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Show 51 the first available party of white men passing through their country. Accusations against the Mormons for the massacre seem groundless; Gunnison, who wrote a reliable history of the Mormons, was a favorite with 1 them; moreover one of the slain was a Mormon guide. Upon investigation by federal authorities of the Gunnison Massacre, three Indians were tried, convicted and sent to the penitentiary. The court was held under the protection of United States troops, owing to the presence of about five hundred Ute Warriors, who were encamped nearby, watching with keen interest the prog- 2 ress of the trial. The judge charged the jury that e they must either be found not guilty or guilty - of murder; and the Mormon jury returned a verdict of manslaughter; three years' imprisonment was pronounced, but the murderers escaped " by oversight" of their jailers, and regained their tribes, where they remained undisturbed. In May, 1S5^, Young and other leading men, by means of presents, regained friendship and peace with Chief Bancroft, Hubert Howe, History of Utah, p. ^ 70. Whitney, Orson F. Popular History of Utah, p. 102. u IMtney, Orson F . , Popular History of Utah, p. 107. Dunn, J . P . j r . , Massacre of the Mountains, p. 279. |
