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CHAPTER I.
_______

THE  UNIVERSAL  VACUITY  OF  CENTRES.

In presenting to the world some new ideas regarding the earth on which we live, it will not be improper to briefly summarize such information we possess as bears on the foundation of my theories. In so doing, I merely gather facts well demonstrated by scientists and generally accepted at this date as truths.

Matter exists in the form of ultimate molecules: that is to say, when matter is subdivided to the last degree, the final particles are called molecules.

When the forms of matter with which we are familiar are separated one kind from another, until a kind is found from which no other kind can be separated, it is called an element or entity. Each of the metals is an entity, other entities are salts, others gases. There are only about sixty-five elements of which the whole world is composed.

Whether each element is composed of molecules of a different shape to those of each other element is not known.

Each particle of matter is charged with two primary forces, attraction and repulsion, which not only act, in opposition, in the molecule itself but the forces belonging, to that molecule influences every other molecule to a degree established by known laws.

The above containing sufficient known facts for me to commence the structure of my theories, I must warn the reader that what follows is not all orthodox; but in the development of my own ideas is necessarily associated with facts more or less accepted by scientists.

Attractive force exists in superabundance in the densest elements, and repulsive force in superabundance in the most volatile elements. Attraction condenses towards centres, aiming at absolute solidity at that point; repulsion, its opposite, radiates from centres, aiming at absolute vacuity there. The greatest density, therefore, cannot exist at the real centre of a mass, but in a globular outline approaching the centre in exact proportion to the specific gravity of the element of which it is composed. Under the influence of attraction, a mass assumes the form of a sphere, all its molecules pressing towards its centre. The density of a given object on the earth's surface increases as it is taken from the highest to the lowest altitudes, giving rise to the idea that at the centre of the earth it would reach its

6                                        THE  INNER  WORLD.                                       

maximum weight, but there, the attraction, being counter-balanced in all directions, would obviously be nil.

It is well known that attraction and repulsion together not only play upon and between molecules, but upon and between masses, and is a principle that extends to the largest aggregations of matter, the planets, the solar system, the universe. In its terrestrial magnitude, therefore, attraction, drawing to centres, establishes the circumference of matter, while repulsion, driving matter from centre to circumference, makes of our Earth a hollow globe. The densest of matter, gold or platinum, scarcely compressible, in all probability consists of spherical molecules in which attraction has such overwhelming power and repulsion so little that there is hardly any internal space. It is the nature of each element to possess its own degree of attractive and repulsive force in proportion to its density -- the heavy metals being charged with attraction and the gases with repulsion in the greatest degree. Thus hydrogen gas, on being freed, is the most expansive of all elements, and its molecules assume great spheres (like the soap bubbles blown by children) of which the shell is the entity -- the matter -- surcharged from the centre by repulsive force, and the interior of the globe is absolute space, emptiness, nothing.

But while the proportionate powers of attractive and repulsive forces vary in each element according to its density, no kind of matter exists without a supply of both forces -- thus gold molecules have an internal space, however small, and hydrogen molecules are retained in their spherical shape by attraction. I also hold that the centre of gravity of iridium, the heaviest of metals, would be in a globular outline very near its centre, while that of hydrogen would he in a similarly shaped outline very near its circumference.

The forces of attraction and repulsion having been admitted to attain to terrestrial and cosmical proportions, though that of repulsion only recently so admitted, it may easily be thought out that the matter on which they act should assume the same forms in its greatest masses as in its smallest. The form of the solar system is that of a hollow globe in which the sun and the planets form a material circumference and the centre is absolute space. The sun is away from the centre in the proportion of its mass to the remainder of its system. The accumulated repulsive force belonging to the solar system as a mass keeps even the sun from the centre. Sun spots seem to revel that our luminary itself is a hollow globe whose gaseous circumference is sometimes rent to show the space that is within; and so far as daring astronomers have been able to demonstrate, the universe is a hollow globe of which the Milky Way is the circumference and the nearest sun to the centre is Alcyone,

                          THE  UNIVERSAL  VACUITY  OF  CENTRES.                         7

which, however, is not in the geometric centre, but in one of the foci of a stupendous ellipse.

Are we, then, to pursue this theory from infinitesimal proportions to those of the infinite, finding centres to be void of matter, whether they be in a molecule or in the universe, and not think seriously that our own earth, intermediate between the two extremes, may also be a hollow sphere?

Sir Isaac Newton formulated the axiom that, "To every action there always is opposed an equal reaction, or, the mutual actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal, and directed to contrary parts." This is manifested by the obvious fact that the meeting of two bodies create[s] a rebound whose combined power is exactly equal to the impact. Thus, if a cannon ball is thrown against the side of an ironclad, the vessel immediately responds to the blow by a push in the contrary direction which, distributed throughout its entire framework, is exactly equal in power to that of the blow which it received. It is conceded that the effect of two such opposing forces is always shown at right angles to the direction of the forces, as "when brittle substances strike and break, their fragments fly at right angles to the lines of the projectile force." Baron von Humboldt, the great German traveller and philosopher, looked upon the powers that produce earthquakes and volcanic eruptions as "the reaction of the interior upon the exterior of the planet." This is only another term to express the idea of the repulsive force of the Earth's mass, emanating from the interior, opposing itself to the whole attractive force striking towards the centre. Now these two forces cannot exist without the matter upon which they play arraying itself at right angles to the radiating lines of force, and the sum of these right angles must necessarily form a hollow globe. As science has long admitted each molecule to possess both forces, I see no controverting the proposition that every molecule must be of that description. And as recent scientific development has shown clearly that the two forces operate in the largest as well as the smallest aspects, expanding into terrestrial and cosmical functions, it is equally clear to me that the planets and suns must also be hollow globes.

That this idea has never before been suggested is owing to two reasons. One that hitherto all considerations of gravity centres have been viewed from the exterior of the mass, where the globular outline of greatest density, above referred to, would manifest itself as accruing to the geometric centre. The other that the universal existence of repulsive force has only recently been put forth in undeniable shape. From these two reasons, a third one obtains, that until now there has arisen no incentive for the thought. But

8                                       THE  INNER  WORLD.                                      

to me, who am going nolens volens into the inside of the world itself, it is an idea of paramount importance.

Once accepted by any thinking person, even as a hypothesis, the theory above advanced will receive constant verification in all the varied phenomena of physics. If the reader can find any physical condition of things to controvert the idea, he will have accomplished something beyond my power and I would thank him to communicate the facts to me.

A glass blower secures a lump of "metal" on the end of his blow pipe, maintaining its spherical form by a rotary movement in which he has the benefit of cohesive attraction in the lump itself and makes use of the attraction of gravitation as a borrowed auxiliary. The fact that the glass is now mobile proves that the lump also possesses inherent repulsion in its particles -- that they are separate and free to move one upon the other. Having the inherent attraction creating the sphere and the inherent repulsion causing mobility, and borrowing gravity during rotation to secure poise, he then supplies a repulsive force exerted from the interior of the lump by blowing into the pipe and at once creates an interior concave surface. Not only this, but, though the pipe may be inserted only into the edge of the lump, the first movement of the interior cavity is to strike for the centre of the mass, whence it expands to the circumference equally in all directions, proving that even this artificial repulsive force, once introduced, searches for the centre from which to exert its power.

If a bladder were filled with some element which had special attraction for some other gaseous element, the latter would gather around the entire bladder in an outside coating, exhibiting the spherical form and convex outer surface which attraction ever produces. On the other hand, if the bladder contained a gas desirous of expansion, the repulsive force emanating from the centre of the bladder would coat its inside, exhibiting the convex interior surface of a sphere, a production which repulsive force seems to aim at. This arrangement of the molecules is by virtue of the aggregated forces belonging to the mass, an endowment additional to the individual forces belonging to the molecule -- additional just as each particle of matter attracts every other particle besides each mass attracting every other mass.

When iron is taken in a highly heated state from a forge, or in a molten condition from a blast furnace, the two primary forces are in :such intense play that repulsion, in moments of its supremacy, flings out miniature iron worlds that fall -- a shower of sparks -- in curved lines to the earth. which latter, alas, interposes its influence to prevent the completion of the orbital revolution of the body cast around the miniature sun which flung it forth. Surrounded, as we always are,

                          THE  UNIVERSAL  VACUITY  OF  CENTRES.                         9

by the overwhelming influence of the earth's attractive force, it would be difficult to select another phenomenon so familiar as this and yet so illustrative of the manner in which matter, from being fused into expansion that is almost gaseous, condenses into a solid during its course and before it has had time to come in contact with any solid resistance. An examination of these particles will show that during their brief flight they yet had time to assume spherical forms by virtue of their inherent attraction. But it will be seen that the contrary force of repulsion has also been at work and radiating from the centre by its inevitable law has made each one of them hollow. The internal cavity averages from one-half to three-fifths of the whole diameter of the sphere. 

CHAPTER  II.
______

THE  POLAR  ORIFICES  OF  THE  EARTH.

After many years of travel and adventure throughout the world, and having often meditated upon Arctic voyages since my early days, trying to find out, at least to my own satisfaction, why, time after time, they should prove such terrible disasters, I conclude that there are in the voyages of discovery in those regions, some causes of their failure that have not yet been explained. It seeming impossible from past experience, for man to overcome by his ingenuity or his bravery the obstacles to finding a Northwest passage round America, or to reaching the 90th degree of North latitude called the pole, I am suggested the task of jotting down some thoughts which may be of use to geographical science. These ideas, based upon authentic scraps of history, and observations made by me from the time I was a stripling until now, may prove to be something worthy of investigation.

