i was going to suggest packing it with wadded up newspaper inside and out, whole thing stuffed into a box. If you can still find a newspaper? Notebook or printer paper will work almost as good, but you'll need a lot to get it stuffed to the point of good contact between leather and paper. Some online retailers send all their stuff packed in wadded paper. I save almost all of that for oil-control jobs. similar to the cat litter idea, and I like to recycle, but without the dust or residue potential. Oil-dri has similar absorbing properties, but it has a LOT of dust.
Can you put the whole she-bang in a car in the sun for a couple days? mild warmth is what you are trying to achieve. A car sitting in a cool garage might not have the same affect.
I've not used bear oil, but used to see similar white residue if I over-applied one particular brand of water-proofing to my hiking boots. Don't remember the brand. I would set them near the wood stove and check them and wipe them off with newsprint every couple hours. Paper towels were too expensive, and back then we always had newspapers.
