The Brigham Young Center

Salt Lake City.
April 7. 1870.

Mr. Patrick Hearn,
Muscatine, Iowa.

Dear Sir:--

A short time since I received a letter from you in regard to certain property which you allege belonged to your brother who was murdered at Dry Creek. As Prest. Young is from home & has left me to attend to his correspondence, I at once inquired of the Police authorities & others relative to it, though without success, & was still inquiring, when your second letter arrived, stating that the murder was committed at Indian Creek & that Bishop Jenkins knew something about the property. This afforded me a clue, so that I ascertained from him all he knew about the property, also, that he had written the same, fully, to you, which it seems you are inclined to dispute. Bishop Jenkins I know to be a man of the strictest veracity, and he has the testimony of a number of witnesses to substantiate his statements.

Your accusation that our people "let the murderer go unpunished" is, to say the least, unjust, & betrays your ignorance of the facts in the case. It seems that the murder was not done in Utah, but in Nevada. There were some of our people working near there, but what they knew of the affair was heresay. As for myself, & the public here, we had not heard the slightest intimation of the occurence till your letter brought it.

If you think Bishop Jenkins' statement is false, you can appeal to the law. but, I apprehend, that you will find upon investigation that the Bishop has told you the truth so far as he understands it.

Yours with respect
Daniel H Wells