National Park Service officials are investigating a discovery that, if authentic, could implicate Brigham Young in the Mountain Meadows massacre.
But several aspects of the discovery indicate it may be a hoax.
On Jan. 22 a National Park Service volunteer was cleaning an area of Lees Ferry Fort in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Ariz., and discovered a lead sheet with writing on it.
The homestead is in a remote location where John D. Lee - a leader involved in the Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857 - hid out from federal authorities who hunted for the culprits.
In the massacre, local Indians and Iron County militiamen killed 120 immigrants who were passing through Washington County - men, women and children. The crime happened during a period of tension when federal troops were massing to invade Utah, and the immigrants had aggravated local people and Indians.
Ever since the massacre, critics of Brigham Young have tried to pin the blame on the LDS leader. No evidence has ever surfaced of his involvement.
The Park Service volunteer uncovered a lead sheet beneath several inches of rat droppings near the fort's fireplace. Letters were scratched on the lead sheet, which was rolled up. The text reads:
"AT THE PAHREAH I HAV NOW LIVE LONGER THAN ECCPECTED THO I AM NOW ILL - I DO NOT FEAR AUTHORTY FOR THE TIME IS CLOSING AND AM WILLING TO TAK THE BLAME FOR THE FANCHER - COL. DANE - MAJ. HIGBY AND ME - ON ORDERS FROM PRES YOUNG THRO GEO SMITH TOOK PART - I TRUST IN GOD - I HAVE NO FEAR - DEATH HOLD NO TERROR - LORD HAV MERCI ON THIS RESLESS SOUL
"BY MY OWN HAND
"J.D. LEE - JAN 11-1872"
The "Fancher" mentioned is the party of Arkansas immigrants led by Alexander Fancher, the people who were murdered in 1857 in extreme southwestern Utah. Lee, the Indian agent for the region, was the only person ever convicted.
Among items that immediately spring to mind that may indicate a forgery are the fact that the writer supposedly was so illiterate that he misspelled "have," yet the second time the word is used, it is spelled correctly. Further, the date of the claimed message, 1872, is two years earlier than the completion of the fort's construction.
In a press release, Glen Canyon Superintendent Kitty L. Roberts said the Park Service is developing a "plan of action" in an attempt to authenticate the artifact.
"The object may or may not have historic significance depending on its authenticity," Roberts said in the press release.
The Park Service's Western Archaeological and Conservation in Tucson, Ariz., was "unable to authenticate the object," the statement adds. The Park Service is trying to determine where the lead originated.
"The object could be either fact or fiction," Roberts said. "It is the responsibility of the National Park Service to have the object carefully examined by experts to make that determination."
According to Dean May, University of Utah history professor, either Lee wrote the message in a fit of pique at Young for allowing him to be a "scapegoat," or it is a hoax. "It's likely a hoax," he said.
Lee was a literate man. "He was the clerk of the Iron County Mission in 1850-51, and wrote an official report of the whole Iron County Mission," May said. In the report, Lee's "spelling is really pretty consistent with modern-day spellings."
The note seems to be written by someone "trying to give the appearance of being barely literate," May said.
Another problem with blaming Young is the timing of the killings, according to May.
The murders happened more than 250 miles from Salt Lake City, a tremendous distance in those days. Cedar City officials railed against the Fancher party on Sept. 6, 1857, and the next day a rider set out for Salt Lake City seeking counsel from Young.
The rider arrived in Utah's capital Sept. 10 and immediately met with the church president. Young sent a reply: "In regard to the emigration trains passing through our settlements, we must not interfere with them until they are first notified to keep away. You must not meddle with them. The Indians we expect will do as they please but you should try and preserve good feelings with them."
This message is quoted in "Utah: The Right Place," the official centennial history, by Thomas G. Alexander.
The rider immediately took off for Cedar City with Young's message, arriving Sept. 13. The immigrants were killed on Sept. 11.
Lee was captured, convicted, excommunicated from the church and executed by firing squad at the site of the killings on March 23, 1877, nearly 20 years after the massacre.
According to the Deseret News account of March 23, 1877, Lee said shortly before execution, "I do not believe everything that is now practiced and taught by Brigham Young. I do not agree with him.
"I believe he is leading the people astray, but I believe in the gospel as it was taught in its purity by Joseph Smith in former days. I have my reasons for saying this. I used to make this man's will my pleasure, and did so for 30 years. See how and what I have come to this day. I have been sacrificed in a cowardly and dastardly manner."
May said Lee condemned church leaders "for allowing him to be a scapegoat" yet did not implicate Young in the massacre.
"He had nothing to lose. He was about to die, and he didn't do that," he said.