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Show 506 WESTERN WILDS. through the list. What a world of trouble Brooklyn courts might have saved, if they had allowed Plymouth Church to select jurors. This sort of thing occupied several days. Meanwhile the deputy marshals were scouring the country in search of witnesses, every sort of obstruction being thrown in their way by the people. The secret-iveness and cunning of the Mormon laity renders proof of daring crime a work of extreme difficulty. " Keep still and mind your own business," is the standing exhortation to the men. " If you see a dog run by the door with your husband's head in its mouth, say nothing till you have consulted with the bishop," are the exact words in which Brigham counseled the women of this district. Joel White, an impor-tant witness, was brought in with great difficulty. Marshal Cross traversed the Great Desert alone, and found Klingensmith in South-ern California. On Sunday, July 18th, Lee's " confession" was read by the prosecution, and promptly rejected as unworthy of belief. On Friday, the 23d, the trial at last began. After an able opening ad-dress by District Attorney Carey, Robert Keyes was put upon the witness stand, and testified as follows : " In October, 1857, he passed through Mountain Meadows valley, which is situated south- west of Cedar City. Saw two piles of bodies, one composed of women and children, the other of men ; the bodies were entirely nude, and seemed to have been thrown promiscuously together; they appeared to have been massacred. Should judge there were sixty or seventy bodies of women and children ; saw one man in that pile; the children were aged from one and two months up to twelve years ; the small children were most destroyed by wolves and crows; the throats of some were cut, others stabbed with knives; some had balls through them. All the bodies were more or less torn to pieces, except one, the body of a woman, which lay apart a little south- west of the pile. This showed no signs of decay, and had not been touched by the wild animals. The countenance was placid, and seemed to be asleep. The work was not freshly done supposed the bodies had been here fifteen or sixteen days. Witness passed the ground October 2d, 1857. There were eleven in the company. Seven went to see the pile of slaughtered men which lay a few rods off. Witness did not go. All the clothing he saw was a stocking on the leg of one of the bodies. The woman lying apart had a bullet hole on the left side, a little below the heart." Asahel Bennett, of the same party, testified to substantially the same facts. Then Philip Klingensmith was called, and there was a general movement in the audience. Every eye and ear was strained, and the |