Mormon History
Memories of Joe Smith in Susquehanna - 1880
The Republican – July 29, 1880
THE EARLY MORMONS
JOE SMITH OPERATES AT SUSQUEHANNA.
HIS ADVENT AMONG THE FIRST SETTLERS -- HE MARRIES A DAUGHTER OF A PIONEER
DIGGING IN THE HILLS FOR TREASURE -- PROFESSING MIRACLES AND WINNING
CONVERTS AT HARPERSVILLE.
...There
are very trustworthy living witnesses by whom to prove that some of the earlier
years of Joe Smith's prophetic career were spent in Susquehanna county,
Pennsylvania, where, in fact his prophesy with the "peek-stone" began. It was
hare that the Prophet married his wife, and it was here, on a corner of her
ancestral estate, that the spiritual pair, the originator of the Latter Day
Saints and the "Daughter of God" settled down to the material occupation of
housekeeping. It was here that the first male child in the line of chief of the
house of Latter Day Saints was barn; and it is here the first born of the Father
of Latter Day Saints and the "Electa Cyria" is buried. The prophesy went forth
from Joseph that this son was to be a worker of miracles, who should open the
golden Bible while in his swaddling bands, and interpret the hieroglyphics
"which no fellah could find out." The young prophet was stillborn, In other
words he drove through time to that "undiscovered country" without stopping to
feed in this sublunary sphere. He never had any swaddling bands; he never had
any colic that his father knew of; he never had any milk roil on his stomach,
and what gives more relief when contemplating the ills of human nature, he never
cut teeth. Truly the wise die young. The early death of this prophet shows that
he was too wise to go into the book publishing business on a limited capital, as
a member of the firm of Joe Smith & Son, "peepers," and jobbers in new religion.
Recently a reporter of the Republican visited Susquehanna and other towns
on the Susquehanna river for the purpose of authenticating rumors of Mormon
history, and interviewed several of the oldest inhabitants. It was a very
pleasant work, as they were mostly intelligent and [ ----- wise]. The July sun
was scalding hot which suggested that it might have been hot in Joe Smith's
days, and turned the prophet's fertile mind to thoughts of "a land that is
hotter than this." To our readers who have not seen Susquehanna -- there are
even some old people in that county who have not seen [the --- ] Susquehanna,
and never rode on a railroad -- a sketch of a few words descriptive of the
country as it was and as it is may not be uninteresting in this connection.
Then it was pretty much a dense wilderness, and the primeval pines and hemlocks
which grew out of the rocky hills and reached their long shady arms over the
narrow, deep valleys, must have made Susquehanna the "Black Hills" of the East.
Now the pines, except some left for specimens, are gone. And the woodsman
doesn't spare the tree any more, even though it be hemlock. All the tillable
land, and quite a good deal more, is cleared up. Rattlesnakes always seemed to
be a natural production of the hill soil, and for that reason, perhaps, the
Indians never regretted that they had to give up the country.
The river, when it cut a channel through the mountain, was economical of its
strength, and like an Irishman who ditches a swamp by the yard, it made a cut
only just wide enough to stand in. Whatever else undertakes to get in the valley
must either hang on the sides or swim.
But notwithstanding the natural drawbacks, a busy humming, and thriving village
has grown there. The houses hang in clusters on the sides of the mountain,
suggestive of swallow houses under the eaves. By the natural laws of adaptation,
it is probable that in future ages children in Susquehanna will be born with
wings; and there is no reason why they will not stand as good a chance there as
people generally do to all be angels some day. The great railroad shops made the
town, and they occupy all the level ground there is in it. Even their sites had
to be leveled artificially,
Joe Smith came into this country on a divine mission, at a time when the first
few settlers were struggling with the wilds. They always struggle with the wilds
here, as has been suggested, but at the time of the advent of the Mormon father
Indians and not engines went screeching through the valley. His first mission
here was to get a wife. The Lord sent him after one -- so he said -- and told
him he would know her when he saw her; that is, he would know this particular
Mrs. Smith in prospect from any other coming Mrs. Smith. It was to be a
courtship like Cain's in which the usual long drawn out sweets of juvenile
spooning were cut short for the necessities of the case -- a succession to the
house of Joseph.
The exact time of his advent here is chronicled only in legends, and legend
never kept a diary. However, the inscription upon the tomb of the little
prophet, when considered in connection with the urgency before mentioned, would
indicate that the Abraham of the Latter Day Saints tramped here in the summer or
fall of 1827. The little prophet was buried June 15,1828.
The tramp stopped at the house of Isaac Hale, a farmer living about a mile and a
half below the present borough of Susquehanna, on the north side of the river,
Mr. Hale had three daughters; two of them were married; but Emma, the second
daughter, was single, and Joseph "knew his wife." He told her what he knew about
it, and in the language of the boys, she "tumbled." But her "old man" didn't. He
said "not for Joe." He did not believe in Latter Day Saints; he was not much of
a man for saints, anyhow; he did not believe in any species of tramps -- in
those days there were no lightning rod peddlers nor book agents -- and told Joe
he did not want any son-in-law of his stamp, even though the Lord had sent him.
