Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon
Krakauer, 2003, Excerpts
The Saints had been so confident of a quick victory, in fact,
that they had promised, in Lee’s words, that the Pauites “could kill the
emigrants without danger to themselves.” But the Fancher party was disciplined,
very brave, and well armed, and their ranks included many expert riflemen.
After the initial volley of gunfire, the Arkansans quickly circled their
wagons, dug into bunkers, and then immediately initiated a counterassault,
utterly confounding their attackers. After ordering his men to keep the
emigrants pinned down, Lee rode off to summon Mormon reinforcements, and to
seek the counsel of his superiors.
The Mormons and their Piaute mercenaries kept pressure on
the Arkansans by harassing them with sniper fire, preventing them from
collecting water from the nearby spring. Hungry and tormented by thirst, the
Gentiles knew that their situation was growing increasingly grim. Their
ammunition was running out. They could neither bury their dead nor provide much
comfort to the many who were seriously wounded. Some sixty animals had been
killed in the crossfire; the carcasses of these beasts were now putrefying
around the Arkansans in the late-summer sun, creating a sickening stench.
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