MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE.

NZ Truth, Issue 103, 8 June 1907, Page 7

MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE.

MORMONS DISGUISED AS INDIANS.

Emigrant Party Meets with a Fiendish Fate Whilst En Route From Arkansas to California.

The ''explanation" oi the killinjr ©f the Morrisites m Utah m 1-862, given by a Brisbane Latter-Day Saint, so far as it poes, is merely corroborative of Mrs. Stenihouse's account published m the previous issue. Charging "Hie latter with "hatred of $he religious sect upon whom she wishes to place all manner of crimes," and (questioning her veracacity, is very poor argument. This much is patent, that sbe lived among the Mormons at the time of the occurrence, was a Mormon herself, and her heart and soul were wrapped up m what m maturer years she became convinced was a detestable fanaticism ; whereas the Mormon defenders depend v"--on heresay only, knowing nothing of the merits either way: • . THE SLAUGHTERED, MORRISITES, With all their faults, were, as honest as the renegades who stole their i whrnt, and refused to meet their acorued share of the obligations on { withdrawal. Besides, m a free coun- , try like America, the Morris sect ! had as much right to jbheir opinions as ■ the MerjQons from whom they sprung. As for Burton, afterwards made a Bishop and created Major-GeneraJ, no one stated that he iwas tried for the murder of Mrs. Bowman by a jury composed wholly tit Mormons, and the defender need hut waste good ink m demolishing Straws. The fact remains that, notWilnstaiiding Dow's sworn rfcestiWbuy as an eye-witness of the masSacre, not till 17. years after was i&urtoft brought to trial, If against our laws were flowed the feame time* very few t»f them alteo would bo convicted, so there is little iifced for. jubilation on that score. If it is" true that the Act-ing-Govgrno.r of the State advised Burton-, "The shedding of blood m resistance to civril authority renders execution of law imperative," then it looks merely an excuse to ■ftive Burton, _who was on the ground with 256 militiamen- and two can^ non. an opportunity of wrecking: ven|sal£ft fen harmless i&Ws, fts flj» fo <

then the Morrisites had hurt ' nobody. According to Mrs. Stenihouse's narrative, details of the massacre oozed out slowly and disconnectedly and when they did so, a bewailing travesty of Biblical argument was urged m their defence. Before the railway opened up the wilderness, to-v what chance was there for any, maa— let alone woman— to leave the surroundings without detection? None. Mrs. Stanhouse's account >of the Mountain Meadows Massacre' might possibly he denied by credible missionaries and THEIR GULLIBLE DUPES, yet the American public believed it,, and Bishop John D. Lee's confession substantiated it. Although twenty years had «one toy, Lee's luck waa out at his second trial, and Ms many wives were made widows by order of the law, which will be narrated later on. Here is Mrs. T. B. H. Sterihouse's account of it :-

THE MASSACRE.

When the Uniiied ' States troops were constantly expected m the valley of the Great Salt , Lake, a iaris;e train aE omiigjrants passed through Utah on its way to California- The train consisted of one hundred and thirty persons, and they came chiefly from Arakansas. They were people from the country districts, sober, hard-working, plain folks, but well-to^do, and, taken all m all, about as respectable a band of emigrants as ever passed through Salt Lake City. Nothing worthy of any particular note occurred 'to them until they reached ,the Valley— that was the point from which they STARTED TOWARDS DEATH. My old friend, Eli B. Kelsey, travelled with them from Fort Bridger to Salt Lake City, and) he spoke of them m the highest terms. The train was divided into two parts— the first a rauadi-riivd-rcady set of aiea— regular !r.&&ttier pioneers. ; and

