Texas National Register. (Washington, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 44, Ed. 1, Thursday, October 9, 1845 Page: 5 of 8
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October 9V
' EXAS NATION ALREGISTER
34f
Wt-
be erected into a new'State to be called the
State of Texas with a Republican form of
Government to be adopted by the people
of said Republic by deputies iu Convention
assembled with the consent of the exist-
ing Government iu order that the same
may be admitted as one of the States of
this Union.
" 2. And be it further resolved. That
the foregoing consent ot Congress is given
upon the following conditions and with
the following guarantees to wit':
First. Said "State to be formed subject
to the adjustment by this Government of
all questions of boundary that may arise
with other Governments and the Consti-
tution thereof with the pioper evidence of
its adoption by the people of said Republic
of Texas shall be transmitted to the Presi-
dent of the United States to be laid before
Congress for its filial action on or before
the hrt day of Jauuaryoue thousand eight
hundred and forty six.
Second. Said Suic when admitted into
the Union after ceding to the United States
all public edifice lonifications barracks
ports and harbors navy and navy-yards
docks magazines aims armaments and all
other property and mean pertaining to the
public defence belonging to the said Repub-
lic of Texas ; shall n-inin nil the public funds
debts taxes and dues ot every kind which
ay belong to or be due and ovin: said Re-
public; and shall also retain all the vacant
and unappropriated lands lying within its lim-
its to be applied to the. p ty incut of the debts
and liabilities of haid Republic of Texas and
the residue of siiiil lauds after discharging
said debts and litrbilit'us to be disposed of as
Raid it it mav direct but 111 u event are
' From the Southern Literary Messengefi
MORMONSMAND THE MORMONS
It is our intention in a very brief arli
cle to give what we believe to be a correct j formed Mr. S. that if he would make out
to'"Mr;. Palfterson who was very much1
pleased withit and borrowed it for peru
sal" He retained it for a Ion? time and in
stalment of the facts connected with the
origin of the "Book of .Mormon" and the
rise of the " Latter Day Saints." We chan-
ced to be a resident of Ontario County
New York at the time of the first appea-
a title page and preface he would publish
it and it might be a source of profit. This
Mr. S. refused to do for reasons which I
cannot state. Sydney Rigdon (one of the
founders or leaders of the sect) who has
rauceofthe Seventh Wonder" in the per-J ggU red so largely in the history of the
son of Joe Smith and our recollection of
the circumstances as they transpired then
is yet quite strong.
Let us first notice the " Golden Bible''
as it was then familiarly termed. No one
at that time who knew Joe Smith had the
most distant idea that he was the author
or was in any way connected with the
"getting up" of the book or was even en-
titled to the doubtful honor of having ori-
ginated the scheme for humbugging the
Mormons was at that time connected with
the priming office of Mr. Patterson as is
well known in that region and as Rigdon
himself has frequently stated. Here he
had ample opportunity to become acquain-
ted with Mr. Spaulding's manuscript and
to copy it if he chose. It was a matter of
notoriety und interest to all who were con-
nected with the printing establishment.
At length the manusciipt was returned to
the author; and soon after we removed to
among them figured conspicuously Sidney
Rigdon and a gentleman of Palmyra New
York whose name we shall now withhold
from regard for his connections but who
was willing to sink so far his good name
for the sake of making to himself a few
dollars by publishing the " Golden Bible."
