--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Giles, John D. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 33 number: 1 published: 1929-11 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: "John D. Giles, “From the Green Mountains to the Rockies,” *Improvement Era* 33, no. 1 (November 1929): 26–31." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera3301unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera3301unse start_page: 26 end_page: 31 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1929-11) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera3301unse publication_year: 1929 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1929, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # From the Green Mountains to the Rockies From the Green Mountains the Rockies to By JOHN D. GILES Part I A travelogue describing visits to important places in Church his- tory and including faith-promoting incidents which occurred on the journeys. OF necessity this narrative is boat trips in America, and indeed written in the first person in the world, singular. It is a story of We had made our itinerary with personal experience, impressions this trip as one of the big features, gained and informa- tion acquired along the trail "from the Green Mountains to the Rockies" — a trail that differs greatly today from that of a hun- dred years ago, but is so closely linked with the history of the Church that the story of one is very largely the story of the other. To begin at the be- ginning and to explain and give proper credit for the title at the head of this page, it is neces- sary to go back to June, 1926. \\7ITH my bride w (of 20 years) I was honeymooning (if it is really possible to honeymoon on a busi- ness trip) and we found ourselves at the end of our stay in Philadelphia. The day before leaving, a tele- gram arrived from a business associate in Salt Lake. The mes- sage urged, almost di- rected, me to stop at Albany, New York, on the return journey to secure information re- garding an unusual collection of Church history pictures, said to be in possession of a "Mormon" in that city. This was good news. During the twenty years of our married life, and more particularly since my own experience some fears ago, I had promised that some day, as a part of our honeymoon, we should make the trip on the Hudson River boat from New York to Albany — unquestionably one of the most delightful inland A study of train and boat sched- ules indicated that it would be necessary to leave Philadelphia at 4:40 a. m. That's really quite early, but when you're on a honey- moon and have in prospect the ful- filling of a promise made twenty years before and repeated at fre- quent intervals since, even arising at that unseemly hour isn't so dif- ficult a task. ^k7E left the "city of brotherly love" as the milkmen were beginning their morning calls and arrived at the Pennsylvania Station in New York with a margin of sev- enty minutes in which to transfer to the boat pier at the De Brosses Street dock. At this point things began to happen, and we re- ceived satisfactory proof of the truth of our Scotch friend's theory that "the best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley." Our trunks, which were being checked di- rect to Salt Lake City, had come with us from Philadelphia, and I had entirely over- looked the fact that it would be necessary to transfer them to the Grand Central Station in order to start them on their way west- ward. Simple enough in itself. For a moder- ate fee the transfer agent would attend to that. But to check the trunks it was necessary to present our tickets at the Grand Central Station, across the city from where we were. A hurried consulta- tion with the transfer agent made it clear that the trip by taxicab at the morning hour through the heavy traffic on New York's west side was out of the question. The subway seemed to offer the only hope. UAVE you ever tried to cross ^A New York on the subway at eight o'clock in the morning, the very height of the rush hour? If you haven't, no description of mine will be adequate. To go up- town or downtown is easy — in fact, the easiest and quickest way to travel. But to go "crosstown" — well, that's different. With The Improvement Era For November, 1929 27 ample instructions and a do-or-die determination, I began the jour- ney. I was certain in my own mind f^NE disappointment is usually ^ bad enough, but two are worse. Our experience at the De Brosses Street pier was exactly du- Left — Joseph Smith Farm Bottom — Bed Room in Farm House that the five or six mil- lions which New York city claims as its popula- tion were all traveling that morning on the sub- way, and every individ- ual in as big a hurry as I was. '"P WO minutes sufficed ■*- for the purpose of my errand, and I have tried to forget what happened on the return journey in that seething, surging, squeezing, frantic mass of humanity. Event- ually, however, I rejoined my "bride," by this time on the verge of a nervous collapse. The trip had taken us an hour, and we had less than fifteen minutes to catch -the boat. Hailing a taxi and of- fering an extra tip for speed, we raced for the pier. We arrived just in time to see the gangplank lifted high in the air and the boat pull away. Before we had even caught our breath, a taxi driver informed us that the boat made a stop at 42nd Street, and he "thought" he could make it. As a drowning man grasps at a straw, we seized the chance to beat the boat to the next stop. HERE again, it seemed, all New York was determined to up- set our plans. We felt that every truck in the city, a thousand taxi- cabs, and countless other cars had special business