El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-02-24
-BN-
Rene Bache

OF Delhi by their own immediate re-
latlves- Il is supposed to have been
stolen a the sack of the mOgul capital
by Nadir Shah. and to have been broN-
en- up to conceal its identity. 81 all
events. il disappeared. and since that
time nothing has been heard OF IL.
Tragedy Goes With Big Gems.
Tragedy is intimately associated
with the history of all The great Orien-
tai diamonds. Most famous of them
all Is the ~hOh-i-nOor," the story Of
which Is a long trail Of blood. Original
~ II weighed f03 carats, but IL was re-
duced by clumsy cutting TO 1S6 carats-
At the time when Nadir Shah the
Persian conQuerOr. invaded India the
gem belonged to Mohammed Shah. then
Great MoSul. MOhammed hid il in his
quainted with the fact by a woman
Of the harem, offered to exchange tur-
bans with the defeated monarch. as a
sign of amity in concluding peace
In this way he got possession Of the
diamond When, eight years later. he
was assassinated. the stone passed 10
his son. Shah Rokh. who succeeded
him on the throne of Persia Shah Rokh
was overthrow by a usurper. Aga
Aiohammed, who tortured him to make
him give up the gem Having put out
his eyes with a knife. he ordered his
head TO be shaved ana encircled with
a diadem of paste. into which boiling
oil was poured.
Even then Shan Rokh would not give
I'D the stone. He died Of his injuries.
but not before he was released from
captivity by Ahmed Shah. founder Of
assistance. To Ahmed he hequeatled
the "Roh-i-noor." which was handed
down to Ahmed's grandson, shah Ze-
man. The latter vas deposed by Shah
Shuja. who put out his eyes. imprisoned
him, and tried to force him TO Surren-
der the much coveted gem. But Ze-
man. WHO had managed to conceal f.
on his person. hid II in the plaster or
the wall of the cell he occupied for
many years
An officer Of the guard discovered
II by the accident Of scratching his
hand on projecting angle of the dia-
mOnd- which thus passed into Shuja'S
possession Shuja. however. was soon
deposed in his turn. and his eyes We're
put out by shah NIahmud. Escaping
from prison. he fled TO the court or
Runjit Singh. who. in spirit OF
Oriental hospitality, prosecuted him
and starved his wife until he consented
20 give up the "Koh-i-noOr.
Runjit had the stone set i'm a brace
let, which he constantly Wore But
Il was confiscated At the end Of the
great mutiny by the British. and sent
TO England. where IL was recut 70 IO6
carats- " present II IS a personal
possession Of the ruler OF Great Britain.
Its value IS estimated Al $500, 600.
though II Is not Of finest water. be-
ing slightly Ereyish in color.
IN view # the remarkable stories
here related, it Will be understood why
the native princes and potentates OF
India. even TO this day. make "a practice
OF hiding treasures. The habit has come
down to them from their ancestors. and
from times when there was incessant
turmoil nObody's property being ever
safe from capture and confiscation.
Thus even the poor in that country
bury or otherwise conceal their saw
ingS
Delhi Loot Scattered.
large part Of the original loot IN
Delhi has doubtless been scattered blt
the bulk of the plumber OF the Mocul
capital is still at Teheran. in the pos
session Of Shah Ahmed Mira. It Viii
be understood. by the way that the
word Shah" like Gar" is merely
corruption Of Caesar meaning Ruler,
or king To all OF the present bel
ligerents, in need Of ready money As
they are, the vast accumulation Of gold
and gems at Tehersn offers a great
temptation, and II remains TO be seen
whether il viii not be Sobbled I'D by
some of them before the gigantic con
flict comes TO an end