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JOHN D. LEE. 
 
 AN D 
 BRIGHAM YOUNG 
 
MORMONISM UNVEILED; 
 
 INCLUDING THE REMARKABLE 
 
 LIFE AND CONFESSIONS 
 
 OF THE LATE MORMON BISHOP, 
 
 JOHN ^. LEE; 
 
 (Written by himself.) 
 AND COMPLETE LIFK OF 
 
 BBJGHAM YOUNG, 
 
 EMBRACING 
 
 A HISTORY OF MORMONISM FROM ITS INCEPTION DOWN TO THE 
 
 PRESENT TIME, WITH AN EXPOSITION OF THE SECRET 
 
 HISTORY, SIGNS, SYMBOLS, AND CRIMES OF 
 
 THE MORMON CHURCH. 
 
 ALSO THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE HORRIBLE BUTCHERY KNOWN AS 
 
 THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE. 
 
 Illustrated with Wood Engravings and Colored Plates. 
 
 F. H. ROGERS & CO., 
 
 OMAHA, NEB. 
 
 1891. 
 
L 4 7 5" 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1891. by 
 
 M. E. MASON. 
 In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, V. O. 
 
BANCROFT 
 LIBRARY 
 
 PUBLISHERS' PREFACE. 
 
 "FOHN D. LEE'S prominent connection with the Mormon 
 *J Church, and the almost universal desire on the part of the 
 public to know the secrets that he could tell, gave a peculiar 
 interest to the life and doings of this man, and led to a general 
 inquiry for his Autobiography and Confessions. This has caused 
 the publication of several pretended "Lives and Confessions of 
 . John D. Lee," the materials for which were collected from 
 fragmentary newspaper reports, and advertised by certain un- 
 scrupulous publishers as genuine. We therefore deem it but 
 simple justice to those who may read this book, to state how we 
 
 v obtained the true and only LIFE AND CONFESSIONS or JOHN 
 D. LEE. 
 
 It was stated at the time of Lee's execution that he had left 
 the manuscripts of his Life and Confessions with his confiden- 
 
 Zj tial attorney for publication. We at once wrote to Col. Wm. 
 
 O Nelson, U. S. Marshal of Utah Territory, requesting him to 
 give us the address of Lee's attorney. He replied promptly, 
 stating that Mr. W. W. Bishop, of Pioche, Nevada, was the 
 man. We immediately entered into correspondence with Mr. 
 Bishop, and made a contract with him for the publication of the 
 work. 
 
 In proof of the fact that this is the genuine and only genuine 
 Life and Confessions of John D. Lee, we refer to Col. Wm. 
 Nelson, U. S. Marshal Utah Territory; Hon. Wm. Stokes, 
 Deputy U. S. Marshal, U. T. ; Hon. Sumner Howard, U. 8. 
 Attorney, U. T. ; the editor of the Salt Lake Tribune; Col. 
 Geo. M. Sabin, Pioche, Nevada ; Mr. Wm. W. Bishop, of the 
 
Vi PUBLISHERS' PREFACE. 
 
 same place, and to John D. Lee's letter to Mr. Bishop, on page 
 84 of this book. 
 
 Lee wrote his Life and Confessions in prison, after his sen- 
 tence to death, and subsequent to his execution his manuscripts 
 were copied and prepared for publication by Mr. Bishop. They 
 were at no time out of his possession or from under his imme- 
 diate control, until they were delivered to the express company 
 on the 17th day of May, 1877, to be forwarded to us. 
 
 The Mormon leaders were so greatly alarmed at the prospect 
 of the publication of Lee's writings, and the consequent reve- 
 lation of their secrets and crimes, that they sent their " Blood 
 Atoners" to threaten the life of Mr. Bishop, and, if possible, 
 compel him to give up the manuscripts. The danger was so 
 great that he was compelled to have his office guarded while en- 
 gaged in copying the papers ; and when they were ready to be 
 forwarded to the publishers, the Wells, Fargo & Co. Express 
 refused to receive them until they were furnished with an armed 
 guard to protect them until they were beyond the reach of the 
 Mormons. 
 
 The fears of the Mormon dignitaries were well founded, for 
 Lee's revelations of crimes committed by them are of the most 
 startling character. THE PUBLISHERS. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 I WAS requested by John Doyle Lee, after he had been sen- 
 tenced to be shot for the part he took in the commission ol 
 the Mountain Meadows Massacre, to publish an account of his 
 life and confessions, in order to inform the world how it was 
 that he had acted as he had, and why he was made a scape-goat 
 by the Mormon Church. I accepted the trust, and, in giving 
 publicity to the facts now, for the first time fully brought to 
 light, I am only performing what I believe to be a duty to 
 him, and to the public. 
 
 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. Over one hundred 
 and twenty men, women and children were surrounded by In- 
 dians, and more cruel whites, and kept under constant fire, 
 from hundreds of unerring rifles, for five days and nights, dur- 
 ing all of which time, the emigrants were famishing for water. 
 When nearly exhausted from fatigue and thirst, they were ap- 
 proached by white men, with a flag of truce, and induced to 
 surrender their arms, under the most solemn promises of pro- 
 tection. They were then murdered in cold blood, and left nude 
 and mangled upon the plain. All this was done by a band of 
 fanatics, who had no cause of complaint against the emigrants, 
 except that the authorities of the Mormon Church had decided 
 that all the emigrants who were old enough to talk, should die 
 rewnge for alleged insults to Brigham Young, and the booty of 
 the plundered train being the inciting causes of the massacre. 
 
 John D. Lee was one, and only one of fifty-eight Mormons, 
 who there carried out the orders of the Mormon Priesthood. 
 He has died for his crimes shall the others escape? 
 
 The entire history of this atrocious crime is given in the con- 
 fession. How it was done, and why it was the wish of the Mor~ 
 
Vfli PREFACE. 
 
 mons that it should be done, all is fully stated. As one of the 
 attorneys for John D. Lee, I did all that I could to save his life. 
 My associates were, and are able men and fine lawyers, but fact 
 and fate united to turn the verdict against us. The history of 
 the first and second trials is familiar to most of the American 
 people ; therefore, I will not describe them here, any more than 
 to say, Mormonism prevented conviction at the first trial, and 
 at the second trial Mormonism insured conviction. 
 
 After Brigham Young and iris worshipers had deserted Lee, 
 and marked him as the victim that should suffer to save the 
 Church from destruction, on account of the crimes it had or- 
 dered ; after all chances of escape had vanished, and death was 
 certain as the result of the life-long service he had rendered the 
 Church, the better nature of Lee overcame his superstition and 
 fanaticism, and he gave to me the history of his life, and his con- 
 fession of the facts connected with the massacre, and wished me 
 to have the same published. .Why he refused to confess at an 
 earlier day, and save his own life by placing the guilt where it 
 of right belonged, is a question which is answered by the state- 
 ment, that he was still a slave to his Endowment and Danite 
 oaths, and trusted until too late to the promises of protection 
 made to him by Brigham Young. John D. Lee was a fanatic, 
 and as such, believed in the Mormon Church, and aided in car- 
 rying out the orders of that Church. I believe it is my duty to 
 publish this work, to show mankind the fruits resulting from 
 obedience to Mormon leaders, and to show that Mormonism was 
 as certainly the cause of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, as it 
 is that fanaticism has been the mother of crime in all ages of 
 the world. I also wish the American people to read the facts, 
 as they are told by a mistaken and fanatical follower of the Mor- 
 mon doctrines, yet, one who was a brave man, and, according 
 to his ideas and teaching, a good man ; who did not believe he 
 was doing wrong when obeying the commands of the Mormon 
 Priesthood. I wish the American people to read this work, 
 and then say, if they can, what should be the fate of those who 
 caused the crime to be committed. The following pages contain 
 simply true copies of material, furnished me by John D. Lee, 
 for the purpose of being published ; all of which was written by 
 him while in prison, and after the jury had returned its verdict 
 of guilty. 
 
 I have no excuses to offer for publishing the work just as it 
 
PREFACE. ix 
 
 is. It is what it purports to be, a full history of the Mountain 
 Meadows Massacre, and also a sketch of the life of John D. Lee, 
 embracing a revelation of the secret history of Mormonism, from 
 its inception down to the death of Lee ; with a correct copy of 
 his confession as given to me for publication. If any feel in- 
 jured by the facts, I cannot help it. If this publication shall, in 
 any degree, aid in securing the much-needed legislation, de- 
 manded by the American citizens of Utah, from the National 
 Government, so that Church criminals, as well as Gentiles, can 
 be convicted in Utah, I shall feel that I have been paid well for 
 all the vexations I have endured in the land Of the Saints, 
 where they'murder men, women and children for the glory of 
 God, and the upbuilding of His kingdom. 
 
 I also believe this publication will be an advantage to the large 
 number of naturally good and honest people, who inhabit Utah, 
 who joined the Church, and moved to Utah, believing it their 
 Christian duty to do so. To that class of people I am indebted 
 for many favors, and wish them future prosperity. 
 
 WM. W. BISHOP, 
 Confidential Att'y of John D. Lee. 
 
 PIOCHB, NEVADA, May 17, 1877. 
 
COKTE^TS. 
 
 PUBLISHER'S PREFACE 5 
 
 INTRODUCTORY 15 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 A STORMY BEGINNING. 
 
 Early Life of Lee Death of , his Mother Hardships and Trials Becomes 
 a Mail Carrier in the Wilds of Missouri at an Early Age Is a Stage 
 Driver Abandons the business Reflections upon the condition of the 
 Country 36 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 THE INDUSTRIOUS YOUNG MAN. 
 
 Remains on his Uncle's Farm Volunteers in the Black Hawk War Goes to 
 St. Louis Engages as Fireman on a Steamer Cholera Experience 
 Finds a Friend Goes to Galena and enters a Store as Clerk Adventures 
 with the Miners Anecdote of Ulysses Grant Lee Marries Agathe Ann 
 Woolsey 43 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 LEE BECOMES A MORMON. 
 
 In 1836 Lee first hears the Mormon Doctrine Preached Embraces the Doc- 
 trine of Mormonism Sells out and Removes his Family to Far West, 
 Mo. Is Baptized and Joins the Church Fight at Gallatin, at the Polls 
 The People Consecrate their Property to God 5O 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 THE SAINTS ARE BESET WITH TROUBLES. 
 
 The Saints Decline to give up their Property to the Church Troubles Be- 
 tween the Saints and Gentiles Companies of Armed Men are formed for 
 Driving Out the Mormons A Providential Warning Conflicts between 
 the Saints and Gentiles 64 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE MORMON WAR IN MISSOURI. 
 
 Death of Capt. Patton Rebuke of the Prophet Description of the Prophet 
 Continued Troubles with the Gentiles Massacre at Haughn's Mill- 
 Miraculous Cure of Isaac Laney, in Answer to Prayer Cowardice of Col. 
 Hinkle Surrender .of Joseph Smith, the Prophet The Saints Surrender 
 and are Disarmed Terms of the Sui-render 74? 
 
CONTENTS. xi 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 LEE LOCATES THE GARDEN OF EDEN. 
 
 Account of the Surrender Continued Lee refuses to Abandon his Faith- 
 Returns to his Home Finds his House Burned and Property Destroyed 
 Temple Block Garden of Eden Site of the Altar Built by Adam Suf- 
 fering during the Winter Lee is ordained to the Priesthood Holy 
 Patriarchal Blessing 8& 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE SAINTS GATHER AT NAUVOO. 
 
 Lee returns to Illinois Goes on a Mission to Preach Lively Experiences by 
 the way Is Strengthened of God and Resists Temptation Fals.e Doc- 
 trines taught by Brigham Young, and their Degrading Tendencies 
 Preaches in Tennessee Beholds a Vision which is realized Mission is 
 Successful Organizes Branch Churches Returns to Illinois 96 ; 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 LEE CONTINUES HIS MISSIONARY WORK. 
 
 Spends the "Winter at Home Foundation of the Temple laid at Nauvoo 
 Teachings of the Prophet Lee builds a Home in Nauvoo Goes on a 
 Mission in 1841 Resumes his Labors in Tennessee Makes many Con- 
 vertsHolds a Series of Discussions 109* 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 MORMONISM ITS DOCTRINES AND HOW IT ORIGINATED. 
 
 Lee holds a Discussion with Parson Hall Identity of the Ten Tribes of 
 Israel with the American Indians shown Divine Origin of the Book of 
 Mormon Lee holds another and final Discussion with Rev. Cantrell 
 Many Converts are Baptized and added to the Church 1 18 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 LEE CASTS OUT DEVILS AND DOES OTHER WONDERFUL WORKS. 
 
 He goes to Jackson County and holds a public Discussion Wonderful Mani- 
 festation of Divine Power Lee rebukes Evil Spirits and they are still 
 Casts out Devils from Mark Young Returns to Nauvoo Visits Friends 
 Condition of Zion Denunciation of Brigham Young 12CJ 
 
 CHAPTER XI. * 
 A TENNESSEE PLANTER MAKES IT HOT FOR PARSON LEE. 
 
 Lee returns to Tennessee to Preach Is kindly received Goes to Nash- 
 villePreaches in the Country Is assailed by a Mob Baptizes the Wife 
 of Col. Tucker The Colonel Hunts him with a Loaded Rifle Escapes 
 from the County to avoid arrest Returns to Nauvoo 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 MATTERS OF PECULIAR INTEREST AT NAUVOO. 
 
 Affairs at Nauvoo The Nauvoo Legion organized Building of the Hall of 
 the Severities The Devil Enraged The Doctrine of Plural or Celestial- 
 
xii CONTENTS. 
 
 Marriage first taught Domestic Troubles among the Saints - Joseph 
 Smith becomes a Candidate for the Presidency of the U. S. Lee goes to 
 Kentucky on an Electioneering Tour The Assassination of the Prophet 
 causes his return toNauvoo ..... 144 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 DEATH OF JOSEPH SMITH SOME OF BRIGHAM YOUNG'S CRIMES. 
 
 Assassination of Joseph Smith and his Brother Hyrum Causes of the 
 Assassination Successor of the Prophet Brigham Young Chosen He 
 Steals the Inheritance of Young Joseph Lee is appointed to various 
 Offices of Trust and Honor Assassination of Erwin by orders of Brigham 
 Young Secret Murders and Robberies by the Saints Teachings of the 
 Church Arrogance and Oppressions of Brigham Young 15$ 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 INSIDE VIEW OF POLYGAMY AND THE DOCTRINE OF SEALING. 
 
 Celestial Marriage taught and practiced Lee embraces the Doctrine and 
 takes a number of Wives Troubles with the Gentiles The Saints pre- 
 pare to Emigrate Baptisms, Washings and Anointings in the Temple... 165 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE SAINTS MOVE WESTWARD. 
 
 Reminiscences of the Prophet Joseph His Fourth of July Toast Lee re- 
 moves his Family from Nauvoo Great-Sacrifices of Property by the Saints 
 to get away Brigham Young blesses Lee The Saints move through 
 Iowa Lee restores a Blind Man to Sight! Settlements established at 
 Garden Grove and Pisgah Arrival at Council Bluffs The Missouri River 
 Crossed 173 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 LEE GOES ON AN EXPEDITION, TO SANTA FE. 
 
 The Saints prepare to go into Winter Quarters Lee is sent to the Mormon 
 Battalion at Santa Fe to bring back the Soldiers' pay A Long and Dan- 
 gerous Journey and safe Return Follows an Invisible Guide Miracu- 
 lous Deliverance from Indians Safe Arrival Finds his family suffering. 182 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 LEE IS TREATED BADLY BY THE " BRETHREN." 
 
 In camp Angry words with Brigham Young Gives an account of his Trip 
 and Pays over the Money Contrast, 1347 and 1877 Opens a Store at Win- 
 ter Quarters Is Sealed to a number of Wives Summer Quarters laid 
 out Life on the Border Bravery of Lee's Wives Jealousy of the 
 Brethren Murmurings of the Saints against Lee Ingratitude and 
 Heartlessness of Brigham Young 196 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 LAST CONFESSION AND STATEMENT OF JOHN D. LEE. 
 
 Closing events of Lee's Life Startling Revelations of Crimed and Church 
 Secrets, implicating Brigham Young and the Mormon Leaders The 
 Mountain Meadows Massacre, and all the particulars thereof 213 
 
CONTENTS. xiii 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 CONFESSION CONTINUED AND CONCLUDED, MARCH 16, 1877, SEVEN DAYS PRIOR TO 
 
 HIS EXECUTION. 
 
 More Startling Revelations Going " Over the Rim of the Basin " Bri'gham 
 "goes to God "with his crimes, and is strengthened in a "Vision "A 
 "bully" Warrior A model Indian Agent Brigham preaches a "Red- 
 hot" Sermon The "Old Boss" on his travels Brigham betrays Lee 
 Tricks of "Dirty Fingered Jake Hamblin" Some "Blood Atone- 
 ments " Some " Holy " men and their deeds Exploits of the " Destroy- 
 ing Angels " Shocking Barbarities End of Confession 249 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 ARREST OF JOHN D. LEE BY WM. STOKES, DEPUTY U. S. MARSHAL. 
 
 Brigham imagines he is going to be Assassinated Lively Adventures of the 
 Deputy Marshal Hunting Lee in his Stronghold Efforts of his sons to 
 prevent his Arrest Lee is found concealed in a pen, and is Arrested A 
 pungent Toast by one of his Daughters The journey to Beaver City 293 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 TRIAL OF LEE AT BEAVER CITY, UTAH TERRITORY, SEPTEMBER, 1876. 
 
 Depositions of Brigham Young, George A. Smith, etc. Witnesses Manufac- 
 tured to order Startling Developments Determination of the Mormon 
 Leaders to convict Lee 302 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 TRIAL OF LEE CONTINUED. 
 
 Testimony of Witnesses Getting at the Bottom facts by a circuitous route 
 
 Model Witnesses 31? 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 TRIAL OF LEE CONCLUDED. 
 
 Conclusion of the Evidence Conviction and Sentence of Lee Additional 
 
 facts 360 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 NAMES AND PRESENT RESIDENCES. 
 
 Of the Mountain Meadows Assassins, as given by Lee. 379 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Execution of John D. Lee... , 388 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 Life of Brigham Young 391 
 
 A REMARKABLE LETTER MORMON WIVES TAUGHT THAT ONLY THEIR HUSBANDS 
 CAN RESURRECT THEM. 
 
 Lecherous Bishops who marry whole families Mormons living as husbands 
 
 to mothers and daughters, and having children by all 407 
 
LIST OF ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 Emblematic Frontispiece. Colored 1 
 
 Present Appearance of Mountain Meadows 34 
 
 John D. Lee 36 
 
 Fight at Gallatin, Mo. . , 58 
 
 Charge of the Danites. Colored 67 
 
 Joseph Smith 76 
 
 Lee Wintering in 111. Colored 1O9 
 
 Taking Steamer for St. Louis. Colored . 149 
 
 Death of Joe Smith 152 
 
 Disposing of a Corpse 159 
 
 A Blood-Atoned Victim 16O 
 
 Mormons Leaving Nauvoo. . V , . . . 176 
 
 The Bishop's Family at 2A.M. . . 184 
 
 Mormon Family at Arizona . . 184 
 
 Indian War Dance. Colored 2O3 
 
 Geo. A. Smith 224 
 
 Mountain Meadow Massacre . , s . . . 24O 
 
 Indians in Ambush. Colored 269 
 
 Lee's Favorite Wives c . . . . 276 
 
 William Stokes, Deputy U. S. Marshal 294 
 
 Lee Surrenders. Colored . . . . 299 
 
 Daniel H. Wells 318 
 
 Lee Shooting Emigrants. Colored 336 
 
 Execution of Lee 384 
 
 Brigham Young . 391 
 
 President Taylor Brigham's Successor. 4O6 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 ONE hundred and twenty men, women, and children were 
 murdered by Mormons and Indians, at the Mountain 
 Meadows, on Friday, September 16, 1857, or thereabouts. The 
 victims were members of a train under command of Captain 
 Fancher, and are generally known as the Arkansas Emigrant 
 Company. At that time Brigham Young was Governor of Utah 
 Territory, and also the head of the Church of Jesus Christ ol 
 Latter Day Saints. Acting as Governor of the Territory, he 
 and his followers had, for a series of years, violated the laws of 
 the United States, with insulting impunity, and then were stand- 
 ing in hostile attitude towards the government. Brigham Young 
 had the audacity to declare Utah under martial law, and call 
 out his legions of fanatics to oppose the forces of the United 
 States which had been ordered to Utah to enforce obedience to 
 the Government. As leader an d head of the Mormon Church, 
 he had taught his followers to believe that he was an inspired 
 man, and as such, receiving orders and revelations direct from 
 the God of Heaven ; that the time had arrived when Christ was 
 to come to earth and reign a thousand years, and that all who 
 did not accept the Book of Mormon, and the teachings ol 
 Brigham Young, as God's holy religion, were to suffer death, 
 and the wealth of the unbelievers to become the property of the 
 so-called Saints. He had also taught the doctrine that all who 
 opposed his orders or refused obedience to his commands should 
 die, and if they had been members of the Mormon Church their 
 blood was to be shed in order to save their souls. At that time 
 Brigham Young had the sole control of everything in Utah ; his 
 word was law ; his orders were given under the pretense that 
 they emanated from God, and to disobey his orders was treason 
 to the Church and punishable by death. The Mormon people 
 were willing followers of their designing leader. They believed 
 in polygamy, blood atonement, and the inspiration of the priest- 
 
1 6 INTB OD UC TOR T. 
 
 hood. Their intelligence made their fanaticism the more danger- 
 ous. No crime was so great that it would not be ordered by 
 Brigham Young, if he believed it would benefit Mormonism, and 
 no order could be given by him but what his deluded followers 
 considered it their bounden duty to unquestioningly obey. 
 
 The oaths taken by the Mormons in their various ceremonies 
 bound them under fearful penalties to lay aside all individuality, 
 and become the willing tools of a cruel and treasonable priest- 
 hood. Blind obedience to Brigham Young was the test of 
 Christian excellence. Salvation and celestial glory were offered 
 by the Church leaders, and confidently expected by the brethren, 
 as the reward to be received for the most fearful crimes. 
 Brigham Young held the keys of Heaven, so it was said, and 
 BO his followers believed, and certain it was he held the life of 
 every man in the Territory of Utah in his hand. Law and jus- 
 tice were unheard of, or at least unknown. The so-called refor- 
 mation was then at its height. The members of the Church were 
 confessing their sins to each other in public and being 
 rebaptized under promise of certain salvation. Superstition, 
 fanaticism, and satanic influences of every character had changed 
 the dwellers in Utah from American citizens, with reasoning 
 faculties, into blind zealots, anxious to do any act that their so- 
 called Prophet commanded. It was while this condition of 
 affairs existed in Utah that Captain Fancher attempted to cross 
 the Territory, on the way to the pleasant valleys of the Golden 
 State, where the company intended to settle and build homes for 
 themselves and their children. 
 
 In support of the charge that Brigham Young favored the 
 shedding of blood as an atonement for sin, I quote the following 
 compilation of extracts which were kindly furnished me by the 
 Salt Lake Tribune, and as they speak for themselves, comment 
 is useless : 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM BRIGHAM YOUNG' S SERMONS. 
 
 " I could refer you to plenty of instances where men have been 
 righteously slain in order to atone for their sins." 
 
 " But now I say, in the name of the Lord, that if this people 
 will sin no more, but faithfully live their religion, their sins will 
 be forgiven them without taking life." 
 
 " Now, when you hear my brethren telling about cutting peo- 
 ple off from the earth, that you consider is strong doctrine ; 
 but it is to save them, not to destroy them." 
 
 4 'All mankind love themselves; and let these principles be 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 17 
 
 known by an individual, and he would be glad to have his blood 
 shed. That would be loving themselves even unto eternal exal- 
 tation." 
 
 " This is loving our neighbor as ourselves ; if he needs help, 
 help him ; if he wishes salvation, and it is necessary to spill his 
 blood upon the ground in order that he be saved, spill it." 
 
 44 Any of you who understand the principles of eternity, if you 
 have sinned a sin requiring the shedding of blood, except the 
 sin unto death, would not be satisfied or rest until your blood 
 should be spilled, that you might gain the salvation you desire. 
 This is the way to love mankind." 
 
 "It is true the blood of the Son of God was shed for sins 
 through the fall and those committed by men, yet ye men can 
 commit sins which it can never remit. As it was in the ancient 
 days, so it is in our day ; and though the principles are taught 
 publicly from this stand, still the people do not understand 
 them ; yet the law is precisely the same." 
 
 44 1 have known a great many men who have left this Church, 
 for whom there is no chance whatever of exaltation; but if 
 their blood had been spilled, it would have been better for 
 them. The wickedness and ignorance of the nations forbid this 
 principle being in full force, but the time will come when the 
 law of God will be in full force." 
 
 44 Will you love your brothers and sisters likewise, when they 
 have committed a sin that cannot be atoned for witkout the 
 shedding of their blood? Will you love that man or woman well 
 enough to shed their blood ? That is what Jesus Christ meant. 
 He never told a man or woman to love their enemies in their 
 wickedness. He never intended any such thing. " 
 
 44 1 have known scores and hundreds of people for whom 
 there would have been a chance in the last resurrection if their 
 lives had been taken and their blood spilled upon the ground as 
 a smoking incense to the Almighty, but who are now angels to 
 the devil, until our elder brother, Jesus Christ, raises them up, 
 conquers death, hell, and the grave." 
 
 4 'There- are sins that can be atoned for by an offering upon 
 an altar, as in ancient days ; and there are sins that the blood 
 of a lamb, of a calf, or of turtle doves cannot remit, but they 
 must be atoned for by the blood of the man. That is the rea- 
 son why men talk to you as they do from this stand ; they un- 
 derstand the doctrine, and throw out a few words about it. 
 You have been taught that doctrine, but you do not under- 
 stand it." 
 
 44 Now, take a person in this congregation, who has a knowl- 
 edge of being saved in the kingdom of our God and our Father, 
 and being an exalted one, who knows and understands the 
 principles of sternal life, and see the beauty and excellency of 
 2 
 
18 INZBODUCTQ&Y. 
 
 the eternities before him, compared with the vain and foolish 
 things of the world ; and suppose he is overtaken with a gross 
 fault, that he has committed a fault which he knows will deprive 
 him of that exaltation which he desires, and that he cannot 
 attain to it without the shedding of blood ; and also knows that 
 by having his blood shed, he will atone for that sin and be 
 saved, and be exalted with the gods, is there a man or woman 
 in this house but what would say, 4 Shed my blood, that I may 
 be saved and exalted with the gods?' " 
 
 Brigham Young had also written letters to his chief men 
 throughout the Territory, inciting them against the people of 
 the United States. That it may be understood what kind of 
 language he used to his bishops in these circulars, I copy the 
 one sent to Wm. H. Dame, the man who was colonel and com- 
 mander of the militia in southern Utah, and who afterwards, and 
 while standing upon Mountain Meadows examining the bodies 
 of those that he had directed Haight to slaughter, said : "I 
 would not have given the orders if I had thought there were so 
 many of them." The circular bears date two days before the 
 massacre is charged to have been committed, and the supposi- 
 tion is that it had been delivered to Dame at the time he issued 
 his orders for the massacre. It explains itself, and reads a 3 
 follows : 
 
 44 GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 14, 1857. 
 ** Colonel William H. Dame, Parowan, Iron Co. : 
 
 "Herewith you will receive the Governor's Proclamation, 
 declaring martial law. You will probably not be called out this 
 Fall, but are requested to continue to make ready for a big fight 
 another year. The plan of operations is supposed to be about 
 this: In case the U. S. Government should send out an over- 
 powering force, we intend to desolate the Territory and conceal 
 our families, stock, and all of our effects in the fastnesses of the 
 mountains, where they will be safe, while the men waylay our 
 enemies, attack them from ambush, stampede their animals, 
 take the supply trains, cut off detachments and parties sent to 
 canons for wood or on other service. To lay waste everything 
 that will burn houses, fences, trees, fields, grass that they 
 cannot find a particle of anything that will be of use to them, 
 not even sticks to make a fire for to cook their suppers. To 
 waste away our enemies, and lose none. That will be our mode 
 of warfare. Thus you see the necessity of preparing. First 
 secure places in the mountains where they cannot find us, or if 
 they do, where they can pot approach in any force, and then 
 prepare for our families, building some cabins, caching flour and 
 grain. Flour should be ground in the latter part of Winter, or 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 19 
 
 early in the Spring, in order to keep. Sow grain in your fields 
 early as possible this Fall, so that the harvest of another year 
 may come off before they have time to get here. Conciliate the 
 Indians, and make them our fast friends. In regard to letting 
 people pass or repass, or travel through the Territory, this applies 
 to all strangers and suspected persons. Yourself and Bro. Isaac 
 
 C. Haight, in your district, are authorized to give such permits. 
 Examine all such persons strictly before giving them permits to 
 pass, keep things perfectly quiet and let all things be done peace- 
 fully, but with firmness, and let there be no excitement. Let the 
 people be united in their feelings and faith, as well as works, 
 and keep alive the spirit of the reformation ; and what we said in 
 regard to sowing the grain and provisions, we say again, let 
 there be no waste ; save life always when it is possible we do 
 not wish to shed a drop of blood if it can be avoided. This 
 course will give us great influence abroad. 
 
 [Signed] "BRIGHAM YOUNG. 
 
 [Signed] "DANIEL H. WELLS." 
 
 Next, take the proclamation declaring martial law in the Terri- 
 tory, and put these facts together, and no fair-minded person 
 can deny that the massacre was the result of the teachings of 
 Brigham Young, and that the Mormons in church council decided 
 that the emigrants should be killed as they were afterwards killed. 
 
 I claim that Brigham Young is the real criminal, and that John 
 
 D. Lee was an instrument in his hands. That Brigham Young 
 used John D. Lee, as the assassin uses the dagger, to strike 
 down his unsuspecting victim ; and as the assassin throws away 
 the dagger, to avoid its bloody blade leading to his detection, 
 so Brigham Young used John D. Lee to do his horrid work ; 
 and when discovery becomes unavoidable, he hurls Lee from 
 him, cuts him away from the Church, and casts him far out into 
 the whirlpool of destruction. The assassin has no further use 
 for his weapon. I also claim that if religious fanaticism can 
 clear a man from crime, that John D. Lee was guiltless, for he 
 was one of the most intensely fanatical Mormons that infested 
 Utah in 1857. But I do not claim that the fact of his being a 
 fanatic and blinded believer of Brigham Young's so-called reve- 
 lations excused him far from it. In place of excusing him, it 
 added to his crime. Such insanity as that which religious fanat- 
 icism breeds, can only, and should only, be treated by the exe- 
 cutioner, and there are many thousands in Utah who are afflicted 
 with the disease, that calls for that radical treatment which was 
 administered to Lee. The Mormons around Cedar City, espe- 
 
20 /-V r TR OD UC TOR Y. 
 
 cially, were insane dreamers, and to them the Danites, Destroy- 
 ing Angels and Blood Atoners became objects of ecstatic admira- 
 tion. The Mormons had come into existence to combat the 
 doctrines of Protestants and Catholics alike. They were infatu- 
 ated followers of designing leaders, anxious to earn the martyr's 
 crown by giving up life if necessary to advance the interest of 
 the Mormon Church, or please one of the priesthood. 
 
 The Templars and Knights of St. John were no more willing 
 servants of the Cross, in its war with the Crescent, than were the 
 deluded followers of Brigham Young to overthrow all established 
 government, and shed the blood of all who were marked as vic- 
 tims by the false prophet who directed their assassin-like actions. 
 They had no law but the will of Brigham Young. No purpose 
 but what they called the will of God. Their discipline was per- 
 fect, and their devotion absolute. 
 
 Such was the condition of affairs when the fair plains of Utah 
 were wetted with the blood of over one hundred and twenty 
 human beings, that had been doomed to death by the unanimous 
 voice of the Satanic crew that claimed to be servants of the ever- 
 living God. Since that time every force has been brought for- 
 ward which Mormonism could wield to prevent the facts from 
 becoming known. Brigham Young has shielded and rewarded 
 those that he well knew were engaged in the unholy work. 
 
 I cannot explain the facts connected with the Mormons and 
 the massacre, in any other way, so fully and clearly, and yet so 
 truly, as I can by giving extracts from the speech of Judge 
 Cradlebaugh, which he delivered in Congress, in the year 1863. 
 Judge 6radlebaugh was an educated, honorable gentleman, 
 whose word no man that ever knew him can honestly dispute. 
 He was speaking about the Mountain Meadows Massacre, and 
 calling upon Congress for needed legislation for the Territory 
 of Utah. The entire speech is one that every lover of our in 
 stitutions should be familiar with, as it most clearly portrays the 
 evils of the Mormon system. I would like to publish the entire 
 speech, but will content myself by giving only a part. In re- 
 gard to what Mormonism is, he says : 
 
 MB. CRADLEBAUGH. "Mr. Speaker, having resided for some 
 tone among the Mormons, become acquainted with their eccle- 
 lastical policy, their habits, and ttseir crimes, I feel that I would 
 ot be discharging my duty if I failed to impart such infor- 
 mation as I have acquired in regard to this people in our midst, 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 21 
 
 who are building up, consolidating, and daringly carrying out a 
 system subversive of the Constitution and laws, and fatal to 
 morals and true religion. 
 
 "The remoteness of Utah from the settled regions of our coun- 
 try, and the absence of any general intercourse between the 
 Mormons and the masses of our people, have served to keep the 
 latter in almost complete ignorance of the character and designs 
 of the former. That ignorance, pardonable at first, becomes 
 criminal when the avenues to a full knowledge are open to us. 
 
 "Mormonism is one of the monstrosities of the age in which 
 we live. It seems to have been left for the model Republic of the 
 world, for the nineteenth century, when the light of knowledge 
 is more generally diffused than ever before, when in art, science 
 and philosophy we have surpassed all that ages of the past can 
 show, to produce an idle, worthless vagabond of an impostor, 
 who heralds forth a creed repulsive to every refined mind, op- 
 posed to every generous impulse of the human heart, and a faith 
 which commands a violation of the rights of hospitality, sancti- 
 fies falsehood, enforces the systematic degradation of women, 
 not only permits, but orders, the commission of the vilest lusts, 
 in the name of Almighty God himself, and teaches that it is a 
 sacred duty to commit the crimes of theft and murder. It is 
 surprising that such faith, taught too, in the coarsest and most 
 vulgar way, should meet with any success. Yet in less than a 
 century it girdles the globe. Its missionaries are planted in 
 every place. You find them all over Europe, thick through 
 England and Wales, traversing Asia and Africa, and braving 
 the billows of the southern oceans to seek proselytes. And, as 
 if to crown its achievements, it establishes itself in the heart of 
 one of the greatest and most powerful governments of the 
 world, establishes therein a theocratic government overriding 
 all other government, putting the laws at defiance, and now 
 seeks to consummate and perpetuate itself by acquiring a State 
 sovereignty, and by being placed on an equality with the other 
 states of the Union. 
 
 u Mormonism is in part a conglomeration of illy cemented 
 creeds from other religions, and in part founded upon the eccen- 
 tric production of one Spaulding, who, having failed as a 
 preacher and shopkeeper, undertook to write a historic novel. 
 He had a smattering of biblical knowledge, and chose for his 
 subject 'the history of the lost tribes of Israel.' The whole 
 was supposed to be communicated by the Indians, and the last 
 of the series was named Mormon, representing that he had 
 buried the book. It was a dull, tedious, interminable volume, 
 marked by ignorance and folly. The work was so flat, stupid 
 and insipid, that no publisher could be induced to bring it 
 before the world. Poor Spaulding at length went to his grave, 
 
22 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 and the manuscript remained a neglected roll in the possession 
 of his widow. 
 
 "Then arose Joe Smith, more ready to live by his wits than by 
 the labor of his hands. Smith had, early in life, manifested a 
 turn for pious frauds. He had figured iu several wrestling 
 matches with the devil, and had been conspicuous in giving in 
 eventful experiences in religion at certain revivals. He an- 
 nounced that he had dug up the book of Mormon, which taught 
 the true religion ; this was none other than poor Spaulding's 
 manuscript, which he had purloined from the widow. In his hands 
 the manuscript became the basis of Mormonism. Joe became a 
 prophet; the founder of a religious sect; the president of a 
 swindling bank ; the builder of the City of Nauvoo ; mayor of. the 
 city; general of the armies of Israel; candidate for President 
 of the United States, and finally a martyr, as the Saints choose 
 to call him. But the truth is that his villainies, together with 
 the villainies of his followers, brought down upon him the just 
 vengeance of the people of Illinois and Missouri, and his career 
 was brought to an end by his being shot while confined in jail 
 in Carthage. It was unfortunate that such was his end, for his 
 followers raised the old cry of martyrdom and persecution, 
 and, as always proved, ' the blood of the martyr was the seed 
 of the church.' 
 
 " Mormonism repudiates the celibacy imposed by the Catholic 
 religion upon its priesthood, and takes in its stead the voluptu- 
 ous impositions of the Mohammedan Church. It preaches 
 openly that the more wives and children its men have in this 
 world, the purer, more influential and conspicuous will they 
 be in the next ; that wives, children, and property will not only 
 be restored, but doubled in the resurrection. It adopts the 
 use of prayers and baptism for the dead, as a part of its creed. 
 Mormons claim to be favored with marvelous gifts the power 
 of speaking in tongues, of casting out devils, of curing the sick, 
 and of healing the lame and the halt. They claim that they 
 have a living prophet, seer and revelator who holds the keys of 
 of the Kingdom of Heaven, and through whose intercession 
 alone access can be had. They recognize the Bible, but they 
 interpret it for themselves, and hold that it is subject to be 
 changed by new revelation, which, they say, supercede^ old 
 revelation. One of their doctrines is that of continued progres- 
 sion to ultimate perfection. They say God was but a man, who 
 went out developing and increasing until he reached his present 
 high capacity ; and they teach that Mormons will be equal to 
 him ; in a word, that good Mormons will become gods. They 
 teach the shedding of blood for remission of sins, or, in other 
 words, that if a Mormon apostatizes, his throat shall be cut, 
 and his blood poured out upon the ground for the remission of 
 
INTR OD UC TOE Y. 23 
 
 his sins. They also practice other revolting doctrines, such 
 as are only carried out in polygamous countries, which is 
 evidenced by a number of mutilated persons in their midst. 
 They hold that the prophet's revelations are binding upon 
 their consciences, and that they are bound to obey him in 
 all things. They say that the earth and the fullness thereof 
 is the Lord's ; that they are God's chosen people on earth ; that 
 their mission on earth is to take charge of God's property, and, 
 as faithful stewards, that it is their duty to obtain it, and are 
 taught that, in obtaining it, they must not get in debt to the 
 Lord's enemies for it; in other words, they teach that it is a 
 duty to rob and steal from Gentiles. They have christened 
 themselves 4 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ' 
 They claim that Mormonism is to go on spreading until it over- 
 throws all the nations of the earth, and if necessary for its 
 accomplishment, its success shall be consummated by the 
 sword; that Jackson county, Missouri, is to be the seat of 
 empire of the Mormon Church ; that here the Mormons are to 
 be finally gathered, and that from that Zion shall proceed a 
 piower that will dethrone kings, subvert dynasties, and subjugate 
 all the nations of the earth. 
 
 " I have said that their doctrines were repulsive to every refined 
 mind. Every other false faith which has reigned its evil time 
 upon this goodly world of ours, has had some kindly and re- 
 deeming features. Even the semi- theocracy of the Aztecs, as 
 Prescott tells you, disfigured as it was by horrid and bloody rites, 
 was not without them. Buddhism and Brahmanism, with all 
 their misshapen fables, still inculcated, in no small degree, a 
 pure code of morals. Nor is the like assertion untrue of Mo- 
 hammedanism. It was reserved for Mormonism, far off in the 
 bosom of our beloved land, to rear its head, naked in all its 
 hideous deformity, and unblushingly, yes, defiantly, proclaim a 
 cre'ed without the least redeeming feature, and of such character 
 that the Thugism of India cannot match it. 
 
 44 So at variance is the practice of polygamy with all the in- 
 stincts of humanity, that it has to be pressed upon the people 
 with the greatest assiduity as a part of their religious duty. It 
 is astonishing with what pertinacity through all their ' sermons 
 and discources* it is justified and insisted on. Threats, 
 entreaties, persuasions, and commands, are continually brought 
 in play to enforce its cheerful observance. So revolting is it to 
 the women, that to aid in its enforcement they are brutalized, 
 their modesty destroyed by low, vile, vulgar expressions, such 
 as I could not repeat, and would not ask the clerk to read in 
 your hearing. If, however, my conjugal friend, the Delegate 
 from Utah, will undertake such task, I will most cheerfully fur- 
 nish them for him ; certainly he ought not to hesitate. If they 
 
24 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 are proper to be repeated before large congregations of women 
 and children in Salt Lake City, the representative of the Church 
 ought not to be ashamed at reading them to this House. Will 
 the Delegate from Utah read them ? 
 
 CONDITION OF THE WOMEN. 
 
 * But their teachings, officially reported by themselves, give 
 you a better idea of their estimation of woman than anything I 
 could say. I shall read to you from a few of their sermons on 
 this subject, only observing that you may pick other passages 
 inculcating similar doctrines, containing like threats, rebukes, 
 and complaints, in nearly every sermon published in the Churcl 
 organ. 
 
 ''President J. M. Grant, in a sermon delivered September 21, 
 1856, reported in the Deseret News, (volume 6, page 235) said: 
 
 "'And we have women here who like any thing but the celes- 
 tial law of God ; and, if they could, would break asunder the 
 cable of the Church of Christ; there is scarcely a mother in 
 Israel but would do it this day. And they talk it to their hus- 
 bands, to their daughters, and to their neighbors, and say that 
 they have not seen a week's happiness since they became ac- 
 quainted with that law, or since their husbands took a second 
 wife. They want to break up the Church of God, and to break 
 it from their husbands and from their family connections.' 
 
 "President Brigham Young, in a sermon delivered the same 
 day, reported in the same paper, said : 
 
 " ' Now, for my proposition ; it is more particularly for my 
 sisters, as it is frequently happening that women say that they 
 are unhappy. Men will say, " my wife, though a most excellent 
 woman, has not seen a happy day since I took my second wife ; 
 no, not a happy day for a year. " It is said that women are 
 tied down and abused ; that they are misused, and have not the 
 liberty they ought to have; that many of them are wading 
 through a perfect flood of tears, because of the conduct of s'orne 
 men, together with their own folly. 
 
 " ' I wish my women to understand that what I am going to say 
 is for them, as well as all others, and I want those who are here 
 to tell their sisters, yes, all the women of this community, and 
 then write it back to the States, and do as you please with it. I 
 am going to give you from this time to the 6th clay of October 
 next for reflection, that you may determine whether you wish to 
 stay with your husbands or not, and then I am going to set 
 every woman at liberty, and say to them, " now go your way, 
 my women with the rest ; go your way. " And my wives have 
 got to do one of two things ; either round up their shoulders to 
 endure the afflictions of this world, and live their religion, or 
 they may leave, for I will not have them about me. I will go 
 into Heaven alone, ratner than have scratching and fighting 
 
INTB OD UCTOR Y. 25 
 
 around me. I will set all at liberty. " What, first wife too?" 
 Yes, I will liberate you all. 
 
 44 * I know what my women will say ; they will say, " you can 
 have as many women as you please, Brigham." But I want to 
 go somewhere and do something to get rid of the winners ; I do 
 not want them to receive a. part of the truth and spurn the rest 
 out of doors. * * * * 
 
 " 4 Let every man thus treat his wives, keeping raiment enough 
 to clothe his body ; and say to your wives, " take all that I have 
 and be set at liberty ; but if you stay with me you shall comply 
 with the law of God, and that, too, without any murmuring and 
 whining. You must fulfill the law of God in every respect, and 
 round up your shoulders to walk up to. the mark without any 
 grunting. 
 
 " 4 Now, recollect, that two weeks from to-morrow I am going 
 to set you all at liberty. But the first wife will say, " it is hard, 
 for I have lived with my husband twenty years, or thirty, and 
 have raised a family of children for him, and it is a great trial 
 to me for him to have more women that will bear children." If 
 my wife had borne me all the children that she ever would bear, 
 the celestial law would teach me to take young women that 
 would have children. * . * 
 
 44 4 Sisters, I am not joking ; I do not throw out my proposition 
 to banter your feelings, to see whether you will leave your hus- 
 bands, all or any of you. But I do know that there is no cessa- 
 tion to the everlasting whinings of many of the women of this 
 Territory. And if the women will turn from the commandments 
 of God and continue to despise the order of Heaven, I will pray 
 that the curse of the Almighty may be close to their heels, and 
 that it may be following them all the day long. And those that 
 enter into it and are faithful, I will promise them that they shall 
 be queens in heaven and rulers for all eternity.' 
 
 44 President Heber C. Kimball, in a discourse delivered in the 
 Tabernacle, November 9, 1856 (Deseret News, volume 6, page 
 291), said: 
 
 44 4 1 have no wife or child that has any right to rebel against 
 me. If they violate my laws and rebel against me, they will get 
 into trouble just as quickly as though they transgressed the 
 counsels and teachings of Brother Brigham. Does it give a 
 woman a right to sin against me because she is my wife? No; 
 but it is her duty to do my will as I do the will of my Father 
 and my God. It is the duty of a woman to be obedient to her 
 husband, and unless she is, I would not give a damn for all her 
 queenly right and authority, nor for her either, if she will quar- 
 rel and lie about the work of God and the principles of plurality. 
 A disregard of plain and correct teachings is the reason why 
 BO many are dead and damned, and t? ice plucked up 
 
26 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 by the roots, and I would as soon baptize the devil as some 
 of you.' 
 
 " October 6, 1855 (volume 5, page 274), Kimball said: 
 
 " ' If you oppose any of the works of God you will cultivate a 
 spirit of apostasy. If you oppose what is called the spiritual 
 wife doctrines,, the patriarchal order, which is of God, that course 
 will corrode you with apostasy, and you will go overboard. Still 
 a great many do so, and strive to justify themselves in it; but 
 they are not justified in God. * * * * 
 
 " ' The principle of plurality of wives never will be done away, 
 although some sisters have had revelations that when this time 
 passes away, and they go through the vale, every woman will 
 have a husband to herself. I wish more of our young men would 
 take to themselves wives of the daughters of Zion, and not wait 
 for us old men to take them all. Go ahead upon the right prin- 
 ciple, young gentlemen, and God bless you for ever and ever, 
 and make you fruitful, that we may fill the mountains and then 
 the earth, with righteous inhabitants.' 
 
 " April 2, 1854, President Heber C. Kimball said in the Taber- 
 nacle (see Deseret Neivs, volume 4, No. 20) : 
 
 " 'There are some ladies who are not happy in their present 
 situation ; but that woman who cannot be happy with one man 
 cannot be happy with two. You know all women are good, or 
 ought to be. They are made for angelic beings, and I would 
 like to see them act more angelic in their behavior. You were 
 made more angelic, and a little weaker than man. Man is made 
 of rougher material to open the way, cut down bushes and kill 
 the snakes that women may walk along through life, and not 
 soil and tear their skirts. When you see a woman with ragged 
 skirts you may know she wears the unmentionables, for she is 
 doing the man's business, and has not time to cut off the rags 
 hanging about her. From this time henceforth you may know 
 what woman wears her husband's pants. May the Lord bless 
 you. Amen.' 
 
 4 'President Heber C. Kimball, in a lengthened discourse, de- 
 livered in the Tabernacle on the 4th day of April, 1857, took oc- 
 casion to say: 
 
 "'I would not be afraid to promise a man who is sixty 
 years of age, if he will take the counsel of Brother Brigiiam 
 and his brethren, he will renew his age. I have noticed 
 that a man who has but one wife, and is inclined to that 
 doctrine, soon begins to wither and dry up, while a man who 
 goes into plurality looks fresh, young and sprightly. Why is 
 this? Because God loves that man, and because he honors his 
 work and word. Some of you may not believe this ; but I not 
 only believe it, but 1 also know it. For a man of God to be 
 confined to one woman is a small business, for it is as much as 
 
INTE ODUCTOBY. 27 
 
 we can do to keep under the burdens we have to carry, and 
 do not know what we should do if we only had one woman 
 apiece.' 
 
 "President Heber C. Kimball used the following language in 
 a discourse, instructing a band of missionaries about to start 
 on their mission : 
 
 '"I say to those who are elected to go on missions, go, if you 
 never return, and commit what you have into the hands of God 
 your wives, your children, your brethren and your property. 
 Let truth and righteousness be your motto, and don't go into 
 the world for anything else but to preach the Gospel, build up the 
 kingdom of God, and gather the sheep into the fold. You are 
 sent out as shepherds to gather the sheep together ; and re- 
 member that they are not your sheep; they belong to him 
 that sends you ; then don't make a choice of any of those 
 sheep, don't make selections before they are brought home and 
 put into the fold. You understand that! Amen.' 
 
 " Such, then, is Mormonism in regard to all that beautifies 
 life in the conjugal relation ; such are their sentiments and com- 
 mands pronounced under the assumed authority of God upon 
 the female sex. When President Kimball calls his numerous 
 wives his ' cows, ' he but reflects the Mormon idea of woman in 
 the social scale. 
 
 "The view is sickening. I turn with loathing and disgust 
 from their legalized status of systematic debauchery and lust. 
 Before it the entire nature recoils. No wonder that it requires 
 the whole enginery of the Mormon Church, threats and intimida- 
 tions to compel the women to submit to it. I pity that man or 
 woman who can for one moment look upon this organized, sys- 
 tematic, enforced degradation and prostitution with any other 
 feeling than that of abhorrence and disgust. In matters of 
 affection woman is a monopolist she wants the whole heart, or 
 she wants none. But in Utah she is compelled to take part 
 only of the smallest of hearts a Mormon's heart little atten- 
 tion and no devotion. 
 
 " The church government established by the Mormons to carry 
 into operation the teachings from which I have so copiously 
 extracted, is one of the most complete despotisms on the face of 
 the earth. The mind of one man permeates through the whole 
 mass of the people, and subjects to its unrelenting tyranny the 
 souls and bodies of all. It reigns supreme in Church and State, 
 in morals, and even in the minutest domestic and social arrange- 
 ments. Brigham's house is at once tabernacle, capital and 
 harem ; and Brigham himself is king, priest, lawgiver, and chief 
 polygaraist. Is treason hatched in Utah? Brigham is the 
 head traitor. Is a law enacted? Brigham's advice deter- 
 mines it. Is an offending 'Gentile* or an Apostate Mor- 
 
28 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 mon to be assassinated? the order emanates from Brig- 
 ham. 
 
 In addition to all this, he heals the afflicted by the laying 
 on of hands, and comforts the widow by becoming her hus- 
 band. It may be asked, does he do this without compensa- 
 tion? No, his pay is both high and certain. He taxes his 
 .deluded followers to the extent of aH surplus property upon their 
 arrival in the Territory. He subsequently taxes them to the 
 extent of one-tenth of their annual productions and labor, and if 
 reluctant to pay, he mercilessly snatches all they have. He 
 has through the Legislature unrestricted license to tax mer- 
 chants. By legislation, all estrays in the Territory are impound- 
 ed and sold, and the proceeds paid over to him. By like author- 
 ity he seizes upon the great highway between our Atlantic and 
 Pacific possessions, grants exclusive rights to erect bridges and 
 ferries across all the streams in the Territory, and fixes the toll 
 at enormous rates, ranging from five to ten dollars for a team, 
 expressly providing in the law that a portion of the receipts shall 
 be paid over to himself, by which means, whether willing or 
 unwilling, the emigrant to the Pacific coast is forced to build up 
 the Church, and furnish money to emigrate pious sisters to Zion 
 to replenish the harems of the hoary-headed leaders of the 
 Church; and as if to consummate the matter of pay, all escheats 
 in the Territory are to him ; the property of the emigrant, and 
 even the habiliments of the deceased may be sold, and the pro- 
 ceeds paid over to him. He selects for himself the choicest 
 spots of land in the Territory, and they yield him their produc- 
 tions, none daring to interfere. 
 
 44 The timber in the mountains for a great distance from Salt 
 Lake City belongs to him, and it is only by delivering each third 
 load, as he shall order, that the gates are opened and the citizen 
 allowed to pass up City Creek canyon to obtain it. Having ap- 
 propriated all that he desires for his own use, he has quite ex- 
 tensive tracts of country furnished him by tbe Federal Govern- 
 ment as capital for his Church. He sends his agents, denomi- 
 nating them missionaries, to Europe, who represent Utah as a 
 paradise, and go into the market offering each proselyte who will 
 come to Zion, a homestead of a quarter of a section of land 
 being in return compensated by the addition of females to fill the 
 harems, and the tithing which will in the future accrue to him. 
 The cattle on a thousand hills exhibit his brand. He fixes his 
 pay pays himself. His pampered but plebeian body reposes 
 in a palace, and scores of bright-eyed women call him husband. 
 His deluded followers yield him implicit obedience and a 
 Church organization known as 4 Danites ' or 4 Destroying An- 
 gels,' stands ready to protect his person, or avenge his wrongs, 
 and to execute his pleasure. 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 29 
 
 44 The legislators of the Territory are Mormons. The endow- 
 ment oaths bind them to yield an implicit obedience to Brigham, 
 as the head of the Church, and political head of the Territory. 
 His mandates are superior to all law. The Mormons are fanat- 
 ics ; they will keep their oath to obey him. Did not their relig- 
 ion induce, their fears would compel obedience, for the ven- 
 geance of Brigham, though silent, is swift, and fearful as the 
 horrors of death can make it. Mormon punishment for Mor- 
 mon apostasy is like the old curse of former Popes, it extends 
 from the soles of the feet to the hairs of the head. It sep- 
 arates the husband from the wife ; it reaches from the 
 confiscation of property to the severance of the windpipe. 
 Armed with such power over the hearts and lives of the people, 
 Brigham defiantly drives the barbaric chariot of Mormon rob- 
 bery, murder, polygamy and incest over all law, in defiance 
 of all Federal officials in the Territory. Brigham not only con- 
 trols the legislation, but he controls the courts. He uses the 
 one to aid in accomplishing the other. 
 
 " As one of the Associate Justices of the Territory of Utah, 
 in the month of April, 1859, I commenced and held a term of 
 the District Court for the Second Judicial District, in the city 
 of Provo, about sixty miles south of Salt Lake City. General 
 A. S. Johnston, in command of the Military Department, fur- 
 nished a small military force for the purpose of protecting the 
 Court. A Grand Jury was impaneled, and their attention was 
 pointedly and specifically called to the great number of crimes 
 that had been committed in the immediate vicinity, cases of 
 public notoriety both as to the offense and the persons who had 
 perpetrated the same ; for none of these things had 4 been done 
 in a corner.' Their perpetrators had scorned alike conceal- 
 ment or apology before the arrival of the American forces. The 
 Jury, thus instructed, though kept in session two weeks, utterly 
 refused to do anything, and were finally discharged as an evi- 
 dently useless appendage to a court of justice. But the Court 
 was determined to try a last resource to bring to light and to 
 punish those guilty of the atrocious crimes which had been 
 committed in the Territory, and the session continued. Bench 
 warrants, based upon sworn information, were issued against 
 the alleged criminals, and United States Marshal Dotson, a most 
 excellent and reliable officer, aided by a military posse, procured 
 on his own request, had succeeded in making a few arrests. A 
 general stampede immediately took place among the Mormons ; 
 and what I wish to call your attention to as particularly notice- 
 able, is the fact that this occurred more especially among the 
 Church officials and civil officers. Why were these classes so 
 peculiarly urgent and hasty in flight? The law of evidence, 
 based on the experience of ages, has but one answer. It was 
 
30 INTR OD UC TOE Y. 
 
 the consciousness of guilt which drove them to seek a refuge 
 from the avenging arm of the law, armed at last, as they sup- 
 posed, with power to vindicate its injured majesty. It is a well 
 known fact that many of the bishops and presidents of 4 Stakes ' 
 remained secreted in the mountains until the news was confirmed 
 beyond doubt, which announced the retrograde course of the 
 administration at Washington. * 
 
 * * * Sitting as a committing magistrate, com- 
 plaint after complaint was made before me of murders and rob- 
 beries. Among these I may mention as peculiarly and shock- 
 ingly prominent, the murder of Forbes, the assassination of the 
 Parishes and Potter, of Jones and his mother, of the Aiken 
 party, of which there were six in all ; and worst and darkest in 
 this appalling catalogue of blood, the cowardly, cold-blooded 
 butchery and robbery at the Mountain Meadows. At that time 
 there still lay, all ghastly under the sun of Utah, the unburied 
 skeletons of one hundred and nineteen men, women and chil- 
 dren, the hapless, hopeless victims of the Mormon creed." 
 
 Judge Cradlebaugh then gives a full history of his visit to the 
 scene of the massacre and of his utter failure to procure the 
 arrest of one of the guilty parties ; and also gives the reasons 
 why the Courts were powerless to bring offenders to justice. 
 After giving the history of many of the crimes committed by the 
 priestly crew, the speech closes with the following eloquent sen- 
 tences : 
 
 " There can be no doubt that the mass of the Mormon com- 
 munity are misled in their errors by a set of heartless,, fanati- 
 cal leaders. Their success may be much attributed to their 
 isolation. That isolation the fast filling up of the Great Basin, 
 because of its vast mineral deposits, will soon do away with. 
 Nevada now has a population equal to Utah. Thriving towns 
 and cities are springing up on the Humboldt river and in near 
 proximity to the Mormons. Brigham sees this, and he knows 
 and feels that he must place himself in a position to prevent 
 the consequences to his system which will grow out of this con- 
 tiguity of settlement. He feels that he cannot keep his women 
 where they have a chance to get away, unless he can protect 
 himself by legislation further than he is able to do while his 
 community remains under the general jurisdiction of the Gov- 
 ernment. It is on that account that he manifests so great a 
 desire to become an independent State. I say he desires to 
 become a State, for under his tyrannical sway, and with the 
 system that is now prevalent, Brigham would be the State and 
 the State would be Brigham. 
 
 "The people of Utah have nothing but iH will towards our 
 government. The great mass know nothing of our institu- 
 
INTBODUCTOEY. 31 
 
 tions ; they came to Zion, not to America. They are hurried 
 through the settled portions of our country without being allow- 
 ed to become acquainted with our people or institutions. Upon 
 arriving in Utah they hear nothing but abuse of our people ; the 
 whole fountain of patriotism is polluted, and they are taught 
 that they owe neither allegiance nor love to our government. 
 Treason and insubordination are openly taught. God forbid 
 that this people should be admitted into the Union as an inde- 
 pendent State ; I protest against it in the name of humanity, 
 which it would violate by the admission ; I protest against it on 
 behalf of my constituents, who have a deep interest in the in- 
 stitutions that are to prevail in the great American Basin ; I 
 protest against it in the name and on behalf of the murdered 
 victims of the cruel Mormon faith, whose mouldering bones are 
 bleaching in almost every valley in the Territory; I protest 
 against it on behalf of the downtrodden and undone women 
 of Utah, who, with their female posterity, in all time to 
 come, will bless those that would not aid in keeping them in 
 bondage. " 
 
 The foregoing is, in my judgment, sufficient to show what 
 Mormonism was, and the influences that were brought to bear 
 upon the citizens of Utah at the time of the commission of the 
 massacre. 
 
 The Territory was practically without courts of justice from 
 1857 until after the passage of the " Poland Bill," since which 
 time the Federal officers in Utah have made great and praise- 
 worthy exertions to enforce the laws in the Territory. 
 
 ORGANIZATION OF THE COURT AT BEAVER CITY. 
 
 The Second District Court convened in Beaver City, Utah 
 Territory, on the seventh day of September, A. D. 1874. A 
 grand jury was summoned for the 7th of September, but the 
 panel was not completed until the 9th of September. This was 
 the first grand jury under the Poland Bill. This was the first 
 term of this court at which a Federal or Gentile officer had 
 charge of the grand jury. 
 
 This grand jury consisted of fifteen men, ten Gentiles, four 
 Mormons, and one Apostate. 
 
 Wm. Stokes and B. L. Duncan rendered efficient service in 
 procuring witnesses to go before this grand jury. 
 
 This grand jury was in session from the 9lh to the 25th day of 
 September, 1874. The indictment against John D. Lee and 
 others, charging them with the crime of murder at the Moun- 
 tain Meadows, was returned into court on the 24th day of 
 
32 INTRODUCTOEY. 
 
 September, 1874. Twenty-eight indictments for various crimes 
 were found and returned by this jury. D. P. Whedon, Esq., 
 acted as deputy United States Attorney, and drew all the in- 
 dictments presented at that term of court. Great credit is due 
 to Judge Whedon for the able manner in which he discharged 
 his duty while acting as deputy United States Attorney in Utah. 
 
 Hon. Jacob S. Boreman was the Presiding Judge during all 
 of the time since 1874, in that district. 
 
 General George R. Maxwell, the United States Marshal for 
 Utah, was an efficient officer. He resigned his position after the 
 first trial of Lee, and was succeeded by Colonel William Nelson, 
 the present United States Marshal for Utah. 
 
 James R. Wilkins, the clerk of the court, is an affable, edu- 
 cated gentleman, in every way qualified for his position. 
 
 Hon. William Carey, United States Attorney, who prosecuted 
 at the first trial, was succeeded by Hon. Summer Howard, who 
 secured a conviction of Lee, by beating the Mormons at their 
 own game of trickery. 
 
 At the first trial, a jury was sworn to try the case on the 24th 
 day of July, 1875. 
 
 The prosecution was conducted by William Carey, United 
 States Attorney for Utah, D. P. Whedon, deputy United States 
 Attorney, R. N. Boskin, Presley Denney, Charles H. Swift 
 and C. M. Hawley. 
 
 The defendant was represented by J. G. Sutherland, E. D. 
 Hoge, Wells Spicer, John McFarland and Wm. W. Bishop. 
 
 After several days of legal strife, the case was given to the 
 jury, and failing to agree (nine being for Not Guilty, and three 
 being for Guilty), the jury were discharged and the case con- 
 tinued. 
 
 At the succeeding May term of the Court, the prosecution 
 being without money to carry on the case, or procure witnesses, 
 and the defendant insisting upon a trial, the court admitted him 
 to bail in the sum of ten thousand dollars, which bail was at once 
 given, and Lee was then discharged from custody, and remain- 
 ed at liberty until a few days before the commencement of the 
 second trial, at which time he was surrendered to the court by 
 his Mormon bondsmen, they having been ordered by the Church 
 authorities to withdraw all assistance and sympathy from John 
 D. Lee, as he had been selected as a victim to shoulder the sins 
 of the people of the Mormon Church. Daniel H. Wells was pres- 
 

 INTE OD UCTOR T. 38 
 
 cnt in person at Beaver, to see that the treachery of the Mor- 
 mon leaders was completely carried out. 
 
 September 14, 1876, a jury was empaneled to try the case 
 the second time. Twelve jurymen were found who were con- 
 sidered safe by the Church authorities, and all other parties 
 concerned, and the trial commenced. The attorneys for the 
 defendant had been furnished a list of the jurymen, and the list 
 was examined by a committee of Mormons, who marked those 
 who would convict with a dash ( ), those who would rather 
 not convict with a star (*), and those who were certain to 
 acquit John D. Lee, under all circumstances, with two stars 
 (**). It is sufficient on that subject to simply say, all the jury- 
 men accepted were marked with the two stars in the list, 
 and they acted as the Church directed they convicted I As a 
 matter of explanation, I may be pardoned for saying that the 
 Mormons, who gave us the list so marked, had shown it to How- 
 ard before they gave it to us, and informed him that he had 
 nothing to fear! The law and evidence, and also Brigham 
 Young and the Mormon Church, were then all against Lee, 
 hence his conviction was a foregone conclusion. The evidence 
 is given in full in the body of this work, and speaks for itself. 
 
 The jury brought in a verdict of guilty of murder in the first 
 degree, and the Court passed sentence of death upon Lee. The 
 case was appealed to the Supreme Court of Utah Territory, and 
 the judgment of the District Court affirmed. Lee was again 
 taken to 'Beaver and sentenced to be shot. The sentence wai 
 carried into effect on the 23d day of March, A. D. 1877. 
 
 At the last trial the prosecution was conducted by Sumner 
 Howard, U. S. Attorney for Utah, and Presley Denney, Deputy 
 U. S. Attorney. 
 
 The defendant was represented by Wells Spicer, J. C. Foster 
 and W. W. Bishop. 
 
 After John D. Lee had been convicted, he consented to make 
 & full confession of all that he knew concerning the Mountain 
 Meadows Massacre, and at his request I assisted him in writing 
 up the confession. He then made an assignment of all hit 
 writings to me, and requested me to publish the same. I have 
 over one thousand pages of his manuscripts and writings, in hif 
 own handwriting. I have corrected the same as I have seen fit, 
 by correcting the spelling and punctuation ; otherwise I give tht 
 writings and confessions in the exact language of John D. Lee. 
 
84 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 Several persons having made claim to the possession of the true 
 confession of Lee, I can only say that what I have published 
 was given to me by him for the purpose of publication, and that 
 he insisted up to the moment of his execution his statements 
 were true. 
 
 As my authority for publishing his life and confessions, I give 
 the following letter, which he wrote to me, and which, with 
 others that I have since received from him, and still retain, give 
 me the sole right to publish his writings. The letter reads as 
 follows : 
 
 " BEAVER CITY, UTAH TERRITORY, SEPT. 30, 1876. 
 "W. W. BISHOP: 
 
 "Dear Sir Having acted for me as one of my Attorneys, and 
 having in all respects done your utmost for my acquittal and 
 interest generally ; now that I am awaiting sentence of death 
 on the charge of having aided in the Mountain Meadows Massa- 
 cre, in case of my death, or final imprisonment, I wish you to 
 still continue my counsel and friend, and as such to publish to 
 the world the history of my life and of my connection with the 
 affair for which I have been tried. You are familar with the facts, 
 and have my statements, which are true. My journals and private 
 papers will be furnished you by my family, the same to be re- 
 turned when examined. In justice to myself, and to my family, 
 I wish you to publish the true history of my life. After the 
 expenses are paid for the publication, I expect you to divide 
 the profits arising therefrom with my family. Charging you 
 with this sacred trust, and by reason of my own inability to pub- 
 lish my life, by reason of imprisonment, I urge you to .carry out 
 this my request. "Your true friend and no mistake, 
 
 The Mountain Meadows are situated in Washington County, 
 Utah Territory, and between the seventh and eight parallels of 
 south latitude, from Salt Lake meridian. If the government 
 survey was extended over that portion of Utah Territory, then 
 the particular portion of the Meadows where the massacre was 
 committed, would be within the limits of township thirty-seven, 
 south of range twelve west. The monument, erected at the place 
 of the massacre, is three hundred and twenty miles south-west 
 from Salt Lake City, by road measure, as the road ran in 
 1857. A line extended two hundred miles due south, from Salt 
 Lake City, and then run, at right angles, seventy-five miles due 
 
INTB OD UC TOB Y. 35 
 
 west, would terminate at the monument. The Meadows are 
 thirty-six miles south-west of Cedar City, where the massacre 
 was finally planned by Haight, Higby, Klingensrnith and the 
 Mormon authorities then in council. 
 
 At the time of the massacre, if the evidence of the vampires 
 who acted as Church slaves to secure the conviction of Lee are 
 to be believed, the Meadows were covered with an abundance of 
 rank, nutritious grasses, and was a beautiful, smiling spot of 
 earth, inviting the beholder to rest and repose. 
 
 Now it is an arid waste, with but little vegetation upon its 
 plains. The springs, once furnishing a bounteous supply of wa- 
 ter, are now comparatively dry and wasted away. The Mead- 
 ows are such only in name ; all that gave them beauty has long 
 since faded and gone. They lie there as one of the cursed spots 
 of earth ; surrounded by desolation so intense that a fanatic, 
 seeking death in order to escape from the troubles of this sin- 
 cursed earth ; seeking death in order to obtain the CELESTIAL re- 
 ward offered by some self-styled apostle, anxious to give up life 
 at once, and try the realities of the hereafter, would forego his 
 promised joys and dwell in this land of sorrow, for a season, 
 rather than lay down the body that he was so anxious to sepa- 
 rate from, and leave it to moulder upon the unsightly spot where 
 so much of wrong has been done in the name of religion. Mor- 
 mon tradition informs us that the ghosts of the slaughtered emi- 
 grants meet nightly at the springs, and with phantom-like still- 
 ness, but with perfectness of detail, act over in pantomime the 
 cruelities and horrors connected with the massacre. 
 
 I acknowledge myself greatly indebted to D. P. Whedon, 
 Esq., Hon. Wm. Nelson, Wm. Stokes, Esq., John Ward Chris- 
 tian, Esq., General George R. Maxwell, Hon. Sumner Howard, 
 A. S. Patterson, Esq., and the Salt Lake Tribune Publishing 
 Company for many favors extended to me by them, in furnish- 
 ing me with valuable documents for use in the work of compil- 
 ing this manuscript for publication. 
 
 I also acknowledge myself under many obligations to Col. 
 Geo. M. Sabin, of Pioche, Nevada, for his valuable services 
 rendered me in the preparation of this work for the press. 
 
 I have now kept faith with my unfortunate client, and feel 
 that I have also performed a duty that I owed to myself and 
 the country. WM. W. BISHOP. 
 
 PIOCHE, NEVADA, May 17th, 1877. 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A STORMY BEGINNING. 
 
 IN JUSTICE to myself, my numerous family, and the public 
 in general, I consider it my duty to write a history of my 
 life. I shall content myself with giving facts, and let the readers 
 draw their own conclusion therefrom. By the world at large, I 
 am called a vile criminal, and have been sentenced to be shot 
 for deeds committed by myself and others, nearly twenty years 
 ago. I never willingly committed a crime. / have acted my 
 religion, nothing more. I have obeyed the orders of the Church. 
 I have acted as I was commanded to do by my superiors, and ii 
 I have committed acts that justify my execution, I ask my 
 readers to say what should be the fate of the leaders in the 
 Church who taught me to believe that I could not and would 
 not commit sin while obeying orders of the priesthood? My 
 sins, if any, are the result of doing what I was commanded to do 
 by those who were my superiors in authority in the Church of 
 Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I will now give the facts 
 which relate to my own history, and leave it to others to say 
 how I should have acted how they would have acted if situa- 
 ted as I was. 
 
 I was born on the 6th day of September, A. D. 1812, in the 
 town of Kaskaskia, Randolph County, Illinois. My father, Ralph 
 Lee, was born in the State of Virginia. He was of the family of 
 Lees of Revolutionary fame, and was a relative of General 
 Robert E. Lee, of the late war; he served his time as an ap- 
 prentice and learned the carpenter's trade in the city of Balti- 
 more. My mother was born in Nashville, Tennessee. She was 
 the daughter of John Doyle, who for many yjears held the posi- 
 tion of Indian Agent over the roving tribes of Indians in south- 
 eastern Illinois. He served in the war of the Revolution, and 
 was wounded in one of the many battles in which he took part 
 with the Sons of Liberty against the English oppressors. About 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 37 
 
 the year 1796, he was appointed Indian Agent, and moved to 
 Kaskaskia, Illinois. 
 
 My mother was first married in 1799, to Oliver Reed, and 
 lived with him until he was assassinated by a man named Jones, 
 who entered the house when the family were asleep, and 
 striking Reed with a seat of a loom, knocked his brains out, at 
 the same time severely wounding my half-sister, Eliza Virginia, 
 then six months old. The blow and the screams of the child 
 awakened my mother, who sprang from the bed, and recognizing 
 the assassin, said, " For God's sake, Jones, spare my husband's 
 life!" Jones said, "You know me, G d n you I you shall tell 
 no tales." With this, he caught up a sugar trough and struck my 
 mother on the head with it. The blow rendered her senseless. 
 Jones, believing he had completed his work of death, then left 
 the house. My mother soon revived, called upon the neighbors 
 for assistance, and told who had committed the murder. Jones 
 was arrested, convicted and afterwards hung for the crime. 
 The injuries received by my mother, from the blow struck by 
 Jones, affected her all the rest of her life. 
 
 After the death of Reed, my mother went back to Kaskaskia 
 and lived in her father's family until she married my father in 
 the year 1808. My mother had two children by my father that 
 is, William Oliver and myself. My brother, William Oliver, died 
 when about two years old. At the time of my birth my father 
 was considered one of the leading men of that section of country ; 
 he was a master workman, sober and attentive to business, 
 prompt and punctual to his engagements. He contracted largely 
 and carried on a heavy business ; he erected a magnificent man- 
 sion, for that age and country, on his land adjoining the town 
 of Kaskaskia. This tract of land was the property of my mother 
 when she married my father. My grandfather Doyle was a 
 wealthy man. He died in 1809 at Kaskaskia, Illinois, and left his 
 whole fortune to my mother and her sister Charlotte, by will. 
 They being his only children, he divided the property equally 
 between them. 
 
 My father and mother were both Catholics, were raised in that 
 faith ; I was christened in that Church. William Morrison and 
 Louise Phillips stood as my representative god-father and god- 
 mother. It is from that Church record that I could alone obtain 
 the facts and date that referred to my birth. 
 
 When about one year old, my mother being sick, I was sent 
 
38 MOKMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 to a French nurse, a negro woman. At this time my sister Eliza 
 was eleven years old, but young as she was she had to care for 
 my mother and do all the work of the household. To add to the 
 misfortune, my father began to drink heavily and was soon very 
 dissipated; drinking and gambling was his daily occupation. 
 The interest and care of his family was no longer a duty with 
 him ; his presence was seldom seen to cheer and comfort his 
 lonely, afflicted wife. The house was one mile from town, and 
 we had no neighbors nearer than that. The neglect and indif- 
 ference on the part of my father towards my afflicted mother, 
 served to increase her anguish and sorrow, until death came to 
 her relief. My mother's death left us miserable indeed ; we were 
 (my sister and I) thrown upon the wide world, helpless, and I 
 might say, without father or mother. My father when free from 
 the effects of intoxicating drink, was a kind-hearted, generous, 
 noble man, but from that time forward he was a slave to drink 
 seldom sober. 
 
 My aunt Charlotte was a regular spit-flre ; she was married to 
 a man by the name of James Conner, a Kentuckian by birth. 
 They lived ten miles north of us. My sister went to live with 
 her aunt, but the treatment she received was so brutal that the 
 citizens complained to the county commiosioners, and she was 
 taken away from her aunt and bound out to Dr. Fisher, with 
 whose family she lived until she became of age. In the mean- 
 time the Doctor moved to the city of Vandalia, Illinois. I re- 
 mained with my nurse until I was eight years of age, when I was 
 taken to my aunt Charlotte's, to be educated. I had been in a 
 family which talked French so long that I had nearly lost all 
 knowledge of my mother tongue. The children at school called 
 me Gumbo, and teased me so much that I became disgusted with 
 the French language and tried to forget it which has been a 
 disadvantage to me since that time. 
 
 My aunt was rich in her own right. My uncle Conner was 
 poor ; he drank and gambled and wasted her fortune ; she in re- 
 turn gave him thunder and blixen all the time. The more she 
 scolded, the worse he acted, until they would fight like cats and 
 dogs. Between them I was treated worse than an African slave. 
 I lived in the family eight years, and can safely say I got a 
 whipping every day I was there. My life was one of misery and 
 wretchedness; and if it had not been for my strong religious 
 convictions, I certainly would have committed suicide, to hav* 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 39 
 
 escaped from the miserable condition I was in. I then believed, 
 as I do still, that for the crime of suicide there was no forgive- 
 ness in this world, or that which is to come. My aunt was more 
 like a savage than a civilized woman. In her anger she gener- 
 ally took her revenge upon those around her who were the least 
 to blame. She would strike with anything she could obtain, 
 with which to work an injury. I have been knocked down and 
 beaten by her until I was senseless, scores of times, and I yet 
 carry many scars on my person, the result of my harsh usage by 
 her. 
 
 My experience in childhood made a lasting impression upon 
 me ; the horrors of a contentious family have haunted me through 
 life. I then resolved in my mind that I would never subject iny- 
 self to sorrow and misery as my uncle had done. I would marry 
 for love, and not for riches. I also formed the resolution that 
 I would never gamble after I was married, and I have kept that 
 resolution since I was a married man. 
 
 Aunt Charlotte had five children, four girls and one boy ; i. ., 
 Minerva C., Amanda, Eliza, Maria and John Edgar. They, as 
 well as myself, were strangers to the affections of a mother, and 
 the pleasures of a home. 
 
 When I was sixteen years old, I concluded to leave my aunt's 
 house I cannot call it home ; my friends advised me to do so. 
 I walked one night to Kaskaskia; went to Robert Morrison and 
 told him my story. He was a mail contractor. He clothed me 
 comfortably, and sent me over the Mississippi river into Missouri, 
 to carry the mail from St. Genevieve to Pinckney, on the north 
 side of the Missouri River, via Potosi, a distance of one hundred 
 and twenty-seven miles. It was a we ekly mail. I was to receive 
 seven dollars a month for my services. This was in December, 
 1828. It was a severe winter ; snow unusually deep, and roads 
 bad. I was often until two o'clock at night in reaching my sta- 
 tions. In the following Spring I came near losing my life on 
 several occasions when swimming the streams, whicn were then 
 generally over their banks. The Meramec was the worse 
 stream I had to cross, but I escaped danger, and gave satisfac- 
 tion to my employer. At my request, I was changed, in the 
 Spring of 1829, to the route from Kaskaskia to Vandalia, Illinois, 
 the then capital of the State ; the route went by Covington and 
 Carlisle. This was also a weekly route ; the distance was about 
 one hundred miles, and I had eighteen hours in which to make 
 
40 MOltMONISH UNVEILED. 
 
 the trip. While I was carrying the mail in Missouri, 1 got a let- 
 ter from my sister, informing me of her marriage to Josiah 
 Nichols, a nephew of Barker Berry, the sheriff of Fayette coun- 
 ty, Illinois, and inviting me to visit them. Nichols was a 
 wealthy man, and lived sixteen miles north of Vandalia. I had 
 not met my sister for many years, so I concluded to visit her. 
 This was one reason why I wished to be put on the Vandalia 
 route. One day, when I arrived at Vandalia, I did not find 
 the post-master in the post-office. I could not find him, so I left 
 the mail at the post-office door, and rode up to my brother-in- 
 law's house. I had a pleasant visit there, and returned the next 
 morning to carry the mail back to Kaskaskia. The post-master, 
 not knowing where I was, had sent another person with the mail, 
 at my expense. It cost me $ 15.00 a little over my wages for 
 two months. I returned to Kaskaskia, where my employer re- 
 ceived me kindly, and laughed at my mishap. I agreed to pay 
 all damages if he would change me to another route, for I could 
 not consent to return again to the scene of my failure. My em- 
 ployer kindly gave me the place as stage driver from Kaskaskia 
 to Shawneetown, on the Ohio river. The route ran by Pinkney- 
 ville and Gallatin ; and it was one hundred and twenty miles in 
 length, through a thinly settled country. I drove on that line 
 about one month, when I commenced driving stage from Kas- 
 kaskia to Belleville. In traveling this route, I passed by my aunt 
 Charlotte Conner's place. Uncle Conner had then gone to the 
 lead mines at Galena. When my aunt and cousins saw me, they 
 all begged me to return and live with them. They made great 
 promises of kindness, and I was finally persuaded to agree to 
 return, and live in the family. I soon quit the stage-driving 
 business and returned to my aunt's. 
 
 All I know of my father, after I was eight years of age, is, 
 that he went to Texas in the year 1820, and I have never heard 
 of him since. What his fate was I never knew. 
 
 When my mother died, my uncle and aunt Conner took all 
 the property a large tract of land, several slaves, household 
 and kitchen furniture, and all ; and, as I had no guardian, I never 
 received any portion of the property ; in fact I was robbed of all. 
 The slaves were set free by an act of the Legislature ; the land 
 was sold for taxes, and was hardly worth redeeming when I 
 came of age ; so I sold my interest in all the land that had be- 
 longed to my mother, and made a quit-claim deed to it to Sidney 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 41 
 
 Breeze, a lawyer of Kaskaskia, in consideration of $200. My 
 sister, by the kindness of Dr. Fisher, her guardian, received a 
 much greater price for her interest in the land than I did. 
 
 I was born on the point of land lying between and above the 
 mouth of the Okaw or Kaskaskia river and the Mississippi river, 
 in what is known as the Great American Bottom the particular 
 point I refer to was then called Zeal-no-waw, the Island of Nuts. 
 It was nineteen miles from the point of the bluffs to the mouth 
 of the Okaw river ; ten miles wide up at the bluffs and tapering 
 to a point where the rivers united. Large bands of wild horses, 
 French ponies called "punt" horses, were to be found any day 
 feeding on the evergreen and nutritious grasses and vegetation. 
 Cattle and hogs were also running wild in great numbers ; every 
 kind of game, large and small, could be had with little exertion. 
 The streams were full of fish; the forests contained many 
 varieties of timber ; nuts, berries, and wild fruits of every de- 
 scription, found in the temperate zone, could be had in their 
 season. This point of land is one of the finest on the globe ; 
 there I spent my early years ; there I had pleasures and sorrows ; 
 there I met the maiden that first taught me love's young dream. 
 Near by was the Kaskaskia Reservation of the Kaskaskia 
 Indians, Louis DuQuoin was Chief of the tribe. He had a frame 
 house painted in bright colors, but he never would farm any, 
 game being so plentiful he had no need to labor. Nearly all the 
 settlers were French, and not very anxious for education or im- 
 provement of any kind. I was quite a lad before I ever saw a 
 wagon, carriage, set of harness, or a ring, a staple or set of 
 bows to an ox yoke. The first wagon I ever saw was brought 
 into that county by a Yankee peddler ; his outfit created as great 
 an excitement in the settlement as the first locomotive did in 
 Utah; the people flocked in from every quarter to see the 
 Yankee wagon. Every thing in use in that country was of the 
 most simple and primitive construction. There were no saw 
 mills or grist mills in that region ; sawed lumber was not in the 
 country. The wagons were two-wheeled carts made entirely of 
 wood not a particle of iron about them the hubs were of white 
 elm, spokes of white oak or hickory, the felloes of black walnut, 
 as it was soft and would bear rounding. The felloes were made 
 six inches thick, and were strongly dowelled together with 
 seasoned hardwood pins ; the linch pin was of hickory or ash ; 
 the thills were wood; in fact all of it was wood. The harness 
 
42 MORMON1SM UNVEILED. 
 
 consisted of a corn husk collar, names cut from an ash tree root, 
 or from an oak ; tugs were raw hide ; the lines also were raw 
 hide ; a hackamere or halter was used in place of a bridle ; one 
 horse was lashed between the thills by raw hide straps and pins 
 in the thills for a hold back ; when two horses were used, the 
 second horse was fastened ahead of the first by straps fastened 
 on to the thills of the cart. 
 
 Oxen were yoked as follows: A square stick of timber of suf- 
 ficient length was taken and hollowed out at the ends to fit on 
 the neck of the ox, close up to the horns, and this was fastened 
 by raw hide straps to the horns. All other implements were 
 made in an equally primitive manner. The people were of ne- 
 cessity self-sustaining, for they were forced to depend upon their 
 own resources for everything they used. Clothing was made of 
 home manufactured cloth or the skins of wild animals. Im- 
 ported articles were procured at heavy cost, and but few found 
 their way to our settlements. Steamboats and railroads were 
 then unthought of, by us at least, and the navigation of the Mis- 
 sissippi was carried on in small boats, that could be drawn up 
 along the river bank by means of oars, spikes, poles and hooks. 
 The articles most in demand in the settlements were axes, hoes, 
 cotton cards, hatchels for cleaning flax, hemp and cotton, spin- 
 ning wheels, knives and ammunition, guns and bar shears for 
 plows. In exchange for such goods the- people traded beef, 
 hides, furs, tallow, beeswax, honey, etc. Money was not needed 
 or used by any one everything was trade and barter. 
 
 The people were generous and brave. Their pleasures and 
 pastimes were those usual in frontier settlements. They were 
 hardy, and well versed in woodcraft. They aided each other, 
 and were all in all a noble class of people, possessing many vir- 
 tues and few faults. The girls were educated by their mothers 
 to work, and had to work. It was then a disgrace for a young 
 woman not to know how to take the raw material the flax and 
 cotton and, unaided, manufacture her own clothing. It if a 
 lamentable fact that such is no longer the case. 
 
CHAPTER H. 
 
 THB INDUSTRIOUS YOUNG MAN. 
 
 AFTER I settled up with my employer and drew my wages 
 I had but little money left. But I had learned one good 
 lesson: that men who will lead you into trouble will seldom 
 stand by you to get you out of it. I then knew that a soft 
 answer turned away wrath, and I also found out that a man 
 should never spend money that he had not earned. So I de- 
 termined to live within my income from that time forward, to be 
 prompt and punctual to all my engagements ; making my word 
 my honor and my bond. These rules I incorporated into my 
 creed and tried hard to reduce them to practice. 
 
 I formed a liking for Emily Conner, the daughter of Henry 
 Conner, when we were quite young. Her father was Marshal of 
 the State of Illinois, under Ninian Edwards, the Governor of the 
 State. Emily was an orphan, and lived for about four years at 
 my aunt Charlotte's after her mother died, and until her father 
 married again. She had a consoling word for me at all times 
 when I was in trouble. From being friends, we became lovers 
 and were engaged to be married, when my circumstances would 
 permit. The year after I quit driving stage, I raised a large 
 crop of grain on my aunt's farm, but she did not think I was 
 entitled to any pay for it. This, after her fine promises, was 
 rather disheartening, but I bore it without complaining. My 
 uncle Conner returned home that Fall, and was much pleased 
 to see me back on the farm again, and by his influence I was 
 well treated the remainder of the Fall and Winter. That Winter 
 I went to a school for three months. Early in the Spring the 
 Indian war, known as the Black Hawk war, broke out, and vol- 
 unteers were called for. I enrolled myself at the first call, in 
 the company of Captain Jacob Feaman, of Kaskaskia. My 
 uncle Conner was First Lieutenant in the same company. The 
 company was ordered to rendezvous at Fort Armstrong, Rock 
 Island, where the troops were reorganized, and Capt. Feamao 
 
44 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 was promoted to Colonel, and James Conner became Captain ol 
 the company. I served until the end of the war, and was en- 
 gaged in many skirmishes, and lastly was at the battle of Bad 
 Axe, which I think took place on the 4th day of August, A. D. 
 1831, but am not certain as to the date. 
 
 The soldiers were allowed to go home about the first of Sep- 
 tember, 1831. Our company got to Kaskaskia, and were dis- 
 charged, I think, on the first of September, 1831. I got back to 
 my uncle's with a broken-down horse and worn-out clothing, 
 and without money. During that month I concluded to seek a 
 more genial clime, one where I could more rapidly better my 
 financial condition. I went to see and talk with Emily, the 
 friend of my childhood, and the girl that taught me first to love. 
 I informed her of my intentions. We pledged mutual and last- 
 ing fidelity to each other, and I bid farewell to the old farm, 
 and went to St. Louis to seek employment. When I landed on 
 the wharf at St. Louis, I met a negro by the name of Barton, 
 who had formerly been a slave to my mother. He informed me 
 that he was a fireman on the steamboat Warrior, running the 
 Upper Mississippi, between St. Louis, Mo., and Galena, Illinois. 
 I told him I wanted work. He said be could get me a berth on 
 the Warrior as fireman, at $25.00 a month; but he considered 
 the work more than I could endure, as it was a hard, hot boat 
 to fire on. I insisted on making the effort, and was employed 
 as fireman on the Warrior, at $25.00 per month. I found the 
 work was very hard. The first two or three times that I was on 
 watch, I feared I would be forced to give it up ; but my proud 
 spirit bore me up, and I managed to do my work until we 
 reached the lower rapids near Keokuk. At this place the War- 
 rior transferred its freight, in light boats, over the rapids to the 
 Henry Clay, a steamer belonging to the same line. 
 
 The Henry Clay then lay at Commerce, now know.u as Nauvoo. 
 I was detailed, with two others to take a skiff with four passen- 
 gers over the rapids. The passengers were Mrs. Bogges and 
 her mother, and a lady whose name I have forgotten, and Mi . 
 Bogges. The distance to the Henry Clay from where the War- 
 rior lay, was twelve miles. A large portion of the cargo of the 
 Warrior belonged to the firm of Bogges & Co. When we had 
 gone nearly half-way over the rapids my two assistants got drunk 
 and could no longer assist me ; they lay down in the skiff and 
 went to sleep. Night was fast approaching, and there was no 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 45 
 
 chance for sleep or refreshment, until we could reach Com- 
 merce or the Henry Clay. The whole labor fell on me, to take 
 that skiff and its load of passengers to the steamer. Mr. Bogges 
 aided me when he could do so, but much of the distance I had 
 to wade in the water and push the skiff as was most convenient. 
 I had on a pair of new calf-skin boots when we started, but 
 they were cut out by the rocks in the river long before we 
 reached the end of the journey. 
 
 After a great deal of hardship I succeeded in getting my pas- 
 sengers to the steamer just as it became dark. I was wet, 
 cold, hungry and nearly exhausted. I had strained every nerve 
 to accomplish my task, and save those ladies from a night of 
 suffering in an open skiff on the river. Yet when we boarded 
 the boat I was forgotten ; no one paid any attention to me. I 
 was among strangers. I expected that the passengers that I 
 had so faithfully served would see to my wants, but in this 
 I was mistaken ; no one paid any attention to me. I sat down 
 by the engine in my wet clothing and soon fell asleep, without 
 bedding or food. I slept from exhaustion until near midnight, 
 when I was seized with fearful crampings, accompanied by a 
 cold and deathlike numbness. I tried to rise up, but could 
 not. Every time I made an effort to rise, the pains increased. 
 I thought my time had come, and that I would perish without 
 aid or assistance. When all hope had left me, I heard a foot- 
 step approaching, and a man came and bent over me and asked 
 if I was ill. I recognized the voice as that of Mr. Bogges. I 
 said I was in the agonies of death, and a stranger without a 
 friend on the boat. He felt my pulse, and haste ned away, say- 
 ing as he left me, "Do not despair, young man, you are not 
 without friends, I will return at once." He soon came to me 
 bringing a lantern and a bottle of cholera medicine, and gave 
 me a large dose of the medicine, then he brought the Captain 
 and others to me. I was soon comfortably placed in bed, and 
 from that time I had every attention paid me, and all the medi- 
 cal care that was necessary. Mr. Bogges sat by me a long 
 time and rubbed my hands and limbs until the cramping gave 
 way. He told me by way of apology for his seeming neglect, 
 that he had supposed I was one of the regular crew of the 
 Henry Clay, and was among friends. That his wife and mother- 
 in-law had noticed that I appeared to be a stranger, and they had 
 seen me when I sat down by the engine alone ; that after they 
 
46 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 retired, his wife was restless and insisted on his getting up and 
 finding me ; this was the occasion of his assistance coming as it 
 did. He then asked me why I was there and for a history of 
 my former career. I gave him a brief history of my life, which 
 seemed to interest him very much. He told me he had formed 
 a slight acquaintance with my uncle Conner, at Galena, the year 
 before, and considered him rather a hard case. So the conver- 
 sation dropped for that night. I recovered rapidly, and by noon 
 next day was up, and reported myself to the Captain for duty, 
 informing him why I was there, and what I came for. I was set 
 to work loading the steamer. In the meantime, Mr. Bogges had 
 contracted for freighting his goods to Galena, where he resided ; 
 and had provided for the passage of himself, wife and mother-in- 
 law. They would go by land from Commerce, as he dreaded 
 the passage of the upper rapids in time of low water, as it then 
 was. After finishing the loading of the steamer, I again began 
 to fire up to get ready for a start. While so engaged, Mr. Bogges 
 came to me, and talked to me for some time. He said steam- 
 boating was a hard life at best, that I would be constantly wet, 
 cold, and broken of my rest, and would soon drift into bad hab- 
 its ; that he considered me an honorable young man, and felt an 
 interest in me like a father should feel for a son ; that he admired 
 my grit and courage, and said I had manly principles, which 
 was more than the average, that his wife was interested in my 
 welfare, and that, at the suggestion of her and her mother, and 
 of his own wish, he now offered to employ me, and wished me 
 to go to Galena with him, and act as his clerk that winter ; that he 
 was doing business as a provision and groceryman, that in the 
 Spring he would furnish me with tools, and every thing I needed, 
 and I could go to mining, if I wished to do so, and he would 
 then give me the half that we could make. He asked me then 
 what wages I was getting. I told him $25. /'I will give 
 you $50," said he. I said, "You are very kind, indeed, 
 sir. I should not charge you more than I am getting here, ex- 
 cept my expenses from Galena to Saint Louis, as I may have that 
 to pay, for I may not suit you ; for I have had very little expe- 
 rience in selling goods, though I have traded and trafficked con- 
 siderably with the people where I have lived. And the services 
 that I rendered you, as we came up the river, was simply my 
 duty. It was what I had been employed to do, and I did it and no 
 more." He said, " I know what ycu have done, and if you will 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 47 
 
 only go with me, I will pay you double what you are getting 
 here, and perhaps three times as much." "But," said I, " you 
 know I am already employed, and have no right to break my 
 contract, and leave my employer." He said he would arrange 
 that with the Captain, if I would go with him. I consented, and 
 after settling with the Captain of the Henry Clay, who bid me 
 good bye and good luck; I started for Galena, Illinois, with 
 Mr. Bogges and his family, to take charge of a business then 
 almost new to me. 
 
 We reached Galena in safety, and good health. Now a new 
 era in my life commenced. Mr. William Bogges introduced 
 me to John D. Mulligan, his partner. I at once commenced my 
 duties as salesman and bar-tender at the store, and general out- 
 side man for Mr. Wm. Bogges ; who placed me in charge of 
 every thing in which he was interested. 
 
 The business was such that I found it more than play. Many 
 a time I did not get rest or sleep for forty-eight hours at a time. 
 I have frequently taken in $100 in twenty-four hours for 
 drinks, at five cents a drink. The receipts, for provisions sold} 
 would average $1000 a day. During the winter, Mr. Mulli- 
 gan was taken sick, and I had the whole business to attend to 
 for three weeks. I found out that the clerks in stores have as 
 hard work to do, and put in more hours during the day and 
 night than the farm hand has to labor. I paid strict attention 
 to business, making the interest of my employers my interest. 
 On account of my faithful services, I was permitted to prepare 
 hot lunches during the night, to sell to gamblers. What I made 
 was my own. In this way I made from $50 to $100 a month extra. 
 
 One day while I was absent from the store, looking after the 
 farming interests of Mr. Bogges, a French half-breed, by the 
 name of Shaunce, got on a drunken spree and cleared out the 
 store, and saloon, too ; he broke considerable furniture, glass- 
 ware, and made himself generally troublesome. When I re- 
 turned at night, Mr. Bogges told me of all the troubles that 
 Shaunce had occasioned, and said if he repeated it, I must give 
 him a good drubbing. I said I would rather have nothing to 
 do with him. Things were quiet for a few days, then the miners 
 got on a spree, and a large number of them came to where I was 
 working. Shaunce was in the crowd. I was then out at dinner. 
 They attacked Mulligan, beat him up badly, and ran him out of 
 the building ; then the drunken crowd set things up generally. 
 
48 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 Hearing the disturbance, I ran to the store. I entered by the 
 back door, and went behind the counter. As I did so Shaunce 
 ran to the counter and grabbed up a large number of tumblers, 
 and threw them over the house, breaking them all. I said, 
 " Mr. Shaunce, you must either behave, or go out of the house." 
 As I said so, he jumped over the counter, caught me by the 
 throat, and shoved me back against the counter, saying, "You 
 d d little pup, how dare you insult me I " There was no time 
 to swap knives. I must either receive a severe beating, or do 
 something to prevent it. I remembered the advice that my 
 uncle Conner had given me about fighting. He said, "John, if 
 you ever get in a fight with a man that over-matches you, take 
 one of his hands in both of yours, and let him strike as he may, 
 but get one of his fingers in your mouth and then bite it, and 
 hold on until he gives up." Acting on this advice, I succeeded 
 in getting one of his thumbs in my mouth. I held to it until I 
 dislocated the thumb joint, when he yelled, "Take him off!" 
 This little affair made a quiet man of Shaunce, and my employ- 
 ers were more pleased with me than ever before. They made 
 me a present of S50 for what I had done. 
 
 I formed a slight acquaintance with the father of General 
 Grant while in Galena. He was a steady, orderly man. U. S. 
 Grant was then about seventeen years of age. I remember a 
 story that was told at that time about the Grant family by John 
 L. Dickerson, who resided near Galena. Diekcrson had a horse 
 that he wanted to sell, and young Grant took a fancy to it and 
 insisted that his father should buy it for him. The father sent 
 young Grant to buy the horse, but directed him to give no more 
 than $60, and said, "You offer him $50, and if he refuses that, 
 offer $55 ; if he still refuses, you can give $60, but that is as 
 much as I will pay, for he has offered it for that price." Young 
 Grant went to Dickerson and commenced to talk about buying 
 the horse. Dickerson said, "Tell me just what your father said 
 about your trading with me." This made Grant think a few 
 minutes, when he said, " Mr. Dickerson, I expect it is best to 
 tell the truth." Then he informed him what his father had said. 
 Dickerson was so pleased at it that he let Grant have the horse 
 for $55, saying he deducted $5 on account of the lad being so 
 honest. 
 
 I made money while with Bogges & Co., and was saving of 
 what I earned. I did not gamble. I took good care of myself, 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D LEE. 49 
 
 and, having the respect of every person, I admit I was quite 
 vain and proud. I was accused by the gamblers of being 
 stingy with my money. So I thought I would do as others did, 
 and commenced to give money to others as a stake to gamble 
 with on shares. Soon I began to play. I won and lost, but did 
 not play to any great extent. Mr. Bogges took me to task for 
 gambling, gave me good advice, and showed me how utterly 
 impossible it was for me to be a successful business man if I 
 gambled. He also showed me many of the tricks of the gam- 
 blers, and I promised him to quit the practice as soon as I got 
 married, and also not to gamble any more while in his employ. 
 I kept these promises. 
 
 In the early part of 1832 I received an affectionate letter from 
 my Emily, desiring me to return to her, and settle down before 
 I had acquired a desire for a rambling life. I then had $500 in 
 money and two suits of broad-cloth clothing. I was anxious to 
 see Emily, sol settled up with Bogges & Co., and started for 
 home. Emily was then living at her sister's house in Prairie de 
 Roache ; her brother-in-law, Thos. Blay, kept the tavern there. 
 I boarded with them about two weeks, during which time I play- 
 ed cards with the Frenchmen there, and dealt vantune, or twenty- 
 one, for them to bet at. I was lucky, but I lived fast, and spent 
 my money freely, and soon found that half of it was gone. 
 
 I soon discovered that Emily was dissatisfied with my con- 
 duct. I proposed immediate marriage ; Emily proposed to wait 
 until the next fall, during which time we were to prepare for 
 housekeeping. Her suggestions were well intended, and she 
 wished to see if I would not reform, for she had serious doubts 
 about the propriety of marrying a gambler. She asked me to 
 quit gambling, and if I had made that promise all would have 
 been well, but I was stubborn and proud and refused to make 
 any promise ; I thought it was beneath my dignity. I really in- 
 tended to never gamble after my wedding, but I would not tell 
 her so ; my vanity overruled my j udgment. I said to her that if 
 she had not confidence enough in me to take me as I was, with- 
 out requiring me to give such a promise, I would never see her 
 again until I came to ask her to my wedding. This was cruel, 
 and deeply wounded her ; she burst into tears and turned from 
 me. I never saw her again until I went to ask her to attend my 
 wedding. I went up into the country and stopped with my 
 cousins ; while there I met the bride of my youth ; she was the 
 
50 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 daughter of Joseph Woolsey and Abigail his wife ; they had four 
 daughters, all grown. I attended church, went to parties, pic- 
 nics, etc., with the girls, and fell in love with Agathe Ann, the 
 eldest girl. The old folks were opposed to my marrying their 
 daughter, but after suffering the tortures and overcoming the 
 obstacles usual in such cases, I obtained the consent of the 
 girl's parents, and was married to Agathe Ann Woolsey on the 
 24th day of July, A. D. 1833. The expenses of the wedding 
 ended all my money, and I was ready to start the world new 
 and fresh. I had about $50 to procure things to keep house on, 
 but it was soon gone ; yet it procured about all we then thought 
 we needed. I commenced housekeeping near my wife's father's, 
 and had good success in all that I undertook. I made money, 
 or rather I obtained considerable property, and was soon com- 
 fortably fixed. I followed trading everything, and for every- 
 thing that was in the country. 
 
 My wife was born January 18, 1814; our first child was born 
 on the 3rd day of July, 1834 ; we named him William Oliver. 
 In October, 1834, I moved to Fayette county, Illinois, and 
 settled north of Vandalia, near my sister's, and lived there some 
 two years ; during that time our oldest child died. I next pur- 
 chased a farm on Luck Creek, in Fayette county, Illinois, and 
 lived on it until I went to Missouri to join the Mormon Church. 
 
 CHAPTER in. 
 
 LEE BECOMES A MORMON. 
 
 TN 1836 my second child, Elizabeth Adaline, was born. After 
 JL I moved to Luck Creek I was a fortunate man and accumu- 
 lated property very fast. I look back to those days with pleas- 
 ure. I was blest with everything that an honest heart could 
 wish. 
 
 I had a large house and I gave permission to all sorts of peo- 
 ple to come there and preach. Methodists, Baptists, Campbell- 
 ites and Mormons all preached there when they desired to do so. 
 In 1837 a man by the name of King, from Indiana, passed by, 
 or came to my place, on his way to Missouri, to join the Mor- 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 51 
 
 mons. He had been a New Light, or Campbellite preacher. I 
 invited him to stay at my place until the next Spring. I gave 
 him provisions for his family, and he consented to and did stay 
 with me some time. Soon after that there was a Methodist 
 meeting at my house. After the Methodist services were through 
 I invited King to speak. He talked about half an hour on the 
 first principles of the gospel as taught by Christ and his apostles, 
 denouncing all other doctrines as spurious. This put an end to 
 all other denominations preaching in my house. That was the 
 first sermon I ever heard concerning Mormonism. The Winter 
 before two elders, Durphy and Peter Dustan, stayed a few days 
 with Hanford Stewart, a cousin of Levi Stewart, the bishop of 
 Kanab. They preached in the neighborhood, but I did not at- 
 tend or hear them preach. My wife and her mother went to 
 hear them, and were much pleased with their doctrine. I was 
 not a member of any church, and considered the religion of the 
 day as merely the opinions of men who preached for hire and 
 worldly gain. I believed in God and in Christ, but I did not see 
 any denomination that taught the apostolic doctrine as set forth 
 in the New Testament. 
 
 I read in the New Testament where the apostle Paul recom- 
 mended his people to prove all things, then hold fast to that 
 which is good ; also that he taught that though an angel from 
 heaven should preach any other gospel than this which ye have 
 received, let him be accursed. This forbid me believing any 
 doctrine that differed from that taught by Christ and his apos- 
 tles. I wanted to belong to the true Church or none. 
 
 When King began to preach at my house I noticed that every 
 other denomination opposed him. I was surprised at this. I 
 could not see how he could injure them if they were right. I 
 had been brought up as a strict Catholic. I was taught to look 
 upon all sects, except the Catholic, with disfavor, and my opin- 
 ion was that the Mormons and all others were apostates from 
 the true Church ; that the Mormon Church was made up of the 
 offscourings of hell, or of apostates from the true Church. I 
 then had not the most distant idea that the Mormons believed 
 in the Old and New Testaments. I was astonished to hear King 
 prove his religion from the Scriptures. I reflected. I deter- 
 mined, as every honest man should do, to fairly investigate his 
 doctrines, and to do so with a prayerful heart. The more I 
 studied the question, the more interested I became. I talked 
 
52 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 of the doctrine to nearly every man I met. The excitement 
 soon became general, and King was invited to preach in many 
 places. 
 
 In the meantime, Levi Stewart, one of my near neighbors, be- 
 came interested in this religion, and went to Far West, Missouri, 
 to investigate the question of Mormonism at head-quarters. He 
 joined the Church there, and when he returned he brought with 
 him the "Book of Mormon" and a monthly periodical called 
 the Elder's Journal. By this time my anxiety was very great, 
 and I determined to fathom the question to the bottom. My 
 frequent conversations with Elder King served to carry me on to 
 a conviction, at least, that the dispensation of the fullness of 
 time would soon usher in upon the world. If such was the 
 case I wished to know it, for the salvation of my never- 
 dying soul was of far more importance to me than all other 
 earthly considerations. I regarded the heavenly boon of eternal 
 life as a treasure of great price. I left off my frivolity and com- 
 menced to lead a more moral life. I then began trying to lay 
 up treasure in Heaven, in my Father's rich store-house, and 
 wished to become an heir of righteousness, to inherit in common 
 with the faithful children the rich legacy of our Father's King- 
 dom. 
 
 A third child had been born to us, a daughter ; we called her 
 Sarah Jane. During that year our second child, Elizabeth 
 Adaline, died of scarlet fever. The night she lay a corpse I 
 finished reading the Book of Mormon. I never closed my eyes 
 in sleep from the time I commenced until I finished the book. 
 I read it after asking God to give me knowledge to know if it 
 was genuine and of Divine authority. By careful examination I 
 found that it was in strict accord with the Bible and the gospel 
 therein contained. That it purported to have been given to 
 another people, who then lived on this continent, as the Old and 
 New Testaments had been given to the Israelites in Asia. I also 
 'found many passages in the Bible in support of the forthcoming 
 of such a work, preparatory to the gathering of the remnant of 
 the House of Israel, and the opening glory of the Latter Day 
 Work, and the setting up of the Kingdom of God upon the earth 
 for the reception of the Son of Man, the millennial reign of Christ 
 upon the earth a thousand years, etc. ; all of which, to me, was 
 of great moment. My whole soul was absorbed in these things. 
 My neighbor Stewart, who had just returned from Missouri, 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 53 
 
 brought the most cheering and thrilling accounts of the power 
 and manifestations of the Holy Spirit working with that people. 
 That the spiritual gifts of the true believers in Christ, were 
 enjoyed by all who lived faithfully and sought them. That there 
 was no deception about it ; that every one had a testimony for 
 himself, and was not dependent upon another. That they had 
 the gift of tongues, and the interpretation of those tongues. 
 The power of healing the sick by the laying on of hands; 
 prophesying, casting out devils and evil spirits, etc. All of which 
 he declared, with words of soberness, to be true. Stewart had 
 been my playmate and my companion in former years. His 
 word was considered good by all, and it had great influence on 
 me, and strengthened my conviction that the Book of Mormon 
 was true that it was a star opening the dispensation of the 
 fullness of time. 
 
