-Caveat Lector- http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/02/25/state2155
EST7940.DTL WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! Park Service unearths 1872 letter blaming Mormon leader for massacre PAUL FOY, Associated Press Writer Monday, February 25, 2002 Breaking News Sections ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- (02-25) 18:55 PST SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The National Park Service said Monday that one of its volunteers has discovered a lead-plate letter that blames early Mormon church leader Brigham Young for the massacre of 120 Arkansas emigrants in southern Utah nearly 150 years ago. The letter's authenticity has yet to be established, and the Park Service refused to say whether it considers the document genuine. It was supposedly written by John D. Lee, the only man held accountable for the Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857. In the letter, etched in a sheet of soft lead, Lee writes that he and other Mormon authorities carried out the massacre "on orders" from Brigham Young. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said there is no credible evidence of Young's involvement, while a church historian said it was too early to assess the letter's authenticity. Lee, who considered himself a scapegoat, was tried and executed 20 years after the massacre when Mormon leaders came under intense federal pressure to solve the case. Lee was an officer of the Mormon militia and adopted son of Young, who led Mormons to Utah Territory. The Park Service refused to identify the volunteer who says he found a rolled lead sheet under several inches of dirt and rat droppings on Jan. 22 while cleaning the floor of Lee's Fort on the Colorado River. The fort was built in 1874 with a dirt floor, but the letter was found amid debris over a concrete floor. It wasn't immediately clear when the concrete floor was laid, a detail that adds considerable intrigue to volunteer's find. Lee's Fort, originally used as a residence and then trading post, was last occupied in the mid-1950s by the U.S. Geological Survey. The building has been kept locked but "I can't tell you how that object got there," Park Service spokeswoman Char Obergh said Monday from Page, Arizona. The letter was unearthed as part of restoration of Lee's Fort. Obergh said the Park Service has no reason to question the credibility of the volunteer who found it. She described him as a summer worker who was invited in January to help restore the fort because of his interest in the history of Lee's Ferry, a tiny historic Mormon outpost on the Colorado River. Lee supposedly wrote the letter "by my own hand" on Jan. 11, 1872, or 15 years after the Mountain Meadows Massacre. It opens with a reference to the Paria River, a Colorado River tributary at Lee's Ferry, and mentions "Fancher." The Fancher party, named after Alexander Fancher, was slain by Mormons and their Indian associates en route to California. The letter, replete with misspellings, grammar errors and halting sentences, says: "At the Pahreah I have now live longer than eccpected tho I am now ill - I do not fear athorty for the time is closing and am willing to tak the blame for the Fancher - Col. Dane-Maj. Higby and me - on orders from Pres Young thro Geo Smith took part - I trust in God - I have no fear - Death hold no teror - Lord hav merci on this resless soul." The church has long acknowledged that "some members of the faith acted independently at Mountain Meadows," church spokesman Dale Bills said Monday. Young, he said, did not order or condone the killings, which occurred in a climate of war hysteria as Utah Mormons prepared for an invasion by federal troops, who were sent to deal with a defiant Mormon theocracy. Church historian Glen M. Leonard issued a statement on Monday saying the Park Service was "taking the right approach" investigating the letter's origin. The Park Service is trying to verify the letter was written 130 years ago by determining where the lead used for the thin sheet was mined, Obergh said. Utah historian Will Bagley said the letter seemed too good a find to be genuine, but he said other evidence indicates Young may have approved or given orders for the attack. Bagley said it was unusual but not unknown for people at that time who wanted to preserve a record to etch it into lead. Lee made confessions of his and Young's involvement that found their way into contemporary accounts. Even though Lee was not high enough in the Mormon chain of command to receive orders from Young, he may have learned of them from superiors, Bagley said. Scott Fancher, a lawyer in Harrison, Ark., who is president of the Mountain Meadows Monument Foundation, said stories passed down from his family had the Mormons attacking the wagon train as a wartime preparation for the cattle and goods. Fancher said he also believed Young sanctioned the massacre as a demonstration to federal authorities that only Young could control Paiute Indians, who took part on the attack. At first, Mormons blamed the Indians. "The only thing that surprises me is it's taken this long to find the letter, not the admission of guilt or that Lee pointed the blame at Young," Fancher said. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! Write to same address to be off lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. 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