ANSWERS: 4
  • Quotation: "If any miserable scoundrels come here, cut their throats." Brigham Young 1 "The Mountain Meadows Massacre stands without a parallel amongst the crimes that stain the pages of American history. It was a crime committed without cause or justification of any kind to relieve it of its fearful character... When nearly exhausted from fatigue and thirst, [the men of the caravan] were approached by white men, with a flag of truce, and induced to surrender their arms, under the most solemn promises of protection. They were then murdered in cold blood." William Bishop, Attorney to John D. Lee. 2 The early history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) was fascinating and sometimes chaotic. The Mormons: Insisted that the other Christian groups had deviated from the original teachings of Jesus. Used the Book of Mormon as a supplement to the Bible. Were perceived by Gentiles (non-Mormons) as trying to form a theocracy. Introduced polygamy by implementing the Law of Abraham, (a.k.a. the Patriarchal Order of Marriage, or Celestial Plural Marriage). For these and other reasons, their relationships with other Christians were always strained and often violent. LDS church members were heavily persecuted. They were expelled from a succession of settlements. In 1838, 17 Mormon settlers were murdered in the Massacre at Haun's Mill, MO. Their founder, Joseph Smith, was assassinated while in prison. In 1846, most of the Mormons relocated to the Great Salt Lake, Utah, and established a theocracy under Brigham Young. Mormon anger against the Gentiles (non-Mormons) remained high for many years. They had been persecuted wherever they had tried to settle. The year 1857 was a time of particularly high tensions. The Mormons were expecting an attack by the U.S. Army. It was in the fall of that year in what is now southwestern Utah that the Mountain Meadows Massacre took place. Author Juanita Brooks has concluded, "The complete—the absolute—truth of the affair can probably never be evaluated by any human being; attempts to understand the forces which culminated in it and those which were set into motion by it are all very inadequate at best." 3 A group of men -- variously described as Southern Paiute Indians, Mormons dressed as Natives, or a combination of Natives and Mormons -- deceived and attacked a group of 137 pioneers. Their wagon train was traveling from Arkansas, through Utah, and on to California. There are allegations that Mormons in the Mountain Meadows area created unrest among the Native population by spreading a rumor that the the pioneers were planning go to California and return with an army to attack the Natives and Mormons. Apparently, many people on both sides died in the initial conflict. The pioneers then surrendered. Under a flag of truce, they were disarmed, and then slaughtered in cold blood. In all, 120 men, women and children of the wagon train were killed. 17 children under the age of 10 were considered "too young to tell," and were spared. Brevet Jamor J.H. Carleton noted in his investigation of the tragedy "that about one third of the skulls were shot through with bullets and about one third seem to be broken with stones." 4 There was "a popular and widespread impression that John D. Lee was the leader and arch criminal of the massacre." 5 He was made the scapegoat, tried twice and executed in 1877. There are allegations that the massacre was perpetrated by an underground Danite group. This theory appears to be a hoax since no such group existed in Utah at the time. Brigham Young led a church cover-up, saying that the Natives were responsible for the massacre. He wrote that pioneers had caused the death of Natives by giving them poisoned meat, and by poisoning some of their wells.
