Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 165, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 July 1913 — AMBERGRIS RARE SUBSTANCE [ARTICLE]

AMBERGRIS RARE SUBSTANCE

Morbid Secretion of the Sperm Whale , Is Sought by All Ballors — Very Valuable. ... Victoria, B. C. —A piece of ambergris estimated to be worth about $150,000, recently brought into Victoria, B. C., was declared to be one of the largest masses of this strange sea treasure ever found. Stories of imbergris discovery, like those of fishing enthusiasts, make a powerful appeal to the imagination, and there is always a tendency to make them larger than the facts warrant. Because of Its great value, the infrequency with which it is found and the mystery which long existed as to its origin, ambergris from the earlist times has been regarded as one of the most-prized products of the deep. It is a solid, fatty, inflammable substance, generally of a dull gray or blackish color, and possessing after exposure to the air a peculiarly sweet, earthy color. Ambergris is now known to be a morbid secretion formed in the Intestines of the sperm whale, but for centuries It was variously believed to be the solidified foam of the sea, fungoid marine growth, gum which exuded from the tree and flowed into the ocean, or by-product of bird life. Ambergris occurs in lumps of various shapes and sizes from half an ounce to 150 pounds or more. When first taken from the whale It throws off a very offensive odor. This grad-

ually gives way to a subtle aroma* said by some writers faintly to suggest that of honey. Although its almost sole use today is in the making of perfumery, ambergris was for centuries highly esteemed as a medicine for certain diseases, and it was long used in the sacred rites of the church and in connection with fragrant gums burned in the apartments of royalty. All seafaring men are constaptly on the lookout- for ambergris, yet many whaling skippers in fifty years of experience have never, come across a quarter ounce of the substance. The amount of ambergris produced annually from all sources varies greatly, scarcely any being found in some years, while in others a single chunk worth SIOO,OOO and more may be brought in by some fortunate vessel. What is undoubtedly the most valuable lot ever secured up to recent date was a mass of 162 pounds obtained in 1891, and was finally sold in London for about $50,000.