My readers have already been made acquainted with the history of the
"Book," upon which the imposture of Mormonism has been founded, and of
the acquaintance which took place between Rigdon and Joe Smith, whose
career I shall now introduce.
The father of Joe was one of a numerous class of people who are termed,
in the west, "money diggers," living a sort, of vagrant life, imposing
upon the credulous farmers by pretending that they knew of treasure
concealed, and occasionally stealing horses and cattle. Joseph Smith
was the second son, and a great favourite of his father, who stated
everywhere that Joe had that species of second sight, which enabled him
to discover where treasure was hidden. Joe did certainly turn out very
smart, and it was prophesied by the "old ones" that, provided he was not
hung, Joe would certainly become a general, if he did not gain the
office of President of the United States. But Joe's smartness was so
great, that Palmyra, where his father usually resided, became too small
for the exercise of his talents, and our hero set off on his travels.
Some time afterwards Joe was again heard of. In one of his rambles, he
had gone to Harmony (Pennsylvania), and there formed an acquaintance
with a young woman. In the fall of 1826, being then at Philadelphia, he
resolved to go and get married to her, but, being destitute of means, he
now set his wits to work to raise some money and get a recommendation,
so as to obtain the fair one of his choice. He went to a man named
Lawrence, and stated that he had discovered in Pennsylvania, on the bank
of the Susquehanna river, a very rich mine of silver, and if he,
Lawrence, would go there with him, he might have a share in the profits;
that it was near high water mark, and that they could put the silver
into boats, and take it down the river to Philadelphia, and dispose of
it. Lawrence asked Joseph if he was not deceiving him.
"No," replied Joe, "for I have been there and seen it with my own eyes,
and if you do not find it so when we get there, I will bind myself to be
your servant for three years."
By oaths, asseverations, and fair promises, Lawrence was induced to
believe in Joe's assertion, and agreed to go with him; and as Joseph was
out of money, Lawrence had to defray the whole expenses of the journey.
When they arrived at Harmony, Joseph was strongly recommended by
Lawrence, who was well known to the parents of the young woman; after
which, they proceeded on their journey to the silver mine, made a
diligent search, and of course found nothing. Thus Lawrence had his
trouble for his pains, and returned home with his pockets lighter than
when he started, whilst honest Joe had not only his expenses paid, but a
good recommendation to the father of his fair one.
Joe now proposed to marry the girl, but the parents were opposed to the
match. One day, when they happened to be from home, he took advantage
of the opportunity, went off with her, and the knot was tied.
Being still destitute of money, he now again set his wits to work, to
contrive to get back to Manchester, at that time his place of residence,
and he hit upon the following plan, which succeeded. He went to an
honest old Dutchman, by the name of Stowel, and told him that he had
discovered on the banks of the Black River, in the village of Watertown
(Jefferson County, New York), a cave, in which he found a bar of gold as
big as his leg, and about three or four feet long; that he could not get
it out alone on account of its great weight; and if Stowel would frank
him and his wife to Manchester (New York), they would then go together
to the cave, and Stowel should share the prize with him. The good
Dutchman consented.
A short time after their arrival at Manchester, Stowel reminded Joseph
of his promise, but he coolly replied that he could not go just then, as
his wife was among strangers, and would be very lonesome if he quitted
her. Mr Stowel was, like Mr Lawrence, obliged to return without any
remuneration, and with less money than he came. I mention these two
freaks of Joe Smith, as they explain the money-digger's system of fraud.
It would hardly be believed that, especially among the cunning Yankees,
such "mines and treasures" stories should be credited; but it is a
peculiar feature in the US that the inhabitants, so difficult to
overreach in other matters, will greedily take the bait when "mines" or
"hidden treasure" are spoken of. In Missouri and Wisconsin, immense
beds of copper ore and lead have been discovered in every direction.
Thousands of poor, ignorant farmers, emigrants from the East, have
turned diggers, miners, and smelters. Many have accumulated large
fortunes in the space of a few years, and have returned "wealthy
gentlemen" to their own native state, much to the astonishment of their
neighbours.
Thus has the "mining spirit" been kept alive, and impostors of every
variety have reaped their harvest, by speculating upon the well-known
avidity of the "_people of America_!"
