Mountain Meadows Dream

I am walking in the Meadows. My shoes are too big and the mud makes a sucking sound.

There are Cavalry sitting on chairs. A man takes me onto his horse. My sisters are big girls on a big horse.

My Daddy can't come because he is Dark Indian. I am going to see deelee get hung by the soldiers. Mommy jumps down and the man hands me down to her. She is fair of skin and I am brown. A man hits her and we fall down. He has a mean face. He asks her why she didn't bring her nigger indian with her.

Jacob is on the other side of the men in chairs. My sister is crying. My biggest sister picks her up to keep her out of the mud and cowpie.

I can't get to Mama because I can't get up and the Army won't let her come to me. The soldiers are mean, when I scream for Mama.

Jacob says if the soldiers don't calm down, and if we don't keep quiet there will be a Massacre. My Grandma was massacred. Mommy remembers for when I'm older.

The man who is getting hung says the Lord might help me if I pray. He says to Mama to tell his family he loves them. Then he says to tell the soldiers to let Mama pick me up and that I must not cry or it will make them worse. My arm is broked.

"Nits make Lice," the mean man says. "That's what my Dad said and he made a few Mormon Nits in his time." They're laughing.

That's why he come out to this here Desert, he says, to finish what he begun, G. D. Mormon Whores, and Injuns. No wonder Jack Ass Hamblin didn't want to show his boy.

Says Grandpa don't know what an Indian is or what to do with 'em. The Soldiers say he shouldn't have brought them Injun gals with him.

Grandpa Jacob says real quiet--he's done every thing he could to do as they asked. He's exhumed corpses and counted their bones. Laid em out to be sure everything was away from the Wolves.

All he wants is to say farewell to his old friend, take his children, and leave. The Meadows have seen enough blood.

The man says you keepen slaves for that Church of Yourn, tain't too late to kill all you got on Lee's farm.

Papa, was a slave for the Spanish 'till Grandpa paid his ransom.

Payin' Ransom ain't Slaving. Spaniards would've worked Daddy dead if Jacob hadn't of payed ransom. Grumpa Jacob says to let them pick me up or they'll atrample me.

Then there'll have Hell to pay from the papers. They didn't send them out here to cripple kids and it looks to Jacob my leg was broken.

Let Peace rein in this Valley, evermore.

The hangman says Nigger-killing is his business, Injuns, ain't no better'n GD Mormons. They want a counting of all Slaves in the territory. Ain't legal. They mean taking Daddy.Wouldn't bother no hangman to trample no halfbreed Mormon Whelp.

Don't 'member more on accounta my head hit on a rock in the mud and got blood all in my eyes.