Monday, September 5, 2022

J.C. Brewster's Translation of the Kinderhook Plates

The following is the purported translation of the Kinderhook Plates by J. C. Brewster, founder of the Church of Christ (“Brewsterites”) (I have cleaned up a few typos in the original, like “devidied” just for ease of reading):

 

HISTORY OF THE ALTEWANIANS.

 

TRANSLATED BY J. C. BREWSTER, JULY, 1843.

 

I, Varamenta, the last of the Altewanians, make this record of my people and their forefathers.

 

In the beginning of time the Supreme fashioned the earth, and spread out the heavens; He placed the sun in the sky to give light, and the moon and the stars, that we might behold in them His majesty.

 

He placed men on the earth, with trees and plants, and living things. After this, when they were numerous and increased in wickedness, a flood came and swept them from the earth; yet one man was saved and escaped, his name was Manya. After this, the people spread over the earth in many countries, they were divided into many nations.

 

The descendants of Japheth spread over the north of Asia, and westward into Europe; and about 1520 years after the flood, a people or tribe called the Vanalians, came to the sea shore, where they built ships intending to sail southward to the Islands; but a violent storm arose from the earth which drove them upon the coast of this continent, near the mouth of a large river;† they ascended the river nad passed through several lakes, and at length reached the banks of the river Cedron;|| ten years and five months after they landed at the mouth of the river. Their number when they reached the Cedron, was seven hundred and sixteen, and they arrived in the year of the world 3286. They first settled 185 thalies south of this town; they called the place Empelo, the name of their first king, he reigned forty-four years. His son reign twenty-two years, when the people became divided into parties, and Vano with two thousand people proceeded south-ward to the river Addazar, and there continued to reign seventeen years, when he died and the people were again united under one government. Antalo being king, the number of the people being 8623; seventy-four years after their arrival they commenced a city in the plains, one hundred and sixty thalies east of this place; this city was called Tirena, and under Antalo became the capitol of the kingdom; this king reigned thirty one years; his son, Durano, reigned twenty-four years. The Altewanians at the end of this time numbered nearly 40,000. After Durano, Thensa reigned. His son, Magron, reigned after him twenty-seven years. The people at his death reigned after him twenty-seven years. The people at his death were very numerous and rich. The city of Tirena contained 16,000 souls. Peano was their next king; he reigned fifty years. After him the country was governed by a council of twenty men, until the year 206, when Amphilius was declared king. In the third year of his reign, a people from the South settled on the West side of the river Cedron. This people had been driven from their own country by wars, which had destroyed nearly the whole nation, and they called their settlement Algewa. In the sixth year of Amphilus, the Altewanians began to inhabit the shorts of lake Uriel*, where they obtained minerals in great abundance. The number of the people was at this time, said to exceed 500,000. Their principal towns were Tirena, the capitol twelve leagues East from this place, with 30,000 inhabitants; Dionus, on the river Arbus, containing 25,000 inhabitants; Empelo, on the Cedron, with 18,000 inhabitantsbesides many fortified towns in various parts of the country.[TO BE CONTINUED.]

 

——† St. Lawrence. || Mississippi. * Lake Michigan. Illinois (J. C. Brewster, "History of the Altewanians," The Olive Branch, or, Herald of Peace and Truth To All the Saints 2, no. 10 [April 1850]: 159-60)

 

 

 

History of the Altewanians Continued.

 

The reign of Amphilius was long and prosperous. In the thirtieth year of his reign the people of the South were entirely destroyed, although the Algewa continued to increase in power and numbers. Shortly after the destruction of the Chemians (i.e. the people of the South,) another people from the North settled on the head of the river Cedron. In the thirty-four year of the reign of Amphilius, the people from the north proceeded down the river and commenced a settlement on the west side of the Cedron one league from Empelo; their number was about 1,000 Five years after the king of Algewa commenced fortifying an island in the mouth of the river Arbus: and also an island ten leagues south. Three years after Amphilus died, in the forty-second year of his reign, and was succeeded by his son Nila, he reigned thirty-four years.

