That American Century

The Mountain Meadows Massacre | Ep 7

• SNB Media • Season 1 • Episode 7

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The Mountain Meadows Massacre |

“This is the right place” declared Brigham Young as he entered the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. 

Persecuted and harassed in every place they had tried to make a home, the Latter-Day Saints, the Mormons, establish Zion in the Great Salt Lake Valley. Ten years later, however, in 1857, rumors abound that President James Buchanan is sending someone new to replace Brigham Young as Governor of the Utah Territory.

The Mormons refuse to be persecuted any longer. If the United States wants war with the Mormons - war is what they will get. 

Music from Epidemic Sound.

Sources for this episode include:

Shannon

This is the right place, declared Brigham Young as he entered the Salt Lake Valley. He had seen this place in a vision he had. This is where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will establish Zion. Officially organized on April 6, 1830, in Fayette, New York, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints faced scorn from mainline Protestants in the United States who ridicule Joseph Smith's teachings. The Saints decide to escape persecution by moving west. They set up in Ohio, Missouri, Illinois. But they're met with violence in every place they try to make a home. And in 1844, the prophet Joseph Smith is imprisoned, then murdered by an angry mob. The church needs a new leader. And eventually, Brigham Young succeeds him as prophet and leader of the church. July 1847, Brigham Young reaches the Salt Lake Valley and declares, this is where the Mormons will settle. And they will no longer be persecuted by the United States government because at this moment, July 1847, the great Salt Lake Valley is part of Mexico. But just two months later, General Winfield Scott, old Fots and Feathers, captures Mexico City. The Mexican-American War ends, and the land the Mormons are making their new home on is ceded to the United States when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed in February of 1848. Deseret doesn't happen. Instead, the territory of Utah is established, and Brigham Young becomes governor of the territory in 1850. The name Utah comes from the Ute tribe, the indigenous people of the region. And he dispatches the U.S. Army to escort his new pick to Utah. When Brigham Young gets word of this, hysteria amongst the saints starts to spread, and preparations for armed conflict begin. Orders are delivered to all Mormon villages in the territory. If the United States government wants war with the Mormons, war is what they will get. And this is that American Century. Take as long as you need. So you are giving a sermon. All these Mormon eyes of all ages are upon you.

SPEAKER_03

Relying on me.

Shannon

Yeah. Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_02

The time must come when this kingdom must be free and independent of all other kingdoms. I shall take it as a witness that God desires to cut the thread between us and the world. When an army undertakes to make their appearance in this territory to chastise me or to destroy my life from the earth. But I shall take a hostile move by our enemies as evidence that it is time for the thread to be cut.

SPEAKER_03

How was that?

Shannon

You exceeded my expectations. Okay. One take wonder also. I don't think we need to do another take.

SPEAKER_03

Alright. I felt I felt like I was, you know, riling up an army.

Shannon

That was that was I'm stirred, I'm ready for war. The Mormons had been run out of every town they had tried to make a home in. New York, Missouri, Illinois, and violence had been perpetrated upon them. Their leader, Joseph Smith, had been murdered by an angry mob. And the Republican platform of 1856, which was a presidential election year, called the Mormons out when they said, quote, it is both the right and the imperative duty of Congress to prohibit in the territories those twin relics of barbarism. Polygamy and slavery. The Mormons' belief system, polygamy, plural marriage, is considered barbaric by the party in power. So this is probably greatly upset them.

SPEAKER_03

Upset the Mormons.

Shannon

Upset the Mormons.

SPEAKER_03

I would think so.

Shannon

This is this is supposed to be a a country where they are allowed to practice their belief system.

SPEAKER_03

And they just thought, well, we're setting up our own country, right? Or own sort of autonomous region in Mexico, right? Then, whoops. Now just became part of the US.

Shannon

Here comes Old Fuss and Feathers.

SPEAKER_02

Old Fuss and Feathers.

Shannon

Conquering Mexico City.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, how about that?

Shannon

Yeah, they get there all excited. Only a couple months later. Uh we're gonna be part of the US. This is what we're trying to get out of.