  • MK's answer does give some information about what led up to the Mountain Meadows Massacre, but it also leaves out quite a few details. For one thing, he only mentioned that this occurred during the Utah War. Because of this, the settlers in Utah were not selling supplies to wagon trains passing through the territory because they were hoarding their supplies against the possibility of actual fighting when the Army arrived. The wagon trains had come to depend on being able to resupply in Utah. So, the members of this wagon train were understandably upset when they found out that they couldn't. Second, MK mentions that the train started from Arkansas. However, he did not mention that a large part of the train was from Missouri. There was a lot of bad blood between Missouri and the Latter-day Saints. The people of Missouri drove the Saints from several different communities before they were actually driven from the state entirely. Each time they were driven out was in the midst of winter when conditions were at their worst for travel. Additionally, in the process of driving the Saints out each time, the Missourians plundered them of anything of value including warm clothing and blankets making their winter travels even that much more miserable. Finally, the Missourians were not content with just driving the Saints from their state. Much of the persecution in Illinois was instigated by Missourians. Add to this the fact that word had just reach Utah that one of the Apostles (Parley P. Pratt) had been murdered in Arkansas and you can understand why the Saints may not have been very favorably disposed toward this particular wagon train. If you then add to this mix the rumors that were running around Utah at the time, Then you can come to understand how things could have gotten out of control. Now what I am about to write are just rumors. Since all the victims of the massacre that were in a position refute the rumors died, there is no way to really be sure how much truth there is to them. However, these rumor give insight into the concerns of the Saints of the time. One of the rumors stated that the Missourians were brandishing a gun that they claimed had shot Joseph Smith. Another rumor stated that the members of the train were bragging that they were going to see their families safely to California and then raise an army there to come back to Utah and help the US Army to once again drive the Saints for their homes. Another rumor stated that the wagon train was actually a scouting party sent ahead of the Army to spy out the defenses of the Saints. Given the state of tensions at the time, you can see how these rumors would have just added fuel to the fires. Finally, according to what i learned in my Church history class at BYU, the initial attack on the wagon train was conducted by the Indians in the area. When these initial attack failed, the Indians went to the settlers of Cedar City and told them that the members of the wagon train had poisoned one of their water source and that people had died because of this. Furthermore, the Indians told the settlers that, if they didn't help them exterminate the members of the wagon train, then they (the Indians) would go to war with the settlers. So, the leaders of Cedar City sent a message to Brigham Young asking what they should do. Young's reply was to give the wagon train what they needed and get them out of the territory. However, before Young's instructions got back, they had already joined with the Indians and committed the massacre. To cover up what they had done, the people of Cedar City initially laid the blame entirely on the Indians. When this story began to unravel, almost all of the participants in the massacre ran before they could be arrested and managed to disappear. The only one who stayed behind was John D. Lee. As MK wrote, Lee was made the scapegoat in the whole affair because none of the other guilty parties were ever caught. Now, in reading this, don't think that I am trying to justify what those people did. It was clearly murder. I have every confidence that the perpetrators of this crime are currently paying for it at the hands of a high power than us. However, this incident does stand as an example of what can happen if we allow our fears to run away with us. When we allow our fears and hatreds to dictate our actions, then otherwise decent people can be pushed into committing atrocities. Make no mistake. That is what this is about, fear of the approaching army, hatred for what the members of the wagon train represented, fear of what they might do, and fear of the Indians.
  • http://www.answerbag.com/q_view.php/4999 The sad truth.
  • Unless I am mistaken this was: Mountain Meadows massacre From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search The Mountain Meadows massacre was a mass killing of Arkansas emigrants by Mormon Nauvoo Legion militia[1] and Paiutes on September 11, 1857. The murders took place at Mountain Meadows, a stopover along the Old Spanish Trail in southwestern Utah. Sources estimate that between 100 and 140 men, women and children were killed.[2] The causes and circumstances remain highly controversial. Contents [hide] 1 Baker-Fancher party 2 Travel through Utah 2.1 Rumors and antagonism 2.2 Cedar City meetings 3 Mountain Meadows 4 Surviving children 5 Aftermath 6 Memorials 7 Depictions in media 8 Notes 9 References 10 See also 11 External links [edit] Baker-Fancher party See also: List of members of the Fancher party Map depicting Mountain Meadows and the surrounding region of southwestern Utah in 1857, showing path of the Spanish TrailIn the spring of 1857 approximately forty families of European ancestry, mostly from Marion, Benton, Carroll and Johnson counties in Arkansas, set off on an emigration to southern California. After being joined by other Arkansas trains and making its way west,[3] it was soon called the Baker-Fancher train (or party) after Alexander Fancher and Captain John T. Baker who, having already made the journey to California twice before, had become its main leaders.[4] Fancher and Baker, experienced leaders and cattle drivers, had traveled from Arkansas to California in 1850[5] at the height of the Gold Rush and again in 1853.