Joe persuaded Emma to elope; they crossed the State line into Windsor, and were
married. The "oldest inhabitant" fails to remember who performed the ceremony,
The "Lady of the Lard" is understood to be still sliver at Nauvoo, and it seems
to be quite important that she should produce her marriage certificate and
settle the question so that no doubtful questions will ever hover about the
illustrious name of Smith.
There were certain things which Joe could not do till he had a wife. He reported
that the Lord had told him so. There was money buried at Palmyra, he said, which
he had tried to get, but had been driven away by a headless Spaniard. Almost
anybody would leave when a warrior came around who was proof against braining;
and Joe did not want to toe the scratch against a man who had that advantage.
However, in this case it was only an imaginary advantage, for Joe couldn't be
brained either. It wasn't in his head, even though he had his head on. But he
left. Then the Lord told him he did not need money as much as a man who had
millinery and dry goods to buy; but if he had such things to purchase he should
have the hidden treasure. Prophetic visions are never fulfilled in a day, and
when good Elijah prayed for rain the storm appeared a great way off, and no
bigger than a man's hand. The necessity of taking one step at a time was evident
enough.
A live saint must have pork and beans and cabbages, etc., and the first woman
[sent] to the House of Mormon brought with her a small piece of ground -- the
amount is stated at six to thirteen acres; probably six is correct. Down here
the valley is wide enough so that an industrious man, if he has a farm paid for,
can get most of his living without stealing from the railroad. There was no
railroad company to steal from then, and it appeared as though Smith would have
to earn his own living when he could not live off his father-in-law.
The house he procured, and in which the monkery of translating the characters on
the golden plates was gone through with, is still standing, and is part of the
farmhouse of Benjamin McKune, the Sheriff of Susquehanna county. It is the
one-story portion of the building, and is 26 feet front, 18 feet deep, and 14
feet posts. The Saint did not build it, but purchased it partly finished, and
moved it upon his wife's six acres. This little piece of land had been set off
the Isaac Hale farm for a son, who disposed of it to his sainted sister. The
house was never finished entirely, notwithstanding that since the ownership of
the Saint it has been owned and occupied by persons of means. The Saint put a
stovepipe up through the roof, and that is the style of chimney it sports today.
It is doubtful however, if it still retains the original stovepipe run up by
Joe.
After Smith left the country Martin Harris -- the Frank Moulton of Mormonism,
for a long time the chief witness -- came back to settle up the Saint's estate,
and sold the real estate to Joseph McKune, father of Sheriff McKune. The elder
McKune constructed the upright portion from a shed he purchased of another
farmer. The structure has had no paint outside to this day, and the only thing
cheering about it is a well of cold water in front, with a Dutch sweep and an
"old oaken bucket."
For some reason the future ruler of Zion did not start immediately after
commencing to suffer the hardships of marriage to claim the purse promised by
the Lord whose prophet he was, but used his "peek-stone" to discover a greater
treasure nearer home. On a wilderness hill about half a mile north of his house,
and now a part of the farm of Jacob I. Skinner, he discovered a ton of silver
bars, hid deep in the bowels of the earth. This treasure was placed there by
weary Spaniards as they trudged up the Susquehanna river, and became unequal to
the task of hauling so much luggage. Just what band of Spanish adventurers they
were does not appear, and profane history throws no light upon the mystery.
Neither do we ascertain what they were doing with a ton of silver bars several
hundred miles from any silver producing country before the advent of Goodenough,
the Osborn Hollow and Ross Park mines. No matter how it got there, there can be
no doubt that a ton of silver bars was buried in the hill, for the Prophet saw
it through his "peek-stone."
Before proceeding further with this narrative we will give a description of the
prophet as it was given to the reporter by several aged persons who saw him. He
was six feet or a trifle over in height; stout built but wiry; light complexion;
light hair and light blue eyes. One aged lady said "he didn't look as though he
knowed enough to fool people so." He wore a tall white stovepipe hat. Now
imagine this athletic form kneeling down and burying his face in his white
stovepipe hat in which was placed the "peek-stone," and you have in your mind's
eye a view of the first Latter Day Saint discovering the treasures in the earth
which no other fellow ever discovered. It was just like looking into water, he
said; he could not tell just how deep it was any more than a man can who looks
down into a lake; and the deflection of light sometimes took him out of the
right course a few inches. Then too the "rock-ribbed hills" -- and the hills
about here are "rock-ribbed" with a vengeance -- were so insecure, and treasure
so unstable that things in the bowels of the earth were liable to get mixed up
every day. When his party would dig almost to a great treasure the enchantment
would move it sometimes several rods out of the way. That sort of enchantment
must have "tried the patience of a saint," and all the saints of Mormondom.
As soon as he could collect followers enough about him to do the work -- the
Latter Day Saint, unlike St. Paul, did not labor with his own hands -- an
excavation was commenced to recover the lost Spanish silver bars. The followers
had to strengthen their faith, the visible certainty that if there was anything
in that immediate vicinity worth working for it must be under ground. And in
this line of reasoning there was no objection to believing it was pretty deep.