These two were then supposed to be the
authors of the work but after days divul-
ged the fact' as the reader will learn from
the following statement that they had been
guilty of availing themselves ot the work
of a third man and one too who innocent-
ly wrote what has since produced not only
s . !-- K 1 ...-. .1 i J mi I ... I- A .. Af
said debis and linbiiuio to become a charge " uui uiuuuaiieu. ue icai auuiui ui
upou the Government of the United States. l"e idormon Book was the Rev. Solomon
" Third New States of convenient size not . Spaulding a minister of the Congregation-
exceeding four in numbei iu addition to said al Church ; and to sustain this statement
State of Texas and Aaving sufficient popula-1 we adduce the following extracts lrom a
tion may hereafter by the consent of said narrative published by his widow in 1S39
State be formed out of theterritory the reof at that lime the wife of a Mr Davison of
which shall be entitled to admission under the Mason Massachusetts she says :
provisions of i In- Federal Constitution. And j "Rev. Solomon Spaulding to whom I
such Suites as may be formed out of that por-1 was united in marriage in early life was
tion of said territory lying south of thirty-six a graduate of Dartmouth College and was
degrees thirty minutes north latitude common distinguished for a lively imannation and
ly known as die Monn cmnpromse hue a great iquduess for historv. t the time
shall be admitted into the Union with or with- of marn ; le resided j Ch y
out slavery a the people or each fciatc asking N ; y Y
admission mav de.-uv. And m s.ucn fctate or '-nr c i. i i . r
States as shall be forme! out of said territory ? w alem Ashtabula county O. some-
north of Miid Missouri compromise line slave- mes called Coneaut as it issituated upon
rvor involuntary servitude (except for crime) the Coneaut creek. Shortly alter our re-
shall be pioi.ihiicd." moval to this place his health sunk and he
Now in oider to manifest the assent of the was laid aside from active labors. In the
people of this Kepublio as required in the town of New Salem there are numerous
above recited portions of the said resolutions mounds and forts supposed by many to be
We the Deputies of the people of Texas in the dilapidated dwellings and" fortifications
Convention acinbled in their name and by of a race now extinct. Tjese ancient re
their authority do ordain and declare that we lies arrested the attention of new settlers
asseut to and accept the propolis conditions and became objects of research for the cu-
and guaiantces contained iu the firt and se- rious. Numerous implements were found
condsectionsofthe Resolution of the Congress and other articles evincing neat skill in
of the United State aforesaid. tne art5. tfr Spaulding beino- an educa-
Done at die city of Austin Republic of ted man and nassiouatelv fond nf histnrv
Texas July 4th Ib.o. tnni- n vov imprpsr in ihoeo WnUn.ito
THOMAS J. RUSK President
Attest Jas. 11. Raymond
Secretary of the Convention.
marvel-loving portion of the American Amity Washington county Pa. where
pcopie who never trouoie inemseives w Mr. S. died m 181(5. The manusciipt
look beyond -the surface of things. Oth- then fell into my hands and was preserv
ers naa tne credit mere lor all tnis ana ea carefully. t has been frequently ex-
' LINES
Cimosed and sunz al a Fourth of July dinner in
jfras!iin-:ionCout)tjVAZincomphment to thcimeri-'i course would lead him to write in the
took a lively interest in these developments
ofautiquity; and iu order to beguile the
hours of retirement and furnish amploy-
ment for his lively imagination he concei-
ved the idea of giving a historical sketch
of this lost race. Their extreme niirinm'tv
can flag hoisted on that occasion.
x BV J. W. 31.
I'd like to hear the eagle equpak
I'd like to sec him come
I'd like to hear his accents break
Come children ! home ! come home !
I'd like to see those elarsandstiipcs
Conic walling o'er the land
.I'd likelo hear the old bag-pipes
The klr.tiii.s of martial band.
i
I'd like to see tiiat ntandard high
Beyond the Rio Grande
I'd lik to hear llne rascals cry:
"You've taken all our land I" j
I'd like to pee our engines play
On California"." 6cas
I'd like to hear our landsmen say:
"Come boys go where yoi please
I'd like a daughterof the West;
And like her for her charms
But like her for her virtues best;
And lake herlo my arms!
most ancient style ; and as the Old Testa-
ment is the mostancient book iu the world
he imitated its style as nearly as possible.
His sole object in writing historical ro
mance was to amuse himself ana his .neigh- i Davison is a woman of irreproachable cha
bors. Hits was about the year 1812.1 1 racter and an humble christian ; and her
Hulls surrender at Detroit occurred near
am ned by my daughter Mrs. M'Kiustry
of Mason Massachusetts with whom I
now reside and by other friends."
