Original sentence: According to Hale, Smith attempted to locate the mine by burying his face in a hat containing the seer stone; however, as the treasure seekers got close to their objective, Smith claimed that an enchantment became so strong that Smith could no longer see it
Edited sentence: According to Hale (as reported by Howe, whose research is highly questionable), Smith attempted to locate the mine by burying his face in a hat containing the seer stone; however, as the treasure seekers got close to their objective, Smith claimed that an enchantment became so strong that Smith could no longer see it