Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1859-09-02

The MoUNoNs AND THEIR MAssAcRRs.-
Mr.. Greeley in summing up his impressions
of the Mormons, writes as follows
"Do | regard the great body of these Nor
mons as knaves and hypocrites; Assuredly
not. do not believe there was ever a relie-
ion whereof the great mass Of the odhercnts
were not honest and sincere. Hypocrites and
knves thoro arc in all sccts 1t is quite pos
siblc that some Of the magnates of the Nor
mon church regard this so-called religion
with all others as continuance for the en-
slavcment and fleeing of the many and the
ACKNOWLEDGMENT Of the few but | cannot be-
lieve that a sect of so considerable and so
vigorous as the Mormon was ever founded in
conscious imposture or built up on any other
basis than that of earnest conviction. IL the
protector and two or three of his chief con-
icderatcs were knaves, the great body Of their
followers were dupos.
Do !, then, discredit tho tales Of Norman
outrage and crime-of the murder Of the
Parishes, the Mountain Meadow massacre,
&c &c, whercwith the general ear has ro-
Gently been shocked No, do not. Some
of these may have been fabricated by Gentle
malcc--othcrs are doubtless exaggerated
but there is some basis Of truth for the cur
rent Gentle conviction that Mormans have
robbed. manned, and even killed persons in
this Territory, under circumstances which
should subject the perpetrators to condign
punishment, but that Mormon witnesses.
grand jurors, petit Jurors and magistrates de-
termncdly screen the guilt deeply regret
the necessity of believing this but the facts
are incontestabe. That a large party Of en-
fb,r %, e. Al
to California, were fouly massacred at Noun
tain Meadows in September 1857, more i'm
mcdiately by Indians, but under the direct
inspiration and direction Of the Mormon set
tiers in that vicinty--to whom, and not to
the sayages, the emigrants had surrendered.
after a siege, on the strength Of assurance
that their lives at least should be spared-is
established by evidence that cannot, | think,
be inyalidated-the evidence of conscience
smitten partakers in the crime, both Indian
and exMormOn, and of children of the
slaughtered cmigrants, who were spared as
too young to be dangerous even as witnesses,
and of whom the great majority have been
sent down to the States as unable to give tcs-
timony; but two boys are retained here as
witnesses, who distinctly remember that their
parents surrendered to white mon, and that
these white men at best did not attempt to
prevent their perfdious massacre. These
children, moreover, were all found in the pos
session OF Mormons-not one of them in
the hands Of Indians The children say
that they never lived with nor were in the
keeping Of savages and the Indians beal
concurrent testimony. So in the Parrish
case The family had been Mormons, but
had apostalizcd undertook to return tc
the States they were warned they would be
killed if they persisted in that resolution
they did persist, and were killed. Of course
nobody will ever be convicted of their muir.
der but those who warned them Of the fate
on which they were rushing know why they
were killed, and could discover, if they would
who killed them"