Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1877-04-06
A MEMORABLE JOURNEY.

VII hDo RnHU WIN y 0hu -. Lee from
SAT- Lake TO Be0VeF-a 6dppOsed
Attempt Rt His Rescue anu How
IL was Frustrated.
The Flint (Mich.) Democrat
prints an extract from letter writ
ten by the Hon. Sumner Howard,
United States district attorney for
Utah, to his wife, and describing
his journey with John D. Lee, the
Mountain Meadows murderer, back
from Salt Lake City to Beaver for
resentence after denial by the Su-
.preme Court of his motion for a
new trial. He says:
For a week before leaving | felt
very keenly the uncomfortable out
look of the proposed journey over
a wild, mountainous and almost
uninhabited country of $50 miles
with man like Lee in charge, and
only Marshal Nelson and myself to
guard him, well knowing that he
has fcrty sons who had sworn that
he never should be executed. The
prospect was not materially bright
ened by the fact that a man came to
York (the northern terminus of the
stage route which we took for our
southern trip, a friend of Marshal
Nelson, and in a confidential man
ner informed him that he had it
from reliable private source that a
rescue was to be attempted between
Cove creek and Chicken creek, the
most desolate and isolated stretch
of sage-bush desert in the Rocky
mountain range. To tell you the
truth, there were places in Michi-
gan that l would gladly have trans
ferred my precious person to at the
time this most comforting piece Of
intelligence was conveyed TO my al
ready excited mind. But | did not
feel like backing out, so l wbistled,
kept my courage up, aud we started
out for a lonely night ride. You
will remember that it was between
the two points named that the
Wells & Fargo express was robbed
by Harker and Willis last summer,
and this spot has been selected by
many Of the mountain outlaws as 3
suitable place for deeds of dark.
ness. Well, we came along al
right. AT about l o'clock the stage
stuck in the mud, and we were in
vited by the courteous driver to get
out to tighten up the load. Thil
well intended invitation BishoI
Lee declined to accept, but Marsha
Nelson and his guard, District-At
torney Howard, wishing to cult.
vate the good opinion Of the con.
ductor Of the vehicle, gracefully
alighted from the jerky' IA Utal
stage), and stuck so deep in th'
mud that our trousers pockets were
in great dangerof being filled. Tht
driver started his jerky, and l start
ed one foot, but it came out of tn,
mud minus an overshoe. My effor
to reach it with my hand proved
that my leg was longer than m,
arm, so | let it go, and threw all my
strength into the other leg ant
brought the other foot to daylight
but | found on examination tha
:qy oVershoes had been decently in
tered, near together, SO deep in tn
muddy soil of Zion that the Latter
Day Saints, with their sharp seen
Tor plunder, will need a revelation
to find them. In this plight fol
lowed the spatter and splash of tn,
ierkey till that vehicle camo to
standstill on terra arma, and
gracefully nestled by the side Of m,
companion, Butcher Lee, who ia
cetiously remarked that "a maj
would bo a - fool to wade through
mud up to his knees to his place 0
execution.
"At Corn creek Bisho,
Lee met mysterious looking nor
tai who was on the way up fror
Beaver, aud informed the 'butchei
that he had seen AL. one {
Lees most desperate sons) at BeaV
er, day or two before, and tha
the boys expected the old man t
arrive Tuesday night or Wednesda
. morning. This piece of inform'
tion seemed to affect Brother lie
and the district attorney in abou