Still they were not despondent. Their greatest excavation was about thirty feet
broad on top, and about thirty-five feet deep. The ground was wet, and it was
necessary also to dig a drain to this immense hole in order to let off the
water. As the hole was on the crown of a hill a drain was opened by digging a
few rods to the south.
The excavation, as the work progressed, was covered with a wooden structure to
hide it from the eyes of the profane and scoffers. Down, down they went, the
distance being measured by slow shovelfuls and tedious blasts in the rocks until
they were just ready, or would be the next day, to stoop down and pick up the
ton of silver bullion. "Hocus, pocus, presto, change." The "charm" moved the
silver away three hundred feet to the north-east. It was an uphill job, but the
charm was sufficient for the task. This was terribly hard on the new church, but
the ambitious Saint was not to be cheated in that way. He got down on his marrow
bones with his peek-stone and tracked it to its exact hiding place. It was not
so far under ground this time -- only about twenty feet. The faithful went for
it again with sleeves rolled up. It was a case of necessity. While they had been
digging the large hole they had boarded around. Considerable of the prophetic
hash had been furnished by Mr. Hale, the Saint' s father-in-law. who was a stiff
old Methodist, and by force of circumstances was taking altogether more stock in
this Big Bonanza than was agreeable to his judgment of matters of business. It
became necessary, therefore, to get to that silver in the shortest possible
time, Goodenough might have pinned it with a drill, but; the saints who had no
steam engine had to dig with pick and shovel.
At it they went again, with a will known only to those who work with a religious
zeal or a worldly hope of a "bar'l of money." Hush, it's here: pick it up! No,
it's gone again. Not a rumble nor a jar marked its going, but it went like
riches on wings. Softly and silently it flitted away, and lighted fifty feet
beyond the big hole. The Saint and faithful followers were exasperated, and
fully determined to capture it if they had to take the hill to pieces and shake
it through a sieve.
But just mark the valuable services of the Saint's "peek-stone." Every time it
got track of the treasure, and enabled the faithful to dig toward it. The third
hole was sunk about fifteen feet, when the treasure waltzed around on the other
side of the big hole. Now the Saint had a vision; blood must be shed. It must be
the blood of a black sheep, sprinkled all around the diggings. The faithful were
mighty glad to hear of this, for they were tired of trying to catch a ton of
silver which went like a nimble sixpence, and had so much the advantage of them
in dodging about. There was a charm about it, for the Prophet said so, but ten
prophets could not make them believe there was a charm about the work. That
wasn't the kind of men they were, and the Mormons have never been that kind of
men.
In all the country around Susquehanna there was not a black sheep. The nearest
thing to a black sheep was a black dog, and the Prophet thought that might
answer. The dog was killed, and its blood sprinkled about the ground where the
silver was. The silver never went away any great distance after that, but it
waltzed around the big hole in a manner to defy the dexterity of pick and
shovel. Frequent drifts were struck out from the big hole, but the silver
couldn't be coaxed with the blood of a black dog, nor cornered by tunneling. The
Prophet decided that some man must be slaughtered and become a sacrifice to
appease the charm that had the silver under its arm and was playing hide end
seek with them. Until that was done the prize would escape them, and there was
no use of digging against fate. He called for a volunteer, but none of the
faithful could spare themselves for that purpose. For the simple reason that no
Marcus Curtius could be found to throw his manhood into the breach, to step
forward and have his head cut off for the great benefit of those who were left,
this magnificent enterprise was abandoned, and all the silver there ever was in
that mountain lies there until this day. When we reflect upon the great number
of people who sacrifice themselves for wealth, it seems strange that the founder
of Mormonism could find no sacrifice except a black dog which was little better
than nothing in its operations. And it is not likely that he obtained the
consent of the dog.
Oliver Harper, one of the number employed in the digging, and who furnished some
of the sinews of war, was soon afterward shot by Jason Treadwell, near Joe
Smith's house, while returning from a rafting expedition down the Susquehanna.
The Saint thought this would answer for a sacrifice, and rallied the faithful to
dig some more; but the charm remained stubborn, and would not come within sight
of anybody with the silver, except the Prophet with his "peek-stone," and the
"peek-stone" business was pretty nearly played out in this neighborhood. There
was too much hard work and perspiration about it to be clearly connected with a
day of miracles.
The Prophet turned his attention again toward Palmyra, and the hidden treasure
in that neighborhood, but was supposed by Mr. Hale and his family to be in
pursuit of furniture for housekeeping. He was accompanied by his wife's brother
Alvah, who officiated as teamster. When they returned to Susquehanna it was
learned that the Saint had brought with him the wonderful golden plates. It is
recorded in the Book of Mormon that after the prize was won and delivered to the
Prophet by angles, his eyes were opened and he saw legions of devils contending
against a celestial host to keep the golden Bible hid. What the devils wanted to
keep it hid for is hard to understand. Such conduct certainly showed great
shortsightedness in them, and they are not supposed to be a superficial race.
The Book of Mormon does not record all. It does not tell where the Prophet went
immediately after the golden plates were won and delivered to him.
