The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1891-04-09


Property.
The germ Of Mormonism originated
in this city. About the year 1918 a
teamster in the salt works by the name
of Joseph Belcher found a peculiar
stone, or a stone that the owners
claimed contained great powers. Soon
after Becher and family removed to
Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania,
where Joe Smith was engaged as gold
hunter, prophet and treasure-dunter.
Belcher called his find II seeing
stone" 1t was green, with brown,
irregular spots on it. and about the
same shape and size as a goose egg.
In those days the country was very
wild and the people very supersitious
and strange stories were told of lost
animals and children that were found
by the aid of this stone. The modus
operandi was to conceal the stone in a
dark place and Belcher's little boy
could then see from its unnatural pow
ers the exact location of any object he
desired to find. Joe Smith heard of
this miniature information bureau and
soon sought out Belcher. secured the
stone and renewed his researches.
In 1926 Joe had in his employ set
of men who were called money-diggers,
and his occupation was that Of seeing
or pretending to see by means of this
stone placed in his hat and his hat
closed over his face. In this way he
claimed the power to discover minerals
and hidden treasures. 1t is said he
was insolent, poorly educated, and
very careless in appearance. One story
told of Smith is that struggling In
dian who was passing up the Susque.
hanna River had told of buried treas.
ure. Joe hunted up the Indian and
induced him to tell the place where il
was buried. The Indian told him at .
point a certain number of PAGES due
north from a certain point on the river.
Joe's exchequer was very low at this
time, and so it became necessary tc
get a well-to-do farmer by the name OF
Harper to assist him in the scheme. TT
seems that farmers were "taken in
IL those early days as well as now,
They comm6nce3 digging on a farm
near the river and continued as long
as Harpers cash held out. Smith now
declared to Harper that there was an
enchantment about the place that was
removing the treasure further Off; that
Harper must get perfectly white dog
and sprinkle his blood over the ground,
and that would prevent the enchant-
ment from removing the treasure.
Search was made all over the country
but no perfectly white dog could be
found Joseph said he thought a
white sheep would do as well. A sheep
was killed and the blood sprinkled as
directed. The digging was then re-
sumed by Harper. After digging for
several weeks more and an outlay Of
50, 900 more of the farmers shekeIs
Harper refused to come down" any
further and the digging was abandon
ed.
Joe now said that the enchantment
had removed all the treasure; that the
Almighty was displeased with them
for trying to palm off on him a white
sheep for a white dog. He would sit
for hours looking into the hat at the
round stone and tell Of seeing things
far away and supernatural. On one
occasion neighbor had piece Of corn
planted rather late aud on a moist piece
of ground, and. feeling little doubt
full about its ripening, got Smith to
bless it. It happened that it was the
only piece of corn killed by the frost
in the neighborhood. When the
prophets attention was called to the
matter he got out of the difficulty by
SAYING that he made mistake, and
put curse on the corn instead Of q
| blessing.
About this time Smith procured q
| box of plates, which it is supposed he
brought from Palmyra, n. Y, where
he lived for short time. which he kept
carefully locked They were alleged to
contain d great quantity Of characters
and hieroglyphics, which no one but
himself could interpret. From these
| plates Smith. with the assis ance OF
Martin Harris and Oliver Cawdry, pro-
duced the manuscript for the Book OF
| Mormon. The book WAS compiled in q
small building on the Susquehanna
River, about two miles from the side
Hill village Of Susquehanna, and was
printed IN 1880 The manuscript being
/ taken to the printing Office each morn
ing and together with the proofs etc,
taken away each night. The first nc
count we have Of Joe and his followers
/ trying to start colony was il the year
| 1881, in a remote corner of Luzerne
/ County where the climate soon got
too warm for them and they vacated.
Their next colony was near gainesville,
q.
The most prominent Of Joe's dig