ft
The Qmaha Sunday Bee Magazine Page'
Copyright 1912, by American-Examiner. Great BrlUIn Rlghti Reserved,
forTloodoox
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THE British arietocraey and
wealthy classes hav been
driven by terror or supersti
tion to confide many seemingly
haunted heirlooms and valuable ob
jects of art to tii pubHo museumk.
There must b some Amerksni
la a similar predicament Mrs.
Charles Gilpin, the noted society
beauty ol Philadelphia, Is the pos
sessor ot a singularly beautiful
emerald which she says has brought
her domestlo misfortune and per
sistent ill luck. So afraid is 'she ot
the emerald that she never wears
it, ana noons can ana oat what has
become ot It
She night get rid of her (roubles
In the British way by turning her
. emerald over to some respectable
museum. She has not the superstition-defying
courage of Jin. Ed
ward McLean, who has bought, and
Is wearing, toe beautiful Hope
diamond which has the nioit a ma,
lug history of tragedy and Ill-luck
ever associated with a lifeless ob
ject ,
Very strange behavior on the part
of idols and Images In the Victoria
and Albert Museum, London, lias
called attention to the ' practice
among the British aristocracy ot
"backing their boodoos" in a mu
seum. Watchmen left to guard the mu
seum at night have heard blood
curdling groans, unearthly cries,
noises suggeslite of the pattering
- Madame Catullo Mendes'a
Buddha that sways her life.
had obtained it in Lower Bunnell.
The captain took the object by
"strategy" from a Buddhist temple
and being Interrupted by the priest
killed the poor fellow.
After that the Image brought Ill
luck to every white man who came
In contact with it When the ship
carrying it was near Uverpol a fire
broke out on board. The crew, who
attributed all their troubles to tho
Buddha, threw It overboard, and
after that they reached port safely.
By a rather strange accident the
Buddha was washed ashore in
Wales and the captain claimed It
and obtained it with mach difficulty
and expense. Boon afterward he
died.
His daughter kept the Buddha In
her hoiwe for several years, during
which it gave rise to continual
trouble. The servants refuted to
stsy In the house. They declared
that the image wandered about the
house at night and that its eyes
were constantly upon them.
Then a young daughter of the
owner, who bad been observed gat
ing fixedly at the Image, died. This
final misfortune made Mrs. Evens
decide to get rid ot the ill-omened
Image. She presented it to the
Victoria and inert Museum,
where It has been the reputed cause
of many mysterious disturbances.
It Is In this museum that a large
part of Plerpont Morgan's collection
baa hitherto been housed. Report
sitting
Ancient Flemish ewer in Pierpont
;....:iini collection' said to have
unearthly noises.
of ghostly feet Many of the keep
ers having certain antiquities In
their care have suffered serious Ni
nes and other misfortunes,
investigation has shown that
Ui ere are really in the museum
many objects- which hsve had a
tragle and Ill-omened history. .
Among them Is a carved teak
wood Image of Buddha, which be
longed, until recently,, to a Mrs.
Evans, whose father, a sea captain.
Mrs. Charles Gilpin, of Phila
Jclphia, who is afraid to wear
her splendid "hoodoo", enter--ild.
,
says that a curious sixteenth cen
tury Plemlah copper ewer In the
form of a human head, belonging to
Mr. Morgan, has been heard utter
ing unearthly groans at night.
Not all antique Idols and images
are credited with bringing misfor
tune. Msdame Catullo Mendea, the
noted Parisian novelist, posses a
strange little ivory Buddha which
she consults before embarking In
any new undertaking. She says
that when she is acting according I
to the Buddha's direction she never
falls to enjoy good fortune.
Scientific psychologists tell us
that there may be a basis of fact
In the yarns associated with these
Idols and Images. The inanimate
objects themselves can have no
power over human beings or events,
but it is possible that superstitious
persons, believing In the super
natural powers attributed to the
objects, may bring upon themselves
the troubles whk-h they fear. This
theory would account for some of
the tragedies associated with the
Hope diamond. ' '
Another prominent British hoodoo
Is the mummy cie of the Egyptian
high priest Nes-Amsu, which be
longed to the wealthy and eccentric
Lady Meux. The original disco v-
erer of the artist Whistler, the
widow of a wealthy .baronet, she
Very Odd
"Behavior" of Idols
rand Images in the
British Mu
seum Re
veals the
Fact That
Superstitious
Aristocrats
Turn Their
"Haunted
Heirlooms
Over to the
Public Care
garrison at Ladysmlth during the
Boer War by taking hla naval guns
lata the besieged town at the criti
cal moment. He is considered one
of the bravest men la the British
navy. But he was not brave
enough to keep the mummy case
of the Egyptian high priest and he
turned It over to the museum.