He returned to Susquehanna with his head heavily bandaged, and reported that he
had had a personal encounter with the chief devil, and that he (the Prophet) was
severely wounded by a blow struck right from the shoulder. The Book of Mormon
does not record this magnificent fisticuff. One could easily wish that the devil
had prevailed for once, instead of wounding and then meeting with defeat, though
this is not equal to wish the devil success. The fact was established, however,
that the devil is a hard-hitter, and when [-----] says he "is not afraid of the
devil" he does not know just what he is talking about. Joe Smith found out.
The golden plates were brought from the West secreted in a barrel .of beans.
They were brought to Joe Smith's house, but were not to be seen nor opened until
a prophet should come who would be sufficient for the task. This prophet was
sadly laid away in his little earthly cradle, as has been stated, and his
infantile mouth was never opened to interpret golden plates. Then the father was
miraculously helped out of a great difficulty by finding a pair of spectacles --
perhaps they were presented to him by angels -- which would cause the
hieroglyphics to appear written in a language the Latter Day Saint could
understand, Joe's language, as nearly as can be ascertained at the present day,
was a compound of bad English and Mohawk Dutch. These spectacles were supposed
to be something entirely new in the line of spectacles, for at that time it was
not well understood that translators and commentators generally use glasses
constructed on similar principles. There is a slightly different shade of
coloring to different denominational spectacles, but the principle of being cut
on the bias, and tinted to order is about the same in all of them.
Joe Smith would write the translation from his plates upon a slate, or dictate
what to write, and others would copy upon paper. His assistants were witness
Martin Harris, and brother-in-law Reuben Hale. The translating and writing were
done in the little low chamber of Joe Smith's house. The Prophet and his
precious trust were screened even from the sight of his clerks by blankets
nailed to the walls. The nails remained for many years just as they were driven
by the Prophet, and it was not until some repairing was done a short time ago
that they were drawn out. Neighbors were free to call at the house as much as
they pleased while the bible was concocting, and the matter of the golden bible
would be talked over. Some persons were permitted to hit the pillow case in
which it was kept, and feel the thickness of the volume the plates made, but no
one was permitted to see them.
A very important accident occurred at his house while the translation was going
on, which materially abridged the Book of Mormon. Witness Harris was a man of
moderate means, but he had become the Mormon treasurer, using his own funds for
a treasury. His wife became thoroughly alarmed about the manner in which their
property was wasting away, and came on from the West to arrest their destruction
and reclaim her husband if possible. The husband, infatuated more with Joe Smith
than with her, sought to persuade her to hold her peace, by showing her the
sacred writings they had made, and which were now nearly completed. She hid the
manuscript, and when she was asked to give it up, said Joe Smith might peek for
it. Joe brought his "peek-stone" into use, and pointed to several places, but
the roll was not found where he directed his attendants to search. He accused
her of being unfair, and of removing the manuscript every time, just before the
attendant reached it. In other words the bible disappeared just as the silver
had done under the influence of an evil charm. After a while Mrs. Harris
surrendered part of the manuscript which she took from her straw bed, just to
show the Prophet she knew he was a fraud. But a portion was never given up. The
Mormons say she retained it. Joe Smith never undertook to use his spectacles for
a second translation of the matter on the missing sheets, as he feared Mrs.
Harris would produce a different bible consisting of his first translation of
the golden plates. The woman, however, was not so shrewd as they suspected she
was, and instead of setting the cunning trap they feared she spitefully burned
the manuscript, hoping that if it could not be found the religious partnership
between her husband and Joe Smith would be dissolved.
The clap-trap of Smith and Harris failed to make any favorable impression at
Susquehanna, in Smith's own neighborhood, proving again that "a prophet is not
without honor, save in his own land." The scene of his ministry was changed to
Harpersville, where one of Mrs. Smith's sisters [Mrs. Wasson, lived]. Joseph
landed in Nineveh and Afton. Harpersville [is located?] twenty miles above
Susquehanna; Nineveh is about two miles further up the river, and Afton is about
three miles above Nineveh, and lies just in the edge of Chenango county. When
the country was new, and traversed by narrow and muddy roads through the dense
forests, people who lived twenty miles apart seldom met, and when Smith went up
to Harpersville to operate he had left his country, substantially, and went to a
distant one.
Brother-in-law Benjamin Wasson, of Harpersville, was a cabinet-maker, and made a
box in which to carry the golden bible after it was deemed to be unsafe in the
pillow-case, Neither Mr. Wasson nor his wife inclined toward Mormonism, but one
of their sons joined the Mormons and became a Mormon preacher.
In the days of Joe Smith's early operations people were often found who were
actuated by a desire to become suddenly rich. He operated largely upon their
cupidity. There are no such people now, consequently adventurers who hold out
promises of sudden great wealth never deceive anybody, not even by mining and
stock operations, patent wagon-tongue lifters and the like. But Joe Smith was
able, by the using of his "peek-stone," to gather around him a band at
Harpersville. He procured the following of Joseph Knight, who possessed a small
farm, a grist mill, and a carding mill, situated upon a small stream from Perch
Pond to the Susquehanna, directly across the river from the present village of
Harpersville.