the other a picked community, the members of which were more or less connected by family ties. They travelled along- in- * the .most orderly fashion, without lua-ry or confusion. On Sunday they rested, and one of their number, who had been a Methodist preaoher, conducted Divine service. All went well until they reaohteld Salt Lake City, where -they expected to foe able to refit and replenish their stock of provisions; but ■c-t was there that they first discovered that feeling f>f enmity, which finally resulted m. their destruction. Now it so happened that the minds of the Saints m Salt Lake City were at that time strongly prejudiced against the people of Arkansas, and for a most unsaintly reason. The Apostle Parley P. Piatt, who was one of the earliest " : converts to Mormonism, ihad not very long before 'been sojourning m Arkansas, and ' had there run away with another man's wife. This was only a trifle 1 for an "Apostle" to do and the husband— Mr. McLean— might have mown it. But he was a moat inconsiderate man, and was actually offended with THE AMOROUS APOSTLE for what he had done. He pursued hkn, and killed him, for m those rough parts it was considered that the Apostle did wrong m marrying the man's wife. .Nobody, however, took any notice of the mat-? ter or brought the murderer to trial. The Mormon people, of course, took the side of the Apostle P. Pratt. Sensitive themselves to the highest degree concerning their wives and daughters, they considered McLean a sinner for doing just exactly what any saint woulssave certainly done. Their opinion, however, would have been a mat-tec pf consequence " only to themselves, 'had not such fatal consequences resulted from it. licasonintr without reason, they argued that McLean was the enem- of every Mormon, and every Moimon was the enemy of McLean ; McLean' was protected m Arkansas — therefore every man from .Arkansas was an enem vof the Mormons— an enemy ought to be cut off— therefore it was the duty of every Mormon to "cut ofi" —if he could— every Arkansas main. This appears to have been the j tone of thought which actuated the minds of th® leaders- of 'One peo- i pie at the time when this emigrant j train arrived m the city. ' Weary and footsore they encamped I by the Jordan River, trusting there to recruit themselves and their teams, and to replenish their stock of provisions. The harvest m Utah \ that year bad been abundant, and there was nothing to hinder them from! oM&tniijnS a speedy and full supply. . . i BRIGHAM YOUNG wyis then Gorceitoor of UHan Territory. Commander-in-Chief of the militia and Indian Agent as well ; he was therefore responsible for all that took place within his jurisdiction. It was his duty to protect all law-abiding persons who either resided mor travelled through the country. The emigrants, so far from being protected, were ordered to break camp and move on : and it is said that ' written instructions were sent on before them, directing the people m the settlements through which they would have to jjass to have no dealings with them. This, considering their need of provisions was much the same as condemning them to certain death.

Compelled .to—tr-ayel— ©a -fchay_ puivfcued their journey slowly towards Los Angeles. At American Fork they wished to 'trade ofi some of their worn out stock, and. to purchase fresh— they also desired jto obtain provisions. There was abundance of everything! from the farm and from the Jield, but they couM do nothing. They passed on. and went throush H&tl'° jCrecK, Provo, Springville, Spanish Fork,' Payson, Salt Creek, and Fillmore, and theilr reception was still the same— the word of the Mormon Pontofi had gone forth, and no man dared to hold communion or to trade with them. Now and then some Mormon," weak m Die faith, or braver or more fond of money than his fellows, would steal into the camp iii the -darkness of the night, hearing; with him just what he was able to carry : but beyond this they could procure nothing. Through five different Mormon settlements did they, pass, without being able to purchase a morsel of bread. With empty waggons, and on short allowance, "they pushed on until they reaohexl . Corn Creek, , where for the first time m saintly Utah, they met a friendly greeting FROM THE INDIANS, and purchased from them -tjbiir*ty bushels of corn, of which they stood very greatly m need. At Beaver they were again repulsed, and at Parowan they wefre not ; permitted to enter the town— they were forced to leave the (highway,; and pass round the west side of the fort wall. They encamped by the stream, and tried as before to obtain fresh food : and cattle, -but again to no purpose. The reason why they were refused admission to the town was probably because the militia was there assembled tindete Colonel W. H. Dame— which militia afterwards assisted m their destruction, for which preparations were even now "being made. Tfaey made their way to< Qeldar City. the most populous of all the towns oT Sotithsarini Utjafli. TfaUtVi were allowed to purohase fifty bushels of wheat, and to, have it ground at the mill of that infamous scoundrel John D. Dee, upon whose memory will rest the eternal curses of all who have ever heard his name. It was, however, no act of mercy the supolying of this corn. The sellers of it kn?.w well encugh that even then that ifc would return to them again m the course of a few days.. After all, they had but forty days' rations to carry them on to San Bernardino, m California— a ioumey of about seventy days. They remained m Cedar City only one day. and so jaded were their teams that it took tnem three days to travel thence to Iron Creek, a distance of twenty miles ; amp two days were occupied m journeying, fifteen miles— the distance between Iron Creek and the Meadows. The morning after Ihey left Iron Creek, THE MORMON MILITIA followed them m pursuit, Mending, it is supposed-, to assault them at Clara Crossing. A rei'i'r njlitarv council was Ij*lJ .at at