that morning along rvur route to the 42nd Street pier. plicated at 42nd Street. We saw the boat leave without us. Then another "friendly" taxicab driver volunteered the information that the boat also stopped at 151st Street, and that he had been able to catch it several times. I looked at my "bride". The tears were beginning to trickle down her cheeks. The dream of years was about to vanish. In desperation I bundled her and baggage into the cab and told the driver if he knew what was good for him he would catch that boat. Before we had gone a dozen blocks the hopeless- ness of the situation was apparent. It was no use. There were more trucks, more taxicabs and other ve- hicles than ever. With visions of another missed boat and a six-dol- lar taxi fare growing brighter each second, I reluctantly ordered the driver to give up the chase and drive us to the Grand Central Sta- tion. Here we joined the trunks that had caused all the trouble and in a short time were speeding up the Hudson — -not on the boat but in the train along the shore. As we passed the boat that almost ful- filled her dreams and my promises, I took my wife's hand and squeezed it gently. She looked at me with my wilted collar and de- jected countenance gnd- returned the squeeze. We both understood. T\7E reached Albany soon after * noon, some six hours ahead of the boat. Locating ourselves at a hotel, I went about my task of seeking the pictures I had come to find. With little difficulty I found the photo studio, the address of which had been furnished me, but it was locked. Knocking and ringing the bell brought no re- sponse. Then I realized it was Saturday afternoon and the place was closed for the day. I decided to locate a tele- phone and call the brother at his home. The telephone directory contained no such name, and "Information" said the phone had been dis- connected some months be- fore. Inquiry in the neigh- borhood brought no infor- mation. More because I had nothing else in mind than because I thought any good would come of it, I returned to the studio, and was im- pressed to knock again. Af- ter some minutes, patience was rewarded and the door opened. I asked the young man who presented himself if I might see Mr. Kline, and was informed that he was in Salt Lake City or somewhere between there and Al- bany. After learning the purpose of my visit, the man in charge kindly offered to show me the pic- tures. "CROM a desk drawer he took two leather-bound books with gold-stamped titles. The titles read, "From the Green Mountains to the Rockies." The entire con- J OHN D. GILES, one of the new members of the General Board of Y. M. M. I. A., has been a pioneer in the Boy Scout work of the Church. Always an inde- fatigable M. I. A. worker, he has occupied various positions in the ward organizations and for fifteen years was superintendent of En- sign stake. During this period he played an important part in the development of the M men plan. His business, that of advertising, has taken him into all parts of the United States and some parts of Canada and Mexico and has given him the opportunity of following many old "Mormon" trails. 28 The Improvement Era For November, 1929 tents of the two books were photo- graphs of the important cities, towns, landmarks, monuments, buildings, prominent men and women and other items of historic and educational interest along the trail from Vermont, where Joseph Smith was born, to Utah, where the Church is now established "in the tops of the mountains." I was given permission to take my time in going through the books and likewise to copy any in- formation the pictures contained. TT O any student of Church his- tory, here was a rare treat. There were dozens of pictures — Sharon, Harmony, Fayette, Pal- myra, Hill Cumorah, Sacred Grove, Kirtland, Nauvoo, Carth- age, Independence, Quincy — and then pictures along the Pioneer trail all the way to Salt Lake City. While viewing the pictures, I mentally recounted the experiences of the day — it seemed a week since we had left Philadelphia — and suddenly realized that had we caught the boat as planned and had arrived in Albany in the evening, this opportunity would have been missed, there would have been no means whatever of locating the photographer. Staying over until Monday was out of the question. Other appointments made it neces- sary to leave Sunday at the latest. Then it became clear that missing the boat was a bless- ing in disguise. YyHILE these thoughts were crowding through my mind, a young man entered the room. He ap- peared to be at home, yet seemed not to belong there. We passed the time of day and I pro- ceeded with my task. However, the young chap seemed much in- terested in what I was doing. Fi- nally he asked, "Are you from the West?" I replied affirmatively and told him why I was there. He said, "Let me shake your hand, brother, I'm a missionary here and have been working alone so long I'm homesick to see someone from Utah." i T happened that I knew some of Elder Barlow's relatives, and we found many things in common about which to converse. During the conversation he informed me The Hill Cumorah that President B. H. Roberts and a group of elders and sisters had gone through Albany a few hours be- fore on their way to the Sacred Grove to hold a service the fol- lowing day, which was June 27th, the eigh- ty-second anni- versary of the martyrdom. Here were ad- ' ditional reasons why the boat sailed, leaving behind its two most important passengers (at least that's the way we felt about it) . Needless to say, plans were made to spend the following day, Sunday, at the Sacred Grove and Hill Cumorah. The balance of that Saturday afternoon was spent with the pictures