Los Angeles herald., 1906-01-01
DIAMOND BRAIN IDOL
HAS DISAPPEARED
PHILADELPHIA POLICE SEEK
IMAGE
Stolen From Show Window-Weird
Letter Tells How Owner Came Into
Possession of Fortune-Rhodes
and Barney Barnato Involved
Special to The Herald.

! Special to The Herald.
PHILADELPHIA Dec. BIN the
head of an antique and hideous stone
idol the whereabouts of which is puZ.
zling the local police, is believed to have
been smuggled into this country gems
valued at $600,000. The story of the lido
which has been told in strange, Hitter
ate letters from the supposed owner ol
the image includes a chapter in the life
OF Cecil Rhodes and of Barney Barna-
to, the diamond king of the kimberley
fields.
The image was discovered in stable
of the allure firm of Groves e. Son
at 421S Lancaster avenue, in West Phil
adelphia and placed in show window
store as a decoration.
Reward for Idols Return
Shortly afterwards the members of
the firm were warned in an anonymous
letter not give away or sell the
image, promising reward If 1T should
be replaced In the stable. The firm did
not wish to part with 1t, however. and
notified the police and their employees
to prevent it's being stolen.
Notwithstanding the precautions the
image mysteriously disappeared. Police
men outside and clerks within had been
on the watch all evening. About
ht
to look at me idol in the window, after
having been engaged in another direc-
ton only few minutes, the image was
gone.
On Wednesday the promised explana-
ton came. 1t was a tale of adventure
in strange lands and of an ingenious
method of smuggling stolen jewels into
the country.
According to the story told by the let
far hn Ia nm TtaIi
various vicissitudes in earning living
in Europe, was sent by his employer to
South Africa to assist in the selection
of diamonds. After arriving in Cape
Colony he made the acquaintance Of
Cecil Rhodes, and by the consent of
his employer went to work for the
magnate.
Leaves Rhodes, Joins Barnato
Leaving him in after years he fell in
with Barney Barnato, and went with
him to the diamond fields at Kimberley.
Here he fell in with another man, whose
name he does not give. For several
years he lived with friend. The lat
ter was a bachelor, and the two men
lived alone and engaged in dealing in
diamonds.
"Kaffo" secured a number of the
stones, but nothing like the number or
of the quality owned by his friend. The
climax came in a thunderstorm, in
winch his friend was killed by light
ming. "Kaffo" was stunned. but soon
recovered and unearthed the precious
stones accumulated by his friend and
prepared to leave the country.
His great problem was to conceal the
stones so as to smuggle them out of the
country. His eyes fell on the idol. The
head of the image was hollow and 1t
had been used as a water cooler. He
dropped the diamonds in through the
eye holes and stopped the holes by
paste diamonds in them. He
came to Philadelphia, where a fellow
whose acquaintance he
made at boarding house, appeared to
be fascinated by the image. One day
this new friend and the idol were both
mig ing.
friend he found in a dying condi-
tic, In a hospital He confessed to
ste ng the image, and told where he
had oncealed 1t In stable. This was
a month after It had disappeared. The
next night "Kaffo" went TO the stable
only to find that the idol was gone. on
Is he saw a picture OF the
idol in a Philadelphia paper. Then
came the correspondence and the theft
OF the image.