It so happened that only the most expensive and rare stones are accompanied by exciting, confusing, and sometimes tragic stories. As a rule, we are talking about diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires.
But there are exceptions for semi-precious stones. The amethyst "Heron Allen" did not stand out in any way among its fellows, except for one thing - the incredible ability to send to the next world everyone who became its unhappy owner.
FOR HOOD OR GOOD?
Amethyst has a double glory. On the one hand, it has long been known as a widow's stone. “Beware of him, women, betrothed or married” - these words were carved on one of the clay tablets by a Sumerian priest 30 centuries ago.
Why did the stone have a bad reputation? Amethyst, set in silver, was usually worn by women who had lost their beloved husband. A woman wearing an adornment made of this stone seems to make a promise never to let the feeling of love for another man into her heart.
On the other hand, the stone has always been considered happy, in Rome it was even called blessed, believing that it brings good luck, peace, and heals nervous disorders. But there are exceptions to every rule. And the amethyst, later named "Heroes of Allen", showed itself from a completely different side.
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Drenched in blood
Until the middle of the 19th century, a large bright purple amethyst was known only in the Indian city of Kanpur, where it peacefully rested in one of the temples. In this ancient Indian city in the 19th century, during the rule of the British East India Company, the British military garrison was located.
As you know, the British did not want to keep a too large contingent of their own troops in India, so they created an army of sepoys - local mercenaries, equipping them with modern weapons - guns and cannons (instead of sabers). The Indian feudal lords took advantage of the sepoys, whose unlimited power was greatly infringed upon the arrival of the British.
It was enough to fan the fire of religious feelings - there were both Muslims and Hindus among the sepoys. This was used. The reason was a seemingly completely innocent fact. The instigators of the riot noticed that the British greased their guns with cow's or pork fat, which they saw as sacrilege.
Hindus were outraged by the killing of sacred cows; for Muslims, the actions of the British were also insulting, for them it was unacceptable even for them to touch a pig. So the religions united against the British.
During the Kanpur uprising, the British were executed on the street. In just a few days, about ten thousand people were killed in the city engulfed in anarchy.
The surviving women and children were taken into custody at the Villa Bibigar ("Home for the Lady"), on July 15 the order was given to execute the prisoners.
The rebels refused to kill women and children with their own hands, so the butchers (the untouchable caste) became the executioners. About 200 women and children were killed, their remains were chopped to pieces and thrown into wells.
But the instigators of the revolt did not expect such a turn: the British, who had come to the aid of their compatriots, stormed the city that had gone over to the side of the rebels. The captured rebels were forced to erect themselves a gallows next to Bibigar with their own hands. The leaders of the rebellion were tied to cannons and fired.
Lower caste executioners were ordered to execute their masters first, and then hanged themselves. On the eve of execution, Hindus were forced to eat beef, and Muslims were forced to eat pork. But the repression did not end there either.
The British surrounded and set fire to the neighboring villages, in which the rebels took refuge, and all who tried to escape from the fire were shot. Remember Kanpur! - became the battle cry of British soldiers in the fight against rebels in other cities.
CHAIN OF TRAGEDIES
During these tragic events, the amethyst ended up in the hands of the British cavalry colonel William Ferris. After some time, for unknown reasons, the colonels began to pursue major financial troubles one after another. A few years later, unable to withstand the blows of fate, the bankrupt William Ferris fell seriously ill and soon died.
Ferris' son, who inherited the stone, felt as if he was being pursued by an evil fate. Hoping to get rid of the jewel, Ferris Jr. presented the amethyst to his friend. However, soon the new owner of the stone, for some unknown reason, shot himself. In his suicide note, he asked for the amethyst to be returned to its former owner.
Ferris found it hard to believe that the unfortunate stone was in his hands again. Cursing the inherited amethyst and determined this time to get rid of it once and for all, in 1890 he handed it over to the Museum of Natural History. So the cursed stone ended up with an employee of the Edward Heron Allen Museum.
Above prejudice?
Allen was a highly educated and well-rounded person. A lawyer by training, he wrote a monograph on the secrets of violin making, which is still in print today.
Knowing many languages, he translated the rubai of Omar Khayyam. Was on friendly terms with Oscar Wilde. He has a lot of research in the field of natural science. All this made Heron Allen one of the most prominent British scientists of the time.
Without hiding anything, Ferris honestly told Allen the story of the ill-fated amethyst. Edward was a scientist and considered himself immune to any superstition or prejudice. However, a little time passed, and even he began to think that in an incomprehensible way the stone with its negative energy influences his life.
Realizing that these sensations may be just self-hypnosis, Allen nevertheless made several attempts to get rid of the unfortunate stone. He gave amethyst to his friends several times, but a little time passed, and they, under various pretexts, apologizing, returned the gift to him back. One singer, for example, complained that she had no voice at all.
SOMETIMES THEY RETURN
In the end, Allen, in despair, threw the amethyst into one of the London canals. It seemed that now the stone had disappeared in the murky waters forever.
Incredible as it may seem, but three months later, the amethyst was raised to the surface by a dredger, which deepened the bottom. The workers who miraculously noticed the stone among the mud and silt took it to a reseller.
And he, in turn, took the amethyst not just anywhere, but to the minerals department of the Museum of Natural History. Where he gave it to museum employee Edward Heron Allen.
In Allen's eyes, the story of the cursed stone took on an increasingly sinister, mystical connotation. Fearing, moreover, for the lives of his loved ones, Edward desperately made another attempt to get rid of the amethyst.
More recently, a scientist who is not subject to superstition, having sequentially packed the stone in seven boxes, deposited it in a bank, ordering to open the package three years after his death.
Edward Heroes Allen died in 1943. A few years later, his daughter returned the amethyst to the Natural History Museum. Together with the stone, she also handed over a note from her father, warning not to pick up the "unfortunate stone stained with blood" and advising the new owner to throw it far into the sea.
But the heirs did not follow his advice. Now the amethyst "Heroes of Allen" is on display in the museum, and the guides are pleased to tell its story. In the explanatory tablet for amethyst, the stone is officially called "thrice cursed."
And the grandson of Edward Heron Allen, former naval officer Ivor Jones, flatly refuses to take the former family heirloom into his hands.
Lyubov SHAROVA