Forgotten Fortune

Children adored him; so did the mangy, half-starved dogs that wandered with him through the steep, cobblestoned streets of mountaintop La Paz. For 20 years, this tall foreigner with the long blond beard had gone about the Indian capital selling pencils. One morning two years ago, he was found dead in the streets--of a heart attack, the coroner said.

The beggar's name was Stephen Blau. He came from Austria during World War I. He opened a bazaar, buying & selling old paintings, stamps, clothes. For a time he did well, and at the peak of his prosperity represented Austria as honorary consul. Then he ran into hard times. In 1926 he closed his business, leaving 28 sealed boxes in pawn for the $5 he owed his landlady, and started peddling pencils.

Recently, investigating a warehouse robbery, police came across the 28 dusty boxes which Stephen Blau had pawned. They contained paintings, coins, stamps and jewels worth 8,000,000 bolivianos ($200,000). The stamp collection alone was appraised at $30,000. A will was found leaving part of the fortune to his mother and nieces in Vienna, the rest to the President of Austria for charities.

As the news spread, one Jorge Blau wrote from Bolivia's northeastern jungle to say that he was Stephen's brother. Austrian representatives in Rio filed a claim. A search was begun for the heirs in Vienna. Last week, the La Paz courts were trying to decide what should be done with the fortune of this old beggar who apparently forgot that he had 8,000,000 bolivianos stored away.

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