The Elbert County tribune., 1912-08-09

defenders were driven away they took the secret
of the hding-pace with them and later were eth
er made slaves or killed Umcan collected much
treasure and removed 1t to Ciandu, but he did
nos get the great hidden store of wealth. though
he laid the city in ruins and filled whole tower
with prisoners. whom he roasted alive in ven
geance Today competent to say
where those ruins lie and has gone over
the old records to trace out the geographical
points that are known and fixed in relation to the
unknown site of the lost city whose treasure
would run into the hundreds of millions. 1t is
thought to be in Turkestan.
Equally uncertain is the spot where lie the
ruins of the splendid capital OF Ciandu.
Marco Polo even furnished less
rate map OF the city proper. 1t in Cathay
and built in the bend of great river with miles
of defenses the banks and extending toward
the mountains behind it. In many ways it's de-
scription corresponds to the modern town OF
,Khotan In esatern Turkestan on the Khotan river.
yet other indications point to Leh in Kashmir
the Indus river and 1t may Kunduz the
great Amu-Daria river a stream as long as the
Ohio but In so remote part OF the world that 1t
is rarely even heard of.
Genghis Khan. which means chief of all chiefs.
was Temudjin. Mongol and chieftain of the Col
den Hordes His domain in 1903 comprised all OF
China, Turkestan. Persia and Kaptchak south
ern Russia. and 1t was about this time that he
established his summer capital at Ciandu. Here
1t was that he instituted the peculiar system of
fiat money which made gold-peces playthings for
the children Of the poor. Round pieces of the
inner bark of the mulberry tree were stamped
with the royal mark and passed current
money. Within the bounds of the country all
trading done with these pieces of bark back.
ed by the force of imperial arms instead of by a
treasury reserve
Merchants came in caravans from all western
Asia. bringing gold. jewels and merchandise OF all
sorts, and all these they exchanged for mulberry.
bark nat money and with 1t bought freight for
their caravans. The result that finally all
the gold and jewels of all Tartary drifted in thin
ht.fo dx-
decreasing in value till they were useless They
were stored in vaults and buried in great caches
in tens OF million dollars worth When the en-
pre fell the fiat money became useless. The DOS
SCISSORS OF the gold being slaughtered and
driven of slaves leaving the treasure behind
them In quantities too great for the mind to com.
prehend Where Is 1t now? In what dust-drifted
valley? What student OF oriental literature and
European accounts will trace out the location of
Ciandu and recover the vast hidden fortunes!
Some one will doubtless very large
treasure In the natural course OF events In or
about the strange gigantic castle OF Mard at Ell
Jowf. Arabia, Every advance made by the
antiquarians and the Biblical scholars makes II
little more clear and certain that here lies a
hoard that is one of the richest in the world
In large oasis supporting the largest popula
tion Of Northern Arabia, FL Jowf is a peculiarly
isolated spot, best reached by riding from the
Mecca pilgrimage railway by caravan from
Ithera. The castle stands to the north monster
pile OF ruined sandstone. utterly deserted
and feared and Stunned by the Jofees of the re-
gion. They say strange sights and sounds are to
be seen and heard there at night, and that once
a year before the Feast of Ramazan, all the
blood that has been split about 1t oozes up from
the ground, making great red pool around the
fortress and dripping from the walls till daylight
The early Arabian chieftains great looters
hunters and hiders Of treasure and the traditions
that El Hadp. one of the builders of the cas-
tie, during life that extended moro than
hundred years. spent his entire time not
only in robbng ali the rich caravans within strik-
ing distance OF FL Jowf and in warning on his
neighbors but in tracing out the traditions OF all
the tribes. And in this work. guided by dreams
and visions. he recovered vast quantities of treas
ure. bringing It all to Ell Jowf and hiding It In
the castle.
Twenty-Five years ago this tale was psf in the
same category with the entertaining yarns Of
the Arabian Nights. But earh year of study Of
the rslils of the ancient peoples Of Egypt Arabia