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- v* v *: f '■ --I-'!' ''- - . ■. ( »• •• •. i:. ....T±US IJAMjIj ' i 1 i f . r - - ■ • . . .. w . • • a iKm a _ »lt;•» wy i»‘ ' »*w1w4^ in —V 1trymD#tar•yIY«ndtc.~. r-„iTn ilVZK XUKBEB TRIAL,C*th*ih.8.*VEICC-ofie1»p0-10n-;dit-tod,toidit-icieo-ts1Cic2rto'ys-nnrsl.icdoisIVfItp-The murder of the Aiken party, besides - being ./*treacherous and dastardly act, is one of great political aignMcance. Six men;composed the little company, ibid four of these wero relentlessly assassinated. They had committed no offense against the laws, so far as is known, bat wore pursuing. their peaceful way, homeward from California along the traveled highway, having abundant means to pay for ail they used; One witness testified on the stand that while traveling with a train from California, the Aiken «party overtook them, and the whole company traveled to Bine Springs, a.short ■ distance northwest of - Old* : ^Bear River fort: The six men, he said, were well dressed and could not have been better provided. Theirriding and pack animals were of*** ,. * *superior quality and in. good condition, their appointments attracted attention from their - elegance, and other witnesses testified to their'being well supplied with money. At Box Elder the little party was arrested on the charge .of being, spies. Nothing was elicited on the trial to give foundation to this charge, but it is talked among the inhabitants of the Southern ‘settlements that they bore a letter of in* troduction to General Johnston^ the commanding officer of the United States forces then marching upon Utah. How this constituted an offense .worthy of, death, even if the fact were proved, remains to be shown: General Johnston was a distinguished officer of the -G overnment in the performance* of his duty, and the fact that one or. more citizens of California deemed these men worthy of commendation to so prominent an official, may be taken as an evidence of their good standing and unblemished character, But it is said that the .Territory of Utah was at war with the United States Government, and could hence assume and exercise the rights of a belligerent That being found on Utah soil with”* letters addressed tothe enemy, was sufficient proof of their character as-spies^and martialQrandinoCher^m a column of eulogy, commemorated the;human butcher’s? demise, as th* fall of a- great, man in Israel To this “beet,of .cut-throats’’/- . . . j . j.J .the little job was ' entrusted, and the; fact of his bearing the commission is ’ proof positive that the ofder for the' Aiken parfcy*’s taking off emanated' from the Prophet chief. -Wh)-, the annals of this blood-stained- Church render too plainly apparentr “They* were the 'best outfitted party that; ever passed through Nopbi.” Tfieir plunder was the object of-saiictified' greed, and as the universal dominion of this chosen people is conditioned upon the, extinction: of the uncon-1 » , ■ y r .verted, humane race, it is clear that the using up of a few. stray Babylonians as they came within reach, was in the furtherance of Almightyr w , * jdesigns. Whether the” prisoner shall be convicted or not, the judicial inquiry into this, terrible andunatoned. crime is only a tardy act of justice.IMPEACHING A WITNESS,When the witness, Mr, William Skeen, gave his testimony in the Collett murder case, there was fluttering in the breasts of the faithful.The murder of the four men was abundantly , proved, the - details of the asjassination rehearsed, from the, arrest of the Aiken party in Box Elder to the final destruction of fourof the victims in Juab county. But the guilty participation of the prisoner Collett was not made so clear, unless his admissions to the witnessSkeen should he accepted as reliable testimony.. Hence the one object of the Mormon leaders was to impeach this witness, and to this end an instant rally was made upon • the Sheriff of Weber , county to send a number ’ of trusty Saints to swear away his character. The pliant tools were forthcoming on demand. Bishop ‘Shurtiiff rallied his forces and with, the utmost promptitude presented himself in Provo.' But there was more expedition .than judgment used.. One of the im*. peaching witnesses, named William Geddes, seemed to have but little stomach for the fight. He told hisru:IicIcciBttneighbors from Plain City, whom he law7 all countries' Sooms suci’f in little ^ about the courtRmen to speedy death. ‘We will admit all this, and yet thetreacherous assassination I of the-1Aiken, party is not relieved of its odious character of murder;;. Admitting that they earned the letter charged against them, and that this little community of treasonable sectaries were vested with