SPEAKER_03

Finally made it out of the US. Uh-oh. We're now part of the US again.

Shannon

What would be what would be an analogy?

SPEAKER_03

Like you you leave a company that you work for, and then you're like, it's great, but then two months later your previous company buys the new one.

SPEAKER_01

That's a yes. That's great. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

It's exasperating.

Shannon

The Utah Territory in 1857 is a rest stop. Wagon trains will stop there to resupply on their way to California. Now remember there is no transcontinental railroad at this time, so people can travel by wagon from east to west, or they can take that shortcut that Vanderbilt establishes in Nicaragua that we talked about in episode four, Duran v. Holland's. Joseph Smith is murdered in 1844 near Navoo. And it is after this that a majority of Mormons, including Brigham Young, make their great migration west. And in the beginning of 1857, sensing confrontation on the horizon, the Navoo Legion is reestablished. Mormons who had settled elsewhere are told to return to the Salt Lake region so that they can help defend Zion. They start storing guns, ammunition, and grain. And members of the Navoo Legion, which is pretty much every able-bodied male, are ordered to report any merchant that does business with a Gentile, a non-Mormon. The Baker Fancher Party. Their wagon train leaves Arkansas in April 1857. The wagon train is about 150 individuals and about 1,000 head of cattle and 200 horses. Some of these folks are chasing gold. Some are heading west to sell cattle. And some are planning on settling in California permanently. But rumors had spread about this wagon train. Rumors that some in the Bagar Fancho Party had participated in the Hans Mill massacre, which was an attack on Mormons in Missouri about 10 years prior. There are also rumors that some in the party were responsible for the murder of Joseph Smith. So, retribution starts to seem like a very good idea to some of these Latter-day Saints. They will not allow themselves to be persecuted any longer. And they are ready to fight. One reason the Fancher Party may have been singled out was the Arkansans' conspicuous wealth. It was reputed to be the richest and best-equipped train that ever set out across the continent. Among the group's 1,200 head of stock were prized Texas Longhorns and a strikingly beautiful thoroughbred racehorse that was alone worth $3,000 in the currency of the day, the equivalent of many hundreds of thousands of 21st century dollars.

SPEAKER_02

Just ripe for the taking.

