The Russellville Democrat., 1877-05-03
Lees Confession

i'm 9eptsmbcr Inst. he made a fuli con fession in writing of his participation in the Mountain Meadows massacre, from which VIC make tho following ex' tracts:
 My name is John D. Ice. ! ws~ born on Sept. 6. 1872, at k'ssaskia' Randolph county. Ill. My mother ". longed to the Catholic church. and ! was christened in that faith. NY parents died while 1 was q child. ann my boyhood was one of trial and hard ships. I married Agathe Ann Wool sey in 1883, and moved to fayefis county, ILL, on Ruck creek. There ! became wealthy. In ls56 becasne ac 1uainted with some travelling Nor. mon preachers. l bought. read and believed the book of Mormon. l sold my property in Illinois and moved le the far west in Missouri in 1887 where I joined a Mormon church. l took an active part as Mormon soldier n the conflicts between the people Of Ms souri and the Mormons, which made Jackson county, Mo, historic ground, When the Mormons were expelled i from Missouri, I was oae of the hr.t to settle at Nauvoo, H., where l took an active part in all that was done for the church or city. I travelled exten~ sively through the United States as Mormon missionary, and acted as trader and financial agent Tor the church from the death of Joseph smith until the settlement at Salt Lake City. As a duty to myself and mankind l now confess all that l did at the Noun tain Meadows massacre without anl. mostly to any one, shielding none, and giving the facts as they existed. Those with me on thal occasion were acting under orders from the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The hor- rid deeds then committed were done as duty which we believed we owed to God and our church. We were all sworn to secrecy before and after the massacre. The penalty for giving in- formation concerning the crime was death. As I am to suffer death for what then did, and have been be- trayed both by those who gave orders to act and the most active of my as sistants, I now give the world the true facts as they exist, and tell why the massacre was committed and who were the active participants. The Mountain Meadows massacre was the result of the teachings of Brigham Young, and it was done by the orders of those high in authority in the Nor mon community. The immediate or- ders for the massacre were issued by Col. Dame, Lieut.. Col. Isaac c. Haight, and the Council at Cedar City, Utah. :. l Lieut.. Col. Haight said the emi- grants were rough set; that they were bad men, robbers and murderers, and that they had helped to kill the Missouri prophets. I believed him. II was ordered 70 raise the In dians to attack the train and run off the cattle, and to have the Indians kill the emigrants. Maj. Higby made speech and said that the emigrants were all to be killed who could talk, and that we must get them out of the Notifications by treachery. We had a prayer-circle and then more speeches were made, and it was agreed by all parties that it was the will of God for us to do as we were ordered. A flag of truce was then sent forward. IL was carried by William Bateman. He was met halfway by the emigrants, and they held barley with him. Bate man then returned and reported that the emigrants would surrender their arms and do as they had been re. quested. The Mormon soldiers then marched out to within two hundred yards of the emigrants. The emf grants then surrendered and put their arms, sick and wounded, and children into the wagons. While they were burying their dead men the emigrants burst into tears and said they feared treachery. As soon as the wagons l were lOdutu luc tTuil Wus stdIttu. Iut emigrants marched in single file, the women and large children being ahead. Then the men came. When the wagons were half mile off the firing commenced. The Indians killed all the women and large children, the Mormons killed the men, and the drivers with me killed the sick and wounded. We saved seventeen children. The dead were stripped and mutilated, and the corpses left on the field. The horrors attending the massacre of the emigrants were beyond my descriptions l went to Salt Lake City and made my report to Brigham Young ten days after the massacre. told him all, everything, who were there, who were guilty, and who were active in killing the emigrants in fact all I knew. l said to him, "You must sustain us, or release us from the endowment oath to avenge the death | of tho nrophatc Rri.,hop, Vnu,,.