Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1874-11-19
TnElY0M COUNTY TIMES

Az Ah1 AZD4Ao0 VI ALL ~
tours REPUBLICAN Reading an
article in your paper of the 18th
instant, "The Grand Jury in
Utah." calls up to my mind the
very melancholy reflection that the
killing of Elder Farley P. Pratt,
the second Elder in the Mormon
Church at that time lin 1856 I be-
lieve it was), near Van Buren,, in
this State, by Mr.. H. II. Mclean,
of San Francisco, was the cause OF
the Mountain Meadow massacre.
Mr.. Mclean, agent for the Steam
ship Company of San Francisco,
had his wife stolen from him by
this man, and she made his seventh
wife. Mclean sent his two chill
dren, after this happened, to his
father-in-law in New Orleans.
They were boy and a girl, and as
interesting as children could be.
some time after they arrived at
New Orleans, the mother left Salt
Lake and went and got them and
started to Utah with them. The
almost broken hearted husband left
his business to look after his chill
dren. On arriving at New York he
heard of Pratt in the city and
tracked him to st. Louis. Then
he lost all sight of him and went to
New Orleans. On arriving there
he heard of his wife and children
in Texas with a caravan going to
Utah. He went to Texas, and there
he intercepted letters written in
cypher to Mrs. P. P. Parker, the
assumed name of his wife. Hav-
ing become able to decipher the
letters, he learned from them they
were from Pratt, and he desired the
caravan to come to the neighbor-
hood of Fort Gibson. Mr.. Mclean
returned to New Orleans broken
down in spirit, and knew not what
to do. He resolved to go to Gibson
in the Cherokee nation. He did so,
and under the name of Johnson
This secret being known to the Off
GERS of the fort), he captured his
wife and children, and the british
seducer also. They we're arrested
by the United States Marshal and
taken to Van Buren,, before United
States Commissioner John B. Og-
den, for trial. The charges for
stealing his wife's clothing could
not be sustained, and there being
no crime known to the laws of the
United States under which he could
be held, he was released. Never
shall l forget the trial, the great
excitement and the popular desire
for vengeance on Pratt. When Mr..
Mclean appeared in court and read
the papers in cipher, written by
the old serpent, and stated the his
tory of his so happy family being
broken up, the people desired to
lynch Pratt, who was put in Jail to
prevent its being done. Mclean
himself became so highly offended
and so deeply excited that at one
time he commenced drawing his
pistol to kill him in the court room.
Pratt was secretly discharged early
the next morning, but the watch.
fulness of Mclean found it, and
he followed him and killed him,
and returned to town and gave
notice of the fact. He then got
some assistance of his friends here
and took his children to New Or
leans or San Francisco, and his
wife, who had been a highly-intel-
lectual woman, was, I think, taken
to an insane asylum. Of Mr.. Nc
Lean it may be said that he was a
gentleman of fine education, great
business habits, a kind, generous,
true and trusty friend, OVERLOOKING
with human kindness - indeed,
there are very few like him. His
act was approved and justified by
all this people, and if there is a
Just God must have been approved
by Him. Many a time has the
melancholy reflection come over
me that the murder of 120 persons
by the Mormons was for the Just
death of the imposter and scoun-
.drel.' A WITNESS.