Shannon

Again, from Krakower's book. On the morning of September 7th, as they are beginning to eat breakfast, the first shot is fired at the Baker Fanter party. And the first victim is a child. More shots ring out, and the Arkansans see what they would call Indians firing at them from behind rocks and brush. Now, about a week before this attack, a meeting happened between Brigham Young and Paiute chiefs. Brigham Young's son-in-law acted as interpreter. And according to the son-in-law's notes of that meeting, Brigham Young promised the Paiute's cattle from the wagon train in exchange for their participation in the ambush. The Mormons assured the Paiute chiefs that this would be an easy attack. But they underestimated the Baker Party, who quickly circled their wagons and began to fire back. And then the Baker Party begins to realize there are white men amongst the Paiutes. White men with painted faces. Now, the Arkansans are at an extreme disadvantage. They are surrounded, and days pass, and they begin to grow desperate. They cannot bury their dead, and there are animal carcasses rotting in the blazing sun, and it won't be much longer before they die of thirst. Their water source has been blocked by their attackers. Most of the Paiutes abandon the bungled operation. This has not gone according to plan. And on day five of the attack, the morning of September 11th, one of the Mormons in charge, John D. Lee, sends a representative holding a white flag down to the emigrants. He says that he would be willing to help negotiate a surrender between them and the Paiutes and help escort them out of harm's way. The emigrants are tentative. They don't quite trust this situation. And John D. Lee for two hours he works to convince the Baker Fancher Party to give up their weapons. They finally do, seeing no other alternative. The youngest of the children in the Baker Fancher Party, five years old and under, are put in a wagon and driven away. The women and the older children who are on foot now have Paiutes and Mormons painted to look like Paiutes as escorts. The emigrant men in a single file line have Mormon escorts and they begin walking. The Mormons know that the emigrants know that they are white men with painted faces. The saints' white flag and offer of an escort was an act of great perfidy. They had been walking for about 30 minutes when one of the Mormons yells, Men do your duty. The emigrant men all shot at point-blank range. The women and children start screaming, and then they're attacked, shot, stabbed, and bludgeoned to death. Fifty men, twenty women, and fifty children are murdered. The children who are spared, the ones under five and considered too young to remember their attackers as white, are placed in Mormon homes. The victims of the Mountain Meadows massacre are then robbed of all their belongings, even the clothes on their backs. The naked bodies of fifty men, twenty women, and fifty children are half-heartedly buried. The ground was so hard that only a mere layer of dirt was poured over them. And in the coming days, scavengers will get to them, and what remains will be scattered across mountain meadow. After the massacre, the perpetrators gather in a circle. Thank God for delivering their enemies to them and swear to always say that it was the pious that did this. And if anyone amongst them betrays their secret, they will suffer the same fate. And word of what happened at Mountain Meadows, it starts to get around. So fast forward to 1874. Ulysses S. Grant is president. The Justice Department has been created. And President Grant wants the men who orchestrated the Mountain Meadows Massacre almost 20 years prior to be held to account. Most of the men have gone into hiding. But John D. Lee, the man who convinced the Baker Fancher Party to turn their weapons over, he has become one of the wealthiest men in southern Utah with many homes, many wives, and many children. 18 wives and 62 children, in fact. It's a lot of mouths to feed. Probably not. He flees to northern Arizona, but he's captured in November 1874, and July 1875 will be his first trial. Eight Mormons and five Gentiles on the jury. But they're deadlocked. So a second trial is scheduled. And in the interim, Brigham Young, who had at one point considered Lee like an adopted son, decides Lee, a scapegoat, has to happen this time. The Gentiles need their justice. He cannot afford any more scrutiny on his church. So the second jury is all Mormons, and they have probably been instructed by Brigham Young to convict. They do. John D. Lee has been sacrificed for the Mormon church. Better for one man to die than for a whole nation to dwindle in unbelief. From the Bible, Bobby. John 1150 about Jesus. Better for one man to die than for a whole nation to dwindle in unbelief. Lee is sentenced to death. And in 1877, 20 years after the massacre, the execution is carried out. Now in the Utah Territory in 1877, a man or woman sentenced to execution is allowed to choose hanging or firing squad.

SPEAKER_01

Lee chooses firing squad. What would you pick?

SPEAKER_04

I think I might choose hanging.

SPEAKER_01

Really? Tell me why.

SPEAKER_04

Well, I think as long as they do it properly, it should be relatively painless, right? But the firing squad are gonna get shot in the chest. So you're gonna feel that agonizing pain. At least for a few seconds.

SPEAKER_01

But you're gonna feel not being able to breathe for more than just a few seconds, I think. Or unless you're next you're unless you're next snap.

SPEAKER_04

That's what I'm counting on, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Oh I hope you get it. I'm gonna choose firing squad.

SPEAKER_04

Really? Why?

SPEAKER_01

Because I think that if there's enough people with guns, I'll request a lot of guns so that you know I'm shot up pretty good.

SPEAKER_04

Well, I guess we know where we stand.

Shannon

John D. Lee is marched to Mountain Meadow, the site of the massacre that he helped orchestrate. He is blindfolded. He sits on the coffin he is soon to occupy, and is shot by firing squad. As onlookers looked on. The force of the bullets ripping John D. Lee apart tip his body back and he falls into the open coffin. Now, before John D. Lee and his coffin are brought out to Mountain Meadows, a young boy sees John D. Lee's coffin in town. The empty coffin has a picture of Lee on top. And this memory of the box made for a man awaiting execution, and the memories of seeing Brigham Young around town remain with the boy. He's eight years old in 1877, and his name is Bill Haywood. Growing up in the violent Utah territory in the 1870s would make quite an impression on little Bill Haywood, who would grow up to become Big Bill Haywood. One of the most controversial men in America in 1914. I've done it again, Bobby. Brought us back to 1914.

SPEAKER_03

We're back.