 I believed the Book of Mormon was true, and if so, every- 
 thing but my soul's salvation was a matter of secondary consid- 
 eration to me. I had a small fortune, a nice home, kind neigh- 
 bors, and numerous friends, but nothing could shake the deter- 
 mination I then formed, to break up, sell out, and leave Illinois 
 and go to the Saints at Far West, Missouri. My friends used every 
 known argument to change my determination, but these words 
 came into my mind, "First seek the righteousness of the king- 
 dom of God, then all things necessary will be added unto you ; " 
 and again, "What would it profit a man to gain the whole 
 world and lose his own soul?" or, what could a man give in ex- 
 change for his soul? I was here brought to the test, and my 
 action was to decide on which I placed the most value my 
 earthly possessions and enjoyments, or my reward in future, the 
 salvation of my never-dying soul. I took up my cross and chose 
 the latter. I sold out and moved to Far West. I took leave of 
 my friends and made my way to where the Saints had gathered 
 in Zion. Our journey was one full of events interesting to us, 
 but not of sufficient importance to relate to the public. While 
 on the journey I sold most of my cattle on time to an old man, 
 a friend of Stewart's took his notes, and let him keep them, 
 which, as the sequel shows, was fortunate for me. 
 
 We arrived at Far West, the then headquarters of the Mor- 
 mon Church, about the fourth day of June, 1838. The country 
 around there for some fifteen or twenty miles, each way, wat 
 settled by Mormons. I do not think any others lived within that 
 
54 MOEMONISM UNVEILED 
 
 distance. The Mormons who had been driven from Jackson, 
 Ray and Clay counties, in 1833, settled in Caldwell and Daviess 
 counties. 
 
 The night after our arrival at Far West, there was a meeting 
 to be held there. Stewart said to me, " Let us go up and hear 
 them speak with new tongues and interpret the same, and enjoy 
 the gifts of the gospel generally, for this is to be a prayer and 
 testimony meeting." My reply was, " I want no signs; I be- 
 lieve the gospel they preach on principle and reason, not upon 
 signs its consistency is all I ask. All I want are natural, logi- 
 cal and reasonable arguments, to make up my mind from." 
 Feeling in this way, I did not go to the meeting. 
 
 The Sunday after, I attended church in Far West Hall. The 
 hall was crowded with people, so much so that I, with others, 
 could not gain admittance to the building. I obtained standing 
 room in one of the windows. I saw a man enter the house 
 without uncovering his head. The prophet ordered the Brother 
 of Gideon to put that man out, for his presumption in daring to 
 enter and stand in the house of God without uncovering his head. 
 This looked to me like drawing the lines pretty snug and close ; 
 however, I knew but little of the etiquette of high life, and much 
 less about that of the kingdom of heaven. I looked upon Joseph 
 Smith as a prophet of God as one who held the keys of this 
 last dispensation, and I hardly knew what to think about the 
 rash manner in which the man was treated who had entered the 
 house of God without taking his hat off. But this did not lessen 
 my faith ; it served to confirm it. I was fearful that I might in 
 some way unintentionally offend the great and good man who 
 stood as God's prophet on the earth to point out the way of sal- 
 vation. 
 
 We remained at the house of elder Joseph Hunt, in Far West, 
 several days. He was then a strong Mormon, and was after- 
 wards first captain in the Mormon Battalion. He, as an elder 
 in the Church, was a preacher of the gospel ; all of his family 
 were firm in the faith. Elder Hunt preached to me the necessity 
 of humility and a strict obedience to the gospel requirements 
 through the servants of God. He informed me that the apostles 
 and elders were our true teachers, and it was our duty to hear, 
 learn and obey ; that the spirit of God was very fine and deli- 
 cate, and was easily grieved and driven from us ; that the more 
 humble we were, the more of the Holy Spirit we would enjoy. 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 55 
 
 After staying in Far West about a week, we moved about 
 twenty miles, and settled on a stream called Marrowbone, at a 
 place called afterwards Ambrosia. Sunday, June 17, 1838, I 
 attended meeting. Samuel H. Smith, a brother of the prophet, 
 and elder Daniel Cathcart preached. After meeting, I and my 
 wife were baptized by elder Cathcart, in Ambrosia, on Shady 
 Grove creek, in Daviess county, Missouri. I was now a mem- 
 ber of the Church, and expected to live in strict obedience to 
 the requirements of the holy priesthood that ruled, governed and 
 controlled it. I must do this in order to advance in the scale of 
 intelligence unto thrones, kingdoms, principalities and powers, 
 and through faithfulness and fidelity to the cause, receive eter- 
 nal increase in the mansions that would be prepared for me in 
 my Father's kingdom. 
 
 My neighbor, Stewart, and myself each selected a place on 
 the same stream, and near where his three brothers, Riley, Jack- 
 son and Urban, lived. Urban Stewart is now Treasurer of Beav- 
 er county, Utah. On my location there was a splendid spring 
 of pure, cold water ; also a small lake fed by springs. This lake 
 was full of fish, such as perch, bass, pickerel, mullet and cat- 
 fish. It was surrounded by a grove of heavy timber, mostly 
 hickory and oak, in nearly all their varieties. We could have 
 fish sufficient for use every day in the year, if we desired. 
 My home on Ambrosia creek reminded me much of the one 
 I had left on Luck creek, Illinois ; but it was on more rolling 
 land, and much healthier than the Illinois home had proven to 
 us. I knew I could soon replace, by labor, all the comfort I 
 had abandoned when I started to seek my salvation. I felt that 
 I had greatly benefitted my condition by seeking first the king- 
 dom of Heaven and its righteousness ; all else, I felt, would be 
 added unto me. But still I knew I must be frugal, industrious, 
 and use much care. I improved my farm as rapidly as I could, 
 and was soon so fixed that we were comfortable. Meetings were 
 held three times a week ; also prayer and testimony meetings, at 
 the latter sacrament, was administered. In these meetings, aa 
 well as in everything I was called upon to do, I tried hard to 
 give satisfaction. I was a devout follower from the first. What- 
 ever duty was assigned me, I tried to discharge with a will- 
 ing heart and ready hand. This disposition, on my part, cou- 
 pled with my views of duty, my promptness and punctuality, 
 soon brought me to the notice of the leading men of the Church. 
 
56 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 The motives of the people who composed my neighborhood, 
 were pure ; they were all sincere in their devotions, and tried to 
 square their actions through life by the golden rule "Do unto 
 others as you would they should do unto you." The word of 
 a Mormon was then good for all it was pledged to or for. I was 
 proud to be an associate with such an honorable people. 
 
 Twenty miles north-east of my home was the settlement of 
 Adam-on-Diamond. It was on the east bank of Grand river, 
 near the Three Forks. Lyman White, one of the twelve apos- 
 tles, was president of that Stake of Zion. In July, 1838, Levi 
 Stewart and myself concluded to visit the settlement of Adam- 
 on-Diamond. We remained over night at the house of Judge 
 Mourning. He was a Democrat. He told us that, at the ap- 
 proaching election, the Whigs were going to cast their votes, at 
 the outside precints, early in the day, and then rush in force to 
 the town of Gallatin, the county-seat of Daviess county, and pre- 
 vent the Mormons from voting. The Judge requested us to in- 
 form our people of the facts in the case, and for us to see that 
 the Mormons went to the polls in force, and prepared to resist 
 and overcome all violence that might be offered. He said the 
 Whigs had no right to deprive the Mormons of their right of 
 suffrage, that they had a right to cast their votes as free and 
 independent Americans. I knew that the two political parties 
 were about equally divided in Daviess county, and that the Mor- 
 mons held the balance of power, and would turn the scale which 
 ever way they desired. 
 
 I had heard of Judge Mourning as a sharp political worker, 
 and I then thought he was trying to get up and carry out an 
 electioneering job for his party ; therefore I paid but little atten- 
 tion to what he said. 
 
 We visited our friends at Adam-on-Diamond, and returned 
 home. While on this trip I formed the acquaintance of Solomon 
 McBrier, and purchased some cattle from him. He wished to 
 sell me quite a number, b ut as I did not wish to be involved in 
 debt, I refused to take them, for I had a perfect horror of 
 being in debt, for I knew that when a man was in debt he was 
 in nearly every respect a slave, and that if I got in debt it would 
 worry me and keep my mind from that quiet repose so necessary 
 for comtemplating the principal beauties of nature, and com- 
 muning with the Spirit regarding holy subjects. 
 
 On Monday, the 6th day of August, 1838, the greater portion 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 57 
 
 of our people in the settlements near me, went to Gallatin to 
 attend the election. In justice to truth I must state, that just 
 before the general election of August, 1838, a general notice was 
 given for all the brethren of Daviess county to meet at Adam-on- 
 Diamond. Every man obeyed the call. At that meeting all the 
 males over eighteen years of age, were organized into a military 
 body, according to the law of the priesthood, and called "The 
 Host of Israel." The fir^t rank was a captain with ten men 
 under him ; next was a captain of fifty, that is he had five com- 
 panies of ten ; next, the captain of a hundred, or of ten captains 
 and companies of ten. The entire membership of the Mormon 
 Church was then organized in the same way. This, as I was 
 then informed, was the first organization of the military force of 
 the Church. It was so organized at that time by command of 
 God, as revealed through the Lord's Prophet, Joseph Smith. 
 God commanded Joseph Smith to place the Host of Israel in a 
 situation for defense against the enemies of God and the Church 
 of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 
 
 At the same Conference another organization was perfected, 
 or then first formed it was called the "Danites." The members 
 of this order were placed under the most sacred obligations that 
 language could invent. They were sworn to stand by and sus- 
 tain each other. Sustain, protect, defend, and obey the leaders 
 of the Church, under any and all circumstances unto death; and 
 to disobey the orders of the leaders of the Church, or divulge 
 the name of a Danite to an outsider, or to make public any of 
 the secrets of the order of Danites, was to be punished with 
 death. And I can say of a truth, many have paid the penalty 
 for failing to keep their covenants. They had signs and tokens 
 for use and protection. The token of recognition was such that 
 it could be readily understood, and it served as a token of dis- 
 tress by which they could know each other from their enemies, 
 although they were entire strangers to each other. When the 
 sign was given it must be responded to and obeyed, even at the 
 risk or certainty of death. The Danite that would refuse to 
 respect the token, and comply with all its requirements, was 
 stamped with dishonor, infamy, shame, disgrace, and his fate for 
 cowardice and treachery was death. 
 
 This sign or token of distress is made by placing the right 
 hand on the right side of the face, with the points of the fingers 
 
58 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 upwards, shoving the hand upwards until the ear is snug up be- 
 tween the thumb and fore-finger. 
 
 I here pause, and ask myself the question, "Am I justified 
 in making the above statement? I ask those who think I am 
 not fully justified in telling all I know, to wait until they read 
 the whole story ; how I have been ordered, how I have obeyed 
 orders, and how treacherously I have been used and deserted 
 by the Church and its leaders. It is my purpose and intention, 
 for such is my certain duty, to free my mind, and bring to light 
 some of the secret workings, some of the deeds of darkness, that 
 have been the result of the evil teachings of aspiring men, who 
 have tried to couple their vile acts with the Gospel of Truth ; 
 and endeavored, alas! too successfully, to palm it off on the 
 credulous and weaker-minded brethren, as a religious duty they 
 owed to God, to unquestioningly obey every order of the Priest- 
 hood. 
 
 To return to the election at Gallatin : The brethren all at- 
 tended the election. All things seemed to pass off quietly, un- 
 til some of the Mormons went up to the polls to vote. I was 
 then lying on the grass with McBrier and a number of others. 
 As the Mormons went to the polls, a drunken brute by the name 
 of Richard Weldon, stepped up to a little Mormon preacher, by 
 the name of Brown, and said : 
 
 "Are you a Mormon preacher, sir?" 
 
 "Yes, sir, I am." 
 
 "Do you Mormons believe in healing the sick by laying on 
 of hands, speaking in tongues, and casting out devils?" 
 
 "We do," said Brown. 
 
 Weldon then said, "You are ad d liar. Joseph Smith is a 
 d d impostor." 
 
 With this, he attacked Brown, and beat him severely. Brown 
 did not resent it, but tried to reason with him; but without 
 effect. At this time a Mormon, by the name of Hyrum Nelson, 
 attempted to pull Weldon off of Brown, when he was struck by 
 half a dozen men on the head, shoulders and face. He was soon 
 forced to the ground. Just then, Riley Stewart struck Weldon 
 across the back of the head with a billet of oak lumber, and 
 broke his skull. Weldon fell nearly on me, and appeared life- 
 less. The blood flowed freely from the wound. Immediately 
 the fight became general. 
 
w 
 
 tt 
 
 O 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. & 
 
 Gallatin was a new town, with about ten houses, three of* 
 which were saloons. The town was on the bank of Grand riv- 
 er and heavy timber came near the town, which stood in a little 
 arm of the prairie. Close to the polls, there was a lot of oak- 
 timber, which had been brought there to be riven into shakes or 
 shingles, leaving the heart, taken from each shingle-block, ly- 
 ing there on the ground. These hearts were three square, four 
 feet long, weighed about seven pounds, and made a very 
 dangerous, yet handy weapon ; and when used by an enraged 
 man they were truly a class of instrument to be dreaded. 
 When Stewart fell, the Mormons sprang to the pile of oak hearts^ 
 and each man, taking one for use, rushed into the crowd. The 
 Mormons were yelling, "Save him!" and the settlers yelled, 
 "Kill him; d n him!" The sign of distress was given by the 
 Danites, and all rushed forward, deteimined to save Stewart, or 
 die with him. One of the mob stabbed Stewart in the shoulder. 
 He rose and ran, trying to escape, but was again surrounded- 
 and attacked by a large number of foes. The Danite sign of 
 distress was again given by John L. Butler, one of the captains 
 of the Host of Israel. Butler was a brave, true man, and a lead- 
 er that it was a pleasure to follow where duty called. Seeing 
 the sign, I sprang to my feet and armed myself with one of the 
 oak sticks. I did this because I was a Danite, and my oatha 
 that I had taken required immediate action on my part, in sup- 
 port of the one giving the sign. I ran into the crowd. As I 
 reached it, I saw Nelson down on the ground fighting for life. 
 He was surrounded by a large number, who were seeking to 
 murder him, but he had a loaded whip, the lash wrapped around 
 his hand, and using the handle, which was loaded with several 
 pounds of lead, as a weapon of defense. He was using it with 
 effect, for he had men piled around him in all shapes. As I ap- 
 proached, a man sprang to his feet. He had just been knocked 
 down by Nelson. As the man was rising, Nelson gave him a 
 blow across the loins with the handle of his whip, which had the 
 effect of straitening out the villain on the grass, and rendered 
 him an inoffensive spectator during the remainder of the play. 
 Captain Butler was then a stranger to me, and until I saw him- 
 give the Danite sign of distress, I had believed him to be one of 
 the Missouri ruffians, who were our enemies. In this contest I 
 came near committing a serious mistake. I had raised my club 
 to strike a man, when a Missourian rushed at him, and struck- 
 
60 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 him with a loaded whip, and called him a d d Mormon. The 
 man then gave the sign^ aud I knew how to act. 
 
 Capt. Butler was attacked from all sides, but, being a power- 
 ful man, he used his oak club with effect and knocked a man 
 down at each blow that he struck, and each man that felt the 
 weight of his weapon was out of the fight for that day at least. 
 Many of those that he came in contact with had to be carried 
 from the field for surgical aid. In the battle, which was spir- 
 ited, but short in duration, nine men had their skulls broken, 
 and many others were seriously injured in other ways. The 
 severe treatment of the mob by the Danites, soon ended the 
 battle. Three hundred men were present at this difficulty, only 
 thirty of whom were Mormons, and only eight Mormons took 
 part in the fight. 
 
 1 was an entire stranger to all who were engaged in the affray, 
 except Stewart, but I had seen the sign, and, like Sampson, 
 when leaning against the pillar, I felt the power of God nerve 
 my arm for the fray. It helps a man a great deal in a fight to 
 know that God is on his side. After the violence had ceased, 
 Captain Butler called the Mormons to him, and as he stood on a 
 pile of building timber, he made a speech to the brethren. He 
 said that his ancestors had served in the war of the Revolution 
 to establish a free and independent government one in which 
 all men had equal rights and privileges ; that he professed to be 
 half white and free born, and claimed a right to enjoy his con- 
 stitutional privileges, and would have his rights as a citizen, if 
 he had to fight for them ; that as to his religion, it was a matter 
 between his God and himself, and was no man's business ; that 
 he would vote, and would die before he would be driven from 
 the polls. Several of the Gentile leaders then requested us to 
 lay down our clubs and go and vote. This Captain Butler re- 
 fused, saying, " We will not molest any one who lets us alone, 
 but we will not risk ourselves again in that crowd without our 
 clubs." The result was, the Mormons all voted. It is surpris- 
 ing what a few resolute men can do when united. After voting, 
 the Mormons returned home, fearing additional violence if they 
 remained. 
 
 It may be well for purposes of explanation to refer back to 
 the celebration of the Declaration of Independence on the 4th 
 of July, 1838, at Far West. That day Joseph Smith made known 
 to the people the substance of a revelation he had before receiv- 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 61 
 
 cd from God. It was to the effect that all the Saints throughout 
 the land were required to sell their possessions, gather all their 
 money together, and send an agent to buy up all the land in the 
 region round about Far West, and get a patent for the land from 
 the Government, then deed it over to the Church ; then every 
 man should come up there to the land of their promised inheri- 
 tance and consecrate what they had to the Lord. In return the 
 Prophet would set apart a tract of land for each Saint the 
 amount to correspond with the number of the Saint's family 
 and this land should be for each Saint an everlasting inheritance. 
 In this way the people could, in time, redeem Zion (Jackson 
 County) without the shedding of blood. It was also revealed 
 that unless this was done, in accordance with God's demand, as 
 required by Him in the Revelation then given to the people 
 through his Prophet, Joseph Smith, the Saints would be driven 
 from State to State, from city to city, from one abiding place to 
 another, until the members would die and waste away, leaving 
 but a remnant of the Saints to return and receive their inheri- 
 tance in Zion (Jackson County) in the Last Days. Sidney 
 Rigdon was then the mouth-piece of Joseph Smith, as Aaron was 
 of Moses in olden time. Rigdon told the Saints that day that if 
 they did not come up as true Saints and consecrate their prop- 
 erty to the Lord, by laying it down at the feet of the apostles, 
 they would in a short time be compelled to consecrate and yield 
 it up to the Gentiles. That if the Saints would be united as one 
 man, in this consecration of their entire wealth to the God of 
 Heaven, by giving it up to the control of the Apostolic Priest- 
 hood, then there would be no further danger to the Saints ; they 
 would no more be driven from their homes on account of their 
 faith and holy works, for the Lord had revealed to Joseph Smith 
 that He would then fight the battles of His children, and save 
 them from all their enemies. That the Mormon people would 
 never be accepted as the children of God unless they were 
 united as one man, in temporal as well as spiritual affairs, for 
 Jesus had said unless ye are one, ye are not mine ; that oneness 
 must exist to make the Saints the accepted children of God. 
 That if the Saints would yield obedience to the commands of 
 the Lord all would be well, for the Lord had confirmed these 
 promises by a revelation which He had given to Joseph Smith, 
 in which it was said: " I, the Lord, will fight the battles of my 
 people, and if your enemies shall come up against you, spare 
 
62 ' MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 them, and if they shall come up against you again, then shall ye 
 spare them also ; even unto the third time shall ye spare them ; 
 -but if they come up against you the fourth time, I, the Lord, 
 will deliver them into your hands, to do with them as seemeth 
 good unto you ; but if you will then spare them it shall be ac- 
 counted unto you for righteousness." 
 
 The words of the apostle, and the promises of God, as then 
 -revealed to me, made a deep impression on my mind, as it did 
 upon all who heard the same. We that had given up all else for 
 the sake of the gospel, felt willing to do anything on earth that 
 it was possible to do, to obtain the protection of God, and have 
 *nd receive His smile of approbation. Those who, like me, had 
 'full faith in the teachings of God, as revealed by Joseph Smith, 
 His Prophet, were willing to comply with every order, and to 
 obey every wish of the priesthood. The majority of the people 
 felt like Ananias and Sapphira, they dare not trust all to God 
 And His Prophet. They felt that their money was as safe in their 
 own possession as it was when held by the Church authorities. 
 A vote of the people was then had to determine the question 
 whether they would consecrate their wealth to the Church or 
 not. The vote was taken and was unanimous for the consecra- 
 tion. I soon found out that the people had voted as I have often 
 known them to do in Mormon meetings since then, they vote 
 <to please the priesthood, then act to suit themselves. I never 
 -thought that was right or honest ; men should vote their senti- 
 -ments, but they do not at all times do so. I have been the vic- 
 tim of such hyprocrites, as the sequel will show. 
 
 The vote, as I said, was taken. It was done by a show of 
 'hands, but not a show of hearts. By the readiness with which 
 All hands went up in favor of consecration, it was declared that 
 the people were of a truth God's children, and as such, would be 
 .protected by him. The Prophet and all his priesthood were ju- 
 bilant, and could hardly contain themselves ; they were so hap- 
 py to see the people such dutiful Saints. 
 
 Sidney Rigdon, on that day, delivered an oration, in which he 
 said the Mormons were, as a people, loyal to the government, 
 *nd obedient to the laws, and as such, they were entitled to the 
 -protection of the government, in common with all other denom- 
 inanations, and were justified in claiming as full protection, in 
 their religious matters, as the people of any other sect. That 
 vthe Mormons had long suffered from mob rule and violence, but 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 63 
 
 would no longer submit to the mob or unjust treatment that 
 had so long followed them. Now and forever more would they 
 meet force with force. " We have been driven from Kirkland, 
 Ohio, from Jackson County, the true Zion, and now we will 
 maintain our rights, defend our homes, our wives and children, 
 and our property from mob rule and violence. If the Saints 
 are again attacked, we will carry on a war of extermination 
 against our enemies, even to their homes and firesides; until 
 we despoil those who have despoiled us, and give no quarter un- 
 til our enemies are wasted away. We will unfurl to the breeze 
 the flag of our nation, and under that banner of freedom we will 
 maintain our rights, or die in the attempt." At the end of each 
 sentence Rigdon was loudly cheered ; and when he closed his 
 oration, I believed the Mormons could successfully resist the 
 world. But this feeling of confidence faded away as soon as a 
 second thought entered my mind. I then feared that the days 
 of liberty for our people had been numbered. First, I feared 
 the people would not give up all their worldly possessions, to be 
 disposed of by and at the will and pleasure of three men. In 
 the second place, I doubted the people being so fully regenerated 
 as to entitle them to the full and unconditional support and fav- 
 or of God, that had been promised through the Revelation to 
 Joseph Smith, in favor of the Latter Day Saints. I knew that 
 God was able and willing to do all He had promised, but I feared 
 that the people still loved worldly pleasures so well that God's 
 mercy would be rejected by them, and all would be lost. 
 
 About three days after the proclamation of Rigdon had been 
 made, there was a storm of rain, during which the thunder and 
 lightnings were constant and terrible. The liberty pole in the 
 town was struck by lightning, and shivered to atoms. This 
 evidence from the God of nature also convinced me that the 
 Mormon people's liberties, in that section of the country, were 
 not to be of long duration. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE SAINTS ARE BESET WITH TROUBLES. 
 
 ri THE Saints did not consecrate their possessions as they had 
 -L so recently voted they would do ; they began to reflect, and 
 the final determination was that they could manage their worldly 
 effects better than any one of the apostles ; in fact better than 
 the Prophet and the priesthood combined. Individual Saints 
 entered large tracts of land in their own names, and thereby se- 
 cured all of the most desirable land round about Far West. 
 These landed proprietors became the worst kind of extortionists, 
 and forced the poor Saints to pay them large advances for every 
 acre of land that was settled, and nothing could be called free 
 from the control of the money power of the rich and head-strong 
 Mormons who had defied the revelations and wishes of God. 
 
 So things went from bad to worse, until the August election 
 at Gallatin. The difficulty on that day had brought the Church 
 and Saints to a stand-still ; business was paralyzed ; alarm seized 
 the stoutest hearts, and dismay was visible in every countenance. 
 The prophet soon issued an order to gather all the people at Far 
 West and Adam-on-Diamond, under the leadership of Col. Ly- 
 man White, for the purpose of protecting the people from mob 
 violence, and to save the property from lawless thieves who were 
 roaming the country in armed bands. 
 
 The Gentiles and Mormons hastened to the executive of the 
 State. The Gentiles asked for a military force to protect the 
 settlers from Mormon violence. The Mormons requested an in- 
 vestigating committee to inquire into the whole subject and sug- 
 gest means necessary for future safety to each party. 
 
 Also they demanded military protection from the mobs and 
 outlaws that infested the country. The Governor sent soro^ 
 troops to keep order. They were stationed about midway be- 
 tween Far West and Adam-on-Diamond. A committee was 
 also appointed and sent to Gallatin to inquire into the recesr 
 disturbances. This committee had full power to send for wi* 
 
LIFE Of JOHN D. LEE. 65 
 
 nesses, make arrests of persons accused of crime, and generally 
 to do all things necessary for a full and complete investigation 
 of the entire affair. Many arrests were made at the request of 
 the commmittee. The persons so arrested were taken before 
 Justice Black, of Daviess County, and examined ; witnesses were 
 examined for both parties, and much hard and false swearing 
 was done on both sides. After a long and fruitless examination 
 the committee adjourned, leaving the military to look after mat- 
 ters until something would turn up to change the feeling of dan- 
 ger then existing. It was thought by the committee that all 
 would soon become quiet and that peace would soon be re- 
 stored. The Gentiles of the country were dissatisfied with the 
 action of the committee, and were in no way disposed to accept 
 peace on any terms ; they determined that, come what would, 
 the Mormons should be driven from the State of Missouri. Let- 
 ters were written by the Gentiles around Far West to all parts 
 of the State, and elsewhere, giving the most fearful accounts of 
 Mormon atrocities. Some of the writers said it was useless to 
 send less than three or four men for each Mormon, because the 
 Mormons felt sure of Heaven if they fell fighting, hence they 
 did not fear death; that they fought with the desperation of 
 devils. Such reports spread like wild-fire throughout Northern 
 Missouri, and thence all over the States of the Mississippi Val- 
 ley, and resulted in creating a feeling of the most intense hatred 
 in the breasts of all the Gentiles against the Mormons. Com- 
 panies of volunteers were raised and armed in every town 
 through Northern Missouri, and commenced concentrating in 
 the vicinity of the Mormon settlements. The troops sent by 
 the Governor to guard the settlers and preserve order soon took 
 part with the mob, and all show for legal protection was gone r 
 so far as Mormons were concerned. I had built a cabin in the 
 valley of Adara-on-Diamond, at the point where the Prophet 
 said Adam blessed his posterity after being driven from the 
 Garden of Eden. The condition of the country being such 
 that we could not labor on our farms, I concluded to go 
 and hunt for wild honey. Several of my neighbors agreed to 
 join me in my bee hunt, and we started with our teams, and 
 traveled northeasterly until we reached the heavy timber at the 
 three forks of Grand River. We camped on the middle fork of 
 Grand River, and had fine success in securing honey. We had 
 been out at camp only two or three days when we dis- 
 5 
 
66 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 covered signs of armed men rushing through the country. On 
 the 3rd of October, 1838, we saw a large number of men that we 
 knew were enemies to the Mormons, and on their way, as we 
 supposed, to attack our people at the settlements. I concluded 
 to go and meet them, and find out for certain what they were 
 really intending to do. I was forced to act with caution, for, 
 if they discovered that we were Mormons, our lires would be 
 taken by the desperate men composing the mob who called 
 themselves State volunteers. 
 
 I took my gun and carried a bucket on my arm and started 
 out to meet the people, to learn their intentions. I met them 
 soon after they had broken camp on Sunday morning. As soon 
 as I saw them I was certain they were out hunting for Mormons. 
 I concluded to pass myself off as an outsider, the better to 
 learn their history. My plan worked admirably. I stood my 
 ground until a company of eighteen men rode up to me, and 
 said: 
 
 "You move early." 
 
 44 Not so d d early, gentlemen ; I am not moving any sooner 
 than you are. What are you all doing in this part of the coun- 
 try, armed to the teeth as you are? Are you hunting for In- 
 dians?'' 
 
 ** No," said they, " but we wish to know where you are from, 
 and what you are doing." 
 
 44 1 am from Illinois ; there are four of us who have come out 
 here to look up a good location to settle. We stopped on Mar- 
 rowbone, and did think of staying there, until the settlers 
 and Mormons got into a row at Gallatin, on election day. 
 After that we concluded to strike out and see what this country 
 looked like. I am now going to cut a bee tree that I found 
 yesterday evening, and I brought my gun along so that if I met 
 an old buck I could secure some venison, to eat with my honey- 
 comb." 
 
 As I got through my statement, they all huddled around me, 
 and commenced to relate the horrors of Mormonism. They 
 advised me to have nothing to do with the Mormons, for said 
 they, 44 As old Joe Smith votes, so will every Mormon in the 
 country vote, and when they get into a fight, they are just the 
 same way, they stick together; when you attack one of the 
 crew you bring every one of them after you like a nest of 
 hornets." 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 67 
 
 I said I had heard a little of the fuss at Gallatin, but did not 
 suppose I had got the right of the story, and would be glad if 
 they would tell me just how it was. I should like to learn the 
 facts from an eye witness. Several of the men spoke up and 
 said they were there and saw it all. They then told the story, 
 and did the Mormons more justice than I expected from them. 
 
 They said, among other things, that there was a large raw- 
 boned man there, who spoke in tongues, and that when the fight 
 commenced he said, " Charge Danites," and if ever you saw 
 men pitch in like devils, they did it there. Our men fell thick 
 as hail wherever those Danites charged with their clubs. 
 
 They then said the Mormons must leave the country, and if 
 we do not make them do so now, they will be so strong that we 
 cannot compel them to go, unless we force them away ; they will 
 be so strong in a few years that they will rule the country as 
 they please. That another band of men would come along 
 soon, and they would then go through the Mormon settlements, 
 and burn up every house, and lynch every d d Mormon they 
 could find. That the militia had been sent to keep order in 
 Daviess County, but would soon be gone, and the work of destroy- 
 ing the Mormons in general would begin. I said, "Give them 
 h 1, and if they have done as you say they have, pay them in 
 their own coin." 
 
 The company then passed on, and I returned with a heavy 
 heart to my friends. I advised taking an immediate start for 
 home, and in a few minutes we were on our way. While com- 
 ing up from home we had found four bee trees, that we left 
 standing, intending to cut them down and get the honey as we 
 went back. When we got on the prairie, which was about eight 
 miles across, the men with me wanted to go and get the honey. 
 I was fearful that the people I had met in the morning would 
 attack the settlements, and I wanted to go directly home and let 
 trees and honey alone. 
 
 While we were talking the matter over, a single black bird 
 came to us apparently in great distress. It flew around each one 
 of us, and would alight on the head of each one of our horses, and 
 especially on my horses' heads, and it even came and alighted 
 on my hat, and would squeak like it was in pain, and turn its 
 feathers up, and acted like it wished to warn us of danger. 
 Then it flew off towards the settlements where I wished to go. 
 All admitted that they were strange actions for a bird, but 
 
68 MORMON1SM UNVEILED. 
 
 they still insisted on going to cut the bee trees. I was per- 
 suaded to go with them. We had gone a quarter of a mile fur- 
 ther, when the black bird returned to us and went through the 
 same performances as before, and again flew off toward the set- 
 tlement. This was to me a warning to go home at once, that 
 there was danger there to my family. I then proposed that we 
 all join in prayer. We did so, and I prayed to the Author of 
 our existence, and asked that if it was his will for us to go home 
 at once, and if the black bird had been sent as a warning mes- 
 senger, to let it return again, and I would follow it. We then 
 traveled on some two miles, when the messenger returned the 
 third time and appeared, if possible, more determined than be- 
 fore to turn us towards home. I turned my team and started, 
 as straight as I could go, for Adam-on-Diamond. As we passed 
 over the prairie we saw the smoke rising from many farms and 
 houses in the vicinity of where we had left our bee trees. This 
 smoke showed us that our enemies were at work, and that had 
 we kept on in the course we were first intending to travel we 
 would have fallen into the hands of the lawless mob and lost 
 our lives. Before we reached home the news of the attack upon 
 the settlements had reached there. It was also reported, and 
 we afterwards learned that the report was true, that many of 
 the Mormon settlers had been tied to trees and fearfully whip- 
 ped with hickory withes, some of them being horribly mangled 
 by the mob. This conduct on the part of the Gentiles roused 
 every Mormon to action, and the excitement was very great. 
 Joseph Smith, the Prophet, was sent for. In the meantime Col. 
 White called together every man and boy that could carry arms. 
 When the forces were assembled Col. White made a war speech. 
 As he spoke he stood by his fine brown horse. There was a bear 
 skin on his saddle. He had a red handkerchief around his head, 
 regular Indian fashion, with the knot in front ; bare headed, in 
 his shirt sleeves, with collar open, showing his naked breast. 
 He held a large cutlass in his right hand. His manner of address 
 struck terror to his enemies, while it charged his brethren with 
 enthusiastic zeal and forced them to believe they were invinci- 
 ble and bullet proof. We were about three hundred and sev- 
 enty-five strong. I stood near Col. White while he was speak- 
 ing, and I judge of its effect upon others by the way it affected 
 me. 
 
 While our Colonel was in the midst of his speech the aid-de- 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 69 
 
 camp of the militia Colonel was sent with a dispatch to .Col. 
 White, to the effect that the militia had become mutinous and 
 could no longer be controlled, but were going to join the mob ; 
 that the Colonel would disband his forces, and he would then go 
 and report to the Governor the true condition of the country ; 
 that Col. White must take and make use of all the means in his 
 power to protect the people from the mob, for the government 
 officers were powerless to aid him. The aid did not deliver his 
 message, for as he rode up close to where Col. White was stand- 
 ing speaking to his men, he stopped and listened a short time ; 
 then wheeled his horse and rode back to the militia camp and 
 reported that Col. White had 15,000 men under arms, in battle 
 array, and would be upon their camp in less than two hours ; 
 that he was then making a speech to the army, and that it was 
 the most exciting speech he had ever listened to in his life ; that 
 he meant war and that of the most fearful kind ; and that the 
 only safety for their forces was in instant retreat. The soldiers 
 broke camp and left in haste. I cannot say that the Colonel 
 commanding the militia was alarmed, or that he fled through 
 fear of being overcome, but it suited him to leave there, for he 
 was anxious to prevent a collision between his troops and the 
 men under Col. White. 
 
 The Prophet, Joseph Smith, when informed of the danger of 
 the settlers from mob violence, sent Maj. Seymour Brunson, of 
 Far West, with fifty men, to protect the settlers whoJived on the 
 two forks of the Grand River. Col. White kept his men in 
 readiness for action. A strong guard was posted round the 
 settlement ; a point was agreed upon, to which place all were to 
 hasten in case of alarm. This point of meeting was east of the 
 town, under the bluffs, on the main road leading from Mill Port 
 to Adam-on-Diamond. This road ran between the fields and 
 bluff. 
 
 We expected to be attacked every hour. A few nights after- 
 wards the alarm was given, and every man rushed to the field. 
 When I reached the command, I found everything in confusion. 
 The officer in command tried to throw two companies across the 
 road, but the firing was heavy and constant from the opposing 
 forces, who had selected a strong point for the purpose of attack 
 and defence. The flash of the rifles, and the ringing reports that 
 echoed through the hills at each discharge of the guns, added to 
 the confusion, and soon forced the Mormons to take up their 
 
70 MOBMONIS11 UNVEILED. 
 
 position in the fence corners and elsewhere, so they could be in 
 a measure protected from the bullets of the enemy. Soon there 
 was order in our ranks, and we were prepared to dislodge our 
 opponents or die in the attempt, when two men came at the 
 full speed of their horses, shouting, "Peace, peace, cease firing, 
 it is our friends," etc. Chapman Duncan, the Adjutant of Col. 
 White, was the one who shouted peace, etc. We were then in- 
 formed that the men we had taken for a part of the Gentile mob 
 were no other than the command of Maj. Brunson, who had been 
 out on the Three Forks of Grand River, to defend the settlers, 
 and that he had been ordered back to the main body, or any of 
 the Hosts of Israel ; that they had intended to stop at Mill Port, 
 but finding it deserted, they concluded to alarm the troops at 
 Adam-on-Diamond, so as to learn whether they would fight or 
 not. I admit that I was much pleased to learn that danger was 
 over, and that we were facing friends and not enemies ; yet I 
 was mad to think any men would impose upon us in that way. 
 The experiment was a dangerous one, and likely to be very 
 serious in its consequences. The other men with me were 
 equally mad at the insult offered by those who had been so 
 foolish as to question our bravery. 
 
 By the efforts of our officers all was soon explained, and amid 
 peals of laughter we returned to our homes. 
 
 The withdrawal of the State militia was the signal for the 
 Gentiles and Mormons to give vent to the worst of their inclina- 
 tions. The Mormons, at command of the Prophet, at once aban- 
 doned their homes, taking what could be carried with them, and 
 hastened to either Far West or Adam-on-Diamond for protec- 
 tion and safety. Some few refused to obey orders, and they 
 afterwards paid the penalty for disobedience by giving up their 
 lives to the savage Gentiles wh o attacked and well nigh exter- 
 minated them. Armed men roamed in bands all over Caldwell, 
 Carroll, and Daviess Counties; both Mormons and Gentiles were 
 under arms, and doing injury to each other when occasion offer- 
 ed. The burning of houses, farms, and stacks of grain was 
 generally indulged in by each party. Lawlessness prevailed, 
 and pillage was the rule. 
 
 The Prophet, Joseph Smith, said it was a civil war ; that by 
 the rules of war each party was justified in spoiling his enemy. 
 This opened the door to the evil disposed, and men of former 
 quiet became perfect demons in their efforts to spoil and waste 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 71 
 
 away the enemies of the Church. I then found that men are 
 creatures of circumstances, and that the occasion calls forth the 
 men needed for each enterprise. I also soon saw that it was the 
 natural inclination of men to steal, and convert to their own use 
 that which others possessed. What perplexed me most was to 
 see that religion had not the power to subdue that passion in 
 man, but that at the first moment when the restrictions of the 
 Church were withdrawn, the most devout men in our community 
 acted like they had served a lifetime in evil, and were natural- 
 born thieves. 
 
 But the men who stole then were not really honest, for I 
 spotted every man that I knew to steal during the troubles in 
 Missouri and Illinois, and I have found that they were never 
 really converted, were never true Saints, but they used their 
 pretence of religion as a cloak to cover their evil deeds. I have 
 watched their rise and fall in the Church, and I know from their 
 fate that honesty is the only true policy. 
 
 Being young, stout, and having plenty of property, I fitted 
 myself out in first-class style. I had good horses and plenty of 
 the best of arms. I joined in the general patrol duty, and took 
 part in daily raids made under either Major Brunson or Capt. 
 Alexander McRay, now Bishop of a Ward in Salt Lake City. 
 I saw much of what was being done by both parties. 
 
 I also made several raids under Captain Jonathan Dunham, 
 alias Black Hawk. I remember one incident that was amusing 
 at the time, as it enabled us to determine what part of our 
 forces would fight on the field and face the enemy, and also 
 those who preferred to fight with their mouths. 
 
 Early in the morning, while Maj. Brunson' s men were march- 
 ing ^along, shivering in the cold for it was a dark, cloudy 
 morning, late in October, 1838 we saw a company of 
 horsemen some three miles away. We concluded they were 
 Missourians, and made for them at full speed. They halted and 
 appeared willing to fight us when our command got within 
 three hundred yards of them. Many of our pulpit braves found 
 out all at once that they must stop and dismount, to fix their sad- 
 dles or for some other reason. The remainder of us rode on until 
 within one hundred and fifty yards of the other force, and were 
 drawn up in line of battle. Maj. Brunson rode forward and 
 hailed them, saying, 
 
 "Who are you ?" 
 
 " Capt. McRay," was the reply. " Who are you ?" 
 
72 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 "Maj. Brunson." 
 
 They met and shook hands. Seeing this the pulpit braves 
 rushed up in great haste and took their places in the ranks, and 
 lamented because we did not have an enemy to overcome. 
 
 So it is through life a coward is generally a liar ; those men 
 were cowards, and lied when they pretended they would like to 
 fight. All cowards are liars, but many liars are brave men. 
 
 While I was engaged with the Mormon troops in ranging 
 over the country, the men that I was with took a large amount of 
 loose property, but did not while I was with them burn any 
 houses or murder any men. Yet we took what property we 
 could find, especially provisions, fat cattle and arms and ammu- 
 nition. But still many houses were burned and much damage 
 was done by the Mormons, and they captured a howitzer and 
 many guns from the Gentiles. Frequent attacks were made 
 upon the Mormon settlements. The Mormons made an attack 
 on Gallatin one night, and carried off much plunder. I was not 
 there with them, but I talked often with them and learned all 
 the facts about it. The town was burnt down, and everything 
 of value, including the goods in two stores, was carried off by 
 the Mormons. I often escaped being present with the troops 
 on their thieving expeditions, by loaning my horses and arms to 
 others who liked that kind of work better than I did. Unless I 
 had adopted that course I could never have escaped from being 
 present with the Hosts of Israel in all their lawless acts, for I 
 was one of the regular Host, and I could not escape going when 
 ordered, unless I furnished a substitute, which sometimes was 
 accepted, but not always. A company went from Adam-on-Dia- 
 mond and burned the house and buildings belonging to my 
 friend McBrier. Every article of moveable property was taken 
 by the troops ; he was utterly ruined. This man had been a 
 friend to me and many others of the brethren ; he was an hon- 
 orable man, but his good character and former acts of kindness 
 had no effect on those who were working, as they pretended, to 
 build up the Kingdom of God. The Mormons brought in every 
 article that could be used, and much that was of no use or value 
 was hauled to Adam-on-Diamond. Men stole simply for the 
 love of stealing. Such inexcusable acts of lawlessness had the 
 effect to arouse every Gentile in the three Counties of Caldwell, 
 Carroll and Daviess, as well as to bring swarms of armed Gen- 
 tiles from other localities. 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 73 
 
 Lyman White, with three hundred men, was called to defend 
 Far West. I went with his command. The night White 
 reached Far West, the battle of Crooked River was fought. 
 Captain David Patton, alias Fear Not, ne of the twelve apos- 
 tles, was sent out by the prophet with fifty men, to attack a 
 body of Missourians, who were camping on the Crooked River. 
 Captain Patton's men were nearly all, if not every one of them, 
 Danites. The attack was made just before daylight in the 
 morning. Captain Fear Not wore a white blanket overcoat, and 
 'ed the attacking party. He was a brave, impulsive man. He 
 rushed into the thickest of the fight, regardless of danger really 
 seeking it to show his men that God would shield him from all 
 harm. But he counted, without just reason, upon being invinci- 
 ble, for a ball soon entered his body, passing through his hips, 
 and cutting his bladder. The wound was fatal ; but he kept on 
 his feet, and led his men some time before yielding to the effects 
 of the wound. The Gentiles said afterwards that Captain Pat- 
 ton told his men to charge in the name of Lazarus, " Charge, 
 Danites, charge! " and that as soon as he uttered the command, 
 which distinguished him, they gave the Danite Captain a com- 
 mission with powder and ball, and sent him on a mission to 
 preach to the spirits that were in prison. In this battle several 
 men were killed and wounded on both sides. I do not remem- 
 ber all of the names of the Danites that were killed, but I do re- 
 member that a man by the name of Banion was killed, and one by 
 the name of Jas. Holbrook was wounded. I knew a man by the 
 name of Tarwater, on the Gentile side, that was cut up fearfully. 
 He was taken prisoner. Ihe Danites routed the Gentiles, who 
 fled in every direction. The night being dark, Jas. Holbrook 
 and another Danite met, and had a hand-to-hand fight, in which 
 they cut each other fearfully with their swords before they dis- 
 covered that they were friends. After the Gentiles retreated, 
 the Mormons started for Far West, taking Tarwater along as 
 a prisoner. After traveling several miles, they halted in a grove 
 of timber, and released Tarwater, telling him he was free to go 
 home. He started off, and when he was some forty yards from 
 the Mormons, Parley P. Pratt, then one of the Twelve Apostles, 
 stepped up to a tree, laid his gun up by the side of the tree, 
 took deliberate aim, and shot Tarwater. He fell and lay still. 
 The Mormons, believing he was dead, went on and left him ly- 
 ing where he fell. Tarwater came to, and reached home, where 
 
74 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 he was taken care of, and soon recovered from his wounds. He 
 afterwards testified in court against the Mormons that he knew, 
 and upon his evidence Parley P. Pratt was imprisoned in the 
 Richmond jail, in 1839. 
 
 I must remind the reader that I am writing in prison, and am 
 not allowed to have a book of reference, and as most of my 
 private writings and journals have been heretofore delivered to 
 the agents of Brighatn Young, and all have been destroyed, or 
 at least kept from me, I am forced to rely on my memory for 
 names and dates, and if I make mistakes in either, this must be 
 my excuse. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE MORMON WAR IN MISSOURI. 
 
 A FTER 1844, it was my habit to keep a journal, in which I 
 -^A_ wrote at length all that I considered worthy of remember- 
 ing. Most of my journals, written up to 1860, were called for 
 by Brigham Young, under the plea that he wished the Church 
 historian to write up the Church history, and wished my jour- 
 nal to aid him in making the history perfect. As these jour- 
 nals contained many things not intended for the public eye, and 
 especially very much concerning the crimes of Mormon leaders 
 in Southern Utah and elsewhere, and all I knew of the Moun- 
 tain Meadows Massacre, and what led to it, they were never 
 returned to me. I suppose they were put out of the way, per- 
 haps burned, for these journals gave an account of many dark 
 deeds. 
 
 I was at Far West when the Danites returned. They brought 
 Captain Patton with them. He died that night, and his death 
 spread a mantle of gloom over the entire community. It robbed 
 many of their fond hope that they were invincible. If Fear 
 Not could be killed, who could claim immunity from the missiles 
 of death, hurled by Gentile weapons? 
 
 I admit up to this time I firmly believed what the Prophet and 
 his apostles had said on that subject. I had considered that I 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 75. 
 
 was bullet proof, that no Gentile ball could ever harm me, or any 
 Saint, and I had believed that a Danite could not be killed by 
 Gentile hands. I thought that one Danite could chase a thou- 
 sand Gentiles, and two could put ten thousand to flight. Alas ! 
 my dream of security was over. One of our mighty men had 
 fallen, and that by Gentile hands. My amazement at the fact 
 was equal to my sorrow for the death of the great warrior apos- 
 tle. I had considered that all the battles between Danites and 
 Gentiles would end like the election fight at Gallatin, and that 
 the only ones to be injured would be the Gentiles. We had 
 been promised and taught by the Prophet and his priesthood that 
 henceforth God would fight our battles, and I looked as a con- 
 sequence for a bloodless victory on the side of the Lord, and 
 that nothing but disobedience to the teachings of the priesthood 
 could render a Mormon subject to injury from Gentile forces. 
 I believed as our leaders taught us, that all our sufferings and 
 persecutions, were brought upon us by the all-wise God of 
 Heaven, as chastisement to bring us together in unity of faitb 
 and strict obedience to the requirements of the Gospel ; and the 
 feeling was general, that all our sufferings were the result of in- 
 dividual sin, and not the fault of our leaders and spiritual 
 guides. We, as members of the Church, had no right to ques- 
 tion any act of our superiors ; to do so wounded the Spirit of 
 God, and lead to our own loss and confusion. 
 
 I was thunderstruck to hear Joseph Smith, the apostle, say at 
 the funeral of Capt. Patton that the Mormons fell by the missiles 
 of death the same as other men. He also said that the Lord was 
 angry with the people, for they had been unbelieving and faith- 
 less ; they had denied the Lord the use of their earthly treas- 
 ures, and placed their affections upon worldly things more than 
 they had upon heavenly things ; that to expect God's favor we 
 must blindly trust him; that if the Mormons would wholly trust 
 in God the windows of heaven would be opened and a shower of 
 blessings sent upon the people ; that all the people could contain 
 of blessings would be given as a reward for obedience to the will 
 of God as made known to mankind through the Prophet of the 
 ever-living God ; that the Mormons, if faitliful, obedient and 
 true followers of the advice of their leaders, would soon enjoy 
 all the wealth of the earth ; that God would consecrate the richer 
 of the Gentiles to the Saints. This and much more he said to 
 induce the people to obey the will of the priesthood. I believed 
 
76 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 all he said, for he supported it by quotations from Scripture, and 
 if I believed the Bible, as I did most implicitly, I could not help 
 believing in Joseph Smith, the Prophet of God in these last days. 
 Joseph Smith declared that he was called of God and given 
 power and authority from heaven to do God's will ; that he had 
 received the keys of the holy priesthood from the apostles Peter, 
 James and John, and had been dedicated, set apart and anointed 
 as the prophet, seer and revelator ; sent to open the dispensation 
 of the fullness of time, according to the words of the apostles ; 
 that he was charged with the restoration of the house of Israel, 
 and to gather the Saints from the four corners of the earth to the 
 land of promise, Zion, the Holy Land (Jackson County), and set- 
 ting up the kingdom of God preparatory to the second coming 
 of Christ in the last days. 
 
 Every Mormon, if true to his faith, believed as fully in Joseph 
 Smith and his holy character as they did that God existed. 
 
 Joseph Smith was a most extraordinary man ; he was rather 
 large in stature, some six feet two inches in height, well built, 
 though a little stoop-shouldered, prominent and well-developed 
 features, a Roman nose, light chestnut hair, upper lip full and 
 rather protruding, chin broad and square, an eagle eye, and on 
 the whole there was something in his manner and appearance 
 that was bewitching and winning ; his countenance was that of 
 a plain, honest, man, full of benevolence and philanthropy and 
 void of deceit or hypocrisy. He was resolute and firm of pur- 
 pose, strong as most men in physical power, and all who saw 
 were forced to admire him, as he then looked and existed. 
 
 In the sports of the day, such as wrestling, etc., he was over 
 -an average. Very few of the Saints had the strength needed to 
 throw the Prophet in a fair ttissel ; in every gathering he was a 
 welcome guest, and always added to the amusement of the peo- 
 ple, instead of dampening their ardor. During the time that 
 we were camping at Adam-on-Diamond, waiting to see what 
 would be the result of the quarrel between our Church and the 
 Gentiles, one Sunday morning (it had rained heavily the night 
 before and the air was cold) the men were shivering over a few 
 fire-brands, feeling out of sorts and quite cast down. The 
 Prophet came up while the brethren were moping around, and 
 caught first one and then another and shook them up, and said, 
 "Get out of here, and wrestle, jump, run, do anything but 
 mope around ; warm yourselves up ; this inactivity will not do 
 
JOSEPH SMITH. 
 (The Founder and first Prophet of the Mormon Church.) 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 77 
 
 for soldiers." The words of the Prophet put life and energy 
 into the men. A ring was soon formed, according to the cus- 
 tom of the people. The Prophet stepped into the ring, ready 
 for a tussel with any comer. Several went into the ring to try 
 their strength, but each one was thrown by the Prophet, until 
 he had thrown several of the stoutest of the men present. 
 Then he stepped out of the ring and took a man by the arm 
 and led him in to take his place, and so it continued the men 
 who were thrown retiring in favor of the successful one. A 
 man would keep the ring so long as he threw his adversary. 
 The style of wrestling varied with the desires of the parties. 
 The Eastern men, or Yankees, used square hold, or collar and 
 elbow ; those from the Middle States side hold, and the South- 
 ern and Western men used breeches hold and old Indian hug or 
 back hold. If a man was hurt he stood it without a murmur ; 
 it was considered cowardly and childish to whine when thrown 
 down or hurt in the fall. 
 
 While the sport was at its height Sidney Rigdon, the mouth- 
 piece of the Prophet, rushed into the ring, sword in hand, and 
 said that he would not suffer a lot of men to break the Sabbath 
 day in that manner. For a moment all were silent, then one of 
 the brethren, with more presence of mind than the others, 
 said to the Prophet, " Brother Joseph, we want you to clear us 
 from blame, for we formed the ring by your request. You told 
 us to wrestle, and now Brother Rigdon is bringing us to account 
 for it." 
 
 The Prophet walked into the ring and said, as he made a 
 motion with his hand: " Brother Sidney, you had better go out 
 of here and let the boys alone ; .they are amusing themselves ac- 
 cording to my orders. You are an old man. You go and get 
 ready for meeting and let the boys alone." Just then catching 
 Rigdon off his guard, as quick as a flash he knocked the 
 sword from Rigdon's hand, then caught him by the shoulder, and 
 said: "Now, old man, you must go out, or I will throw you 
 down." Rigdon was as large a man as the Prophet, but not so 
 tall. The prospect of a tussel between the Prophet and the 
 mouthpiece of the Prophet, was fun for all but Rigdon, who 
 pulled back like a craw-fish, but the resistance was useless, the 
 Prophet dragged him from the ring, bareheaded, and tore 
 Rigdon's fine pulpit coat from the collar to the waist ; then he 
 turned to the men and said: " Go in, boys, and have your fun. 
 
78 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 You shall never have it to say that I got you into any trouble 
 that I did not get you out of." 
 
 Rigdon complained about the loss of his hat and the tearing 
 of his coat. The Prophet said to him: " You were out of your 
 place. Always keep your place and you will not suffer; but 
 you got a little out of your place and you have suffered for it. 
 You have no one to blame but yourself." After that Rigdon 
 never countermanded the orders of the Prophet, to my knowl- 
 edge he knew who was boss. 
 
 An order had been issued by the Church authorities com- 
 manding all of the members of the Mormon Church to leave 
 their farms, and to take such property as they could remove, 
 and go to one of the two fortified camps that is Far West or 
 Adam-on-Diamond. A large majority of the settlers obeyed, 
 and the two camps were soon full of people who had deserted 
 home again for the sake of the gospel. 
 
 There was a settlement on Log Creek, between three and five 
 miles east from Far West. It was quite a rich settlement. A 
 man named Haughn had just completed a good flouring 
 mill on the creek. The morning after the battle of Crooked 
 River, Haughn came to Far West to consult with the Prophet 
 concerning the policy of the removal of the settlers on Log Creek 
 to the fortified camps. Col. White and myself were standing by 
 when the Prophet said to him: "Move in, by all means, if you 
 wish to save your lives." Haughn replied that if the settlers 
 left their homes all of their property would be lost, and the 
 Gentiles would burn their houses and other buildings. The 
 Prophet said : " You had much better lose your property than 
 your lives, one can be replaced, the other cannot be restored ; 
 but there is no need of your losing either if you will only do as 
 you are commanded." Haughn said that he considered the 
 best plan was for all of the settlers to move into and around the 
 mill, and use the blacksmith's shop and other buildings as a fort 
 in case of attack ; in this way he thought they would be perfect- 
 ly safe. '* You are at liberty to do so if you think best," said 
 the Prophet. Haughn then departed, well satisfied that he had 
 -carried his point. 
 
 The Prophet turned to Col. White and said: "That man did 
 not come for counsel, but to induce me to tell him to do as he 
 pleased ; which I did. Had I commanded them to move in here 
 -and leave their property, they would have called me a tyrant. 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 79 
 
 1 wish they were here for their own safety. I am confident that 
 we will soon learn that they have been butchered in a fearful 
 manner." 
 
 At this time the Missourians had determined to exterminate 
 the whole of the Mormon people. Governor Lilburn W. Boggs 
 issued orders to that effect. I think General Clark was the officer 
 in command of all the Gentile forces. Gen. Atchison and Gen. 
 Doniphan each commanded a division of from three to eight 
 thousand men, and they soon besieged Far West. The Mor- 
 mons fortified the town as well as they could, and took special 
 care to fortify and build shields and breastworks, to prevent the 
 cavalry from charging into the town. The Gentile forces were 
 mostly camped on Log Creek, between the town of Far West and 
 Haughn's Mill, and about a mile from Far West, and about half 
 a mile south of our outer breastworks. Our scouts and picket 
 guards were driven in, and forced to join the main ranks for 
 safety. The Mormon troops were placed in position by the offi- 
 cers, so as to guard every point. Each man had a large supply 
 of bullets, with the patching sewed on the balls to facilitate the 
 loading of our guns, which were all muzzle loaders. The Mor- 
 mon force was about eight hundred strong, poorly armed ; many 
 of the men had no guns ; some had single-barrel pistols, and a 
 few had home-made swords. These were all of our implements 
 of war. So situated, we were still anxious to meet the enemy, 
 and demanded to be led out against our foes. Our men were 
 confident that God was going to deliver the enemy into our 
 hands, and so we had no fears. I was one of the advance force, 
 and as I lay behind some timber, with my cap-box open, and bul- 
 lets lying on the ground by my side, I never had a doubt of 
 being able to defeat the Gentile army. The troops lay and 
 watched each other two days, then the Gentiles made two efforts 
 to force their way into the town by stratagem ; but seeing our 
 forces in order, they did not come within range of our guns 
 The Mormons stood in the ranks, and prayed for the chance of 
 getting a shot ; but all to no effect. The same evening we learned 
 of the massacre at Haughn's Mill. The description of this mas- 
 sacre was such as to freeze the blood of each Saint, and force 
 them to swear revenge should come some day. 
 
 HAUGHN'S MILL MASSACRE 
 was reported about as follows to us at Far West. When the 
 
80 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 Gentile mob attacked the Mormons at the mill the Mor- 
 mons took shelter in the blacksmith shop and other buildings. 
 The mob took advantage of the banks of the creek and the tim- 
 ber, and very nearly surrounded the shop, which was built of 
 logs, and served as a slaughter-house instead of a shelter or 
 protection. -The mob, while protected as they were, shot down 
 the Mormons at their leisure. They killed eighteen and wound- 
 ed as many more ; in fact they killed and wounded every one 
 who did not run away during the fight and take refuge in the 
 woods. After shooting down all that could be seen, the mob en- 
 tered the blacksmith shqp and there found a young lad who 
 had secreted himself under the bellows. One of the men said, 
 " Don't shoot ; it is but a small boy." The reply was, " Nits will 
 make lice ; it is best to save them when we can." Thus saying, 
 they shot the little fellow where he lay. There was an old man 
 in the settlement by the name of McBride, who had been a sol- 
 dier in the Revolutionary war ; he was killed by being hacked 
 to pieces with a corn-cutter while begging for his life. The dead 
 and wounded were thrown into a well all together. Several 
 of the wounded were afterwards taken out of the well by the 
 force that went from Far West, and recovered from their 
 wounds. So great was the hatred of the mob that they saved 
 none, but killed all who fell into their hands at that time. I 
 received my information of the massacre ' from David Lewis, 
 Tarleton Lewis, William Laney and Isaac Laney ; they were 
 Kentuckians, and were also in the fight, but escaped death. 
 Isaac Laney was shot seven times, leaving thirteen ball holes in 
 his person ; five of the shots were nearly in the centre of the 
 chest; one entered under the right arm, passed through the 
 body and came out under the left arm ; yet, strange as it ap- 
 pears, he kept his feet, so he informed me, and ran some three 
 hundred yards to a cabin, where a woman raised a loose plank 
 of the cabin floor, and he lay down and she replaced the boards. 
 The mob left, and in about two hours Laney was taken from 
 under the cabin floor nearly lifeless. He was then washed, 
 anointed with oil, the elders praying for his recovery, according 
 to the order of the Holy Priesthood, and he was promised, 
 through prayer and faith in God, speedy restoration. The pain 
 at once left him, and for two weeks he felt no pain at all. He 
 then took cold, and the wound in his hips pained him for some 
 two hours, when the elders repeated their prayers and again 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 81 
 
 anointed him, which had the effect desired. The pain left him, 
 and never returned. I heard Laney declare this to be a fact, 
 and he bore his testimony in the presence of many of the Saints. 
 I saw him four weeks after the massacre and examined his per- 
 son. I saw the wounds, then healed. I felt of them with my 
 own hands, and I saw the shirt and examined it, that he had 
 on when he was shot, and it was cut in shreds. Many balls had 
 cut his clothing, that had not touched his person. 
 
 The massacre at Haughn's Mill was the result of the breth- 
 ren's refusal to obey the wishes of the Prophet. All the breth- 
 ren so considered it. It made a deep and lasting impression on 
 my mind, for I had heard the Prophet give the counsel to the 
 brethren to come into the town. They had refused, and the re- 
 sult was a lesson to all that there was no safety except in obey- 
 ing the Prophet. 
 
 Col. George M. Hinkle had command of the troops at Far 
 West, under Joseph Smith. He was from Kentucky, and was 
 considered a fair weather Saint. When danger came he was 
 certain to be on the strong side. He was a fine speaker, and 
 had great influence with the Saints. 
 
 Previous to the attack on Far West, Col. Hinkle had come to an 
 understanding with the Gentile commanders that in case the 
 danger grew great, they could depend on him as a friend and 
 one through whom they could negotiate and learn the situa- 
 tion of affairs in the camp of the Saints. When our scouts 
 were first driven in Col. Hinkle was out with them, and when 
 they were closely pursued he turned his coat wrong side out and 
 wore it so. This was a peculiar move, but at the time it did not 
 cause much comment among his men, but they reported it 
 to the Prophet, and he at once became suspicious of the Colonel. 
 The Prophet, being a man of thought and cool reflection, kept 
 this information within a small circle, as that was a bad time 
 to ventilate an act of that kind. The Prophet concluded to 
 make use of the knowledge he had gained of Hinkle's charac- 
 ter, and use him to negotiate between the two parties. I do not 
 believe that Joseph Smith had the least idea that he, with his 
 little handful of men, could stand off that army that had come up 
 against him. I know that now, but at that time I was full of 
 religious zeal and felt that the Mormon Hosts of Israel were 
 invincible. Joseph wished to use Hinkle to learn the destiny of 
 the Gentiles, so that he could prepare for the worst. Col. 
 6 
 
82 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 Hinkle was sent out by Joseph to have an interview with the 
 Gentiles. 
 
 The Colonel returned and reported to Joseph Smith the terms 
 proposed by the Gentile officers. The terms offered were as 
 follows : Joseph Smith and the leading men of the Church, Rig- 
 don, Lyman White, P. P. Pratt, Phelps and others, were to 
 give themselves up without delay, the balance of the men to 
 surrender themselves and their arms by ten o'clock the following 
 day, the understanding being that all would be tried for 
 treason against the Government, and for other offences. The 
 Prophet took advantage of this information, and had eyery man 
 that was in imminent danger, leave the camp for a place of safety. 
 The most of those in danger went to Illinois. They left at 
 once, and were safe from all pursuit before the surrender took 
 place, as they traveled north and avoided all settlements. 
 When the brethren had left for Illinois, as just stated, Joseph 
 Smith called all of his remaining troops together, and told them 
 they were a good lot of fellows, but they were not perfect 
 enough to withstand so large an army as the one now before 
 them, that they had stood by him, and were willing to die for 
 and with him, for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, that he 
 wished them to be comforted, for God had accepted their offer- 
 ing, that he intended to, and was going to offer himself up as 
 a sacrifice, to save their lives and to save the Church. He 
 wished them all to be of good cheer, and pray for him, and to 
 pray that he and the brethren that went with him might be de- 
 livered from their enemies. He then blessed his people in the 
 name of the Lord. After this, he and the leading men, six in num- 
 ber went with him direct to the camp of the enemy. They were 
 led by a Judas, Col. G. M. Hinkle. I stood upon the breast- 
 works and watched them go into the camp of the enemy. I 
 heard the yells of triumph of the troops, as Joseph Smith and 
 his companions entered. It was with great difficulty that the 
 officers could restrain the mob from shooting them down as they 
 entered. A strong guard was then placed over them to protect 
 them from mob violence. 
 
 The next morning a court martial was held, at which Joseph 
 Smith and his six companions that had surrendered with him, 
 were sentenced to be shot. The execution was to take place at 
 eight o'clock the next morning. When the sentence of the 
 court martial was announced to them, Col. Lyman White said 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 83 
 
 "Shoot and be d d." General Atchison and Col. Doniphan 
 arrived with their divisions the same day, soon after the 
 court martial had been held. Col. Doniphan, in particular, 
 remonstrated against the decision. He said it was nothing 
 more or less than cold blooded murder, and that every name 
 signed to the decision was signed in blood, and he would with- 
 draw his troops and have nothing to do in the matter, if the 
 men were to be shot. General Atchison sustained Col. Doni- 
 phan, and said the wiser policy would be, in as much as they 
 had surrendered themselves as prisoners, to place them in the 
 Richmond jail, and let them take the due course of the law; let 
 them be tried by the civil authorities of the land. In this way 
 justice could be reached and parties could be punished accord- 
 ing to law, and thus save the honor of the troops and the nation. 
 This timely interposition and wise course on the part of Col. 
 Doniphan and General Atchison, changed the course and pre- 
 vented the hasty action of an infuriated mob, calling itself a 
 <jourt, men who were all the bitter enemies of Joseph Smith 
 find his followers. 
 
 The next day a writing desk was prepared, with two secreta- 
 ries or clerks ; it was placed in the middle of the hollow square 
 formed by the troops. The Mormons were marched in double 
 file across the centre of the square, where the officers and men 
 who had remained in Far West surrendered themselves and their 
 arms to General Clark, Commander-in-Chief of the Missouri 
 Militia, then in arms against the Saints at Far West. I was 
 among the number that then surrendered. I laid down a good 
 Kentucky rifle, two good horse pistols and a sword. After 
 stacking our arms we were marched in single file, between 
 a double file of the militia, who stood in a line from the secre- 
 tary's desk, extending nearly across the square, ready to re- 
 ceive us, with fixed bayonets. As each man came up to the 
 stand, he stepped to the desk and signed his name to an instru- 
 ment recapitulating the conditions of the treaty, which were sub- 
 stantially as follows: We were to give a deed to all of our real 
 estate, and to give a bill of sale of all our personal property, to 
 pay the expenses of the war that had been inaugurated against 
 us ; that a committee of twelve should be appointed, one for 
 Far West and one for Adam-on-Diamond, who were to be the 
 sole judges of what would be necessary to remove each family 
 out of the State, and all of the Mormons were to leave Missouri 
 
84 MOBMOM1SM UNVEILED. 
 
 by the first of April, A. i). 1839, and all the rest of the prop- 
 erty of the Mormons was to be taken by the Missouri troops to 
 pay the expenses of the war. When the committee had exam- 
 ined into affairs and made the assignment of property that the 
 Mormons were to retain, a pass would be given by the commit- 
 tee to each person as an evidence that he had gone through an 
 investigation both as to his conduct and property. The prison- 
 ers at Far West were to be retained and not allowed to return 
 home until the committee had reported and given the certificate 
 that all charges had been met and satisfied. I remained a pris- 
 oner for nine days, awaiting the action of the committee. While 
 such prisoner I witnessed many scenes of inhumanity, even more 
 degrading than brutality itself. The mob of the militia was 
 mostly composed of men who had been neighbors of the Mor- 
 mons. This mob rifled the city, took what they wished, and 
 committed many cruel and shameful deeds. These barbarous 
 acts were done because they said the Mormons had stolen 
 their goods and chattels, and while they pretended to search 
 for stolen property they ravished women and committed other 
 crimes at will. One day, while standing by a log fire, trying to 
 keep warm, a man came up and recognized Riley Stewart, and 
 said, " I saw you knock Dick Weldon down at Gallatin." With 
 this he sprang and caught at an ax that had been stuck in a log ; 
 while trying to get the ax out, as it stuck fast in the log, Stewart 
 ran ; the man succeeded in getting the ax loo?e ; he then threw 
 it with all his force at Stewart ; fortunately the ax struck him a 
 glancing blow on the head, not killing him, but giving him a se- 
 vere wound. When one of the mob saw a saddle, or bridle, or 
 any article they liked, they took it and kept it, and the Mor- 
 mon prisoners dared not say a word about it. 
 
 The night after he was wounded, Stewart broke through the 
 guard, and escaped to his wife's people in Carroll County, fifty 
 miles south of Far West. As soon as the citizens heard that 
 Stewart had arrived, they notified his wife's brothers and father 
 that an armed mob inten ded to take him out and whip him se- 
 verely, and then tar and feather him. His friends notified him 
 of the fact, and he attempted to make his escape, but the mob 
 was on the watch. They caught him, and, holding two pistols 
 at his head, forced him to take off his coat, kneel down, and 
 receive fifty lashes. These were given him with such force that 
 they cut through his linen shirt. After this whipping, he re- 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 85 
 
 turned to Far West, and took his chances with the rest of us. 
 One day a soldier of the mob walked up to a house near where 
 I was standing. The house was occupied by an old widow 
 woman. The soldier noticed a cow in the little shed, near the 
 house. He said he thought that was a Danite cow; that he 
 wanted to have the honor of killing a Danite r or something that 
 belonged to a Danite. The old widow came to the door of her 
 cabin, and begged him to spare her cow, saying it was her only 
 dependence for milk, that she had no meat, and if her cow was 
 killed, she must suffer. "Well, then," said he, "you can eat 
 the cow for a change." He then shot the cow dead, and stood 
 there and tantalized the old woman when she cried oyer her loss. 
 While we were standing in line, waiting our turns to sign the 
 treaty, a large company of men, painted like Indians, rode up 
 and surrounded us. They were a part of the men who were in 
 the fight at the town of Gallatin, on the day of election. They 
 tantalized us and abused us in every way they could with words. 
 This treatment was hard to bear, but we were powerless to 
 protect ourselves in any way. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 LEE LOCATES THE GARDEN OF EDEH. 
 
 I HAD a fine gray mare that attracted the attention of many 
 of the mob. I was allowed to take her to water, while closely 
 guarded by armed men. One day as I took her to water I was 
 spoken to by several men, who said they were sorry for a man 
 like me, who appeared to be honest and peaceably disposed ; that 
 they knew that I and many honest men were deluded by Joseph 
 Smith, the impostor. But they thanked God he would delude 
 no more people ; that he would certainly be shot ; that I had bet- 
 ter quit my delusion and settle down by the officer in command, 
 who was then talking to me, in Carroll County, and make a home 
 for my family ; that I would never have peace or quiet while I 
 remained with the Mormons. I heard him through. Then I 
 said : " No man has deceived me. I am not deceived by Joseph 
 
86 MOfiMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 Smith, or any other man. If I am deceived it is the Bible that 
 has deceived me. I believe that Joseph Smith is a prophet of 
 God, and I have the Bible as my authority in part for this belief. 
 And I do not believe that Joseph Smith will be shot, as you seem 
 to think. He has not finished his work yet." 
 
 As I finished my remarks the officer became fearfully enraged, 
 and said, "That is the way with all you d d Mormons. You 
 might as well try to move a mountain as to turn a Mormon from 
 his delusion. Blow the brains out of this fool ! " In an instant 
 several guns were leveled on me. I imagined I already felt the 
 bullets piercing my body. The soldiers would certainly have 
 shot me down if the officer had not immediately countermanded 
 his order, by saying, "Hold on, boys, he is not worth five 
 charges of ammunition." I said, u Gents, I am your prisoner, 
 unarmed and helpless, and I demand your protection. But if 
 you consider there is any honor in treating a man, an American 
 prisoner, in this way, you can do it." 
 
 As we returned to camp the man said, " We will make it hot 
 for the Mormons yet before we are done with them, and if you 
 have not got enough of them now, you will have before you are 
 done with them ; and you will remember my words when it is too 
 late to serve you." 
 
 "I may," said I; "when I do I will own up like a little 
 man. But until I am so convinced I will never turn my coat." 
 
 "Well," said he, "you are not so bad after all. I like a 
 firm man, if he only has reason on his side." 
 
 The Mormons were forted, or barricaded, in the public school 
 houses, and kept without any rations being issued to them. The 
 grain fields and gardens that belonged to the Mormons were 
 thrown open to the stock and wasted. Our cattle and other 
 stock were shot down for sport and left for the wolves and birds 
 of prey to devour. We were closely guarded, and not allowed 
 to go from our quarters without a guard. We were nearly 
 starved for several days, until I obtained permission to go out 
 and bring in some of the cattle that the soldiers had killed for 
 sport. The weather was cold and the snow deep, so the meat 
 was good. I also got permission to gather in some vegetables, 
 and from that time, while we remained prisoners, the men had 
 plenty to eat, yet often it was of a poor quality. While a pris- 
 oner I soon learned that the loud and self-conceited men were 
 of little account when danger stared them in the face. 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 87 
 
 Arrangements had been made to carry the treaty into effect. 
 It was found necessary to send General Wilson with five nun* 
 dred men to Adam -on-Diamond to compel the surrender, and 
 signing of the treaty, as had been done at Far West, and the 
 people of that place were to be treated just as we had been. 
 
 I was recommended to General Wilson by the officer who had 
 ordered his men to blow my brains out, as a suitable man for a 
 guide to Adam-on-Diamond. He said that I was as stubborn as 
 a mule, but still there was something about me he respected. 
 That he believed that I was honest, and certainly no coward. 
 General Wilson said: " Young man, do you live at Adam-on- 
 Diamond?" I said: " I cannot say that I do, but I did once, 
 and I have a wife and child there that I would like to see ; but 
 as to a home I have none left." He said, "Where did you live 
 before you came here?" "In Illinois," I answered. "You 
 shall soon see your wife and child. I will start in the morning 
 with my division for Adam-on-Diamond. You are at liberty to 
 select two of your comrades and go with me as guides, to pilot 
 us there. Be ready for an early start and report to my Adju- 
 tant." " Thank you, sir, I will do as you request," said I. 
 
 I selected two good men, I think Levi Stewart was one, but I 
 have really forgotten who the other man was. In the morning 
 I was on hand in time. The day was cold and stormy, a hard 
 north wind blowing, and the snow falling rapidly. It was an 
 open country for thirteen miles, with eighteen inches of snow on 
 the ground. We kept our horses in the lope until we reached 
 Shady Grove timber, thirteen miles from Far West. There we 
 camped for the night by the side of Waldo Littlefield's farm. 
 The fence was burned for camp-fires, and his fields of grain 
 were fed to the horses, or rather the animals were turned loose 
 in the fields. After camp was struck I went to General Wilson 
 and said, " General, I have come to beg a favor of you. I ask 
 you in the name of humanity to let me go on to Adam-on-Dia- 
 mond to-day. I have a wife and helpless babe there. I am 
 informed our house has been burned, and she is likely out in 
 this storm without a shelter. You are half-way there ; the snow 
 is deep, and you can follow our trail (it had then slackened up, 
 or was snowing but little) in the morning ; there is but one 
 road to the settlement." He looked at me for a moment, and 
 then said, " Young man, your request shall be granted, I admire 
 your resolution." He then turned to his Aid, who stood tremb- 
 
88 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 ling in the snow, and said, " Write Mr. Lee and his two com- 
 rades a pass, saying that they have gone through an examina- 
 tion at Far West, and have been found innocent," etc. The 
 Adjutant drew out his portfolio and wrote as follows: "I per- 
 mit John D. Lee to remove from Daviess to Caldwell County, 
 and to pass out of the State, as he has undergone an examina- 
 tion at Far West and was fully acquitted. Marrowbone En- 
 campment, Caldwell County, Mo., Nov. 15, 1839. 
 
 44 B. WILSON, Brigadier Gen. 
 "R. F. COCKET, Aid-de-Camp." 
 
 After receiving my pass I thanked the General for his humane 
 act, and with my friends made the journey, through the snow, to 
 Adam-on-Diamond. As we neared home the sun shone out 
 brightly. When I got in sight of where my house had been, I 
 aw my wife sitting by a. log fire in the open air, with her babe 
 in her arms. Some soldiers had cut a large hickory tree for fire- 
 wood for her, and had built her a shelter with some boards I 
 had dressed to weather-board a house, so she was in a measure 
 comfortable. She had been weeping, as she had been informed 
 that I was a prisoner at Far West, and would be shot, and that 
 she need not look for me, for she would never see me again. 
 When I rode up she was nearly frantic with delight, and as soon 
 as I reached her side she threw herself into my arms and then 
 her self-possession gave way and she wept bitterly ; but she soon 
 recovered herself and gave me an account of her troubles during 
 my absence. 
 
 The next evening, General Wilson and his command arrived 
 and camped near my little shanty. I starte d at once to report 
 to General Wilson. On my way to him I passed my friend 
 McBrier, who had trusted me for some cattle. I still owed him 
 for them. I told him why I had been unable to pay him, and 
 wished him to take the cattle back, as I still had all of them ex- 
 cept one cow that had died of the murrain ; that it was an hon- 
 est debt, and I wished to pay it. I asked him to go to my 
 shanty with me, and said he could take what cattle were left, 
 and a black mare that was worth $75, and an eight-day clock 
 that was worth $25, for my note. 4t I have not got your note," 
 said he. "Who has it?" I asked him. 44 I do not know, I 
 supposed you had it." 4 ' I never saw it since I gave it to you." 
 44 Well," said he, 44 my house was burned, and all my property 
 either burned or taken from me, and your note was in the house 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 89 
 
 when it was burned." "Well," said I, "it matters not with 
 me, if you will take the property and give me a receipt against 
 the note, so that it cannot be collected the second time, I will 
 settle the debt." He then said, "I thought you had been in 
 the party that burned the house, and had taken your note, but 
 I am now satisfied to the contrary, and that you are an innocent 
 man. All I ask is for you to renew the note. The property of 
 the Mormons will be held to pay their debts, and the expenses of 
 the war, and I will get my pay in that way. You just renew the 
 note, and that will settle all between us." I then renewed the 
 note, after which he went with me to General Wilson. McBrier 
 introdced me to a number of the soldiers as an honest Mormon. 
 This worked well in my favor, and pleased me much, for it sat- 
 isfied me more than ever that honesty was the best policy. I 
 had done nothing that I considered wrong ; there was no stolen 
 property around my house. I did not have to run and hide, or 
 screen any act of mine from the public gaze. My wife had been 
 treated well personally, during my absence ; no insults had been 
 offered to her, and I was well pleased at that. I was treated 
 with respect by Gen. Wilson and his men. True, I was associa- 
 ted with the people that had incurred the displeasure of the au- 
 thorities, and my neighbors, who had committed crimes and lar- 
 cenies, were then receiving fearful punishment for all they had 
 done. The punishment, however, was in a great part owing to 
 the fault of the people. When the Gentiles found any of their 
 property that had been stolen, they became very abusive. 
 
 Every house in Adam-on-Diamond was searched by the troops 
 for stolen property. They succeeded in finding very much of 
 the Gentile property that had been captured by the Saints in the 
 various raids they made through the country. Bedding of every 
 kind and in large quantities was found and reclaimed by the 
 owners. Even spinning wheels, soap barrels and other articles 
 were recovered. Each house where stolen property was found 
 was certain to receive a Missouri blessing from the troops. The 
 men who had been most active in gathering plunder had fled to 
 Illinois, to escape the vengeance of the people, leaving their 
 families to suffer for the sins of the bleeding Saints. By the 
 terms of the treaty all the Mormons were to leave Daviess 
 County within fifteen days, but they were allowed to stay 
 through the winter in Caldwell County ; but all had to depart from 
 Missouri before the first day of the next April. There were but 
 
90 MORMONISM. UNVEILED. 
 
 few families that met with the kind treatment that mine did. 
 The majority of the people were censured and persecuted as 
 much as they were able to stand and live. 
 
 In justice to Joseph Smith I cannot say that I ever heard him 
 teach or even encourage men to pilfer or steal little things. He 
 told the people that in an open war the contending factions 
 were justified in taking spoil to subsist upon during the war ; 
 but he did despise this little, petty stealing. He told the peo- 
 ple to wait until the proper time came to take back their rights, 
 "Then," said he, " take the whole State of Missouri like men." 
 
 When the people at Adam-on-Diamond had signed the treaty, 
 and complied with the stipulations, the committee of twelve 
 commenced their duties. When it came my turn to take the 
 property necessary to take me out of the State, I was told to fit 
 myself out comfortably. I told them that I had a wife and one 
 child, that I had two good wagons, one a heavy one-horse 
 wagon, with fills, and that I had a large mare that was equal to 
 a common span, that the mare and wagon would do me, that 
 I wanted some bedding and our clothing, and some other traps 
 of little value ; that I had a good milk cow that I wished to 
 give to a friend who had lost all his cattle, and his wife had died 
 a short time before, leaving a little babe that must have milk. 
 I told them they could take the rest of my property and do with 
 it as they did with that of the brethren. I was worth then in 
 property, at a fair valuation, $4,000. The officers were aston- 
 ished at me and said they did not wish to oppress a man who 
 acted fairly. They told me to take my large wagon and two of 
 my best horses, and all the outfit that I wanted. I thanked them 
 for their kindness. I was permitted to give the cow to my friend 
 and I had the privilege of taking such articles as I wished. I 
 fitted up with just what would take me to Illinois, and left the 
 remainder as a spoil for the enemies of the Church. 
 
 I did not regret the loss of my property ; I gave it up as the 
 price of my religious freedom ; but I did feel cast down to think 
 and know that I was associated with so many petty thieves, 
 whose ambition never rose higher than the smoke of their corn- 
 cob pipes. I was sorrowful to find that the perfection I had 
 thought the people possessed, was not, in fact, a part of their 
 natures. 
 
 I had long desired to associate myself with an honest people, 
 whose motto should be promptness, punctuality, honesty a 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 91 
 
 people that feared God and worked righteousness, dealt justly, 
 loved mercy and walked uprightly with each other before their 
 God ; where my property, my life, my reputation would be held 
 sacred by them all, the same as if it was their own. For the 
 society of such a people I was willing to forsake all earthly sub- 
 stance, and even to have my name cast out as evil and trodden 
 under foot, if I could be found worthy to serve with such a- 
 blessed people, and thus earn the boon of eternal life. But I 
 had found another class of people ; they fell far short of the 
 requisites that I had believed they possessed. When I found 
 fault with having such characters in the Church I was told of the 
 parable where Christ likened the kingdom of heaven to a net 
 that was cast into the sea, which, when drawn to the shore, had 
 in it all kinds of fish; the servants picked out the good and 
 kept them for the Master's use, and the bad were cast back into 
 the sea ; that we could not expect anything different with the 
 kingdom on earth ; that it was a trick of the evil one to cause 
 such persons to rush into the gospel net to harrass and torment 
 the Saints with their evil doings, but the time would come 
 when forbearance would cease to be a virtue, then all those who 
 worked iniquity or gave offense in the kingdom would be cut ofl 
 and destroyed ; that we must bear with them until the time came 
 to correct the evil. 
 
 Before I speak of other things I will say a few words of the 
 country we were then in. Adam-on-Diamond was at the point 
 where Adam came and settled and blest his posterity after being 
 driven from the Garden of Eden. This was revealed to the peo- 
 ple through Joseph Smith, the Prophet. The Temple Block in 
 Jackson County, Missouri, stands on the identical spot where 
 once stood the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve were 
 driven from the Garden they traveled in a northwesterly course 
 until they came to a valley on the east side of Grand River. 
 There they tarried for several years, and engaged in tilling the 
 soil. On the east of the valley there is a low range of hills. 
 Standing on the summit of the bluffs a person has a full view of 
 the beautiful valley that lies below, dotted here and there with 
 elegant groves of timber. On the top of this range of hills Adam 
 erected an altar of stone, on which he offered sacrifice unto the 
 Lord. There was at that time (in 1838) a pile of stone there, 
 which the Prophet said was a portion of the altar on which 
 Adam offered sacrifice. Although these stones had been ex- 
 
92 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 posed to the elements for many generations of time, still the 
 traces remained to show the dimensions and design of the altar. 
 After Adam had offered his sacrifice he went up the valley some 
 two miles, where he blessed his posterity and called the place 
 the Valley of Adam-on-Diamond, which, in the reformed Egyp- 
 tian language, signifies Adam's Consecrated Land. It is said to 
 be seventy-five miles, in a direct course, from the Garden of 
 Eden to Adam-on-Diamond. Those supposed ancient relics and 
 sacred spots of earth are held sacred by the greater portion of 
 the Latter Day Saints. To a casual observer it appears that this 
 people are all the time chasing a phantom of some sort, which 
 only exists in the brain of the fanatical followers. These things, 
 and much more concerning the early days, were revealed to 
 Joseph Smith. 
 
 On the 20th day of November, 1838, I took leave of my home, 
 and the spot I considered sacred ground, on Adam-on-Diamond, 
 and started as a banished person to seek a home in Illinois. 
 We went to my farm on Shady Grove Creek, and staid over 
 night. We found everything as we had left it, nothing had been 
 interfered with. I killed a large hog and dressed it to carry 
 with us to eat on the journey. The snow was fully twenty 
 inches deep, weather very cold, and taken all in all, it was a 
 disagreeable and unpleasant trip. We went to the settlement 
 on Log Creek, and stopped with the family of Robert Bidwell. 
 He had plenty of property. This man had good teams, and 
 had reaped where he had not sown, and gathered where he had 
 not strewn. He was engaged in removing families of his help- 
 less brethren to Quincy, Illinois, who had not teams to move 
 themselves, but who had a little money that he was after, and 
 he got all they had. For some reason unexplained to me, he 
 had been permitted to keep all of his property ; none of it was 
 taken by the troops. While at Bid well's I bought a crib of corn, 
 about two hundred bushels, for a pocket-knife. I built a stable 
 for my mare, and a crib for the corn, and hauled wood enough 
 to do the whole family for the rest of the winter. I also 
 attended to BidwelPs stock and worked all the time for him. 
 They had five children, which made considerable work for the 
 women folks ; my wife worked for them all the time. During 
 this time we had nothing but corn to eat. The hog I killed at 
 my farm was diseased, and I had to throw the meat away. Not- 
 withstanding our constant work for BidwelPs family, they never 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 93 
 
 gave us a drop of milk or a meal of victuals while we remained 
 there. Mrs. Bidwell fed six gallons of milk to their hogs each 
 day. I offered to feed the hogs corn for milk, so we could have 
 milk to eat with our boiled corn, but she refused the offer, say- 
 ing they had all they needed. They did have provisions of 
 every kind in abundance, but not a particle of food could we 
 obtain from them. Prayer meetings were frequently held at 
 their house. They had plenty of tallow, but Mrs. Bidwell would 
 not allow a candle to be burned in the house unless some other 
 person furnished it. One night at prayer meeting I chanced to 
 speak upon the subject of covetuousness, and quoted the twelfth 
 chapter of Paul to the Corinthians, where he speaks of mem- 
 bers of the Church of Christ being united. I was feeling badly 
 to see so much of the covetuousness of the world in some of 
 the members of the Church, and I talked quite plainly upon the 
 subject. The next morning Mrs. Bidwell came into our room 
 and said that my remarks at the meeting the evening before 
 were directed at her, and she wanted me to understand that if 
 I did not like my treatment there, she wanted us to go where 
 we would fare better. This inhuman and unwelcome language 
 did not set well on an empty stomach, and was more than I 
 could bear. I burst into tears. Yet I pitied the ungrateful 
 woman. As soon as I could control my feelings I said, " Sister 
 Bidwell, I will take you at your word. I will leave your house 
 as soon as I can get my things into my wagon, but before I 
 leave you, I wish to say a few words for you to ponder on when 
 we are gone. In the first place, you and I profess to be mem- 
 bers of the same Church ; for the sake of our faith my family 
 has been broken up and driven from a comfortable home, in 
 this inclement season of the year. We came here seeking shel- 
 ter from the stormy blasts of winter, until the severity of the 
 weather was past, when we intended to leave this State. You have 
 been more fortunate than your brethren and sisters who lived in 
 Daviess County. You are allowed to live in your own house, 
 but we are homeless wanderers. Now you drive us from the 
 shelter of your roof, for a trivial offense, if offense it was. But 
 I assure you that you are only angry because my words were 
 the truth. Woe unto you who are angry and offended at the 
 truth. As you do unto others, so will your Heavenly Father do 
 unto you. In as much as yon have done this unnatural act, 
 
94 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 you will yet be houseless and homeless you will be one day de- 
 pendent upon those that you now drive from your door." 
 
 At first she mocked me, but soon her tune changed and she 
 commenced to cry. She then begged me not to get angry with 
 what a woman said. I told her I could not undo what I had 
 said that I should start at once for Quincy, Illinois. We left the 
 house of the stingy and selfish family, intending to go direct to 
 Illinois. We traveled until we arrived at the house of a man by 
 the name of Morris ; they had a much smaller house than Bid- 
 well's, but they would not listen to our continuing our journey 
 during the severe cold weather. We accepted their invitation, 
 and stayed there about twp weeks. This family possessed the 
 true Christian spirit, and treated us while there as kindly as if 
 we had been their own children. While staying with Brother 
 Morris I attended several meetings at Far West. Old Father 
 Smith, the father of the Prophet, lead the meetings. He also 
 directed the exodus of the Saints from Missouri to Illinois. 
 Thomas B. Marsh was at that time President of the Twelve 
 Apostles, and I think Brigham Young was second and Orson 
 Hyde the third on the roll. The great opposition to our people 
 and Church caused the two pillars, Marsh and Hyde, to become 
 weak-kneed and turn over to the enemy. Col. G. M. Hinkle, 
 Dr. Averard, Judge W. W. Phelps, and others of the tall men 
 of the Church followed suit. I remember going with Levi 
 Stewart to some of those fallen angels (in the days of our pros- 
 perity they had looked like angels to me) to enquire what to do 
 and what was to be the future conduct of our people. G. M. 
 Hinkle said that it was his opinion our leaders, Joseph Smith and 
 those with him in prison, would be either hung or imprisoned 
 for life that the members of the Church would scatter to the 
 four winds, and never gather again in this dispensation. We 
 then went to Joseph's father and asked him for counsel. He 
 told us that the Saints would gather again in Illinois. We 
 asked him at what point. He said, " I do not know yet, but the 
 farther north we go the less poisonous serpents we will find." 
 He then advised us to attend private meetings and be set apart 
 to the ministry. Public meetings could not be held by the terms 
 of the treaty. We did attend private meetings, and I was or- 
 dained in the Quorum of Seventies, under the hands of Joseph 
 Young and Levi Hancock. Stewart was ordained to the lesser 
 priesthood, which gave him authority to preach and baptize, but 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 95 
 
 not to confirm. The office that I held gave me authority to 
 preach, baptize and confirm by the laying on of hands, for the 
 reception of the Holy Ghost, and to ordain and set apart Elders, 
 Priests, Teachers and Deacons, and to ordain a Seventy or High 
 Priest, as the office of a Seventy belongs to the Melchisedek 
 Priesthood ; yet a Seventy or High Priest is generally ordained 
 and set apart by the presidents of the several quorums. After 
 we were ordained we attended a private feast and blessing meet- 
 ing, at which my wife and I got our Patriarchal Blessing, under 
 the hands of Isaac Morley, Patriarch. This office properly be- 
 longs to those that are ordained and set apart to that calling, to 
 bless the fatherless and the widow especially, but he can bless 
 others who ask it and pay one dollar for the blessing. Often the 
 widow and the poor are blessed free, but this is at the option of 
 the Patriarch. 
 
 My Patriarchal Blessing was in the following form: "Patri- 
 archal Blessing of John D. Lee. By Isaac Morley, Patriarch. 
 Caldwell County, Missouri, Dec. , 1838. Brother John D. 
 Lee : In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, and by virtue and au- 
 thority of the Holy Priesthood, in me vested, I lay my hands 
 upon thy head, and confer upon thee a Patriarchal or Father's 
 Blessing. Thou art of Ephraim, through the loins of Joseph, 
 that was sold in Egypt. And inasmuch as thou hast obeyed the 
 requirements of the gospel of salvation, thy sins are forgiven 
 thee. Thy name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, never 
 more to be blotted out. Thou art a lawful heir to all the bless- 
 ings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the new and everlasting 
 covenant. Thou shalt travel until thou art satisfied with see- 
 ing. Thousands shall hear the everlasting gospel proclaimed 
 from thy lips. Kings and princes shall acknowledge thee to be 
 their father in the new and everlasting covenant. Thou shalt 
 have a numerous posterity, who shall rise up and bless thee. 
 Thou shalt have houses and habitations, flocks, fields and herds. 
 Thy table shall be strewed with the rich luxuries of the earth, to 
 feed thy numerous family and friends who shall come unto thee. 
 Thou shalt be a counselor in Israel, and many shall come unto 
 thee for instruction. Thou shalt have power over thine ene- 
 mies. They that oppose thee shall yet come bending unto thee. 
 Thou shalt sit under thine own vine and fig tree, where none 
 shall molest or make thee afraid. Thou shalt be a blessing to thy 
 family and to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 
 
96 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 Thou shalt understand the hidden things of the kingdom of 
 heaven. The spirit of inspiration shall be a light in thy path 
 and a guide to thy mind. Thou shalt come forth in the morn- 
 ing of the first resurrection, and NO POWER shall hinder, except 
 the shedding of innocent blood, or consenting thereto. I seal 
 thee up to eternal life. In the name of the Father, and of the 
 Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen, and Amen." 
 
 To a true believer in the faith of the Latter Day Saints a 
 blessing of this kind, from under the hand of a Patriarch, was 
 then, and is now, considered next to a boon of eternal life. We 
 were taught to look upon a Patriarch as a man highly favored of 
 God, and that he possessed the gift of discerning of spirits and 
 could read the present and future destiny of men. Of all this I 
 then had no doubt. 
 
 Patriarchal blessings are intended to strengthen, stimulate 
 and encourage true Saints, and induce them to press on to per- 
 fection while passing through this world of sorrows, cares and 
 disappointments. 
 
 Having been ordained and blessed, my next step was to arm 
 myself with the Armor of Righteousness, and in my weakness 
 pray for strength to face a frowning world. I had put my hands 
 to the plow and I was determined that, with God's help, I would 
 never turn back to the sinful elements of the world, the flesh and 
 the devil. 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 
 THE SAINTS GATHER AT NAUVOO. 
 
 ABOUT the middle of February, 1839, I started back for 
 Fayette County, Illinois, with my family, in company with 
 Levi Stewart and Riley Helm, two of my old Illinois neighbors. 
 While traveling through Missouri we were kindly treated by 
 most of the people ; many of them requested us to stop and set- 
 tle down by them. I refused to do so, for I knew there was no 
 safety for a true Saint in that State, at that time. When we 
 crossed the Mississippi River at Quincy, and touched Illinois 
 soil, I felt like a new man, and a free American citizen again. 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 97 
 
 At this place I found many of the Saints who had preceded us, 
 camped along the river. Some had obtained employment, all 
 appeared happy in the faith and strong in the determination to 
 build up the Kingdom. Here I parted with Riley Helm, his 
 team had given out, and he could go no farther. I gave him 
 twenty-five cents in money, all that I had in the world, and 
 twelve pounds of nails, to buy food with until he could find aid 
 from some other quarter. I had laid in enough provisions at 
 Brother Morris* to last me until I could reach my old home 
 again. 
 
 I started from Quincy by way of Mr. Vanleven's, the man I 
 sold my cattle to when going to join the Saints. Without meet- 
 ing with any remarkable adventures, I arrived at Vanleven's 
 house and was kindly received by him. He had the money 
 ready for me, and paid me in full all he owed on the cattle. I 
 now saw that some honesty yet remained in the world. I took 
 $200 and left the rest of it with my friend and banker, so that it 
 would be safe in case I met another storm of oppression. 
 
 I then went to Vandalia, Illinois, and put up with my wife's 
 sister's husband, Hickerson. He was in good circumstances. 
 I left my wife with her sister, after laying in a supply of provis- 
 ions for her and our child. I then commenced preparing for a 
 mission. I did not know where I was to go, but I felt it my duty 
 to go forth and give my testimony to the truth of the Gospel as 
 revealed by Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the everlasting God. 
 Stewart was to go with me ; he had made arrangements for the 
 comfort of his family during his absence. 
 
 I started on my first mission about the 1st of April, 1839. I 
 bade adieu to my little family and started forth, an illiterate, 
 inexperienced person, without purse or scrip. I could hardly 
 quote a passage of Scripture, yet I went forth to say to the world 
 that I was a minister of the gospel, bearing a message from on 
 high, with the authority to call upon all men to repent, be bap- 
 tized for the remission of their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit 
 by the laying on of hands. I had never attempted to preach a 
 discourse in my life. I expected trials, and I had them to un- 
 dergo many times. 
 
 Brother Stewart and myself started forth on foot, with our va- 
 lises on our backs. We walked about thirty miles the first day, 
 and as night was approaching, we called at a house for lodging. 
 They had been having a log rolling there that day, and quite a 
 7 
 
98 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 number of people were around the house. We asked for lodging 
 and refreshments. Our request was carried back to the supper- 
 room to the man of the house, and we stood at the gate awaiting 
 the reply. Presently the man came out and said that no d d 
 Mormon preacher could stay in his house ; and if we wished to 
 save our scalps, we had better be making tracks lively. Brother 
 Stewart took him at his word, and started off at a double quick. 
 I followed, but more slowly. We made no reply to that man's 
 remarks. 
 
 A mile further on we again called for lodging. The man 
 could not keep us, as he was poor, and his family was sick ; but 
 he directed us to a house half a mile from the traveled road, 
 where he said a man lived that was an infidel, but he would not 
 turn a hungry man from his door. We went to the house, and 
 asked for entertainment. The man said he never turned a man 
 from his door hungry, but he had as soon entertain horse-thieves 
 as Mormon preachers; that he looked upon all Mormons as 
 thieves, robbers and scoundrels. There was determination in 
 his voice as he addressed us in this manner. He held his rifle 
 in his hand while speaking. Then he said, "Walk in, gentle- 
 men. I never turn the hungry away." He then addressed his 
 wife, a very pretty, unassuming lady, and said, "Get these men 
 some supper, for I suppose they feel pretty lank." 
 
 A good supper was soon on the table ; but I could not eat. 
 Stewart ate his supper, and soon was enjoying himself talking 
 to the family. He was a great talker; liked to hear himself 
 talk. They requested me to eat, but I thanked them, and said 
 rest would do me more good than eating. I soon retired, but 
 did not sleep. I was humiliated ; my proud spirit was broken 
 and humbled ; the rough words used toward me had stricken me 
 to the heart. At daylight we were on our way again. 
 
 About ten o'clock we arrived at a little town, and went to 
 the pump to get a drink. While there a woman came to the 
 pump, and asked us if we were Mormon preachers. We told 
 her we were out on that business, but had never preached yet. 
 She invited us to her house, saying she owned the hotel ; that 
 she was a widow ; she would inform the people of the town that 
 we were there, and as it was the Sabbath, we could preach in 
 her house ; for she wished to hear the strange doctrine. We 
 consented to remain, and went home with her and had some- 
 thing to eat. At eleven oclock, A. M., I made my debut to 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 99 
 
 quite an attentive audience. I both quoted and mide Scrip- 
 ture. I had been fasting and praying until I had become as 
 humble as a child. My whole mind and soul were swallowed up 
 in the Gospel. My most earnest desire was to be able to im- 
 part to others that knowledge that I had of the truths of the 
 Gospel. When I began to speak I felt an electric thrill through 
 my whole system. I hardly knew what I said, and the people 
 said I spoke from inspiration ; and none of the audience noticed 
 my mistakes in quoting Scripture. 
 
 After dinner my companion, Stewart, proposed to travel on, 
 and I agreeing with him, we left the town, although the people 
 wished us to stay and preach again. I had but little confidence 
 in myself, and concluded to preach but seldom, until I got 
 over my timidity or man-fearing feeling that most new begin- 
 ners are subject to. But I have now been a public speaker for 
 thirty-five years, and I have not yet entirely gotten over that 
 feeling. 
 
 We started for Cincinnati, and traveled two days and a half 
 without food. My boots hurt my feet and our progress was 
 quite slow. The third night we applied to a tavern keeper for 
 lodging and food. He said we were welcome to stay in his house 
 free, but he must have pay for what we eat. We sat in the 
 hall all night, for we were much reduced by hunger and fatigue. 
 That was a miserable night indeed. I reflected the matter over 
 and over again, scrutinized it up one side and down the other. 
 I could not see why a servant of God should receive such treat- 
 ment that if I was in the right faith, doing the will of God, 
 that He would open up the way before me, and not allow me to 
 perish under the sore trials then surrounding me. I had seri- 
 ously considered the propriety of walking back to where the 
 kind landlady had given us our last meal, but was soon comfort- 
 ed, for these words came into my mind, " He that putteth his 
 hands to the plow, and then looketh back, is not fit for the King- 
 dom of Heaven;" " If ye were of the world, then the world 
 would love its own, but because I have chosen you out of the 
 world, the world persecuteth you ;" " Ye, and all who live God- 
 ly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution, while evil men and 
 seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being de - 
 ceived;" that the Son of God himself, when he entered upon 
 the duties of His mission, was led into the wilderness, where He 
 was tempted forty days and nights, and when he was hungry and 
 
100 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 asked for bread, he was told, substantially, that if his mission 
 was of God, that God would feed him, that if hungry he could 
 turn the stones to bread and eat. I remembered that similar 
 sayings had been thrown into our teeth. These thoughts passed 
 through my frame like electricity, or to use the language of one 
 of the old prophets, it was like fire shut up in my bones ; I felt 
 renewed and refreshed from head to foot, and determined to 
 trust in that Arm that could not be broken, to conquer and sub- 
 due the passions of my nature, and by the help of God to try 
 and bring them in subjection to the will of the Spirit, and not of 
 the flesh, which is carnal, sensual and devilish. I determined 
 that there should be no lack on my part. 
 
 Daylight came at last, and we renewed our journey. I put a 
 double guard over my evil passions that were sown thickly in 
 my sinful nature. The passion most dreaded by me was the lust 
 of the flesh ; that I knew to be the worst enemy to my salvation, 
 and I determined to master it. I have walked along in silence 
 for hours, with my heart lifted up to God in prayer, pleading 
 with Him to give me power over my passions and sinful desires, 
 that I might conquer and drive from my mind those besetting 
 sins that were continually warring with the Spirit, which, if 
 cherished or suffered to remain, would wound and grieve the 
 Spirit and drive it away. It is written, "My Spirit will not dwell 
 in an unholy temple." Jesus said to his followers that they 
 were the Temple of the Living God ; that if they who had charge 
 of those temples, or bodies, allowed them to become unholy, 
 that he would destroy that body ; but those who guarded their 
 temples, and kept them pure and holy, that he and his Father 
 would come and take up their abode and dwell with them as a 
 constant companion forever, even unto the end; and would 
 guide them in all truth and show them things past, present and 
 to come. From day to day I have kept my mind in a constant 
 strain upon this subject. Notwithstanding this the tempter was 
 ever on the alert, and contested every inch of ground with me. 
 Often, while I was in the most solemn reflections, the tempter 
 would place before me some lovely female, possessing all the al- 
 lurements of her sex, to draw my mind from the contemplation of 
 holy things. For a moment humanity would claim the victory, 
 but quick as thought I would banish the vision from my mind, 
 and plead with God for strength and power to resist the tempta- 
 tions that were besetting me, and to enable me to cast aside the 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 101 
 
 love of sinful pleasures. The words of the Apostle Paul were 
 appropriate for me at that and in future time, when he de- 
 clared that he died daily to crucify the deeds of the flesh ; so it 
 was with me. I was soon convinced that I could not serve two 
 masters, God and Mammon. When I tried to please the one I 
 was certain to displease the other. I found that I must give 
 myself up wholly to God and His ministry, and conduct myself 
 as a man of God, if I would be worthy of the name of a mes- 
 senger of salvation. I must have the Spirit of God to accompa- 
 ny my words, and carry conviction to the honest in heart. In 
 this way I grew in grace from day to day, and I have never seen 
 the day that I regretted taking up my cross and giving up all 
 other things to follow and obey Christ, my Redeemer and 
 Friend. 
 
 But I do most sincerely regret that I have ever suffered my- 
 self to be captivated by the wiles of the devil, contrary to my 
 better judgment. I regret that I have ve& listened, or given 
 the least credence, to the many monstrous absurdities that 
 Brigham Young has introduced into the Mormon creed, and 
 claimed, as the successor of Joseph Smith, to have coupled with 
 the gospel of Jesus Christ. Brigham Young has introduced 
 many things that have no affinity with the gospel whatever ; but 
 these new doctrines are contrary, in spirit and substance, to the 
 gospel. They are at war with the doctrines of the Church, and 
 antagonistic to the peace, safety, and happiness of the people 
 known as Latter Day Saints. The whole study, aim, and design 
 of Brigham Young is to disrobe the Saints of every vestige of 
 their remaining constitutional rights, and take from them all 
 liberty of thought or conscience. He claims, and has claimed, 
 ince he became the head of the Church, that the will and acts 
 of the people must all be dictated by him. The people have no 
 right to exercise any will of their own. In a word, he makes 
 himself out to be as infallible as the God of the universe, and 
 delights in hearing the apostles and elders declare to the people 
 that he, Brigham Young, is God. He claims that the people are 
 answerable to him as to their God. That they must obey his 
 every beck and call. It matters not what he commands or re- 
 quests the people to do, it is their duty to hear and obey. To 
 disobey the will of Brigham Young is, in his mind, a sin against 
 the Holy Ghost, and is an unpardonable sin to be wiped out 
 only by blood atonement. The followers of Brigham Young 
 
102 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 are serfs, slaves, and willing instruments to carry out the selfish 
 designs of the man that disgraces the seat once occupied by 
 God's chosen Prophet, Joseph Smith. 
 
 I must now resume my narrative, but I will hereafter speak of 
 Brigham Young more at length. 
 
 We left the Fasting Hotel, as I called it, and traveled to 
 Hamilton, Ohio, then a neat little town. As we arrived in the 
 center of the town, I felt impressed to call at a restaurant, kept 
 by a foreigner. It was then noon. This was the first house 
 we had called at since morning. As we entered, the pro- 
 prietor requested us to unstrap our valises and sit down and 
 rest, saying we looked very tired. He asked where we were 
 from, and where we were going. We answered all his questions. 
 He then offered us refreshments ; we informed him that we had 
 no money, and had eaten nothing for three days. He said it 
 made no difference to him, that if we had no money we were 
 more welcome than jf we had plenty of it. We then eat a hearty 
 meal, and he gave us a drink of cider. He then filled our knap- 
 sacks with buns, cheese, sausages, and other things, after which 
 he bid us God speed. We traveled on with hearts full of grati- 
 tude to God, the bountiful Giver, who had opened the heart of 
 the stranger who had just supplied our wants, and we felt grate- 
 ful to and blessed the man for his generous actions. While 
 passing through Cincinnati we were offered refreshments by a 
 lady that kept an inn. We crossed the Ohio river at Cincinnati, 
 and stopped over night at a hotel on the Kentucky side of the 
 river. We then traveled through Kentucky and into Overton 
 and Jackson Counties, Tennessee. 
 
 I now bear testimony, though many years have passed since 
 then, that from the moment that I renewed my covenant to deny 
 myself of all unrighteousness, and decided to live the life of a 
 man devoted to God's work on earth, I have never felt that I 
 was alone, or without a Friend powerful to aid, direct and shield 
 me at all times and during all troubles. 
 