I do not believe there is any use in future explorations to discover either a Northwest passage or the 90th degree of North or South latitude. I will endeavor to explain from my standpoint, which at present may seem to be ridiculous enough, my reasons for this opinion, though I well know them to be at variance with accepted theories; and having long since given up my rovings on the ocean, I have calmly considered here beyond the bustle and whirl of active life, the causes of certain effects bearing on this subject; and in order

10                                       THE  INNER  WORLD.                                      

to convey the workings of my mind in the most intelligent manner, I shall have to bring in matters which may not, at first, appear relevant.

We will first consider the unsuccessful attempts to gain the 90th degree of latitude, in which service so many brave and useful men have been lost, while others have suffered terrible privations from cold and hunger, besides the vast amount of loss in ships and their equipments in order to discover that which I positively declare does not exist. And I am about to explain the reason why. Although I may startle some with my theory, yet I humbly but positively assure mankind that this earth -- a hollow sphere -- has an opening at each pole of about one thousand miles in diameter to admit light and heat from the sun, to radiate throughout the inner world by direct, refracted and reflected rays, diurnally, annually and seasonably; that the inner world has everything necessary for the requirements of the animal and vegetable creation, that no material difference exists between that and the outer world except what may be caused by the surface of one being concave and the other convex; that rivers run and oceans roll, land and water existing there as here; atmosphere, also, with its attendant phenomena there, as here, comfort and sustain man and beast.

I am well aware that among the masses of intelligent men in this age, such an assertion as this will be looked upon by some as the effect of a disordered brain; but there are others who will view it in the same light that I do, viz. one of the many remarkable truths not yet demonstrated connected with this world on which we live. I do not declare this as a discovery; I write it as a theory, and will do all I can to make it plain, that my ideas may be understood by my fellow man, meanwhile asking forbearance in judgment until I have drawn upon my last resource for proof that such a wonderful and valuable truth can exist in this age unknown to men. It is not very long ago in its history that the world was considered to be an extended plain supported on something else as a table might do on the floor. * But a complete revolution took place when the wonderful discovery was made, or the theory promulgated, that this world instead of being flat and stationary with the sun and moon revolving around it and merely serving the purpose of lighting it by day and night as attendants, was in reality a globe and of itself revolved through space with even regularity around the sun and also rotated on its own axis. We know how the theory was attacked by the learned

* Upon this principle Mercator drew his charts for navigating the world. Man's understanding of the shape of the Earth was very limited even five hundred years ago. Indeed, in my young seafaring days I was compelled to work with Mercator's charts, and learned the art of navigation by Gunter's scale upon the extended plain principle.
 

                          THE  POLAR  ORIFICES  OF  THE  EARTH.                         11

men of the day; in fact, all men knew it to be false, and the theorist came near paying for his temerity with his life. The inquisitors compelled him to recant; yet he secretly added, "The world does move for all that." So I, constrained by public opinion may be driven for a moment to admit that the earth is solid, but I shall probably cling to the mental reservation that "the globe is hollow for all that." Galileo's experience was not by any means an unusual thing in that age. The man who dared to know more than his fellows fared hard, and although by research he may have proven his theories to be true, the proof was not generally found out until after his execution. But we can well understand to-day that the earth is a globe and does rotate; it has repeatedly been demonstrated beyond the possibility of a doubt, and if a man should now advance the extended plain principle he would be looked upon as a lunatic. Having accepted this truth because it had been proven, how could man be reconciled at a later date to the wonderful discovery that it was flattened at the poles? The apparent flattening at the poles as shown in the shadow of the earth on the moon is due to the openings into the interior of the earth, and it is curious enough that no learned man has been able to draw upon his imagination for such a conception. We have all read that accident has led to the discovery of many remarkable truths -- such as the law of gravitation through an apple falling from a tree. A trivial occurrence would set a man thinking until he was led to a theory perhaps at the time difficult to believe, but later it would be demonstrated and afterwards accepted by all mankind as the truth.

In the case of this, my theory, I have no chance to prove it to be true, unless, in the future, man succeeds in penetrating beyond the icy barrier of the North into a more congenial climate -- not further North but more into the interior of the earth, through the opening, than Capt. Hall or any other explorers have reached. I read with great interest the reports of late explorations to the North, and thirst for knowledge of the personal experiences of those who have gone farthest; not that I would advise any one to risk his life and happiness in that most uninviting clime; my belief is that no man will be able to plant the standard of his country on any land in that region worth one dime to himself or any one else at present, because, as I proceed, I am more than ever convinced that the time is not yet come when the great secrets of the ice-bound regions of the North or South shall be unlocked.

Regarding the Aurora Borealis, I contend it is the sun's rays shining, on a placid interior ocean and reflecting upon the outer atmosphere. It is seen far North because the observer is very near to the orifice through which it comes. The "Merry Dancers," seen

12                                       THE  INNER  WORLD.                                      

outside of the frigid zone, is the reflection of the Aurora Borealis on the atmosphere of the temperate zone. I have seen the reflection of the Aurora from the hills of Scotland, the Orkneys and Hudson's Bay, but have never seen the arc of the Aurora because I have not been far enough North; but the reflection can be seen far in the temperate zone. Now when intelligence of a most unusual and wonderful nature comes rushing to my mind, the Aurora seems to be nothing extraordinary; indeed, it would seem more remarkable if there were no light, because then my theory would not have this important witness to support it. I maintain that the position of the earth during the Arctic winter (when all is dark there but for this reflected light) admits the direct rays of the sun through the Southern orifice, and his direct, refracted, and reflected light shines through the Northern orifice, and reflected on the atmosphere of the Arctic zone presents the arc of light described. And now in reference to my idea that Capt. Hall, by gaining the latitude he did, approached if, indeed, he did not enter the great gateway leading to the inner world. In describing, as well as he could, his surroundings, and turning back, as he did, when everything was in his favor for prosecuting his journey North, -- for which purpose he was commissioned with a well victualled ship and a healthy crew, who gave no evidence of having suffered much compared with others who had been nearly as far but met with greater mishaps, -- might cause some of the much interested men of the world to think he was a coward. Yet I do not think so by any means, and will try to explain my reason, and in so doing add support to my theory. When Capt. Hall had proceeded in a Northerly direction beyond the eighty-second degree of North latitude, he was surrounded with a circle of circumstances which he could not understand. and in such a position I can defy the bravest man who ever lived to overcome the desire to return to that security with which he was acquainted rather than remain in a position beyond his comprehension. I will here describe what he and his companions realized in the shape, position and geographical delineation of their surroundings. If they were on the water, their horizon would appear so near when looking forward or back, Northward or Southward, that it would consist of the slight ripples of water in their immediate vicinity; while on looking Eastward or Westward there would be no horizon, but objects would appear as far as the range of vision could extend. Their boats, if they were in boats, or ship, if they were in their ship, would appear to be at the top of a ridge upon the water, as if they were riding across the crest of a gigantic wave. Their instruments, adapted for use on the exterior of the globe, would become unintelligible, and fear would take possession of the bravest men under such circumstances.

                          THE  POLAR  ORIFICES  OF  THE  EARTH.                         13

Therefore, I place no blame, or brand of cowardice, upon a fellow man under such conditions. But it appears that Capt. Hall himself declared afterwards that had he studied the rejected theory of Capt. Symmes, (hereafter given) he would have pursued his journey, being then only six hundred miles from the place described by him as the entrance to the unknown world. While if proceeding North by land there would not appear to one's sense of equilibrium any material difference to that in the temperate zone, the gravity might slightly exceed, but not sensibly, that of the latitude of Canada. The hills and mountains or plains and valleys would not be likely to cause any astonishment to the traveller, although objects North or South would be likely to abruptly terminate, while those East and West would, as on the water, vanish in the level distance. Continuing, however, on this line of travel, the climate would sensibly change. Having entered the orifice, and travelling on a concave surface, the heat would increase rapidly and vegetation luxuriantly abound. The habitations of an ancient race of humans would soon appear, and on the ocean their shipping would soon be seen to dot the surface. Had Capt. Symmes' theory been investigated, I have no doubt that, ere this date, some proof would have been found to substantiate his idea; but it did not comprehend an inner world, -- merely a basin heated and warmed by the refracted rays of the sun, where fruits and flowers grow and herds of animals recuperate from the effects upon their system of a sojourn for a time in the Arctic regions.

