New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-09-23
The Prelude to the Mountain Meadow
Mu.sacre.


Nlussacre.
A correspondent d, lh. New York San
writing from Fort Smith, Arkansas, gives
the following interesting chapter of Nor
mon history:
A reader of the San having seen an ac.
count OF the killing of Parley P. Pratt,
second elder in the Mormon Church, in
1855 or 1856, by the husband of the woman
he abducted and made his So zenith wife,
and knowing it to be erroneous in many
particulars, has requested me, as an eye
witness of the tragedy, 10 write you some
thing in regard 10 it.
Mr.. IL, ttur H. Mclean married a Miss
McCabe in New Orleans, and afterward
settled in San Francisco. There he became
connected with the steamship companies,
$50 600 n year. He had an interesting,
highly educated and accomplished wife,
and two children, hoy and girl, both in
telligt NJ beyond tn, ir Years They were
living peacefully and happily together
wh,n Farley z Pratt sbdnc ted Ms. Nc
Lean, took her to So t Lake City. and ma le
her his seventh wife. 81 great was the
settled his reason. He went to New Or
leans, taking his children there to his
father-in-law, and then returned to San
Francisco and resumed his business. What
WAS his surprise to learn that Pratt
and Mrs. Mclean had left Salt Lake
and were trying to steal his children,
and, later, that they had accomplished
their purpose. Mclean taen set out tn
hunt up the abductor and recover his chii-
dren. He gave up his lucrative business
and started for New York. There he
learned that Pratt was in the city, but he
could not be found. few DAYS later he
learned by telegraph that Pratt was in st.
Louis, and he stirted Immediately for that
city; but so well did the old scoundrel cover
his tracks that no trace of him could be
found. Mclean then went to New Orleans.
aud there learned that his wife and chill
dren were in the northern part of Texas,
with lat GO caravan apOut to start for Salt
Lake. He went TO xas, and there inter-
cepted letters addressed to Mrs. p. P. Par
ker. and WRITTEN by old Pratt in peculiar
cypher, Wbicil h- had to study a loug time
b. fore he cOult read 1T These letters pro-
posed to meet N r. Parker at or near Fort
Gibson. in the Cherokee Nation.
Mr.. McLeen returned dispirited to his
father-in-li w's in New Orleans aud con.
cluded 10 give up the chase. Resolving,
however, to make one further effort he
started up the Arkansas river under the
assumed name of johnson. Arriving at
Fort Gibson he told his story in confidence
to the officers there, and they afforded him
every facility to trap the seducer. In this
he was successful, first getting possession
of his wife and children. Having Pra {, az
he thought, in the hands of the law, he at
tempted no violence on him, but had him
taken to Van Buren,, Arkansas, for trial be-
fore the United States court. As there was
NO United States law by which an abductor
could be punished, charge was made
against Pratt of stealing the clothing of the
wife and children when he abducted them.
This charge, however, would not stand
Pratt was tried before Judge John B Og-
den, and there was great excitement about
him. When MIR. Mclean related his griov-
ances on the witness stand, and read
the clahdestine correspondence between
Piatt and his wife, there was hdrdl, dry
eye in the court rocm. Then when he beg an
to understand that there was no law for t tie
redress ot his wrongs, and that il was prob
abe the old scoundrel would be released,
he became 80 excited that he attempted to
shoot Pratt on the spot in the presence of
the court. L. WAS AT this time that the
writer made McLean's d Quaiu tnce. He
caught hold of Mclean and STAYED his arm
as he was about TO shoot, and told hlm that
he mus take No ad vantage of man in GUS
tody. This led to statement uf all the
facts OF the case to me. Had there b. en- at
that time any mob law in Arkansas, Pratt
would have been summarily hanged, su ex-
were the oitizens. Having, how
ever. more respect for the Unitea States
authorities than they might have had for
the States, no outrage vas committed.
The court put the case of for day, and
had Pratt released early in the morning, so
that he might escape, and he immediately
lett town ON horseback. When Mclean and
his friends tound this out they started in
pursuit.
On my ARRIVAL in Van Buren, that morn