The settlers blamed the soldiers for encouraging these attacks. “Are the
Indians who perpetrated this wanton butchery, some of the Administration’s
boasted allies for carrying on a crusade expressly to plunder and exterminate
American citizens solely for their religious beliefs,” asked the Deseret News
upon learning of the Salt Creek “massacre.”7
Young’s report to the federal Indian department was more restrained.
Although he claimed that a majority of the American Indians were peaceful,
Young believed that the recent tensions with the soldiers had made some of
the Indians troublesome. “It became necessary to not only hold them in check,
but to feed them in order to conciliate and keep them from actual outbreak
until matters could be explained to them understandingly.”8 Young’s report
was the last one he would send as territorial superintendent of Indian affairs.
At a private dinner held at his home in Provo, Young spoke about his
Indian policy. He urged the Saints to be friendly with the Indians and prom-
ised “they [the Indians] will not turn against true friends . . . They will kill once 2.“H
istory of Brigham Young,” 1858, 710.
3. Henry Ballard, journal, June 6 and 16, 1858, BYU.
4. John Lowe Butler to Young, June 27, 1858, BYOF.
5. George Peacock to Young, June 7, 1858, BYOF.
6.“Autobiography of Emma Lynette Richardson Conover,” June 6, 1858, Utah Historical Society.
7. Deseret News, June 16, 1858.
8. Brigham Young to the Honorable Commissioner of Indian Affairs, June 30, 1858, BYOF.
278
the prOphet And the refOrmer
in a while. We will bear it.”9 The question of relations with the Indians came
up during the negotiations with the peace commissioners. McCulloch insisted
that his long experience in Texas taught him that “the only way to get along
with them [the Indians] is to give them a good thrashing, and let them know
you are their master.” “Sir,” John Taylor responded, “I have found it cheaper
to feed them than to fight them.”10 In fact, in early June when tensions were
running high, about 250 Ute Indians assembled at Salt Lake City’s Bowery
Park—probably today’s Temple Square. The Indians complained of hunger,
and Young responded by distributing 1,000 pounds of flour. According to the
Mormon account of the incident, many of the Indians wore infantry and dra-
goon caps, an indication of the Indians’ earlier dealings with the soldiers at
Camp Scott.11
Source
Young to Kane, August 6, 1858, Thomas L. Kane Papers, Yale University.
A slightly less complete copy is in Brigham Young Letterbooks, box 14,
vol. 21, 378–381.
Letter
Great Salt Lake City Aug. 6. 1858
Dear Colonel:—
Presuming that you would be desirous of learning the position of
affairs in Utah, and somewhat concerning the transpiration of events
since your departure, more accurately than is usual with letter-writers
for the press and more minutely than is yet deemed politic to publish in
the “News,” I do myself the favor of writing to you so soon after receiv-
ing the joyful news of your safe arrival home, and ere receiving word
thereof by letter from yourself.
Deeming that I had sufficient reason for being suspicious about the
movement of Genl. Johnston, I asked the commissioners at the open-
ing of the conference with them, (June 11) whether he was marching
or would begin to march upon this city while the conference was being
9.“H
istory of Brigham Young,” June 12, 1858, 655, CHL.
10.“History of Brigham Young,” June 16, 1858, 683.
11.“History of Brigham Young,” June 2, 1858, 599.
Young to Kane, August 6, 1858
279
held, and Gov. Powell, as myself and several others understood, most
distinctly stated that the General would not move until he heard from
them, when in fact the command was then en route for this place, as
is proven by Gen’l Johnston’s addressing letters from the camp on
Bear river, bearing date June14.12 Gov. Powell afterwards stated that
he meant to be understood that Genl. Johnston would not attempt to
cross the mountains east of this city, until he received word from the
Commissioners.13
The conference closed on the 12th of June, and on the 13th
I returned to Provo, with those who had accompanied me from that
place.14 On the 26th Gen’l. Johnston marched, in a strictly orderly man-
ner, through this city and encamped on the left bank of Jordan, just
south of the bridge, where
encampment he proceeded [p. 2] a few miles south west to Binghams
creek16 where he remained several days, sweeping off, with his numer-
ous animals, all the grass for long distances around his encampments
and contiguous to our densest settlements. From that point he removed
to a short distance above the cañon on Jordan, crossing the river twice,
12. J
ohnston wrote the peace commissioners: “The army will continue its march from this position on Thursday, 17th inst., and reach the valley in five days. I desire to encamp beyond the Jordan on the day of arrival in the valley.” Cumming considered Johnston’s decision to march a breach of an agreement that Johnston had made to the commissioners and to himself. See Albert Sidney Johnston to Peace Commissioners, June 14, 1858, in William P. Johnston, The Life of General Albert Sidney Johnston (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1878), 227; Cumming to Johnston, June 15, 1858, Alfred Cumming Papers, CHL.