and in copying the information they car- ried. T LEARNED that Brother Kline, a professional photographer and proprietor of one of the best studios in the New York State cap- ital, joined the Church several years ago and was just completing his second trip "from the Green Mountains to the Rockies," taking the entire summer for the journey and photographing everything of interest, as only a photographer, who is also a born artist, can do. This accounted for his home, one of the most beautiful in Albany, being closed for the summer and the telephone being disconnected. The foregoing is presented as a preamble to the story to follow. Not in chronological sequence, or geographical order, but as they came under my observation, the sa- cred places of the Church, historic landmarks, the shrines of our peo- ple, are to be pictured and des- cribed, with such information add- ed as has been secured in the course of my own journeys along the trail "from the Green Mountains to the Rockies." Part II Upper Left — Major John Gilbert who printed the first Book of Mormon. Right — Building where the first Book of Mormon was printed. Lower — Pliny Sexton, who owned the Hill Cumorah. HTHE Sacred Grove is just out of ■*■ the town of Palmyra in Wayne county, New York. Palmyra is some nine miles southeast of Rochester. From Rochester or Syracuse, Palmyra is reached by in- The Improvement Era For November, 1929 29 terurban cars with frequent service. The route runs through a beautiful farming 'section, that hasn't shown much change, either for better or for worse, in the century just past. True, there are electric cars, electric lights, autos and other evidences of progress, but many of ^""www the old farm- ing towns, in- cluding Pal- myra, are pret- ty much the same. There, the old Powers Hotel still stands, as it was in the days of the Proph- et's young manhood. The Exchange Building, where the first copies of the Book of Mormon were printed, is also in daily use. Many other business buildings and homes of ■ Joseph Smith's day are still there. Main Street is paved, but it's still Palmyra, the Palmyra you have read about for so many years. A S you leave the town and drive ^ * south toward Manchester, about a half mile west of the main highway, which, by the way, is now paved and is a first-class road, is the road leading to the Smith Farm; where is found the home in which Joseph Smith lived and in which part of the Book of Mor- mon was translated (although not the house in which the Angel Mo- roni appeared to instruct the Prophet as to his future mission) . One also sees the old barn, one of the early baptismal pools, which was formed by deepening a stream running behind the barn, and most important and interesting of all, the Sacred Grove, with the lane leading up the hillside to it. 'T'HE picture on the front of this issue of The Improvement Era, is one of the best pictures ever* taken of the Grove. It was taken by friend Kline, who has already been mentioned. The opening be- tween the trees in the center of the picture indicates the place where services are held in the Grove. A seat has been built around the large tree in the center background, and the best information available is that it was near this tree that Jo- seph Smith knelt to pray and re- ceived his first glorious vision, when the heavens opened and the way was prepared for the dispensa- tion of the fulness of times. The Grove occupies possibly learned that "Mr. Bean" was well known and very well liked. The proprietor assisted us in an effort to establish connections with the farm, but without success. How- ever, we finally prevailed upon the manager of the town garage to drive us to the farm and hill. This was another piece of good fortune as later events proved. We rode first to the farm and then to the hill. The driver had agreed to make the trip, provided it should require Road leading to Sacred not more than Grove- an hour. By Barn on the Joseph the time we Smith, harm. , , ' , , had reached the sacred hill we decided to dismiss the driver and shift for our- selves, trusting to luck to get back to Pal- myra. T" HERE was too much to see, to learn, to contemplate, to be rushed away after a ?:| mere casual _, - - .': . ■■] 'glance. Here *«*^^SjsJ^^^ we were on the 82nd anniver- sary of Joseph Smith's martyr- dom, on the hill Cumorah, where he received the golden plates from the Angel Moroni. Incidentally the beauty of the June day con- formed to the peace which brooded over the place. Upon approaching the hill the first thing that at- tracted attention was evidence that at some time in the not far distant past, the entire "nose" or point of the hill had been "prospected" or three or four acres of ground near the crest of a knoll. It is one of the few remaining clumps of virgin woodland in that vicinity. With the entire farm, including the old farmhouse, the barn, the baptismal pool and the Sacred Grove, now owned by the Church, it is under proper supervision and every effort is made to preserve the important landmarks. The old barn, across the street from the house, has been placarded dug into, evidently for the purpose as "Joseph Smith Farm", that all who pass may know its location. Some two miles to the south and a half mile east is the Hill Cu- morah. The hill itself and a large tract of farm land adjoining it- now belong to the Church. (^)N the occasion of our visit to ^the farm and the hill we left Al- bany very early and arrived in Rochester before noon. We went immediately to Palmyra and en- deavored to get in touch with El- der Willard Bean, a former fellow- townsman in Provo, Utah. At the old Powers Hotel, still the lead- ing hostelry of the town, we of finding more of