and
the shell slightly parted. Should anything come within this gaping
aperture, the mussel at once closes upon it, nipping on with such
tenacity that the hold is not loosed until the fisher draws it into the
boat and forcibly releases the hook. It is said the mollusk's shell
would remain thus tightly closed for ten or twelve hours. After
dragging the hooks over the bed, the mussels are taken off and the
process repeated.
Various
rough devices are used, the principle in all being the same. One,
illustrative, consists of a piece of lead pipe or an iron bar several
feet long, from which depend a number of double or triple hooks several
inches apart. This is dropped overboard, the rope on which it is hung
is fastened to the stern of the boat, and the boatman rows over the
mussel bed dragging it after him. Men who dredge for the mollusks are
called clammers. Pearlers are those who at odd times fish for the
mussels with pearls as the main object. This class is composed of the
backwoods natives who live about the streams in which the mussels are
found. They are people who usually follow their inclinations as 262