[6] By contemporary standards the Baker-Fancher party was prosperous, carefully organized and well-equipped for the journey.[7] The Mountain Meadows monument in Harrison, Boone County Arkansas (1955) indicates that the Baker-Fancher party was made up of several emigrant groups. The Baker-Fancher train departed from Benton County under the leadership of Alexander Fancher, as did the Huff train. The Poteet-Tackett-Jones train along with the Cameron and Miller trains left from Johnson County while the Mitchell, Dunlap and Prewitt trains began their treks from Marion County. The Baker train departed from Beller's Stand near Harrison in Carroll County (today Boone County).[8] Each party left on different dates and was led by individual wagon masters.[9] The families had many reasons for heading west. Some had sold their homes and property in Arkansas and were planning to settle in California.[10] Others (like Fancher) were driving cattle west for profit. The lure of gold may have motivated some of the the young single men.[11] Along their way westward other wagon trains merged with them, broke off, or rejoined the group. These included the Poteet-Tackett train, the Crooked Creek train, the Campbell train, the Parker train and the John S. Baker train.[12] Families and individuals from other states may have joined up with the them.[13] [edit] Travel through Utah The Fancher party arrived in Utah Territory in July with over 900 head of cattle but were running low on some supplies when they reached the Salt Lake City[14] area on August 3, 1857.[15] The main Fancher train waited outside Salt Lake City for more than a week as other trains caught up with them. The Baker Train (named for Captain John Twitty Baker) was the last to arrive.[16] Meanwhile the settlers had to decide which route to take across the Great Basin. The northern route meant traveling the Humboldt River Road west across the desert and Sierra Nevada mountains, then southward through California. The southern route, which involved less risk of the emigrants becoming snowbound in the mountains this late in the season, would carry them through the settlements in southern Utah, to the Mohave Desert and on to Los Angeles.[17] At least one couple chose to take the northern route while others from the woman's family went south with the Baker-Fancher party towards southwestern Utah and Mountain Meadows.[18] [edit] Rumors and antagonism Only days before, Mormon leader and Utah Territorial Governor Brigham Young had declared martial law[19] in response to potential hostilities with the United States government.[20] President James Buchanan had ordered United States Army troops to advance towards Utah, beginning what would later be called the Utah War. The Mormons they encountered along the way were suspicious of non-Mormons and most declined to trade with them for several reasons, including Young's declaration of martial law, his orders discouraging the trading of food with immigrants and his orders forbidding people from traveling through the territory without a pass, which the Fancher party did not have.[21] However, the train's leadership may not have been aware of Young's martial law order since it was not made public until September 15.[22] The Fancher party may have been joined by a group of eleven miners and plainsmen who called themselves "Missouri Wildcats". There is debate on whether the Missouri Wildcats stayed with the slow-moving Fancher party after leaving Salt Lake City,[23] or even existed.[24] Though the conduct and/or existence of the Wildcats is now questioned, rumors about them at the time antagonized the local population. The most severe accusations about the Missouri Wildcats included: poisoning wells, bragging of participating in Haun's Mill massacre, and threats to return to Utah with an army to wipe out the Mormon population.[25]. At least one account further claimed that Wildcats bragged they had the gun that "shot the guts out of Old Joe Smith"[26]. Also, popular Mormon leader Parley P. Pratt had been murdered in Arkansas a few months earlier (by the ex-husband of one of Pratt's plural wives[27]) and news of his death had only recently begun to arrive in the area.[28]. These rumors, martial law, threats of war and limited supplies all likely influenced individual Mormons who didn't sell food to the Fancher party. [edit] Cedar City meetings On September 1 in Salt Lake City, Brigham Young (who held the title of Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Territory of Utah) met with Indian chiefs from the Southern Territory, which included the area around Mountain Meadows. During a one-hour meeting, Young complained that the Americans had come to kill both Mormons and Indians. He told the chiefs that if they fought the Americans, he would give them all the cattle on the Southern California Trail.[29] As the Baker-Fancher party approached Mountain Meadows, several meetings were held in Cedar City and nearby Parowan by local LDS ("Latter-Day Saints") leaders pondering how to implement Young's declaration of martial law.[30] They decided to "eliminate" the Fancher wagon train, but hesitated and sent a rider to Salt Lake City (a six-day round trip on horseback) for Brigham Young's advice. Meanwhile, organization among the local Mormon leadership reportedly broke down.[31] [edit] Mountain Meadows The Baker-Fancher party found water and fresh grazing for its livestock after reaching grassy, mountain-ringed Mountain Meadows, a widely known stopover on the old Spanish Trail, in early September. They anticipated several days of rest and recuperation there. On September 7 the party was attacked by a group of Native American Paiutes and Mormon militiamen dressed as Native Americans.[32] The Fancher party defended itself by encircling and lowering their wagons, wheels chained together, along with digging shallow trenches and throwing dirt both below and into the wagons, which made a strong barrier. Seven emigrants were killed during the opening attack and were buried somewhere within the wagon encirclement. Sixteen more were wounded. The attack continued for five days, during which the besieged families had little or no access to fresh water or game food and their ammunition was depleted.