The Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1849-1855, 1851-08-21
PAUL MINNESOTA TERRITORY THURSDAY AUGUST 81 1851


dism in the camp meeting, away down il
the woods, on the Vienna road, he was
very plausible exhOrter in evening meet
ings. i.f f.i tfi 7".'2
Legends Of hidden treasure had long des
ignated Mormon Hill as the depository
Old joseph had dug there, aud young 10
seph had not only heard his father ant
mother relate the marvellous tales of blirie,
wealth, had accompanied his father in ths
midnight delviDgs, and heard the incanta
tons of the spirits that guarded it.
If buried revelation was to be exhum
ed, how natural was it that the Smith fam
lily, with their creduliiy, aud their assumed
present,nent that a Prophet was to come
from their household, should be connected
With it; aud that Mormon Hill was the
place where 1t would lie found. sa d q
1t is believed by those who were best ne
quainted with The Smith family, and mosl
conversant with all the Gold Bible move
nents, that there is no foundation for the
statement that their original manuscript was
written 10y a Mr.. Spauding, of Ohio. A
supplement to the Gold Bible, "The Book
Of Coinmandments'' in all probability was
written by Rigdon, and he may have been
aided by Spaulding's manuscript; but the
book itself IS without doubt a production of
the Smith family, aided by Oliver Cowdry,
who was n school teacher on Strafford ST. !,
an intimate of the Smith family. and iden-
tified with the whole matter. The produc-
ton, as all will conclude who have read it,,
or even given it a cursOry review, is not
that Of an educated man or woman. The
bungIng attempt to counterfeit The style Of
the Scriptures; the iniermixture of modern
pbraseology; the ignorance of chronology
and geography; its utter crudeness and bald
ness as whole, stamp its character, and
clearly exhibit its vulgar origin. Ii is a
strange medley of scripture, romance, and
bad composition.
The primitive designs Of Mrs Smith, her
husband, Jo and Cowdry, was money max
ing; blended with which, perhaps, was
desire for notorIety, TO be Obtained by
cheat and fraui. The idea of bein. the
founders of Il new sect, was an after thO'l,
in which they were aided by others.
The projectors Of the humbug being des
titute of means for carrying out their plans,
a victim was selected TO Obviate that diff
Guilty. Martin Harris was a farmer of Pal
myra, the owner of good farm, and an
honest, worthy citizen; but especially given
to religious enthusiasm, new creeds, the
more extrayagaDt the better; a mOnOrnani-
ac, in fact. Joseph Smith, upon whom the
mantle of prophecy had fallen after the sad
fate OF Alvah, began TO make denunstra-
tons. He informed Harris of the great
discovery, aud that it had been revealed to
him, that ne (Harrs) was a chosen instru-
ment to aid in the great work of surprising
the world with new revelation. They
had hit upon The right man. He mortgased
hs fine farm to pay for printing the book,
assumed grave, mysterious and unearthly
department, and made here aud there a.
lnong his acquaintances, solemn annuncia-
tiOns Of the great event that was transp!r-
ing. His version Of the discovery, US com.
municated to him by the Prophet Joseph
himself, is well remembered by several re-
spectacle citizens of Palmyra, to whom he
made early disclosures. 1t was, in sub
stance, as follows
The Prophet Joseph was directed by an
angel where to find, by excavation, at the
gold plates; and was compelled by the an
gel, much against his WILL to be the inter-
prefer of the sacred records they contained,
aud publish it to the world. That the
plates contained a record of the ancient III
habitants of this country, engraved by Nor
mon, the son of Nebhi.' That on the top
of the box containing the plates, a pair OF
large spectacles were found, the stones or
glass set in which were opaque to all but
the Prophet that these belonged to Nor
mon, the engraver OF the plates, and with
out them the plates could not be read.'-
Harris assumed that himself aud COwdry
were the chosen amanuenses, and that the
Prophet Joseph, curtained from the world
and them with his spectacles, read from The
gold plates what they committed to paper.
Harris exhibited to al informant of the au-
thor, the manuscript title page. On il were
drawn, rudely and bunglingly, concentric
circles, between, above and below, which
were characters, with little resemblance to
letters; apparently miserable imitation of
herOgiyphcs the writer may sOmewhe
have seen. To guard against profane curl
osity, the Prophet had given out that no one
but himself, not even his chosen Cooper
ates, must be permitted to see them, on pain
of instant death. Harris had never seen
the plates, hut the glowing account of their
massive richness, excited other than spirit
ual hopes, and he, upon one occasion, got
a village silver smith to help him estimate
their value, taking as basis, the Prophets
account of their Dimensions. 1t was a blend
ing of the spiritual and utilitarian, that
threw a shadow of doubt upon Martins sim
certy.
This, and some anticipations he indulged
IN rs TO the profits that would arise from the
sale of the Gold Bible, made it then, as it
is now, a mooted question whether he was
altogether dupe.
The wife of Harris was a rank infidel
and hereto, touching the whole thing, and
decidedly opposed to her husbands partici-
patton in it. With sacrIegious hands she
seized over an hundred Of the manuscript
pages Of the new revelation, and burned or
secreted them. 1t was agreed by Smith and
family, Cowlry and Harris, not to trans
crbe these again, but to let so much Of the
new revelation drop out, as the 'evil spirit
would get up a story that the second trans
lation did not agree with the first A very
ingenious method, surely, Of guarding "a
galnst the possibility that Mrs. Harris had
preserved the manuscript with which they
might he confronted, should they attempt
an imitation of their own miserable patch
work. ..t .- ......... ...... .,...t
The Prophet did not get his lesson well
,,Do,, tho ctavt Or fhc hon hold Of the inn