The Brunswick times. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 188?-1900, 1889-12-12
A MYSTERY.
The Temple Robbery Still Battles
the Best Detectives.
Hindoo Treasure That Was stolen-A Holy
Place Defled-The Profanity stirs The
Wrath of a Nation-Oue Of the Richest
Rauls Ever Secured.

Wrath of a Nation-oue Of the Richest
Rauls Ever Secured.
1t is by no means surprising that TIL"
case of tie now famous Tirupa,
Temple treasure should have excited
such an extraordinary feeling of indig
nation RS it appears to nave done among
the HindOj population of India. Tirupati
is the Mecca OF Hindoostsn-if, indeed
the comparison is at all allowable, seeing
that the temple which has Just been 81
grossly dehled was erected, in the first
instance, close upon 5000 years ago.
The trial i'll connection with the robbery
of the Tirupati treasure is probably the
most remarl1a bic which has ever como
before British court in India. The
sacred temple stands OF the Tirumala
range, some 2000 feet above sea level
and commands tract Of about 1Ot
square miles, the whole Of which, up til
quite u recent period, was regarded, il
the strictest sense, as holy ground, no
body but 2 Hinloo being allowed TO as
cend the Gkau5s.
Even al the present time the C0llecto:
and the superintendent Of police are tn,
only Europeans whom the governments
permit to invade the sacred territory
excepting, of course, on special Occa
sions, such az that which arose the other
day, when the services OF civil engineer
were required within the precincts of the
temple to superintcnd the excavations
The temple Itself has. iii reality. never
been entered by a white man. and all it.
available entrances are iealously guard
ell by armed men, who have instruction
any unauthorized person WHO attempt.
to invade the sanctuary.
The sacred ediiicc is inclosed by three
stone walls. of which the outer one i.
twenty-threo feet IN height. From th,
devotee's point of view the sacrednoss o
the place is ccnterrd in great flagstaff
which penctrates from door to roof, ant
is 81 feet high, feet in diameter at th'
base and il inches at the summit. TIN
staff is iucased in copper overlaid witt
gold, and set in slab Of granite nearl,
three feet in thickness. in the immedi
ate neighborhood of the flagstaff TIN
image Of the god is preserved, while tn
staff itself is actually supposed 70 be tn,
abode Of the temple Sod-0f its 'u?antrit
essence"
Some seventeen years since, it seems
certain coin treasure, valued roughly a
t,r-o, Iooz of r,,,,na- ,,.oe ,iicccroro1 -, III,
temple, and was duly handed over t
the mahunt as manager and trustee Q
the edifce. In 1880 the Mahunt Dhur
ma Doss died, and WAS succeeded by 81
Iathiramjea Muttam Baghavan Dos
Jee. The new nlahunt appears to hav
discharged His sacred and responsible
functions to the sat- faction Of every
body concerned, and in 1877 II was re
solved to replace the old dwjastu4bum
or sacred flagstaff, by new one. b
fore the work was completed the ide;
appears to have suggested Itself to til
Inahunt to bury the treasilr9-tlie tw,
iac5 of rupees 10 which he had sucCeede,
under the foot Of the flagstaff. TIN
was accordingly done, the proDositio.
having met with general approval frol.
the adherents Of the temple. Tie trea:
ure was placed in six copper vessels, til
covers Of which were dlly sealed up. ali.
they were then buried in the receptaci
prepared for them. Now it is four
that the gold has all been removed frol
them, and copper coins substituted.
Four temple servants-hy name Mar
simha-KusaI, Gopaiaro and Haribhaja
were, in 1881, intrusted, after beins
duly sanctilicd By divers mEsteriou
rites and ceremonies, with the buri.,
of the treasure pot. and fact that q, i,
pears to interest the police and others
good deal at present is chat two Vi then.
Kusal and Haribh@jan, are now eac'
worth a lac Of rupees, although III
whole four were discharged some thu
ago, and none of them are known t,
have what is Sternly known dis "lawfi
visible means Of support" On lhe othC
hand, an a,tonishnsly clear looking caa
made out against the mahunt himsgH
who, it is asserted, allowed lis cupilit.
to overcome the scruple5 Of his sacre,
calling. and "collared the sNag" himsei;
The question as 10 who has really appr,
priated the treasure seemsa difficult ont
as far as the inquiry las proceeded, /.
determine, and il is possible that the "a
fair may never be satisfactorily clearel
up
Probably the most notable feature il
connection with the aifair-from u Hit
doc point Of view, at all events--is TIL
peculiarly apathetic demeanOr Of tn
HiGupad god, who should have bee
deeply interested in the pr, ceeding~
The ''mantric essence, which has eXer
cised such an omnipot2nt power over iii
Hindoos for centuries past, appears t.
have lain dormant while the temple wa
deiiled and the mean trick of substitut
ing few hundred rupees worth Of COT
per money for two llcs worth OF goI,
coinage was done right under the pillar
.of the Tirupati sanctum sanctorum -
Colonies and India.
Two Opinions About Ancient Bones.
Clark Brown exhumed at I'ishs point
on the Upper Mystic road. the other day
what are believed by some persons to be