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Daily Alta California (San Francisco), 1 November 1857
 


                                                                                        LETTER FROM ANGEL'S CAMP

Further particulars about the murdered emigrants, their names and circumstances, the Mormons guilty of the crime, how they should be punished:

Angels, October 29, 1857

By the late news from Los Angeles, I see that the information given by me in my last letter, in reference to the names of the murdered emigrants, is about to prove true. In view of this fact, I went out this morning to see the immigrants that gave me the information, to learn further particulars from them. I called on but one of the families, and they informed me that in Arkansas they lived but three miles from Bakers farm, and that he was generally known by the name of Jack or Captain Jack Baker. He was reported to be wealthy, and left home with four hundred head of cattle, accompanied by his two sons. One son, named George, had spent some years in California, and had lived about Stockton, Sonora and Columbia. The other son was single. The old man intended, as soon as he could settle here, to return by water and bring out the remainder of his family. In his company were two brothers, by the name of Mitchell, (one of whom had his family,) a man named Milan Jones, and a widow named Tacket, who was coming to live with her son in California. I think this son is living near Tuttletown. My informants saw all these persons at Fort Bridger, about the last of July. Fancier* (I wrote Fazier by mistake in my other letter) had spent some years in California, but my informant did not know in what part. They think the whole company had at least a thousand head of cattle with them. They also had many splendid rifles and guns, and plenty of them. My informants tell me, that the day they passed the junction of the Cut-off and the main road through Salt Lake City, (thirty miles this side of the city,) they saw a party of Indians enjoying a feast given them by the Mormons. The Mormons said they had just finished a treaty with the Indians, the purpose of which was that the Indians were not to trouble the whites who travelled through by the Salt Lake route, as they wanted them to pass that way in order to trade with them. The last news also confirms my opinion as to who were the perpetrators of this deed. There were some facts connected with the first information given by the Mormons of this slaughter, that convinced me that the murderers were not Indians. It may be true that Indians took part in the work, but the blame rests with those who led them on. The first of these facts is, that the young children were saved. This was no Indian act, but was natural for the Mormons, who wanted to train them to their faith. The second is, the suppression of all the names. Now, if no one of that large company did not tell his name to any Mormon, they certainly left some evidence among the property as to who they were and where they were from. The third is, the statement that the Indians had told the whites what they had done.

We are all at a loss to know what is to be done with these people, and we dread to contemplate the horrors of the future. If soldiers must be sent to conquer them, rivers of blood must flow through their valleys before it will be done. If they are to be left alone to do as they will, the great highway of travel between the Atlantic States and the Pacific will be closed, and Utah will be the place of refuge for all the villains who escape from justice in the States, and a worse set will be gathered there than the world has ever seen. The only remedy seems to be to dissolve the Territorial government, declare their laws null and void, send large bodies of soldiers to be stationed at every town and settlement in the Territory, let martial law prevail, then hang or shoot every man that rebels, punish every one according to the crime he commits, and give encouragement to the Gentiles to settle there. By this policy the country will fill up with Gentiles. P.

* Should be Fancher and is a reference to Captain Alexander Fancher of The Fancher Train. Captain John (Jack) Twitty Baker was with The Baker Train, as were his two sons, George W. Baker, and Abel Baker. The two Mitchell Brothers were Charles Roark Mitchell and Joel Dyer Mitchell. "Milan" Jones is a reference to John Milum Jones. who was traveling with the widow Cynthia Tackitt in the family-related Poteet-Tackitt-Jones Train. See The Arkansas Emigrants.


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