THE COLUMBIAN. BLOOMSBURG, k'A-
SAFE-GUARDING
THE PEARL MUSSEL
A Valuable and New Mississippi
River Industry is in Danger
of Extinction
STORIES OF SOME LUCKY FINDS
Cc'entlsts Tk Up the Question of
Artificial Propagation Excitement
Caused by Lucky Finde Pearl
Hunting Parties.
One of the tasks the Government
lias set for Itself this suxmer is to
find out why the pearl bearing mus
- eels of the rivers of the Mississippi
River are disappearing, and to try to
propagate Uiein. A commission head
ed by Prof. Paul Dartsch of Burling
ton has made a thorough pearch of the
Mississippi and Its tributaries to find
out all about the mussel.
The mussel is highly regarded in
that section of the country. Not only
has It been the basis of a very pro
fitable Industry ir the way of furnish
ing raw material for button making
but it has enriched a great many who
have merely taken up the hunt In
the hope of finding valuable pearls.
Mussels have been found in large
quantities along the upper Mississippi,
but pearls are few and far between,
due possibly to the fact that the
temperature of the water is not so
favorable to the propagation of the
slug, the technical cair.e for the pearl
bearing secretions. Down along the
White and Arkansas rivers hundreds
o- thousands of dollars worth of
pearls have been found in the last
live years. In Arkansas more than
a million dollars worth of them have
been unearthed in that time.
The pearl bearing mussel has been
found now and then for years In the
Arkansas rivers by fishermen who use
it as a bait for the drum and the red
horse varieties of the sucker family
of fish. Several lucky finds of this
character on the Black River started
everybody hunting.
It was all a gamble. On'.y now and
then a mussel with the precious stone
attached would be found, but when
once discovered It was well worth
the time employed. Those who would
not wade loafed around on the banks
and bid against one another for the
untouched . shells brought In by the
f-r-hermen. Bathing parties and pic
.s at which the Interest centred In
. rl fishingi were common. '.
Many stories are told of lucky
I .'in. A trio of tramps one day tried
induce a ferryman to carry them
n ross the river. He gruffly refused,
telling them to go work and hunt
pearls for a living.' They took his ad
vice, and In about three hours had
gathered several bushels of shells.
Sitting down to open them, they dis
covered in the fifth shell a pearl that
sold for more than enough to buy all
the early possessions of the ferryman.
A lad playing about a boat used for
pearl fishing discovered something
shiny on the bottom. He showed it to
a man whom be met on the street,
and cheerfully accepted 10 for the
pearL The man disposed of it to a
friend for $50, who sold It later for
four times that sum to a professional
buyer, who -is reported to have re
ceived several thousand dollars for it
A business man who was on the
erge of bankruptcy- went down to
the river to put in a few days fish
log while he contrived to think some
way out of his difficulties. On the first
day he found three pearls that he dis
posed of for sufficient to pay all of
his debts.
Pearls worth $900 were found one
afternoon by three young Northern
women who had accepted an invita
tion from a Southern hostess to join
a bathing party with a pearl fishing
attachment The proper dress for
these functions, by the way, was the
ordinary bathing dress and broad
brimmed straw bats.
Although the industry has waned
greatly the last year, there are still
numerous camps of fishermen to be
seen dotting the river banks. The
shallows wete, of course, first looted,
and nowadays most of the work is
done in the deeps. For this purpose
oyster tongs are used, and the work
is kept up most of the year.
Dredging for pearls is very largely
a business matter tuese days. Dredges
are used on the eep places and on
the bare the rlvr bottom Is ploughed
up and the mussels brought in scows
and opened. The shells are saved
and sold to the button factories that
have sprung up at every town and
village. These shells more than pay
the expenses of the work, and the
pearls found are clear profit Several
comfortable fortunes have been built
up in this way.
There are hundreds of button fac
tories all along the upper Mississippi.
WJierever there are sandbars and
shallow places the work of dredging
for mussels goes on. The supply is
getting shorter every year, and to
preserve the sources and propagate
the muBsel the last Congress was In
direct) to make a liberal appropriation.
Shells by the carloads are shipped
to the factories and there they are
made into blanks und buttons. A big
business in shipping the blanks to
Germany has be.n built up In the
last few years.
Rule Where Men Burn.
