream that is to be worked. In water of any considerable depth, the crow-foot dredge and dip net is used in water that is shallow shell tongs, shell forks and shell rakes are used.
 Valuable pearls have been found during the summer months by pearl fishermen wading in the stream and picking up the mussells with his hands-If conditions permit this mode of gathering the mussels it is one of the slowest but surest ways of harvesting them. Of course the fsher- man can act according to the condi- tions he has to contend with. By no means are pearls plentiful and easy to find. The value of the pearl de- pends entirely upon it's luster, color, shape and size. The finest of pearls are usually found in the mantle near the thin end of the mussell shell, and in abnormal shaped shells. Baroques and slugs are found near the hinge at the back part of the shell.
 Pearls are sold by the grain, while slugs are usually sold by the avoirdupois ounce.
 Veteran pearl fisherman boil their mussells, causing them to open, it is an easy matter then "feel' for the pearls With the hands, even though no pearls are found the shells have commercial value of $40 to S35 a ton and are used in the manufacture of buttons, knife handles, pistol stocks, buckles, etc., and to the ones who follow pearl fishing for living through the summer months, when conditions are such as not to permit to continue his fishing" any longer he can turn his attention to the trap ping of the high-priced fur-bearers, thus having a year round occupa- tion and if he is as energetic as he should be he will "come out" with as much leash" as any one else en- gagged in any moderate occupation and still have all the excitement and outdoor life that he desires.