My theory extends beyond the basin, as one proof of which I offer the Aurora Borealis, and in describing the cause of this important witness I also describe measurably the geographical delineation of the inner world. I say "there rivers run," consequently there oceans roll; one cannot exist without the other. The ocean rivers distribute for the benefit of all animal and vegetable life, within and without the globe, the necessary changes of climate for vegetation, and they are ever caused in their action by the daily rotation of the earth, the heated waters of the tropics being distributed by that motion to the frigid circles, and as a steam heater returning and mixing the warm and cold, producing storms and waterspouts, whose moisture, being driven by the winds over all the lands, supply the earth with rains, &c. The diurnal rotation causing ocean streams on the inner as well as the outer world enables every part to receive in its turn the genial warmth and light from the sun direct refracted and reflected, and distributed by the motion of the earth, to every position, with no exception beyond that needed for seasonable relaxation. Thus, in the inner world. the days and nights, seed time and harvest, summer and winter, occur. I maintain that the crust of the earth is

14                                       THE  INNER  WORLD.                                      

about one thousand miles in thickness, thus leaving six thousand miles diameter at the interior equator, which would cause the sky overhead to be as clear as ours, as the opposite side or antipodes cannot be seen any more than we can see ours. The atmosphere is the same as our own; is, indeed, a part of it. The openings are about one thousand miles across, admitting light and heat from the sun in due season. These large orifices produce the flattened appearance which the shadow of the earth upon the moon during, an eclipse presents to the observer, and which has caused so many contradictory ideas to be promulgated: and I call upon this appearance of the earth's shape as another important witness to substantiate my theory. 

CHAPTER  III.

THE  ALLEGED  NORTH-WEST  PASSAGE  AND  SYMMES'  HOLE.

I further maintain that there is no water passage to the inner world on the North of America, the evidence of Arctic history notwithstanding. That this is true, I shall endeavor to prove by explaining the natural and only cause of the Gulf Stream, an ocean river well known to mariners on the Atlantic; and while giving this explanation, it will of course be understood that the same cause produces the same effect the world over, so that in explaining the Gulf Stream all other ocean rivers can be included, their whirls and courses and counter-courses, which, as far as I have read or heard, have never yet been satisfactorily accounted for.

The vast ocean river of which the Gulf Stream forms a part, rounds the Cape of Good Hope. Africa, and is there called the "Torrid Stream." Arriving at Cape St. Roque, South America, it passes along the coast in a Northwesterly course, partly entering the Gulf of Mexico. In its endeavor to find an outlet to the west, it wells up the waters in the Bay of Campeachy 61 ft. 5 in. above the average ocean level by its immense pressure. It forces its way out again through the Straits of Florida, carrying with it the scourings of the ocean, and pursuing its northward course, in endeavoring to pass to the westward, it again wells up 100 ft. high off the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Forced by such irresistible pressure it proceeds in an easterly direction, washing the shores of France, Great Britain

          THE  ALLEGED  NORTH-WEST  PASSAGE  AND  SYMMES'  HOLE.         15

and even Iceland, entering the Arctic regions. Having lost its easterly momentum, it again proceeds in a westerly direction and passes southward through Baffin's Bay and Davis' Straits as the "Arctic Current," washing the Eastern shores of North America, side by side with the Gulf Stream fresh and warm from the tropical regions, the difference in temperature between points in the two streams not over one hundred yards apart being as much as 35 deg. Fahrenheit. The Gulf Stream takes its name from the fact that it proceeds from the Gulf of Mexico, carrying with it the scourings and flotsam of the ocean and depositing its jetsam, previous to its Eastward journey, on the banks of Newfoundland. Now it occurs to me as reasonable that if a water passage ever so small existed on the North of America, the great and powerful force exerted by this river trying to find an outlet to the westward on the North, would pass that way. But no such thing has yet been demonstrated. If a North-west passage existed, it would have been easy enough to have found it, for there would have been no ice to hinder navigation -- the warm Gulf Stream would always have melted it.

The westward bound equatorial current is parted at Cape St. Roque, and the Southern part finds a passage around Cape Horn, between it and Trinity Land, where, again, the counter currents compel the cold waters of the Antarctic circle to meet the equatorial current, causing the tempestuous weather. This immense force is caused by the diurnal rotation of the earth. it moving in an Easterly direction at the rate of more than one thousand miles per hour at the equator, (as this globe rotates upon its own axis once in every twenty-four hours and its circumference is more than twenty-four thousand miles.) It might be considered that all the surface would rotate with the same velocity, but it is not so. The firm and solid earth meets the mobile ocean waters and separates them, similarly to a vessel [steaming] through them With this difference, however; the waters cannot pass under the land and thereby escape the pressure, there is no escape except around the land, therefore the waters of the South Atlantic ocean find a passage to the westward around Cape Horn, the Southern extremity of America, while the Northern portion of the vast equatorial river takes the route already explained. This to me seems positive proof that no water channel exists North of America and therefore is my theory of the non-existence of a North-west passage. Consequently, the journey, when it is made, will have to be made on land which extends southward to the Antarctic circle with only exception enough to produce the needed distributing ocean tides -- that where our land is their oceans roll, and vice versa. The law of gravitation. there as here, is in the focus of the material of which the earth is composed, consequently,

16                                       THE  INNER  WORLD.                                      

a man's weight would be about the same on the concave as on the convex surface, the centre of gravity being in the globular centre of the mass forming the globe, and, of course, abiding by the law that every particle of matter is attracted towards every other particle according to its density. Therefore, to its mass centre -- not towards its geometric centre -- the earth attracts with a certain force, which we call gravity or weight, all objects within its influence according to their density, no matter which surface they be upon. Thus, man is not so dense as his size in gold, hence he does not receive so much attraction, but whether he be upon the convex or concave surface of the earth, or be passing from the one to the other, the same unfailing law holds and enables him to maintain his equilibrium. This fact once understood, it will not be difficult for the reader to realize that the atmosphere on the interior of the earth would seek the surface of the ]and, exactly as on the exterior, increasing in density as it approaches the earth and becoming attenuated towards the centre, where, for a distance, thousands of miles across, there exists a void as absolute as that of the interplanetary spaces.

In a little journal published in this city by Mr. J. H. Parry, I find the following, translated from the Revuex des Deux Monde, my reasons for giving it herewith being that it contains suggestive material relating to my theory and is the nearest approach to an exposition of the idea that has, until now, been presented to the world:

LE TROU DE SYMMES.

"The strange disorder which has reigned during the last few years in the atmospheric conditions of all countries, the changes of climate, the inundations, the terrible storms, as well as the appearance of several comets, has attracted the attention of the savants. A general appeal to the discussion of all these phenomena has led to the examination of several theories now almost forgotten, some of which were treated with contempt at the time of their appearance, after having been the subjects of lively dispute among scientific men, are again to-day replaced upon the tapis.

"Among those theories which have agitated the scientific world during a brief period, and which up to the present time has been considered the most whimsical of all, is one which to-day is adjudged worthy of being more profoundly examined; for in the ideas which sometimes appear the most eccentric are often found the germs of the grandest discoveries.

"The 'theorie de Symmes' and the 'grand bassin de Symmes' has furnished for more than half a century an inexhaustible theme of pleasantry to all those students who have given their earnest attention
 

          THE  ALLEGED  NORTH-WEST  PASSAGE  AND  SYMMES'  HOLE.         17

to the known laws which govern the movement of the globe. "Symmes, in the year 1824, had the boldness to present himself before Congress at Washington for the purpose of obtaining aid and succor for his project of passing over the barrier of ice which encircles the hitherto known extremity of the globe, into the unknown world which exists beyond.

"Among the greater part of legislative assemblies, generally but little interested in the consideration of scientific subjects, it is not astonishing that the scheme of Symmes was treated as an aberration of a 'savant in delirium,' and for a long time the 'Open Hole of Symmes' had become a popular expression for indicating an audacious fabrication. But behold to-day our savants are disposed to examine this strange theory with more indulgence, and they now begin to talk of the 'Hougate plan,' founded upon the ideas of Symmes in 1824, as being at least possible, although difficult of execution.

"The conviction of the existence of an unknown world to mankind towards the pole was founded according to Symmes upon well attested proofs, similar to those furnished to Christopher Columbus by the fruits and roots thrown by the waves upon the coast of Spain after a storm. Symmes based his evidence upon proofs given, not by inanimate nature, but by nature animate and living, the instinct of animals, which cannot mislead, which cannot be false.

"Now, it appeared certain that an immense migration took place in the Autumn of each year among herds of bisons and reindeer, of white bears and foxes, as also game of all sorts, such as hares and rabbits, which moved in bands from the 'South to the North,' disappearing above the fields of ice which environ the pole, and reappearing again in the Spring among the Esquimau, well fed and in good condition; the females accompanied with their young born during this migration, and the males large and fat.

"The question naturally arose among the savants -- Where had these animals passed the winter? Where is the mysterious country which has sheltered them?

"The reasoning of Symmes was then clear and natural. If these numberless herds found the road to a climate more mild than these glacial plains that we only know, if they found a means of passing beyond, might it not be possible for mankind to follow them? Symmes' idea was then to organize an expedition to follow, by halting places, the track of these animals, pass the first winter in the degrees 81 and 82 were they might await during a second winter the passage of these herds: that then they follow to one degree farther North, and thus acclimated finish in marching a' la suite of these infallible guides by passing over to the pole, and discovering the unknown land which these quadrupeds seek.
 

18                                       THE  INNER  WORLD.                                      

"A generation has disappeared since Svmmes, with a hardihood and perseverance seldom surpassed, sought to have his theory accepted by l' Academie Francaise, who declared that it could not be regarded as serious, and not even considered worthy of an official report; and now to-day a certain M. Hougate reproduces the idea of this same expedition, to the research of the same scheme which had been the dream of poor Symmes, and submits his project to the consideration of our savants.

"It is fair to say that the subject presents itself as a question of good faith and national perspicacity.

