Arizona silver belt., 1893-06-17
WHALEB0NE IN PILES
A MILLION DOLLARS WORTH STORED
 IN ONE BUILDING.

How the Precious stun Is Guarded-Great
 Care Is Necessary In the Handling of tho
 Product whaIebono Is Very Valuable Nowadays.
 In little brick and stone structure on the Potrero shore of the bay there is 2 million dollars worth of whalebone stored, and it is guarded as jealously as if it were so many twenty dollar gold pieces or it's weight in precious stones. It is the property of the Pacific Steam Whaling company and came off tho whaling barks Beluga. Mary D. Hume. Agenor and America, in from the arctic The building is 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 barricades when the big ones are opened to air the place Oilsl1ins such as the fire patrol use are spread over the cargo as the final ad- ditional precaution that human ingenuity can suggest.
 The uninitiated on first stepping into the cold, cheerless place. with its damp cement floor, are apt to wonder why it has all been done. The long black stalks don't look like much piled against the walls, and to hear their immense value set forth is enough to take the breath away But the place does not always contain q $l.000,0o0 stock. The season was a most profitable one and in conse- quence the warehouse is nearly full.
 The lady purchasing q few sticks of whaleboue on her shopping tour scarcely realizes the immense risk and the great amount of labor necessary 10 place it on the counter, said w k 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 a simple polishing the bone is worth i've dollars a pound. and VIC have at least 100000 pounds on hand now When the vessel docks at the wharf yon- 1 der we pitch in and work day and night until the cargo is housed here. and then we try 10 get it of oa the railroad as soon as possible While it is here this little structure is guardea day and ni ,ht i A million dollars is something of re- | accessibility, l can assure you.
 Where does most of the bone goT was asked
 A great deal of 1t goes to New York. | replied Mir Wand. but most of the cut ! ting is done in Paris and al Bremen 4 little is done iu London We polish il of here, get the color. assort it out and pEt it mp in bundles Then it is forced through to ifs destination as rapidly aa possible You see. the bone with a light or pearl shade is worth more than the l black and we have tO separate it.
 Several of the bundles bore tue mark NJ. D H. in q diamond That said Mir Wand Ifs the name of the vessel | from which the bone was taken. iu this instance the Mary D. Hume. q vessel which brought the mos; valuable cargo ever received from the arctic seas. One | or two of these bundles are marked 'cut, you observe. That is to oguide the buyer when the bone is offered for sale. IL sig niGes tbat the bone is nicked on some ! portion of it. The value Is greatly re- duced, and We must therefore handle the cargo like eggs If roughly handled a cargo of whalebono can b. well nigh 1 ruined The slightest cut in stalk brings il down in value about one-half
 "The bone you know is the teeth of the whale. and a fair sized front molaT is worth about Gfty dollars. In every whale jaw there are f13 teeth, and one | good sized head is worth good deal of money. On the last trip the men on the Jessie D. Freeman brought one big i fellow alongside, the head of which pro. ! duced 3,00o pounds of bone. The mouth Of the whale is simply huge suction | pump The monster travels along with l his mouth wide open on the surface l The only food he will take is little red bit of animal life that floats on the northern seas. He sucks in enough to make a good mouthful. and then ejects the water The food is sifted down through the soft teeth, and is filtered like lot of sawdust would be in q l sieve
 This black haii that fringes the bone has q separate value. It is cut from the teeth and is used for making fine furni- ture It has become so valuable. how. ever, that it cannot be used to any great extent"
 When do you expect to ship this cargo oay
 As soon as ever Providence will lei us It is something extraordinary for us to have such an enormously valuable load here, and we won't hold it day longer than necessary, l can assure youP'
 Ever troubled by thievesT'
 "No," was the laughing response. "The bone is a trifle too heavy to run away with and the place is too well guarded. Fire is the greatest danger, and you can see how that has been guarded against"
 Out in the bay six of the most unsightly ships that ever huddled together in port were tossing. Put up at auction tho lot would scarcely bring it's value in old lumber. but those hulks brought in as valuable freight as many a treasure ship has been laden with.---San Francisco i Chronicle.
 English Law and Hidden Treasure.
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