Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1892-06-06

| 800 volunteers, etc." II was merely
| the favorite Mormon method Of throw.
ing of care, exemplined hundred
times by Brigham Young and his
people-'the merry, merry Mormons'-
| during and nitsr their long and ArduOus
pilgrimage across the dusolate plains.
| Agais, you say that the battalion,
when II enlisted, did not expect so
meet nm open foe In the field,' Cali
fornia being conquered practically
then, and the indomitable keafney
was going ahead Of this battalion
Now, Mr.. Editor, Ia this real history.
or only one Of those ideals which
your fancy has awakened through
long devotion 10 a causep California
wns nearly two thousand miles away,
with no railroads, no telegraph inter
vening. IL took news six months TO
travel from the Missouri river TO the
Pacific COST, and vice versa. How
could the battalion have expected not
10 meet an open foe in the field, when
II was for the purpose Of such = meet.
ing that its members had enlis'ed9 They
did not know that California was con.
quercj practically At the time OF their
enlistment. The government did not
know IL, or II would not have sent tho
battalion. Even Kearney did not
know It, though be- had len Fort
Leavenworth aud wss marching
toward Santa Fe, which he cap.
turcd. II was from that point that
hs sent the battalion. under Colonel
Cook, to iSouthern California, via New
Aisxico and Arizona, while he took a
shorter route nnd reached the coast be
fore them, after learning en- route that
| Fremont had defeated the Municans,
driven them southwark aud taken pos.
session Of the country In the nsme OF
the United States. The Mormon Bat.
talon, on leaving tho Missouri river
yes, and on leaving santa Fe, did ex.
pect to meet tho foe, ani according 10
Colonel Cooke made the greatest inian.
try march ON record Tor the pur pose Of
meeting them. That the nghting was
over before they arrived was not their
fault, nor was i according to their ex.
recitation. Evidently there 10 more
than one writer In Utah who IL IAN
advocate and not judge" who "does
not render u diApaHsiouato opinion"
who "docs not realize that he In writ
ing something which In the very
natur. OF things In many places would
be impossible"
'As 10 your structures on the des-
cription given la my book Of the
Mountain Meadows mas.acre--that
awful crime which all citizens Of Utah
deplore and denou ncc-let me tell you
that there IN more truth ia the account
there given than In any other thEt has
found its way into print. True, have
not laid the responsibility for 1t Mt
the door Of the Mormon Church, and
sought 10 implicate tho Innocent with
the guilty, rs some chfoniclers have
done. hut | have told plain story
and n truthful one, 40 far IN the truth
IN known TO me, after faithful aud dili.
gent research, and | have not sous hi
10 shield the guilty nor shade the glar-
ing horror OF their crime, You say that
"the fact that no effort was ever made
by those In nuthority--by neither
Brigham Young nor all his hOsts-to
bring those wretches who penetrated
that mass acre 70 Justice, IL concealed"
Not 40. | have simply not touched
upon that phase OF the subject. pro.
pose to DO 30, however, In the second
volume, when the trial OF John ID. Lee
will be fully treated. Brigham Young,
ut that trial, gave his reasons for not
taking the Initiative In the matter OF
bringing the guilty TO Justice. He
ought In all fairness 10 be heard before
he 10 condemned. propose to give
him hearing. That Ia tho part OF 70
judge" | believe, while 10 deny II
would better become "an advocate"
You also affirm that "Judges and
Governors are criticised In the sans
spirit that We have seen them year af
ter year In the DEsERET NEws.n Tn,
NEWS can speak for itself. All have
to say IN that / have deemed II my
duty 10 tell tho truth Of men, and have
abused none, nor do Intend 10 do so
But men must stand by the records the y
make, nor blame the historian, II, with
all his good viii and charity toward
them, their acts are not wholly soon
cealed." Judge BrocchuA inside 9
fool OF himself Ia public, Judg,
Drummond was both liar and o
libertine, land Judge Cradlebaugh
sought TO make whole community re.
sponsible for the crimes Of certain In
uividuals. ls history to pass over and
Ignore such thing? Should tho fault
aud mistakes OF Brigham Young ant
tho Mormons, and not the faults and
mistakes OF Federal otilcialb and tn,
Gentiles, DO included Ia the history o.
Utah2 am sure / have spoken high
ly OF the majority Of the Judges sen
10 the Tcrrltory-such as Judge Reed
Judge Shaver, Judge Kinney et al.
as the facts will show. But you say
that Governors as well ns Judges ar,
criticised. There were only tw,
Governors OF Utah during the perioC
covered by volume one. They wsr,
, Brigham Young and Alfred Cumming
one Mormon, the other \ Gentle
Then, according to your own state
! ment, 1 have been impartial ns q
thom. Yes, l believe Governor
. Young hal his faulis--and on page
! 81 and 6Si the history says So
and believe Governor Cumming ha,
! his FAULT; but they were prett.
.. good men for all that; bettor by ia
, Than some who assAil them. but yol
say that you do not find In this %
called history one place where an.
man who ever opposed the Saints In
= private or ofilclsl capacity was right
/, Let me cite few passages from tn
! history:
1 "ThAt all who hated Brigham Y GUN
0 and Joseph Smith were roguss nm
hypocrites we do not believe; no moi
o than We believe that Joseph and Bril-
Y ham we're perfect men, without fAul
! aud not liable, like all men, TO max
9 mistakes. We believe that many VIII
Z hated them were sincere In the
4 hatred, and honestly supposed thu
4 they had ample cause Tor it.n-Pag
o 634.
!, "But the Gentiles did not love hlr
J., \ fnrtyhuul. nl lpaal mt ali mar ava