The following letter, which I received, relative to the occupation of Joe Smith, as a treasure-finder, will probably remind the reader of the character of Dousterswivel, in Walter Scott’s tale of the Antiquary.  One could almost imagine that either Walter Scott had borrowed from Joe, or that Joe had borrowed from the great novelist.

“I first became acquainted with Joseph Smith, senior, and his family, in 1820.  They lived at that time in Palmyra, about one mile and a half from my residence.  A great part of their time was devoted to digging for money; especially in the night-time, when, they said, the money could be most easily obtained.  I have heard them tell marvellous tales respecting the discoveries they have made in their peculiar occupation of money-digging.  They would say, for instance, that in such and such a place, in such a hill, or a certain man’s farm, there were deposited kegs, barrels, and hogsheads of coined silver and gold, bars of gold, golden images, brass kettles filled with gold and silver, gold candlesticks, swords, &c., &c.  They would also say, that nearly all the hills in this part of New York were thrown by human hands, and in them were large caves, which Joseph, jun., could see, by placing a stone of singular appearance in his hat, in such a manner as to exclude all light; at which time they pretended he could see all things within and under the earth; that he could spy within the above-mentioned caves large gold bars and silver plates; that he could also discover the spirits in whose charge these treasures were, clothed in ancient dresses.  At certain times, these treasures could be obtained very easily; at others, the obtaining of them was difficult.  The facility of approaching them depended in a great measure on the state of the moon.  New moon and Good Friday, I believe, were regarded as the most favourable times for obtaining these treasures.  These tales, of course, I regarded as visionary.  However, being prompted by curiosity, I at length accepted their invitation to join them in their nocturnal excursions.  I will now relate a few incidents attending these nocturnal excursions.

“Joseph Smith, sen., came to me one night, and told me that Joseph, jun., had been looking in his stone, and had seen, not many rods from his house, two or three kegs of gold and silver, some feet under the surface of the earth, and that none others but the elder Joseph and myself could get them.  I accordingly consented to go, and early in the evening repaired to the place of deposit.  Joseph, sen., first made a circle, twelve or fourteen feet in diameter:  ‘This circle,’ said he, ‘contains the treasure.’  He then stuck in the ground a row of witch-hazel sticks around the said circle, for the purpose of keeping off the evil spirits.  Within this circle he made another, of about eight or ten feet in diameter.  He walked around three times on the periphery of this last circle, muttering to himself something I could not understand.