Cheraw gazette. [volume] (Cheraw, S.C.) 1835-1838, 1837-08-02

| members, so that banking institution was
declared necessary for the accommodation of
| their domestic commerce. Previously to
this, however, they had received quite an
accession 10 its strength and popularity in
the person Of S. Rigdon, once preacher
of the doctrines Of Campbell, and man Of
no ordinary talent and literary attainmonts,
possessed of shrewd and sagacious mind
and business capacities, united with indeta.
tigabIe perseverance and ardour in his un.
dcrtaking; qualities Of which the renowned
prophet, ,nlscader, seems almost enllrel y dcs-
titute. He soon became the favoritc Of and
grand vizer TO, Smith; and under their decis.
ion, a banking house was established. fortEe
good faith of which all the Saints were
pledged and Smith and Rigdon appointed
prcsiden. and cashier Notes were issued
to the amount Of some one hundred and
fifty thousand dollars. Hard times came
on, much Oft soon returned, and the bank
failed.
Residing temporarily but a few miles from
Kirkland and hearing Of these things, | felt
not lit,led desire to vsttile" "Mormon Town" !"
| accordingly determined 10 visit the pac +,
and set my feet in the precints of the ''Ho.
Iy City," A gentleman kindly offered me
seat in his carriage, and we drove to the
"promissed land" 1t was beautiful Sun
day morning, and although We reached the
temple at an early hour, yet we found it filled
With worshippers. "afiel the order Of Joe
Smith. The region around is exceedingly
broken and billy, though by no means un.
productive. They own the land to the ex-
tent of about two miles square, well furnish
ed with mills and other water prlvlieges.-
Their houses are small, and all wooden.
the house of the prophet being quite small.
The temple is a splendid edifice, covering if
mistake not, sixty eight feet by sevcnty.slx,
three stores high, including the attic built of
rough stone, handsomely succeed, which
gives it very rich appearance. The IN
terror forms two apartments for meetings,
similar in size and arrangement, each
apartment being large enough to accommo.
date 1900 persons. The Interior is very
singularly, though handsomely "done off,
The joisis are supported by six futcd col.
ums. Each of these apartments is capa-
bic OF being subdivided into four separate
divisions by canvass curtains let down by
windlasses from the ceiling.
Each apartment contains six pulpits,
arranged grandatim, three at each end, for
the "Aaronic priest hood" and at the other
end for the ;spriesthood Of Melchisedec. -
The ships are so constructed that the all.
dience can face either pulpit as may be re-
qurcd. In the highest seat of the "Aaronlc
priesthood" sits the reverend father Of the
prophet; the next below is occupied by"Joe,"
and his prime minister, Rigdon. The at.
tic s:ory is occupied as school rooms, five
in number, where the branches of English,
Latin, Greek and Hebrew languages are
taught to large number Of students The
actual cost of the temple is not known. but
it is estimated to have cost not less than
100000. Smith and Rigdon were both
present, having just returned from a journey
of some weeks. Smiths intellectual ap-
pcarance is altogether medics res, his couu.
tenance exhibiting a blank expression, (if
the term be admissible in reference 70 a
couteuance destitute Of all expression,)
and the only thing indicating sense Of
superiority is his perfect composure and
ease of manner before the gaze Of the as.
sembled multitude, tor the audinance Was
rather multitude, than congregation
But, on the contrary, ,Ridgon's countenance
beamed with intellect, his eye dark and
lus,rous, his voice fine tenor, his dction
vigorous, flowing, phrenologst, would have
been pronounced "good." He harrangued
the assembly, and the aim Of his address
was to reconcile his people 10 the endurance
of their prrsent embarrasments, IN which
they are involved by the pressure Of the
times, the failure Of their bank, &c. His
harranguc was mild, artuful, insinuating,
and as far as / could iuge, had the desired
effect. The whole appearance Of things
indicated 10 my mind that Rigdon is the
man who pulls the wire Of the whole ma.
chine behind the screen Of Joe Smiths III.
spection. Many industrious, intelligent, aud
worthy citizens are the followers of Joe
Smith, and it is out Justice TO say that they
have manifested a liberaliy Of sentiment
and a spirit Of Christian charity which
should put their enemies to the blush, and
which many of their bitterest prosecutors
would do well to initiate. Yet; in my es-
timation, Sydurc Rigdon, can better trans.
late the tables Of Mormon for the cars Of
that people than can the prophet Joe HIM
self. But truly in this thing, Smith has
signalized himself and Mormonsm became
a matter of history. And the sum Of my
reflections on the subject, when returning
from the "Town of Mormon" was, that a
madman or fool have ever set the world
agog.
June, 1887. a VlSlTER.