San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-01-19

sian coast on the Baltic / happen TO know
something about IL, because i came from that
part Of the world myself, although not from
that precise vicinity. From the Brusterot
lighthouse on the Baltic coast ono can see
with the naked eye the entire stretch OF shore
on which this precious petrifaction Is and
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 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 q 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. Tho 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"
SIT must be pretty interesting sight"
"Not only interesting, but exciting. The |
whole scene is wild in the extreme. The |
laundering roar of the surf, the shouts of the
men and the shrill screams of the women
mingle weirdly with the soughing Of the
wind The most profitable part of the hsr-
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
ODbdLuLub Iuo dLlOOl ID W SCO ~ A4OAl OL0
reefs which lie some three-quaTters Of mile
pfP 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
End most valuable Of which is 800 feet long
Ind 400 feet wide. Each boat has diver,
who is sent down to poke over the seaweed,
discover the blocks of amber and rSiss it to
the surface Each diver remains under
water for FIVE hours at stretch and the ,
labor is said to be very trying. Sometimes
UGH 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 875 to $50 apieoe, the prics {
for the ordinary amber being but about ,
s4.5O pound During the fishing season the
water is icy cold and the work is prosecuted ,
under great hardships."
"What is amber used for mostly nowY' {
"For mouth pieces for pipes Some years :
ago, you know, jewelry was quite extensively {
made Of it; but, with the exception of chill s
dren's beads, it is not used for that purpose to
any extent now. The greatest rival amber y
has nowadays is celuloid, out of which an
excellent imitation can be made, "-BrooklyD :
Eagle.