The rule of conduct on and beyon4
Aden, where men burn and die. If
keep the head cool and the storaacl
warm..
POISONING PRAIRIE DOGS
They Are a Serious Pest to Western
Farmers and Stockmen.
Who woold think that the prairie
dog, the shy and amusing little rodent
that we like to watch before the door
of his burrow at the loo, would ever
become the subject of Government in
tervention or endanger the success
of stock raising? Vet such is the
fact, says the Technical World.
Out on the national forests which
I'ncle Sam is guarding for the use of
the public expert hunters have gone
after the prairie dogs with zeal and
poison and the work will go on yet
more vigorously next year. In order
to demonstrate the effectiveness of
the work nn area of some 60.000 to
70.000 acres of actual dogtown was
selected for the test by the United
States Forest Service. From 80 to
90 per cent, of the dogs were killed
with the first distribution of the pois
on. The poison Is prepared by coating
wheat with a preparation of strych
nine, cyanide of potassium, anise oil
and molasses. When a sufficient
rjr.anity Is ready the poisoned wheat
Is carried to the field of operations.
There the stockmen gladly supply
men and horses, and the wheat Is giv
en out to the riders and distribution
bt gins.
Each rider carries the wheat In a
tin pail supported by a gunny sack
flung across his right shoulder and
naming at his left side. Ills left
hr.nd is free tor the reins. With nis
rf f;li t hand he uses a tablespoon to
r..e:mire out the poison ecu drop it
Ri.ar the entiance of the holes.
A little practice enables the men
lo tlrop the wheat while keeping th?ir
horses on a sharp trot By crossing
i.ic tjwn to and fro, like a man sow
.nr; rain. they can cover a large area
i:i a surprisingly short time.
H Is necessary to go over the
r.ro'.:;;d a second time, and by spotting
the occupied holes the remaining dogs
win easily be killed with a very small
amount of poison. The average cost
an acre for the poisoning material is
one and one-half cents.
Prairie dogs are very cbnoxious to
the stockmen, for they devour much
grass and undermine the surface of
the ground with their burrows. Where
they establish themselves the destruc
tion of the range is only a question of
time. While it is hard to say just
what amount of feed a prairie dog
will consume In the way of grass, it
has been - estimated by the United
States Biological Survey that thirty
two prairie dogs will consume as
much grass as one sheep, or 256 dogs
as much as one cow.
Fully Equal.
Aunt Mandy is an old colored wom
an who for years has done washing
for several families. She has bad
several mantrimonial experiences, and
when her last husband died one of
her customers attempted to condole
with her. '
"I was very sorry to hear of your
husband's death, Aunt Mandy," she
said.
"Ya'as, ma'am," said Aunt Mandy.
"He was a pow'ful good man."
"What did he die of?"
"Ah really don't know, ma'am."
"You don't know! Gracious! Could
not the doctor tell you?"
"Ah didn't have no doctah, ma'am,"
said Aunt Mandy. "He jes -done died
a natch'ral death."
It wasn't long, however, before
Aunt Mandy had another husband.
"I hear you are married again," re
marked her patron one day.
"Ya'as, ma'am," giggled Aunt Man
d). "Ah was done married las' Sun
day." "And is your new husband equal to
the last?"
"Ya'as, lndeedy, ma'am." said Aunt
Mandy. "He's jes as equal. If not
equaller."
Value of Snake Skins.
It is said to be a hard matter to 6kln
a dead snake ho that the ekln will re
main in good condition; consequently,
in many regions of the world where
Rnakes are caught for the purpose of
supplying the market with skins for
pocketbooks, belts, etc., the snake Is
s'.wiineJ alive, an operation which in
flicts upon this arch enemy of man
the most Intense pain. Some are
skinned dead, but the difference In
price of skins taken from the dead
reptile and those from the one alive
does not make the more humane
n'.ethod popular. Dead snakes bring
only from 2 to 5 cents, while live ones
bring from 25 cents to $1. Sumatra
has a number of snake sklu factories,
as that tropical it land abounds in the
ophidian species When a hunter
brings in a live snake, on? operator
ta!;es it Dy the neck and another by
the tail, and the reptile is attached
Ly the neck to a tree trunk. A sharp
'.n'.fe Is used to cut the Fkln just be
low the head, and then, while the
n;!er holds the snake taut, the first
operator peels the akin from the
sc.nirming body. The reptile, minus
It: skin, writhes in excruciating pain
tor an hour or so before It dies.
