The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-03-29
A MORMON MYSTERY WITH
AIHONOLULU ENVIRONMENT
President Smith Tells of Finding Manuscript
Here Which had Been Called the Original
4 of the Book of Mormon.

in my possession. I have looked at it
scores of times, and often thought /
would look into it and see what it was,
but never did until year ago, on the
occasion OF President Fairchild's visit.
Since then I have often wondered that
I did not long ago destroy 1T with other
worthless papers. I have recently had
letters from several parties making IN
quiries about this manuscript, and all
desiring to obtain possession OF it. Mr..
Howe thinks he has a claim upon it,
but 1 have told them all they cannot
have it. When 1 get through with it I
shall most likely deposit it in the ODER
lin College Library, as have promised
President Fairchild."
I remarked: There is no use disguis-
ing the fact that we would like to OBJ
tain it, or a copy of it," to which he
very emphatically replied: well, sir,
You can't have it,
He went into another part of the
house and soon returned with a parcel
wrapped in a piece of old, brown wrap
ping paper, and fastened with an old
tow string. / judge the manuscript
to be six and a half inches wide and
eight inches long, and about an inch
, in thickness. Holding the parcel be-
fore my eyes, he said: "This is just as
received it, and as it has been in my
possession for over forty years, tied
with that same string. You see that
pencil writing? That was written
there before it came into my hands"
This writing in pencil, quite legible,
was Manuscript Story" But con-
tinued he, this writing in ink I fool
ishly wrote there myself very recently;
1 suppose I ought not to have done it,
but with that exception it is just as it
came into my hands, and as it has re-
manned for over forty years"
| This writing in ink was as follows:
Writings of Solomon Spaulding," and
was inscribed partly over the Manu-
! script Story written in pencil. Mr..
Rice then united the tow string and
| took off the wrapper, when we saw a
| time-worn, diney, somewhat dilapi-
dated-ofd manuscript. I glanced over
Ia portion of the preface, which set
, forth that in consequence of the exist
/ ence of large mounds in the vicinity of
Conneaut indicating the former occu-
! patton of the country by a numerous
people, ETC., the author had been in
! duced to write, etc, etc. I do not
pretend to give the text, but merely the
sense as 1 gathered it from hasty
glance. Mr. Rice called our attention
1 to the certificate on the last page,
| which was referred to by Mr.. Fair
child in his article published in the
New York Observer of February 5,
1856. This certificate gave the names
of several persons, known to the writer
and signer of the same, who had made
| -6xza
were ION file in this Office" to the eff
| feet that they personally know this
manuscript to be the writing of Solo
mon Spaulding." The certificate and
! the signature are in the same hand
writing, and are those of Doctor Phil
astus Hurlburt, or rather, the sigma
ture is plain, ID. p. Hurlburt.''
Mr.. Rice is now about "a years Of
age. but he is in good mental and phys
ical condition. He chatted freely reia-
| tive to his early recollections and ac-
quaintances, not forgetting to give US
his mind respecting plural marriage
He said: 81 was well acquainted with
! Sidney Rigdon. both before and after
he became a Mormon and I have
i heard him preach as a Campe1lite and
as a Mormon He was a very smart
man, but I never knew the cause of
| his leaving your church. or whether
| he ever denounced 'Mormonism' and
the Book of Mormon or not
| 1 said: Zone cause of his leaving the
church was that he assumed tosbe the
guardian and leader of the Church
after the death of the Prophet Joseph,
while that authority had been confer
red through Joseph Smith upon the
Twelve Apostles; and that to my
knowledge, Mr.. Rigdon had never at
any time denied or denounced either
| 'Mormonism' or the Book of Mormon"
He said: II was very well acquainted
with Joseph Smith in Kirkland, and
saw him once in Nauvoo." He was
also quite we'll acquainted with Sister
E. r. Snow Smith; he said she used
to write poetry for his paper. and he
always thought her "a very nice, intel
Iigent young lady, and wanted to
know if she was still living. AS he
had refused so emphatically to part
with the manuscript or allow it to be
copied, 1 asked him if he would part
with the copy he had made. so far as
he had gone, for reasonable compen-
sation for his time and labor. At first
he refused, but after some talk on the
subject. he promised to write Mr.. Fair
child by the next mail, and if he made
no objection he would perhaps do so.
There is no doubt that this is the
identical, much talked-of. long-lost,
1nuch-believed, but very innocent
Manuscript Found The facts al
ready demonstrated beyond contradic-
ton stamp its identity with unmistak-
able certainty. In 1884, it was obtain
ed by Hurlburt from Jerome Clark, at
Hardwicks, New York, upon an order
from Mrs. Davidson, the widow of Sol
ONION Spaulding, certified to as being
the writing of Solomon Spaulding by
several persons knowing the fact, and
subscribed to by D. P. Hurlburt him
self. by whom it was taken to the
printing establishment of Mr.. E. D.