 I stopped with my friend Levi Stweart at the houses of his 
 relatives in Overton and Jackson Counties, and preached several 
 times. My friend Stewart was blessed with a large bump of 
 self-esteem. He imagined that he could convert all of his rela- 
 tions at once ; that all he had to do was to present the gospel, 
 and they would gladly embrace it. He appeared to forget that 
 a prophet was not without honor, save in his own country and 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 103 
 
 among his own kinfolks. Stewart, though I was his superior in 
 the priesthood, if not in experience and ability, looked upon me 
 as a cypher, fit for nothing. The rough treatment and slights 
 that I received from him were more than humiliating to a man 
 of fine feelings and a proud spirit, such as I possessed. I said 
 nothing to him, but I poured out my soul in secret prayer to my 
 Heavenly Father, asking him to open the door for my deliver- 
 ance, so that my proud spirit, which was bound down, might 
 have a chance to soar in a free element. 
 
 One Sunday we attended a Baptist meeting. We sat facing 
 the preacher, but at the far side of the house. My mind was 
 absorbed in meditating upon my future labors. Gradually I lost 
 consciousness of my surroundings, and my whole being seemed 
 in another locality. I was in a trance and saw future events. 
 What I then saw was to me a reality, and I will describe it as 
 such. I traveled, valise in hand, in a strange land, and among 
 a people that I had never seen. I was kindly received by the 
 people, and all my wants were supplied without ray having to 
 ask for charity. I traveled on, going over a mountainous coun- 
 try. I crossed a clear, handsome river, and was kindly received 
 by the family of the owner of the ferry at the river. I stayed 
 with this family for some days. I then recrossed the river and 
 called at a house, where I asked for a drink of water, which was 
 >given to me. I held quite a conversation with two young 
 women. They informed me that there was no minister in the 
 neighborhood ; also that their father had gone in pursuit of a 
 Mormon preacher that had passed that way a few days before. 
 A few days passed, and I saw myself in the midst of a large 
 congregation, to whom I was preaching. 1 also baptized a large 
 number and organized quite a flourishing branch of the Church 
 there, and was in charge of that people. I was very popular 
 with, and almost worshiped by, my congregation. I saw all this, 
 and much more, when my vision closed. 
 
 My mind gradually changed back, and I found myself sitting 
 in the meeting house, where I had been just forty minutes be- 
 fore. This was an open day vision, in which the curtains of 
 heaven were raised and held aside from futurity to allow me to 
 look into the things which were to come. A feeling of heavenly 
 rapture filled my being, so much so that, like the apostle who 
 was caught up into the third heaven, I did not know whether I 
 was in the body or out of it during my vision. I saw things 
 
104 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 that it would be unlawful for men to utter. While the vision 
 lasted my soul was lighted up as if illuminated with the 
 candle of God. When the vision closed, the hallowed influ- 
 ence gradually withdrew ; yet leaving sufficient of its glorious 
 influence upon my soul to justify me in frying and knowing 
 that I was then chosen of God as a servant in his earthly 
 kingdom ; and I was also made to know, by my sensations, 
 that my vision was real, and would soon be verified in every 
 particular. 
 
 At the close of the church services, we returned to our lodg- 
 ings. Stewart asked me if I was sick. I said, "No, I am not 
 sick, but I feel serious ; yet I am comfortable." That evening, 
 after I had given some time to secret prayer, I retired to rest. 
 Very soon afterwards the vision returned, though somewhat va- 
 ried. I was in the midst of a strange people, to whom I was 
 propounding the gospel. They received it with honest hearts, 
 and looked upon me as a messenger of salvation. I visited from 
 house to house, surrounded by friends and kindred spirits, with 
 whom I had once been familiar in another state of existence. I 
 was in the spirit, and communing with the host of spirits that 
 surrounded me ; and encouraged me to return to the body, and 
 continue to act the part that my Master had assigned me. No 
 person, except those who have entered by pureness of heart and 
 constant communion with God, can ever enter into the joyous 
 host, with whom I then, and in after life, held intercourse. 
 
 When I came to myself in the morning, I determined to trav- 
 el until the end of time, to find the people and country that God 
 had shown me in my first vision ; and I made my arrangements 
 to start forth again, knowing that God now went with me. 
 
 I started off the next morning, after having a talk with Brother 
 Stewart. He tried to dissuade me from going, saying I had 
 little experience, not sufficient to warrant my traveling alone, 
 that we had better remain together where we were for a season, 
 for we had a home there, and we could study and inform our- 
 selves more thoroughly before starting out among strangers. I 
 told him that, in and of my own strength I was but a weak vessel ; 
 but my trust was in God, and unless He would bless my labors 
 I could not accomplish much. That I was God's servant, en- 
 gaged in His work, therefore I looked to Him for strength and 
 grace sufficient to sustain me in my day of trial. That I trusted 
 in the arm of God alone, and not in one of flesh. 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 105 
 
 I started off in a southwesterly course, over the Cumberland 
 Mountains, and went about seventy miles through a heavily 
 timbered country. I found many species of wild fruit in abun- 
 dance along the way. Springs of pure, cold water were quite 
 common. I passed many little farms and orchards of cultivated 
 fruit, such as cherries, peaches, pears and apples. As I pro- 
 ceeded, the country became familiar to me, so much so that I 
 soon knew I was on the very ground I had seen in my vision in 
 the Baptist Church. I saw the place where I had held my first 
 meeting, and my joy was great to behold with my eyes what I 
 had seen through a glass darkly. I turned aside from the road, 
 and beneath the spreading branches of the forest trees I lifted 
 my heart with gratitude to God for what he had done for me. I 
 then went to the house where I had seen the multitude assem- 
 ble, and where I was preaching. I saw the two young ladies 
 there that I had beheld in my vision. They appeared to me as 
 though I had known them from infancy., they so perfectly ac- 
 corded with those that I had seen while God permitted me to 
 see into futurity. Yes, I saw the ladies, bv.t their father was 
 gone from home. I asked for a drink of water, and it was 
 handed to me, as I had seen it done in my vision. I asked 
 them if there had ever been any Mormon preachers in that 
 country. They said there had not been any there. The young 
 ladies were modest and genteel in behavior. 
 
 I passed on to the Cumberland River, was set over the river 
 by the ferryman, and lodged at his house. So far all was natu- 
 ral, it was part of what God had shown me ; but I was then at 
 the outer edge of my familiar scenery. I stayed about a week 
 with the ferryman. His name was Vanleven, a relative of my 
 friend and banker in Illinois. I made myself useful while there. 
 I attended the ferry, and did such work as I could see needed 
 attending to. I also read and preached Mormon doctrines to the 
 family. On the fifth day after reaching the ferry, I saw five men 
 coming to the ferry. I instantly recognized one of them as the 
 man I had seen in my vision the man that took me to his 
 house to preach. My heart leaped for joy, for God had sent 
 him in answer to the prayers I had offered to God, asking that 
 the man should be sent for me. I crossed the men over and 
 back again, and although I talked considerably to the man about 
 what was uppermost in my mind, he said nothing about 
 my going home with him. I was much disappointed. I retired 
 
106 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 for secret prayer, and asked God, in the name of His Son Jesus 
 Christ, to aid me, to send the man whom I had seen in my vision 
 back for me. Before I left my knees I had an evidence that 
 my prayer was answered. The next morning at daylight I in- 
 formed my friends that I must depart in search of my field of 
 labor. They asked me to stay until breakfast, but I refused. 
 One of the negroes put me over the river, and directed me how 
 to cross the mountains on the trail that was much shorter than 
 the wagon road. I stopped in a little cove and ate a number of 
 fine, ripe cherries. I then went on until I reached what to me 
 was enchanted ground. I met the two sisters at the gate, and 
 asked them if their father was at home. "No, he is not at 
 home," said the ladies, " he has gone to the ferry to see a Mor- 
 mon preacher, and see if he can get him to come here and preach 
 in this neighborhood," and then said I must have met him on 
 the road. I told them that I had come over the trail, and said 
 I was probably the man he had gone for. They replied, " Our 
 father said that if you came this way, to have you stop and stay 
 here until his return, and to tell you that you are welcome to 
 preach at our house at any time." This was on Friday. I took 
 out my pencil and wrote a notice that I would preach at that 
 place on the following Sunday, at ten o'clock, A. M. I handed 
 it to the girls. They agreed to have the appointment circulated. 
 I passed on and preached at a place twelve miles from there, 
 and returned in time for my appointment. When I arrived 
 within sight of the place of meeting, .1 was filled with doubt and 
 anxiety. I trembled all over, for I saw that a vast concourse of 
 people had come to hear an inexperienced man preach the gos- 
 pel. I went into the grove and again prayed for strength and 
 assistance from my Father in Heaven, to enable me to speak His 
 truth aright. I felt strengthened and comforted. As I arose 
 from prayer, these words came into my mind, " Truth is 
 mighty and will prevail." 
 
 I waited until the hour arrived for preaching ; then I ap- 
 proached the place where I had once been in a vision. This 
 meeting-place was in a valley, near a bold, pure spring ; on 
 either side was a high, elevated country ; in the centre of this 
 valley there stood a large blacksmith and wagon shop, surround- 
 ed with a bower of brush wood, to protect the audience from the 
 sun. This bower would seat one thousand people. In the cen- 
 tre of the bower thev had erected a frame work or raised plat- 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 107 
 
 form for a pulpit. I took my place and preached for one hour 
 and a half. My tongue was like the pen of a ready writer. I 
 scarcely knew what I was saying. I then opened the doors of 
 the Church for the admission of members. Five persons joined 
 the Church, and I appointed another meeting for that night. I 
 again preached, when two more joined the Church. The next 
 day I baptized the seven new members. I then arranged to 
 hold meetings at that place three times a week. I visited around 
 the country, seeking to convert sinners, while not engaged at thia 
 place. The first converts were leading people in that county. 
 Elisha Sanders and his wife and daughter were the first to receive 
 the gospel. Sanders was a farmer ; he had a large flouring mill, 
 owned a wood yard, and was engaged in boat-building on the 
 Cumberland River. Caroline C. Sanders had volunteered to 
 publish the appointment of my first meeting, which I left with 
 the daughters of Mr. Smith. 
 
 I labored at this place two months, and baptized twenty-eight 
 persons, mostly the heads of families. I then organized them 
 into a branch of the Church. Brother Sanders fitted up a room 1 
 very handsomely for me, in which I could retire for study, rest 
 and secret prayer. I was made to feel at home there, and felt 
 that God .had quite fully answered my prayers. I had the 
 knowledge that God's Spirit accompanied my words, carrying 
 conviction to the hearts of sinful hearers, and gave me souls a 
 seals to my ministry. 
 
 Brother Stewart soon preached himself out at his relatives* 
 neighborhood. He heard of my success, and came to me. He 
 said that the people where he had been preaching were an unbe- 
 lieving set. I introduced him to the members of my congrega- 
 tion, and had him preach with me a few times, which gratified- 
 him very much. One Sunday we were to administer the Ordi- 
 nance of Baptism. Several candidates were in attendance. 
 Brother Stewart was quite anxious to baptize the people. I was 
 willing to humor him. So I said, * My friends, Brother Stewart, 
 a priest of the New Dispensation, will administer the Ordinance 
 of Baptism." The people stood still; no one would go forward 
 or consent for him to baptize them. They said they would not 
 be baptized until I would baptize them myself. I told them I 
 would act if they desired it. So I baptized the people, and' 
 Brother Stewart was much offended with them. He had not 
 vet learned that he that exalteth himself shall be cast down* 
 
108 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. I then called on 
 the people for a contribution, to get some clothing for Brother 
 Stewart. I had concluded to have him return home, and wished 
 to clothe him up before he started, for he was then quite in need 
 of it. The contribution was more liberal than I expected. 
 
 I stayed there some three weeks after Brother Stewart had 
 started for home. Then I made up my mind to go home and 
 visit my family. Brother E. Sanders invited me to go to Gains- 
 borough with him, where he presented me with a nice supply of 
 clothing. Caroline C. Sanders presented me with a fine horse, 
 saddle and bridle, and $12 in money. The congregation gave 
 me $50, and I had from them an outfit worth over $300. I at 
 first refused to accept the horse, but Miss Sanders appeared so 
 grieved at this that I finally took it. I left my congregation in 
 charge of Elder Julien Moses, and started for my family about 
 the 1st of October, 1839. I promised to call on my flock the 
 next Spring, or to send a suitable minister to wait upon them. 
 
 When I reached Vandalia, Illinois, I found my family well. 
 God had raised up friends for them in my absence. The Saints 
 were then gathering at Commerce, Hancock County, Illinois. I 
 visited my sister's family that Fall ; they then lived about one 
 hundred miles north of Vandalia. I preached often through 
 Central Illinois, and that Fall I baptized all of my wife's family, 
 except her father. He held out and refused the gospel until he 
 was on his death bed ; then he demanded baptism, but being in 
 a country place he died before an elder could be procured to 
 baptize him. But by the rules of our Church a person can lie 
 baptized for the dead, and so lie was saved to eternal life by the 
 baptism of one of his children for the salvation of his soul. 
 
CHAPTER VTIL 
 
 LEE CONTINUES HIS MISSIONARY WORK. 
 
 Ql HORTLY after my return to Illinois, I built a house for my 
 
 family, and that Winter assisted my brother-in-law, Richard 
 Woolsey, to do his work in the blacksmith shop. I sometimes 
 visited my wife's sister Nancy and family. They lived on the 
 Four-Mile Prairie, in Fayette County, Illinois. Nancy had 
 married a man named Thomas Gatewood ; he was known in that 
 county as young Tom, as his father's name was Thomas. Nancy 
 was the second wife of young Tom. His first wife left one child, 
 a boy ; he was quite a lad then, and very chubby. The people 
 when speaking of the Gatewood family, would designate them in 
 this way, " Old Tom," " Young Tom," and " Tom Body," and 
 
 1 understand this name stuck to them for many years. 
 
 During the Winter I entered into a trading and trafficking 
 business with G. W. Hickerson. We would go over the country 
 and buy up chickens, butter, feathers, beeswax, coon skins, etc., 
 and haul them to St. Louis, and carry back calicoes and other 
 goods in payment for the articles first purchased. We made 
 some money that way. While carrying on this trade I drew the 
 remainder of my money from my friend, Vanleven, and began 
 my preparations for again joining the Saints at Nauvoo. About 
 the middle of April, 1840, I succeeded in securing a good out- 
 fit, and with my old friend Stewart, again joined the Saints at 
 Nauvoo. I felt it to be God's will that I must obey the orders 
 of the Prophet, hence my return to the society of the brethren. 
 
 Joseph Smith, and his two counselors, his brother Hyrum and 
 Sidney Rigdon, had been released from jail in Richmond, Mis- 
 souri, and were again at the head of the Church, and directing 
 the energies of the brethren. It was the policy of Joseph Smith 
 to hold the city lots in Nauvoo at a high price, so as to draw 
 money from the rich, but not so high as to prevent the poor from 
 obtaining homes. The poor who lost all their property in follow- 
 ing the Church, were presented with a lot free, in the center of 
 
 109 
 
110 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 the city. The Prophet told them not to sell their lots for less 
 than $800 to $1,000, but to sell for that when offered, then they 
 could take a cheaper lot in the outskirts of the city, and have 
 the money to fix up comfortably. All classes, Jews and Gen- 
 tiles, were allowed to settle there, one man's money was as good 
 as another. No restrictions were then placed on the people ; 
 they had the right to trade with any one that suited them. All 
 classes attended meetings, dances, theatres, and other gather- 
 ings, and were permitted to eat and drink together. The out- 
 siders were invited to join in all of our amusements. Ball was a 
 favorite sport with the men, and the Prophet frequently took a 
 hand in the sport. He appeared to treat all men alike, and 
 never condemned a man until he had given him a fair trial to 
 learn what was in him. 
 
 Among the first things done was the laying of the foundation 
 of the Temple. When this was done each man was required to 
 do one day's work in every ten days, in quarrying rock or doing 
 other work for the Temple. A company was sent up the Mis- 
 sissippi River to the Pineries to get out lumber for the Temple 
 and other public buildings. The money for city lots went into 
 the Church treasury to purchase materials for the Temple, 
 which could not be supplied by the Saints* own labor. 
 
 At the conference in April, 1840, the Prophet delivered a 
 lengthy address upon the history and condition of the Saints. 
 He reminded the brethren that all had suffered alike for the sake 
 of the gospel. The rich and the poor had been brought to a 
 common level by persecution ; that many of the brethren were 
 owing debts that they had been forced to contract in order to 
 get out of Missouri alive. He considered it was unchristian-like 
 for the brethren to demand the payment of such debts ; that he 
 did not wish to screen any one from the just payment of his 
 debts, but he did think that it would be for the glory of the 
 kingdom if the people would, of their own will, freely forgive 
 each other for all their existing indebtedness, one to the other, 
 then renew their covenants with Almighty God and with each 
 Bother; refrain from evil, and live their religion; by this means, 
 God's Holy Spirit would support and bless the people. The 
 people were then asked if they were in favor of thus bringing 
 about the year of jubilee. All that felt so inclined were asked 
 to make it known by raising their hands ; every hand in the 
 -audience was raised. The Prophet then declared all debts of the 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. HI 
 
 Saints, to and from each other, forgiven and wiped out. He 
 then gave the following words of advice to the people : "I wish 
 you all to know that because you were justified in taking prop- 
 erty from your enemies while engaged in war in Missouri, 
 which was needed to support you, there is now a different con- 
 dition of things existing. We are no longer at war, and you 
 must stop stealing. When the right time comes we will go in 
 force and take the whole State of Missouri. It belongs to us as 
 our inheritance ; but I want no more petty stealing. A man that 
 will steal petty articles from his enemies, will, when occasion 
 offers, steal from his brethren too. Now I command you that you 
 that have stolen, must steal no more. I ask all the brethren to 
 now renew their covenants and start anew to live their reli- 
 gion. If you will do this, and you will forgive my faults, I will 
 forgive you your past sins." The vote was taken on this prop- 
 osition, and resulted in the unanimous decision of the people 
 to act as requested by the Prophet. 
 
 He then continued, saying that he never professed to be a 
 perfect man. Said he, "I have my failings and passions to 
 contend with the same as the greatest stranger to God has. I 
 am tempted the same as you are, my brethren. I am not infal- 
 lible. All men are subject to temptation, but they are not justi- 
 fied in yielding to their passions and sinful natures. There is a 
 constant warfare between the two natures of man. This is the 
 warfare of the Saints. It is written that the Lord would have a 
 tried people a people that would be tried as gold is tried by 
 the fire, even seven times tried and purified from the dross of 
 unrighteousness. The chances of all men for salvation are equal. 
 True, some have greater capacity than others, yet the chances 
 for improving our minds and subduing our passions by denying 
 ourselves of all unrighteousness and cultivating the principles of 
 purity are all the same ; they are within the reach of every man ; 
 all have their free agency ; all can lay hold of the promises of 
 eternal life, if they will only be faithful and comply with God's 
 will and obey the priesthood in these last days. Never betray 
 any one, for God hates a traitor, and so do I," said the 
 Prophet. Then he said, " Stand by each other ; never desert a 
 friend, especially in the hour of trouble. Remember that our 
 reward consists in doing good acts and not in long prayers 
 like the Scribes and Pharisees of old, who prayed to be seen of 
 men. Never mind what men think of you, if your hearts are 
 
112 MOBMOMISM UNVEILED. 
 
 right before God. It is written, 4 Do unto others as you would 
 that others should do unto you/ The first commandment is, 
 4 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind and 
 strength.' The second commandment is, c Thou shalt love thy 
 neighbor as thyself.' Upon these two hang all the law and the 
 prophets." To more deeply impress these truths upon the minds 
 of his people, the Prophet gave them an account of the man who 
 fell among thieves and was relieved by the stranger, and he also 
 taught us from the Scriptures, as well as by the revelations that 
 he had received from God, that it is humane acts and deeds of 
 kindness, justice and words of truth, that are accounted to man 
 for righteousness ; that prayers made to be heard by men, and 
 hypocritical groans, are displeasing to God. The Prophet 
 talked to us plainly, and fully instructed us in our duty and gave 
 the long-faced hypocrites such a lecture that much good was 
 done. I had at that time learned to dread a religious fanatic, 
 and I was pleased to hear the Prophet lay down the law to them. 
 A fanatic is always dangerous, but a religious fanatic is to be 
 dreaded by all men there is no reason in one of them. I can- 
 not understand how men will blindly follow fanatical teachers. 
 I always demanded a reason for my belief, and hope I will never 
 become a victim of fanaticism. 
 
 During the summer of 1840 I built a house and such other 
 buildings as I required on my lot on Warsaw street, and was 
 again able to say I had a home. 
 
 The brethren were formed into military companies, that year, 
 in Nauvoo. Col. A. P. Rockwood was drill master. Rock- 
 wood was then a Captain, but was afterwards promoted to Col- 
 onel of the Militia or Host of Israel. I was then fourth corporal 
 of a company. The people were regularly drilled and taught 
 military tactics, so that they would be ready to act when the 
 time came for returning to Jackson County, the promised land of 
 our inheritance. Most of my wife's relatives came to Nauvoo 
 that year, and settled near my house. 
 
 In 1841 I was sent on a mission through Illinois, Kentucky 
 and Tennessee. I also visited portions of Arkansas. I traveled 
 in company, on that mission, with Elder Franklin Edwards. I 
 was then timid about speaking in towns or cities. I felt that I 
 had not sufficient experience to justify me in doing so. My 
 comrade had less experience than I had, and the worst of it, 
 he would not study to improve his mind or permit me to study 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 113 
 
 in quiet. He was negligent, and did not pay sufficient attention 
 to secret prayer, to obtain that nearness to God that is so nec- 
 essary for a minister to have if he expects his works to be 
 blessed with Divine favor. I t6ld him he must do better, or go 
 home. He promised to do better ; also agreed that he would do 
 the begging for food and lodging, and I might do the preaching. 
 I accepted the offer, and in this way we got along well and 
 pleasantly for some time. 
 
 At the crossing of the Forkadeer Kiver we staid over night 
 with the ferryman, and were well entertained. When we left 
 the ferry, the old gentleman told us that we would be in a set- 
 tlement of Methodist people that evening, and that they were 
 set in their notions, and hated Mormons as bad as the Church 
 of England hated the Methodists, and if we got food or shelter 
 amongst them, he would be mistaken. He said for us to begin 
 to ask for lodging by at least an hour by sun, or we would not 
 get it. In the after part of the day we remembered the advice 
 of the morning and stopped at every house. The houses were 
 about half a mile apart. We were refused at every house. 
 The night came on dark and stormy, the rain fell in torrents, 
 while heavy peals of thunder and bright flashes of lightning 
 were constant, or seemed so to me. The timber was very heavy, 
 making the night appear darker than it would otherwise have 
 been. The road was badly cut up with heavy freight teams pass- 
 ing over it, and the holes were full of water. We fell into many 
 holes of mud and water, and were soon well soaked. About ten 
 o'clock we called at the house of a Methodist class leader, 
 and asked him for lodging and food. He asked who we were. 
 We told him that we were Mormon preachers. As soon as he 
 heard the name Mormon, he became enraged, and said no 
 Mormon could stay in his house. We started on. Soon after- 
 wards we heard him making efforts to set his dogs on us. The 
 dogs came running and barking, as a pack of hounds always do. 
 Brother Edwards was much frightened, but I told him not to be 
 scared, I would protect him. So when the dogs came near us 
 I commenced to clap my hands and shouted like the fox was 
 just ahead of us ; this caused the whole pack of dogs to rush on 
 and leave us in safety. In this way we escaped injury from the 
 pack of ten or more dogs that the Methodist had put on our 
 trail. The next house we came to we were again refused shel- 
 ter or food. I asked for permission to sit under his porch until 
 8 
 
114 MORMON ISM UNVEILED. 
 
 the rain stopped. " No " said he, " if you were not Mormons, 
 I would gladly entertain you, but as you are Mormons I dare 
 not permit you to stop around me." This made twenty-one 
 houses that we had stopped at and asked for lodging, and at 
 each place had been refused, simply because we were Mormons. 
 About midnight my partner grew very sick of his contract to do 
 the begging, and was resolved to die before he would ask for 
 aid from such people again. I told him I would have both food 
 and lodging at the next place we stopped. He said it was use- 
 less to make the attempt, and I confess that the numerous re- 
 fusals we had met with were calculated to dishearten many a 
 person, but I had faith in God. I had never yet gone to Him 
 in an humble and penitent manner without receiving strength 
 to support me, nor had he ever sent me empty-handed from Him. 
 My trust was in God, and I advanced to the next house confi- 
 dent that I would not ask in vain. As we approached the 
 house we discovered that some negroes were having a dance. I 
 asked where their master was ; they pointed out the house to 
 me. We walked to the house, and up on the porch. The door 
 was standing open, a candle was burning, and near the fire a 
 woman was sitting holding a sick child on her lap. The man 
 was also sitting near the fire. Our footsteps attracted their at- 
 tention ; our appearance was not inviting as we stood there wet, 
 muddy and very tired. I spoke in a loud voice, saying, " Sir, 
 I beseech you, in the name of Jesus Christ, to entertain us as 
 servants of the living God. We are ministers of the gospel, 
 we travel without purse or scrip ; we preach without hire, and 
 are now without money ; we are wet, weary and hungry ; we 
 want refreshments, rest and shelter." The man sprang to his 
 feet, but did not say a word. His wife said, "Tell them to 
 come in." I said, " We will do you no harm, we are friends, 
 not enemies." We were invited in. Servants were called, a 
 good fire was made and a warm supper placed before us. After 
 eating we were shown to a good bed. We slept until near ten 
 o'clock in the morning. When we did awaken, our clothes 
 were clean and dry, and a good breakfast was ready and wait- 
 ing for us. In fact, we were as well treated as it was possible 
 to ask for. 
 
 This family had lately come from the State of Virginia, in- 
 tending to try that climate for a year, and then if they liked it, 
 they intended to purchase land and stay there permanently. 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE 115 
 
 After breakfast, the gentleman said, "You had a severe time of 
 it amongst the Christians yesterday and last night. As you are 
 ministers, sent out to convert sinners, you cannot do better than 
 to preach to these Christians, and seek to convert them." He 
 offered to send word all over the settlement, and notify the peo- 
 ple, if we would only stay there and preach that night. We ac- 
 cepted his offer, and remained that day ; thus securing the rest 
 that we so much needed, and thanking God for still remembering 
 and caring for us, His servants. 
 
 Agreeably to arrangements, previously made, we preached in 
 the Methodist meeting-house, to a very attentive audience, upon 
 the subject of the first principles of the gospel ; alluded to the 
 treatment of Christ and his followers by the Pharisees and Sad- 
 ducees, the religious sects of those days, and that we preached 
 the same gospel, and fared but little better. This meeting- 
 house was built on the line between the Methodists and Univer- 
 salists. Members from both persuasions were present. Our 
 neighbor, who fed and cared for us, leaned to the latter faith. 
 At the close of our remarks, the class-leader, who had set the 
 hounds on our track, was the first to the stand to invite us home 
 with him. 
 
 I told him that the claims of those who did not set their dogs 
 on us, after they had turned us from their doors hungry, were 
 first with me that his claims with me were an after considera- 
 tion. He said it was his negro boys that sent the hounds after 
 us, but he would not be bluffed. He said that one of us had to 
 go with him that if I would not go Frank must go. I told 
 him that Elder Edwards could use his own pleasure, but I 
 would hold a meeting that night with those Universalist breth- 
 ren, and thus we parted. Elder Edwards went to spend the 
 night, with the class-leader, and attended the meeting with the 
 friends who had invited him home with them. I had a good 
 time. Of their own accord they made up a collection of a few 
 dollars, as a token of their regard for me. I was to meet Eider 
 Edwards at the house of my friend, who took us in at miduight 
 from the storm, by an hour by sun, to start on ; but he did not 
 put in his appearance for an hour or more. When he got with- 
 in talking distance I saw by his features that he had been rough- 
 ly dealt with. His first words were, " That is the wickedest old 
 man that I ever met with, and if he don't repent God will curse 
 him." That was enough, and I began to laugh. I conceived 
 
116 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 what he had to encounter the long night before. He said, " If 
 the Lord will forgive me for going this time I will never go 
 again, without you are along." I said to him, " Frank, experi- 
 ence teaches a dear school, yet fools will not learn at any other. 
 I knew what treatment you would receive, and refused to go with 
 him. If you had been a wise man you would have taken the 
 hint and kept away from him." 
 
 We made our way through to Overton County, Tennessee. 
 Here I advised my friend Edwards to return back to Nauvoo, 
 and gave him money to pay his fare on a steamer, as he was cut 
 out for anything but a preacher. 
 
 At Carlisle, the county seat of Overton County, I met with a 
 young man, an elder, by the name of Dwight Webster. Though 
 but little experienced, he was a man of steady habits and an 
 agreeable companion. We held a number of meetings together 
 in this part of the country. Webster and Moses had been com- 
 panions together, and met with much opposition. Webster and 
 I baptized several persons, and made a true friend of a wealthy 
 merchant, named Armstrong, who welcomed us to his house and 
 placed us under his protection. He also owned a large estab- 
 lishment in Louisville, Kentucky. He was an infidel, though an 
 honorable and high-minded gentleman. His wife Nancy, and her 
 sister Sarah, were both baptized. 
 
 While here I received a letter from James Pace, one of my 
 near neighbors in Nauvoo, requesting me to visit his brother, 
 William Pace, and his relatives in Rutherford County, Tenn. 
 Elder A. O. Smoot and Dr. David Lewis succeeded us in this 
 county and in Jackson County, Tenn., and added many to 
 those whom we had already baptized. We made our way 
 through to Stone River, preaching by the way, as opportunity 
 occurred. Here I handed my letter of introduction to William 
 Pace, brother of my neighbor James Pace, who received us very 
 kindly and procured us the liberty of holding forth in the Camp- 
 bellite Chapel. Here we were informed that the Campbellite 
 preachers were heavy on debate, that none of the other sects 
 could stand before them, and that they dare not meet them in 
 public or private discussion. I replied that my trust was in God, 
 that the message I had to bear was from Heaven that if it 
 would not bear the scrutiny of man I did not want to stand by it, 
 but if it was of God, He would not suffer His servants to be con- 
 founded, if they were only honorable and trusted in him. 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 117 
 
 Truth is mighty and will prevail ; Error cannot stand before 
 Truth. If these men can overthrow the gospel which I preach, 
 the sooner they do it the better for me. I do not wish to de- 
 ceive any one, or to deceive myself. If any one can point out 
 an error in the gospel which I preach, I am willing to drop that 
 error, and exchange it for truth. 
 
 The hour came, we both spoke. We spoke on the first prin- 
 ciples of the gospel of Christ, as taught by the Saviour and his 
 apostles. Before sitting down I extended the courtesy to any 
 gentleman that wished, to reply or offer any remarks either for 
 or against what we had set forth. Parson Hall, the presiding 
 Campbellite minister, was on his feet in a moment and denounced 
 us as impostors. He said we were holding forth a theory that 
 was fulfilled in Christ ; that the canon of Scripture being full, 
 these spiritual gifts that were spoken of in the New Testament 
 were done away with, being no longer necessary ; that as for the 
 "Golden Bible" (Book of Mormon), that was absurd in the 
 extreme, as there were to be no other books or revelations 
 granted. He quoted the revelations of St. John in his support, 
 where it reads, "He that addeth to, or diminisheth from the 
 words of the prophecies and this Book, shall have the plagues 
 * herein written added to his torment," or words to that effect. 
 I followed him in the discussion, and quoted John where it 
 reads, "He that speaketh not according to the law and the tes- 
 timony hath no light in him." I said that my authority and 
 testimony were from the Bible, the book of the law of the Lord, 
 which all Christian believers hold as a sacred rule of their faith 
 and practice. To that authority I hoped my worthy friend 
 would not object. I illustrated my position by further quota- 
 tions from the Scriptures, and when our meeting was over the 
 people flocked around us in a mass, to shake hands with us and 
 invite us to their houses the Methodists, Baptists and Presby- 
 terians especially. The planters in this county were mostly 
 wealthy, and prided themselves on being hospitable and kind to 
 strangers, especially to ministers of the gospel. We went from 
 house to house and preached from two to three times a week. 
 We saw that the seed had already been sown in honest hearts 
 and we were near to them. Knowing the danger of being 
 lifted up by self-approbation, I determined to be on my 
 guard, to attend to secret prayer, and reading and keeping 
 
118 MOBMON1SM UNVEILED. 
 
 diaries. When at our friend Pace's house we would fre- 
 quently resort to a lonely grove to attend to prayer and 
 lead to ourselves. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 MORMONTSM ITS DOCTRINES, AND HOW IT ORIGINATED. 
 
 A SHORT time after the events narrated in the preceding 
 chapter, it was arranged that Parson Hall and myself 
 should hold another discussion at the Campbellite Chapel. Par- 
 son Hall did not want to meet me in the discussion, but he had 
 to do so or lose his flock, as all the people had become interest- 
 ed in the subject of Mormonism. 
 
 We met at the appointed time, and chose two umpires to act as 
 moderators of the meeting. The subject to be discussed was : 
 "Are apostles, prophets, teachers, etc., together with the 
 spiritual gifts spoken of, as recorded by the Apostle Mark in his 
 16th chapter, necessary to be in the Church now as they were 
 then?" I took the affirmative, the Parson the negative ; the dis- 
 cussion lasted six hours. In his closing speech Parson Hall became 
 very abusive and denounced the Mormons to the lowest regions 
 of darkness, and the Prophet, Joseph Smith, as a vile impostor. 
 I replied to him and closed the discussion. It was agreed that 
 the Old and New Testaments should be the only authorities to 
 be quoted by us. The umpires refused to decide who had the 
 best of the discussion. They said it rested with the people to 
 decide for themselves. It was evident, however, that the people 
 were with me. The principal topic of conversation was about 
 this strange Mormon doctrine. 
 
 Parson Hall's flock was by no means satisfied with his course. 
 He said this Mormon doctrine was the strongest Bible doctrine 
 he ever heard of, and he feared the consequences of a further 
 discussion of it. But this would not satisfy the people, who 
 wanted to hear and learn more of it ; so another discussion was 
 agreed upon, in which Parsons Curlee and Nichols were to as- 
 sist Parson Hall, and prompt him. 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 119 
 
 The subject was, "Is the Book of Mormon of Divine origin, 
 and has it come forth in direct fulfillment of prophecy? 
 And was Joseph Smith inspired of God?" I had the 
 affirmative. We selected three judges ; the hall was thronged. 
 I felt the responsibility of my situation, but I put my trust in 
 God to give me light and utterance to the convincing of the 
 honest and pure in heart. The discussion lasted many hours. I 
 showed conclusively, both from the Old and New Testaments, 
 that, in accordance with scripture and prophecy, the ten tribes 
 of Israel had been broken up and scattered upon the face of the 
 earth. That sure and indisputable evidence had been found 
 and produced, by which it was certain that the tribes of North 
 American Indians were descendants from the ten tribes of Israel. 
 I showed that from many customs and rites, prevalent among 
 the Indians, that there could be no doubt, in any rational mind, 
 but that these tribes had sprung from the remnants of the scat- 
 tered ten tribes of Israel. The prophecies of the Old and New 
 Testaments, the traditions and history of the Indians, so far as 
 known, their solemn religious rites and observances, were con- 
 clusive evidence of this fact. And God has repeatedly prom- 
 ised that, in His own good time, these tribes of Israel, this cho- 
 sen people, should be again gathered together, that a new and 
 further revelation should be given them, and to the whole world, 
 and that under this new dispensation Zion should be rebuilt, 
 and the glory of God should fill the whole earth, as the waters 
 cover the mighty deep. 
 
 It should be as a sealed book unto them, which men deliver to 
 one that is learned, saying, " Read this book," and he saith, "I 
 cannot, for it is a sealed book." It is strange that a people, 
 once so favored of God, strengthened by His arm and counseled 
 by his prophets and inspired men, should have so far wandered 
 and become so lost to all sense of duty to God ! But so it was, 
 until, as the prophet says, the Book that should come unto 
 them, should speak to them out of the ground out of the dust 
 of the earth ; as a " familiar spirit, even out of the dust of the 
 earth." The Book that was to contain the divine revelation of 
 God was to come forth, written upon plates, in a language un- 
 known to men." 
 
 But a man unlearne d, not by his own power, but by the pow- 
 er of God, by means of the Urim and Thummim, was to trans- 
 late it into our language. And this record, in due time, came 
 
120 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 according to God's will. It was found deposited in the side of 
 a mountain, or hill, called Cumorrah, written in the reformed 
 Egyptian language, in Ontario County, in the State of New 
 York. It was deposited in a stone box, put together with 
 cement, air tight. The soil about the box was worn away, until 
 a corner of the box was visible. It was found by Joseph Smith, 
 then an illiterate lad, or young man, who had been chosen of 
 God as His instrument for making the same known to men. 
 
 Joseph Smith was a young man of moral character, belonging 
 to no sect, but an earnest enquirer after truth. He was not 
 permitted to remove the box for a period of two years after he 
 found it. The angel of God that had the records in charge, 
 would not permit him to touch them. In attempting to do so, 
 on one occasion, his strength was paralyzed, and the angel ap- 
 peared before him and told him that that record contained the 
 gospel of God, and an historical account of the God of Joseph 
 on this land ; that through their transgressions the records were 
 taken away from them, and hid in the earth, to come forth at 
 the appointed time, when the Lord should set His heart, the 
 second time, to recover the remnant of His people, scattered 
 through all nations ; that the remnant of His people should be 
 united with the stick of Judah, in the hands of Ephraim, and 
 they should become one stick in the hands of the Lord. This 
 is the Bible, which is the stick of Judah, that contained the 
 gospel and the records of the House of Israel, till the Messiah 
 came. The angel further informed him that when the Ten 
 Tribes of Israel were scattered, one branch went to the north ; 
 that prior to the birth of Jesus Christ the other branch left Jeru- 
 salem, taking the records with them, of which the Book of 
 Mormon is a part. The branch of the Ten Tribes which went 
 north doubtless have a record also with them. 
 
 When these plates, containing the Book of Mormon and God's 
 will, as therein revealed, were removed from Ontario County, 
 New York, they were taken to Professor Anthon, of New York 
 City, for translation. He replied that he could not translate 
 them, that they were written in " a sealed language, unknown 
 to the present age." This was just as the prophet Isaiah said it 
 should be. 
 
 Do any of the present denominations counsel with the Lord ? 
 No, they deny revelation, and seek to hide their ways from Him. 
 Upon all such He pronounces woe. 
 

 LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 121 
 
 I do not wish to be considered as casting aspersions on any 
 other sect. It is not my purpose to do so. Tue love that I 
 have for truth, and the salvation of the human family, may cause 
 me to offend, but if I do so it is because of my exceeding zeal 
 to do good. Remember that the reproof of a friend is better 
 than the smite of an enemy. Jesus said, " Woe unto you that 
 are angry and offended because of the truth." It is not pol- 
 icy on your part to be offended on account of the truth. If your 
 systems will not stand the scrutiny of men, how can they stand 
 the test of the great Judge of both the living and the dead ? I 
 place a greater value upon the salvation of my soul than I do 
 upon all earthly considerations. 
 
 After my second discussion I began to baptize some of the 
 leading members of the Campbellite Church. Among the first 
 to be baptized were John Thompson and wife. Thompson was 
 sheriff of Rutherford County, and was an influential man. 
 Among others who were baptized were Wm. Pace and wife. 
 Mrs. Pace was a sister of Parson Nichols, who assisted Parson 
 Hall in his last discussion with me. Major D. M. Jarratt and 
 wife, Mrs. Caroline Ghiliam, Major Miles Anderson, and others, 
 were also baptized and received into the Church. My friend 
 Webster, after being with me about a month, returned to visit 
 and strengthen the branches of the Church established in Smith, 
 Jackson and Overton Counties. I continued my labors here on 
 Stone River and Creple Creek about six months. During the 
 most of this time I availed myself of the opportunity of study- 
 ing grammar and other English branches. During my stay I 
 lectured three times a week, on Wednesdays, Saturdays and 
 Sunday afternoon. Sabbath forenoon I attended the meetings 
 of other denominations. During this time I held four public 
 discussions, in addition to those I had held with Parson Hall. 
 I held two discussions with the Rev. James Trott, who had for 
 fifteen years been a missionary to the Cherokee Nation. 
 
 I held a closing debate in that settlement with the Rev. Mr. 
 Cantrall, of the Campbellite faith. He came from a distance, at 
 the request of friends, to endeavor to save the flock. After 
 consultation with Parson Hall, and other members of the flock, 
 they refused to submit to moderators or judges, neither were 
 they willing to be confined to the Old and New Testaments 
 for authority to disprove the doctrine that I defended. Their 
 proposition was that Mr. Cantrall should speak first, bringing 
 
122 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 any argument he chose ; when he had finished I was to conclude 
 the debate, and the people were to judge for themselves who 
 had the best of the argument. My friends would not consent 
 to this arrangement, but I told them tlat they could have it 
 their own way, that if the Rev. Cantrall wished to condescend 
 to the platform of a blackguard, that in case of necessity I 
 might meet him there, though I would prefer an honorable de- 
 bate to slander and ridicule. This statement I made to the as- 
 sembly prior to the Rev. gentleman's mounting the stand, with 
 Parsons Hall, Curlee, Trott and Nichols as prompters. 
 
 They had provided themselves with a roll of pamphlets and 
 newspapers, containing many of the low, dirty, musty, cunning, 
 lying stories about Joe Smith's walking on the water, being a 
 money digger, an impostor and a thousand such stories. Mr. 
 Cantrall read and emphasized each story, as his prompters 
 handed them to him. He occupied about two hours and a half 
 in this manner, and about half an hour in trying to point out 
 discrepancies in the Book of Mormon. He spoke of the ab- 
 surdities of the boat that the Nephites built to cross the ocean 
 in, from Asia to America. That it was built tight, excepting a 
 little hole on top, for air, and that it would shoot through the 
 water like a fish, and ridiculed such an absurdity. He defied 
 me to produce any such inconsistencies in the Holy Bible. He 
 said the Bible was a book of common sense, written by men in- 
 spired of God. It was full of good works, and only pure char- 
 acters, and nothing like the impostor Joe Smith. He challenged 
 me again to point out a single instance in the Bible which would 
 compare with the stories in the Book of Mormon. The idea of 
 apostles and prophets and supernatural gifts in the Church, as 
 it was in the days of Christ, was absurd. That the History of 
 Nephi was absurd and a burlesque upon common sense. 
 That he hoped none of the people would be led away by such 
 nonsense and folly. I sat facing him during all his long har- 
 angue of abuse and ridicule. When it came my turn to 
 speak, I asked the reverend gentleman to occupy my seat, that 
 1 did not want more than thirty minutes to reply. I said to the 
 assembly that a sense of duty to the truth, and to the cause I 
 had espoused, alone prompted me to make any reply to the long 
 tirade of abuse and sarcasm they had been listening to. The 
 gentleman and his prompters had gathered quite an angry-look- 
 ing cloud of pamphlets and newspaper slang and abuse, which 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 125 
 
 culminated in a tornado of bolts of thunder, tapering off with 
 wind, blixen and chinck-a-pin bushes, without quoting a single 
 passage of scripture to disprove my position, or in support of 
 their own. But on the contrary, he had become an accuser of 
 the brethren, speaking evil of things he knew not. The spirit of 
 persecution, hatred and malice is not the spirit of the meek and 
 lowly Saviour. The gentleman tells you that the day of perfec- 
 tion has arrived, that Satan is bound in the gospel chain, that we 
 have no need of spiritual manifestations, that this is the reign of 
 Christ. Now, I will say if this is the millennial reign of Christ, 
 and the devil is bound in the gospel chain, I pity the inhabitants 
 of the earth when he gets loose again. After reading the de- 
 scription of the millennial reign, as it shall be, as described by 
 the prophet Isaiah, can any one be so stupid as to believe that 
 we are now living in that eventful day ? Shame on a man who 
 would deceive and tamper with the souls of men I The gentle- 
 man who has told you this don't believe it. 
 
 The gentleman has challenged me to produce anything from 
 the Bible equaling in strangeness the building of a boat like a 
 fish, in which the Nephites crossed the ocean from Asia to 
 America. I call his attention to the first chapter of the Book of 
 Jonah. Here a very strange craft was used for three days and 
 nights, in which to send a missionary to Nineveh. This craft 
 was constructed after the manner of the boat spoken of in the 
 Book of Mormon. If the prophet was correct in the description 
 of his craft, he too scooted through the water in the same way 
 that the Nephites did in their boat. The Book of Mormon is 
 nothing more or less than a book containing the history of a por- 
 tion of the House of Israel, who left Jerusalem about the time of 
 the reign of Zedekiah, King of Judah, and crossed the ocean to 
 America; containing also the gospel which was preached to 
 them on this continent, which is the same gospel as that preach- 
 ed by Christ and his Apostles at Jerusalem. The Bible and the 
 Book of Mormon both contain a history of the different branches 
 of the House of Israel, and each contains the gospel of Christ aa 
 it was preached unto them, the different branches of the house 
 of Israel, and to all nations. Both testify of each other, and 
 point with exactness to the dispensation of the fullness of time. 
 The Book of Mormon does not contain a new gospel ; it is the 
 same gospel as that preached by Christ. That it is a mysterious 
 book, is just what the prophet said it should be, "a marvelous 
 
124 MORMONISM VN VEILED. 
 
 work, a wonder." But my friend says that it is too mysterious, 
 too wonderful for human credence, and challenges me to point 
 out anything told in the Bible that seems inconsistent with rea- 
 son or our experience. Now, which is the most reasonable, 
 that Nephi built a boat after the pattern mentioned in the Mor- 
 mon Bible, directed by God how to build it, and crossed the 
 ocean to this continent, or that Jonah was in the whale's belly 
 for three days and three nights, and then made a safe landing ? 
 Or would it sound any better if Nephi had said that when he and 
 his company came to the great waters, that the Lord had pre- 
 pared great whales, two or more, to receive them and their out- 
 fit, and set them over on this side by that means ? Nothing is 
 impossible with God. If He saw fit to send Jonah on his mission 
 in a whale's belly, I have no fault to find with Him for so doing. 
 He has the right to do His own will and pleasure ; and if he in- 
 structed Nephi how to fashion his boat, or Noah to build an ark 
 against the deluge ; or to cause Baalam's ass to speak and rebuke 
 the madness of his master ; or caused Moses to lead the children 
 of Israel through the Red Sea, without any boat at all ; or caused 
 the walls of Jericho to fall to the .ground, and the people to be- 
 come paralyzed through the tooting of rams' horns ; or empower- 
 ed Joshua to cause the sun to stand still while he slaughtered his 
 enemies ; is any one of these things more wonderful than the 
 other? Now any one of these instances that I have selected 
 from the Bible, if found in the Book of Mormon, would be suf- 
 ficient to stamp it with absurdity and everlasting contempt, ac- 
 cording to argument of the gentlemen who oppose me; but 
 when found in the Bible the story assumes another phase entire- 
 ly. It is as the Saviour said of the Pharisees, " Ye strain at a 
 gnat and swallow a camel." My opponent strains at a gnat, 
 when found in the Book of Mormon, but if camels are found in 
 the Bible he could swallow them by the herd. I cannot see 
 why a big story, told in the Bible, should be believed any more 
 readily than if found in the Book of Mormon. It is not my pur- 
 pose to find discrepancies in the characters of the ancient proph- 
 ets or inspired writers, but my opponent has challenged me 
 to produce from the Bible a character of such disrepute as that 
 of Joe Smith, the Mormon Prophet. Now I will say that of the 
 characters that I shall mention, we have only their own history 
 or account of what they did. Their enemies and cotemporaries 
 have long since passed away. But if their enemies could speak 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 125 
 
 worse of them than they have of themselves, decency would 
 blush to read their history. I will refer to only a few instances. 
 Moses, the meek, as he is called, murdered an Egyptian that 
 strove with an Israelite, and had to run away from his country 
 for the offence. He was afterwards sent by God to bring the 
 Israelites out of bondage. 
 
 Noah was a preacher of righteousness. He built the ark, and 
 was saved through the deluge. His name has been handed down 
 from posterity to posterity, in honorable remembrance, as one 
 who feared God and worked righteousness. But we find him 
 soon after the flood getting drunk, exposing his nakedness, and 
 cursing a portion of his own posterity. Lot, whose family was 
 the only God-fearing family in Sodom and Gomorrah, res- 
 cued by the angel of God from the judgments that over- 
 whelmed those cities, when only a short distance from Sodom 
 became drunk and debauched his daughters. 
 
 Think of the conduct of David with Uriah's wife, and David 
 was, we are told, a man after God's own heart. Also Judah, 
 Judge in Israel. Peter cursed and swore and denied his Mas- 
 ter. The enemies of Christ said he was a gluttonous man and a 
 wine bibber ; a friend of publicans and sinners ; that after the 
 people at the marriage feast were well drunken, that he turned 
 water into wine that they might have more to drink ; that in the 
 corn fields he plucked the ears of corn and ate them ; that he saw 
 an ass hitched, and without leave he took it and rode into Jeru- 
 salem ; that he went into the Temple and overset the tables of 
 the money changers and took cords and whaled them out, tell- 
 ing them they had made his Father's house a den of thieves. I 
 am aware that all Christians justify the acts of Christ, because 
 he was the Son of God. But the people at that time did not 
 believe him to be the Son of God, any more than the gentleman 
 does that Joseph Smith was the Prophet of God. I have alluded 
 to these instances merely in refutation of the challenge imposed 
 upon me by my opponent. 
 
 But few seem to comprehend that man, in and of himself, is 
 frail, weak, needy and dependent, although the Creator placed 
 within his reach, as a free agent, good and evil, and has placed 
 in the heart of every rational being a degree of light that makes 
 us sensitive and teaches us right from wrong. As the Saviour 
 says, "There is a light that lighteth every man that coin eth into 
 the world." 
 
126 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 I have been obliged to abbreviate my argument very much, 
 lest I tire my readers. I had scarcely closed speaking before 
 my Reverend opponents were making for the door. They would 
 have nothing more to do with the Mormon. Some were honest 
 enough to acknowledge that Mormonism, as it was called, would 
 stand the test ; that it could not be disproved from the Bible, 
 and that sooner or later all other creeds would have to give way 
 to it, or "deny the Bible, for the more it was investigated the 
 more popular it would become, as it would expose the many 
 weak points and inconsistences of the different denominations. 
 Others denounced it as an imposition, and warned their adher- 
 ents to have nothing to do with it. This kind of talk from the 
 pulpit only served to give Mormonism a new impetus. I soon 
 baptized many converts, and organized branches in that and ad- 
 joining counties of over one hundred members. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 LEE CASTS OUT DEVILS AND DOES OTHER WONDERFUL WORK8. 
 
 A SHORT time after holding the discussion mentioned in the 
 preceding chapter, Dr. A. Young, of Jackson County, 
 Tenn., came to me and wished me to go with him, and join in a 
 discussion with a couple of Campbellite preachers. At first I 
 d dined, as the distance was nearly one hundred miles, and my 
 labors in the ministry where I then was were pressing. I had 
 more calls to preach than I could fill. 
 
 Dr. A. Young was made a bishop, and A. O. Smoot, a con- 
 vert, was made an elder in the Church. 
 
 I finally consented to go and attend the discussion. On our 
 arrival at the place agreed upon, I learned that all necessary ar- 
 rangements had been nade. The subject was, " Is the Book of 
 Mormon of Divine authenticity, and has it come forth in direct 
 fulfillment of prophecy, found in the Old and New Testaments, 
 and is Joseph Smith Divinely inspired and called of God ? ' ' We 
 had the affirmative. There was a large concourse of people as- 
 sembled. The discussion lasted two days. At the close of the 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 127 
 
 debate the judge decided that the Mormons brought forth the 
 strongest reasonings and scriptural arguments, but that the 
 other side had the best of the Mormons in sarcasm and abuse. 
 
 When I was about to leave Dr. Young exchanged horses with 
 me, he keeping my pony, and giving me a very fine blooded 
 black mare. I was then built up, so far as a good out-fit for 
 traveling was concerned. Dr. Young traveled with me as far as 
 Indian Creek, Putnam County, twenty-five miles south-east, as 
 report said that a couple of Mormons had been " raising h 1 " 
 there, to use their own words. So we concluded to visit the 
 place and learn the facts. This was about the first of March. 
 It was on Saturday that we arrived there. We rode at once to 
 the Methodist Chapel. Here we found several hundred people 
 assembled the most distressed and horrified looking worship- 
 ers my eyes ever beheld. Their countenances and actions 
 evinced an inward torture of agony. Some of them were lying 
 in a swoon, apparently lifeless; others were barking like dogs; 
 some singing, praying and speaking in tongues, their eyes red 
 and distorted with excitement. 
 
 The chapel was situated in a yard surrounded with trees. I 
 was so overcome with amazement and surprise that I had forgot- 
 ten that I was on horseback. The first that I remember was that 
 a man had led my horse inside the gate and was putting me off, 
 saying, "Come, get down, you are a Mormon preacher; we are 
 having fine times." I objected, but walked to the south end of 
 the chapel, instead of going inside. A chair was set for me by 
 some rational person, and I leaned my head upon my hands and 
 commenced praying. I was a stranger, both to the people and 
 to their religious exercises. I was puzzled, not knowing what to 
 do in the situation. I saw a young woman, about eighteen years 
 of age, of handsome form and features, in her stocking feet, her 
 handsome black hair hanging down over her shoulders in a con- 
 fused mass. She was preaching what she called Mormonism, 
 and warning the multitude to repent and be baptized, and escape 
 the wrath of God. In front of her stood a young Methodist 
 minister, to whom she directed her remarks. He smiled at her. 
 All of a sudden she changed her tack, and belted him right and 
 left for making light of what she said. The next moment she con- 
 fronted me, and said, " You are a preacher of the true Church, 
 and I love you! " Thus saying, she sprang at me to embrace 
 me with open arms. I stretched forth my hand and rebuked the 
 
128 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 evil spirit that was in her, and commanded it to depart in the 
 name of the Lord Jesus, by virtue of the holy priesthood in me 
 vested. At this rebuke she quailed, and turned away from me 
 like a whipped child, and left the crowd and went home, ashamed 
 of her conduct. 
 
 This occurrence gave me confidence in God, and in Him I put 
 my trust still more than I had ever done before. It was now 
 about sunset and we had had no refreshment since morning. I 
 arose and informed the multitude that we would preach at that 
 place on the morrow at ten o'clock. A merchant by the name 
 of Marshbanks invited us home with him, some of the leading 
 men accompanying us. They informed us that a couple of men, 
 brothers, from West Tennessee, named William and Alfred 
 Young, formerly members of the Baptist Church, who had joined 
 the Mormons, had been there and preached ; that they enjoyed 
 spiritual gifts as the apostles anciently did, and had baptized the 
 people into that faith, and had ordained John Young, Receiver 
 of the Land Office there, a preacher ; that he was an intelligent, 
 well-educated man, but was now a fanatic, and many of their 
 leading men were ruined and business prostrate, and all through 
 that impostor, Joe Smith. They said he ought to be hung be- 
 fore he did any more harm; that their settlement was being 
 ruined and all business stopped ; that if any one would give John 
 Young, or Mark Young, his father, who was formerly a Meth- 
 odist class leader, their hand, or let them breathe in their face, 
 he could not resist them, but would come under the same influ- 
 ence and join them. I told them that I had been a member 
 of this Church for a number of years and had never seen or 
 heard of anything of this kind. 
 
 The next morning, about day break, those two fanatics were 
 at Marshbanks' house. They said they had a glorious time 
 through the night, and had made a number of converts. I be- 
 gan to reason with them from the scriptures, but as soon as I 
 came in contact with their folly, they began to whistle and dance, 
 and jumped on to their horses and left. 
 
 Sometime after, on our way to the chapel, my friend Marsh- 
 banks indulged in a great deal of abuse of Joe Smith. He 
 told me that I could not be heard among the fanatics at the 
 chapel, and that I had better return to his house and hold * 
 meeting there. 
 
 I said to him, " In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I will 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEB. 129 
 
 preach there to-day, and not a dog will raise his voice against 
 me, and you shall bear witness to it." He replied, " Very well. 
 I will go with you and try and keep order." As we entered the 
 chapel, the same scene of confusion prevailed that we observed 
 the day before. Some were stretched on the floor, frothing at 
 the mouth, apparently in the agonies of death. Others were 
 prophesying, talking in tongues, singing, shouting and praying. 
 I walked into the pulpit as a man having authority, and said, 
 " In the name of Jesus Christ, and by virtue and authority of 
 the Holy Priesthood invested in me, I command these evil 
 spirits that are tormenting you, to be still, while I lay before 
 you the words of life and salvation." As I spoke every eye 
 was turned upon me and silence reigned ; the evil spirits were 
 subdued and made powerless. There were two Presbyterian 
 ministers there who asked leave to take notes of my sermon, 
 which I freely granted, telling them further that they were at 
 liberty to correct me if in anything I spoke not according to 
 the Law and Testimony of Christ. 
 
 I preached a plain sermon on the first principles of the gos- 
 pel of Christ, as taught by the apostles. I showed to them that 
 the house of God was a house of order, and not confusion ; 
 that the Spirit of God brings peace, joy, light and complete 
 harmony. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, 
 and every person who has the Spirit of Jesus has the spirit of 
 prophecy, and should and would do the will of Heaven ; that 
 one may have a gift of prophecy, another of tongues, another of 
 interpretation but let one speak at a time ; that this fanaticism 
 which they had witnessed during the last few days was not to be 
 fathered upon Joseph Smith or upon the Mormons ; that we had 
 no affinity for such a religion, and that we discarded it as from 
 beneath and not from God. Before I dismissed the meeting I 
 asked my Presbyterian friends if they wished to reply to me. 
 They said they did not ; that they were much pleased with my 
 remarks, and that they were scriptural and reasonable. 
 
 I then concluded to return to the Branch at Rutherford 
 County, and continue my labors there. A delegation came to 
 me from the Assembly and said, "Mr. Lee, your discourse to- 
 day has turned us up side down. You have convinced many of us 
 that we are going astray. Do not, for mercy's sake, leave us in 
 this situation. We are persuaded that many are honest-hearted 
 and will obey the truth." I replied, " My mission is to preach 
 9 
 
130 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 the truth, to call erring children of men to repentance." I ap- 
 pointed a meeting, and preached that evening at the house of 
 David Young, a brother of Mark Young, the Methodist class- 
 leader, to a large body of inquiring minds. The following day 
 we preached at the side of a clear running brook. After the 
 preaching many demanded to be baptized. I went down into 
 the water and baptized twenty-eight persons, among whom were 
 two well educated young men. One was a nephew of Gov. 
 Carlin, of Illinois ; the other was F. McCollough, now a Bishop 
 at Alpine City, Utah. 
 
 Most of the leading families of Putnam County were convert- 
 ed, and I organized them into a Branch, and remained with them 
 about ten days, teaching and instructing them, the better to es- 
 tablish them upon the true basis of order and equity, and to 
 guard them against those fanatical influences that had been ruin- 
 ing the people of this neighborhood. 
 
 Elder Samuel B. Frost had been laboring in DeKalb County, 
 East Tennessee, where he had baptized about thirty converts. 
 As he passed on his return to Nauvoo, I sent for him to tarry 
 with me a few days, and assist me, as Dr. Young had returned 
 home. Such of the people who had been under the power of 
 the spirit of darkness became alarmed, and dared not trust 
 themselves away from us. We fasted and prayed three days 
 and three nights, pleading with the Father, in the name of the 
 Son, to give us power over those evil spirits. 
 
 And here I will say that up to the time of my witnessing what 
 I have here narrated, I was skeptical on the subject of our pow- 
 er over evil spirits. I had heard of such manifestations, but 
 had never seen them with my own eyes before. My experience 
 here impressed me deeply, that we could attain such power, and 
 showed me the stern necessity of living near to God, for man, in 
 and of himself, is nothing but a tool for the tempter to play 
 with. 
 
 As I said, the people durst not trust themselves away from 
 us. One time we were in a large room, at Mark Young's house. 
 I was sitting by a desk writing in my diary. Adolphus Young, 
 the chairman of the delegation which had waited on me and 
 requested me to remain with them and set them right, was walk- 
 ing too and fro across the room. As he came near me I noticed 
 that his countenance changed, and as he turned from me he 
 cast a fearful glance at me. I kept my eyes upon him as he 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 131 
 
 walked away from me. When near the centre of the room he 
 wilted down and exclaimed, "Oh! God, have mercy on me." 
 Without a word spoken, Elder Frost and myself sprang to him. 
 Laying my hands upon him I commanded the evil spirits, by 
 virtue of the Holy Priesthood, and in the name of Jesus Christ, 
 to come out of him. As I spoke these words I felt as if a thou- 
 sand darts had penetrated my mouth, throat and breast. My 
 blood ran cold in my veins ; my pluse stopped beating ; in a 
 word, I was terror-stricken. I saw a legion of evil spirits in the 
 vision of my mind. And what was still more, they had fastened 
 their fangs in me and I was about to give up the contest, when 
 another influence came to my relief, and said to my spirit: 
 " Why yield to the powers of darkness? You hold the keys over 
 those evil spirits. They should be subject to your bidding in 
 the name of Jesus, through faith." This last comforting influ- 
 ence relieved my fears, strengthened my faith, and gave me 
 power to overcome the evil spirits. I was not more than a 
 minute or two in this situation, but during that time I endured 
 more agony, torture, and pain than I ever did in the same time 
 before or since. 
 
 This may seem* to be a fabulous story to my readers, many of 
 whom will, no doubt, attribute it to fanaticism ; nevertheless it 
 is true. The man was restored, and bore record of the power 
 of God to his deliverance, and was to the day of his death an 
 honorable, good citizen. 
 
 I was never considered a long-faced preacher. During my stay 
 here I added to this branch of the Church until it was more than 
 fifty members strong. My friend, Elder Frost, agreed to wait in 
 Overton County until'I could re-visit the branch in Rutherford 
 County, and set things in order there. Then I was to accom- 
 pany him home to our families in Nauvoo, the City of Joseph. 
 
 I ordained William Pace to the office of the lesser priesthood, 
 to take charge of the Saints there. We also ordained Adolphus 
 Young to preside over the branch at Indian Creek, Putnam 
 County. After calling on Dr. A. Young, I joined my friend, 
 Elder Frost, and drove to Nauvoo for him six jacks and jennets 
 to exchange for land, that he might have a place to come to. 
 We had a pleasant journey to Nauvoo, as the weather was fine. 
 On arriving in the city I met my family, all in good health. I 
 traded some of my stock with Hyrum Smith, the Prophet's 
 brother, for land. 
 
132 MORJtOlflSAi UNVEILED. 
 
 It was now June, 1842. In the summer and fall I built me a 
 enug, two-story brick house on Warsaw street, and made my 
 family quite comfortable. I enclosed my ground and fixed 
 things snug and nice. I then took a tour -down through Illinois. 
 H. B. Jacobs accompanied me as a fellow companion on the 
 way. Jacobs was bragging about his wife and two children, 
 what a true, virtuous, lovely woman she was. He almost wor- 
 shiped her. But little did he think that, in his absence, she 
 was sealed to the Prophet Joseph, and was his wife. 
 
 We raised up quite a branch of the Church in Clinton County. 
 Among others whom we baptized, were the Free sisters, Louisa 
 and Emeline ; also the Nelsons. Emeline Free was afterward 
 sealed to Brigham Young, and her sister Louisa to myself. 
 She is now Daniel H. Wells' first wife. 
 
 I also visited my relatives in Randolph County, the home of 
 my youthful days. Here I baptized my cousin Eliza Conners, 
 with whom I had been raised. I also baptized Esther Hall, the 
 sister of my old friend Samuel Hall, with whom I lived when I 
 was first married. I was kindly received in my own county. 
 
 But few, however, cared to investigate the principles of Mor- 
 monism, as the most of them were Catholics. In all my travels 
 I was agent for our paper, the Nauvoo Neighbor, and collected 
 means, tithings and donations for the building of the Temple. 
 From here I returned home by steamboat. 
 
 Through the winter Joseph Smith selected forty men for a 
 city guard, from the old tried veterans of the cause. I was the 
 seventh man chosen. These men were also the life-guard of the 
 Prophet and Patriarch and of the twelve Apostles. My station 
 as a guard was at the Prophet's mansion,* during his life, and 
 after his death my post was changed to*the residence of Brigham 
 Young, he being the acknowledged successor of the Prophet. 
 From the time I was appointed until we started across the plains, 
 when at home I stood guard every night, and much of the time 
 on the road, one-half of the night at a time, in rain, hail, snow, 
 wind and cold, to nourish, protect and guard, and give strength 
 to the man that has proven to be the most treacherous, ungrateful 
 villain on earth. In return for all of my faithfulness and fidelity 
 to him and the cause that he taught, he has wantonly sacrificed 
 me, in a dastardly and treacherous manner. But I must not think 
 or reflect too much upon so frail a being. He has contracted 
 the debt himself, and sooner or later must atone for his own 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 133 
 
 sins. " Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, and I will repay." 
 Such a base, vile, inhuman wretch, cannot long escape justice. 
 However, I intend to speak more fully of this depraved man at 
 the proper time and place in this narrative. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 A. TENNESSEE PLANTER MAKES IT HOT FOB PARSON LEE. 
 
 TOURING the winter of 1841, a letter was sent to the Prophet 
 -L/ from the leading men and members of the branch church 
 on Stone River, Tennessee, and Cripple Creek, Rutherford 
 County, Tennessee, desiring him to send me back to labor in 
 that country, as there was a wide field for preaching there. 
 
 They stated that I had so ingratiated myself among the people 
 that no other man could command the influence and re- 
 spect to do good that I could among them. This was enough. 
 In the latter part of February I took leave of my family and 
 entered upon my mission. 
 
 To refuse to comply with the call of the Prophet is a bad 
 omen. A man so doing is looked upon with distrust, renders 
 himself unpopular, and is considered a man not to be depended 
 upon. At the time I started the river was blocked with ice. 
 I traveled on foot, without purse or scrip, like the apostles of 
 old, carrying out the motto of the Church, the bee of the desert, 
 u Leave the hive empty-handed and return laden." In this way 
 I, as well as many other elders, brought in money, thousands of 
 dollars, yearly to the Church, and I might say many hundreds 
 of thousands, as the people among whom I traveled were mostly 
 wealthy, and when they first received the love of the truth their 
 hearts as well as their purses were opened, and they would pour 
 out their treasures into the lap of the Bishop. All were taught 
 that a liberal man deviseth liberal things, and by his liberality 
 shall he live, and that he that soweth liberally shall reap bounti- 
 fully, etc. 
 
 As I passed along my way, I strengthened the brethren of the 
 various branches, reminding them of their duties, especially *tf 
 the necessity of building the Temple. That duty ^aa more im 
 
134 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 portant than all others, for in that alone, when completed, they 
 could attain to the highest exaltation of the Priesthood, together 
 with all the spiritual gifts that belong thereto. When I arrived 
 at my old home, the place of my childish days, I found Elder 
 John Twist, who was waiting my arrival. We staid in that 
 neighborhood a few days, and then started on again. My uncle 
 was going on our way with a wagon for about one hundred 
 miles, and we accompanied him. I passed through Kaskaskia, 
 where I was born, but did not preach there, for my uncle was in 
 a hurry to reach the point of his destination in Jackson County, 
 where he was establishing a wood 3 r ard on the Mississippi River. 
 Here we intended to take a steamer for Nashville, but no 
 steamer would take us on board at the landing, for it was a bad 
 one to bring boats up to. While staying at that place we 
 preached to the people, and made our home with Mr. V. Hutche- 
 son, and his sister Sarah, where we were treated very kindly. 
 Finally a flat-boat came in sight. We hailed it and went aboard. 
 We were soon on good terms with the Captain and crew, and 
 went with them to Memphis, Tennessee. At this place the 
 Captain of the flat-boat sold out his cargo, and then offered to 
 pay our fare on a steamer from Memphis to Nashville. While 
 we were in Memphis, General William Henry Harrison, then a 
 candidate for President, arrived, and a great political meeting 
 of the Whig party was held in the open air. After my friend 
 Wm. Springer, the Captain of the flat-boat, had sold his cargo 
 and received his money, he invited my friend Twist and myself 
 to go with him to a saloon. There were quite a number of men 
 in the saloon, fiddling, eating, drinking and otherwise enjoying 
 themselves. Captain Springer was not used to drinking. He 
 soon got mellow, felt rich, and commenced throwing his money 
 around in a careless manner. The saloon-keeper was a man 
 with an eye to business, and was particularly interested in friend 
 Springer. He treated him often and insisted on his drinking. 
 I tried to get Springer to go to his boat, and took him by the 
 arm and started off with him, when one of the crowd told me 
 not to be so officious, that the man knew his own business and 
 was capable of attending to it. I said nothing to him in reply, 
 but I sent Twist in haste to the boat for the crew to come at 
 once before Springer was robbed of his money. They came, 
 but not any too soon for his benefit, as a row had commenced, 
 with the design of going through him while it was going on. 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 135 
 
 When the crew came, I started for the boat with Springer, 
 the crew keeping back the crowd of drunken robbers. By 
 acting in this way we saved him and his money too. Twist and 
 myself refused all kinds of drinks that night. We were there- 
 fore sober and in good condition to protect the man who had 
 favored us and been our friend. Next morning Springer wished 
 to reward us, but we refused to let him do so. 
 
 I told him we had done nothing but our duty. We parted 
 with him and his crew, and took passage in a new steamer that 
 was owned in Nashville, and was then making its first trip from 
 Nashville to New Orleans. The boat got into a race with the 
 Eclypse, another fine boat. The Captain was a fine man. The 
 crew were all negroes. One of the firemen on our boat took 
 sick, and was unable to do his work. I saw that the Eclypse 
 was crowding us closely. I threw off my coat and took the ne- 
 gro's place as fireman. I saw a barrel of resin near by; I 
 broke the head in with an ax and piled the resin in the fire. 
 This soon had its effect, and our boat soon left the Eclypse far in 
 the rear. The steamers parted at the mouth of the Ohio. The 
 Captain was so well pleased with my work that he gave Elder 
 Twist and myself a free passage. 
 
 When we reached Nashville Elder Twist became homesick and 
 left me, and returned to Nauvoo. I gave him $10 to pay his 
 way home. I was thus left alone once more. I found the 
 Branch at Nashville in a healthy condition, and much pleased to 
 have me with them. I then visited the Branch in Putnam 
 County, and preached to them, advising all to go to Nauvoo. I 
 added several new members to the Church. By the next Spring 
 that entire Branch had gone to Nauvoo. The Branch on Stone 
 River also went to Nauvoo soon after I returned home* A dele- 
 gation, headed by Captain John H. Redd, came to invite me to 
 go and preach in the settlement where Captain Redd lived. 
 They said I could not preach publicly, for my life would be in 
 danger, as many of the citizens were very hostile to the Mor- 
 mons and had run one man out of the neighborhood for practic- 
 ing Mormonism, and Randolph Alexander had been run off for 
 preaching Mormonism. Captain Redd was formerly a sea cap- 
 tain and a native of South Carolina. I told the delegation I 
 would preach, provided they gave general publicity to my ap- 
 pointment. They were startled at the proposal, and said my life 
 would not be Bafe a moment if I undertook to preach in public. 
 
136 MOSMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 I told them to trust that to me. They returned home and gave 
 general notice of when and where I would preach. At the ap- 
 pointed time I started for the place of meeting, which was 
 twenty miles from Murfreesborough. I was met by a guard of 
 ten men, headed by Captain Redd, who came to meet and pro- 
 tect me. The next day I preached to a large number of peo- 
 ple. I spoke two hours to them, upon the subject of our free 
 institutions and the constitutional rights of American citizens. 
 I told them who I was and what I was ; that I was a free Amer- 
 ican citizen ; that I claimed the right of free speech as a free 
 man ; that I held myself open for investigation ; that if the peo- 
 ple wished me to set forth the tenents of our faith I would do so, 
 otherwise I would leave ; that if they did not desire to hear the 
 truth they could make it manifest and I would leave their coun- 
 try. The vote was unanimous for me to tarry and preach to 
 them. I preached there twice. My first sermon was upon the 
 apostasy of the churches of the day and the necessity of a purer 
 gospel, proving what I said by the Scriptures. I then followed 
 up with the origin and authenticity of the Book of Mormon. 
 
 I was then induced to continue my sermons. I staid there 
 and continued to do my Master's will. After the fourth sermon 
 I commenced to baptize members. The first one that I bap- 
 tized at that place was Parson John Holt, of the Christian faith. 
 Then I baptized seven of the members of his church ; then Cap- 
 tain Redd and his family. This unexpected success of the gos- 
 pel created great excitement in that section of country. About 
 ten miles from there lived two men, lieutenants in the militia 
 company of Captain Bogardus, of Missouri fame and disgrace. 
 These men had strayed into this section of the country, and 
 were employed by two wealthy farmers, and were acting as over- 
 seers. They told fearful stories about the Mormons in Missouri, 
 and gathered up a mob of about twenty-five men and came with 
 them, determined to tar and feather me if I preached again. 
 Word reached the settlement of what was intended. The people 
 came to me to ask what they should do. I told them to wait 
 and let me manage the affair. The next day, Sunday, while I 
 was preaching, one of the lieutenants, by the name of Dickey, 
 made his appearance with ten men. He informed me of his de- 
 sign, and that I must quit preaching and leave for other parts of 
 the country. "Not just yet," said I. At this he and his men 
 made a rush for me. As they started the women next to the 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 137 
 
 stand formed a circle around me. While thus surrounded I 
 continued my sermon. I refuted the absurd stories of Dickey 
 and his crew, and I then told the people there what I knew had 
 been done at Far West by Lieut. Dickey and the members of 
 Captain Bogardus* company. The mob tore down my stand, 
 but could not get at me. Then they retired to consult. Cap- 
 tain J. H. Redd then appointed a meeting to be held at his 
 place that afternoon, and he told the people that he did not want 
 any person to come into his yard unless they came intending to 
 behave ; that if there was any violence used there some one 
 would get hurt. I preached at his house that afternoon. A 
 fearful storm raged during most of the time, -but this was fortu- 
 nate, for it kept the mob away. While I was preaching a 
 drunken wag interrupted me and called me a d d liar. Cap- 
 tain Redd was sitting near me with two large pistols, which he 
 called his peace-makers. This insult was not more than out of 
 the fellow's mouth when Captain Redd caught him by the neck 
 and rushed him out of the house into the rain. The coward 
 begged hard for himself, but he was forced to go out and sit 
 under a porch during the rest of the sermon. Captain Redd was 
 a kind-hearted, generous man, but would not stand abuse. The 
 next Sunday was a cloudy day, so the meeting was held within 
 doors. Dickey had by this time raised his mob to about fifty 
 men, and had made every arrangement to give me a warm recep- 
 tion. Two men who were intoxicated were selected to start the 
 disturbance, or "open the ball," as they called it. I had just 
 commenced speaking, when one of these men began to swear and 
 use indecent language, and made a rush for me with his fist 
 drawn. I at once made a Masonic sign of distress, when, to my 
 relief and yet to my surprise, a planter rushed to my aid. He 
 was the man who employed Dickey. He took the drunken men 
 and led them out of the crowd, and sat by me during the rest of 
 my sermon, thus giving me full protection. That man was a 
 stranger to me, but he was a good man and a true Mason. His 
 action put an end to mob rule at that place. After the meeting 
 I baptized some ten persons. 
 
 Soon afterwards I was sent for by Col. Tucker, of Duck 
 Creek, Marshall Co., to come there, a distance of thirty miles. 
 I attended, and delivered three lectures, which were well receiv- 
 ed by all, the Colonel in particular. He was a wealthy Virginian, 
 and pressed me warmly to make his house my home. His wife 
 
138 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 find family were favorably impressed. They were of the Pres- 
 byterian order, and two of her brothers were ministers of that 
 faith. I remained here a few days, and left an appointment to- 
 preach on the following Saturday and Sunday. Before leaving 
 I let the Colonel's lady have books on our faith, and returned to 
 fill some appointments that I had made at Capt. Redd's. At the 
 appointed time I returned to fill my appointments on Buckskin 
 River. 
 
 Within half a mile of Col. Tucker's house was a Methodist 
 chapel. At this place lived a New Light preacher, an old man, 
 who invited me to stop with him. He informed me that Col. 
 Tucker had become bitter against the Mormons on account of 
 his wife believing in them, and that she wanted to be baptized. 
 She had left word with him requesting me not to leave without 
 baptizing her. This was something that I wished to avoid, so- 
 to prevent trouble I concluded not to go to Col. Tucker's at all. 
 I filled my- appointments, and returned to my Christian friend's- 
 house for refreshments, intending to make my way over the 
 mountains that night, and thus avoid meeting Mrs. Tucker. I 
 had just finished supper, and stepped to the door to start back, 
 when I met Mrs. Tucker. She upbraided me for not calling to- 
 see her. I said to her that it was contrary to the rules of our 
 faith for an elder to interfere in any man's family against the 
 wish or will of the husband or parents ; that she should keep- 
 quiet and the Lord would take the will for the deed. The more 
 I tried to reconcile her, the more determined she became to be 
 baptized. While I was talking with her a young man came to 
 us and reported that Col. Tucker had ambushed himself, with a 
 double-barreled shot-gun, near the place of baptizing, swearing 
 vengence. against the man that attempted to baptize his wife. 
 
 I was in hopes to persuade her to return, but in vain. She 
 said to me, " You have declared your mission is from Heaven, 
 that you are a servant of God, and I believe it. Now I demand 
 baptism at your hands. If you are a servant of God, don't 
 shrink from your duty." 
 
 I looked at her for a moment, and said, u Woman, if you 
 have faith enough to be baptized under these circumstances, I 
 have faith enough to try it at least." Some ten personal friends 
 who lived in the little village accompained us to the water, a- 
 short distance above the usual place of baptizing, and attended 
 during the performance of the ordinance. They advised her ta 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 139 
 
 return home immediately, with her two servants, and never let 
 on as though anything had happened. We started to return to 
 the house of my friend, carrying my boots in my hand. It was 
 now dark. As I got to the top of a high fence, and cast my 
 eyes about me, I luckily saw a man near me in the rear, with 
 a double-barreled shot-gun in his hands, or what I supposed 
 was such. He was within ten steps of me, or nearer. I at 
 once recognized him to be Col. Tucker. Having heard of 
 his threats, I was induced not to tempt him too far. I placed 
 my hands on the fence and sprang over it, alighting on the 
 other side, near a cross-fence which separated the garden from 
 a field of corn, to avoid a collision with him. As quick a& 
 thought I got on the opposite side of the fence, among the corn, 
 which was at full height. I was within twenty feet of Tucker 
 and could hear all that was said. I heard him rave, draw 
 his shot-gun down, and demand with oaths what they were 
 doing there. Had they been baptizing his wife? I recognized 
 the voice of the Parson's lady with whom I was stopping. 
 She had the wet clothes of Mrs. Tucker. 
 
 " Tell me," demanded Tucker, u if my wife has been baptized, 
 or I will blow your brains out." The reply was, *' She has been 
 baptized." " Where is that infernal Mormon preacher?" de- 
 manded the Colonel; "I will put a load of shot through him." 
 "He is in that corn field," was the reply. The Colonel then raved 
 the more. Finally some of his friends persuaded him to return 
 home, and not disgrace himself. He pretended to do so, but it 
 was only a feint to get me out, I feared. After waiting until all 
 was quiet, I returned to the house of my friend, and passed 
 through the door and went out on the porch. I sat down and 
 was slipping off my socks, to put on dry ones, when I heard a 
 rustling in the room behind me. The next moment Col. Tucker 
 had his gun leveled on me, and it flashed. He then whirled the 
 butt of it to fell me to the earth. Seeing my danger I sprang 
 and caught him around the waist, with one of his arms in my 
 grasp, which left him with only one arm loose. He said, U I 
 have you now, d n you, where I want you." He was a strong, 
 muscular man, and, no doubt, supposed I would be no match 
 for him. I ordered a young man that stood near by, to take 
 his gun. I then gripped him with an iron hug, and sent him 
 back into the room. The old gentleman with whom I was stop- 
 ping, ordered him out of the house unless he would behave him- 
 
140 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 self. He said he had invited me to his house, and felt that it 
 was his duty to protect me. The Colonel replied that he would 
 go if he could, that he never knew before that when he was in 
 the hands of a Mormon, he was in a bear's clutches. I said, "I 
 will take you out if it will accommodate you." Thus saying, 
 I stepped out on the porch with him. I saw that he was willing 
 to go. This gave me new courage. He said, "D n you, let 
 me go or I will blow your brains out when I get loose." I re- 
 plied, "There is but one condition on which I will let you go, 
 and that is that you will go home and be quiet and trouble me 
 no more." He replied, " D n you, I will settle with you for all 
 this." I felt that a man who would treat a stranger as he had 
 me, could not have the moral courage to back him in so shame- 
 ful an act as the one he was engaged in. This was in the month 
 of July, and it was very warm. I had hugged him closely, and 
 he was growing weak. He said again, u Let me go, I am getting 
 faint. I will be still if you will let go of me, and I will make it 
 hot for you if you don't let me go." As he said this I renewed 
 my grip upon him, and raising him up, said, "You have tried to 
 take my life without cause, and still persist in doing so. If you 
 don't behave I will throw you out of sight on this hard ground." 
 I said this with an emphasis as though I meant it. As I was, 
 as he supposed, in the act of dashing him to the ground, he 
 begged of me, saying that if I would let him loose, he would go 
 and trouble me no more. I let him fall to the ground, and 
 handed him his gun, and let him live. When he got a little dis- 
 tance away he began threatening me, and said he would be re- 
 venged. After all had quieted down I retired to rest in the up- 
 per story of my friend's house. 
 
 About one o'clock in the morning I was awakened by the 
 voice of a female, which I recognized as the voice of Mrs. 
 Tucker, in company with two or three other ladies. She inform- 
 ed me that her husband was bent on my destruction, and that 
 he and ten men were way laying my road, and advised me not 
 to start in that direction ; that her husband had accused her of 
 wetting the wads in his gun to save my life ; but for me to be of 
 good cheer and put my trust in God, and that she had not re- 
 gretted the steps she had taken. I thanked her for her kindness, 
 and told her that I wished her to return home and not come to 
 see me any more ; that I was in the hands of God and He 
 would protect me and deliver me safe; that her visits to me 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 141 
 
 would only make her husband more enraged at her. They 
 retired, and I fell asleep. 
 
 At four o'clock I awoke, dressed myself, and ordered the ser- 
 vant to saddle my horse. As the servant hitched my horse to 
 the post, Tucker and several men appeared upon the ground. 
 Tucker told the servant that he would cut him in two if he sad- 
 dled my horse. I spoke to Tucker kindly, saluting him with 
 the time of day. His reply was, "I have got you now, 
 d n you." Thus saying, he ordered his nephew to bring 
 Esquire Walls immediately. After washing, I took my seat on 
 the porch, and took out my Bible to read. Tucker stood about 
 ten steps from me to guard me and my horse. My old friend, 
 the New Light preacher, with whom I was lodging, had a fine 
 horse saddled for me and hitched on the south side of the corn- 
 field. He advised me to pass down through the corn-field while 
 I could do so without being detected, and thus get away out of 
 the county before a warrant could be issued for my arrest. 
 Deliverance was very tempting, yet I did not like the name of 
 running away from trouble. It would convey the impression of 
 fear, if not guilt, to most casual observers. So I chose to face 
 the music and abide the consequences. 
 
 A little after sunrise I saw Justice Walls coming, and some 
 fifty men with him. At this my heart leaped for joy. Among so 
 many I was satisfied all were not against me, as many of them 
 had attended lectures and were favorably impressed with them. 
 After a short interview with Col. Tucker, Justice Walls informed 
 me that Col. Tucker demanded from him a warrant for my 
 arrest, for having baptized his wife without his consent. I asked 
 Col. Tucker if he ever forbid me to baptize his wife ; if he did 
 not invite me to his house and invite me to stop there when I 
 returned ; that I had not seen him, after this conversation, until 
 after his wife was baptized. That I had not urged her to be 
 baptized ; that she came to me and demanded to be baptized. I 
 told the Justice that I had violated no law of Tennessee. 
 The law allows a wife much greater privileges than being bap- 
 tized without the consent of her husband ; that she could sell 
 one-third of his real estate, and her deed would be good. The 
 Justice said I was right, and told the Colonel it would be use- 
 less to issue a warrant without just cause. The Colonel then 
 demanded a warrant for my arrest for assault and battery. He 
 aaid I had abused bis person, and that he was sore all over and 
 
142 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 scarcely able to walk. The Justice told the Colonel that it 
 seemed to him that he was the one who had made the assault; 
 that he snapped a loaded gun at me and had attempted to take 
 my life, and that what I had done was in self-defense. He told 
 Colonel Tucker he would talk with him again. 
 
 He then beckoned to me to follow him, and I did so. We went 
 into a room by ourselves, when he said to me, " Parson Lee, 
 you have many warm friends here. I have been very much in- 
 terested in your lectures. I believe you to be honest and firm 
 in your faith, and I will do all I can for you. Colonel Tucker is 
 a desperate man when aroused. As a matter of policy, to 
 humor him, I will give him a writ, but I will manage to delay 
 the time to enable you to get out of the county. I will send 
 for my law books, with instructions to delay in getting them 
 here, and will argue with the Colonel that I must have my books 
 here to examine the law. It is only four miles to the county 
 line, when you will be all right. Then take the trail over the 
 mountain, and they will not know which way you have gone. 
 When you get into your county remember me on election day. 
 This county and Rutherford County send three members to the 
 Legislature. I am a candidate, and the vote of your friends in 
 these counties will secure my election. When I send for my 
 books you appear and bid us good-bye, as though you were not 
 afraid of any man. Colonel Tucker has promised me he will 
 use no violence if I will give him a writ." The Justice then 
 gave me a token of the Brotherhood, and then walked out to 
 confer with Colonel Tucker, and sent his nephew back for his 
 books, instructing him to delay in getting them, so as to give 
 me time to get out of the county, before an officer could over- 
 take me. He told the Colonel to keep cool and he would soon 
 have a writ for me. 
 
 I went into the dining-room and sat down to breakfast, and 
 ate a little as a blind. Then taking up my saddle-bags, bade 
 them all good-bye. 
 
 I walked to my horse, that stood hitched where the servant 
 had left him. As I left the house Justice Walls followed me as 
 though he was very much surprised, and said, "Parson Lee, I 
 hope you will tarry until this matter can be settled amicably." 
 I told him that I had violated no law, that my ministerial engage- 
 ments compelled me to leave, and that I should have done so 
 before had not this unpleasant affair detained me ; that I chose 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 143 
 
 <to serve God rather than fear the ire of man. Thus saying, I 
 placed my saddle upon my horse. Colonel Tucker leveled his gun 
 on me, and said, " D n you, I knew you would run." I 
 turned and eyed him and told him to put up his gun ; that I had 
 borne all I intended to from him ; that if he attempted violence 
 he would never trouble another man. At the same time the 
 Justice told him to be careful, that he had made himself liable 
 already. I mouted my horse and turned to the Colonel and 
 told him he might guard that wood-pile until the day of judg- 
 ment, for all that I cared. He again raised his gun, but was 
 prevented by the bystanders from shooting. I rode off leisurely, 
 and when about seventy-five yards away I stopped and watered 
 my horse. Tucker again drew his gun on me, and I expected 
 him to shoot every moment, but I durst not show fear. My 
 road lay along the mountain for some two miles. When I passed 
 a house I would walk my horse, and sing and seem to be wholly 
 unconcerned, but when I was out of sight I put my horse on the 
 keen jump, and was soon safe out of Marshall County and in 
 Rutherford. Finding an out-of-the-way place, with good blue 
 grass and plenty of shade, I got down from my horse and re- 
 turned thanks to my Father in heaven for my deliverance. 
 
 In the afternoon I arrived at the house of Capt. Redd, where 
 I generally made my home. The brethren all came to welcome 
 me back, and I related to them my experience and deliverance. 
 A short time after this James K. Polk and Col. Jones, both can- 
 didates for the office of Governor of Tennessee, and the candi- 
 didates for the Legislature, including my friend Walls, met at 
 Murfreesborough and held a political meeting. Walls related to 
 me the sequel of what happened with Col. Tucker. When his 
 nephew went for his law books he permitted his horse to get 
 away, and was nearly ruined in the brush and grapevines while 
 I was escaping. Col. Tucker did not blame the Justice at all, 
 but rather sympathized with him in his misfortune. Mrs. Tucker 
 still remained firm in her faith. The kindness of Justice Walls 
 to me in my hour of peril was not forgotten. I spoke of it in all 
 my meetings, and to my friends in private. And to this act of jus- 
 tice and humanity he owed his election, as he was elected by a 
 majority of only five votes. 
 
 I visited the branch on Stone River and made arrangements 
 to return to my family at Nauvoo, the City of Joseph. The two 
 branches now numbered about sixty members. I organized a 
 
144 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 branch west of Murfreesborough, and ordained John Holt to the 
 office of Elder. I baptized a young girl at Readysville, by the 
 name of Sarah C. Williams, of rich parentage. She was about 
 ten years old, and afterwards emigrated to Nauvoo, with the 
 family of Wm. Pace. She was sealed to me in her fourteenth 
 year, and is still with me. She is the mother of twelve children, 
 and has been a true, faithful companion to me. I lectured at 
 Murfreesborough for about ten days, and about the first of Octo- 
 ber, 1843, I took the steamer at Nash /ille for my home at Nau- 
 voo, arriving there on the 1 4th of October. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 MATTERS OP PECULIAR INTEREST AT NAUVOO. 
 
 Upon my return home I found my family well. Work OP iie 
 Temple was progressing finely, and every effort was being made 
 to push it ahead. About this time John C. Bennett came on a 
 visit to see the Prophet, and soon after joined the Church. At 
 that time he wielded quite an influence in government affairs. He 
 grew in the graces of the Prophet and became his right-hand 
 man. He endeavored, in connection with Stephen A. Douglass, 
 to obtain a charter for the City of Nauvoo. Bennett organized 
 the Nauvoo Legion, and was elected Major General. Through 
 his influence, backed by Douglass, arms were obtained for 
 the Legion from the government. A Free Mason's lodge, 
 and the privileges of Masonry, were extended to the Le- 
 gion. Judge Cleveland, of Springfield, 111., was very friendly, 
 and frequently visited the Prophet. A fine lodge was built in 
 Nauvoo, and many were admitted as members. The brothers, 
 Joseph and Hyrum Smith, held high positions in the brother- 
 hood. I here became a member of the order and received three 
 degrees. 
 
 The institution flourished during our stay in Nauvoo, and was 
 frequently visited by the Grand Worshipful Master from Spring- 
 field, and lectures were had and a library established. I was 
 Librarian of the order. I was also Wharf Master of the city, 
 and held the position of Major in the Nauvoo Legion, and com- 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 145 
 
 manded the escort in the Fifth Infantry. I was made the gen- 
 eral clerk and reader for the Seventies and issued the laws to 
 that body. I held the office of a Seventy, and was collector 
 of the delinquent military tax. The same Fall I was appointed 
 on a committee, with Brigham Young as counselor, to build a 
 hall for the Seventies, the upper story to be used for the Priest- 
 hood and the Council of Fifty. Previous to my being appointed 
 on the committee two committees had been appointed, but had 
 accomplished nothing, and we commenced without a dollar. 
 My plan was to build it by shares, of the value of five dollars 
 each. Hyrum Smith, the Patriarch, told me that he would give 
 the Patriarchal Blessing to any that labored on the foundation 
 of the building. The Seventies numbered about four hundred 
 and ninety men. I was to create the material. That is, I would 
 watch, and when I could get a contract to take out lumber from 
 the river, as rafts would land at the city, I would take common 
 laboring men, and the portion of the lumber that we got for our 
 pay we would pile up for the building. In this way we got all 
 the lumber needed. The brick we made ourselves, and boated 
 the wood to burn them and our lime from the island. 
 
 In the month of March, 1844, we had the building up on the 
 west side nearly two stories high. One day when the wall was built 
 up nine feet high and forty-five feet long, and was of course 
 green, a tornado came that night and blew the wall down, 
 breaking columns and joists below, doing a damage of several 
 thousand dollars. I was inclined to be down in the lip, but 
 Brigham Young laughed at me, and said it was the best omen 
 in the world ; it showed that the Devil was mad, and knew that 
 the Seventy would receive the blessings of God in that house ; 
 and as they were special witnesses to the nations of the earth, 
 they would make his kingdom quake and tremble ; that when 
 Noah was building the ark he was mobbed three times, but he 
 persevered, and finally they said, "Let the d d old fool 
 alone, and see what he will accomplish." " Just so with you; 
 double your diligence and put her up again. If you do not you 
 will lose many a blessing." 
 
 I went to work again with as m any men as could work to ad- 
 vantage. We threw the wall down flat, and commenced a new 
 one, another brick thicker than the former. I borrowed fifty 
 thousand brick, and made them and returned them when the 
 weather was fine. By the first of May we had the Hall closed in. 
 10 
 
146 M.ORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 I must now leave the building of the hall for other matters. 
 During the winter, Joseph, the Prophet, set a man by the 
 name of Sidney Hay Jacobs, to select from the Old Bible such 
 scriptures as pertained to polygamy, or celestial marriage, and 
 to write it in pamphlet form, and to advocate that doctrine. This 
 he did as a feeler among the people, to pave the way for celes- 
 tial marriage. This, like all other notions, met with opposition, 
 while a few favored it. The excitement among the people be- 
 came so great that the subject was laid before the Prophet. No 
 one was more opposed to it than was his brother Hyrum, who 
 denounced it as from beneath. Joseph saw that it would break 
 up the Church, should he sanction it, so he denounced the pam- 
 phlet through the TFasp, a newspaper published at Nauvoo, 
 by E. Robinson, as a bundle of nonsense and trash. He said if 
 he had known its contents he would never have permitted it to 
 be published, while at the same time other confidential men 
 were advocating it on their own responsibility. Joseph himself 
 said on the stand, that should he reveal the will of God concern- 
 ing them, that they, pointing to President W. Marks, P. P. Pratt, 
 and others, would shed his blood. He urged them to surrender 
 themselves to God instead of rebelling against the stepping 
 stone of their exaltation. In this way he worked upon the feelings 
 and minds of the people, until they feared that the anger of the 
 Lord would be kindled against them, and they insisted upon 
 knowing the will of Heaven concerning them. But he dared not 
 proclaim it publicly, so it was taught confidentially to such as 
 were strong enough in the faith to take another step. About 
 the same time the doctrine of ''sealing" for an eternal state was 
 introduced, and the Saints were given to understand that their 
 marriage relations with each other were not valid. That those 
 who had solemnized the rites of matrimony had no authority of 
 God to do so. That the true priesthood was taken from the 
 earth with the death of the Apostles and inspired men of God. 
 That they were married to each other only by their own cove- 
 nants, and that if their marriage relations had not been produc- 
 tive of blessings and peace, and they felt it oppressive to remain 
 together, they were at liberty to make their own choice, as much 
 as if they had not been married. That it was a sin for people 
 to live together, and raise or beget children, in alienation 
 from each other. There should exist an affinity between 
 each other, not a lustful one, as that can never cement that 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. H7 
 
 love and affection that should exist between a man and his wife. 
 I will here mention that Orson Hyde and W. W. Phelps 
 turned against Joseph in Missouri, and forsook him in time oi 
 peril and danger, and even testified against him in the courts. 
 After the troubles were over, and Joseph was again in place in 
 the midst of the Saints, they both wished to be restored to fel- 
 lowship and standing in the Church, confessing their faults. 
 Joseph laid the case before the Church, and said that if God 
 could forgive them he ought to, and would do so, and give them 
 another chance. With tears he moved that we would forgive 
 them and receive them back into fellowship. He then sent El- 
 der O. Hyde and John E. Page to Jerusalem, and to the land of 
 Palestine, to dedicate that land for the gathering of the Jews. 
 Report said that Hyde's wife, with his consent, was sealed to 
 Joseph for an eternal state, but I do not assert the fact. I also 
 understood that Brigham Young's wife was sealed to Joseph. 
 After the death of Joseph, Brigham Young told me that Joseph's 
 time on earth was short, and that the Lord allowed him privi- 
 leges that we could not have. 
 
 A difference arose between Joseph and Win. Law, his second 
 counselor, on account of Law's wife. Law said that the Proph- 
 et proposed making her his wife, and she so reported to her hus- 
 band. Law loved his wife and was devoted to her, as she was 
 an amiable and handsome woman, and he did not feel like giv- 
 ing her up to another man. He exposed the Prophet, and from 
 that time became his enemy. His brother, Wilson Law, sided 
 with him. They were Canadians, and wealthy and influential 
 men. They, in connection with Foster and Higbee, who were 
 on the wane in the faith, established a paper at Nauvoo, called 
 the Expositor, in which they took about the same position that 
 the Salt Lake Daily Tribune does. They set the Prophet up 
 without mercy. They soon got after Brigham for trying to in- 
 fluence Martha Brotherton to be sealed to Joseph. Her father 
 found it out and helped to expose them, which made it rather 
 hot for them. The next move of the Prophet and his friends 
 was to get the City Council to pass an ordinance declaring the 
 Expositor to be a nuisance, and also Higbee's grocery, unless 
 they would close them up. 
 
 John C. Bennett became suspected, and fears were entertained 
 that he would join the faction. He was accused of selling of- 
 <ices in the miltary organization, to certain men who would help 
 
148 MORMON1SM UNVEILED. 
 
 him win the good graces of some of the young sisters, and thai 
 he became intimate with Orson Pratt' s wife, while Pratt was on 
 a mission. That he built her a fine frame house, and lodged 
 with her, and used her as his wife. Fearing that Bennett would 
 assail the character of the Prophet, I brought him before the 
 City Council, and had him make a statement, c ertifying that he 
 knew nothing derogatory to the character of the Prophet, and 
 that his behavior was that of a gentleman and a man of God. 
 After this, Bennett was hauled up and dealt with, and severed 
 from the Church. He said that the Prophet gave him per- 
 mission to do as he had done with Mrs. Pratt. Joseph said 
 Bennett was guilty of adultery, but that as a matter of policy he 
 had not exposed him until after Bennett had made his statement. 
 
 Previous to this time, the Prophet had written a letter to 
 Martin Van Buren, wishing to know his views in regard to the 
 grievances and wrongs of the Mormon people, should he be 
 elected President. He replied that he believed their cause was 
 just, and that Congress had no right to interfere. That it was a 
 State matter, and was left to the Executive. The Prophet 
 addressed another letter to Wm. H. Harrison, on the same sub- 
 ject. His answer was but little more satisfactory. He then 
 drew up a statement of his own, of the power and policy of the 
 Government. A convention was called, and the Prophet waa 
 nominated as a candidate for the Presidency. He set forth his 
 views in the .yauvoo Neighbor, a newspaper formerly knows 
 as the Wasp. He stated that if the people would elect him 
 President it would be tjie salvation of the nation, but if other- 
 wise, the Union would soon be severed. That the two political 
 parties would continue to influence the people until it would 
 end in a civil war, in which all nations would take part, and 
 this nation would be broken up. At this convention, the Elders 
 were assigned missions to different States. I was sent to stump 
 the State of Kentucky, with ten elders to assist me. 
 
 Brigham Young said to me, "You had better shut up the 
 Seventies' Hall, and obey, perhaps, the last call of the Prophet." 
 Things looked rather squally before I left, and but little prospect 
 of growing better. I left Nauvoo on the 4th of May, 1844, 
 with greater reluctance than I had on any previous mission. It 
 was hard enough to preach the gospel without purse or scrip, 
 but it was nothing compared to offering a man with the reputa- 
 tion that Joseph Smith had, to the people as a candidate for 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 149 
 
 the highest gift of the nation. I would a thousand times rather 
 have been shut up in jail, than to have taken the trip, but I 
 dared not refuse. 
 
 About one hundred of us took the steamer Ospray, for St. 
 Louis. Our mission was understood by all the passengers on 
 board. I was not long waiting until the subject was brought 
 up. I had made up my mind to banish all fear, and overcome 
 timidity. I made the people believe that I felt highly honored 
 to electioneer for a Prophet of God. That it was a privilege 
 that few men enjoyed in these days. I endeavored to make my- 
 self agreeable by mixing with the passengers on the steamer. 
 I told them that the Prophet would lead both candidates from 
 the start. There was a large crowd on the boat, and an elec- 
 tion was proposed. Judges and clerks were appointed and a 
 vote taken. The Prophet received a majority of seventy-five, 
 out of one hundred and twenty-five votes polled. This created 
 a tremendous laugh, and we kept it up till we got to St. Louis. 
 Here the most of us took the steamer Mermaid. The change of 
 steamers afforded me a new field of labor. Here I met a brother 
 of Gen. Atchinson., one of the commanders of the militia that 
 served against the Church at Far West. He became very much 
 interested in me, and when we parted at Smithland, Ky., he in- 
 vited me to go home with him and preach in his neighborhood. 
 My destination being Frankfort, I could not accept his invita- 
 tion. I went to Lexington, by way of Georgetown, lecturing as 
 I went. I finally went to the Capital, put up at a hotel, and 
 endeavored to hire the State House to speak in, but found it 
 engaged. , 
 
 My funds were low, though my hotel bill was four dollars per 
 day. After three days' trial I hired the Court House. The 
 people said that no Mormon had ever been able to get a hearing, 
 though several had attempted to do so. When evening came I 
 had to light up the house and ring the bell. Elder S. B. Frost 
 assisted me. Soon the hall was filled with none but juveniles, 
 from ten to fifteen years of age. I understood the trick. They 
 supposed I would leave, but to their surprise I arose and said I 
 was glad to see them out in such great numbers ; that I knew 
 they had good parents, or they would not be here ; that if they 
 would take seats and be quiet we would sing them some of our 
 Mormon songs. Elder Frost was a charming singer. We sang 
 two or three songs. Our juvenile hearers seemed paralyzed. I 
 
150 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 then knelt down and prayed. By this time the hall was crowded 
 with men, and I begged them not to crowd my little friends out. 
 I then spoke about an hour and a half upon the constitutional 
 rights of American citizens. I spoke of the character of the 
 Southern people ; that they were noted for their kind and gener- 
 ous treatment of strangers in particular, but that I feared, 
 from the treatment I had received, that I had missed my 
 way in Kentucky. My sires were of Southern birth ; my father 
 was a relative of the Revolutionary Lee, of Virginia ; my uncle 
 was from Lexington, Kentucky; that I came a stranger into 
 their midst, and I felt confident that the right of speech would be 
 extended to us ; that we were ministers of the gospel, traveling 
 without purse or scrip, dependent upon the generosity of the 
 people for food and raiment, nor did we preach for hire ; that if 
 they wished, we would remain there and lecture, and if it met 
 the approbation of the people they could have the gospel 
 preached to them without money and without price. The first 
 man that spoke up was a saddler ; he said he was a poor man, 
 but we were welcome to his house, giving the street and num- 
 ber. About twenty more responded in like manner, among them 
 some of the most wealthy men of the county. We went home 
 with a rich farmer, and continued our labors, having more calls 
 than we could fill. We were sent for by a rich planter, who 
 lived about twenty miles away. I was anxious to extend our 
 labors as much as it was advisable. 
 
 On our way to the planter's we found it difficult to obtain 
 dinner. The orthodox people did not like to associate with 
 Mormons. I finally asked them to direct me to where some 
 infidel or gambler lived. They wanted to know what on earth I 
 wanted of them. I replied, "To get something to eat ; that 
 they were too liberal-minded to turn a stranger away from their 
 door. That the Saviour ate with publicans and sinners, for the 
 very reason that we do, for the religious scribes and pharisees 
 would not feed him." They pointed us to the next house, where 
 we went and were kindly received and entertained. The gentle- 
 man informed us that he belonged to no church, but that he had 
 an interest in a church, and said we were welcome to preach 
 there. He went and made an appointment for us to preach. 
 We preached there and were received with the greatest kind- 
 ness. I soon began to baptize, and calls came in on every side, 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D LEE, 151 
 
 when the papers brought us the news of the assassination of the 
 Prophet Joseph, and his brother Hyrum. 
 
 We returned immediately to Frankfort, as I expected the 
 Elders there, to learn what to do. We all retired to Maple 
 Grove, on the Kentucky river, and kneeled in prayer, and asked 
 the Lord to show us whether or not these reports were true. I 
 was the mouth in prayer, but received nothing definite in 
 answer to my prayer. I told the elders to follow their own im- 
 pressions, and if they wished to do so, to return to Nauvoo. 
 Each of them made his way back. I went and spent the even- 
 ing with a Mr. Snow. He claimed to be a cousin of Erastus 
 Snow, who was favorable to us. We spent the evening talking 
 over the reported deed. The next morning, about ten o'clock, 
 my mind was drawn out in prayer. I felt as though the solem- 
 nity of eternity was resting upon me. A heavenly, hallowed in- 
 fluence fell upon me, and continued to increase until I was elec- 
 trified from head to foot. I saw a large personage enter the 
 door and stand before me. His apparel was as white as the 
 driven snow, and his countenance as bright as the noon-day sun. 
 I felt paralyzed, and was speechless and motionless. It remain- 
 ed with me but a moment, then receded back out of the door. 
 This bright being's influence drew me from my chair and led me 
 south about three hundred yards, into a plot of clover and blue 
 grass, and stood over a persimmon tree, which afforded a pleas- 
 ant shade. I fell prostrate upon my face upon the grass. While 
 here I saw Joseph, the Prophet, and Hyrum his brother, the 
 Patriarch, and their wounds by which they had been assassinated. 
 This personage spoke to me in a soft, low voice, and said that 
 the Prophet and Patriarch had sealed their testimony with their 
 blood. That our mission was like that of the Apostles, and our 
 garments were clear of the blood of the nation. That I should 
 return to Nauvoo and wait until power was granted us from on 
 high. That as the Priesthood fell upon the Apostle Peter, so 
 should it rest with the twelve apostles of the Church for the pres- 
 ent. And thus the vision closed, and I gradually returned 
 back to my native element. Rising up I looked at my watch 
 and saw that I had been there an hour and a quarter. Return- 
 ing to the house my friend Snow asked me if I was ill. I replied 
 in the negative. He said I was very pale, that he saw my 
 countenance change while I sat in my chair ; that when I went 
 out of the door it seemed as though every drop of blood had 
 
152 MORMQNISM UNVEILED. 
 
 left me, or been changed. I then told him that the reports in 
 the papers were true, and the two Saints, the Prophet and the 
 Patriarch, was no more. I asked him to take me to the landing, 
 as I wished to take the evening packet, as my labors were done 
 in this country for the present. He impotuned me so hard that 
 I told him what I had seen. He saddled a horse for me and 
 one for himself, and we started, in company with severel others, 
 for the landing. When we were about to start on the steamer, 
 Mr. Steele, a brother of the Captain, introduced me to the 
 Captain. About eight persons demanded baptism, but I could 
 not stop, but advised them to come to Nauvoo ; among them 
 was my friend Snow. I had a cabin passage free. When I 
 reached Nauvoo, the excitement was at the highest point. 
 
