250 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



60 pounds, and several smaller pieces, irregularly shaped, were found 

 in the intestinal canal. Some of the ambergris was brownish black 

 on the outside and some of a grayish yellow cast ; the exterior coating 

 was filled with the mandibles of squid. The gross weight was 136 

 pounds, and it sold for $14,000. 



Doubtless the most valuable lot ever secured was a mass weighing 

 162 pounds 11 ounces, obtained in 1891, known as the "Bank" lot, 

 which sold in London for about £10,000. The following communica- 

 tion from the brokers who effected the sale of this remarkable find 

 furnishes an excellent description of the lump and of the state of the 

 ambergris market: 



About the end of August, 1891, a gentleman called to consult us as to the best 

 means of disposing of some ambergris which had been consigned to his firm. We 

 suggested that if it were brought to us we could examine it and report upon its 

 value, but when we were informed that the case which contained it weighed close 

 on 224 pounds and was too large to go inside a cab our first feeling was one of 

 incredulity as to the consignment being ambergris at all. It was finally decided 

 that the case should remain in the strong room of the bank in which it had been 

 deposited for safe ciistody and that we should go there to inspect it. This we did, 

 and were shown a box measuring about 2 feet i inches in each direction and which 

 we were told had with its contents been insured for £10,000. 



In the presence of the merchant who had consulted us and the bank officials the 

 lid of the case was opened, with the immediate result that everyone beat a hasty 

 retreat from its vicinity, for the horrible smell which issued from the box was 

 overpowering. When the odor had lost somewhat of its intensity, we began to 

 take out the packing and found that the case (which was tin-lined) contained one 

 huge mass of a blackish substance, measuring 6 feet 4 inches in circimiference, 

 nearly spherical, and which was undoubtedly ambergris. On being turned out of 

 the case it was found to be saturated with moistux-e, as were the packings of paper 

 and old gunny which had been put around it to prevent it from chafing to pieces 

 during the voyage; and it was the liberation of the gases generated by the salt 

 water and the animal matter which had caused the stench alluded to. By proper 

 treatment this smell was eventually completely got rid of, and the ambergris 

 obtained in marketable condition. The mass was next weighed and the certificate 

 signed by the interested parties, the exact weight being at that time 2,603 ounces, 

 or 1G2 poimds 1 1 ounces. This is probably the largest piece of ambergris which 

 has ever been seen by anyone living, and approaches nearly in weight to the lump 

 of 182 pounds purchased by the Dutch East India Company two himdred years ago. 



The next thing to do was to split the lump, so as to see w^hat the interior was 

 like. This was accomplished with the aid of long chisels and crowbars. We then 

 saw that the substance consisted of layers or lamina? rolled around a central core, 

 the laminae varying a good deal in texture, color, and flavor. Speaking gener- 

 ally, the outer layers were thin, friable, and shelly; dark, almost l)lack in 

 color, and mixed to a considerable extent with the beaks of the cuttle-fish, on 

 which the whale feeds. As the layers approached the center they were denser, 

 grayer in color, thicker, and of better flavor, imtil the core itself was reached. 

 This core really consisted of two pieces, one the shape of a rifle bullet, but with a 

 deet)ish depression like the " kickup " of a wine bottle in the base. It was from 

 10 to 11 inches high, with a diameter of about G inches at the bottom, tapering 

 upward to about 3 inches at the top, which was slightly flattened. It was detached 

 from the surrounding layers with the greatest ease, and stood alone, a pure, solid 

 lump of the finest gray ambergris, weighing H^ ounces. Beside this magnificent 



