Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1877-02-22

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In the spring Of 1855, Elder Perley
P. Pratt, Of the Mormon community
seduced from her home the wife Of Mr.
II. H. Mclean, a merchant of San Fran
cisco, to make her his seventh wife. Or
her fight the deserted husband sent hi
two children, avery interesting boy ant
girl, to his father-in-law, IN New Or
leans. Some time afterward ths
mother left Salt Lake, got her children
and started back to Utah with them
On discovering this the doubly injured
father started in pursuit. He came te
New York, heard Of Pratt here, and
tracked him from this point to St. Louis
There he lost him. Then he left New
Orleans, where he heard that his wife
and children were then going through
Texas to Salt Lake, SO of he went tc
Texas. In his search for the missing
ones, be had learned that his wife had
assumed the name Of Mrs. p. P. Par
ker, and while travelling through Texas
he contrived to- intercept some letters
which he found bearing this superscrip.
ton. On breaking the seal he saw
they were written in cipher. He sue
cceded in finding the key to the cipher,
however, and discovered that the letters
were from Pratt, and contained re-
quest that the caravan with which Mrs.
Mclean and her children were travel
ing should go to the neighborhood Of
Fort Gibson, in the Cherokee Nation.
Confused and dispirited, Mr.. Mclean
returned to New Orleans, whence be
started for Fort Gibson, assuming the
name of johnson. He made known
his secret to the officers of the fort only.
Here his yigilant and energetic pursuit
Of the fugitives was soon rewarded. He
captured not only his wife and children,
but the scoundrel who, in the name of
religion, had enticed them from their
home. The United States Marshal
took them before Commissioner John
B. Ogden for trial. The case awoke in
tense excitement at the time, and the
populace clamored for vengeance on the
wretch who had deliberately plotted and
planned the ruin Of a prosperous and
happy family, The cipher letters were
produced in Court, and Mr.. Mclean
told such ei
PATHETIC STORY OF BIS WRONGS
that Pratt only escaped lynching by
being concealed in the Jail, Even the
complainant himself became so enraged
at one time during the trial that IN tue
very cour. to which he. had come for
| -
justice he ciutched his pistol to shoot
Pratt thea and there. And no wonder,
for he was told the Law was powerless
to punish Pratt. Early next morning
toe Mormon Elder was dismissed and
left the place secretly, but Mclean
watched and pursued Jim, overlook
him on his road, and killed. him N h;s
tracks.
With h;s children Mclean returned
TO New Orleans, and the wife, having
meanwhile become a ravins maniac,
was sent to an insane asylum.
MOTIVE FOR THE CRIME.
It was this event, combined with the
apprehended appointment Of new terri
torial officers by the government, that
led to the horrible massacre Of emf
grants at Mountain Meadow soon after
slight motives for such terrible
crime. Piece by piece came to light
the fearful truth concerning that mon.
strous slaughter, for participation in
which John D. Lee was sentenced, last
October, to suffer the extreme penalty
Of the law. Enriched by the earle,
discoveries in the gold mines Of Califor.
MIA, party Of Arkansas miners return
ed, in 1856, to their late homes with
light hearts and full pockets to take
back to the land ofgold their household
goods, wives, children and friends. The
story of their success infamed the hearts
Of their neighbors, and very soon 3
large party got ready and set out iher
ally provided for the trip across ths
continent. The emigrant train mus
have numbered about 14O souls in all
and in property and in money, horses
furniture and camp equipments was ricl
beyond all comparison with tho emf
grant trains then moving westward
The men were we'll armed for defens,
against roaming bands Of Indians, an,
al cherished high hopes ola safe an,
comfortable journey and a prosperou
future in their intended new homes il
the gold fields. Before they had pro.
ceeded very far into the Territory 0
Utah the Mormons became informed o
their approach, and deeming this an ex
cellent opportunity
FOR REvEN0E AND.P14uNDER,
called council, at which it was deter
mined to order out the Mormon miltia
ito follow and attack the accurse,
Gentiles, and let the arrows Of til
Almighty drink their blood" Mean
time the Mormons assured their unsus
pecting victims by pretended diendl
advice. They told them il Was too lat
to cross the Sierra Nevada Mountain