10 tlbe Conservative *
A CURIOUS GERMAN OCCUPATION :
GATHERING AMBER.
HY LAWRENCE IUWELL.
If wo take : i map of Germany and run
our eyes down the northern cost along
the shores of the Baltic , from west to
cast , we shall observe the name , Memel ,
very close to the Russian border.
Memel is the most northern town with
in the dominion of the German
Emperor. The name of the place
usually suggests to Germans , the quan
tities of pine timber which are annually
exported from it. The lumber which is
obtained from the forests of Lithuania ,
is considered valuable for building
purposes , and is much in demand ; in
England it is known to the trade as
"Baltic. " If the reader will now cast
his eyes southerly and westerly along
the northern coast , he will see a lake-
like expanse of water figured upon the
map. This lagoon , about 480 miles
long , is called the Kurisohe Haff , and
is separated from the sea by a tongue of
Hind. It opens into the Baltic at one
end of the lagoon , by a narrow channel ,
called the Memel Deeps , which is only
about 5500 feet wide. The word Haff ,
menus a bay , and the whole term ,
Kurische Haff , means "the bay of the
Cures , " who were an ancient people ,
dwelling on the banks of the lagoon.
Proceeding still further in the same
direction , the Frif-che Haff or fresh
water bay , will bo observed iipou the
map , which in a like manner is separa
ted from the sea by another tongue of
sand , ( Mehruug ) , and communicates
with it by a narrow channel. Between
these two lakes , the reader will next
observe a sort of peninsula called Sam-
land , having Konigsbery as its capital ;
and at the extreme end of the peninsula
of Samland , stands the light-house of
the Bruster Ort. From the most west
ern point of the Frische Haff to Danzig ,
the shore curves greatly towards the
north , forming the gulf of Danzig. The
coast-line of the two imys from Danzig
to Memel , has much the appearance of
the figure ! 5 , having the Bruster Ort as
the central point.
A Desolate Region.
The country along the northern coast
is as dreary as any in the world. Long
barren tracts of blowing sand , and sand
hills ever changing , stretch in all direc
tions. Not a tree , not a blade of gross ,
greets the eye for miles. Everywhere is
blowing sand , the monotony of which
is relieved only by drift-wood. Here
and there , at long intervals , as you pass
inward from the coast , you .will dis
cover a spot were vegetation may be
seen. But it is a case of the exception
proving the rule. The reign of desola
tion is hero terribly complete. And yet ,
in this rude inhospitable place , you may
find little villages.
"Can anything of value come out of
Samlaud ? " the casual observer might
ask of this truly desolate region. And
yet for years this very spot has been
called the California of East Germany.
The riches of the place do not consist of
gold , but of that peculiar mineral resin
called amber. If we take our stand
beside the solitary light-house of Bruster
Ort , and look east and west along the
bays referred to , we shall see the place
from which for centuries , the chief
supply of amber has been drawn. Al
though other places and countries have
furnished small supplies , no other 1ms
yielded a quantity , comparable with
that found at Samland. There is no
doubt , of course , that the valuable and
beautiful substance known as amber , is
the gum of an extinct pine-tree. It
must have exuded from the trees while
they were alive and flourishing. The
probability is that where the great
waves of the ocean now roll in from the
north-east of Samland , immense forests
of these trees once stood and waved
their fragrant branches. The trees dis
appeared long ago how long ago , no
man can say , for every trace of flower
and loaf , of bark and branch and root
has perished. The resin alone has been
preserved , indurated or mineralized by
long immersion in the water.
Uses of Amber
Amber has 'long been known and
highly prized by all nations of the
world. The Greeks called it eloktrou ,
and they made ornaments of it three
thousand years ago. Its curious
property of attracting and repelling
light objects , when gently rubbed , has
stereotyped the name into that great
force , electricity , which seems to be
revolutionizing the world. The Turks
especially value it , and manufacture
from it of remarkable
pipe-stems con
struction and beauty. The larger pieces
of amber usually find their way to Con
stantinople and North Africa , while the
smaller go to Italy and Central America ,
or to the South Sea islands. In the
latter , the pieces of amber are generally
carved into ornaments for the ladies of
these lands. The belles of Timbuctoo ,
are said to be particularly fond of
amber ornaments , the clear color of the
mineral , probably , contrasting agreeably
with their dark-colored complexions.
In appearance , amber is hard and
often transparent. Sometimes , when
rubbed , it gives off a resinous odor , and
it burns freely when ignited. Not in
frequently some insects are found em
balmed within its lustrous substance.
Indeed , some eight hundred species have
been so observed , as well as leaves or
other fragments of about a hundred and
sixty species of plants. Sometimes a
broken leg or dragged-off wing is found
in close proximity to an entombed fly ,
telling a tale of some thousands of years
old , of the insect's struggle for exist
ence , when the bright moss was merely
a resin. The flies are exactly the same
as those we see around us to-day.
Different Methods of Obtaining.
For years the obtaining of amber has
been jealously guarded by the German
government. Licences were originally
granted to certain persons to collect
amber upon the sea-shore. All others ,
for interfering , were rigorously punished
with the merest formality of a trial. A
government inspector watched the
harvest operations , and sold the pro
ceeds by public auction , allowing the
men who collected the mineral a certain
percentage on the sale. Capital punish
ment followed any attempt at pecula
tion. A gallows was erected on the
shore , as a warning against thefts.
Since the beginning of the present
century , however , the laws have been
modified very considerably. The more ,
valuable parts of the coast ore now
farmed out to contractors , who pay an
annual rent to the government for the
right to gather all they can. The
methods of collecting amber have been
three-fold digging in the sand ; wad
ing in the water to the neck ; diving in
deep water in a diving dress. The first
method is no longer carried on to any
extent , the result not having been con
sidered sufficiently lucrative. The
modes now used , are those of diving and
wading. The approach of bad weather
is watched for along the coast by scouts
stationed for the purpose. When the
wind blows into the bay from , the sea ,
as it often does with terrific violence ,
the boulders are loosened and rolled at
the bottom. Then great quantities of
the sea "wrack" ( refuse ) are washed up
onto the shore. This is the harvest of
the waders. The men go out into the
water , and clutch and grasp with their
hands , and with hooks and nets , the
drifting sea-weed , freighted with its
precious burden. Deftly hidden in the
roots and branches of the sea-weed ,
lumps of amber may be discovered.
The "wrack"graspedby the men is trans
ferred carefully to the women , who
stand in the water as near to them as
possible. After a careful search among
the tangle , and the removal of all
amber , the sea-weed is thrown away.
It is a strange , precarious livelihood , and
it is a hard life for these poor people ,
who live in a desolate land. Yet they
seem happy and contented , and "they
increase and multiply , " as in other parts
of the world.
The Diving Process.
The divers use a somewhat curious
"dress. " The helmet is not sot square
upon the shoulders , but leans forward ,
in order that the diver , who goes crawl
ing about the bottom of the water , may
more easily see the pieces of amber in
his path. He has to search among
much sea-weed and many massive stones.
The reef most prized for amber-fishing
by diving , is that a little to the north-