304 IN THE OLD WEST 



at the instigation of the authorities), and many 

 attempts being made to steal his precious treasure, 

 Joe one fine night packed his plates in a sack of 

 beans, bundled them into a Jersey wagon, and 

 made tracks for the West. Here he completed the 

 great work of translation, and not long after gave 

 to the world the " Book of Mormon," a work as 

 bulky as the Bible, and called " of Mormon," for 

 so was the prophet named by whose hand the his- 

 tory of the lost tribes had been handed down in 

 the plates of brass thus miraculously preserved for 

 thousands of years, and brought to light through 

 the agency of Joseph Smith. 



The fame of the Book of Mormon spread over all 

 America, and even to Great Britain and Ireland. 

 Hundreds of proselytes flocked to Joe, to hear from 

 his lips the doctrine of Mormonism ; and in a very 

 brief period the Mormons became a numerous and 

 recognized sect, and Joe was at once, and by uni- 

 versal acclamation, installed as the head of the 

 Mormon Church, and was ever after known by the 

 name of the " Prophet Joseph." 



However, from certain peculiarities in their so- 

 cial system, the Mormons became rather unpopular 

 in the settled States, and at length moved bodily 

 into Missouri, where they purchased several tracts 

 of land in the neighborhood of Independence. 

 Here they erected a large building, which they 

 called the Lord's Store, where goods were collected 

 on the common account, and retailed to members 