[33] On Friday, September 11 two Mormon militiamen approached the Baker-Fancher party wagons with a white flag and were soon followed by Indian agent and militia officer John D. Lee.[34] Lee told the battle-weary emigrants he had negotiated a truce with the Paiutes, whereby they could be escorted safely to Cedar City under Mormon protection in exchange for leaving all their livestock and supplies to the Native Americans.[35] Accepting this, they were split into three groups. Seventeen of the youngest children along with a few mothers and the wounded were put into wagons, which were followed by all the women and older children walking in a second group. Bringing up the rear were the adult males of the Fancher party, each walking with an armed Mormon militiaman at his right. Making their way back northeast towards Cedar City, the three groups gradually became strung out and visually separated by shrubs and a shallow hill. After about 2 kilometers the prearranged order, "Do Your Duty!" was given.[36] Each Mormon then turned and killed the man he was guarding. All of the men, women, older children and wounded were massacred by Mormon militia and Paiutes who had hidden nearby. A few who escaped the initial slaughter were quickly chased down and killed. Two teenaged girls, Rachel and Ruth Dunlap, managed to clamber down the side of a steep gully and hide among a clump of oak trees for several minutes. They were spotted by a Paiute chief from Parowan, who took them to Lee. Eighteen-year-old Ruth Dunlap reportedly fell to her knees and pleaded, "Spare me, and I will love you all my life!"[37] By one account, both girls were raped before they were killed.[38] However, Lee denied this and other accounts contradict this story. All of the Mormon participants in the massacre were then sworn to secrecy and to blame the attack on the Paiutes.[39] The many dozens of bodies were hastily dragged into gullies and other low lying spots, then lightly covered with surrounding material which was soon blown away by the weather, leaving the remains to be scavenged and scattered by wildlife.[40] [edit] Surviving children Approximately seventeen children were deliberately spared because of their young ages.[41] In the hours following the massacre Lee directed Philip Kingensmith and possibly two others[42] to take the children (a few of whom were wounded) to the nearby farm of Jacob Hamblin, a local Indian agent.[43] Later Jacob Forney, the non-Mormon Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Utah, ordered that the children be placed in the care of local Mormon families pending an investigation of the matter and notification of kin. However, some accounts relate that Lee sold or bartered the children to whatever Mormon families would take them. Sarah Francis Baker, who was three years old at the time of the massacre, later said, "They sold us from one family to another."[44] [edit] Aftermath The Paiutes reportedly received a portion of the Baker-Fancher party's significant livestock holdings as compensation for their part in the massacre.[45] Many of the murdered emigrants' other belongings (including blood stained and bullet-riddled clothing stripped from the victims' corpses) were brought to Cedar City and stored in the cellar of an LDS warehouse as "property taken at the siege of Sebastopol."[46] There are conflicting accounts as to whether these items were auctioned off or simply taken by members of the local population. Some of the surviving children subsequently claimed to have seen Mormons wearing their dead parents' clothing and jewelry.[47] In 1859, two years after the massacre, Brevet Major James Henry Carleton arrived in the area to investigate. At Mountain Meadows he found women's hair tangled in sage brush and the bones of children still in their mothers' arms.[48] Carleton later said it was "a sight which can never be forgotten." After gathering up the skulls and bones of those who had died, Carleton's troops buried them and erected a rock cairn inscribed with the words, Here 120 men, women, and children were massacred in cold blood early in September, 1857. They were from Arkansas, along with a cross bearing the words, Vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord. Replica of the original Mountain Meadows Massacre Monument in Carrollton, Arkansas.Meanwhile Carleton and others gathered up the surviving children from local families after which they were united with extended family members in Arkansas and other states. [49] Several Mormon families claimed and received financial compensation from the federal government for the children's care and even protested that the amounts paid were insufficient although the conditions some of the children lived under were severely criticised.[50] Carleton issued a scathing report to the United States Congress, blaming local and senior church leaders for the massacre. However, years later only Lee was charged with murder for his involvement. Lee's first trial ended in a mistrial, but he was convicted on re-trial and executed by firing squad at Mountain Meadows. The causes and circumstances of the Mountain Meadows Massacre remain contested and highly controversial. Although there is no evidence that Brigham Young ordered or condoned the massacre, the roles Cedar City church officials took in ordering the murders and Young took in concealing evidence in their aftermath are still questioned.[51] Moreover, while by all accounts native American Paiutes were present, historical reports of their numbers and the details of their participation are contradictory. Paiute leaders stated in 2001 that the tribe's oral history denies any involvement in the massacre itself, but does admit to many watching from a distance and pillaging the Fanchers' property after the massacre.[52] Young's use of often inflammatory and violent language in response to perceived Federal colonialism has also been cited as having contributed to the tense atmosphere that helped precipitate the attack.[53]

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