C. Haight, the Mormon High Priest of Utah, Colonel Dame, Major .John D. Lee, and the Apostle George A. Smith, The regiment whdoh' started from Cedar City under the command of Major John D. Lee, the subl-agent for Indian affairs m Southern Utah, was accompanied by baggage waggons and 'the other paraphernalia of war excepting only heavy artillery, Which m thiis case would have been useless. But, at the same time, a large body of the Piede Idians had been invited to accompany them. An order came from headquarters to cut off the entire company except the little children.. The emigrants were utterly unprepared, and the fifrst onslaught found them de- . fenceless. Accustomed, however, to border warfare, they immediately cor ailed their waggons, and prepared for a serge— their great misfortune was that they bad no water. Major Lee, finding the emigrants resolute, sfent to Cedar City and Washington City for reinforcements, which duly arrived. • The next .morning Major Lee assembled his troops, including the auxiliaries, which he bad 'summoned, about half a mile from the entrenchment of the fated emigrants and then and -there informed them, with the coolness which SUCH AN INFAMOUS SCOUNDREL alone could muster, that the whole comoanv was to be killed, and only the little children, who were top young to remember anything. werfe to be spared. •The agony of the unhappy men and women who were thais besieged, and were m daily, hourly tieril of the most frightful of all 'deaths, can bo imagined— not told. Meanwhile, -what were these atrocious scoundrels doing who were lying m wait for their blood ■? Some of them were tricfeed out as • Indians ; some were m their own proper dresses, and, moreover, real Utes were there, The unhappy victims could not possibly escapethere was tame for the murderers to do -their work leisurely. Between chance shots, which were intended to, and did. carry death with them, they amused themselves with "pitching Ihorse^shoe qjuoits" ;— heartlessness almost beyond conception.

In \ terrible need of water fcitey thought that even the Indians, who they supposed- were tiieAD assailants,, might possibly respect a token of truce •; so they dressed two little girls m white and sent them down to the well. But the fiends—the Mormon militia—shot them down. In. the day of doom, tine 'blood of those babes will testify more heavily against Major John D. Lee, and Isaac C. Ffaight, and Colonel , Dame, awd George A. Smith', and the other wretch . who plotted and contrived THAT FEARFUL INIQUITY, thani any of the base and cowardly crimes which have for years and years blackened their contemptible and miserable souls. The emigrants could not , possibly i advance. Their corn would not last long. They were famishing for wat* er. How long they could hold out was evidently only a matter of 1 time. ' Had the train consisted only of men they might certainly, if with loss, have cut their way through their besiegers and. escaped ; but with wives and children, and others bound to them, by the tenderest ties, such a thing was impossible. They looked and waited. ' .

._Up Jn- the .MeadoWvS— la th,e ,; distance—ihere was' a, whole dusty cloud as if of some person or persons approaching. Th© hearts of . the emigrants leaped for joy. Was help coming at last ? ; It was 1 evident tha/ta. waiggion twias comiTi'g near, and the;wagK gon was filled with armed men— here was hope. After all, the misery of that waitf ul watching, they were overjoyed, and shouted aloud with gladness, and sprang with open arms to welcome their visitors. , Little did they suppose that the fiends who then came down, with pale faces and the manners of white men, were the same as those who, painted and decked ouU, like Indians, toad been leaguered about their camp with murderous intentions for so many days.

The waggon came near, and' was found to be filled with armed men. Surely now, the unhappy emigrants thought, substantial help had come —the au'tihoritffies of Utah m the neighborhood, whether * Gentile or Mormon, had come out m the cause of civilisation and humanity, and succour was at hand. $ A WHITE FLAG ' tvas waved .from -the waggons as an emblem of p^eace, and m order that the emigrants might know that it was white men and not the red de■•mans of the hills who approached.. They did not, indeed, know that these themselves were the monsters who had wronged them all this time, and who were even now compassing • their • death.

Inside that waggon was President Haight, the infanrous Mormon Bishop John D. Lee, and • other authorities of the Ohuroh ,m Southern Utah. They professed to the emigrants that they came upon the friendly errand of standing between them and the Indians. They said that the Indians had taken offence at something that the emigrants had done, tha{t they were thirsting for their blood, but that they, the Mormon officials, were on good terms with them, and had influence, and would use their ,gpo4 offices m the cause of mercy and oi peace. After some discussion, they, left with the professed view of conciliating the Indians. Then they returned, and said that the Indians! had agreed that, if the emigrants marched back to Salt Lake City, their lives should be spared ; but that they must leave everything behind them m their camp, even including the common WEAPONS OF DEFENCE which every Western man carried abiout his person. The Mormon officials then solemnly undertook to bring an armed force and to guard the emigrants safely back again to the, Settlements. This agreement tyeing made, the j Mormo)i officials retired-, and after a short time lag&in returned with 30 or 40 armed men. Then the emigrants vi«ere murchM out, the women and children m the front, and the men following, while the Mormon guard followed m the rear. When they had inarched m this way about a mile 1 , and had arrived &t the p)a*:e where the Indians were hid m the bushes on each side of the road, the signal wat given for the slaughter. So tak- ' i-n by .suj'tfiMse were the em 's rants, 'aim .so implicitly had t>hcy ctntftdeci m these juprifwsPi tjwt. they; eff^wd

