Baker–Fancher party

Fanchers' livestock brand, a monogrammed J-F. Registered in 1852 at Tulare County, California—intended destination of ill-fated Baker–Fancher party—to Captain Alexander Fancher's older brother John

The Baker–Fancher party consisted of several smaller parties that set out separately from the Ozarks in northwestern Arkansas, and then joined up along the way. Many of the families in the group were prosperous farmers and cattlemen with ample financial resources to make the journey west. Some of the groups had family and friends in California awaiting their arrival, as well as many relatives remaining in Arkansas. Among the groups were the Baker train, led by Captain John Twitty Baker from Carroll County, and the Fancher train, led by seasoned expeditioner Alexander Fancher,[3] which left from Benton County. Other groups included the Huff train, which also left from Benton, the Mitchell, Dunlapp, and Prewitt trains which left from Marion County, and the Poteet–Tackitt–Jones, Cameron, and Miller trains which left from Johnson County. Pleasant Tackitt, from the Poteet–Tackitt–Jones train, was a Methodist minister who led the others in worship and prayer services while on their journey. When the groups left Arkansas in April 1857, the total company numbered more than 200.[4] However, during the journey, some groups split off and others joined. Some of the trains that joined the company may have been from other states, such as Missouri.[5]

The party was well outfitted with wagons, traveling carriages, a large herd of cattle estimated at close to 1,000 head, oxen, as well as numerous horses. They joined the expedition for various reasons; some to settle permanently in California, some to drive cattle west for profit, and some to find California gold. Like other emigrant groups traveling to California, they took money with them and planned to replenish their supplies in Salt Lake City for the remainder of the trip.[6] The actual date of arrival in Salt Lake City is unknown, but historian Juanita Brooks places the arrival as August 3 or August 4, 1857 based on reports in the Journal History of the LDS Church.[7] The Arkansans arrived in Utah with over 800 head of cattle and were low on supplies when they reached the Salt Lake area, a major resupply destination for overland emigrants.

During the early morning hours of Monday, September 7,[10] the Baker–Fancher party was attacked, at their Mountain Meadows camp, by as many or more than 200 fighters – Mormon militiamen disguised as Native Americans, and according to some accounts including Paiutes,[11] but this was refuted by some of the survivors.

The attackers were positioned in a small ravine southeast of the emigrant camp.[12] As the attackers shot into the camp, the Baker–Fancher party defended itself by encircling and lowering their wagons, along with digging shallow trenches and throwing dirt both below and into the wagons. Seven emigrants were killed during this opening attack and were buried somewhere within the wagon encirclement; sixteen more were wounded. The attack continued for five days, during which the besieged families had little or no access to fresh water and their ammunition was depleted.[13]

On Friday, September 11, 1857, two Mormon militiamen approached the Baker–Fancher party wagons with a white flag and were soon followed by Indian agent and militia officer John D. Lee. Lee told the battle-weary emigrants that he had negotiated a truce with the Paiutes, whereby they could be escorted safely the 36 miles back to Cedar City under Mormon protection in exchange for turning all of their livestock and supplies over to the Native Americans.[14] Accepting this, the emigrants were led out of their fortification. When a signal was given, the Mormon militiamen turned and murdered the male members of the Baker–Fancher party standing by their side. According to Mormon sources, the militia let a group of Paiute Indians execute the women and children. Some children were killed while in their mothers' arms or after being crushed by the butts of rifles or boot heels. The bodies of the dead were gathered and looted for valuables, and were then left in shallow graves or on the open ground. Members of the Mormon militia were sworn to secrecy. A plan was set to blame the massacre on the Indians. The militia did not kill 17 small children who were deemed too young to relate the story. These children were taken in by local Mormon families. The children were later reclaimed by the U.S. Army and returned to relatives, and there is legend that one girl was not returned and lived out her life among the Mormons.[15]

