﻿10 
  MUSSELS 
  IX 
  TEIBUTAEIES 
  OF 
  UPPER 
  MISSOURI 
  RIVER. 
  

  

  boat, 
  served 
  as 
  sockets 
  or 
  sleeves 
  through 
  which 
  a 
  long 
  iron 
  rod 
  could 
  

   be 
  shoved 
  mto 
  the 
  soft 
  mud 
  bottom 
  of 
  the 
  river. 
  By 
  anchoring 
  m 
  

   tliis 
  way 
  the 
  boat 
  was 
  kept 
  abreast 
  of 
  the 
  current, 
  while 
  the 
  fisher- 
  

   man 
  used 
  the 
  sides 
  as 
  a 
  fulcrum 
  for 
  the 
  handle 
  of 
  his 
  fork. 
  After 
  

   gathering 
  all 
  the 
  mussels 
  possible 
  within 
  reach 
  he 
  would 
  pull 
  up 
  the 
  

   rods, 
  let 
  the 
  boat 
  drift 
  downstream 
  a 
  suitable 
  distance, 
  or 
  beyond 
  the 
  

   portion 
  of 
  river 
  just 
  worked, 
  and 
  then 
  anchor 
  and 
  resume 
  operations 
  

   as 
  before. 
  

  

  In 
  places 
  hke 
  that 
  just 
  described, 
  where 
  a 
  carload 
  or 
  more 
  of 
  shells 
  

   can 
  be 
  taken 
  in 
  a 
  season, 
  commercial 
  shelling 
  may 
  be 
  followed 
  profit- 
  

   ably. 
  From 
  Milltown 
  to 
  Lesterville 
  the 
  river 
  is 
  veiy 
  productive. 
  

   Approximately 
  400 
  tons 
  of 
  shells 
  have 
  been 
  taken 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  

   between 
  these 
  two 
  points. 
  

  

  At 
  Milltown, 
  mussels 
  were 
  gathered 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  the 
  basket-rake 
  

   dragged 
  by 
  a 
  power-boat. 
  The 
  rake 
  was 
  peculiar 
  m 
  bemg 
  without 
  

   teeth 
  but 
  having 
  a 
  square 
  brail 
  made 
  of 
  | 
  by 
  1^ 
  inch 
  flat 
  iron, 
  to 
  

   which 
  was 
  fastened 
  a 
  wire 
  basket 
  of 
  1-inch 
  mesh. 
  With 
  each 
  boat 
  

   was 
  a 
  crew 
  of 
  four 
  men, 
  three 
  to 
  work 
  with 
  the 
  rakes 
  and 
  one 
  to 
  

   operate 
  the 
  engine. 
  One 
  dragged 
  the 
  rake 
  at 
  the 
  rear 
  of 
  the 
  boat, 
  

   while 
  the 
  other 
  two 
  worked 
  at 
  the 
  sides. 
  In 
  this 
  manner 
  a 
  strip 
  of 
  

   the 
  river 
  bottom 
  6 
  feet 
  wide 
  was 
  thoroughly 
  scraped. 
  One 
  crew 
  

   said 
  that 
  they 
  had 
  gathered 
  3 
  tons 
  of 
  mussels 
  in 
  three 
  hours. 
  

  

  Of 
  all 
  the 
  shells 
  gathered 
  by 
  the 
  party 
  at 
  various 
  pomts 
  on 
  the 
  

   James 
  River, 
  or 
  observed 
  at 
  the 
  clammer's 
  camps, 
  no 
  small 
  ones 
  

   were 
  seen. 
  Mr. 
  Kennedy, 
  a 
  shell 
  dealer, 
  informed 
  our 
  party 
  that 
  he 
  

   had 
  prospected 
  the 
  James 
  River 
  from 
  Riverside 
  to 
  its 
  mouth, 
  and 
  

   had 
  not 
  found 
  any 
  small 
  shells. 
  The 
  basket-rake 
  implement 
  em- 
  

   ployed 
  on 
  this 
  river 
  and 
  described 
  above 
  would 
  have 
  taken 
  small 
  

   shells 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  larger 
  ones 
  had 
  they 
  been 
  present. 
  This 
  pov- 
  

   erty 
  of 
  young 
  mussels 
  may 
  be 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  long-continued 
  

   low 
  stages 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  cause 
  the 
  run 
  of 
  fishes 
  that 
  are 
  essential 
  to 
  

   the 
  reproduction 
  of 
  the 
  mussels 
  to 
  occur 
  only 
  at 
  irregular 
  intervals 
  

   (see 
  also 
  p. 
  12). 
  We 
  were 
  told 
  by 
  the 
  people 
  who 
  live 
  along 
  the 
  

   river 
  that 
  in 
  some 
  years 
  fish 
  appear 
  in 
  large 
  numbers, 
  but 
  that 
  

   usually 
  the 
  fishing 
  was 
  very 
  poor, 
  only 
  an 
  occasional 
  bullhead 
  being 
  

   caught. 
  

  

  CHARACTER 
  OF 
  THE 
  JAMES 
  RIVER 
  DRAINAGE 
  AREA. 
  

  

  Particular 
  attention 
  was 
  not 
  given 
  to 
  geological 
  conditions, 
  but 
  

   because 
  of 
  the 
  interest 
  attached 
  to 
  the 
  rather 
  isolated 
  mussel 
  beds 
  in 
  

   this 
  semiarid 
  region, 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  instructive 
  to 
  refer 
  to 
  the 
  character 
  

   of 
  the 
  country 
  through 
  which 
  the 
  river 
  passes, 
  especially 
  as 
  it 
  affects 
  

   the 
  water 
  supply. 
  The 
  data 
  are 
  gleaned 
  largely 
  from 
  the 
  report 
  of 
  

   Todd 
  and 
  Hall 
  previously 
  cited. 
  

  

  The 
  general 
  suriace 
  is 
  covered 
  variously 
  by 
  sand, 
  clay, 
  and 
  gravel 
  

   till 
  and 
  by 
  stream 
  deposits 
  of 
  recent 
  geological 
  times. 
  Tertiary 
  and 
  

  

  