no resistance. The Mormon militia, their guard, immediately opened fire jUpoii them from the rear, while the Indians, and. Mormons disguised as Indians, 'who were hidden among the bushes, rushed out upon them, shoot- ' ] 'ng them down with guns and bows and atrows, and cutting some of the men's throats with knives. The-wom-en and children, shrieking with mortal terror, scattered and fled, some [ trying to hide m the bushes. Two young girls actually did escape for a quarter of a mile, when they ,were overtaken and' "butchered under circumstances of the greatest 'brutality. The, ■son of John D. Lee endeavoured to protect owe poor girl who clung to him for Jielp ; but his father, tearing j her from him by violence, BLEW OUT HER BRAINSAnother unhappy girl is said to have kneeled to this same monster Lee, entreating him to spare her life. He 1 dragged' her into the bushes, stripped her nafred, and cut her throat from ear to ear, after she had suffered worse at his hands than death itself. About half an hour was probably occupied m the butchery, and every soul of that company was cut off, excepting only a few little children who i were supposed to be too young, to understand or remember what had "taken place. The unfortunate victims were stripped, without reference to age or sex, and then left to rot. upon the field. There they remained until torn and dismembered by the wolves, when it was then thought prudent to conceal such as lay nearest to the road. An eye-witness subsaquemtly ■visiting the spot said :— "The scene of the massacre was horrible to look upon. Women's hair m detached locks and m masses hung to the sage bushes and was strewn over the ground m many places. Parts of littlo children's dresses and of female costume dangled from the shrubbery, or lay scattered about, and among these, here and there on every hand, for at least a mile m the direction of the road, by two miles east and west, there gleamed, fojeachod white by the weather, the skulls and other bones of those who had suffered. A 'glance into the waggon, when all these had been collected, REVEALED A SIGHT which never can be forgotten." The remains were subsequently gathered together by Major Carleton, the United States Commissioner, who erected over them a large cairn of stones, surmounted by a cross of red cedar, and on a stone beneath wore engraved the words :— • "'Here 120 men, women, and children were massacred m cold blood, early m September, 1 1857. They were from Arkansas."

The little children, while their parents were being • butchered, had clung about their murderers' knees, entreating mercy, but none of them finding it, save those who were little more than infants. Their fears and cries the night after the murder are said to have been hear trending. One littlo babe, just beginning to walk, was shot through the arm. Another little girl was shot through the ear, and the clothes of most of them were saturated with their mothers' blood. They were distributed among the people of the settlements. Two of them are said to have x uttered some words from which it Was presumed that their intelligence was m advance of their years. They were taken out quietly and buried •! This happened some time after th* massacre.

Most of the property of the emigrants was sold by . public auction m Cedar- Gity •■: the Indians gpt^lhostf i of the flour and ammunition, and the Mormons the more valuable articles. I They jested over it and called it "Spoil taken from tjse Siege of Sebastopol." There is legal proof that the clothing stripped from the corpses, blood-stained, riddled by the bullets, and with shreds of flesh attached to it, was placed m a cellar, where it lay. about three weeks, when it was sold. The cellar is said to have smelt of it for years. Long after this time, jewellery from the mangled, bodies of the unfortunate women, was publicly worn m Salt Lake City, and everyone knew when.ee it came. This is the story, most imperfect- j ly told, for I dare not sketch ITS FOULEST DETAILS, of the Mountain Meadows Macsacre. Brigjham Youngs, who was at the timd G-overnor of the territory and 'also i Indian .Agent, made no report of the matter; Let that fact of itself speak for his innocenoe or guilt. Would j aaiy other Governor or Agent m another territory have been thus silent? John D. Lee,,«;n>d Dame, and Haight, | and the other wretches, have never been brought to trial or cut oft from the Ohurch, although their monstrous ' crime has never been a secret, nor 1 have any endeavours been made to conceal it. 1 This fearful deed was one of th© unn avoidable results of the teachings of the Mormon leaders during the Reformation. There were crimes then perpetrated m secret which will never be known uintil the day of doom ; and there were horrors which have been known and recorded, but for I which no one has been brought to trial or has suffered inconvenience. There are men m Salt Lake City who walk about unblushingly m broad daylight, but who are known to be murderers, and whose hands have been again and again dyed with blood under circumstances of the most atrocious cruelty.