"Commander Nares, charged by the British government with their last Arctic expedition, has formally denied that the temperature grew milder according as he advanced toward the North, while the experiences made by Kane and Hall, American commanders, prove entirely to the contrary. The English Capt. Ross reports equally the encounter of warm winds coming from the North, and Parry recounts in the history of his third voyage, that not only was he soothed by the breezes of springtime but that the temperature became so mild that the heat of the sun caused the pitch to flow out of the seams of his vessel, and that clouds of small flies flew aboard, while the ice became so thawed that it could not be walked over.

"It was not until the return to his native land that Captain Hall became acquainted with the theory of Symmes, and he has always maintained that if he had made it a study before he undertook his voyage he would have certainly pushed his way until he had reached the pole, since he was not more than 600 miles from the place described by Symmes as the commencing point of the New Land, and where should be found the famous polar opening, known by the name of Symmes' Hole, giving entrance to a vast plain at the interior of the globe, lighted and warmed by the refraction of the sun's rays.

"There, are sheltered the herds during the meridional winter; there thrive the flowers and fruits unknown. One there may encounter creatures of form and habits different from ours, and perhaps even a human race contrasting in every point with those which exist upon the surface of the earth. The existence of these two basins at the poles caused (following Symmes) by the planetary nature of the globe, has seized upon the imagination of some scientific men, and if they do not give entire faith to his system, at least they do not laugh at this theory which is now already progressing."

          THEOLOGICAL   EVIDENCES   OF   AN   INNER   WORLD.         19

CHAPTER  IV.
______

THEOLOGICAL  EVIDENCES  OF  AN   INNER  WORLD.

I believe that our knowledge of the world and the powers found in it, is unfolded by the Father only for the carrying out of his purposes, not for the glory of man, but to develop the great principles of eternal truth as He, in his wisdom, sees fit from time to time to allow. If all that He has permitted to become known in what we term the sciences, within the last one hundred years, was to have been conveyed to man's mind at once, or in a much shorter period than it has been, it would have produced confusion equal to that of tongues at the Tower of Babel. Now let us, after reviewing the sense of his modern communications to man, -- though they are generally termed anything but what they really are, viz: revelations in the form of greater intelligence beaming upon man's darkened mind through the kindness of his maker; let us, I say, take into consideration the causes of certain effects, and we shall find the past and present more connected than we have given them credit for. We have been in the habit of referring to "the dark ages." Why have they been the dark ages? What history we have of the past assists us to find out the causes of the present, and indicates that light and intelligence which has been given to man in these latter days, is but a glimmer of that which is to come; and those who receive that light, more or less according to circumstances, only participate in the fulness of intelligence which is in the Father, from whom all intelligence is derived. Man is too prone to make the assertion that he himself has discovered, invented and is the absolute proprietor of this or that portion of intelligence, when in reality he is only the instrument chosen by the Father to convey those ideas to his fellow man. That steam, the vapor of boiling water, contains a power not only useful to man but also necessary to God, the proper time has now arrived when it should be made known to carry out his strange work; or that electricity, being fitted to convey human thoughts with instantaneous rapidity to the farthest portion of the earth is now given to us, is that we may realize the marvelous power by which He can hear our cry when humbly directed to him and by which He can as instantaneously answer our petition. In illustration, let me here give an instance from my own experience: In December, 1857, while driving before a heavy gale and thick fog

20                                       THE  INNER  WORLD.                                      

in the Mediterranean Sea towards Gibraltar, and when all hands were in despair, believing the ship was running on a lee shore, I, being an Elder ordained by Authority from God and considering I had authority so to do, asked the Lord to cause the clouds to separate that we might see a certain point of land on the Morocco shore called "Apes Hill;" and although the tempest was raging furiously, a lane was cut through the clouds in an instant, and all hands having plainly seen what I asked for, the clouds closed again immediately. This was a remarkable instance of instantaneous answer to prayer.

But the purport of this work is not so much to chronicle the wonderful works of the Father in the writer's interest, and to which he can, therefore, testify, as to show the past wisdom of the Father in preparing a suitable world to carry out the plan known to him from the creation of the planet. The writer of this work does not by any means consider himself its author, for it is given to him in a strange manner to understand that which had never dawned upon his mind before he started writing, and in a way mysterious to him, information aiding him to write this work, appears from time to time, here a little and there a little.

I will now review Mr. Symmes' theory, and while in justice accepting it in part, yet will endeavor to use his idea to simplify and prove this subject, hoping it will be accepted by my readers as additional proof of the causes which produce the effects herein stated.

If man would be guided by the revelations of the Father, given from time to time, he would be better able to penetrate to the congenial climes of the "Land of the North" than the dumb brute, but his aim is, apparently, without exception, to rely on himself, his antecedents and his conjectures, not seeking the wisdom and intelligence of the Father to guide him, hence his many sad failures to accomplish anything but what he apparently stumbles upon.

The idea of Mr. Symmes has so far been a failure to discover that unknown land, and his earnestness, and desperation, as it were, to instill into the minds of men taught in the same school, the truths which he partly received, led him to the idea of following the instinct of the brute creation to discover that which the Father has until now, hidden from man. Some make a distinction between scientific and theological facts. In the mind of the writer there is no difference. Scientific theories are theories still, but scientific truths and theological truths are the same forever; there is no difference. The idea that has prevailed to a great extent is that the whole of the tribes of Israel have been mixed up with the inhabitants of the world through divisions in the house of Israel, victories of enemies, slavery and other causes. that they do not exist to-day as a separate

          THEOLOGICAL   EVIDENCES   OF   AN   INNER   WORLD.         21

and distinct people. Yet if we take the trouble to examine, if we feel any interest in the subject, we shall find that even the tribe of Judah, a type of all the rest, are very particular in preserving their genealogy and do not sanction the mixing up with the inhabitants outside of their house. Although it may be permitted, yet it is under a heavy penalty, and the whole house of Israel is as exact in carrying out this principle as it ever was, excepting only those who have departed from the law of the Lord, or, in other words, apostatized. Can we, then, consider that a mighty host, the majority of that house which the Father has taken under his especial care and supervision, the purest seed of the forever blessed house of Israel, are to-day lost sight of and so divided up that he cannot find them? No such thing. There is not to-day a pure and uncontaminated drop of the blood of Ephraim, although ever so completely mixed among the nations of the earth, but it is under his especial care, because the house of Israel are the children of his love and Ephraim, his first born. The Ten Tribes of Israel are lost to the world, but not to the Father. About two thousand seven hundred years since, they went to the land of the North, a mighty host, according to the prophet Esdras; they were believers in and practicers of polygamy, a very fruitful means of increase; they have been there all this time, and have not had to contend with man-made laws opposite to the fundamental laws of life and truth given by the Creator himself. We have no figures to number from nearer than a mighty host, so cannot give any idea what may be their numbers now, but will repeat the word of the Lord given through his prophet, Joseph Smith, and recorded in the appendix of the Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which give some idea of the increase of this mighty host, and by that we shall find they are not now, nor ever have been, deserted by the Father. This word, given in these latter days, taken from the "Doctrine and Covenants," Appendix, Section 133, from the 26th to the 35th verse, inclusive, reads as follows:

"And they who are in the north countries shall come in remembrance before the Lord, and their prophets shall hear his voice, and shall no longer stay themselves, and they shall smite the rocks, and the ice shall flow down at their presence.

"And an highway shall be cast up in the midst of the great deep.

"Their enemies shall become a prey unto them.

"And in the barren deserts there shall come forth pools of living water; and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty land.

"And they shall bring forth their rich treasures unto the children of Ephraim my servants.
 

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"And the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at their presence.

"And then shall they fall down and be crowned with glory, even in Zion, by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim;

"And they shall be filled with songs of everlasting joy.

"Behold, this is the blessing of the everlasting God upon the tribes of Israel, and the richer blessing upon the head of Ephraim and his fellows.

"And they also of the tribe of Judah, after their pain, shall be sanctified in holiness before the Lord to dwell in his presence, day and night, for ever and ever."

How linked are the prophecies of Esdras and Joseph concerning this unnumbered people! Terrible will their presence be, even so much so that the boundaries of the everlasting hills will tremble at their coming because of their immense multitude and the power of God in their midst. "They shall bring forth their rich treasures." What will these consist of? And this immense multitude "will fall down." What for? To be crowned with glory in the temples of God, built by the children of Ephraim to fulfill the purposes of God in the latter days. A more accurate description of the events which have not yet taken, but soon will take place, cannot well be given. Not only does that prophecy declare who the people are, where they will come from and where they will come to, but for what purpose. They will come from the land of the North, Esdras and Joseph say, after dwelling in that land and increasing twenty-seven hundred years.


"The next question that presents itself is, to what portion of the land of Assyria were the Israelitish captives taken. Scripture has not left us in the dark on this point. Both the book of Chronicles (I. Chron. v, 26) and the book of Kings (II. Kings, xxvii. 6) give us the needed information. In the latter book it is stated (and the statement in the book of Chronicles is almost identical therewith) that the king of Assyria 'carried Israel away captive into Assyria and placed them in Halah, and in Harbor, by the river of Gozan and in the cities of the Medes.'

"Media, the land of the Medes, lay to the north of Assyria proper, embracing the country lying on the southern border of the Caspian Sea, as far west as the River Araxes. The exact location of Halat and Harbor, has long since been lost sight of, and the only river that, to-day, in name, bears any affinity to the Gozan, is the Kuza Ozan, which empties into the Caspian Sea to the southeast of the Araxes.

