The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-08-29
STOLEN CHINESE TREASURE.
Curlo Consisting of Tree Construct
ed of Precious Stones

/ lne most mysterious spots in the world
ABOUT which a web of romance and
/ tragedy has been woven through cen
/ lurles, but of the material conditions
/ III the Forbidden City little is known.
II is within the sacred confines of
the sacred city that the treasure and
traditions of the empire are guarded.
! ana II mas long been considered impos-
SIDE Tor anything To be stolen or mis-
laid, because of the strict vigilance
maintained over the premises by a
strong force, and the extreme penalty
given those who are reniss i'm their
duties. But notwithstanding this Wig
lance of the trained Watchdogs of the
treasure, several years ago-perhaDs
no living man knows when or how-a
tree OF great value disappeared. and its
Whereabouts was unknown till quite
recently, when it was discovered in the
Boston museum
How it got there and when is not
known, but the discovery of its pres
ence in Boston created a great commo-
ton among the Chinese, and a strong
effort has been made to recover the
priceless treasure. but to no purpose
his tree is made Of native Chinese
precious stones, known as the Chinese
Jet, and stands about two and a half
feet high and is brilliant mass of
radiating coloTs. The loss of this tree
was unknown for many years. and
when 1t was missed systematic
search was made for it, but without
success, and since the invasion of the
Imperial City by the foreign troops the
tree has been discovered in the Boston
museum, but there seems to be no one
who can explain how it got there If
there is. the Chinese have never learned
the facts in the case, though every eff
fort has been made to learn i'm what
manner the tree was removed from the
Treasure City, brought to America and
finally placed in the museum. During
the recent visit of Leong Kai Cheu and
Pow Chez to New Orleans, says the
Times Democrat of that city, the lat
ter discussed the disappearance of the
tree and its discovery at Boston.
"Of all the mystery connected with
the Chinese Imperial CityS" said he,
this is probably the most inexplicable
For more than two centuries the stone
tree has been closely guarded day and
night, and only few persons knew O.
its existence or where il was kept,
though it has a romantic history, and
that is why the discovery of its loss
created SO great a furore several years
ago among Chinese officials. The en-
pire was searched, but no trace of it
could be found. Then an effort was
made to locate the person or persons
who were responsible 70 rits disappear
ance. but nothing could be learned from
those guarding the treasure house, as
none of them had ever seen the tree.
An investigation followed lasting sew
eral years. and the officers to whom
was intrusted the mission of locating
the culprit or culprits made a report
to the effect that the treasure tree had
been stolen years before. Then an eff
fort was made to locate it throughout
the world. but no trace of it was ever
found, and it had almost been forgotten
when. shortly after the Boxer troubles,
the tree made its appearance very sud
denly in the Boston museum. How it
got to Boston is as much a mystery
house in the Forbidden City, and its
discovery created a great commotion
among the Chinese throughout the
world. 1t has been a subject of dis
cussion among the Chinese officials,
and the matter was brought to the at
tention of the United States authori-
ties. but it seems that the tree is lost
to the Chinese forever.
Were il not known that it dis
before the invasion of the for
aign troops, its loss to China could
TO have been stolen years before the |
Boxer troubles. 1t is a mystery how |
Il was taken from the treasure house |
and carried from the Imperial City, |
and there is still more mystery at !
-ached to its disappearance, because OF /
the fact that no trace of it's where |
bouts could be found till after the |
Boxer troubles. All Chinese are asking |
TWO questions: How did it get out OF |
China. and where has it been since it |
vas stolen years ago? But there prob !
ably is no one living who can answer |
.hese questions. The value Of the tree
.ents, as it is the only thing of its kind |
n the world.
According to tradition, it was pre-
;ented to the emperor of China many, |
nany years ago by a Chinese prince /
who had been condemned to death for |
,ome alleged crime, but whose inno- |
,ence was discovered only a few days
before the date set for his execution.
he had been confined to prison for
number of years, and during his incar-
,eration had made this tree from ma
i've stones. When it was officially
Known that he was innocent the en-
,eror pardoned the prince, who, for joy
1t being restored to life and liberty,
presented his majesty with the tree.
which was always kept in the treasure
louse"
Though Pow Chez is in a sense an
xile from his native country, because
# his prominence in the movement to
ethrone the empress dowager, and has
ong been a resident of the United
states and Australia. during which
,eriod he has embraced the Christian
eligion, he spoke of the missing treas
ire with a marked reverence.
LIVED TO GREAT AGE
vi A,,o % Toua Anna