The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1880-06-25
Amber. and Where 1t Comes From.

Amber is a hard, almost transparent
resin, found In but few places. In the
German Ocean is an island commonly
known as Basilia. A long time ago, after
severe storms, there were large quantities
of amber washed up along the shore, and
by the Inhabitants gathered and used as
fuel. The substance has existed for
ages, but is Disappearing. It is fos-
SLICED vegetable gum, from trees that
stood IN forests In epochs of the past, as
the vegetation that formed the coal now
being mined In various places The
Greeks regarded it with superstition, as
did the Romans, who believed 1t to be
possessed of a soul. At the,present time
there is a bed of amber being worked as
a. mine near the coast of Prussia. This
bed is about fifty feet below the surface,
while one hundred feet beneath this bed
is another vein of it. On the coast of the
Baltic Sea, In Prussia near Memel, it is
found, and also at point northeast of
KOnigsberg. Its demand comes princi-
pally from Mohammedan countries, as
the demand for ginseng comes princi-
pally from China, where it is used as a
tonic In the olden time, amber was
declared by the Teutonic Court to belong
exclusively to Royalty, and the sale of it
for long time paid the Court expenses.
Kings guarded it and its digging by
stringent laws, death being the penalty
for seeking or digging it except for the
use of Royalty. Armed guards patroled
the coast for miles, and if a guard, a
peasant, or servant was found to have
stolen even the smallest piece, the
penalty was death on the gallows, kept
up for years on purpose to strike terror
and to punish those who would dare dis
regard the fiat of the law. For the past
eighty years those who search for it
pay the Prussian Government for the
privilege obtaining it. Taking piece
of it without permission is punished with
Imprisonment, while the penalty attach
ing to trespass follows those who dare to
walk within certain limits of the beach,
along which it is found after storms
have washed it up from the depths Of the
sea, where the action of the waves loosen
it from the earth that had formed over it,
ages ago. and which is disturbed by the
mighty mass of water. Those who OBJ
tain it along the coast wade into the sea.
after storm while the water is yet.
rough, and gather it in with nets, or as
it comes with the loose sea-weed. The
"cream of the waves" is carried to.
places on the shore where women and
children hunt carefully for the pieces
of amber, delivering each piece found to
the superintendent OF agent of the Gov
eminent. The yield varies from quarter,
of million to three-quarters Of a million
dollars worth per year. That found
deep under ground is the best 1t is.
used for necklaces, jewelry, mouthpieceg
for pipes, etc., and its price is governed
by its quality and size. A piece that.
weighs pound is considered as quite a.
/ prize, while a piece fifteen pounds in
weight would bring about $4,000 or
$1,000. The largest piece yet found is
in a museum in Berlin, and weighs thir-
teen and half pounds. Amber throws
out so much electricity when being worked
that men cannot long work at one piece
without being thrown into spasms. 1t is,
found in clay beds in a few places in the
United States. At times specimens are.
found in which flies, bugs, mosquitoes,
etc., have been caught, and are entombed
as prisoners there for thousands Of
years. Young Folks R4rGI.