The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-12-30
FISHING FOR AMBER.
ONE WHO HAS SEEN IT DONE TELLS
HOW THE ARTICLE 10 PROCURED.

Taken Out Of tho surf at the Bsitie--Ths
Amber Territory Very small-zseiss-
ment OF tho Men and Women who
Gather II.
In tbs window ozone Of the largest tobacco
stores in brooklyn are vas displayed src-
narkably fire collection Of amter Some Of
IT, as translucert as honey, IaE7y giowed
With color, a. though IL mad caught tho sun
Ihine OF a thousand summers This bad been
polished and differed as greatly from The
rough. dirty looking lunps beside IL As does
cut from an uncut diamond, and Jet tho
latter WIS Just as full OF color, only 70 vas
imprisoned
"Whsro ls amber obtainedf asked an
Eagle reporter, who had been attracted By
the display, " the proprietor Of the stone.
1.-THE bulk OF tho amber supply Of the
world" was the reply, "ccmes now from tbs
region known az Samland. on the east Prus-
sian coast Of he Baltic. happen b know
somethirg abcGt it, because came from THAI
part Of tho world myself. although not from
that precise vicinity. From tho Brusterot
lighthouse on tho Baltic coast ono can sea
With the naked eye tho entire stretch Of shore
on which this precious pe,r.iaction Is aud
has been found for the past 5000 years. The
stratum Of blue earth on which the detached
fragments Of amber are found lies from
twenty 20 thirty feet below the surface II the
beach. To some extent the amber may bs
and "a obtained By mining, but frequently
The vein Is exposed by reaction CT the water,
20 that fishing for amber Is much easier than
digging, end most Of It is obtained Ia that
way
WORKING IN THE STORM
Amber fishermen are q vigorous and hardy
people, and they need 70 DO 10 carry on their
business They work in stormy weather.
VIXEN the huge waves have detached masses
Il tho amber from tho ocean bed, and are
rolling it, mixed up with punches OF seaweed,
Ia the surf. The fishermen, half naked, wade
into the sea shoulder deep, armed with long
hook forks and hand nets The women stand
along the shore as near as they can 20 the
waves. The men poke up the masses Of sea-
weed with their forks and drag them In 90
ward the shore as far a. possible. With thcir
aets they endeavOr 70 secure the pieces Of
amber that may DO floating In the water. AS
fast os tue seaweed is got 10 the shore the
women take it and pick out the bits Of amber
that may be clinging 70 it aud place them in
bags, ready for the dealers. Some dealers
stay on the beach while the FISHING Il going
on, thus hoping 70 secure particularly inc
specimens
1T must be a pretty interesting sight"
mot only interesting but exciting. The
whole scene Is wild ia the extreme. Til,
laundering roar OF the surf, the shouts Of ths
men and the shrill screams Of the womeil
mingle weirdly with the songhing Of tbs
wind The most profitable part OF the har-
vest, however, is gathered after the storm ~
over. Tho amber which can be gathcrcd
while It il in progress Is mostly In small
pieces, but large masses Of IL too heavy 20 be
moved within reach OF the fishermen by the
waves have been uncovered.
DIVERS WHO RAISE TIE BLOCKS
When the sea Is smooth enough for the bot
tom 70 be seen through from five 10 fifteen
feet OF water the fishermen row out and look
Tor these blocks, recovering them With their
hooks and nets. A more systematic way OK
obtaining the amber Is 70 get IL from thu
reefs which lie some three-quartefs Of a milo
of shore Here, when the different currents
have met, it IS heaped mp with immense
quantities Of seaweed and rubbish For nally
ten months in tho year q little feet Of black
boats is anchored over these reefs, the largest
and most valuable Of which is coo feet long
and 400 feet wide. Each boat has diver,
who is sent down 10 poke over the seaweed,
discover the blocks OF amber and raise it to
the surface. Each diver remains under
water for five hours at stretch ard the
labor is said 70 DO very trying. Sometimes
such large blocks are found that il takes tho
united strength Of two or even three men TO
bring them TO tho surface. Masses OF such
size bring from SIS 20 $50 apiece, the price
for the ordinary amber being but about
e450 a pound During the fishing season tho
water is icy cold and the work Is prosecuted
under great hardships"
"What is amber used for mostly nowF'
"For mouth pieces for pipes Some years
ago, you know, jewelry was quite extensively
made Of it; but, with the exception % chill
dren's beads, il is not used for that purpose 30
any extent now The greatest rival amber
has nowadays is celiuloid, out Of which an
excellent imitation can be made Brooklyn
Eagle