Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 197, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 August 1910 — Mississippi Catfish Are Thirsty [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Mississippi Catfish Are Thirsty

ST. LOUIS.—It Is only within the memory of the oldest of river men that the rivers forming the great Mississippi system have been so low in the summer as they have this year. The old-timers say the low stages thia year can be compared only with those of 1864, when the catfish had to climb out into the fields to moisten their parched throats with the dew. North of St. Louis steamboat traffic Is almost at a standstill on account of the low water in the Upper Mississippi. The Diamond Jo line has been forced to take off its through boats to St Paul and has great difficulty in getting its local packets through to Burlington, la. Many excursion boats are tied up. Several of the boats have been damaged in an effort to

But while the steamboat interests are suffering the pearl button ‘factories and the pearl hunters are reaping a harvest. Hundreds of men, women and children can be seen along the water front of every town hunting clams. The shells are sold to the button factories after being searched for yearals. Many fine pearls have been found. One found by a' Dubuque man was sold for S4OO. If it were not for the Water that comes out of the Missouri, steamboat traffic would be suspended between here and Cairo. While the Missouri has not risen this year to within 15 feet of the flood stage, it has maintained a steady flow of water, enough to keep the steamboats going on the Mississippi and enough for the boats runinng on that stream. Still, unless there are rains soon In the north the Missouri is likely to go very low this fall, although not as low as it has been In some years. It has been many years since the Missouri has fallen below the zero stage. It is now eight feet above that stage, which is about the usual flow in the fall.