Lloyd,

Utah Phillips says in introducing his song "JOHN D. LEE", "This version of the story of John D. Lee was taken from the telling of W.Earl Lyman, my old boss when I was a shipping clerk at Western Movie Supply. It's his family version. Juanita Brooks, who published a book on John D. Lee and did the Mormon Chronicles based on his diaries, assures me that, although the facts are essentially true, the story is full of holes. Of cours, my song just covers the story after the Mountain Meadows Massacre. The rest will have to be another song.One beautiful song was written at the time.

The story goes that before the Mormons came here they tried to settle in Missouri. But the Missourians trated them very poorly, and the murder at Haun's Mill was the result. Now, some years later, another party of Missourians, some of them the same men that made the trouble at Haun's Mills, came West on their way to California. When the train came through Salt Lake the story goes that some of the Missourians were recognized and word went on ahead of the party not to sell them any food or horses or services of any kind. So the Missourians took to pillaging farms on the way south, stealing and taking what they wanted. Down in Washington County they had a run-in with the Ute Indians who attacked their train. By this time, the Mormons at Cedar City in Washington County had made up a posse under Mayor Haight to go out and bring the Missourians in for stealing and, some say, worse crimes.

Now, John D. Lee was Brigham Young's Indian Agent, Young being the government appointed territorial agent. Lee negotiated with the Missourians to lay down their arms while they negotiated with the Utes. On the way over to the Ute camp, he ran into the men he met the men from Cedar City and other towns on their way over to join the Utes and route the Missourians. He was unable to restrain them, and they and the Utes engaged in battle with the wagon train. An unfortunate thing was that some of the settlers were recognized as white men.

At this time, Johnson's army was on it's way to subdue what they thought was a Mormon rebellion, and the Mormon's could not afford for the Missourians to get away with the story of how the Mormons had attacked them. So Lee negotiated a cease fire, and the Missourians were escorted out between 2 columns of Mormon riders.

At a pre-arranged signal, the Mormons turned on the Missourians and cut them down with rifle fire---men, women and children. 14 of the children were saved and later parceled out among Mormon families. The dead were buried in a common grave and the participants at the massacre at Mountain Meadows swore a solemn oath never to reveal what happened.

As time went by, the Federal judges became so hard on the Mormons that Brigham Young decided to offer up John D. Lee as a sort of sacrificial goat. Ten years after the affair, Lee was brought to trial and executed in the manner described in the song. In Earl Lyman's version, the whole thing---massacre, execution and all---took place in a matter of weeks.

It's a shame about John D. Lee. No matter what reading you do about the settlement of Utah, his name stands out as one of the most resourceful and diligent poioneers the West has ever known. In many cases the only knowledge we have of those days comes from the vast amount of paper work that Lee maintained."

Here' the song:

JOHN D. LEEby Bruce U. Utah Phillips

Here's news come to the city about a wagon train,

Here's news come to the city about a wagon train,
How men and all their families by John D. Lee was slain.

Brigham Young sent out a runner, but Squire Wells did come (2X)
"Go down into that valley and see my justice done."

He gathered up a posse--a dozen men or more (2X)
They tracked across the desert to the Colorado shore.

No sooner they crossed over than John D. Lee was found,(2X)
Down in the Indian village, his squaws were camped around.

The horses from Missouri were found in his corral, (2X)
The Squire read him guilty, the facts we find here tell.

A wagon and a coffin--they make a heavy load,(2X)
To haul up to the meadow upon the Black Ridge Road.

Way up in Mountain Meadows they made him dig his grave, (2X)
Though loudly he protested--his life he sought to save.

The wagons they still smoldered--their ashes blew around,(2X)In sight of this mute evidence, they shot their victim down.

Some say he was not guilty, so I have heard it said,(2X)
The deed fell to his captors, who should have died instead.

His grave is undiscovered, the grass it grows so tall,(2X)
Such was the Saints' own vengence on John D. Lee did fall.

@ 1973 Bruce Phillips--from STARLIGHT ON THE RAILS & OTHER SONGS a book by U. UTAH PHILLIPS