The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1909-01-10
COSTLIER THAN GOLD
Ambergris an Expensive Ar
ticle of Commerce.
PRODUCT OF DISEASED WHALES
And Is Worth from $75 TO $500 q
Pound-It Is Used as n Base for
Perfumes, Holding Together Deli
cate Essences-A New England
Dealer Who Makes a Hobby Of 1t.

At the head Of one Of the old Province
town wharves IS a snug little building OF
commonplace aspect Yet the business
| transacted there IS almost unique in TIE
world. for this is the headquarters OF thu
ambergris king, according to the PhiiadeI-
lPhia North American. There Is a cubby-
hole Of an Office IN front. a window whose
shade IS usually down, door which i
usually locked The wise ones don't care
They go around 70 the back door. the
harbOr door. sniff the sweetish odor
which floats out TO meet them, and then
go in 10 meet il. Here works David g.
Stull, upon whose card there IS this in
scription: First Hands for Ambergris.'
This one man has given a single check
for So. 900 In payment for one lot OF the
/ precious substance he deals in He has
paid in round numbers $500 for one
lump. That lump weighed ninety-eight
/ pounds. il is true. Nevertheless 800 a
pound is not price 20 be sneezed at Mr.
StuIl has paid as high as $50 a pound,
which is just a bit startling when one
comes to think Of t. 4 lump OF gold
weighing Isl pounds and which was go
/ per cent fine brought something over
$40 coo some years ago. II it had been the
finest ambergris, il would have brought
! $50. 600 A single ton Of ambergis at that
price would bring a clean million O.
/ dollars.
/ Mr. StuIl tells OF a Provincetown man
who had been out on his first trip as cap
tain Of whaling vessel about thirty
years ago. and who STOPPED at one q
the West India islands on his way home.
One OF the natives offered him five small
Jumps Of dirty-looking substance which
I the native asserted was good for some
thing The native further informed the
captain that he had got these pieces from
I dead whale which vas ashore on a
! certain beach, and that there was plenty
more in the carcass Did the captain
/ hoist all sail and get 70 that dead whale
as fast as the winds OF Providence would
permit Not E bit OF IL He had been
made captain for the purpose OF going
after speTmoH. and he concluded tI1aC
/ he'd better stick 20 his Job. So he gave
| the native a pair OF blue overalls and =
/ jumper for the five dirty Jumps. and went
on his way After ne had made port he
I showed the five Jumps 10 Mr.. StUll. and
]
/ he almost had 4 it Still. that shock was
nothing 10 what he got a little later, for
be learned that another captain had
/ heard Of the dead whale. had got what
ambergris still remained in the carcass
I = ID had sold Z IN New York for El061-
It was estimated that this whale must
/ have contained IN al az least S5o.o1l worth
/ OF ambergris
| CouIduss Fool Him
/ = few years ago there was great ex-
element on the north shore Over a
greasy mass OF stun which foated onto
/ the beach and was promptly spotted by
the wise ones as ambergrfs As usual a
sample vas sent 70 NJ StulI. who with
I cold conclusiveness returned il as refuse
( from the Boston dump. The wise ones
were unconvinced- They sent Il 70 Bos-
/ ton, 10 an authority in analysis. and were
OverjOyed 10 receive the assurance that
7 it was really and truly ambergTis. not
F the finest quality perhaps. but worth AZ
/ least SO a pound. They communicated
{ this information 10 Mr.. Stul, with spe-
I cial emphasis on the figure named. But
/ the ambergris king was Unmoved- Ref
use from Boston dump" reiterated he.
and iutimated that they better take So
/ or . cents just as quick as ever they
could get it-frOm anybody but him.
I They never got either, though they kept
/ the stuff as long as they could stand the
smell
The real ambergris has a family sweet
Odor. which. at least in small doses. IS
not unpleasant. On other points. too.
there would seem 70 be no possible ex-
/ cuse for mistaking slush, or lard. or
\ blubber for the coveted prize. Ambergris
ranges from a dirty yellow 70 a dun black
/ IN color. II is generally very light IN
weight 1t IS not as many persons sup
pose. Of the consistency Of oil or thick
grease. At least Mr. StUll. who has been
! buying it for thirty years. has seen only
one example Of seni-solid ambergris. He
/ has a small sample Of that in . half
! ounce vial Il IS very dark brown, and
so thick that as the vial IS turned Il re-
spends as slowly as very thick honey
would. All the other ambeTgris which
Mr.. SJuI has seen has been solid. though
lighter in weight than the highest wood.
It IS dry TO handle For this reason he
takes no stock IN the recently published
story Of a crew IN the North Pacific gath
ering UP a load OF floating grease. using
Il 70 oil their boots, their masts, and
whatnot. and later discovering that they
had thus made away with $4,000 worth
Of ambeTgris-
It's Character Unknown.
We don't know just what ambergris
IS" he said as he handled some small
pieces refecJively- We only know that
It IS the result Of some disease or irrira-
ton Of whales digestive organs Sperm
whales feed chiefly on squid OF cuttIefsh.
which would perhaps be a better article
OF diet If they did not have beaks as hard
and as sharp as those Of parrots am
inclined 10 think that the whale does not
get rid Of the ambergr1s while alive Al
though some writer's speak Of the whale
vomiting it forth. I do not believe that
happens, for in ali cases OF which know
anything the ambergris WAS not found
in the stomach. but in the extremity Of
the intestinal tract"
There Is never a glut IN the ambergris
market. The variation IN price IS due not
20 any oversUpply, but TO the difference
In the quality of the finds. Although the
whalers are so much more on the alert
to discover the substance, there is not 4
great deal Of It brought in for the simple
reason that the whaling industry has so
fallen of So far nothing has been dis
covered which viii take the place Of am
bergris as a base in the manufacture Of
perfUmery. It is the best binder known
Dissolved in alcohol il holds also in So
luton the various oils and essences OF
which perfumes are composed
The quality OF perfume depends very
largely on the amount Of ambercris II
contains. The best French perfuners use
six ounces Of ambergris 70 gallon. One
or two manufacturers in this country use