| Show L 1 w WITH DAVID H 1 WHITMER ETC tsz newton county 4 missouri aug 1883 1853 30 deseret terud telus 1 the town above named is situated unfit half a mile from the east side aide at I 1 thie the indian territory Teni tory and near the southwest louth west corner of the state of mis nui louri in our journey yesterday hm kansas kansaki ran Kan sasi olty city ca ey we passed through country whose IM fields are simply immense im mensa mense on reaching the indian territory and passing thence to venita ono one la 13 1 3 struck track with the decay solitude no villages farms orchards nor other evidences 9 of civilization ve i ata Is asdall railroad town at the Imet junction lon ion of the kanbas kansas Kan flaar city texas mi toil pacific and the tho st louis and ban francsco railroad which cros it t right angies and Is 40 miles from tile tiie e eastern eab tehi tobi boundary hound bound iry of tho indian territory I 1 lam iam am lying by for tor fora torn a few lew hours tojo ying a cool refreshing breeze lad iad listening lists ning to the tho majestic t huntr ter ier and the falling ailing rain and niso also atie a grateful change yesterday and to ae day before the mercury was the hundreds hun diode drode eds odb suggesting the possibility of dantes inferno being located Borne somewhere where in this gouth louth west corner of but t I 1 take it all back baek bince since this glorious thorer mer ver and venture tle the opinion that it may be in texal while white enduring the thu intense heat the ladt two day days my attention was called ty t Y a discovery said to have 1 men baafi made anade recently by some somo turkish of noahs ark on it 11 kuld llod llad to be a gigantic structure deture of very dark wood protruding from a glazier and that said bald havo have already penetrated into three apart ment ments but others are 3 et full of ice the palt patt mall gazette says asye need less lebs to say an american was soon boon on the spot aud and negotiations have been entered futo into with the local pacha for its speedy transfer to the united states if he would only oni y bring it with its ice cargo to this corner of missouri ho would surely Immortal immortalize izo himself tn th my brief stay in denver I 1 was introduced to the somewhat notable railroad contractor genarah caseman and his hla ranch partner gen pierce mr caseman was a large irge contractor on the union paci rad no flo railway and though boasting that he is neither a christian nor a mormon seemed to pride himself luhia in his donations to the christian contribution box and still more so eo in having once onca shared sh ared his hie bed with t the 0 president res en of 0 the e mormon ormon church go bo the general considers perfectly safe whichever party may win the battle the general told a pretty good story about his regiment of young northern students who during their campaign in kentucky astonished in old planter by refusing refu rine bine to drink his hir proffered whiskey sull anti who was equally aa to see their chap eh sp aai alb drink enough for all chedid he did J abt tell what position po eltion the general ook oak hut n wi doubt hua hla sympathies were witti the chaplain having nonae business in richmond nay ray county r too foo took look k occasion blon alon to call on mr david whitmer who was suffering considerably from the intense beat but I 1 had notwithstanding a long and pleasant conversation with him and his gon son david whitmer jr after matul introductions I 1 remarked that a al hoach I 1 had bad no doubt of the truth of hia hig pub published lishe I 1 statement i and testimony in a the book of mormon I 1 should be pleased to hear the testimony from we hier own own lips he said lenons may attempt to describe the presentation of the plates IB as shown tr ti bunse himself nud sud other witnesses but there was a glory attending it that no one could describe dea des oribe no DO human tongue could tell the fi florl iari iori pu zeenea thal vhal wera were presented to them joseph smith was there and oliver cowdery and himsel martin harris did not inot knot come as expected expect edi eds but they were to him a short time after ater did the personage or pagel ap gel gei who showed you the plates tell teli you hla hig name I 1 asked mr I 1 whitmer replied 61 no he did not tho the idea has obtained ground that it was moroni the last ot the prophet it may have hava been maroni marani or it may have been one of the three apostles who were promised that they broyld not taste of death it Is ia not important who he be was but I 1 know he was a messenger from god I 1 have been a visited by thousands of people he remark romark ed eds edi believers and un unbelievers believers amongst them a Ga governor vernor of state gentlemen and ladies ladles of all degrees and from many nations sometimes 15 aeo omo 0 GO in ill a day all wanting to know it these things are true I 1 have been surrounded by hostile mobs on one occasion occa islon ision numbering four or five