The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1877-05-10
THE WAR on NE MORMONS.
brigham Young Rr'ponsibie for the
Mountain Meadow NassacrP...staic,
meut OF n Mormon Womnu

Mormon woman residing in Lockport;
Mrs Eliza j. Webb, mother of "Ann
eliza" the recently divorced wife OF
Brigham Young has resided here since
ler return from Utah, where she back. !,
lid rom the Mormon faith with her
laughter more than two years ago. Mira. |
Webb was one Of the original Mormons,
having Joined the sect in New York, in
1888, when she was sweet sixteen and
dreadiuIly poor. Three yearslatcr she was
IN Kirkland, Ohio, to Chauncoy
&. Webb, Mormon like herself whom
she followed through years of vicssi
tudes to Missouri, to Nauvoo, in Illinois,
in the long journey to Utah, and through
the wilds and settlements of that famous
territory She has encountered hard
ships enough to drive a sensitive woman
crazy, yet neither her health nor her
spirits are broken. The worst thing she
had at first TO endure after Joseph
Smiths revelation" in 1913 concern,
ing pOlygamy, was the accession Of her
husband to other wives. First he brought
one vile, who, according to Mrs. Webb,
was very good girl" "When he
brought three more wives, and all in the
course Of Il month";" says Mrs. Webb,
" ! felt that my heart was sore" Mrs.
Wcbb's long residence in Utah. her
acquaintance Of II years with Brigham
Young, and the former close connection
Of her daughter with the prophet, rem
dered her statements in regard to his re.
sponsibility for the Mountain meadow
massacre very important.
EVIDENCE AGAINST BRIGHAM YOUNG.
She received me pleasantly this morn
ing at her cottage home, and thus re.
sponned to my questions:
Have you any opinion providence"
] asked, III regard to Young's connec-
ton with the Mountain Mcadowsa affair %
! have a positive conviction" she re
piled.
"To what orcct?"
"Tnat Brigham Young instgatcd, and
probably ordered, the slaughter. This
conviction was long in forming, but it
has been maturcd since fifteen months. "
Please state your reasons"
They are several. They spring out
OF thorough knowledge OF the life and
CharlCtcro Brigham Young, experience
ot the ianatici.m and regulations Of the
Mormon church, recollection of circum.
stances at the time of the massacre, and
the testimony OF men familiar with tie
facts. brigham Youngs abilities are
no, to be dcspiSed although he is popu.
larly credited with many that he has not
To this day, after all the shocks the
Mormon church and his own reputation
have met with, he continues to hold 200
600 people in subjection Some he holds
through their fears or their sense of self
interest; but the most of them are still
physically, morally and intellectually
PROSTATE before him At the time of
the butchery at Mountain Meadows his
mastery over his people was far more
absolute than the pope of Rome could
ever have boosted OF.
BRIGHAM AS GoD's MOuTurIrCE.
His word was law; it was, in fact.
accepted as the word Of God himself
|, among thousands of others, implicitly
believed it to be 10, and every member
of the Church Of Jesus Christ OF Latter
Day SainstA was sworn, ~ John d L,t
was sworn. to obey all the orders Of the
priesthood OF which Brigham Young wa,
the head. He was acknowledged, almost
worShlpped, AS prophet, priest, rcvclator
To the most ignorant OF the Mormon,
he was the only God they knew any
thing about, and to the rest he stood rs
mediator between them and the Al
mighty. All, excepting, Of course, who
held the mental reservations which
nobody can aIIegc for or against fellow
being imagined that they must comply
with brigham I0ung's requirements OF
slIfler the Supreme Gods diSpleasurc. y
BRUTAL TYRANT.
Did this feeling, that they must
obey Young and the priesthood 20 to all
lengths? Did itnotstDp shorta crime"
Why, no. The command OF the
prophet to do anything whatever made
obedience n sacred duty. 1t took away
from all crimes 80 called, the faint Of
criminality. 1t made vice virtue 1t
sanctIfed practices totally abhOrrent to
Christians-evcn to civilized human na.
ture. For example, Young frequently
permitted or directed the marriage Of
his tav0rites to their own wives dnugh-
tiers by other men. Privately he encOur.
aged the marriage of brothers and sisters
and once he married Il couple who were
children OF the same mother bit no. by
the same father. He admitted that the
people were not sufficiently advanced tc
bear much of this, but no one dared
openly gainsay him when asked by hin
to swallow it. The man who welded al
influence like this had no difficulty il
getting anything accomplished. II,
made himself feared, as well as respected
through the terrible order of the Danitcs
from which the Destroying Angels o
the Church were selected. John ID
Lee, Dame, and Others, all belonged t,
this misnamed, deviish clan. The,
were ready to strike at anybody at tn,
lifting Of Brigham Young's finger ever
at such a signal as the scratching of hi
nose"
WHY THE MASSACRE WAS ORDERED.
I" But what could have been Young
motive for directing the commission o
SO h0rrid a crime"
"Spme," responded Mrs. Webb, "hav
ascribed avarce as Il motive, Tor thes
reasons That the Arkansas emigran
train was the richest that had pas>c,
through Utah since the Mormon settle
ment there, and that Brigham is Eerhap,
the most avaricious false prophet VIII
ever lived. Yet, no; it was not avariC
that chiefly prompted him on that occa
sion"
"What, them"
"A brutal and misguided resentment
laundering military encouraged by tn
fanatic desperation Of the Mormon
priesthood next under him. At tina
time the whole Mormon fabric was EN-
dangered Tor the third or fourth time b.
the power OF the United States govern
ment, The outside prejudice agains
Mormonism, east and west, was intense
and a report was circulated that tn,
people OF the approaching emigrant trair