After the Mormon sect had gained a
slight foothold and had sent abroad
through the land preachers for the pur-
pose of making proselytes to the new faith
a woman of that sect held a meeting in
New Salem at which she read numerous
passages from the " Book of Mormon."
which were immediately recognized by
the older inhabitants of the place and
among others by the brother of Mr. Spaul-
ding as parts of the "Manuscript Found."
Mrs. Davison's narrative proceeds:
" The excitement in New Salem became
so great that the inhabitants had a meet-
ing and deputed Dr. Philastus Hulburt.
one of their number to repair to this place
and obtain from me the original manu-
script of Mr. Spaulding for the purpose of
comparing it with the Mormon Uihie to
satisfy their own minds and to prevent
their friends from embracing an error so
delusive. This was in the year 1834.
Dr. Hulburt brought with him an intro-
duction and request lor the manuscript
signed by Messrs. Henry Lake Aaron
Wright and others with all of whom i
was acquainted as they were my old neigh
bors when I resided in IScw Salem. I am
sure nothing could grieve mv husband
more were he yet living than the use that
has been made of his work. The air of
antiquity which was thrown about the
composition doubtless suggested the idea
ofconverting it to purposes of delusion.
Thus a historical romance with the addi-
tion of a few pious oppressions and ex-
tracts from the sacred Scriptures has been
construed into a new Bibl' and palmed
npou a company of poor deluded fanatics
as divine. I have given the pieviotis
brief narration that this work of deep de-
ception and wickedness may be searched
to the foundation and its author exposed
to the contempt and execration he so just-
ly deserves.
Matilda Davison."
The above narrative is accompanied hy
a statement signed by the lie v. A. Ely
pastor of the Congregational Church in
Mason and D. R. Austin principal of the
Mason Academv who assert that Mrs.
the same time ; and I recollect the date
testimony is worthy of implicit confidence
"Should any one he led to wonder whv
well from that circumstance. As he pro- these facts were withheld from 4he world
gressed iu his narrative the neighbors for the nine years which ictervencd from
would come in from time to time to hear the first publication of the Mormon Bible
portions read and great interest in the v and their being made public hy Mrs. D.
work was excited among them. It claim- we can only surmise iu answer that she
ed to have been written by one ot the lost did not look upon the movement as one
nation and to have been recovered from calculated to have a very long existence ;
the earth; and assumed the title of" Manu- and giving too much credit to the good
script Found" The neighbors would ' sense of the world did not think such a
then enquire how Mr. S. nrncrressrH in'nnlnnhle imposition could draw after it
i n " " t""t' 1
Whitewash that will not rub offMix
half a pail of lime and water ready to put
on the wall; then take a gill of wheat' flour
mix it up well with a little cold water tlien
pour boiling water over it till it thicken.
Pour it into the whitewash while hot and
stir the whole well together.
. The Courier and Enquirer-says it is
contemplated to have the Magnetic Tel-
egraph line between N. York and Phila-
delphia in operation within sixty days.
decypheriug the manusciipt? and when
he had a sufficient portion prepared he
would inform them and they would as
semble to hear it read. He was enabled
irom nis acquaintance witn tne classics
and ancient history to introduce anv sin
gular names which were particularly no-
ticed by the people and could be easily
recognized by them. Solomon Spaulding
had a brother John Spaulding residing
in the same place at the time who was
perfectly familiar with this work and re-
peatedly heard it read. From New Salem
we removed to Pittsburg Pa. Here Mr
S. found an acquaintanceand friend in the
person of Mr. Patterson an editor of a in Palmyra where he worked atrhis trade;
newspaper. Jtle exhibited his manuscript' and near the close of that year it our re
many iouowers: ar.ci inaeea as sue
slates in the opening ofh-r narrative no-
thing but the fact of converts having been
obtained immediately under her own ob-
servation aroused her from this belief.
But let us follow the "Manuscript
Found." At the time it was left in Mr.