the golden plates. Strange, isn't it, that the very people who denied the exist- ence of the plates should have tried to- locate others or possibly the same plates, thinking they might have been reburied there? Reaching the top of the hill, one finds that it isn't really a hill at all. It more nearly resembles a huge moraine, running some miles from its southern source, where it emer- ges from the rolling countryside, as a long, narrow strip, ending in the hill-like formation usually shown in pictures. Our driver-guide knew very lit- tle about its history, but during 30 The Improvement Era For November;, 1929 our stay some young men from Palmyra gave us the village gossip about the hill and its history up to that time. A S the story was told to us, and '*■** part of it at least has been proved true, some years ago the top of the hill extending down to a point almost midway from its brow to its base, as well as other property in the vicinity, had come into the possession of a banker in Palmyra. The banker, so we were told, had offered the property to the Church for $100,000. This price, being a fabulous one for a small piece of pasture land, which the top of the hill was at the time of our visit, was declined. Later an appraisal was had from independ- ent sources and the value was placed at $12,500. This, so the story went, was accepted by the Church as a fair appraisal of the actual cash value of the land but it was recognized that in addition to the cash value, there was also an historical value. To compen- sate for this an offer was made to double the appraised value, one hundred per cent premium for its histori- cal value. nr HIS offer -L in turn was refused. With matters pending, the banker died. Then, we were informed, the executors of the estate of- fered the prop- erty for $50,- 000 — four hundred per cent of the real value. Again the offer was rejected and there matters stood. Later the announce- m e n t was made, in the Deseret News, by the Church authorities that the hill itself, and consider- able property adjoining, had been purchased by the Church. The Improvement Era recently told of plans for landscaping and replant- ing it. TO the west is Cumorah farm, important thing is my own recol- owned by the Church and lection of the details as related to operated under its direction, giving me by my father, our people valuable and important holdings at this historic place. Within a few years, with the land- scaping plans completed, hill Cu- morah should be one of the real shrines of Latter-day Saints. The most recent development, in addi- tion to the landscaping and plant- T N his dream, as I have had the story in mind for more than thirty years, a red-haired Nephite sat on the bank of a stream near the hill Cumorah, playing a trumpet. It was the morning after the last great battle between the ing, has been the erection of a large Nephites and the Lamanites. Prac- billboard just off the highway, at the base of the hill, in the form of a book. This, of course, represents the Book of Mormon, and tells the story of the plates. It is a splendid piece of publicity and will doubtless attract the attention of thousands who pass along the road, which is the main highway be- tween Palmyra, in Wayne county, and Manchester, in Ontario county. One incident in connection with this visit to Cumorah was of more than usual interest to me. When I was a boy, my father returned tically all of the Nephite .hosts had been killed. The bodies of the dead were everywhere. And here, on the banks of the stream, with his toes just touching the water, sat the fair-haired descendant of Father Lehi playing a sad and sol- emn, yet inspiringly beautiful melody, a lament over the destruc- tion of his people. I had resolved, upon hearing this dream related, that if ever I should be privileged to visit the sacred spot I should look for the stream and on its banks hum to myself this "Nephite Lamentation", trying to picture in from a trip to southern Utah with my mind the scene as it was on that a story about the hill Cumorah fateful day. CO, as I in- quired about the hill and its loca- tion, I was particular to inquire also regarding the stream, which I had no doubt would be one of the familiar features of the countryside. To my sur- prise I was told there was no stream within some miles of Cu- morah. That seemed strange to me. I have always be- 1 i e v e d in dreams, espe- cially when there is reason to think they are inspired. And as a boy I had accepted this as a divine manifestation to Thomas Durham — a manifestation so impressive that Brother Durham, who was a musician, was unable to rest until he had arisen from his bed and which impressed me very much. He had visited with Thomas Durham who related a remarkable dream. I have since heard this dream told with considerable variation, but as far as this incident is concerned the The Improvement Era For November, 1929 31 written the melody. And now I was told that no such stream ex- isted. Not satisfied, I inquired again with the same result. As I stood on the brow of the hill, at its highest point, not far from the spot where the plates are supposed to have been found, I looked care- fully for signs of a stream or water course. I hoped the smattering of geology I had retained from my school days would help me to lo- cate some evidence if it had ever existed. But from where I stood there seemed to be no indication, unless a sort of swale or lowland to the north could be accepted as evidence that at some time a stream had caused the depression. "VfY disappointment was soon r *■ overshadowed, in part at least, by the beauty and inspiration of the surroundings. The hill itself, being used as a