The drama began on October 13th, when a Kiowa and Comanche war party of several hundred swept down to where Elm Creek joins the Brazos River, about 10 miles above Ft. Belknap, Texas. The soldiers had been called away from the area and the fort abandoned. Many of the men from the settlements were away at the time of the raid.
Although they were legally slaves, the Johnson family been allowed to live a

True West May/June 2025
In This Issue:
Features
- Historic Hotels of the American West
- A Journey Through Wyoming’s Outlaw History
- A Journey Through Washington’s Wild Frontier
- Blazing The Oregon Trail
- Journey Through Time
- Did Brigham Young Order a Massacre?
- Mountain Meadows Scapegoat John D. Lee VS. A Firing Squad
- Mormons in the Movies
- An Indigenous Consultant Ensures Accuracy
- The Battle Axe And A Raw Deal
- Showdown: Bridger VS. Brigham
- The Mountain Man and the Mormon Moses
- The Ghosts of Mountain Meadows
- The War Before the War
- Mountain Meadows