 CHAPTER Xin. 
 
 DEATH OF JOSEPH SMITH SOME OF BRIGHAM YOUNG* S CRIMES. 
 
 Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and Hyrum, his brother, were as- 
 sassinated on the 24th day of June, 1844, at Carthage, 111., 
 about twenty miles from Nauvoo, while under the pledged faith 
 of Gov. Ford, of Illinois. Gov. Ford had promised them pro- 
 tection if they would stand trial and submit to the judgment 
 of the court. By his orders the Nauvoo Grays were to guard 
 the jail while the prisoners awaited a trial. 
 
 The mob was headed by Williams and Sharp, editors of the 
 Nauvoo Signal. When they approached the jail the guard made 
 no resistance, but fell back. Stephen Markham, who had been 
 to visit the prisoners an kour or so before they were killed, gave 
 Joseph an Allen revolver. A part of the mob rushed up stairs, 
 to the inner door of the prison, and burst it open and at- 
 tempted to enter. Dr. Richards parried off the bayonets with 
 his heavy cane. Joseph reached out his hand and fired off his 
 six shots at the crowd, and wounded several mortally. Hyrum, 
 who was trying to brace against the door, received a shot in the 
 face near the nose. He said, "I am a dead man," and fell. 
 John Taylor received a shot, but fortunately it struck his watch. 
 
DEATH OF JOSEPH SMITH, 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 153 
 
 which saved his life. These four were in the prison. Taylor, 
 however, received another shot and fell. Joseph left the door, 
 sprang through the window, and cried out, " Oh, Lord, my God, is 
 there no help for the widow's son!" as he sprang from the win- 
 dow, pierced with several balls. The crowd then left the door 
 and ran around to the windows. 
 
 Dr. Richards covered Tayloi* with a straw bed. Several shots 
 were fired at the bed, some of which cut his legs. .Dr. Richards 
 looked out of the window on the scene, and had several balls 
 pass through his clothing, but received no injury. After Joseph 
 fell he was set up against the well-curb and shot again. A 
 young man named Boggs rolled up his sleeves, and with a knife 
 attempted to cut off his head. At this instant, many of the by- 
 standers report that a flash of light encircled the Prophet, and 
 the man who was advancing to cut off his head fell back. They 
 all seemed frightened, and fled after perpetrating the horrid 
 deed. A runner was sent to Nauvoo to acquaint Governor Ford 
 ffith what had heen done. The Governor was terror stricken, 
 as it endangered his life, he being alone, without a guard, and 
 at the mercy of the Mormons, had they chosen to take advantage 
 of kim while he was in Nauvoo. Governor Ford advised them 
 to be quiet, and promised that he would see that their murderers 
 should be prosecuted. He gave the Mormons a company of 
 troops to go and bring their dead friends to Nauvoo. They 
 were placed in rough oak plank boxes and brought to the city. 
 There was great lamentation and mourning over them among the 
 people. Joseph was a man dearly loved by the Saints, and 
 blessed with direct revelation from God, and was an honorable, 
 generous, high-minded man. The remains of the Prophet and 
 his brother were laid in a sepulcher made of stone. The rough 
 boards, which once enclosed them, were sawed in pieces and 
 distributed among their friends, many of whom had canes made 
 of the pieces, with a lock of the hair of the Prophet set in the top 
 of them, and those canes are kept as sacred relics to this day. 
 
 But I must go back and speak of the cause of their arrest. While 
 I was in Kentucky the printing press and the grocery of Higbee 
 & Foster were declared nuisances, and ordered to be destroyed. 
 The owners refused to comply with the decision of the City 
 Council, and the Mayor ordered the press and type destroyed, 
 which was done. The owner of the grocery employed John 
 Eagle, a regular bully, and others, to defend it. As the police 
 
154 MOBMON1SM UNVEILED. 
 
 entered, or attempted to enter, Eagle stood in the door and 
 knocked three of them down. As the third one fell the Prophet 
 struck Eagle under the ear and brought him sprawling to the 
 ground. He then crossed Eagle's hands and ordered them to be 
 tied, saying that he could not see his men knocked down while 
 in the line of their duty, without protecting them. 
 
 This raised the ire of those men, Higbee, Foster, and others, 
 and they got out writs for the arrest of Joseph and others, and 
 laid their grievances before the Governor. Joseph, knowing the 
 consequences of such a move, concluded to leave for the Rocky 
 Mountains, and lay out a country where the Saints would not be 
 molested. He crossed over into Iowa, with a few faithful friends 
 with him. These friends begged him to return and stand his 
 trial ; that the Lord had always delivered him, and would again. 
 He told them that if he returned he would be killed, but that if 
 he went away he would save his life and the Church would not 
 be hurt ; that he would look out a new country for them ; that 
 the Governor had also advised him to do so. These old grannies 
 then accused him of cowardice, and told him that Christ had said 
 he would never leave his brethren in trouble. He then asked 
 them if his Emma wished him to return. They answered, " Yas." 
 He then said it was all light before him, and darkness behind 
 him, but he would return, though he felt like a sheep being led 
 to the slaughter. The following day he crossed the river again 
 to Illinois. He kissed his mother in particular, and told her 
 that his time had coine, and that he would seal his testimony 
 with his blood. He advised his brother Hyrum not to go with 
 him that he would be a comfort to the churches when he, the 
 Prophet, should be gone. Hyrum said, "No, my brother, I have 
 been with you in life and will be with you in death!" The 
 Prophet then called Gen. Dunham and had some private talk 
 with him, and started for the jail at Carthage. Dunham said 
 that the Prophet requested him to take his command and am- 
 bush it in a grove near Carthage, and watch the movements of 
 the crowd, but Dunham dared not go contrary to the orders of 
 the Governor. He might have gone in the night time, as he 
 knew that Joseph feared treachery. 
 
 About this time the settlements on Bear Creek and at Great 
 Plains had a difficulty with the outsiders, and the settlements 
 were broken up and the settlers driven to Nauvoo. Tiie Mor- 
 mons sought redress under the law. The sheriff tried to sup- 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 
 
 press the riot by a posse, but could not get a posse from the 
 outsiders, and he was obliged to summon them from the Mor- 
 mons. This made him unpopular and endangered his life, which 
 rendered him powerless. Governor Ford tried to bring to jus- 
 tice those who had assaulted the Smiths, but public opinion wa 
 against him, and the mass of the people objected, hence nothing 
 was done. Some of the leaders in the horrid deed were mem- 
 bers of the Legislature, and though the disturbance was partially 
 quelled, still the feeling of enmity continued to exist until the 
 final breaking up of the Church. 
 
 Every exertion was made to push forward the completion of 
 the Temple at Nauvoo. 
 
 Before proceeding further, we must learn who was to be the 
 successor of the Prophet to lead the Church. It was then un- 
 derstood among the Saints that young Joseph was to succeed 
 his father, and that right justly belonged to him. Joseph, the 
 Prophet, had bestowed that right upon him by ordination, but 
 he was too young at that time to fill the office and discharge 
 its solemn duties. Some one must fill the place until he had 
 grown to more mature age. Sidney Rigdon set up his claim, he 
 being the second counselor to the Prophet. Rigdon had a few 
 backers for his claims. A man by the name of Strong, who had 
 been writing for the Prophet, set up his claim to the office, by 
 forging an appointment from Joseph. Time passed on until 
 the whole twelve got in from their missions, and a conference 
 was held, and the several claimants came forward with their 
 claims. Sidney Rigdon was the first who appeared upon the 
 stand. He had been considered rather in the back-ground for 
 sometime previous to the death of the Prophet. He made but 
 a weak claim. Strong did not file any. Just them Brigham 
 Young arose and roared like a young lion, imitating the style 
 and voice of Joseph, the Prophet. Many of the brethren de- 
 clared that they saw the mantle of Joseph fall upon him. I 
 myself, at the time, imagined that I saw and heard a strong re- 
 semblance to the Prophet in him, and felt that he was the man 
 to lead us until Joseph's legal successor should grow up to 
 manhood, when he should surrender the Presidency to the man 
 who held the birthright. After that time, if he continued to 
 claim and hold the position, he could not be considered anything 
 else than an usurper, and his acts would not meet the approba- 
 tion of Heaven. Hence the course of Brigham Young has been 
 
156 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 downward ever since. As soon as he got the reins of govern- 
 ment in his hands, he swore that he would never suffer an officer 
 to serve a writ on, or arrest him, as they had Joseph ; that he 
 would send them across lots to h 1, that dark and gloomy road 
 whence no traveler ever returned. At that time I lived on 
 Warsaw street, about one-half of a mile east of the Temple. 
 
 He wished me to remove near to him, as I was one of the 
 guards that were assigned to guard him. I had quite a comfort- 
 able brick house and lot, all in fine order, on Warsaw street. He 
 told me to let him have my property on Warsaw street and he 
 would buy me a house on the flat, nearer to him. I did so, and 
 he bought out Samuel D. Frost, and sent him on a mission to 
 Kentucky, where I had been laboring, taking his family with him. 
 He had a nice little frame house. I moved into it and had it 
 finished on the inside and made quite comfortable. Brigham at 
 that time was living in a little log house, but was preparing 
 to build a brick house. I renewed my labors on the Hall of the 
 Seventies, and finished it in grand style. It was then dedicated, 
 and the different quorums all had a pic-nic party in it, beginning 
 with the first quorum, consisting of seventy-seven men to each 
 quorum. Brigham said this hall would be a creditable building 
 in London. He called upon me to organize all the young men 
 into Quorums of Seventy, and keep the records for them. He 
 appointed me General Clerk and Recorder of the Seventies, 
 and through me were to be issued the licenses of the Quorums. 
 This was to be my compensation for my services. Joseph 
 Young was the senior President over all the Quorums. My 
 responsibility increased daily. I was offered the position of 
 senior President, I to select my six Counselors and my Quorum 
 of Seventy, but I declined, as I did not want the responsibility. 
 I held then all the offices I could fill. Having finished the hall, 
 I was offered, or rather had a mission, to build Joseph Young, 
 the head President of the Seventies, a neat brick dwelling. 
 Calling upon the Seventies to assist me, I soon mustered all the 
 help that was necessary, and made brick enough to build me a 
 large dwelling house. Including my other buildings it was 
 ninety feet front, two and a half stories high, with a good cellar. 
 By the middle of July, 1845, I had both houses, the one for 
 Joseph Young, and the one for myself, finished, ready for paint- 
 ing. During the Winter of 1844-5 a man by the name of Stan- 
 ley took up a school, teaching the use of the broad-sword. At 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 157 
 
 the expiration of his term I opened three schools, of fifty schol- 
 ars each, in the same exercise. I gave thirteen lessons in each 
 school, receiving two dollars from each scholar. This made me 
 sir hundred dollars. I received twent3 r -five cents for each 
 license that I issued. With these means I purchased paints and 
 oils to finish my dwelling house. I became very popular among 
 the Saints, and many of them donated labor and materials for my 
 dwelling house. I had a handsome inclosure, with fine orchard, 
 well of water, house finished and grained from top to bottom, and 
 everything in the finest order. I was young, strong and athletic. 
 I could drive ahead and work all day and stand guard half of 
 the night, through all kinds of weather. My pay for all this 
 was the honor and trust reposed in me. To guard the Presi- 
 dent and leading men of the Church was considered a great and 
 mighty thing, and would not be exchanged by those holding that 
 office for ten dollars a night. It was considered that this would 
 qualify those performing that duty for any position of honor or 
 trust. In 1845 I was present at a trial, when two young men 
 named Hodges were indicted and tried for murdering an old 
 man and his wife. The Hodges said that Brigham Young had 
 sent them to rob the old people of their money, of which they 
 were supposed to have a large amount. 
 
 When they went to rob the house they found the inmates 
 ready for them, and one of them was wounded. Thinking then 
 that they would be detected, they killed the old people, and 
 robbed them of their money. One of the party became alarmed 
 and reported on the two Hodges boys. Their older brother, Er- 
 win Hodges, said that Brigham Young had gotten his brothers in 
 this scrape, and that he could get them out of it, and that if he 
 did not do so his (Brigham Young's) blood would atone for it. 
 The same evening as Erwin was returning home, a little after 
 dark, he was met by two men who had been waiting for him to 
 come along. After some little conversation, as Erwin was turn- 
 ing, he was struck over the head with a police club, and then 
 stabbed four times over the heart. The murderers then fled, 
 supposing him to be dead. He was, however, only stunned, and 
 the bleeding revived him. He ran about one hundred and fifty 
 yards, and fell near Brigham Young's gate. He called for water, 
 and also for Brigham to lay his hands upon him. Some person 
 asked him who had done the deed. He replied he thought they 
 
158 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 were his friends, and expired without finishing the sentence, o* 
 he was afraid to tell. 
 
 A neighbor came running to my house, knowing that Brigham 
 was there, as he often came there to keep away from suspicious 
 persons. I started home with Brigham, and while on the way, I 
 remarked to him that it was a shocking affair. After a mo- 
 ment's hesitation, he replied that it was not any worse for 
 Hodges to be killed than it would have been for him (Young) to 
 have his blood shed. This answer recalled to my mind the 
 threat that Erwin had made during the day, at the trial of his 
 brothers, who were sentenced and hung at Burlington, Iowa. 
 These men who turned away from the Church were the most bit- 
 ter enemies to Brigham Young, and sought every opportunity tc 
 entrap him. They had a list of their most private friends to en- 
 snare him, and find an occasion to arrest him with a warrant, 
 This caused Brigham Young to keep hidden as much as possible. 
 In the meantime, his "destroying angels' ' were dilligently on the 
 watch, and every suspicious man was closely tracked up, and no 
 strategy neglected to find out his business. If they were sus- 
 picious that any man wanted to serve a writ on his Honor, 
 Brigham Young, they were careful never to let that man escape. 
 Sometimes they would treat them with great kindness, and in 
 that way decoy them to some out-of-the-way place, and "save " 
 them, as they called it. They were not only on the track of 
 officers, but all suspected characters who might come on to spy 
 out what was going on ; for instance, the consecrating of the 
 stock of their enemies, by the Saints, and driving it in at night 
 and butchering it, and distributing it among their friends. 
 Joseph Smith in his life-time said that a man who would steal 
 from a Gentile, would steal from his brother if he could not steal 
 from any one else ; that he deprecated this petty thieving, and 
 that the Saints should wait until the proper time, and then steal 
 back the whole State of Missouri and get their homes back with 
 interest. I knew of several men who were put out of the way in 
 this manner, though I never saw any of them killed. Besides 
 there were enough willing tools to do all this kind of dirty jobs 
 without me, though it was entrusted to the police to do, they 
 being sworn to secrecy. If any of them was caught in a scrape, 
 it was the duty of the rest to unite and swear him out. It was 
 claimed that the Gentiles had no right to administer an oath. 
 I have heard men say they would swear a house full of lies to 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 159 
 
 save one of the brethren. Whatever the police were ordered to 
 do, they were to do and ask no questions. Whether it was 
 right or wrong mattered not to them, they were responsible only 
 to their leaders, and they were amenable only to God. I was a 
 confidant among them, and they let me into the secret of all they 
 did, and they looked to me to speak a good word for them with 
 Brigham, as they were ambitious to please him and obtain his 
 blessing. I knew that I was in their full confidence, and the 
 captain of the police never asked me to do anything he knew I 
 was averse to doing. Under Brigham Young, Hosea Stout was 
 Chief of Police They showed me where they buried a man in 
 a lot near the Masonic Hall. They said they got him tight and 
 were joking with him while some men were digging his grave. 
 They asked him to go with them into a pit of corn, saying it 
 was fully grown. They told him they had a jug of whiskey 
 cached out there. They led him to his grave, and told him to 
 get down there, and hand up the jug, and he should have the 
 first drink. As he bent over to get down, Rosswell Stevens 
 struck him with his police cane on the back of the head and 
 dropped him. They then tightened a cord around his neck to 
 shut off his wind, and then they covered him up, and set the hill 
 of corn back on his grave to cover up any tracks that might lead 
 to his discovery. 
 
 Another man they took in a boat, about two o'clock at night, 
 for a ride. When out in the channel of the river, the man who 
 gat behind him struck him upon the head and stunned him. 
 They then tied a rope around his neck and a stone to the other 
 end of the rope, and sent him to the bottom of Mississippi 
 River. There was another man whose name I have forgotten, who 
 was a great annoyance to the Saints at Nauvoo. He generally 
 brought a party with him when he came to the city, and could 
 threaten them with the law, but he always managed to get away 
 safely. They (the Saints) finally concluded to entrust his case 
 to Howard Egan, a policeman, who was thought to be pretty 
 long headed. He took a party of chosen men, or " destroying 
 angels," and went to La Harp, a town near the residence of this 
 man, and watched an opportunity when he would pass along. 
 They "saved" him, and buried him in a wash-out at night. In 
 a short time afterwards, a thunder storm washed the earth away 
 and exposed the remains. They also told me of an attempt to rob 
 an old man and one son who lived on the Bear River. Ebenezer 
 
160 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 Richardson, an old tried veteran and policeman, had charge of 
 this mission. Four of them went near the residence of the old 
 folks. Two of them went to the house to get lodgings and re- 
 freshments. The old gentleman told them that he was not pre- 
 pared to entertain them, and directed them to a neighbor who 
 lived a mile away. They insisted upon stopping, and said they 
 were weary and would lie down upon their blankets. The fact 
 was that the old man was suspicious of them and utterly re- 
 fused to keep them. They then went away and counseled over 
 the matter, and concluded to wait until they were all asleep, 
 then burst in the door before they could have time to resist. 
 The old man and his son being sure that they had come for 
 the purpose of robbing them, had expected, and were waiting 
 for their return. Each of them had a gun. Richardson and his 
 party waited until about midnight, when they slipped carefully 
 to the house and listened. All was still. Then Richardson and 
 another man burst in the door. As the robbers were in the act 
 of entering the house, the old man and his son both fired. 
 Richardson's arm was broken just below the elbow ; the other 
 man received a slight wound. The reception was rather hot 
 and they backed water and were glad to get away. Richardson 
 wore a cloak to conceal his broken arm. The matter was kept 
 a profound secret. 
 
 I was in Brigham Young's office about this time. His brother 
 Joseph, and quite a number of others were present, when Brig- 
 ham raised his hand and said, " I swear by the eternal Heavens 
 that I have unsheathed my sword, and I will never return it until 
 the blood of the Prophet Joseph and Hyrum, and those who 
 were slain in Missouri, is avenged. This whole nation is guilty 
 of shedding their blood, by assenting to the deed, and holding 
 its peace." "Now," said he, "betray me, any of you who 
 dare to do so!" Furthermore, every one who had passed 
 through their endowments, in the Temple, were placed under 
 the most sacred obligations to avenge the blood of the Prophet, 
 whenever an opportunity offered, and to teach their children to 
 do the same, thus making the entire Mormon people sworn and 
 avowed enemies of the American nation. 
 
 They teach the rising generation to look upon every Gentile 
 or outsider, as their enemy, and never to suffer one of their 
 number to be sentenced by a Gentile court. They have even 
 gone so far as to teach them not to allow a Gentile Judge to 
 
A " BLOOD ATONED'* VICTIM, NEAR NAUVOO. 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 101 
 
 hang a Mormon dog. That they have no right to come into this 
 Territory, and to sit in judgment upon the Saints. That the 
 Saints are to judge the world instead of the officers of the world 
 judging them. I once thought that I never could be induced to 
 occupy the position that I now do, to expose the wickedness 
 and corruption of the man whom I once looked upon as my 
 spiritual guide, as I then considered Brigham Young to be. 
 Nothing could have compelled me to this course save an honest 
 sense of the duty I owe myself, my God, the people at large, 
 and my brethren and sisters who are treading the downward 
 path that will lead them to irretrievable ruin, unless they retrace 
 their steps and throw off the yoke of the tyrant, who has long 
 usurped the right of rule that justly belongs to the son of 
 Joseph, the Prophet. I have been driven to the wall by circum- 
 stances beyond my control, and have been forced to resort to 
 the first law of nature, self-protection. Perhaps this has served 
 to open my eyes to a sense of duty. I confess I have been 
 deeply steeped in fanaticism, even more so than I was aware of, 
 until I felt the bitter pangs of its direful influence' upon me. 
 
 I heard Mother Smith, the mother of Joseph the Prophet, 
 plead with Brigham Young, with tears, not to rob young Joseph 
 of his birthright, which his father, the Prophet, bestowed upon 
 him previous to his death. That young Joseph was to succeed 
 his father as the leader of the Church, and it was his right in the 
 line of the priesthood. "I know it," replied Brigham, " don't 
 worry or take any trouble, Mother Smith ; by so doing you are 
 only laying the knife to the throat of the child. If it is known 
 that he is the rightful successor of his father, the enemy of the 
 Priesthood will seek his life. He is too young to lead this peo- 
 ple now, but when he arrives at mature age he shall have hia 
 place. No one shall rob him of it." This conversation took 
 place in the Masonic Hall at Nauvoo, in 1845. Several persons* 
 were then present. 
 
 In the meantime Brigham had sought to establish himself aer 
 the leader of this Church. Many years, however, passed away 
 before he dared assume or claim to be the rightful successor of 
 Joseph, the Seer, Prophet, and Revelator to the Church. When 
 the time came, according to his own words, for Joseph to re- 
 ceive his own, Joseph came, but Brigham received him not. He 
 said, as an excuse, that Joseph had not the true spirit. That 
 his mother had married a Gentile lawyer, and had infused the 
 11 
 
162 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 Gentile spirit into him. That Joseph denied the doctrine of his 
 father, celestial marriage. Brigham closed the door and barred 
 him from preaching in the Tabernacle, and raised a storm of 
 persecution against him. He took Joseph's cousin, George A. 
 Smith, as his first counselor. This he did as a matter of policy 
 to prevent George A. from using his influence in favor of 
 Joseph as the leader of the people, which he otherwise would 
 have done. He also ordained John Smith, the son of Hyrum 
 the Patriarch, to the office of Patriarch to the Church, and his 
 brother Joseph F. Smith, to the office of one of the Twelve 
 Apostles, thus securing their influence and telling them that had 
 young Joseph been willing to act in harmony with them, the 
 heads of the Church, he could have had his place, but that he 
 was too much of a Gentile ever to lead this people. Brigham 
 said he had some hopes that David, a brother of young Joseph, 
 when he became older, might occupy the place of his father, but 
 Joseph never would. In this low, cunning, intriguing way he 
 blinded the eyes of the people, and gained another advantage 
 over them in establishing himself and family at the head of the 
 Church, as the favored of the Lord. Strange as it may appear, 
 yet it is true, that many of this people are blind to the intrigues 
 of this heartless impostor. They suffer themselves to be bound 
 in fetters of bondage, and surrender the last principle of man- 
 hood and independence, and make themselves slaves to that 
 corrupt usurper and his profligate family, who have robbed the 
 fatherless, and usurped the right to rule that belongs to another ; 
 and who has been trying to put his profligate sons at the head of 
 this Church, to rule over this people. 
 
 Now let us for a moment divest ourselves of fanaticism, which 
 Is the result of ignorance, and look from the stand-point of 
 justice and reason, and compare the conduct and character of 
 the two families. Young Joseph, the legal heir of the Prophet, 
 because he denies polygamy, or celestial marriage, is accused 
 of not following in the footsteps of his father, which Br. jham 
 says renders him unworthy to be a leader of this people. How 
 much better is Brigham's son, John W. Young? Has he fol- 
 lowed in the footsteps of the Prophet? Every one acquaint- 
 ed with his heartless conduct must answer, No I On the 
 contrary, he turned away the bride of his youth, and his off- 
 spring by her, and also his other wives that were given him in 
 the celestial order of marriage, and then took up with an actress 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 163 
 
 from the stage I A woman not even of the faith of the Mormon 
 Church. 
 
 Notwithstanding all this he is put forward by his father, Brig- 
 ham, as his right-hand man, to guide the destinies of this 
 Church and people. Oh! consistency, where art thou! and 
 justice! where hast thou fled! Have this people lost their under- 
 standing? Does it require inspiration to detect the fraud and 
 injustice at the bottom of this move? I think not. But it does 
 require a great deal more fanaticism than I want to possess to 
 make me believe that God or justice has anything to do with it. 
 I am honest in saying that it is from beneath, and none but a 
 depraved, heartless wretch, would stoop so low as to use religion 
 as a cloak to dupe and deceive the people. To accomplish so 
 corrupt a purpose he has robbed the rich and the poor of this 
 people. He has made them pay tithes and tributes to himself. 
 He has made himself rich and waxed fat, until he really imagines 
 himself to be the Lord's vicegerent here on earth, and that no 
 man has the right to interfere with him. He is above the law 
 he is the Lord's anointed ! Oh ! vain man, go hide thyself, and 
 consider from whom thou hast received the succession, and 
 through whose hard earnings thou hast been made rich. 
 
 I must not forget to make mention of the qualifications of 
 young Briggy, the son of the present leader of the Church. He 
 is considered by his father fully qualified to be his successor ; to 
 stand at the head of the Church and lead the Saints. This amia- 
 ble son of the Prophet Brigham, while on a mission to England, 
 concluded that he would measure arms with Queen Victoria and 
 the Prince of Wales, by driving as many horses as she did to her 
 carriage. This was a violation of law. The Queen very soon 
 gave Prince Briggy to understand that she was the ruler of that 
 kingdom ; that if his father could measure arms with the Presi- 
 dent of the United States, his son could not do so with her. 
 Prince Brig was shut up in jail, and there he was to remain 
 until the fine for his offence was paid. I have been told that 
 $26,000 were paid from the perpetual emigration fund for his re- 
 lease. This emigration fund is collected from the people for the 
 gathering together of poor saints, but the liberty of this worthy 
 young man was of more consequence than the gathering in of 
 poor saints. Perhaps it is this ambitious act of the Prophet's 
 son that has qualified him to act as a leader ! How does the 
 character of Smith's sons compare with that of Brigham Young's 
 
164 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 BODS? The one were peaceable, law-abiding citizens, the others 
 are spendthrifts and ambitious, regardless of law or order just 
 like their father, full of self-esteem, miserly and bigoted. I re- 
 member twenty years ago, among the first members of the Church, 
 it was all the talk that young Joseph would soon take the leader- 
 ship of the Church, as the rightful successor of his father, the 
 Prophet. At that time it never was thought that Brigham 
 Young intended to hold the place permanently, and establish 
 himself and profligate family at the head of the Church, as he 
 has done, to make slaves of the Saints, to keep and sup- 
 port himself and worthless sens. The Saints have suffered 
 themselves to be led step by step downward, lulled to sleep by 
 false promises and phantoms that can never be realized. They 
 are powerless, and having lost their self-control, they cannot re- 
 sist the charms by which the serpent captivates his victims and 
 holds them fast under his influence. Oh ! that I had the power 
 of speech to touch the understanding of my brethren and sis- 
 ters, to wake them from the stupor and lethargy that has over- 
 come them, through the subtle cunning of the devil, that I fear 
 has already made the bonds of many of them so strong they can 
 never loose them. 
 
 But I must stop and take a retrospective view of things in 
 Nauvoo, that I have not yet mentioned, trusting to my worthy 
 friend Bishop to place these sentiments which I have just writ- 
 ten in their proper place in my history. I have felt impressed to 
 write them while I could do so, not knowing that I would have 
 the liberty to bring up all the circumstances to that date. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 INSIDE VIBW OF POLYGAMY AND THE DOCTBINE OF "SEALING." 
 
 TN THE Winter 'of 1845 meetings were held all over the city 
 -L of Nauvoo, and the spirit of Elijah was taught in the differ- 
 ent families as a foundation to the order of celestial marriage, 
 as well as the law of adoption. Many families entered into cov- 
 enants with each other the man to stand by his wife and the 
 woman to cleave .unto her husband, and the children to be 
 adopted to the parents. I was one of those who entered into 
 covenants to stand by my family, to cleave to them through time 
 and eternity. I am proud to say I have kept my obligations 
 sacred and inviolate to this day. Others refused to enter into 
 these obligations, but agreed to separate from each other, divid- 
 ing their substance, and mutually dissolving their former rela- 
 tions on friendly terms. Some have mutually agreed to exchange 
 wives and have been sealed to each other as husband and wife 
 by virtue and authority of the holy priesthood. One of Brig- 
 ham's brothers, Lorenzo Young, now a bishop, made an exchange 
 of wives with Mr. Decker, the father of the Mr. Decker who now 
 has an interest in the cars running to York. They both seemed 
 happy in the exchange of wives. All are considered aliens to 
 the commonwealth of Israel until adopted into the kingdom by 
 baptism, and their children born unto them before the baptism 
 of the parents are to be adopted to the parents, and become 
 heirs to the kingdom through the law of adoption. But the 
 children that are born to parents after the baptism of the parents 
 are legal heirs to the kingdom. 
 
 This doctrine extends much further. All persons are required 
 to be adopted to some of the leading men of the Church. In this, 
 however, they have the right of choice, thus forming the links of 
 the chain of priesthood back to the father, Adam, and so on to 
 the second coming of the Messiah. Time will not allow me to 
 165 
 
166 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 enter into the full details of this subject. The ordinance of 
 celestial marriage was extensively practiced by men and women 
 who had covenanted to live together, and a few men had dispen- 
 sations granted them to enter into plural marriages, which were 
 taught to be the stepping-stone to celestial exaltation. Without 
 plural marriage a man could not attain to the fullness of the 
 holy priesthood and be made equal to our Saviour. Without it 
 he could only attain to the position of the angels, who are ser- 
 vants and messengers to those who attain to the Godhead. 
 
 These inducements caused every true believer to exert him- 
 self to attain that exalted position, both meji and women. In 
 many cases the women would do the "sparking," through the 
 assistance of the first wife. 
 
 My second wife, Nancy Bean, was the daughter of a wealthy 
 farmer, who lived near Quincy, Illinois. She saw me on a mis- 
 sion and heard me preach at her father's house. She came to 
 Nauvoo and stayed at my house three months, and grew in favor 
 and was sealed to me in the Winter of 1845. My third and 
 fourth wives were sealed to me soon afterward, in my own 
 house. My third wife, Louisa, is now the first wife of D. H. 
 Wells. She was then a young lady, gentle and beautiful, and 
 we never had an angry word while she lived with me. She and 
 her sister Eraeline were both under promise to be sealed to me. 
 One day Brigham Young saw Emeline and fell in love with her. 
 He asked me to resign my claims in his favor, which I did, 
 though it caused a great struggle in my mind to do so, for I 
 loved her dearly. I made known to Emeline Brigham's wish, 
 and even went to her father's house several times and used my 
 influence with her to induce her to become a member of Brig- 
 ham's family. The two girls did not want to separate from each 
 other; however, they both met at my house at an appointed 
 time and Emeline was sealed to Brigham, and Louisa was sealed 
 to me. Amasa Lyman officiated at the ceremony. At the 
 same time Sarah C. Williams, the girl that I had baptized in 
 Tennessee, when but a child, at the house of Win. Pace, and 
 who came to Nauvoo, stood up and claimed a place in my fam- 
 ily. She is yet with me and is the mother of twelve children. 
 She has been a kind wife, mother and companion. By Louisa 
 I had one son born, who died at the age of twelve. She lived 
 with me about one year after her babe was born. She then told 
 me that her parents were never satisfied to have one daughter 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 167 
 
 sealed to the man highest in authority and the other below her. 
 Their constant teasing caused us to separate, not as enemies, 
 however. Our friendship was never broken. Her change made 
 her more miserable than ever. After we got into Salt Lake Val- 
 ley she offered to come back to me, but Brigham would not con- 
 sent to her so doing. Her sister became a favorite with Brig- 
 ham, and remained so until he met Miss Folsom, who captivated 
 him to a degree that he neglected Emeline, and she died broken- 
 hearted. 
 
 Plural marriages were not made public. They had to be kept 
 still. A young man did not know when he was talking to a sin- 
 gle woman. As far as Brigham Young was concerned, he had 
 no wives at his house, except his first wife, or the one that he 
 said was his first wife. Many a night have I gone with him, 
 arm in arm, and guarded him while he spent an hour or two with 
 his young brides, then guarded him home and guarded his house 
 until one o* clock, when I was relieved. He used to meet his 
 beloved Emeline at my house. 
 
 In the Spring of 1845 Rachel Andora was sealed to me the 
 woman who has stood by me in all my troubles. A truer woman 
 was never born. She has been by me true, as I was to Brigham, 
 and has always tried to make my will her pleasure. I raised 
 her in my family from five years of age. She was a sister to my 
 first wife. Her mother, Abigail Sheffer, was sealed to me for an 
 eternal state. The old lady has long since passed away, and 
 entered into eternal rest and joy. 
 
 But to resume the narrative of events at Nauvoo. In the year 
 1845 the building of the Temple was progressing. Through the 
 Summer trouble was brewing among all the Saints, both in Illi- 
 nois and Iowa. Many of my friends from Tennessee, and some 
 from Kentucky, emigrated and joined us during that Summer 
 and Fall, as well as some from other places. An effort was made 
 to complete the Nauvoo House if possible, but finding the storm 
 approaching too fast the work on the House was abandoned, and 
 all hands put at work on the Temple. We were anxious to com- 
 plete the Temple, in order that we might receive our promised 
 blessings in it before we commenced our exodus across the plains 
 in search of a home, we knew not where. Our time was limited, 
 and our Christian friends who surrounded us, whose ire had been 
 aroused to the highest pitch, were not likely to allow us to re- 
 main longer than our appointed time. The killing of the Smiths 
 
168 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 had aroused their friends to acts of violence, and many whose 
 houses were burned and property destroyed, who had come to 
 Nauvoo for protection and shelter, retaliated by driving in stock 
 from the range to subsist upon. No doubt the stock of many an 
 innocent man was driven away, and this served to bring others 
 into trouble. 
 
 Thus things grew worse the longer the Saints remained at Nau- 
 voo. It was an unfortunate matter, and much of the trouble that 
 cape upon the Church was brought on through the folly and fa- 
 naticism of the Saints. I have seen relentless cruelty practiced 
 by those who directed this cattle stealing. I cannot call it any- 
 thing else, though they called it getting back what had been 
 taken from them. It caused many strangers to come to the city 
 to look for traces of their cattle. A company was organized, 
 called the " Whittlers." They had long knives, and when any of 
 these strangers would come to town, they would gather around 
 him, and whittle ; none of them saying a word, no matter what 
 question was asked. They would thus watch any stranger, gath- 
 ering close to him, until they finally ran him out of town. I 
 never took part in such low, dirty doings. I was taught from a 
 child to respect all persons, as every spirit begets its like. I 
 never did think any good came of such conduct. A man must 
 respect himself, or he can never command others. 
 
 During the fall of 1845 companies were formed for making 
 wagons for the contemplated move, as a great many of the 
 Saints were poor, and had neither wagons nor teams. Teams 
 wore more easily obtained than wagons. People traded off their 
 lots and loose property for teams. Many of the wagons had 
 wooden hoops in place of tires, for the want of iron, though iron 
 and everything else was at the lowest price. Common labor was 
 only twenty-five cents per day, but money was hard to get. 
 
 About the 1st of December, 1845, we commenced filling up 
 the rooms for giving endowments. I assisted in putting up the 
 stoves, curtains and other things. It was about fifteen days be- 
 fore we got everything ready. I must mention that when the 
 doctrine of baptizing for the dead was first introduced, the 
 families met together, down by the river side, and one of their 
 number, of the order of the Melchisedek Priesthood, officiated. 
 They were baptized in behalf of all they could remember, the 
 men for the men, and the women for the women. But when the 
 fount was ready in the Temple, which rested on the twelve 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 169 
 
 carved oxen, they went and were baptized in it, after the same 
 order, except that a clerk must make a record of it, and two 
 witnesses must be present, and the name of the person baptized 
 and for whom he or she was baptized, and the date of baptism, 
 together with the name of the officiating elder, and the name of 
 the clerk and witnesses entered in the register or record. All 
 persons who are baptized must also be confirmed. Male and 
 female alike pass through the same ceremony, and the fact 
 entered in the record kept for that purpose. 
 
 This is done for all who have died without the knowledge of 
 the gospel. As Jesus, while his body lay in the tomb, went and 
 preached to the spirits, in the spirit world, the doctrine of his 
 gospel to all who had died before hearing it, since the days of 
 Noah, so through baptism for the dead, can our friends, and 
 those who have gone before us, be made partakers of this new 
 and last gospel sent to us, and receive its blessings and eternal 
 reward. No person, however, is allowed the privilege of this 
 baptismal fount, or their washings or anointings, unless they 
 have paid their tithings promptly, and have a certificate to that 
 effect. In many cases, also, where men require it, their just 
 debts must be settled before they are allowed to be baptized, 
 washed or anointed. In the order of Endowment, a list is 
 made out the day previous, of those who wish to take their en- 
 dowments. Every person is required to wash himself clean, 
 from head to foot. Also to prepare and bring a good supply of 
 food, of the best quality, for themselves and those who labor in 
 the house of the Lord. In the latter about twenty-five persons 
 are required in the different departments to attend to the wash- 
 ing, anointing, blessing, ordaining, and sealing. From twenty- 
 five to fifty persons are passed through in twenty-four hours. 
 
 I was among the first to receive my washings and anoint- 
 ings, and even received my second anointing, which made me 
 an equal in the order of the Priesthood, with the right and au- 
 thority to build up the kingdom in all the earth, and power to 
 fill any vacancy that might occur. I have officiated in all the 
 different branches, from the highest to the lowest. There were 
 about forty men who attained to that order in the Priesthood, 
 including the twelve Apostles and the first presidency, and to 
 them was intrusted the keeping of the records. I was the head 
 clerk ; Franklin D. Richards was my assistant clerk. My office 
 was in room number one, at President Young's apartments. 
 
170 MOB MONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 I kept a record of all the sealing^, anointings, marriages and 
 adoptions. 
 
 I was the second one adopted to Brigham Young. I should 
 have been his first adopted son, being the first that proposed it 
 to him, but always ready to give preference to those in author- 
 ity, I placed A. P. Rockwood's name first on the list. I also 
 had my children adopted to me in the Temple. Brigham Youog 
 had his children adopted to himself, and we were the only ones, 
 to my knowledge, that had our children so adopted at the Tem- 
 ple at Nauvoo. As time would not permit attending to all the 
 people, the business was rushed through day and night. 
 
 Officers were on the alert to arrest Brigham Young. He often 
 hid in the different apartments of the Temple. One day about 
 sunset, an officer, knowing that he was in the Temple, waited 
 for him to come out, as his carriage was waiting for him at the 
 door. Brigham threw his cloak around "Wm. Miller, who resem- 
 bled Brigham in build and stature, and sent him to the carriage 
 with Geo. D. Grant, his driver. As they got to the carriage, 
 Grant said to Miller, "Mr. Young, are you ready to go? " As 
 he spoke to him, the officer said: "Mr. Young, I have a 
 writ for you. I want you to go with me to Carthage," twenty 
 miles distant. Miller. replied, "Shall I take my carriage?" 
 The officer answered, " You may if you choose, and I will pay 
 the bill." 
 
 Grant then drove Miller to Carthage, and the marshal 
 took him to the hotel and supplied him with refreshments. 
 After supper an apostate Mormon called in with the marshal to 
 see him. When he saw Miller, he said to the marshal : 
 
 " By heavens ! you are sold this time. That is not Brigham, 
 that is Mr. Miller." 
 
 The marshal was a good deal nettled, and said to Miller: 
 
 " I am very much obliged to you." 
 
 Miller replied : 
 
 " You are quite welcome. I hope you will pay my bill as yon 
 agreed to do." 
 
 " Why did you deceive me?" demanded the marshal. 
 
 " I did not," replied Miller, "you deceived yourself. I said 
 nothing to deceive you." 
 
 "AU right," replied the marshal, "I will settle your bill, 
 and you can return in the morning, if you choose." 
 
 This friendly warning gave Brigham to understand that it was 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 
 
 time for him to get away, that many such tricks would not be 
 wholesome. 
 
 In the Temple I took three more wives Martha Berry, Polly 
 Ann Workman and Delethea Morris, and had all my family 
 sealed to me over the altar, in the Temple, and six of them re- 
 ceived their second anointings, that is, the first six wives did, 
 but the last three we had not time to attend to. 
 
 On the 10th of February, 1846, Brigham Young and a small 
 company crossed the Mississippi River, on the ice, into Iowa, 
 and formed an encampment on a stream called Sugar Creek. I 
 crossed, with two wagons, with the first company. Brigham did 
 this in order to elude the officers, and wait there until all who 
 could fit themselves out could join him. Such as were in danger 
 of being arrested were helped away first. Our police crossed 
 over to guard the first Presidency. Those who were not liable 
 to be arrested remained back and sent their teams forward. I? 
 took one of Brigham' s wives, Emeline, in one of my wagons, 
 with Louisa, her sister, as far as Florence or Rainsville. All* 
 of Brigham's wives, except the first, were taken by the breth- 
 ren, as he did not at that time have the teams or means to convey 
 his family across the plains, but was dependent on the brethren 
 for help, though he had used every means in his power to raise- 
 an outfit. 
 
 Brigham called a council of some of the leading men. Among 
 them was one Joseph L. Heywood and myself. Heywodd was a 
 merchant at Quincy, Illinois, and was doing a fair business be- 
 fore he joined the Mormon Church, and was considered an hon- 
 orable man. When the Mormons were driven from Missouri 
 many had occasion to bless him for his many kindnesses to them 
 in their hour of trouble. At the council, after some conversa- 
 tion upon our present move, Brigham proposed to appoint a 
 committee of men, against whom no charges could be brought, 
 to return to Nauvoo and attend to the selling of the property of 
 the Saints, and to see to fitting out the people and starting them- 
 forward. He proposed that I, A. W. Babbitt, Joseph L. Hey- 
 wood and David S. Fulmer be that committee. Brother Hey- 
 wood was asked to turn over his whole stock of goods to fit the 
 first Presidency and the Apostles for the journey. This to- 
 Brother Heywood was a stunner. He replied that he was in- 
 debted to honorable men in the East for the most of his stock, 
 and that he did not dare to defraud them ; that he had been 
 
172 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 taught from childhood to deal honorably with all men. He was 
 told by Brigham that he could raise the money to pay his East- 
 ern creditors from the sales of the property at Nauvoo. This 
 brother Heywood thought very doubtful, as the property of 
 a deserted city would not be very valuable. Brigham then said 
 that this was a case of emergency, and they must have the 
 goods ; that Brother Heywood must write to his creditors and 
 tell them that owing to the trouble among the people business 
 had fallen off, and that he could not pay them, but would in the 
 future. Brigham told him if he failed to raise money from the 
 sale of city property, as soon as the Church was established that 
 he would raise the money for him to satisfy his creditors, and 
 this would give him more influence than ever among the outside 
 world. They finally persuaded Heywood to turn over his goods. 
 If time permits I will hereafter tell how he came out of the mat- 
 ter. For all of my services for the leading men I never received 
 a dollar. I have managed, however, to maintain my family in 
 good style, to pay my tithing and live independently of help from 
 the Church. I was called a shrewd trader and a good financier, 
 and always had plenty. 
 
 I usually had some money on hand. These were considered 
 by Brigham noble traits in my character. He would rather a 
 person would give to him than beg from him. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE SAINTS MOVE WESTWARD. 
 
 A FEW words in regard to the Prophet Joseph. He was 
 tried twenty-one times for different offences, and acquit- 
 ted each time. One time when he was visiting at Peoria, he was 
 captured by four men from Missouri, who started with him in a 
 wagon, to take him to that State. Two of them sat beside him 
 with cocked pistols, punching him in the side occasionally, and 
 telling him that if he opened his month they would blow his 
 brains out. He was not arrested by any process of law, but 
 they were trying to kidnap him. Stephen H. Markham, an old 
 tried friend of Joseph, ran ahead to the town of Peoria, employ- 
 ed a lawyer, got out a writ of habeas corpus, and had him set at 
 liberty. When the news reached Nauvoo, the Saints were in the 
 wildest state of excitement. The Mormon steamer there was 
 laden with troops, who hastened to Peoria to rescue the 
 Prophet. When they arrived there they found him at liberty. 
 This was in 1843. The same winter he organized what was 
 called the "Council of Fifty." This was a confidential organi- 
 zation. A man by the name of Jackson belonged to it, though 
 he did not belong to the Church. This Council was designated 
 as a law-making department, but no record was ever kept of its 
 doings, or if kept, they were burned at the close of each meet- 
 ing. Whenever anything of importance was on foot this Coun- 
 cil was called to deliberate upon it. The Council was called the 
 "Living Constitution." Joseph said that no legislature could 
 enact laws that would meet every case, or attain the ends of 
 Justice in all respects. 
 
 As a man, Joseph tried to be a law-abiding citizen, but he had 
 
 a motley crew to manage, men who were constantly doing 
 
 something to bring trouble upon them. He often reproved them 
 
 and some he dis-fellowshiped. But being of a forgiving disposi- 
 
 173 
 
174 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 tion, when they would come back to him and beg his forgive- 
 ness, his kind, humane heart could not refuse them. He was 
 often basely imposed upon. 
 
 I was standing with him one cold day, watching a couple of 
 men who were crossing the river in a canoe. The river was full 
 of ice, running swiftly. As they neared the shore the canoe up- 
 set, throwing them into the river. One of them got on a cake of 
 ice, but the other made several attempts before he could do 
 so. As quick as thought Joseph sent a runner to them with a 
 bottle of whisky, saying, " Those poor boys must be nearly 
 frozen." This man Jackson was standing near; said he, "By 
 Heavens, he is the most thoughtful man on earth." 
 
 On another occasion, on the 4th of July, 1843, at a celebra- 
 tion, a number of toasts had been offered, when some one said, 
 44 Brother Joseph, suppose you give us a toast." Raising his 
 glass, with water in it, in the place of spirits, he said, "Here 
 is wishing that all the mobocrats of the nineteenth century were 
 in the middle of the sea, in a stone canoe, with an iron paddle ; 
 that a shark might swallow the canoe, and the shark be thrust 
 into the nethermost part of h 1, and the door locked, the key 
 lost, and a blind man hunting for it." 
 
 But to return to our expedition across the plains. The snow 
 lay about eight inches deep on the ground when the first com- 
 pany crossed the river. The plan of operation was this : We 
 must leave Nauvoo, whether ready or not. All covenanted to 
 help each other, until all were away that wanted to go. The 
 teams and wagons sent to help others away were to be sent back 
 as soon as a suitable place was found at which to make a settle- 
 ment, and leave the poor, or rather those who had no teams to 
 .go on with. I was unwilling to start out with a part of my fam- 
 ily, leaving the rest behind, and thought that now was the time 
 to get them out before greater trouble commenced. I went into 
 Brigham's tent and told him what I thought of the matter, and 
 that I thought I could fit up teams in a few days and bring them 
 all away. He replied that he had been thinking of the same 
 thing. Said he : 
 
 44 Go, I will give you five days in which to sell out and cross 
 the river again, and bring me one hundred dollars in gold." 
 
 I informed the portion of my family that was with me of my 
 intentions. My first wife was still at Nauvoo. I had the confi- 
 dence of my family, and I was a man who seldom undertook 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 175 
 
 anything that I did not carry out. I started back on foot, and 
 crossed the river on the ice. I fell in with acquaintances about 
 La Harpe, who were in trouble about a number of wagons and 
 teams which they had purchased in the State. The devil waa 
 to pay generally. Some of the Gentiles who had lost cattle laid 
 it to the Mormons in Nauvoo, and they were determined to take 
 cattle from the Mormons until they got even. I had a brick 
 house and lot on Parley street that I sold for three hundred dol- 
 lars in teams. I told the purchaser that I would take seven 
 wagons and teams, and before I went to sleep that night I had 
 my entire outfit of teams. My large house, costing me $8000 
 (in Salt Lake City it would have been worth $50,000), I was 
 offered $800 for. My fanaticism would not allow me to take 
 that for it. I locked it up, selling only one stove out of it, for 
 which I received eight yards of cloth. The building, with its 
 twenty-seven rooms, I turned over to the committee, to be sold 
 to help the poor away. The committee informed me afterwards 
 that they sold the house for $12.50. 
 
 I was sitting with my family, and was telling them that I must 
 get $500 in some way, but the Lord opened no way by which 
 I could see where I could get it, and I had but five days in 
 which to get out of Nauvoo. In an adjoining room was an old 
 gentleman and his daughter, who rented the room of me. They 
 were from Pennsylvania, and the old gentleman was wealthy. 
 The daughter stepped into her father's room, and soon returned, 
 saying that her father wished to see me. I went into his room. 
 He gave me a seat and said, " You once did me a kindness that 
 I have not repaid. Do you remember meeting me once, when 
 coming from the Temple? I had been there with my wife and 
 only child to get my washings and anointings. I was not ad- 
 mitted, because I was a stranger, and no one to vouch for me. 
 I was returning with a heavy heart, when I met you. You re- 
 turned with me and used your influence, vouched for us and pro- 
 cured our admittance. I obtained our endowments. I had a 
 cancer on my breast at that time, that was considered incurable. 
 From the hour I received our endowments it has never pained 
 me and it is healing up. Now, I am thankful I have it in my 
 power to do you a little favor in return." So saying, he lifted 
 the lid of a box and counted out $500 in gold coin, saying that 
 if it would help me I was welcome to it. I offered him a team, 
 but he said he had money enough to buy his outfit, and sup- 
 
176 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 port him while he lived, and that he felt thankful for an oppor- 
 tunity of returning my favor. This was to me an unexpected 
 blessing from an honest heart. I wept with joyful gratitude ; I 
 had the means that I desired in my hands. The next morning I 
 received my teams and wagons. All had to be fitted up for the 
 journey. My family all went to work making tents and things 
 needful for the journey. I sent my wagons to the Mormon 
 wagonshop and told them to work night and day, and put 
 them in the best order within three days, and I would give them 
 $50 dollars in gold, which was $5 for a day and night's work, 
 quite a difference from fifty cents, the usual price. They went 
 to work in earnest, and as fast as a wagon was finished I had it 
 loaded. In the meantime A. W. Babbitt was urging me to cross 
 the river, as there was an officer in town looking for me. On 
 the third day I started one of my ox teams across the river on 
 the ice, and came near losing the whole outfit, by its breaking 
 through the ice. I crossed no more teams that way. I then got 
 a large wood boat and some twenty-five men to help me, and we 
 cut through the ice across the river, so that the boat could be 
 towed over. On the fourth day I had all of my effects at the 
 river side. The day before, when I had crossed the team that 
 had broken through the ice, I met an officer at the river side 
 looking for me. He wanted to arrest me on the charge of lasciv- 
 ious cohabitation having more wives than one. I told him that 
 I had seen John D. Lee crossing the river the day before, and 
 that one of his oxen broke through, and added that it was a 
 pity he had not broken through also. I stepped into a saloon 
 with the officer and we took a drink together. I then went with 
 him into the wagonshop, and stepping in ahead of him, and tip- 
 ping the wink to the men there, said, 
 
 "Have any of you seen John D. Lee to-day? Here is an 
 officer looking for him." 
 
 They replied that he had crossed the river the day before. 
 This satisfied the officer, and he went away. I bought oils and 
 paints for my wogons, and five gallons of whiskey to treat the 
 boys who had helped me over the river. As we left the river, a 
 heavy storm came up. It was so dark I could see nothing. I 
 had four mule teams, and let them follow the road. We halted 
 about a mile beyond the town of Montrose, and a man who lived 
 there, named Hickenlooper, took us all in and attended to the 
 animals. I went to sleep and did not wake until ten o'clock the 
 
m 
 
 MORMONS LEAVING NAUVOO ON THEIK JOURNEY WESTWARD. 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 177 
 
 next morning. This man had all the supplies we needed, flour, 
 bacon, etc. ; and I purchased my store of supplies from him. I 
 learned that the company had moved on, and was camped at a 
 place called Richardson's Point, forty-five miles from Montrose. 
 Before reaching the encampment, I was met by Brigham 
 Young, H. C. Kimball, and Dr. William Richards in their car- 
 riages, who bade me welcome. After we reached camp, a coun- 
 cil was held, and I reported my success, and gave an account of 
 my mission. When I had finished, Brigham asked me if I had 
 brought him that hundred dollars. I replied I had, and handed 
 it to him. He counted it, and then said, 
 
 " What shall I do with it? " 
 
 I replied, "Feed and help the poor." 
 
 He then prophesied, saying that I should be blessed, and 
 means would come unto me from an unexpected source, that in 
 time of need friends would be sent to my assistance. 
 
 The roads were in a bad condition, and we lay here a few 
 days, during which time I painted and numbered my wagons. 
 Myself, Geo. S. Clark, Levi Stewart and another man were ap- 
 pointed hunters, as there was much game in the country we had 
 to pass through, turkey, deer and some elk. 
 
 From here we traveled to the Raccoon Fork of Grand River, in 
 Iowa, about seventy-five miles. At the three forks of the Grand 
 River we made a halt. In fact the rain had made the country 
 impassable, and our provisions were running short. Here we 
 found some wild hogs, and the men killed several. Brigham 
 said that they were probably some of our hogs that had become 
 scattered when we were driven out of Missouri. This was 
 sufficient license for many to kill anything they could find. 
 
 While we lay here two men came to our camp, named Allen 
 Miller and Mr. Clancy. They were traders to the Potawatomie 
 Indians. Allen Miller had married one of my wives. They 
 informed me that we could get everything we needed about fifty 
 miles from there, near Grand River. We unloaded about seven- 
 teen wagons and selected out such articles as we could spare. 
 I was appointed the Contracting Commissary, to do the pur- 
 chasing for the companies. This was in April, 1846. 
 
 We started with those two men and the seventeen wagons, and 
 drove to Miller's and made that headquarters, as he had provis- 
 ions in abundance. The grass was like a meadow then. I had 
 some horses and harness to exchange foi oxen and cows. When 
 12 
 
178 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 we had turned out our stock for the day at Miller's, Mr. Clancy 
 invited me home with him. On entering his house I found his 
 partner, Patrick Dorsey, an Irishman, sick. Mr. Dorsey had been 
 tormented with a pain in his eyes, in so much that he had rested 
 neither day nor night, and was losing his sight. I asked him if 
 he was a Catholic. He answered that he was. I knew their 
 faith, as I was raised a Catholic and once believed in their doc- 
 trines. I asked him if he wished me to pray for him. He in- 
 quired if I was a minister, to which I replied that I was. He 
 then said : 
 
 "Do pray with me, if you please, for 1 am in great distress." 
 
 I then laid my hands upon his head, and asked the Father, in 
 the name of the Son, and by virtue of the holy priesthood in me 
 vested, to stay his sufferings and heal him. The pain left him 
 instantly, as he took his hat and walked with me to Miller's 
 house. They were astonished to see him apparently without 
 pain, and asked him what I had done for him. He answered : 
 
 "I was in great distress; a stranger laid hands upon my 
 head, and prayed and made me whole; but who he was, or 
 whence he came, I know not. But this I know, that I was 
 almost blind, and now I see ; I was sick, but now I am well." 
 
 This little occurrence created quite an excitement in the set- 
 tlement, and nothing would do but I must preach the next even- 
 ing. During the next day I made several trades. Evening 
 came, and I preached at my friend Miller's. When I closed 
 they made me up a purse of five dollars, and offered to load one 
 of our wagons with provisions. 
 
 We remained here about a week and did finely in trading. 
 On Sunday quite a large attendance, for a new country, turned 
 out to hear me preach. I was weary and did not feel much like 
 preaching. However I preached about an hour and a half. At 
 the close of the service they made up ten dollars for me, and a 
 Mr. Scott, a wealthy farmer, said that if I would drive my wag- 
 ons to his establishment he would fill them all with flour, bacon, 
 potatoes, etc. I had the use of my friend Miller's store to store 
 away our traps, as I had more than we could take away. The 
 people were anxious for me to stop there and take up a farm, 
 make my home with them, and preach and build up a church. 
 I told them I was bound for the Rocky Mountains. As for Mr. 
 Dorsey, he offered me all he had, and wanted to know what to 
 do to be saved. He gave me a history of his life.* He told me 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 179 
 
 be led a company of men from Carroll County, Missouri, when 
 we were driven from the State. I reflected a little and gave him 
 a list of city property at Nauvoo that I would turn out to him at 
 one-fourth its value, for such property as he wanted to turn out 
 to me. He said he had twelve yoke of oxen and some twenty- 
 five cows, and other stock; four bee stands, three wagons, some 
 six to eight hundred dollars' worth of bacon, flour, meal, soap, 
 powder, lead, blankets, thirty rifles, guns, knives, tobacco, cali- 
 coes, spades, hoes, plows, harrows ; also twelve feather beds and 
 all of his improvements. He said he only wanted his carriage 
 and a span of black horses, to take himself, wife and partner to 
 Nauvoo. All the above property he turned over to me, and I 
 gave him deeds to property in Nauvoo. He was to go back 
 with our return teams, as Brigham had commenced making a 
 settlement at the place where he was camped. He called the 
 p^ace Garden Grove. We returned to camp, laden with all our 
 teams could haul, besides the three wagons that I had got from 
 Dorsey. There was a great deal that we could not move away. 
 I took a forty-gallon cask of honey and a quantity of whisky and 
 brandy from Dorsey. The bee stands, improvements and farm- 
 ing utensils I turned over for the use of the settlers that re- 
 mained at Garden Grove. 
 
 This circumstance confirmed me in my oft-expressed opinion 
 that much of the trouble that has followed this people has been 
 created by wild, ignorant fanatics ; for only a few years before 
 these same people were our most bitter enemies, and when we 
 ame again and behaved ourselves, they treated us with the 
 utmost kindness and hospitality. 
 
 I also made arrangements for all the labor needed by the com- 
 pany that was left, so that they could be planting crops and 
 raising supplies while building houses to live in. The company 
 left would be strengthened by others who would follow. All the 
 borrowed teams were returned to bring others forward, and 
 those who had teams of their own went on and made another 
 settlement called Pisgah, and then went on to Council Bluffs, 
 which was afterwards called Kanesville, in honor of Col. Thomas 
 L. Kane. From this point I took a cargo of traps, consisting of 
 feather beds, fine counterpanes, quilts, and such goods, and 
 went down to Missouri, with a large number of wagons, to 
 obtain a cargo of supplies, and beef cattle and cows. During 
 my absence a call was made on the Mormons for five hundred 
 
180 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 men to go to Mexico, to defend the American flag. Col. Ethan 
 Allen and Thos. L. Eane came to raise the required number of 
 men. An express was sent back to Pisgah and Garden Grove 
 to furnish their number. The ranks were nearly full before I 
 reached camp. Dr. Richards said to me : 
 
 " I am glad you have returned. We want you for one of the 
 Captains." 
 
 " All right," I answered, and started to enroll my name. 
 Brigham Young called me back and said he could not spare me ; 
 that there were men enough to fill the bill without me. The 
 battalion was filled, and Col. Alien, a United States officer, 
 marched them to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. 
 
 From Council Bluffs I returned to Missouri, to buy a drove of 
 cattle for Brigham Young, Dr. Richards and others, they having 
 received some money from England. I also loaded some twenty 
 wagons with provisions and articles for trade and exchange. I 
 also exchanged horses for oxen, as the latter were low and the 
 former high in price. About the middle of August I returned, 
 with about five hundred head of cattle. 
 
 While I was gone the camp had moved across the Missouri 
 River, at a place called Cutler's Park. The cattle swam the 
 river, but the provision train was still on the Iowa side of the 
 river. A. Grant, and some other of Brigham's men, teamsters 
 and waiters, crossed back for a couple of loads of provisions for 
 Brigham and some others. Without saying a word to me they 
 loaded up from the train their supply of provisions. When I 
 heard of it I was considerably ruffled, as this train was in my 
 charge and I was responsible for it. 
 
 I went to Grant, who seemed to be the leader, and told him 
 he had not acted the gentleman in interfering with what did not 
 belong to him. We had some warm words, and had not other 
 parties interfered we would have come to blows. He justified 
 himself by saying that Brigham sent him. I told him I did not 
 care who sent him that there was a right way and a wrong way 
 of doing things. The feeling grew bitter between us, and they 
 accused me of doing many wrongful things in my office. Final- 
 ly Brigham called us all together in the presence of the first 
 Presidency and the Twelve Apostles, and we made our state- 
 ments. My accusers said what they had to say, and then I re- 
 plied. When Brigham had heard our statements he reproved 
 my accusers sharply, and fully approved of all I had done. He 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 181 
 
 then said we must not have any ill-feeling, and directed as to 
 shake hands and be friends. I was the first that arose to com- 
 ply. We shook hands, and though we agreed to drop the mat- 
 ter, still the old spirit lingered, even after we had crossed the 
 
 plains. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 LEE GOES ON AN EXPEDITION TO SANTA FKB. 
 
 WE GOT into camp the next day. After striking camp 1 
 noticed that a tire was gone from one of the wagons. A 
 few days afterwards the mother of my first wife went down to 
 a stream near by, and caught a number of fine fish, and on her 
 way back to the camp she found the missing tire. It had rolled 
 nearly three hundred yards from the road, and was laying where 
 it at last stopped. The people all began cutting hay and stack- 
 ing it, so as to be prepared for feeding our stock during the 
 winter. 
 
 One night in the latter part of September, I dreamed that 
 Lieut. James Pace, of Co. E, Mormon Battalion, stood at my 
 tent door, and said that Col. Allen, commanding the Mormon 
 battalion, was dead. I saw him plainly in my dream, and after 
 he gave the information, he started back to his camp, and a man 
 went from our encampment with him. I saw him and his com- 
 panion, and all they did on their way back to Santa Fee, their 
 dangers from the Indians, and all that took place, etc. 
 
 The next evening I went, as was usual, with Brigham Young 
 and Dr. Willard Richardson, the Church Historian, to attend a 
 Council meeting at Heber C. Kimball's camp. After the meet- 
 ing was over, and we we were going back to our tents, I said to 
 Brigham Young : 
 
 " We will find Lieut. Pace at my tent when we get there. " 
 
 " How do you know that? " said he. 
 
 I then told him my dream, and we walked on. When we got 
 In sight of my tent, there stood Lieut. James Pace, just as I 
 had seen him in my dream. This did not surprise me, for I 
 knew he would come. Brigham Young said : 
 
 u What on earth has brought you back? " 
 
 He replied, " Col. Allen is dead. The battalion is without a 
 182 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 188 
 
 commander and I have returned by order of the other officers to 
 report to you, and ask you who shall now lead us." 
 
 "Why did you not elect one of your Captains? " said Brigham 
 Young. 
 
 "The officers prefer to let Col. Smith, of the United States 
 army, lead us, if you will consent to it. But some of our men 
 object, so I came for orders from you," said Pace. 
 
 The matter was taken into consideration by Brigham Young 
 until next morning. In the morning he came to me in my tent, 
 and said : 
 
 "John, how would you like to go back with Brother Pace and 
 get the remittances of the soldiers? " 
 
 I said nothing could be more objectionable than such a trip. 
 " My family is large, I have no houses for them ; they are with- 
 out provisions, and I have no means to shelter them from the 
 winter storms. I have not sufficient hay cut to feed my stock 
 through the winter. I must attend to keeping my stock in order 
 or I will have nothing left to take me and my family over the 
 plains next Spring. But," said I, " there is no one more will- 
 ing to sacrifice himself and his own interests for the benefit of 
 the Church than I am." 
 
 He waited and heard me through ; then he said, "Thus sayeth 
 the Lord. You shall go, my son. Prosperity shall attend you 
 during your absence, and you shall return in safety, not a hair 
 of your head shall be hurt." 
 
 I said, " It is sufficient to know your will, I will go ; but who 
 will take care of my family in my absence?" 
 
 He said, "I will see to your family, and attend to all you are 
 interested in during your absence." 
 
 I was satisfied, and proceeded to carry out the will of Brigham 
 Young. I had cut considerable hay in company with the breth- 
 ren, but as it had to be divided, I considered I would not have 
 much to my share, especially after I had to divide in Winter 
 with the lazy poor, or poor devils. I never went much on this 
 copartnership system of labor. There are always a number 
 who will not work, and yet they are always present when there 
 is a division to be made of the proceeds of the labor. Joseph 
 Smith classed the poor in three divisions. He said, "There are 
 three kinds of poor. The Lord's poor, the devil's poor, and the 
 poor devils." I never objected to share with the Lord's poor, 
 but when it came to dividing with the devil's poor and the poor 
 
184 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 devils too, it was rather more than I desired; it took away 
 all the profits. 
 
 My outfit for the intended journey consisted of a snug light 
 wagon, a span of good mules, a spy-glass and such traps as a 
 man needs on the plains. I also took Dr. Willard's dog with me 
 to watch while I was asleep. I was ordered to keep my busi- 
 ness secret from every one, for fear of being robbed on my 
 return home. I was not allowed to even tell my wives where I 
 was going, or how long I would be gone. I went to St. Joseph, 
 Mo., and put up at John Gheen's, and stayed there while fitting 
 out for the trip. While there I met Luke Johnson, one of the 
 witnesses to the Book of Mormon. I had a curiosity to talk with 
 him concerning the same. We took a walk down on the river 
 bank. I asked him if the statement he signed about seeing the 
 angel and the plates, was true. If he did see the plates from 
 which the Book of Mormon was printed or translated. He said 
 it was true. I then said, "How is it that you have left the 
 Church? If the angel appeared to you, and you saw the plates, 
 how can you now live out of the Church? I understand you 
 were one of the twelve apostles at the first organization of the 
 Church?" 
 
 41 1 was one of the twelve," said he, " I have not denied the 
 truth of the Book of Mormon. But myself and several others 
 were overtaken in a fault at Kirkland, Ohio Wm. Smith, Oliver 
 Cowdrey, one or two others, and myself. We were brought up 
 for the offence before the Church authorities. Sidney Rigdon 
 and Wm. Smith were excused, and the matter hushed up. But 
 Cowdrey and myself were proceeded against and our choice 
 given us to make a public confession, or be dropped from 
 the Church. I refused to make the public confession unless 
 Rigdon and Smith did the same. The authorities said that 
 would not do, for Rigdon was counselor to the Prophet, and 
 Wm. Smith was the brother of the Prophet, and also one of the 
 twelve ; but that if Cowdrey and I would confess, it would be 
 a cloak for the other two. I considered this unjust and unfair. 
 So I left the Church for that reason. But I have reflected over 
 the matter much since that time, and I have come to the con- 
 clusion that each man is accountable for his own sins, also that 
 the course I have been pursuing injures me alone, and I intend 
 to visit the Saints and again ask to be admitted into the Church. 
 
MORMON FAMILY IN ARIZONA. 
 
 THE BISHOP'S FAMILY AT 2 A. M. 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 185 
 
 Rigdon has gone to destruction, and Wm. Smith is not much 
 better off to-day than I am." 
 
 This conversation was a great comfort to me. We went to 
 Fort Leavenworth, where we learned that Colonel Smith had 
 taken command of the battalion and had marched on with it. 
 Lieut. Pace got another good horse here, and such oats and pro- 
 visions as we needed. We then struck on after the command. 
 We overtook the battalion about fifty miles below Bent's Fort. 
 Our brethren were rejoiced to see us. Many had grievances to 
 relate, and all had much to tell and enquire about. That morn- 
 ing they had buried one of the battalion named Phelps. The 
 men said his death was caused by arsenic which the doctor had 
 forced him to take. They claimed that Colonel Smith was a 
 tyrant that he was not the man that Colonel Allen had been. 
 The command was on the march when we came up with it. 
 There was a fifty-mile desert before us, and little water on the 
 route. Colonel Allen had allowed the men to pray with and for 
 each other when sick and had not forced them to take medicine 
 when they did not want it. But Colonel Smith deprived them 
 of their religious rights and made them obey the doctor's orders 
 at all times. The doctor examined the sick every morning and 
 forced them to take medicine, or when they refused to take it 
 they were compelled to walk, and when unable to walk and keep 
 up with the others they were tied to the back end of the wagons, 
 like they were animals. The doctor was generally called Death; 
 he was known to all by that name. While traveling along 
 Captain J. Hunt, of Company A, introduced Colonel Smith to 
 me. I then invited them to ride in my wagon. They got in, 
 and I soon introduced the subject of the treatment of the troops 
 adopted by Colonel Allen, and spoke of its good influence over 
 them. I said the men loved Colonel Allen, and would all have 
 died for him, because he respected their religious rights. I said 
 they were volunteers, and not like regular troops ; that they 
 were not used to regular military discipline, and felt that they 
 were oppressed, and had lost confidence in their officers. I re- 
 ferred to the ill-treatment of the men, and talked quite freely. 
 Captain Hunt got very mad, and jumped out of the wagon. He 
 said I talked like an insane man more than a man of sense. 
 The Colonel said that he was willing to give up the command to 
 the choice of the battalion. I said he had better keep it until 
 we arrived at Santa Fe, but for his own sake he had better ease 
 
186 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 up on the boys a little. That evening Captain Hunt sent a del- 
 egation to me informing me that I was causing the command to 
 mutiny, and I must stop it or he would have me put under ar- 
 rest. I asked where he was going to find his men to put me 
 under guard that he could not find them in that command, and 
 that if he doubted my word he had better try to arrest me. The 
 Captain knew I was right, and so the matter ended. I then told 
 them I would encourage the men to obedience until we reached 
 Santa Fe. The troops were better treated after that. 
 
 On the march water was very scarce ; I saw a man offer $16 for 
 a coffee-pot of water one day on the desert. I walked most of 
 the time, and let the sick ride in my wagon. When we reached 
 the Spanish settlements we got pepper, onions, corn, sheep, 
 goats and other articles of food. We reached Santa Fe in the 
 midst of a snow storm. All the Mormons were pleased to find 
 that honest Missourian, Colonel Doniphan, in command at that 
 place. He had a kind, humane nature. The sick and disabled 
 men of the battalion were sent to a Spanish town called Taos, 
 under charge of Captain Brant, for care and rest. Soon after 
 reaching Santa Fe Colonel Philip St. John Cook took command 
 of the battalion. The soldiers were paid off, and Howard Egan, 
 who had accompanied me, was given one-half of the checks and 
 money, donated by the soldiers for Brigham Young and Heber 
 C. Kimball, and the remainder was given to me to carry back to 
 winter quarters. I remained in camp ten days to recruit my 
 animals, because I could not purchase an animal there for use. 
 The army had taken everything fit to ride or walk. 
 
 I wished to have Lieut. Gully return with me, and it was nec- 
 essary to obtain permission for him to resign before he could 
 go with me. I went to see the commander and stated the situa- 
 ation to him, and asked that Lieut. Gully be allowed to resign. 
 The General granted my request. The Lieutenant had been 
 acting Commissary of Subsistence, and had to make up his pa- 
 pers before he could start. I waited until he was ready to go 
 with me. I also took Russell Stevens with me, as he had been 
 discharged on account of ill health. While thus waiting I was 
 troubled with Egan considerably, for he was drunk every day, 
 and I feared he would be robbed. I had Stevens watch him 
 most of the time. By closely guarding him I kept him and the 
 money safe. General Doniphan said I should have a guard with 
 me, and he would send one back to protect us through the In- 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 1ST 
 
 dian country, but animals could not be procured. I then took 
 the necessary trouble and procured as good a team as I could to 
 start back with. With the consent of the General I got a large 
 mule, after much trouble, to work with one of my own. While 
 we were in camp at Santa Fe the Doctor was robbed. Hi* 
 trunk was stolen, carried out of the camp, and broken open. 
 Two gold watches and some money were taken from it. Two 
 mules were also stolen the same night. I knew nothing of this, 
 nor who did it, until long afterwards. After we had started 
 home Stevens had the mules. He brought them to camp and 
 said they were his. I think Stevens and Egan robbed the Doc- 
 tor, but they never acknowledged it to me. About the llth of 
 October, 1846, we started for home over a wilderness twelve 
 hundred miles wide, nearly every foot of it infested with In- 
 dians. We camped in the mountains at Gold Springs, where little 
 particles of gold can be seen on the bottom of the streams. 
 Egan and Stevens did not join us until we had gone fifty miles 
 from Santa Fe. They had the Doctor's mules and a Spanish 
 horse with them when they joined us. When we had traveled 
 ninety miles I discovered that one of my mules was failing. The 
 little flesh that was on them was soft and would not last, for we 
 had not fed them any grain. It was difficult to recruit our 
 mules on the grass, for it is very short generally, and the im- 
 mense herds of buffalo ranging over the country keep the grass 
 short. At the last Spanish town we passed through I sent Egan 
 to buy a couple of mules. That night Egan and Stevens came 
 to camp with two poor, miserable looking little mules. I said : 
 " What on earth have you brought these poor brutes for?" 
 Egan said, " We cabbaged them; it was the best we could 
 do." 
 
 I told him that I was on a mission of duty, and trusted in 
 God, and I would not permit him to bring stolen articles to the 
 camp. I then sent him back with the mules at once. I said, 
 "My trust is in God, and not in the devil. We will go on, aiiJ- 
 you take back the mules, and leave them where you got them." 
 He did as I directed. At Moro Station, on the Moro River, the 
 last camp we would find until we reached the eastern side of thfr 
 plains, we found a large, fat mule, that belonged to the Govern- 
 ment. Lieutenant Gully gave the station keeper, a young man, 
 a receipt for the mule, and we took it with us, as we were, in 
 one sense, in Government employ. We were carrying a mail, 
 
188 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 and on general business for the Government. This was a large, 
 fine, gentle mule. I called her Friendship. When the other an- 
 imals grew weak, I fastened the double-tree back to the axle, 
 and thus Friendship hauled the wagon fully three hundred miles. 
 At the Cimerone Springs we met a company of traders from St. 
 Louis, with a train of thirty-eight wagons. One of their wagons 
 was loaded with pitch-pine wood for cooking purposes. It was 
 then raining, and a regular plains storm was coming on. These 
 storms are sometimes very destructive. A train had been over- 
 taken at this same place a year before, and nearly all of the an- 
 imals belonging to the train perished. I counted one hundred 
 and ninety skeletons of mules that had died in that storm. 
 
 Many of the men also died at that time. The storm had 
 taken place ten days earlier in the season than the one then 
 threatening us. We were all invited to the camp by the Cap- 
 tain ; the other men went, but I staid in the wagon to write up 
 my account of the trip, which I was obliged to keep by order 
 Brigham Young. Captain Smith then came to my wagon and 
 gave me a drink of fine brandy. He invited us to take supper 
 and breakfast with him, which we did. He asked me if I was 
 not afraid to travel in such a small company, and said the In- 
 dians were all on the war path, and committing depredations all 
 along the road, that he had a large train, yet did not consider 
 himself safe. I answered, " My trust is in God, not in num- 
 bers." This led to a conversation on religious subjects. When 
 I told him who I was, and fully stated my belief to him, he was 
 much interested in the new doctrine. At supper he had every 
 thing to eat that could be desired. The Captain put up a large 
 tent over my wagon to protect it from the storm and wind. The 
 next morning the storm was over and we made an early start. 
 The Captain gave me a large cheese, a sack of butter crackers, 
 some sardines, and many articles which were of great value to 
 us on our long, cold journey over the plains. He also gave me 
 his name, age, and place of residence in St. Louis, writing it in 
 a little blank book which he gave me. He then gave me five 
 dollars in gold, shook hands with me, and said, "Remember me 
 in coming days," and we parted. 
 
 At the crossing of the Arkansas River, we met several com- 
 panies of Missouri troops. They informed us that Captain 
 Mann, with three companies of troops, had been attacked by a 
 large body of Southern Jt*awnee and Gneyenne Indians, 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 189 
 
 they fought three hours, when the troops were defeated and lost 
 seven men killed, with quite a number wounded. That three 
 of the men had come for help. That Captain Mann had lost all 
 of his animals except the three that the messengers escaped 
 with. That the men only had a small supply of ammunition, and 
 shot it all away before they retreated. Reinforcements had 
 gone to their assistance and would bring in the command. 
 They insisted upon us stopping with them, saying it was mad- 
 ness for us to attempt to go on. I told them that my trust was 
 in God, and my business was urgent and we could not stop. 
 We went on twelve miles, when we "met the troops bringing in 
 the wounded, and the remnant of the men who had been en- 
 gaged with Capt. Mann, in the late Indian fight ; they also in- 
 sisted upon our returning with them. They said there were 
 eight hundred mounted Indians not more than two miles back, 
 following up the rear guard, and that we would all be certainly 
 massacred unless we returned with them. I must admit that 
 the prospect looked dark. Still I felt impressed to go on. 
 Along this river, while it runs in nearly a level country and with 
 no timber in a hundred miles, yet there are many washes that 
 sometimes run out perhaps a mile from the river. Often these 
 washes, which were quite deep, caused the road to run around 
 them, thus forcing a person to travel a couple of miles to gain 
 two hundred yards in distance. It was near one of these washes 
 that we met the last body of troops. We stopped at the point 
 where the road turned back to the river. My comrades were in 
 doubt what to do. I felt that the danger was great. While de- 
 bating the matter over in my mind, my whole dream that I had 
 the night when I saw Lieut. Pace at my tent door, came fresh 
 before me. I at once saw the whole situation. While studying 
 upon this matter I heard a voice an audible voice say : 
 
 "John, leave the road and follow me." The voice appeared 
 to be about twenty feet in front of me, and the same distance 
 from the earth. I was startled, for I could see no one who could 
 have spoken thus to me. I said to Lieut. Gully : 
 
 " Did you hear that voice ? " 
 
 " No," said he. 
 
 "What shall we do? " I asked. 
 
 He said, " You are intrusted with this mission, follow your 
 impressions and all will be right." 
 
 From that moment I felt an invisible power that led me out 
 
190 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 into the plain, away from all roads or trails. We went along 
 about half a mile, when we came to a low basin, which entirely 
 hid us from the road. This basin contained about one acre of 
 ground, and was covered with good grass. I felt it my duty to 
 stop there, and did so. It was then about one o'clock, P. M. 
 Soon after stopping we saw a cloud of dust made by a large 
 herd of buffaloes running from the river where they had gone 
 for water and had been frightened by Indians. We did not see 
 the Indians, for we were perfectly protected by our position. 
 We staid there and let our animals eat grass for about one hour 
 and a half. We then started on again, following my invisible 
 guide, in an easterly direction, over a country entirely strange 
 to me. We traveled on until after dark, when we came to a 
 deep wash which my guide directed me to follow down to the 
 river. I did so, and came to the very spot where the Indians 
 had attacked Captain Mann that morning. Fragments of the 
 train lay scattered all over the plain. Our mules were much 
 frightened, perhaps at the smell of the blood. We watered our 
 animals, and filled our canteens with water. The night was still 
 and the least noise would echo and re-echo thro ugh the river 
 canyons, until it made the place more than horrid for people in 
 our situation. We traveled on until near midnight, when we 
 turned out our animals, tied the dog to the wagon-tongue, to 
 give us a guard, then all lay down and slept until day-light. 
 We never camped near watering-places, nor near the road. 
 Our reasons for camping away from water, and at least half a 
 mile from the road, were to avoid the Indians. We never had a 
 fire at night. 
 
 The next day we found a large, fat young mule, with all its 
 harness on. It had evidently been frightened during the battle 
 and broke away from the command It was fully forty miles 
 from the battle ground. I was much in need of fresh animals, 
 for mine were nearly given out. The finding of this mule, as we 
 did, gave me renewed confidence in God, and strengthened my 
 belief that he was leading us. 
 
 The next day we traveled on in the same direction. The 
 heavy rains had made the grass good. Buffalo were constantly 
 in sight. We followed our course three days, when we struck 
 the road again at a stream called Walnut Creek. Here we found 
 a large Indian encampment, but the Indians were evidently out 
 on a buffalo hunt. We crossed the creek and camped, conclud- 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 191 
 
 mg to cook our supper and let our animals eat and rest. It 
 was no use trying to escape from the Indians, for I knew they 
 had seen us and could capture us if they wished to do so. I 
 concluded the best plan was to appear to be perfectly easy and 
 without fear. Soon after camping, a band of over fifty warriors 
 surrounded us. I offered to shake hands with them but they 
 refused. I then offered them pins and needles and some calico 
 that I had purchased to trade to the Spaniards. They took my 
 profferd gifts and dashed them on the ground. I began to feel 
 that although we had been delivered from many former dan- 
 gers, our time had at last come. I remarked to Lieut. Gully, 
 who was a true and faithful man : 
 
 "Pray in your heart to God, and ask him to turn away the 
 ire of these people. They have been abused by large parties of 
 white men and soldiers. They think we are of that class, and 
 that we are only friendly because we are in their power, but if 
 they know who we are, that we have been sent to preach the 
 gospel to them, and to learn them its truths through the Book of 
 Mormon, they would die sooner than see us hurt." I saw an 
 elderly-looking Indian turn and speak to a noble looking young 
 warrior. They talked some time, and would occasionally turn 
 and point to me. Then they all dismounted and came nearer to 
 us. The old man raised his voice and talked in a loud tone, 
 and in a rapid manner to his men, for about five or ten minutes. 
 The young warrior then turned to us and spoke in plain English, 
 very much to our surprise. He said: 
 
 "Young man, this is my father. He is the head chief of the 
 Osage Indians. I have been educated in the East. We came 
 here with the intention of scalping you all. This tribe has been 
 abused by what my father calls the pale-faces, though he wishes 
 to be friendly with them. When a small part of this nation 
 comes in contact with a larger force of pale-faces, they are shot 
 and abused, but when the Indians have the advantage the pale 
 faces are always wanting to be friends. We thought you were 
 of that class, but now my father is satisfied you are good men. 
 I have read the Book of Mormon to him and to our tribe. I got 
 the book from a preacher, who was in the Cherokee Nation. My 
 father wishes me to say to you that you shall not be hurt. II 
 you wish any dried buffalo meat you can have all that you want. 
 Do not be afraid, we will not harm you, but you had better re- 
 main here until morning, for you may fall in with some of my 
 
|92 M(Jli MONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 father's braves, who will not know who you are, and they will 
 attack you. If you stay until morning, I will go with you until 
 you are out of danger." I replied that my business was urgent, 
 and we must go on, that we had letters from the Mormon battal- 
 ion to their friends at home, and must go on at once. The 
 young man then told the chief what I said. The chief then said, 
 through the young warrior : 
 
 " If you cannot stay, I will send word to the other chiefs not 
 to hurt you. They may not see you, as they are away from the 
 road, but I will send some hunters out to tell them to let you 
 pass in safety." I then thanked them very kindly, and told 
 them I was raised among the Delawares and Cherokees, that 
 when a child, I used to play with them before they were re- 
 moved to this country, and that I was still their friend. They 
 then asked if we wanted any dried meat. I told them no, that 
 I would prefer some fresh meat. I saw a buffalo near by, and 
 asked them to kill it, and bring me some of the meat. One of 
 the Indians rode for the buffalo at the full speed of his horse. 
 The well-trained horse stopped when near the buffalo, and the 
 Indian shot it down, then jumped from his horse and cut out a 
 piece of the hump, and returned with it before we were ready to 
 start. I then gave the Indians what trinkets we had, and started 
 on again. It was now after sunset. 
 
 Here was another manifestation of the providence of Almighty 
 God. I felt so grateful for our deliverance that I could not re- 
 strain my tears of gratitude. I care not what people, may call 
 me. I know there is a just God, and a rewarder of those that 
 diligently seek Him. I know that my Redeemer liveth and I 
 shall see Him for myself and not for another. Though the day 
 of my execution is near at hand four days only are given me to 
 continue the history of my life (this is March the 19th, 1877) 
 my trust is in that Arm that cannot be broken. Though men 
 may err, and cruelly betray each other unto death, my life may 
 be taken from this earth, but nevertheless the hope of my call- 
 ing in Christ Jesus, my Lord, is the same with me. I am sure 
 that I shall rest in peace. I must not suffer my feelings to over- 
 come me, or destroy the thread of my narrative. I wish to con- 
 tinue while time affords me a moment here, that my history may 
 live when I am no more. 
 
 The next day only two Indians came to us, but they could not 
 talk English, and we could not speak their tongue, so we had no 
 

 LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 193 
 
 conversation. I am certain from the actions of the two Indiana 
 that the old chief had kept his word with us and notified his 
 tribe to let us go on in safety. On reaching the Pawnee Fork, 
 a tributary of the Arkansas River, we found Captain Bullard's 
 train of thirty wagons. They lay by all day in search of eight 
 of tb^ir mules, that had been stampeded by the Indians, although 
 they had been picketed and closely guarded. The company 
 could not find a trace of them. The men were a rough, boister. 
 ous set, and, while our animals were very weary, I concluded it 
 was still best to go further before camping. It was then rain- 
 ing, but that made the traveling better, for the country was 
 quite sandy. We camped late that night at Ash Creek. We 
 now felt that we were over the worst of our dangers, but we still 
 had sufficient of trials before us to keep it from being a pleasure 
 trip. Next morning our riding animals were unable to travel. 
 They refused to go on. I again went to God in prayer and laid 
 our case before Him, and asked that He would open up the way 
 for our deliverance. That night I dreamed that I was exceed- 
 ingly hungry and had little to eat, when five ears of large, solid 
 corn were handed me by a person, who said, "This will do you 
 until you get to where there is plenty." The ears of corn were 
 of different colors; one ear was jet black, but perfectly sound; 
 one was red, and one was yellow. I was much pleased with the 
 corn and felt that there was not much danger of suffering now. 
 The next morning our animals still looked fearfully bad ; only 
 two of our riding animals could raise the trot. Lieut. Gully 
 said unless God soon sent us some fresh animals we would have 
 to give up. 
 
 " We will not give up," said I. u God has protected us thus 
 far and we must still trust in Him in the eleventh hour of our 
 trouble He will aid us. We will find help to-day." 
 
 44 1 hope so," said he. 
 
 He then said, "Have you been dreaming again? " 
 
 I related to him my dream about the corn, and said I thought 
 the ears of corn meant mules. After prayer (we always kneeled 
 in prayer, night and morning) we started on our way. The 
 mules could hardly travel. We made about six miles, when we 
 saw fresh tracks made by shod animals, that appeared to be 
 dragging long ropes and pins. The tracks were following the 
 road, going in the same direction that we were traveling. We 
 had a long dowu grade before us. The plain was dotted here 
 13 
 
194 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 and there with herds of buffalo. I halted and took up my 
 spy-glass, and took a careful survey of the country. My efforts 
 were rewarded by the sight of a number of mules feeding among 
 the buffalo. We went on until we arrived as near them as we 
 could get without leaving the road. We called a halt, turned 
 our mules loose, then took out the oil-cloth that I had to feed 
 the mules on, and took a little of the grain we had left, and put 
 (t on the cloth. The strange mules saw it, and came running 
 up to us to get a feed of grain. We then got hold of the ropes 
 that were on the necks of four of the mules, and tied them to- 
 gether. There was a black mare mule that was quite shy, but 
 I finally caught the rope that was on her neck. The mule at 
 once came at me with her ears turned back and mouth open. 
 She caught me by the arm and bit me severely, then turned and 
 ?an away. Lieutenant Gully said: 
 
 " Let her go, she will kill some of us." 
 
 "No, we will not let her go, we need all the mules," said I. 
 
 I again caught her, and she made for me again, but I caught 
 the rope near the end where it was fastened to an iron pin, and 
 struck her a blow with the pin, which knocked her down. I then 
 placed my knee on her neck, and caught her by the nose with 
 my hands. I held her this way until a bridle was put on her, 
 after which we were able to manage her easily. I then hitched 
 this wild mule to the wagon by the side of Friendship. We then 
 had fresh rid*~g animals, and turned our jaded ones loose, and 
 drove them before us. At Kane Creek we lost the mule that I 
 got from the soldiers at Santa Fe. It drank more of the alkali 
 water than was good for it, so we left it on the plains and went 
 our way. We saw so many fresh Indian signs around there that 
 we knew we had no time to stay attending sick mules. A 
 few nights afterwards I saw a large body of Indians among the 
 cedars on a mountain, not far off, but our lucky star was guiding 
 us, for soon after that we met three hundred soldiers, with whom 
 we camped that night. The force was so strong that the Indians 
 did not attack us. Next day we met soldiers very frequently, 
 and every few hours we would meet a body of troops from that 
 time until we reached Fort Leavenworth. It was storming very 
 hard when we got to St. Joseph, Missouri. We put up at a ho- 
 tel, but before our animals were in the stable, Egan was gone, 
 and I could not find him that night, yet we searched for him 
 very diligently. I was fearful that he would be robbed, bat he 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 195 
 
 happened to meet some honest men who put him in bed, and 
 kept him and his money in safety until morning, when we found 
 him. 
 
 After leaving St. Joseph, where we had purchased a lot of 
 supplies, we started for winter quarters, and had to go through 
 from six to ten feet of snow, the whole distance. We reached 
 our friends in safety. I had two hundred dollars that the sol- 
 diers had made me a present of. I took three of the mules we 
 had found on the way, and divided the others between my com- 
 panions. We reached winter quarters, now called Florence, 
 on the 15th day of December, 1846. The snow was deep, my 
 family all living in tents, and in a suffering condition ; but I 
 must report first, as it is usual to pay homage to the man of 
 God, Brigham Young, then attend to my family, but when I 
 saw my family exposed to the pelting storms of Winter, while all 
 others had comfortable log houses, I was angry. I cannot say I 
 was disappointed, for it was not the first time that Brigham 
 Young and others in authority had broken their promises made 
 to me. My family received me as they always did, with open 
 arms and thankful hearts. 
 
CHAPTER XVn. 
 
 LEE 18 TREATED BADLY BY THE " BRETHREN." 
 
 I HAD brought home with me about all that my team could 
 haul of supplies, clothing, groceries, etc., which soon made 
 my family comfortable. I had met President Young and shaken 
 hands with him, but had not made my report or delivered the 
 money to him. The next morning the President called to see 
 me, and notified me that the Council would meet at nine o'clock 
 at Dr. Richards', and for me to be there and make my report. 
 He appeared greatly ashamed at the manner my family had 
 been treated. I said : 
 
 "President Young, how does this compare with your prom- 
 ises to me, when I trusted all to you ? I took my life in my 
 hands and went into that Indian country, on that perilous trip, a 
 distance of two thousand two hundred miles, through savage 
 foes, to carry out your orders. I have found things as I feared 
 they would be. When I started I asked you to care for my 
 family, and you promised all that I asked of you. Now I see all 
 my family exposed to the storm ; they, of all the camp, are with- 
 out houses. My best cattle have been butchered and eaten, but 
 not by my family. The choice beef has been given to your 
 favorites, and the refuse given to my wives and children." The 
 President replied : 
 
 " Brother John, I am ashamed of the conduct of this people. 
 I have mentioned the situation of your family several times, but 
 the brethren did tfot feel like building houses for others until 
 they had their own houses completed. I was intending this 
 very day to call a meeting and have the brethren turn out and 
 build houses for your family. Do not blame me, Brother John, 
 for I have done the best that I could." Then putting his hand 
 on my shoulder, he said: "Don't feel bad about it. You will 
 live through, and the day will come when we can look back and 
 196 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 197 
 
 see what we have endured for the Kingdom of Heaven's sake, 
 and will rejoice that we have passed through it." Then he 
 wound up by saying, "Lord bless you, Brother John. You can 
 now begin and make your family more comfortable than nine- 
 tenths of these people, for it does not take you long to put things 
 in shape. Come, cheer up, and you shall have $100 of the 
 money for your services, and you can make a thousand out of 
 it." But this, like all his other promises, fell to the ground, for 
 I never got a cent of the money. 
 
 I met the Council, and made my report, and handed over the 
 checks for the money sent home by the soldiers. I received 
 blessings without end, but all of them to come in the future, and 
 also on condition that I remained faithful to the end. 
 
 Allow me to jump from 1847 to 1877, just thirty years, 
 and let the future tell my experience of that time, and 
 what my prospects are to-day. As I said, my promised 
 blessings were all to be received in the future, and that too 
 upon condition that I remained faithful to the end. I was 
 adopted by Brigham Young, and was to seek his temporal in- 
 terests here, and in return he was to seek my spiritual salvation, 
 I being an heir of his family, and was to share his blessings in 
 common with his other heirs. True to my pledges, I have at all 
 times tried to do his bidding. I have let him direct my energies 
 in all things. And now the time has come for me to prepare to 
 receive my reward. An offering must be made, and I must pre- 
 pare the wood and build the altar ; then, as Abraham of old did 
 with his son Isaac, be placed upon the altar as the sacrifice. But 
 the Lord, or Abraham, had a ram tied in the thicket, when the 
 hand of the Lord stretched forth and staid the fatal blow. But 
 I doubt whether my father Brigham has been as thoughtful as 
 Abraham was, I think not ; I must meet my fate without mur- 
 muring or complaining. I must tamely submit, and be true to the 
 end. I must not speak a word against the Lord's anointed, for 
 if I do, I must lose the blessings promised for all that I have 
 done. If I endure firm to the end, I will receive the martyr's 
 crown, and my son will represent me here on earth, and carry 
 on my work- for an eternal state. This, to me, appears to be a 
 hard way to receive my pay. I would rather lose the debt, 
 and begin anew, if I could. But it is now too late for escape 
 from the fate that awaits me. It is said that experience teaches 
 
198 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 a dear school, and that fools will learn at no other. I fear that I 
 have paid a little too much for mine. 
 
 My first duty was to build some comfortable houses for my 
 family. Soon afterwards I was sent to St. Joseph to cash the 
 checks and purchase some goods to supply the wants of the peo- 
 ple. I was directed to purchase a lot of salt and potatoes from 
 a Frenchman at Trading Point. I did so, and bought $300 
 worth on credit and sent them back to the settlement. I had to 
 borrow the money from Mrs. Armstrong to pay the $300 debt. 
 But she was afterwards sealed to me, and it was then all in the 
 family, and I never asked Brigham Young for it and he never 
 offered to pay it. He owes it to me yet. On that trip to St. 
 Joseph I bought $1,500 worth of goods, such as were needed at 
 the settlement. I advanced $700 of my own money and the re- 
 mainder was from the money sent home by the Mormon Battal- 
 ion. I took the goods back and we opened a store at winter 
 quarters. A. P. Rockwood acted as chief clerk and salesman. 
 We sold the goods at a great advance. What cost us seven 
 cents at St. Joseph, we sold at sixty-jive cents, and everything 
 was sold at a similar profit. I kept the stock up during the 
 Winter and did a good business. One drawback was this : many 
 of the families of the men who were in the Mormon Battalion 
 had no money, and we had to let them have goods on credit, but 
 I had to stand the loss myself, for few of the men ever paid a 
 dollar due me when they returned. Andrew Little was in the 
 battalion, and at the request of Brigham Young I let his family 
 have $258 worth of goods, and Brigham said I should have my 
 money when Little returned, but I never got any of it. Little 
 was also an adopted son of Brigham Young, and consequently 
 did about as he pleased. James Pace, Thomas Woolsey, and a 
 few others of the soldiers, paid me when they returned, for what 
 I had advanced their families, but the majority never paid. 
 When I returned from Santa Fe I found David Young, his wife 
 and two daughters, lying sick and helpless ; really in want. I 
 took care of them and supplied them with food and such articles 
 as they required, until the death of the father, mother and one 
 son, which took place in a short time a few months after my 
 return home. I had baptized this family in Putnam County, 
 Tennessee, and felt a great interest in them. The two girls were 
 sealed to me while we stead at winter quarters, and became 
 members of my family. They are both still living. By them I 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 199 
 
 have three sons and three daughters. They were sealed to me 
 in 1847. I was also sealed to Nancy Armstrong the same even- 
 ing that I took the Young girls to wife. A few evenings after- 
 wards I was sealed to Emeline Woolsey. She was my thirteenth 
 wife. Nancy Armstrong's maiden name was Gibbons. She was 
 the wife of a wealthy merchant by the name of Armstrong, who 
 owned a large establishment in Louisville, Kentucky, and an- 
 other in Carlisle, Kentucky, at which places he did business as 
 wholesale and retail dealer in dry goods. I became acquainted 
 with the family at Carlisle, Overton County, Tennessee, while 
 preaching there. The people of Carlisle were bitter enemies of 
 the Mormon Church, and a mob threatened to tar and feather 
 me one night, when Armstrong took me home with him and pro- 
 tected me. He was not a believer in any religion, but I always 
 considered him a high-minded, honorable man. I afterwards 
 stopped at the house often. His wife and sister Sarah were 
 believers in the Mormon faith, but as Mr. Armstrong was not, I 
 advised his wife not to become a member of the Church, and re- 
 fused to baptize her until such time as her husband would con- 
 sent to it. Elder Smoot afterwards baptized Sarah Gibbons and 
 Nancy Armstrong. 
 
 Brother Smoot had taken his wife with him on the mission, 
 and she laid the plan to get Sarah to go to Nauvoo. A wagon 
 was sent to take Sarah Gibbons' goods to Nauvoo, and in it Mrs. 
 Armstrong sent her valuable clothing and jewelry, amounting to 
 some two thousand dollars. She intended to join the Saints 
 at the first chance. A few months after Sarah had gone Mrs. 
 Armstrong got the consent of her husband that she might pay 
 a visit to her sister and the Church at Nauvoo ; he fitted her 
 up in fine style, sending two serving maids to wait on her. Soon 
 after she left home, the friends of Armstrong advised him to 
 stop his slaves at St. Louis, if he wanted to keep them, for his 
 wife would never return to him. Armstrong stopped the slaves, 
 and his wife went on to Nauvoo, where she staid until the Saints 
 left that place after the death of the Prophet. I am satisfied 
 that Smoot laid the plan to get Mrs. Armstrong to Nauvoo, so 
 he could be sealed to her and get her property. Sarah Gibbons 
 was sealed to Elder Smoot, but Mrs. Armstrong would not con- 
 consent to take him as her husband, but she lived in the family 
 until she got disgusted with Smbot's cruel treatment of her 
 sister. She loaned him nearly all her money and he never paid 
 
200 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 it back ; he wanted the rest of it, but she refused to let him 
 have it; he then refused to take her with him across the plains. 
 Slie told her griefs to my wife Rachel, and Rachel brought 
 about the marriage between her and myself. 
 
 Mrs. Armstrong said to Rachel that I was the first man on 
 earth to bring the gospel to her, and that she had always had a 
 great regard for me since she first saw me, but that I appeared 
 to treat her coldly. Rachel told her that I always spoke kindly 
 of her, and that the reason I had not been more friendly, was 
 because I had thought she wanted to become a member of Broth- 
 er Smooths family ; that she had heard me speak of her in terms 
 of praise many times. Finally she came to my house and I 
 asked her in the presence of my wives, if she wished to become a 
 member of my family. She said she did. My wives advised me 
 to be sealed to her, and as the matter was agreeable all round, I 
 did so. Brigham Young sealed her and the Young girls to me. 
 She was a true, affectionate woman. My whole family respected 
 her. She was forty-eight years of age when she was sealed to 
 me, and she was a true wife until her death. In all matters of 
 this kind I tried to act from principle and not from passion. 
 Yet I do not pretend to say that all such acts were directed by 
 principle, for I know they were not. I am not blind to my own 
 faults. I have been a proud, vain man, and in my younger days 
 I thought I was perfection. In those days I did not almost 
 make due allowance for the failings of the weaker vessels. I then 
 expected perfection in all women. I know now that I was fool- 
 ish in looking for that in anything human. I have, for slight of- 
 fences, turned away good meaning young women that had been 
 sealed to me and refused to hear their excuses, but sent them 
 away heart-broken. In this I did wrong. I have regretted the 
 same in sorrow for many years. Two of the young women so 
 used, still have warm hearts for me, notwithstanding my unnatural 
 conduct toward them. They were young and in the prime of 
 life when I sent them from me. They have since married again, 
 and are the mothers of nice families. They frequently send 
 letters to comfort me in my troubles and afflictions, but their 
 kind remembrances only serve to add to my self-reproach for 
 my cruel treatment of them in past years. I banished them 
 from me for less offences than I had myself been guilty of. 
 Should my history ever fall into the hands of Emeline Woolsey or 
 Polly Ann Workman, I wish them to know that, with my last 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 201 
 
 breath, I ask God to pardon me for the wrong I did them, when 
 I drove them from me, poor young girls as they were. 
 
 President Young built a grist mill during the Winter, and 
 ground meal for the people, charging a heavy toll for all that 
 the mill ground. In the Spring I was ordered to go out and 
 preach, and raise thirty-three wagons and the mules and harness 
 to draw them. I succeeded in getting thirty of the teams. 
 Brigham Young told me to go again, that he asked for thirty- 
 three teams, not for thirty. I went again, and preached so that 
 I soon had the other teams. I then turned the whole outfit over 
 to Brigham Young, so he could send his pioneers out to look up 
 a new home for the Saints. I then offered to go with the com- 
 pany, but Brigham Young said : 
 
 44 I cannot spare you ; I can spare others better than you." 
 
 He then directed me to take my family and a company, and 
 go and raise corn for the people. He said : 
 
 " I want you to take a company, with your family, and go up 
 fchc river, and open up a farm, and raise grain and vegetables 
 to feed the needy, and the soldiers' families, for we cannot de- 
 pend on hauling our substance from Missouri, to feed so many 
 as we have on our hands. I want so much grain raised that all 
 will be supplied next Winter, for we must feed our animals grain 
 tf we wish them to cross the plains next Spring. There is an old 
 military fort about eighteen miles above here, where the land 
 was once farmed, and that land is in good condition for farming 
 now. We will leave Father Morley in charge of the various 
 settlements. Brother Heber C. Kimball will send some of his 
 boys and make another farm this side of there." 
 
 Then turning to Father Morley, he said : 
 
 44 1 want John to take charge of the farming interests and the 
 settlement, at my place, and you must counsel and advise with 
 him from time to time. I want you and all the brethren to un- 
 derstand that the land nearest the settlement is to be divided 
 between John and his wives, for they are all workers, and the 
 others are to go further for their land." 
 
 I said that kind of an arrangement would not give satisfaction 
 to the people, and that there were some of his adopted sons 
 now jealous of me, and I feared the consequences, and preferred 
 that the land be divided nearer equal. 
 
 He said, 44 Who are they that are jealous of you? " 
 
 I named several persons to him. In reply he said, naming a 
 
MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 man, he would work all day under the shade of a tree. Another, 
 he said, could work all day in a half-bushel. Then he said : 
 
 " Such men will do but little ; let them go to some outside 
 place for their land. I want those who will work to have the 
 best land. Let each family have an acre near by for a garden 
 and truck patch. And now, Father Morley, I want you to see 
 that John and his family have all the cleared land that they can 
 tend, for I know they will raise a good crop, and when it is 
 raised we can all share it with him. I want a company to follow 
 Brother Lee, about the first of May, when the grass is good, of 
 such men as can fit themselves out comfortably. My brother, 
 John Young, will lead them, and Jedde Grant will be the 
 Captain." 
 
 Then he turned to me and said : 
 
 " Brother John D., I want you to fit my brother John out. If 
 he needs oxen let him have them, and I will pay them back 
 again ; see that he gets a good outfit. When he leaves here 
 Father Morley will take charge of the Church. I want the Breth- 
 ren to do as John D. tells them ; he carries a good influence 
 wherever he goes ; no evil reports follow him from his field of 
 labor ; all respect him, and that is good evidence to me that he 
 carries himself straight." 
 
 I then settled up my business at the winter quarters. Presi- 
 dent Young was indebted to the firm $285 ; of course he had not 
 the money to settle the account, and he was just starting to look 
 out a resting place for the Saints. His first adopted son, A. P. 
 Rockwood, our salesman, could not spare a dollar to help his 
 Father, Brigham Young, so the loss of that sum of money fell 
 on me. 
 
 I told my adopted father, Brigham Young, that he was wel- 
 come to the $285. Before he left for the new land of promise, he 
 said to me, 
 
 " My son John, what shall I do for you?" 
 
 I said, "Select me an inheritance when you find the resting- 
 place." 
 
 "I will remember you. May Heaven bless you. I bless 
 you. Be a good boy. Keep an account of how each man, un- 
 der your charge, occupies his time, while I am gone." 
 
 He then said I was to have half of all the improvements that 
 were made, and half of the crop that was raised by the company 
 that I fitted out with teams, seed and provisions. The 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 203 
 
 company started April 1st, 1847. We moved to our new loca- 
 tion, and called it Summer Quarters. We laid out a fort to pro- 
 tect us from the Indians, as they were troublesome. We then 
 laid off our land. I found out that if I obeyed orders, it would 
 require all the cleared land for my family, so I took and laid off 
 three acres for each family there were thirty-seven families 
 for gardens, and I took the balance. Although I had given each 
 family three times as much land, for a garden and truck-patch, 
 as Brigham Young had ordered, still the people found a great 
 deal of fault with me. Mrs. Armstrong had some money left, 
 and she told me to take it, and send for supplies and seed-corn. 
 I did take it, and sent four teams to Missouri for seed-corn and 
 provisions, and then put all hands to work building the fort, put- 
 ting the land in order for the crop, etc. About the first of May,, 
 thirty-eight warriors of the Oto tribe came to our camp. They 
 were in full paint, and on the war-path. They came in on the yell r 
 and at full speed. It was just after daylight; I was laying the 
 foundation of a house when they came to me. I threw logs 
 against them the same as if I did not see them, but most of the 
 brethren kept out of sight. The Indians began to build a fire 
 in my garden, and one of them raised his gun to shoot one of 
 my oxen, which the boys were then driving up. The majority 
 of the Indians then formed a half-circle, holding their bows fully 
 sprung, and commenced a regular war dance. We were told 
 not to shoot Indians, but to take sticks and whale them when 
 they commenced any depredations. As the Indian took the 
 leather-casing from his gun, so that he could shoot, I rushed at 
 him with a heavy club, with the intention of knocking down as 
 many of them as I could. I could speak their language some, 
 so I told them I would kill them all if they shot my ox. They 
 saw that I meant what I said. Then the two chiefs held out 
 their hands, and yelled to the warrior not to shoot. He lowered 
 his gun and returned to the crowd, but he was very angry. 
 The other Indians seemed amazed, and stocd as if they were 
 paralyzed. Old man A. K. Knight followed me with a club, 
 and stood by me all the time. Joseph Busby said: 
 "Hold on, Brother Lee, they out-number us." 
 " Out-number h 1," said I, "there are not Indians enough 
 in their whole nation to make me stand by and see them shoot 
 down my oxen before my eyes." 
 
 Busby then ran into the house to load my gun, but he was so- 
 
204 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 frightened be could not get the powder in the gun, so my wife, 
 Rachel, loaded it for him. I looked around to see how things 
 were, and I saw seven of my wives standing with guns in their 
 hands, ready to shoot if I was attacked. 
 
 I succeeded in driving the whole band of Indians away from 
 the settlement. 
 
