Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1875-07-30

ar. ,JoHNsBURY, JULY so, 1875.
The Trial.

Inc IElhl.
Not the Brooklyn hugging, kissing, TO,
scrape, but a trial Of more Importance, one
which will probably occupy as much time
and which will merit, but not from its ma
ture receive, more Of the attention Of the
public, is going on at Beaver City, Utah.
For years past the Mormon government
has, as il were, kept the United States gov
eminent at a respectful distance, bid defiance
to United States laws, and outraged and
murdered United States citizens with impu.
nifty. Gradually, all this is being changed.
Congress has been compelled to partially
open its eyes, so long purposely closed. The
representative Of the second Vermont dis
trict has been among those who have labored
for this result. Within a year VIZ have seen
the folds Of the law drawing more and more
closely around the western prophet. We
have seen him indicted by the United States
courts. We have seen him in prison. He
may yet live long enough to show the world
his reprobate carcass dangling from the glib
bet in expiration of some Of his many crimes,
and as a warning to others that the course
of defiance Of all law, pursued by him, is not
a safe example to follow.
In 1857 occurred what is known as the
Mountain Meadow massacre" A large
party Of emigrants, men, women and chill
dreu, who we're passing through the neigh
borhood Of the Mormon settlement, were sur
rounded by armed men. They made a brave
resistance, and finally John D. Lee, a leader
of the Mormon troops, appeared with a white
flag. The emigrants held a council with
him, in which he represented that the at
lacking party had been Indians, aud that he
had interceded for the emigrants if they
would lay down their arms aud march out
under protection of the Mormon troops, they
would be safe. No sooner were they fairly
disarmed than the brutal soldiery murdered
the men, outraged and then murdered the
women in cold blood, while the smallest Of
the children were carried off by the Nor
mons. Nothing has ever been done about
the matter by the authorities the Mormon
power was too great. But government sees
if there is ever to be an end to the i~nsolence
and utter disregard of law practiced by
Brigham and his crew of saints, it must be
brought about by force. And it begins to
look as though the day was coming. John
d. Lee is now having his trial for the muir
der in September, 1857. Witnesses who
participated in the affair testify that the
massacre was determined upon in a meeting
Of the bishops and council, aud that Lee de-
liberately planned and executed the whole
fendish scheme. The cattle of the emf
grants were confiscated to the Mormon
church, and the goods were mostly taken
and sold by Lee. Brigham Young is rep
resented as saying, "What you know of this
say nothing of it. Don't talk of it even
among yourselves"
When the prosecution we're questioning the
witnesses about the distribution of the plum
der, the counsel for the defence tried TO have
them stopped, claiming they we're not ad-
herring to the prosecution Of Lee, but were
trying to fix the crime on some one else
The counsel for the prosecution replied that
he wanted but the truth, whoever it impli,
Gated, and that his opponent was afraid hi!
real client would be reached, which created
quite a sensation in the court room, as i
vas known Brigham Young vas referred
to.
We do not expect the trial of Lee t.
equal that of Beecher and Tilton, Just end
ed, but we do hope to see Brigham Young
and one or two others as thoroughly investi'
gated as we're several outside parties in the
late trial, and we are confident if they are
30 investigated there will be new trials fol-
lowing this one of Lee, which will, with
their results, take a prominent place in the
history of America.