The herald., 1896-02-15
VALUE OF APPENDICITIS
To Daring Men Who Go Fishing fol
Whales
The Very Latest Theory as to the Origin Of
Ambsrgris-What II Is and
How Used

face Of the gulf stream, while its more ro-
tund and sportive comrades slashed about
vigorously and sent the limpid waters far
above them, to fall in refreshing sprays.
Perhaps if the two we'll conditioned ami
mails had been less frolicsome and the third
more aroused, they would have been on
the alert for defense. AS it was, q long,
narrow boat, pointed at both ends, bore
down unobserved upon them, and the
whalemen sent with unerring aim their
weapons straight into two hulky creatures.
The scrawny whale escaped, though 1t
made no motion to get away.
Next day, to the amazement Of the
whalemen, tho animal was seen in almost
exactly the same spot, as though inviting
death. well" called out the captain Of
the whaling fleet, who had been Of the
party Of the day before, "if you wish to
die, you poor, crazy lubber, -, shall"
And forthwith 1t, too, was disposed of, the
easiest task, the men agreed. that they
had had in many day. But little more
than two barrels Of oil was found in the
emaciated whale. Another and vastly more
important discovery was the largest single
lot of ambergris ever sold in this country.
1t was exchanged for check signed by a
we'll known drug firm Of this city, whose
had SO lnrge check been seen till then in
the little Cape Cod fishing town, where it
was divided among the whalemen Of the
ship, as each man on O whaler receives q
certain percentage of the proceeds Of the
voyage. The number Of pounds found in
this whale aggregated over $50, valued
at $50 per ounce the price paid for the
best ambergris.
haf tho nj ~ HoS e31
ened of a malady caused by the unnatural
growth, and such was undoubtedly the
case, and II its su1ferings had not been
brought to an end by tho whalemen, it
would havo fingered till the disease itself
had finally caused death.
What is ambergris9 In the "Arabian
Nights" we are told Of eastern beauties
whose cheeks were marked with moles like
bits Of ambergris, and In the story Of the
sixth voyage of "Sindbad the Sailor" we
read in the description of the place where
the voyagers were wrecked, Here is also
a fountain Of pitch and bitumen that runs
into the sea, which the fishes swallow and
then vomit it up again, turned into am
bergris!" That antique author, Robert
Boyle, considered it to be Of vegetable pro-
duction and similar to yellow amber; thus
1t received its name, amber -gris-gray am.
Der.
This and other even moro plausible the.
cries are but indeed fallacies that puzzled
savants have set forth when they were at
q loss to account for It's origin. 1t Is now
ascertained beyond doubt to be generated
by the large headed sperm whale and is
the result of diseased state of the animal.
The victim of this rare nalady may posi-
bly, throw of the morbiflo substance, or
finally die Of the ailment. The disease Is
located In the intestinal canal, and some
savants suppose 1t to be caused by a bill
iary irritation. After q deep study on the
subject several modern scientists have
agreed that the disorder is akin to that
now fashionable human peril appendicitis,
intensified and prolonged in this great
mammal, yet that dread ailinent that has
but lately been understood by the surgeons
and medical men of the world
To the conservative whale fisher of New
Bedford or Provincetown the discovery Of
ambergris Is as unexpected and as longed
for as the sheeny splendor Of the pearl that
gleddens the pearl fisher. Almost awe
stricken are the sailors when the cry of
"am bergris" is uttered. This is the happy
event Of lifetime. The substance is care
fully taken from the bowels Of the whale
and is packed in casks If it is in liquid
form, or in sacks If it is dry enough.
1t is then brought direct to Boston,
where it is appraised by Che head Of the
largest wholesale drug firm in the city.
This young man has no enviable task be-
fore him in ascertaining the value of the
article. He has to examine the fetid mass,
which is sometimes in rank liquid state
sometimes of the consistency of soft putty,
and again chalklike substance That
which is more like putty usually ia to be-
relied on for making the best market am
bergris, and gradually, as it dries, the on
ly curing process it undergoes, the un-
wholesome dark shade turns to soft
squirrel gray. The substance lightens in
weight, developing "a fascinating odor al
most indescribablc, like the blending Of
new mown hay, the damp woody fragrance
of fern copse and the faintest possible
perfume of the violet.
And to what use is ambergris put? 1t is
an Indispensable article with fine perfum-
ers, as it is used to give permanency and
lasting qualities to very heeting scents. 1t
Is a curious fact that the keynote OF basis
Of 'nosegays'' or bouquets, as handker-
chief odors are called is not as one might
suppose, the altar of garden flowers, nei-
ther the penetrating balsams. These are
indispensable, but are not the groundwork.
That basis is always one of the four ami
NAL odors-i. e., ambergris; musk, obtain
ed from small musk deer of Asia; civet,
from the civet cat Of India, and castor, a
secretion Of the castor beaver and now al
most obsolete in the perfume trade The
pure and separate tnoture of any one Of
these odors is too intense and powerful to
be tolerated. Like all substances of the
kind, 1t must undergo a slow decomposi-
tion till tho remainders possess very little
volatility. Even then they contain vir-
tue which clings pertinaciously to woven
fabrics, and not being soluble in weak al
kaline lyes is still to bo detected in the
material, after passing through the sever
est lavatcry ordeal. They arc, therefore,