The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1892-09-10
IN AN AMBER MINE.
A Queer Industry, in Which the Men Dc
Their Best to Steal.

Deep down in the "bluc earth" along
the shores Of and beneath the treach-
erous breakers of the Isai,ic sea. arc
found in bits and fragments Of fossil.
lied wood the traces Of vast forests
that in ages long past had covered
nearly the entire coast line of what is
known as east Prussia, says the AZ. Y.
Press.
Large tracts of land have sunk there
below sea level and in time were COW
cred with the rank submarine growth
of seawecd and algae. Whenever a
storm churns and lashes the waves
then large masses of this green tanglo
are torn from the bottom, and often
carry with them pieces of amber. the
resiH of fossil pines. which, being but
slightly heavier than salt water. will
float in the network of weeds. Upon
bringing the floating meadows, that
cover the sea after Il propitious gale.
ashore at a given point, there depends
frequently an enormous gain to the
amber fisher, who has rented certain
portions of the shore from the owners.
At those times the villages on the
seab2ard are all .astir with excitement.
Nobody thinks of rest day or night,
and everyone is on the alert, ready to
fly to the edge of the waves at the first
alarm from the watchers. Men defy
the roaring breakers, and, standing up
to their shoulders in the seathing
foam, catch wisps of scaweed in 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 $4,000 worth
is known to have been gathered in q
single night. But in spite of the most
rapid work it is not always possible to
bring all the cast-up amber ashore;
the larger pieces, especially, are apt to
sink. They are gathered by means of
long-handled nets called "catchers,"
when bright day and placid sea en-
ables the amber fishers sight to pene-
trate the limpid water. lnasmuch as
rocks this work is very laborious, yet
q case is known where S5l1 worth of
amber amply repaid four men for n
summer days drudgery. Recently,
however. this mode has been entirely
abandoned in favor Of one more in
keeping with modern ingenuity and
inventions. The company now having
charge of the industry recognized some
twenty years ago the fact that tho
largest pieces of amber could not be
easily moved by the waves on account
of their weight, and that therefore a
lucrative harvest could be gathered
directly from the submerged portion
of the amber-bearing stratum. Ac-
cordingly divers were imported from
France, but the very first attempt,
though thoroughly satisfactory from a
commercial point of view, dcmonstra-
ted that Frcnchmcn were not able to
stand the rigid climate of eastern
Prussia, and Lithuanians were substi-
tutcd for them.
Naturally the gleanings of the bot.
tom of the sea along the coast eventual.
ly exhausted the accessible supply Of
the valuable resin, and from 2S, ,4OG
hounds in 1881 the treasure dropped to
$500 pounds in 1890, so that diving
had to be discontinued and will not be
resumed until the government permits
submarine amber mining. The rapid
action of dynamite is then to take the
place of the work of divers, whose
movements are hampered by the stitl
and heavy rubber suit and brass hei:
met.
Every miner has strapped to him a
bag, in which he collects the pieces o.
amber. Before miner is permitted
to leave the premises after each days
work he is searched. Scrupulously
honest men have had strangely per.
verted conceptions of right and wrong
as regards amber. 1t seems to be con.
sidered as u gift of nature to which ha
who finds it is entitled. In the Baltic
amber fields such thefts were formerly
punishable by death. and occasion still
required quite frequent iniliction o.
severe punishment. A recital of the
curious and ingenious ways and means
in which the men have attempted te
circumvent the vigilance of the ex-
aminers would add highly interest
ing chapter to the history of fraud.
The amber gathered III the mine and
the smaller pieces collected from the
shelves are washed with sand in re-
yolving drums. Next the pieces are
sorted into nearly 100 classes, each
one representing some particular
adaptation of the raw material Flat
pieces that are made into smokers
utensils; round pieces for beads and
jewelry, and small fragments out of
which amber varnish is made. Tile
output of last year was manufactured
into 100000 worth of smokers uten-
sils, and the balance of some $50, ,000
into jewelry and varnish.
Abating an Annoyance.