GEMS FOUND IN MUSSEL SHELLS Tennessee River Supplies Many Rich Finds to the Shell Hunters From tiie Cincinnati Enquirer. Pearl fishing in Tennessee is now a thriving, lucrative industry, while the gem from the streams in the old Volunteer state is gaining a wide reputation in the Eastern markets for its brilliant luster and fine formation. Pearl fishing in that state is conducted on an extensive scale in the mountains of East Tennessee, especially in the Clinch river, where many valuable "strikes" have been made the past few months. A small army of pearl hunters is now engaged fishing for the gems, this being the season of the year in which they carry on their very interesting work. The fishermen are always ready and willing to tell the story of the Clinch river pearl, using purely local mountain terms. They will tell you that the mussel varies as to kind and shape, there being three separate and distinct kinds. There is the yellow mussel from which is taken the white pearl, also the pink and gold. The "sheep-nose" musell contains the pink pearl, while in the "biscuit" mussel a second or inferior grade of the pink gem is found. From the first group comes the valuable pearls known as the round, button or pearl-shaped gems. The pearl is constructed pretty much on the principle of an onion. They can be peeled, each layer being very thin, but distinctly a separate portion of the pearl. When one is found and proves to be below the average in luster it is peeled by a professional pearl man and often a valuable gem is found after removing several layers of the film. This Clinch river pearl is noted for size as well as its exquisite beauty. A single Tennessee pearl, not larger than a pea, has been known to sell for as high as $700. The best pearls, those which have brought the highest prices, present a variety of tint and coloring not found in other pearls, ranging from a dark wine color to that of a beautiful pink. There is an element of chance in pearl fishing in the Tennessee streams that give it a fascination. There is no more certainty that a summer's work will bring reward than a claim staked in the Alaska gold region. Nevertheless the work goes on. One man's "strike" is enough to keep the river full of pearl seekers for a month. It is estimated that the average is 10,000 mussels to one really valuable find. The season for pearl fishing begins when the shoals in the river appear after the winter's high water. Usually the first valuable find heightens the fever, and it is not an uncommon sight to see 100 or more men and women engaged in fishing within a space of 40 to 50 miles. They will be seen digging and scratching in the sand, much after the fashion of a hen feeding her brood. The pearl fisherman enters the water barefooted and proceeds to feel carefully with his toes for mussels which lie half buried in the sand. He is well accustomed, or, as the fishermen express it, their toes are so well trained that they know them as soon as they come in contact with a mussel. When the shell is found they grasp it they grasp it with a foot and land it in a boat. When a sufficient quantity have been gathered, the shells are opened with a wedge. Two of the most unique characters in the pearl district are Joe Gosset, and his brother James. Joe has been stone-blind for many years, yet he is the best fisherman on the river. Promptly upon the opening of the season he is led daily into the river by his brother and left to shift for himself. Joe uses the foot method to advantage, and has succeeded the past year better than his brother. For one pearl he received $350. They are typical mountaineers, but successful pearl fishermen. Formerly the business was done through local agents or buyers, but now Tiffany of New York and other dealers negotiate direct with the fishermen. The attention of British buyers has been directed to the pearl and before a great while the Tennessee pearl will find a ready sale in the markets of England. This week James Allen of Nashville paid $700 for a pearl and sold it to Tiffany of New York for $2,000. Anaconda Standard, Anaconda, Wisconsin, Sept. 2, 1900