[One in a River Series which discusses rivers as they were, not as they now are.]
A few years ago I looked into this subject because of something else I read and I compiled some information about it. Of course, I never did anything with the material which gathered dust while nestled in a cloud somewhere. It was still there so I will provide some of it here because I will never get around to writing about it. The basic points I would have made are that our rivers used to be clean and full of fish and molluscs. Towns along them thrived by harvesting mussels and making buttons and there were even pearl divers.
Caption:PEARL STRIVERS
A car's old gas tank and some garden hose compose a homemade helmet for this Mississippi River pearl diver. Notes with the photo claim the apparatus enabled the man to "go down 70 feet, and remain down one and a half hours." He would have needed that much time to find anything. When this photo was taken in 1938, the Mississippi's population of pearly mussels had already been largely depleted for use by button factories. For them, the mussels' shells proved more valuable than the gem sometimes inside. One bivalve could yield 24 buttons punched from its halves—and some six billion buttons were produced in the U.S. in 1916 alone. Though most pearl-button factories did not survive the 1940s rage for plastic buttons (not to mention zippers), the end of the harvests did not bring the Mississippi's mussels numbers back. Dozens of its species are now classified as endangered or threatened. Some might say they're as rare as pearls.— Margaret G. Zackowitz
“But far more important commercially than the fish are the clams that inhabit the river. The clamming season, which lasts from April 1st to October 1st, had recently closed and every little while I observed a great heap of shells on the bank. I learned something of the industry at the hotel in the town where I stopped that night. "If a man wants to go clamming," said the landlord, "he fixes up a lot of four-pronged wire hooks, fastens 'em with short strings to sticks about a dozen feet long — perhaps as many as two hundred hooks to each stick. He goes out in a little flat-bottomed boat, drags down stream, and pulls up his stick and puts it on a rack at the side of the boat. Then he takes off the clams that have clinched onto the hooks and throws 'em into the boat. On the shore he has a tank under which he builds a fire and heats water to put the clams into and make 'em open. As he takes the clams out he feels for pearls, throws the shells in a heap, and saves the clams to give to farmers to feed their hogs. I tell the farmers who use that sort of feed to fat their hogs that I don't want to buy no pork off 'em, but probably it's all right. They feed the hogs corn before they market 'em.
"The clam-opening job is rather odorous, and pearlin' don't attract very high grade labor. The pearl gatherers are mostly kind of shiftless — too lazy to do anything else, and they only work when they feel like it; but pearl hunting is profitable. A man can get shells enough in a day to net him four dollars, and there's the chance to make a big thing in pearls besides. One fellow in this town got a pearl that sold for eighteen hundred dollars. I've seen 'em clear as glass, and so round that when you put 'em down you could hardly keep 'em from rollin'. One was found, in another part of the state, this year, that was pink in tint and weighed fifty grains and sold for five thousand dollars. I wouldn't give five dollars for all there are in this river for my own use." When I was a boy I used to go pearlin' in a New England river near my home, and I had a whole teacup full of pearls at one time. I took 'em to a jeweler's store, and he said they wasn't any good. I couldn't get a nickel for 'em."
(pp.288-289).
Among the many sources (some of which will be provided below) here are some Canadian examples:
“The lumbermen, while sailing down the Canadian rivers on their rafts, collect Unios [a genus of freshwater mussels] for food, by fastening bushes to the rear of the raft, so that when they pass through the mussel shoals, where the rivers are shallow, the bushes touch, the Unios close on the leaves and thin branches, holding to them securely and at intervals the bushes are taken out and the Unios removed. Many brooks and rivers, among them the Olentangy, at Delaware, Ohio, and a number of streams near Columbus, have been completely raked and scraped, often in a reckless manner, and consequently with little result. The general method of collecting shells was for a number of boys and men to wade into the mill-race or into the river to their necks, feeling for the sharp ends of the Unio, which always project. When one was discovered in this manner, the finder would either dive after it or lift it with his feet. It was the custom at that time to open the shells in the water, and once during the process a pearl the size of a pigeon's egg is said to have been dropped into the water and never recovered.”p. 230.
This happened along the Humber around Toronto as my annotation to this article will show:
"Attention to Toothsome Clam may Become National Sport." The Globe, Sep 20, 1923,
This one is Canadian and relates to the Old Mill on the Humber. A caterer from Rochester introduced Canadians to the ‘clam-bake’. “It was claimed that this affair was the first “official” clam-bake ever held in Canada, and those concerned, without exception, did the repast justice worthy of the occasion.” It was obviously quite the affair, held in the late afternoon with dancing and a live orchestra. Clams were served along with with salmon, chicken, lobster and corn on the cob. There is no mention of whether the clams came from the Humber or were brought from NY. “It was unanimously agreed when the remains were cleared away that, if the custom has only been introduced into Canada, it deserves immediate adoption, eternal preservation, and inclusion in the category of national sports.”