"Having traced the Ten Tribes to Media, the next question is
 

          THEOLOGICAL   EVIDENCES   OF   AN   INNER   WORLD.         23

what has become of them, for they are not to be found in that land to-day. Many attempts have, at various times, been made to discover the Ten Tribes of Israel as a distinct community, but all have failed, Josephus (Antiquities xi) believed that in his day they dwelt in large multitudes somewhere beyond the Euphrates, in Asareth, but Asareth was an unknown land to him. Rabbinical traditions and fables, committed to writing in the middle ages, assert the same fact, with many wonderful amplifications. The imaginations of certain Christian writers have sought them in the neighborhood of their last recorded habitation. Jewish features have been traced in the Afghan tribes; rumors are heard occasionally of Jewish colonies in China, Thibet and Hindostan (the Beni-Israel), while the Black Jews, of Malabar, claim affinity with Israel. But none of these people would, in any but the slightest degree, fill the place accorded in the prophecies to Ephraim and his fellows.

"The fact that James the Apostle opens his epistle with the following words, has been adduced as an argument that the condition of the Ten tribes was known to the early Christians: 'James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are scattered abroad, greeting.' But it would rather convey the idea to our mind that the epistle was addressed to those of the house of Israel and Judah, who, for the various reasons before cited, and which by that time had multiplied, had wandered into Egypt, Greece, Rome and other parts of the earth, and not to those whom God had hidden to fulfil more completely His promises to the Patriarchs.

"We have before stated that the Latter-day Saints believe that the Ten Tribes still exist, and that their home is in the far north. That they still exist is absolutely necessary to fulfill the unfailing promises of Jehovah to Israel, and to all mankind. The presence of the remnants of Judah, in every land to-day, is an uncontrovertable testimony that the covenant made with Abraham has not been abrogated or annulled. The vitality of the Jewish race is proverbial, and can we reasonably expect that when one branch of a tree shows such native strength, that the other branches will not be proportionately vital? Is it not more consistent to believe that, as the Jewish race under the curse of the Almighty and suffering centuries of persecution, still survives, so is it with the rest of Jacob's seed, rather than that they, years ago, were blotted out of national existence?

"The belief that the Latter-day Saints hold that these tribes are residents of the northern regions of the earth, is sustained by a cloud of scriptural witnesses of ancient and modern days, to whom we now appeal. Our first witness shall be the Prophet Jeremiah.
 

24                                       THE  INNER  WORLD.                                      

In the third chapter of his prophecies we find the Lord rebuking both Israel and Judah for their treachery and backsliding, yet still proclaiming His long-suffering and mercy to His covenant people He then gives command to the Prophet, saying:

"Go and proclaim these words towards the north, and say, return thou, backsliding Israel, saith the Lord, and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you; for I am merciful saith the Lord and I will not keep anger forever * * * In those days (the latter days) the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall came together out of the land of the north to this land that I have given for an inheritance to your fathers."

"Again, in speaking of the mighty works accompanying the final glorious restoration of the house of Jacob, the same Prophet declares:

"Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, the Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, but the Lord liveth which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them, and they shall dwell in their own land" (Jeremiah xxiii).

"Again it is written (Jeremiah xxxi): "For thus saith the Lord, Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations; publish ye, praise ye, and say, O, Lord save thy people, the remnant of Israel. Behold I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the coasts of the earth. * * * I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first born."

"We will turn a moment from the Asiatic to the American continent. There we find Ether, the Jaredite, about 600 years B. C., prophesying of the latter days: 'And then also cometh the Jerusalem of old; and the inhabitants thereof, blessed are they, for they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who were scattered and gathered in from the four quarters of the earth, and from the north countries, and are partakers of the fulfilling of the covenant which God made with their father Abraham.'

"But the most definite word on this subject, given by any of the ancient writers of the Asiatic continent, is contained in Esdras, a book of the Apocrypha (II Esdras xiii). Therein is given a dream and its interpretation, showing forth the works and power of the Son of God. It is to Him and His gathering of the people together that the Prophet refers. The verses more particularly bearing on our subject read as follows:

39. "And whereas thou sawest that He gathered another peaceable people unto Him,

40. "Those are the Ten Tribes which were carried away captives out of their own land in the time of Oseas the king, whom
 

          THEOLOGICAL   EVIDENCES   OF   AN   INNER   WORLD.         25

Salmanaser, the king of the Assyrians, took captive, and crossed them beyond the river; so were they brought into another land.

4I. "But they took this counsel to themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the heathen, and go forth unto a further country where never man dwelt.

42. "That they might there keep their statutes, which they never kept in their own land.

43. "And they entered in at the narrow passage of the River Euphrates.

44. "For the Most High then showed them signs, and stayed the springs of the flood till they passed over.

45. "For through the county there was great journey, even of a year and a half, and the same region is called Arsareth (or Ararath).

46. "Then dwelt they there until the latter time, and when they come forth again

47. "The Most High shall hold still the springs of the river again, that they may go through; therefore sawest thou the multitude peaceable."

"The statements of Esdras throw considerable light upon the reasons why the captives in Media preferred not to return to their ancient home in Canaan; supposing always that the privilege had been accorded to them as well as to the captives of the house of Judah. In their home of promise they had seldom kept the counsels and commandments of God, and if they returned it was probable they would not do any better, especially as the Assyrians had filled their land with heathen colonists, whose influence would not assist them to carry out their new resolutions.

"Hence they determined to go to a country "where never man dwelt," that they might be free from all contaminating influences. That country could only be found in the north. Southern Asia was already the seat of a comparatively ancient civilization. Egypt flourished in Northern Africa, and Southern Europe was rapidly filling with the future rulers of the world. They had, therefore, no choice but to turn their faces northward. The first portion of their journey was not however north; according to the account of Esdras, they appeared to have at first moved in the direction of their old homes, and it is possible that they originally started with the intention of returning thereto, or probably in order to deceive the Assyrians they started as if to return to Canaan, and when they had crossed the Euphrates, and were out of danger from the hosts of the Medes and Persians, then they turned their journeying feet toward the polar star. Esdras states that they entered in at the narrow passage of the river Euphrates, the Lord staying the "springs
 

26                                       THE  INNER  WORLD.                                      

of the flood" until they were passed over. The point on the River Euphrates at which they crossed would necessarily be in its upper portion, as lower down would be too far south for their purpose.

"The upper course of the Euphrates lies among lofty mountains and near the village of Pastash, it plunges through a gorge formed by precipices more than a thousand feet in height and so narrow that it is bridged at the top; it shortly afterwards enters the plains of Mesopotamia. How accurately this portion of the river answers the description of Esdras of the "narrows," where the Israelites crossed.

"From the Euphrates the wandering host could take but one course in their journey northward, and that was along the back or eastern shore of the Black Sea. All other roads were impassable to them, as the Caucasian range of mountains, with only two or three passes throughout its whole extent, ran as a lofty barrier from the Black to the Caspian Seas. To go east would take them back to Media, and a westward journey would carry them through Asia Minor to the coasts of the Mediterranean. Skirting along the Black Sea, they would pass the Caucasian range, cross the Kuban River; be prevented by the Sea of Azof from turning westward and would soon reach the present home of the Don Cossacks. It is asserted, on good authority, that along this route and for "an immense distance" northward, the country is full of tombs of great antiquity, the construction of which, the way in which the dead are buried therein, and the jewelry, curiosities, etc., found on opening them, prove that they were built by a people of similar habits to the Israelites. Dr. Clark, a well known traveler, states that he counted more than ninety such mounds at one view near the Kuban river.

"We will here digress, and give some of the ideas of a writer on the Israelitish origin of the nations of modern Europe (Mr. J. Wilson) though in our own words. He endeavors to prove that Israel traveled north-westward from the neighborhood last spoken of. and claims that the names of all the principal rivers, in the regions round about, show that colonists from the Holy Land gave them. The Jordan was distinctively the River of Canaan as the Nile was of Egypt. The word Jordan is by some claimed to mean flowing, by others the River of Eden. There was also the Dedan or Dan (et Leddan) flowing into it; which would lead to the supposition that the word Dan had some connection with Israelitish rivers not now understood. Suffice it, the exiles doubtless carried with them many hallowed recollections of their ancient river, which it was but natural they should seek to perpetuate as they journeyed farther and farther from its waters and from their long-cherished home. As a result we find in south-eastern Europe the Don, the Daniz or Donitz,
 

          THEOLOGICAL   EVIDENCES   OF   AN   INNER   WORLD.         27

the Daneiper and Daniester (now contracted to Dneiper and Dnester) and the Danube. The conclusions of the writer already referred to are that Israel gradually drifted westward to the region known to secular history as Moesia and Dacia, the one north and the other south of the Danube, and called by modern English speaking people, Roumania and Bulgaria. To further strengthen his theory he claims that Moesia means the land of Moses, and Dacia the land of David (after Israel's shepherd king), and that the people of the latter kingdom were called Davi. In this country dwelt also the Getae (a Latinized form of Gad) who some historians assert were the forefathers of the Goths, of whom we shall speak again hereafter. The historian Herodotus, in recounting the conquest of this people by Darius, states that the Getae "believed themselves to be immortal; and whenever one dies, they believe that he is removed to the presence of their god Zamoxis (Zalmoxis) * * * and they sincerely believe that there is no other deity." He also states that this god left them the institutions of their religion in books. Mr. Wilson directs attention to this idea of only one God, so different to the Pantheism of the surrounding peoples, and that of man's immortality as tending to prove the Israelitish origin of the Gatae, particularly as in analyzing the word Zalmoxis he finds it to be composed of Za, el, Moses. If his facts be correct, his conclusions are warranted, but of his facts we express no opinion.

