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Show 504 WESTERN WILDS. denounce him as the bloodiest villain of the age. In fact they were extremely anxious to have him punished they even wanted him strung up at once. As the day of trial drew near, you might have read in all the Mormon prints savage denunciations of his crime, and pitiful plaints " that innocent and noble men should have been accused of complicity with it." When it was announced that Lee was about to turn State's evidence, the Mormon prints indulged in joyful con-gratulations that his statement would " completely exonerate President Young and the Heads of the Church." All this looked very strange, to say the least. And, sure enough, when Lee's statement was sub-mitted to the District Attorney it was easily proved to be a tissue of lies from beginning to end, as shown by abundant testimony. All the guilty, he said, were either dead or out of the Territory long ago. Not a line did it contain about any one of those in custody. It is now believed to have been a Church trick from the start. The only guilty man, according to Lee, was Klingensmith, the principal wit-ness against him. This confession was afterwards repudiated by Lee himself; and, of the four he made, the last one alone contained the truth. The trial was set for July 12, 1875, in the District Court of the Second District of Utah, presided over by Hon. Jacob S. Boreman. This gentleman deserves more than a passing notice. A brother of Senator Boreman, of West Virginia, but long a resident of Western Missouri, he unites the genial qualities of the typical Western man with the earnestness of a thorough lawyer ; and is, withal, a devout Christian, and a man of irreproachable morals. When he went to Beaver, it was the center of the most unpromising section of Mormondom ; but undeterred by the spirit of disloyalty and hatred to Gentile laws and institutions which animated that community, he has held steadily on his course. As an official, he has maintained the dignity of the judiciary; as a Christian, he has fostered the Church and Sabbath- school ; as a citizen, he has been of immense advantage to the place. Even his enemies have learned to respect him; and, as the American population grows in numbers, he enjoys the warm friendship of all who make his ac-quaintance. Hon. William C. Carey, United States District Attorney, assisted by R. N. Baskin, Esq., of Salt Lake City, and Judge Wheedon, of Beaver, conducted the prosecution. The prisoner's counsel were Messrs. J. G. Sutherland, G. C. Bates, Judge Hoge ( a Mormon), We^ ls Spicer, and W. W. Bishop, the last named of Pioche. It was evident from the start that there were grave differences be- |