Sources:
I should be Christmas shopping so I will stop here and provide you with the sources. Towns along major rivers often offer resources- see especially Muscatine ("The Pearl of the Mississippi"), Dubuque and Prairie du Chien. Although I don't usually provide links, I will do so here since they seem to have existed for a while and I will also provide additional information to help you find them. Some article references are also included.
Harvesting the River (Illinois)
Under harvesting, follow the link to the "History of the Pearl Button Business in Meredosia, IL.
Great River - (The Mississippi River)
See especially, "The Clam Lady of America's Rivers: Marian Havlik," which should be here:
http://www.greatriver.com/clam.htm
"Back in the late 1960s Mrs Havlik was attempting to help her daughter with a science project and soon discovered how little (or difficult to find) was information about fresh water mussels. She goes on to become an authority on the subject and works to conserve what remains. The “Clam Lady” can be classified as a Malacalogist. She founded Malacological Consultants, in 1977 and a company with that name is found in La Crosse, WI"- I did not check to see if she is still associated with the company.
This should work for information about Muscatine:http://www.greatriver.com/pearls.htm
"Pearl Clamming and Pearl Button Clamming on the upper Mississippi River", Kari Pearls
For Dubuque: Encyclopedia of Dubuque.
Wisconsin: A Brief History of the Clamming and Pearling Industry in Prairie Du Chien, Eric F. Temte
And even in South Dakota - a very good article: "Clams Once Thrived in the Clean, Steady Waters of the James River," John Andrews, South Dakota Magazine, May/June, 2009.
Selected Newspaper Articles About Clamming - c1900-1980.
(from oldest to latest with some annotations)
"Big Pearl in a Clam Shell," Chicago Daily Tribune. Sep 18, 1900,
This is an example of how lucrative clamming could be . This report is from Winona, Minn and it is reported that a large pearl of “exceptional lustre” was estimated to be worth between $1500 and $2000. The pearl was supposedly the largest seen “in this part of the river”
"American Pearl Fishing." Los Angeles Times, Oct 15, 1900,
A basic description of the pearl fishery on the Mississippi.
"Our Finest Pearl." Los Angeles Times, Jun 28, 1901,
Good piece about a $50,000 pearl. The subtitle is: “Jewel Discovered in a Mississippi River Clam by a Poor Clam Digger Valued at $50,000”. The clam was caught in May 21 in Prairie du Chien and sold to a dealer for $17,500. It was re-sold and is now being offered for the amount above. A description is offered in the final paragraph: “Connoisseurs who have examined the pearl since it was brought to Chicago pronounce it the most wonderful ever found in America. They also say it is equaled by few in the world. Its weight is 103 grains,while the average pearl weighs from 2 to 5 grains. It is almost a perfect pear shape, measuring over three-quarters of an inch in length and five-eighths of an inch. It is of a pink hue and exceedingly lustrous.”
[Like the other LAT stories this is a reprint - in this case from The Chicago Tribune.]
"Gems in River Clams." The Washington Post, Sep 25, 1904,
This is a very long piece with three pictures - from the Mississippi in Iowa - 1) Clamtown, Prairie du Chien 2) Clamming Village at York’s Landing and 3) Clamming Scene near McGregor. The article concludes with a discussion of pearl-diving in the Far East and the development of ‘artificial’ pearls by the Chinese. The opening provides a good description of the process and how pearls develop.
"Woman and Boy Drowned Hunting for Pearls in River." Chicago Daily Tribune, Aug 11, 1910,
This event occurred on the Fox River near Wedron, Ill. A woman and her 6 year old grandson stepped in an 18 foot hole.
“Wading around in the river, the woman and boy were picking up clams and putting them into a bag which Mrs. Carter carried. Twice they had filled the bag and the same number of times had gone to the bank and opened them in search of pearls. Each time they were unsuccessful and the last time they walked down stream stepping into an eighteen foot hole”
"How Clams are Planted." Los Angeles Times, Jul 18, 1913,
This is a lengthy piece which provides background for the article immediately above. Because the beds were being over-clammed the federal government undertook artificial propagation by injecting baby clams into fish. This article describes the process thoroughly and is pretty good.
"Farming Clams in Kansas." Los Angeles Times, Nov 6, 1913.
This is taken from The New York Telegram and the subtitle is “Tons of the Bivalves Gathered in the Rivers for the Pearl in Their Shells to be used as Buttons” Pearl hunting and clam gathering has become a “regular business”. “On a single farm, that of C.M Gregory, which is traversed by the Cottonwood River, no less than 100 tons of clams, it is estimated, have been taken from the riverbed during the last few weeks.” They are shipped in freight cars and each carload will bring $300 to $500 depending upon the quality.
