Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1892-06-30
ALL. ABOUT AMBER.
Now the Precious Substance Ia Mined ant
Prepared for Market.

biiub niANN biiNhAs
Deep down in the "blue earth" along
the shores of and beneath the treacher-
Gus breakers of the Baltic sea are found
in bits and fragments of fossilized
wood the traces of vast forests that
In ages long past had covered near
ly the entire coast line of what is
now known as East Prussia. Large
tracts of land have sunk there below
sea level, and in time were covered with
the rank submarine growths of sea-
weed and algae. Whenever storm
churns and lashes the waves then large
masses of this green tangle are torn
from the bottom and often carry with
them pieces of amber, the resin of fossil
pines, which, being but slightly heavier
than salt water, will float in the net
work of weeds. Upon bringing the
floating meadows, that cover the sea
after a propitious gale, ashore at given
points, there depends frequently an
enormous gain to the amber fisher, who
has rented certain portions of the shore
from the crown,
At those times the villages on the sea-
board are all astir with excitement.
Nobody thinks of rest, day or night, and
every one is on the alert, ready to fly to
the edge of the waves at the first alarm
from the Watchers Men defy the roar
ing breakers, and, standing up to
their shoulders in the seething foaiiii
catch wisps of seaweed in the long nets
and fling them shoreward, where the
women and children gather from them
the yellow jewels of the sea- In this
manner as much as fourteen thousand
dollars worth is known to have been
gathered in single night, But il
spite of the most rapid work it is not al
ways possible to bring all the cast VI
amber ashore; the large pieces especial
ly, are apt to sink. They are gathered
by means of long-handled nets, called
"catchers,h when bright day and ;
placid sea enables the amber-fsher'
sight to penetrate the limpid water
1nasmuch as it is often necessary Il
turn over huge rocks, this work is yer,
laborious; yet, case is known where
six hundred dollars worth of amber
amply repaid four men for summe
days drudgery.
Recently, however, this mode ha
been entirely abandoned in favor of on
more in keeping with modern ingenuit
and inventions. The company nov
having charge of the entire industr
recognized some twenty years ago tn
fact that the largest pieces of ambe
could not be easily moved by the wave
on account of their weight, and that
therefore, a lucrative harvest could b
gathered directly from the submerge
portion of the amber bearing stratum
Accordingly divers were imported fror
France, but the very first attempt
though thoroughly satisfactory from
, commercial point of view, demonstrate
that Frenchmen were not able to stan
the rigid climate of Eastern Prussi;
and Lithuanians were substituted fC
them.
r Naturally the cleaning of the bottoi
of the sea along the coast eventual
, exhausted the accessible supply of til
| valuable resin, and from S,4OO pount
g in 1881 the trove dropped to 5, 200 pound
r in 1888; SO that diving has to be discol
), tinued, and will not be resumed unit
= the government permits submarine an
O Der mining. The rapid action of dyn,
a mite is then to take the place of Il
q work of divers, whose movements al
j. awkwardly hampered by the necessai
:. ly stiff and heavy rubber suit and bra
|. helmet
/, At the present time amber is mine
}. from that portion of the "blue eartl
e stratum which extends into terra firm
!, Difficulties that only the genius of mo
= ern engineers were able to overcom
IS to-wit, the penetration of quicksar
5, and layers of gravel that admitt'
II water from the sea, prevented exte
il sive diggings until very recent tim
d Now, however, drift that slants dow
e ward to depth of 1870 feet gives acce
to tunnels running in every direction.
n Out of 2,430, 900 cubic feet of ''bl,
y earth" were taken 1850 pounds
n amber, valued at nearly 100000, la
n year by mining.
S Every miner has strapped to him
" bag in which he collects the lar
A. pieces of the valuable commodity. RI
W loosened dirt is carried away in smf
h carts, which are hoisted to the surfa
ID on elevators, and is then dumped into
er large bin, from whence it is carried
Of a stream of water into an arrangeme
e. of sluices. These have perforated ir
1T bottoms that permit the sand and W
Of ter to escape, retaining only the am b
Of and larger pebbles, which are east
d separated.
IS Before miner is permitted to lea
o. the premises he is subjected to a rigc
IS GUS search Experience has thoroug
s, ly justified this regulation; otherwi
id most scrupulously honest men we
Id known to have strangely perverted &C
l. ceptions of right and wrong as regar
6. amber. 1t seems to be considered as
ts gift of nature to which he who finds
n. is entitled.
70 At the beginning of this century su
n, thefts were punishable by DEATH a
,e- though, of course, the penalty for [
r. crime has been much mitigated sir
ne then, occasion still requires quite +
&C. quent infliction of severe punishmel
er, A recital of the curious and ingenic
", ways and means in which men have
Ill tempted to circumvent the vigilance
al the examiners would add highly
as teresting chapter to the history
er fraud.
u The amber gathered in the mine a
ID. the smaller pieces collected from
sluices are washed with sand in revc
ing drums. This process removes
rough outer surface or rind from it, q
as thereby enhances its commercial val
ed Next the pieces are sorted into nea
it a hundred classes, each one represe
ing some particular adaptation to
at raw material