The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1886-12-09
VISIT'TO MINERS HILL.
ONE OF THE PLACES >cELEBRATEu
INTHE HISTORY OF MoRMoNIsM.

ZOO Smith and His BibIe-Dictating to an
Amanuensis-Ono of tho Dupes-Cavo
on Miners Hill - Bringing Out the
Book.
On returning to the village of Palmyra
we visited another hill which is celebrated
in the annals of Mormon history. In
order that the reader may understand
the significance of this hill we must 60
back to Joe Smith and his bible. The
book, which. by the way, no one ever
saw, WINS said to consist Of metal plates,
pierced on one edge, and fastened to-
gether by rings which passed through the
holes With the book was also found, or
80 pretended, huge pair of spectacles,
too large for any mortal eyes, which had
the remarkable quality OF turning the
hieroglylliics on the metal plates into
plain English.
Smiths scheme required the publica-
ton of his bible. How was he to accomp-
lish thisP No one was allowed to see the
metal plates, and yet Smith could not
write legible hand. An accomplice was
necessary But Smith was equal to the
occasion. He engaged one Oliver Cow
derry, o school.teacher, TO be his scribe,
promising him part Of the proceeds of the
book. The Smiths We're then living In
little, one-story log house. There were
only two rooms on the ground floor, with
pointed garret in the roof Across one
corner of this garret Smith had a blanket
screen stretched. Behind this screen he
eusoonced himself with his magic spec
tacles and his golden book for, as Hussey
affirms, his tile brick). Cowdery sat on
the other side of the blanket and wrote
from Smiths dictation.
ONE OF THE DUPEs
Martin Harris, wealthy farmer, was
induced to bear the expense Of printing
the manuscript. But Harris wife was
woman Of too much good sense to be
Smiths dupe. So in the absence Of her
husband she put the manuscript in the
stove and burnt 1t up. Here was q check
in the proceeding and one, too, that filed
Smith with dismay. He and Harris were
morally certain that Mrs. Harris had
taken the manuscript, but they did not
know It was burned. Smith was unable to
reproduce the book exactly, and he feared
that the first manuscript would be pro-
duced to confound him. However, it
wasn't a time to give up. He and his
friends repaired to Miners hill by night,
aud there dug sort OF cave on the east
side of the bill. The dimensions of this
cave were forty feet deep, sixteen feet
wide, and seven feet high. The entrance
was secured by substantial door of two
inch oak plank. In this dark cave Smith
set about producing new manuscript,
Cowdery still acting as an amanue!lsis.
This copy was more securely guarded; 1t
Is that from which the Mormon bible was
printed in 1922. ..'....' - ''''.'.'' ~ ,'-,'
Miners hill is about two and half
miles south Of Palmyra In appearance
Il Is similar to Mormon hill, and Lille 1t
runs Oft to the south in ridge. In the
days of Smith 1t was heavily wooded.
When we visited the hill the timber had
been, cut down, and the whole was
slashing filed with stumps, briers and
burrs We had little difficulty in finding
what used to be the cave. 1t Is situated
Just below the brow of the hill F4fty-si1
years, however, have left their ravages
Instead of IL cave we found quite depres-
sion where the earth had given way and
fallen In. The door had long since disap-
penred The door-frnme, however, still
stands there, buried more than half the
WY up in the earth. The frame Is
| roughly made, the sides not being NOR
tised iutr the top, but simply secured by
three large spikes driven through each
| end of the top piece. We took our knife
and cut off piece Of the wood. 1t was
| as sound as when the frame was first
made. Hundreds of people, we were
told, annually visit Mormon hill; but few
ever wcnd their way through the burrs
| aud briers Of Miners hill.
PRINTED AT LAST.
After a good deal of demurring Mr..
Erbnrt B. Grandin, the publisher of The
Wayne Sentinel, contracted to do the
| printing. An edition of 5000 copies was
ordered The price agreed upon was
$4,000. Harris pledging himself to pay
the money. 1t happened that at that time
the leading compoaitor in Mr.. Grandin's
office wus Mr.. John H. Gilbert. Mr.. GIL
bert, or, Ms he Is now called, Maj. Gilbert,
Is to-day n hale man OF IS years 1t was
our good fortune to meet him and have u
long talk about the early days OF Nor
rnonism. He had the chief operative trust
| of the typesetting and presswork. He
got out the first form. There were In oil
SIS pages OF the bible, and Of these Gil
bert set up with his own hands over 500.
| The original instructions were that no
| alterations whatever from the copy were
to be made But under Gilbert's earnest
protcstations these instructions were re-
scindcd. Cowdery, though q tolerable
penlnan, was poor in syntax, orthography,
punctation. etc. The copy furnished him,
Mr.. Gilbert assured u.s. was a solid mass.
There was no punctuation. very few
capitals, no paragraphs
Joe Smith kept in the background. Gil
bert only saw him twice-once in the Of
! fee for u few minutes and once on the
street. Hyrum Smith, his brother,
brought the copy to the office every morn
ing, in installments of twenty-four pages,
buttoned up III his vest and came for
them ut night. But after much friendly
expostulation Smith in about ten days re-
Taxed his vigilance, and permitted Gil
bert to take the manuscript home to cor
rect and punctuate. This wax on Gil
bert's word that he would be responsible