"Having considered the cause that led the outcasts of Israel to determine to seek a home in a new and uninhabited land, we may be excused if we endeavor to follow them in fancy in their journey northward. We have no way of accurately estimating their numbers, but if the posterity of all those who were carried into captivity started on this perilous journey, they must have formed a mighty host. Necessarily they moved slowly. They were encumbered with the aged and infirm, the young and the helpless, with flocks and herds, and weighed down with provisions and household utensils. Roads had to be made, bridges built, and the course marked out and decided by their leaders. * Inasmuch as they had turned to the Lord and were seeking a new home wherein they could the better serve Him, they were doubtless guided by inspired leaders, who, by Urim and Thummim, or through dreams and visions, pointed out the paths ahead. Perhaps, as in the days of the deliverance from Egypt, a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night guided their footsteps; no matter the means, the end was accomplished, and slowly and gradually they neared the frozen regions of the Arctic zone. The distance in a direct line from the conjectured crossing of the Euphrates

* -- Jesus distinctly states to the Nephites, that these tribes were led "by the Father out of the land."
 

28                                       THE  INNER  WORLD.                                      

to the coasts of the Arctic Ocean, would be about 2,800; miles, or a seven months' journey, averaging fifteen miles a day. But according to Esdras, one year and a half was consumed in the journey, which is an evidence that they were encumbered with families and cattle, who could only travel slowly and for whom many resting places had to be found where they could recuperate. It is highly probable that, like modern Israel in its journey westward to the valleys of Ephraim, they planted temporary colonies by the way, where the weary rested, and crops were raised for future use.

"The length of the journey had its advantages as well as its drawbacks. The slow rate at which they traveled enabled them to become acclimatized to the rigors of the frigid zone. We must recollect that we are dealing with a people cradled in the burning sands of Egypt, and who, for many generations, had dwelt in one of the most balmy and genial climates on this globe. Their temporary sojourn in the bleaker regions near the Caspian Sea had partially prepared them for that which was to come, but it required time to give them the capability to endure the rigors of a northern climate, as they were, by ancestry and location, distinctively children of the sunny south.

"No doubt, as the hosts of Israel advanced, the change in the climate, the difference in the length of the days and nights, the altered appearance of the face of the country, and the newness, to them, of many of its animal and vegetable productions, struck them with amazement, perhaps with terror, causing some of the weak-kneed to falter and tarry by the way. These defections probably increased as the changes became more apparent and the toils of the journey grew more severe. But what must have been their sensations when they came in view, of the limitless Arctic Ocean, if the climatic conditions were the same as those which exist to-day; of which, however, there is perhaps some reason to doubt. No matter whether they drew nigh unto it in winter or in summer, the prospect must have been appalling to the bravest heart not sustained by the strongest and most undeviating faith in the promises of Jehovah. Supposing they reached the northern confines of the European continent in summer, they were in a land where the snow is almost perpetual,; and scarcely else but mosses grow. Before them was a troubled ocean of unknown width, every step they advanced took them further north into greater extremes of cold. Well might they question, if so little is here produced for the food of man and beast, how will it be yet further northward? Must we perish of hunger? If, on the other hand, they approached the frozen shores of this unexplored waste of waters in the gloom of the long night of an Arctic winter, with the intense cold freezing to their very blood, their feelings of dread must have been yet more intense. No wonder if
 

          THEOLOGICAL   EVIDENCES   OF   AN   INNER   WORLD.         29

some turned aside, declared they would go no further, and gradually wandered back through northern Europe to more congenial climes. Again it may be asked, how did this unnumbered host cross this frigid ocean to their present hiding place? On this point both history and revelation are silent. The Arctic Ocean was no narrow neck of the great waters like the Red Sea, with the mountains of the opposite shore full in view. No, it spread out before them eternally -- north, east and west, with no inviting shore in sight beyond. Yet despite all this, they did cross it; but how, we know not -- perhaps on the ice of winter, perhaps the Lord threw up a highway, or divided the waters as He did aforetime, that they passed through dry shod. But we must abide His time, when this and other secrets of their history shall be revealed.

"Since penning the foregoing ideas, we have been informed that certain ancient Scandinavian legends entirely agree with our theory. We understand that these legends state that the Ten Tribes, in their journey northward, erected at various points, on prominent mountain heights and such like, monuments or heaps of stones, so that if they determined to return they might have some guides on the road back to the Euphrates. These same traditions state that colonies of the very young and infirm, as well as of the wayward and rebellious, were left by the wayside, and from these colonies the fathers of the Norsemen sprang. These legends, in time became crystallized, and make their appearance as verities in the traditional histories of the nations of northern Europe.

"Esdras says that he was shown that they abode in this north country until the latter time, when they were to come forth again, a great multitude, to add to the glory of the Messiah's kingdom. This statement agrees with the word of modern revelation to which we now draw attention.

"Nearly half a century ago the Lord, through Joseph Smith, in speaking of the lost Ten Tribes, says: (Doc. and Cov., Revelation called the Appendix). "They who are in the north countries shall come in remembrance before the Lord, and their prophets shall hear His voice, and shall no longer stay themselves, and they shall smite the rocks and the ice shall flow down at their presence. And an highway shall be cast up in the midst of the great deep. * Their enemies shall become a prey unto them, and in the barren deserts there shall come forth pools of living water: and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty land. And they shall bring forth their rich treasures unto the children of Ephraim my servants. And the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at their presence.

* -- Query -- The Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans.
 

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And they shall fall down and be crowned with glory, even in Zion, by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim.

"It is very evident from the above quotation that Ephraim, or at least a large portion of that tribe, had at some period of his history, separated from the rest of the tribes of Israel, and at the time of this restitution was to dwell in a land far from the north country in which the residue were hidden. These tribes are to have the frozen barriers of the north melted, so that they shall flow down, then a highway is to be cast up for them, in the midst of the great deep, next they cross barren deserts and a thirsty land and eventually arrive with their rich treasures at the home of Ephraim, the first born of God of the house of Israel, to be crowned with glory at his hands.

"We must now draw the attention of our readers to certain extracts from the Book of Mormon, which show that at the time of our Savior's visit to this continent, Ephraim and the Ten Tribes dwelt neither on this land nor the land of Jerusalem. Jesus says: 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, I have other sheep which are not of this land nor in the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land, round about whither I have been to minister. But they of whom I speak have not as yet heard my voice, neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them; but I have received a commandment of the Father that 1 should go unto them and they shall be numbered among my sheep, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd, therefore I go to show myself unto them. And I command you that ye shall write these sayings, after I am gone, that if it be so that my people at Jerusalem, they who have seen me, and been with me in my ministry, do not ask the Father in my name that they may receive a knowledge of you by the Holy Ghost, and also of the other tribes that they know not of, that these sayings which ye shall write shall be kept, and shall be manifested unto the Gentiles, that through the fulness of the Gentiles the remnant of their seed who shall be scattered forth upon the face of the earth, because of their unbelief, may be brought to a knowledge of me their Redeemer. And then will I gather them in from the four quarters of the earth; and then will I fulfill the covenant which the Father hath made unto all the people of the house of Israel (III. Book of Nephi, chap. xvi.)

"The statement of Jesus above cited, that the Ten Tribes did not dwell in the land of Jerusalem neither in any parts of that land round about, effectually disposes of the theory of Josephus a others, that they dwelt near the river Euphrates. The reason why the Jews had lost sight of their brethren of the house of Israel, explained by Jesus, in the same chapters of the Book of Mormon as
 

          THEOLOGICAL   EVIDENCES   OF   AN   INNER   WORLD.         31

that from which the above quotation is taken. He states: 'The other tribes hath the Father separated from them (the Jews); and it is because of their iniquity that they knew not of them.'

"Some have imagined that it was unscriptural to look for Israel except in three places. The scattered Jews in all the world, the Lamanites on this continent, and the Ten Tribes in Azareth. But we claim that we have abundant reason from scripture to expect to find the seed of Joseph as well as that of Judah in every nation under heaven. The prophecies recorded in the Old Testament expressly state that Israel, especially Ephraim, was to be scattered among all people. How completely they were to be scattered is shown by the following prophecies:

"Hosea, (chapter xiii, verse 3) in rebuking Ephraim's idolatry in the name of the Lord, says:

"Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven by the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney."

"Amos (chapter ix, verses 8 and 9) states:

"Behold the eyes of the Lord are upon the sinful kingdom (of Israel), and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord. For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, vet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth."

"We are directly told that the Lord will bring His sons, (Ephraim still being His first-born) from afar and His daughters from the ends of the earth. It is further said that He will gather His Israel -- not from the north alone -- but from the north and from the south, from the east and from the west, and bring them to Zion; and that He (the Lord) will gather them from all countries (not America nor the Polar regions alone, but all countries) in which he had scattered them; among other places from the coasts of the earth. How apt a description is this last sentence of the lands from which the great bulk of modern Israel have been gathered. From the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, from the coasts of the North and Baltic Seas, they have come to Zion by tens of thousands."


