BURIED CITY OF GOLD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17853, 6 August 1921, Page 2 (Supplement)

BURIED CITY OF GOLD.

EAST PRUSSIAN MYTH.

THOUSANDS UNDER ITS SPELI*

People in the region of the battlefield of Tannenborg, in East Prussia, have been struck by an amazing form of mass madness or hallucination, for a parallel to which it is necessary to go back to the Middle Agee.

Beside the little village of Muschaken, 30 miles south of Allcnstein. and close to the Polish frontier, stands a triplepeaked height called Golden Mountain. The local sages say that the mountain stands on the site of a former city which existed 2000 years ago. On account of the avarice of a single inhabitant, the city was put under a spell by evil spirits, who turned the whole place, including the people, into gold, and throw the mountain over it.

A hundred and ten years ago. says another legend, a shepherd lad fell into a chasm on the mountain. When the body w;us recovered it had been turned into gold. Exactly 100 years ago another boy, it is related, was taken by a beautiful spirit into the mountain and

shown a sleeping city of gold—houses, churches, palaces, people, the king on his throne, all solid gold. The boy was told that to Telease the city from its ancient spell he must kiss twelve repulsive reptiles. He failed at the twelfth, which was a two-headed toad. The city was, therefore, condemned to a further century of imprisonment in gold. An Old Man's Dream. A few weeks ago a blind old woodman of the neighbouring village of Jablonkcn wais 'troubled by dreams, an which three spirits charged him with the task of releasing the city from the spell, and threatened that he would become a complete cripple if he refused to do as he was told. He was to rouse the people of the neighbourhood to assemble constantly on the mountain, and sing and pray. The threats became more terrible, till at last he went off to the mountain, eight miles away, by a difficult road, and reached the top without mishap He repeated the formula given him by the spirits, and immediately heard singing inside the mountain. He told the people the story of his adventures and they began to flock to the mountain. Then another man appeared on the scene declaring thai he had visited the city accompanied by a beautiful golden woman who sat on his shoulders and spurred him on. He saw what the lad had seen and impressed on the people that if the spell was broken tfie golden king would become king of all with money to pay tlie indemnity and make everybody enormously rich. In a golden prison ho had seen a golden prisoner who eaused the spell to be set on the city. He was also shown paradise, he said, which " was all music and roundabout?.'' A wealthy lady who owns an estate near by went, out at night to dig fur gold on the mountain. She heard homelhing, fled in terror, and is now in a lunatic asylum. Singing and Praying. The story meantime spread, and people came from far and near to take part in the regular singing and praying meetings on thp mountain, which are held every day from eight till four. Many people stay all night. Vehicles of all worts bring pilgrims in thousands, and the railways are over-burdened. People who endeavour to persuade the inhabitants that the whole tiling is a delusion are cursed by the simple peasants of the region, who whole-heartedly believe in the story. A curious spell of hallucination has been cast over th e entire region, and the authorities are wondering what to do to bring the people back to their senses.