Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-12-21
FISHING FOR AMBER.
ONE WHO HAS SEEN IT DONE TELLS HOW THE ARTICLE IS PROCURED.

Taken Out of the Surf at the Baltic-Ths
 Amber Territory Very Sman-Excite-
 ment of the Men and Women Who
 Gather It.
 In the window of ona of the largest tobacco stores in Brooklyn there was displayed re- markedly fine collection of amber Some of it, as translucent as honey, fairly glowed with color, as though it had caught the sum- shine of thousand summers. This had been polished and differed as greatly from the rough, dirty looking Jumps beside it as does a cut from an uncut diamond, and yet the latter was just as full of color, only it was imprisoned.
 "Where is amber obtainedr' asked an Eagle reporter, who had been attracted by the display, of the proprietor of the store.
 ''The bulk of the amber supply of the world" was the reply, ''comes now from the region known as Samland, on the east Pras- sian coast of the Baltic. I happen to know something about it. because came from that part of the world myself, although not from that precise vicinity. From the Brusterot lighthouse on the Baltic coast one can see with the naked eye the entire stretch of shore on which this precious petrifaction is and
 
 stratum of blue earth on which the detached fragments of amber are found lies from twenty to thirty feet below the surface of the beach. To some extent the amber may be and is obtained by mining, but frequently the vein is exposed by the action of the water, so that fishing for amber is much easier than digging, and most of it is obtained in that way.
 WORKING IN THE STORM.
 Amber fishermen are vigorous and hardy people, and they need to be to carry on their business. They work in stormy weather, when the huge waves have detached masses of the amber from the ocean bed, and are rolling it, mixed up with punches of seaweed, in 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 to the waves. The men poke up the masses of sea- weed with their forks and drag them in to- ward the shore as far as possible. With their nets they endeavor to secure the pieces of amber that may be floating in the water. As fast as the seaweed Is got to the shore the women take it and pick out the bits of amber that may be clinging to it and place them in bags, ready for the dealers. Some dealers stay on the beach while the fishing is going on, thus hoping to secure particularly fine specimens
 "It must be pretty interesting sight"
 "Not only interesting, but exciting. The whole scene is wild ill the extreme. The laundering roar of the surf, the shouts of the men and the shril screams of the women mingle weirdly with the soughing of the wind. The most profitable part of the har- vest, however, is gathered after the storm is over. The amber which can be gathered while it is In progress is mostly in small pieces, but large masses of it too heavy to be moved within reach of the fishermen by the waves have been uncovered.
 DIVERS WHO RAISE THE BLOCKS. When the sea is smooth enough for the bot tom to be seen through from five to fifteen feet of water the fishermen row out and look for these blocks, recovering them with their hooks and nets. A more systematic way of obtaining the amber is to get it from the reefs which lie some three quarters of mile off shore. Here, when the different currents have met, it is heaped up with immense quantities of seaweed and rubbish. For fully ten months in the year little feet of black boats is anchored over these reefs, the largest and most valuable of which is 600 feet long and 400 feet wide. Each boat has a diver, who is sent down to 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, and tho labor is said to be very trying. Sometimes such large blocks are found that it takes the united strength of two or even three men to bring them to the surface. Masses of such size bring from S75 to $50 apiece, the price for the ordinary amber being but about s4.50 pound. During the fishing season the water is icy cold and the work is prosecuted under great hardships."
 "What is amber used for mostly nowg'
 ''For mouth pieces for pipes. Some years ago, you know, jewelry was quite extensively made of it; but, with the exception of chill dren's beads, it Is not used for that purpose to any extent now. The greatest rival amber has nowadays is celluloid, out of which an excellent imitation can be made. ."-Brooklyn Eanla