 

The following is a description of the country of the Altewanians in the commencement of his reign, and also of the surrounding nations inhabiting Algewa, Chima, and Urel. The people number 600,000, and inhabit the country from the river Addazar to lake Urel. Their principal cities are Tirena, three leagues in circumference, 80,000 inhabitants. The city of Dionus, 40,000 inhabitants; Empelo, 25,000; New Empelo, six leagues south, 12,000. The city of Urel on the western shores of the lake, besides many other large towns and forts; all these towns and cities were surrounded with walls of earth cased with brick.

 

The principal rivers are the Cedron, which forms the western boundary of the country, the Arbus, 400 miles in length, the Addazar in the south, and the Urel in the north, each 300 miles in length. All these flow from the north-east and fall into the if the people would arise in their might they could vanquish all eneies andp lace Tymino, Empelo's son on the throne of his ancestors. The people flew to arms, and in a few months took the capitol and drove the Cimans and Gonibui beyond the Cedron. Tymino was proclaimed king, and Parnem, near the head of the Arbus was declared the capitol; this government was called the kingdom of Altewania, and existed three years.

 

In the south the Penulians established a kingdom, the capitol was Addramus, on the Cedron, a few leagues below the mouth of the Arbus; this town was strongly fortified. In the third year of his reign, Tymino sent an army against Addramus; while this force was absent Gonibui entered Altewani, advanced to Parnem, captured the city, but the palace being fortified he besieged it forty days when Tymino was murdered by his soldiers who declared for Gonibui and submitted to his authority; on the news reaching Itan, Tymino's general, who was then at Dionus, preparing to attack the Penulians, he made pace with the enemy he was sent to conquer and agreed to assist them with all his force against Gonibui;

 

Beban, the king of Addramus, raised a powerful army, which under the command of Itan, entered the providence of Aramus and erected a strong fortification on the river. Gonibui marched against him, the armies met at Volon on the river Aramus, ten leagues from its mouth. Gonibui was defeated with the loss of 30,000 men, and all the country south and west of the Arbus fell into the possession of Beban. From this time the Arbus was the line between the kingdoms of Ostrali and Penuli, and for eight years wars raged between the two powers and both were weakened by their folly; the numerous battles fought, the many towns that were destroyed I will not here recount, it is sufficient to say that in the end Gonibui died, the government was revolutionized, and peace once more restored. At the end of this war the attention of both nations was attracted by the appearance of certain savage tribes in the west, of a warlike disposition, and understanding the art of war perfectly; they first attacked the people on the west of the Cedron, who were the remnants of the Chimans, Penulians, and Altewanians yet in that country. These savages were of a deep copper color and called themselves Ipanthoes, their tradition was that they were the only people who were saved in the time of the flood; that all others were dissenters from them. And that they had lately destroyed a powerful body of dissenters, of whom a few escaped, and in pursuing them they discovered this country."

 

The remainder of the record consists of an account of a long & bloody war which was waged by the Ipanthoes against the Penulians and Altewanians, which terminated in the complete overthrow of both those nations. The limited size of the Olive Branch compells us to omit this portion of the history.

 

Varamenta says that at the time when he finished his record (which was in the year 1114, after the arrival of the Altewanians in the country) the savages were in possession of all the country his people had formerly occupied, an that nearly all the Altewanians who had not been destroyed had fled down to the Cedron to escape from their enemies. He concludes his history by saying that as soon as he had buried the plates, he and a few of his friends would also proceed down the Cedron, in barges which they had built for that purpose. (J. C. Brewster, "History of the Altewanians Continued," The Olive Branch, or, Herald of Peace and Truth To All the Saints 2, no. 11 [May 1850]: 163-65)

 

On the Kinderhook Plates and Joseph Smith, see “The Kinderhook Plates” (a good Q&A) and the Primary Sources relating thereto, both provided by the B. H. Roberts Foundation.