Patterson's office in Pittsburg Sidney Rig-
don was employed there as a printer. It
remained in the office "for a long time"
was at all times accessible to Rigdon ; and
are we not justified in believing that "he
then made a copy ot it without the knowl-
edge of.the author? Some time about the
year 1828 Rigdon made his appearance
collection serves us some: little talk began
to spread abrcad in regard to some myste
; rious " plates" which had been found near
thatplace. These "plates" it was said
had been discovered by Joseph Smith Jr.
not as" O. Pratt Minister of the Gospel"
says in the "side of a high hill" near "the
railroad as you go from Palmyra to Canan-
daigua?' (where by the way there was
not then nor is there now a railroad) but
iu the bank of the Erie Canal about two
miles from Palmyra. The peculiar time
of the "discovery" of these important re-
cords sustains the charge that Rigdon
took with him to Palmyra the copy of the
" Manuscript Found" which he had made
in Pittsburg some twelve or.fourteen years
previous ; and finding in Palmyra a con-
genial spirit for humbugging the world in
a man far better endowed than himself f
give to the manuscript the necessary dress-
ing to make it play its part with suscess in
the scheme of fraud he there divulged the
matter and under the impression that a
handsome speculation might be realized
out of the publication of the work he and
his associate addressed themselves seri-
ously to the furtherance of the scheme.
The first thing necessary was to obtain an
accomplice who should act as the Prophet
the finder of the "plates" the founder of
the new sect ; and the more ignorant and
boorish he might be the better so that he
were gilted with some degree of shrewd-
ness and low cunning the actors " behind
the scene" would furnish all other things
necessary. Such a characterRigdon's ac-
complice knew he would have in Joe Smith
one of of a family of three or four who
then lived in Farmiagton near Palmyra
and who all belonged to that lowest class
of mankind found every where as hangers-on
at groceries "spunging" for their
liquor and doing small jobs lor the privi-
lege of getting drunk. Joe was a drunk-
ard low in means and of course ready
to embrace any opportunity which offered
him the chance of enlarging the quantity
of liquor he imbibed. The accomplices
did not mistake their man. Joe was real-
ly cunning and possessed one of those pe-
culiar minds which enlarge in cunningness
as their field of operation expands but nev-
er increase in auy of the higher and nobler
faculties.
This tool this " man of straw" who
was to be set up as the leader but behind
whom Rigdon was intending to act as the
real "Prophet" being obtained and in-
structed in the part he was to sustain in
the drama the next in the chain of opera-
tions was to spread abroad more fully the
trumped up particulars of the discovery of
the "plates" and to announce to the public
the fact that Joe Smith was engaged in
making a translation of the mysterious
characters engraved thereon; which trans-
lation it was said would be given to the
world as soon as that labor was accomplish-
ed. This was iu 1S39. The matter was
talked of and the principles of the new
sect were pretty fully explained during
that year and some few followers were
obtauiedjjconsistmg entirely of two classes
of the community: those who were ignor-
ant and vicious and had nothing to lose
bv such a course and who were dishon
est and thought they saw in the new
scheme an oppoi tunity to aggrandize them-
selves at the expense oi the less acute of
their fellow-men. Among those who had
nothing to lose whetherot character or
wealth stood prominent the ' witnesses'
who testify to having seen the "plates"
viz: Cowdery the Smiths the Whitraers
etc. They were all men of low repute
not one of them as far as our recollection
now serves us enjoying the respect of his
neighbors. But let that pass: we wish to
trace the progress of events. In the spring
of 1830 Uigdon in the meantime having
found it convenien to become a convert
as he pretended to the new faith the
church of the "Later Day Saints" as they
with peculiar modesty called themselves
was organized in Manchester under the
auspices of Joe Smith and immediately af-
terward an edition of twelve hundred cop-
ies as we are informed. of the "Book of
Mormon" was printed inTalmyra a copy
of whichforiginal edition is now lying be-
fore us bearing the following imprint:
"Palmyra: printed by E. B. Grandin for
the autho: : 1830.
Here then the church was under way
and the peculiar tenets by which the
members were bound one to another and
which expressly calculated and intended to
operate in such way as to draw to one spot
all or nearly all who became believers in
the faith undoubtedly suggested to the
i.
n V
e.
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Texas National Register. (Washington, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 44, Ed. 1, Thursday, October 9, 1845, newspaper, October 9, 1845; Washington, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth80138/m1/5/?rotate=90: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.