Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-10-13
AAIBERGRIS.
Sick Whale Furnishes "A Lump Worth
SlS,OOO-A Mysterious Substance that
Sells for $500 per Pound.

y
the tropics as TO the origin of amber, says
the san Francisco CAL, rank high among
the startling traditions Of the forecastIe.
The belief is held that amber is a petri-
faction Of some internal part Of a whale.
and many stories are told of encountering
immense sea-mOnsteTs almost entirely
transformed into amber. The cOld-blooded
| lying OF the able seaman is of course IN
paralleled IN all history, but his soul
stirring accounts of exploits with amber
whales probably have a little founda-
| ton IN fact, which is enlarged and illu-
minated by the sailors great magma
ton. A substance called amberpris
which has been known for about a cen,
fury, Is found at rare intervals floating on
the sea In the hottest ATTITUDES and also
/ In the intestines of the spermaceti whale.
| It's history has never been properly ex-
| planned. Various theories have been adj
Vanced, but all specialists have contented
| themselves with quoting some predeces-
sors words concerning its origin and
composition, and to-day it affords
/ an ample field for the scientific
/ enthusiast, as it is an extremely
valuable commodity, and if the latest ap-
/ pllanees were brought to bear upon the
/ subject all unsettled questions undoubt-
/ edly could be answered. 1t was at first
| supposed to lie of vegetable production for
| the most part, and analogous to amber:
hehce It's name, ambergris, or gray am
Der. 1t is dark gray in color and is
formed OF cOncentric layers. 1t feels like
hard rubber. The sailors found it in the
: wales lnteStlneS near the stomach. and
developed the theory that il was a petri-
faction, and that as natural course of
events the whole whale might turn into a
/ substance. In a short time sailors were
/ multiplying who had seen amber whales /!
| DurlnEthe spring of last year the Sea
/ Ranger, whaling ship owned by F. II.
| Bartlett Il Sons, OF Massachusetts,, which
/ had sailed from New Bedford in June.
! 1873, Tor four years whaling VOYAGE in
/ the South Atlantic, took a sperm whale
I while cruising to the south of st. Helena
/ Alter the usual operation of hooking,
| hosting, and cutting OFF the blubber and
/ balling out the ''case,r the most interest
| ing part of the work was begun. At this
| point all on board eagerly watched while
the long spade is pushed into the intes-
/ tines IN order TO ascertain If there is any
/ ambergris in the stripped leViathan. In
/ the present instance the men were
awarded by finding the finest specimen of
ambergris that has been captured during
| the last ten years. 1t was about the size
| and shape of a watermelon, weighed 20
/ pounds, and was worth $4,000.
The price of ambergris has been as high
as $3.50 per pound. The piece found by
/ the Sea Ranger was regular in shape and
OF the best quality-cOmpact and Solid
1t was very pleasant task for the Cap
tain to put the little $4,000 lumD under
his arm and take il ashore and forward it
by freight ship to the owners of his YES
sci, into whose hands it came on May 81
last, and was sold the same day to
MessTs Weeks d Potter, of Boston, who
had received news by cable of the great
''fnd.' Whenever a large piece of
| the substance is found the
more prominent chemists and druggists
of the world are promptly notified
such dealers as Lubin & Pinaud of Paris,
| the AtkinsOns of London, Lanman Il
Kemp, and Schifelin Il Co. of New York
and there is spirited competition for the
control Of the market. The supply is ex-
| tremely small. There are about l75
/ whaling ships IN the world: all are con-
stantly looking for the precious SUBJ
1 stance, and the entire amount taken by
all these ships (including the 40 Ameri-
/ can whalers, the p ships that 90 TO Baf-
| fms Bay from Dundee, and the few stray
| glers from Norway and Sweden is not
more than from 80 to % pounds per year.
| This amount is exclusive of whatever
| some firms may be lucky enough to secure
| secretly.
1t was used for many years in medi-
/ cine, and is now prescribed in some parts
OF France, but its great and important
| present use is in the manufacture of per-
/ fumes. 1t consists chiefly of a peculiar
/ fatty matter, similar to chOlesterin, and
/ is readily dissolved in alcohol, ether, or
/ the volatile or fixed oils. The most widely
/ accepted suppOsitiOn is that it is a hard
/ ened piece Of hillary matter formed in the
/ stomach of a sick whale, and perhaps in
/ some other fishes also, for the sperm
l. u 70. fs.-l,
whose tough, indestrUctible beaks are TO
/ be found in the ambergris, a fact arguing
l that the ambergTlS was q cause of
result Of indigestion, and might occur in
| the stomach or other extremely YOraciOus
| fishes that are known to deyOur at certain
| periods anything they meet. They are
sick during the presence OF their Jonah
/ ike visitors and get well again after the
/ visitors have taken their departure. The
/ Bartletts have been in the whaling
! business for 40 years, and the specimen
| here described is the first piece of amber
! girls ever found by them, which will Illus
| trate the scarcity of the article. Not only
/ has the origin of ambergris been en-
/ shrOuded in mystery, but there has been
/ a widespread disposition to count the dis
/ cOvery of piece as a sign of good
luck aside from its commercial value.
| The lucky star of the crew and ship was
| Their in the ascendant. A romantic inter-
est was maintained, and this may have
| led to the stories of missing the capture
/ OF fabulOusly valuable amber whales by a
| hairs breadth. During the last ten years
there have only been few large pieces
/ found. A little schooner from Martha's
| Vineyard got a gOOd-siZed piece three
/ years ago, and New Bedford whaler
/ found a piece weighing $50 pounds in
/ 1882, but it was of poor quality. Many
/ authorizations are attempted. The spu-
riOus stun, however, can readily be dis
/ tinguished from the genuine by standard
| tests.
There are legends without number of
| certain persons on board predicting that
/ ambergris would be found within GER
/ tain time. One that is accredited is the
| case of the wife Of the Captain insisting
| that a whale which had just been caught
/ should be searched for ambergris, al
though the stormy weather made il almost
| absolutely necessary to drop the carcass
| Immediately after the blubber had been
| removed. The woman ''felt 1t in her
| bones" that they would find ambergris,
and so they did-a fine little ball weigh
| ing $50 pounds, which Melted the ship an
! even So, 900.
Ambergris is now found floating in the
| water near Sumatra, Malacca and NADIA
/ gascar, also along the American coast
and Brazil, China and Japan, and along
/ the west COdsl OF Ireland. experiments
are now being carried on in France with
view OF definitely determining its COM
| position, and it is limited that they may
i result in the invention of a compound that
/ will to a certain extent take the place of
ambergris in the manufacture of perfum-
/ cries.
In making perfumeTy there are two gen.
eral classes; the animal doors, such as
those from the musk and civet; and the
vegetable OdOrs, such as those from the
rose and cassia. In the case of the ami
NAL Od0rs they can be dissolved in alc0-
hol with the aid Of heat aud the OdOr is
taken up By the alcohol. With the vege-
table, as for example the rose, alternate
layers Of lard and roses are pressed, and
allowed TO stand, when the lard will take
into itself the entire perfume of the roses,
and afterward the perfume can he trans
| feIred TO alcohol from the lard. When the
alcohol is thus saturated with the Odor,
more alcohol is added until the mixture
is OF required strength. Then the
ambergris is used. II the perfumed alcO-
| hOl were used as a scent for the handker-
chief, the spirits would evapOrate, and
the OdOr would not remain. But the
| ambergris is added, and acts as base to
4 1.-,srT sIrn Ho1foc of fhFe hind