The Pearl, its story, its charm, and its valueCattelle, Wallis Richard
History
The Pearl, its story, its charm, and its value
Cattelle, Wallis Richard
Pearls
Another pearl hunt developed along the Little Miami River in Ohio from
the finding of several fine pearls near Waynesville in 1876. This
reached its height in 1878. In 1880, pearls began to come into the New
York market from the West and South. Immense beds have been fished in
the White, Wabash and Ohio Rivers in Indiana. In the summer of 1889
a number of fine pearls were found in the south-western corner of
Wisconsin, in Crawford, Grant, Lafayette and Green counties. Not only
were they notable for extraordinary luster, but many were of beautiful
color. The sale of some at prices which seemed fabulous to the people
of that section, when it became generally known, caused such a scramble
for them by the natives that the streams were rapidly denuded of
mussels, and that section has become of much less importance than
others since developed. Prairie du Chien is the center of the Wisconsin
market, from which point the shells are distributed to the button
factories.
The following year (1890) pearl-bearing mussels were found in several
of the central counties of Illinois—McLean, Tazewell and Woodford, in
the Mackinaw river and tributaries, but no discovery equalling that of
Wisconsin occurred until 1897 when the Arkansas beds were discovered. A
peculiarity of this district is that whereas the unio is usually most
abundant in swift clear water having a sandy or gravelly bottom, many
are found here in the mud.
They have been taken over a wide territory from the rivers and streams
of the eastern half of the state, including the Black, White, Cache,
St. Francis, Ouachita, Saline and Dorcheat rivers, and in the valley of
the Arkansas. Following this were finds in Indian Territory, Missouri,
Georgia and Tennessee, the latter being the most prolific. The finest
pearls in Tennessee are found in the fluter, or lake shell, which is
the same as the mussel known on the Wabash as the wash-board. A yellow
shell is found in the Clinch River similar to the mucket of Arkansas,
from which pearls are taken.
Unlike the pearl oyster, the unio seems to be more prolific of pearls
in the shallows and riffles near the edges of the rivers. Most of the
fine pearls are found between the pallial line and the lip in the free
portion of the mantle. Those found within the pallial line, where the
mantle is attached to the shell, are seldom as lustrous or perfect.
Pearls are found in many States besides those mentioned, but the
fishing is done quietly and in some cases the sources of supply are
known to only a few who in the marketing of their pearls carefully
avoid giving any information. This is particularly true of some of the
eastern states. Streams in the Northwestern section of New York State
are regularly fished, but without excitement. The large fisheries of
the Mississippi and West are fished principally for the mother-of-pearl
in the shells. As with some of the marine fisheries, the pearl is
regarded as an extra.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account