The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1922-10-17
HIS T1R'Y'S.'
|MYST cries
MOUNTAIN MEADOW MASSACRE
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nNE of the little known. chapters Of
- American HISTORIAN episode
which Is cloaked In mystery even to-
day-concern itself with the massa.
ere Of party of emlgrants, which took
place near Mountain Meadow, In Utah,
In September, 1857, and for participa-
tion In which John d. Lee was exc
cuted some twenty years later.
About Il hundred and forty men,
women and children were crossing the
continent ut the time, on their way
from Missouri to the coast, and stopped
In Mountain Meadow, about 800 miles
west Of Salt Lake, City. to rest their
horses and to permit the members of
the party to recuperate from the strain
Of their journey up to this point Fa-
miliar with the dangers of cross-coun-
try travel, they arranged their wagons
in circle with the women and chill
dren inside, and the men taking turns
Mt watching for signs of q possible at
tack. Two days passed without any
indication OF trouble, and the emlgrants
were on the point Of setting out on the
next portion of their trip when their
outposts reported that apparently
hostile Indians had made their ap-
pearance at number of points near
u.
Little by little the enemys scouts
crept closer, and then, as one Of the
! Missourians forced the issue by hold
( Ing up his hand as a signal for peace
I ful conference, the sharp crack OF
rifle shot made 1t plain that the In
dians were intent upon an attack,
rather than barley or the exchange
( of goods Hardly an hour of the en-
counter had passed, however, before II
became plain that fully half of the hos
tile force were not Indians, but whites
-Mormons who had joined forces with
+ the redskins in order to effect an ex-
! termination of the visitors who, they
feared, would undermine their iniiu-
ence in this section Of the country.
The combination of Indian cunning
and constant stream OF ammunition
supplied by the whites, was almost too
much for the little band Of emIgrants,
but, having been careful TO pitch their
camp In spot which commanded all
the available approaches, they stood
by their guns and resisted the siege for
four full days and nights. Finally, on
the fifth day, they left the shelter Of
their wagons under the promise OF
protection by John ID. Lee, Mormon
bishop and Indian ngent. Within the
hour, however, all the adults and chill
dren over seven years OF age had been
slaughtered in cold blood, and II Of
the younger children were then dis
trlbuted among Mormon families but
were afterwards restored to their rel
atives through the action of the gov
ernment
When, after an investigation OF the
matter by officials of the War depart
ment, Lee was arrested and charged
with murder. he implicated a number
of the highest officials In the Mormon
church in his confession Of treachery
claiming that Brigham Young himself
had full knowledge of the intended
massacre. and had taken no steps TO
prevent ii.
Governor Young told me- de-
clared Lee, that If would stand up
and shoulder full respo sibiIIty for
the affair, 1t would be f Their In my
cap some day, and thai should
achieve celestial salvation, but he add
ed that the man who shrunk from u
responsibility OF this kind would be
certain to be consigned TO Hades for
ever"
Despite his confession, and the mani.
fest evidence that he was far from be-
ing alone In the laying of the plans for
the cold-blooded massacre. Lee was
executed Oh March % 1871 twenty
years later Government invcstiga'
tors developed clearly the fact that
Lee had been only catspaw In the
whole matter, but when they attempt.
ed to place the blame where 1t be-
longed, they were frustrated at every
turn by the far.ilung machinery OF the
Mormon church.
The identity of the real leaders In
, the Mountain Meadow massacre has
never been definitely decided, and con
temporary historians state that Lee
would never have been convicted had
II not been for the fact that he had
been ostracized by the Mormon church
Brigham Young having instructed his
adherents to facilitate the progress oil