 Sometime after the Indians had gone away an old chief re- 
 turned and brought an ax, that he said one of his braves had 
 stolen. I gave him a little ammunition and some bread, and he 
 left me as a friend. My firm stand saved the settlement at that 
 time and secured it from molestation in the future. The Indians 
 never bothered us at Summer Quarters again. In the Fall they 
 made us a friendly visit, and called me a Sioux Captain. Near 
 our settlement there was an abundance of wild game deer, tur- 
 key, prairie chickens, ducks, geese, brant, squirrels, etc., which 
 gave us much of our food during our stay there. We worked 
 diligently and raised an abundant crop of corn and vegetables 
 We built good, comfortable houses, and made the floors and 
 roofs of bass-wood, which was abundant, near by, and worked 
 easily. In July the people were nearly all sick. The fever and 
 ague were nearly a contagion. Other diseases were not uncom- 
 mon. In August and September seventeen of our people died. 
 During those months we had hardly a sufficient number of well 
 people to attend to the sick. The most of my family were very 
 sick. My little son, Heber John, the child of my first wife, 
 Agatha Ann, died; also David Young, Sr., the father of my two 
 wives, Polly and Louisa ; also their brother, David Young, Jr. 
 I also lay at the point of death for some time. I was in a trance 
 about one hour and a half. While in this condition my wives, 
 Rachel A. and Nancy G., stood over me like guardian angels, 
 and prayed constantly for me. My spirit left the body and I was 
 taken into another sphere, where I saw myriads of people many 
 of whom I was acquainted with and had known on earth. The 
 atmosphere that they dwelt in was pure and hallowed. Pain 
 and sorrow were unknown, or at least were not felt there. All 
 was joy and peace. Each spirit was blest with all the pleasure 
 its ability enabled it to comprehend and enjoy. They had full 
 knowledge of the earthly doings and also of the sphere where 
 they were so blest. The glory of God shone upon them, and the 
 power of Heaven overshadowed them all, and was to them a per- 
 fect shield from all temptations and dangers. I wa anxious to 
 
LIFS OF JOHN D. LEE. 205 
 
 remain there, but the spirits told me that I must return to the 
 body and remain in it until my appointed time for death that 
 my work on earth was not yet finished. I obeyed, but did so 
 with great reluctance, and once more entered the body, then ap- 
 parently lifeless upon the bed of sickness. After taking posses- 
 sion of the body again I lay some time in deep thought, contem- 
 plating the majesty of God's works. I then spoke to my faith- 
 ful nurses, and told them of what I had done, heard and wit- 
 nessed. I soon recovered from my sickness, but my life' was for 
 some time a misery to me. I longed to join that angelic host 
 that I had so lately visited in their mansions of glory and pleas- 
 ure, where I knew I was to go when I could escape from this 
 body of earthly material. This feeling of anxiety to go to my 
 eternal rest was greatly strengthened by the bitter, malignant 
 actions of men who acted like demons toward me and mine. 
 Every species of intrigue and meanness was resorted to by some 
 of the brethren to injure and torment me. They were jealous 
 of me and anxious to provoke me to violence. Everything that 
 envy and hatred could suggest was tried, to break up and scat- 
 ter my family. Finally they reported to Father Morley that 
 nothing but a change of rulers in the settlement would bring 
 peace again. 
 
 Father Morley came, with several Elders, and called a meet- 
 ing, at which he heard all the parties state their grievances 
 against me. He then told them that they had brought nothing 
 against me that reflected upon me as presiding officer ; that I 
 had acted well and for the best interest of the entire people ; 
 that all the trouble was from the wrong acts of the people. 
 
 One of the brethren, C. Kennedy, proposed a change. He 
 wanted a High Priest to preside instead of a Seventy. I was 
 tared of my position and consented to the change. A man by 
 the name of Fuller was selected by Kennedy to rule over the 
 people. Father Morley put the question to a vote of the peo- 
 ple, and said that all who wished for a change of rulers should 
 hold up their hands. Only two hands were raised. Tken he 
 said that all who wished me to remain in charge should raise 
 their hands, when every person present but two voted that I 
 should still be the ruler of that people at Summer Quarters. 
 
 Father Morley then called upon the two brethren who voted 
 against me to get up and tell what they had against me. They 
 could give no good reason for wanting a change. They said 
 
206 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 they never lived by a better neighbor or kinder hearted man 
 than I was, but that I was too kind ; that I let the people run 
 over me ; that they voted for a change believing it would tend 
 to unite the people and satisfy those who had been raising the 
 fuss and finding fault. 
 
 Father Morley told them it was wrong to vote against a good 
 man for such reasons. He then talked to the people on the 
 principles of their religion for some time, and advised them to 
 forsake their evil ways, for they were going in a way that led to 
 hell, etc. 
 
 This ended my troubles for a short time, but I soon found out 
 that my enemies had only let go their hold so they could spit on 
 their hands and get a better one. They next asked to be allowed 
 to organize a police force for the protection of the settlement. 
 This was to be entirely separate from me. I .granted their re- 
 quest. It was next decided to build an estray pound. A meet- 
 ing was called and it was agreed that each man should build 
 fence in proportion to the amount of stock that he owned, and 
 that the public corral should be used for the estray pound. 
 But no stock should be put into the pound until all the fencing 
 was done, the gates set up, etc. I at once completed my fenc- 
 ing, but the grumblers had no time to work ; they were kept 
 busy finding fault. (This whole thing was a subterfuge to bother 
 me ; there was no need of a pound, as our cattle were all herded 
 in day time and corraled at night. But I submitted, for I knew 
 I could live by their laws as well as they could.) One evening 
 soon after that, as the cattle were being driven up for the night, 
 one of my oxen ran through a brush fence and got into a patch 
 of corn. The herdsman ran him out in a moment. Instead of 
 holding the herder responsible for the damage, or coming to me 
 . to make a complaint and demanding pay for the damage, they 
 took my ox out of the corral, and, contrary to the vote of the 
 people, took and tied him up to Wm. Pace's private corral. I 
 was the only man there who bad made his fence, as ordered by 
 the meeting. I did not know that they had my ox tied up (for 
 the work had not been done yet to justify putting any stock in 
 the pound). Next morning I sent some of my boys out to yoke 
 up my oxen, when they returned and informed me that one of 
 my oxen was missing. I soon found the ox, and demanded its 
 release. I was told I must pay $20 before I could have the ox, 
 that I must pay it in money. I saw this was done to worry 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 207 
 
 me, so I sent word that I would pay in any kind of property that 
 I had. They refused everything but money or butter. I had 
 neither to spare, and they well knew it. I was still weak from 
 my recent sickness, but I walked over and had a talk with Win. 
 Pace and tried to reason with him, but all to no purpose. I 
 told him he should take pay for damage done by stock in the 
 kind of property that the stock injured, but no, I must pay 
 money or butter, or lose my ox. I reflected a moment and con- 
 cluded that forbearance had ceased to be a virtue ; that unless I 
 defended my rights I would soon be without anything worth 
 protecting. I then walked into the yard and untied the ox, and 
 told my boy to drive him home. Pace stood by the gate with 
 a large cane, but made no resistance; in fact he was not a 
 bad man, but was being misled by bad company. Kennedy, 
 Busby, Dunn, and others, were a little way off. They saw me, 
 and came running to me. Charles Kennedy was the bully of the 
 camp, and the leader of those against me. He came up and said, 
 
 " If I had been here you would not ha ye turned that ox out. 
 I would have switched you if you had tried it." 
 
 I said, "Kennedy, I have lost property enough through the 
 police without your oppressing me any more." 
 
 I had lost ten head of mules just before that by the dis- 
 honesty of the police. I then said I lost my mules by the failure 
 of the police to do their duty, and I would not be imposed on 
 in this way any more. He then shoved his fist under my nose. 
 I parried his blow, and told him that he would do well to keep 
 at a proper distance from me. He again made a pass at me. 
 I then threw down my hat and said : 
 
 " If you attempt that again you must take what follows." 
 
 He came at me the third time, and as he did so I aimed to 
 spoil his face, but he dropped his head as I struck, and the blow 
 took effect on his eye-brow, and badly sprained my thumb. We 
 were on a little knoll, full of the stumps of small trees that had 
 been cut down. Kennedy caught hold of me and commenced 
 shoving me back. I knew that my strength would not tast long. 
 I did not wish to risk having a tussel among the stum] j. So I 
 backed out towards the cleared ground. I fastener 1 my left 
 hand in his long black hair to steady myself, and as I reached the 
 flat ground, I suddenly sprang back, breaking his hold, by tear- 
 Ing my shirt. I then jerked him forward to an angle of forty- 
 five degrees, and planted my fist square in his face ; stepping 
 
208 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 back, and drawing him after me, I kept gradually feeding him 
 in the face with my fist, the blood spurting from him all over 
 me. The crowd saw their bully getting the worst of it, so they 
 ran in to help him. Brother Teeples caught me around the 
 arms, to prevent me from striking any more. My Rachel, who 
 was standing by, called to her brother, James Woolsey, and he 
 came and took hold of Kennedy and separated us. 
 
 I was very sorry that this fight took place, for I was forced 
 to admit that I had fearfully punished the bully, his face was 
 badly bruised. This suited the people ; I had shown violence, 
 and now they could lay a charge against me that they thought 
 would stand. 
 
 I was at once cited to appear before the High Council, and be 
 dealt with according to the rules of the Church, for a breach of 
 the peace and unchristian conduct. The whole people were not 
 against me, only a few ; but there were enough of them to keep 
 up a constant broil. They then began consecrating my property 
 to their own use; killed my cattle, and ate them, and stole 
 nearly everything that was loose. They stole wheat from iny 
 graineries, had it ground and eat it, and bragged about it. 
 Kennedy, by the evil influences he commanded, induced my 
 young wife, Emeline, to leave me and go to his house, and she 
 went with his family to Winter Quarters. That was the reason 
 that I turned her away and refused to take her back again. She 
 repented and wished to come back, but I would not take her 
 again. Similar influences were brought to bear on all of my 
 family, but without much success. Such horrid treatment was 
 not calculated to bind me to such a people, whose only aim ap- 
 peared to be to deprive me of every comfort and enjoyment that 
 made life endurable. I was in great trouble ; in place of friends 
 I had found enemies. There was a great struggle in my mind 
 to decide what I should do. I looked upon those of my family 
 that remained true and shared my persecutions, and knew that 
 if I left the Church I could not keep and live with them ; that if 
 I left I must part with all but my first wife and her children to 
 do so was worse than death. I did not know what to do. 
 
 I finally appeared before the High Council to meet my accus- 
 ers, who had formed a combination to destroy me. I had but 
 few friends to defend me, and they were in a measure powerless. 
 They dared not speak their mind in my behalf. Father Morley 
 was true to me to the last, though he was becoming unpopu- 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 209 
 
 lar on account of having so long supported me. Lieut. Samuel 
 Gully was another true friend of mine ; he said he would never 
 turn against me until I had done something wrong, even if Brig- 
 ham Young should desire him to do so. This at once lost him 
 his influence in the Council. The most willful and damnable lies 
 were brought up against me. Many things which had been said 
 and done in moments of amusement and jocularity were brought 
 up, as if I had said and done the things for wicked purposes. 
 Everything that could be discovered or invented to injure me 
 was laid to my charge. All who were against me had a full 
 chance to talk. Then Aaron Johnson, who was there, but not as 
 a member of the Council, was called upon to fill a vacancy occa- 
 sioned by the absence of some member. He made a speech to 
 the Council, and showed them where I had acted well ; he then 
 Toted for my acquittal. James W. Cummings, who had been a 
 member of the Council when I was first tried in the Summer, and 
 who then took my part, now thought he would make him- 
 self popular with the people, so he volunteered his evidence and 
 gave false evidence against me. This man's action was very 
 wrong and uncharitable. I had been more than a brother to 
 him in the past ; I had supplied his family with food many times 
 when tjaey would have suffered but for the help I gave them. 
 This man is still a pet of Brigham Young's. The result of that 
 trial was that I was ordered to confess that I had been in fault, 
 and that I was alone to blame, and must ask the people to for- 
 give me. If I refused I was to be cut off from the Church. To 
 a man in my situation it was equivalent to death to be cut off 
 from the Church ; my wives would be taken from me, my prop- 
 erty consecrated to the Church, and I turned adrift, broken and 
 disgraced, and liable to suffer death at the hand of any brother 
 of the Church who wished to take my life, either to save my soul 
 or for purposes of revenge. 
 
 I replied that in justice to myself I could not make such a 
 confession, but that, if nothing else would do, I would say, as 
 the Council demands me to say, I would make the confession. 
 I was told that this would not do ; that no whipping of the devil 
 around a stump would do them ; my confession must be full and 
 unconditional. What the result would have been I cannot say, 
 for just then a messenger returned, saying President Young wa 
 near at hand, on his return with the pioneers who had gone out 
 with him to look for a resting place for the Saints. This stopped 
 14 
 
210 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 all further proceedings. The majority of the people rushed 
 forth to meet Brigharn Young. 
 
 I returned home, conscious of my own innocence and willing 
 that the people should have the first show to talk to the Presi- 
 dent and give him their side of the case. I did this in part so I 
 could tell how much he could be stuffed. The people told their 
 story and misrepresented me in every way ; they told him how I 
 had divided the land, and said that I and Father Morley both 
 said that he had ordered me and m}' family to take the cleared 
 land. This Brigham Young flatly denied, and he never told a 
 meaner lie in his life than that one, for he had insisted upon my 
 taking much more of it than I did. He accused Father Morley 
 and myself of being liars. 
 
 After that there was nothing left undone by many of the peo- 
 ple that would irritate or injure me or my family. My property 
 was stolen, my fences broken down, and everything that mean 
 men could imagine or work up by acting in combination in 
 studying deviltry was done to make life a burden to me. I 
 had raised over seven thousand bushels of corn, and every one 
 had a good crop. I had a large lot filled up in the husk, and I 
 let my cattle run to it so as to keep them fat during the Winter, 
 that I might drive them over the plains in the Spring. The rot- 
 ten-hearted police took advantage of my position, and drove 
 my cattle from my own corn-pile and put them into the estray 
 pound, and charged me fifty dollars for thus illegally putting my 
 cattle in the pound. I offered to put all the corn I had into their 
 hands as security, until I could have a meeting called to exam- 
 ine into the charge. I wanted my cows at home, for we needed 
 the milk. I had a large family, and many little children that 
 would suffer without milk. Half the men in the settlement 
 offered to go my security for the payment of the fifty dollars, if 
 a meeting decided that I should pay it ; but all to no purpose. 
 The police wanted the milk themselves, and so they kept my 
 cows. I sent Lieutenant Gully to Brigham Young with a state- 
 ment of the case, but he paid no attention to it. Gully was 
 well acquainted with Brigham Young, and was a fine man too. 
 He insisted on giving Brigham the story in full, and demanded 
 that he should go in person and see to the matter. But the 
 President was immovable. 
 
 Things stood this way until Emeline, one of Brigham's wives, 
 took the matter to heart, and begged him to go and see about 
 
LIFE OF JOHN D. LEE. 211 
 
 the affair, and asked him to bring her to my house, to visit her 
 sister Louisa, then one of my wives. He came, but said little 
 of the trouble, and soon left again. 
 
 Two days afterwards I wrote Brigham Young a kind letter, 
 and invited him to come to my house and eat a turkey dinner 
 with me. I sent this by L. Stewart. He met Brigham on his 
 way to my house and gave him my letter. I did not expect he 
 would come to see me, but he was there. He treated me most 
 kindly. When supper-time came he said to one of my wives, 
 
 "Sister, I have come for a bowl of good milk, but skim the 
 cream off." 
 
 She replied, " We have no milk." 
 
 "How is that?" said he. "I thought Brother John always 
 had milk." 
 
 I then told him that the police had my cows in the pound. 
 
 He said, "What on earth are they doing with your cows?" 
 
 I then told him the whole story in a few words. He scarcely 
 waited to hear me, but called to his carriage driver, George D. 
 Grant, and said, 
 
 "Come, George, I will go and see about this matter." 
 
 He returned quite soon, saying, "Your cows will soon be 
 here, and I do not think the police will meddle with them again." 
 
 He then asked me where my turkey was. I told him my friend 
 Kennedy had robbed me of all my turkeys, but perhaps I could 
 borrow one from him. I then sent Brother Gully to ask Ken- 
 nedy to loan me a couple of fat turkeys ; that I had President 
 Young at my house and wanted them for his supper. He sent 
 back word that President Young was welcome to all the turkeys 
 he wanted, at his house. I then told President Young I would 
 go out hunting and get him a nice one for dinner the next day. 
 I went out that night with Gully and hunted some time, but the 
 snow was a foot deep or more, and a crust had frozen on the top 
 of it, so it was difficult hunting. At last we found a large drove 
 of turkeys at roost in the tall cotton wood timber. I shot two of 
 them by star light ; one fell in the river, and we lost it, but the 
 other fell dead at the roots of the tree. This was a very large 
 and fat turkey. I considered it would do, and we returned 
 home with it. We had been gone only a little over an hour. 
 Brigham Young staid at my house while I was gone. We sat by 
 the fire and talked until near midnight. I unbosomed myself to 
 him ; I told him of all my ill treatme nt, and asked him if I had 
 
212 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 failed in any respect to perform the duties of my mission that he 
 gave me before he started with the pioneers across the plains. 
 I told him of the great crop we had raised ; that we had it in 
 abundance to feed the poor and for every purpose ; so much in 
 fact that there was no sale for it. He said, 
 
 " You have done well, and you shall be blessed for it." 
 I said I hoped my blessings would be different from what I 
 had been receiving. He replied, 
 
 " Jesus has said, In this world you shall have tribulation, but 
 in Me you shall have peace that is, if you bear these things pa- 
 tiently, without murmuring." 
 
 NOTE. The time having arrived for John D. Lee to start to 
 the place of execution, he laid down his pen and left his manu- 
 script just as I have given it to the reader. Fate decreed that 
 his Autobiography should be left in this unfinished state, but 
 fortunately he had previously dictated a full confession to me, 
 embracing all the principal events of his life from the time that 
 his Autobiography closed up to his death ; which, being added 
 to his own manuscript, makes his life complete. The Confes- 
 sion is given just as he dictated it to me, without alteration or 
 elimination, except in a few cases where the ends of justice 
 might have been defeated by premature revelations. 
 
 Extracts from this Confession have heretofore been given to 
 the press, but the entire Confession has not been published any- 
 where except in this book. 
 
 WM. W. BISHOP. 
 
LAST CONFESSION AND STATEMENT OF 
 JOHN D. LEE. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIIL 
 
 WRITTEN AT HIS DICTATION AND DELIVERED TO WILLIAM W. BISHOP, 
 
 ATTORNEY FOR LEE, WITH A REQUEST THAT THE 
 
 SAME BE PUBLISHED. 
 
 AS A DUTY to myself, my family, and mankind at large, I 
 propose to give a full and true statement of all that I 
 know and all that I did in that unfortunate affair, which has 
 cursed my existence, and made me a wanderer from place to 
 place for the last nineteen years, and which is known to the 
 world as the MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE. 
 
 I have no vindictive feeling against any one ; no enemies to 
 punish by this statement ;. and no friends to shield by keeping 
 back, or longer keeping secret, any of the facts connected with 
 the Massacre. 
 
 I believe that I must tell all that I do know, and tell every- 
 thing just as the same transpired. I shall tell the truth and per- 
 mit the public to judge who is most to blame for the crime that I 
 am accused of committing. I did not act alone ; I had many to 
 assist me at the Mountain Meadows. I believe that most of 
 those who were connected with the Massacre, and took part in 
 the lamentable transaction that has blackened the character of 
 all who were aiders or abettors in the same, were acting under 
 the impression that the^ were performing a religious duty. I 
 know all were acting under the orders and by the command of 
 their Church leaders ; and I firmly believe that the most of those 
 who took part in the proceedings, considered it a religious duty 
 to unquestioningly obey the orders which they had received. 
 That they acted from a sense of duty to the Mormon Church, I 
 213 
 
214 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 never doubted. Believing that those with me acted from a sense 
 of religious duty on that occasion, I have faithfully kept the 
 secret of their guilt, and remained silent and true to the oath of 
 secrecy which we took on the bloody field, for many long and 
 bitter years. I have never betrayed those who acted with me 
 and participated in the crime for which I am convicted, and for 
 which I am to suffer death. 
 
 My attorneys, especially Wells Spicer and Wm. W. Bishop, 
 have long tried, but tried in vain, to induce me to tell all I knew 
 of the massacre and the causes which led to it. I have hereto- 
 fore refused to tell the tale. Until the last few days I had in- 
 tended to die, if die I must, without giving one word to the 
 public concerning those who joined willingly, or unwillingly, in 
 the work of destruction at Mountain Meadows. 
 
 To hesitate longer, or to die in silence, would be unjust asd 
 cowardly. I will not keep the secret any longer as my own, but 
 will tell all I know. 
 
 At the earnest request of a few remaining friends, and by the 
 advice of Mr. Bishop, my counsel, who has defended me thus 
 Car with all his ability, notwithstanding my want of money with 
 which to pay even his expenses while attending to my case, I 
 have concluded to write facts as I know them to exist. 
 
 I cannot go be 'ore the Judge of the quick and the dead with- 
 out first revealing all that I know, as to what was done, who 
 ordered me to do what I did do, and the motives that led to the 
 commission of that unnatural and bloody deed. 
 
 The immediate orders for the killing of the emigrants came 
 from those in authority at Cedar City. At the time of the mas- 
 sacre, I and those with me, acted by virtue of positive orders 
 from Isaac C. Haight and his associates at Cedar City. Before 
 I started on my mission to the Mountain Meadows, I was told 
 by Isaac C. Haight that his orders to me were the result of full 
 consultatation with Colonel William H. Dame and all in author- 
 ity. It is a new thing to me, if the massacre was not decided 
 on by the head men of the Church, and it is a new thing for Mor- 
 mons to condemn those who committed the deed. 
 
 Being forced to speak from memory alone, without the aid of 
 my memorandum books, and not having time to correct the 
 statements that I make, I will necessarily give many things out 
 of their regular order. The superiority that I claim for my 
 statement is this : 
 
LEWS CONFESSION. 216 
 
 ALL THAT I DO SAT IS TRUE AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH. 
 
 I will begin my statement by saying, I was born on the 6th 
 day of September, A. D. 1812, in the town of Kaskaskia, Ran- 
 dolph County, State of Illinois. I am therefore in the sixty-fifth 
 year of my age. 
 
 I joined the Mormon Church at Far West, Mo., about thirty- 
 nine years ago. To be with that Church and people I left my 
 home on Luck Creek, Fayette County, Illinois, and went and 
 joined the Mormons in Missouri, before the troubles at Gallatin, 
 Far West and other points, between the Missourians and Mor- 
 mons. I shared the fate of my brother Mormons, in being mis- 
 treated, arrested, robbed and driven from Missouri in a desti- 
 tute condition, by a wild and fanatical mob. But of all this I 
 shall speak in my life, which I shall write for publication if I 
 have time to do so. 
 
 I took an active part with the leading men at Nauvoo, in 
 building up that city. I induced many Saints to move to Nau- 
 voo, for the sake of their souls. I traveled and preached the 
 Mormon doctrine in many States. I was an honored man in the 
 Church, and stood high with the Priesthood, until the last few 
 years. I am now cut off from the Church for obeying the orders 
 of my superiors, and doing so without asking questions for do- 
 ing as my religion and my religious teachers had taught me to 
 do. I am now used by the Mormon Church as a scape-goat 
 to carry the sins of that people. My life is to be taken, so that 
 my death may stop further enquiry into the acts of the mem- 
 bers who are still in good standing in the Church. Will my 
 death satisfy the nation for all the crimes committed by Mor- 
 mons, at the command of the Priesthood, who have used and 
 now have deserted me ? Time will tell. I believe in a just God, 
 and I .know the day will come when others must answer for their 
 acts, as I have had to do. 
 
 I first became acquainted with Brigham Young when I went 
 to Far West, Mo., to join the Church, in 1837. I got very inti- 
 mately acquainted with all the great leaders of the Chui c'i. I 
 was adopted by Brigham Young as one of his sons, and for 
 many years I confess I looked upon him as an inspired and holy 
 man. While in Nauvoo I took an active part in all that was done 
 for the Church or the city. I had charge of the building of the 
 44 Seventy Hall ;" I was 7th Policeman. My duty as a police 
 
216 MOSMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 man was to guard the residence and person of Joseph Smith, the 
 Prophet. After the death of Joseph and Hyrum I was ordered 
 to perform the same duty for Brigham Young. When Joseph 
 Smith was a candidate for the Presidency of the United States I 
 went to Kentucky as the chairman of the Board of Elders, or 
 head of the delegation, to secure the vote of that State for him. 
 When I returned to Nauvoo again I was General Clerk and Re- 
 corder for the Quorum of the Seventy. I was also head or Chief 
 Clerk for the Church, and as such took an active part in organ- 
 izing the Priesthood into the order of Seventy after the death of 
 Joseph Smith. 
 
 After the destruction of Nauvoo, when the Mormons were 
 driven from the State of Illinois, I again shared the fate of my 
 brethren, and partook of the hardships and trials that befel them 
 from that day up to the settlement of Salt Lake City, in the then 
 wilderness of the nation. I presented Brigham Young with seven- 
 teen ox teams, fully equipped, when he started with the people 
 from Winter Quarters to cross the plains to the new resting 
 place of the Saints. He accepted them and said, " God bless 
 you, John." But I never received a cent for them I never 
 wanted pay for them, for in giving property to Brigham Young I 
 thought I was loaning it to the Lord. 
 
 After reaching Salt Lake City I stayed there but a short time, 
 when I went to live at Cottonwood, where the mines were after- 
 wards discovered by General Connor and his men during the 
 late war. 
 
 I was just getting fixed to live there, when I was ordered to 
 go out into the interior and aid in forming new settlements, and 
 opening up the country. I then had no wish or desire, save that 
 to know and be able to do the will of the Lord's anointed, 
 Brigham Young, and until within the last few years I have never 
 had a wish for anything else except to do his pleasure, since I 
 became his adopted son. I believed it my duty to obey those 
 in authority. I then believed that Brigham Young spoke by 
 direction of the God of Heaven. I would have suffered death 
 rather than have disobeyed any command of his. I had this 
 feeling until he betrayed and deserted me. At the command 
 of Brigham Young, I took one hundred and twenty-one men, 
 went in a southern direction from Salt Lake City, and laid out 
 and built up Parowan. George A. Smith was the leader and 
 chief man in authority in that settlement. I acted under him 
 
LEE' 8 CONFESSION. 217 
 
 AS historian and clerk of the Iron County Mission, until Janu- 
 ary, 1851. I went with Brigham Young, and acted as a com- 
 mittee man, and located Provo, St. George, Fillmore, Parowan 
 and other towns, and managed the location of many of the set- 
 tlements in Southern Utah. 
 
 In 1852, I moved to Harmony, and built up that settlement. 
 I remained there until the Indians declared war against the 
 whites and drove the settlers into Cedar City and Parowan, for 
 protection, in the year 1853. 
 
 I removed my then numerous family to Cedar City, where I 
 was appointed a Captain of the militia, and commander of 
 Cedar City Military Post. 
 
 I had commanded at Cedar City about one year, when I was 
 ordered to return to Harmony, and build the Harmony Fort. 
 This order, like all other orders, came from Brigham Young. 
 When I returned to Harmony and commenced building the fort 
 there, the orders were given by Brigham Young for the reor- 
 ganization of the military at Cedar City. The old men were 
 requested to resign their offices, and let younger men be ap- 
 pointed in their place. I resigned my office of Captain, but 
 Isaac C. Haight and John M. Higbee refued to resign, and con- 
 tinued to hold on as Majors in the Iron Militia. 
 
 After returning to Harmony, I was President of the civil and 
 local affairs, and Rufus Allen was President of that Stake of 
 Zion, or head of the Church affairs. 
 
 I soon resigned my position as President of civil affairs, and 
 became a private citizen, and was in no office for some time. 
 In fact, I never held any position after that, except the office of 
 Probate Judge of the County (which office I held before and 
 after the massacre), and member of the Territorial Legislature, 
 and Delegate to the Constitutional Convention which met and 
 adopted a constitution for the State of Deseret, after the mas- 
 sacre. 
 
 I will here state that Brigham Young honored me in many 
 ways after the affair at Mountain Meadows was fully reported to 
 him by me, as I will more fully state hereafter in the course of 
 what I have to relate concerning that unfortunate transaction. 
 
 Klingensmith, at my first trial, and White, at my last trial, 
 swore falsely when they say that they met me near Cedar City, 
 the Sunday before the massacre. They did not meet me as they 
 have sworn, nor did they meet me at all on that occasion or OB 
 
218 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 any similar occasion. I never had the conversations with them 
 that they testify about. They are both perjurers, and bore 
 false testimony against me. 
 
 There has never been a witness on the stand against me that 
 has testified to the whole truth. Some have told part truth, 
 while others lied clear through, but all of the witnesses who 
 were at the massacre have tried to throw all the blame on me, 
 and to protect the other men who took part in it. 
 
 About the 7th of September, 1857. I went to Cedar City from 
 my home at Harmony, by order of President Haight. I did not 
 know what he wanted of me, but he had ordered me to visit him 
 and I obeyed. If I remember correctly, it was on Sunday even- 
 ing that I went there. When I got to Cedar City, I met Isaac 
 C. Haight on the public square of the town. Haight was then 
 President of that Stake of Zion, and the highest man in the Mor- 
 mon priesthood in that country, and next to Wm. H. Dame in 
 all of Southern Utah, and as Lieutenant Colonel he was second 
 to Dame in the command of the Iron Military District. The 
 word and command of Isaac C. Haight were the laiv in Cedar 
 City, at that time, and to disobey his orders was certain death ; 
 be they right or wrong, no Saint was permitted to question them, 
 their duty was obedience or death. 
 
 When I met Haight, I asked him what he wanted with me. 
 He said he wanted to have a long talk with me on private and 
 particular business. We took some blankets and went over to 
 the old Iron Works, and lay there that night, so that we could 
 talk in private and in safety. After we got to the Iron Works, 
 Haight told me all about the train of emigrants. He said (and 
 I then believed every word that he spoke, for I believed it was 
 an impossible thing for one so high in the Priesthood as he was, 
 to be guilty of falsehood) that the emigrants were a rough and 
 abusive set of men. That they had, while traveling through Utah, 
 been very abusive to all the Mormons they met. That they had 
 insulted, outraged, and ravished many of the Mormon women. 
 That the abuses heaped upon the people by the emigrants during 
 their trip from Provo to Cedar City, had been constant and 
 shameful ; that they had burned fences and destroyed growing 
 crops ; that at many points on the road they had poisoned the 
 water, so that all people and stock that drank of the water be- 
 came sick, and many had died from the effects of poison. That 
 these vile Gentiles publicly proclaimed that they had the very 
 
LE&S CONFESSION. 
 
 pistol with which the Prophet, Joseph Smith, was murdered, 
 and had threatened to kill Brigham Young and all of the 
 Apostles. That when in Cedar City they said they would have 
 friends in Utah who would hang Brigham Young by the neck 
 until he was dead, before snow fell again in the Territory. 
 They also said that Johnston was coming, with his army, from 
 the East, and they were going to return from California with 
 soldiers, as soon as possible, and would then desolate the land, 
 and kill every d d Mormon man, woman and child that they 
 could find in Utah. That they violated the ordinances of the 
 town of Cedar, and had, by armed force, resisted the officers 
 who tried to arrest them for violating the law. That after leav- 
 ing Cedar City the emigrants camped by the company, or co- 
 operative field, just below Cedar City, and burned a large por- 
 tion of the fencing, leaving the crops open to the large herds oi* 
 stock in the surrounding country. Also that they had given 
 poisoned meat to the Corn Creek tribe of Indians," which had 
 killed several of them, and their Chief, Konosh, was on the trail 
 of the emigrants, and would soon attack them. All of these 
 things, and much more of a like kind, Haight told me as we lay- 
 in the dark at the old Iron Works. I believed all that he said,^ 
 and, thinking that he had full right to do all that he wanted ta 
 do, I was easily induced to follow his instructions. 
 
 Haight said that unless something was done to prevent it, the 
 emigrants would carry out their threats and rob every one of the 
 out-lying settlements in the South, and that the whole Mormon 
 people were liable to be butchered by the troops that the emi- 
 grants would bring back with them from California. I was then 
 told that the Council had held a meeting that day, to consider^ 
 the matter, and that it was decided by the authorities to arm 
 the Indians, give them provisions and ammunition, and send them 
 after the emigrants, and have the Indians give them a brush, 
 and if they killed part or all of them, so much the better. 
 
 I said, " Brother Haight, who is your authority for acting in 
 this way ? ' ' 
 
 He replied, " It is the will of all in authority. The emigrants 
 have no pass from any one to go through the country, and they 
 are liable to be killed as common enemies, for the country is at 
 war now. No man has a right to go through this country with- 
 out a written pass." 
 
 We lay there and talked much of the night, and during thai 
 
220 -MORMONISM VNVEILED. 
 
 time Haight gave me very full instructions what to do, and how 
 to proceed in the whole affair. He said he had consulted with 
 Colonel Dame, and every one agreed to let the Indians use up 
 the whole train if they could. Haight then said : 
 
 " I expect you to carry out your orders." 
 
 I knew I had to obey or die. I had no wish to disobey, for I 
 then thought that my superiors in the Church were the mouth- 
 pieces of Heaven, and that it was an act of godliness for me to 
 obey any and all orders given by them to me, without my asking 
 any questions. 
 
 My orders were to go home to Harmony, and see Carl Shirts, 
 my son-in-law, an Indian interpreter, and send him to the Indians 
 in the South, to notify them that the Mormons and Indians were 
 at war with the ** MericaU" (as the Indians called all whites 
 that were not Mormons) and bring all the Southern Indians up 
 and have them join with those from the North, so that their 
 force would be sufficient to make a successful attack on the 
 emigrants. 
 
 It was agreed that Haight would send Nephi Johnson, another 
 Indian interpreter, to stir up all the other Indians that he could 
 jind, in order to have a large enough force of Indians to give 
 the emigrants a good hush. He said, " These are the orders that 
 have been agreed upon by the Council, and it is in accordance 
 with the feelings of the entire people. 11 
 
 I asked him if it would not have been better to first send to 
 Brigham Young for instructions, and find out what he thought 
 about the matter. 
 
 "No," said Haight, "that is unnecessary, we are acting by or- 
 ders. Some of the Indians are now on the war-path, and all of 
 them must be sent out ; all must go, so as to make the thing a 
 success." 
 
 It was then intended that the Indians should kill the emi- 
 grants, and make it an Indian massacre, and not have any whites 
 interfere with them. No whites were to be known in the mat- 
 ter, it was to be all done by the Indians, so that it could be laid 
 to them, if any questions were ever asked about it. I said to 
 Haight: 
 
 "You know what the Indians are. They will kill all the 
 party, women and children, as well as the men, and you know 
 we are sworn not to shed innocent blood." 
 
 " Oh h U" said he, " there will not be one drop of innocent 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 221 
 
 blood shed, if every one of the d d pack are killed, for they 
 are the worse lot of out-laws and ruffians that I ever saw in my 
 life." 
 
 We agreed upon the whole thing, how each one should act, 
 and then left the iron works, and went to Haight's house and 
 got breakfast. 
 
 After breakfast I got ready to start, and Haight said to me : 
 
 44 Go, Brother Lee, and see that the instructions of those in 
 authority are obeyed, and as you are dutiful in this, so shall 
 your reward be in the kingdom of God, for God will bless those 
 who willingly obey counsel, and make all things fit for the peo- 
 ple in these last days." 
 
 I left Cedar City for my home at Harmony, to carry out the 
 instructions that I had received from my superior. 
 
 I then believed that he acted by the direct order and com- 
 mand of William H. Dame, and others even higher in authority 
 than Colonel Dame. One reason for thinking so was from a talk 
 I had only a few days before, with Apostle George A. Smith, 
 and he had just then seen Haight, and talked with him, and I 
 knew that George A. Smith never talked of things that Brigham 
 Young had not talked over with him before-hand. Then the 
 Mormons were at war with the United States, and the orders to 
 the Mormons had been all the time to kill and waste away our 
 enemies, but lose none of our people. These emigrants were 
 from the section of country most hostile to our people, and I be- 
 lieved then as I do now, that it was the will of every true Mor- 
 mon in Utah, at that time, that the enemies of the Church should 
 be killed as fast as possible, and that as this lot of people had 
 men amongst them that were supposed to have helped kill the 
 Prophets in the Carthage jail, the killing of all of them would 
 be keeping our oaths and avenging the blood of the Prophets. 
 
 In justice to myself I will give the facts of my talk with 
 George A. Smith. 
 
 In the latter part of the month of August, 1857, about ten 
 days before the company of Captain Fancher, who met their 
 doom at Mountain Meadows, arrived at that place, General 
 George A. Smith called on me at one of my homes at Washing- 
 ton City, Washington County, Utah Territory, and wished me to 
 take him round by Fort Clara, via Pinto Settlements, to Hamil- 
 ton Fort, or Cedar City. He said, 
 
 44 1 have been sent down here by the old Boss, Brigham Young, 
 
>222 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 to instruct the brethren of the different settlements not to sell 
 any of their grain to our enemies. And to tell them not to feed 
 it to their animals, for it will all be needed by ourselves. I am 
 also to instruct the brethren to prepare for a big fight, for the 
 enemy is coming in large force to attempt our destruction. But 
 Johnston's army will not be allowed to approach our settlements 
 from the east. God is on our side and will fight our battles for 
 4is, and deliver our enemies into our hands. Brigham Young 
 has received revelations from God, giving him the right and the 
 power to call down the curse of God on all our enemies who at- 
 tempt to invade our Territory. Our greatest danger lies in the 
 people of California a class of reckless miners who are stran- 
 gers to God and his righteousness. They are likely to come 
 upon us from the south and destroy the small settlements. But 
 we will try and outwit them before we suffer much damage. The 
 people of the United States who oppose our Church and people 
 are a mob, from the President down, and as such it is impossible 
 for their armies to prevail against the Saints who have gathered 
 4iere in the mountains." 
 
 He continued this kind of talk for some hours to me and my 
 friends who were with me. 
 
 General George A. Smith held high rank as a military leader. 
 He was one of the twelve apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ 
 of Latter Day Saints, and as such he was considered by me to 
 be an inspired man. His orders were to me sacred commands, 
 which I considered it my duty to obey, without question or hesi- 
 tation. 
 
 I took my horses and carriage and drove with him to either 
 Hamilton Fort or Cedar City, visiting the settlements with him, 
 as he had requested. I did not go to hear him preach at any of 
 our stopping places, nor did I pay attention to what he said to 
 the leaders in the settlements. 
 
 The day we left Fort Clara, which was then the headquarters 
 of the Indian missionaries under the presidency of Jacob Hamb- 
 lin, we stopped to noon at the Clara River. While there the In- 
 dians gathered around us in large numbers, and were quite saucy 
 and impudent. Their chiefs asked me where I was going and 
 I had with me. I told them that he was a big captain. 
 
 "Is he a Mericat Captain?" 
 
 "No," I said, "he is a Mormon." 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 223 
 
 The Indians then wanted to know more. They wanted to 
 have a talk. 
 
 The General told me to tell the Indians that the Mormons 
 were their friends, and that the Americans were their enemies, 
 and the enemies of the Mormons, too ; that he wanted the In- 
 dians to remain the fast friends of the Mormons, for the Mor- 
 mons were all friends to the Indians ; that the Americans had a 
 large army just east of the mountains, and intended to come 
 over the mountains into Utah and kill all of the Mormons and 
 Indians in Utah Territory ; that the Indians must get ready and 
 keep ready for war against all of the Americans, and keep 
 friendly with the Mormons and obey what the Mormons told 
 them to do that this was the will of the Great Spirit ; that If 
 the Indians were true to the Mormons and would help them 
 against their enemies, then the Mormons would always keep 
 them from want and sickness and give them guns and ammuni- 
 tion to hunt and kill game with, and would also help the Indians 
 against their enemies when they went into war. 
 
 This talk pleased the Indians, and they agreed to all that I 
 asked them to do. 
 
 I saw that my friend Smith was a little nervous and fearful of 
 the Indians, notwithstanding their promises of friendship. To 
 relieve him of his anxiety I hitched up and started on our way, 
 as soon as I could do so without rousing the suspicions of the 
 Indians. 
 
 We had ridden along about a mile or so when General Smith 
 said, 
 
 " Those are savage looking fellows. I think they would make 
 it lively for an emigrant train if one should come this way." 
 
 I said I thought they would attack any train that would come 
 in their way. Then the General was in a deep study for some 
 time, when he said, 
 
 " Suppose an emigrant train should come along through this 
 southern country, making threats against our people and brag- 
 ging of the part they took in helping kill our Prophets, what do 
 you think the brethren would do with them? Would they be 
 permitted to go their way, or would the brethren pitch into them 
 and give them a good drubbing?" 
 
 I reflected a few moments, and then said, 
 
 4 'You know the brethren are now under the influence of the 
 late reformation, and are still red-hot for the gospel. The 
 
224 MOH MONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 brethren believe the government wishes to destroy them. I 
 really believe that any train of emigrants that may come through 
 here will be attacked, and probably all destroyed. I am sure 
 they would be wiped out if they had been making threats against 
 our people. Unless emigrants have a pass from Brigham Young, 
 or some one in authority, they will certainly never get safely 
 through this country." 
 
 My reply pleased him very much, and he laughed heartily, 
 and then said, 
 
 44 Do you really believe the brethren would make it lively for 
 such a train ?" 
 
 I said, " Yes, sir, I know they will, unless they are protected 
 by a pass, and I wish to inform you that unless you want every 
 train captured that comes through here, you must inform Gover- 
 nor Young that if he wants emigrants to pass, without being 
 molested, he must send orders to that effect to Colonel Wm. H. 
 Dame or Major Isaac C. Haight, so that they can give passes to 
 the emigrants, for their passes will insure safety, but nothing else 
 will, except the positive orders of Governor Young, as the peo- 
 ple are all bitter against the Gentiles, and full of religious zeal, 
 and anxious to avenge the blood of the Prophets." 
 
 The only reply he made was to the effect that on his way down 
 from Salt Lake City he had had a long talk with Major Haight 
 on the same subject, and that Haight had assured him, and 
 given him to understand, that emigrants who came along with- 
 out a pass from Governor Young could not escape from the Ter- 
 ritory. 
 
 We then rode along in silence for some distance, when he 
 again turned to me and said, 
 
 44 Brother Lee, I am satisfied that the brethren are under the 
 full influence of the reformation, and I believe they will do just 
 as you say they will with the wicked emigrants that come through 
 the country making threats and abusing our people." 
 
 I repeated my views to him, but at much greater length, 
 giving my reasons in full for thinking that Governor Young 
 should give orders to protect all the emigrants that he did not 
 wish destroyed. I went into a full statement of the wrongs of 
 our people, and told him that the people were under the blaze 
 of the reformation, full of wild fire and fanaticism, and that to 
 shed the blood of those who would dare to speak against the 
 Mormon Church or its leaders, they would consider doing the 
 
GEORGE A. SMITH 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 225 
 
 will of God, and that the people would do it as willingly and 
 cheerfully as they would any other duty. That the apostle 
 Paul, when he started forth to persecute the followers of Christ, 
 was not any more sincere than every Mormon was then, who 
 lived in Southern Utah. 
 
 My words served to cheer up the General very much ; he wa 
 greatly delighted, and said, 
 
 " I am glad to hear so good an account of our people. God 
 will bless them for all that they do to build up His Kingdom 
 in the last days." 
 
 General Smith did not say one word to me or intimate to me, 
 that he wished any emigrants to pass in safety through the Ter- 
 ritory. But he led me to believe then, as I believe now, that 
 he did want, and expected every emigrant to be killed that 
 undertook to pass through the Territory while we were at war 
 with the Government. I thought it was his mission to prepare 
 the people for the bloody work. 
 
 I have always believed, since that day, that General George 
 A. Smith was then visiting Southern Utah to prepare the peo- 
 ple for the work of exterminating Captain Fancher's train of 
 emigrants, and I now believe that he was sent for that purpose 
 by the direct command of Brigham Young. 
 
 I have been told by Joseph Wood, Thomas T. Willis, and 
 many others, that they heard George A. Smith preach at Cedar 
 City during that trip, and that he told the people of Cedar 
 City that the emigrants were coming, and he told them that they 
 must not sell that company any grain or provisions of any kind, 
 for they were a mob of villains and outlaws, and the enemies of 
 God and the Mormon people. 
 
 Sidney Littlefield, of Panguitch, has told me that he was 
 knowing to the fact of Colonel Wm. H. Dame sending orders- 
 from Parowan to Maj. Haight, at Cedar City, to exterminate the 
 Francher outfit, and to kill every emigrant without fail. Little* 
 field then lived at Parowan, and Dame was the Presiding Bishop, 
 Dame still has all the wives he wants, and is a great friend of 
 Brigham Young. 
 
 The knowledge of how George A. Smith felt toward the emi- 
 grants, and his telling me that he had a long talk with Haight 
 on the subject, made me certain that it was the wish of the 
 Church authorities that Francher and his train should be wiped 
 out, and knowing all this, I did not doubt then, and I do not 
 15 
 
226 MORMON1SM UNVEILED. 
 
 doubt it now, either, that Haight was acting by full authority 
 from the Church leaders, and that the orders he gave to me were 
 just the orders that he had been directed to give, when he 
 ordered me to raise the Indians and have them attack the emi- 
 grants. 
 
 I acted through the whole matter in a way that I considered 
 it my religious duty to act, and if what I did was a crime, it 
 was a crime of the Mormon Church, and not a crime for which I 
 feel individually responsible. 
 
 I must here state that Klingensmith was not in Cedar City 
 that Sunday night. Haight said he had sent Klingensmith 
 and others over towards Pinto, and around there, to stir up the 
 Indians and force them to attack the emigrants. 
 
 On my way from Cedar City to my home at Harmony, I came 
 up with a large band of Indians under Moquetas and Big Bill, 
 two Cedar City Chiefs ; they were in their war paint, and fully 
 equipped for battle. They halted when I came up and said they 
 had had a big talk with Haight, Higby and Klingensmith, and 
 had got orders from them to follow up the emigrants and kill 
 them all, and take their property as the spoil of their enemies. 
 
 These Indians wanted me to go with them and command their 
 forces. I told them that I could not go with them that evening, 
 that I had orders from Haight, the big Captain, to send other 
 Indians on the war-path to help them kill the emigrants, and 
 that I must attend to that first ; that I wanted them to go on 
 near where the emigrants were and camp until the other Indians 
 Joined them ; that I would meet them the next day and lead 
 them. 
 
 This satisfied them, but they wanted me to send my little In- 
 dian boy, Clem, with them. After some time I consented to let 
 Clem go with them, and I returned home. 
 
 When I got home I told Carl Shirts what the orders were that 
 Haight had sent to him. Carl was naturally cowardly and was 
 not willing to go, but I told him the orders must be obeyed. He 
 then started off that night, or early next morning, to stir up the 
 Indians of the South, and lead them against the emigrants. The 
 emigrants were then camped at Mountain Meadows. 
 
 The Indians did not obey my instructions. They met, several 
 hundred strong, at the Meadows, and attacked the emigrants 
 Tuesday morning, just before daylight, and at the first fire, as 
 I afterwards learned, they killed seven and wounded sixteen of 
 
LEWS CONFESSION. 227 
 
 the emigrants. The latter fought bravely, and repulsed the 
 Indians, killing some of them and breaking the knees of two war 
 chiefs, who afterwards died. 
 
 The news of the battle was carried all over the country by 
 Indian runners, and the excitement was great in all the small 
 settlements. I was notified of what had taken place, early Tues- 
 day morning, by an Indian who came to my house and gave me 
 a full account of all that had been done. The Indian said it 
 was the wish of all the Indians that I should lead them, and that 
 I must go back with him to the camp. 
 
 I started at once, and by taking the Indian trail over the 
 mountain, 1 reached the camp in about twelve miles from Har- 
 mony. To go round by the wagon road it would have been be- 
 tween forty and fifty miles. 
 
 When I reached the camp I found the Indians in a frenzy of 
 excitement. They threatened to kill me unless I agreed to lead 
 them against the emigrants, and help them kill them. They 
 also said they had been told that they could kill the emigrants 
 without danger to themselves, but they had lost some of their 
 braves, and others were wounded, and unless they could kill all 
 the "Mericats," as they called them, they would declare war 
 against the Mormons and kill every one in the settlements. 
 
 I did as well as I could under the circumstances. I was the 
 only white man there, with a wild and excited band of several 
 hundred Indians. I tried to persuade them that all would be 
 well, that I was their friend and would see that they had their 
 revenge, if I found out that they were entitled to revenge. 
 
 My talk only served to increase their excitement, and being 
 afraid that they would kill me if I undertook to leave them, and 
 I would not lead them against the emigrants, so I told them that 
 I would go south and meet their friends, and hurry them up to 
 help them. I intended to put a stop to the carnage if I had the 
 power, for I believed that the emigrants had been sufficiently 
 punished for what they had done, and I felt then, and always 
 have felt that such wholesale murdering was wrong. 
 
 At first the Indians would not consent for me to leave them, 
 but they finally said I might go and meet their friends. 
 
 I then got on my horse and left the Meadows, and went south. 
 
 I had gone about sixteen miles, when I met Carl Shirts with 
 about one hundred Indians, and a number of Mormons from the 
 southern settlements. They were going to the scene of the con- 
 
228 MOHMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 flict. How they learned of the emigrants being at the Meadows 
 I never knew, but they did know it, and were there fully armed, 
 and determined to obey orders. 
 
 Amongst those that I remember to have met there, were Sam- 
 uel Knight, Oscar Hamblin, William Young, Carl Shirts, Harri- 
 son Pearce, James Pearce, John W. Clark, William Slade, Sr., 
 James Matthews, Dudley Leavitt, William Hawley, (now a res- 
 ident of Fillmore, Utah Territory,) William Slade, Jr., and two 
 others whose names I have forgotten. I think they were George 
 W. Ad air and John Hawley. I know they were at the Meadows 
 at the time of the massacre, and I think I met them that night 
 south of the Meadows, with Samuel Knight and the others. 
 
 The whites camped there that night with me, but most of the 
 Indians rushed on to their friends at the camp on the Meadows. 
 
 I reported to the whites all that had taken place at the Mead- 
 ows, but none of them were surprised in the least. They all 
 seemed to know that the attack was to be made, and all about 
 it. I spent one of the most miserable nights there that I ever 
 passed in my life. I spent much of the night in tears and at 
 prayer. I wrestled with God for wisdom to guide me. I asked 
 for some sign, some evidence that would satisfy me that my mis- 
 sion was of Heaven, but I got no satisfaction from my God. 
 
 In the morning we all agreed to go on together to Mountain 
 Meadows, and camp there, and then send a messenger to Haight, 
 giving him full instructions of what had been done, and to ask 
 him for further instructions. We knew that the original plan 
 was for the Indians to do all the work, and the whites to do 
 nothing, only to stay back and plan for them, and encourage 
 them to do the work. Now we knew the Indians could not do 
 the work, and we were in a sad fix. 
 
 I did not then know that a messenger had been sent to Brigham 
 Young for instructions. Haight had not mentioned it to me. 
 I now think that James Haslem was sent to Brigham Young, as 
 a sharp play on the part of the authorities to protect themselves, 
 if trouble ever grew out of the matter. 
 
 We went to the Meadows and camped at the springs, about 
 half a mile from the emigrant camp. There was a larger num- 
 ber of Indians there then, fully three hundred, and I think as 
 many as four hundred of them. The two Chiefs who were shot 
 in the knee were in a bad fix. The Indians had killed a num- 
 ber of the emigrants' horses, and about sixty or seventy head 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 229 
 
 of cattle were lying dead on the Meadows, which the Indians 
 had killed for spite and revenge. 
 
 Our company killed a small beef for dinner, and after eating 
 a hearty meal of it we held a council and decided to send a 
 messenger to Haight. I said to the messenger, who was either 
 Edwards or Adair, (I cannot now remember which it was), 
 44 Tell Haight, for my sake, for the people's sake, for God's sake, 
 send me help to protect and save these emigrants, and pacify 
 the Indians." 
 
 The messenger started for Cedar City, from our camp on the 
 Meadows, about 2 o'clock P. M. 
 
 We all staid on the field, and I tried to quiet and pacify the 
 Indians, by telling them that I had sent to Haight, the Big Cap- 
 tain, for orders, and when he sent his order I would know what 
 to do. This appeared to satisfy the Indians, for said they, 
 
 44 The Big Captain will send you word to kill all the Mericats." 
 
 Along toward evening the Indians again attacked the emi- 
 grants. This was Wednesday. I heard the report of their 
 guns, and the screams of the women and children in the corral. 
 
 This was more than I could stand. So I ran with Wil- 
 liam Young and John Mangum, to where the Indians were, to 
 stop the fight. While on the way to them they fired a volley, 
 and three balls from their guns cut my clothing. One ball went 
 through my hat and cut my hair on the side of my head. One 
 ball went through my shirt and leaded my shoulder, the other 
 cut my pants across my bowels. I thought this was rather 
 warm work, but I kept on until I reached the place where the 
 Indians were in force. When I got to them, I told them the 
 Great Spirit would be mad at them if they killed the women 
 and children. I talked to them some time, and cried with sor- 
 row when I saw that I could not pacify the savages. 
 
 When the Indians saw me in tears, they called me 44 Yaw 
 Guts," which in the Indian language means 44 cry baby," and 
 to this day they call me by that name, and consider me a 
 coward. 
 
 Oscar Hamblin was a fine interpreter, and he came to my aid 
 and helped me to induce the Indians to stop the attack. By 
 his help we got the Indians to agree to be quiet until word was 
 returned from Haight. (I do not know now but what the mes- 
 senger started for Cedar City, after this night attack, but I was 
 so worried and perplexed at that time, and so much has hap- 
 
230 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 pened to distract my thoughts since then, that my mind is not 
 clear on that subject. ) 
 
 On Thursday, about noon, several men came to us from Cedar 
 City. I cannot remember the order in which all of the people 
 came to the Meadows, but I do recollect that at this time and in 
 this company Joel White, William C. Stewart, Benjamin Arthur, 
 
 Alexander Wilden, Charles Hopkins and Tate, came to us 
 
 at the camp at the springs. These men said but little, but every 
 man seemed to know just what he was there for. As our mes- 
 senger had gone for further orders, we moved our camp about 
 four hundred yards further up the valley on to a hill, where we 
 made camp as long as we staid there. 
 
 I soon learned that the whites were as wicked at heart as the 
 Indians, for every little while during that day I saw white men 
 taking aim and shooting at the emigrants* wagons. They said 
 they were doing it to keep in practice and to help pass off the 
 time. 
 
 I remember one man that was shooting, that rather amused 
 me, for he was shooting at a mark over a quarter of a mile off, 
 and his gun would not carry a ball two hundred yards. That 
 man was Alexander Wilden. He took pains to fix up a seal 
 under the shade of a tree, where he continued to load and shoot 
 until he got tired. Many of the others acted just as wild and 
 foolish as Wilden did. 
 
 The wagons were corraled after the Indians had made the first 
 attack. On the second day after our arrival the emigrants drew 
 their wagons near each other and chained the wheels one to the 
 other. While they were doing this there was no shooting going 
 on. Their camp was about one hundred yards above and north 
 of the spring. They generally got their water from the spring 
 at night. 
 
 Thursday morning I saw two men start from the corral with 
 buckets, and run to the spring and fill their buckets with water, 
 and go back again. The bullets flew around them thick and 
 fast, but they got into their corral in safety. 
 
 The Indians had agreed to keep quiet until orders returned 
 from Haight, but they did not keep their word. They made a 
 determined attack on the train on Thursday morning about day- 
 light. At this attack the Clara Indians had one brave killed and 
 three wounded. This so enraged that band that they left for 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 231 
 
 home that day and drove off quite a number of cattle with them. 
 During the day I said to John Mangum, 
 
 *' I will cross over the valley and go up on the other side, on 
 the hills to the west of the corral, and take a look at the situa- 
 tion." 
 
 I did go. As I was crossing the valley I was seen by the 
 emigrants, and as soon as they saw that I was a white man they 
 ran up a white flag in the middle of their corral, or camp. They 
 then sent two little boys from the camp to talk to me, but I 
 could not talk to them at that time, for I did not know what or- 
 ders Haight would send back to me, and until I did know his 
 orders I did not know how to act. I hid, to keep away from the 
 children. They came to the place where they had last seen me 
 and hunted all around for me, but being unable to find me, they 
 turned and went back to the camp in safety. 
 
 While the boys were looking for me several Indians came to 
 me and asked for ammunition with which to kill them. I told 
 them they must not hurt the children that if they did I would 
 kill the first one that made the attempt to injure them. By this 
 act I was able to save the boys. 
 
 It is all false that has been told about little girls being dressed 
 in white and sent out to me. There never was anything of the 
 kind done. 
 
 I staid on the west side of the valley for about two hours, 
 looking down into the emigrant camp, and feeling all the torture 
 of mind that it is possible for a man to suffer who feels merciful, 
 and yet knows, as I then knew, what was in store for that un- 
 fortunate company if the Indians were successful in their bloody 
 designs. 
 
 While I was standing on the hill looking down into the corral, 
 I saw two men leave the corral and go outside to cut some 
 wood ; the Indians and whites kept up a steady fire on them all 
 the time, but they paid no attention to danger, and kept right 
 along at their work until they had it done, and then they went 
 back into camp. The men all acted so bravely that it was 
 impossible to keep from respecting them 
 
 After staying there and looking down into the camp until I 
 was nearly dead from grief, I returned to the company at camp. 
 I was worn out with trouble and grief; I was nearly wild wait- 
 ing for word from the authorities at Cedar City. I prayed for 
 
282 MORXONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 word to come that would enable mo to save that band of suffer- 
 ing people, but no such word came. It never was to come. 
 
 On Thursday evening John M. Higbee, Major of the Iron 
 Militia, and Philip K. Smith, as he is called generally, but whose 
 name is Klingensmith, Bishop of Cedar City, came to our camp 
 with two or three wagons, and a number of men all well armed. 
 I can remember the following as a portion of the men who came 
 to take part in the work of death which was so soon to follow, 
 viz. : John M. Higbee, Major and commander of the Iron Militia, 
 and also first counselor to Isaac C, Haight; Philip Klingen- 
 smith, Bishop of Cedar City ; Ira Allen, of the High Council ; 
 Robert Wiley, of the High Council ; Richard Harrison, of Pinto, 
 also a member of the High Council ; Samuel McMurdy, one of 
 the Counselors of Klingensmith ; Charles Hopkins, of the City 
 Council of Cedar City ; Samuel Pollock ; Daniel McFarland, a 
 son-in-law of Isaac C. Haight, and acting as Adjutant under 
 Major Higbee ; John Ure, of the City Council ; George Hunter, 
 of the City Council ; and I honestly believe that John McFar- 
 land, now an attorney-at-law at St. George, Utah, was there 
 I am not positive that he was, but my best impression is that he 
 was there: Samuel Jukes; Nephi Johnson, with a number of 
 Indians under his command; Irvin Jacobs; John Jacobs; E. 
 Curtis, a Captain of Ten ; Thomas Cartwright of the City Coun- 
 cil and High Council ; William Bateman, who afterwards car- 
 ried the flag of truce to the emigrant camp ; Anthony Stratton ; 
 A. Loveridge ; Joseph Clews ; Jabez Durfey ; Columbus Free- 
 man, and some others whose names I cannot remember. I 
 know that our total force was fifty-four whites and over three 
 hundred Indians. 
 
 As soon as these persons gathered around the camp, I demand- 
 ed of Major Higbee what orders he had brought. I then stated 
 fully all that had happened at the Meadows, so that every per- 
 son might understand the situation. 
 
 Major Higbee reported as follows: "It is the orders of the 
 President, that all the emigrants must be put out of the way. 
 President Haight has counseled with Colonel Dame, or has had 
 orders from him to put all of the emigrants out of the way ; 
 none who are old enough to talk are to be spared." 
 
 He then went on and said substantially that the emigrants had 
 come through the country as our enemies, and as the enemies of 
 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. That they 
 
LEWS CONFESSION. 238 
 
 bad no pass from any one in authority to permit them to leave 
 the Territory. That none but friends were permitted to leave 
 the Territory, and that as these were our sworn enemies, they 
 must be killed. That they were nothing but a portion of John- 
 ston's army. That if they were allowed to go on to California, 
 they would raise the war cloud in the West, and bring certain de- 
 struction upon all the settlements in Utah. That the only safe- 
 ty for the people was in the utter destruction of the whole ras- 
 cally lot. 
 
 I then told them that God would have to change my heart be- 
 fore I could consent to such a wicked thing as the wholesale 
 killing of that people. I attempted to reason with Higbee and 
 the brethren. I told them how strongly the emigrants were for- 
 tified, and how wicked it was to kill the women and children. 
 I was ordered to be silent. Higbee said I was resisting au- 
 thority. 
 
 He then said, "Brother Lee is afraid of shedding innocent 
 blood. Why, brethren, there is not a drop of innocent blood in 
 that entire camp of Gentile outlaws ; they are set of cut-throats, 
 robbers and assassins ; they are a part of the people who drove 
 the Saints from Missouri, and who aided to shed the blood of 
 our Prophets, Joseph and Hyrum, and it is our orders from all 
 in authority, to get the emigrants from their stronghold, and 
 help the Indians kill them." 
 
 I then said that Joseph Smith had told us never to betray 
 any one. That we could not get the emigrants out of their 
 corral unless we used treachery, and I was opposed to that. 
 
 I was interrupted by Higbee, Klingensmith and Hopkins, who 
 said it was the orders of President Isaac C. Haight to us, and that 
 Haight had his orders from Colonel Dame and the authorities at 
 Parowan, and that all in authority were of one mind, and that 
 they had been sent by the Council at Cedar City to the Mead- 
 ows to counsel and direct the way and manner that the company 
 of emigrants should be disposed of. 
 
 The men then in council, I must here state, now knelt down in 
 a prayer circle and prayed, invoking the Spirit of God to direct 
 them how to act in the matter. 
 
 After prayer, Major Higbee said, u Here are the orders," and 
 handed me a paper from Haight. It was in substance that it 
 was the orders of Haight to decoy the emigrants from their posi- 
 tion, and kill all of them that could talk. This order was in 
 
234 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 writing. Higbee handed it to me and I read it, and then 
 dropped it on the ground, saying, 
 
 "I cannot do this." 
 
 The substance of the orders were that the emigrants should be 
 decoyed from their strong-hold, and all exterminated, so that no 
 one would be left to tell the tale, and then the authorities could 
 say it was done by the Indians. 
 
 The words decoy and exterminate were used in that message 
 or order, and these orders came to us as the orders from the 
 Council at Cedar City, and as the orders of our military supe- 
 rior, that we were bound to obey. The order was signed by 
 Haight, as commander of the troops at Cedar City. 
 
 Haight told me the next day after the massacre, while on the 
 Meadows, that he got his orders from Colonel Dame. 
 
 I then left the Council, and went away to myself, and bowed 
 myself in prayer before God, and asked Him to overrule the de- 
 cision of that Council. I shed many bitter tears, and my tor- 
 tured soul was wrung nearly from the body by my great suffer- 
 ing. I will here say, calling upon Heaven, angels, and the 
 spirits of just men to witness what I say, that if I could then 
 have had a thousand worlds to command, I would have given 
 them freely to save that company from death. 
 
 While in bitter anguish, lamenting the sad condition of myself 
 and others, Charles Hopkins, a man that I had great confidence 
 in, came to me from the Council, and tried to comfort me by 
 saying that he believed it was all right, for the brethren in the 
 Priesthood were all united in the thing, and it would not be well 
 for me to oppose them. 
 
 I told him the Lord must change my heart before 1 could 
 ever do such an act willingly. I will further state that there 
 was a reign of terror in Utah, at that time, and many a man had 
 been put out of the way, on short notice, for disobedience, and 
 I had made some narrow escapes. 
 
 At the earnest solicitation of Brother Hopkins, I returned with 
 him to the Council. When I got back, the Council again prayed 
 for aid. The Council was called The City Counselors, the 
 Church or High Counselors ; and all in authority, together with 
 the private citizens, then formed a circle, and kneeling down, so 
 that elbows would touch each other, several of the brethreD 
 prayed for Divine instructions. 
 
 After prayer, Major Higbee said, "I have the evidence of God'i 
 
LEWS CONFESSION. 235- 
 
 Approval of our mission. It is God's will that we carry out our 
 instructions to the letter." 
 
 I said, " My God! this is more than I can do. I must and 
 do refuse to take part in this matter." 
 
 Higbee then said to me, " Brother Lee, I am ordered by Pres- 
 ident Haight to inform you that you shall receive a crown oi 
 Celestial glory for your faithfulness, and your eternal joy shall 
 be complete." I was much shaken by this offer, for I had full 
 faith in the power of the Priesthood to bestow such rewards and 
 blessings, but I was anxious to save the people. I then pro- 
 posed that we give the Indians all of the stock of the emigrants, 
 except sufficient to haul their wagons, and let them go. To this 
 proposition all the leading men objected. No man there raised 
 his voice or hancj to favor the saving of life, except myself. 
 
 The meeting was then addressed by some one in authority, 
 I do not remember who it was. He spoke in about this lan- 
 guage: " Brethren, we have been sent here to perform a duty. 
 It is a duty that we owe to God, and to our Church and people. 
 The orders of those in authority are that all the emigrants must 
 die. Our leaders speak with inspired tongues, and their orders 
 come from the God of Heaven. We have no right to question 
 what they have commanded us to do ; it is our duty to obey. If 
 we wished to act as some of our weak-kneed brethren desire us to 
 do, it would be impossible ; the thing has gone too far to allow us 
 to stop now. The emigrants know that we have aided the Indians, 
 and if we let them go they will bring certain destruction upon 
 us. It is a fact that on Wednesday night, two of the emigrants 
 got out of camp and started back to Cedar City for assistance to 
 withstand the Indian attacks; they had reached Richards' 
 Springs when they met William C. Stewart, Joel White and 
 Benjamin Arthur, three of our brethren from Cedar City. The 
 men stated their business to the brethren, and as their horses 
 were drinking at the Spring, Brother Stewart, feeling unusually 
 full of zeal for the glory of God and the upbuilding of the King- 
 dom of God on earth, shot and killed one of the emigrants, 
 young man by the name of Aden. When Aden fell from his 
 horse, Joel White shot and wounded the other Gentile ; but he 
 unfortunately got away, and returned to his camp and reported 
 that the Mormons were helping the Indians in all that they were 
 doing against the emigrants. Now the emigrants will report 
 these facts in California if we let them go. We must kill them 
 
236 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 all, and our orders are to get them out by treachery if no other 
 thing can be done to get them into our power." 
 
 Many of the brethren spoke in the same way, all arguing that 
 the orders must be carried out. 
 
 I was then told the plan of action had been agreed upon, and 
 it was this: The emigrants were to be decoyed from their 
 strong-hold under a promise of protection. Brother William 
 Bateman was to carry a flag of truce and demand a parley, and 
 then I was to go and arrange the terms of the surrender. I was 
 to demand that all the children who were so young they could 
 not talk should be put into a wagon, and the wounded were also 
 to be put into a wagon. Then all the arms and ammunition of 
 the emigrants should be put into a wagon, and I was to agree 
 that the Mormons would protect the emigrants from the Indians 
 and conduct them to Cedar City in safety, where they should be 
 protected until an opportunity came for sending them to Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 It was agreed that when I had made the full agreement and 
 treaty, as the brethren called it, the wagons should start for 
 Hamblin's Ranch with the arms, the wounded and the children. 
 The women were to march on foot and follow the wagons in sin- 
 gle file ; the men were to follow behind the women, they also to 
 march in single file. Major John M. Higbee was to stand with 
 his militia company about two hundred yards from the camp, 
 and stand in double file, open order, with about twenty feet 
 space between the files, so that the wagons could pass between 
 them. The drivers were to keep right along, and not stop at the 
 troops. The women were not to stop there, but to follow the 
 wagons. The troops were to halt the men for a few minutes, 
 until the women were some distance ahead, out into the cedars, 
 where the Indians were hid in ambush. Then the march was to 
 be resumed, the troops to form in single file, each soldier to 
 walk by an emigrant, and on the right-hand side of his man, and 
 the soldier was to carry his gun on his left arm, ready for instant 
 use. The march was to continue until the wagons had passed 
 beyond the ambush of the Indians, and until the women were 
 right in the midst of the Indians. Higbee was then to give the 
 orders and words, " Do YOUR DUTY." At this the troops were 
 to shoot down the men ; the Indians were to kill all of the women 
 and larger children, and the drivers of the wagons and I were to 
 kill the wounded and sick men that were in the wagons. Twc 
 
LEWS CONFESSION. 237 
 
 men were to be placed on horses near by, to overtake and kill 
 any of the emigrants that might escape from the first assault. 
 The Indians were to kill the women and large children, so that 
 it would be certain that no Mormon would be guilty of shedding 
 innocent blood if it should happen that there was any innocent 
 blood in the company that were to die. Our leading men all 
 said that there was no innocent blood in the whole company. 
 
 The Council broke up a little after daylight on Friday morn- 
 ing. All the horses, except two for the men to ride to overtake 
 those who might escape, and one for Dan McFarland to ride as 
 Adjutant, so that he could carry orders from one part of the 
 field to another, were turned out on the range. Then breakfast 
 was eaten, and the brethren prepared for the work in hand. 
 
 I was now satisfied that it was the wish of all of the Mormon 
 priesthood to have the thing done. One reason for thinking so 
 was that it was in keeping with the teachings of the leaders, and 
 as Utah was then at war with the United States we believed all 
 the Gentiles were to be killed as a war measure, and that the 
 Mormons, as God's chosen people, were to hold and inhabit the 
 earth and rule and govern the globe. Another, and one of my 
 strongest reasons for believing that the leaders wished the thing 
 done, was on account of the talk that I had with George A. 
 Smith, which I have given in full in this statement. I was satis- 
 fied that Smith had passed the emigrants while on his way from 
 Salt Lake City, and I then knew this was the train that he meant 
 when he spoke of a train that would make threats and illtreat 
 our people, etc. 
 
 The people were in the full blaze of the reformation and anx- 
 ious to do some act that would add to their reputation as zeal- 
 ous Churchmen. 
 
 I therefore, taking all things into consideration, and believing, 
 as I then did, that my superiors were inspired men, who could 
 not go wrong in any matter relating to the Church or the duty 
 of its members, concluded to be obedient to the wishes of those 
 in authority. I took up my cross and prepared to do my duty. 
 
 Soon after breakfast Major Higbee ordered the two Indian in- 
 terpreters, Carl Shirts and Nephi Johnson, to inform the Indians 
 of the plan of operations, and to place the Indians in ambush, 
 so that they could not be seen by the emigrants until the work 
 of death should commence. 
 
 This was done in order to make the emigrants believe that we 
 
238 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 had sent the Indians away, and that we were acting honestly 
 and in good faith, when we agreed to protect them from the 
 savages. 
 
 The orders were obeyed, and in five minutes not an Indian 
 oould be seen on the whole Meadows. They secreted themselves 
 and lay still as logs of wood, until the order was given for them 
 to rush out and kill the women. 
 
 Major Higbee then called all the people to order, and directed 
 me to explain the whole plan to them. I did so, explaining just 
 how every person was expected to act during the whole per- 
 formance 
 
 Major Higbee then gave the order for his men to advance. 
 They marched to the spot agreed upon, and halted there. Will- 
 iam Bateman was then selected to carry a flag of truce to the 
 emigrants and demand their surrender, and I was ordered to go 
 and make the treaty after some one had replied to our flag of 
 truce. (The emigrants had kept a white flag flying in their 
 camp ever since they saw me cross the valley. ) 
 
 Bateman took a white flag and started for the emigrant camp. 
 When he got about half way to the corral, he was met by one of 
 the emigrants, that I afterwards learned was named Hamilton. 
 They talked some time, but I never knew what was said between 
 them. 
 
 Brother Bateman returned to the command and said that the 
 emigrants would accept our terms, and surrender as we required 
 them to do. 
 
 I was then ordered by Major Higbee to go to the corral and 
 negotiate the treaty, and superintend the whole matter. I was 
 again ordered to be certain and get all the arms and ammunition 
 into the wagons. Also to put the children and the sick and 
 wounded in the wagons, as had been agreed upon in council. 
 Then Major Higbee said to me : 
 
 u Brother Lee, we expect you to faithfully carry out all the 
 instructions that have been given you by our council." 
 
 Samuel McMurdy and Samuel Knight were then ordered to 
 ^Irive their teams and follow me to the corral to haul off the 
 children, arms, etc. 
 
 The troops formed in two lines, as had been agreed upon, and 
 were standing in that way with arms at rest, when I left them. 
 
 I walked ahead of the wagons up to the corral. When I 
 reached there I met Mr. Hamilton on the outside of the camp. 
 
LEWS CONFESSION. 239 
 
 He loosened the chains from some of their wagons, and moved 
 one wagon out of the way, so that our teams could drive in- 
 side of the corral and into their camp. It was then noon, or a 
 little after. 
 
 I found that the emigrants were strongly fortified ; their wag- 
 ons were chained to each other in a circle. In the centre was a 
 rifle-pit, large enough to contain the entire company. This had 
 served to shield them from the constant fire of their enemy, 
 which had been poured into them from both sides of the valley, 
 from a rocky range that served as a breastwork for their assail- 
 ants. The valley at this point was not more than five hundred 
 yards wide, and the emigrants had their camp near the center of 
 the valley. On the east and west there was a low range of rug- 
 ged, rocky mountains, affording a splendid place for the protec- 
 tion of the Indians and Mormons, and leaving them in compara- 
 tive safety while they fired upon the emigrants. The valley at 
 this place runs nearly due north and south. 
 
 When I entered the corral, I found the emigrants engaged in 
 burying two men of note among them, who had died but a 
 short time before from the effect of wounds received by them 
 from the Indians at the time of the first attack on Tuesday morn- 
 ing. They wrapped the bodies up in buffalo robes, and buried 
 them in a grave inside the corral. I was then told by some of 
 the men that seven men were killed and seventeen others were 
 wounded at the first attack made by the Indians, arid that three 
 of the wounded men had since died, making ten of their num- 
 ber killed during the siege. 
 
 As I entered the fortifications, men, women and children gath- 
 ered around ine in wild consternation. Some felt that the time 
 of their happy deliverance had come, while others, though in 
 deep distress', and all in tears, looked upon me with doubt, dis- 
 trust and terror. My feelings at this time may be imagined 
 (but I doubt the power of man being equal to even imagine how 
 wretched I felt.) No language can describe my feelings. My 
 position was painful, trying and awful ; my brain seemed to be 
 on fire ; my nerves were for a moment unstrung ; humanity was 
 overpowered, as I thought of the cruel, unmanly part that I 
 was acting. Tears of bitter .anguish fell in streams from my 
 eyes ; my tongue refused its office ; my faculties were dormant, 
 stupefied and deadened by grief. I wished that the earth would 
 open and swallow me where I stood. God* knows my suffering 
 
J40 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 was great. I cannot describe my feelings. I knew that I was 
 acting a cruel part and doing a damnable deed. Yet my faith 
 in the godliness of my leaders was such that it forced me to 
 think that I was not sufficiently spiritual to act the important 
 part I was commanded to perform. My hesitation was only 
 momentary. Then feeling that duty compelled obedience to or- 
 ders, I laid aside my weakness and my humanity, and became 
 an instrument in the hands of my superiors and my leaders. 
 I delivered my message and told the people that they must put 
 their arms in the wagon, so as not to arouse the animosity of 
 the Indians. I ordered the children and wounded, some cloth- 
 ing and the arms, to be put into the wagons. Their guns were 
 mostly Kentucky rifles of the muzzle-loading style. Their am- 
 munition was about all gone I do not think there were twenty 
 loads left in their whole camp. If the emigrants had had a 
 good supply of ammunition they never would have surrendered, 
 and I do not think we could have captured them without great 
 loss, for they were brave men and very resolute and deter- 
 mined. 
 
 Just as the wagons were loaded, Dan. McFarland came riding 
 into the corral and said that Major Higbee had ordered great 
 haste to be made, for he was afraid that the Indians woujd 
 return and renew the attack before he could get the emigrants 
 to a place of safety. 
 
 I hurried up the people and started the wagons off towards 
 Cedar City. As we went out of the corral I ordered the wagons 
 to turn to the left, so as to leave the troops to the right of us. 
 Dan. McFarland rode before the women and led them right up 
 to the troops, where they still stood in open order as I left them. 
 The women and larger children were walking ahead, as directed, 
 and the men following them. The foremost man was about fifty 
 yards behind the hindmost woman. 
 
 The women and children were hurried right on by the troops. 
 When the men came up they cheered the soldiers as if they be- 
 lieved that they were acting honestly. Higbee then gave the 
 orders for his men to form in single file and take their places as 
 ordered before, that is, at the right of the emigrants. 
 
 I saw this much, but about this time our wagons passed out 
 of sight of the troops, over the hill. I had disobeyed orders in 
 part by turning off as I did, for I was anxious to be out of sight 
 of the bloody deed that I knew was to follow. I knew that I 
 
LEWS CONFESSION, 241 
 
 had much to do yet that was of a cruel and unnatural character. 
 It was my duty, with the two drivers, to kill the sick and 
 wounded who were in the wagons, and to do so when we heard 
 the guns of the troops fire. I was walking between the 
 wagons ; the horses were going in a fast walk, and we were fully 
 half a mile from Major Higbee and his men, when we heard the 
 firing. As we heard the guns, I ordered a halt and we proceed- 
 ed to do our part. 
 
 I here pause in the recital of this horrid story of man's in- 
 humanity, and ask myself the question, Is it honest in me, and 
 can I clear my conscience before my God, if I screen myself 
 while I accuse others? No, never! Heaven forbid that I should 
 put a burden upon others' shoulders, that I am unwilling to 
 bear my just portion of. I am not a traitor to my people, nor 
 to my former friends and comrades who were with me on that 
 dark day when the work of death was carried on in God's name, 
 by a lot of deluded and religious fanatics. It i my duty to tell 
 facts as they exist, and I will do so. 
 
 I have said that all of the small children were put into the 
 wagons ; that was wrong, for one little child, about six months 
 old, was carried in its father's arms, and it was killed by the 
 same bullet that entered its father's breast ; it was shot through 
 the head. I was told by Haight afterwards, that the child was 
 killed by accident, but I cannot say whether that is a fact or not. 
 I saw it lying dead when I returned to the place of slaughter. 
 
 When we had got out of sight, as I said before, and just as 
 we were coming into the main road, I heard a volley of guns at 
 the place where I knew the troops and emigrants were. Our 
 teams were then going at a fast walk. I first heard one gun, 
 then a volley at once followed. 
 
 McMurdy and Knight stopped their teams at once, for they 
 were ordered by Higbee, the same as I was, to help kill all the 
 sick and wounded who were in the wagons, and to do it as soon 
 as they heard the guns of the troops. McMurdy was in front; 
 his wagon was mostly loaded with the arms and small children. 
 McMurdy and Knight got out of their wagons ; each one had a 
 rifle. McMurdy went up to Knight's wagon, where the sick and 
 wounded were, and raising his rifle to his shoulder, said: "0 
 Lord, my God> receive their spirits, it is for thy Kingdom that 1 
 do this." He then shot a man who was lying with his head on 
 another man's breast ; the ball killed both men. 
 16 
 
242 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 I also went up to the wagon, intending to do my part of the 
 killing. I drew my pistol and cocked it, but somehow it went 
 off prematurely, and I shot McMurdy across the thigh, my pistol 
 ball cutting his buck-skin pants. McMurdy turned to me and 
 said: 
 
 " Brother Lee, keep cool, you are excited; you came very 
 near killing me. Keep cool, there is no reason for being ex- 
 cited." 
 
 Knight then shot a man with his rifle ; he shot the man in the 
 head. Knight also brained a boy that was about fourteen years 
 old. The boy came running up to our wagons, and Knight struck 
 him on the head with the butt end of his gun, and crushed 
 his skull. By this time many Indians reached our wagons, and 
 all of the sick and wounded were killed almost instantly. 
 I saw an Indian from Cedar City, called Joe, run up to the 
 wagon and catch a man by the hair, and raise his head up 
 and look into his face ; the man shut his eyes, and Joe shot him 
 in the head. The Indians then examined all of the wounded in 
 the wagons, and all of the bodies, to see if any were alive, and 
 all that showed signs of life were at once shot through the head. 
 I did not kill any one there, but it was an accident that kept 
 me from it, for I fully intended to do my part of the killing, but 
 by the time I got over the excitement of coming so near killing 
 McMurdy, the whole of the killing of the wounded was done. 
 There is no truth in the statement of Nephi Johnson, where he 
 says I cut a man's throat. 
 
 Just after the wounded were all killed I saw a girl, some ten 
 or eleven years old, running towards us, from the direction 
 where the troops had attacked the main body of emigrants ; she 
 was covered with blood. An Indian shot her before she got with- 
 in sixty yards of us. That was the last person that I saw killed 
 on that occasion. 
 
 About this time an Indian rushed to the front wagon, and 
 grabbed a little boy, and was going to kill him. The lad 
 got away from the Indian and ran to me, and caught me by the 
 knees ; and begged me to save him, and not let the Indian kill 
 him. The Indian had hurt the little fellow's chin on the wagon- 
 bed, when he first caught hold of him. I told the Indian to let 
 the boy alone. I took the child up in my arms, and put him 
 back in the wagon, and saved his life. This little boy said his 
 name was Charley Fancher, and that his father was Captain of 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 243 
 
 the train. He was a bright boy. I afterwards adopted him, 
 and gave him to Caroline. She kept him until Dr. Forney took 
 all the children East. I believe that William Sloan, alias Idaho 
 Bill, is the same boy. 
 
 After all the parties were dead, I ordered Knight to drive out on 
 one side, and throw out the dead bodies. He did so, and threw 
 them out of his wagon at a place about one hundred yards 
 from the road, and then came back to where I was standing. I 
 then ordered Knight and McMurdy to take the children that 
 were saved alive, (sixteen was the number, some say seventeen, 
 I say sixteen,) and drive on to Hamblin's ranch. They did as I 
 ordered them to do. Before the wagons started, Nephi Johnson 
 came up in company with the Indians that were under his com- 
 mand, and Carl Shirts I think came up too, but I know that I 
 then considered that Carl Shirts was a coward, and I afterwards 
 made him suffer for being a coward. Several white men came 
 up too, but I cannot tell their names, as I have forgotten who 
 they were. 
 
 Knight lied when he said I went to the ranch and ordered him 
 to go to the field with his team. I never knew anything of his 
 team, or heard of it, until he came with a load of armed men in 
 his wagon, on the evening of Thursday. If any one ordered him 
 to go to the Meadows, it was Higbee. Every witness that claims 
 that he went to the Meadows without knowing what he was 
 going to do, has lied, for they all knew, as well as Haight or any 
 one else did, and they all voted, every man of them, in the 
 Council, on Friday morning, a little before daylight, to kill all 
 the emigrants. 
 
 After the wagons, with the children, had started for Hamblin's 
 ranch, I turned and walked back to where the brethren were. 
 Nephi Johnson lies when he says he was on horse-back, and met 
 me, or that I gave him orders to go to guard the wagons. He 
 is a perjured wretch, and has sworn to every thing he could to 
 injure me. God knows what I did do was bad enough, but he has 
 lied to suit the leaders of the Church, who want me out of the 
 way. 
 
 While going back to the brethren, I passed the bodies of 
 several women. In one place I saw six or seven bodies near 
 each other; they were stripped perfectly naked, and all of their 
 clothing was torn from their bodies by the Indians. 
 
 I walked along the line where the emigrants had been killed. 
 
244 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 and saw many bodies lying dead and naked on the field, near by 
 where the women lay. I saw ten children ; they had been killed 
 close to each other ; they were from ten to sixteen years of age. 
 The bodies of the women and children were scattered along the 
 ground for quite a distance before I came to where the men 
 were killed. 
 
 I do not know how many were killed, but I thought then that 
 there were some fifteen women, about ten children, and about 
 forty men killed, but the statement of others that I have since 
 talked with about the massacre, makes me think there were fully 
 one hundred and ten killed that day on the Mountain Meadows, 
 and the ten who had died in the corral, and young Aden killed 
 by Stewart at Richards' Springs, would make the total number 
 one hundred and twenty-one. 
 
 When I reached the place where the dead men lay, I was told 
 how the orders had been obeyed. Major Higbee said, " The 
 boys have acted admirably, they took good aim, and all of the 
 d d Gentiles but two or three fell at the first fire." 
 
 He said that three or four got away some distance, but the 
 men on horses soon overtook them and cut their throats. Higbee 
 said the Indians did their part of the work well, that it did not 
 take over a minute to finish up when they got fairly started. I 
 found that the first orders had been carried out to the letter. 
 
 Three of the emigrants did get away, but the Indians were 
 put on their trail and they overtook and killed them before they 
 reached the settlements in California. But it would take more 
 time than I have to spare to give the details of their chase and 
 capture. I may do so in my writings hereafter, but not now. 
 
 I found Major Higbee, Klingensmith, and most of the brethren 
 standing near by where the largest number of the dead men lay. 
 When I went up to the brethren, Major Higbee said, 
 
 *' We must now examine the bodies for valuables." 
 
 I said I did not wish to do any such work. 
 
 Higbee then said, 4< Well, you hold my hat and I will examine 
 the bodies, and put what valuables I get into the hat." 
 
 The bodies were all searched by Higbee, Klingensmith and 
 Wm. C. Stewart. .1 did hold the hat a while, but I soon got so 
 sick that I had to give it to some other person, as I was unable 
 to stand for a few minutes. The search resulted in getting a 
 little money and a few watches, but there was not much money. 
 Higbee and Klingensmith kept the property, I suppose, for I 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 245 
 
 never knew what became of it, unless they did keep it. I think 
 they kept it all. 
 
 After the dead were searched, as I have just said, the breth- 
 ren were called up, and Higbee and Klingensmith, as well as my- 
 self, made speeches, and ordered the people to keep the matter 
 a secret from the entire world. Not to tell their wives, or their 
 most intimate friends, and we pledged ourselves to keep every- 
 thing relating to the affair a secret during life. We also took 
 the most binding oaths to stand by each other, and to always 
 insist that the massacre was committed by Indians alone. This 
 was the advice of Brigham Young too, as I will show hereafter. 
 
 The men were mostly ordered to camp there on the field for 
 that night, but Higbee and Klingensmith went with me to Hamb- 
 lin's ranch, where we got something to eat, and staid there all 
 night. I was nearly dead for rest and sleep ; in fact I had rested 
 but little since the Saturday night before. I took my saddle- 
 blanket and spread it on the ground soon after I had eaten my 
 supper, and lay down on the saddle-blanket, using my saddle for 
 a pillow, and slept soundly until next morning. 
 
 I was awakened in the morning by loud talking between Isaac 
 C. Haight and William H. Dame. They were very much excited, 
 and quarreling with each other. I got up at once, but was 
 unable to hear what they were quarreling about, for they cooled 
 down as soon as they saw that others were paying attention to 
 them. 
 
 I soon learned that Col. Dame, Judge Lewis of Parowan, and 
 Isaac C. Haight, with several others, had arrived at the Hamb- 
 lin ranch in the night, but I do not know what time they got 
 there. 
 
 After breakfast we all went back in a body to the Meadows, 
 to bury the dead and take care of the property that was left 
 there. 
 
 When we reached the Meadows we all rode up to that part of 
 the field where the women were lying dead. The bodies of men, 
 women and children had been stripped entirely naked, making 
 the scene one of the most loathsome and ghastly that can be 
 imagined. 
 
 Knowing that Dame and Haight had quarreled at Hamblin's 
 that morning, I wanted to know how they would act in sight of 
 the dead, who lay there as the result of their orders. I was 
 
246 MOEMONISM VNVEILBD. 
 
 greatly interested to know what Dame had to say, so I kept 
 close to them, without appearing to be watching them. 
 
 Colonel Dame was silent for some time. He looked all over 
 the field, and was quite pale, and looked uneasy and frightened. 
 I thought then that he was just finding out the difference be- 
 tween giving and executing orders for wholesale killing. He 
 spoke to Haight, and said : 
 
 44 1 must report this matter to the authorities." 
 
 44 How will you report it?" said Haight. 
 
 Dame said, 44 I will report it just as it is.*' 
 
 4 'Yes, I suppose so, and implicate yourself with the rest?" 
 said Haight. 
 
 44 No,'" said Dame. "I will not implicate myself, for I had 
 nothing to do with it." 
 
 Haight then said, "That will not do, for you know a d d 
 sight better. You ordered it done. Nothing has been done 
 except by your orders, and it is too late in the day for you to 
 order things done and then go back on it, and go back on the 
 men who have carried out your orders. You cannot sow pig on 
 me, and I will be d d if I will stand it. You are as much to 
 blame as any one, and you know that we have done nothing ex- 
 cept what you ordered done. I know that I have obeyed orders, 
 and by G d I will not be lied on." 
 
 Colonel Dame was much excited. He choked up, and would 
 have gone away, but he knew Haight was a man of determina- 
 tion, and would not stand any foolishness. 
 
 As soon as Colonel Dame could collect himself, he said : 
 
 44 / did not think there were so many of them, or I would not 
 have had anything to do with it." 
 
 I thought it was now time for me to chip in, so I said : 
 
 44 Brethren, what is the trouble between you? It will not do 
 for our chief men to disagree." 
 
 Haight stepped up to my side, a little in front of me, and fac- 
 ing Colonel Dame. He was very mad, and said : 
 
 44 The trouble is just this : Colonel Dame counseled and ordered 
 me to do this thing, and now he wants to back out, and go back 
 on me, and by G d, he shall not do it. He shall not lay it all on 
 me. He cannot do it. He must not try to do it. I will blow 
 him to h I before he shall lay it all on me. He has got to stand 
 up to what he did, like a little man. He knows he ordered it 
 done, and I dare him to deny it." 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 247 
 
 Colonel Dame was perfectly cowed. He did not offer to deny 
 it again, but said : 
 
 "Isaac, I did not know there were so many of them." 
 
 "That makes no difference," said Haight, u you ordered me 
 to do it, and you have got to stand up for your orders." 
 
 I thought it was now time to stop the fuss, for many of the 
 young brethren were coming around. So I said : 
 
 " Brethren, this is no place to talk over such a matter. You 
 will agree when you get where you can be quiet, and talk it 
 over." 
 
 Haight said, " There is no more to say, for he knows he or- 
 dered it done, and he has got to stand by it." 
 
 That ended the trouble between them, and I never heard of 
 Colonel Dame denying the giving of the orders any more, until 
 after the Church authorities concluded to offer me up for the 
 sins of the Church. 
 
 We then went along the field, and passed by where the breth- 
 ren were at work covering up the bodies. They piled the dead 
 bodies up in heaps, in little gullies, and threw dirt over them. 
 The bodies were only lightly covered, for the ground was hard, 
 and the brethren did not have sufficient tools to dig with. I 
 suppose it is true that the first rain washed the bodies all out 
 again, but I never went back to examine whether it did or not. 
 
 We then went along the field to where the corral and camp 
 had been, to where the wagons were standing. We found .that 
 the Indians had carried off all of the wagon covers, and the 
 clothing, and the provisions, and had emptied the feathers out of 
 the feather-beds, and carried off all the ticks. 
 
 After the dead were covered up or buried (but it was not 
 much of a burial,) the brethren were called together, and a 
 council was held at the emigrant camp. All the leading men 
 made speeches ; Colonel Dame, President Haight, Klingensmith, 
 John M. Higbee, Hopkins and myself. The speeches were 
 first Thanks to God for delivering our enemies into our hands ; 
 next, thanking the brethren for their zeal in God's cause ; and 
 then the necessity of always saying the Indians did it alone, and 
 that the Mormons had nothing to do with it. The most of the 
 speeches, however, were in the shape of exhortations and com- 
 mands to keep the whole matter secret from every one but 
 Brigham Young. It was voted unanimously that any man who 
 should divulge the secret, or tell who was present, or do any- 
 
248 . MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 thing that would lead to a discovery of the truth, should suffer 
 death. 
 
 The brethren then all took a most solemn oath, binding them- 
 selves under the most dreadful and awful penalties, to keep the 
 whole matter secret from every human being, as long as they 
 should live. No man was to know the facts. The brethren were 
 sworn not to talk of it among themselves, and each one swore to 
 help kill all who proved to be traitors to the Church or people in 
 this matter. 
 
 It was then agreed that Brigham Young should be informed 
 of the whole matter, by some one to be selected by the Church 
 Council, after the brethren had returned home. 
 
 It was also voted to turn all the property over to Klingen- 
 Bmith, as Bishop of the Church at Cedar City, and he was to 
 take care of the property for the benefit of the Church, until 
 Brigham Young was notified, and should give further orders 
 what to do with it. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 CONFESSION CONTINUED AND CONCLUDED, MARCH 16, 1877, SEVEN 
 DATS PRIOR TO HIS EXECUTION. 
 
 
 
 /""COLONEL DAME then blest the brethren and we prepared 
 V_y to go to our homes. I took my little Indian boy, Clem, 
 on the horse behind me, and started home. I crossed the moun- 
 tains and returned the same way I had come. 
 
 When I got in about two miles of Harmony, I overtook a 
 body of about forty Indians, on their way home from the massa- 
 cre. They had a large amount of bloody clotning, and were 
 driving several head of cattle that they had taken from the 
 emigsants. 
 
 The Indians were very glad to see me, and said I was their 
 Captain, and that they were going to Harmony with me as my 
 men. It was the orders from the Church authorities to do 
 everything we could to pacify the Indians, and make them the 
 fast friends of the Mormons, so I concluded to humor them. 
 
 I started on and they marched after me until we reached the 
 fort at Harmony. We went into the fort and marched round 
 inside, after which they halted and gave their whoop of victory, 
 which means much the same with them as the cheers do with the 
 whites. I then ordered the Indians to be fed ; my family gave 
 them some bread and melons, which they eat, and then they left 
 me and went to their tribe. 
 
 I will here state again that on the field, before and after the 
 massacre, and again at the council at the emigrant camp, the 
 day after the massacre, orders were given to keep everything 
 secret, and if any man told the secret to any human being, he 
 was to be killed, and I assert as a fact that if any man had told 
 it then, or for many years afterwards, he would have died, for 
 some "Destroying Angel" would have followed his trail and 
 sent him over the "rim of the basin.' 9 
 249 
 
250 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 From that day to this it has been the understanding with all 
 concerned in that massacre, that the man who divulged the 
 secret should die ; he was to be killed, wherever he was found, 
 for treason to the men who killed the emigrants, and for his 
 treason to the Church. No man was at liberty to tell his wife, or 
 any one else, nor were the brethren permitted to talk of it even 
 among themselves. Such were the orders and instructions, from 
 Brigham Young down to the lowest in authority. The orders 
 to lay it all to the Indians, were just as positive as they were to 
 keep it all secret. This was the counsel from all in authority, 
 and for years it was faithfully observed. 
 
 The children that were saved were taken to Cedar City, and 
 other settlements, and put out among different families, where 
 they were kept until they were given up to Dr. Forney, the 
 Agent of the United States, who came for them. 
 
 I did not have anything to do with the property taken from 
 the emigrants, or the cattle, or anything else, for some three 
 months after i^e massacre, and then I only took charge of the 
 cattle because I was ordered to do so by Brigham Young. 
 
 There were eighteen wagons in all at the emigrant camp. 
 They were all wooden axles but one, and that was a light iron 
 axle ; it hnd been hauled by four mules. There were something 
 over five hundred head of cattle, but I never got the half of 
 them. The Indians killed a large number at the time of the 
 massacre, and drove others to their tribes when they went home 
 from Mountain Meadows. Klingensmith put the Church brand 
 on fifty head or more, of the best of the cattle, and then he and 
 Haight and Higbee drove the cattle to Salt Lake City and sold 
 them for goods that they brought back to Cedar City to trade on. 
 
 The Indians got about twenty head of horses and mules. 
 Samuel Knight, one of the witnesses on my trial, got a large 
 sorrel mare ; Haight got a span of average American mules ; 
 Joel White got a fine mare; Higbee got a good large mule; 
 Klingensmith got a span of mules. Haight, Higbee and Allen 
 each took a wagon. The people all took what they wanted, and 
 they had divided and used up much over half of it before I was 
 put in charge. 
 
 The first time I heard that a messenger had been sent to 
 Brigham Young for instructions as to what should be done with 
 the emigrants, was three or four days after I had returned home 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 251 
 
 from the Meadows. Then I heard of it from Isaac C. Haight, 
 when he came to my house and had a talk with me. He said : 
 
 " We are all in a muddle. Haslem has returned from Salt 
 Lake City, with orders from Brigham Young to let the emigrants 
 pass in safety." 
 
 In this conversation Haight also said : 
 
 ** I sent an order to Higbee to save the emigrants, after I had 
 sent the orders for killing them all, but for some reason the 
 message did not reach him. I understand the messenger did 
 not go to the Meadows at all." 
 
 I at once saw that we were in a bad fix, and I asked Haight 
 what was to be done. We talked the matter over again. 
 
 Haight then told me that it was the orders of the Council that 
 I should go to Salt Lake City and lay the whole matter before 
 Brigham Young. I asked him if he was not going to write a re- 
 port of it to the Governor, as he was the right man to do it, for 
 he was in command of the militia in that section of country, and 
 next to Dame in command of the whole district. I told him 
 that it was a matter which really belonged to the military depart- 
 ment, and should be so reported. 
 
 He refused to write a report, saying : 
 
 " You can report it better than I could write it. You are like 
 a member of Brigham' s family, and can talk to him privately 
 and confidentially. I want you to take all of it on yourself that 
 you can, and not expose any more of the brethren than you find 
 absolutely necessary. Do this, Brother Lee, as I order you to 
 do, and you shall receive a celestial reward for it, and the time 
 will come when all who acted with us will be glad for the part 
 they have taken, for the time is near at hand when the Saints 
 are to enjoy ths riches of the earth. And all who deny the faith 
 and doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints 
 shall be slain the sword of vengeance shall shed their blood ; 
 their wealth shall be given as a spoil to our people." 
 
 At that time I believed everything he said, and I fully ex- 
 pected to receive the celestial reward that he promised me. But 
 now I say, Damn all such "celestial rewards" as I am to get for 
 what I did on that fatal day. 
 
 It was then preached every Sunday to the people that the 
 Mormons were to conquer the earth at once, and the people all 
 thought that the millennium had come, and that Christ's reign 
 upon earth would soon begin, as an accomplished fact. 
 
252 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 According to the orders of Isaac C. Haight, I started for Salt 
 Lake City to report the whole facts connected with the mas- 
 sacre, to Brigham Young. I started about a week or ten days 
 after the massacre, and I was on the way about ten days. When 
 I arrived in the city I went to the President's house and gave to 
 Brigham Young a full, detailed statement of the whole affair, 
 from first to last only I took rather more on myself than I had 
 done. 
 
 He asked me if I had brought a letter from Haight, with his 
 report of the affair. I said : 
 
 "No, Haight wished me to make a verbal report of it, as I 
 was an eye witness to much of it." 
 
 I then went over the whole affair and gave him as full a state- 
 ment as il was possible for me to give. I described everything 
 about it. I told him of the orders Haight first gave me. I told 
 him everything. I told him that "Brother McMurdy, Brother 
 Knight and myself killed the wounded men in the wagons, with 
 the assistance of the Indians. We killed six wounded men." 
 
 He asked me many questions, and I told him every particular, 
 and everything that I knew. I described everything very fully. 
 I told him what I had said against killing the women and chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Brigham then said : 
 
 "Isaac (referring to Haight) has sent me word that if they 
 had killed every man, woman and child in the outfit, there would 
 not have been a drop of innocent blood shed by the brethren ; 
 for they were a set of murderers, robbers and thieves." 
 
 While I was still talking with him, some men came into his 
 house to see him, so he requested me to keep quiet until they 
 left. I did as he directed. 
 
 As soon as the men went out, I continued my recital. I gave 
 him the names of every man that had been present at the mas- 
 sacre. I told him who killed various ones. In fact I gave him 
 all the information there was to give. 
 
 When I finished talking about the matter, he said : 
 
 " This is the most unfortunate affair that ever befel the Church. 
 I am afraid of treachery among the brethren that were there. 
 If any one tells this thing so that it will become public, it will 
 work us great injury. I want you to understand now, that you 
 are never to tell this again, not even to Heber C. Kimball. It 
 must be kept a secret among ourselves. When you get home, J 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 253 
 
 *ant you to sit down and write a long letter, and give me an ac- 
 count of the affair, charging it to the Indians. You sign the 
 letter as Farmer to the Indians, and direct it to me as Indian 
 Agent: I can then make use of such a letter to keep off all 
 damaging and troublesome enquiries." 
 
 I told him that I would write the letter. (I kept my word ; 
 but, as an evidence of his treachery, that same letter that he or- 
 dered me to write, he has given to Attorney Howard, and he has 
 introduced it in evidence against me on my trial. ) 
 
 Brigham Young knew when he got that letter just as well as 
 I did, that it was not a true letter, and that it was only written 
 according to his orders to throw the public off of the right trail. 
 He knew that it was written simply to cast all the blame on the 
 Indians, and to protect the brethren. In writing that letter I 
 was still obeying my orders and earning that Celestial reward 
 that had been promised to me. 
 
 He then said, "If. only men had been killed, I would not have 
 cared so much; but the killing of the women and children is 
 the sin of it. I suppose the men were a hard set, but it is hard 
 to kill women and children for the sins of the men. This whole 
 thing stands before me like a horrid vision. I must have time 
 to reflect upon it." 
 
 He then told me to withdraw and call next day, and he would 
 give me an answer. I said to him, 
 
 "President Young, the people all felt, and I know that I 
 believed I was obeying orders, and acting for the good of the 
 Church, and in strict conformity with the oaths that we have all 
 taken to avenge the blood of the Prophets. You must either 
 sustain the people for what they have done, or you must 
 release us from the oaths and obligations that we have taken." 
 
 The only reply he made was, 
 
 " Go now, and come in the morning, and I will give you an 
 answer." 
 
 I went to see him again in the morning. When I went in, he 
 he seemed quite cheerful. He said, 
 
 "I have made that matter a subject of prayer. I went right 
 to God with it, and asked Him to take the horrid vision from my 
 sight, if it was a righteous thing that my people had done in 
 killing those people at the Mountain Meadows. God answered 
 me, and at once the vision was removed. I have evidence from 
 
254 MORMOS1SM UNVEILED. 
 
 God that He has overruled it all for good, and the action was a 
 righteous one and well intended. 
 
 The brethren acted from pure motives. The only trouble is 
 they acted a little prematurely ; they were a little ahead of -time. 
 I sustain you and all of the brethren for what they did. All 
 that I fear is treachery on the part of some one who took a part 
 with you, but we will look to that." 
 
 I was again cautioned and commanded to keep the whole 
 tiling as a sacred secret, and again told to write the report as 
 Indian Farmer, laying the blame on the Indians. That ended 
 our interview, and I left him, and soon started for my home at 
 Harmony. 
 
 Brigham Young was then satisfied with the purity of my 
 motives in acting as I had done at the Mountain Meadows. Now 
 he is doing all he can against me, but I know it is nothing but 
 cowardice that has made him turn against me as he has at last. 
 
 When I reported my interview with Young to Haight, and 
 gave him Brigham' s answer, he was well pleased ; he said that 
 I had done well. He again enjoined secrecy, and said it must 
 never be told. 
 
 I remember a circumstance that Haight then related to me 
 about Dan. McFarland. He said: 
 
 " Dan will make a bully warrior." 
 
 I said, " Why do you think so?" 
 
 " Well," said he, " Dan came to me and said, * You must 
 get me another knife, because the one I have got has no good 
 stuff in it, for the edge turned when I cut a fellow's throat that 
 day at the Meadows. I caught one of the devils that was trying 
 to get away, and when I cut his throat it took all the edge off of 
 my knife/ I tell you that boy will make a bully warrior." 
 
 I said, " Haight, I don't believe you have any conscience." 
 
 He laughed, and said, " Conscience be d d, I don't know 
 what the word means." 
 
 I thought over the matter, and made up my mind to write the 
 letter to Brigham Young and lay it all to the Indians, so as to 
 get the matter off of my mind. I then wrote the letter that has 
 been ussd in the trial. It was as follows : 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 255 
 
 LETTER OF JOHN D. LEE TO BRIGHAM YOUNG. 
 
 HARMONY, WASHINGTON Co., U. T., ) 
 November 20th, 1857. j 
 
 To His Excellency, Gov. B. Young, Ex-OJficio and Superintendent 
 of Indian Affairs ; 
 
 DEAR SIR: My report under date May llth, 1857, relative to 
 the Indians over whom I have charge as farmer, showed a 
 friendly relation between them and the whites, which doubtless 
 would have continued to increase had not the white mans been 
 the first aggressor, as was the case with Capt. Fancher's com- 
 pany of emigrants, passing through to California about the mid- 
 dle of September last, on Corn Creek, fifteen miles south of Fill- 
 more City, Millard County. The company there poisoned the 
 meat of an ox, which they gave the Pah Vant Indians to eat, 
 causing four of them to die immediately, besides poisoning a 
 number more. The company also poisoned the water where 
 they encamped, killing the cattle of the settlers. This un- 
 guided policy, planned in wickedness by this company, raised 
 the ire of the Indians, which soon spread through the south- 
 ern tribes, firing them up with revenge till blood was in their 
 path, and as the breach, according to their tradition, was a na- 
 tional one, consequently any portion of the nation was liable to 
 atone for that offense. 
 
 About the 22d of September, Capt. Fancher and company fell 
 victims to their wrath, near Mountain Meadows ; their cattle and 
 horses were shot down in every direction, their wagons and prop- 
 erty mostly committed to the flames. Had they been the only 
 ones that suffered we would have less cause of complaint. But the 
 following company of near the same size had many of their men 
 shot down near Beaver City, and had it not been for the inter- 
 position of the citizens at that place, the whole company would 
 have been massacred by the enraged Pah Vants. From this 
 place they were protected by military force, by order of Col. 
 W. H. Dame, through the Territory, besides providing the 
 company with interpreters, to help them through to the Los 
 Vaagus. On the Muddy, some three to five hundred Indians 
 attacked the company, while traveling, and drove off several 
 hundred head of cattle, telling the company that if they fired a 
 single gun that they would kill every soul. The interpreters 
 tried to regain the stock, or a portion of them, by presents, but 
 in vain. The Indians told them to mind their own business, or 
 
256 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 their lives would not be safe. Since that occurrence no com- 
 pany has been able to pass without some of our interpreters to 
 talk and explain matters to the Indians. 
 
 Friendly feelings yet remain between the natives and settlers 
 and I have no hesitancy in saying that it will increase so long as 
 we treat them kindly, and deal honestly toward them. I have 
 been blest in my labors the last year. Much grain has been 
 raised for the Indians. 
 