Another object In the museum
seemingly - possessed of super
natural qualities Is a bambino, or
holy child, lying on a miniature
four-post bed hung with Neapolitan
and Burmese charms. It originally
belonged to Lady .Nevill, whose
sons complained that . a constant
series of misfortunes pursued them.
They therefore turned the hand
some and valuable relic over to the
museum. Presumably In this case
the .misfortunes must have hao-
pened because a holy relic had been
removed from Its proper resting
place In a church. ,
Even before the recent alleged
activity ot the haunted objects In
the Victoria and Albert Museum all
England was excited by the strange
, behavior of the mummy case ot the
priestess of Amen-Ra.
This priestess, Hetare by nsme,
belonged to the royal family ot
Egypt. In early life she was or
daioed a prteitesa of Amen-Ra, but
on the accession of her brother aa
Pharaoh Amen-hotep IV., she fol
lowed the new religion to which he
belonged and left the temple of
Amen-Ra. Thus she may have In
curred the wrath ot the ancient
gods.
A party ot four young English
men secured her mummy In Its case
some thirty yeara ago. Before they
left Egypt the mummy was stolen
and subsequent misfortunes fol
lowed the case. One of the young
men was crippled In Egypt and an
other was shot shortly after reach
ing England. A third died suddenly
and the fourth followed him after
losing his large fortune.
The sister ot the last hastily pre
sented the mummy case to the mu-
possessed one of
tho most valuable
collection of art an
tiquities In the coun
try. Among them was the
mummy case of Nes
' Amen, a magnificent re
presentation ot the dead
priest, whose body It once
contained, in red, green,
hlack and gold upon wood.
It was presented to Lady Meux
y Walter Ingram, a noted trai
ler. He waa killed In an ele
int hunt shortly after making
the gift The case bears an In
scription stating that a curse will
fall upon him who removes It from
its resting place.
Lady Meux, who was a vigorous
character, defied the curse, and cer
tainly It did not prevent her from
living to an advanced age. But aha
became estranged from all her
friends. She quarrelled violently
with Whltler.
She quarrelled as savagely with
her husband's relatives. She had
no children and thus she had the
bitterness of knowing that her,
treasures must go to her husband's
hated relatives or pass into the
hands of strangers.
She left the bulk of her property.
Including the mummy case of Nes
Amsu. to Admiral Sir Hod worth
Lambton, a brother of the Earl of
Durham. The Admiral is distin
guished for having saved the British
1 . l?M
1 tr;:rh
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Mummy cam with extraordh
narily tragic history, that he-,
longed to the late Lady Meux
seum. The man who drove It there
died within a week, while one who
helped to carry it into the building
soon afterward had both legs cut
off in a railroad accident
The first man who attempted to
photograph the mummy case fell,'
smashed his camera and cut his
face severely. The first journalist
who described the tragedies accom
panying the object died soon after
ward. The daughter of the Marchioness
ot Salisbury, who went to look at
the notorious object, fell and
sprained her ankle. Other more
serious accidents followed and
finally the authorities withdrew
the case from public view on ac
count ot the reign ot terror and ex
citement It had created.
Pigflol Thai SKppf s Stupefying Gas
s '
If:
tl ' ''j, at with
Here Is the Secret Service's Newest
Weapon Against the Evil-Doer
The New Gas Pistol, Actual Size. Its
Vapor-Filled Cartridge Enables You to
Put a Burglar Out of Commission
Without Killing him
T:iK buI!etIH gua has at las:
made Its appearance. It Is
. a Or man luventlon and. In-
'stead of ballets, It shoots a gas
which temporarily blinds and chokes
; the victim. .
The cartridge ased contains sev
eral ingredient which, when ex
" p'odcJ. combine to form a vapor of
a pecn'iar character. The gna Itself
d;flr my little In appearance aad
mechanism from the or
dinary . double-action re
volver. It holds live
cartridges.
The action ot the va
por may beat be Imag
ined by considering the
position of the person
shot at The appearance
of the weapon, the re
port and the furs' ot
the powder combine
to convince the victim
that be ha been shot
aa ordinary firearm. His
eyes . aad mouth opea la surprise
and the gases generated by the
combination of the chemicals en
velop his bead completely, pene
trating his eyes and affecting his
iigbt.
For several minutes be Is practi
cally blind. Simultaneously the me
cass membrane ot the nose and
throat are Irritated aad the victim
soeese aad chokes. 1'or a minute ot
two the victim finds it almost ira
poMible to breathe.