It was in the beginning of 1827, that Joe, in a trip to Pittsburg,
became acquainted with Rigdon. A great intimacy took place betwixt
them, and they paid each other alternate visits--Joe coming to Pittsburg
and Rigdon going to the Susquehanna, _for pleasure excursions, at a
friend's_. It was also during the same year that the Smith family
assumed a new character. In the month of June, Joseph Smith, senior,
went to a wealthy, but credulous farmer, and related the following
story:--
"That some years ago, a spirit had appeared to Joe, his son, and, in a
vision, informed him that in a certain place there was a record on
plates of gold, and that he was the person who must obtain them, and
this he must do in the following manner:--On the 22nd of September, he
must repair to the place where these plates of gold were deposited,
dressed in black clothes, and riding a black horse, with a switch tail,
and demand the plates in a certain name; and, after obtaining them, he
must immediately go away, and neither lay them down nor look behind
him."
The farmer gave credit to old Smith's communication. He accordingly
fitted out Joseph with a suit of black clothes, and borrowed a black
horse. Joe (by his own account) repaired to the place of deposit, and
demanded the plates, which were in a stone box, unsealed, and so near
the surface of the ground that he could see one end of it; raising the
lid up, he took out the plates of gold; but fearing some one might
discover where he got them, he laid them down, to replace the top stone
as he had found it; when, turning round, to his surprise, there were no
plates to be seen. He again opened the box, and saw the plates in it;
he attempted to take them out, but was not able. He perceived in the
box something like a toad, which gradually assumed the appearance of a
man, and struck him on the side of his head. Not being discouraged at
trifles, Joe again stooped down and attempted to take the plates, when
the spirit struck him again, knocked him backwards three or four rods,
and hurt him very much: recovering from his fright, he inquired of the
spirit, why he could not take the plates; to which the spirit made
reply, "Because you have not obeyed your orders." He then inquired when
he could have them, and was answered thus: "Come one year from this day,
and bring with you your eldest brother; then you shall have them."
"This spirit," said the elder Joseph Smith, "was the spirit of the
prophet who wrote this book, and who was sent to Joe Smith, junior, to
make known these things to him. Before the expiration of the year, the
eldest brother died; which," the old man said "was a decree of
Providence." He also added--
"Joe went one year from that day to demand the plates, and the spirit
inquired for his brother, and Joe replied that he was dead. The spirit
then commanded him to come again in one year from that day, and bring a
man with him. On asking who might be the man, he was answered that he
would know him when he saw him."
Thus, while Rigdon was concocting his Bible and preaching new doctrines,
the Smith family were preparing the minds of the people for the
appearance of something wonderful; and although Joe Smith was well known
to be a drunken vagabond, he succeeded in inspiring, in hundreds of
uneducated farmers, a feeling of awe which they could not account for.
I must here stop in my narrative, to make a few observations.
In the great cities of Europe and America, civilisation, education, and
the active bustle of every-day life, have, to a great degree, destroyed
the superstitious feelings so common among the lower classes, and have
completely removed the fear of evil geniuses, goblins, and spirits. But
such is not the case in the Western country of the United States, on the
borders of the immense forests and amidst the wild and broken scenery of
glens and mountains, where torrents roll with impetuosity through caves
and cataracts; where, deprived of the amusements and novelties which
would recreate his imagination, the farmer allows his mind to be
oppressed with strange fancies, and though he may never avow the
feeling, from the fear of not meeting with sympathy, he broods over it
and is a slave to the wild phantasmagoria of his brain. The principal
cause of this is, the monotony and solitude of his existence.
At these confines of civilisation, the American is always a hunter, and
those who dwell on the smaller farms, at the edges of forests, often
depend, for their animal food, upon the skill of the male portion of
their community. In the fall of the year, the American shoulders his
rifle, and goes alone into the wilds, to "see after his pigs, horses,
and cows." Constantly on the look-out for deer and wild bees, he
resorts to the most secluded spots, to swamps, mountain ridges, or along
the bushy windings of some cool stream. Constant views of nature in her
grandeur, the unbroken silence of his wanderings, causes a depression of
the mind, and, as his faculties of sight and hearing are ever on the
stretch, it affects his nervous system. He starts at the falling of a
dried leaf, and, with a keen and painful sensation, he scrutinises the
withered grass before him, aware that at every step he may trample upon
some venomous and deadly reptile. Moreover, in his wanderings, he is
often pressed with hunger, and is exposed to a great deal of fatigue.
