in
the labor of fishing—purchased unopened mussels from the fishermen in
the venture for aleatory profits. The price for these ranged from
twenty-five cents to $2 per hundred, and fluctuated rapidly, according
to the immediate results, increasing several hundred per cent, in a few
minutes under the influence of a valuable find. One fisherman sold
mussels to the value of $28 in one .day, and thought he had made an
excellent bargain until over $1000 worth of pearls were revealed when
the shells were opened.
While
some pearlers work in southern streams throughout the year, generally
the season is coincident with warm weather, when the water is low and
the work may be conducted with comfort. In the vicinity of Muscatine
and Rock Island about twelve years ago, large quantities of Unios were
taken during the winter when the river was frozen over, the men working
with long rakes from the surface of the ice.
When
only a few mollusks are taken, they are readily opened with a knife to
permit a search for the pearls. But where there are many, as in the
Mississippi River, the opening is facilitated by heating. After a
sufficient catch has been obtained, they are subjected to the action of
steam in a box, or they are heated in an ordinary kettle ; a few
minutes of steaming or cooking are sufficient to cause the shells to
spring open. The fleshy parts are removed and thoroughly searched, the
interior surfaces of the shells are likewise examined for attached
pearls, and the liquid at the bottom of the vessel is strained so that
nothing of value may escape.
This
cooking is a convenient method of opening the shells, but
unquestionably it injures the quality of many pearls. In some
instances when the shells open, the pearls fall out and descend to the
heated iron bottom, where they are quickly injured. The surface of one
exposed too long to the heat shows numerous minute cracks, which
increase in number and size when subjected to changes of temperature.
Some choice gems have in this manner been rendered almost valueless. If
a jacket boiler, or one with a double bottom, were used, there would be
less danger of injuring the pearls ; or a similar result could be
accomplished by placing a wire screen a few inches above the bottom.
Several
fishermen have endeavored to devise mechanical methods for removing the
pearls and thus avoid the painstaking search among the flesh tissues
now necessary; but these contrivances have not proved satisfactory, and
have not been employed except experimentally.
In
the Mississippi and its tributaries, where the fishery is very
extensive, after the pearls have been secured, the shells are sold to
button manufacturers and to exporters at prices ranging from $4 to $40
per ton, according to species, quality, and market conditions. This
provides a fairly remunerative income to the fishermen even if no
pearls