The foregoing quotations (taken from Mr. George Reynolds' work "Are We of Israel,") having brought us to the confines of the present abode of the Ten Tribes of Israel, I will now proceed to give my own ideas on the matter. I feel that the guide which has carried me thus far will lead me to that pure land where they now dwell in peace, not the grave of hostile millions killed in war like the exterior surface of this earth nor amid the clash of contending religious opinions and political struggles, but where, in

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obedience to the laws of the Almighty, through his authorized servants, they can plant and eat the fruits thereof, can build and inhabit, with no nation to make war against them, no division of feeling, no political strife, no armies to maintain. Their lives, from infancy to old age, must be as in a heaven of peace. How different to the exterior earth, so full of violence and crime!

We will now take another view of this very remarkable people. Supposing they had been so far led by the Father as to reach the confines of the Polar Ocean, there to perish en masse from cold and hunger, there would be traces of them left even in their bones and other remains, showing to later generations that a terrific loss of life had taken place at some remote period in the past. True, the bones of many animals of gigantic size have been found scattered and imbedded in the soil of the Arctic deltas, and although the animals might have been used to assist this mighty host in its migration, yet the human remains have never been discovered. This, I think, will better account for the remains of tropical beasts being found on the lands bordering on the Arctic Ocean than the modern idea of a polar axial change.

We must take into consideration that those of whom we are writing were the chosen people of God. Here let us review history from its earliest date, to find out what led the Lord to bless, until the latest date of man's mortality, the tribes of Israel or his seed. From the beginning we find an occasional apostacy or turning away from God, the Father. Mankind, at an early day, departed from him and his laws of purity and love to destroy each other. We do not imagine, with the evolutionists, that in the first attempt of God to people the earth he developed a barbaric race, whom he would have gradually to refine upon through succeeding ages until man should reach his present perfection. On the contrary, the first generations of men were divinely instructed, God gave them pure laws from which succeeding generations departed until the earth was filled with violence; then, in mercy to future generations, He caused a flood to destroy them from the face of the earth, saving only eight souls with which again to replenish the world and subdue It; but, in a short time, man so repeated the abuse of His kindness that God sought to find some who had kept themselves in purity and righteousness. He found that Abraham had sought to follow His counsels and to keep His commandments and He made a promise unto him that he should be the Father of the faithful, that He would bless his posterity and that through him, and in no other channel, all the nations and families of the earth should be blessed or saved eternally from the effects of disobedience to His will, and be restored to Him, the Father. This promise was repeated to the generations

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of Abraham after him, and to Jacob, his grandson. In the blessing of Jacob to his children the promise was renewed and increased until there was no void in or even under the earth. As the dust of the earth or as the stars in heaven for multitudes should their seed increase, and the twelve sons of Jacob by his four wives, should stand at the head of the government upon the earth and control the everlasting destinies of the race of men for ever and ever. Can man imagine a more complete promise than that given by God to Israel and his seed forever, or is there any way in which man by his wisdom can find a place whereby he can be eternally saved except through this channel?

Yet Israel forgot God and turned from His statutes to worship idols, often murmuring, although He showed them many signs and wonders in their behalf. He raised up of their own seed a savior, in Moses, and through him brought them out of the bondage of Egypt where, under cruel taskmasters, they had pined and suffered. He fed them with manna from heaven, opened a passage for them through the Red sea, when their oppressors were endeavoring to regain their power over them, and to facilitate their journey in His service caused the river Jordan to divide while they passed over.

Can it, then, be conceived that when, in obedience to the solemn covenant they made with Him while in slavery in the district of Arsarath, when reduced to that poverty of mind and body that they could truly repent of their ingratitude and disobedience to him and He had accepted them again to his favor so much as to restore to them the holy things which they had been deprived for so long a time and when He had brought them to the confines of the Arctic ocean, He would leave them to perish? No, He led them through all difficulties into the place He had prepared for them in the days of Peleg, "when the earth was divided;" and even since then, a nation, raised in the belief and practice of polygamy, and who 2700 years ago were a mighty host, have been in the land of the North.

Oh, man, with all your worldly wisdom, with all your boasted intelligence, in this the Nineteenth century of the Christian era, with your wonderful advancement in the arts and sciences, with your genius, your apparent perfection of steam and electricity, and all the other inventions of this age! Can you find out God, or can you in contravention of his will ascend to heaven or discover his retreat? Can you imagine where he has sheltered the Ten Tribes of Israel? Can you even discover the least trace of them in the land of the North, whither they surely went? You are finite while He is infinite and beyond the bounds of his encircling will you cannot penetrate.

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We do not thus question in a spirit of egotism, for the writer can only go as far in this direction as the Lord will permit, and other men though they may boast of grandeur, wealth and power, can go no further. But will the ice bound secrets of the North ever be known to man? Yes, they will, when He reigns whose right it is to reign, and chooses, in His own time, to unlock the secret. In this connection, is it not exceedingly suggestive that while in every other research, be it scientific, philosophical or explorative, such singular progress has been made in the Nineteenth century; no such failure, disappointment and disaster has been met in any direction or in any pursuit as in the attempts to penetrate to the land of the North? But the world has many facilities for research and nothing has yet been able to withstand our capabilities. We may find out that which it is God's will to reveal, but when we seek, either through curiosity or hope of gain, to penetrate beyond His desires, depend upon it we shall fail in our attempts; and not until He so decrees will the ice bound regions of the North or South be opened for any purpose but to advance the eternal interests of the Almighty.

It is difficult to see why such reflections come to my mind, but I take courage in writing my thoughts because I read that Isaiah the prophet wrote: "Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder, for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid." And he has in this day chosen the weak things of the earth to confound the wisdom of the wise and mighty among men, and they will outshine in intelligence the prudent.

According to its history in the Bible the earth has undergone tremendous changes since its creation, one of which was the great division that took place in the days of Peleg; but the history of that mighty revolution is very meagre. Previous to that time it was land and water, but the land was in one place and the waters were together, but when this great division took place the land was broken into fragments and the waters rushed in and the earth was no longer one but divided into continents and islands, as we now find it, with the oceans rolling between. Portions of the land, on the exterior surface, sunk, and in the interior, opposite, it rose, so that where our land is their oceans roll, and where our waters are their dry land appears.

The earth is a rotating crust of uneven surface, open at the North and South, through which openings our sun shines by direct and refracted rays beyond their interior equatorial line and the light and heat thereof supplies the interior, the diurnal rotation causing every

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part to receive in its turn, the genial warmth and light. Thus they have their days and nights, their seed time and harvest, their summer and winter; and they have their sky overhead with its clouds, rain, waterspouts, thunder and lightning. The diameter of the interior is so great that the opposite side cannot be seen, being six thousand miles distant at the equator; our moon sheds her light likewise on them, and the Polar Star is always theirs. The thickness of the earth's crust is one thousand miles, making the diameter at their equator six thousand miles, and diminishing it to one thousand at either pole.

I maintain that there is no ship passage into the interior of the earth but that the openings are land, consequently the travel has been, and will be, on that element; and it will be the only one that will be used when the Lord's time shall come for the Ten Tribes of Israel to come forth again to the outside of the earth. I maintain that the interior of this globe has been inhabited by them for thousands of years, and that the word of the Lord through his prophets has been often directed to this people and recorded, but misinterpreted through the lack of His spirit and power.

They will come forth again when the Father sees fit they should, and they will come to the everlasting hills. We need not give a modern name nor draw attention to the latitude and longitude of the land to which they will come. There will not be any part of hill or valley, plain or seaboard left unoccupied. They will spread irresistibly through the land North, East, South and West. No Dominion of Canada nor United States can delay them. There will be few left to try. The boasted fifty-five millions of the United States will be but a drop in the bucket compared to the unnumbered millions of the Tribes of Israel. Then the proud and haughty that may be left in the land will cheerfully accept of a humility of which they never dreamed. These are some of the effects arising from the causes which the wicked are preparing for themselves.

The "bassin de Symmes" is a theory written by a reflecting mind, one who having observed effect strove assiduously to discover the cause. He labored with zeal to impress upon the minds of his fellow man an extraordinary theory for which there was no precedent. His observations may assist to call into life that interest in investigation that may tend to demonstrate this theory to be true and the place where the animals recuperate and fruits and flowers grow may yet prove Mr. Symmes to be correct. But he was learned in the schools of the world; his attainments were taught by his fellow man. He only thought and reasoned according to that intelligence, but his idea that the animals could go to a genial clime in the North to graze and bear their young was correct, for

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the Gulf Stream tells me positively I can walk from America clear through to the inner world.

I have read with much interest the voyage or rather the disaster of the "Jeanette," commanded by Lieut. De Long, of her advent in the icy regions, that she was securely detained from proceeding any further by the ice floe, drifting with it in a whirling direction to all points of the compass, round and round, never getting disentangled, but sinking from it, while the floe has, most likely, kept on its circuitous route ever since, regardless of the ship it lost. Now I reason like this, the ice floe moved in a circuitous direction without materially changing its locality (as proven by the reports) through being driven into the eddy caused by the earth's rotary power drawing the waters after it; and there being no channel through in a westerly direction, the waters whirl while following the motion of the earth. In support of this claim, the Gulf Stream is a powerful witness; therefore, if there is no passage by water around the North of America it stands to reason the passage must be made from here to the land of the North on the land.