Having enlisted Knight's pocket-book, the Latter Day Saint had something to
operate with. Knight's two sons, William and Newell, also joined the fortunes of
the "peek-stone" man. William Hale, uncle of the "Electa Cyria," or Daughter of
God, as Joe's wife was called, joined the band. Among other converts here --
about sixty finally emigrated from the neighborhood -- were William Stringham
and wife, men named Blowers and Culver, and Josiah Stowell. Stowell was a man of
some means when he became a Mormon.
This point on the river is north of the Apalachin mountains, and widens from a
narrow cut to a broad and open plane, now divided into as fine and productive
farms as the sun shines upon. The place was originally settled by emigrants from
Vermont, who were known as "Vermont sufferers." The appellation did not attach
to them because they suffered privations an the Susquehanna, but because they
had settled on a strip of land off Washington county, on grants from New York
State, when the land was subsequently proved to belong to Vermont. As
compensation for this loss they were given homes at Nineveh. The antecedents of
these settlers is mentioned here because it is a noticeable fact that Vermonters
of the poorer class were peculiarly susceptible to the influence of bugaboo
religions.
The "peek-stone" discovered a salt spring in a marsh on the plane opposite
Center Village, and brawny hands and sinewy arms were found to take up shovels
and picks and dig for it. This portion of the plane was then owned by Bostwick
Badger. It is now owned by George Collington, one of the very substantial
farmers of Broome county Mr. Collington was then a lad about sixteen years old,
and one evening about twilight he discovered Joe Smith, the elder and the
younger Knights, Stringham and Culver and Blowers dodging through the woods with
digging implements on their shoulders. He followed them, keeping under cover of
the brush until they stopped and held a council. They decided to commence
digging the next day. Young Collington saw that Mr. Badger had felled an oak
tree near the place a few days before, and had drawn out the timber. He went and
got Mr. Badger's permission to cut the top for wood, and the next day, soon
after the Prophet and followers began to dig, Collington's ax began in the tree
top. In a few moments the lad walked out and inquired what they were doing. They
were cross to him, and told him he had better be off about his business. As Mr.
Collington now expresses it, he was "pretty spry boy, and did not care much for
the Mormon scowls and scolds." He published them about the neighborhood, and
every day the salt diggings had unwelcome visitors. They dug the hole down
almost thirty-five feet. It was necessary to pump out water by hand to keep the
mine from flooding, and operations were very laborious. Frederick Davenport
furnished young Collington with half a bushel of salt, which was deposited in
the hole one night. There was sufficient water at the bottom to dissolve the
salt, and in the morning the Mormons discovered a briny flavor. As many bottles
as they could muster were filled with the water and exhibited about the
neighborhood. This was the first success of the famous "peek-stone." But the
salt well speculation came to grief one night by caving in and burying the
picks, crowbars, shovels, etc., which were never taken out. Since Mr. Collington
has owned the farm some of his own and his neighbors' cattle were drowned in it,
and to avoid further losses of the kind he filled the hole to nearly level with
the surrounding plane.
The "peek-stone" discovered an extensive and rich silver mine on the farm of
Abraham Cornell, at Bettsburgh, nearly opposite Nineveh, and a hole was dug
there to the depth of over thirty feet, but no silver was found except what was
contributed by Josiah Stowell to provide for the expenses of the diggers. Mr.
Stowell is represented as being not a very bright man, but he had saved
considerable money for those times, and Joe Smith managed to get and spend about
the whole of it. Searches were made in other places about the neighborhood for
treasure. It is not necessary to state with what success.
But now we come to a stage in these early reminiscences of Mormonism when Joe
Smith was more successful. Already it has been noticed that he was successful in
getting the wife [which?] the Lord sent him to find, and the golden bible, which
was a sort of sequel to the marriage. These he got at Susquehanna and Palmyra,
the only two neighborhoods where he had operated extensively before he squatted
at Harpersville. At Harpersville he made his first successful efforts to found a
church. A large barn, 30 by 40 feet -- which was standing until very recently --
on Joseph Knight's farm, was the first Mormon tabernacle. Joe Smith tried to
preach there, but is described as not a very great success at preaching. But
Sidney Rigdon was sent for, and did better. The excitement ran high; there was a
semblance of persecution on the part of the Gentiles, principally among the lads
and young men, and converts came in until a church was formed which must have
been a great deal more numerous than any other church in that neighborhood.
A dam was constructed in the stream upon which Knight's mills were situated, and
in this the Mormon converts were baptized by immersion. The young Gentiles often
tore the dam away, but the faithful rebuilt it as often as they needed it for
baptismal purposes.
The numerical size and character of the new church was such that other people
were exceedingly glad when they shook the dust of Harpersville from their feet
and emigrated westward. The train as they departed consisted of eleven passenger
wagons and three baggage wagons. There were sixty passengers, some of them were
led by a desire for travel and adventure -- polygamy had not yet been introduced
into the church -- but others were so much in earnest that they pooled their
property, what there was of it, and determined to follow their Prophet at least
to the end of his earthly kingdom. Possibly some believed in his heavenly
kingdom. His followers were people who would embrace any creed which had for its
object the tearing down of other creeds. They were about such people as the
communists, and the rank and file of spiritualists of today. They were of the
class described by Dr. Holmes, "Whose hair's in the mortar of every new zion,"
but who are ready to believe anything but the Bible.