hundred demanding I 1 should deny what la Is published over my name in the thi e book of mormon but the testimony I 1 gave to that mob made therm them fear and tremble and I 1 escaped from them one gentleman a doctor an unbeliever liever llever told me afterwards efter wards that the bold and fenz feaz fearless levs testimony borne boine on that occasion and the fear that seemed to tako take hold of the mob had made him a believer in the book of mormon mr whitmer further 1 I heard the voice of the angel geland deland and aud saw the engravings on the plates and the plates just jupt as rated hated in the book of mormon and we were commanded to bear record bf these things and that the book was translated by the gift and power of god you see tee that small table by the he vail sail ho he remarked yeb yee IP I 1 replied well there was a ta tabie table ie about that sze end the heavenly mes messenger enger brought the beveral several plates and laid them on the tho table before our ebee and wo we eav tu tum tuna m and boro bore tai of tho them thom m and our testimony la Is true and if the thebe these so things are arc not true truo then there is no truth and if thero ii ia na truth there la no god and if there is no god there thera la Is no existence but bat I 1 know there la is a god for I 1 have heard his voice and witnessed the lila manifestation of his power he fad fd pad f d moreover that when th they ey were wera first to 0 testify of these ahinga they demurred and told the lord the people would not belleme them for the tha book concertin concerning oon con cernin g which they were to bear beai record told of a people who were ed nested and refined dwelling in large citler whereas all that wab was then known of the early inhabitants of this country was the filthy lazy degraded and ignorant savages that were roaming over the land the lord to idus in reply that he would make it known to th the 11 people that the early inhabitants of this land laud had been just such a people as they were described in the book and he would lead them to discover d scover the ruins of the great cities and they should have abundant evidence of the truth troth of that which la is written in the book all of which said mr whitmer has been fulfilled to th the very letter mr david whitmer junr spoke of the strange and wonderful preservation of the written copy of the book which oliver cowdery left in his fathers father charge and the hieroglyphics which murtin martin harris took to anthon of new york in the cyclone lone ione that devanta ds vasta ted teethe the town of richmond a few years ago the courthouse court house and many mady other buildings were swept entirely away some somme books belonging to the court courthouse house hoube were carried over 40 miles and the whitmer house was all destroyed except the small room in which the said documents were kept in which not a window was broken A few minutes after the catastrophe he hernet bernet met in nn unbelieving acoff r in the street who sid ald aid well dave how about th tibiae we record re if 1 I and I 1 told him they th ey were all right although I 1 had not then I 1 a ad d wy opportunity to loo look k a after f te r the them mi my father was hurt by the flying timboy timber for the tho house on the weg west t side of the rad was blown through ours and thirty two persons were weye 0 killed and badly wounded bat when matters bod rab aab bided elded a little and we examined the room and the box where the manuscript was kept we found it to our satisfaction as we had left it and as it Is h now inn ina in a good state of preservation I 1 am now en an route south bouth west city which is 28 29 miles from seneca rt it Is ie in the extreme southwest corner n er of the state of and Is the cresent present home of oliver cow darya widow and hia his only daughter who Is ia the wife of dr charies charles johnson the railroad goes eno rno nearer than thia this place I 1 have therefore to hire some private conveyance and the trip will take tale me two days the object of my visit is to obtain a da of oliver cowdery one of the three wit nesbe neese and his family have the only one in a existence T the lle lie doctor hag has said eaid it shant go and resolution bald said the end of it 3 the roys reys smiled incredulously when I 1 told them the object of my the doctor ead had ref refused used to let iet it go but bat this thiais Is a kind hind of imperative busI lual business neer nees the af pf picture C ture is ii wanted for the october number of the cont conc contributor th likeness of david whitmer martin harris are already engraved ty by H B hall son of sew sow yorki york who are waiting for this to complete the group and as it is my special mission to obtain ita it shall no do doubt be success successfully tuil tuly of which you will be duly advised yours very truly JAMES jamrs H HART P S I 1 succeeded bucce eucce oded eded in ketting getting the I 1 likeness but have not had time to wright it up j H H |
