The Evansville daily journal., 1857-05-05
The Murder of Capt. GunnisOn by
f.a the MOrmOns.

The Murder of Capt. GunnisOn by
fssl- the MormOns.
Judge Drummond in answer to letter
frem the widow Of Captain Gunnison.
enquiring what facts he had for the be
lief expressed by him that her husband
had been butchered by the Mormons AMI
not by the Indians. details the following
iacts: ra ttarlal,s
At the November term OF my court,
held at Fillmore City, in the year 1856,
one Lew Abrabs, a Jewish Mormon. was
put upon trial for the willful and un-
provoked murder of Toebe, iayorile
warrior of the Parvante banI, and during
that trial much was said by both Indian
and white witnesses relative to the mur-
der OF Captain Gunnison aud his party,
which raised strong presumpiions in my
mind that certain white men were partI-
ceps crIminis to that cruel murder but
not wholly conclusive. In this case the
Jury, true to the Law Of the Church and
basely false to the Law of the Land, found
Abrams not guilty. At the same term
OF Court Iayorlte Indian warrior of Gov.
Young, by the maine of Enels, was put
upon trial for the murder OF Captain Gun
nlson and others, to which particularly
allude In the letter, and ut thus time and
upon this trial | became convinced be-
yVnd The possibility ofa doubt, that the
whole plan was deep and matnrelv
llid, to murder the whole party of engir.
eers, or surveyors and charge the mur
der upon the Indians. (who, by the way
have the credit oi killing great many
persons.) In the trial of the warrior
Eneis, the evidence disclosed the fact that
he was the property OF Gov. Young, that
he could speak English tluently, and that
when he left the City of Salt Lake, he
went under the order Of Gov. Young and
the Church. Again, it was repeatedly
proven that Enies was in company with
eyeral white men on the day before the
murder, and that they were all on their
way to the engineers camp.
Again it was proven on the same trial
by a number of Indian witnesses, that
only four shots were fired by the Indians
Morinons; and that by order OF the Nor
mons the Indians sprang out OF the am
bush where they lay concealed during the
night before the firing, which occurred
about sunrise in the morning, and went
across the river to scalp and otherwise
maltreat the men in their agonies OF death
but more particularly to save the Mormon
who fell IN the fight, provided he was
not moitally wounded, and told the In
dians how they would recognise the Nor
mon from the Americans, which was by
certain peculiar marks on the garment
which he wore next to his body; but the
poor fellow with the other eight had re-
ceived fatal shot and died on the ground
with lis priestly robe worn next to his
body. The white men who were SO &C
curately described, that anyone acquainted
with the principal men of the Mormon
. Church, could quite readily select the
man as described by Old Paresmont and
Heap Of Elk, as well as several others
equally as honest and intelligent, who
were the principal witnesses in behalf OF
the Government. and right here | have
no hesitation in saying who some Of th.m
are and were, and this do for the bene-
tit ofthose men who may go to Utah as
appeintees, under the present Admins
tration, viz: .uIs
William A. Hickman. Anson Call, AL
exander Mercy, Ephraim Hanks, James
w. Cummings, Edwin d. WOolley, Geo.
Peacock, Levi Abrams, ,and-Branson,
all Of whom are in good fellowship and
standing to this day in the Church, and
although the evidence on behalf of the
Government against Enies, was clear and
conclusive and no rebutting evidence, the
Mormon Jury, true to the order of the
Holy Priesthood, found verdict Of mot
guilty" And here my dear friend pain
full and revolving as it is, the true history
of that sad scene requires the TO saw that
the fact, that several Indian warriors
'crossed the Sevire river Immediately af.
ter seeing that they had accomplished the
work for which they were set apart, aad
proceeded to cut off the legs and arms of
the men while suffering the agonies OF
death; also to scalp them then and rifle
their pockets Of their contents. take off
ther clothes and put on themselves, and
that Enies, the then prisoner at the bar,
cut Gunnison's body open and took out
his heart while it was yet alive, and the
heart so full of blood that it bounded on
the ground after being taken out; and
not content with this, but cut out his
tongue and otherwise cut and mangled
his body.