The site of the massacre, as seen through a viewfinder, from the 1990 Monument

Leonard J. Arrington reports that Brigham Young received a rider at his office on the same day of the massacre. This letter asked Young's opinion on what to do with the Baker–Fancher party. When he learned what was contemplated by the members of the LDS Church in Parowan and Cedar City, he sent back a letter that the Baker–Fancher party be allowed to pass through the territory unmolested.[16][17] Young's letter supposedly arrived two days too late, on September 13, 1857. However Jon Krakauer claims that Brigham Young and other Utah territory officials encouraged the massacre beforehand and sought to deny their roles afterward.[18]

Some of the property of the dead was reportedly taken by the Native Americans involved, while large amounts of cattle and personal property was taken by the Mormons in Southern Utah. John D. Lee took charge of the livestock and other property that had been collected at the Mormon settlement at Pinto. Some of the cattle was taken to Salt Lake City and traded for boots. Some reportedly remained in the hands of John D. Lee. The remaining personal property of the Baker–Fancher party was taken to the tithing house at Cedar City and auctioned off to local Mormons.[19] Brigham Young, appalled at what had taken place, initially ordered an investigation into the massacre but in the end it must be acknowledged that his own unwillingness to work with Federal authorities contributed both directly and indirectly to the blunder of justice, and was part of the reason two trials were necessary.[16]

Several histories and legends have been passed down from the surviving children, the oldest of whom was only 6 years of age during the massacre, to today's descendants; some of these stories tell a slightly different tale of the massacre.

In 2007, the families/descendants of the surviving children came together in Utah, for the 150th anniversary of the massacre. The family stories were compared and found to be very similar. All of the families agree the stories told of Mormons dressed as Natives, and that none of the Native people participated in the Massacre of the wagon train. Family stories tell of being taken by "Indians who washed of their skin and turned white".

Survivor Nancy Sephrona Huff, four years old at tragedy, "was taken away by John Willis, whom she lived with until she was returned to relatives in Arkansas two years later".[20]

Seventeen small children, all under the age of seven, survived the Mountain Meadows massacre. Two years after the Massacre, the orphans were returned to their families. The following is a list of the surviving children:

1. Baker, Mary Elizabeth, 5
2. Baker, Sarah Frances, 3
3. Baker, William Twitty, 9 months
4. Dunlap, Georgia Ann, 18 months
5. Dunlap, Louisa, 4
6. Dunlap, Prudence Angeline, 5
7. Dunlap, Rebecca J., 6
8. Dunlap, Sarah E., 1
9. Fancher, Christopher "Kit" Carson, 5
10. Fancher, Triphenia D., 22 months
11. Huff, Nancy Saphrona, 4 (Huff is prominently featured in the documentary Burying the Past: Legacy of the Mountain Meadows Massacre)
12. Jones, Felix Marion, 18 months
13. Miller, John Calvin, 6
14. Miller, Joseph, 1
15. Miller, Mary, 4
16. Tackitt, Emberson Milum, 4 (Returned to their mother's family, the Millers)
17. Tackitt, William Henry, 19 months (Returned to their mother's family, the Millers)

Following the massacre, the perpetrators swore each other to secrecy, and the murdered members of the wagon train were hastily buried; yet the elements and scavengers quickly uncovered their corpses. Two years after the massacre, United States Army officer James Henry Carleton was sent to investigate it. He was convinced that the Mormons were the main perpetrators. Some of these children, who had seen their families killed, recalled seeing white men dressed as Indians among the attackers. Carleton examined the scene of the massacre and believed that the Paiutes had played a minimal role, and that the attack had been planned and executed by the Mormons. The remains of about thirty-four people were found and buried. The troops then built a cairn over the graves, and made a large cross from local cedar trees, the transverse beam bearing the engraving, "Vengeance Is Mine, Saith The Lord: I Will Repay". This cross was placed at the top of cairn and a large slab of granite was leaned upon the side, with the engraving:

Here 120 men, women, and children were massacred in cold blood early in September, 1857. They were from Arkansas.[21]

Some claim that, in 1861, Young brought an entourage to Mountain Meadows and had the cairn and cross destroyed, while exclaiming, "Vengeance is mine and I have taken a little".[22]

• Massacre Descendants Group