MOUNTAIN MEADOW TRAGEDY.
The Most Horrid Event of the Amer-ican Border — One Hundred and Thirty Men, Women and Children Murdered by the Mormons.
The late arrest of John D. Lee, the chief actor in the Mountain Meadow massacre, some twenty years ago, gives occasion to relate the particulars of that frightful tragedy, as far as they have been ascertained.
DISCOVERY OF THE MASSACRE.
In 1858, while General Johnston's army was encamped at Camp Floyd, fifty miles from Salt Lake, information was received in regard to the Mountain Meadow massacre, and the action of the Government at Washington, ap-propriating $10,000 for the recovery of the children presumed to have been saved from the massacre, and supposed to have been in the hands of the In-dians. Mr. Rogers being appointed In-dian Agent, was instructed during the Summer to proceed to the scene of the massacre and rescue the surviving children. He took a company of cav-alry and left Camp Floyd for Cedar City, near the scene of the massacre. On arriving on the ground he found the bones of one hundred and thirty human beings, men, women and children. In gathering up the remains for burial he discovered that a large number of the murdered persons had been shot through the head, the ball entering the back part of the head and coming out at the front. The wolves and coyotes had eaten the flesh from the bones. A two-bushel basket of women's hair, that was strewn around among the sage brush, was gathered up by Mr. Rogers.
THE EMIGRANTS SLAIN.
In 1849, upon the excitement created by the gold discoveries in California, several pioneers of Arkansas went to California in search of the precious metal. They were very successful. In the Fall of 1856, with their accumu-lated gains, they returned to Arkansas for the purpose of taking their families and some of their relatives to settle in the new El Dorado, in which they had been so fortunate. They purchased a large amount of blooded stock and fitted out a train of about forty wagons. They numbered about one hundred and forty-six men, women and children. They were known to be a very wealthy train. In the Spring of 1857, as we have stated, they started across the plains. On arriving at Salt Lake City they were told by the Mormons that they were too late to cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains by the old emigrant route. The Mormons assured them that there was a better pass by going down through Southern Utah, passing through Southern Nevada, going over the range of mountains and coming out near Los Angeles, Lower California. This route the Mormons assured the emigrants to be practicable and safe. Placing confidence in the reports and statements of the Mormons, the emi-grants started by the southern route.
SCENES OF THE MASSACRE.
Passing down through the settlements unmolested, they encamped at what is known as Mountain Meadows, a little narrow valley dividing the hills and mountains on each side, with a plenti-ful supply of grass and water—a beauti-ful place to camp. Little did these em-igrants think that this beautiful spot would in a short time be their sepulchre, the scene of a sanguinary massacre—the worst massacre that we have any rec-ord of in the history of the bloody deeds of the savages upon the early de-fenceless American settlements. While encamped in this lovely spot they were attacked from behind the adjoining hills by, as they supposed, Indians. Several of their number were wounded. The pioneers, however, being used to Indian warfare and well skilled with the handling of the old Kentucky rifle, were able to keep their assailants at a long range. Their wagons were drawn in a circle, forming a sort of a fortification. The wheels were sunken to the hubs. Earthworks were thrown up on the outside of the wagons, making a tempo-rary but formidable defence. A ditch was dug from this fortification to a spring near at hand to enable the emi-grants to reach water under cover. For five long days they were able to sustain themselves here without any further loss in wounded or killed. Their stock had been driven off early in the attack.
TREACHERY OF THE MORMONS.
On the sixth day, early in the morn-ing, they discovered a large body of men coming up the road from toward Cedar City. No firing had been done that morning, and no supposed Indians in sight. A white flag was hoisted by the white men approaching them, and these doomed emigrants, believing the new comers to be friends, dressed a beautiful girl in white and placed her outside of the fortifications in token of friendship. The presumed friends at once approached. They were Mormons —Latter Day Saints—and headed by J. D. Lee. A parley ensued. Lee told the emigrants that there were large numbers of Indians in the hills; but if they (the emigrants) would lay down their arms they would protect them and take them back to the Mormon settlements, they then being 800 miles southwest from Salt Lake City and near the Nevada line. After a long parley the emigrants consented to the proposition of Lee. It may be here remarked that these emi-grants had about one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in gold with them, which they had procured by their previous ventures in California. Lee told them that if they took their arms with them the Indians were in such numbers that they would massacre them. Plunder, said the Mormon chief, was all the Indians were after. The pioneers thereupon laid down their arms, taking with them such of their valuables as they could conveniently carry, and consented to accompany the Mormons back to Cedar City—twelve miles. The emigrants marched out of their fortification in the direction of the above named place.
CONSUMMATION OF THE TRAGEDY-
The Mormons, headed by Lee, fell directly in their rear. At this time not an Indian was in sight, and 200 yards from the wagons of the emigrants was inaugurated the scene of this terrible deed. Lee and his party commenced firing upon the emigrants, shooting several of the most prominent men through the head at the first fire. The emigrants being entirely unarmed, the slaughter was an easy task. After all the men and most of the women had been killed, a young lady of eighteen summers sprung forward, and clasping her hands, fell upon her knees in front of Lee, begging him to spare her life. She then rose and clasped him round the neck, declaring to him that she had a lover in California to whom she owed her life; that she was engaged to marry him on her arrival there. Lee, after hearing her pitiful story, took her aside and ravished her, and then with his knife cut her throat, leaving her body on the spot to be eaten by the wolves.
SURVIVING CHILDREN.
Sixteen children were saved from the general massacre, two of them being Seven years of age. Mr. Rogers gath-ered the children together, refusing to pay the ransom demanded for their re-lease by the Mormons. After he had the children in his camp, near the Mor-mon settlements at Cedar City, two of them, then about eight years of age, told Mr. Rogers that Lee and the white men had murdered their parents. Of course, Mr. Rogers was astounded at this, the first information he had re-ceived of the real authors of the diabol-ical massacre. He pursued his investi-gations among the children, and their testimony was corroborative of the in-telligence he had previously obtained. It should be here stated that two Mor-mons came to the tent of Mr. Rogers at midnight, about this time, and told him that their hearts were heavy with grief. If he would spare their lives they would give him a true history of the awful massacre. Rogers told them to proceed and open their hearts.
THEIR REVELATIONS.
These two Mormons (the names of whom Mr. Rogers does not recall) told him they were summoned by John D. Lee, the then commander of the Nauvoo Legion, at Cedar City, to appear in In-dian costume, painted, with long hair, fully to represent the native savage, prepared to go to Mountain Meadows. The Mormons attacked the train of emi-grants as Indians. Lee finding that the emigrants were too strongly fortified after five clays' siege, retired back and dressed in citizen's clothes, and as we have above described, decoyed the emi-grants into a surrender of their arms. The statement was made in full to Mr. Rogers by the two Mormons we have referred to, thus corroborating fully the statements made by the rescued chil-dren. Furthermore, they stated that the blooded stock and the wagons of the emigrants were taken back to Cedar City to the Mormon tithing establish-ment, and there sold at public auction for the benefit of the Mormon Church.
