Warsaw Signal/May 22, 1844
New Book of Mormon[edit]
Our readers will probably recollect that some time ago, a notice of the finding of a bundle of brass plates, by Robert Wiley, son of James Wiley jr. merchant of this place, was published in the Quincy papers, and in the Warsaw Message.—These plates were found about eleven feet under the surface, of a long mound in the vicinity of Kinderhook, Pike County, Illinois. On removing the crust that had collected about them, hierogliphics were found engraved, the meaning of which no one was able to divine. They were sent to Jo. Smith, in order to get his opinion of their meaning. Jo had a fac smilie taken, and engraved on wood, and it now appears from the statement of a writer in the St. Louis Gazette, that he is busy in translating them. The new work which Jo. is about to issue as a translation of these plates will be nothing more nor less than a sequel to the Book of Mormon; corroborating it an all essential particulars, of course, Jo. knows about as much of the true nature and meaning of the characters on these plates as any other numscull; but still, he will no doubt produce a humbug sufficiently large to feed the gullibility of fools in all time to come.
The plates referred to above are now in Warsaw, in the possession of Mr. Wiley. They are about 2 inches in width at the top, and 3 at the bottom, and when found were tied together with a wire.
It appears by the statement of the Gazette's correspondent that Joe. has added an item to the facts in relation to the discovery of these plates. He says that Mr. Wiley had a dream three nights in succession, that in a certain mound were concealed treasures, which, by digging he might discover. This is all humbug, Mr. Wiley had no such dream—he dug in the mound merely for curiosity: being a student of Medicine he was desirous of finding bones, and these, and not the plates, were the objects of his research.
Beside this, the fac-similie which Jo. had taken, is not a correct copy of the plates, as any one may satisfy himself, who will call on Mr. Wiley and compare the two.