DENVER — One of the worst massacres in American history happened in 1857, when 120 men, women and children in a wagon train traveling from Arkansas to California were killed.
Mormon historians have long debated exactly what happened in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Some say Indians did the killing, while others suspect Mormon leadership. A new National Park Service discovery may shed some light on this mystery — and implicate Mormon leader Brigham Young.
A Park Service volunteer discovered a soft lead sheet under several inches of dirt and rat droppings. The sheet contained writing, supposedly etched by John D. Lee, who was the only man tried and executed in connection with the attack.
The key line may be one that says the attack was “on order from Pres Young.” Lee, who was Young’s adopted son, was blamed for the massacre 20 years later when Mormon leaders came under pressure from the federal government to solve the case.
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