Fountain Green Massacre
Encyclopedia
The Fountain Green Massacre is one of the more frequently cited examples of violence between Utes and Mormon colonists surrounding the so-called Walker War
. There is a Daughters of the Utah Pioneers
monument (no. 172) memorializing the Fountain Green Massacre located in City Park in Fountain Green, UT.
. William Luke, an immigrant from Manchester, England, was anxious to go see his three sons, who had recently arrived from England, and may have encouraged the group to hasten its journey. The four men camped at Uinta Springs against Morley's instructions, which had been for the group of men to make camp on the San Pitch River
and await the arrival of the main group.
When Morley's group arrived at the camp, they found William Reed stripped, scalped, and disemboweled a short distance from the wagons. Luke and Clark's throats were cut, and they were also disemboweled. The Morley party emptied the wagons of their grain and the loaded the bodies for transport to Nephi, Utah
. As the party readied to move on, numerous Utes appeared on the hillside. Morley, angry over the disobedience to his orders, denied the men burial in the town cemetery. Their remains remain lost to this day, in spite of several attempts to locate them.
The remains of the slain Utes were recently discovered in a place called Old Hallow in Nephi.
, was marked by the brutality with which Jorgensen's wife and unborn child were butchered with a tomahawk.
Wakara
Chief Walkara was a Native American leader of the Timpanogos Tribe, with a reputation as a diplomat, horseman and warrior, and a military leader in the Walker War.- Timpanogos leader :...
. There is a Daughters of the Utah Pioneers
Daughters of the Utah Pioneers
The International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers is a women's organization dedicated to preserving the history of the original settlers of the geographic area covered by the State of Deseret and Utah Territory, including Mormon pioneers...
monument (no. 172) memorializing the Fountain Green Massacre located in City Park in Fountain Green, UT.
Event
In the early hours of the morning of October 1, 1853, Utes of Sanpitch attacked and killed four men—William Reed, James Nelson, William Luke, and Thomas Clark—as they were encamped at Uinta Springs, near the head of Salt Creek Canyon. The men were driving two ox-drawn wagons filled with wheat to Salt Lake City as the advance party of a larger group headed by local Manti Mormon leader Isaac MorleyIsaac Morley
Isaac Morley was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement and a contemporary of both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. He was one of the first converts to Smith's Church of Christ...
. William Luke, an immigrant from Manchester, England, was anxious to go see his three sons, who had recently arrived from England, and may have encouraged the group to hasten its journey. The four men camped at Uinta Springs against Morley's instructions, which had been for the group of men to make camp on the San Pitch River
Sevier River
The Sevier River , extending , is the longest Utah river entirely in the state and drains an extended chain of mountain farming valleys to the intermittent Sevier Lake...
and await the arrival of the main group.
When Morley's group arrived at the camp, they found William Reed stripped, scalped, and disemboweled a short distance from the wagons. Luke and Clark's throats were cut, and they were also disemboweled. The Morley party emptied the wagons of their grain and the loaded the bodies for transport to Nephi, Utah
Nephi, Utah
Nephi is a city in Juab County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo–Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,733 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Juab County. It was settled by Mormon pioneers in 1851, and is the principal city in Juab Valley, an...
. As the party readied to move on, numerous Utes appeared on the hillside. Morley, angry over the disobedience to his orders, denied the men burial in the town cemetery. Their remains remain lost to this day, in spite of several attempts to locate them.
Revenge
Soon after the massacre, eight Utes were murdered in cold blood in Nephi in an act of revenge. According to a prominent local woman:The remains of the slain Utes were recently discovered in a place called Old Hallow in Nephi.
Subsequent violence
A little less than five years later, five Danish immigrants--Jens Jorgensen, his wife, Jens Terklesen, Christian I. Kjerluf, and John Ericksen--were slain by natives in Salt Creek Canyon, while they were en route to settle with other Scandinavian immigrants in the Sanpete Valley. This tragedy, known as the Salt Creek Canyon MassacreSalt Creek Canyon Massacre
On June 4, 1858, four Danish immigrants were ambushed and killed by Indians in Salt Creek Canyon, a winding canyon east of Nephi, Utah. This event became known as the Salt Creek Canyon massacre....
, was marked by the brutality with which Jorgensen's wife and unborn child were butchered with a tomahawk.