Mountain Meadow Horror.
PARTICULARS Of THE BUTCHERY.—JOHN D. LEE'S CONCESSION—ALL PARTICI-PATORS DESIGNATED—ISAAC C. HA1GHT AND JOHN M. HIGBY INSTIGATORS—SITUATION OF BEIGHAM YOUNG.
BEAVER, July 20.—The California Associated Press reporter is enabled by W. W. Bishop, attorney for John D. Lee, to give the following details of the confession of Lee, which sets out the character of the whole affair, which is very lengthy. Mr. Bishop said that when he got to Beaver he found that there was great excitement against Lee, and the people believed he should be sacrificed to appease the Moloch of the law. He beleived he could not get a fair trial in Utah, and consented that his client should turn State's evidence to get immunity from his acts. The prosecution agreed to enter a nolle prosequi as to the first indictment. Lee took his chances as to future in-dictments. After a long consultation with associate counsel he agreed to it; also, if his cofession proved satisfactory they agreed to dismiss all kinds of in-dictments against Lee. After Lee made his confession, the prosecution found that it did not implicate the high church authorities, also those in brief authority in military districts, so they refused to accept his statement, believing, as Bishop presumes, that they could, by trying Lee, procure tes-timony reaching nearer the apostolic centre; so they disregarded their agree-ment and placed Lee on trial. Lee's statement opens as follows: It now becomes my painful though imperative duty to chronicle the circumstances that led to the unforunate affair known as the 'Mountain Meadow massacre,' in Utah, which has been shrouded in mys-tery for fifteen years causing much com-ment, excitement and vindictive feeling throughout the land. The entire blame rests upon Mormon people in Utah. Now, injustice to humanity, I feel it my duty to show up the facts as they exist, according to the best of my ability, though I may implicate myself by so doing. I have no vindictive feel-ing whatever against any man or class of individuals; what I do is done from sense of duty to myself, to my God and the people at large, so that truth may come to light and blame rest where it properly belongs. I have been arrest-ed on a charge of being engaged in a crime committed at the time and place, referred to. I have been in close con-finement over eight months since my arrest. I was in irons three months of the time during my confinement. For the last seventeen years, in fact since the commission of the crime, I have given the subject much thought and re-flection. I have made an effort to bear my confinement with fortitude and re-signation, well knowing that most of those engaged in the unfortunate affair were led on by religious influences, comonly called fanaticism, and nothing but their devotion to God and their duty to Him, as taught them by their religion and their church leaders, would ever have induced them to com mit such outrageous and unnatural acts, believing that all who participa-ted in the lamentable transaction, or most of them, were acting under such orders that they considered it their re-ligious duty to obey. I have suffered all kinds of illtreatment, as well as im-prisonment, rather than expose these men. Knowing the circumstances as I do, and believing in the sincerity of their motives as I always have done, I have a duty to perform. I have since I was arrested become convinced that it was not the policy of the Govern-ment or the wish of the Court to pun-ish these men but rather to protect, and let the blame rest on their leaders where it lawfully and justly belongs. After much thought and meditation I have come to the conclusion that I can-not longer remain silent on this subject but so far as I can I must bring to light circumstances connected, and re-move the cloud of mystery that has so long obscured the transaction and serv-ed to agitate the public mind, believing it to be my duty as a man, duty to my-self, to my family, to my God and to humanity, to cast aside the shackles so long holding my conscience in silence and in pursuance of the disinterested advice of my attorneys, I now submit the facts as far as I know them, stating nothing from malice or for purpose of revenge, and holding back nothing that I can state of my own knowledge. Willing that the world may know all that was done, and why the acts were committed, I submit the following as an exact, unvarying statement of facts and circumstances connected with the crime known as the Mountain Meadows massacre. The facts are as follows? [At this point pages of the confession relating to the massacre were refused reporters for the present, but the char-acter of them is permitted to be stated as follows:] He gives at great length a perfect and concise statement of acts and facts connected with the massacre giving names of persons, dates and places. He claims to fully expose all classes of men and every man connect-ed with the outrage. He starts out with his first knowledge of the emi-grant train, following them through their unfortunate experiencee and con-flicts up to the termination of their sad career. He describes all that was done by the murderers after the commission of the crime and the action of Brigham Young and the high priesthood; also the acts of those in authority, the dis-position of children saved, and particu-lars of their delivery to Dr. Forney, Agent of the Government, who remov-ed them to Missouri. In fact, the statement of Lee fully explains who, for what reason and how the tragedy was accomplished, stating the justifica-tion relied upon by participants for the commission of that fearful crime. The details fix the crime upon Isaac C. Haight and John M. Higby, command-ing officers, the former standing on an eminence and giving the signal agreed upon for the slaughter, after the emi-grants had been decoyed out of their stronghold by the flag of truce. The wounded had first been hauled out and were dispatched. There were thirty white men and a large number of In-dians. The details of the killing of men, women and children surpasses in horror all that has ever been written concerning the massacre, and is more terrible, atrocious and bloody than the most vivid imagination could conjec-ture; St. Bartholomew's day, and the utmost barbarity of humanity, absolute-ly pale before the sickening tale. In concluding, Lee writes as follows : A few days after the massacre, I was in-structed by Major Isaac C. Haight, next in command to W. H. Dame, in Iron Military District, to carry a report of what had been done to President Brig-ham Young, at Salt Lake City. He di-rected me to give him my report and stand up with manly courage, and I shouldered as much blame as possible, he saying if I did I should receive a celestial reward. This, however, is my nature never to bind burdens on others that I am not willing to bear myself. I then went to Salt Lake and reported to Brigham Young the exact facts con-nected with the transaction, shoulder-ing the greater share of the responsi-bility that justly belonged to me. In justice to Brigham Young I must say that when he heard my story he wept like a child and wrung his hands in bit-ter anguish and said: "This is a most unfortunate affair, the most unwaranted event that has ever hapened to the Mormon people; this transaction will bring sorrow and trouble upon us in Utah; I would to God it had never hap-pened." After hearing this I returned home with a drooping heart and re-ported the result of the mission to those in authority over me. Lee says seventeen children were saved, and were delivered to Dr. Forney, who promised to send them to friends in Missouri and Nebraska. He says the massacre was the result of millitary or-ders, Utah then being under martial law, by order of Brigham Young. Johnston's army being east, in Echo Cayon, and an invasion being expected from the west by way of California, the Mormon people were in a state of ex-citement, and acted as desperation dic-tated. Attorney Bishop alleges that Lee offered to give the prosecution the names of several of the murderers, who could be found as he believes.
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