 I herewith furnish you the account of W. H. Dame, of Paro- 
 wan, for cattle, wagons, etc. 
 
 Furnished for the benefit of the Chief Owanup, (ss.) for 
 Two yoke of oxen, $100 each, one wagon and chains 
 $75. Total * 27600 
 
 Two cows $30 each, for labor $80, 140 00 
 
 Total $ 41500 
 
 P. K. Smith, Cedar City, Iron County, 
 
 For two yoke cattle $100 each, and Mo. 2 Weekses Band. . . 9 200 00 
 
 One cow $35, do one wagon $80, total, 115 00 
 
 Total $ 815 00 
 
 Jacob Hamblin's account for the benefit of Talse Gobbeth 
 
 Band, Santa Clara, Washington Co., (ss.) 
 Two yoke of cattle, $100 each, do one wagon, two chains, 
 
 $100, total $80000 
 
 Two cows $35 each, total 70 00 
 
 Total ft 870 00 
 
 Henry Barney's account for the benefit of Tennquiches 
 Band, Harmony, (ss.) 
 
 For two yoke cattle $100, $ 20000 
 
 Do one wagon $100, do one plough $40, total 140 00 
 
 Do four cows at $35 each, total 140 00 
 
 For labor in helping to secure crops, etc 40 00 
 
 Total $ 52000 
 
 For my services the last six months, and for provisions, 
 
 clothing, etc $ 60000 
 
 Sum Total $2,22000 
 
 From the above report you will see that the wants of the 
 Natives have increased commensurate with their experience and 
 practice in the art of agriculture.* 
 With sentiments of high consideration, 
 
 I am your humble servant, 
 
 JOHN D. LEE, 
 
 Farmer to Pah Utes Indians. 
 GOT. B. Young, Ex-officio and Superintendent of Indian affairs. 
 
LEWS CONFESSION. 257 
 
 I forwarded that letter, and thought I had managed the affair 
 nicely. 
 
 I put in the expense account of $2,220, just to show off, and 
 to help Brigham Young to get something from the Govern- 
 ment. It was the way his Indian farmers all did. I never gave 
 the Indians one of the articles named in the letter. No one of 
 the men mentioned had ever furnished such articles to the In- 
 dians, but I did it this way for safety. Brigham Young never 
 spent a dollar on the Indians in Utah, while he was Indian 
 Agent. The only money he ever spent on the Indians was when 
 we were at war with them. Then they cost us some money, but 
 not much. 
 
 Brigham Young, well knowing that I wrote that letter just for 
 the protection of the brethren, used it to make up his report to 
 the Government about his acts as Indian Agent. I obeyed his 
 orders in this, as I did the orders of Haight at the Mountain 
 Meadows, and I am now getting my pay for my falsehood. I 
 acted conscientiously in the whole matter, and have nothing to 
 blame myself for, except being so silly as to allow myself to be 
 duped by the cowardly wretches who are now seeking safety by 
 hunting me to the death. 
 
 The following winter I was a delegate to the Constitutional 
 Convention, that met in Salt Lake City to form a constitution, 
 preparatory to the application of Utah for admission into the 
 Union. I attended during the entire session, and was often in 
 company with Brigham Young at his house and elsewhere, and 
 he treated me all the time with great kindness and consideration. 
 
 At the close of the session of the Convention, I was directed 
 by Brigham Young to take charge of all the cattle, and other 
 property taken from the emigrants, and take care of it for the 
 Indians. I did as I was ordered. When I got home I gathered 
 up about two hundred head of cattle, and put my brand on them, 
 and I gave them to the Indians, as they needed them, or rather 
 when they demanded them. I did that until all of the emigrant 
 cattle were gone. 
 
 This thing of taking care of that property was an unfortunate 
 thing for me, for when the Indians wanted beef, they thought 
 they owned everything with my brand on it. So much so, that 
 I long since quit branding my stock. I preferred taking 
 chances of leaving them unbranded, for every thing with my 
 brand on was certain to be taken by the Indians. I know that 
 17 
 
258 MOItMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 It has been reported that the emigrants were very rich. That is 
 a mistake. Their only wealth consisted in cattle and their 
 teams. The people were comfortably dressed in Kentucky jeans 
 and lindsey, but they had no fine clothing that I ever saw. 
 
 They had but few watches. I never owned or carried one of 
 the watches taken from the emigrants in my life, or had anything 
 to do with any of their property, except to take care of the 
 cattle for the Indians, as ordered to do by Brigham Young, as 
 I have before stated in this confession. 
 
 There is another falsehood generally believed in Utah, espe- 
 cially among the Mormons. It is this. It has generally been 
 reported that Brigham Young was anxious to help Judge Cra- 
 dlebaugh arrest all the guilty parties. There is not one word of 
 truth in the whole statement. Brigham Young knew the name 
 of every man that was in any way implicated in the Mountain 
 Meadows Massacre. He knew just as much about it as I did, 
 except that he did not see it, as I had seen it. 
 
 If Brigham Young had wanted one man, or fifty men, or five 
 hundred men arrested, all he would have had to do would have 
 been to say so, and they would have been arrested instantly. 
 There was no escape for them if he ordered their arrest. 
 Every man who knows anything of affairs in Utah at that time 
 knows this is so. 
 
 It is true that Brigham made a great parade at the time, 
 and talked a great deal about bringing the guilty parties to 
 justice, but he did not mean a word of it not a word. He did 
 go South with Cradlebaugh, but he took good care that Cradle- 
 baugh caught no person that had been in the massacre. 
 
 I know that I had plenty of notice of their coming, and so 
 did all the brethren. It was one of Brigham Young's cunning 
 dodges to blind the government. That this is true I can prove 
 by the statement of what he did at Cedar City while out on his 
 trip with Judge Cradlebaugh to investigate the matter and ar- 
 rest (?) the guilty parties. 
 
 Judge Cradelbaugh and his men were working like faithful 
 men to find out all about it, but they did not learn very much. 
 True, they got on the right track, but could not learn it all, for 
 Brigham Young was along to see that they did not learn the facts. 
 
 While at Cedar City, Brigham preached one night, but none 
 of the Judge's party heard him. In his sermon, when speaking 
 of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, he said : 
 
LEWS CONFESSION. 259 
 
 " Do you know who those people were that were killed at 
 the Mountain Meadows ? I will tell you who those people were. 
 They were fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cous- 
 ins and children of those who killed the Saints, and drove them 
 from Missouri, and afterwards killed our Prophets in Carthage 
 jail. These children that the government has made such a stir 
 about, were gathered up by the goverment and carried back to 
 Missouri, to St. Louis, and letters were sent to their relatives to 
 come and take them ; but their relations wrote back that they 
 did not want them that they were the children of thieves, out- 
 laws and murderers, and they would not take them, they did 
 not wish anything to do with them, and would not have them 
 around their houses. Those children are now in the poor house 
 in St. Louis. And yet after all this, I am told that there are 
 many of the brethren who are willing to inform upon and swear 
 against the brethren who were engaged in that affair. I hope 
 there is no truth in this report. I hope there is no such person 
 here, under the sound of my voice. But if there is, I will tell 
 you my opinion of you, and the fact so far as your fate is con- 
 cerned. Unless you repent at once of that unholy intention, 
 and keep the secret of all that you know, you will die a dog's 
 death, and be damned, and go to hell. I do not want to hear 
 of any more treachery among my people." 
 
 These words of Brigham Young gave great comfort to all of 
 us who were out in the woods keeeping out of the way of the 
 officers. It insured our safety and took away our fears. 
 
 There has been all sorts of reports circulated about me, and 
 the bigger the lie that was told the more readily it was believed. 
 
 I have told in this statement just what I did at the Moun- 
 tain Meadows Massacre. The evidence of Jacob Hamblin is false 
 in toto. Hamblin lied in every particular, so far as his evidence 
 related to me. 
 
 It is my fate to die for what I did ; but I go to my death with 
 a certainty that it cannot be worse than my life has been for 
 the last nineteen years. 
 
 FACTS THAT I KNOW TO BE PACTS. 
 
 As I have been in some respects a prominent man in the Mor- 
 mom Church, the public may expect from me a statement of 
 facts concerning other crimes and other things besides the Moun- 
 tain Meadows Massacre. I do know some facts that I will state. 
 
260 MOHMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 I could give many things that would throw light on the doings 
 of the Church, if I had my journals, but as I said, nearly all of 
 my journals have been made way with by Brigham Young ; at 
 least I delivered them to him and never could get them again. 
 
 I have delivered to my Counsel, Win. W. Bishop, such jour- 
 nals as I have, and shall leave the one that I am now keeping in 
 prison, when I am released by death from the necessity of writ- 
 ing down my thoughts from day to day, and he can make such 
 use of it as he thinks best. 
 
 My statement of outside matters must be brief, but such as 
 they are, the public can rest certain of this thing, they are true. 
 
 As many people think that Brigham Young cut me off from 
 the Church, and refused to recognize me a short time after the 
 massacre, I will relate a circumstance that took place ten years 
 after all the facts were known by him. 
 
 In 1867 or 1868, 1 met President Brigham Young and suite, at 
 Parowan, seventy miles from Washington, the place where a 
 part of my family resided. Lieut. James Pace was with me. 
 The Prophet said to me, that he wanted uncle Jim Pace to go 
 with me and prepare dinner for him and his suite at Washington, 
 within three days. We were to go by my herd on the plains and 
 in the valleys, and take several fat kids along and have a good 
 dinner for them by the time they got there. 
 
 His will was our pleasure. We rode night and day, and felt 
 thankful that we were worthy of the honor of serving the 
 Prophet of the Living God. We did not consider the toil or 
 loss of sleep a sacrifice, in such a laudable undertaking. 
 
 The time designated for dinner was one o'clock. The com- 
 pany arrived at eleven o'clock, two hours ahead of time. The 
 Prophet drove up in front of Bishop Covington's house, on the 
 same block where I lived ; he halted about five minutes there, 
 instead of driving direct to my house according to the previous 
 arrangement. Then he turned his carriage around and got out 
 with Amelia, his beloved, and went into the Bishop's house, leav- 
 ing his suite standing in the streets. The peevish old man felt 
 his dignity trampled on, because I was not present to the minute 
 to receive him with an escort, to welcome and do homage to 
 him upon entering the town. 
 
 As soon as I learned of his arrival I hastened to make 
 apologies. 
 
 The Prophet heard my excuses, and said his family and 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 261 
 
 brethren, all except himself and wife, could go to my house to 
 dinner, that he would not eat until about two o'clock. 
 
 He then whispered to me and said, " Cut me a chunk off the 
 breast of the turkey, and a piece of the loin of one of the fat 
 kids, and put some rich gravy over it, and I will eat it at 2 P. M." 
 
 At two o'clock I again made his will my pleasure, and car- 
 ried his dinner to him as requested, when he did me the honor 
 of eating it. The rest of the company went to my house and 
 took dinner. 
 
 Among my guests that day were George A. Smith, Bishop 
 Hunter, John Taylor, W. Woodruff, several of the Prophet's 
 sons and daughters, and many others. At dinner, George A. 
 Smith and others of the Twelve Apostles laughed about the an- 
 ger of Brigham, and said if the Old Boss had not got miffed, 
 they would have lost the pleasure of eating the fat turkey. The 
 party enjoyed themselves very much that day, and had many a 
 laugh over the Prophet's anger robbing him of an excellent 
 dinner. 
 
 I had part of my family at Washington, but I also had quite a 
 family still living at Harmony, where several of my wives were 
 staying. 
 
 The next morning the Prophet came to me and asked me if I 
 was going to Harmony that night. I told him I did intend 
 going. 
 
 "I wish you would go," said he, "and prepare dinner for 
 us." 
 
 He then gave me full instructions what to prepare for din- 
 ner, and how he wanted his meat cooked, and said the company 
 would be at my house in Harmony the next day at one o'clock, 
 P. M. 
 
 I at once proceeded to obey his instructions. I rode to Har- 
 mony through a hard rain-storm, and I confess I was proud of 
 my position. I then esteemed it a great honor to have the privi- 
 lege of entertaing the greatest man living , the Prophet of the Lord. 
 
 My entire family at Harmony were up all night, cooking and 
 making ready to feed and serve the Lord's anointed, and his 
 followers. 
 
 I killed beeves, sheep, goats, turkeys, geese, ducks and chick- 
 ens, all of which were prepared according to instructions, and 
 were eaten by Brigham Young and his party the next day. 
 
 Prompt to time, the Prophet, the President of the Church 
 
262 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 and his suite, and an escort on horseback, came into the Fort. 
 There were seventy-three carriages, besides the escort. I enter- 
 tained the entire party, giving them dinner, supper and break- 
 fast. 
 
 In 1858 Governor Young called upon me to go and locate a 
 company of cotton growers, of which Joseph Ham was captain. 
 This company was sent out by Governor Young and the 
 leading men of Salt Lake City, to test the growing of cotton on 
 the Santa Clara and Rio Virgin bottoms. In obedience to coun- 
 sel, I located the company at the mouth of the Santa Clara River, 
 about four miles south from where St. George now stands. 
 
 In 1859 or 1860, the first trip that ex-Gov. Young took from 
 Salt Lake City to Southern Utah, he went by way of Pinto, Moun- 
 tain Meadows, Santa Clara and Washington. I was then at 
 Washington, building a grist mill, some two miles west of the 
 town, when he came along. 
 
 I was sitting on a rock about thirty steps from the road. His 
 carriage was in the lead, as was usual with him when traveling. 
 When he came opposite where I was sitting, he halted and called 
 me to his carriage, and bid me get in. I did so. He seemed glad 
 to see me, and asked where I lived. I told him I lived on the 
 same block that Bishop Covington did, that he would pass my 
 door in going to the Bishop's, as I then thought he would put 
 up with the Bishop, and not with a private person. 
 
 In crossing the creek, on the way into town, the sand was 
 heavy. I went to jump out and walk. He objected, saying, 
 
 " Sit still. You are of more value than horse-flesh yet." 
 
 When we neared my residence, he said : 
 
 " Is this where you live, John? " 
 
 I said, "It is," pointing at the same time to the east end of 
 the block, and said, " That is where the Bishop lives." 
 
 The old man made no reply, but continued on. Then he said, 
 
 "You have a nice place here. I have a notion to stop with 
 you." 
 
 I said, "You are always welcome to my house." 
 
 Then he said to the company, which consisted, I think, of sev- 
 enty-three carriages, "Some of you had better scatter round 
 among the brethren." 
 
 About h^lf the company did so. The rest, with the Prophet, 
 tayed at my house. 
 
 The next day, the whole company went on to Tokerville, 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 263 
 
 twenty miles from my residence. I went with them to that 
 place. In the evening all went to St. George, and held a two- 
 days' meeting. At the close of the meeting, the Prophet called 
 me to the stand, and said, 
 
 "John, I will be at New Harmony on Wednesday next." 
 (By way of explanation, I will here say, the town of Harmony 
 changed its location three times. The first fort was built at the 
 crossing of the north fork of Ash Creek, in 1852, and was aban- 
 doned in 1853, during the war with the Ute Indians. In 1855, 
 a new site was selected, four miles north-west of Harmony 
 No. 1, and an adobe fort was built two hundred feet square, and 
 twenty-two feet high. In 1860, Harmony No. 2 was demolished 
 by a rain-storm, which continued twenty-eight days without 
 stopping. At once after that, a site was selected at the head of 
 Ash Creek, where a new settlement was started, which was 
 called New Harmony.) "I want you to go and notify the 
 Saints, and have a Bowery built, and prepare for our reception." 
 
 Jas. H. Imday was then President of that place, and was at 
 the meeting. I here again tried to make the will of the Prophet 
 my pleasure. I traveled all night, and reported the orders of 
 the Prophet to the people. 
 
 Great preparations were made for his reception. A commit- 
 tee of arrangements was appointed, also a committee to wait on 
 his Honor. Also an escort of fifteen men was selected to ac- 
 company this committee. They went out fifteen miles, where 
 they met the Prophet and his followers and made a report of our 
 proceedings. He thanked them, and said, "I am going to 
 stop with Brother John D.," as he often called me. I took no 
 part in the proceedings except to report the will of the Prophet 
 to the people. I went on horseback alone, and met the Presi- 
 dent, a he is now called. I met him a mile or more outside of 
 the town. As 1 rode up he halted, and said, 
 
 " John, I am going to stop with you." 
 
 I replied, " You know you are always welcome." 
 
 He then drove to the center of the town and halted ; then 
 he said, 
 
 44 John, where do you live?" 
 
 I pointed across the field about half a mile. 
 
 Said he, "Have they fenced you out? You take the lead, and 
 we will break a road to your house." 
 
 It being his will, we started and went to my house, sixteen 
 
264 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 carriages going along with us. Quite a number of the Presi- 
 dent's company had gone by Kanab, to Cedar City, to hold 
 meetings in the settlements they would go through. The ar- 
 rangements of the committee were treated with indifference, if 
 not contempt by the President and his party. All the company 
 but one carriage went to my house, that one stopped at James 
 Pace's. During their stay at my house all were friendly. 
 Brigham Young asked me to go with them to Cedar City, which 
 I did. 
 
 In 1870, sometime in the Fall, I went from Parowan, by way 
 of Panguich, up the Severe River with Brigham Young, on a 
 trip to the Pareah country. On this trip I was appointed a road 
 commissioner, with ten men to go ahead, view out and prepare 
 the road for the President and his company to travel over. 
 
 While at Upper Kanab, I had a private interview with the 
 Prophet, concerning my future destination. Brigham said he 
 thought I had met with opposition and hardships enough to 
 entitle me to have rest the balance of my life. That I had best 
 leave Harmony, and settle in some of those good places farther 
 South ; build up a home and gather strength around me, and 
 after a while we would cross over into Arizona Territory, near 
 the San Francisco Mountains, and there establish the order of 
 Enoch, or United Order. We were to take a portable steam 
 saw mill to cut lumber with which to build up the Southern set- 
 tlements, and I was to run the mill in connection with Bishop 
 L. Stewart. This I then considered an additional honor shown 
 me by the Prophet. 
 
 From Upper Kanab, I was sent across the mountains to Low- 
 er Kanab, to Bishop Stewart's, to have him carry supplies to the 
 Prophet and company. I had to travel sixty miles without a 
 trail, but I was glad of a chance to perform any duty that 
 would please the Prophet. I again met the company, and went 
 with the party to Tokerville, where 'I closed arrangements with 
 President Young about the saw mill. All was understood and 
 agreed upon, and we parted in a very friendly manner. 
 
 About two weeks after leaving President Young and party at 
 Tokerville, I was notified that I had been suspended from the 
 Church. 
 
 The following Spring, I visited the Prophet at St. George, and 
 asked him why they had dealt so rashly with me, without allow- 
 ing me a chance to speak for myself; why they had waited seven- 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 265 
 
 teen years and then cut me off; why I was not cut off at once if 
 what I had done was evil. 
 
 He replied, " I never knew the facts until lately." 
 
 I said, "President Young, you know that is not true. You 
 know I told the whole story to you a short time after it happened, 
 and gave you a full statement of everything connected witli the 
 massacre, and I then put more on myself than I was to blame 
 for ; and if your late informants have told you a story different 
 from the one that I gave you soon after the massacre, when I 
 reported the facts to you by order of Major Haight, they have 
 lied like h 1, and you know it. I did nothing designedly 
 wrong on that occasion. I tried to save that company from de- 
 struction after they were attacked, but I was overruled and 
 forced to do all that I did do. I have had my name cast out 
 as evil, but I know I have a reward awaiting me in Heaven. I 
 have suffered in silence, and have done so to protect the breth- 
 ren who committed the deed. I have borne the imputation of 
 this crime long enough, and demand a rehearing. I demand 
 that all the parties concerned be brought forward and forced by 
 you to shoulder their own sins. I am willing to bear mine, but 
 I will not submit to carry all the blame for those who commit- 
 ted the massacre. 
 
 The reply he made was this : 
 
 "Be a man, and not a baby. I am your friend, and not your 
 enemy. You shall have a rehearing. Go up to the office and 
 see Brother Erastus Snow, and arrange the time for the hearing." 
 
 I did so. We arranged the time of meeting. It was agreed 
 that if the telegraph wires were working, all parties interested 
 were to be notified of the meeting, and required to be present 
 at St. George, Utah, on the following Wednesday, at 2, P. M. 
 
 All parties agreed to this, and after talking over the whole 
 thing, I again parted with President Young, in a very friendly 
 manner. 
 
 I went to Washington and staid at my house and with my 
 family there. The next morning I started for Harmony, to visit 
 my family there, and make arrangements for the rehearing that 
 was to me of the greatest of importance. I then considered 
 that if I was cut off from the Church I had better be dead ; that 
 out of the Church I could find no joys worth living for. 
 
 Soon after I left Washington, Erastus Snow, one of the twelve 
 apostles, arrived at my house and asked for me. My family told 
 
266 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 him that I had gone to Harmony to arrange for the new hearing 
 and trial before the Church authorities. He appeared to be much 
 disappointed at not meeting me, and told my family that Brig- 
 ham Young had reconsidered the matter, and there would be no 
 rehearing or investigation ; that the order cutting me off from the 
 Church would stand ; that he would send a letter to me which 
 would explain all the matter, and that the letter would reach 
 Harmony about as soon as I did. 
 
 On the next Tuesday night an anonymous letter was left at my 
 house by one of the sons of Erastus Snow, with orders to hand 
 it to me. The letter read as follows : 
 
 " JOHN D. LEE, of Washington : 
 
 " Dear Sir: If you will consult your own interest, and that of 
 those that would be your friends, you will not press an investi- 
 gation at this time, as it will only serve to implicate those that 
 would be your friends, and cause them to suffer with, or inform 
 upon you. Our advice is to make yourself scarce, and keep out 
 of the way." 
 
 There was no signature to the letter, but I knew it came from 
 apostle Snow, and was written by orders of Brigham Young. 
 
 When I read the letter I knew I had nothing to hope for from 
 the Church, and my grief was as great as I could bear. To add 
 to my troubles, Brigham Young sent word to my wives that they 
 were all divorced from me and could leave me, if they wished to 
 do so. This was the greatest trouble that I ever had in my life, 
 for I loved all my wives. 
 
 As the result of Brigham's advice, eleven of my wives deserted 
 me, and have never lived with me since that time. I gave them 
 all a fair share of the property that I then owned. I afterwards 
 lost my large ferry-boat at my ferry on the Colorado River. 
 Brigham Young was anxious to have the ferry kept in good con- 
 dition for passing the river, for he did not know what hour he 
 might need it, so he sent parties who put in another boat, which 
 I afterwards paid him for. 
 
 I visited Brigham Young at his house in St. George in 1874, 
 and never was received in a more friendly manner. He could 
 always appear the saint when he was meditating treachery to one 
 of his people. He then promised to restore me to membership 
 in a short time. 
 
 Soon afterwards I was arrested (on or about the 9th of No- 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 267 
 
 vember, 1874), and taken to Fort Cameron, in Beaver County, 
 Utah Territory, and placed in prison there. A few days after 
 my arrest I was visited in prison by General George A. Smitn, 
 Orson Hyde, Erastus Snow, A. F. McDonald, and many other 
 leaders of the Church. They each and all told me to stand to 
 my integrity, and all would come out right in the end. 
 
 At this time the Prophet was stopping with Bishop Murdock r 
 in Beaver City. My wife Rachel went at night to see him and 
 have a talk about my case. He received her with the utmost 
 kindness, saying: 
 
 "Sister Rachel, are you standing by Brother John?" 
 
 "Yes, sir, I am," was her reply. 
 
 "That is right/' said he. "God bless you for it. Tell 
 Brother John to stand to his integrity to the end, and not a hair 
 of his head shall be harmed." 
 
 This kindness was continued by the Churchmen until I wa 
 released on bail, in May, 1875. 
 
 And I will here say, I did not believe, until I was released o 
 bail, that any member of the Church would desert me. I bad 
 every confidence that Brigham Young would save me at last. 1 
 knew then, as I know now, that he had the power, and I thought 
 he had the will, to save me harmless. No man can be convicted 
 in Utah if Brigham Young determines to save him, and I had hi* 
 solemn word that I should not suffer. But now, when it is too 
 late for me to help myself, I find I am selected by him as a vic- 
 tim to be offered up to keep the Gentiles from prosecuting any 
 of his pets for murder or other crimes. 
 
 When I gained my freedom after nearly two years of imprisoD- 
 ment, I found that some of the good Saints had been tampering 
 with my wife Emma, to get the ferry out of my hands. The 
 "One-Eyed Pirate," as the Tribune calls him, told her that * 
 was not a brother in the Church, and had tried to alienate he? 
 affections from me. 
 
 Up to this time I had always tried to make the will of the 
 Priesthood my pleasure, but this last act of their kindness to- 
 wards a brother who had been in prison for nearly two yearsy 
 began to shake my faith in the anointed of the Lord. 
 
 The loss of the ferry for I virtually lost control of it by thei* 
 treachery was a great blow to me in my destitute condition. 1 
 then felt that the time was near approaching when they wouki 
 
268 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 sacrifice and sell me to screen their pets and cover up their own 
 sins. 
 
 When I came before the court, on the llth day of September, 
 1876, I was met with the same hypocritical smile and whisper, 
 as on other occasions, and told to " Stand to your integrity. 
 Let the will of the Lord's anointed be your pleasure. My mouth 
 is sealed, but I know you will come out all right." 
 
 So they talked to me, the leaders of the Church and its prom- 
 inent men, all telling me the same thing, while at the same time 
 those low, deceitful, treacherous, cowardly, dastardly sycophants 
 and serfs had combined to fasten the rope around my neck. No 
 doubt they thought they could lull me to sleep, until they could 
 kill and make a scape-goat of me, to atone for the sins of the 
 whole Church, which fully endorsed this treacherous treatment, 
 as has been established by the oaths given by the false, 
 treacherous, sneaking witnesses who came on the stand by order 
 and command of the Church, to consummate the vile scheme 
 formed for my destruction 
 
 This last act of their charitable kindness let me out with them. 
 All that I have made by making their will my pleasure, and 
 yielding myself to their wishes, is the loss of my reputation, my 
 fortune, my near and dear supposed friends, my salvation, and 
 my all. My life now hangs on a single thread. 
 
 But is there no help for the widow's son? I can no longer ex- 
 pect help from the Church, or those of the Mormon faith. If 
 I escape execution, it will be through the clemency of the 
 nation, many of whose noble sons will dislike to see me sacri- 
 ficed in this way. I acknowledge that I have been slow to lis- 
 ten to the advice of friends, who have warned me of the danger 
 and treachery that awaited me. Yet I ask pardon for all the in- 
 gratitude with which I received their advice. When the people 
 consider that I was ever taught to look upon treachery with hor- 
 ror, and that I have never permitted one nerve or fibre of this 
 old frame to weaken or give way, notwithstanding the fact that 
 I have been cut loose, and cast off and sacrificed by those who 
 from their own stand-point, and according to their own theory, 
 should have stood by me to the last, they may have some com- 
 passion for me. Perhaps all is for the best. 
 
 As it now stands, I feel free from all the obligations that have 
 hitherto sealed my mouth, so far as the deeds of which I stand 
 accused are concerned. I now consider myself at liberty to, 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 269 
 
 and I now will state all the facts in the case, with which I am 
 familiar. I am no traitor ; I am only acting just to my own rep- 
 utation. I am not sorry for the stand which I have taken, or 
 my long silence. 
 
 THE TRUTH ABOUT "DIRTY FINGERED JAKE " HAMBLIN AND THH 
 ACTS OF SOME GOOD SAINTS. 
 
 Jacob Hamblin, commonly called " Dirty Fingered Jake," 
 when called as a witness, gave as a reason for his long silence, 
 concerning what he says I told him, that he was waiting for the 
 right time to come, and he thought it had come now. 
 
 This reminds me of a circumstance that was related by Joseph 
 Knight and John Lay, who were missionaries to the Indians un- 
 der President Jacob Hamblin, at his headquarters at Santa Clara 
 Fort, in 1859. In the Fall of 1859 two young men, on their 
 way to California, stopped at the fort to recruit their jaded ani- 
 mals, and expecting that while doing so they might be so fortu- 
 nate as to meet with some train of people going to the same 
 place, so they would have company to San Bernardino, the 
 young men staid at the fort some two months, daily expecting a 
 company to pass that way, but still no one came. Hamblin as- 
 sured them that they could go through the country with perfect 
 safety. At the same time he had his plans laid to take their 
 lives as soon as they started. The Indians around the fort want- 
 ed to kill the men at once, but Hamblin objected, and told the 
 Indians to wait until the men got out on the desert that if they 
 would wait until the right time came they might then kill the 
 men. 
 
 At last these young men started from the fort. Hamblin had 
 told the Indians that the right time had come, and that he want- 
 ed the Indians to ambush themselves at a point agreed on near 
 the desert, where the men could be safely killed. The Indians 
 obeyed Hamblin's orders, and as the men came to the place of 
 ambush the Indians fired upon them, and succeeded in killing 
 one of the men. The other returned the fire, and shot one of 
 Hamblin's right-hand men or pet Indians through the hand; this 
 Indian's name was Queets, which means left-handed. By wound- 
 ing this Indian he managed to escape, and returned to the fort, 
 but doing so with the loss of the pack animals, provisions and 
 the riding animal of his partner that lay dead upon the desert. 
 The survivor stayed with Mr. Judd for a few days, when a com- 
 
270 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 f>any of emigrants passed that way, and with them he succeeded 
 in making his escape from the death that Hamblin had planned 
 for him. 
 
 Hamblin was at Salt Lake City when the Mountain Meadows 
 Massacre took place, and he pretends to have great sympathy 
 with and sorrow for their fate. I can only judge what he 
 would have done towards the massacre if he had been at home 
 by what he did to help the next train that passed that way. 
 When this train was passing through the settlements, Hamblin 
 made arrangements with Nephi Johnson and his other interpre- 
 ters (all of them were tools for Hamblin) how and where to re- 
 lieve this company of the large herd of stock that belonged to 
 the train. They had a large number of horses and cattle, more 
 than five hundred head in all. Several interpreters were sent on 
 ahead of the train. One of these was Ira Hatch. They were 
 ordered by Hamblin to prepare the Indians to make a raid upon 
 the stock, and these men and Indians obeyed orders then the 
 same as my brethren and I did with the first company. About 
 10 o'clock, A. M., just after the train had crossed the Muddy, or 
 a few miles beyond it on the desert, at the time and place as 
 agreed on by Hamblin, and just as he had ordered it to be done, 
 over one hundred Indians made a dash on the train and drove 
 all the stock off to the Muddy. 
 
 The emigrants fired at the Indians, but the treacherous Nephi 
 Johnson was acting as a guide, interpreter and friend to the 
 whites ; in fact that was how he came to be along with them 
 was to pretend to aid them and protect them from Indians, but 
 in fact he was there by order of Hamblin, to make the Indian 
 raid on the stock a success. 
 
 Nephi Johnson rushed out and told the emigrants that if they 
 valued their own lives they must not fire again, for if they did so 
 he could not protect them from the cruelty of the savages that 
 the Indians would return and massacre them the same as they 
 did the emigrants at Mountain Meadows. 
 
 The acting of Johnson and the other interpreters and spies 
 that were with him, was so good that after a consultation the 
 emigrants decided to follow his advice. The final conclusion 
 was, that as Johnson was friendly with the Indians, and could 
 talk their language, he should go and see the Indians, and try and 
 ,get the stock back. 
 
 The emigrants waited on the desert, and Johnson went to the 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 271 
 
 Indians, or pretended to "do so. After a few hours he returned, 
 and reported that the Indians were very hostile, and threatened 
 to attack the train at once ; that he was afraid he could not pre- 
 vent it, and the only chance for the emigrants was in their in- 
 stant departure ; that as the emigrants would be gaining a place 
 of safety, he would, at the risk of his life, make an effort to keep 
 the Indians back, and pacify them. Also that he would report 
 to Hamblin as soon as possible, and raise a force of men at the 
 fort, and get back the stock, if it could be done, and would write 
 to the company, giving an account of his success, so they would 
 get his letter at San Bernardino, and if he recovered the stock, 
 the emigrants could send back a party to receive it, and drive it 
 to California. 
 
 Under the circumstances, the company adopted his plan, and 
 he left them on the desert, with all their loose stock gone ; but 
 the danger was over, for the stock was what Hamblin and John- 
 son had been working for. 
 
 Johnson returned and ordered the Indians to drive the stock to 
 the Clara. The Indians acted like good Mormons, and obeyed 
 orders. Hamblin gave them a few head of cattle for their ser- 
 vices in aiding him to steal the drove. The remainder of the cattle 
 and horses the secret keeper, Hamblin, took charge of for the 
 benefit of the Mission. As the cattle became fat enough for 
 beef, they were sold or butchered for the use of the settlers. Some 
 were traded to other settlements for sheep and other articles. 
 In this way Hamblin used all of the stock stolen from the 
 Dukes Company, except some forty head. 
 
 In order to keep up an appearance of honesty and fairness, 
 Hamblin wrote a letter to Capt. Dukes, in the fall of 1860, 
 saying that he had recovered a small portion of the company's 
 stock from the Indians, by giving them presents, and that some 
 of the stock had been traded to the settlers by the Indians. 
 This letter was to be confirmed by all the missionaries and set- 
 tlers, when the stock was to be called for by the former owners. 
 No one was to give information that would lead to the dis- 
 covery of the stock. 
 
 This was always the way when the Mormons committed a crime 
 against the Gentiles. All the brethren were to help keep the 
 secret. Some of the Dukes Company came back to Hamblin's 
 for their cattle and horses, and after three weeks' diligent 
 search among the secret keepers, they succeeded in getting about 
 
272 HOMMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 forty head of cattle, and returned with them to California. 
 Several of the settlers were severely censured for giving the little 
 information that was given, which led to the recovery of that 
 small portion of the large herd of cattle and horses that the 
 Saints, Hamblin and Johnson, had stolen by the help of the 
 Indians, and the efforts of the brethren. 
 
 THE MORMON METHOD OF DISPOSING OF SUSPECTED PERSONS. 
 
 In the Winter of 1857-8 John Weston took an Irishman, that 
 had been stopping with him as his guest several days, on a hunt, 
 and when he got him in the brush and timber four miles west 
 of Cedar City, he cut the throat of the Irishman and left the 
 body unburied. A son of Weston said that his father received 
 orders to kill the man because Isaac C. Haight considered him a 
 
 Near the same time, Philip Klingensmith laid in ambush to kill 
 Robert Keyes (now a resident of Beaver City, Utah Territory), 
 while Keyes was irrigating in his field. Klingensmith wanted to 
 kill Keyes because Keyes refused to give false testimony when 
 requested to do so by Klingensmith, who was then Bishop of the 
 Church. When Keyes came within a few feet of the hiding 
 place of Klingensmith, this "holy" man raised his gun and took 
 deliberate aim at Keyes' heart, but the cap bursted without ex- 
 ploding the powder, and so Keyes escaped. 
 
 After the Massacre, when Haight learned that Brigham Young 
 did not fully approve of the deed, he then sought to screen him- 
 self, Higbee and Klingensmith, by putting me between them and 
 danger. He reported that I was the big captain .that planned, 
 led and executed it ; that the honor of such a noble deed for the 
 avenging of the blood of the Prophets would lead to honor, im- 
 mortality and eternal life in the kingdom of God ; that I must 
 stand to my integrity ; that no man would ever be hurt. In this 
 way it soon became a settled fact that I was the actual butcher 
 and leader in that awful affair. Year by year that story has gained 
 ground and strength, until I am now held responsible, and am 
 to die, to save the Church. However, this is a regular trick of 
 the Church leaders use a man as long as he is of any use, and 
 then throw him aside. 
 
 As I have stated in other places in my writings, the people in 
 Utah who professed the Mormon religion were at and for some 
 time before the massacre full of wild-fire and fanatical zeal, anx- 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 273 
 
 ious to do something to build up the Kingdom of God on earth 
 and to waste away the enemies of the Mormon religion. At that 
 time it was a common thing for small bands of people on 
 their way from California to pass through by way of Cedar 
 City on their journey. Many of these people were killed 
 simply because they were Gentiles. When a Gentile came 
 into a town he was looked upon with suspicion, and most of the 
 people considered every stranger a spy from the United States 
 army. The killing of Gentiles was considered a means of grace 
 and a virtuous deed. 
 
 I remember an affair that transpired at the old distillery in 
 Cedar City, just before the massacre. I was informed of it when 
 I went to Cedar City, by the chief men there, and I may say I 
 know it to be true. The facts are as follows : Three men came 
 to Cedar City one evening ; they were poor, and much worn by 
 their long journey. They were on their way to California. They 
 were so poor and destitute that the authorities considered they 
 were dangerous men, so they reported that they were spies from 
 Johnston's army, and ordered the brethren to devise a plan to 
 put them out of the way, decently and in order. That the will 
 of God, as made known through Haight and Klingensmith, might 
 be done, these helpless men were coaxed to go to the old distil- 
 lery and take a drink. They went in company with John M. 
 Higbee, John Weston, James Haslem and Wm. C. Stewart, and 
 I think another man, but if so I have forgotten his name. The 
 party drank considerable, and when the emigrants got under the 
 influence of the whisky the brethren attacked them, and knocked 
 the brains out of two of the men with the king-bolt of a wag- 
 on. The third man was very powerful and muscular ; he fought 
 valiantly for his life, but after a brief struggle he was over- 
 come and killed. They were buried near Cedar City. 
 
 This deed was sustained by all the people there. The parties 
 who did the killing were pointed out as true, valiant men, zeal- 
 ous defenders of the faith, and as fine examples for the young 
 men to pattern after. 
 
 ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE LIEUTENANT TOBIN. 
 
 Sometime in the Fall of 1857, not long after the Mountain 
 
 Meadows Massacre, it was decided by the authorities at Salt 
 
 Lake City that Lieut. Tobin must be killed. Tobin had left a 
 
 train at Salt Lake, joined the Church there, and afterwards mar- 
 
 18 
 
274 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 ried a daughter of General Charles C. Rich, one of the Twelve 
 Apostles. Tobin was quite a smart man, and soon after his mar- 
 riage he was sent to England on a mission. 
 
 While preaching in England, it was reported that he had 
 committed adultery there, and he was ordered home. On 
 his arrival in Salt Lake he was cut off from the Church, and I 
 think his wife was taken from him by order of the Church. He 
 made several efforts to get out of the Territory. Finally he got 
 with a company en-route for California, and left Salt Lake, in- 
 tending to go to California, to escape the persecutions that were 
 being forced upon him by the Church authorities. After he had 
 been gone a few days the " Destroying Angels " were put on his 
 trail, with orders to kill him without fail before they returned. 
 Two desperate fanatics were selected, who knew nothing but to 
 obey orders. Joel White and John Willis were the parties. 
 
 They started on the trail, determined to kill Tobin when they 
 could find him. They had no cause to find fault with him ; he 
 had never injured them, but he had in some way fallen under 
 the ban of the Church, and his death had been decreed. These 
 vile tools of the Church leaders were keeping their oaths of 
 obedience to the Priesthood, and were as willing to shed blood at 
 the command of the Prophet or any of the apostles, as ever 
 Inquisitor was to apply the rack to an offending heretic in the 
 dungeons of the Inquisition. In fact Mormonism is Jesuitism 
 refined and perfected. 
 
 White and Willis overtook the "company that Lieut. Tobin was 
 traveling with, at a point at or near the crossing of the Magott- 
 scy. They found where he was sleeping, and going right 
 up to him as he lay on the ground, rolled up in his blanket, they 
 shot him several times, and at last thinking him dead, they con- 
 cluded to shoot him once more to make certain that he would 
 not escape. So they put a pistol right up against his eye, and 
 fired ; the ball put out his eye, but did not kill him. 
 
 The "angels " made their escape and returned to Salt Lake 
 City, and reported that their orders were obeyed. 
 
 Severely wounded as he was, Lieut. Tobin recovered, and was 
 when I last heard from him in the Union army. 
 
 POWER OF THE PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 At Parowan, in 1855 or 1856, there was a case that for a 
 while shook my faith in the Church, but I soon got over it and 
 
LEWS CONFESSION. 275 
 
 was like others, satisfied that all was done for the glory of God, 
 but that I was so sinful that I could not understand it. 
 
 There was a man living there by the name of Robert Gillespie. 
 He was a member of the Church, had one wife, and owned a fine 
 property. Gillespie wanted to be sealed to his sister-in-law, but 
 for some reason his request was denied. He had known of 
 others obtaining wives by committing adultery first and then 
 being sealed to avoid scandal. So he tried it, and then went to 
 the apostle George A. Smith, and again asked to be sealed to 
 the woman ; but George A. had a religious fit on him, or some- 
 thing else, so he refused to seal him or let him be sealed, giving 
 as his reason for refusing, that Gillespie had exercised the rights 
 of sealing without first obtaining orders to do so. A warrant 
 was issued and Gillespie arrested and placed under guard, he 
 was also sued in the Probate Court, before James Lewis, Pro- 
 bate Judge, and a heavy judgment was rendered against him, 
 and all his property was sold to pay the fine and costs. The 
 money was put into the Church fund and Gillespie was broken 
 up entirely and forced to leave the Territory in a destitute 
 condition. 
 
 Many such cases came under my observation. I have known 
 the Church to act in this way and break up and destroy many, 
 very many men. The Church was then, and in that locality, 
 supreme. None could safely defy or disobey it. The Church au- 
 thorities used the laws of the land, the laws of the Church, and 
 Danites and "Angels " to enforce their orders, and rid the coun- 
 try of those who were distasteful to the leaders. And I say as 
 a fact that there was no escape for any one that the leaders of 
 the Church in Southern Utah selected as a victim. 
 
 WOODWARD'S WIFE. 
 
 The fate of old man Braffett, of Parowan, was a peculiar one, 
 and as it afterwards led me into trouble, I will give the story 
 briefly, to show the power of the Priesthood and the peculiarity 
 of the people there. 
 
 Old man Braffett lived at Parowan, and in the Fall of 1855 a 
 man by the name of Woodward came to Braffett' s house and 
 stopped there to recruit his teams before crossing the deserts. 
 Woodward had two wives. He had lived in Nauvoo, and while 
 there had been architect for the Nauvoo House. While Wood- 
 ward and his family were stopping with Braffett, one of his wives 
 
276 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 concluded that she would be damned if she went to live in Cali- 
 fornia leaving the land of the Saints and she asked to be di- 
 vorced from Woodward and sealed to Braffett. At first Braffett 
 refused to take her, but she was a likely and healthy woman. 
 She made love to the old man in earnest, and finally induced 
 him to commit adultery with her. The parties were discovered in 
 the act by old Mrs. Braffett, and she was not so firm in the faith 
 as to permit her husband to enjoy himself without making a fuss 
 about it. The authorities were informed of Braffett' s transgres- 
 sions, and he was arrested and taken before the Probate Judge 
 and tried for the sin of adultery. He made a bill of sale of some 
 of his property to me, for which I paid him before his trial. 
 After hearing the case, the Probate Judge fined him $1,000, and 
 ordered him to be imprisoned until the fine and costs were paid. 
 Ezra Curtis, the then marshal at Parowan, took all of Braffett' s 
 property that could be found and sold it for the purpose of- pay- 
 ing the fine, but the large amount of property which was taken 
 was sold for a small sum, for the brethren would not bid much 
 for property taken from one who had broken his covenants. 
 
 Being unable to pay the fine, the old man was ordered to be 
 taken to Salt Lake City, to be imprisoned in the prison there. 
 I was selected to take him to Salt Lake. I took the old man 
 there, and after many days spent in working with Brigham 
 Young and his apostles, I succeeded in securing a pardon from 
 Brigham for the old man. 
 
 Braffett was put to work at Salt Lake by Brigham Young. 
 He dared not return home at that time. His property was all 
 gone, and he was ruined. 
 
 The part I took to befriend the old man made several of the 
 brethren at Parowan mad at me, and they swore they would have 
 revenge against me for interfering where I was not interested. 
 I staid in Salt Lake some time, and when I started home there 
 were quite a number of people along. All the teams were 
 heavily loaded ; the roads- were bad, and our teams weak. We 
 all had to walk much of the time. After we had passed the Se- 
 vere River the road was very bad. My team was the best in the 
 whole company, and I frequently let some of the women who 
 were in the party ride in my wagon. One evening, just about 
 dark, I was asked by a young woman, by the name of Alexan- 
 der, to let her ride, as she was very tired walking. I had her 
 get in the wagon with my wife Rachel, and she rode there until 
 
RACHEL. 
 
 EMELINE. 
 LEE'S FAVORITE WIVES 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 277 
 
 we camped for the night. I got into the wagon after dark and 
 drove the team. We had ridden along this way an hour or so, 
 when Rachel said she was going to ride a while in the next 
 wagon, which was driven by my son-in-law, Mr. Dalton. Soon 
 after Rachel got out of the wagon, a couple of my enemies rode 
 by. I spoke to them, and they rode on. As soon as these men 
 reached the camp they reported that I had been taking improper 
 privileges with Miss Alexander. I was at once told to consider 
 myself under arrest, and that as soon as we reached Parowan I 
 would be tried by the Council for violating my covenants. I 
 was surprised and grieved at the charge, for I was innocent, and 
 the young woman was a very fine and virtuous woman, and as 
 God is soon to judge me, I declare I never knew of her commit- 
 ting any sin. But she had to suffer slander upon her good name 
 simply because she was befriended by me. 
 
 When we reached Parowan there was a meeting called by the 
 Priesthood to try me. This Council was composed of the Pres- 
 ident of that Stake of Zion and his two Counselors, the High* 
 Council, the City Council and the leading men of Parowan. It 
 was a general meeting of the authorities, Church and civil, at 
 Parowan. The meeting was held in a chamber that was used 
 for a prayer circle. It was called a circle room, because the 
 people met there to transact private business and to hold prayer 
 in a circle, which was done in this way. All the brethren would 
 kneel in a circle around the room, near enough to each other for 
 their arms to touch, so that the influence would be more power- 
 ful. When the meeting was called to order all the lights were 
 put out, and I was taken into the room and placed on trial. The 
 charge was stated to me and I was ordered to confess my guilt. 
 I told them I was innocent ; that I had committed no crime in 
 fact had not thought of wrong. I told the truth, just as it was. 
 I was then ordered to stand one side. 
 
 The young woman was then brought into the room, and as 
 she came in a pistol was placed to my head and I was told to 
 keep silent. She was questioned and threatened at great length, 
 but not all the threats that they could use would induce her to 
 tell a falsehood. She insisted that I was entirely innocent. 
 
 Next her father, an old man, was introduced and questioned. 
 He told the Council that he had diligently enquired into the 
 matter, and believed I was innocent. 
 
 Neither the young woman nor her father knew who was in the 
 
278 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 room. All they knew was that they were being examined be- 
 fore the secret tribunal of Utah, and that a false oath in that 
 place would ensure their death. 
 
 When the evidence had been received and the witnesses re- 
 tired ; the candles were again lighted. Then speeches were made 
 by most of the men present, and every one but two spoke in 
 favor of my conviction. Without taking a vote the meeting ad- 
 journed, or rather left that place and went somewhere else to 
 consult. I was left in the dark, the house locked and guards placed 
 around the building. I was told that my fate would soon be 
 decided, and I would then be informed what it was to be. I 
 knew so well the manner of dealing in such cases that 1 expect- 
 ed to be assassinated in the dark, but for some reason it was not 
 done. 
 
 Next morning some food was brought to me, but I was still 
 kept a prisoner and refused the liberty of consulting with any 
 friends or any of my family. 
 
 Late that day I looked out of the window of the chamber 
 where 1 was confined, and saw a man by the name of John Steel. 
 He was first Counselor to the President of that Stake of Zion. I 
 called to him and asked him to secure my freedom. After stat- 
 ing the case to him he promised to see what could be done for 
 nie, and went off. Through his exertions I was soon released, 
 I was told to go home and hold myself subject to orders that 
 my case was not yet decided. 
 
 I went home, but for months I expected to be assassinated 
 every day, for it was the usual course of the authorities to send 
 an " Angel" after all men who were charged or suspected of 
 having violated their covenants. 
 
 Nothing further was done about the case, but it was held over 
 me as a means of forcing me to live in accordance with the 
 wishes of the Priesthood and to prevent me from again inter- 
 fering with the Church authorities when they saw fit to destroy 
 a man, as they destroyed old man Braffett, and I believe it did 
 have the effect to make me more careful who I befriended. 
 
 In 1854 (I think that was the year) there was a young man, a 
 Gentile, working in Parowan. He was quiet and orderly, but 
 was courting some of the girls. He was notified to quit, and let 
 the girls alone, but he still kept going to see some of them. 
 This was contrary to orders. No Gentile was at that time 
 allowed to keep company with or visit any Mormon girl 01 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 27d 
 
 woman. The authorities decided to have the young man killed, 
 so they called two of Bishop Dames' Destroying Angels, Barney 
 Carter and old man Gould, and told them to take that cursed 
 young Gentile " over the rim of the basin." That was a term used 
 by the people when they killed a person. 
 
 The destroying angels made some excuse to induce the young 
 man to go with them on an excursion, and when they got close 
 to Shirts' mill, near Harmony, they killed him, and left his body 
 in the brush. 
 
 The Indians found the body, and reported the facts to me 
 soon afterwards. I was not at home that night, but Carter and 
 Gould went to my house and staid there all night. Eachel 
 asked them where they had been. They told her they had been 
 on a mission to take a young man, a Gentile, over the rim ofth* 
 basin, and Carter showed her his sword, which was all bloody, 
 and he said he used that to help the Gentile over the edge. 
 Rachel knew what they meant when they spoke of sending him 
 "over the rim of the basin." It was at that time a common 
 thing to see parties going out of Cedar City and Harmony, with 
 inspected Gentiles, to send them "over the rim of the basin," 
 and the Gentiles were always killed. 
 
 This practice was supported by all the people, and every 
 thing of that kind was done by orders from the Council, or by 
 orders from some of the Priesthood. When a Danite or a de- 
 stroying angel was placed on a man's track, that man died, cer- 
 tain, unless some providential act saved him, as in Tobin's case ; 
 he was saved because the "angels" believed he was dead. 
 
 The Mormons nearly all, and I think every one of them in 
 Utah, previous to the massacre at Mountain Meadows, believed in 
 blood atonement. It was taught by the leaders and believed by 
 the people that the Priesthood were inspired and could not give 
 a wrong order. It was the belief of all that I ever heard talk of 
 these things and I have been with the Church since the dark 
 days in Jackson County that the authority that ordered a 
 murder committed, was the only responsible party, that the man 
 who did the killing was only an instrument, working by command 
 of a superior, and hence could have no ill will against the person 
 killed, but was only acting by authority and committed no 
 wrong. In other words, if B'.igham Young or any of his apos- 
 tles, or any of the Priesthood, gave an order to a man, the act 
 was the act of the one giving the order, and the man doing the 
 
280 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 act was only an instrument of the person commanding just 
 as much of an instrument as the knife that was used to cut the 
 throat of the yictim. This being the belief of all good Mormons, 
 it is easily understood why the orders of the Priesthood were so 
 blindly obeyed by the people. 
 
 Another circumstance came to my knowledge soon after it was 
 done that will speak for itself. Not far from the time of the 
 Mountain Meadows massacre, there was an emigrant who 
 claimed to be a Mormon, but I never knew whether he was one 
 or not, that worked a number of months for Captain Jacob 
 Huffine, at Parowan. This man wanted his pay ; it was not con- 
 venient to pay him ; he insisted on being paid, but not getting 
 his wages, he determined to leave there. He started away from 
 the settlement at Summit, about seven miles from Parowan. 
 The Indians of Parowan were sent for and ordered to overtake 
 and kill the man. They did so, and shot him full of arrows. 
 The man called to the Indians and told them that he was a 
 Mormon and they must not kill him. 
 
 The Indians replied by saying, 
 
 "We know you, you are no Mormon, you are a Mericat; the 
 Mormons told us to kill you." 
 
 They then beat his head with rocks, and cut his throat, then 
 went back to Parowan and reported what they had done. 
 
 I was told all about this by the Indians. But I never enquired 
 into the facts, for I then believed, and still have reasons to think 
 the man was killed by authority. He had offended in some way, 
 and his death was like that of many others, the result of orders 
 from the Priesthood. 
 
 KILLING OP BOSMOS ANDEBSON, ETC. 
 
 William Laney, of Harrisburg, Utah Territory, had formed 
 the acquaintance of the family of Aden while on a mission to 
 Tennessee, and he was saved from a mob who threatened his 
 death because he was a Mormon preacher. When Fan- 
 cher's train reached Parowan, Mr. Laney met young Aden and 
 recognized him as the son of the man who had saved his life. 
 Aden told him that he was hungry, that he and his comrades 
 had been unable to purchase supplies from the Mormons ever 
 since they left Salt Lake City, and that there appeared to be a 
 conspiracy that had been formed against that train by which the 
 Mormons had agreed to starve the emigrants. Laney took 
 
LEE'S CONCESSION. 281 
 
 7 oung Aden to his house, gave him his supper, and let him sleep 
 there that night. The next day Laney was accused by leading 
 men with being unfaithful to his obligations. They said he had 
 supported the enemies of the Church and given aid and comfort 
 to one whose hands were still red with the blood of the Proph- 
 ets. A few nights after that the Destroying Angels, who were 
 doing the bidding of Bishop Dame, were ordered to kill William 
 Laney to save him from his sins, he having violated his endow- 
 ment oath and furnished food to a man who had been declared 
 an outlaw by the Mormon Church. .The "Angels' 1 were com- 
 manded by Barney Carter, a son-in-law of Win. H. Dame, who 
 now lives in Los Angeles County, California. The Angels 
 called Laney out of the house, saying that Bishop Dame wished 
 to see him. As Laney passed through the gate into the street, 
 he was struck across the back of the head with a large club by 
 Barney Carter. His skull was fractured somewhat and for many 
 months Laney lay at the point of death, and his mind still shows 
 the effect of the injury he then received, for his. brain has never 
 quite settled since. I have frequently talked with Laney about 
 this matter, but as he was fully initiated into the mysteries of 
 the Church, he knows that he will yet be killed if his life can be 
 taken with safety, if he make public the facts connected with the 
 conspiracy to take his life. He is still strong in the Mormon 
 faith, and almost believes that Dame had the right to have him 
 killed. At the time Carter attempted to take the life of Laney, 
 the Mormon Church was under the blaze of the reformation, and 
 punishment by death was the penalty for refusing to obey the 
 orders of the Priesthood. 
 
 One of the objects of the reformation was to place the Priest- 
 hood in possession of every secret act and crime that had been 
 committed by a man of the Church. These secrets were ob- 
 tained in this way : a meeting would be called ; some Church 
 leader would make a speech, defining the duties that the people 
 owed to the Priesthood, and instructing the people why it was 
 necessary that the Priesthood should control the entire acts of 
 the people, and it was preached that to keep back any fact from 
 the knowledge of the Priesthood was an unpardonable sin. After 
 one or more such discourses, the people were called upon by 
 name, commanded to rise from their seats, and standing in the 
 midst of the congregation, to publicly confess all their sins. If 
 the confession was not full and complete, it was also made the 
 
282 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 duty of the members of the Church, or any one of them whc 
 knew that the party confessing had committed a crime, which he 
 had not divulged, it was then to be made public by the party 
 knowing the same. Unless the party then confessed, a charge 
 was preferred against him or her for a violation of covenants, 
 and unless full confession and repentance immediately followed, 
 the sinful member was to be slain for the remission of his sins, 
 it being taught by the leaders and believed by the people that 
 the right thing to do with a sinner who did not repent and obey 
 the Council, was to take the life of the offending party, and 
 thus save his everlasting soul. This was called " Blood Atone- 
 ment." The members who fully confessed their sins were again 
 admitted into the Church and rebaptized, they taking new cove- 
 nants to obey any and all orders of the Priesthood, and to re- 
 fuse all manner of assistance, friendship or communication with 
 those who refused a strict obedience to the authorities of the 
 Church. 
 
 The most deadly sin among the people was adultery, and 
 many men were killed in Utah for that crime. 
 
 Rosmos Anderson was a Danish man who had come to Utah 
 with his family to receive the benefits arising from an association 
 with the " Latter-Day Saints." He had married a widow lady 
 somewhat older than himself, and she had a daughter that was 
 fully grown at the time of the reformation. The girl was very 
 anxious to be sealed to her step-father, and Anderson was 
 equally anxious to take her for a second wife, but as she was a 
 fine-looking girl, Klingensmith desired her to marry him, and 
 she refused. At one of the meetings during the reformation 
 Anderson and his step-daughter confessed that they had com- 
 mitted adultery, believing when they did so that Brigham Young 
 would allow them to marry when he learned the facts. Theii 
 confession being full, they were rebaptized and received into full 
 membership. They were then placed under covenant that if they 
 again committed adultery, Anderson should suffer death. Soon 
 after this a charge was laid against Anderson before the Council, 
 accusing him of adultery with his step-daughter. This Council 
 was composed of Klingensmith and his two counselors ; it was 
 the Bishop's Council. Without giving Anderson any chance to 
 defend himself or make a statement, the Council voted that 
 Anderson must die for violating his covenants. Klingensmith 
 went to Anderson and notified him that the orders were that he 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 285 
 
 must die by having his throat cut, so that the running of his 
 blood would atone for his sins. Anderson, being a firm belieyer 
 in the doctrines and teachings of the Mormon Church, made no 
 obj ections, but asked for half a day to prepare for death. Hi* 
 request was granted. His wife was ordered to prepare a suit of 
 clean clothing, in which to have her husband buried, and w 
 informed that he was to be killed for his sins, she being directed 
 to tell those who should enquire after her husband that he had 
 gone to California. 
 
 Klingensmith, James Haslem, Daniel McFarland and John M. 
 Higbee dug a grave in the field near Cedar City, and that night, 
 about 12 o'clock, went to Anderson's house and ordered him to 
 make ready to obey the Council. Anderson got up, dressed 
 himself, bid his family good-bye, and without a word of remon- 
 strance accompanied those that he believed were carrying out 
 the will of the "Almighty God." They went to the place where 
 the grave was prepared ; Anderson knelt upon the side of the 
 grave and prayed. Klingensmith and his company then cut 
 Anderson's throat from ear to ear and held him so that his blood 
 ran into the grave. 
 
 As soon as he was dead they dressed him in his clean clothes, 
 threw him into the grave and buried him. They then carried 
 his bloody clothing back to his family ? and gave them to his wife 
 to wash, when she was again instructed to say that her husband 
 was in California. She obeyed their orders. 
 
 No move of that kind was made at Cedar City, unless it was 
 done by order of the "Council" or of the "High Council." 
 I was at once informed of Anderson's death, because at that 
 time I possessed the confidence of all the people, who would 
 talk to me confidentially, and give me the particulars of all 
 crimes committed by order of the Church. Anderson was killed 
 Just before the Mountain Meadows massacre. The killing of 
 Anderson was then considered a religious duty and a' just act. 
 It was justified by all the people, for they were bound by the 
 same covenants, and the least word of objection to thus treat- 
 ing the man who had broken his covenant would have brought 
 the same fate upon the person who was so foolish as to raise 
 his voice against any act committed by order of the Church 
 authorities. 
 
 Brigham Young knew very well that I was not a man who 
 would willingly take life, and therefore I was not ordered to do 
 
284 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 his bloody work. I never took part in any killing that was de- 
 sired or ordered by the Church, except the part I took in the 
 Mountain Meadows Massacre. I was well known by all the 
 members of the Church as one that stood high in the confidence 
 of Brigham Young, and that I was close-mouthed and reliable. 
 By this means I was usually informed of the facts in every case 
 where violence was used in the section of country where I re- 
 sided. I knew of many men being killed in Nauvoo by the Dan- 
 ites. It was then the rule that all the enemies of Joseph Smith 
 should be killed, and I know of many a man who was quietly put 
 out of the way by the orders of Joseph and his Apostles while 
 the Church was there. 
 
 It has always been a well understood doctrine of the Church 
 that it was right and praiseworthy to kill every person who spoke 
 evil of the Prophet. This doctrine had been strictly lived up to 
 in Utah, until the Gentiles arrived in such great numbers that it 
 became unsafe to follow the practice, but the doctrine is still 
 believed, and no year passes without one or more of those who 
 have spoken evil of Brigham Toung being killed, in a secret 
 manner. 
 
 Springfield, Utah, was one of the hot-beds of fanaticism, and 
 I expect that more men were killed there, in proportion to pop- 
 ulation, than in any other part of Utah. In that settlement it 
 was certain death to say a word against the authorities, high or 
 low. 
 
 In Utah it has been the custom with the Priesthood to make 
 eunuchs of such men as were obnoxious to the leaders. This 
 was done for a double purpose : first, it gave a perfect revenge, 
 and next, it left the poor victim a living example to others of 
 the dangers of disobeying counsel and not living as ordered by 
 the Priesthood. 
 
 In Nauvoo it was the orders from Joseph Smith and his apos- 
 tl< s to beat, wound and castrate all Gentiles that the police 
 could take in the act of entering or leaving a Mormon household 
 under circumstances that led to the belief that they had been 
 there for immoral purposes. I knew of several such outrages 
 while there. In Utah it was the favorite revenge of old, worn-ou 
 members of the Priesthood, who wanted young women sealed to 
 them, and found that the girl preferred some handsome young 
 man. The old priests generally got the girls, and many a young 
 man was unsexed for refusing to give up his sweetheart at the 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 285 
 
 request of an old and failing, but still sensual apostle or mem- 
 ber of the Priesthood. 
 
 As an illustration I will refer to an instance that many a good 
 Saint knows to be true. 
 
 Warren Snow was Bishop of the Church at Manti, San Pete 
 County, Utah. He had several wives, but there was a fair, 
 buxom young woman in the town that Snow wanted for a wife. 
 He made love to her with all his powers, went to parties where 
 she was, visited her at her home, and proposed to make her his 
 wife. She thanked him for the honor offered, but told him she 
 was then engaged to a young man, a member of the Church, and 
 consequently could not marry the old priest. This was no suffi- 
 cient reason to Snow. He told her it was the will of God that she 
 should marry him, and she must do so ; that the young man 
 could be got rid of, sent on a mission or dealt with in some way 
 BO as to release her from her engagement that, in fact, a prom- 
 ise made to the young ' man was not binding, when she was in- 
 formed that it was contrary to the wishes of the authorities. 
 
 The girl continued obstinate. The "teachers "of the town vis- 
 ited her and advised her to marry Bishop Snow. Her parents, 
 under the orders of the Counselors of the Bishop, also insisted 
 that their daughter must marry the old man. She still refused. 
 Then the authorities called on the young man and directed him 
 to give up the young woman. This he steadfastly refused to do. 
 He was promised Church preferment, celestial rewards, and 
 everything that could be thought of all to no purpose. He re- 
 mained true to his intended, and said he would die before he 
 would surrender his intended wife to the embraces of another. 
 
 This unusual resistance of authority by the young people made 
 Snow more anxious than ever to capture the girl. The young 
 man was ordered to go on a mission to some distant locality, so 
 that the authorities would have no trouble in effecting their pur- 
 pose of forcing the girl to marry as they desired. But the mis- 
 sion was refused by the still contrary and unfaithful young 
 man. 
 
 It was then determined that the rebellious young man must 
 be forced by harsh treatment to respect the advice and orders 
 of the Priesthood. His fate was left to Bishop Snow for his de- 
 cision. He decided that the young man should be castrated ; 
 Snow saying, " When that is done, he will not be liable to want 
 
J86 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 
 
 the girl badly, and she will listen to reason when she knows that 
 ber lover is no longer a man." 
 
 It was then decided to call a meeting of the people who lived 
 true to counsel, which was to be held in the school-house in Manti, 
 at which place the young man should be present, and dealt with 
 according to Snow's will. The meeting was called. The young 
 man was there, and was again requested, ordered and threatened, 
 to get him to surrender the young woman to Snow, but true to 
 his plighted troth, he refused to consent to give up the girl. 
 The lights were then put out. An attack was made on the 
 young man. He was severely beaten, and then tied with his 
 back down on a bench, when Bishop Snow took a bowie-knife, 
 and performed the operation in a most brutal manner, and then 
 took the portion severed from his victim and hung it up in the 
 school-house on a nail, so that it could be seen by all who 
 visited the house afterwards. 
 
 The party then left the young man weltering in his blood, 
 and in a lifeless condition. During the night he succeeded in 
 releasing himself from his confinement, and dragged himself to 
 some hay-stacks, where he lay until the next day, when he was 
 discovered by his friends. The young man regained his health, 
 but has been an idiot or quiet lunatic ever since, and is well 
 known by hundreds of both Mormons and Gentiles in Utah. 
 
 After this outrage old Bishop Snow took occasion to get up a 
 meeting at the school-house, so as to get the people of Manti, 
 and the young woman that he wanted to marry, to attend the 
 meeting. When all had assembled, the old man talked to the 
 people about their duty to the Church, and their duty to obey 
 counsel, and the dangers of refusal, and then publicly called at- 
 tention to the mangled parts of the young man, that had been 
 severed from his person, and stated that the deed had been done 
 to teach the people that the counsel of the Priesthood must be 
 obeyed. To make a long story short, I will say, the young 
 woman was soon after forced into being sealed to Bishop Snow. 
 
 Brigham Young, when he heard of this treatment of the young 
 man, was very mad, but did nothing against Snow. He left him 
 in charge as Bishop at Manti, and ordered the matter to be 
 hushed up. This is only one instance of many that I might give 
 to show the danger of refusing to obey counsel in Utah. 
 
 It frequently happened that men would become dissatisfied 
 with the Church or something else in Utah, and try to leave the 
 
LEWS CONFESSION. 287 
 
 Territory. The authorities would try to convince such persons 
 that they ought to remain, but if they insisted on going, they 
 were informed that they had permission to do so. When the 
 person had started off, with his stock and property, it was 
 nearly always the rule to send a lot of Danites to steal all the 
 stock and run it off into the mountains ; so that in the majority 
 of cases the people would return wholly broken up and settle 
 down again as obedient members of the Church. It was a rare 
 thing for a man to escape from the Territory with all of his 
 property, until after the Pacific Railroad was built through Utah. 
 It was the general custom to rob the persons who were leaving 
 the country, but many of them were killed, because it was con- 
 sidered they would tell tales that should not be made public, in 
 the event of their reaching Gentile settlements. 
 
 Brigham Young discouraged mining at all times, and when 
 any man found any metal he was ordered to keep it a secret. 
 The people were taught to believe that the Latter-Day Saints 
 would soon own all the wealth of the earth, and that no people 
 but Mormons would be alive in a few years. That when the earth 
 was conquered and the truths of Mormonism were universally 
 acknowledged, the people would then have all the wealth they 
 desired. Gold would be as plenty as silver, silver as plenty as 
 brass, brass as plenty as stone, and stone as plenty as wood. 
 That this gold, silver and other metals and precious stones 
 would then be used for beautifying places of worship, and to 
 make holy vessels of, and each man was to have all the wealth 
 he could use or enjoy, if he was only faithful in these last days. 
 
 As a matter to satisfy the public, I will give the following facts 
 connected with my personal history : * 
 
 When I moved to Nauvoo, I had one wife and one child. 
 Soon after I got there, I was appointed as the Seventh Police- 
 man. I had superiors in office, and was sworn to secrecy, and 
 to obey the orders of my superiors, and not let my left hand 
 know what my right hand did. It was my duty to do as I was 
 ordered, and not to ask questions. I was instructed in the 
 $ecrets of the Priesthood to a great extent, and taught to believe, 
 as I then did believe, that it was my duty, and the duty of all 
 men to obey the leaders of the Church, and that no man could 
 commit sin so long as he acted in the way that he was directed 
 by his Church superiors. I was one of the Life Guard of the 
 Prophet Joseph Smith. 
 
288 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 HOW I FIRST HEARD OP THE DOCTRINE OP POLYGAMY. 
 
 One day the Chief of Police came to me and said that I must 
 take two more policemen that he named, and watch the house of 
 a widow woman named Clawson. She was the mother of H. B. 
 Clawson, of Salt Lake City. I was informed that a man went 
 there nearly every night about ten o'clock, and left about 
 day light. I was also ordered to station myself and my men 
 near the house, and when the man came out we were to knock 
 him down and castrate him, and not to be careful how hard we 
 hit, for it would not be enquired into if we killed him. 
 
 I did not believe that the Chief of Police knew just what he 
 was doing. I felt a timidity about carrying out the orders. It 
 was my duty to report all unusual orders that I received from 
 my superiors on the police force, to the Prophet Joseph Smith, 
 or in his absence, to Hyrum, next in authority. I went to the 
 house of the Prophet to report, but he was not at home. I then 
 called for Hyrum, and he gave me an interview. I told him the 
 orders that I had received from the Chief, and asked him if I 
 should obey or not. He said to me, 
 
 " Brother Lee, you have acted wisely in listening to the voice 
 of the Spirit. It was the influence of God's Spirit that sent you 
 here. You would have been guilty of a great crime if you had 
 obeyed your Chiefs orders." 
 
 Hyrum then told me that the man that I was ordered to attack 
 was Howard Egan, and that he had been sealed to Mrs. Claw- 
 son, and that their marriage was a most holy one ; that it was in 
 accordance with a revelation that the Prophet had recently re- 
 ceived direct from God. He then explained to me fully the 
 doctrines of polygamy, and wherein it was permitted, and why it 
 was right. 
 
 I was greatly interested in the doctrine. It accorded exactly 
 with my views of the Scripture, and I at once accepted and be- 
 lieved in the doctrine as taught by the revelations received by 
 Joseph Smith, the Prophet. As a matter of course I did not 
 carry out the orders of the Chief. I had him instructed in his 
 duty, and so Egan was never bothered by the police. 
 
 A few months after that I was sealed to my second wife. I 
 was sealed to her by Brigham Young, then one of the Twelve. 
 In less than one year after I first learned the will of God con- 
 cerning the marriage of the Saints, as made known by Him in a 
 revelation to Joseph Smith, I was the husband of nine wives. 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 289 
 
 I took my wives in the following order: first, Agatlie Ann 
 Woolsey ; second, Nancy Berry ; third, Louisa Free (now one 
 of the wives of Daniel H. Wells) ; fourth, Sarah C. Williams ; 
 fifth, old Mrs. Woolsey (she was the mother of Agathe Ann 
 and Rachel A. I married her for her soul's sake, for her sal- 
 vation in the eternal state) ; sixth, Rachel A. Woolsey (I was 
 sealed to her at the same time that I was to her mother) ; seventh, 
 Andora Woolsey (a sister to Rachel) ; eighth, Polly Ann 
 Workman ; ninth, Martha Berry ; tenth, Delithea Morris. In 
 1847, while at Council Bluffs, Brigham Young sealed me to three 
 women in one night, viz., eleventh, Nancy Armstrong (she was 
 what we called a widow. She left her first husband in Ten- 
 nessee, in order to be with the Mormon people) ; twelfth, Polly 
 V. Young; thirteenth, Louisa Young (these two were sisters.) 
 Next, I was sealed to my fourteenth wife, Emeline Vaughn. In 
 1851, I was sealed to my fifteenth wife, Mary Lear Groves. In 
 1856, I was sealed to my sixteenth wife, Mary Ann Williams. 
 In 1858, Brigham Young gave me my seventeenth wife, Emma 
 Batchelder. I was sealed to her while a member of the Terri- 
 torial Legislature. Brigham Young said that Isaac C. Haight, 
 who was also in the Legislature, and I, needed some young 
 women to renew our vitality, so he gave us both a dashing young 
 bride. In 1859 1 was sealed to my eighteenth wife, Teressa Morse. 
 I was sealed to her by order of Brigham Young. Amasa Lyman 
 officiated at the ceremony. The last wife I got was Ann Gordge. 
 Brigham Young gave her to me, and I was sealed to her in Salt 
 Lake by Heber C. Kimball. This was my nineteenth, but, as I 
 was married to old Mrs. Woolsey for her soul's sake, and she 
 was near sixty years old when I married her, I never considered 
 her really as a wife. True, I treated her well and gave her all 
 the rights of marriage. Still I never count her as one of my 
 wives. That is the reason that I claim only eighteen true wives. 
 
 After 1861 I never asked Brigham Young for another wife. 
 By my eighteen real wives I have been the father of sixty-four 
 children. Ten of my children are dead and fifty-four are still 
 living. 
 
 This is all I care to say about my own acts or the affairs of 
 my family. 
 
 I have but little more to say. 
 
 To the jurymen who tried me, I say I have no unkind feelings. 
 The evidence was strong against me, and with that, and the in- 
 19 
 
290 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 structions of the Court as they were given, the jury could do 
 nothing but convict. 
 
 To the officers who have had me in charge during my confine- 
 ment I return my thanks for their personal kindness. I give 
 them the thanks of an old man, who is about to leave this earth 
 and go to another sphere of existence. 
 
 The few guardsmen who misused me I forgive, for they were 
 not conscious of their own wickedness. 
 
 If I have sinned and violated the laws of my country, I have 
 done so because I have blindly followed and obeyed the orders 
 of the Church leaders. I was guided in all that I did which is 
 called criminal, by the orders of the leaders in the Church of 
 Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I have never knowingly 
 disobeyed the orders of the Church since I joined it at Far 
 West, Missouri, until I was deserted by Brigham Young and his 
 laves. 
 
 I have selected Wm. W. Bishop as the person that I wish to 
 publish my life and confessions, so that the world may know 
 just what I did do, and why I acted as I have done. I have de- 
 livered Mr. Bishop all of the manuscripts and private writings 
 that are in my possession, and wish him to have all that I may 
 hereafter write. I have assigned him all my writings, and he is 
 the only person on earth who has a right to publish my life or my 
 confessions. 
 
 To my attorneys, one and all, who have given me their valua- 
 ble services, I return my kindest thanks, and regret that poverty 
 prevents my paying them for what they have done for me. 
 
 To my family I say, may God pour rich blessings upon you, 
 one and all. I ask you to live here on earth so that you can 
 Justly claim a seat in the realms of bliss after life's troubles are 
 ended. 
 
 To my enemies I say, judge not, that ye be not judged. In life 
 you were often unjust to me. After I am dead remember to be 
 charitable to one who never designedly did a wrong. 
 
 CONCLUSION OF THE CONFESSION OF JOHN D. LEB. 
 
 Written in prison at Fort Cameron, near Beaver City, Utah 
 Territory. Delivered to Hon. Sumner Howard by John D. Lee, 
 on the field of execution, just before the sentence of death was 
 carried into effect 
 
LEE'S CONFESSION. 291 
 
 Forwarded to Wm. W. Bishop, by Hon. Simmer Howard, 
 according to the last request of John D. Lee. 
 
 CAMP CAMERON, March 13th, 1877. 
 
 Morning clear, still and pleasant. The guard, George Tracy, 
 informs me that Col. Nelson and Judge Howard have gone. 
 Since my confinement here, I have reflected much over my sen- 
 tence, and as the time of my execution is drawing near, I feel 
 composed, and as calm as the summer morning. I hope to meet 
 my fate with manly courage. I declare my innocence. I have 
 done -nothing designedly wrong in that unfortunate and lament- 
 able affair with which I have been implicated. I used my 
 utmost endeavors to save them from their sad fate. I freely 
 would have given worlds, were they at my command, to have 
 averted that evil. I wept and mourned over them before and 
 after, but words will not help them, now it is done. My blood 
 cannot help them, neither can it make that atonement required. 
 Death to me has no terror. It is but a struggle, and all is over. 
 I much regret to part with my loved ones here, especially under 
 that odium of disgrace that will follow my name ; that I cannot 
 help. 
 
 I know that I have a reward in Heaven, and my conscience 
 does not accuse me. This to me is a great consolation. I place 
 more value upon it than I would upon an eulogy without merit. 
 If my work is done here on earth, I ask my God in Heaven, in 
 the name of His Son Jesus Christ, to receive my spirit, and 
 allow me to meet my loved ones who have gone behind the vail. 
 The bride of my youth and her faithful mother, my devoted 
 friend and companion, N. A., also my dearly beloved children, 
 all of whom I parted from with sorrow, but shall meet them 
 with joy I bid you all an affectionate farewell. I have been 
 treacherously betrayed and sacrificed in the most cowardly man- 
 ner by those who should have been my friends, and whose will 
 I have diligently striven to make my pleasure, for the last thirty 
 years at least. In return for my faithfulness and fidelity to him 
 and his cause, he has sacrificed me in a most shameful and cruel 
 way. I leave them in the hands of the Lord to deal with them 
 according to the merits of their crimes, in the final restitution 
 of all things. 
 
 TO THE MOTHERS OF MT CHILDREN. 
 
 I beg of you to teach them better things than to ever allow 
 
32 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 themselves to be let down so low as to be steeped in the vice, 
 corruption and villainy that would allow them to sacrifice the 
 meanest wretch on earth, much less a neighbor and a friend, as 
 their father has been. Be kind and true to each other. Do not 
 contend about my property. You know my mind concerning it. 
 Live faithful and humble before God, that we may meet again 
 in the mansions of bliss that God has prepared for His faithful 
 servants. Remember the last words of your most true and 
 devoted friend on earth, and let them sink deep into your tender 
 aching hearts ; many of you I may never see in this world again, 
 but I leave my blessing with you. FAREWELL. 
 
 I wish my wife Rachel to take a copy of the above, and all 
 my family to have a copy of the original. My worthy attorney, 
 W. W. Bishop, will please insert it in my record or history, 
 should I not be able to write up my history to the proper place, 
 to speak of my worthy friend Wm. H. Hooper. Please exoner- 
 ate him from all blame or censure of buying the stock of that 
 unfortunate company, as there is no truth in the accusation 
 whatever. He is a noble, high-minded gentleman. And let it 
 appear also of Bishop John Sharp, honorably, for the nobleness 
 of the man who advanced me money in the time of trouble, and 
 if my history meet with the favor of the public, pay those two 
 gentlemen. My friends Hoge and Foster, as well as yourself and 
 Spicer, some. You under** nd our agreement. 
 
 JOHN D. LKE. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 ARREST OF JOHN D. LEE BT WM. STOKES, DEPUTY UNITED STATES 
 
 MARSHAL. 
 
 TTTISHING to give a correct account of the arrest of John D. 
 V V Lee, by William Stokes, Deputy United States Marshal for 
 the District of Utah, I wrote a letter to Mr. Stokes, on the 28th 
 day of March, 1877, asking him to give the full facts, as many 
 contradictory statements relating thereto had been in general 
 circulation. The following letter was written by Mr. Stokes, and 
 I know from the general character of the writer that the same is 
 true in every particular. I give the letter in the language of 
 the writer. It explains itself: 
 
 UNITED STATES MARSHAL'S OFFICE, DISTRICT OF UTAH, ) 
 BEAVER CITY, UTAH, April 1st, 1877. ) 
 WM. W. BISHOP, Pioche, Nevada: 
 
 My Dear Sir : Yours of the 28th of March at hand and con- 
 tents noted. As requested, I send you all the facts of the ar- 
 rest of John D. Lee, from the time the warrants were placed in 
 my hands until I arrested him and brought him to. Beaver City. 
 I tell it in my own way, and you can use it as you see proper. 
 
 About the first of October, 1874, warrants were placed 
 in my hands for the arrest of Lee, Haight, Higbee, Stewart, 
 Wilden, Adair, Klingensmith and Jukes (the warrant for the ar- 
 rest of Dame not being placed in my hands at that time.) I re- 
 ceived instructions from General George R. Maxwell, United 
 States Marshal for the District of Utah, that Lee was the most 
 important one of all those indicted, and that he wanted him ar- 
 rested first, if possible, but that it was a dangerous undertaking, 
 for he was satisfied by what he could learn that he would never 
 be taken alive. He wanted me to take him alive, if possible, 
 but not at too great a risk ; that he did not want to give me any 
 plan of operations or particular instructions how to act, as he 
 
 293 
 
294 MORMOX1SM UNVEILED. 
 
 believed that I knew more about that kind of business than he 
 did, and that he did not wish to give any officer under him any 
 plans when he was sure, as he was in this case, that it would be 
 laying a plan to have one of his own officers killed. 
 
 I took the case in hand, thinking at that time that I would 
 have to go to Lee's place on the Colorado River. I was arrang- 
 ing for that trip. 
 
 On the 28th day of October, 1874, I started south from 
 Beaver City, to summon jurors for the November term of the 
 District Court for the Second Judicial District of Utah Territo- 
 ry, to be held at Beaver City. I also intended to procure a 
 guide, if I ci/uld do so, and go to the Colorado River to make 
 the arrest. 
 
 When I reached Parowan I learned that it was currently re- 
 ported that Lee had come from the Colorado River, and was 
 then in the southern counties of Utah. He was supposed to be 
 at Harmony, because it was known that he had some accounts 
 due him there, which he was then probably collecting, in the 
 shape of provisions, to take back with him to the river. 
 
 I at once started on again, on my way south, determined to 
 attempt to arrest him at Harmony, and to do so alone, for I did 
 not know where reliable aid could be had. I considered there 
 was no time to lose, and that I was taking no more chances to 
 attempt the arrest alone than I would be taking if I found him at 
 the Colorado River, at his stronghold, even if backed by a strong 
 force. 
 
 On my way I met Thomas Winn. I told him what I was in- 
 tending to do. I told him I was going to arrest Lee. Winn said 
 he considered it almost madness, as it was reported that several 
 of Lee's sons were with him, and all well armed. He kindly 
 volunteered to go with me and take even chances. 
 
 We finally decided that he should go to Iron City and get 
 help, as there were then several men there that we could de- 
 pend on. He was to get these men and be at Harmony by day- 
 light on the morning of the 30th of October. I was to go to 
 Harmony and get there soon after dark the night of the 29th of 
 October, and make the arrest, if I thought I could do so and get 
 away in safety in the cover of the night. If not, I was to find 
 out where he was, and wait for assistance. 
 
 When I got to Hamilton's Fort, eight miles south of Cedar 
 City, I learned that Lee had left Harmony and gone back to the 
 
WILLIAM STOKES. 
 (The Dep'y U. S. Marshal who arrested Lee.) 
 
ARREST OF JOHN D. LEE. 295 
 
 Colorado River, by the way of Toquerville, and was then sev- 
 eral days ahead of me. I then sent a boy out on the Iron City 
 road to stop Winn and send him back. 
 
 I proceeded on my way and summoned my jurors. I could 
 hear nothing of Lee in the southern country. On my way 
 back I stopped at Thomas Winn's house, and got him to go over 
 on the Sevier Eiver, to see if Lee had not gone by the way of 
 Panguitch, and stopped there to lay in more supplies. 
 
 Winn started on the 5th day of November, and took* Franklin 
 R. Fish with him. They pretended to be looking for stock. 
 They were to report to me at Parowan, on the night of the 7th 
 of November. I returned to Beaver City, and made my returns. 
 
 On the morning of November 7th, I started for Parowan to 
 meet my men, Winn and Fish. 
 
 That same day Brigham Young went from Beaver to Parowan. 
 He passed me near the Buck Horn Springs. I have no doubt 
 but that he thought I was there to assassinate him, for he had 
 four of the best fighting men of Beaver City with him as a guard. 
 They were armed with Henry rifles, and as they came up to me, 
 the guard rode between me and their beloved Prophet's car- 
 riage ; but they had no reason for alarm. Brigham Young was 
 not the man that I was after at that time. 
 
 I met Winn and Fish at Red Creek. As they were coming 
 out of Little Creek Canyon, Winn remarked : 
 Tour man is there!" 
 
 L was very much surprised, as I had but little hope of finding 
 Lee nearer than the Colorado River, but I found he was at the 
 town of Panguitch, and was liable to leave at any time. 
 
 As the men had found that Lee had made every thing ready 
 for a start, we rode on to Parowan, where I arranged my plan 
 of action. Fish was to go back over the mountains to Pan- 
 guitch that night, with instructions to come out and meet us, in 
 case Lee should start away from Panguitch ; otherwise he was to 
 remain there and have Lee located, so that he could guide 
 us to where he was, when we should arrive the next morning. 
 I was to start back toward Beaver City on Sunday morning, 
 the 8th day of November. I was to go on in that way until I had 
 passed Red Creek settlement, and then go up Little Creek 
 Canyon. The others who were to go as my assistants, were 
 Thomas Winn, Thomas LaFever, Samuel G. Rodgers and David 
 Evans, (Franklin R. Fish having gone the night before.) They 
 
296 MOEMON1SM UNVEILED. 
 
 were to go into the mountains in different places, and all to 
 meet near Thompson's Mill on Little Creek. 
 
 We followed this plan, and met at the mill. We then went 
 over the mountains towards Panguitch. 
 
 The snow on the way would average fully two feet in depth, 
 and the night was very cold. We stopped at a place about three 
 miles from Panguitch for the night. I then sent David Evans 
 into Panguitch to see Franklin R. Fish, and find out if all was 
 right, and then he was to report to us before daylight next 
 morning, when we got near the town. Long before daylight 
 we saddled our horses and started on, for the night was bitter 
 cold. We had no blankets with us, and dared not build much 
 fire, for fear it would alarm Lee and notify him or his friends 
 that we were there. We reached the place where David Evans 
 was to meet us, some time before daylight ; he was not there. 
 We waited until after the sun was up, but still Evans did not 
 come. Then thinking that my plans had been found out in some 
 way, and that my two men, Fish and Evans, were captured, and 
 more than likely blood atoned, I concluded to act quickly and 
 effectually. 
 
 We mounted our horses and dashed into the town at full 
 speed. We found Evans, and learned that Fish had not been 
 able to locate Lee, but knew that he was in town. I then 
 ordered my men to go to different parts of the town, and to 
 keep a good look-out, and not to let any wagon go out of town 
 until they had searched the wagon. I enquired of tLe citizens 
 about Lee, but could learn nothing from them about him. Some 
 said they never knew him, others that they never heard of 
 such a man, had not even heard the name. The citizens soon 
 came crowding around in disagreeable numbers. I saw I must 
 resort to strategy, or I and my friends were in danger ; so in 
 order to disperse the crowd, I took out my book and pencil and 
 took down the names of those around me. I then summoned 
 them to assist me in finding and arresting John D. Lee. They 
 each and all had some excuse, but I refused to excuse any of 
 them and ordered them to go and get their arms and come back 
 and aid me. This worked well, for in less than five minutes 
 there was not a Mormon to be seen OH the streets of Panguitch. 
 About this time I rode near Thomas Winn, when he said, 
 
 "I believe I have Lee spotted. I asked a little boy where 
 Lee's wife lived, and he showed me the house." 
 
ABEEST OF JOHN D. LEE. 297 
 
 This was something to work on. I then rode around to the 
 house that Winn had pointed out to me. As I turned the street 
 corner, I saw a woman looking into a log pen, and when she saw 
 me, she turned back towards the house, then turned and walked 
 back to the pen, and appeared to be talking to some one in the pen. 
 She seemed to be very much excited. I rode by the house and 
 around the lot, and while doing so I saw a little girl go out and 
 look into the pen for a little while; she then took up a handful 
 of straw and went back into the house. I, like Winn, was then 
 satisfied that Lee was in that pen. I then told Winn to keep 
 the place in sight, but not appear to be watching it, while I was 
 getting ready to search for Lee. I soon afterwards met Samuel 
 Lee. I took down his name and ordered him to assist me in 
 searching for and arresting John D. Lee. 
 
 " John D. Lee is my father, sir," said he. 
 
 I told him it made no difference to me if he was his grand- 
 mother, that I was going to search the house and wanted him 
 with me. 
 
 He said he was going down to the threshing machine to see 
 his brother Al, and started off. 
 
 I drew my revolver and told him to stop. 
 
 He walked right along, looking back over his shoulder at me 
 all the time. I then spurred my horse and went in front of him. 
 He said, 
 
 " You can shoot and be d d. I am not heeled, but I am 
 going down to see my brother Al." 
 
 While we were talking, Alma Lee came up and asked what 
 was up. 
 
 Sam said, " This is the officer come to arrest father." 
 
 Al said, " H 1 ! is that all I I thought there was a dog fight, 
 I saw so many gathered around here." 
 
 He then took Sam one side and talked to him for a time. 
 Sam soon came back and said he was ready to go with me. 
 
 I then dismounted and had Winn do the same. I first went 
 into the house, where I found several women. I searched 
 the house thoroughly, but found no one in it that I wanted. I 
 then said to Sam, 
 
 " We will go over to this other house." 
 
 Sam very cheerfully said, " All right, come on, " and started 
 out ahead of me* 
 
298 MOSMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 When I got into the yard I stopped, saying, " Hold on; here 
 is a corral out here, let us examine that." 
 
 At this Sam came to a stand-still, and was very much excited. 
 I was then very certain that my man was there. I had to urge 
 Sam considerably to get him to go up to the corral with me. 
 Henry Darrow, one of Lee's sons-in-law, followed us. I took a 
 circle around the corral, and then walked up to the log pen, 
 *vhich was used for a chicken house. This pen was about seven 
 feet wide, nine feet long, and four feet high in the clear. There 
 was a hole close to the ground, just about large enough for a man 
 to crawl through. I first went to this hole and looked through 
 into the pen, but I could see nothing but some loose straw in the 
 back end of the pen. I then discovered a little hole between the 
 top logs, near the back end, where the straw covering was off. 
 I went to this hole and put my eye down to it, and I then saw 
 one side of Lee's face, as he lay on his right side ; his face was 
 partly covered with loose straw. I waited a few seconds, until 
 Winn came near enough for him to hear me without my speaking 
 over a whisper. I then said, 
 
 "There is some one in that pen.' 
 
 Darrow said, "I guess not." 
 
 I said, U I am certain there is a person in there." 
 
 "Well, if there is, it is likely one of the children," said Darrow. 
 
 By this time Winn was in position and was holding his Henry 
 rifle ready for instant use. Winn and myself were alone. 
 All my other men were in other parts of the town. Just then I 
 saw Fish coming. I then said, 
 
 " Mr. Lee, come out and surrender yourself. I have come to 
 arrest you." 
 
 He did not move. I repeated this several times, but no move 
 was made by Lee. I then looked around to see if any of my 
 men were coming. I saw that Fish was sitting on his horse 
 right in front of the door, and had his gun in his hand. I 
 motioned my hand for him to come to me, but he remaineu 
 still and kept watch of the house, as if he was going to shoot, or 
 expected danger from that quarter. His action rather surprised 
 me, for he was a brave man, and quick to obey orders. I then 
 looked at the house to see what was attracting his attention, 
 and I soon saw there was enough there to claim his full time. 1 
 saw two guns pointed through the logs of the side of the house 
 and aimed directly at me, and Fish was watching the people who 
 
ARREST OF JOHN D. LEB. 
 
 held those guns. That looked like business. I instantly drew 
 two pistols from my overcoat pocket, taking one in each hand. 
 Up to this time I had not drawn a pistol. I put one pisioi 
 through the crack in the roof of the pen, with the muzzle in 
 eighteen inches of Lee's head. I then said to Winn, 
 
 44 You go in there and disarm Lee, and I promise you that if 
 a single straw moves, I will blow his head off, for my pistol is 
 not a foot from his head." 
 
 Winn said, " All right," and was going into the pen. Darrow 
 then commenced to beg me not to shoot. Lee also spoke and 
 said, 
 
 "Hold on boys, don't shoot, I will come out." 
 
 He then commenced to turn over to get out of the pen, at the 
 same time putting his pistol (which he had all the time held in 
 his hand and lying across his breast) into the scabbard. I 
 said to Winn, " Stand back and look out, for there is danger 
 from the house." 
 
 Darrow continued to beg us not to shoot, saying, "Lee is an 
 old man," etc. I told Darrow that I would not hurt a hair of 
 Lee's head if he surrendered peaceably, but that I was not 
 going to die like a dog, nor would I permit Lee to get away alive. 
 
 Lee came out of the pen, and after straightening up, he said, 
 very coolly, "Well, boys, what do you want of me?" 
 
 I said : " I have a warrant for your arrest, and must take you 
 to Beaver with me." 
 
 I then took out the warrant and read it to him. When I got 
 to that portion of the warrant which read " charged with mur- 
 der," he said, 
 
 " Why didn't they put it in wholesale murder? They meant 
 it." 
 
 He then asked me to show him the pistol that I put through 
 the pen and pointed at his head. He said, 
 
 " It was the queerest looking pistol that I ever saw. It 
 looked like a man's hand with the fingers cut off short." 
 
 I showed it to him. It was a dragoon pistol, with the barrel 
 cut off short. He laughed when he saw it, and was not at all 
 excited. 
 
 We then went to the house. The women seemed wild with 
 excitement, some of them crying and all unreasonable in their 
 language. Lee told his family to be quiet, and did all that he 
 
300 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 could to pacify them. He said he considered that the time had 
 come when he could get a fair trial, etc. 
 
 I then sent and bought some wine, and took a pitcher of the 
 liquid into the house to the women. They all took a drink. 
 When I got to one of his daughters, who was crying bitterly, 
 she took the glass and said, 
 
 " Here is hoping that father will get away from you, and that 
 if he does, you will not catch him again till h 1 freezes over." 
 
 I said, "Drink hearty, Miss." 
 
 By the time all the family had taken a drink, a large number 
 of people had gathered around the house. I think fully one 
 hundred and fifty Mormons were there. I turned to one of my 
 men and told him to try and find some place where we could get 
 something to eat. Lee heard me, and at once apologized for 
 not thinking to ask us to have something to eat before that time. 
 " But," said he, " the women folks have been making so much 
 fuss that I have thought of nothing." 
 
 He then ordered breakfast for us all. His sons gathered 
 around him and told him that if he did not want to go to Beaver, 
 to say so, and they would see that he didn't go. Lee then took 
 me one side and told me what his friends proposed, and wanted 
 to know what answer he should give them. I thought he did 
 this to see if there was any chance to frighten me. I told him 
 to tell the boys to turn themselves loose ; that I knew I had no 
 friends in that place, except those who came with me, but we 
 were well armed, and when trouble commenced we would shoot 
 those nearest to us at the first, and make sore of them, and then 
 continue to make it lively while we lasted. 
 
 Lee said he did not want anything of that kind to happen, and 
 would see that the boys behaved themselves that he thought 
 the time had come for him to have a fair and impartial trial, and 
 he would go with me. 
 
 I then hired a team from Lee, and hired his son-in-law to 
 drive it. We started from Panguitch soon after breakfast. We 
 put two of our animals in the team, making a four-horse team 
 Darrow drove. Lee and Rachel, one of his wives, and two of 
 my men rode in the wagon. It was about 11, A. M., on Monday, 
 the 7th day of November, 1874, when we left Panguitch with 
 John D. Lee as a prisoner. We reached Fremont Springs that 
 night at about 11 o'clock, and camped there until daylight. The 
 roads were BO bad that we had been twelve hours in making 
 
ARREST OF JOHN D. LEE. 801 
 
 thirty miles. The -night was dark and cold, and having no 
 blankets with us we could not sleep, and to add to the discom- 
 fort, we had nothing to eat. 
 
 We left Freemont Springs at daylight, and reached Beaver 
 about 10 o'clock, A. M., November 10th, 1874. We had been 
 twenty-four hours' without food. Lee and Rachel had fared bet- 
 ter than we had, for they had a lunch with them. When we 
 reached Beaver the people were almost thunder-struck with as- 
 tonishment to know that John D. Lee had been arrested. 
 
 After the arrest Lee was in my custody the greater portion of 
 the time that he was in prison. He never gave any trouble to me 
 or his guards. He never tried to escape, but at all times assisted 
 the guards to carry out the instructions that they had received 
 from the officers. 
 
 This is a hasty sketch, but I trust will answer your purpose. 
 Hoping you will meet with that success which you so richly de- 
 serve, I remain your most obedient servant, 
 
 WILLIAM STOKES. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 TRIAL OF LEE, AT BEAVER CITY, UTAH TERRITORY, SEPT., 1876. 
 
 A JURY was sworn to try the case on Thursday, September 
 14, 1876, after which the court adjourned until the 15th. 
 
 Friday morning, September 15, 1876. The court met. 
 Present, Hon. Jacob S. Boreman, Judge; Sumner Howard, 
 United States Attorney ; Presley Denney, Deputy United States 
 Attorney ; James R. Wilkins, Clerk ; John D. Lee, the defendant 
 on trial, with his attorneys, Wells Spicer, J. C. Foster, and Wm. 
 W. Bishop; Wm. Nelson, United States Marshal, and the 
 Deputies, Wm. Stokes, Franklin Brown and Edward Keisel. 
 
 The parties having announced themselves ready for trial, the 
 following proceedings were had : 
 
 James R. Wilkins, Clerk, read the indictment against Lee, 
 impleaded with others, to the jury, and stated the plea of the 
 defendant. 
 
 Sumner Howard stated the case to the jury, on behalf of the 
 people. 
 
 William W. Bishop stated the case for the defendant. 
 
 On motion of Sumner Howard, the court appointed A. S. 
 Patterson, Esq., as official court reporter in the trial of this 
 cause, when the following proceedings were had : 
 
 DEPOSITION OF BRIGHAM YOUNG. 
 
 MR. HOWARD : If the Court please, I now propose to offer in evi- 
 dence the deposition of Brigham Young ; also the affidavit of Geo. 
 A. Smith ; alsc a letter written by John D. Lee to Brigham Young ; 
 also the report of Brigham Young to the Department of Indian 
 Affairs, and also the proclamation of Brigham Young. These 
 papers have been submitted to the attorneys for the defense, 
 and they consent to their introduction. I now file them and 
 place them in evidence to save time. 
 802 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 80S 
 
 MB. BISHOP : May it please your Honor, while we deny that 
 these documents are legal evidence of the fact in the indictment 
 as charged, we still consent to the same being introduced, 
 because we once came so near being placed in jail for offering 
 the same papers, especially the deposition of Brigham Young 
 and the affidavit of George A. Smith, as evidence at the former 
 trial of this defendant. We wish to see what lengths the prose- 
 cution will go in this court, to convict the defendant on trial by 
 law or without law. Our opinions as lawyers were against the 
 admission of the evidence, but our client insists that the evidence 
 be admitted. Contrary to our best judgment, we have con- 
 sented. Let the evidence go in, and with it all besides that 
 the authorities of the Church at Salt Lake City have unearthed 
 for the perusal of our Brother Howard. We now know we are 
 fighting the indictment, and also the secret forces and powers of 
 the Mormon Church. 
 
 Mr. Howard then introduced the following documentary 
 evidence : 
 
 TERRITORY OF UTAH, ) 
 
 BEAVER COUNTY. } 8S * 
 
 In the Second Judicial District Court. 
 The People, etc. 
 
 vs. \ Indictment for Murder. 
 
 John D. Lee, Wm. H. Dame, ( September 16th, 1875. 
 Isaac C. Haight, et al. 
 
 Questions to be propounded to Brigham Young on his exam- 
 ination as a witness in the case of John D. Lee and others, on 
 trial at Beaver City, this 30th day of July, 1875, and the 
 answers of Brigham Young to the interrogatives hereto ap- 
 pended, were reduced to writing, and were given after the said 
 Brigham Young had been duly sworn to testify the truth in the 
 above entitled cause, and are as follows : 
 
 First State your age, and the present condition of your 
 health, and whether in its condition you could travel to attend 
 in person, at Beaver, the court now sitting there ? If not, state 
 why not. 
 
 Answer To the first interrogatory, he saith: 
 
 I am in my seventy-fifth year. It would be a great risk, both 
 to my health and life, for me to travel to Beaver at this present 
 time. I am, and have been for some time, an invalid. 
 
 Second What offices, either ecclesiastical, civil, or military, 
 did you hold in the year 1857? 
 
304 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 Answer I was the Governor of this Territory, and ex-officio 
 Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and the President of the Church 
 of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints , during the year 1857. 
 
 Third State the condition of affairs between the Territory of 
 Utah and the Federal Government, in the Summer and Fall of 
 1857. 
 
 Answer In May or June, 1857, the United States mails for 
 Utah were stopped by the Government, and all communication 
 by mail was cut off, an army of the United States was en route 
 for Utah, with the ostensible design of destroying the Latter- 
 Day Saints, according to the reports that reached us from the 
 East. 
 
 Fourth Were there any United States Judges here during the 
 Summer and Fall of 1857? 
 
 Answer To the best of my recollection there was no United 
 States Judge here in the latter part of 1857. 
 
 Fifth State what you know about trains of emigrants passing 
 through the Territory to the West, and particularly about a com- 
 pany from Arkansas, en route for California, passing through 
 this city in the Summer or Fall of 1857? 
 
 Answer As usual, emigrants' trains were passing through 
 our Territory for the West. I heard it rumored that a company 
 from Arkansas, en route to California, had passed through the 
 city. 
 
 Sixth Was this Arkansas company of emigrants ordered away 
 from Salt Lake City by yourself or any one in authority under 
 you? 
 
 Answer No, not that I know of. I never heard of any 
 such thing, and certainly no such order was given by the acting 
 Governor. 
 
 Seventh Was any counsel or instructions given by any per- 
 son to the citizens of Utah not to sell grain or trade with the 
 emigrant trains passing through Utah at that time ? If so, what 
 were those instructions and counsel? 
 
 Answer Yes, counsel and advice were given to the citizens 
 not to sell grain to the emigrants to feed their stock, but to let 
 them have sufficient for themselves if they were out. The sim- 
 ple reason for this was that for several years our crops had been 
 short, and the prospect was at that time that we might have trouble 
 with the United States army, then ei? route for this place, and we 
 wanted to preserve the grain for food. The citizens of the Ter- 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEX. 305 
 
 ritory were counseled not to feed grain to their own stock. No 
 person was ever punished or called in question for furnishing 
 supplies to the emigrants, within my knowledge. 
 
 Eighth When did you first hear of the attack and destruc- 
 tion of this Arkansas company at Mountain Meadows, in Sep- 
 tember, 1857? 
 
 Answer I did not learn anything of the attack or destruction 
 of the Arkansas company until some time after it occurred 
 then only by floating rumor. 
 
 Ninth Did John D. Lee report to. you at any time after this 
 massacre what had been done at that massacre, and if so, what 
 did you reply to him in reference thereto? 
 
 Answer Within some two or three months after the massacre 
 he called at my office and had much to say with regard to the 
 Indians, their being stirred up to anger and threatening the set- 
 tlements of the whites, and then commenced giving an account 
 of the massacre. I told him to stop, as from what I had already 
 heard by rumor, I did not wish my feelings harrowed up with a 
 recital of detail. 
 
 TenthDid Philip Klingensmith call at your office with John 
 D. Lee at the time Lee made his report, and did you at that 
 time order Smith to turn over the stock to Lee, and order them 
 not to talk about the massacre ? 
 
 Answer No. He did not call with John D. Lee, and I have 
 no recollection of his ever speaking to me nor I to him con- 
 cerning the massacre or anything pertaining to the property. 
 
 Eleventh Did you ever give any directions concerning the 
 property taken from the emigrants at the Mountain Meadows 
 Massacre, or know anything as to its disposition? 
 
 Answer No, I never gave any directions concerning the 
 property taken from the company of emigrants at the Mountain 
 Meadows Massacre, nor did I know anything of that property, 
 or its disposal, and I do not to this day, except from public ru- 
 mor. 
 
 Twelfth Why did you not, as Governor, institute proceed- 
 ings forthwith to investigate that massacre, and bring the guilty 
 authors thereof to justice? 
 
 Answer Because another Governor had been appointed by 
 
 the President of the United States, and was then on the way to 
 
 take my place, and I did not know how soon he might arrive, 
 
 and because the United States Judges were not in the Territory. 
 
 '20 
 
806 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 Soon after Governor Cummings arrived, I asked him to take 
 Judge Cradelbaugh, who belonged to the Southern District, 
 with him, and I would accompany them with sufficient aid to in- 
 Testigate the matter and bring the offenders to justice. 
 
 Thirteenth Did you, about the 10th of September, 1857, re- 
 ceive a communication from Isaac C. Haight, or any other per- 
 son of Cedar City, concerning a company of emigrants called 
 the Arkansas company? 
 
 Answer I did receive a communication from Isaac C. Haight, 
 or John D. Lee, who was a farmer for the Indians. 
 
 Fourteenth Have you that communication ? 
 
 Answer I have not. I have made diligent search for it, but 
 cannot find it. 
 
 Fifteenth Did you answer that communication? 
 
 Answer I did, to Isaac C. Haight, who was then acting Pres- 
 ident at Cedar City. 
 
 Sixteenth Will you state the substance of your letter to 
 him? 
 
 Answer Yes. It was to let this company of emigrants, and 
 all companies of emigrants, pass through the country unmolest- 
 ed, and to allay the angry feelings of the Indians as much as 
 possible. 
 
 (Signed) BBIQHAM YOUNG. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me this 80th day of July, A. 
 D. 1875. 
 
 [L. S.] WM. CLAYTON, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 AFFIDAVIT OF GEORGE A. SMITH. 
 
 TERRITORY OF UTAH, ) 
 Beaver County, ) 
 In the Second Judicial District Court of the Territory of Utah. 
 
 The People, Etc., vs. ) 
 
 John D. Lee, Wm. H. Dame, Isaac > ss. 
 C. Haight, et aZ., Salt Lake Co. ) 
 Indictment for murder, committed September 16, 1857. 
 George A. Smith having been first duly sworn, deposes and 
 says that he is aged fifty-eight years. That he is now and has 
 been for several months suffering from a severe and dangerous 
 illness of the head and lungs, and that to attend the court at 
 Beaver, in the present condition of his health, would in all prob- 
 ability end his life. 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LSS. 807 
 
 Deponent further saith, that he had no military command 
 during the year 1857, nor any other official position, except that 
 of one of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of 
 Latter-Day Saints. 
 
 Deponent further saith, that he never in the year 1857, at 
 Parowan or elsewhere, attended a council where Wm. H. Dame, 
 Isaac C. Haight or others were present to discuss any measures 
 for attacking, or in any manner injuring an emigrant train from 
 Arkansas or any other place, which is alleged .to have been 
 destroyed at Mountain Meadows in September, 1857. 
 
 Deponent further saith, that he never heard or knew anything 
 of a train of emigrants, which he learned afterwards by rumor 
 was from Arkansas, until he met said train at Corn Creek on his 
 way north to Salt Lake City, on or about the 25th day of August, 
 1857. 
 
 Deponent further saith, that he encamped with Jacob Hamblin, 
 Philo T. Farns worth, Silas S. Smith and Elijah Hoops, and there 
 for the first time he learned of the existence of said emigrant 
 train, and their intended journey to California. 
 
 Deponent further saith, that having been absent from the 
 Territory for a year previous, he returned in the Summer of 1857, 
 and went south to visit his family at Parowan, and to look after 
 some property he had there, and also visit his friends, and for no 
 other purpose, and that on leaving Salt Lake City he had no 
 knowledge whatsoever of the existence of said emigrant train, 
 nor did he acquire any until as before stated. 
 