13. The peace commissioners stated that they had “no power to give an order to the army.”
Nevertheless, Johnston agreed that “his army would not march to the valley of Great Salt Lake until he received information” from them. Johnston further explained that that “it was not his intention to station his army in or very near one of their large cities—that such a location would be calculated to demoralize the army.” See Peace Conference Meeting Minutes, June 12, 1858, BYOF.
14. The Latter-day Saints who participated in the peace conference included Young, Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, John Taylor, Amasa Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, and James Ferguson. See “Conference with the Commissioners,” Deseret News, June 23, 1858, 3.
15. When the troops marched through Salt Lake City, one soldier observed that the city was deserted, “with the exception of a picked few of [Young’s] ‘destroyers’ of decidedly rough and sinister aspect, left as a police, and with orders to fire the city” should the army try to occupy it. “Journal of Capt. Albert Tracy,” entry for June 26, 1858, Utah Historical Quarterly 13 (1945): 26–27.
16. Bingham Creek originates at the mouth of Bingham Canyon and drains at the
Jordan River. John M. Boutwell, Economic Geology of the Bingham Mining District, Utah (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1905), 339–340.
280
the prOphet And the refOrmer
and again encamped upon a herd ground and improved claim; from
there he moved to the north end of Cedar Valley, a few miles above the
north settlement in that valley, where he is at date.
On the 19th of July Col. Bee left camp in cedar valley, for Fort
Leavenworth, with 320 of the volunteers; some 60 or 80
more of them
will be mustered out of service in the camp, wishing to go to California.
Col. Bee had the courtesy not to march his battalion through the city. Col.
Loring and his command started for New Mexico on the 20th inst.17
Most all those who removed are again in their homes and that
too, through your efforts and the judicious course of His Excellency
Governor Cumming, under Providence, without the shedding of a drop
of human blood. The deep joy pervading a people ever grateful for legal
and humane treatment, and arising from the privilege of again enjoy-
ing their homes wrought from forbidding elements by unremitting
toil, is doubtless a source of extreme gratification to those true feelings
and principles by which yourself and justly beloved wife are so largely
actuated.
At 6 p.m. of June 30 in company with Prest. Kimball and Wells, Gov.
Cumming, Col. Geo. A Smith and a few others, I left Provo for this city,
where I arrived at ¾ a.m of July 1, and have since remained. Those who
had removed from [p. 3] the counties north of Utah began to return
on the 1st ult18 and the majority are again busily pursuing their peace-
ful avocations in the cultivation of fields and gardens that had suffered
materially through neglect, and in which, in all our northern counties,
many of our customary products will be very scarce, and others entirely
wanting.19
Owing to the uncertainty attending the transmission of our letters
to Dr. Bernhisel, you can do me a favor by dropping a note to the doc-
tor asking him to forward by the first opportunity, two or three copies
of the statutes at large of the last session of Congress, two or three of
17
. Young referenced Lt. Col. Barnard Elliott Bee, who had been elected as “commander of the four-company ‘volunteer’ infantry brigade forcibly recruited at Fort Bridger” in December 1857, and Col. William Wing Loring. See MacKinnon, At Sword’s Point, 459, and N. C.
Hughes, Jr., “William Wing Loring” in William S. Powell, ed., Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, vol. 4 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1991), 98. For Loring’s travels to New Mexico, see Randolph Marcy, The Prairie Traveler (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1859), 327–332.
18. An abbreviation for ultimo, meaning the previous month.
19. The evacuation of northern Utah during the Move South greatly damaged the territory’s economy. See Poll, “The Move South.”
Young to Kane, August 6, 1858
281
the latest date “Army Registers,”20 the English Nautical Almanac for
1859,21 and a copy of the charter and municipal laws of the City of
New York.22
July 27th, in company with Prest. Kimball and Wells, seven of the
Twelve, and several others, (55 in all) I visited the head waters of Big
Cottonwood cañon and returned on the 29th, having, in common with
the party, enjoyed myself much.23
On the 4 inst., with Prests. Kimball and Wells, and a few others,
I took a trip to Antelope Island, G.S. Lake, and returned on the 6th.24
A short time previous to the advance of the troops from Camp
Scott, a large number of Indians (most if not all of whom had wintered
near that camp) came down the Provo river and camped a few miles
south of Provo city. They remained there for some time, were very
saucy, and occupied their time in stealing, riding, and killing animals
belonging to the settlers. The cause of the change in their feelings and
conduct is strongly suspected by us, and is doubtless viewed in the
same light by yourself and every intelligent [p. 4] person acquainted
with the circumstances. On the 4th of June four persons (3 men and 1
woman) were wantonly massacred by the Indians in Salt Creek cañon,
while peacefully wending their way to Sanpete valley, and to this date,
over two months, neither Genl Johnston nor Superintendent Forney25
have taken the least notice of that massacre, much less taken one steps
to mete justice to the perpetrators of such unprovoked and wanton
murder.26 Such being the facts, and the cause thereof being almost
self-evident, and at least highly presumed to be proveable, if those cog-
nizant therewith would tell the truth, I trust that you will be so kind as
20.
