Santander, February 19th-22nd 2008 - Aranzadi

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CHERYL CLAASSEN
shape (Coker 1916: 16). The ebony shell
(Fusconaia ebena) was the best suited to button
production and in the early years was the only species
sought (Fig. 1). Some rivers yielded 80% or
more of ebony shells such as the upper
Mississippi, the St. Francis River in Arkansas, and
the Pearl River in Louisiana and Mississippi (Coker
1919). By 1920, however, approximately 40 different
freshwater species had commercial value in
the US industry.
Figure 1. Ebony shell (Fusconaia ebena).
2. BEDS AND SHELL DENSITIES
In 1912, 57 rivers in 18 states were contributing
shells to the button industry. By 1950, at least 108
rivers had been harvested for shell button needs.
Naiad beds were often of considerable size and
yielded considerable numbers of individuals. For
example, that section of the Mississippi River
around Muscatine, Iowa, yielded 500 tons of shell
(open, meatless) in 1896, 3502 tons of shells in
1897, and 3641 tons in 1898 (Townsend 1901).
Another bed in the vicinity of New Boston, Illinois,
was measured to be 1.5 miles long by 330 yards
wide. From 1896 to 1898 it produced 10,000 tons
of shells. The rapids above Keokuk, Iowa, produced
1600 tons in 1910. Lake Pepin reports indicated
804 tons from one section of the upper lakeshore
and 1160 tons from a section of the lower
lakeshore in 1924 (Fig. 2)
The early catch records from the Illinois River in
the state of Illinois are also informative about animal
density and industrial potential. The town of
Chillicothe had in 1912 a 65 ton shell pile. A man
in the Spring Bay area in 1909 gathered 14 tons in
17 days. In the Peoria area one sheller gathered 10
Figure 2. Shell Piles along the Mississippi River (Used with permission of the Musser Public Library, Muscatine, Iowa, Oscar Grossheim Collection, No. 567.)
MUNIBE Suplemento - Gehigarria 31, 2010
S.C. Aranzadi. Z.E. Donostia/San Sebastián