Traffic by Dog Team.
Dog teams are plentiful in Sault
Ste. Marie. The boys and girls drive
tt.eui for pleasure and the older people
use them to travel Into town from
the surrounding country. They are
al.so u.-.ed to drav loads of 400 to 500
pounds, and this they do with ease.
They travel five or six miles an hour
r.Ktl .seem to enjoy It
Uoth Newfoundlands and St Ber
nards are used. The Indians of this
.eic'.on also drive dog teams, and still
another interesting sight is the In-ri-u.
rhl'dren out playing in the snow
. ilrc-d In real Indian costume and
v. i;h my tomahawks. SauU Ste. Ma
rio correspondence Kansas City Star.
Helpful
Beaujy Hints
-w t -r
Row lo Accquire Poise la Walk-
ln rmoui Beauty's Tea Rules
of Health formulas Tor Clean
sing Cream, Trecklts, Etc. The
Proper Locatioa of (he Mirror.
The first essential of graceful walk
ing Is poise. The weight of the body
must be adjusted over the bulls of
the feet. In correct polsn, the chest
always leads, the abdoiuun recedes,
the back and head assume their right
positions. It goes without saying
that there can be no grace In a hasty
walk. Haste causes Irregular and un
certain movements of all portions of
the body, detracts from a woman's
dignity and makes rhythm Impossible.
Activity and right use of the feet
are the second essential of a grace
ful walk. The feet have a double
duty to perform in bearing the
weight and propelling the body. When
the standing position is right, one leg
Is swung forward from the hip, the
knee acting In harmony, and the ball
of the foot touching first The weight
is so quickly transferred that the heel
makes no noise. Women who walk
heavily leave the weight on the heel
and are never graceful. The general
saying that one should "walk on the
balls of the feet' has led none peo
ple to try not touching the heel at all.
The result Is a mincing gait wholly
without dignity or grace.
The position of the feet should be
straight The weight of the body be
ing on one foot while the other is
swinging forward, the strongest posi
tion of the foot should be taken, which
is practically straight. As children
are always taught to "turn their toes
out" this will surprise many.
The carriage of the shoulders Is an
Important element In graceful walk
ing. Nervousness, self-consciousness
and haste show In stiffness of the
shoulders, also In the aggressive el
bows and clasped hands. If the chest
Is well up and forward, tho shoulders
will take their natural position and
the arms hang at the sides. Forget
your shoulders and think only of your
chest
1 H
T Cleansing Cream.
i
T Oil of sweet almonds. 4
j. ounces; White wax, 1 ounce;
T White vaseline, 1 ounce; Ex-
X tract of violet 2 drams.
Toilet Water.
Elderflower water, 2 ounces;
Dlstified water, 2 ounces. T
Cosmetic Glove Paste. T
Myrrh, 1 ounce; Honey, 4 j
ounces; Yellow wax, 2 ounces; 4
Rose water, 6 ounces.
Freckle Lotion.
Corrosive sublimate, 2 grains;
lemon juice, 1 ounce; Rose T
water, 4 ounces; Powdered bo- $
rax, 1-2 dram. Apply once dally. T
A Famous Beauty's Advice.
Mme. Una Cavalierl, the famous
grand opera singer, who has been
called the moBt beautiful woman in
the world, says that as a result of her
experience in preserving youth and
good looks she has framed ten sim
ple rules which apply to every wom
an seeking to retain her attractive
ness: 1. When your mirror tells you you
are not looking Well, rest
2. To keep the hair beautiful wash
It once a week.
3. To keep the mouth young mas
sage with the little fingers the lines
of petulance from nostrils to Hps.
4. To have always a youthful con
tour, keep the line of the jaw as thin
as a knife edge.
5. To take away the ugly, middle
aged redness of the nose, use hot
compresses on it
7. To keep the tired lines away from
the eyes, bathe the lids and skin
about the eyes with water as warm as
you can endure It.
8. To make the eyes always bril
liant, bathe them as often as yoa do
your face.
9. To avoid the multiplied chin,
sleep with the head low, the lower
the better.
10. To refresh the dry, withered
skin bathe it often in water as warm
as you can endure.