the- rights of belligerents; the laws of nations demand that they should havo beentried by court martial, and if found* ■ ». * **guilty, punished by the, military authorities. There was- no urgency about the case. “The enemy,” if these Mormon outlaws are willing todesignate a United States army by that name, had not invadedthe Territory yet, the arrest was’made by a Mormon colonel (Bishop Chauncey West) with a command of five hundred men, . This, officer, it is to be supposed, was duly commissioned, was acting in the name of the prophet Governor, and if the duty devolved upon him of hanging these men as spies, the punishment should have been inflicted by tbo sentence of court martial, and by men property detailed for the duty:But instead of this, five of the of*■r~fenders are sent to Ogden under escort, where they are delivered over to-a band of Church thugs, who' conduct them to a remote southern settlement, where aridark deed, it was supposed, could be performed with perfect safety, and there, hutcher-like, the victims are done to death. But the story that they bore a letter to the' commanding officer of the United States.forces, and that theywere axwested as • spies, is a yam vamped up at a later day to give a color of justification to a deed of blood, which to the confusion of the conspirators who compassed 'the' crime, has come to light The statement is not proved, it is not set up in evidence, no official records;,, are produced to show that these peaceful travelers were - arrested ■ on proper authority, and dealt with according to some inspired law of Avar.The prisoner, Sylvanus Collett, is now undergoing trial for participation in the murderous deed, and the Church authorities, (making his cause their own,) are actively exerting themselves to procure his acquit-^L^Ljeutenant General Daniel H. Wells is m^'Pro^te^.Qnsult with counsel and conceit the p!an~of-dec, fense, and he is aided by President, and Mayor Smoot, Probate, Judge Dusenbnry, ex-Bishop Bigler and all the local priesthood. This prosecution is regarded as menacing to tins Mormon Church, and if the prisoner should be convicted, they fear his confessions would inculpate the parties for whom he acted as a guilty instrument.V.How can a loyal citizen, who watches this criminal proceeding without any knowledge of the attending circumstances, be affectedby what-is already laid before him? Until the verdict of the jury is rendered, we have. nothing to say about the gnilt or innocence of the accused.- But the testimony already published shows- that the murderwas committed, and the cvidenco 1 «which the Prosecuting Officer has linked together from the arrest of 'the unsuspecting travelers in the northern part of,the Territory, until their-' foul murder in a southern J county, is.so strong/ circumstantial *iaad convincing, that the terrified ' priestly conspirators make no attempt-to deny tho crime. Theysimply attempHoi screen the prisoner - If tficyh e will ;be boun3to his pri es tly. deliverers by ties of gratitude,/and-his tongue will be -per durably *tnied. ^^fetfher Collett was one of.tber-vassassins isV not material to jour present inquiry. Ho does not rf^eem tov^vo . been a prominentman in tie Mormon community, .compautrifey j foAv. of the* witne*ses identifyjfas ofio' of the assassins,icipation in itfie deed is ^d by tho jury in con-a^rnH f evidence as tho^Qui’t. But theRockwell* is at-witnestes; 'Thischief of the the sainted e pursuit of occupation, was laid* in k*P. Smith a devoted our pioushouse, that he had not come as a witness, and that he would not take the stand to lie away the char-■ r • 'r ' ’ * 1acter of so:,..'deserving and:useful;acitizen as William Skeen. .But whom*placed upon: the stand, his resolution. deserted him. and he; basely joined in tho chorus of detraction anH false swearing against a man Avhom he openly admitted to be without fearand without ■. reproach. On leaving■/ •the court-house he was questioned by his.neighbors, and to these he denied that he had testified ought derogatory to‘ the character of Mr. .Skeen. This vacillation. being reported to the prosecuting counsel, they called Bro. Geddes ,tn the stand again#o give him a chance to explain. But on being placed before an eager audience, and the eyes ofhis anointed masters upon him, this perplexed Saint again lost heart, and recanted his recantation. He denied everything, (which is soundMormon logic,) explained in a. blundering way , that his memory wasdifferent from his language, and finished up with making a pitiable assof himself. •Mr.