The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1893-04-07
WHALEBONE IN PILES
A MILLION DOLLARS WORTH STORED
IN ONE BUILDING.

Row the Precious Stun Is Guaroed-Great |
Care is Necessary In the Handling of the |
Product-Whaieboue Is Very Valuable
Nowadays
In little brick and stone structure on
the Potrero shore OF the bay there is a
million dollars worth Of whalebone
stored, and it is guarded as jealousy as
II 1t were so many twenty dollar gold
pieces or its weight in precious stones.
It is the property Of the Pacific Steam
Whaling company and came off the
whaling barks Beluga, Mary D. Hume,
Agenor and America, In from the arctic.
The building is a perfect vault with
brick and stone sides, iron roof and iron
doors. All around the top runs per-
forated pipe by means Of which the
whole interior could be flooded If a fire
should by any possibility break out.
Rats are thick ON the water front and
can do a great deal of damage to cargo
of whalebone, so small iron doors have
been put in to answer as barbados when
the big ones are opened to air the place.
Oilskins s1lch as the fire patrol use are
spread over the cargo as the final adj
ditional precaution that human ingenuity
can suggest.
The uninitiated on first stepping into
the cold, cherries place. with its damp
cement floor, are apt to wonder why 1t
has all been done. The long black stalks
don't look like much piled against the
walls, and to hear their immense value
III fn FOL
away But the place does not always
contain a $1.000.000 stock. The season
was most profitable one and in conse-
quence the warehouse is nearly full.
''The lady purchasing few sticks OF
whalebone on her shopping tour scarcely
realizes the immense risk and the great
amount of labor necessary to place 1t on
the counter" said W. r. Wand, one OF
the representatives of the whaling COM
pany. There is big risk even here.
We can take no chances. In the rough,
after simple polishing, the bone -
worth five dollars pound, and we have
at least 10000 pounds on hand now.
When the vessel docks at the wharf yon-
der we pitch in and work day and night
until the cargo is housed here, and then
we try to get it off on the railroad as
soon as possible. While it Is here this
little structure is guarded day and night.
A million dollars is something of a re-
spousibility, can assure you"
Where does most of the bone goT
was asked.
"a great deal of it goes to New York, y
replied MIR. Wand, "but most of the cut
ting is done in Paris and at Bremen. A
little is done in London. We polish ii
off here, get the color, assert it out and
put it up in bundles Then it is forced
through to its destination as rapidly as
possible You see. the bone with light
or pearl shade is worth more than the
black and we have to separate it.
Several of the bundles bore the mark
Nj. D. FL. in a diamond. THAT" said
MIR. Wand, 'is the name of the vesse
from which the bone was taken, in thus
instance the Mary D. Hume, a vesse
which brought the most valuable carg'
ever received from the arctic seas. On'
or two of these bundles are marked cut,
you observe. That is to guide the buye
when the boneis offered for sale. 1t sig
uifies that the bone is nicked on SOM
duced. and we must therefore handle tn
cargo like eggs. If roughly handled
cargo of whalebone can be well nlgl
ruined. The slightest cut In stall
brings it down in value about one-half.
THE bone You know is the teeth
the whale, and a fair sized front mola
is worth about fifty dollars. In ever
whales Jaw there are 413 teeth. and on
good sized head is worth good deal c
money. On the last trip the men o
the Jessie ID. Freeman brought one bi
fellow alongside. the head of which pre-
duced 1900 pounds of bone. The mout
of the whale is simply huge suctio
pump. The monster travels along wit
his mouth wide open on the surfac
The only food he will take is a little re
bit of animal life that floats on Il
northern seas. He sucks In enough
make good mouthful, and then ejec
the water. The food is sifted dow
through the soft teeth, and is hltert
like a lot of sawdust would be in
sieve.
This black hair that fringes the boz
has a separate value. 1t is cut from t
teeth and is used for making fine furI
ture. It has become so valuable, ho'
ever, that it cannot be used to any gre
extent"
.When do You expect to ship this car
off,"
LAS soon as ever Providence will
MS. It is something extraordinary for
to have such an enormously valual
load here, and we won't hold 1t
longer than necessary, l can assm yo'
0Ever troubled by thieves?
sNo," was the laughing respon
.sThs bone is triie too heavy to T
away with and the place is too "
guarded. Fire is the greatest dang
and you can see how that has b'
guarded against"
Out in the bay six of the most unslgn
ships that ever huddled together IN p
were tossing. Put up at auction the
would scarcely bring its value III 4
lumber, but those hulks brought III
valuable freight as many treas
ship has been laden with.-San Francl
Chronicle.
"Swede violets."
About the best thing I've heard I
season." said a veteran actor on
Thespian corner of Broadway, was