Georgia has yielded some pearls, chiefly in the vicinity of Rome, at the junction of the Etowah and Oostanaula rivers. This is believed to be the site of the Indian town Cofaciqui, where, in his memorable expedition of 1540–1541, De Soto found the natives in possession of so many pearls. The general news of finds in the Mississippi Valley stirred up local interest in this region in 1897, and when the streams were low and clear in the autumn many persons engaged in hunting the mussels. An ex-sheriff of Rome is reported as having secured about fifty pearls, lustrous but irregular. A few miles above Rome, a farmer made a trial on Johns Creek, a tributary of the Oostanaula; and from a basketful of Unios he reports finding several marketable pearls for which he received $180 from a Baltimore jeweler. Others followed, and many fine specimens were secured. Unios are especially abundant in the Flint, Ocmulgee, and Oconee rivers, and it seems probable that many pearls might be found in these streams. Florida has not yet been actively exploited, but it may prove a productive region ere long. The reports of De Soto’s expedition make special reference to the size and beauty of the pearls found at a point where he crossed the Ocklocknee River about thirty miles above its mouth, near the present site of Langston, Wakulla County. And there seems little doubt that pearls may be found in the Ocklocknee and also in its affluent, the Sopchoppy River. The banks of these streams are full of shells, and pearls of choice color have been sent from there. It is unnecessary to refer in detail to the origin of pearling in each of the States. The general interest in this industry from 1889 to the present time has resulted in the examination of most of the rivers and creeks, and in few has the search been entirely unrewarded, although the finds have been relatively much greater in some waters than in others. As a rule, pearl-bearing Unios are most numerous in clear, swift streams, with sandy or gravelly bottoms and which flow through calcareous rocks. With pearlers as with miners, there is a stampede to the places where a good find is reported, since the rivers are free for all; consequently, there is much variation from year to year in the amount of attention which the individual streams and localities receive. While many of the pearlers operating in the Mississippi River are professional fishermen or rivermen, most of those in the smaller streams have had no previous experience in similar work. Frequently whole families come twenty or thirty miles, and even greater distances, and camp on the river bank. In many instances farm-hands are there who have abandoned their crops, mechanics who have left steady jobs, railway men who have taken a lay-off, teachers, merchants, all eager and expecting to find a fortune. In some localities, pearl fishing has been used as an attraction in big picnic advertisements, and has drawn larger crowds than a public orator.