“This is the first time in years that the Cottonwood River had been low enough to enable shell hunters to successfully explore its largest clam beds, which at some points are said to lie so thickly as to cover the river- bed.”
"Pearls in River Clams." The Atlanta Constitution, Nov 9, 1913,
This is reprinted from Leslie’s and discusses briefly the thriving clam industry around Peoria, Ill.
"Fortunes in Clam Shells." Boston Daily Globe, Jul 26, 1914.
The rest of the title is “Mississippi Yields Them by Thousands of Tons for the Maker of Buttons and Ornaments”.
“An industry which now assumes large proportions, and around which clings a peculiar flavor of romance, has developed on the Mississippi River, where hundreds of men are employed in gathering mussel shells in commercial quantities.” That is the opening paragraph and the concluding one: “The supply for a constantly increasing market is almost inexhaustible, the work is easy.
"Rise in Clam Shells." The Washington Post, Nov 12, 1916.
"Mississippi River Clam Diggers." Los Angeles Times , Aug 13, 1922,
This is a short piece indicating that clam digging was resuming after a 5 year moratorium. It mentions that there were factories in La Grange and Canton and that excessive clamming had depleted the beds. Apparently it takes 5 years for clams to mature.
"Scarcity of River Pearls, Clam Beds Worked Out." Boston Daily Globe, May 26, 1925,
This article is about the depletion of clams along the Upper Mississippi and in the Sugar and Rock Rivers and the inland streams of Wisconsin.
"Chasing the Elusive Clam New Way to Pay Way through College." Boston Daily Globe, Aug 15, 1926.
This is an account of three young women in Mass who are clamming on the North River. It does not say exactly what the clams are for but, “The clams meet a ready market and the three girls often total seven bushells in a day’s work.”
"Makes River Clams Grow Fine Pearls." Daily Boston Globe, May 20, 1928.
"Clam Digger Swims to Evade Policemen." Daily Boston Globe, Apr 23, 1930,
Apparently digging was not allowed because of pollution in the Saugus River in
Massachusetts.
Berlin .H.W. "Specimens of Hiawassee River Warty Clams Desired." The Atlanta Constitution, Sep 14, 1930.
Mass."Parker River Clam Diggers to Receive $4 a Barrel." Daily Boston Globe, Aug 2, 1940.
"U. S. Gives Up some Sanctuary Areas, Holds Clam Flats." Daily Boston Globe, Sep 17, 1946, 1946.
Special to The Christian Science Monitor. "Pennsylvania Spurs River Conservation." The Christian Science Monitor, Nov 10, 1948,
This is about the Schuylkill [sic] which was heavily polluted by coal mining.
“Fall River Recalls Clambake 'Boom'." The Christian Science Monitor , Aug 18, 1956,
“...not only is there profit in gathering the shells, but occasionally pearls ranging in value from $5 to $20 are found in the mussels. In the last three seasons more than 10,000 tons of shelves have been taken”
"Man, Dig those 16 $100 Clams in that Crazy Niantic River." The Hartford Courant, Jul 29, 1956.
"Ruling Held Up on River Clamming." The Washington Post, Times Herald , Sep 19, 1964.
"Clamming Permits on Sale for River." The Hartford Courant, May 1, 1969.
“Niantic River Clamming Rules Set by Shell Fish Commission." The Hartford Courant, May 2, 1970.
"Harmful Chinese Clam Discovered in River." The Hartford Courant, Apr 4, 1973,
This is another reason why clams declined - in this case the invasive Chinese clam.
"Tiny Clam A Threat to River." New York Times, Mar 1, 1973,
David Bird, Special to The New York Times. "Return of Clams and Even Oysters is also Envisioned." New York Times, Apr 28, 1973,
This is about the Hudson and more about shad which have also largely disappeared.
"River Closed to Clammers." The Hartford Courant , Jul 18, 1976.
"Clamming Closed in Niantic River." The Hartford Courant , Apr 22, 1979.
Post Script:
Apparently one fellow is still in the business:
"How to Dive for Pearls," By Malia Wollan July 23, 2019. NYT
“Run your hands back and forth through the sediment at the bottom of the river,” says Chuck Work, who has spent much of the last 25 years underwater, crawling the muddy bed of the Tennessee River, feeling for mussels with his hands.
When he started diving in the mid-1990s, the booming cultured-pearl industry in Japan meant thousands of boats jockeyed for territory on the river (about 80 percent of the mussel shells exported from the United States come from Tennessee). Back then, you needed a companion onboard to ward off shell thieves. Today only about 20 divers remain. A few years back, he found a pearl almost the size of a quarter, but he had a hard time selling it and now wears it around his neck. “I sure wish people would start wearing more pearls again,” he says."
The clams are now gone, the pearls are cultured, the buttons plastic and the rivers polluted.
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