"You see," she says, "they begin
with 'rest' In practice they end with
that. I might drop half of them and
use rest instead. Rest Is beauty's
magic."
Where Is Your Mirror?
One reason that girls are so often
badly dressed as to their head and
neck is the bad location of their mir
ror. Every dressing table or mirror
used for toilet purposes, should be so
placed that It gets a strong light both
night and day. Preferably the light
should fall full upon It and the dress
er when using the mirror, should sit
with her back to the light
One young woman who frequently
appeared In public with a smudged
face, to her great mortification, found
that her dressing table was so placed
that there was not enough light to re
veal imperfections plainly seen by
everyone else.
Particularly If one makes up the
face or is addicted to the use of pow
der, the loeatlon of the mirror is im
portant If oue must resort to art, it
should at least be artistic and that
Is nut of the question It there is not
a strong light coming from behind ou
the pictured face In the mirror.
b.-.ii-fc MLbiCAL COIL.
Wilt Give Goof Rot'u tt at
Small Cost.
Very
IXMiMless tline lire many persons
vim would ilk-, tu make nn induct nn
colt tor medic.-) , hut ate deterred
from fo doing by the belief tint the
work la too iliilicult lor any one ! ut
a skilled mechanic to jmlpt take Tills
is a gieat mistake, liov. ,vr . s il Is
quite possible for ahuosi nnyh-v!y to
muse a coll that will u've tin,.! if.
suits at a cost of but a lew t erns mid
with the use of only the mii.-tt ord.nary
tools.
For the core there tuny be used Ha
Iron bolt about three Inches limp iiti.l
three-eighths of an inch in dlan.eicr.
as shown at A In the ncco:npn:iy::u
drawing. It Is a good plan to mften
the bolt by heatlnc it red hot In s
fire and allowing It to cool slowly.
Make two thin wooden washers iitioin
an inch and a quarter In dlainner,
and glue them on to the bolt fo lorm
a spool as shown at II, and sovcr the
Iron between the heads with a wrap
ping of two layers of paper glued on.
The nut shown Is not necessary, lint
makes a neat finish.
The first part of the winding, or
J primary coil, requires about hall an
I ounce of No. 2U or No. 22 ri.iuti e cut
ton-covered magnet wire. I'asr- iiu
end of the wire through a small hnie
In one of the heads, and wind on a
smooth layer of the wire like
thread on a spool. When tue
opposite head Is reach.'d wind a
ond layer of wire over the first out
back to the place of beginning.. Cut
off the wire and paRs the end tlirtitiuh
a socond hole In the head near Mi
first one, as shown at I). The exi ss
of wire will be useful for connections.
The next part of the winding or
secondary coil, requires an ounce or
two of No. "2 slnsle cotton, coveted
mapnet wire. Finer wire uives more
powerful results because of the me it
er number of turns for a given weiahi
but It Is rather delicate to handle In
fore winding on any of this wire, pine
on a wrapping of two or three layers or
paper over the primary coll. to keep
A Simple Medical Coil,
the two coils entirely separate. The
secondary wire need not be wound
In layers, though care is required to
avoid injuring the Insulation or break
ing the wire by pulling it too tight
The two ends may be left projecting,
as shown at H, for connection to two
handles or electrodes, and the coil
may be protected by a final wrap
ping of paper, as shown at C.
One pole of a dry battery E is con
nected to the tang of a large file F,
and the other to one of tho primary
terminals D. The remaining primary
terminal O Is then lightly dragged
along the surface of the file, thus
making and breaking the circuit In
rapid succession as the wire passes
over the teeth. If the shocks re
ceived from the handles are too
strong, use a longer piece of wire at
G; if too weak, ai'd another dry bat
tery in series, or put more wire on
the secondary.
The Wise Owl.
"In a hollow tree, during my vaca
tion, I found two young owls," said a
student. "I also found in the same
nest two eggs. Puzzled that the
mother owl thould have abandoned
her setting ere its completion, I laid
the subject before my farmer host.
"The farmer to'.d me that cc.i.rj
peop'.e know well that t'.ie ov.i, a,".c.
hatching half her brood, leaver the
other eggs to be hatched by the new
born birds. These young are warm
b'.ooded, they are helpless to leave
the nest and in nine cares out of t(-:i
they complete the hatch ad well :.
the mother would have lone.
