MOUNTAIN MEADOWS.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 816, 8 September 1877, Page 3

MOUNTAIN MEADOWS.

REMINISCENCE D. LEE'g "' **£ Nothjng in history is* m6re impressive!than the tioa of Lee, after fie v s had once imbrued his hands in ttfeii blood ofi the emigrants, to finish tbem up so thoroughly that no trace.of their fate should ever pass out into the -world. IJis determination to tUf; kill, kill, outran the ferocity of his superiors and inferiors alike., One ghastly incident of the massacre will illustrate the cruel pertinacity of the man. * In the midst of the last melee, two girls escaped together from the camp of the emigrants and concealed themselves in a neighboring thicket. An Indian chief discovered their refuge and .sought, them jin J',-it;.- ; At;: tb.e same moment an Indian boy attaohed to John D. Lee's j?e'rsdn s discovered the whereabouts of and the ouriosity of the chief/ and ran to Lee and informed him. Lee turned at once and hastened to, the thicket. There he found the'' trembing fugitives, and confronted the chief, iv ho' asked him what he was going to do with them.' i rV- * Lee responded, ' They are too old; to live/ «••■..■■■•:-. > The Indian, answered,, - too pretty to kill.' At this juncture 'the- eldest of the* two girls threw herself on Lee's! breast, and wound her arms about his neok and said, ' Oh,. God's isake, for your for your wife's, for your sister's let us live! I'm tqp ypiung put to death so cruelly !•> If -you will let me live, I promise,'to'be your faithful. tendto 5 you,; to, see to all your* wants, everything you could wish a-poor, girl tb be all your life long.- v - ; And poor Ella, sir, she's younger than L For V%ie love ot the Saviour, don't let "•*• the Indians do her harm! Please; sir, as you hope to rest beyond the grave, let us have our lives!" The Indian, not understanding a word that was said, again asked Lee, " What shall ; . we with them ?" to the testimony of the Indian boy who...s£op,cl,nearj Lee saicl, not to the Indian, but to the. wretched girl whose arms were* locked around his neck, "It is beyond my power to save you. lam acting nnder orders."- -«' : ' .'„. \ At this the girl who stood apart, named Ella, drew her sunbonnet down oyer* her .eyes*;; 3&e;'lndiah I chief, overawed by Lee's authority, took a humane and certain aim and shot her directly through the forehead. . She dropped on J;he ground without a moan. Aolie same time time, .untwisting from his neck the arms of his victim, Lee drew her , head baok across his breast and cut her throat from ear to ear with his hunting knife. Even the Indian turned in disgust from the callous butchery a butchery* however, which Lee persisted to his deathln regarding as a part of his duty as a Latter Day Saint, . : , ;> i; He - did not lack- reward, from Brighanv Young. Already he had received: from Salt; Lake City the 'following note : . " President's Office, Cifcy ; March 24th, 1857.—Brother Lee: As you request an increase; to; your family, it is your privilege. Be kind as a father and wise as a soil of God,— Yoq» sinoere friend* .. ' Biugham Young. Soon after the massacre Lee> in company with Haight,'was elected . to the Legislature, and enjoyed' at Salt Lake his share of the loaves . andHßahes, He continued to live in . clover. until liiS arrest in 1864. Correspondent 'New