THE MISSISSIPPI A MINE OF WEALTH.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1675, 6 April 1904, Page 41 (Supplement)

THE MISSISSIPPI A MINE OF WEALTH.

The “Daily Messenger” records some strange stories of a new found American jewel. Within the past three years more than three million dollars’ worth of pearls have been taken from the waters of the Mississippi Valley. The quest originated in a peculiar way. An old sunburnt fisherman had run out of bait. The easiest wav to procure more was to rake up a clam from the bottom of the stream, about eight feet below the surface of the water. The fisherman, whistling a little tune, inserted his knife blade between the shells and prized them apart. As he did so a beautiful, round, lustrous pearl dropped out on the thwart of the boat and rolled to the bottom of the craft, where it lay glistening in the forenoon sun. <