Shannon

Not only that, episode three, we met Big Jim Hogg, governor of Texas. This episode, we get to meet Big Bill Haywood. And let me tell you, Bobby, there are many more Big Bills and Big Jims for us to meet in this series. I have a list, and I'm going to work in as many as I can. This I promise you.

SPEAKER_03

I'm gonna hold you to it.

Shannon

Okay. Big Bill Haywood in 1914 is the leader of the most controversial union in the United States of America. The International Workers of the World. Collectively and colloquially known as Wobblies. Why are they called wobblies? There are a few origin stories, but one is that the term wobbly may have originally been used as an insult by employers or rival union members to imply the organization was unstable. And the members then later embraced this as a badge of honor. Big Bill Haywood is beloved by few and hated by many in the U.S. He is beloved by, quote unquote, inverted commas, radicals, and he is hated by big business. Bill Hawood believed that there should be one large union for workers. One large union because there is power in numbers. The American Federation of Labor, the AFL, at this time, 1914, was a union representing mostly skilled labor, white, native-born craftsmen. The International Workers of the World, their mandate was to represent all working men and women, regardless of skill or color or country of origin. April 1914, the International Workers of the World have a pretty modest membership, and they will reach their peak in 1917, the year the US enters the Great War. And the Wobblies will be targeted and their civil liberties violated during this period. Colonel Theodore Roosevelt will call the Wobblies, quote, unhung traitors. That's pretty. That's pretty. That's harsh.

SPEAKER_04

It's harsh. It's clear how he feels about them.

Shannon

Crystal. In our past few episodes, Bobby, we have been witness to the U.S. invasion of Veracruz. We bore witness.

SPEAKER_02

We were right there.

Shannon

We were right there. On both sides. Um, on the US side and from the Mexican point of view, also. Big Bill Haywood would have some things to say about the US invasion of Veracruz on April 21st, 1914, and folks will have some things to say about Big Bill Haywood saying things about the U.S. invasion. But on April 21st, 1914, some other notable stories will hit the papers. Let's take a look at what's in the news. From The Cimarron Citizen. Headline Hunters poke out wildcat. Nimrods try to get rabbit, but find a big troublesome cat instead. Winona, Minnesota. George Miller peered into a culvert under the Burlington Railway tracks at the outskirts of Trempolo Village with the expectation of catching a rabbit. At the other end of the culvert was the young man's father, Louis Miller, who poked what seemed to be a rabbit with a stick, intending that it should leap into the range of the waiting hunter, but instead of a rabbit, a wild cat jumped out and a battle at close quarters with a feline followed. The animal finally was killed. End quote. You better be sure you you know what you're poking when you poke it. That's my that's the lesson.

SPEAKER_04

That's a it's a big lesson.

Shannon

Yeah. Okay, Bobby, will you please read the next story?

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely. Crickets disturb sleepers. Terrytown, New York. With the Mercury 10 below zero, crickets chirped so loudly in the local jail that the lodgers could not sleep. The crickets were executed.

Shannon

Will you also read the the next story from the Montana Record Herald about Big Bill Haywood?

SPEAKER_02

Happily. Haywood would close the mines. Industrial workers' leader threatens to shut down in case of war. New York, April 21st. The threat of William D. Haywood, leader of the industrial workers of the world, to tie up the coal mines of the country in the event of a war with Mexico does not constitute sedition, in the opinion of H.H. Snowden Marshall, United States District Attorney. No word has been received from the Department of Justice at Washington relative to action against Haywood for delivering the alleged seditious remarks in the course of a speech here on Sunday night, and none was expected at Mr. Marshall's office. To prove sedition, Mr. Marshall explained last night that some tangible evidence of conspiracy to tie up the mines would have to be shown, following a reiteration of the seditious language after war had been declared. Heads of the Central Federal Union and affiliated unions issued statements last night declaring their disapproval of the threats and expressing their loyalty to the American flag.

Shannon

As I mentioned before, the Wobbleys, the International Workers of the World, they are considered radicals. The AFL, the head of the AFL, his name is uh Samuel Gompers. He and Big Bill Haywood uh don't care for each other.