The signs of the times, to an observant mind, show that the races of mankind, and even the earth itself, are fast making preparation for a struggle on a gigantic scale, such as never before was witnessed since history records. Such a state of things will naturally cause investigation by the savants of the day, and although there may be many conjectures as to the cause of the world-wide commotion, yet there will be, as there always has been, a certain class of men who know all about it, and that there is nothing very unusual, but on the contrary it can be easily explained. But the Father has decreed that His judgments will depopulate the earth to a great extent and that men whose minds are in the dark upon the causes of these effects would yet call upon the rocks and mountains to fall upon them, in the vain hope that such a course would succeed in hiding them from the judgments of an offended Father. We have had these things predicted for a long time and yet they have not been fulfilled, until now the very mercy He extends to us is construed to be a by-word by those who partake of its benefits. The spirit of God is the only light that will guide us in the present to the future with certainty. The wisdom of man is not to be depended upon. He may be in error, no matter how learned in the education of the world or how he may have studied to become foremost in intelligence; unless he seeks of the Father as advised by the Apostle James, (chap. I. verse 5) his mind is clouded with darkness. Then, if man receives of Him, his words are truth and when he speaks let the kings of the earth uncover their heads in silence, his intelligence is as far above the intelligence of man as the heavens are

          THEOLOGICAL   EVIDENCES   OF   AN   INNER   WORLD.         37

above the earth. Now, although the disposition of many learned men (in the world's schools) is good toward their fellows they are liable to mistakes. Not so with the man of God. To Him, then, it is fit we should look for information, to Him direct our enquiries. He has given many kind encouragements to us to enquire of Him, and there are many who believe that He is the same yesterday, today and forever, eternally and unchangeable. He can direct the mind of man to carry out His purposes, and there is no failure, the reliance on the Father for the light we need, is strength to the man of God. The denial of the infidel does not invalidate the truth, and although the world to-day is flooded with literature calculated to destroy man's belief in the ancient manuscripts translated and compiled in the collection called the Bible and dedicated to King James, yet by considering the contents of that book, and gathering from it the information contained therein, by the interpretation of the same spirit which evidently dictated its general meaning, we find it again and again asserting its right to divine inspiration without even allowing that the Christian world profess to believe it or that it is a record of the doings of God and man during the ages past. Notwithstanding the fact that our parents and preceptors have taught us to believe it implicitly, if we will reflect upon the history of the past, the occurrences of the present and prophecies of the future that are contained in its pages, we must concede that however much men may fight against it there are the connecting links of history and prophecy which we cannot sever, however much we try, and the writer believing in its divine inspiration, will call it in as an important witness to substantiate his claim to the truth of the theory. Now let us consider what that history has to do with it. It is well known to most intelligent men and women that the Apochrypha has been considered uncanonical or of doubtful origin, but why has not yet been explained to my satisfaction, unless it be that it is "the more precious parts" which have been "taken away." The Bible itself asserts that there are other books which we may consider to be as much the word of God as those which have been pronounced by inspired men canonical, and why should they be cast out or why should others be included in the collection without revelation from Heaven? The Apochrypha seems to be considered as second class matter, however, but I wish to refer to it and will call the attention of my readers to the remarks of some of the prophets mentioned therein as well as to the more canonical books, bearing in mind that the selection of canonical and rejection of uncanonical books of the Bible was attended to by those who made no pretension to inspiration. The only wonder about it is that they left so much good in the collection as they really did. However, it contains to-day some very precious truths both of history and prophecy, to some of which I wish to call your attention.

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CHAPTER  V.
______

JOSEPH  IN  EGYPT.

The story of Joseph in Egypt has been written many times, and published to the world, that all the people might read and learn concerning this branch of the house of Israel. Interesting as it is, and instructive, yet how many to-day seem to be ignorant of the great events which will transpire ere long according to the records which have been preserved. How few to-day realize the wonderful events predicted through this family and understand that, innumerable as the inhabitants of the earth seem to be, yet they are only two tribes out of twelve from the loins of Jacob the father, Joseph, son of the beloved Rachel, and Judah, fourth son of Leah, Jacob's first wife. The Almighty, creator of the earth, chose this family to fulfill his great designs. Thus only two of the sons of Jacob can be traced as the sires of the whole of the inhabitants of the earth, the Jews and the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh. Besides these there is the increase of idolators or pagans and the numbers of those who make no pretensions to worship of any kind, and may be properly termed an indiscriminate mass of humanity. These are in a measure mixed with the seed of Jacob, but cannot be classed with the house of Israel. Still, though so mixed as not to be perceptible to finite beings, yet to the infinite, unto whose all searching eye all things are perceptible, and of whom it is said that not a sparrow falleth to the ground without His knowledge. Therefore not a drop of the precious blood of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, of Israel, of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh can be spared, although this innumerable host descended from their loins, thus peopling the earth. But the eternal promises of God which have been made to them shall be fulfilled, even to the very last drop of blood which circulates in the veins of the human family. As in the case of Ephraim: who is mixed into all the nations of the earth; but the one of a family and two of a city spoken of by the Savior will shew by their obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ, who has been treasuring up that drop of blood. The honest in heart are the

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only ones who will obey the gospel in spirit and in truth, and although they may sin yet the inherent nobility of which they are composed will stand by them; though they may fall they will arise again and contend for the principles of truth, which they inherit. They may flounder for a time in the errors of the majority of mankind, yet such is the mercy and the justice of our Father, who has made a solemn covenant with his servants, that he would perform for them such and such things, that although they may err in heart, and also in understanding, yet He will not abandon them but will surely perform for them that which He has promised to their fathers. The Omniscient Father being able to see at the beginning of His creation that which would befall them to the end, could well make provision for their ultimate delivery, hence His attributes of mercy and justice can be dispensed to all mankind according to their deserts.

The story of Joseph is indeed an important as well as an interesting one. Because he was the son of his loved mother, Rachel, he came to be despised by his brethren, who worked upon him hardship. Let us consider the act of those early days and in this particular family. Could Joseph help being the son of his father's first love? Could Israel have avoided it in any way in his power? But such is the unreasonable power of jealousy that his brethren, without knowing the cause, subjected the younger brother to slavery. He was indeed the first born of his father Israel, because really his mother was his father's choice, and Joseph was her first son. But his father, being deceived by an idolater, and had passed upon him her sister Leah, who bore to Jacob six sons, while Rachel was only blessed with two. Children in those days were considered a blessing from the Lord, not as they are now in this wise and enlightened age by many an incumbrance in the household. Hence all devices, that can be employed without the law, are used to destroy the increase of life in order to gratify the lusts of the flesh. The so-called Christians contend that the world is too full of inhabitants already, and that increase was only permitted in former ages in order to people the world. I will not further digress and abuse the present state of things existing in many parts of the civilized world to-day, but consider the dreams of this loved and much abused youth.

He said, I dreamed a dream, hear, I pray thee, that which I have dreamed. For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo! my sheaf arose and also stood upright, and behold your sheaves stood around about and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said unto him: Shalt thou indeed reign over us, or shalt thou have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more

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for his dreams and for his words. And he dreamed yet another dream and told it to his brethren and said, Behold I have dreamed a dream more, and behold the sun and moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me, and he told it to his father and his brethren. And his father rebuked him and said unto him: What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him, but his father observed the saying.

The first dream which he describes was fulfilled in Egypt, when the Lord through his power had placed Joseph only second in command in all the land ruled over by the Pharaohs, and in the course of time and events his brethren bowed their sheaves of corn to his sheaf. But he dreamed another dream and the fulfillment of that has not yet arrived, when the sun and moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to him. This made his brethren envy him and even his father rebuked him, but yet he observed the saying.

The writer also observes that the time is near at hand when the fulfillment of that dream of Joseph will be made manifest in the advent of the Ten Tribes of Israel from the land of the North, whence they will come to the Temple of God erected by the seed of Ephraim to be crowned with glory by the laying on of the hands of the seed of Joseph. The unnumbered millions of the seed of Joseph, after an uninterrupted sojourn in the land where no others have dwelt, practicing his saving principle of polygamy for 2700 years, will come forth shortly from their concealment and will astonish the world, and vex the gentiles with a sore vexation. And while famine and bloodshed will depopulate the earth, they will arise and their advent will strike terror to evil doers.

In the second book of Maccabees, second chapter, there is some very interesting information relative to the prophet Jeremy or Jeremiah, showing the important part which he took in the exodus of the Ten Tribes of Israel from the outer world. It there shows that he gave direction as leader to the captives of Salmanezer concerning the fire from the Altar, that they were to take with them and keep it alive while in captivity. Meanwhile he was attending to the duty of removing the Altar of Incense, the Ark of the Covenant of remembrance and mercy, which God had made with the house o Israel, and the tabernacle of God which were in the Temple a Jerusalem, while his brethren were in captivity in Arsareth. He by command of the Almighty removed these holy things to a cave in Mount Nebo, where beforetime Moses was permitted to climb to see the heritage of God. During this time the captives being stripped of wealth and grandeur, driven from their possessions into a strange country, remembered the loving kindness of their God

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Transcriber's Comments

Frederick Culmer, Sr.
and the
Hollow Earth Theory