The Army Registers listed the names of all enlisted soldiers along with their service records, ranks, salaries, and allowances. For example see Official Army Register, For 1853
(Washington, D.C., 1853).
21. The Nautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris for the Year 1859 (London: G.E. Eyre and W. Spottiswoode, 1855).
22. Manual of the Corporation of New York (New York City: Jones, 1858), 17–33.
23. Wilford Woodruff listed the participants in this excursion in his journal. He noted that it was the “first time” that Young had “been out of his gates since he returned from Provo.”
Kenney, Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, July 26–29, 1858, 5:203–204.
24. The church maintained cattle herds on Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake. Kenney, Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, July 4, 1858, 5:203–205.
25. Jacob Forney, territorial superintendent of Indian affairs.
26. For another account, see Young to Horace Eldredge, October 20, 1858, BYOF.
282
the prOphet And the refOrmer
to lend us your utmost aid to compass the removal at the earliest prac-
ticable date, of all U.S. troops now within our borders, that they may be
speedily located at points where they can be of some general benifit,
if there are any such localities, and at least be out of our way in taking
steps for the preservation of our property and lives against the inroads
of the savages.
In case “the powers that be” at Washington are not sufficiently
enlightened and large of soul to comply with a policy so obviously
humane wise and just, you may be able to induce the removal of all
except a company or so at Camp Scott and a similar number at one or
two other points they may select away from any of our settlements.
I have the honor, Dear Colonel, to be, as ever, most truly your Friend
and the Friend of all who rightly wish and sincerely strive for the wel-
fare of the human family.
Brigham Young [p. 5]
P. S. Through the courtesy of Mr. Hugh McDougal McElrath of the firm
of Robertson, Hudson & Pulliam,27 New York City, I am enabled to for-
ward you this letter, together with an accompanying note, &c and trust
that they will be safely delivered to you, as he said he would deliver
them in person.28
Mr. McElrath has been spending a few weeks in this city, has com-
ported himself very honorably during his brief sojourn, and expresses
himself highly gratified with the treatment he has met from the
Mormons, so far as the transactions of business and other circumstances
favored his acquaintanceship with them.
B. Y.
27
. This was a dry-goods firm based in New York City. See H. Wilson, compiler, Trow’s New York City Directory for the Year Ending May 1, 1857 (New York: John F. Trow, 1856), 699.
28. For other interactions between McElrath and this firm with Young, see Young to Robertson, Hudson, and Pulliam, September 27, 1855, August 1, 1856, BYOF.
49
Kane to Young, August 25, 1858
i
n this letter, Kane informed Young of a newly appointed U.S. district
attorney for Utah Territory, Alexander Wilson. Attorney General Jeremiah
Black had briefly consulted with Kane, who was unacquainted with Wilson,
before recommending Wilson’s appointment to President Buchanan. Wilson
had served as a legal reporter for Philadelphia papers; a contemporary news-
paper remarked that he was “said to be an able lawyer and capable man.”1
Wilson proved to be a largely favorable appointment for the Mormons, as he
supported Cumming’s conciliatory policies (though alcoholism and bad debts
limited his effectiveness).2
Along with the featured letter, Kane enclosed a copy of a letter Elizabeth
Cumming had sent to Kane from Salt Lake City on June 25, 1858, as well
as Kane’s undated response to her. Concerned for her husband’s reputation,
Elizabeth Cumming had sent to Kane an article from the St. Louis Republican, published on both May 25 and May 26, 1858. The article suggested that
Governor Cumming had conferred with Mormon leaders before entering Salt
Lake City, even though he had publicly declared that there had been no prior
communication.3 Elizabeth thought that the article was “wanting in respect &
1. S
ee Springfield Republican, July 22, 1858, 2. A biographical sketch of Wilson’s wife, Ellen Kinkead Wilson, notes that they were married on July 28, 1858. Alexander Wilson (1821–1864) was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania into “one of the long-established and prominent families of Pennsylvania, of Scotch-Irish extraction, and of the Scotch Covenanter’s faith.”
Furthermore, the sketch noted, “During the troubles of 1860 in Utah, Mr. Wilson resigned his office and returned to Philadelphia, where he resumed his practice and was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.” H. S. Foote, ed., Pen Pictures from the Garden of the World or Santa Clara County, California (Chicago: Lewis Publishing, 1888), 423.
2. On Wilson, see Young to Kane, November 22, 1858; Young to Kane, September 17, 1859.
3. St. Louis Republican, May 25, 1858, 2.
284
the prOphet And the refOrmer
courtesy” to Kane and complained that the newspaper accused her husband
The Prophet and the Reformer Page 41