The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1892-09-23
II AN AMBER MINE,
A Quoer Industry in Which Hon
esty IL at Premium.
Valuable Deposits Displaced 10y PrsuI,i,,..
Gales and Carried Ashore by tb.
Waves some Interesting
Particular.

Deep down in the "bluc earth aH.,..
the shores Of and beneath the tr..4a..
ous breakers of the Baltic sea ar. t.,,...r
ia bits and fragments Of foa,I.lz,-I r....
th. traces Of vast forests that if. ....
long past had covered near , "a. ..,...
coast line of what IS now known g..
East Prussia, says the New Iurl. rr...
Large tracts Of land have sual-t.....
below sea level and in time wer.....
cred with the rank submarine rr...s..
II scawood and algac. NAoucv-r
storm churns and lashes tho wave, tr....
large. masses Of this green tang ......
torn from the bottom, and often ...-...
with them pieces Of amber. the resin -
fossil pines which, being but -l.....
heavier than salt water, win Na.- d..
tho network OF weeds. pom h.l....r
the floating meadows, that cnE.r,a.
sea after propitious gall. a.a.r. ID
given points, there depends frogus..
IN enormous gain 10 the amber U.-
win, has rented certain portions at ta.
shore from the crown.
At those times the villages on ta......
board ere all astir with cXcitrm..t
Nobody thinks Of rest day nor u.-.,
and everyone is on the alert. r,a.. ..
fly u the edge Of the waves AT th.t tr.,
alarm from the watchers. Men ..t.
t!l,. roaring breakers, and. -iauu..r .u
l., Ll-ir sh buldcrs IN tine s'.tniur foam
catch vi ps Of seawccd ia long u.-
and fling them shoroward. wl,r. r..
women and children gather from them
the yellow Jewels Of the SEA. Int...
L.anucr a. much as fourteen Thousand
dollars worth j. known T." has. t..a
pat hcrcd in a single night. but .l -..t.
81 the most rapid work il is NOT aI.....,
possible 10 bring all the ca-t-up 4ua.-
ashore; the larger pieces. especial.
are apt 10 sink. They are gather. d..
means of long-haudlcd nets .......
cat hers" when a bright day and.
U!:l-id sea enables the amber fishers
i-Lt u penetrate the lIupig ..4t.r
Inasmuch rs il is often urr,--ar. O..
tuIm over huge rocks this worl. De- lrr.
labsripus. vet i case j. known ,.a.r.
nix hundred dollars worth Of amber
amply repaid four men for "a summer
days dr-udgery. Recently, however.
this mode has been entirely ahaud au,I
in favor of one more in keeping N.rl
modern ingenuity and invention
The company now having charge ~
| the industry recognized s,ur tsra..
| wears ago the fact that the Iar-,-,
pieces Of amber could not i. easily
| moved Nv the waves on accpu.,Yf fl-.r
! .vcirLt. and that therefor uur.tl.r
| harvest could Ice gathered directly from
| the submerged portion of the amber
| bearing stratum. Accordingly divers
were imported from France. bur tAr
/ very first attempt, though thoroughly
satisfactory from IL commercial point ~
view. demonstrated that Fr-nelmru
were not able TO stand the rigid climate
IF eastern Prussia. and Lithuanian,
were substituted for them.
Naturally the cleaning OF the h1l.
tom Of the sea along the coast eventual.
| iyexhausted the accessible supplyof thr
valuable resin, and from tweuty-righ,
| thousand four hundred pounds IN Use.
the treasure dropped 70 five Thousand
CHo hundred pounds in 1890, 80 that dis
ing had u be discontinued and will DOT
be resumed until the government permits
| submarine amber mining. The rapid
action Of dynamite j. then L. take thr
| place Of the work OF divers. who's.
| movements are hampered by the st.H
and heavy rubber suit and brass helmet
Every miner has strapped u him q
bag in which he collects the piece u
amber. Before miner Is permitted O
leave the premises after each day
work he is searched ScrupulUu-.1
honest men have had strangely per
verted conception of right and wr1u-
as regards amber. II seems tu be- con
sidercd as d gift Of nature 90 which a
who finds il il entitled. In the Ba.r
amber fields such thefts were torurr.
punishable by death, and occasion stt
required quite frequent iuhictiuu cd
severe punishment. \ recital ot tI
curious and ingenious ways and mean
in which men have attempted to e.r
cumvcnt the vigilance OF the examine
would add highly interesting ciap'r
To the history Of fraud.
The amber gathered in the mime an
the smaller pieces collected from =.
| shelves are washed with sand ia raFH.
ing drums Next the pieces are -nllr
into nearly one hundred classes, ra"
one representing some particular aa"l
tation of the raw material, ilat p.r'.
that are made into smokers utea-.'
round pieces for beads and lcws-rl, AL
small fragments ont OF which lEAn
yaruish II made Tho putput 81 .4'
year was manufactured IN four luI.r.
| Thousand dollars worth OF ~iu'i,,I
utensils. and the balance 81 -"H
eighty Thousand dollars worth into yeF