There are several stories told in the neighborhoods of Susquehanna and
Harpersville about miracles performed by Joe Smith. Joe was in the habit of
drinking liquor too freely for the founder of a religion, and perhaps he often
mistook a hilarious condition for a very spiritual condition. and undertook to
perform on a grand scale very much as other drunken men do without realizing the
magnitude of his task and his own utter inability to perform it. He got pretty
drunk at one time while out with a party who fished the river with a drag net.
The catch was very good, but unlike the fishermen of Galilee, the men were able
to pull in all the fish.
One night when a heavy frost was expected, Joe Smith volunteered to go into the
cornfield of Michael Morse, his brother-in-law, and pray the frost away. The
cornfield was on the hill south of the Susquehanna depot, and fairly exposed to
north and west atmospheric influences. Joe went and prayed, but he was not equal
to the emergency. The frost came and destroyed the corn. He couldn't warm up
equal to the occasion.
At Nineveh the Prophet announced that on a certain evening, at twilight, he
would walk upon the water. The place where he was to walk was watched by the
Gentiles, and one of the followers was seen to come there and construct a bridge
just under the water. When the bridge builder left, congratulating himself that
he had done a good job for his Prophet, the boys -- it is the boys always who do
such things -- slyly removed a portion of the planks. At twilight that evening
the Prophet came out to walk upon the water, and before starting he exhorted his
followers to have faith, as faith on their part was absolutely indispensable to
enable him to perform a miracle. For a few steps he had a sort of "go as you
please," then he didn't go as he pleased, but plunged down and had to swim as he
pleased for shore. "Woe unto you of little faith!" was his salutation to his
followers as he reached terra firma; "your faith would not hold me up!"
He was sent for to come to Harpersville and bring to life an old Mormon convert
named John Morse, who died. He had professed to be able to raise the dead, and
his followers wanted an exhibition of his skill in that direction. But when he
saw how old the man was he argued that it would be a pity to bring him to life
and cause him to suffer death again in a short time, for old age had already
rendered him helpless. He was happy in heaven, and it would be cruel to bring
him back to struggle with rheumatism and poverty in this world. The argument
prevailed and the old man was not prayed back to life with Mormon prayers.
The Prophet found it necessary, however, to pray for the return to life of a
deceased shoemaker at Greene. The shoemaker had joined the new church, and was
expected to put all his property, consisting of a few hundred dollars, into the
Joe Smith treasury, and prepare for the exodus toward the western Zion. The
widow would not turn over the property until prayers had been offered for the
return of her husband. If the shoemaker was in heaven he preferred staying there
to being brought back by Joe Smith. His executors afterwards sought to recover
the shoemaker's property, and Judge Thomas A. Johnson, afterwards of Corning,
but then a law student in Greene, was sent to Harpersville to get possession of
it.
The saints were encamped in Knight's barn, and threatened to shoot Mr. Johnson.
By the advice of friends he compromised after they surrendered a valuable horse,
prized in those cheap times at $200.
Perhaps the most remarkable miracle ever performed by Joe Smith, and which
proved beyond a doubt that he was all he professed to be, was casting the devil
out of elder Knight. Knight solemnly declared the devil was cast out of him in
the form of a black cat, and when he was cast out he ran into a brush heap. It
is not recorded that he ever returned to Knight, and entered his former
habitation, but those who knew Knight are of the opinion that the premises were
not a great while without a tenant like the one who had vacated.
The Mormon exodus from Harpersville was by the way of the old State road north
of Binghamton to Ithaca, and from there they journeyed toward Palmyra by water
on Cayuga Lake.
THE SOURCES OF INFORMATION.
The strictly narrative
portion of the foregoing account of early Mormonism, as has been stated, was
gathered from very creditable eye witnesses, who are now among the aged, and
honored, and trusted of their townships. They were among the youth at the time
of Joe Smith's earlier adventures and personally pried into every undertaking
and watched every movement.
MRS. METHETABLE DOOLITTLE, who Is now living alone on a little place in
Susquehanna borough, lived in Wurtsboro, Sullivan county, and visited at the
house of Isaac Hale, Joe Smith's father-in-law, when she was seventeen years
old. She remembers Emma, afterwards the wife of the Prophet, as a handsome and
attractive girl, about her own age. She says Emma was decoyed away for a ride,
and married in Windsor, very much against the wishes of her parents.
