Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 August 1896 — SEWN UP IN HIS LEG. [ARTICLE]

SEWN UP IN HIS LEG.

How an Immensely Valuable Stone Was Taktn from Persia to Russia. (Jus Fox. a dealer in diamonds on Fourth street, Cincinnati, has a story about the famous Orloff diamond named after Count Orloff, the first European who l>ought it. Fox says: “It was originally the eye of an idol in Trincliinopoli. It was stolen, according to the accepted account, by a Frenchman, who escaped with it to Persia, where he sold it for the equivalent in our money of SB,OOO to a Jewish merchant. “The Jewish merchant sold it to an Armenian named Shafras, who had traveled in Russia, and conceived the idea of taking the diamond to that country and selling it to the Empress Catherine for a great sum. Shafras paid him SOO,OOO for it. “Having secured the stone, the next question with Shafras was how to get it to Russia, or rather how to conceal it when he was searched by robbers, as he was sure to be on the road. The journey was a long and perilous one, and thieves abounded everywhere. Shafras thought of swallowing the stone when he should be taken by the robbers, but was obliged to give that plan up, as the diamond was too large to swallow. “He began to feel he had a white elephant on his hands, when a thought occurred to him. He procured a sharp lance, made a cut in the fleshy part of his left leg,and thrust the diamond into the wound. He sewed up the cut with a needle and a silver wire. It healed, leaving the diamond embedded fast in the leg, quite out of sight. “Then he started for Russia. On the way he was seized by robbers again and again, and it was thoroughly searched. Being an Armenian, and suspected of going to Russia to trade, the thieves marvelled-greatly at finding nothing of value upon his person. “He arrived in Russia at last, and, after extracting his diamond, visited the Empress, He was willing to sell it for about $150,000, but the Empress had not so large an amount in cash for the purchase, and Shafras preferred to go on to Amsterdam, the seat of the diamond-cutting industry, where he had the stone polished. “Here Count Orloff, an extremely wealthy Russian, saw the diamond, and was filled with a determination to secure it for the Russian crown. He did secure it, but Shafras exacted from the Russian Government $400,000, an annuity of $20,000, and a title of nobility. He died a millionaire. “The Orloff diamond weighs 195 carats, and is about the size of a pigeon’s egg. It is smaller than the Ivoh-i-Noor, in the possession of the Ehglish Queen, which is supposed to be worth $3,750,000.” In looking around for an ally China is more successful than Spain. The combination of Russia and China includes more than a third of the world’s population and is likely to cut a figure in history.