"I'd consider this a superstition 1.'
I hadn't seen a proof of it."
Glasses to See Behind You.
A little aparatus that enables a
man to see behind him as he walks
along the street has just been put
on the market in Paris. It is called the
periscope and is the invention of
Count Soulie de Ccnac.
The periscope consists of two tiny
circular mirrors which can be attach
ed to the outer edges of any ordinary
eyeglasses. They swing on pivots
which enable the wear to adjust
them to his eyes, or to swins them
down in a position In which they
will be out of his range of vision.
They can also be adjusted to tho
focus of the eyes.
The inventor thinks the periscope
will prove valuable especially to de
tectives who may desire to watch a
person without his being aware of
the fact that he is being watched.
Magnetized Watches.
People who travel dally on electric
railways or cars often have great ditll
culty In getting their watches to go
properly, as the electricity magnetizes
them. Here Is a simple test to show
whether a watch Is magnetized or
not. Place a small compass over the
open part of the Inner case. If the
watch is magnetised the pointer on
the coir.pr.ss will revolve. If the point
er remains quite still, the watch is
not affected.
mmm
ANcgclable Preparation for As
similating iticFoodandRcgula
ting the Stomachs andDowcIs of
Promotes Digcslion.ChccrfuV
nessandltest.Contains neilttcr
Opium. Morphine nor Mineral.
KotNahcotic.
HkMUSJm-
1 1 up,
Aperfect Remedy forConstipa
Oon , Sour Stomach.Diarrhoca
Worms .Convulsions .Fcvcrish
ncss find Loss OF SLEEP.
Facsimile Signature or
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Every Issue Contains an Original Poem by SOLON G00DE
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THE COLTTMBIAX. Bloomsbur Pa.
Die profit of a gold mine di-penda,
not on the anion nt of rock crushed
under the HtHinps luit upon the amount
of gold which can be extracted from
the rock. In a similar way the value of
food winch is eaten does not depend ou
me quantity which in taken Into the
stomach but upon the amount of nour
ishnient extracted from it bv the or
gans of nutrition and digestion. When
these orguiin are diseased thev fail to
extract the nourishment in RiiHieient
quantities to supply the needs of the
several organs of the body, and these
organs cannot work without nourish
ment. The result is heart 'trouble,''
liver "trouble," and niauv another ail
ment. Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical
Discovery, acting on every organ of the
digestive and nutritive system, restores
it to health and vigor. It cures diseases
remote from the stomach through the
stomach in which they originated.
Golden Medical Discovery" contalus
neither alcohol nor narcotics.
A fine new line of Weddinp in
vltations just received at this office.
CASTOR I A
For Infanti and Children.
The Kind You Have Always Bought
Bears the
Signature of
St
For Infants and Children.
The Kind You Have
Always Bought
Bears the
Signature
of
In
Use
For Over
Thirty Years
i
THB f WTftUft OMMNT. MCW Von OlTT.
nnitr T it.n, t
J "'""j1 i-rtiiu journal pur-
yn anl has taken the leading
of routine duties.
One: THE COLUMBIAN
Guage Wine by Beetles.
The appearance of great numbers
of "golden beetles" in Austrian
vineyards this summer has been
welcomed with rejoicing by the
proprietors, for it is a universally
credited superstit'on that the ad
vent of these iusects is followed by
a good wine harvest.
This year their belief has been
justified, for it is calculated that
the yield from the vi nes will be
twice as great as in 190S. As many
as 15 and 20 bunches of grapes 1 an
be counted ou each plant in vine
yards in the ueighborhood of Vien
na. A
U .rnrciy
Civ's "
I . ;.c !.
CI. 1)3 .leliel ;. oaca.
Itck-unoM, SOO-.Ul.'!?,
lll'Uls UUil lUi.tOjt.1
the ilisei-u'd int!:i.
bnin.-r KuVi-f oiu
C-. ;t ;h 1.:. 1 I'tivi's
'v . h Col l ia the
H I jukl.!y., 1U-.
More j the Senses of
l ists uud S:u. ll.
:l size 50 cts. , utDru(-
cists or I'v in, ill T,.
luiuul form, 75 ri'uts.
AW
PHOTO
mm
m FEVER
Uy Brothers, SU War
ruu tilroet, New York.