Chapter III.

The Honolulu Manuscript.

An important advance has just been made in Mormon research. The first connected and satisfactory account of the business was given by the Rev. C. M. Hyde, D.D., of the North Pacific Institute in the Congregationalist for the 30th of July 1885. The Independent of the 10th of September 1885 likewise supplies a notice from the hand of the Rev. Sereno E. Bishop of Honolulu. These statements, in connection with the brief allusions to the subject that were made by President James H. Fairchild in the Bibliotheca Sacra for January 1885, pp. 173-4, have placed the student in a situation to pronounce upon the question of the genuineness and the importance of the document that has just been brought to light.

E. D. Howe of Painesville, Ohio, has written what must still be regarded as the best of all the hundreds of works that have been devoted to elucidate the history of Mormonism. Few have been favored more highly than himself alike by faculty and by opportunity; his industry was also of the most exemplary sort. It will be remembered that when he was preparing the materials for his book entitled "Mormonism Unveiled," he had the enterprise to send one D. P. Hurlbut, first to Onondaga county, N.Y., and afterwards to Monson, Massachusetts, in order to confer with Mrs. Matilda Davison, whose first husband was the Rev. Solomon Spaulding.

The results of his praiseworthy exertions were in this special instance every way unsatisfactory; like many another good wife, Mrs. Spaulding (Davison) was very indefinitely acquainted with the doings of her husband, particularly as respects his endeavors in the line of literary venture. Mr. Howe sets forth the following summary of her acquaintance with the matters in question: "She states that Spaulding had a great variety of manuscripts, and recollects that one was entitled the 'Manuscript Found'; but of its contents she has now no distinct knowledge. While they lived in Pittsburgh, she thinks it was once taken to the printing office of Patterson & Lambdin; but whether it was ever brought back to the house again, she is quite uncertain; if it was, however, it was then with his other writings in a trunk which she had left in Otsego county, N.Y. This was all the information that could be obtained from her" (Howe, pp. 287-8).

It would have been a happy thing for the student of Mormon history if both Mrs. Spaulding (Davison) and other members of the Spaulding family could have been content to abide by the comfortable ignorance which she displayed in the year 1834. Many other assertions and suggestions were later added by them which have been almost uniformly incorrect and, what is worse, misleading.

Since the old trunk had been left in Otsego county, the place of her latest residence in New York, Mr. Hurlbut was provided with an order directed to its custodian, Mr. Jerome Clark of the township of Hartwick, by the terms of which that gentleman was required to place the literary contents of it in the hands of the bearer.

These Hurlbut took away with him and fetched to Painesville, where he committed them to the care of Howe. That gentleman reports (p. 288): "The trunk referred to by the widow was subsequently examined, and found to contain only a single MS. book, in Spaulding's handwriting, containing about one quire of paper. This is a romance, purporting to have been translated from the Latin, found on 24 rolls of parchment in a cave on the banks of Conneaut Creek, but written in modern style, and giving an account of a ship's being driven upon the American coast, while proceeding from Rome to Britain a short time previous to the Christian era, the country then being inhabited by Indians. This old manuscript has been shown to several of the foregoing witnesses, who recognize it as Spaulding's, he having told them that he had altered his first plan of writing, by going farther back with dates, and writing in the old scripture style, in order that it might appear more ancient. They say that it bears no resemblance to the 'Manuscript Found'."

The description of the Honolulu Manuscript which has now been supplied renders it reasonably apparent that it is the same document as that which Hurlbut obtained from the old hair trunk in the garret of Jerome Clark. For example, Howe declares that the production under his hands "purported to have been translated from the Latin." The Honolulu Manuscript affirms that the original from which it was derived "appeared to be manuscript written in elegant hand with Roman letters and in the Latin language.... To publish a translation of every particular circumstance mentioned by our author would produce a volume too expensive for the general class of readers." Howe asserts that the original was claimed to have been discovered "in a cave on the banks of Conneaut Creek"; a full description of this cave may be read in the "Introduction" of the Honolulu Manuscript, which indicates that it was situated "near the west bank of the Conneaut River."

Further, the performance which Howe had inspected "was written in modern style," and the witnesses to whom he applied asserted that it bore "no resemblance to the 'Manuscript Found'." President Fairchild reports that the present owner of the Honolulu document, "Mr. Rice, myself, and others compared it with the Book of Mormon, and could detect no resemblance between the two, in general or in detail." Professor Hyde also declares: "The story has not the slightest resemblance in names, incidents, or style to anything in the Book of Mormon. There is no attempt whatever to imitate Bible language or to introduce quotations from the Bible." This agrees to a nicety with the fact that the witnesses whom Howe consulted assured him that Solomon Spaulding had "told them that he had altered his first plan of writing by going farther back with dates and writing in the old scripture style, in order that it might appear more ancient." The above is fully confirmed by such extracts as Mr. Bishop has furnished for the use of the Independent.

Howe also states that the book which Hurlbut had fetched from its hiding place in the old trunk gave "an account of a ship's being driven upon the American coast; while proceeding from Robe to Britain": the Honolulu book describes how "the vessel laden with provisions for the army--cloathing, knives and other implements for their use had now arrived near the coasts of Britain when a tremendous storm arose and drove us into the midst of the boundless Ocean. Soon the whole crew became lost and bewildered".

Howe likewise reports his document as further representing that at the moment when the ship landed on the American coast the coundry was already "inhabited by the Indians" according to the description supplied by Prof. Hyde the same is true of the Honolulu Manuscript. He says: "the wanderings of the shipwrecked party to the west are next described, and account given of the people, the Ohons, then living in the interior, with their manners and customs, and their wars with kings of Chianga, Ulipoon, king of Michegan, etc."

