[1878]

Mound Station, Illinois.

Apr., 8. 1878

Mr J. T. Cobb:–

I received your letter in regard ¦ to those “plates”, and will say in answer they ¦ are a humbug, gotten up by Robert Wiley, ¦ Bridge Whitton (a blacksmith) and myself. B– ¦ Whitton is dead. Wiley may be living, he was a ¦ Missourian. None of the nine persons who signed ¦ the certificate knew the secret excepting Wiley and ¦ myself. There were two Mormon Elders present ¦ when the plates were found. Their names were ¦ Marsh & Sharp. A man by the name of ¦ Savage (of Quincy) under an assumed name ¦ borrowed the plates of Wiley to show to his friends ¦ there and took them to Jo Smith, after they ¦ were returned Wiley gave them to Prof. ¦ McDowell of St. Louis Mo. for his Museum but ¦ since McDowell’s death, we heard they ¦ were taken to Chicago Medical College and ¦ placed in the museum, {B}by visiting to Prof. [p. 2] John Hodges of St. Louis Mo. you may find out ¦ where they are, and also if Wiley is still living ¦ he was a graduate of that college – Wiley

Dr Harris was not a Mormon he was a chemist and ¦ he took the rust off the plates when found – Dr is dead ¦ Wiley was not a Mormon. The plates were cut <out of copper> ¦ by a blacksmith (Bridge Whitton) Wiley and myself ¦ made the hieroglyphics a man by the name ¦ of Neuman (?) saw the plates before they were put in ¦ the ground but whether he is living or not; I do not ¦ know. I do not know any man by the name of ¦ Roberts. I will say in conclusion that the plates ¦ were made simply for a joke. I believe I have ¦ answered all your questions and given you ¦ the particulars concerning this.

Yours Resptly,

W. Fugate

P.S. As father is too old and nervous to write, he ¦ requested me to answer, and the above is written ¦ as he directed.

Mattie Fugate.

[p. 3] Your letter came to Mt Sterling and as we had ¦ moved from there several years ago, we did not ¦ get it until a few days ago, consequently the delay in answering.

I will give the reason or cause of the joke ¦ we were reading “Pratt’s prophesy”, that truth ¦ yet was to spring up out of the earth and as ¦ they were digging at Kinderhook we concluded ¦ to make the plates, and dug down about 8 feet ¦ and came to a flat rock and put them under it ¦ they were fastened together with rust made of ¦ nitric acid, lead, and rusty iron. The Hyeroglyphics ¦ were impressions made in beeswax and filled ¦ with nitric acid, and placed on the plates. ¦ We understand Jo Smith said they would ¦ make a book of 1200 pages but he would not ¦ agree to translate them until they were sent ¦ to the Antiquarian society at Philadelphia ¦ France, and England. They were sent and ¦ the answer was that there were no such [p. 4] Hyeroglyphics known and if there ever had ¦ been they had long since passed away ¦ then Smith began his translation

W. Fugate