The American Cowboy Chronicles
By Tom Correa
The Mountain Meadows Massacre 1857
For
folks who like exploring America, the site of the Mountain Meadows Massacre
sits just off of Highway 18 about 32 miles North of St. George, Utah. It is
about 150 miles from Las Vegas, Nevada. To get there simply follow Interstate
15 North for about 120 miles to St. George. Exit at Bluff Street. Turn left to
reach Highway 18 which parallels a part of the historic Old Spanish Trail. Head
North through Veyo and go on past the Pine Valley turnoff. The turnoff to the
massacre site is well-marked and sits on the left side of the highway.
Since
it's always great to know what took place in the areas we decide to explore,
let's talk about what happened at Mountain Meadows.
From
September 7th to the 11th of 1857, members of the Utah Territorial Militia from
Iron County, along with a few Paiute Indians, attacked the Baker-Fancher wagon
train at Mountain Meadows in southern Utah. Some refer to the group as the
Fancher-Baker wagon train. It was a slaughter of what most agree was 140
emigrants from Arkansas who were on their way to California. That senseless
slaughter of innocents became known as "The Mountain Meadows
Massacre."
The
Utah Territorial Militia, which was officially known as the "Nauvoo
Legion," was made up of Southern Utah Mormon settlers. And since they knew
perfectly well that their crime of mass murder was one so horrid in nature that
they would certainly be hanged for their horrible deeds, they decided to leave
no witnesses. So in an effort to prevent anyone from identifying those
responsible and to stop the possibility of any sort of reprisals against them,
they killed men, women, and children.
Yes,
they killers mercilessly killed every adult man and woman, as well as the older
children. Out of those attacked, only 17 very young children, all said to be
under the age of 6 were spared. And to confuse and deceive their victims, the
Utah Militia dressed as Indians and used some Native American weapons to give
the impression that the massacre was done by Indians. The militia's plan also
included arming a few Paiute, then get them join the militiamen who were
dressed as Indians.
The
Baker-Fancher wagon train was no different than other wagon trains heading
West. Their wagon train was primarily made up of families from Arkansas, all bound
for California. The pioneers were folks from Marion, Crawford, Carroll, and Johnson
counties in Arkansas. They were headed to Southern California. Aboard the
wagons was their lives, family treasures, memories of where they came from, and
of course whatever money they had.
The
party was made up of a dozen large and prosperous families and their hired
hands. No slaves were in the party to anyone's knowledge. The wagon train is
believed to have had up to 30 wagons all pulled by ox and mule teams. They also
brought several hundred head of cattle and a number of blooded horses with
them. Some reports say they were headed to California’s Central Valley while
others say they were headed to Southern California. Either way, the group
consisted of about 140 men, women and children. The women and children are said
to have outnumbered the adult men by 3 to 1.
The
wagons made their way through a route that crossed the Utah Territory. And
soon, the Baker-Fancher group made their way to Salt Lake City. There they were
confronted with Mormons who were not very happy to see them. Basically because
of their hostility and distrust for anyone from the outside, Mormons refused to
sell the Baker-Fancher group stock when they tried to buy fresh oxen and
mules. Because of that taking place, the folks in that wagon train knew full
well that their journey was made harder. So they left Salt Lake City as soon as
they could and made their way South through the Old Spanish Trail.
While
they traveled slower than they normally would have with fresh oxen and mules,
they decided to rest and allow their cattle to graze at Mountain Meadows. It
was an area that had good pasture and water. Mountain Meadows is considered an
alpine oasis on the Old Spanish Trail between Salt Lake City and Southern
California. It was there that the Mormon Militia attacked them for no
apparent reason.
On
Monday, September 7th, at dawn, the Utah Territorial Militia, also known as the
"Nauvoo Legion," with it's 70 Mormons and handful of Paiute Indians,
attacked the wagon train with a barrage of gunfire and arrows. The Utah
militiamen were firing their arrows from a nearby ravine. They used gunfire to
rain down on the wagons from hilltops overlooking the 30 wagons. The first
volley alone is said to have killed or wounded a quarter of the men.
And
though that was the case, the men in the wagon train are said to have leveled
their long rifles and fired at the smoke of their attackers. This stopped the
Utah Militia from making a full on frontal assault.
With
the first attack, the Arkansans pulled their wagons into a circle and quickly
built an improvised wagon fort including digging a pit to get their women and
children out of the line of fire. Of course besides being under assault from
what they assumed were hostile Indians, they were cut off from water.
Rationing
water and saving as much ammunition as possible while under continuous gunfire
and an assault from arrows, the Arkansas emigrants did in fact stave off their
attackers for five days. And yes, it's said that they the Utah Militia attacked
the wagon train time and time again but were repealed by the emigrants after
each assault.
While
a desire to live and persevere motivated those in the wagon train, frustration
was being felt by the Utah Militia who soon realized that they were simply not
able to wipe out the wagon train as they planned. For the Mormon Militia, their
five-day siege of the pioneers from Arkansas was seen as fruitless since those
in the wagon train fought back so valiantly.
It
is said that it was on the second day of their siege that Mormon Militia's
leadership realized that some of the Arkansas emigrants saw that they were
Whites and not Indians. Some speculate that it was their knowledge of being
discovered for who they really were, and the possibility that some of their
militia may be identified at a later date, that made the militia's commander to
order the killing of every emigrant in that wagon train. Yes, every men, women,
and child.
Because
the wagon train was running low on food and water, and since no one thought
they would need enough provisions to last out a siege, the folks in the wagon
train met with the Utah Militia under a white flag of truce. The Utah Militia
gave assurance to the travelers that were there to protect them. That they were
there to escort them to safety. But, there was one stipulation. The folks from
Arkansas had to lay down their arms.