MRS. SALLIE McKUNE, widow of Joseph McKune and mother of Sheriff McKune, is now
eighty years old. She was between twenty-five and thirty years old when Joe
Smith was performing about Susquehanna, and lived upon a farm adjoining Joe
Smith's lot and the Isaac Hale farm, and in sight of the place where they dug
for the ton of silver on Jacob I. Skinner's farm. Smith's residence was between
the residence of Joseph McKune and Isaac Hale. Her husband bought the Smith
place, built an addition to the house, and Mrs. McKune lived in the house about
forty years. She remembers the arrangement of the nails used for hooks to hang
blankets on during the translation of the golden bible. The anecdotes of the
Spaniard without a head; of Smith's being sent out to find his wife; the charm
that moved the silver; the human sacrifice asked for; the relations of Robert
Harper with the silver hunt, and his tragic death; the circumstances of bringing
the golden plates home; and of the translation by the aid of miraculous
spectacles and the trick of Mrs. Harris, are related by her with great
clearness.
Smith and his conspirators gave out that the Book of Mormon would make them and
the Hale family rich. She understands that the Joe Smith place consisted of only
six acres. Mrs. McKune told the story of the miracle in the corn field; of Joe
Smith's getting drunk; and of the young prophet who failed to connect with time.
She says her husband strongly suspected that Joe Smith and his gang were
counterfeiters.
MRS. ELIZABETH SQUIRES, who is about seventy years old, was present at the
interview with Mrs. McKune. She always lived in that neighborhood, and
thoroughly corroborated Mrs. McKune in all her statements, and often prompted
her in her recollections of fifty years ago. The interview occurred at Mrs.
Squires' residence, where Mrs. McKune chanced to be visiting. They unite in
saying that Joe Smith never made a convert at Susquehanna, and also that his
father-in-law became so incensed by his conduct that he threatened to shoot him
if he ever returned.
Isaac Hale is represented as a sturdy but somewhat eccentric man, who would have
been likely to fulfill his promise toward his unpromising son-in-law. As an
instance of his unyielding disposition it is stated that he never forgave the
trustees of the neighborhood cemetery with whom he had a dispute, and that in
his will he made it obligatory upon his executors to bury him on his farm
instead of placing him in the family plot in the cemetery where the remains of
his wife, and the young prophet, and other descendants repose.
JACOB I. SKINNER, who now owns and occupies the farm where Smith end his
followers dug for silver, was then about sixteen years old. He has been engaged
for years in dumping stones into the holes to fill them up, because they were
dangerous traps for his cattle. The smaller hole, which is in the edge of a
wood, is still used by the boys in wet weather for a swimming pond. Mr. Skinner
is sure that the Prophet claimed to have found the golden bible in the big hole
on his farm, but in that he is not corroborated by another witness. Yet he has
the hole to show in support of his claim, and that must be regarded as a big
thing when he comes in controversy with a man who has less proof. Mr. Skinner is
clear in his statements about the manner of digging; of going down in the big
hole, then going to a hole in the woods, and then coming back to sink shafts and
run drifts along the big hole. He is authority saying the big hole was covered
by a rough board house; also for the story of the black dog; and that Mr. Hale
threatened to shoot his son-in-law if he ever came back. He described Joe
Smith's appearance, and his manner of searching for hidden treasure.
He was not aware that Joe ever performed any other miracles, or attempted any.
He remembers how the Prophet's residence was built, and thinks that his place
consisted of thirteen acres. His opinion is that the place was worth about $500
to $600, but doubts if anything was paid on it. Mr. Skinner was present at the
net fishing excursion when Joe Smith got drunk. The Prophet carried a bottle of
whiskey in his pocket. His good father-in-law also imbibed more tanglefoot than
was compatible with patriarchical dignity and good example, and he and Joe had a
good natural rough and tumble.
SAMUEL BRUSH, a smart old gentleman about seventy-five years of age, who is now
running a large farm and lumber-mill about three miles southwest of Susquehanna,
lived in the Hale neighborhood in the time of Joe Smith's exploits there. While
the translation of the gold bible was going on he called often to see Reuben
Hale, the scribe. Reuben would always quit work and come down stairs; and
sometimes would go away from home with him.
Old Mr. Hale gave Joe Smith the sobriquet of "Peeker." Mr. Brush understood that
it was a ton of Spanish silver, and not the golden bible they were digging for
on the hill. Martin Harris was a believer in second sight, (which accounts, to a
very great extent, for his connection with Joe Smith, for spending his money,
and for his testimony to the genuineness of the Mormon revelation.) His faith in
second sight was badly shaken when he never got the second sight of his money
placed in Joe Smith's hands.
Reuben Hale explained to Mr. Brush why the Prophet could not tell the precise
location of an object he could see through his "peek-stone" on the supposition
of deflected light. Miss Blackman, author of a history of Susquehanna county,
gives Joe Smith the reputation of being tricky. That Mr. Brush claims is a
mistake. Mr. Brush was not catechized as to what, in his opinion, constitutes a
tricky man. He says Joe Smith was a good, kind, neighbor; and that is the
testimony of Mrs. McKune, Mrs. Squires and Mr. Skinner,
GEORGE COLLINGION, ESQ., gave a pretty full account of the Mormon transactions
about Harpersville. He told the story of the salt well; and of the first Mormon
meetings in Knight's barn; of the baptismal ponds, etc. Mr. Collington was very
careful not to appear to know overmuch about the Mormons, and said he was not
present when Joe Smith tried to walk upon the water. But others accuse Mr.
