Skeletons found in Utah may reveal details of 1853 Indian massacre
Archaeologists have excavated seven bodies from a mass grave in downtown Nephi. They say the men were the victims of a killing during the Walker War in 1853.
The skeletons, tangled together in a shallow grave, were discovered last month, when a home builder dug into an old ravine, now filled with about 6 feet of sand, to pour the foundation for a new home.
The bodies lay on top of each other - their bones splintered by bullets that hit some in the head and others in the hip or leg - in a grave just 3 feet wide. Archaeologists also found buttons attached to cloth, glass shards and a copper tube that contained what appeared to be a braid of hair.
Ronald J. Rood, assistant state archaeologist, described the discovery as "extremely important" to the history of how early Utah settlers and American Indians interacted during the state's formative years.
"These people have an important story to tell," he said.
Their story goes back more than century to a pair of oxen-drawn wagons traveling to Salt Lake City from Manti with wheat, according to accounts by Springville historian D. Robert Carter.
The wagons paused overnight at Uintah Springs, despite counsel to stop earlier. Isaac Morley, leader of the Manti colony, had urged the four men to wait for a company of horse-drawn wagons en route to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' general conference before venturing into hostile country, the history states.
As feared, the men were attacked and killed on Sept. 30, 1853.
The killing outraged settlers as the men's bodies were carted to Nephi for burial. What happened that following Sunday, Oct. 2, remains of historical dispute.
Some accounts say that a group of Indians came to camp looking for protection and food. Instead, the townspeople rose up against them and killed them "like so many dogs," a state history records.
Another account suggests that the Indians were summoned to town by military commander Maj. George W. Bradley. When ordered to drop their weapons, the men refused. A squabble ensued. One settler was struck with an arrow and the seven Indians were killed.
The killings came as part of a larger conflict between Mormon pioneers and American Indians known as the Walker War. The violence, sparked by pioneer encroachment upon the Utes' hunting and gathering grounds, lasted almost a year with tit-for-tat skirmishes between settlers and Indians. The parties reached a peace settlement in May 1854.
Rood has found nothing to change the history of the Nephi massacre. Rather, he has evidence to suggest that seven men, ages 16 to 25, were killed that day and thrown in a mass grave.
The archaeologist has found a ball of lead inside one man's skull, bullet holes penetrating other bones and a head fracture stained green by a copper trinket that suggests one Indian was killed with blunt force trauma.
Rood said he simply hopes to shed light on that skirmish so many years ago.