Conspiracy and Siege of The Mountain Meadows Massacre - The Massacre

The Massacre

Following orders from Haight in Cedar City, 35 miles (56 km) away, on Friday, September 11 John Higbee ordered a group of militiamen not in disguise to march and stand in a formal line a half-mile from the Baker-Fancher party, then John D. Lee and William Batemen approached the Baker–Fancher party wagons with a white flag. Lee told the battle-weary emigrants he had negotiated a truce with the Paiutes, whereby they could be escorted safely to Cedar City under Mormon protection in exchange for leaving all their livestock and supplies to the Native Americans. Accepting this, they were split into three groups. Seventeen of the youngest children along with a few mothers and the wounded were put into wagons, which were followed by all the women and older children walking in a second group. Bringing up the rear were the adult males of the Baker-Fancher party, each walking with an armed Mormon militiaman at his right. Making their way back northeast towards Cedar City, the three groups gradually became strung out and visually separated by shrubs and a shallow hill. After about 1.5 miles (2 kilometers) Higbee gave the prearranged order, "Do Your Duty!" Each Mormon then turned and killed the man he was guarding. All of the men, women, older children and wounded were massacred by the Mormon militia and Paiutes who had hidden nearby. Approximately seventeen children were spared because of their young age, and were taken in by local Mormon families.

All of the Mormon participants in the massacre were then sworn to secrecy. The many dozens of bodies were hastily dragged into gullies and other low lying spots, then lightly covered with surrounding material which was soon blown away by the weather, leaving the remains to be scavenged and scattered by wildlife.