LAST
WORDS AND THE EXECUTION OF JOHN D. LEE As
reported by his attorney, William W. Bishop, in Mormonism Unveiled;
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 perform 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 throwaway 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 still
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 enable him to attain immortality and future
happiness. In
addition 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 except the first one, and his children would have been
branded as bastards.
His life, too, would have been in danger from his former
associates, as he
says himself, and they would either have "blood
atoned" him or reported his crimes to the civil authorities and
secured his conviction.
The rulers of the Mormon Church teach
their deluded
followers 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 responsible 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
sayeth 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 execution,
the guard having Lee in charge started from The party consisted of United States
Marshal, William
Nelson, a military guard, the prisoner, District Attorney Howard,
a few
newspaper correspondents, and about twenty private citizens. The authorities had received information
that an attempt to
rescue Lee would be made by his sons and a body of his personal
friends, and
precautions were taken to prevent the success of any such attempt. The
place of
execution was kept a profound 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 confidence in it, for he
uttered no
word or expression to indicate 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 to
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
terrible
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, was just, but if so, what ought to be the fate
of the
men who counseled and commanded him to do what he did? Among the number
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 be the curse of that crime come home to
him. If
the law should fail to reach him with its retributions. 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 surprise,
and
preparations for the execution were at once begun.
"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: "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, said: 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 Emma
B." 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, saying to the artist,
who had
just approached him, "Please
forward them - you will do this?" Mr. Fennemore
responded affirmatively, at the same time shaking Lee by the hand. 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: "I feel resigned to my fate. I feel as
calm as a summer
morn, and I have done nothing intentionally wrong. My conscience is
clear
before God and man. I am ready to meet my Redeemer and those that have
gone
before me, behind the veil. "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 have said it to my family, and I will
say it today,
that the Government of the "I am a true believer in the gospel of
Jesus Christ, I
do not 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, downward to destruction. But I
believe in the
gospel that was taught in its purity by Joseph Smith, in former days. I
have my
reasons 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 day! "I have been sacrificed in a cowardly,
dastardly
manner." (Lee enunciated this sentence with marked emphasis.) "I cannot 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! 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 anything else than the reptile that
enamors
his prey, till it captivates it, paralyzes it, and it rushes into the
jaws of
death. I 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 accompanied
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 supplications. The prisoner listened
attentively. "I ask
one favor of the guards - spare my limbs and centre my heart." The
Marshal then bound a handkerchief over the prisoner's 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!
AIM! FIRE!" The five men selected as executioners
promptly obeyed. They
raised their rifles to their shoulders, took deliberate aim at the
blindfolded
man sitting upright on his coffin, about twenty feet in front of them,
and as
the fatal word "fire" rang out 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. THE END
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