pasture, was literally covered with daissies in full bloom. Thousands of them greeted us on that perfect June day. To the west lay beautiful Cu- morah Farm. To the north, to- ward Palmyra, stretched attractive green fields and pastures, broken occasionally by a clump of trees, similar to those that form the Sa- cred Grove, some two and a half miles away. To the south the top of the hill itself, practically level, ran for miles, finally merging into the rolling hills. Southeastward ran the highway to Manchester. With so many things to contemplate the dream and the stream were forgot- ten for the moment. Having dismissed our convey- ance we started to walk toward the Smith farm and Sacred Grove, hoping to find someone who could show us around and he1p us back to Palmyra. AS we walked along the road, I ^■*- looked back toward the hill and decided a picture from that angle would be highly desirable. As I located myself for the "shot", it occurred to me that the view from a point further to the east would be still better. To reach the spot I had selected it was necessary to climb through a fence and enter a pasture. Then I discovered that my feet were wet and that the grass around me was of a variety which grows only where there is an abundance of water. The dream and the stream came back. In the meadow was unmistakable evidence that here was an old river bed. To the east then winding around the hill to the south and extending as far as the eye could see, the water course was clearly marked from where I stood. The direction was toward the numerous lakes that dot the country south of Manches- ter, the largest being Seneca Lake, which divides Ontario and Seneca counties and extends still further south. To the west and north it was not so definitely marked, but appeared to run toward Palmyra and to the westward. UROM the time we gave up our chase for the boat at New York and began our journey by train, our "misfortunes" all turned to good fortune. From the hill Cumorah we walked the distance to the Sacred Grove, or rather to the Joseph Smith farm, where the grove is located. Arriving there we found some of the missionaries who had come with President Rob- erts from Brooklyn for the service at the Grove and also to hold con- ference on the same day at Pal- myra. "V\7E were shown through the home — the room where part of the Book of Mormon was trans- lated, the relic room, where many of the personal belongings of the Prophet are preserved, and the bed room. Then we visited the Sacred Grove for the first time. As we walked along the lane, which most likely was used by the young lad as he went to the Grove to pray, a feeling of deep solemnity came over us. Approaching the opening, shown in the picture on the cover of this magazine, we felt an in- tense desire to pray, to thank our Heavenly Father for this oppor- tunity and for the things that had happened in the past hours to make our trip so successful. He had overruled our own wishes for our ultimate happiness. And we did pray. With heads uncovered, we expressed our thanks for the Gospel, for the great Prophet of the latter days, for the goodness of the Lord to his people and for his kindness to us in per- mitting us to visit these sacred places and partake of their inspira- tion and influence. With deep re- gret our visit was cut short, as the missionaries and we were anxious to return to Palmyra for the even- ing session of conference. But there was a determination to return soon. And last year I was privileged to visit again this section and to take along the children, including an only son whose age was very near that of the Prophet at the time of the first vision. The same sweet spirit was again present and our little group knelt in prayer at the foot of the large tree in the cen- ter of the Grove. T7 O return to the story of the first ■*■ visit, we went with the mis- sionaries to the conference in Pal- myra and were present at the or- ganization of the first Sunday School in that city, with Elder Willard Bean ,jas superintendent. There were enough members of the Church in Palmyra to justify such an organization and President Roberts established it on that im- portant anniversary under decid- edly favorable conditions. Incidentally the conference was held in the Grange Hall, less than fifty yards from the Powers Hotel, from which place we had tried to locate Elder Bean. All the while he was with his family and the el- ders and Saints in the conference. Even that circumstance was looked upon as good fortune, as it is fairly certain that without ample time and the leisurely walk along the highway, I never should have been attracted to the particular view of Cumorah that led me into the meadow and resulted in the dis- covery of evidence of the old stream. THE other important, historic spot in this locality is the Peter Whitmer Farm, at Fayette in Seneca county, which adjoins Ontario county on the east where, on April 6, 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized. This property has also recently come into the possession of the Church. Under the direction of the general author- ities, the old Whitmer home has been reconstructed and will un- doubtedly be the center of attrac- tion to the thousands of Church members and others who are ex- pected to visit historic points dur- ing Centennial Year. The acqui- sition of the Whitmer farm, hill Cumorah and other sacred places, should bring joy and pride to the hearts of Latter-day Saints. With the approach of Centennial Year, the possession of these hallowed spots is appreciated more by the Church than ever before. (To be continued. Next month, Kirtland, Nauvoo, Carthage, In- dependence, Richmond, Liberty and Winter Quarters) .