SPEAKER_01

Haywood thinks that Gompers is not uh radical enough. Well, and he doesn't like that the AFL represents only white people and only skilled workers.

Shannon

All these heads of unions, after his comments, make sure that the United States government know they're distancing themselves, you know, we're loyal to the American flag. Big Bill Haywood threatening to close down the mines was not the big story of the day, Bobby. The big story of the day was the invasion of Veracruz, which we've talked about a lot. But buried in the back pages of East Coast and Midwest papers, if covered at all, was a story about the ongoing Colorado Coalfield War, which had been underway for about six months. Papers out west would cover the story, and it gets front page coverage in the Tell Yuride Journal. Headline Worst labor battle in Western history raging near Ludlow. Death lists on both sides steadily growing. Militiamen mowing strikers down with machine guns. Denver, April 21st. Late this afternoon, officials of the United Miners of America here estimated that the deaths resulting from the pitched battle at the Ludlow Tent Colony had increased rapidly. The miners, District President McClennan, arrived here this morning from Denver. The train on which he came passed through Ludlow, and at that point, three women refugees boarded the train for Telluride. McClennan immediately held a conference with them and came to the conclusion that 14 members of the Ludlow Tent Colony had been killed. He learned from the three women refugees that many of the striking minors remained in the ranks fighting for 14 hours yesterday. While it is positively known that scores of others have been wounded, it is impossible to verify the death lists as the wires into and out of Ludlow are cut. The battle raged for 14 hours yesterday. The soldiers succeeded in driving the strikers to a point three miles east of Ludlow. The troops used several machine guns and literally mowed the strikers down. The firing did not cease until after midnight. This morning, both sides retired into the hills, and it is now impossible to ascertain just what is happening. The state militia will at once be rushed to the scene of the battle. It is reported to be the worst labor battle in Western history. This battle will come to be known as the Ludlow Massacre. And it will be a turning point in the history of labor relations in the United States.

SPEAKER_01

But this is where we're going to end for today.

Shannon

We will continue on with labor struggles in the US and learn more about the Ludlow massacre in our next episode.

SPEAKER_04

Excellent.

Shannon

John D. Lee, who was executed for the Mountain Meadows massacre at the top of our story. The Mormons versus the Baker Fantra Party.

SPEAKER_04

I think I do.

Shannon

John D. Lee, who was executed for the Mountain Meadows Massacre, had about 18 or 19 wives when he died, and lots of children who names whose names he could not remember. It didn't even bother.

SPEAKER_01

So a lot of descendants.

Shannon

And in 1990, a memorial to honor the victims of the Mountain Meadows Massacre was created. This is from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Digital Gospel Library, which I had a lovely time perusing. They have a lot of study materials and teaching aids.

SPEAKER_02

Wonderful.

Shannon

From the Digital Gospel Library. Quote In 1990, relatives of the Arkansas emigrants joined with representatives of the Paiute Nation, Latter-day Saint residents of southern Utah, and church leaders in dedicating a memorial at Mountain Meadows. Rex E. Lee, president of Brigham Young University and descendant of John D. Lee, held hands with victims' descendants and thanked them for their Christian-like willingness to forgive. End quote. Is the right thing to do. And uh there there are debates about Brigham Young's role in the Mountain Meadows massacre. In so much as did he order this? How aware of this, how aware of this potential event was he? That's not a sentence. How much did he know about this event before it happened? Another descendant of John D. Lee's is Senator Mike Lee, currently the senior senator of Utah, occupying that seat since 2011. Mike Lee is part of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees the Department of Justice. The same department that in 1870 went after his ancestor. Now, the Justice Department in the 1870s was not like the Justice Department as we know it today. I just want to mention that. I thought that was a pretty fun fact.

SPEAKER_03

I agree. I thought it was pretty fun.

Shannon

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03

Thank you.

Shannon

Sources for today's episode. Mountain Meadows Massacre by Juanita Brooks. Under the Banner of Heaven by John Krakower. American Midnight by Adam Hochschild. The autobiography of William D. Haywood. For a list of all sources, please see the show notes for this episode.