Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1875-08-03
BEAVER, July %.

In the Mountain Meadows massa
ere case to-day, spicer,' for the de
Tense. moved stay of all furthe
proceedings, on the ground that thi
was no legal term of Court, the Gov
ernor having fixed the term of Cour
without due authority.
The Court overruled the motion.
As Lee came into Court to-day h
shed tears.
,spicer opened the case for the de
Tense. He sketched the course Of thu
immigrants down the Val ey of Utah
and said their butchery was unpar
alleled and fendish. He would not
claim that Indians alone did the deed
for white men were there with heart:
as black as those of the savages. He
would admit orders were issued tc
these white men--such orders as
could not be disobeyed--compelline
the obedience of those who took part
He would admit the Mormon Church
had bad men in it, as was the case in
all frontier countries. Any church
gets such men in it. He would claim
that the Mormon Church was moi
alone to blame, but the men who did
the deed acted as much from the de-
sire of their own wicked hearts as
from their religious convictions. He
would prove that Lee acted on orders
but would not claim, as Joshua did
that his orders came from the Lord
for destruction of the people of the
CITY of All. He would claim that nc
proof had been made that he killed
any one, though present. He would
chow thai the immigrants in all Utah
were treated kindly and furnished
supplies, but while in town acted
badly and created great trouble, SO
much so that the train divided and
had two captains. He would claim
that Ussah, at the time of the inva-
sion, was in state of war. The peo-
pie had resolved to burn their homes,
flee to the mountains, and do for
Johnston's army more than the Mus
covites lid for Napoleon's, and so
agreed to store sheir supplies for sub
sistence in their retreat. He would
show hat Corn Creek was the home
Of staiwart Indians, Kanosh, their
chief, yet living there. The immi-
grants had no difficulty until the In
dams became enraged beyond con-
troll by the settlers. That the massa-
ere was only an Indian massacre,
though white men were in it, just as
there were at Deerfeld and Wyoming.
There was but one man who raised
his hand and voice in all the days of
the siege at Mountain Meadows for
the safety of the immigrants; but one
man who wept for them; but one
man who begged for reinforcements
to save the immigrants, and raised
his voice saying. Before God l can't
do this deed" That man was John
D. Lee. If Klingen Smith, a Bishop,
with authority, swears he dare not
disobey, and that he fred on the i'm
migrants to save his own life, what
can be expected of simple layman
like Lee, who held no Office at that
time. The people of Utah believed
in executing the will of God IN all
they did from day to day as much
as did those who destroyed All or
Shalom. He would show that there
were but thirty white men at the
massacre and hundreds of Indians,
who compelled them to take part;
but most of the men went to the
Meadows honestly to help save the
immigrants, while some went for
murderous purposes. Those who acted
-unwillingly did so because if they
did not the Indians would have killed
them, and swept off their homes and
families and all settlements in Utah
valley. History shows no position so
terrible as that in which those men
were placed. Lee alone stood up and
said if any five men would go with
him he would 60 into the corral of the
immigrants and with them fight it
out with the Indians. In concluding
Spicer said Lee-even by his own
neighbors-was being made great in
the affair, though only aprivate citi-
zen, and not holding any office, in or
der to be offered up as a sacrifice suf-
ficiently large to appease offended
Justice.