As
crazy as it sounds, knowing that they would be unarmed against hostiles, those
in the wagon train accepted the help. They were split into groups and walked a
distance from the camp before they were all summarily slaughtered. All who were
thought old enough to be potential witnesses to what really took place were
killed.
It's
true, on Friday, September 11th, 1857, two Mormon militiamen walked up to the
wagon train holding a white flag of truce. They assured the folks from Arkansas
that they were there to help. The two were soon accompanied by a local Indian
Agent and militia officer who told the Arkansas travelers that
he had personally negotiated some sort of truce with the Paiutes. He told the
Arkansans that he and his men had come to rescue them from the Indians. If the
emigrants would lay down their arms, then he assured them that they would be
escorted to safety under Mormon protection. But only if they laid down their
arms and turned over all of their livestock and supplies to the Indians.
Because
the folks from Arkansas were out of options, they did as instructed. Right
after that the Mormons separated the survivors into three groups. The wounded
and youngest children were the first to be loaded onto two wagons to lead the
way to safety. The second were the women and older children who walked behind
the wagons. The third group were the men. Each of them were escorted by an
armed guard from the militia. They brought up the rear.
The
Indian Agent led the groups away from their wagons for what some say was more
than a mile to the California Trail and right there at the rim of the Great
Basin. It was there that a senior Mormon militia officer escorting the men gave
the order to halt.
With
that, a single shot rang out. Then each escort turned and shot the man he was
escorting. Other militia members are said to have jumped out of the brush
lining the trail and cut down the women and children. The Indian Agent himself
is said to have personally directed the murder of the wounded.
Within
a mere five minutes, the horrible atrocity was over. Everyone from the wagon
train lay dead. That is except for what some believe were 17 children all under
the age of 7.
Surprisingly,
killers saw those children as being too young to be credible witnesses. They
were also said to have "qualified" as "innocent blood"
under Mormon doctrine. Those children were actually taken in by local Mormon
families. Reports say that in an effort to conceal the massacre, the Utah
Militia ordered local families to take in one or more of the 17 children that
were spared.
After
the massacre, believe it or not, the Utah Militia actually buried the victims
in shallow graves. If you're thinking that this would not look like an Indian
massacre, you're right. And since they did bury them in a hurry, the bodies of
their victims were left vulnerable to critters searching for food. That means
that they were probably unearthed enough for investigators to examine. The
bodies were found and the evidence overwhelmingly pointed to murder. And since
Indians did not bury their victims, people there knew it was not them.
The
goods and family treasures that survived the trip from Arkansas to that deadly
spot in Utah was said to have been auctioned off by the militia itself. In
reality, after the massacre, some of the property was said to have been taken
by the Paiute. But since the wagon train carried all of the worldly goods of
those murdered, and was considered the wealthiest wagon train to make that
trek, their valuables and of course their cattle were taken by the Mormon
Militia and split up among them. Some of the cash and property is said to have
ended up in the pockets of Mormon leader Brigham Young. To me, that sounds a
lot like a murder robbery than simple vengeance for some reason.
As
for the cattle, it's believed that some of the cattle were driven to Salt Lake
City and sold there. Much of what was left was personal property, those things
are believed to have ended up in the "tithing house" in Cedar City.
It is believed that those things were also auctioned off to Mormons there.
Imagine that.
The
officers in charge made the Utah Militia swear an oath of secrecy. Then a plan
was put into play that would blame the entire massacre on the Paiute Indians.
And though that was the official line about what took place there, as the
evidence inevitably came out, those guilty tried to explain it away with lies
and even denying that it ever took place. And yes, it's also said that some of
the killers actually went insane and tried killing themselves. Other Utah
Militia members are said to have fled to Mexico one step ahead of the hangman.
Or more aptly for Utah, one step ahead of a firing squad.
In
1874, investigations led to nine Utah Militia officers and the Indian Agent
John D. Lee being indicted. Of the men indicted, only Lee was tried in court.
After two trials in the Utah Territory, Lee was finally convicted by a jury and
sentenced to death by firing squad. It should be noted that he made a full
confession without implicating others before being executed.
On
March 23rd, 1877, Indian Agent John D. Lee was executed by firing squad for
what took place at Mountain Meadows. He is regarded today as a scapegoat.
Later
the U.S. Army reclaimed 17 of the children and returned to relatives in
Arkansas. Those children never received a penny in compensation. was ever
offered to the survivors. For many living descendants and relatives of the
victims, it's said that the massacre remains a bitter reminder of the injustice
that was experienced by some in the Old West.
And
there is something else, sadly those who were killed have been slandered over
the years in one way or another. Some have actually said that the Mountain
Meadows Massacre was a reprisal for the killing of some Mormon in Arkansas
about the same time. Others say those folks in the wagon train were criminal
types who left Arkansas on the run. Many fabricate such stories in an effort to
make excuses for such a crime against humanity. We should be aware of that when
researching history.
As
for the motive? Some say it was because of the Utah War against Federal troops
entering Utah from 1857 to 1858. The Utah Militia reportedly used tactics such
as destroying supplies while avoided direct fighting. It's also reported that
commanders and members of the Iron County Utah Territorial Militia, were
overcome with suspicion and war hysteria when they massacred the Baker-Fancher
wagon train.
While
Mormons were the majority in the Great Salt Lake basin, the Western part of the
Utah Territory was populated by non-Mormon settlers. This led to a great deal
of hate and discontent for those not of their faith because the Mormons saw
their arrival as an encroachment on Mormon territory. And while that may have
been the motive for the massacre, it's also possible that the Utah Militia used
their sanctioned authority to simply murder and rob those traveling through
their territory.
Tom Correa