-William Skeen is a man well known in Weber county [as possessing stable qualities and a successful man of business. The great crime he has committed is his apostaey from tho Mormon Church. Seventeen years ago ho had a brothertreacherously assassinated, just as_.the Aiken party were slain, and when the visitation of Divine math came home to desolate, ’his own .household, he thought it time to withdraw from such a nest of red-handed murderers. A few. years ago, ex-Sheriff Ricks, the assassin of young. Skeen, was put upon his trial, but although the proof of his guilt was clear and convincing, a Mormon jury turned him loose on society. Perhaps this did not revive any feeling of attachment in the breast of William Skeen to a priesthood which sanctifies .murder as a religious duty, and stands between assassins and even-handed justice. He is charged with having said some harsh things of the holy and everlasting priest-, hood. • But'Miv Skeen is not a man who expends himself in Idle wrath. He is coof and. deliberate, a slow speaker, and evidently one who (to use a slang phrase) will “stay late.” The local hierarchy -have *tried sev-1 ways of dealing •;* withIsfle■ihl!b:ucbIBItaaadnfiIrsoMAVTb,11rh■Tlt;JSe•niujLItS31VA1X,»AniiAil1.rlgETSIUtoXsibtaMS.XerTlntU,AN.GGGayUftJEv;P13rciToprcai\this contumacious offender, hut he will not be intimidated, detraction does not sully/'hischaracter, and he is successfuliu business affairs. To-day 'he /is said to be as highly and widely respected as any man in Weber' county. Even the truckling tools of theMormon priesthood are constrained to admit that he is a good man.. Half a dozen witnesses repeated like; parrots that his reputation for truth' and veracity was bad and they would not believe him under oath, and yet when they had got through/with.•their lymg testimony, the- victim’s, character stood as nnblemished 'as before. And the reason of this is'that private worth will assert itself, and these Mormon things have so; long used tho weapons of: defama*? tion and abuse that they have nowblcBW«MefeenKtfrcmo11 Ul InrfroCUBtonCR8nollvtTlIn\\\Vfh of i w drcplAOAc91Agrown blunted in their hands.Ball tickets, invitations and; programmes, Stylish, neat and cheap at The Thibune office. Call and examinestylos and prices.A Sure Cure for the Piles.Tho roUowIng ia wlthont doubt tho most •valuable discovery in medicine now known to the world for the cure of Hemorrhoids, or Piles.-Wurrau ted » sure enry or no pay:A sure cure for the blind Wecdlnk. ltchiuR andJAS.ttlcer»W(l plies luv?bcenlt;Hscovcrcd-t!7‘Dr. Williams (an Intllau remedy) cftllyd l)r, Wlfjliun‘8 Iudlan Ointment, A single box hna cttreil tlio worse oldChronic cases. Ko one need «infer live minutes uftor applytmr this wonderful soothing mcdlclno. Lotions, Instruments and electuaries do more lmrm titan good. WllUftmWMntimmt support# the tn*mors, itllnys tlie Itclung, (particularly atnight attcrgetttafT^mrTs.ln bedt ncU lt;u» a. poulttce/ gives insbutt and pldnless relief, and 1». prepared only for piles and nothincr else. ?40,(s» reward is olfcrcd by tho proprietor for a better remedy.Eiri con salted physicians In Phllndijlnhlii, LouIh-vLllc/Clnelnnntl. Tndhmapolls nnd tlda city, andAnai«# Ii tir.ilaAil u- n^ 11 a1 t ni*a [jiif fnnn/l nA i*aIIAv H11 f ITapont bumlmts of dollars but found no rcllot until I obtained n box of Dr. William’s Indian Ointment some four •jnonUn ago, and ttlins cured me com-nlotoly. I bad a part of the box left which I pivo to a MeMend of mine who hod doctored with tunnyphysicians, and, as a last resort, went to the noted llotJotSprlnas, Arkansas, for treatment, ltc Infonns me that the tlndain. Olatment has aloo Cured him of tho plies, it 1* cortalnly a wonderful discovery. dOSEJHl Al. liYDElt, Cleveland, Ohio.One of my customers mulcted with Idles, says boaTSiCcCodOfCl»C(Pi!iOlli•J Cu]tndlXw'ould cotno down so bad at times lie was obliged to stop work. Ho used Dr. Wlllliun’s Indian Ointment and has not hadvtuy symptoms of them since,E. Daniels. Jefferson, o.a*Two n^UcaUona have cured mp entirely of Ulcerated Pfles after doctoring with many physl clans. J. WAUilN. Cleveland, O.Parties bnjdnw it spoak la very favorable terms . Send on two grow. GODEE, P/riS* CO.. DruKglats, Salt L»Cko City, Utah.of-us cirects!For more eertlQcntca, sec largo circulararound each box. No Pile remedy has evoc ncqntrcd such' rapid ondorsuraent or cxtcna^’o sftle ;show this notlco to your druggist, ask for Dr. M'llllnmv Tixll-an Ointment and tako no sabstlttlto. • DENTON, -MYEKS CO..' WhoXjcsaxk Dnuopm’a and Gknxual Agxnts, Cleveland, O,-' N3bl Wholesale by GobliK, PxttP Co„ Wholcsalo Ag’tsfor Utah.GrCB(EVt'Tin
Newspaper Details
Salt Lake Daily Tribune
Salt Lake City, Utah, US
Tue, Oct 15, 1878
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Ju B.
USA 05 May 2023
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