 Deponent further saith, that as an Elder in the Church of 
 Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, he preached several times on 
 his way south, and also on his return, and tried to impress upon 
 the minds of the people the necessity of great care as to their 
 grain crops, as all crops had been short for several years pre- 
 vious to 1857, and many of the people were reduced to actual 
 want and were suffering for the necessaries of life. 
 
 Deponent further saith, that he advised the people to furnish 
 all emigrant companies passing through the Territory with what 
 they might actually need for breadstuff, for the support of them- 
 selves and families while passing through the Territory, and also 
 advised the people not to feed their grains to their own stock, 
 nor to sell to the emigrants for that purpose. 
 
 Deponent further saith, that he never heard or knew of any 
 attack upon said emigrant train until some time after his return 
 
308 MOBMONI8M UNVEILED. 
 
 to Salt Lake City, and that while near Fort Bridger he heard 
 for the first time that the Indiana had massacred an emigrant 
 company at Mountain Meadows. 
 
 Deponent further saith, that he never at any time, either 
 before or after that massacre, was accessory thereto ; that he 
 never directly or indirectly aided, abetted or assisted in its 
 perpetration, or had any knowledge thereof, except by hearsay ; 
 that he never knew anything of the distribution of the property 
 taken there, except by hearsay as aforesaid. 
 
 Deponent further saith, that all charges and statements as 
 pertaining to him contrary to the above are false and untrue. 
 (Signed,) GEO. A. SMITH. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me this 30th day of July, A. 
 D. 1875. 
 
 (Signed,) WM. CLAYTON, 
 
 [L. S.J Notary Public. 
 
 PROCLAMATION BY THE GOVERNOR. 
 
 CITIZENS OF UTAH : 
 
 We are invaded by a hostile force, who are evidently assailing 
 us to accomplish our overthrow and destruction. 
 
 For the last twenty-five years we have trusted officials of the 
 Government, from Constables and Justices to Judges, Governors 
 and Presidents, only to be scorned, held in derision, insulted 
 and betrayed. Our houses have been plundered and then 
 burned, our fields laid waste, our principal men butchered while 
 under the pleged faith of the Government for their safety, and 
 our families driven from their homes to find that shelter in 
 the barren wilderness, and that protection among hostile sav- 
 ages, which were denied them in the boasted abodes of Chris- 
 tianity and civilization. 
 
 The constitution of our common country guarantees unto us 
 all that we do now or ever claimed. 
 
 If the constitutional rights, which pertain unto us as Amer- 
 ican citizens, were extended to Utah, according to the spirit and 
 meaning thereof, and fairly and impartially administered, it is 
 all that we could ask. 
 
 Our opponents have availed themselves of prejudices existing 
 against us, because of our religious faith, to send out a formi- 
 dable host to accomplish our destruction. We have had no priv- 
 ilege, no opportunity of defending ourselves from the false, foul 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 309 
 
 and unjust aspersions against us before the Nation. The Gov- 
 ernment has not condescended to cause an investigating com- 
 mittee or other person to be sent to enquire into and ascertain the 
 truth, as is customary in such cases. We know those aspersions 
 to be false, but that avails us nothing. We are condemned 
 unheard, and forced to an issue with an armed mercenary mob, 
 which has been sent against us at the instigation of anonymous 
 letter writers, ashamed to father the base, slanderous falsehoods 
 which they have given to the public; of corrupt officials who 
 have brought false accusations against us, to screen themselves 
 in their own infamy ; and of hireling priests and howling editors, 
 who prostitute the truth for filthy lucres' sake. 
 
 The issue which has been thus forced upon us compels us to 
 resort to the great first law of self-preservation, and stand in our 
 own defence, a right guaranteed unto us by the genius of the insti- 
 tutions of our country, and upon which the Government is based. 
 
 Our duty to our families requires us not to tamely submit to 
 be driven and slain without an attempt to preserve ourselves. 
 Our duty to our country, our holy religion, our God, to freedom 
 and liberty, requires that we should not quietly stand still and 
 see those fetters forging around, which are calculated to enslave 
 and bring us into subjection to an unlawful military despotism, 
 such as can only emanate (in a country of constitutional law) 
 from usurpation, tyranny and oppression. 
 
 Therefore, I, Brigham Young, Governor and Superintendent 
 of Indian Affairs for the Territory of Utah, in the name of the 
 people of the United Siates in the Territory of Utah, 
 
 First Forbid all armed forces of every description from 
 coming into this Territory, under any pretence whatever. 
 
 Second That all the forces in said. Territory hold themselves 
 in readiness to march at a moment's notice, to repel any and all 
 such invasion. 
 
 Third Martial law is hereby declared to exist in this Terri- 
 tory, from and after the publication of this Proclamation ; and 
 no person shall be allowed to pass or repass, into or through, or 
 from this Territory without a permit from the proper officer. 
 
 Given under my hand and seal at Great Salt Lake City, 
 Territory of Utah, this fifteenth day of September, A. D. eigh- 
 teen hundred and fifty-seven, and of the Independence of the 
 United States of America, the eighty-second. 
 
 (Signed) BRIGHAM YOUNO. 
 
310 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 The letter and report of John D. Lee to Brigham Young, in 
 regard to the Mountain Meadows Massacre, were here intro- 
 duced as evidence. (See pages 255 and 256.) 
 
 REPORT OF BRIGHAM YOUNG. 
 
 OFFICE SUP'T OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, G. S. L. CITY, ) 
 September 12, 1857. j 
 HON. JAMES W. DENVER, Commissioner of Indian Affairs^ 
 
 Washington , D. C. : 
 
 SIR Enclosed please find abstract account current and 
 vouchers from 1 to 35, inclusive, (also abstract of employes) 
 for the current quarter up to this date, as owing to the stoppage 
 of the mail I have deemed it best to avail myself of the oppor- 
 tunity of sending by private conveyance, not knowing when I 
 may have another chance. The expenditures, as you will ob- 
 serve by the papers, amount to $6,411.38, for \vliich I have 
 drawn my drafts on the department, favor of Hon. John M. 
 Bernhisel, Delegate to Congress from this Territory. You will 
 also observe that a portion of those expenditures accrued, 
 which may need a word of explanation. Santa Clara is in 
 Washington County, the extreme southern county of this Terri- 
 tory, and this labor was commenced and partly performed, 
 seeds, grain, etc., furnished prior to the time that Major Arm- 
 strong visited those parts of the Territory, hence failed to find 
 its way into his reports, and failed being included in mine be- 
 cause the accounts and vouchers were not sooner brought in, 
 and hence not settled until recently. But little has been effect- 
 ed in that part of the Territory at the expense of the Govern- 
 ment, although much has been done by the citizens in aiding 
 the Indians with tools, teams and instructions in cultivating the 
 earth. 
 
 The bands mentioned are parts of the Piede tribe of Indians, 
 who are very numerous, but only inhabit this Territory. These 
 Indians are more easily induced to labor than any others in the 
 Territory, and many of them are now engaged in the common 
 pursuits of civilized life. Their requirements are constant for 
 wagons, ploughs, spades, hoes, teams and harness, etc., to ena- 
 ble them to work to advantage. 
 
 In like manner the Indians in Cache Valley have received but 
 little at the expense of the Government, although a sore tax 
 upon the people. West and along the line of the California and 
 Oregon travel they continue to make their contributions, and I 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LSS. 811 
 
 am sorry to add, with considerable loss of life to the travelers. 
 This is what I have always sought, by all means in my power, to 
 avert, but I find it the most difficult of any portion to control. 
 I have for many years succeeded better than this. I learn by 
 report that many of the lives of the emigrants and considerable 
 quantities of property have been taken. 
 
 This is principally owing to a company of some three or four 
 hundred returning Californians, who traveled those roads last 
 Spring to the Eastern States, shooting at every Indian they 
 could see, a practice utterly abhorrent to all good people, yet, I 
 regret to say, one that has been indulged in to a great extent by 
 travelers to and from the Eastern States and California, hence 
 the Indians regard all white men alike as their enemies, and kill 
 and plunder whenever they can do so with impunity, and often 
 the innocent suffer for the deeds of the guilty. 
 
 This has always been one of the greatest difficulties that I have 
 had to contend with in the administration of Indian affairs in 
 this Territory. 
 
 It is hard to make an Indian believe that the whites are their 
 friends, and that the Great Father wishes to do them good, when 
 perhaps the very next party which crosses their path shoots 
 them down like wolves. 
 
 This trouble with the Indians only exists along the line of 
 travel west, and beyond the influence of our settlements. The 
 Shoshones are not hostile to travelers as far as they inhabit this 
 Territory, except perhaps a few called "Snake Diggers," who 
 inhabit, as before stated, along the line of travel west of the 
 settlements. 
 
 There have, however, been more or less depredations the pres- 
 ent season north, and more within the vicinity of the settle- 
 ments, owing to the causes above mentioned, and I find it of the 
 utmost difficulty to restrain them. The sound of war quickens 
 the blood and nerves of an Indian. The reports that troops 
 were wending their way to this Territory has also had its influ- 
 ence upon them. In one or two instances this was the reason 
 assigned why they made the attack which they did upon some 
 herds of cattle. They seemed to think that as it was to be war 
 they might as well commence, and begin to lay in a supply of 
 food while they had a chance. 
 
 If I am to have the direction of the Indian affairs of this Ter- 
 ritory, and expected to maintain friendly relations with the In- 
 
12 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 dians, there are a few things that I would most respectfully re- 
 quest to be done. 
 
 First That travelers omit their infamous practice of shooting 
 them down when they happen to see one. Whenever the citi- 
 sens of this Territory travel the road they are in the habit of 
 giving the Indians food, tobacco and a few other presents, and 
 the Indians expect some such trifling favors, and they are em- 
 boldened by this practice to come up to the road with a view of 
 receiving such presents. When, therefore, travelers from the 
 States make their appearance, they throw themselves in sight 
 with the same view, and when they are shot at and some of their 
 numbers killed, as has frequently been the case, we cannot but 
 expect them to wreak their vengeance upon the next train. 
 
 Secondly That the Government should make more liberal ap- 
 propriations to be expended in presents. I have proven that it 
 is far cheaper to feed and clothe the Indians than to fight them. 
 I find, moreover, that after all, when the fighting is over, it is al- 
 ways followed by extensive presents, which, if properly distrib- 
 uted in the first instance, might have averted the fight. In this 
 case, then, the expenses of presents are the same, and it is true 
 in nine-tenths of the cases that have happened. 
 
 Third The troops must be kept away, for it is a prevalent 
 fact that, wherever there are the most of these, we may expect 
 to find the greatest amount of hostile Indians and the least se- 
 curity to persons and property. 
 
 If these items could be complied with I have no hesitation in 
 Baying that, so far as Utah is concerned, travelers could go to 
 and from, pass and repass, and no Indian would disturb or mo- 
 lest them or their property. 
 
 In regard to my drafts, it appears that the department is indis- 
 posed to pay them, for what reason I am at a loss to conjec- 
 ture. 
 
 I am aware that Congress separated the office of Superinten- 
 dent of Indian Affairs from that of Governor ; that the salary of 
 Governor remained the same for his Gubernatorial duties, and 
 that the Superintendent's was fifteen hundred. I do think that, 
 inasmuch as I performed the duties of both offices, that I am 
 entitled to the pay appropriated for it, and trust that you will so 
 consider it. 
 
 I have drawn again for the expenditure of this present quar- 
 ter as above set forth. Of course you will do as you please 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 313 
 
 about paying, as you have with the drafts for the two last quar- 
 ters. 
 
 The department has often manifested its approval of the man- 
 agement of the Indian affairs in this Superintendency, and never 
 its disapproA al 
 
 Why, then, should I be subjected to such annoyance in re- 
 gard to obtaining the funds for defraying its expenses ? Why 
 should I be denied my salary ? Why should appropriations made 
 for the benefit of the Indians of this Territory be retained in the 
 Treasury, and individuals left unpaid ? 
 
 These are questions I leave for you to answer at your leisure, 
 and meanwhile submit to such course in relation thereto as you 
 shall see fit to direct. 
 
 I have the honor to be, most respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 (Signed) BRIGHAM YOUNG. 
 
 Governor and Ex-Officio Superintendent of Indian Affairs, U. T. 
 
 Certified to by JAMES JACK, Notray Public of Utah Territory, 
 at Salt Lake City, August 15th, 1876. 
 
 ABSTRACT FROM REPORT OF BRIGHAM YOUNG. 
 
 The following is an abstract from a letter under heading and 
 date as follows : 
 
 OFFICE OF SUPT. OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, ) 
 G. S. L. CITY, U. T., January 6, 1858. ) 
 
 HON. JAMES W. DENVER, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
 
 Washington City, D. C. : 
 
 SIR : On or about the middle of last September a company 
 of emigrants traveling the southern route to California, poisoned 
 the meat of an ox that died, and gave it to the Indians to eat, 
 causing the immediate death of four of their tribe, and poisoning 
 several others. This company also poisoned the water where 
 they were encamped. This occurred at Corn Creek, fifteen 
 miles south of Fillmore City. This conduct so enraged the 
 Indians, that they immediately took measures for revenge. I 
 quote from a letter written to me by John D. Lee, farmer to the 
 Indians in Iron and Washington counties. " About the 22d of 
 September, Capt. Fancher & Co. fell victims to the Indians' 
 wrath near Mountain Meadows. Their cattle and horses were 
 shot down in every direction ; their wagons and property mostly 
 committed to the flames.*' Lamentable as this case truly is, it is 
 
314 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 only the natural consequence of that fatal policy which treats 
 the Indians like the wolves, or other ferocious beasts. I have 
 vainly remonstrated for years with travelers against pursuing so 
 suicidal a policy, and repeatedly advised the Government of its 
 fatal tendency. It is not always upon the heads of the indi- 
 viduals who commit such crimes that such condign punishment 
 is visited, but more frequently the next company that follows in 
 their fatal path become the unsuspecting victims, though perad- 
 venture perfectly innocent. Of this character was the massacre 
 of Capt. Gunnison and party in 1853. He was friendly and 
 unsuspecting, but the emigrant company that immediately pre- 
 ceded him had committed a most flagrant act of injustice and 
 murder upon the Indians, escaped unscathed, causing the savage 
 feeling and vengeance which they had so wontonly provoked to 
 be poured upon the head of the lamented Gunnison. Owing to 
 these causes, the Indians upon the main traveled roads leading 
 from this Territory to California have become quite hostile, so 
 that it has become quite impossible for a company of emigrants 
 to pass in safety. The citizens of the Territory have frequently 
 compromised their own safety and other peaceful relations, by 
 interfering in behalf of travelers ; nor can they be expected to 
 be otherwise than hostile, so long as the traveling community 
 persist in the practice of indiscriminately shooting and poisoning 
 them, as above set forth. In all other parts of the Territory, 
 except along the north and south routes to California, as above 
 mentioned, the Indians are quiet and peaceful. It is owing to 
 the disturbed state of our Indian affairs that the accounts of this 
 quarter have been so considerably augmented. It has always 
 been my policy to conciliate the native tribes by making them 
 presents and treating them kindly, considering it much more 
 economical to feed and clothe them than to fight them. I have 
 the satisfaction of knowing that this policy has been most 
 eminently successful and advantageous, not only to the settle- 
 ments, but to the Government, as well as to the emigrants and 
 travelers. But the most uniform, judicious and humane course 
 will sometimes fail in holding ignorant, wild and revengeful 
 Indians by the wrist, to be indiscriminately murdered. We 
 trust, henceforward, such scenes may not be re-enacted, and the 
 existing bad feeling among the native tribes may become extin- 
 guished by a uniform, consistent, humane and conciliatory course 
 of superior acts, by those who profess superior attainments. 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEX. 81* 
 
 Respectfully, I have the honor to remain your obedient 
 errant, BRIGHAM YOUNG, 
 
 Gov. and Supt. of Indian Affairs, U. T. 
 
 Certified as correct by James Jack, Notary Public of Utah 
 Territory, at Salt Lake City, August 15, 1876. 
 
 The following circular, issued by Brigham Young and Daniel 
 H. Wells, was then read in evidence : 
 
 GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, ) 
 Sept. 14th, 1857. ) 
 COL. WILLIAM H. DAME, Parowan, Iron County : 
 
 Herewith you will receive the Governor's proclamation declar- 
 ing martial law. 
 
 You will probably not be called out this Fall, but are re- 
 quested to continue to make ready for a big fight another year. 
 The plan of operations is supposed to be about this. In case 
 the United States Government should send out an overpowering 
 force, we intend to desolate the Territory, and conceal our fami- 
 lies, stock and all of our effects in the fastnesses of the moun- 
 tains where they will be safe, while the men waylay our ene- 
 mies, attack them from ambush, stampede their amimals, take 
 the supply trains, cut of detachments and parties sent to the 
 canyons for wood, or on other service. To lay waste every 
 thing that will burn houses, fences, trees, fields and grass, so 
 that they cannot find a particle of anything that will be of use 
 to them, not even sticks to make a fire to cook their supplies. 
 To waste away our enemies and lose none ; that will be our mode 
 of warfare. Thus you see the necessity of preparing first ; secure 
 places in the mountains where they cannot find us, or if they do, 
 where they cannot approach in force, and then prepare for our 
 families, building some cabins, caching flour and grain. Flour 
 should be ground in the latter part of the Winter, or early in the 
 Spring to keep. Sow grain in your fields as early as possible 
 this Fall, so the harvest of another year may coine off before 
 they have time to get here. Conciliate the Indians and make 
 them our fast friends. 
 
 In regard to letting the people pass or repass, or travel 
 through the Territory, this applies to all strangers and suspected 
 persons. Yourself and Brother Isaac C. Haight, in your dis- 
 trict, are authorized to give such permits. Examine all such 
 persons before giving to them permits to pass. Keep things per- 
 fectly quiet, and let all things be done peacefully, but with firm* 
 
316 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 ness, and let there be no excitement. Let the people be united 
 in their feelings and faith, as well as works, and keep alive the 
 spirit of the reformation. And what we said in regard to sav- 
 ing the grain and provisions we say again, let there be no 
 waste. Save life always when it is possible. We do not wish 
 to shed a drop of blood if it can be avoided. 
 
 This course will give us great influence abroad. 
 
 (Signed,) ( BRIGHAM YOUNG. 
 
 I DANIEL H. WELLS. 
 Certified to under seal by James Jack, Notary Public, August 
 
 16th, 1876. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 TRIAL Or LKB CONTINUED. 
 
 W 
 
 "HILE the documentary evidence was being read, the 
 people had been gathering in large numbers, BO much so 
 that many were unable to obtain admission to the court room, 
 to hear the statements of the witnesses. 
 
 It was by this* time well understood by all parties, that the 
 command of secrecy, which the Church had imposed on its mem- 
 bers, had been countermanded, so far as related to John D. Lee, 
 the defendant on trial. It was then a certainty that the witnesses 
 would swear to as much as the prosecution was willing to hear. 
 The result proved that these surmises were correct. 
 
 The witnesses for the prosecution were then called and sworn, 
 after which they testified in the order and language as follows : 
 
 TESTIMONY OF WITNESSES. 
 
 DANIEL H. WELLS. 
 
 Sworn for the prosecution. 
 
 HOWABD How long have you resided in this Territory? 
 Since the fall of 1848. 
 
 Do you know John D. Lee? Yes, sir. 
 
 Did you know him in 1857? Yes, sir. 
 
 What position did he occupy at that time official position? 
 I don't know of any position except it was farmer to the Indians 
 in the southern part of the Territory. He had been a Major in 
 the military. I don't remember whether he was at that time or 
 not. At that particular time, I think not. I think he had been 
 suspended. I wish to ask you the question, What, from your 
 personal knowledge, was the influence of John D. Lee over the 
 Indians to whom he had been appointed farmer was he inter- 
 817 
 
818 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 preter also? Well, I think he understood the language imper- 
 fectly ; could probably converse with the Indians. 
 
 State if he was a man of influence with the Indians, a man 
 popular with them? He was so considered. 
 
 Cross examination waived. 
 
 LABAN MORRILL. 
 
 Sworn for the prosecution. 
 
 Where do you reside? Iron County, at what ia called Fort 
 Johnson. How long have you lived in the Territory? Since 
 1852. Do you know the location of Mountain Meadows? No, 
 sir. I never was there. Where did you live in 1857? I think I 
 lived at Cedar City. How far is Cedar City from Beaver? 
 About thirty miles. Did you, in 1857, know any thing about 
 an emigrant train, known as the Arkansas emigrant train, 
 passing through the Territory to Southern California, or starting 
 to pass? By report only. Did you have any thing to do as an 
 officer or citizen, at Cedar City, with regard to the passage of 
 those emigrants? If you did, state what you know about their 
 passage, in your own way. Merely by report, that there was a 
 company come through Cedar City. I lived off at a place called 
 Fort Johnson, six miles and a half. I was engaged at that time 
 some little in seeing what was called the best locality, or what 
 would do the best good for some three or four little places, 
 Cedar City, Fort Johnson and Shirts' Creek. We had formed a 
 kind of a custom to come together about once a week, to take 
 into consideration what would be the best good for those three 
 places. I happened on Sunday to come to Cedar City, as I 
 usually came, and there seemed to be a Council. We met 
 together about four o'clock, as a general thing, on Sunday 
 evening after service. I went into the Council, and saw there 
 was a little excitement in regard to something I did not under- 
 stand. I went in at a rather late hour. I enquired of the rest 
 what was the matter. They said a company had passed along 
 toward Mountain Meadows. There were many threats given 
 concerning this company. 
 
 SPICER for Defendant We object to these conversations, in 
 which the witness has not shown that the defendant was present. 
 
 HOWARD for the People We expect to connect Mr. Lee with 
 it in this way : We propose to show that at that council a report 
 was made that the Indians had stopped this train of emigrants, 
 
DANIEL H. WELLS: 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN Z>. LEE. 319 
 
 or were about to stop them ; and we propose to show further 
 that at that time, in consequence of the condition of the country, 
 it was claimed by ome people that they should be held until a 
 message could be sent to Salt Lake and their passage secured ; 
 that Mr. Morrill appeared there others being in favor of 
 stopping the emigrants, and perhaps doing more than that. Mr. 
 Morrill appeared there and insisted that no interference should 
 be had with them until orders came from Brigham Young from 
 head quarters and at first insisting that they should be allowed 
 to pass unmolested. That the Indians should not be allowed to 
 molest them if it could be avoided. That they should be pre- 
 vented by all means from interfering with them. Mr. Morrill 
 made several speeches to that council in favor of that proposi- 
 tion, and that finally an agreement was made that the emigrants 
 should not be interfered with, and suspend all proceedings in 
 regard to even stopping them until a message should come from 
 Brigham Young. At that time Brigham Young was not only 
 the President of the Church, but Governor of the Territory, and 
 Indian Agent. We propose to follow it up by showing that an 
 agreement was made and a messenger sent post-haste to Salt 
 Lake. We propose to follow it up by showing that a messenger 
 was sent to see that the Indians did not interfere with the emi- 
 grants. We propose to follow it up by showing that John D. 
 Lee received that word. That that was the agreement of that 
 council, and that he must not allow those emigrants to be inter- 
 fered with. That he not only received that word, but that he 
 made the remark that he had something to say about it. The 
 man who carried the message was told that he had better get 
 out of the way himself, or he would get hurt. There has been 
 an effort made to show that others besides John D. Lee com- 
 menced this attack. We propose to show to this jury that the 
 attack was made in defiance of the authorities. That they not 
 only held the lives of those emigrants secure ; were not only anx- 
 ious that they should be allowed to pass, but that they should 
 be protected from the Indians, in order to show their sincerity 
 and do what was right in view of the circumstances, made a 
 solemn agreement there among themselves that the emigrants 
 should not be interfered with until a dispatch could be sent to 
 Governor Young and returned. We propose to show that that 
 dispatch was sent to Governor Young by that messenger, with 
 instructions not to spare horse-flesh, but to ride there day and 
 
820 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 night ; that before this messenger returned, John D. Lee, in de- 
 fiance of that council, massacred the emigrants. 
 
 SPICEB If the gentleman propose to prove that Lee did any- 
 thing contrary to the orders of the Church Council, we will with- 
 draw our objections. But we know the prosecution will fail in 
 the effort. Lee did nothing that was contrary to Council, and 
 the fact is, he obeyed orders. 
 
 HOWAKD Mr. Morrill, the Court directs that you state what 
 was done at that Council? 
 
 Ans. As I said, there appeared to be some confusion in that 
 Council. I enquired in a friendly way what was up. I was 
 told that there was an emigrant train that passed along down to 
 near Mountain Meadows, and that they had made threats in 
 regard to us as a people said they would destroy every d d 
 Mormon. There was an army coming on the south and north, 
 and it created some little excitement. I made two or three 
 replies in a kind of debate of measures that were taken into 
 consideration^ discussing the object, what method we thought 
 best to take in regard to protecting the lives of the citizens. 
 
 My objections were not coincided with. At last we touched 
 upon the topic like this : We should still keep quiet, and a dis- 
 patch should be sent to Governor Young to know what would 
 be the best course. The vote was unanimous. I considered it 
 so. It seemed to be the understanding that on the coming 
 morning, or next day, there should be a messenger dispatched. 
 I took some pains to enquire and know if it would be sent in 
 in the morning. The papers were said to be made out, and 
 Governor Young should be informed, and no hostile course pur- 
 sued till his return. I returned back to Fort Johnson, feeling 
 that all was well. About eight and forty hours before the mes- 
 senger returned business called me to Cedar City, and I 
 learned that the job had been done, that is, the destruction of 
 the emigrants had taken place. I can't give any further evi- 
 dence on the subject at present. 
 
 What was the name of the messenger sent to Salt Lake? 
 James Haslem. 
 
 Cross-Examined by W. W. Bishop. You think that about 
 
 ^forty-eight hours before the messenger returned from Salt 
 
 Lake, you learned that the job was done, the people killed 
 
 at Mountain Meadows. Do you mean by that, the killing that 
 
 had been talked of at that Council ? I suppose it was, sir. Who 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 321 
 
 was present at that Council that you recollect? Mr. Smith. 
 Give me the name of any there that you can call to mind ? I 
 think Isaac C. Haight was there. Was John D. Lee present? 
 No, sir, not to my knowledge. Did you see that messenger start 
 to Brigham Young? I did not. Did you see the message that 
 he took to Brigham Young? I did not. Did you ever read it? 
 I did not. Did you know, or have any knowledge that any 
 written communication was given by the Council to any one to 
 carry to President Young? The understanding of the Council 
 was that one should be written out for him prior to his starting. 
 
 Do you know of your own knowledge that one was written 
 out? I didn't see Mr. Haight, but he should have made it out 
 In time. I didn't see the paper. 
 
 Then the understanding of the Council, as I take it, was this, 
 that different parties presented different plans for having the 
 people follow the emigrants ; that after all this argument it was 
 agreed by the parties there that a messenger should go to 
 Brigham Young for instructions as to how the people should 
 treat the emigrants in that train, and nothing should be done 
 with those emigrants until that messenger returned? That was 
 the agreement I understood it so. 
 
 Who else did they agree to send a messenger to? I heard of 
 no other but Governor Young. That was my proposition. 
 
 Then you never heard of a messenger being sent to any other 
 place, or to any other party, from that Council? No, I did not 
 pay any attention to any other point, or what was considered | 
 only the one point that a messenger should go to President 
 Young. 
 
 Re-Direct by Howard Did you understand that a messenger 
 was to be sent down to John D. Lee ? I did, but I did not see 
 him start. I understood that t the same time a messenger was 
 to be sent. 
 
 What did you understand ? I L derstood that there was to be 
 word sent down towards Pinto Creek. 
 
 For what purpose ? To have the thing stayed according to 
 contract, to agreement made. 
 
 What do you mean by the thing being stayed ? Was the 
 massacre of that emigrant train discussed there at all? It was, 
 sir ; and some were in favor of it, and some were not. 
 
 Who were they ? Bishop Smith, I considered, was the hardeit 
 man I 'had to contend with. 
 21 
 
522 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 Who else spoke about it? Isaac Haight and one or two 
 others. I recollect my companions more than any one else. 
 
 They were very anxious and rabid were they not? They 
 seemed to think it would be best to kill the emigrants. Some 
 of the emigrants swore that they had killed old Joseph Smith ; 
 there was quite a little excitement there. 
 
 You have given us the names of two who were in favor of 
 killing those emigrants who were the others? Those were 
 my companions, Isaac C. Haight and Klingensinitk. I recollect 
 no others. 
 
 You remember that Council, and the agreement that they 
 would not do anything until word came back from President 
 Young? Yes, sir. 
 
 Although you didn't see either of those messengers start, you 
 understood messengers were sent each way? Yes, sir; to stay 
 the opposition until that messenger returned. 
 
 Re-Cross Examination You say you understood a messenger 
 was to be sent to Pinto Creek. Did John D. Lee live at Pinto 
 Creek? He lived at Harmony. 
 
 Was it mentioned in that Council that a messenger was to be 
 sent to Pinto Creek to stay the thing until the other messenger 
 got back? Understand me, there was nothing said in that 
 Council in regard to Pinto, only that the thing should be stayed. 
 They took such measures to stay it as they thought proper. 
 After the messenger, Mr. Haslem, returned I asked Mr. Haight 
 about it, and he said he had sent word to let them pass, of 
 course. That was the end of my experience in regard to it. 
 
 Howard Where did John D. Lee live at that time? He lived 
 at Harmony. 
 
 How far is Harmony from Pinto Creek? I don't know. 
 
 What was his position at that me? He was a man of some 
 influence among the Indians, *nd also held a position in the 
 military. 
 
 Was he not Indian Farmei / I think he had done something 
 towards it. One thing I passed over at that Council ; I inquir- 
 ed by what authority they were doing it, and they said by their 
 own authority. Says I, has Dame got a letter here ; is there 
 anything from Mr. Dame of Parowan? They said no. I de- 
 manded a written letter or order from him before I would act ; 
 they said they had none. 
 
 James Haslem testified that he went as a messenger from 
 
TSIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 823 
 
 Haight to Brigham Young, and that Brigham Young sent back 
 word that " those men must be protected and allowed to go in 
 peace." He got back with the message Sunday after the mew- 
 ocre, and reported to Haight, who said, " It is too late." 
 
 JOEL WHITB. 
 
 Sworn for the prosecution. 
 
 Where did you live in 1857? I lived in Cedar City, Iron 
 County. 
 
 Do you remember the Mountain Meadows band of emigrants ? 
 Yes, sir. 
 
 Did you at that time know John D. Lee? Yes, sir. 
 
 And Klingensmith? Yes, sir. 
 
 Were you ever entrusted by anybody with a message to John 
 D. Lee, or to any other person? No, sir, not to John D. Le e. 
 During the delivery of which you met John D. Lee? Yes, sir. 
 I was away from home at the time the emigrants passed through 
 Cedar City. I came home just before night. I can't recollect 
 the day or date, nor anything of that kind ; but Mr. Haight 
 called me as I was passing, and said he wanted a message taken 
 to Pinto Creek, and wanted to know if I would go. I asked if it 
 had to go to-night. He said it had, that the emigrants would 
 pass Pinto to-morrow. He told me the nature of the dispatch. 
 It was to the man in charge there at Pinto, to pacify the Indians 
 if possible, and let the emigrants pass. Klingensmith was stand- 
 ing by and volunteered to go with me, and I accepted his com- 
 pany. 
 
 Did you start with that message ? Yes, sir. 
 
 Tell what occurred. When I got down to the lower corner of 
 the field, after we had started, probably a mile and a half, or 
 such matter, I don't recollect the distance now, I met John D. 
 Lee. It was about dark ; he was coming toward Cedar. He 
 asked us what the calculation of the people was in regard to 
 those emigrants in regard to letting them pass. 
 
 Did he ask you where you were going? I don't recollect. I 
 told him we both told him, but I told him in particular the 
 conclusion was to let them pass, and that I was going to Pinto 
 with a letter to that effect, to have the Indians pacified as much 
 as possible, to let them pass. Mr. Lee spoke up and said, "I 
 don't know about that," or, "I have something to ^o about 
 that," I don't exactly recollect the words, and drove on. 
 
824 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 Where were the emigrants at that time? They were camped 
 on a little stream in the mountains, betwen Cedar City and Pinto, 
 just off the road. We saw them indistinctly as we passed them 
 in the night, but as we came back next day we met them on the 
 travel. 
 
 What place was that? Iron Springs. A very little spring, I 
 hardly remember the locality. 
 
 The emigrants hadn't yet reached Pinto? No, sir, because 
 we met them. The first time I had ever seen them I saw them 
 coming up along there. 
 
 Cross-examined In which direction was Lee coming? He 
 was coming up the road towards Cedar City. 
 
 What day was it? I don't recollect neither the day of the 
 week nor the month. 
 
 You say it was about dark? It was about dusk then. 
 
 How long was it before the massacre ? I could not say about 
 that for certain . 
 
 About how many days? Probably four or five, may be six, 
 may be not so long ; I could not say. 
 
 You passed the emigrants then on your way that night? We 
 passed, but didn't see them. 
 
 Who was the man that you were carrying the message to? It 
 was the man in charge of them there in Pinto Creek at that time. 
 I can't recollect his name. 
 
 Was not his name Richard Robinson ? That is my impression, 
 but I will not be sure, as there were several changes. There was 
 Rufus Allen, Richard Robinson, Thornton, and different ones 
 that had charge along about that time. I can't recollect, but I 
 think it was Richard Robinson. 
 
 When did you move to Cedar City ? I moved there in the 
 Fall of 1853? 
 
 How long did you live there? I left there in the Summer of 
 '58. I left there and came to Beaver, and from there went 
 north. 
 
 Where do you reside now? I live at what is called Cedar 
 Fort, Cedar Valley, in Utah County, five miles from Camp 
 Floyd. 
 
 You say you passed by near the emigrants' camp, but didn't 
 see them ? Yes, sir. We saw them next day on the travel. 
 
 You afterwards saw those emigrants, I believe, at the 
 Meadows ? Yes, sir, a portion of them. 
 
TBIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 825 
 
 You were present at the Meadows at the time of the massacre? 
 Fes, sir. 
 
 Ke-Direct You don't remember the day nor the date, but on 
 your way back, after delivering the message, you met these 
 same emigrants, and you know they were the Mountain Meadows 
 emigrants? Yes, sir. 
 
 Re -Cross-examined You know they were the same ones from 
 passing them and afterwards seeing them at the Meadows 
 after they were killed? Klingensmith was with me, and he 
 had seen the emigrants when they had passed through Cedar 
 City, and there were some of the principal ones that he pointed 
 out to me as we passed by them. 
 
 Why did he point them out to you? One man that had made 
 these threats that he had helped kill Joe Smith, and so forth. 
 
 Did you see that same party at the Meadows afterwards? 1 
 don't recollect the same party. I saw the same band of emi- 
 grants, I suppose at any rate no others had passed. 
 
 SAMUEL KNIGHT. 
 
 Sworn for the prosecution. 
 
 Where do you live ? I live at Santa Clara. 
 
 How long have you lived there? In the neighborhood of 
 twenty-two years. 
 
 Where did you live in '57? I lived at Santa Clara; that was 
 my house. I lived on the Mountain Meadows. I was stopping 
 on the Mountain Meadows that Summer. 
 
 Will you state how you came up to Mountain Meadows, and 
 how you were situated there? My family was sick at the time, 
 and I moved my family up on account of the hot weather. I 
 was herding stock at the Meadows and milking cows. 
 
 Who was with you? Jake Hamblin and myself were proprie- 
 tors. 
 
 Describe that locality to the Court and Jury? The location is 
 at the north end of what is termed Meadow Valley. 
 
 How long is the Meadow Valley ? Four miles long, and about 
 one mile wide. 
 
 Is it entirely surrounded by mountains and hills? Yes, sir, 
 it is entirely surrounded, except a gap at this end the gap 
 at which Hamblin's Ranch was situated, and the gap at the 
 other end leads you out on the desert. It has a stream that 
 leads to the Santa Clara stream. 
 
326 MQRMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 On the first of September, 1857, you say you were stopping 
 there with your wife, who was out of health? A few days before 
 she had been confined, and was lying nearly at the point of death ; 
 we were living in a wagon-box by the side of Jake Hamblin'i 
 board shanty. 
 
 Did you about that time go down to your place at Santa 
 Clara ? Yes, sir, from Mountain Meadows. I went down a few 
 days previous to this occurrence this massacre to see to 
 some business down there about watering the crop there. 
 
 What time did you return ? It is not in my memory, the day 
 of the week. 
 
 With reference to the general massacre? Jt was the evening 
 after it had been done in the morning that is, the first attack. 
 
 I mean with reference to the general massacre of the women 
 and children? That was nearly a week, I think. 
 
 You are sure about that, are you? I don't exactly remember, 
 but it was several days. 
 
 What do you mean by the first attack, and from whom did 
 you get your information ? What information I got was from 
 John D. Lee. 
 
 State the particulars? As I said before, I was on my way 
 to where I was staying at the time from my home at Santa Clara. 
 From the ranch to Santa Clara settlement was thirty-five miles. 
 
 How far below the lower mountain of the Mountain Meadows ? 
 About ten miles to where I met John D. Lee. I think he had 
 on a hickory shirt, a straw hat, and home-spun pants. 
 
 Did you have any conversation? Yes, sir. As I was riding 
 along he hailed me. 
 
 Who was with you? I don't know that it is proper for me to 
 state. 
 
 Had you up to that time known any thing about the attack on 
 the emigrants? No, sir, I had not. 
 
 Did you notice any thing peculiar about John D. Lee at that 
 time ? He showed me some bullet holes in his clothing, and may 
 be one or two in his hat. 
 
 State the conversation. All the conversation ? You can tell 
 what you recollect. I think he told me that he had made an 
 attack with the Indians, and got repulsed. 
 
 When did he say he had made it? I think that morning at 
 daylight, or near daylight. 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 327 
 
 Do you know whether he told you so or not? I am pretty 
 positive he did. 
 
 Did he tell you any thing about any escape that he had had? 
 He said he had run a narrow escape, showing me the holes in 
 his hat and shirt, where he had narrowly escaped being shot. 
 
 State all the conversation. He rode along with us up to some 
 eight or ten miles of where his camp was. When I saw him it 
 was getting dusk, and we rode along together as far as the 
 camp. 
 
 Was he alone when he met you ? Yes, sir, as far as I know. 
 
 Did he tell you whether any other white man had been with 
 him in the attack? I am not certain. I got the impression from 
 what he told me that there was not. 
 
 Did he tell you from whom he got the bullets through his 
 clothes, or not? I took it, of course. 
 
 Did he say he got it on that assault on the emigrants ? I can't 
 give the exact language. 
 
 What was the substance of what he told you about it? I col- 
 lected from what he said that he had attacked the camp of these 
 emigrants with the Indians, and that in making the attack he 
 received the shots from the camp, that the bullets had come 
 near to him, one through his shirt and another through his hat. 
 
 Did he say anything about having a narrow escape ? I think 
 he did. 
 
 What camp did he refer to? The camp of the Mountain 
 Meadows emigrants. 
 
 You say he came back part of the way to the Mountain Meadows ? 
 I don't know but what he went clear across the Meadows, 1 
 am not positive. I know he rode back with me. He rode back 
 to where the camp was, at least, but 'whether he stopped there 
 or not I will not be positve. 
 
 Did you see him go towards the Indian camp afterwards ? I 
 didn't know where the Indian camp was. It was in the night. 
 He came to me about dusk. It was eight or nine o'clock when 
 we got to where the camp was located. I went right over to my 
 home. 
 
 State whether you noticed anything peculiar about Mr. Lee's 
 person, aside from his dress. No, nothing more than what 1 
 have stated. 
 
 State whether he had any paint on him. I didn't notice any. 
 It was between sundown and daylight. It was nearly dusk when 
 
828 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 I first saw him. We hadn't talked but a few minutes, when it 
 was dark. 
 
 How long a time passed until the general massacre ? Some 
 five or six days. 
 
 Did you remain there with your wife during all that time? 
 Yes, sir, with the exception of being out after my stock once or 
 twice. 
 
 Had you anything to do with Lee, or see him after that time? 
 He was over at Hamblin's ranch a few times. 
 
 What was he there for? I don't know. 
 
 Did he come alone ? He was there with other men, but how 
 he came I don't know. 
 
 Did he at any time come to you to get your teams? Yes, sir. 
 
 What day was that with reference to the massacre of the men, 
 women and children ? It was the day it was done. 
 
 What time? I think it was a little before 12 o'clock, the 
 middle of the day. 
 
 Who came with him ? I think it was Klingensmith. 
 
 Where were you, and what were you doing ? I was at home 
 waiting upon my sick wife, who was there in the wagon, and 
 doing chores necessary to be done about home. 
 
 State the conversation that took place between you and Lee, 
 or you and Klingensmith, in the presence of Lee, about what 
 they came for? They told me they came to get my team and 
 wagon to go over and haul away the sick and wounded from 
 the train, and take them back to the settlements where they 
 could care for them, as wagons were scarce. I didn't consent 
 at first, I told them that I didn't want to go, that my family 
 needed my presence at home. They insisted that I should go 
 and said that duty called me to go. I said if the team went I 
 should go myself with it. My team was a young team and had 
 Just been broke a few days, and the horses were fractious. 
 
 From that point what was done ? Well, I went over. I hitch- 
 ed up my team and went over. Went with a common lumber 
 wagon and box on it. 
 
 Did you leave your wife there? Yes, sir. 
 
 Where did you go? I went right on to the Mountain Mead- 
 ows, right on to the south end of the Mountain Meadows, or 
 near there. I drove up to a camp of Indians and men camped 
 somewhere to the left of the road, probably half a mile, may be 
 not so far, at a little spring to the left of the road, and waited 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEB. 829 
 
 there a little while. I stopped some four or five rods from this 
 camp and stood by my team until I was told to drive down to- 
 wards the camp. 
 
 Who told you? It is not in my memory. 
 
 Did you drive down towards the camp? I did. 
 
 What camp? The emigrant camp. 
 
 Did any other conveyance go down at the same time? Tes, 
 sir, another wagon, I went behind it. 
 
 Did you see Lee there? Yes, sir. 
 
 Tell what he did from the first time you saw him that morning 
 on that particular piece of ground? I don't know what he did 
 all the time. While I was waiting at the camp I don't know 
 that I saw him while I was there. 
 
 How far was that from the emigrants ? I think nearly half a 
 mile. 
 
 Did you see anybody go to that emigrant camp? No, sir. I 
 saw a man carrying a white flag. 
 
 Who was that man? I could not tell. 
 
 Was anybody with him? Yes, sir, I think John D. Lee was 
 with him, or near him, and walked down to the camp. 
 
 What occurred there ? They walked with this white flag near 
 the camp, and another man met them with a white rag on a stick. 
 He came from the emigrant camp, and they met some distance 
 from the camp, and held a consultation for a few minutes, and 
 then we were told to drive along, or motioned to. 
 
 Did any other man besides this man and John D. Lee go? 
 Not any distance. I don't remember that they did. 
 
 Who held that consultation ? I was not acquainted with them, 
 and was some distance from them, but I think it was John D. 
 Lee, the man that carried the flag, and one or two who came 
 from the emigrant camp. 
 
 Who motioned for you to go along after the consultation? I 
 can't tell, but the whole fraternity up there moved along with 
 the wagons. 
 
 When you got down to the camp what occurred ? My wagon 
 was loaded with some guns, some bedding, and a few individuals. 
 
 Who superintended that loading up? John D. Lee. 
 
 What guns were loaded into your wagons? The guns from 
 the emigrant camp. 
 
 When the emigrants came out afterwards, were they armed or 
 not? They were not ; not that I saw. 
 
330 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 What did they load into your wagon? Guns, bedding, and 
 some clothing of different kinds, and several persons got in. I 
 think three or four got in. 
 
 What were those persons? As near as I can recollect, there 
 were two men, one woman, and, I think, some children. 
 
 State whether those men were wounded then, sick men, or 
 what? I think they were wounded, but I stood holding my team. 
 
 State whether it was quite necessary for you to give all your 
 attention to your team ? I considered it so. 
 
 Then what occurred ? After they were loaded in we were told 
 to drive on towards home. 
 
 By whom? I can't recollect. 
 
 Did you drive along? We did. 
 
 Do you know what was put into the other wagon? Mostly 
 people. 
 
 Were both those wagons loaded from the emigrant camp? 
 Yes, sir. I started towards my home, north across the Mead* 
 ows, lengthwise of the Meadows. It led to the north. 
 
 After you started, how close did the other wagon follow? 1 
 followed it ; it went ahead. 
 
 What followed you ? The men, women and children ; coming 
 along after we drove out a little ways. 
 
 Did you understand, from what you saw there, that the emi- 
 grants vacated that camp and followed you ? I did, sir. 
 
 As you passed along, did you go with them, or did you go 
 faster? We traveled a little faster. 
 
 How far in advance of them did you get? I think we got, 
 may be, a quarter of a mile. It might not have been that far, 
 but quite a little distance. 
 
 What order did those emigrants march in, whether single file, 
 two abreast, or how? I could not give any testimony on that 
 I did not look back to see. 
 
 Who accompanied you with your wagon, who came along ? J 
 remember John D. Lee being along with the wagons. 
 
 Ahead of the emigrants ? Yes, sir. 
 
 Did anything occur after you had got up to the point desig- 
 nated as, perhaps, a quarter of a mile ahead of those emigrants? 
 The first thing that I heard had occurred. I heard a gun fired. 
 
 Where was that gun? I don't know the locality exactly. It 
 was behind me. 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 331 
 
 Was it near you, or down where the emigrants were ? It was 
 below. 
 
 How far behind you? I should judge nearly a quarter of a 
 mile, the first gun I heard. 
 
 What occurred then? I looked around and saw the Indians 
 rising up from behind the brush, and went to butchering these 
 emigrants. 
 
 Did you see anything of them? I didn't see anything of the 
 emigrants. 
 
 Did you see any of those emigrants in your wagon interfered 
 with? No, sir ; not after I heard the first sound of the gun. I 
 leaped from my wagon to see to my team. 
 
 Did you see John D. Lee do anything to any of those emi- 
 grants ? I saw John D. Lee raise something in the act of striking 
 a person I think it was a woman. I saw that person fall, but 
 my attention was attracted at the same time to my team jumping 
 and lunging. 
 
 What became of that woman ? I could not say. 
 
 Will you state to the jury the manner of that striking? Well, 
 as near as I can recollect it, it was done as though he had a club 
 or gun in his hands, but which of the two I cannot tell. She 
 was falling when I first saw her. When I turned my eyes away 
 she was falling. 
 
 You know he struck that woman ? Yes, sir. 
 
 Either with a gun or with a club ? Yes, sir. 
 
 Your team, you say, became very fractious. Is that all yon 
 saw John D. Lee do? That is all I could be positive about. 
 
 What was he doing besides that? I could not be positive 
 what he was doing all the time? State whether all of those 
 people were killed there and then? They were;, those in the 
 wagon were all killed. 
 
 Was it in your wagon or the one behind you that John D. Lee 
 truck that woman? It was in the one ahead of me. 
 
 Was that woman killed? I think she was. "They were all 
 killed. 
 
 How many cattle had this emigrant train? I don't know, sir. 
 Should judge three or four hundred head. 
 
 Do you know who drove these cattle away from that ground? 
 No, sir ; I do not. 
 
 Do you know whose men drove them off? No, sir ; only bj 
 report by rumor. 
 
832 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 Did you see Lee drive any of them ? No, sir ; I did not. 
 
 Did you hear him say anything about it? I did not. 
 
 Did Lee remain there until all in the wagons were killed? I 
 think he did. 
 
 Where did you go then? I drove immediately home. 
 
 Which way did Lee go? I don't know he was on the ground 
 when I left 
 
 Do yo'i know the names of any of those parties who were 
 killed there? No, sir; I do not. 
 
 Cross Examined How many people were present around the 
 v-j-rjns when you say you saw Lee strike the woman? I don't 
 kuow how many. 
 
 Were there any others there except Lee and yourself? I 
 have an impression that there were, but I don't know who they 
 were. I have always had an idea that there were one or two 
 more men. 
 
 Don't you know, as a matter of fact, that there were? Yes, 
 sir ; there was another man that drove the other wagon, but how 
 many more I don't .know. 
 
 You don't know the names of the men? Not that I recollect of. 
 
 Were any Indians around thero? Yes, sir. 
 
 Any around the wagons? Yes, sir. 
 
 Did you see them take any part in the killing? Yes, sir; 
 they took some part in the killing. There were not more than 
 one or two men there, John D. Lee and the men that drove the 
 wagon. 
 
 How many Indians? I can't tell. 
 
 Isn't it a matter of fact that about that time you wanted to 
 get away from there, and to see as little as possible? I paid 
 just as little .attention as I possibly could. 
 
 Didn't you make an effort to see as little of it as you could? 
 I did, sir. 
 
 That explains why you did not see all of it? Yes, sir, I took 
 all the pains 1 could to see as little as I could. 
 
 Did not the Indians raise a yell, and make a rush for the wagon 
 before you jumped out? Yes, sir, or about that time. 
 
 Were they not surrounding the wagons at the time you saw 
 Lee strike? Yes, sir. 
 
 There were Indians all around and close to you at the time? 
 Yes, sir, there were Indians all round ; quite a number all round 
 there. 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 833 
 
 Did they rush toward the people in the wagons with hostile 
 Intentions? Yes, sir, with apparently hostile intentions. 
 
 You saw them kill a number of people didn't they kill that 
 woman? It was my impression that John D. Lee killed her. 
 
 Do you know ? Yes, sir, I do. 
 
 Did you see him do anything else except strike ? No, sir. 
 
 That much you did see ? Yes, sir, I did. 
 
 "Who was that man with you at the Meadows, the first time 
 you saw John D. Lee, the night after the first attack? I decline 
 to tell. 
 
 Re-Direct State where those cattle of the emigrants were at 
 the time of the massacre. They were north a little ; up this 
 way. 
 
 How soon after that were they driven away? I think next 
 day. 
 
 Do you know whose men drove them away ? I do not. 
 
 Were the emigrants' wagons destroyed there on the ground, 
 or were they taken away? I don't know. They passed along. 
 
 Was the field cleared of the emigrant property? Yea, sir, 
 cattle and everything. 
 
 Were any wagons burned or destroyed? No, sir, not that I 
 know of. 
 
 How long did you stay there after that? Nearly a month. 
 
 SAMUEL M'MTJBDY. 
 
 Sworn for the prosecution. 
 
 Where do you live now ? I live in Cache County, Paradise. 
 
 Did you live in any other place than Paradise in 1857? I 
 lived at Cedar City. I don't recollect dates. Did you live there 
 at the time of the Mountain Meadows Massacre ? Yes, sir. 
 
 State whether you were called upon to go to Mountain 
 Meadows? I was called upon to go and take my team and 
 wagon. 
 
 By whom? I believe it was John M. Higbee that called me. 
 
 State from that point the circumstances? I was threshing my 
 grain. I had my grain spread out in the yard, and was tramp- 
 ing it with horses at the time I was called upon. I was notified 
 to leave in two hours' notice. It was sometime in the afternoon 
 that I was called upon. 
 
 Of what day ? I could not state. 
 
 With reference to the date of the general massacre ? I think 
 
884 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 it was a day prior to it. Was it stated to you for what pur- 
 pose you were to go there ? No, sir. 
 
 Did you know? No, sir. 
 
 Did you go? Yes, sir. 
 
 Who went with you? There were a number that went in the 
 wagon with me. Some I can recollect, Klingensmith for one, 
 a man by the name of Hopkins, and two or three more besides 
 that went during the time that I went down, I understood from 
 the men that were in the wagon. I asked them what was the 
 matter. They told me that the emigrants had been attacked, 
 and we had to go down and arrest the attack, if possible. That 
 was the purpose that I expected to go for was to preserve tho 
 emigrants from the Indians. 
 
 What time did you get there? It was in the afternoon when 
 we started late. It must have been way in the night when we 
 got there. I could not tell you the time. We traveled a good 
 many hours in the night. Got there and turned out the horses 
 and camped. 
 
 Did you stay until morning? Yes, sir; staid there till morn 
 Ing, and during the next day I got up my horses. 
 
 Anybody give you orders? Yes, sir. 
 
 Who? John D. Lee. He told me to take the wagon and fol- 
 low him to camp. 
 
 What camp ? The camp of the emigrants. 
 
 The emigrants that were afterwards killed? Yes, sir. 
 
 Did you go? I did. 
 
 State what you saw. I went with him to camp, and there waa 
 another wagon, if I recollect right. The man that drove the 
 wagon was a stranger to me. I never saw him before. When 
 we got within a short distance of the camp there was a man with 
 a flag of truce sent out. 
 
 Who was that man ? His name was Mr. Bateman. 
 
 Where is he? Dead. 
 
 Where was he sent from ? Sent from where we stood with the 
 wagons. 
 
 Who went with him? John D. Lee followed immediately af- 
 terwards. 
 
 What occurred ? A man came out from the camp and had an 
 Interview with John D. Lee. 
 
 What was the substance of that conversation? I was too far 
 off to tell. I saw Lee and this man talking. 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 835 
 
 Did you hear any of the talking? Not any that I could dis- 
 tinguish. 
 
 After they talked what was done? After they talked they 
 seemed to come to an understanding, ten, fifteen or twenty min- 
 utes, then Lee ordered us to drive up the wagons. We drove 
 up the wagons. The emigrants, assisted by Lee, loaded the 
 wagons. My wagon was loaded with some bedding, some truck of 
 different kinds, belonging to the people that got in. Some would 
 have their things with them, as if they were going a journey. 
 A number got in, men, women and children, from the emigrant 
 camp, some of them apparently wounded. I could not say how 
 many, it is so long ago. I never charged my memory with it. I 
 could not state how many there were. 
 
 Go on. We were ordered to start out by John D. Lee, and 
 we started out from that place. 
 
 State whether the other wagon was loaded also? It was. 
 
 Were there any guns put into either wagon ? There were not 
 in mine. 
 
 Did you at any time leave your team ? No, sir. 
 
 When John D. Lee directed you to drive, what took place ? 
 We proceeded some distance on the Meadows. Mine was the 
 head team. 
 
 Who accompanied you? John D. Lee was walking behind the 
 wagon, betwee^ the two wagons. 
 
 By the O ..& Were there any persons in those two wagons? 
 Yes, sir. They were loaded up with persons and things. 
 
 Were both of those wagons loaded with men, women and chil- 
 dren from that camp of emigrants? Yes, sir, and other things 
 besides. 
 
 How many got into your wagon ? I could not say. It is im- 
 possible for me to tell. I should think half a dozen. 
 
 What were they men and women ; any children in your's? I 
 think there were some small children. 
 
 And as you started on you saw Lee take a position between 
 the two wagons and walk on behind you? Yes, sir. 
 
 How far behind you? I could not tell you. I had as much 
 as I could do to attend to my team. We must have been quite 
 a little distance ahead of the other team. My team was a very 
 fast walking team. Lee checked me up several times. I had to 
 hold on to the lines. 
 
 Did he give you any reasons for it? No, sir. I out-walked 
 
836 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 him. We walked very fast. How many times did he tell you 
 not to walk so fast? Several times. 
 
 By Howard What occurred from that point? He called to 
 me to halt after we got out of sight of the camp. 
 
 Who did? John D. Lee. When we got out of sight, over the 
 hill, there is where we passed out of sight of everything. There 
 is a rising ground there. We were this side of it, and everything 
 back towards the emigrants was out of sight. When we got to 
 this place Lee ordered me to halt. At that instant I heard the 
 sound of a gun. I turned and looked over my shoulder, and 
 Lee had his gun to his shoulder, and when the gun had exploded 
 I saw, I think it was a woman, fall backwards. I had to 'tend to 
 my team at the time. 
 
 Who discharged that gun? John D. Lee must have dis- 
 charged it. 
 
 Did he hold it in his hand? Yes, sir. He must have hit her 
 in the back of the head. She fell immediately. 
 
 Go on. I turned round. It seemed to me like I heard sounds 
 of striking with a heavy instrument, like a gun would make, 
 but I never saw any striking done. But I turned round to the 
 other side a few minutes afterwards, and saw Lee draw his pis- 
 tol and shoot from two to three in the head of those who were in 
 the wagon. 
 
 Did he kill them ? He must have killed them. 
 
 What were those he shot men, women or cL : !ren? Men 
 and women. 
 
 And they fell off underneath the wagon, then and there ? I 
 could not say then and there. They must have been all killed. 
 
 Did you go back at all ? No, sir. 
 
 Never wanted to go back ? No, sir never. 
 
 Who fired the first gun which was the first gun fired ? It 
 would be impossible for me to tell. The first gun I heard was 
 the first gun fired right at the back of me that attracted my at- 
 tention. 
 
 You looked around and saw the gun in Lee's hands? Yes, 
 sir ; that was the first gun I heard. 
 
 Were there immediately volleys of firing? Yes, sir; I heard 
 firing immediately afterwards. 
 
 Was that the signal to begin firing? Yes, sir, that was the 
 beginning. 
 

 
 : 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 337 
 
 How long after Lee told you to halt was that firing? It was 
 instantly done. 
 
 And you looked around and saw the gun? Yes, sir. 
 
 Cross Examined You say that you got your orders from 
 Higbee to go down there? I believe it was from Higbee, but I 
 am not sure. I am almost positive it was from him. 
 
 Did Higbee go with you? I don't recollect. 
 
 Where did you camp that night? On the Meadows. 
 
 How many men were there ? I could not say. 
 
 About how many men were there? I could not give it, 
 because I went in the dark, and had my team to hunt next 
 morning. I turned them out, and it took up all my attention. 
 
 Next morning how many men did you see there? I don't 
 recollect anything about it. 
 
 You did not see anybody there except yourself, and John D. 
 Lee, and the man that carried the flag, did you? I saw a good 
 many there, but they were strangers to me. 
 
 You can't tell about how many were there ? I might if I had 
 counted them, and impressed my memory with it. 
 
 Do you think there is anything you saw, during the time you 
 were absent from home, but what is burned into your memory, 
 so that it is impossible for you to forget it? Yes, sir, a number 
 of things. 
 
 One of the principal things that you cannot recollect is the 
 names of your friends who were there ? I don't know that I had 
 any friends there, any more than I have here. 
 
 Can you give me the names of any of the men that you saw 
 there that day ? Well, sir, I could not really recollect. I sup- 
 pose not? I might if I was to sit down and think for a while. 
 A little thing like that you would not recollect. 
 
 Will you please tell me the names of the parties that were 
 present on the ground, at the time you started to drive down to 
 the emigrant camp? It is impossible for. me to do it. 
 
 How many men were in sight at the time you started to drive 
 down of your friends, parties from Cedar City or elsewhere ? 
 Well, sir, I could not say. I don't recollect seeing any of 
 them. I was too much absorbed in my team and in my 
 own surroundings. 
 
 What caused you to be so much absorbed? Any man that 
 has a team to attend to under circumstances of firing of 
 
 guns 
 
 22 
 
838 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 Were any guns firing then? Not then. 
 
 You did not get roused up until after they had loaded your 
 wagon. Had anything happened to excite you previous to the 
 loading up of your wagon at the emigrant camp? I am not 
 aware of anything particularly. 
 
 You didn't know at that time that any one was to be killed? 
 No, sir. 
 
 You had not even heard that any one was to be killed? 
 No, sir. 
 
 You thought you were on an errand of mercy? Yes, sir. 
 
 You thought you had gone there in good faith to help those 
 emigrants back to Cedar City? Yes, sir, that was my under- 
 standing. 
 
 You had driven down across the valley to the emigrant camp, 
 and the only men you saw during that entire time were John D. 
 Lee and this man that carried the flag? I saw a lot of emi- 
 grants around there. 
 
 I am speaking now of the people who lived in that vicinity? 
 Outside of the men that lived at Cedar City, they were strangers 
 to me, and I could not tell who they were. 
 
 You saw them the night before ? No, sir, I did not. 
 
 Didn't you see them on the ground before you started to 
 drive down to the emigrant camp ? I could not say that I did. 
 I don't recollect of seeing any quantity of men where I was, 
 at all. 
 
 You didn't see any Indians that morning? No, sir. 
 
 No Indians at the time of the killing? I could not say about 
 that. I believe there were Indians around. 
 
 Well, do you know? I don't recollect. 
 
 You do not recollect to have seen any Indians? Yes, sir, I 
 saw Indians around there, but at the precise moment of time I 
 could not say. 
 
 Did you see more than one or two Indians? I saw a great 
 many Indians there after the firing commenced. 
 
 Where did those Indians come from ? I don't know. 
 
 What were they doing ? I could not tell. 
 
 Did you see them commit any acts of hostility? I don't 
 recollect. I don't doubt but they did, but I can't recollect of 
 their doing anything of the kind. 
 
 You pretend to say now that at the time the gun was fired, 
 and from that time on, your excitement and fear were so great 
 
TBIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 889 
 
 that you can't recollect all that did happen? Yes, sir, that's 
 about true. 
 
 How far did you haul those people after they were killed? 
 Left them right there. 
 
 Who took them out? John D. Lee. 
 
 Don't you think he killed a dozen? I could not tell. 
 
 Give us your best impression ? My impression is that there 
 might be half a dozen. 
 
 You did not help kill any one did you kill any one there? 
 I had nothing to do with it at all. 
 
 Then you did not raise your hand against any one at that 
 time, or do any of the killing of the emigrants? I believe I am 
 not upon trial, sir. 
 
 I ask if you refuse to answer the question? No answer. 
 
 Did you upon that occasion, on the day when the Mountain 
 Meadows Massacre took place, kill any person upon that ground 
 or assist in the killing of any person? I don't wish to answer. 
 
 You say every person that was in the wagons was killed ? To 
 my best recollection and knowledge. 
 
 Don't you know, as a matter of fact, that there were some 
 seventeen children in those wagons that were not killed? I 
 don't recollect the number. 
 
 Don't you know there were a number of children that were 
 not killed? Yes, sir. 
 
 Explain what you mean? I mean all of the grown persons 
 were killed, the children were saved, sir. I believe I assisted 
 to haul them away, to take them off. 
 
 Re-Direct How many children were saved from the massacre ? 
 I have no recollection. 
 
 Where did you take them to those that you had? They 
 were distributed around ; one went to one house, and another to 
 another.* 
 
 MEPHI JOHNSON. 
 
 Sworn for the prosecution. 
 
 Where did you live in 1857? I lived at a place called Fort 
 Johnson, Iron County. 
 
 What was your business ? I was living with my father farmer. 
 
 See Confession where Lee describes the murderous actions and cool-blooded 
 manner with which McMurdy proceeded to butcher people for " The sake of the 
 Kingdom." Page 241. 
 
840 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 Were you an Indian Interpreter? Yes, sir; I could talk some 
 with the Indians at that time. 
 
 Were you at the Mountain Meadows Massacre ? Yes, sir. 
 
 How old were you at that time ? I was in my nineteenth year. 
 
 Did you kill anybody, or help to kill anybody there ? No, sir, 
 'I did not. 
 
 Tell this court and jury all you know about that? I was called 
 on Thursday of the week they were killed. They were killed 
 the next day. 
 
 Where were you? I was on my father's farm, finishing up my 
 Harvesting. 
 
 What occurred ? There was a young man by the name of 
 Clewes his name has been mentioned here. I am not certain 
 about its being Clewes, it may have been young Klingensmith, 
 came down with a note from Isaac C. Haight, that I was wanted 
 in Cedar City. I went to Cedar City, and he told me some 
 men were going out to the Mountain Meadows and that I must 
 accompany them, and I did so. 
 
 What did he tell you they were going there for? He didn't 
 tell me. I understood they were going out to bring in the dead, 
 slain by the Indians. 
 
 Would you have gone if you had had any other under- 
 standing? No, not if I could have helped it. 
 
 Did you go there ? Yes, sir. 
 
 What time did you get there? I should judge between twelve 
 and one o'clock in the night. I got to Hamblin's ranch at that 
 time. 
 
 Who did you see there ? I saw John D. Lee and Klingen- 
 smith, and a man by the name of Western. I did not see those 
 men until morning. 
 
 Was Hamblin at home ? No, sir ; he was not. 
 
 Did you learn that he had gone any where? Yes, sir. 
 
 Did you have any conversation with Lee about his having 
 been in a fight with the emigrants? No, sir; I didn't have any 
 conversation with him in relation to it. 
 
 Did you hear him say anything about it? Yes, sir. 
 
 What did you hear him say ? In speaking to the Indians, he 
 referred to having been in a fight with the emigrants. 
 
 What did he say? He said that the Indians and himself had 
 made an attack on the emigrants and been repulsed. 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 841 
 
 What else did he say ? Did he say anything about running 
 any narrow risks? No, sir; he did not. 
 
 Did he show any place where his clothing was shot? There 
 was a bullet-hole which I noticed in his shirt, which the Indians 
 told me was received down at the camp in that attack. 
 
 Anything about his hat? I didn't notice anything about his 
 hat. 
 
 Did you notice anything about paint on him? After mature 
 reflection, I don't think I did ; I have the impression that I 
 noticed something of that kind around his hair. 
 
 Did he say when the attack was made ? He told me (those 
 were a few Indians he was telling) there were three Indians 
 there that had been wounded, and I was conversing with them 
 after I got in, in the night. 
 
 Were you acquainted with the Indians the Pah Vant Indians? 
 Yes, sir ; somewhat acquainted. 
 
 Were you acquainted with the Indians below? Yes, sir. 
 
 What was Lee's position at that time with the Indians? Well, 
 he used to farm for them, help them to farm. 
 
 What was his influence over them ? His influence was good. 
 
 Were any of the Pah Vant Indians down there? I didn't see 
 any. 
 
 You are now at Hamblin's ranch, Fridiy morning. State what 
 took place that day on the ground. I got on my horse in the 
 morning. 
 
 Why did you do it? John D. Lee told me to, and Klingen- 
 smith told me to go with them down to the camp. The main 
 Indian camp was down below the emigrant train, and I got on 
 my horse and rode down with them in the morning. There were 
 some men camped down on the meadows, down near the Indian 
 camp. There a few men there, and a few arrived while I was 
 there. They were talking around. I didn't know what was 
 said. A man went out near to the emigrant camp, and there 
 was a white flag a flag of truce on a stick sent down to the 
 emigrant camp. 
 
 Who sent it down? It was John D. Lee had the management 
 of the concern, if I understand it right well, I will say that he 
 did. 
 
 Follow that flag of truce, what occurred? It went down to 
 the emigrant camp, and two men came out and met it and 
 
342 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 returned back again, and John D. Lee and another man went 
 down to meet with the two that came out of the camp. 
 
 Did they talk? They spoke there a while, I could not hear 
 what was said. 
 
 Did they appear to be in conversation? Yes, sir; and finally 
 they returned, and some wagons were sent for to go down to the 
 camp and take out some clothing and guns, and some few 
 wounded. 
 
 Who directed those wagons to go? Well, sir, it was Klingen- 
 smith or John D. Lee, they seemed to be engineering the thing. 
 
 Did John D. Lee go down to the emigrant camp ? Yes, sir. 
 
 How many people were loaded into those wagons, and 
 who were those people? I can't tell you. Just as they went 
 down I was where the men were. I had ridden down and tied my 
 horse to a root on the hill ; he got loose and I went for him, as 
 the wagons went down to the emigrant camp, just as the wagons 
 started away from the camp. 
 
 How many wagons started from the camp? Two. 
 
 What position did you occupy ? I had not got back with my 
 horse. 
 
 Were you on the hill on a prominence ? I was not over 300 
 yards from the people, where the people were passing along ; 
 the emigrants following the wagons. How many wagons? Two. 
 
 Were these people in those wagons ? Yes, sir. 
 
 Did you see Lee there ? Yes, sir. 
 
 What position did he occupy when you saw him? Following 
 between the wagons. 
 
 Which way were they going? North, towards Hamblin's ranch. 
 
 Did you see the emigrants following the wagons out of their 
 camp. Yes, sir. 
 
 Were they armed or unarmed? Not armed. 
 
 How far behind the wagons? The women and children along 
 with the wagons, the men a little behind. 
 
 Do you mean along in the trail behind tha wagons? Yes, sir. 
 
 And the men behind all? Yes, sir. 
 
 How many of them? I should judge about twenty-five or 
 thirty men. 
 
 How many women? Probably there were not so many women 
 as men. 
 
 You don't pretend to give the number? No, sir. 
 
 How far from the wagons at the head of the column were the 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEB. 843 
 
 people that were walking? The wagons got a good deal ahead. 
 Were the people marching in double or single file ? I could 
 not tell you. The women and children were following along 
 promiscuously, and some of the men. 
 
 Were you where you could see the wagons plain and see Lee? 
 Yes, sir. 
 
 Were you armed ? I had a pistol. 
 
 Did you shoot it off at all ? No, sir. 
 
 Did you have anything to do, in any way, shape or manner 
 with that massacre ? No, sir. 
 
 Will you tell the jury what you saw done at those wagons, and 
 the order in which you saw it ? When the wagons got up a piece 
 ahead of the men I heard a gun fired. 
 
 Where was it? I think it was behind. I am not sure it was 
 behind the wagons. I turned round to look, and at that the In- 
 dians and whites made a rush, and there was a general firing. 
 
 Where was that gun fired off? I think the gun fired was some 
 distance behind the wagons. 
 
 What took place then? The people were killed. 
 
 Did you see any of them killed ? Yes, sir. 
 
 Did you see John D. Lee kill any of them? I saw him fire off, 
 and saw a woman fall as I looked down to the wagons. 
 
 What wagon was it? I am not certain. I think it was the 
 lead wagon. 
 
 Tell what occurred? I saw his gun fired, heard the report of 
 the gun and saw it fired, and saw a person fall, and the gun was 
 held in his hand. 
 
 Did it kill her? I didn't go to see. The Indians rushed. 
 
 What did you see him do next ? I looked down below to the 
 men that were below, and then when I looked back again 
 
 Was the massacre going on then down lower ? Yes, sir, In- 
 dians and all along the line. I saw John D. Lee and some In- 
 dians pulling some persons out of the wagons. 
 
 What did you see him do to anybody else? I can't swear, 
 but from the motions I should say he cut a man's throat. 
 
 Tell how he did it? I can't tell you, only I saw his arms 
 moving around pulling men out of the wagons. They went to 
 the left of him. I was not near enough to see, but he seemed to 
 hold on to him. 
 
 Who pulled him out of the wagon? John D. Lee and an In- 
 Han. 
 
MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 Did you see John Did Lee make any motions? I did. 
 
 What were they? I thought at the time that he was cutting a 
 man's throat, but then I was so far off. 
 
 You were in plain sight? Yes, sir. 
 
 Have you any doubt that is what he did there? No, sir. 
 
 What else did you see him do? I didn't see him do anything 
 else at the time. 
 
 At any other time ? No, sir. 
 
 Did you see him do anything else towards killing those peo- 
 ple? No, sir. 
 
 How long a time did it occupy, that massacre? Not over five 
 minutes not over three minutes. 
 
 How many people were killed, do you know ? No, sir, I don't. 
 
 Did you have any conversation with John D. Lee after that 
 about it? I have had at different times, but I don't know that 
 I can recollect the conversation that passed. 
 
 Did you ever have a conversation with him in which he told 
 you the particulars of the first attack? He told me once some- 
 thing in relation to it, but it is so long ago. It was only that he 
 attacked them; that the attack was made just as daylight was 
 appearing in the morning. He said he went with the Indians to 
 make the attack. 
 
 Did he give you any reasons for making the attack ? No, sir. 
 
 How many cattle were there belonging to that train? That I 
 cannot tell. There was quite a number quite a lot of stock. 
 
 How many wagons did those emigrants have? Thirteen I 
 counted. 
 
 Do you know what was done with the cattle ? Taken to Iron 
 Springs. 
 
 Who took them around there? I don't know who took them 
 there some men took them there. 
 
 Do you know of Lee having and using any of the wagons 
 afterwards? I saw some of the wagons at Harmony several 
 weeks afterwards. 
 
 What did you say became of the cattle? Taken to Iron 
 Springs. 
 
 By whom? I understood by John D. Lee's orders. 
 
 Do you know what was done with the cattle ? I saw some of 
 the cattle afterwards on the Harmony range close to Lee's resi- 
 dence. 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 345 
 
 There under his charge ? I suppose so. I am not definite 
 about that. 
 
 Do you know whether any of them were killed by Lee ? No, 
 sir. Never saw him kill any of them ; he told me once that he 
 had given the Indians several beeves, and the Indians told me 
 he had. 
 
 How long had you been acquainted with the Indians in South- 
 ern Utah at the time of the massacre? I had been somewhat 
 acquainted with them for five years. I came to Iron County in 
 the Spring of '51 and resided there until '57. 
 
 Were your relations with the Indians intimate ? With some 
 portions of them they were. 
 
 Do you know at that date, the time of this massacre, what the 
 relations were existing between the people of Southern Utah and 
 the Indians ; whether they were hostile or whether they were 
 friendly ? They were friendly. 
 
 State whether they were in good subjection or not? 
 
 Bishop objected to the introduction of this testimony by this 
 witness. First, because the proper foundation had not been laid 
 to show that this witness knew how far the Indians had been 
 placed under subjection. Second, because the prosecution had 
 introduced written evidence, documents written by Brigham 
 Young and John p. Lee, to show the exact condition of the 
 Indians at that time, and before that. Third, they seek to prove 
 that the Indians were friendly to the people of Utah ; that is 
 irrelevant and immaterial here, from this fact, that there is no 
 question now before the court or jury as to whether the Indians 
 of Utah were friendly with the citizens of Utah or not. It is 
 not claimed by either the prosecution or the defense, that the 
 Indians had made any attack at that time, or that they after- 
 wards made any attack on the citizens of Utah. The only ques- 
 tion on trial is as to the fate of certain people, non-residents of 
 Utah, and the fact as to whether this defendant was connected 
 with their taking off or not. 
 
 After argument the question was withdrawn. 
 
 What was the influence of John D. Lee over the Indians of 
 Southern Utah, those that were there present at the massacre ? 
 
 Objected to until it is shown that this party knows what that 
 influence was. Question withdrawn. 
 
 Do you know the relations existing between John D. Lee and 
 those Indians? The relations between John D. Lee and those 
 
346 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 Indians, a small portion of Indians that roved around in there, 
 were good ; but the Indians further south, I don't know. The 
 Indians of Santa Clara, and further on, I did not know. 
 
 Had you any information, before you went there, from John 
 D. Lee's Indians, that he had control of, that he had promised 
 to go there? I had information from Indians that went there. 
 
 How long was that before you went? It was on Monday 
 evening, before the massacre on Friday. 
 
 What was that information? Objected to. Question with- 
 drawn. 
 
 Cross-Examined. How old were you at the time of the mas- 
 sacre ? I was in my twentieth year. 
 
 Where were you at the time Mr. Haight ordered you to go to 
 the Mountain Meadows ? I was at Cedar City. 
 
 What time in the day was that? It was some time in the 
 afternoon of Thursday. 
 
 The day before the massacre ? Yes, sir. 
 
 How many men went with you to Cedar City? Two went 
 with me to Cedar City. 
 
 Who were they? Klingensmith's son, and I can't recollect 
 who the other was, came down to tell me I was wanted there. 
 A man by the name of Charles Hopkins, and Charles Western, 
 went with me to the Meadows. I went on horseback, and John 
 Western went with the wagons. There were no others went at 
 that time. There were others before, I understood. 
 
 How many did you find there when you got there, citizens 
 of Cedar City and the surrounding country ? I can't tell you 
 the number. 
 
 How many, ten, fifteen or twenty? I should judge ten or 
 fifteen. 
 
 Is it not a fact that there were more than twenty-five or thirty 
 men white men there, that you saw on the ground? There 
 might have been. 
 
 Wasn't there that number? I could not tell you. 
 
 Why can't you tell me? Because I didn't count them. I 
 was not there long enough to ascertain the number of men that 
 were there. 
 
 Where did you go that night when you went on the ground ? 
 I went to Hamblin's ranch. Got there about twelve or one 
 o'clock not far from midnight and lay down there till morning. 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 347 
 
 What time did you get to the Meadows next morning? It was 
 some time in the forepart of the day. 
 
 Did you go to the camp where the citzens were located? Yes, 
 sir. 
 
 About how many men did you find there ? There were some 
 in two places. I found some eight or ten at the place I went. 
 
 Did you go to the other place ? I didn't go there. 
 
 Then how do you know men were there? I saw them. 
 
 How far off? Some were in sight. 
 
 Were they within half a mile of you? Yes, sir. 
 
 Were there any Indians on the Meadows after you got there? 
 Yes, sir. 
 
 Where were the Indians with reference to the white men? 
 The Indians camped some distance from the whites. 
 
 Were the Indians out of their camp and up at that of the 
 whites? Several came up while I was there. 
 
 Then after they came up to see you they staid up there around 
 where the white men were ? Yes, sir. 
 
 What men were at the camp where you stopped? Well, sir, 
 I didn't stop at the camp. I stayed there a few minutes and 
 talked to Mr. Bateman. 
 
 Who did you see there? Mr. Bateman, Charles Hopkins and 
 Klingensmith, where I was talking. 
 
 Where is Bateman? Dead. 
 
 Where is Hopkins ? I understand he is dead. 
 
 Do you refer to the same Klingensmith that was a witness at 
 the last trial? He was the man that was Bishop at Cedar City. 
 
 Where is Western? I can't tell you. I don't know whether 
 he is dead or alive. 
 
 Did you see Isaac C. Haight? Not when I first went to the 
 camp. 
 
 You saw him around at the Meadows ? Yes, sir, I saw him at 
 the Meadows. 
 
 Did you see a man by the name of Stewart? I don't recollect. 
 
 Did you see Higbee ? Yes sir. 
 
 Wilden? I don't recollect. 
 
 Did you see old man Young ? Yes, sir. 
 
 How many others did you see ? I can't tell you. 
 
 You stayed there a few minutes and then went to get your 
 horse ; where was it you heard the conversation between John 
 
848 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 D. Lee and the Indians? It was at the camp at Hamblin's 
 ranch. 
 
 Give that entire conversation that passed between John D. 
 Lee and the Indians? I can't. 
 
 Start in and give from the first to the last of it as well as you 
 can? I don't know as I can, sir. 
 
 What language did John D. Lee talk in to the Indians? He 
 had an Indian boy as interpreter. 
 
 Who was that Indian interpreter. It was the Indian boy 
 called Alma, I think, that he would talk with and then have the 
 Indian interpret it to the Indians. 
 
 Then he talked English and the boy interpreted to the In- 
 dians? I suppose so. 
 
 You understood both languages. Do you remember whether 
 the Indian interpreted and told the Indian what Lee said, or 
 not? I didn't hear him tell the boy anything about the attack. 
 
 Didn't you testify that you had a talk with Lee, and that you 
 heard him talk with the Indians, and say that he had attacked 
 the emigrants? No, sir, I said the Indians told me so. Yes, sir; 
 I did. Lee was talking when I went to the camp, and he did 
 say so. 
 
 Tell me whether he talked English or Indian? He talked 
 English to me and told me so. 
 
 Give me that conversation ? He told me they had attacked 
 the camp on Monday night, and been repulsed. 
 
 What else? I can't be expected to remember all the conver- 
 sation twenty years ago. 
 
 I want all that you do know. Do you know any more about 
 it? Can you recollect anything more that he said? Nothing 
 that I recollect. 
 
 Did he give you any reason for attacking the emigrants? 
 No, sir. 
 
 Did you find any fault with him for attacking them? Was 
 anything said about whether it was right or wrong? No, sir; I 
 was a boy; I didn't consider it my business to talk to my 
 superior officers in regard to such things? 
 
 How was that about Lee being your superior officer? I say I 
 was a boy and didn't consider I had a right to talk to a man in 
 his position in such matters. 
 
 Did he have any control over you? No. 
 
 What right had he to control your actions? No answer. 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 849 
 
 What position did he hold that gave him the right to direct 
 your movements? I was sent there. 
 
 You have spoken of his being your superior officer. Tell me 
 what position John D. Lee held* that enabled him to control 
 your actions? They called him Major Lee, and I was sent by 
 Major Haight to go to the Mountain Meadows, to Major Lee. 
 
 That is the reason you considered that you had nothing to do 
 with it? Yes, sir. 
 
 Did Haight tell you what you were to do there? No, sir. 
 
 He simply told you to go to the Mountain Meadows ? Yes, sir. 
 
 What do you mean by your evidence, when you were asked 
 by Mr. Howard a question, and you answered that you would 
 not have gone to the Meadows if you had known what was to be 
 done ? That is, not if I could help it. 
 
 State whether you were under any compulsion? I didn't con- 
 sider it was safe for me to object. 
 
 Explain what you mean, that is what I want. Where was the 
 danger who was the danger to come from if you objected 
 from Haight or those around him from the Indians, or from the 
 emigrants? From the military officers. 
 
 Where ? At Cedar City. 
 
 Was Haight one of those military officers? Yes, sir. 
 
 Who was the highest military officer in Cedar City at that 
 time? I think it was Isaac C. Haight. 
 
 You thought it would not be safe for you to refuse, had you 
 any reasons to fear danger had any persons ever been injured 
 for not obeying, or anything of that bind? I don't want to 
 answer. 
 
 It is necessary to the safety of the man I am defending, and I 
 therefore insist upon an answer. Had any person ever been 
 injured for not obeying? Yes, sir; they had. 
 
 And from what you had seen before that, you thought it was 
 your duty, under the circumstances, to obey counsel, or com- 
 mands given you by Haight? Yes, sir. 
 
 Did Haight hold any office except that of Major in the 
 military? He held the office of President of Cedar City. 
 
 An ecclesiastical office President of that Stake of Zion, 1 
 believe you call it ? Yes, sir. 
 
 Tell me how old Haight was then? I can't. 
 
 A man full-grown, I presume ? Yes, sir. 
 
 After you had caught your horse, how far were you from the 
 
S50 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 wagons at the time you heard the first firing? Well, I was not 
 over 300 yards, and perhaps not more than 250. 
 
 What was the nature of the ground ? I was on higher ground ; 
 If you have ever been to the Mountain Meadows, it gradually 
 descends down from the mountains to the meadows. 
 
 You were on the upland above the wagons ? Yes, sir. 
 
 Between you and those parties were there any trees or shrub- 
 bery, or anything of that kind ? There were some to my left- 
 kind of behind me. 
 
 You were at the left of the column ? To the right of the col- 
 umn. 
 
 Then to your left, in between you and the wagons, there was 
 nothing to obstruct your vision whatever? Not between me and 
 the wagons. 
 
 At that time could you see down to the meadows to where the 
 principal part of the emigrants were killed? I could see the 
 head of the column of the emigrants. The lower part of the 
 column was hid by this oak bush that is there. 
 
 Did you see any Indians there at the time you heard this first 
 shot, or soon afterwards? Yes, sir, soon afterwards. 
 
 You stopped your horse at the time you heard the first shot 
 and paid particular attention to what was going on? Yes, sir. 
 
 You continued there inactive until the whole thing was over? 
 Yes, sir. 
 
 You say you saw John D. Lee there. Did you not see Samuel 
 licMurdy, one of the drivers, there also. Yes, sir. 
 
 What did he do ? He was holding his horses all the time. I 
 did not see him let go of them. 
 
 Do you know whether he took part in the killing, or not? No, 
 sir, I don't. I can't say. 
 
 What was Sam Knight doing? Sam Knight, when I looked 
 round, was out on the ground holding his horses. 
 
 How long did they stand there and hold their horses ? Not 
 long. The killing did not last over five minutes. 
 
 What did they do when they let go of their horses ? I saw the 
 wagons going off. There was another white man there along 
 with the Indians, but who he was I do not know. I can't tell. 
 I never enquired to find out. 
 
 It was none of your business? No, sir. 
 
 And you just let the matter pass? But you did see John D. 
 Lee killing emigrants, but you don't know who else killed any? 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 351 
 
 No, sir. 
 
 You have not tried to find out since, have you? No, sir, I 
 have not. 
 
 You have talked this over a great many times since, and heard 
 it talked over, I suppose ? No, sir, but very little. 
 
 You have had people ask you about the facts and circum- 
 stances frequently? Yes, sir, but it is something that I have 
 avoided. 
 
 Is this the first time, since you arrived in Beaver City, that 
 you have talked this thing all over, except when talking to the 
 attorneys for prosecution ? No answer. 
 
 From your silence I see you wish to avoid talking to me, too. 
 Tou have never talked this over to any one ? No, sir. 
 
 Until you came to Beaver? I might have done so. I can't 
 recollect. 
 
 How many of the military did you see drawn up in line there 
 on the field of the Mountain Meadows, about the time the wag- 
 ons drove off? I can't tell you. 
 
 Quite a number, were there not? Yes, sir. 
 
 Who was commanding that military body drawn up in line 
 there? I can't tell which it was, Klingensmith or John M. Higbee 
 
 They were both there? Yes, sir, I think so. 
 
 Is it not the fact that these men were drawn up in military 
 line standing there with arms in their hands within two hun- 
 dred yards of the emigrant camp? I can't tell you. 
 
 Did you see them march in? I saw them marching, as I told 
 you ; when I got my horse and turned back I saw them marching. 
 
 I understood you to say that it was the emigrants that you 
 saw marching after the wagons. Did you see the militia from 
 Cedar City marching too, at the same time ? There were men 
 coming all along all together. I can't 'tell you whether they 
 were militia or emigrants. All were marching along together. 
 
 About what time did the emigrants come out of the camp ? 
 It was some time in the afternoon, I think. 
 
 How long had you been there at the Mountain Meadows, 
 before the massacre took place? Well, I went from Hamblin's 
 ranch in the morning ; I hadn't been there a great while. 
 
 JOHNSON. Where were you born? I was born in the State 
 of Ohio. 
 
 How old were you when you arrived in Utah? I was some 
 twelve years of age. 
 
352 MOUMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 Came I suppose with your parents, to Utah Territory? 
 Yes, sir. 
 
 Resided in Utah ever since ? Yes, sir. 
 
 Reside now at Johnson's Fort, the same place you did at that 
 time? No, sir. 
 
 Where do you live now? Shall I answer that question? 
 Yes, sir. I live at Kanab. 
 
 How long have you lived there? About four months. 
 
 Where had you been living before that, since you lived at 
 Fort Johnson? After the massacre how long did you live a* 
 Fort Johnson? I moved into the Rio Virgin in the fall of '58. 
 
 How long did you remain there? Well, I can count up in a 
 minute I lived there ten or twelve years. 
 
 Then where did you move to? I moved to the Sevier. And 
 Uom there to Kanab, where you live now? Yes, sir. 
 
 You say you saw a lot of the wagons at Harmony afterward ? 
 I will not swear to but one. 
 
 Did you ever see any of the wagons at any other place did 
 you not see some of them at Cedar City? Yes, sir. 
 
 Where were they in Cedar City? They were at KHngensmith's. 
 
 How many did you see ? Two. 
 
 What position did Klingensmith occupy at that time? He 
 was Bishop of Cedar City Ward. 
 
 You spoke of seeing some cattle on the Harmony range. Did 
 you ever see any of those cattle on any other range? They were 
 running about Harmony and Kanab. 
 
 Who had possession or control of them? I can't tell you. 
 
 Do you know how they were branded after that ? No, sir. 
 
 How did you recognize them? I recognized them by the 
 brand that was on them of " S." 
 
 Did you notice that they were branded with a " B " the first 
 time you saw them? Yes, and they were a different kind oi 
 stock ; they were Texas cattle, a good many of them Texas 
 cattle with long broad horns. There were none in the country 
 that I ever saw until I saw those. 
 
 Go on again and tell us just exactly what you saw John D. 
 Lee do ; tell me all that you saw him do. I want you to make 
 it just as full and bad as you can. I have told you what I saw. 
 
 Tell it to me again. I told you that I saw him fire a gun, 
 and saw a person fall. 
 
 Go on and give it all just as you saw it; the whole thing. 
 
TSIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 353 
 
 And then after that I saw him and the Indians pulling people 
 dut of the wagons. 
 
 What else ? That is what I told you before. 
 
 I cannot help that, I am now asking you to tell what yon 
 know. That is what I did see. 
 
 Is that all you saw ? Yes, sir. 
 
 You know the parties had their throats cut, I suppose ? No, 
 sir. You went down and looked at the bodies afterwards ? No, 
 sir, I did not ; I did not want to. 
 
 Then it is only a supposition, that the parties' throats were cut? 
 That is all. 
 
 Did you ever go back to see if those persons were dead or 
 not? No, sir, I did not; I saw them lying there after the 
 wagons had driven away. 
 
 Do you know whether they were dead or not, of your own 
 knowledge? No, sir, I do not. I saw persons lying on the 
 ground dead, back below where the troops were. 
 
 How far from you? I went to them. 
 
 Then you did go back ? Were they men that Lee killed, or 
 were they men killed by Klingensmith' a men, where he and 
 Higbee were ? They were down where Klingensmith and Higbee 
 were. 
 
 Then you did go down to that place ? Yes, sir ; John D. Lee 
 sent me down to the wagons, that were down below, to keep the 
 Indians from taking the things out of the wagons. 
 
 How did he get you there ? He told me to go, and I went. 
 
 Did you ride down to him after this killing was over? I went 
 over to where Klingensmith was and Lee came down ; he sent me 
 down there to the wagons. 
 
 What did he say when he told you to go back? He told me 
 that he wanted me to go down to the wagons of the emigrants 
 and keep the Indians from taking the things out. 
 
 How long did you stay there ? I stayed there till John D. Lee 
 and Isaac C. Haight came down. 
 
 Are you certain that Lee came back ? Yes, sir. 
 
 Don't you know as a matter of fact that Lee went on to Hamb* 
 lin's ranch? I stayed there at the wagons until after he came 
 back from Hamblin's ranch. 
 
 How long did you stay there ? I can't tell you. 
 
 Did you steep there in the field that night with White, Klin- 
 23 
 
354 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 gensmith and others? I think likely I did. I stayed there until 
 John D. Lee and Isaac C. Haight came down. 
 
 Don't you know you stayed there that night, and until the 
 wagons were moved away ? I think I did. 
 
 Don't you know that you did? Yes, sir, I do. 
 
 Who took those wagons away who ordered the hitching up 
 of the oxen and taking away of the wagons? I don't know. 
 
 Was it Klingensmith ? No, sir ; he did not. 
 
 Did John D. Lee? No, sir. I don't know. 
 
 Didn't you help drive the stock? I went with them around to 
 the Iron Springs. 
 
 Who helped take the wagons down there can't you give me 
 the names of a few of them? Witness refused to answer. 
 
 How many whites did you see on the Mountain Meadows, at 
 the time of the massacre? I did not count them. 
 
 About how many? There was a considerable number, as 
 many as forty or fifty. 
 
 How far were they from where you kept watch at the wagons ? 
 About half a mile. 
 
 Half a mile from the emigrants' wagons? Yes, sir; about 
 that far. 
 
 Who kept watch with you that night at the emigrant camp, to 
 keep the Indians from stealing? I don't want to bring in new 
 names. 
 
 I see you do not except Lee's how is that? I have men- 
 tioned a good many names. 
 
 You have been sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth, and 
 nothing but the truth ; and I want you to tell me the names of 
 those men. Well, a man named Ure was with me. 
 
 What was his full name ? John Ure. 
 
 How old was he? I can't tell. 
 
 Was he a man grown ? Yes, sir. 
 
 Is he living or dead? He is alive. 
 
 How long was it after you went there to keep the Indians from 
 stealing that these other parties came to you? I don't recollect 
 of any coming until John D. Lee and Isaac C. Haight came. 
 
 Next day? Yes, sir. 
 
 Did you succeed in keeping the Indians from stealing there ? 
 They had taken a good deal before I went there. After I went 
 they didn't. 
 
 You had considerable control over the Indians when you got 
 
TBIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 355 
 
 there. They knew you, and you could talk their language, 
 and when you told them to do anything they would do it? Some 
 of them would, and some wouldn't. 
 
 They all agreed to quit stealing, didn't they? No, sir. 
 
 How did you keep them from stealing, then? I didn't. 
 
 What did they steal after you got there? I can't tell you. 
 
 Did they steal anything you know whether they did or not? 
 The Indians were at the wagons when I arrived and had taken 
 out a good deal of stuff. 
 
 What did they do after you arrived ? They took off what 
 they wanted. 
 
 Did they stop stealing when you told them to? Not al- 
 together. 
 
 What did they take away? Bedding and blankets. 
 
 Isn't it a fact that they took just what they wanted, and that 
 you did not stop them from stealing? I did stop some of them. 
 
 Well, didn't they carry off all they wanted? They didn't 
 carry it all away, but they did a good part of it. 
 
 How many did you keep from stealing? Five or six. 
 
 How many Indians were there that you could not stop ; how 
 many were there around the wagons? There was quite a lot that 
 went away with their goods. 
 
 Fifty, seventy-five, or one hundred? Not that many. 
 
 How many did you see that day altogether? There was a 
 great number over a hundred there was a great number of 
 them took horses and started off. 
 
 Where did they get the horses ? From around that section of 
 country. 
 
 Emigrants' horses, I suppose ? Yes, sir. 
 
 About how many horses did the emigrants have there? I can't 
 tell you. 
 
 Didn't you see the herd? I saw the Indians with horses that 
 they said they got there, but I did not see the herd of stock until 
 it was started to the Iron Springs. I only came there the night 
 before. 
 
 Did you do anything toward burying the dead after the mas- 
 sacre? No, sir. 
 
 Then you did not help do that? No, sir. 
 
 Were you there at the time it was being done? I saw men 
 there working at it from where I was at the camp. They com- 
 menced burying the dead right off. 
 
856 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 The same evening of the massacre? Well, sir, I can't tell you. 
 
 You cannot tell whether it was the same night or the next 
 morning? I cannot. 
 
 What number of men went from there to the Iron Springs with 
 you? There were some ten or twelve went along. I went on 
 afterward. I had my horse. I rode my horse. 
 
 Give me the names of as many as you can that went with you 
 from the Meadows to the Iron Springs the day afterward. I 
 can't. I don't know as I can give the names. 
 
 If you say you cannot give the names, I will not press it. 
 Well, I eay I cannot. 
 
 You say you cannot recollect any of the names of those who 
 helped drive the stock? No, sir, I can't. 
 
 Who had charge of property as it was driven to the springs ? 
 That I cannot tell. 
 
 What was Klingensmith doing there? I don't know. I don't 
 recollect seeing him along. 
 
 When did you last see Higbee there on the field ? Did you 
 see him after the massacre ? Yes, sir. 
 
 Did you see him the day after the massacre ? I can't tell 
 whether I did or not. 
 
 Were you present at any council that was held there on the 
 field previous to the massacre, and hear any agreement as to the 
 killing of the emigrants or anything of that sort? No, sir, I 
 didn't. 
 
 You did not hear that anybody was to be killed until you 
 heard the shooting? Yes, sir. 
 
 When? When I started after my horse I heard that the peo- 
 ple were to be killed. 
 
 Who told you? John D. Lee told me. 
 
 I thought you said he* had left you? He talked of it before 
 he went to the camp. 
 
 Just before that, then? Yes, sir. 
 
 I wish to get at all this, because I want you to tell everything 
 that John D. Lee did. Tell me what he said to you about it? 
 He was talking to the men about getting the men out of their 
 fortification. 
 
 Was this after the flag of truce had been sent? No, sir, be- 
 fore that. 
 
 Who was Lee talking to? Klingensmith, Higbee and others. 
 
 Who were the others? I can't tell you. 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 357 
 
 How many others ? There was quite a lot of men. 
 
 Thirty or forty? I should judge there were. 
 
 Did you hear Higbee say anything ? Higbee may have talked. 
 
 Did any person make any objection to the killing of the emi- 
 grants? It is a thing, sir, that I don't like to answer. 
 
 I wish you to answer my question. Did any man or men, 
 person or persons, there on the ground, make an objection to 
 the killing of all the emigrants ? Yes, sir, a good many objected. 
 But they didn't dare to say anything. 
 
 How do you know they objected? They dare not speak about 
 it to those men. 
 
 Did they speak up at the Council and make objections? I 
 was not at the Council. 
 
 Did any one of that thirty or forty men raise a voice against 
 the killing of the emigrants, at the Council, on the field, or in 
 the presence of Lee, Higbee or Klingensmith, or any one else? 
 No, sir, they did not. 
 
 What did John D. Lee say about it in the presence of Haight 
 and Higbee? He said we must get them out of there. 
 
 Who was he talking to then? Higbee and the others. 
 
 Were they talking the matter over? Yes, sir. 
 
 Tell me what was said? I can't recollect. 
 
 Do you recollect what Haight said? Haight was not there. 
 
 Then how was it that Lee was talking to Haight and Higbee 
 if Haight was not there? It was Higbee and Klingensmith he 
 was talking to. 
 
 What was it that Klingensmith said about killing the emi- 
 grants? I can't tell. 
 
 Then you cannot recollect what any one said or did except 
 John D. Lee? No, because John D. Lee was the most con- 
 spicuous man in the whole thing. 
 
 Klingensmith, the Bishop of the Church at Cedar City, Haight 
 and Higbee, as Majors in the militia, all stood back and gave 
 John D. Lee full control, did they? He had control of every- 
 thing on the field. * He acted like a man that had control. 
 
 Did he not have control? I can't say. 
 
 Did you not think at the time that John D. Lee had full con- 
 trol of everything and of every person there ? He acted like it. 
 
 What do you believe about it? No answer. 
 
 Haight ordered you to go there ? Yes, and when I got there 
 I went to Lee ; that was the instruction. 
 
358 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 And you stayed by him and obeyed all of his orders? No, 
 sir, he wanted me to talk to the Indians in a way I didn't 
 want to. 
 
 Tell me how he wanted you to talk to the Indians? He 
 wanted me to tell them that they would get the emigrants out 
 some way, so they could get their guns and horses. 
 
 You refused to tell the Indians that, did you? Well, I talked 
 to them some. 
 
 Did you tell them that or not? I don't wish to answer that. 
 
 COURT. You need not tell anything to criminate yourself. 
 
 BISHOP. Can you tell me anything besides that, that you 
 heard John D. Lee say? No, sir, I cannot. That is all I 
 recollect. 
 
 What time of day was that, when Lee said, " We must get 
 them out some way?" It was in the fore-part of the day. 
 
 Who was in hearing distance when Lee said that? I decline 
 to answer. 
 
 HOWARD. You don't decline because it would criminate you, 
 do you? No, sir. 
 
 Then you cannot decline. 
 
 BISHOP. Tell me who was present, and heard that statement 
 of Lee's? I can't tell there was a lot of them there. 
 
 After you arrived at Iron Springs, did you and those with you 
 talk the matter over and agree to keep it a secret? The matter 
 was talked over at the camp, and again at the Springs, about 
 keeping it a secret, but I can't tell what the agreement was that 
 was come to. 
 
 Was the subject talked over as to whether it should be talked 
 over afterwards or not? I don't recollect. 
 
 After that did you talk it over with those who were engaged 
 in the alFair with you, in which conversation you learned it was 
 best to keep silent concerning the whole thing ? It was talked 
 of that way that it was best to keep still. 
 
 What reasons were given, why it was best to keep still? I 
 can't tell you. 
 
 Do you know what the reasons were, or do you decline to 
 answer? Is it because you forget, or why can't you tell me? 
 It was because they didn't want it to be known those men who 
 were in it ; the leaders in it didn't want it to get out. 
 
 I asked you whether you ever had any conversation with any 
 one in regard to it? I can't tell you whether I had or not. 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 359 
 
 Of course such a thing as that men would talk about. That's 
 what the matter now. It has been talked about and can't lie 
 still. 
 
 Did you ever have a conversation with Haight about this mas- 
 acre since it occurred ? Not that I know of. 
 
 Did you ever have a conversation with Stewart? No, sir. 
 
 Did you ever have one with Higbee about keeping it still? 
 Not that I know of. 
 
 Did you ever talk with Allen, Klingensmith or any other 
 party that was there, about keeping it still? I tell you I don't 
 recollect having a conversation about keeping it still. Such a 
 thing was talked about, but I don't now recollect talking 
 about it. 
 
 Did you hear either of those men talk about it, about keeping 
 it secret? No answer. 
 
 Is it not a fact that after the property was all gathered up at 
 the Meadows, and you were ready to start for Iron Springs, that 
 speeches were made to the men present, by those in authority, 
 in which speeches you were ordered to keep it a secret forever? 
 There were a great many speeches made. 
 
 At the Meadows, before you left there, was it not told you in 
 a speech then made to you, that it must be kept secret ; that it 
 would be best to keep silent? Were you not so advised bj 
 your leaders ? Yes, sir. 
 
 Who gave that advice? Who ordered you to keep silent? 
 Klingensmith and Haight gave the advice. 
 
 The cross-examination was continued at great length, but the 
 witness could not, or would not recollect anything except what 
 he had been advised by his priestly rulers to swear to. Nephi 
 Johnson is a fair sample of the willing tools who commit 
 crimes for Christ's sake> and swear falsely for their own sake. I 
 have given sufficient of his evidence to prove to the reader, that 
 Nephi Johnson has not told the whole truth ; he has only told 
 what the Church leaders thought sufficient to convict Lee, and 
 kept back every thing that would lead to the conviction of the 
 other murdering wretches, who still adhere to the Mormon faith, 
 and skulk in their hiding places, far from the haunts of law- 
 abiding citizens. 
 
CHAPTER 
 
 TRIAL OF LEE CONTINUED. 
 JACOB HAMBLIN 
 
 Sworn for the prosecution. 
 
 HOWABD Where did you live in August and September, 
 1857? My home was supposed to be at Clara, but I occupied 
 the Mountain Meadows in the Summer with my stock. 
 
 What county was Mountain Meadows in at that time ? It was 
 considered in Iron County. It was before Washington County 
 was organized. 
 
 It is in Washington County now? Yes ; I believe it is. 
 
 Do you remember the time of this massacre ? I was not at 
 home; I left before it happened, and I got back seven or eight 
 days after. 
 
 How long before it happened was it that you left home ? I 
 don't 'know; I met the company at Corn Creek, and camped 
 with them there. 
 
 You were going north, to the city? Yes. 
 
 When you returned had the massacre taken place? Yes, sir) 
 it was done before I got home I heard of it before I got home. 
 
 When you got home, what did you find there on the ground? 
 Well, there were the bodies of the company lying about there. 
 
 Were they dead or alive? I didn't see any live ones lying 
 there. 
 
 How many dead ones did you see? I suppose over one 
 hundred. 
 
 Did you count the skulls there ? The next Spring, I took my 
 man and we buried over one hundred and twenty skulls 
 skeletons; I don't remember exactly, something like one 
 hundred and twenty. Two of us gathered up the bones. 
 
 Did you count the skulls '( Yes, sir ; we counted them. 
 860 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 361 
 
 Can you now remember how many there were ? I think it 
 was one hundred and twenty odd ; I am satisfied it was over 
 that, but I don't just remember the number. 
 
 After the massacre did you have any conversation with John 
 D. Lee about it? I don't know as I did after I got home. 
 
 Did you see him before you got home on that trip? I did. I 
 met him at Fillmore. 
 
 Was that after the massacre? Yes, sir; it was this side of 
 Fillmore. I told him I heard a rumor of it among the Indians, 
 and he told me about it. 
 
 State whether he had any boasts to make about it, or com- 
 munications concerning it. If so what and how ? I asked him 
 how it came up, or something of that kind. <He said that the 
 emigrants passed through and threatened to make their outfit 
 out of those outlying settlements, and that he could not keep the 
 Indians back, and he had to go and lead the next attack, and he 
 got a bullet-hole through his hat and shirt, and then afterwards 
 got more Indians and had to decoy them out. 
 
 Tell me the whole conversation? I will if you will let me. 
 That was the conversation. I talked about it with him, and he 
 justified himself in this way : That the Indians made him go 
 out and go and lead the next attack ; afterwards they called on 
 the Clara Indians, and that he decoyed them out, and they 
 massacred them. 
 
 Did he say where he decoyed them out? Decoyed them out 
 of the emigrant camp. Did he say why the massacre took place ? 
 Yes, I believe he gave reasons for it. 
 
 What were they ? Well, that the attack had been made by 
 the Indians, and that they could not keep them back, and it was 
 supposed expedient. That there was an army right on our 
 border. That they would lead to giving the people much bother 
 and trouble, and that they would testify against them, and so on, 
 and it was thought best to use them up all that could tell tales, 
 that is as near as I can remember. 
 
 Who did he say concluded that? I don't think he mentioned 
 any names. 
 
 Did he tell you whether any other white men were with him 
 or not at the time he led the attack ? He said that there was no 
 one with him. 
 
 Did he tell you how it happened that he got down there and 
 was there alone? Yes ; I told you. He went out to watch them 
 
362 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 and keep .them from making their outfit from the outlying set- 
 tlements, and the Indians could not be restrained. 
 
 How long did he say that attack was made before the massa- 
 ere? It ran along three or four days, he told me. 
 
 Cross-Examined In the conversation that you had with Lee, 
 did he not state to you that after the attack had been made by 
 the Indians upon the emigrants, that word had been sent to Ce- 
 dar City for assistance to save the emigrants from the Indians? 
 Yes, sir said they sent word there. 
 
 Who did he tell you sent word to Cedar City? He did he 
 sent word. 
 
 What did he tell you that word was that he sent to Cedar City ? 
 He sent word that the emigrants had been attacked that the 
 Indians were very mad, and he didn't know how to keep them 
 down. 
 
 Give, as near as you can, the conversation that you had with 
 Mr. Lee at the time you refer to? I believe I have. 
 
 Didn't he tell you that Haight or Higbee sent back word that 
 the emigrants must be destroyed, because of the fact that Stew- 
 art had killed Aiden at the Springs? Didn't he mention some- 
 thing of that kind to you in that same conversation? I don't 
 remember as he did. He spoke of some man being shot at Lit- 
 tle Pinto in the course of the evening. It was after the Indians 
 had attacked, if I remember right, that some men left the camp 
 and undertook to go to Cedar City, and were killed on the way 
 one or two I think, and one or two came back. 
 
 Go on and tell all that he told you about it, about the killing 
 of that man at Pinto how it was done, and all about it. I 
 don't know that I can. I remember that he said that there was 
 one killed there that went out to see if they could get help from 
 Cedar City. Two or three went, and one was killed and one or 
 two came back in the night. I don't know but that they got 
 back to camp. 
 
 Did he tell you what word was sent back to him from Cedar 
 City after that time? Yes; he told me something about the 
 message that came there. 
 
 Tell me what was said about it? One message came to not 
 disturb the emigrants, and after the message went that they had 
 been attacked, I think he said that there was one that they be 
 all killed or used up. 
 
 Go on and tell what he said was in that last message he was 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 363 
 
 explaining it to you ? I am satisfied the message was it com- 
 menced that they should be used up, or something like that. 
 
 Did he tell you who that message was from? I don't think 
 he did. 
 
 Did he tell you where it was from, whether from Cedar City 
 or elsewhere ? No, he used the language that he got word. 
 
 Re-Direct. 
 