It is obvious that no Individual,
even If he were as strong aa Her
cules, would be in a position to put
up much of a fight while in suck a
condition.
The ahotlesa gun I intended prin
cipally for the protection of tourists,
commercial travelers, doctors, cy
dlsts, automoblllst. bank officials,
mall carriers, watchmen and police
men. No one wants to kill a crimi
nal unleoa It la absolutely necessary
for one's own preservation, and this
Invention Is intended to mske such
a course unnecessary.
. Chief William J. Flynn, ot the
United States Secret Service, ess de- -elded
te adopt this wespoa for use
la the service. Ia rounding np
bands ot counterfeiters and other
offenders sgalnst the Federal laws,
tlie Chief believe tbe chemical gun
will. prove lust as effective and. at
the same time, more bumsne than
tbe ordinary weapon, which fre
quently Inflict serious injury and
sometimes kills the prisoner. Over
. powered by the fumes of this
new gun, any criminal, however
dangerous, may be readily capturvd
and by tbe time the effect of tbe
vapor have worn off the prisoner la
safely manacled. '
At the laboralorte of Bendlner
' A- Schlealnger. at Third avenne and
Tenth street. New York, one ot the
cartridge used with the chemical
pin waa thoroughly analysed. It was
found to comprise a pasteboard
holder wish a fulminating cap atone
end similar to that used la tbe ordi
nary bullet cartridge. Immediately
next to the cap waa a small charge
of coarse-grain gunpowder. Thea fol-
- lowed a large charge of capsicum, or
red pepper, mixed with lycopodlum.
an Inflammable yellow powder con
sisting of tbe spores ot club-mosa,
and a slight trwte of saltpetre. The
remainder of the bolder waa filled
with lycopodlum.
With the pulling of the trigger.
the cap explode the gunpowder and
the force of the explosion nnltea the
red pepper and lycopodlum and pro-'
duces the blinding, suffocating vapor
upon which the principle of the
weapon depends.
To test the effect of this cartridge,
Mr. Scbiesinger procured a guinea
pig front his laboratory and dis
charged it at tbe animal at a range
ot some three feet The guinea-pig
seemed to suffer no pain, but was
nnable to open its eyes for the spare
of a minute and seemed to hsve
some difficulty ia breathing as the
fumes penetrated ita nose and throat.
The text, however, hardly did jus
tice to the weapon, for, naturally
enough, the gaisea-pig was not ta
the least alarmed at the. sudden
sight ot the gua ss a human feeing
would be and kept hia month shut
1 - Lj
and his eyes nearly so. With a
human being, of course, the surprise
and shock would operate to open the
victim eyes, and mouth and give
the fumes a better chance to work.
"Several time in my experience,"
said Chief Klyon. "I have wished for
just such a weapon aa this chemical
gua. In dealing with Black Handera,
counterfeiters and other criminals
who usually, operate in bands. It Is
almost always necessary to roaod
them up at the point of a gua.
"The raiding officers are then ia
a position where for tbe preserva
tion of their own live they most
show that they are determined to
shoot and to shoot to kill at tbe first
show of resistance. The first sus
picious movement upon the part ot
the .prisoners la the signal for the
officers to fire, and yet they are
naturally loath to take human lite
unless It I absolutely necessary.
'This chemical ' gua, I believe.
- ' y 2- - - - . ,
1 -v-''"V . - . ' . , S
solves the difficulty. If a prisoner
shows fight, he finds himself sud
denly confronted with what be Im
agine is a loaded revolver. Ia nine
cases out of ten. it is sufficient to
take .all the fight out of him, he
throws np hia hand and give la.
In the tenth case, perhaps, be is
either too frightened to think of bis
dsnger or too desperate not te take
a chance and be springs at the
officer right ia the muzale of tbe
'sua. , .
"Thea, of course, there ia only one
thing tor tbe officer to do. He m(
shoot, or the criminal may possibly
get the best of him. Armed with a
real gun, such a situation would
usually mesa the death of the crimi
nal, bat with the chemical gun, the
overpowering fume released with
the explosion of tbe cartridge right
in the face of tbe advancing crook
would place him entirely at the
mercy of the officer, who would then
pat the handcuffs on him and march
him off.
-For this reason, after I have
given the new gun a thorough test, I
shall Insist upon alt ot my mea
carrying it when engaged in work
not apt to require a regular re
volver. For the ordinary policeman,
however. I hardly think that the gna
" would be sufficient, tor In the ma
jority of cases in which the police
officer Is called upon to nse a gua at
all, he shoots to bring down a fugi
tive, and. obviously, tbe chemical
gna would aot do that"
