The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-06-09

1000 rooms within its walls. One. on
the Mesa Verde, covered an area of
$4,000 square feet, and contained l.,
100000 cubic feet of masonry. Great
skill was shown in joining the walls to
the cliffs. and in initiating the clOring
and aspect of the neighboring rocks:
indeed, in certain narrow deep gorges
one must needs have a good pair of
eyes to detect them amid their rugged
surroundings. The windows and doors
are small, the latter being very narrow
and rarely exceeding four or FIVE feet
in height. This has given rise to the
opinion held by some that the cliff
jewellers were a race of pygmies. Their
mummified remains, however. still
found IN certain localities, refute this
theory, and show them to have been
Of the ordinary stature.
x
Several years ago visited a ruin of
this character in southeastern Utah.
This strange structure was discovered
perched upon the extreme point of an
isolated fiat-iron-shaped tablerock
which we estimated to be from 800 to
LOCO feet high and found to be about
thirty feet wide across the ton. After
several hours of tedious climbing
often being compelled to resort to the
use of ropes we reached a point about
twenty-five feet from the summit and
Immediately under the object of this
dangerous venture. Here the project
ing ledge of the tablerock above barred
all further progress. Sorely disap-
pointed, we were about to descend,
when, 10, a hole was discovered lead
ing straight up through the solid rock,
which. on examination, was found large
enough to admit an ordinary sized
man, and to De equipped with hewn
notches at regular intervals, in which
the hands and feet could be success
sively placed, making the ascent very
simple and easy for anyone of not too
large a gfTth which, unfortunately
one of our party possessed. On emerg-
ing from this upright tunnel another
surprise awaited us as we landed in
the very center of the ruin. What a
place of refuge,
Mr.. Mcbride describes the origin of
the Book of Mormon; how the plates
having the appearance of gold were
found by Joseph Smith buried in a hill
in Ontario county, New York: how. by
means of the Trim and Thummin, or
"peepstone," the inscriptions thereon
were translated into English; how the
revelation had come from Maroni; how
eleven citizens gave sworn testimony
that they had seen this wonder and had
held in their hands the plates and
TRANSACTIONS. Mr.. Mcbride then pro-
ceeds:
We read in Genesis that just after
the destruction of the Tower of Babel
and the confusion of tongues, the Lord
was angry with the people. and he
scattered them abroad from thence
upon the face of ali the EARTH" Con-
corning the same event, Josephus says:
After this they were dispersed abroad
on account Of their languages, and
went out by colonies everywhere, and
each colony took possession of that
land which they light upon and unto
which God led them, so that the whole
continent was filed with them, both the
inland and maritime countries. There
were some who passed over the sea in
ships and inhabited the islands" 1t
was at this time. according to the Book
of Mormon, or about 100 years after the
flood, that the first colony of about
thirty people, under the direction of the
brother of Jared, left Asia for this
country. They embarked in eight YES
sells, or barges as they are called, and
the Lord caused a furious wind to blow
in the direction of the promised land.
After drifting before this wind for 344
days they reached the west coast. SUM-
posedly between the Gulf of California
and the isthmus. And the Lord said.
Behold this is a land which is choice
above all other lands, wherefore he that
doth possess II shall serve God or shall
be swept off. And whatsoever nation
shall possess it shall bel from bond
age and from captivity. and from all
other nations under heaven IL they will
but serve the God of the land" In
time this colony grew 10 be great and
populous nation, covering nearly all of
the continent, where they fiourished for
1,500 years. But through the greed of
wealth and power the nation became
divided into two powerful parties, capa-
bic OF mastering an army of 1000, 900
soldiers each, and somewhere in north
ern New York, near Lake Ontario.
there was fought the greatest battle
the world has ever seen. Several pages
of the book are required to describe the
awful carnage a war of exserr,niaa