On September 11, 1857, one of the most horrific massacres in U.S. history occurred in Southern Utah. Today, the site of the Mountain Meadow Massacre is said to be haunted.
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During the attack, between 120 and 140 men, women and children were slaughtered. The Mormon militia fabricated a story, blaming the Paiute for the massacre. They hastily buried the bodies in shallow graves, which were promptly dug up by coyotes and other wild animals. Within a few days of the massacre, bodies and body parts were scattered over two miles, left to rot in the sun.
The youngest members of the party were spared, and the 17 surviving children (all of whom were under the age of seven) were “adopted” by local Mormon families. When the childrens’ relatives from Arkansas attempted to take the children back home, they were refused. It took two years, and intervention from the U.S. Army for the children to be returned.
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