Collington of taking up the Prophet's bridge and letting him souse into the
river, and of playing various other tricks with him. If this accusation is
correct, young Collington's absence from the water-walking scene is easily
explained. He could see just as well a little further off when the Mormons'
dander was certain to come up.
SMITH BAKER, about eighty years old (Mr. Baker died since the interview), and
the owner of a handsome property on the plains, had a rich font of early Mormon
incidents. He was one of the teamsters who assisted the Mormon exodus from
Harpersville. He imparted the information about the shaft sunk at Bettsburgh,
opposite Nineveh, for silver, at the expense of Josiah Stowell. He heard Sidney
Rigdon preach, and said he was a decent speaker as preachers averaged in those
days. He related incidents of Mormon baptisms in the stream from the Perch Pond,
and how the boys tore out the dam until the Mormons found it necessary to
rebuild it in the night and watch it every time they had a baptism rite to
perform. According to Mr. Baker, Josiah Stowell once sent the Prophet to mill
and he lost a bag of wheat through a hole in the wagon box. Col. Stow, a
prominent settler, saw it fall and picked it up and carried it to his house. The
Prophet resorted to his "peek-stone" and saw a man come out of the woods, seize
the bag, and make off with it. The robbery was noised about thoroughly for
several days, when Col. Stow confessed the part he had played and surrendered
the wheat to [the utter?] confusion of Stowell and Smith. Mr. Baker was
authority for saying that Joseph was sent to pray John Morse back to life, but
discouraged the scheme on the ground that the deceased was an old man and had
better remain dead.
Mr. Baker said that the widow of Benjamin Peck, of Afton, who took her two
children and went off with the Mormons, placing in the hands of Joe Smith
considerable money, repented in great agony of mind while on the road to lthaca,
but the Mormons would not restore her property, and she was forced to remain
with them,
MRS. HARRIET MARSH, an estimable lady of Harpersville, now about eighty years of
age, and wonderfully well preserved in bodily and mental vigor, remembers much
of Joe Smith's career, though she only saw him once. She was traveling with her
husband toward Susquehanna, and stopped at Waller's tavern where the Prophet and
"Electa Cyria" were stopping for a meal. Joe had his head wound in thick
bandages and Mrs. Marsh was told by landlord Waller the story of the Prophet's
great fight with the devil. This was about two weeks after Smith returned from
Palmyra with the golden plates, and he was then on his way to brother-in-law
Wasson's to get a box made for it. She thought the "Electa Cyria" below the
ordinary grade of intellect for women. Mrs. Marsh told the story of the
shoemaker at Greene, whom the Prophet failed to bring to life. Judge Johnson,
who recovered the horse for the shoemaker's executors, was Mrs. Marsh's brother.
The Mormon exodus went past her house. She saw Josiah Stowell and his daughter
after they returned from the Mormons, and thinks that Mrs. Stowell, who died
while West, was poisoned. Mrs. Marsh remembers the attempt of Joe Smith to walk
on water. She also remembers that the Knights, while working for her husband in
haying, said that Joe Smith could perform miracles, and Joseph, the elder of the
Knights, said that Joe Smith had cast the devil out of him; that he was in the
shape and style of a black cat, and ran into a brush heap.
MRS. REBECCA NURSE. an elderly lady now residing in Binghamton, lived near
Nineveh at the time of the Mormon doings there, and remembers that the Prophet
set a day to sink Nineveh after the manner of the destruction of Sodom and
Gomorrah. But after a great deal of coaxing he was persuaded to withdraw his
curse, or at least to postpone it, otherwise the Albany and Susquehanna railroad
would now have to ferry across a Dead Sea.
In a little briar and fern grown cemetery, on a knell a few rods above the place
where they bored for oil on the McKune farm, by the side of the Erie Railway, a
few years ago, is the legend of the prophet which was to be and wasn't. It is
engraved upon a little rude headstone of black sand-stone, and reads: "In memory
of an infant son of Joseph and Emma Smith, June 15, 1828. The lettering is rude,
in the style of the manuscripts of those days, and the figures' 8's look like a
cross between a $ character and the letter S bent the wrong way. They bring to
mind visions of an old-fashioned school-master. The embryo prophet is buried in
a row with the Hale family, and around him are the McKunes and other pioneers
who have passed away, leaving honorable names and honorable descendants.
Note 1: The information compiled by Frederic G. Mather for the above article saw
near simultaneous publication, as the "Early Days of Mormonism," in the pages of
Lippincott's Magazine for
Aug. 1880. Details Mather provided in these two respective sources do not
always match perfectly, although the basic story they tell is the same. It
appears likely that the editors of both publications emmended Mather's account
to some degree. The Lippincott's proof-reader evidently pared down
Mather's extended prose somewhat. The account given in the Binghamton
Republican probably more closely reflects Mather's own chatty style of
writing. And, although both articles relate essentially the same narrative, the
Lippincott's version may prove to be slightly more reliable in its
concise wording.
Note 2: For more on the same general subject, see the
Aug. 25, 1870 issue of the Athens Gleaner, as well as another article
by Mather, in the
Feb. 26, 1888 issue of the New York Times.