 Do you believe what he said, that he got a message to use up 
 those emigrants, from any authority? I don't know that I do. 
 
 Don't you know that he lied about it? No answer. 
 
 Don't you think he did? No answer. 
 
 He was telling you this in justification after the massacre? 
 Yes, he told me that. I asked what called for such an act, and 
 he told what the reason was. 
 
 He gave you that reply in his justification? He said he got 
 word to use them up, that this army was on the borders. 
 
 He got word that being commenced, that on account of the 
 army being on the borders, that he had better finish it? Yes. 
 
 Did you understand that that came from Higbee or Haight 
 that word? I don't think he said. 
 
 Do you know the relations existing between Higbee, Haight 
 and Lee, so as to know from whom it came ? I would expect it 
 would come from Isaac C. Haight, if any word was sent from 
 Cedar City ; if it was north, it would be from Parowan, but I 
 don't think he told me where it was from. 
 
 Klingensmith was in a position, I suppose, to send such word, 
 if any was sent? Klingensmith was presiding Bishop. If it wa 
 orders in a military capacity it would be somebody else. 
 
 If it was in a military capacity, who would it have been from? 
 The way I understand it, it would be Dame. 
 
 If he told the truth, and authority came to him from a superior 
 military officer and if it came from an ecclesiastical, who would 
 it have been from ? It would have been from Klingensmith. 
 
 JACOB HAMBLIN. 
 
 Re-called. 
 
 HOWARD I am not in the habit, your Honor, of recalling a 
 witness this way, but I was not fully posted in regard to all the 
 facts that Mr. Hamblin would testify to. I have found he knows 
 some additional facts, and I will ask leave to examine him 
 further. 
 
 How far above this place, Beaver, was it that you had a con- 
 
864 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 versation with John D. Lee? It was about some springs, this 
 Bide of Fillmore, probably seven or eight miles. 
 
 How far is Fillmore from here ? About sixty miles. 
 
 How far is Cedar City from here ? Supposed to be fifty-five 
 miles fifty-three to fifty-five miles. 
 
 Is there any other place called Cedar City, except Cedar City? 
 No, sir, I don't know any. It is called Cedar or Cedar City. 
 
 How far is it from Cedar City to Parowan ? Eighteen miles, I 
 used to suppose it was. I have heard it called that. 
 
 How far is it from Parowan to Harmony? About thirty-five 
 miles, it is supposed to be. 
 
 Is Harmony on the road, or is it off of the road from Cedar 
 City to the Meadows ? It is twelve miles south of the road. 
 
 Where do you leave the road going from Parowan to the 
 Meadows, to go to Harmony? We leave it two and a half milei 
 below Cedar City. 
 
 Then it is off to the left as you are going? Yes, sir. 
 
 Where is Pinto? It would be within seven miles of the north 
 end of the Meadows, where my ranch was. What was the con- 
 dition of the Meadows at that time, with regard to being a good 
 stopping-place for travelers? At that time it had a very luxu- 
 riant growth of grass all over the valley, and springs at each 
 end. It was considered a good stopping-place for companies, 
 and was occupied by myself and two or three others at the north 
 end. We had then formed a settlement called the Clara. 
 
 In this conversation that you had with Mr. Lee, did he say 
 anything to you about the manner in which, or by whom, the 
 men had been drawn into that massacre? If he did, will you 
 state all he said, in your own way? It was a long while ago, 
 but I recollect him telling me that there were white men there, 
 and that they didn't know what they were going for until they 
 got there, and some would not act and some would. 
 
 What do you know about the disposition of the property of 
 those emigrants? There was none on the Meadows when I got 
 there, that I saw. I saw two or three young men driving two 
 or three hundred head of cattle, going to the Iron Springs. 
 Afterwards I saw them on the Harmony range that drove of 
 Texas cattle. 
 
 Whose range was the Harmony range? It belonged to the 
 Harmony settlement the citizens of Harmony. 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 865 
 
 Do you know of Mr. Lee using any of those cattle, butchering 
 or using any of them? He had charge of them. 
 
 BISHOP To save time and trouble, we will admit the corpus 
 delicti. Of course it ia understood that counsel cannot admit 
 anything against his client in a criminal case. But there will be 
 no question raised about it. It is an undisputed fact that some- 
 thing like one hundred and twenty people were killed about that 
 time and at that place. And that the number of people charged 
 in the indictment were killed there will be no question. That 
 they were killed at that place there will be no question. We 
 will never argue before any court that there has not been a kill- 
 ing as charged in the indictment, except that we will always 
 argue that the defendant did not do it. 
 
 Calling, your attention back to that conversation, I will ask 
 you to tell the court and Jury, in your own way, what Mr. Lee 
 told you in regard to his personal participation in that killing, if 
 he told you anything? Well, I believe I told it here yesterday 
 that he spoke of white men being engaged in it, and that he 
 made an attack at daylight ; that he could not keep the Indians 
 back. They were so mad because one of their men got killed, 
 and another wounded, that he led the attack and got a bullet 
 through his hat and another through his shirt. The talk was 
 something like this: They went out there to watch the emigrants 
 and see that they should not get their outfit from the outlying 
 settlements ; that the Indians made the attack at daylight, and 
 one of them got killed and another wounded, and that raised 
 their temper to such a pitch that they went for him and com- 
 pelled him to lead the attack, which he did once or twice once 
 anyway and got the bullet through his hat and one through his 
 shirt. The emigrants were so strongly entrenched they could 
 do nothing with them. And afterwards they were under the 
 necessity of decoying them out with a flag of truce. And they 
 came along in the Meadows to where the Indians were lying in 
 ambush, and they rose up and massacred them. The emigrants 
 were unarmed. 
 
 Tell what else he told you? Well, he spoke of many little in- 
 eidents. 
 
 Mention any of those incidents? There were two young 
 ladies brought out. 
 
 Whom by? By an Indian Chief at Cedar City, and he asked 
 
366 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 him what he should do with them, and the Indian killed one and 
 he killed the other. 
 
 Tell the story as he told you. That is about it. 
 
 Where were those young girls brought from did he say? 
 From a thicket of oak brush, where they were concealed. It 
 was an Indian Chief from Cedar City. 
 
 Tell just what he said about that. The Indian killed one and 
 he cut the other one's throat, is what he said. 
 
 Who cut the other's throat? Mr. Lee. 
 
 Tell me what Mr. Lee said ; state the circumstances of that 
 killing, what conversation passed between that Indian Chief and 
 Lee, and the conversation between the woman and himself? I 
 don't know that I could. 
 
 Tell all you can remember about it; you say the Chief 
 brought him the girls. I think I have told it about all. 
 
 Go over it again ; tell us all the details of the conversation of 
 the killing. Well, he said they were all killed all, as he sup- 
 posed ; that the Chief of Cedar City then brought out the young 
 ladies. 
 
 What did he say the Chief said to him? Asked what he should 
 do with them. 
 
 What else did the Chief say? He said they didn't ought to be 
 killed. 
 
 Did the Chief say to Lee why they should not be killed? Well, 
 he said they were pretty and he wanted to save them. 
 
 What did he tell you that he said to the Chief? According to 
 the orders that he had that they were too old and too big to let 
 live. 
 
 Then what did he say took place what did he say he told the 
 Chief to do? The Chief shot one of them. Did he say he told 
 the Chief to shoot her? He said he told him to. 
 
 What did he say the girl did when he told the Chief to shoot 
 her? I don't know. 
 
 Did she cover her face? No; he didn't say she covered her 
 face. 
 
 Did he say she pulled her bonnet down over her face? He 
 didn't tell me so. 
 
 Who did he say were by when that shooting took place? In- 
 dians standing round a good many. 
 
 After the Chief shot that one did he tell you what the other 
 one said or did to him, Lee? I don't think Mr. Lee did tell me. 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 367 
 
 Did he tell you himself who killed the other one? I told you 
 that he said it was a Cedar City Chief that killed one. 
 
 Who killed the other? He did it, he said. 
 
 How? He threw her down and cut her throat. 
 
 Did he tell you what she said to him? No. 
 
 Who did tell you that? The Indians told me a good many 
 things. 
 
 Didn't Mr. Lee tell you that she told him to spare her life, 
 and she would love him as long as she lived? Lee didn't tell 
 me that. 
 
 Did you ascertain in that conversation, or subsequently, 
 where it was that they were killed ? When I got home I asked 
 my Indian boy, and he went out to where this took place, and 
 he saw two young ladies lying there with their throats cut. 
 
 How old was he? Sixteen or seventeen. 
 
 What was the condition of those bodies? They were rather 
 in a putrid state ; their throats were cut ; I didn't look further 
 than that. 
 
 What were their ages? Looked about fourteen or fifteen. At 
 what point were their bodies from the others? South-east 
 direction, towards some thickets of oak. How far off? About 
 fifty yards. 
 
 Were those bodies up a little ravine, a little way? Yes, on 
 a rise of ground. 
 
 What were their ages, about? Thirteen to fifteen, I would 
 suppose. 
 
 Did you learn from the children, or from any other source, 
 their names? Well, I suppose I did. 
 
 What name? There was a little girl at my house, I found 
 with my family that was in that company ; she said their names 
 were Dunlap ; she claimed to be their sister. 
 
 How old was she ? Eight years old, she said. 
 
 Did you go up there and find those bodies yourself, with the 
 assistance of the Indian boy? I walked over the ground, 
 looked at it all pretty much and saw these two bodies. 
 
 He told you where those two bodies were to be found, did he? 
 Yes, sir. The others had been buried slightly, but those two 
 hadn't been ; there was quite a number scattering around there. 
 
 What became of the children of those emigrants? How many 
 children were brought there ? Two to my house, and several in 
 Cedar City. I was acting sub-agent for Forney. I gathered 
 
868 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 the children up for him ; seventeen in number, all I could learn 
 of. 
 
 Whom did you deliver them to? Forney, Superintendent of 
 Indian Affairs for Utah. 
 
 TTere there any of the wagons or other property burned there 
 on the ground ? I never saw any sign of burning, and never 
 heard of any being burned. 
 
 Cross-Examined Bishop: What day in September was it 
 that you had this conversation with John D. Lee, about seven 
 or eight miles this side of Fillmore? I don't recollect the date, 
 I left the city about the 14th-, and came directly there. 
 
 Who was present at that conversation? A man by the name 
 of Bishop. 
 
 That was not me ? No ; that man had two good eyes, and 
 you have but one. 
 
 What Bishop was that, was he a Mormon Bishop? No, he 
 was not a Mormon Bishop ; he was a merchant. He had been 
 hauling goods from California, and dealing here some in these 
 settlements. 
 
 Can you give me his other name? No, sir; I never heard it. 
 
 Was it Jesse Bishop? I don't know his other name. 
 
 Lee told you and this man Bishop all about it got you two 
 together and told you? I don't think Bishop heard the conver- 
 sation, or much of it. 
 
 Did Bishop hear any of it? I don't know that he did, or that 
 he didn't. 
 
 Then why did you say that he told you and this man Bishop? 
 I said he was there. 
 
 You heard the conversation? Yes, I heard it; but I don't 
 know as any other man heard it. 
 
 There was a man present by the name of Bishop? He was in 
 the same camp. 
 
 Where were you at the time this conversation took place? 
 I was five or six miles this side of Fillmore, at the Springs. 
 
 What time of day was it? It was afternoon sometime. 
 
 Which way was John D. Lee traveling at the time you saw 
 him? Going north, to the city. 
 
 You were going South? Yes, sir. 
 
 Tell me what he said about the orders that he had. You 
 have said that he told the Chief to kill the little girl, and that he 
 killed the other, because his orders were that they were all to 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LES. 369 
 
 be used up. He said he had orders to use up all that company 
 that could tell tales. 
 
 Where did he get these orders from? Did he tell you that? 
 I told you no, that I don't remember that he did. 
 
 Do you recollect that he didn't? If he did I don't recollect it. 
 
 I want to get as full a statement of facts as possible. I want 
 you to tell me everything that you think he said, or that he did 
 say. When did he tell you that he got those orders from Cedar 
 City? It was my impression that he got them from Cedar City, 
 but I could not say what the man said about it, but I had that 
 idea. 
 
 Who else did he tell you was on the ground aiding in this 
 killing? The names I don't know as he mentioned. I think 
 he mentioned Bishop Klingensmith being there. 
 
 Who else ? He mentioned Higbee being there. 
 
 Who else did he mention ? He mentioned my brother being 
 there, bringing some Indians there. He sent him word to bring 
 the Indians up there. Sent him word of this affair taking place, 
 and for him to go and get the Indians, and bring up the Clara 
 Indians. 
 
 Your brother, then, brought the Indiana to the Meadows, and 
 then left there? Yes, he told me so. 
 
 Now, how was it about the Indians making an attack about 
 daylight? Were they repulsed ? Yes. 
 
 One killed and another wounded? Yes, sir. 
 
 That enraged the Indians, and so Lee led the next attack? 
 Yes, sir. 
 
 Who do you mean were so enraged the Indians ? Yes, the 
 Indians. He claimed the idea that he had to do it to save his 
 own life. They were very mad, and wanted him to help use up 
 that company. 
 
 Did he not tell you in that same conversation that he tried to 
 appease the Indians and keep them from attacking the train? 
 I don't remember just the words, but he said he could not 
 keep them from attacking them just at daylight. 
 
 Didn't he tell you that he tried to keep them off ? I don't 
 think so. I think he said he could not keep them off. 
 
 Did he say anything about the Indians calling him any names 
 because he would not go? He went off towards the Clara and 
 cried, and they called him crier yah gauts. 
 
 Why did they call him this? Because he cried. 
 24 
 
870 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 That was before he led the attack? I don't know. 
 
 Are you positive that he told you that he cut that woman's 
 throat? Yes, I am positive of that, or I would not have told it. 
 
 How long is it since you have told anybody that John D. Lee 
 had told you that? It has been about three seconds. 
 
 Where have you lived since the Mountain Meadows Massacre ? 
 My family has been at the Clara the most of the time ; the 
 last six years have been at Eanab. 
 
 You have lived in Utah all that time ? My home has been in 
 Utah. 
 
 That has been your home ? My home has been in Utah. 
 
 Didn't Lee tell you more than you have told? Didn't he tell 
 you about a council that was held on the field before the massa- 
 cre? He told me. We had a good deal of conversation about it. 
 
 Tell me if he did not inform you that a council was held on 
 the field, on Mountain Meadows, by the people from Cedar City, 
 before the massacre, and that he opposed the killing of the emi- 
 grants until he found that he could do no good ? After we had 
 talked some time I asked the necessity of such a thing, or why 
 it was, and he told me that he had orders to do so. 
 
 Did he not tell you that there was a council held there at the 
 Meadows, and that it was then decided that they should be 
 killed? No, I never heard that there was a council held there 
 to make any decision, or to decide anything but the subject or 
 counseling how to decoy them out. 
 
 Who counseled with them? There was Klingensmith, the 
 Bishop of Cedar City. 
 
 Who else counseled with him? I think he said John M. Hig- 
 bee. I am satisfied it was. 
 
 Did he tell you how long before the massacre it was that they 
 talked this over? I don't think that he did. 
 
 You were a sub-agent and Indian interpreter at that time, were 
 you not? Right away after that Forney appointed me as sub- 
 agent. At that time I was no agent, nor in any particular office, 
 unless a missionary in the south country to establish some settle- 
 ments on the Clara. 
 
 What reason did Lee give you in that conversation for the 
 killing of the emigrants? He must have given you some reason 
 why it was necessary to commit such a deed ? I asked what 
 called for it, why they did it. He said that attack at daylight 
 would have thrown censure upon this people. 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 871 
 
 On what people ? The people that were living here. 
 
 Do you mean the whites that were living here at the time? 
 Yes, sir. 
 
 Go on and tell all he said. I want you to make it as bad as 
 you can tell all that you said, all that he said? I would not 
 undertake that. 
 
 Tell all that you can recollect? I have, the substance of it? 
 
 There must have been a good deal said about the reasons for 
 doing this thing ? The cause that he always gave to me was that 
 which I told you. That after they came through there and be- 
 haved very rough, and said that they helped kill old Joe Smith, 
 and were going to be ready tkere at the Meadows when their 
 teams got recruited, and when Johnston commenced on the 
 north end, they would on the south end, and he was asked by 
 authority Haight or Dame to go and watch those emigrants 
 and see that they didn't molest those weak settlements. When 
 I asked him what it was for that in doing so, when they got 
 there the Indians made this attack at daylight. 
 
 The Indians then made the first attack ? He said they made 
 it voluntarily they made the first attack. 
 
 You spoke of General Johnston's army marching towards 
 Utah. Where was it? At Fort Bridger then. 
 
 Who was it understood that Johnston was understood to be 
 marching against them? The understanding and feeling was 
 that he was marching against the Mormons as a people, Church 
 or nation, and was going to try to burst up the whole concern. 
 That was what we expected. 
 
 You expected, then, that Johnston with the army of the United 
 States, was leading that army against this people? Yes, sir. 
 
 With the intention of exterminating them or compelling them 
 to abandon their religion ? Yes, sir, that was my belief to do 
 away with the Mormon religion. 
 
 How long before that had it been that this same feeling of 
 fear or anxiety had been felt by this people, occasioned by 
 Johnston's approach? I think it had been two or three months, 
 it had come south at the time. I think it was the 24th of July 
 when a celebration was held in one of the canyons, that word 
 came that Johnston was on his way. 
 
 After that 24th of July, did that report have any effect on 
 this people to cause them to organize as a military people? 
 
872 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 No, that was organized before that, as far as I knew and was 
 acquainted with the counsel. 
 
 From that time on up to the time of the Mountain Meadows 
 Massacre,- tell me if the people were organized as a militia, and 
 enrolled as such? The instructions we had from George A. 
 Smith, who was sent as representing President Young's mind, 
 was to save everything like breadstuff, and use it when we 
 wanted it. 
 
 Did the people ever meet and drill, have exercises and mus- 
 ters, so as to make them understand the use of arms, and make 
 them familiar with military tactics? Yes, sir, there used to be 
 drills, sometimes, those days. 
 
 Was it not a general occurrence for them to meet and drill? 
 Yes, they drilled at Fillmore and Cedar I don't know about 
 Harmony using as much effort as possible to perfect themselves 
 in military tactics. They were always doing that ; they did that 
 in Illinois. 
 
 Did you not understand that all the men between eighteen 
 and sixty years of age were enrolled in the militia? Yes, I 
 understood it so. 
 
 Who was the highest military officer in this division? William 
 H. Dame was first in command in the southern country. He 
 was Colonel of the Iron Militia, as I understood it. I was out a 
 good deal. 
 
 Who was the highest military officer at Cedar City? Well, 
 that I could not testify to, but I think it was Isaac C. Haight, 
 but I would not testify to it, because I don't know. 
 
 State if you know whether John M. Higbee belonged to the 
 militia or not? Well, he belonged to the militia, but whether 
 as private or officer, I don't know. 
 
 How many men did John D. Lee tell you had gone from 
 Cedar City to the Mountain Meadows, and that were present at 
 the time of the Massacre ? Well, if he told me I have forgotten. 
 
 Did you ever have a conversation with him, or with any other 
 person, as to how many or about how many were there ? No, I 
 don't know that I had. I heard there was something like fifty 
 in all from Cedar City and from below there, but that is nothing 
 but an idea not founded on fact as reports. 
 
 You spoke about Lee telling you that there was a necessity 
 for killing those young girls, because they were older than those 
 ihat his orders permitted him to save. State now if he did not 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 878 
 
 tell you in that conversation some reason for the killing of the 
 grown people. The reason was what I told you. 
 
 Did he not say that if they were permitted to go they would 
 tell the tale in California, about what had been done there by the 
 Mormons ? His talk was and his excuses were that it would be 
 a bad thing for the people here in Utah, if it was known, and got 
 out in such a troublous time. It would bring much trouble on 
 the Mormons as a people. 
 
 Was not that trouble to come from their notifying the people 
 of California of what had been done? Well, yes. When I 
 interrogated him about that he said I think he said it would 
 have a tendency to bring trouble from California. 
 
 Did he not tell you that that was the understanding of the 
 people, that if they were permitted to go, that it would call an 
 army from the south, and that was the reason these instructions 
 were sent as they were? He didn't say anything about the 
 people. 
 
 Did he not tell you why the instructions came to him as they 
 did ? He did not tell who it came from, he said he did it by 
 authority. 
 
 Did he not tell you that he did it by authority and the reason 
 that authority gave was that these parties, if permitted to go, 
 would raise a war cloud in California? I don't know as he did. 
 He said it would lead to bringing an army down upon us ; that 
 is what he told me. 
 
 Did he tell you anything further? I think I have told you all 
 that was important that John D. Lee said. 
 
 Did not John D. Lee tell you in that same conversation, that 
 after the Indians made the attack the first time, that one or more 
 men started from the emigrant camp for Cedar City, and met 
 some men going to the emigrant camp from Cedar City ; that 
 they met at the springs, and that then Young Aiden was killed 
 by William C. Stewart? He gave me an account of it. 
 
 Tell me what he said about it? I can't do that. 
 
 Then give the substance of it. It would be from memory, and 
 there might be an error in it. He told me he spoke of three 
 men starting back to go to Cedar City to get assistance and to 
 give information of what was going on after the first Indian at- 
 tack. During that time there were three men went out in the 
 night, and one was killed at Little Pinto, four miles this side of 
 the Meadows. I don't know who he said killed them. I don't 
 
874 MORMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 know as he said that he knew. I think one was killed there, 
 and the other got back to their camp. They wounded one in 
 the night, and the thought waa this would lead to trouble if they 
 were permitted to go, on account of this man being wounded 
 and telling how it was done, and what had happened in the past, 
 was about his language ; what had happened would lead to bring- 
 ing trouble, perhaps an army on the southern people, and espe- 
 cially that action at the springs, in the killing that man. 
 
 Did Lee tell you who was at the springs at that time ? No, if 
 he did, I don't remember. 
 
 Did he say this to you that it was understood by the au- 
 thorities that one man was wounded at the springs, and one man 
 killed by Stewart, and if those people were permitted to go to 
 California they would notify the people of California that the 
 whites had made an attack in conjunction with the In- 
 dians ; that they would lead an army from the south and west, 
 and that for safety they considered it necessary as a war meas- 
 ure to kill those people ? I think he told you that, Mr. Bishop. 
 I told you that when I asked him, he told me that that would 
 lead to bringing an army here. I am satisfied that is what he 
 said. But as to the particulars of the killing at Little Pinto I 
 could not say, only that a man was killed there and one wound- 
 ed, and they had got back ; that the attack at daylight was the 
 cause of the emigrants being killed. 
 
 Mr. Hamblin, have you now detailed to the jury all of the 
 conversation that you had with John D. Lee, at the time that 
 you met him seven or eight miles this side of Fillmore ? I think 
 I have, that I recollect distinctly enough to mention here. I 
 may think of something else. 
 
 You say you saw some of the cattle on the Harmony range. 
 How many people used that range for their cattle? I think 
 something like twenty families. 
 
 Do you know who took charge of the stock immediately after 
 the massacre ? I met two young men driving it between two 
 and three hundred head. 
 
 Who were they? They lived at Cedar City. I did not know 
 them. They said they were going to drive them to the Iron 
 Springs, and then afterwards I learned that John D. Lee took 
 them. 
 
 Who were those young men ? I do not know. I was not ac- 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEB. 375 
 
 quainted with them. I was not much acquainted at Cedar City. 
 They lived there, they said. 
 
 How far did you live from Cedar City at that time ? My fam- 
 ily was then twenty-eight miles from Cedar City, at the 
 Meadows. 
 
 Did you spend any time at Cedar City soon afterwards? 
 When I came through I stopped about ten minutes. I was on 
 an express. 
 
 Where were you carrying the express? I was going to over- 
 take another company. Colonel Dame was afraid they would 
 jump into them, and wanted me to go and see to it. 
 
 Afraid who would jump into them? The Indians. 
 
 Where did you get that express? From him. 
 
 Where at? At Wild Cat Canyon, eight or ten miles north of 
 here. 
 
 That was when you were coming from Salt Lake ? That was. 
 
 After you had left John D. Lee? Yes, sir. 
 
 Who were you carrying that express to? To the Indians if 
 there were any. He said he had learned they were following up 
 this company. 
 
 What company? The company that was following up the 
 company that was massacred. They were stopped here a while, 
 and the Indians wounded one, or killed one, or something. 
 
 Have you ever given this conversation that you had with Lee, 
 to any one, to the public generally? I do not ask if you have 
 stated it to the counsel in the case, but to others? I have no 
 recollection of it. 
 
 Have you ever given it to any court or jury, or given a state- 
 ment of it? No, sir, not at all not until now. 
 
 Have you ever given a report of it to any of your superiors in 
 the Church, or officers over you? Well, I did speak of it to 
 President Young and George A. Smith. 
 
 Did you give them the whole facts? I gave them some more 
 than I have here, because I recollected more of it. 
 
 When did you do that? Pretty soon after it happened. 
 
 You are certain you told it fuller than you have told it her* 
 on the stand ? I told them everything I could. 
 
 Who else did you tell it to? I have no recollection of telling 
 it to any one else. 
 
 Why have you not told it before this time ? Because I did 
 not feel like it 
 
76 MOEMOmSM UNVEILED. 
 
 Why did yon not feel like it? You felt and knew that a great 
 crime had been committed, did you not? I felt that a great 
 crime had been committed. But Brigham Young told me that 
 "as soon as toe can get a court of justice, we will ferret this thing 
 oat, bat till then don't say anything about it." 
 
 There have been courts of justice in this Territory ever since 
 that time ? I have never seen the effects of it yet. I have seen 
 it tried. 
 
 Then this is the first time you have ever felt at liberty to tell 
 it? It is the first time I ever felt that any good would come of 
 It. I kept it to myself until it was called for in the proper place. 
 
 You feel now that the proper time has come ? I do indeed. 
 
 I presume you have talked it over with friends, and they ad- 
 vised you that this would be a good time and place to tell it? I 
 had an idea that if I came here that it would be a pretty good 
 place to tell it. 
 
 And in pursuance of that idea you are going on to tell it? 
 Yes, sir. 
 
 Are you certain that you have told all that you know about it? 
 I am certain that I know all I tell. 
 
 Answer the other part? I think I have, all that is important. 
 
 Have you told it all? No, sir, I have not. 
 
 Then tell it? I will not undertake that now. I would not 
 like to undertake it. 
 
 Be-Direct Howard: How long have you known John D. 
 Lee ? Between thirty and forty years. 
 
 How long is it since Mr. Lee ceased to be so ardent in his 
 feelings and religious zeal that he was willing to run the risk he 
 did down there at the Mountain Meadows, to defend his 
 religion? What I knew of him, he was always pretty zealous in 
 what is called Mormonism he was at that time. How is it 
 now? 
 
 BISHOP We object to the question ; it is not expected that 
 a man shall be called a criminal for giving up his belief in such 
 a Church. It is wholly foreign to the question at issue. Ob- 
 jection sustained.* 
 
 NEPHI JOHNSON. 
 
 Be-called by Prosecution. 
 
 *NOT To fully appreciate the eridence of this witness, Hamblin, read what Lee 
 says about the aots of Hambliu and Nophi Johnson, in the stealing of th* o&ttl 
 from the Duke's train. 
 
TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 877 
 
 HOWARD I will introduce the question I have to ask, by 
 asking you if you know anything about this subsequent com- 
 pany the Duke's company? Yes, sir. 
 
 What do you know about that? Objected to upon the 
 ground that it relates to a matter subsequent to the crime as 
 charged in the indictment. Question withdrawn. 
 
 What conversation did you have with Mr. Lee, after the 
 massacre? When I arrived at Harmony, John D. Lee was there. 
 
 How long was this after the massacre at the Meadows? Only 
 ft few days. 
 
 Where did you go from? I started from this city to Cedar 
 City at my father's ranch. Where were you going? Going with 
 the company to see them safe through the country. 
 
 When you got to Harmony, did you see John D. Lee? Yes, 
 sir. 
 
 Did you have any conversation with him ? Yes, sir. 
 
 What conversation? He asked me to take the company into 
 the mountains in the Santa Clara, and that he would follow with 
 the Indians and kill them. 
 
 Did he tell you that he had authority to do that? No, sir; I 
 said I would not do it. I said that I was sent to see the com- 
 pany safely through the country, and that I would do it or die. 
 That there had been enough blood spilt at Mountain Meadows. 
 He called me a great many names, and passed on. 
 
 Cross -Examined You made up your mind, then, to die for 
 the emigrants. Did you try to die for them at Mountain 
 Meadows ? No answer. 
 
 Nephi Johnson recalled. 
 
 HOWARD By permission of counsel for defense I will ask 
 one question. 
 
 BISHOP Ask as many as you desire. 
 
 HOWARD How long have you known John D. Lee? Since 
 1851. 
 
 Do you identify the prisoner at the bar as the John D. Lee 
 spoken of by the witnesses and in your own testimony? Yes, sir. 
 
 Cross-examined Where did you live in 1851? Parowan, 
 Iron County. 
 
 What time did you go to Iron County, Parowan? In the 
 Spring of '51. 
 
 Where did you come from when you went there ? Came from 
 Salt Lake Valley. 
 
 Where did you come from to Salt Lake ? From Illinois. 
 
378 MORMONISM UNVEILBD. 
 
 What part? Knox County, Illinois. 
 
 When did you leave Knox County, Illinois, for Salt Lake? I 
 think it was in 1849. 
 Then you have lived in Utah all the time since? Yes, sir. 
 
 The defendant introduced no witnesses, but rested his case 
 upon the evidence that had been introduced by the prosecu- 
 tion. 
 
 The case was then argued for the prosecution by Howard and 
 Denny, and for the defendant by Foster and Bishop. The 
 Court instructed the jury at length. 
 
 The jury, after a few hours' deliberation, returned a verdict 
 of "Guilty of murder in the first degree." 
 
 A motion was afterwards made and argued for a new trial. 
 The court overruled the motion, denied the application for a 
 new trial, and sentenced Lee to be shot. 
 
 The case was appealed to the Supreme Court of Utah Terri- 
 tory, and argued in that Court by Hon. Frank Tilford and 
 Sumner Howard for the people, and by Wm. W. Bishop for Lee. 
 
 The Supreme Court sustained the judgment and sentence of 
 the District Court, and ordered the District Court to fix a day 
 for carrying the judgment into effect. The District Court again 
 sentenced John D. Lee to be shot to death, and fixed the day 
 for execution on March 23d, 1877. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 NAMES OF ASSASSINS CLAIMED BT LEE TO HAVE BEEN PAKTICTP 
 IN THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE, OB PRIVY THERETO. 
 
 ""VFAMES of those who were on the ground, and aiding in or 
 -i-N consenting to the killing of over one hundred and twenty 
 men, women and children, at the Mountain Meadows. 
 
 1. George Ad air, Jr. 
 
 2. Benjamin Arthur. 
 
 3. Ira Allen, (dead.) Member of High Council of Church 
 and City. 
 
 4. Wm. Bateman, (dead.) Carrier of Flag of Truce. 
 
 5. John W. Clark, (dead.) Lived at Washington, Utah. 
 
 6. Thomas Cartwright, (dead.) Lived at Cedar City. Mem- 
 ber City Council. 
 
 7. E. Curtis. Captain of " 10." Cedar City. 
 
 8. Joseph Clews. Then of Cedar, now at Los Angeloa, 
 California. 
 
 9. Jabez Durfey. Cedar City. 
 
 10. Edwards. Cedar City. 
 
 11. Columbus Freeman. Then of Cedar, now at Corn Creek, 
 Utah. 
 
 12. John M. Higbee. 1st Counselor to Isaac C. Haight, and 
 Major of Iron Militia. In command at Massacre. 
 
 13. Oscar Hamblin, (dead.) 
 
 14. Charles Hopkins, (dead.) 
 
 15. Wm. Hawley. Now residing in Fillmore, Utah Territory. 
 
 16. John Hawley. (Died in Indian Nation.) 
 
 17. Richard HarrisoH, of Pinto. Member of High Council of 
 Church. 
 
 18. George Hunter, of Cedar City. 
 
 19. John Humphreys, of Cedar City. 
 
 20. Samuel Jukes, of Cedar City. 
 379 
 
380 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 21. Nephi Johnson, of Cedar City. Indian Interpreter. 
 
 22. Swen Jacobs, of Cedar City. 
 28. John Jacobs, of Cedar City. 
 
 24. Philip Kllngensmith. Bishop of Church at Cedar City. 
 
 25. Samuel Knight, of Cedar City. 
 
 26. Knight. 
 
 27. Dudley Leavitt, of Cedar City. 
 
 28. A. Loveridge, of Cedar City. 
 
 29. Daniel McFarland, of Cedar City. Son-in-law of Isaac C. 
 Haight, and acting Adjutant at time of massacre. 
 
 30. John McFarland. Attorney at law, St. George, Utah. 
 
 81. James Matthews, (dead.) 
 
 82. John Mangum, of Cedar City. 
 
 83. Samuel McMurdy, of Cedar City. 1st Counselor to Bishop 
 Klingensmith. Assisted in killing wounded, 
 
 84. James Pearce, of Washington, Utah. 
 35. Harrison Pearce, of Washington, Utah. 
 
 86. Samuel Pollock, of Cedar City. 
 
 87. Dan. C. Shirts, of Harmony, now of Potatoe Valley, Utah. 
 Son-in-law of John D. Lee, and Indian Interpreter. 
 
 38. William Slade, Sr., (dead,) of Cedar City. 
 
 39. William Slade, Jr., of Cedar City. 
 
 40. William C. Stewart, of Cedar City. 
 
 41. Joseph Smith, of Cedar City. 
 
 42. Arthur Stratton, of Virgin City. 
 
 43. ., Tat, of Cedar City. Has since been a Captain of 
 militia. 
 
 *44. John Ure, of Cedar City. 
 
 45. Joel White, of Cedar City. 
 
 46. Elliott Wilden, of Cedar City. 
 
 47. Robert Wiley, of Cedar City. 
 
 48. Samuel White, of Cedar City. 
 
 49. Alexander Wildeu, of Cedar City. 
 
 50. John Wetton (dead), of Cedar City. 
 
 51. Wm. Young (dead), of Washington, Utah. 
 
 52. John D. Lee. Executed March 23, 1877. 
 
 ACCESSORIES BEFORE THE FACT. 
 
 WILLIAM H. DAME, Bishop of the Church at Parowan, Col- 
 onel of the Iron Military District, and first man in authority in 
 Southern Utah. He gave orders to Isaac C. Haight to have the 
 
NAMES OF ASSASSINS. 881 
 
 emigrants exterminated, and did not deny the same when ac- 
 cused of it by Haight on the field after the massacre, while ex- 
 amining the dead bodies. 
 
 ISAAC C. HAIOHT, President of that " Stake of Zion" at Ce- 
 dar City, Utah Territory, Lieutenant Colonel of the Iron Milita- 
 ry District the man who directed Lee to see that the emigrants 
 were exterminated. 
 
 GEORGE A. SMITH, one of the Twelve Apostles of the Church 
 of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, who preached a crusade 
 against all who were opposed to the Mormon Church, through 
 the settlements in Southern Utah, immediately before the Moun- 
 tain Meadows Massacre. (Now dead, or so reported). 
 
 ACCESSORIES AFTER THE FACT. 
 
 BRIGHAM YOUNG, to whom John D. Lee made a full report of 
 the massacre, giving names of persons engaged in the crime, 
 and every fact within his knowledge, in less than a month after 
 the same was committed. 
 
 The man who said " God had shown him that the massacre 
 was right." 
 
 The man who ordered John D. Lee to keep the whole thing 
 gecret. 
 
 The man who pretended to aid Judge Cradlebaugh to discover 
 the guilty parties, and while pretending to do so was preaching 
 at Cedar City and elsewhere that damnation would be the fate of 
 all who presumed to give evidence against the brethren who had 
 committed the crime. 
 
 The man who gave offices and concubines to John D. Lee and 
 Jsaac C. Haight, as a reward for their acts at the massacre. 
 
 The man who controls the every act of the Mormon people 
 and makes slaves of his followers. 
 
 The man who teaches the doctrine of Blood Atonement as a 
 religious duty to be performed by the faithful Latter-Day Saints. 
 
 The man who assumes that he does nothing except by direct 
 authority from Heaven. 
 
 The greatest criminal of the Nineteenth Century ! 
 
 DANIEL H. WELLS, the man who has done everything that he. 
 could possibly do to carry out the will of Brigham Young and 
 defeat the United States officers in their attempts to enforce the 
 laws of the United States. The man who directed the witnesses 
 that it was the will of God, as made known through Brigham 
 
882 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 Young, the Prophet, Priest and Revelator under the New Dis- 
 pensation, that John D. Lee must be convicted, but that no evi- 
 dence should be given that would implicate any others of the 
 brethren who aided in the butchery at Mountain Meadows. 
 
 NEXT. Every Mormon who has tried to screen the guilty per- * 
 petrators from punishment, among whom may be named 
 
 GEORGE Q. CANNON, who disgraces the Government of the 
 United States by holding a seat as Delegate to Congress from 
 the Territory of Utah, and who wrote many articles for publica- 
 tion, in the vain effort to prove that the massacre was an Indian 
 massacre, without help or advice from the Church. 
 
 LASTLY. All who pretend that John D. Lee, and those who as- 
 sisted him in the massacre, acted contrary to the orders of the 
 Mormon Priesthood. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 EXECUTION OF JOHN D. LEI. 
 
 TOHN D. LEE was executed on Mountain Meadows, Wash- 
 t/ ington County, Utah Territory, at the scene of the massacre, 
 on the 23d day of March, 1877. 
 
 As to the reasons which prompted him to act as he did during 
 his lifetime, we have nothing to say. Judging from his Life and 
 Confessions, and our personal acquaintance with him, we believe 
 him to have been an honest man, but so blinded by religious 
 fanaticism and faith in his corrupt Church leaders, that his moral 
 vision was perverted, and he committed crimes under the orders of 
 his superiors, believing that he was doing right and working for the 
 glory of God. It appears from his writings that he was used by 
 Joe Smith, Brigham Young and other Mormon leaders, from the 
 time that he became a member of the Church, as a tool to per- 
 form their dirty work, and when he was worn out and could no 
 longer be of any service to them, they sacrificed him with as 
 little compunction of conscience as a carpenter would throw away 
 an old worn-out saw or chisel. 
 
 The only wonder is that Lee, who was an intelligent man, 
 would allow himself to be so often and so grossly deceived, and 
 till repose confidence in his leaders. The answer to this is, that 
 he had the utmost faith a fanatical faith in the truth of the 
 Mormon religion, and believed that no other doctrine would en- 
 able him to attain immortality and future happiness. In addi- 
 tion to this, he had married a number of wives, who had borne 
 him children, for all of whom he seems to have entertained a 
 warm, fatherly affection ; and if he had left the Mormon Church 
 the law would have compelled him to give up all his wives ex- 
 cept the first one, and his children would have been branded as 
 bastards. His life, too, would have been in danger from his for- 
 mer associates, as he says himself, and they would either have 
 883 
 
384 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 "blood atoned" him or reported his crimes to the civil authori- 
 ties and secured his conviction. 
 
 All these reasons kept him in the Church, and while there he 
 felt that it was his duty, to himself, his family, and his God, to 
 obey his rulers and those who were in authority over him. 
 
 The rulers of the Mormon Church teach their deluded follow- 
 ers that they are inspired men ; that they act by direct authority 
 from God, and that disobedience to their orders is rebellion 
 against God. They also teach that those who carry out their 
 orders in the commission of murders and other crimes, are 
 only instruments to perform the will of God, and are not respon- 
 sible for the sins which they commit in obeying the orders of 
 their inspired rulers. 
 
 It is hard to believe that people of any intelligence whatever, 
 could be so shamefully deceived, but when men and women are 
 thoroughly imbued with religious fanaticism, they are capable of 
 believing or doing almost anything, provided it is sanctioned by 
 a " thus aayeth the Lord " from the lips of some " holy " man or 
 prophet, pretending to have his authority from revelation. 
 Christianity itself furnished too many sickening examples of 
 this kind a few centuries ago. 
 
 Thus John D. Lee was led on, step by step, from one crime to 
 another, until his leaders had made all the use of him they 
 could, and then they sacrificed him to a felon's death, in order 
 to save themselves and cover up the sins of the Church. 
 
 On Wednesday preceding the day fixed upon for the execu- 
 tion, the guard having Lee in charge started from Beaver City, 
 where Lee had been imprisoned, for Mountain Meadows, where 
 it had been decided to carry the sentence into execution. 
 
 The party consisted of United States Marshal, William Nel- 
 son, a military guard, the prisoner, District Attorney Howard, a 
 few newspaper correspondents, and about twenty private citi- 
 zens. 
 
 The authorities had received information that an attempt to 
 rescue Lee would be made by his sons and a body of his per- 
 sonal friends, and precautions were taken to prevent the success 
 of any such attempt. The place of execution was kept a pro- 
 found secret, except with the Marshal and a few trusted friends, 
 and a strong guard was procured. Lee either knew nothing 
 about the intended attempt at rescue, or else he placed no con- 
 fidence in it, for he uttered no word or expression to indicate 
 
EXECUTION OF JOHN D. LEE. 885 
 
 that he had any hope. He was cheerful and resigned to his 
 fate, and seemed to have but little dread of death 
 
 The party reached Mountain Meadows about ten o'clock 
 Friday morning, and after the camp had been arranged, Lee 
 pointed out the various places of interest connected with the 
 massacre, and recapitulated the horrors of that event. 
 
 A more dreary scene than the present appearance of Mountain 
 Meadows cannot be imagined. The curse of God seems to 
 have fallen upon it, and scorched and withered the luxuriant 
 grass and herbage that covered the ground twenty years ago. 
 The Meadows have been transformed from a fertile valley into 
 an arid and barren plain, and the superstitious Mormons assert 
 that the ghosts of the murdered emigrants meet nightly at the 
 scene of their slaughter and re-enact in pantomime the horrors 
 of their massacre. 
 
 The ground is cut up into deep gullies, and the surface is 
 covered with sage brush and scrub oak. Meadows Spring, 
 where the emigrants were encamped when they were first 
 attacked, is situated at the lower part of the plain. At the time 
 of the massacre this spring was on a level with the surrounding 
 country, but it has since been washed out until it forms a ter- 
 rible gulch some twenty feet in depth and eight or ten rods wide. 
 
 About thirteen years ago, Lieutenant Price and a party of 
 soldiers collected all the bones of the murdered emigrants that 
 could be found on the field, and erected a monument of loose 
 stones over them, on the banks of this ravine. The monument 
 is about three feet high, oblong in shape, and some twenty feet 
 in length. Many of the stones of which it was composed have 
 fallen into the ravine, and the monument is in keeping with its 
 surroundings dreary, desolate and decaying. The curse rests 
 upon the whole landscape. The Marshal's party removed some 
 of the loose stones down to the level of the earth, but no trace of 
 bones or human remains could be found. Decay and desolation 
 mark everything. The accompanying illustration, engraved 
 from a photograph taken a few minutes before Lee's execution, 
 gives a correct view of the present appearance of the Meadows. 
 
 To this dreary spot, the scene of one of the most revolting 
 crimes that ever disgraced humanity, John D. Lee had been 
 conveyed to bid farewell to life and be suddenly hurled into the 
 unknown realities of eternity. His sentence, doubtless, wag 
 just, but if so, what ought to be the fate of the men who coun- 
 25 
 
386 MOEMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 seled and commanded him to do what he did? Among the num- 
 ber Brigham Young stands head and foremost, by reason of his 
 position, and if the curse which rests upon the scene of the 
 butchery does not follow him with the horrors of the damned 
 fate is unjust. He proved himself a traitor to his faithful friend 
 and slave, as well as a murderer at heart, and as sure as there is 
 a God in Heaven just so sure will the curse of that crime come 
 home to him. If the law should fail to reach him with its retri- 
 butions, the ghost of John D. Lee will haunt his lecherous pillow 
 and scorch his sleepless brain with visions of everlasting "woe. 
 
 As the party came to a halt at the scene of the massacre, 
 sentinels were posted on the surrounding hills, to prevent a sur- 
 prise, and preparations for the execution were at once begun. 
 
 The wagons were placed in a line near the monument, and 
 over the wheels of one of them army blankets were drawn, to 
 serve as a screen or ambush for the firing party. The purpose 
 of this concealment was to prevent the men composing the firing 
 party from being seen by any one, there being a reasonable fear 
 that some of Lee's relatives or friends might wreak vengeance 
 upon his executioners. The rough pine boards for the coffin 
 were next unloaded from a wagon, and the carpenters began to 
 nail them together. Meanwhile Lee sat some distance away, 
 with Marshal Nelson, and quietly observed the operations going 
 on around him. The civilians, and those specially invited as 
 witnesses, were allowed to come within the military enclosure, 
 but all others were required to station themselves at a consider- 
 able distance to the east of the ravine. 
 
 At 10:35, all the arrangements having been completed, Mar- 
 shal Nelson began to read the c rder of the Court, and at its con- 
 clusion he turned to Lee and said : 
 
 4k Mr. Lee, if you have anything to say before the order of the 
 Court is carried into effect, you can now do so." 
 
 Lee replied : 
 
 "I wish to speak to that man," pointing to the photographer, 
 (James Fennemore), who was adjusting his camera near by, 
 preparatory to taking the group of which Lee was the central 
 figure. " Come over here," said Lee, beckoning with his hand. 
 
 "In a second, Mr. Lee," replied Mr. Fennemore, but it was 
 more than a minute before he could comply with the request. 
 Lee, observing that the artist was occupied with his camera, 
 aid: 
 
EXECUTION OF JOHN D. LEE. 387 
 
 " I want to ask a favor of you ; I want you to furnish my three 
 wives each a copy," meaning the photograph about to be taken. 
 "Send them to Rachel A., Sarah C. and EmmaB." 
 
 Hon. Sumner Howard, who was standing by the side of the 
 instrument, responded for the artist, whose head at the moment 
 was covered by the hood as he was adjusting the camera: " He 
 says he will do it, Mr. Lee." 
 
 Lee then repeated the names of his three wives carefully, say- 
 ing to the artist, who had just approached him, "Please for- 
 ward them you will do this?" 
 
 Mr. Fennemore responded affirmatively, at the same time shak- 
 ing Lee by the hand. 
 
 Lee then seemed to pose himself involuntarily, and the pic- 
 ture was taken. 
 
 He then arose from his coffin, where he had been seated, and, 
 looking calmly around at the soldiers and spectators, said, in an 
 even and unexcited tone of voice : 
 
 LAST WORDS OF JOHN D. LEE. 
 
 "I have but little to say this morning. Of course I feel that 
 I am upon the brink of eternity ; and the solemnities of eternity 
 should rest upon my mind at the present. I have made out or 
 have endeavored to do so a manuscript, abridging the history 
 of my life. This is to be published. In it I have given my 
 views and feelings with regard to all these things. 
 
 "I feel resigned to my fate. I feel as calm as a summer 
 morn, and I have done nothing intentionally wrong. My con- 
 science is clear before God and man. I am ready to meet my 
 Redeemer and those that have gone before me, behind the vail. 
 
 "I am not and infidel. I have not denied God and his mer- 
 cies. 
 
 "I am a strong believer in these things. Most I regret is 
 parting with my family ; many of them are unprotected and will 
 be left fatherless." (Here he rested two or three seconds.) 
 "When I speak of these things they touch a tender chord within 
 me." (Here his voice faltered perceptibly.) "I declare my 
 innocence of ever doing anything designedly wrong in all this 
 affair. I used my utmost endeavors to save these people. 
 
 "I would have given worlds, were they at my command, if I 
 could have averted that calamity, but I could not do it. It 
 went on. 
 
888 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 "It seems I have to be made a victim a victim must be had, 
 and I am the victim. I am sacrificed to satisfy the feelings 
 the vindictive feelings, or in other words, am used to gratify 
 parties. 
 
 "I am ready to die. I trust in God. I have no fear. Death 
 has no terror. 
 
 "Not a particle of mercy have I asked of the court, the world, 
 or officials to spare my life. 
 
 "I do not fear death, I shall never go to a worse place than I 
 am now in. 
 
 "I have said it to my family, and I will say it to-day, that the 
 Government of the United States sacrifices their best friend. 
 That is saying a great deal, but it is true it is so. 
 
 "I am a true believer in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I do hot 
 believe everything that is now being taught and practiced by 
 Brigham Young. I do not care who hears it. It is my last 
 word it is so. I believe he is leading the people astray, down- 
 ward to destruction. But I believe in the gospel that was taught 
 in its purity by Joseph Smith, in former days. I have my rea- 
 sons for it. 
 
 **I studied to make this man's [Brigham Young] will my 
 pleasure for thirty years. See, now, what I have come to this 
 dayl 
 
 "I have been sacrificed in a cowardly, dastardly manner." 
 (Lee enunciated this sentence with marked emphasis.) "I can- 
 not help it. It is my last word it is so. 
 
 "Evidence has been brought against me which is as false as 
 the hinges of hell, and this evidence was wanted to sacrifice me. 
 Sacrifice a man that has waited upon them, that has wandered 
 and endured with them in the days of adversity, true from the 
 beginning of the Church! And I am now singled out and am 
 sacrificed in this manner 1 What confidence can I have in such 
 a man ! I have none, and I don't think my Father in heaven 
 has any. 
 
 "Still, there are thousands of people in this Church that are 
 honorable and good-hearted friends, and some of whom are near 
 to my heart. There is a kind of living, magnetic influence 
 which has come over the people, and I cannot compare it to any- 
 thing else than the reptile that enamors his prey, till it capti- 
 vates it, paralyzes it, and it rushes into the jaws of death. I 
 
EXECUTION OF JOHN D. LEE. 389 
 
 cannot compare it to anything else. It is so, I know it, I am 
 satisfied of it. 
 
 "I regret leaving my family; they are near and dear to me. 
 These are things which touch my sympathy, even when I think 
 of those poor orphaned children. 
 
 "I declare I did nothing designedly wrong in this unfortunate 
 affair. I did everything in my power to save that people, but I 
 am the one that must suffer. 
 
 "Having said this I feel resigned. I ask the Lord, my God, 
 If my labors are done, to receive my spirit." 
 
 Lee ceased speaking at 10:50, A. M. He was then informed 
 that his hour had come and he must prepare for execution. He 
 quietly and coolly looked at the small group of spectators. He 
 was still very calm and resigned. 
 
 Rev. George Stokes, a Methodist minister who had accom- 
 panied Lee as his spiritual adviser, then knelt on the ground and 
 delivered a short prayer. The minister was deeply affected by 
 the solemnity of the occasion, and was very earnest in his sup- 
 plications. The prisoner listened attentively. 
 
 At the conclusion of the prayer, Lee exchanged a few word* 
 with Mr. Howard and Marshal Nelson, saying to the latter : 
 
 "I ask one favor of the guards spare my limbs and centre 
 my heart." 
 
 He then shook hands with those around him, removed his 
 overcoat and comforter, presenting the latter to Mr. Howard, 
 and giving his hat to Marshal Nelson. 
 
 The Marshal then bound a handkerchief over the prisoner'! 
 eyes, but at his request his hands were allowed to remain free. 
 
 The doomed man then straightened himself up facing the 
 firing party, as he sat on his coffin, clasped his hands over his 
 head, and exclaimed: 
 
 "Let them shoot the balls through my heart! Don't let them 
 mangle my body!" 
 
 The Marshal assured him that the aim would be true, and then 
 stepped back. As he did so, he gave the orders to the guards: 
 
 "READY! Anil FIRE!" 
 
 The flve men selected as executioners promptly obeyed. 
 They raised their rules to their shoulders, took deliberate aim at 
 the blind-folded man sitting upright on his coffin, about twenty 
 feet in front of them, and as the fatal word "./ire/" rang out 
 
390 MOBMONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 clear and strong on the morning air, a sharp report was heard, 
 and Lee fell back on his coffin, dead and motionless. There was 
 not a cry nor a moan nor a tremor of the body. 
 
 There was a convulsive twitching of the fingers of the left 
 hand, which had fallen down by the side of the coffin, and the 
 spirit of John D. Lee had crossed over the dark river and was 
 standing before the Judge of the quick and the dead. 
 
 His soul had solved the awful mystery, and the CURSE that 
 hovers over Mountain Meadows had marked "ONE" upon its 
 list of Retribution. 
 
BRIGHAM YOUNG. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 LIFE OF BRIGHAM YOUNG. 
 
 ON THE 29th day of August, 1877, the telegraph brought 
 the brief announcement of the death of Brigham Young, 
 which occurred at Salt Lake City, at four o'clock on the even- 
 ing of that day. This event, of peculiar importance to the re- 
 ligious denomination of which he was the head and main sup- 
 port, was not entirely unexpected, as the infirmities of age and 
 the effects of licentious living had been making serious inroads 
 upon his vigorous constitution during the last few years of his 
 life. He had anticipated the event himself, and had about com- 
 pleted his arrangements for the transmission of his authority to 
 other hands. 
 
 As there is nothing to admire in the character of this gross, 
 selfish, lustful man, except his superior natural abilities and 
 unyielding determination, it is difficult to collect sufficient 
 material for an extended biography, for he had no loving friends 
 to gather up the little incidents of his life and place them on 
 record for the use of future historians. He ruled his people as 
 a tyrant, not as a friend, and the title of the " Old Boss," by 
 which he was familiarly known among the Mormons, indicates 
 the estimation in which he was held by his own people. 
 
 The only record of his early life now in existence, is a brief 
 account written by himself, from which we learn that he was 
 born in- Whittingham, Windham County, Vermont, June 1, 1801. 
 When he was about eighteen months old his parents removed to 
 Smyrna, Chenango County, N. Y., where they resided until 1813. 
 Shortly after the commencement of the last war with Great 
 Britain, they removed to Genoa, Cayuga County, N. Y., where 
 Brigham lived until 1829. In 1830 he located in Mendon, Mon- 
 roe County, where he remained but a short time, when he removed 
 
892 APPENDIX. 
 
 to Canandaigua, but returned to Mendon in 1832. He removed 
 from there to Kirtland, Ohio, where he was " converted " to 
 Morrnonism, and his connection with that sect dates from that 
 place and period. 
 
 He had four brothers, born in the following order: John, 
 Joseph, Phineas H., and Lorenzo D., Brigham being next to the 
 youngest. He also had five sisters. 
 
 His father's name was John Young, and his mother's maiden 
 name was Nabby Howe. 
 
 Brigham's grandfather was a physician in the American army 
 during the French and Indian wars, and was killed after the 
 return of peace by a heavy rail falling upon his neck while climb- 
 ing through a fence. Two of Dr. Young's sons, Joseph and 
 John, fought in the American army during the Revolutionary 
 War. 
 
 John Young, Brigham's father, was a farmer, and his social 
 position seems to have been below the average. The future Pro- 
 phet was reared in the humblest circumstances, and he often 
 boasted in after-life that he had "only been eleven and a half 
 days at school." His natural abilities were good, but these 
 were neglected, the boy grew up in ignorance, and as a natural 
 consequence the grosser attributes of his character predominated. 
 
 The Young family, with the exception of Brigham, were all 
 devout Methodists, but their religion was freely tinctured with 
 the superstitious ideas common to ignorant minds, and whieh 
 were quite prevalent at that early date ; and Brigham, who pos- 
 sessed a naturally strong and independent character, scouted 
 their superstitions and was considered an infidel until his con- 
 version to Mormonism. His parents, however, had an earnest 
 faith in his future, and believed that he would become the main 
 pillar of the family spiritually, as he was temporally. 
 
 In early life Brigham worked on his father's farm, but he 
 afterward learned the trade of a painter and glazier, and followed 
 this business for eighteen years. His occupation did not afford 
 him constant employment, and he was often forced to seek hard 
 manual labor to earn a support for himself and family. He 
 asserted that he "had done many a hard day's work for six bits 
 a day," and his early privations taught him a lesson of frugality 
 and economy that he did not forget in his more prosperous days. 
 The spirit of industry which he infused into the entire body of 
 people over whom he presided, was one of his few redeeming 
 qualities. He adopted the honey-bee as his motto, and permit- 
 ted no idleness or extravagance to exist in his presence. 
 
 In 1824 he married his first wife, whose maiden name was 
 Miriam Works. She died eight years afterward, leaving two 
 daughters, who are still living, and members of the Mormon 
 Church. One of the daughters married Edmund Ellsworth, a 
 relative of the famous Colonel Ellsworth who was killed during 
 
LIFE OF BEIGHAM TOUN&. 893 
 
 the war between the North and South. The other married 
 Charles Dicker. The eldest is now about fifty years of age, and 
 both are grand-mothers. 
 
 About 1830 Brigham Young first heard of Joe Smith's famous 
 "golden plates" and the doctrine of Mormon. He also ob- 
 tained some advance sheets of the book of Mormon, and, with 
 the assistance of Heber C. Kimball, who afterward became one 
 of the most polygamous of the Mormon chiefs, began to inves- 
 tigate the new doctrine. He proceeded cautiously at first, and 
 did not accept the faith until two years later. He was then bap- 
 tized, and immediately afterward ordained an elder and sent on 
 a mission to Canada. His wife having died, he placed his two 
 children in the care of friends, and devoted himself exclusively 
 to the ministry. 
 
 His previous poverty and habits of hard labor rendered the 
 acceptance of Mormonism no sacrifice to him, and preaching 
 " without purse or scrip " he felt was no lowering of his dignity. 
 In truth he found the preaching of the new doctrine a much 
 easier way of making a living than his former occupation, and, 
 encouraged also by the influence and attention which his new 
 dignity brought him, he threw his whole soul into the work, and 
 almost immediately became one of the " bright lights." His 
 manner of preaching was forcible and energetic, though utterly 
 lacking in polish, and, seemingly or really in earnest himself, he 
 conveyed the same impression to the minds of his audiences, and 
 not only held their attention but converted hundreds of them to 
 the new faith. 
 
 A writer of some distinction, referring to the early days of 
 Mormonism, says: 
 
 4 'The preaching of the first elders was something like a re- 
 suscitation of the dispensation committed to the Apostolic fish- 
 ermen of Galilee. With the acceptance of what they deemed 
 the new revelation of Christ there was no sacrifice too great to 
 make, and no self abnegation with which they would not strive 
 to adorn their lives. They were earnest, fiercely enthusiastic, 
 and believers in everything that had ever been written about 
 'visions,' 'dreams,' 'the ministering of angels,' 'gifts of the 
 spirit,' 'tongues, and interpretations of tongues,' 'healings,' 
 and ' miracles.' They wandered ' without purse or scrip ' from 
 village to village and from city to city, preaching in the public 
 highways, at the firesides or in the pulpits wherever they had 
 opportunity." 
 
 These fanatics, crazed by religious fervor and excitement, 
 had but little difficulty in gaining the attention of the ignorant 
 and unlettered in the communities which they visited, and the 
 animal magnetism engendered by their excited manner and 
 fanatical earnestness, enabled them to win converts by the thou- 
 sauds. Tli barren, speculative, carefully prepared sermons of 
 
394 APPENDIX. 
 
 fifty weeks in the year, chilled in the presence of the energy and 
 demonstration of the Mormon elders, and " the number of the 
 disciples grew and multiplied." 
 
 Ministers of other denominations, also, seeing their own flocks 
 invaded, and prospective members won from the ranks of the 
 outside world, began to denounce and preach against the new 
 doctrine. Religious persecution manifested itself, several Mor- 
 mon elders were tarred and feathered at different places, and the 
 converts of the new doctrine were ostracised and driven from 
 the society of orthodox worshippers. The result was what might 
 have been expected, " the blood of the martyrs became the seed 
 of the Church," and Mormonism flourished wonderfully. 
 
 In the midst of this religious excitement Brigham Young visit- 
 ed Kirtland, Ohio, and for the first time met the Prophet Joseph. 
 Herber C. Kimball and Joseph Young accompanied him on this 
 expedition, and they had a high time of rejoicing. Brigham was 
 so " lifted up" by the spirit upon beholding the prophet, that he 
 " spake in tongues," which was the first time that the u gift" 
 had been demonstrated. It was a heathenish sort of gibberish 
 that no one understood, but Joe Smith " interpreted " the un- 
 known sounds, and assured those present that they were " the 
 pure Adamic language the language in which Adam courted 
 Eve." Brigham often resorted to this device in after-times, and 
 his ignorant followers were roused to frenzy while listening to 
 senseless ejaculations, which they believed to be the primal 
 language of the human race. 
 
 Brigham was soon upon the most intimate terms with Joe 
 Smith, and the latter pronounced him a " chosen vessel of the 
 Lord." Shrewd, ready, quick-witted, enthusiastic, and practi- 
 cal, the new convert speedily rose among his new associates. In 
 a community where ignorance was the rule, his ignorance passed 
 unnoticed, while his confidence in himself, his power to read the 
 nature of his fellow-men like the pages of an open book, and his 
 devotion to the religion of the Latter-Day Saints soon raised 
 him into a commanding position. He had not long been a mem- 
 ber of the Church before he was ordained an elder, and began 
 to preach the most stirring sermons that the infant Church had 
 ever listened to. 
 
 In May, 1834, Joe Smith received a " revelation from the 
 Lord," commanding him to lead an army into Jackson County, 
 Mo., to the assistance of the Mormon colony there who had got 
 into trouble with the neighboring " Gentiles." Accordingly an 
 44 army" was organized at Kirtland, on the 7th of May, and 
 Smith was chosen comnaander-in-chief. One hundred and thirty 
 men composed this famous "army," but it received accessions 
 from stragglers and vagrants on the route, until when it encamp- 
 ed in Missouri it numbered 205 men. It was divided into com- 
 panies of twelve, and each company chose its own officers. 
 
LIFE OF BRIG HAM YOUN&. 395, 
 
 Brigham Young accompanied the expedition as one of the lead- 
 ers. The Prophet selected George A. Smith, his cousin, as his 
 44 armor-bearer," and the march was conducted with great pomp 
 and splendor. 
 
 On the 19th of June the " Lord's army" reached the vicinity 
 of Clay county, and encamped near a company of Missourians 
 who were waiting to attack them. During the night a dreadful 
 storm swept over the camp of the anti-Mormons, their tents 
 were scattered to the winds, their horses stampeded, and one of 
 them was killed by lightning. 
 
 This relieved Smith and his followers from immediate danger, 
 and they remained in camp until the 21st, when the cholera 
 broke out among them with terrible fierceness. So sudden anrt 
 overpowering was the attack that the strongest men fell to the 
 ground with their guns in their hands. In four days sixty- 
 eight were attacked and fourteen of them died. Brigham was 
 among the stricken ones, but he overcame the disease, as he 
 afterward stated, by the force of his will, and was soon ready 
 for duty again. 
 
 In this crisis Joe Smith proved himself to be a true leader, for 
 instead of becoming panic-stricken, he went about laying on 
 hands and " rebuking the destroyer," until he himself was pros- 
 trated. He ascribed this visitation to the disobedience of some 
 of his followers, and he promised that if they would " humble 
 themselves and obey him as the Prophet of the Lord," the 
 plague should be stayed. The Mormon historians assert that 
 44 not another was stricken with cholera from that hour." 
 
 The expedition having proved to be an ignominious failure, 
 the Prophet very conveniently received another 44 revelation," 
 and learned that 44 the Lord, " having changed his mind, no long- 
 er desired the redemption of the Missouri "saints," who were a 
 rebellious and stiff-necked people, and needed to be chastised by 
 their heathen neighbors in order that they might learn obedience. 
 The 44 army" was therefore disbanded, the warriors were in- 
 structed to disperse among the settlements or return to their 
 homes, and Smith and Young, with the other leaders, returned 
 to Kirtland. 
 
 In 1835 Brigham was ordained one of the Twelve Apostles, 
 Smith having received a special revelation from heaven pointing 
 him out as one of the pillars of the Church. The ordination con- 
 sisted of the laying on of the hands of the three witnesses to the 
 Book of Mormon. It may be mentioned here parenthetically 
 that these three Saints subsequently renounced Mormonism. 
 
 When the twelve were sent to preach the gospel according 
 to Mormon to the outer heathen, Young traveled through the 
 Eastern States, and was the most successful preacher of them 
 all. His presence was commanding, his speech fluent, if not 
 polished, and his vigor and earnestness contagious. If he did 
 
396 APPENDIX. 
 
 not believe what he preached he certainly acted his part so well 
 that none could discover his secret. 
 
 Soon after the return from Missouri, Joe Smith, Brigham 
 Young, and Sidney Rigdon organized a bank at Kirtland, which 
 they called the " Safety Society Bank," and began to issue notes 
 in unlimited quantities, "for the relief of the Saints." The 
 names of Joseph Smith as cashier and Sidney Rigdon as presi- 
 dent, were signed to the beautifully engraved bank-notes, and 
 those who saw the notes with these names attached supposed the 
 bank to be simply a savings institution in which the " saints" 
 could deposit their earnings, which would be invested so as to 
 pnv interest, and that the notes represented actual money in the 
 1'iiiik. The result was that the confidence of the people was 
 gained, and the paper of the Safety Society Bank became & 
 favorite medium of circulation with both saint and sinner. 
 
 Finally, however, other banks began to lose confidence in 
 these notes, and the bankers of Pittsburg deputed one of their 
 number to visit Kirtland and learn the real condition of the 
 Safety Society Bank. This agent was a Mr. Jones, and his ac- 
 count of his interview with President Rigdon was decidedly 
 racy. He first inquired about the success of u the Lord's 
 cause," and evinced considerable interest in the Latter-Day 
 religion. This he claimed was a matter of courtesy, but it was 
 unfortunate, for upon opening his satchel and producing a huge 
 bundle of Safety Society Bank paper, which he desired to have 
 redeemed, the whole proceeding was denounced by brother 
 Rigdon as the "march of a wolf in sheep's clothing." He flew 
 into a passion and asserted that the paper of the bank had been 
 put out as a " circulating medium for the accommodation of the 
 people, that it would be an injury to them for the notes to come 
 home and be redeemed, as they would then have no circulating 
 medium! His bank would redeem nothing!" Mr. Jones 
 pleaded for a deviation from the rule in his case, and pledged 
 himself never to return with any more of the notes for redemp- 
 tion if he could only get his money this time. But Rigdon was 
 faithful to the programme of the bank, and coolly informed 
 Mr. Jones that they had never asked him or any one else to take 
 their paper, and referred him to that important epoch in Bibli- 
 cal history where the -profession to which Mr. Jones belonged 
 were scourged out of the Temple at Jerusalem. 
 
 The agent returned to his employers and reported the facts, 
 and immediately the notes of the Safety Society Bank began to 
 depreciate. . The inspired bankers, realizing what the end would 
 be, determined upon flight, and Brother Brigham, more saga- 
 cious than the others, set out for Missouri with his family, three 
 weeks in advance of the president and cashier. His discretion 
 proved his superior wisdom, for his associates narrowly escaped 
 arrest, being compelled to seek safety in flight during the night 
 
LIFE OF BBIGHAM YOUNG. 397 
 
 of January 12, 1838. They were pursued by their infuriated 
 victims for more than two hundred miles, and frequently evaded 
 them only by the superior mettle of their horses. They finally 
 overtook Brigham and his family, and continued their journey 
 to Missouri, or the " promised land," arriving iu Far West on 
 the 12th of March, 1838. 
 
 Prior to this, in 1836, Thomas B. Marsh, President of the 
 Twelve Apostles, had resigned, and Brigham Young took his 
 place, being delegated by Smith to " preach in tongues." He 
 did preach "in tongues" now and then, and although none of 
 the saints understood him his oratory was vastly admired. 
 
 In 1838 there were many schisms in the church. Orson Hyde 
 apostatized and testified against Smith; Phelps deserted the 
 cause, the Pratts were wavering, and Dr. Arvard, one of the 
 Danites, exposed the hidden machinery of Mormonism. Smith 
 was arrested Sept 14, 1838, and to save his life, Brigham fled to 
 Quincy, 111. There he met the remainder of the twelve and 
 some other brethren, and in the next } r ear assisted to relay the 
 foundation of the Mormon temple in Independence, Jackson 
 County, Mo. The laying of the corner stone was done at mid- 
 night, and every man who participated in the ceremonies knew 
 that his life was at the mercy of the .enemies around him the 
 enemies who had already razed to the ground the habitations of 
 the faithful. Still, there was no wavering, and not one jot of 
 the ceremonial was neglected. 
 
 In 1839 Brigham, still faithful where so many had proved 
 false, was sent by the Prophet to preach in England. He was 
 penniless, friendless, and alone, and suffered much during the 
 two years he spent in England. Still, supported by the charity 
 of his audiences, he made thousands of converts, shipped 769 
 new Mormons to Smith, established the Millennial Star, a Mor- 
 mon oro-an which lived for many years, and formed a num- 
 ber of churches. 
 
 Upon his return to the United States in 1841, Brigham joined 
 his brethren at Nauvoo, being received with great enthusiasm. 
 It was here that he first came in conflict with the Prophet ; but 
 such was his power among the people that he carried his point. 
 At this time he preached throughout the summer and worked in 
 the Winter. 
 
 The difficulties that environed the Saints at Nauvoo increased 
 to such a degree that in 1842 Joe Smith prophesied that within 
 five years they would remove to a new location in the Rocky 
 Mountain region, and in the Spring of 1844 he sent a party to 
 explore the unknown region, with a view to verifying his 
 prophecy. In his private history, under date of February 20, 
 1844, he wrote : 
 
 "I instructed the Twelve Apostles to send out a delegation 
 and investigate the localities, California and Oregon, and hunt 
 
398 APPENDIX. 
 
 up a good location where we can rjmove to after the Temple is 
 completed and where we can build a city in a day and have a 
 government of our own; get up into the mountains where the 
 devil cannot dig us out, and live in a healthy climate where we 
 can live as old as we -have a mind to." 
 
 His idea was to found an independent State somewhere in the 
 Rocky Mountain region, where his people could live to them- 
 selves and practice their peculiar doctrines unmolested by iufi- 
 dels and outside sinners. The plan was afterward successfully 
 carried out by Brigham Young, subsequent to the death of the 
 Prophet, so that the credit which has sometimes been bestowed 
 upon Brigham as the originator of this fine strategetic movement 
 belongs of right to his predecessor. 
 
 On the 27th of June, 1844, Smith was shot by a mob while in 
 the jail at Carthage, 111. The twelve apostles were scattered 
 far and wide, and Brigham Young was in Boston. Nauvoo was 
 threatened by the Gentiles. Troops were in arms, and rumors 
 of coming trouble flew thick and fast. Sidney Rigdon, who was 
 the legal successor of Joseph Smith, assumed the mantle of the 
 Prophet and began to peddle dispensations, confer endowments, 
 and dictate in every way to the saints. It was the rule of a 
 weak man, and was destined to be short lived. Suddenly Brig- 
 ham appeared, and Rigdon's power crumbled into dust. He 
 denounced Rigdon as a fraud and a hypocrite ; declared that 
 his revelations were from the devil; and finally hurled upon 
 him anathema after anathema. The result was an election that 
 wiped Rigdon out and made Brigham Young the Mormon ruler. 
 Those who had voted against him, the new Prophet cursed and 
 cut off, and by a well-devised system of rewards and punish- 
 ments he soon inspired love in the hearts of his friends and ad- 
 herents and fear in the hearts of his enemies. John D. Lee 
 gives an account and doubtless the only correct one ever pub- 
 lished of the manner in which Brigham secured his election to 
 the presidency of the Mormon priesthood. It is decidedly rich 
 and worth reading twice. (See page 155.) 
 
 Brigham began his administration with a reign of terror. If 
 any person, whether Saint or Gentile, became obnoxious to him, 
 a word or a sign to the Danites or his secret police was sufficient 
 to seal the fate of the unfortunate offender, who would either be 
 waylaid and murdered or enticed into some lonely place and 
 there executed. If the offending person happened to be so 
 prominent that his death or disappearance would cause inquiry 
 and investigation, he would receive warning from Brigham's 
 agent, that it was no longer healthy for him to remain in that 
 locality, and the warning was sure to be heeded and acted upon, 
 for the power of the new Prophet was soon understood and 
 dreaded by all. 
 
 By this system of murdering and banishing his enemies Brig- 
 
I.IFE OF BEIGHAM YOUNG. 399 
 
 ham soon had his authority firmly established, and his leading 
 men were bound to him forever by the common fear of the pen- 
 alties of the law if they should be detected or any of their num- 
 ber turned traitor. The Prophet felt so secure in their confi- 
 dence that one day in council he openly dared them to betray 
 him, plainly intimating that they were all in the same category 
 and if he fell they must fall with him. 
 
 He also encouraged polygamy, both by precept and example, 
 with the evident intention not only of gratifying his own lustful 
 desires, but of causing his people to form peculiar social rela- 
 tions that could not be maintained elsewhere, and thus compel- 
 ing them to remain forever a separate and distinct community. 
 Polygamy had been taught and secretly practiced by Joseph 
 Smith, but Brigham engrafted it upon the doctrines of the Church 
 and caused it to become a leading feature of the new religion. 
 
 He furthermore hastened the completion of the Temple, and 
 then administered the endowment rites to all the people. The 
 ceremonies and obligations of these rites were of such a char- 
 acter as to leave a lasting impression upon the minds of those 
 who received them, and after that but few ever had the hardi- 
 hood to apostatize. 
 
 Having bound his people together by the various ties of mur- 
 der, polygamy, and the endowment, more closely than any other 
 community that ever existed, he began to make preparations to 
 carry out the plan of his predecessor and found an independent 
 State in the Rocky Mountain region. Their departure was has- 
 tened by the threatening attitude of the citizens of Illinois, who 
 had endured the insolence and lawlessness of the Mormons so 
 long that forbearance was at an end, and they had deter-miiied 
 to drive them out by force of arms. 
 
 On the 5th of February, 1846, the first company crossed the 
 Mississippi River on the ice, and on the following day the main 
 body of Saints began to move. During the raonth of February 
 about 1,200 wagons were transported to the Iowa shore, and 
 started on the journey westward. Brigham Young took his de- 
 parture on the 3d of March, and by the middle of May about 
 16,000 people were wending their way through Iowa to ren- 
 dezvous on the banks of the Missouri River in the vicinity of 
 Council Bluffs. Only about one thousand Mormons were left in 
 Nauvoo, mostly on account of their inability, from poverty or 
 sickness, to undertake the journey with the main body, while 
 some were left to dtepose of the property and settle the affairs 
 of the Church. By the first of October all had taken their de- 
 parture. 
 
 None knew their destination, but they faithfully followed their 
 leader, trusting to his ability to find a resting place for them. 
 They spent the Winter of 1846-7 in Iowa, in miserable hoveir 
 and tents, and endured great hardships on account of the lack 
 
400 APPENDIX. 
 
 of proper shelter to protect them against the severity of the 
 weather. 
 
 Here the need of money began to be felt, and the U. S. Gov- 
 ernment having offered a bounty of $20,000 for a regiment to 
 serve in the Mexican war, Brigham ordered his men to enlist, 
 and a regiment five hundred strong was soon organized, equip- 
 ped and started on the march to Santa Fe. With the money 
 thus obtained Brigham was enabled to place his people in much 
 more comfortable circumstances than they had previously been, 
 and the following Spring he took 143 men and started on a pros- 
 pecting tour to the West, having first organized the people into 
 farming companies and directed them to raise a crop for their 
 use during the coming Winter. 
 
 He and his party reached Salt Lake on the 24th of July, and 
 there he determined to locate his colony. Leaving a portion of 
 his < ompany to begin farming operations, he returned with the 
 reran inder to Iowa, for the purpose of piloting his people across 
 the plains. He found them in a sad condition, for during his 
 absence dissensions had arisen among them, and cholera, fever 
 and ague, and other diseases, had greatly thinned their ranks. 
 But he went to work with his usual indomitable energy and soon 
 restored order and good feeling, and as the Winter advance I 
 the health of the people greatly improved. 
 
 Preparations for the journey accross the plains were vigorous- 
 ly prosecuted, and early in the Spring of 1848 the people were 
 ready to depart, and by the last of May they were all en route 
 for the i ew " promised land." 
 
 The IK am body arrived in Great Salt Lake Vallev in Septem- 
 ber and October, bringing with them a large amount of grain 
 and agricultural implements, as well as the remnant of their pro- 
 perty from Nauvoo with which to commence a new home. Great 
 suffering was experienced during the trip, and hundreds died of 
 disease and exposure, leaving the route dotted with graves. But 
 the winter following their arrival at Salt Lake was mild, and 
 the sufferings of the emigrants were greatly mitigated by that 
 fact. During the following summer, however, their crops were 
 damaged by drought and grasshoppers, and their suffer- 
 ings during the preceding winter were almost unbearable. In- 
 deed their condition did not materially improve until the third 
 summer, when their harvests were abundant, and prosperity 
 began to smile upon them. 
 
 In 1850 the Mormons became anxious ft*r admission to the 
 Union. They accordingly drew up a constitution of a State 
 which they wished to call Deseret, and sent delegates to Wash- 
 ington. Congress granted them a territorial government under 
 the name of Utah, , and President Fillmore appointed Brig- 
 ham the first Governor. 
 
 From 1850 to 1854 the growth of the Church was rapid, both 
 
LIFE OF BRIG HAM YOUNQ. 401 
 
 as to numbers and wealth. Almost every country in Europe 
 sent its quota to swell the number. Villages grew into towns, 
 towns into cities. The capital, Salt Lake City, daily increased 
 in size and importance. Brigham inculcated constant industry. 
 Jn his creed to be idle was to be vicious ; and so all worked 
 
 In 1854 a Governor, not a Mormon, was appointed, and Brig- 
 ham began to show an inclination to resist. For three years the 
 Territory was in an unsettled condition. The saints, acting up- 
 on the orders of Brigham, committed many crimes, the most 
 revolting of which was the Mountain Meadows Massacre. I" 
 1857 President Pierce appointed Alfred Cu minings Governor t 
 Utah, and sent with him a force of 2,500 soldiers. Brigham sub- 
 mitted with a bad grace. As he controlled the courts, the juries, 
 and all elective offices, the power of the new Governor was of 
 the slightest. He could plan reforms, but he could not carry 
 them out. 
 
 It was not until the Salt Lake colony had been fairly started 
 that Brigham proclaimed the "celestial law of marriage," which 
 sanctioned polygamy. He said that Joseph Smith had had a re- 
 velation in 1843 directing him to promulgate this doctrine ; but 
 that he had failed to do so because of the troubled times in the 
 Church. Smith's widow and his sons pronounced this a false- 
 hood, but the power of Brigham, chiming in with the wishes and 
 inclinatoins of his people, soon made polygamy an institution 
 There was a schism in the Church, but the Smith faction were 
 speedily driven to the wall. 
 
 Of Brigham's later years little need be said. Keen and far- 
 sighted he piloted his people through all their troubles into a 
 haven of prosperity such as no people ever attained in so brief a 
 space of time. He neither spared himself nor others. " Watch 
 ' and work," not " Watch and pray," was his motto. Brigham 
 Young was one of the most far-seeing and enterprising business 
 men in the country. He never lost an opportunity. By the es- 
 tablishment of the Zion co-operative stores, the working of mines, 
 the purchase of property in places likely to grow rapidly, and by 
 his railroad operations he accumulated one of the largest for- 
 tunes in the United States. Good authorities say that there is 
 scarcely a city or town in the region over which he so long 
 ruled in which he did not own property. By a system of tithe 
 collecting, he made the people contribute directly to his coffers 
 The tithes were for the Church, it is true, but Brigham was the 
 Church. In the early days of the Pacific Railroad he took a deep 
 interest in the scheme, and was afterwards a contractor for a 
 portion of it. That he had confidence in the stability of the 
 national Government is shown by the fact that he was a large 
 holder of bonds purchased in the early years of the war. 
 
 In person the " Old Boss," as his people called him, was large 
 and portly, with a steel-blue eye, a resolute mouth, a ruddy 
 26 
 
402 APPENDIX. 
 
 cheek, an imposing carriage and a very impressive manner. He 
 was indeed a noticeable man, yet plain and simple in his dress, 
 in his diet, and indeed all his habits. He had an excessive 
 fondness for tobacco, and sometimes (his enemies said) took 
 too stiff a dram of whisky ; but he ate little, toast, bread and 
 milk being his chief food. He rose early and attended to his 
 multitudinous affairs mth persevering industry, strict routine 
 and systematic regularity. Among his intimates he was free, 
 affable, pleasant ; courteous to strangers, and full of plain, off- 
 hand, practical talk with every one. In council his power im- 
 pressed every one by the cool, calm, deliberate, well-considered 
 views he was always ready to express. In the pulpit he was 
 still more a power, fascinating his hearers by what in the lips of 
 others would seem mere swagger and rhodomontade. His man- 
 ner was unstudied, unaffected ; all seemed to see that he was 
 talking to them from his heart, and that that heart was sincere. 
 Indeed, the secret of Brigbam Young's success lay just here, 
 that he had or feigned irresistibly to have an intense convic- 
 tion of the truth of his mission. 
 
 Brigham's lion could roar terribly enough upon occasion. His 
 roar was loud enough without needing to be like those of the 
 Danites, to echo it. In 1854 the crops failed, there was a famine 
 and the people murmured. Brigham preached a series of start- 
 ling famine sermons ; told them they were cursed because they 
 were unfaithful, they had sinned and the judgment was on them, 
 they rnust bow to the yoke, and ended by cursing the murmur- 
 ers. There was no more complaining. None of his followers 
 dared differ from Brigham ; they were sure to be brow-beaten to 
 the very dust. His magnetism was irresistible, but this only 
 made his anger the more terrible. He more than once showed 
 himself implacable as granite with the Mormon offender against 
 the Mormon law, the heretic, the traitor, the adulterer. " Gen- 
 tiles" who have made trouble in the territory he has cursed 
 from the pulpit, hustled and harried, plundered and in al treated 
 them, until they were glad to flee naked and afraid for their 
 iives. One of the Smiths in 1852 differed upon some point of 
 doctrine from Brigham and attempted to set up a little Ebenezer 
 of his own. Young bore it for awhile in silence, then suddenly, 
 from his stand in the Tabernacle, denounced the intruder in the 
 venacular: "I tell Albert Smith that he had better clear right 
 out. and that right straight, too, or I will cut his damned throat, 
 and send him to hell across lots I" Needless to say, Smith fled 
 at once. 
 
 On Thursday, August 23, 1877, Brigham Young was attacked 
 with cholera morbus, said to be the result of making a hearty 
 dinner of green corn and peaches. The attack was regarded as 
 serious, but on Friday his physicians pronounced him convales- 
 cent. He had a relapse on Saturday afternoon, accompanied by 
 
LIFE OF BRIGHAM YOUXG. 40? 
 
 severe pain. The symptoms yielded to the use of morphine, 
 but on Sunday a condition of semi-stupor set in, which continu- 
 ed throughout the day and night. On Monday there was no 
 change for the better. On Tuesday it became difficult to arouse 
 him, but he retained his conciousness and recognized those 
 about him, but experienced great difficulty in breathing, and 
 artificial respiration was resorted to for about nine hours. His 
 condition from this time until his death admitted of no doubt as 
 to the result. 
 
 His last words, uttered on Tuesday ni^ht, were, " I feel 
 better. " He was able to say very little to the members of his 
 family, as they came to bid him farewell on Sunday night. He 
 then said, " It will make no difference whether I live or die. I 
 am resigned." For the past few months he had enjoyed remark- 
 able health ; had preached sermons an hour in length, and been 
 engaged actively in the reorganization of the Church in different 
 settlements, and the appointment of new bishops preparatory, 
 it was hinted, to the cutting off of the lukewarm or immoral 
 members. 
 
 At 4 o'clock on the afternoon of August 29th he passed quiet- 
 ly away, seemingly unconscious of all his surroundings. The 
 members of his family were generally gathered around his bed- 
 side, and evinced deep emotion. His sons, John W. and Brig- 
 ham Junior, constantly attended him during his illness. 
 
 The funeral was an impressive demonstration. On Saturday 
 morning the body was taken from the Lion House to the new 
 Tabernacle, where it lay in state until noon the following day. 
 Until after midnight on Saturday there was a constant stream of 
 people to see the body, and at daylight the next morning the 
 rush began again, continuing until the beginning of the funeral 
 services. Nearly eighteen thousand persons saw the corpse, 
 which was arrayed in the sacred temple or endowment robes, 
 consisting of the garment, shirt, apron, robe, cap, and shoes, all 
 of fine linen. The coffin was of California redwood, varnished, 
 and without ornament. The lining was white satin. The corpse 
 rested on a wool mattress. The arrangements were all in ac- 
 cordance with written instructions given by Brigham Young in 
 1873, which instructions were read at the funeral, as follows: 
 
 44 1, Brigham Young, wish my funeral services to be conducted 
 in the following manner : When I breathe my last, I wish my 
 friends to put my body in as clean and wholesome a state as cati 
 conveniently be done, and preserve the same for one, two, three, 
 or four days, or as long as my body can be preserved in good 
 condition. 
 
 44 1 want my coffin made of plain one-and-a-quarter redwood 
 boards, not scrimped in length, but two inches longer than I 
 would measure, and from two to three inches wider than is com- 
 monly made for verson of my breadth and size, and deep 
 
404 APPENDIX. 
 
 enough to place me on a little comfortable cotton bed, with a 
 good suitable pillow in size and quality. My body dressed in 
 my Temple clothing, and laid nicely into my coffin, and the cof- 
 fin to have the appearance that if I wanted to turn a little to the 
 right or left I should have plenty of room to do so ; the lid can 
 be made crowning. 
 
 *' At my interment I wish all my family present that can be con- 
 veniently, and the male members to wear no crape on their hats 
 or coats ; the females to buy no black bonnets or dresses nor 
 black veils, but if they have them they are at liberty to wear 
 them. 
 
 44 And services may be permitted, as singing and a prayer 
 offered, and if any of my friends wish to say a few words 
 they are desired to do so. 
 
 44 And when they close their services, to take my remains on a 
 bier and repair to the little burying ground which I have re- 
 served on my lot east of the White House on the hill. On the 
 southeast corner of this lot I have a vault built of mason work 
 large enough to receive my coffin, and that they may place in a 
 box, if they choose, the same as the coffin redwood then 
 place rocks over the vault sufficiently large to cover it, that the 
 earth may be placed over it as fine dry earth as can be had 
 to cover it until the walls of the little cemetery are hid, which 
 will leave me in the southeast corner. 
 
 " This vault ought to be roofed over with some kind of tempo- 
 rary roof. There let my earthly tabernacle rest in peace and 
 comfort and have a good sleep until the morning of the first 
 resurrection no crying world mourning with any one. 
 
 44 1 have done my work faithfully and in good faith. I wish 
 this to be read at the funeral, provided that if I should die any- 
 where in the mountains I desire the above directions respecting 
 my place of burial should be observed. But if I should live to 
 get back to the church in Jackson County, Mo., I wish to be 
 buried there. " BRIGHAM YOUNG, 
 
 44 President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day 
 Saints." 
 
 The tabernacle was heavily draped, and profusely decorated 
 with flowers, the dome being festooned with roses, bouquets, 
 and baskets of flowers, and wreaths were suspended from the 
 pillars and the gallery. The coffin was placed in front of the 
 elevated platform, resting on a modest catafalque. Two hours 
 before the opening of the services ttie gallery and about half of 
 the body of the building for the public were filled, and thou- 
 sands of persons were unable to gain admission to the taber- 
 nacle. Ten tiers of seats in front of the stand were occupied by 
 the family and relatives of the deceased Prophet, numbering 
 several hundred. The arrangement was in accordance with the 
 church rules. The stands in front of the organ were occupied 
 
LIFE OF BRIG HAM YOUNQ. 405 
 
 by high church authorities. John W. Young and Daniel H. 
 Wells, counsellors to Brigham, and Brigham Young, Jr., and 
 George Q. Cannon were in the upper stand. Ten of the apos- 
 tles were next below, and the High Council still lower. The 
 bishops were on the north platform, and the City Council on the 
 south. In front, behind the family, were the quorums of seven- 
 ties, high priests, elders, teachers, deacons, etc. There were 
 not less than 12,000 persons in the buiidlng. 
 
 At 11 J the family gathered around and gazed for the last time 
 on the corpse. All his wives and children, with few exceptions, 
 were present, and there were scores of grandchildren and rela- 
 tives more distant. The demonstrations of grief were few, 
 although all seemed sad and full of mourning. Previous to the 
 services, the coffin was elevated in full view of the entire assem- 
 blage. From 9 o'clock the organ had been playing appropriate 
 pieces, "The Dead March in Saul," Mendelssohn's funeral 
 march, and a march composed for the occasion by a Mormon. 
 George Q. Cannon was master of ceremonies, and promptly at 
 noon announced the beginning with the hymn, "Hark from 
 Afar," which was sung by the Tabernacle choir of 220 voices. 
 The opening prayer was offered by Apostle Franklin D. Rich- 
 ards, who thanked God that when he took Joseph Smith he gave 
 the saints for a leader Brigham Young, one of the noblest and 
 purest of the royal family of heaven. Then followed a hymn, 
 after which brief addresses were delivered by Daniel H. Wells 
 and Apostles Wilford Woodruff, Erastus Snow, Geo. Q. Cannon, 
 and John Taylor. Contrary to expectation, nothing was said in 
 reference to the succession. The speakers confined themselves 
 to laudations of Brigham and exhortations to the saints to re- 
 member and obey his counsels and advice, to proceed with the 
 erection of temples, the foundations for four of which have been 
 laid. All the elders expressed joy that Brigham had defeated 
 the purposes of his enemies, and had died in his own house, 
 surrounded by his family and friends. Mr. Cannon said that, 
 while Brigham Young had been the brains, the Eastern star, and 
 the tongue of the saints for more than thirty years, he was only 
 the agent of God, who would carry on the work of Mormonism 
 always. It was a significant fact that John W. Young and 
 Brigham Young, Jr., both aspirants for the Presidency of the 
 Church, occupied the seats of their father and his counsellors. 
 Many people thought they should havs been with the family or 
 with the apostles. 
 
 A hymn composed for the occasion and the benediction by 
 Apostle Orson Hyde closed the services in the Tabernacle. 
 The procession then formed and marched eight abreast to the 
 cemetery, half a mile distant. 
 
 Four thousand persons were in the line, marching with un- 
 covered heads. The ceremonies at the grave were brief, con- 
 
406 APPENDIX. 
 
 sisting only of a hymn sung by the Glee Club and a prayer by 
 Apostle Woodruff, dedicating the vault, the coffin and the body. 
 The coffin, enclosed in a rough box, was lowered into the vault, 
 and the wives and children gathered around, but the lid was not 
 removed. Brigham's first wife stood by the grave for some 
 time, leaning on the arm of Amelia, the favorite. The specta- 
 tors were then allowed to pass by the tomb, after which it was 
 closed and sealed. 
 
 The vault is of cut sandstone, eight feet long, four feet wide, 
 and three feet high, internal measurement. The stone blocks 
 are laid in cement and pinned together with steel bars, sent 
 through each block horizontally and vertically. The cover is of 
 seven inch flagging, pinned to the walls with iron bars. 
 
 Brigham Young was the father of fifty-six children, forty-four 
 of whom are now alive sixteen sons and twenty-eight daugh- 
 ters. He leaves seventeen wives, not including Ann Eliza. 
 He has left his family well provided for, apportioning property 
 to each member. His estate is valued at from six to seven mil- 
 lions of dollars. 
 
 BRIGHAM* 8 SUCCESSORS. 
 
 On the evening of September 10, 1877, the Apostles of the 
 Mormon Church, joined by John W. Young and Daniel H. 
 Wells, late counsellors of Brigham Young, published a circular 
 saying that on September 4 they held a meeting, and waited 
 upon the Lord who blessed them, and who revealed to them the 
 steps they should take. John Taylor, senior apostle, acting 
 president of the twelve, is unanimously sustained in that posi- 
 tion ; also that a quorum of the Twelve Apostles shall be the 
 authority of the Church. This was the plan pursued at the 
 time of the death of Joe Smith, and was so ordered by Smith 
 and sustained by Brigham. To facilitate the transaction of 
 business it was ordered that President John Taylor be assisted 
 by John W. Young, Daniel H. Wells and Geo. Q. Cannon. 
 
PRESIDENT TAYLOR, BRIGHAM YOUNG'S SUCCESSOR,. 
 
A REMARKABLE LETTER 
 
 To the Inter-Ocean, 
 
 MORMON WIVES TAUGHT THAT ONLY THEIR HUSBANDS CAN 
 
 RESURRECT THEM LECHEROUS BISHOPS WHO MARRY 
 
 WHOLE FAMILIES MORMONS LIVING AS HUSBNDSA TO 
 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS, AND HAVING CHILDREN BY ALL. 
 
 SALT LAKE CITY, May 21. Among the thousands of 
 unfortunate victims of polygamy in Utah, the case of Mrs. 
 Brig Hampton has been made familiar to me. The most ac- 
 curate statement of the sufferings of this " second wife," 
 which followed the consecrated sufferings of the Endowment 
 house, will be found in the following complaint, drawn up in 
 legal form, and addressed to President John Taylor, and pray- 
 ing for a divorce. When this document was drawn it was 
 supposed that Mrs. Hampton's only hope of divorce was in 
 the president or Mormon Church, as, being a second wife, 
 our courts did not recognize the legality of her marriage, and 
 could not consider her prayer for divorce. It has been lately 
 discovered, however and the discovery affords incidentally 
 another illustration of the peculiar sanctity which hedges 
 about the married relation in Mormon life that Hampton's 
 first wife was the legal and undivorced wife of another man. 
 Thus, Mrs* Hampton becomes, therefore, in the regard of our 
 law, the first and only legal wife of Hampton. She will, 
 therefore, make her prayer for divorce in a legal court, and a 
 new complaint is now being prepared. The one which I have 
 been at some pains to secure and inclose here, it must be 
 remembered, was addressed to John Taylor, the president of 
 the church, and all reflections upon the church, or anything 
 that could offend, are necessarily avoided ; but even in its cold 
 and legal phraseology the story of one woman's wrongs (in 
 polygamy) is graphically portrayed in the following lines : 
 
 BANCROFT 
 LIBRARY 
 
408 APPENDIX. 
 
 COPY. 
 
 Helen Hampton vs. Brigham Y. Hampton. Application for 
 divorce and division of property. 
 
 PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR : I was married to B. Y. Hamp- 
 ton as his second wife, in the Endowment house, November 
 7, 1863. After living with him a period of seven years he 
 separated himself from me as a husband, so that I have now 
 for nine years been virtually divorced from him, supporting 
 myself and my children by my personal labor, aided by such 
 uncertain and insufficient support as he has seen fit to give me. 
 
 My reasons for now requiring an actual and absolute divorce 
 are based upon this desertion, taken together with a long con- 
 tinued course of neglect, cruelty and abuse, both before and 
 since our separation. In proof of which I refer to imposition 
 upon me for a number of years of excessive drudgery and 
 toil, unrequired by his circumstances ; his neglect of proper 
 aid and care in times of child-birth ; his neglect, indifference, 
 and coarseness in times when my children have been danger- 
 ously sick, and even dying ; his general neglect to adequately 
 provide for our wants through a long series of years ; his 
 attempt to deprive me and my children of a home conferred 
 upon us by repeated agreements and promises, and his 
 attempts to accomplish his purpose by starvation and force, cul 
 minating in personal violence, the marks of which I still carry 
 upon my person. 
 
 For the first year after my marriage with B. Y. Hampton I 
 supported myself by dressmaking, and when he entered into 
 the saddle and harness business I assisted him therein by 
 making nose-bags, also by boiling, extracting and spinning 
 cattle-hair to make into switches for sale, etc. For these and 
 other labors, extra to my domestic duties, he promised to deed 
 me a house, situated half a block west of the court house, as 
 my individual property, of which house I took possession in 
 October, 1866. 
 
 After I had occupied my new house for about three years, 
 he demanded that I should relinquish it to a third wife, whom 
 he had secretly married, and move into rented rooms myself. 
 I freely offered to divide with the new wife, and give her by 
 far the larger portion of the rooms, on condition that she would 
 undertake the care of the first wife's family, then on my hands. 
 If this did not suit I offered to keep the additional family my- 
 self, on condition of having the extra rooms. But this fair 
 offer did not suit, and I was required to give up the whole of 
 the house. Inasmuch as I refused to be turned out of my hard 
 earned home, B. Y. Hampton stripped all the blankets from 
 my bed blankets which I had earned boarding teamsters ; and 
 
A REMARKABLE LETTER. 409 
 
 considerable of the carpets from my floor carpets which I 
 had sewn myself with a baby on my lap ; and in addition to a 
 number of articles belonging to me before I was married, car- 
 ried them away before my face, in spite of my entreaties, 
 telling me at the same time, " He knew I had earned them," 
 but that "he would have me to know that all i earned 
 belonged to him, for my time belonged to him, and all I could 
 make." 
 
 As a next step he demanded my two children from me, and 
 told me to go and hire out for my support, and added, " that 
 he would bring me to his terms or send me to keep company 
 with Mrs. Mires," an inmate of the lunatic asylum. 
 
 The measifres failing he refused all my applications for pro- 
 visions for the support of my family, and for ten days we were 
 kept without food, beyond six pounds of corn and a quart of 
 seed beans, which happened to be in the house at the time. 
 My children were crying with hunger and were in a state of 
 starvation. At the end of this time I met B. Y. Hampton on 
 the street. I had not tasted food for two days, and I begged 
 of him to give us some bread. He gave me as much as can 
 now be purchased for ten cents, saying he would give me no 
 more until I complied with his demands. 
 
 He next attempted to kidnap my two children from me, but I 
 overtook him in the act and he relinquished them on my de- 
 mand. He followed behind me, however, into the house, and 
 as I entered, kicked me in the back, causing me to fall on my 
 face, and then struck me over twenty times on the face and 
 arms with his brass-capped walking stick. I defended myself 
 from his murderous assault as well as I could, and he actually 
 left me bleed ing freely from the effect of his blow. 
 
 Inasmuch as I still refused to give up my home unless I was 
 furnished with another, my demand, be it understood being 
 only fpr one-half the value of the one I was living in, B. Y. 
 Hampton caused me to be summoned to appear before the 
 high council, presided over by George B. Wallace. The 
 council heard my statement and decided in favor of my 
 demand. The council decided that I should have my choice 
 and the deeds of either of the two houses B. Y. Hampton was 
 then negotiating for. 
 
 The repairs required by the council he has never to this day 
 made, and he has persistently refused to give me the deeds 
 to the property agreed upon. And here let me restate, that 
 my rights to an independent property may be fully understood, 
 that over and above my claims as a wife and a mother, I had 
 done my part to earn a property of the kind, not only by fur- 
 nishing for myself the support for a year, which should have 
 been supplied by himself, and thereafter working as his assist- 
 
410 APPENDIX. 
 
 ant in the saddle and harness business, but also by manufac- 
 turing for six years all the outer-clothing required by two 
 families (including B. Y. Hampton's first wife's family and 
 himself), washing, picking, spinning and coloring the material, 
 and afterward manufacturing the whole into clothing ; and 
 also, by carrying the burden of an extra family of four chil- 
 dren, in addition to my own for a series of years. 
 
 With regard to the matter of support, for a short time after 
 the decision of the high council, Hampton gave me $4 per 
 week for the support of my family, which large amount it was 
 stipulated was to include a meal a day to be provided for him- 
 self. On ceasing to dine with me soon after, he refused me 
 any regular amount for my support, giving me <5nly odd sums 
 as the humor took him. In the winter time I have been com- 
 pelled to go several blocks through the snow to borrow a saw- 
 buck, and then with my own hands saw up the poles of my 
 fence before I could procure food or warmth for my children 
 his other families not more than two blocks off being sur- 
 rounded at the same time with every comfort.* On one 
 occasion when I sent a request by one of my children for some 
 fuel he told my little boy to tell his mother " to go to h 1." 
 
 It will be observed that when the case of the second wife 
 and her wrongs were appealed to the high council of the 
 church certain just and decent requirements were made of Brig 
 Hampton in behalf of his injured wife. These were never 
 carried out by the polygamous Mormon, and it will be inter- 
 esting to learn that their just and inspired tribunal has pun- 
 ished him by giving him an appointment on the police force 
 of the city. 
 
 After reading this remarkable document I felt a great desire 
 to converse with this woman who makes these statements. I 
 found that she was living in Salt Lake City. Through the 
 kindness of one of the ladies connected with the Ladies' Anti- 
 Polygamy Society here I was enabled to meet her. I found 
 her living in a little house in the outskirts of the city, where 
 she supports her two children, born of Brig Hampton, by 
 sewing, and is to all appearances, and I believe from assur- 
 ances of this lady who accompanied me, and other Gentile 
 ladies in Salt Lake City, she is an honest and reliable woman. 
 She is about forty years of age, and bears upon her face marks 
 of the great suffering she has passed through. It was only by 
 the most earnest persuasion, however that I could get her to 
 talk of her former troubles. She showed me the scars upon her 
 hands from blows received from Brig Hampton, and which were 
 spoken of in this complaint. I asked her if she would tell me 
 how any woman of the intelligence she evidently possessed, 
 could be induced to marry Hampton, knowing he had another 
 
A REMARKABLE LETTER. 411 
 
 wife. Her reply was : "It will be impossible for me to show 
 you. It is something that you cannot understand, and some- 
 thing that you will not sympathize with." 
 
 u What was the argument they used to force you to do this?" 
 She replied : The argumen* was that I would be damned 
 if I didn't do it. That was the argument. Brig Hampton's 
 wife, extraordinary as it may seem to you, assisted him in 
 inducing me to marry him. Brigham Young brought his per- 
 suasion and his authority to bear upon me. You can form no 
 conception of the kind of persuasion, promises and threats that 
 were used to induce me to become his wife. There were no 
 Gentiles here then as there are now. There were no opportun- 
 ities of my getting advice, nor what I needed still more, 
 because I had my own scruples, of getting assistance to enable 
 me to withstand this pressure. I was made to believe, a be- 
 liever as I was then in the Mormon religion, that I would be 
 damned, and that all my salvation would be destroyed if I 
 refused to accede to the wishes of Hampton and of the leaders 
 of the church, and this, you must know was terrible to a young- 
 girl of my age. I finally consented. After I left the Endow- 
 ment house I felt, in spite of all the confidence I had in the 
 Mormon leaders, that I had done a terrible crime ; and on my 
 way to what was to be our home I cried. Brig Hampton's 
 first wife said, * If any one should cry it ought to be me.* 
 4 But I would not have married him if you had not urged me/ 
 I said. She replied, ' I didn't want you, and I want you to* 
 understand now that I did this to please him, and that 
 I despise polygamy, and all that I have said to you in its favor 
 and the hopes I have held out to you of happiness and peace 
 were false." 
 
 I asked Mrs. Hampton to describe to me her life as the poly- 
 gamous wife of Brig Hampton. This she said she could not 
 do, and even at this late date and distance from her former 
 troubles, her distress in the recital and the recalling the 
 instances of that horrible life were so manifest that I did not 
 have the heart to press the inquiries. She told me, however, 
 among other things, that in 1869 Brig Hampton and some 
 other men came to the house where she was living and sent 
 her into the kitchen because they wanted to talk. Brig Hamp- 
 ton was then what was called one of the special police, but 
 which Mrs. Hampton said she had since found out were Dan- 
 ites of the Mormon Church. She went into the kitchen during 
 this conversation, but could not resist the temptation to listen 
 to what they were saying, and to her horror she heard all the 
 details of a plan which they had formed for waylaying arid 
 killing some men who apostatized from the Mormons, and who 
 are now among some of the leading men of Salt Lake City. 
 
412 APPENDIX. 
 
 These men were Shearman, Godbe, Armstrong and others. 
 They were going down to Cottonwood to preach and to labor 
 to induce other Mormons to leave the church which they had 
 just left. The plan was stated with cold blooded accuracy to 
 waylay them on their way down and kill them, and the horri- 
 ble details were so far arranged that each man agreed upon the 
 man which he should *' get away with." " I ran around," 
 continued Mrs. H., " to the kitchen of Armstrong, and walked 
 through the house, not daring to stop. I stopped long enough 
 to say, ' Don't go to Cottonwood ; don't go,' and then ran 
 back to my own house. They heeded my warning, and an- 
 other terrible crime was averted." 
 
 At this time Mrs. JIampton was nearing child-birth, and the 
 child, born soon after, has always been afflicted with terrible fits. 
 In this conversation Mrs. Hampton told me one feature of poly- 
 gamy which was. new, at least to me. The endowment robe 
 consists of several garments. One of these is a white head- 
 gear for the women, which has a flowing cape falling down 
 from the back. During the ceremony this cape is thrown over 
 the woman's face. At some point in the ceremony, the man 
 she has married raises that cape from her face, and no other 
 person is permitted to do it. When the woman dies she is 
 buried in her endowment robes, with this cape on her head, 
 and when she is laid in her coffin the cape is thrown over her 
 face. The teachings of the mormon leaders are that she 
 cannot be resurrected until the husband raises this cape from 
 her face ; that if he pleases and is satisfied that she has been a 
 faithful and obedient wife and true to him, he will raise this 
 cape and she may be resurrected, but if he is not satisfied of 
 this, then he refuses to do this, and she cannot be resurrected. 
 One of the most common threats Mrs. Hampton said, by 
 which Brig. Hampton used to compel her to obedience, was 
 that if she didn't obey him " she would never be resurrected," 
 that he would not raise the cape from her head on the morning 
 of the resurrection. This threat, Mrs. Hampton said, at any 
 time had great terrors for her, but that she had learned now, of 
 course, to regard it as harmless. 
 
 Polygamy in Salt Lake City is sugar-coated, so far as reveal- 
 ed to the public sight. The man of many wives living amid 
 surroundings of Christianity and civilization, and who by his 
 wealth is able, may hide something of the deformity of this 
 unnatural and bestial relation ; but in this country, and among 
 poor people, small means are at command and little anxiety 
 manifested to rob it of any of its repulsiveness. When you 
 can bring your mind to dwell for a moment upon the fact of a 
 man being a husband to a mother and her daughters, and liv- 
 ing all together in one house, and even in one room, you will 
 
A REMARKABLE LETTER. 413 
 
 be able to conceive the full significance and beauty of a system 
 which u is to be perpetuated if need be, in the blood of mar- 
 tyrs," and which finds its sublime justification in the claim made 
 by Mormon priests that their wives are saved in polygamy 
 from prostitution. 
 
 The reference here made to polygamous relations between 
 a man and a woman, and her daughters, may seem incredible 
 to some, but can be doubted by no one who has ever investi- 
 gated the system. It is a fact of as general knowledge here as 
 that polygamy exists. I started to make a list of such cases 
 here in Salt Lake City, given me by responsible persons, and 
 I have already progressed so far that eight names are recorded 
 of Mormon men who are living with sisters, with mothers and 
 daughters, and having in some cases children by the mother 
 and daughter both. In the case of one, a lecherous old bishop, 
 the man was married to two sisters in the Endowment house 
 on the same day. 
 
 T. w. R. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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