Hawke's Bay Herald. WEDNESDAY, JANUAEY 23,1895. THE MOUKDEN TREASURE AND THE FOX GOD.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9895, 23 January 1895, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Herald. WEDNESDAY, JANUAEY 23, 1895. THE MOUKDEN TREASURE AND THE FOX GOD.

One of the objects of tbe Japanese in

pushing forward to Monkden, the ancient capital of the Manchurian dynasty, U no doubt to secure the great treasure reported to be stored there. As the story goes, every year Binco tho present dynasty secured power, a large sum of money has heen sent to Monkden every year, and there stored against an emergency. It seems inconsistent with such a tale that China should have had to float a war loan abroad quite recently, bob the ways of the Heathen Chinee are provorblally peculiar. At any rate, it la believed all over the Esst that a vast amount of wealth ia In the Treasury at Monkden, Thia U said to reach 120,000,000 taels, the nominal value of the oael being 6) 6|d. A European would naturally auggeat, aomewhat cynically, that if this treasure were really available, Dot only would the Cbineae nae it to pay war expenses, but would remove it to a eafer place. But a correspondent in Motikdon, writing to a London paper, tells us that there ia undoubtedly a large amount of silver stored there, ia the form of ehoo9, and that the Chinese do not remove it for the same reason that they sent it there— became they bhlnk it safer in Moakden than in any other placeThis is dnc to the superstition of the Fox God. Tbe correspondent, noting the rumor that the Japaueae are en route to Moukden to get the silver, thus puts tbe Chinese view of the position :—" Surely tha purveyors of this piece of wonderfnl information are unaware that no earthly power— except that of the Chinese Em- ' peror, or his representative— can move a single shoe of silver out of tha treaanry. It Is therefore needful to forewarn the clever Japanese that this particular treasure is under the Immediate eire of the Fox God. This city is the headquarters of the worship of thi3 deity, and a temple in his honor ia decorated with tab'ets on account of cures before the recital of which the miracles of Lonrdes nmst hide their diminished heads. This god is represented as a most goodnatured little man, his ever-smiling face surmounted by a head of snow-white hair. Bealdeß the cures for which he 1b noted, his chief ofßca under tho present Government is to act as custodian of tbe treasures. A few yeara ago a thief got into tha treasury when all the gnarda were asleep or otherwise employed. The floor waa ao covered with shoea of silver that he coald not put his foot down except on tho precious metal. His fortune was made. Ej would oarry load after 'oad of sliver till the grey morning brought) the guard to the spot. He benb down to pick one np. He foiled it the heaviest shoe he bad ever touched. He usod both hands. He could not move it. He strained bia energies well nigh to bursting. He made no impression. Another and another shoe was attempted, bnt with no more encouraging result. He then bethought himself of the custodian, and trembled with a tear so great that be coald not move himself away. Ha wag caught there in the morning and told his story. Formerly the Fox God was a mandarin of No. 1 rank. His red button was now removed, and his head has been covered ever since by the insignia oi an Imperial Prince. Now, if when he waa bat one of the highest mandarins he made it impossible for a man to take away one shoe of silver off that floor, ia it at all likely that now lie Is a prince be will be lees slack to discharge bis duty ? Let the Japs be forewarned. They will take out of that treasury when they come jnsb as much as and do more than did that would-be thief. Apparently even the Governor-General of all the Mancbnriaa cannot take that money, as he has had to borrow from the banks a considerable snra of money to pay soldiers en route for the East." This may seem "excellentfooling " to Europeans, bnt no ono who has studied the strange ways and stranger bellefa of the Chinese will say that the tale told is incredible or Impossible. But If the treasnre is there, we fancy tbe little Japs will find a way to overcome the power of the Fox God.