"Fast in the wilds, and you will dream of spirits," is an Indian axiom,
and a very true one. If to the above we add, that his mind is already
prepared to receive the impressions of the mysterious and marvellous, we
cannot wonder at their becoming superstitious. As children, they imbibe
a disposition for the marvellous; during the long evenings of winter,
when the snow is deep and the wild wind roars through the trees, the old
people will smoke their pipes near huge blazing logs, and relate to them
some terrible adventure. They speak of unearthly noises heard near some
caves, of hair-breadth escapes in encounters with evil spirits, under
the form of wild animals; and many will whisper, that at such a time of
night, returning from some neighbouring market, they have met with the
evil one in the forest, in such and such a spot, where the two roads
cross each other, or where the old oak has been blasted by lightning.
The boy grows to manhood, but these family traditions are deeply
engraved in his memory, and when alone, in the solitude, near the
"haunted places," his morbid imagination embodies the phantoms of his
diseased brain. No wonder, then, that such men should tamely yield to
the superior will of one like Joe Smith, who, to their knowledge,
wanders alone by moonlight in the solitude of forests, and who, in their
firm belief, holds communication with spirits of another world. For, be
it observed, Smith possesses all the qualities and exercises all the
tricks of the necromancers during the middle ages. His speech is
ambiguous, solemn, and often incomprehensible--a great proof to the
vulgar of his mystical vocation.
Cattle and horses, lost for many months, have been recovered through the
means of Joe, who, after an inward prayer, looked through a sacred
stone, "the gift of God," as he has asserted, and discovered what he
wished to know. We need not say that, while the farmer was busy at home
with his crop, Smith and his gang, ever rambling in woods and glens,
were well acquainted with every retired, shady spot, the usual abode of
wild as well as of tame animals, who seek there, during the summer, a
shelter against the hot rays of the sun. Thus, notwithstanding his bad
conduct, Smith had spread his renown for hundreds of miles as that of a
"strange man;" and when he started his new religion, and declared
himself "a prophet of God," the people did not wonder. Had Rigdon, or
any other, presented himself, instead of Joe, Mormonism would never have
been established; but in the performer of _mysterious deeds_, it seemed
a natural consequence. As the stone we have mentioned did much in
raising Joe to his present high position, I will here insert an
affidavit made relative to Joe Smith's obtaining possession of this
miraculous treasure.
Manchester, Ontario County, New York, 1833.
"I became acquainted with the Smith family, known as the authors of
the Mormon Bible, in the year 1820. At that time they were engaged in
the money-digging business, which they followed until the latter part
of the season of 1827. In the year 1822, I was engaged in digging a
well; I employed Joe Smith to assist me. After digging about twenty
feet below the surface of the earth, we discovered a singular-looking
stone, which excited my curiosity. I brought it to the top of the
well, and as we were examining it, Joseph laid it in the crown of his
hat, and then put his face into the top of his hat. It has been said
by Smith, that he got the stone from God, but this is false.
"The next morning Joe came to me, and wished to obtain the stone,
alleging that he could see in it; but I told him I did not wish to
part with it, on account of its being a curiosity, but would lend it.
After obtaining the stone, he began to publish abroad what wonders he
could discover by looking in it, and made so much disturbance among
the credulous part of the community, that I ordered the stone to be
returned to me again. He had it in his possession about two years. I
believe, some time in 1825, Hiram Smith (Joe's brother) came to me,
and wished to borrow the same stone, alleging that they wanted to
accomplish some business of importance, which `could not very well be
done without the aid of the stone.' I told him it was of no
particular worth to me, but I merely wished to keep it as a curiosity,
and if he would pledge me his word and honour that I should have it
when called for, he might have it; which he did, and took the stone.
I thought I could rely on his word at this time, as he had made a
profession of religion; but in this I was disappointed, for he
disregarded both his word and honour.
"In the fall of 1826, a friend called upon me, and wished to see that
stone about which so much had been said: and I told him, if he would
go with me to Smith's (a distance of about half a mile), he might see
it. To my surprise, however, on asking Smith for the stone, he said,
`You cannot have it.' I told him it belonged to me; repeated to him
the promise he had made me at the time of obtaining the stone; upon
which he faced me with a malignant look, and said, `_I don't care who
the devil it belongs to; you shall not have it_.'
"COLONEL NAHUM HOWARD.