In conclusion Howe affirms: "This old manuscript has been shown to several of the foregoing witnesses who recognize it as Spaulding's." Mr. Bishop records an inscription that is found on the last page of the Honolulu Manuscript as follwos: "The Writings of Solloman Spalding Proved by Aron Wright, Oliver Smith, John N. Miller and others.

"The testimonies of the above gentlemen are now in my possession... D. P. Hurlbut."

The occurrence of Hurlbut's name identifies the document almost beyond question. On the other hand there are certain discrepancies between the description supplied by Mr. Hose and those which have been recently given to the public. For example Howe says that the romance was "found on 24 rolls of parchment": the Honolulu manuscript mentions "twenty eigh... .... of parchment", but this difference may be explained by reference to the fact that Howe, being naturally disgusted with the poverty of the document for his purposes had cited it from memory, without giving himself the trouble to refer to the text.

Again, Howe asserts that the MS. book in Spaulding's handwriting contained about one quire of paper": but Prof. Hyde declares that the Honolulu book "one hundred and seventy-one pages are numbered and written out in full". It is not a violent supposition to refer this second discrepancy to the same explanation as the given in the foregoing instance, and thereby it may be allowed ot press the point that Howe speaks in general terms of "about one quire of paper".

Once more, Howe gives the date of the disaster which brought a Roman ship to the American coast differently from the Honolulu book, affirming that it fell out "a short time previous to the Christian era", white the original in Honolulu plainly signifies that the occurrence took place during the reign of the Emperor Constantine. This appears to be still another case where Howe trusted to his memory, without being at the trouble to consult the work before him.

Mr. Howe further declares "The fact also, that Spaulding, in the latter part of his life inclined to infidelity, is established by a letter in his handwriting now in our possession". This letter was likely given a place in the middle of the manuscript for convenience of preservation and reference; it is an interesting circumstance that it has probably also been recovered along with the Honolulu book. Prof. Hyde reports: "There are two manuscript leaves in the parcel, of the same size and handwriting as the other 171 pages of manuscript. A few sentences will show the views of the writer: 'It is enough for me to know that propositions' which are in contradiction to each other cannot both be true, and that doctrines and facts which represent the Supreme Being as a barbarous and cruel tyrant can never be dictated by infinite wisdom..... But, notwithstanding I disavow my belief in the divinity of the Bible, and consider it a mere human production, designed to inrich and aggrandize its authors, yet casting aside a considerable mass of rubbish and fanatical rant, I find that it contains a system of ethics, or morals, which cannot be excelled on account of their tendency to ameliorate the condition of man'".

It may be worth while to inquire concerning the process by which this document was conveyed to Honolulu. Prof. Hyde reports that in the year 1839, just five years after it was deposited with Howe by Mr. Hurlbut, the former sold his printing office and the Painesville Telegraph, of which he was editor, to Messrs. L. L. Rice and P. Winchester, who continued to carry on the business.

After forty years of active labor, Mr. Rice retired from business and in the year 1879, went to reside with his daughter, Mrs. J. M. Whitney, at Honolulu. In the month of July 1884, he received the honor of a visit from President Fairchild of Oberlin College, who suggested that Mr. Rice should examine his collection of pamphlets for the purpose of finding out whether he might have in it some rare productions relating to the conflict against slavery in the United States. Giving himself to the labor of this enterprise, his pains were rewarded by the discovery that has here been discussed. In his paper for the Bibliotheca Sacra, President Fairchild says: "Mr. Rice has no recollection how or when the manuscript came into this possession"; but subsequent consideration, it would appear, has suggested to his mind the forgotten transfer of the Painesville Telegraph, "with all the appurtenances of the printing office". Perhaps the Honolulu Manuscript was not even mentioned in that transaction, because before the year 1830 Mr. Howe had lost it out of sight and out of mind, amid the rubbish of his establishment. Meanwhile for the past five and forty years both himself and Hurlburt have been exposed to a shower of old-wives gossip and ignorant suspicion. Notwithstanding Mrs. Spaulding (Davison) in the year 1834 was entirely unable to declare what fate had befallen the "Manuscript Found", and could not be at all sure that it had ever been returned from the printing-house claimed that Hurlbut actually recovered it in the old hair trunk, sold it to the Mormons, who destroyed it, and with the money obtained from that source, purchased a farm near Gibsonburg, Ohio.

Mr. Howe, in his turn, could give no account of it; he said it was in his possession "till after the publication of Mormonism Unveiled, and then disappeared and was lost, I suppose by fire". It will vindicate the reputation of both these gentlemen that it has not been brought to light. Prof. Howe gives notice that Mormon missionaries of the Island of Oahu are eager to publish the Honolulu book, in order to show that it has no connection with the Book of Mormon. Nobody ever claimed that such a connection existed, who had any kind of right to form a judgment. This entire investigation has no bearing of any sort upon the issue whether Spaulding was the author of the Book of Mormon; that question rests upon grounds that are quite aloof from any that have been here traversed, and must be judged upon its own merits. But it is hoped that no obstacle will be placed in the way of Mormon missionaries who may desire to perform such a service to science and Messrs. Howe and Hurlbut. A certified copy might be speedily committed to their charge; the original would be safe and serviceable in the keeping of the Librarian of Oberlin College.

Shortly after the above chapter was written and put to press in the New York Independent the Honolulu book was duly issued from the Mormon press. An examination of it has vindicated every statement here advanced. It is possible that Spaulding borrowed the suggestion concerning a vessel driven away from Italy and England from the introductory section of More's Utopia, a book which very easily might have come within the range of his reading. By turns he employed three different theories to account for the origin of the American aborigines. The first of these is set forth in the Honolulu MS. In the Book of Ether he traced them back to the Tower of Babel and in the Book of Mormon to the age of the Jewish captivity in Babylon.