The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-04-14

company, who has been strangely con-
nected with the remarkable story of
the search for hidden treasures now
going On at Mandalay, Burmah, British
India.
In brief. a former British soldier
named William White, and a sporting
man who has become possessed of his
secret in part, are now marching to-
wards Mandalay in anticipation of be-
ing the frs to find the hiding place of
the crown and regalia Of King Thee
baRy, of Burmah, which were stolen by
TWO British soldiers after the Sacklng
OF the place in 1885. The jewels are
said TO be worth an enormous sum of
money and the British government has
offered a large reward for their recov-
cry.
To a representative of the Associated
Press Mr.. Piggott gave the following
account of the loss of King TheebaW's
valuable Jewels and the subsequent eff
forts made to regain possession OF
Them. He said:
The Palace Was Gorgeous.
The British troops. after they en-
tered Burmah to chaStise King Thee
baW for his cruelties made their way
uD the Iraouaddi river TO Mandalay,
the capital OF Burnah, in several ships
considerable distance apart, the fleet
miles This force which was ready to
disembark at a moments notice caused
q panic among the natives who fed
at their approach.
when the British troops reached the
capital they sent repeated messages to
the king by General Pendergast and
Colonel Slydin, requesting his SubmlS-
sion. King Theebaw, upon the advice
of his ministers. declined to submit
and the troops disembarked and
marched through the town to the pail
ace. A deep moat extended around the
walls and there were four entrances
to the palace grounds. The British
crossed the moat and after a sharp
conflict the soldiers Of King TheebdW
fed in all directions
subsequently the British occupied
the palace ground and placed strong
guard at all the gates in order to pre-
vent the escape of the king and the
footing of the royal treasury by the
kings own servants. One Of the OBJ
jects of the occupation of the palace
grounds was to prevent the robbery of
the crown jewels, which were reported
TO be of immense value. In addition to
the valuable personal effects of the
king the royal treasury was known to
contain a large number of precious
stones which had been found in the
mines of the MOgout valley, the site Of
the great Burmah ruby mines. 1t was
one of the laws of the country that
every ruby over "a certain size found in
these mines had to be presented to the
king and deposited in the royal treas
urv and when it is remembered that
this law had existed since 1899 some
idea Of the value of the stones con-
1ained in the treasury may be formed.
SO soon as the king abandoned the pal
ace and when the British had taken
possession Of it, placing guards over all
The royal apartments, / was one OF the
first to enter the palace, which l found
TO be a gorgeous place.
The Gems Were Missing.
But when search was made for the
treasure there was considerable sur
prise and disappointment at the fact
that all the rubies, the crown jewels,
etc had disappeared. Had they been
stolen by the servants, the maids of
honor. or by some of the British sol
diers who were first detailed TO oc-
cupv the palace? Suspicion for long
time rested on the maids Of honor, as
King Theebaw had been allowed to
take away with him as many Of these
as he wanted.
"A number of the natives, attra cted
bv the reward offered by the British
commander. Joined in the search and
were constantly coming to the British
commissioner processing to know where
the missing jewels were hidden; all
their stories. however, turning out to
be untrue and the jewels were never
accounted for The search was finally
given up and the mystery of the disap-
pearance of King Theebaw's jewels
remained unsolved.
The story Of the missing treasure Is
now transferred from India to England.
Some time ago a, man, formerly a pri-
vate in the second battalion of the
Royal West Surety regiment, which
had seen service in Burmah, being
Of 1o1u nv
died at Wadsworth, suburb OF Lon
don.
Previous to the soldiers death, on
condition that comrade Of the same
regiment should not be punished, he
confessed that he had stolen King
Theebaw's -egalia and that he and his
comrade had hidden them in hole
just outside the palace grounds The
hole was carefully filed up and con-
cea1ed and became a decided place of
safety from the fact that a British
sentry box was shortly afterwards
placed over the very spot where the
jewels were hidden.
A Dying Soldiers story.
The dying soldier explained
the discovery of the jewels in King
Theebaw's palace, saying that he and
his cOmrade, William White, entered
the palace during the night and after
some narrow escapes from being dis
covered Dy TIE guards, they acClnfe0ldilN
stumbled into the room containing
the jewelry of the abdicated king
OF Burmah. This jewelry, after CON
sultaGon, they buried. The person who
ceceived the dying soldiers confession,
after the mans death, sought out the
second soldier concerned in the rob-
berry. The latter was found living ON
a pension at Southampton. When
questioned on the subject while he was
badly scared, but being told that no
harm would come to him. admitted
that the story told by his comrade was
correct
s'These facts eventually reached the
ears Of the India Office and the chief
commissioner Of Burmah was COM
nunicated with The result was that
the government agreed that White
stauld not be punished for the part he
gasC taken, on condition that he would
assist in the search for them White
agreed to this and the governm ant OF
India agreed to give White 10 per
cent. on any property he might discove r
up to the value of 10000 rupees. and
per cent on all property be might
discover in excess OF the 100000 rupees.
In addition, the Indian government
agreed to pay Whites expenses To In
dis, give him SO per cent. of the money
and furnish him with all outfit
Enter. Heavy VaIIain. n. L. L.
But, now the black villain in the
case crops up. White had formed the
acquaintance of a London sl,orting
man who pretended TO be his friend
and who promised before the govern
msnt OF India took action in the matter