is: 



THE MUSEUM. 



along the Mackinaw River and its trib- 

 utary creeks, in McLean, Tazewell 

 and Woodford counties. 



In 1SS9 the exhibit of American 

 pearls received an award of a gold 

 medal, and the collaborateur a silver 

 medal for the literature. At the Co- 

 lumbian Exposition at Chicago, in 

 1893, large and beautiful exhibits of 

 pearls, of great variety of tints were 

 set in the finest jewelry in the Manu- 

 facturers' Building, and were a not- 

 able feature in the Wisconsin State 

 Building and the Maine Building. 



The Northwestern pearl excitement 

 subsided in a few seasons, as the 

 others had done in turn before, by the 

 exhaustion of the mussel beds and the 

 consequent cessation of product.. 

 About every ten years or so a new 

 wave of interest arises in connection 

 with fresh discoveries at sorrie point 

 where the shells have lain long undis- 

 turbed; it again absorbs the attention 

 and excites the imagination of the 

 community around and spreads to 

 other parts of the country, a fresh 

 campaign of ignorant extermination is 

 carried on for several summers, then 

 the yield is exhausted, and there is 

 nothing more but to leave nature to 

 recuperate, if possible, and slowly to 

 restore, in limited amount, the abun- 

 dant life that has been destroyed. 



During the past season of 1S97 

 the pearl fever has broken out in a 

 new locality, attracted attention and 

 awakened similar activity in various 

 parts of the country. This time the 

 scene of discovery and excitement was 

 the hitherto undisturbed streams and 

 bayous of Arkansas These waters 

 teem with Unios and pearls have at 

 times been found by the rural popula- 

 tion for years past; but there has been 

 usually no knowledge of their nature 

 or their value. They have been sim- 

 ply regarded as "pretty stones," aud 

 used as playthings by the children- 

 like the first South American diamond 

 that attracted the -notice of a trader, 

 in 1866, as he saw it in the hands of 

 the children of his Boer host at the 



Vaol River. Several valuable pearls,, 

 however, were this year found by per- 

 sons from St. Louis and Memphis, 

 who at once sent them to those cities, 

 and ascertained their reality and value. 

 The same parties then searched for 

 more, and took steps to lease the land 

 where pearls were abundant. Ere 

 long the facts became known, and a 

 wild excitement set in and spread 

 through large portions of Arkansas, 

 extending into Missouri, Kansas and 

 the territory of the Choctaw Nation. 

 The first important discoveries were 

 on small lakes or bayous,, formed hy 

 affluents of the. White River and its. 

 branches, then on the Arkansas, thieL 

 Ouachita, and the Black Xache and 

 St. Francis rivers, thus a^ecting al- 

 most all sections of the State. In 

 one district an entire lake was leased, 

 guarded and fenced for the pearl con- 

 tents of it alone. 



The newspaper press took up the 

 subject and published highly sensa- 

 tional accounts of the treasures to be 

 had in what was largely proclaimed as.. 

 "the Arkansas Klondike." These ar- 

 ticles were copied al! over the country, 

 and led to a great amount of pearl- 

 hunting in many of the States, both 

 East and West. Iowa, Tennessee, 

 Georgia, New York and Connecticut 

 were all more or less stirred up to ac- 

 tivity. The former pearl region of 

 Tennessee was less affected than a 

 new section in the eastern part of the 

 State, along Clinch River, where great 

 crowds have been searching for pearls 

 and large quantities were obtained. 

 The Georgia interest has been chiefly 

 along the Oostenaula, near and above 

 Rome. The New York activity has 

 been in the northeastern angle of the 

 State, along Grass River, in St. Law- 

 rence County. Connecticut has yield- 

 ed some good results to the searchers 

 on the Mystic and Shepaug rivers — at 

 almost opposite ends of the State. 



REASON FOR THE PEAKL INVESTIG.ATION. 



In view of the great interest and 

 possible importance of the pearl, the 



I 



