The record-union., 1896-04-12
A SUPERSTITION EXPLODED.

Mysticism has received another blow
and priestcraft has once more been ex-
posed. The Jesuit priests La Hue and
CADET very many years ago. penetrated
to parts of China and into Thibet
where the strangers foot had never
gone before. In the travel in China La
Hue was enabled to go into sections
and study conditions from which all
other white men have ever since been
excluded. 1t will be remembered by
readers of the remarkable stories pub
lished by those priestly explorers-and
their sincerity no one has ever ques-
toned. while their recitals have been
generally accepted as true, especially
those of La Hue, a copy of whose work
on China we have--that they tell of a
time spent at the Lamasery of Kun
bum, in Thibet, near the source of the
Yellow River. 1t was there that they
saw the Sacred Tree" of the Llamas.
On the leaves of this tree they found
had grown there, and therefNse to be
messages from the other world to man.
These leaves they declared the Buddhist
priests valued so highly that fabulous
I.part with them in barter to strangers.
But they sold them at high prices to
their own people for healing and
preached that the leaves were marked
by supernatural powers by order of
the Great First Cause Himself.
These stories were much discredited
when given to the world, and La Hue
was supposed to have been imposed
upon by fairy tales. But recently NJ.
Edouard Blanc, who has Travelled much
in Central Asia, has returned from
that part, and confirms the story of
La Hue. He says that the tree does
bear the leaves marked. according to
the claim of the Llamas, mystically,
and that they do claim it Is done by
divine power. These leaves are sold at
great price to the people, and are re-
healing purposes. Even the wood of
the tree he found to bear the mystical
markings in Buddhist symbols.
But NJ. Blanc went into careful in
vestigation and made application Of
unfailing tests, and has been able to es-
tablish that the leaves are fakes" The
priests mark them as found, and do
the work so cleverly that imposition
,e II t1a 10 -+1
ents Of medicine. becoming SO the better
to fasten themselves upon the people;
that knowing how healer is esteemed
they combine the functions of doctor
and priest But they know also the
power of superstition and how among
a people outside of civilization as are
theirs such a device as the Sacred
Tree would be received, hence the use
by them of the leaves of the so-called
mystical tree.
There are some 1000 Llamas in Thi-
bet, and they perpetrated this tree
swindle with full knowledge among all
of them that it is fraud. 1t has come
down to them through ages of tradi-
tion and injunction to keep 1t secret,
and the cheat has never been discov-
cred or even suspected by the people
over whom they exercise such absolute
power.
The markings on the tree Of life''
are clearly the works of human hands.
While easily deceiving the Thibetans
ther were not sealed against the wit of
a shrewd Frenchman like NJ. Blanc
The Orientals carry the tradition that
the tree of life in theyGarden Of Eden
was cruciform, so in this case the sym
bols on the Llamas' tree partake of the
cruciform. But the L1amas are not
alone with their tree Of life and healing.
dndia has its Bodhi tree and China has
a mystical tree also. Tree worship has
prevailed in many parts of the globe