ENCAMPMENT - In 1857, one of the most violent episodes in Western American trail history played out in a mountain meadow in southern Utah. Last weekend, the Mountain Meadows Massacre was recreated for a forthcoming documentary on the History Channel.

An isolated, sagebrush-covered landscape on the A Bar A Ranch near Encampment became the setting for a segment of "Investigating History" produced by Bill Kurtis Productions of Chicago. The show is expected to air on the History Channel on Dec. 15.

In September 1857, the Fancher emigrant wagon train en route to California from Arkansas with 16 wagons, 100 oxen, and 900 head of cattle was attacked in Southern Utah by Paiutes organized by Mormons. After a five-day siege, the Mormon Militia persuaded the emigrant party to surrender on Sept. 11. Then the militia and their allies killed all members of the party with the exception of 17 children under the age of six, who were adopted into Mormon families.

This is a dark story in American Western history, and one of the most violent incidents ever to occur on the overland route to California. Military Dragoons placed a cross at the site in 1859, but it was later torn down by Mormon Church President Brigham Young. In 1999, when a new monument was being installed at the site, bodies were inadvertently unearthed and studied for a brief time by forensic scientists, providing irrefutable proof of how some of the individuals had died - many by gunshots and others by blows to the head. At that time, LDS Church President Gordon Hinckley acknowledged the Mormon actions of 1857, according to Historian Will Bagley, author of "Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Mountain Meadows Massacre."

The story of the Mountain Meadows Massacre for the forthcoming "Investigating History" program is written by University of New Mexico history professor Paul Andrew Hutton, who served with Jamie Schenck as a co-producer on the show. Bill Kurtis was on hand as executive producer and host of the show; he also ran a camera for the production. Bagley served as an historical consultant.

The documentary was filmed on the A Bar A Ranch southeast of Encampment in order to provide easier access for wagons and reenactors, most of whom were from Encampment, Saratoga, and Casper. Military reenactors from Colorado are members of the Army of the West Military History Association. Darrell LoneBear, Sr., Harvey Spoonhunter and Layha Spoonhunter from the Wind River Reservation at Fort Washakie portrayed Paiute Indians.

After the first few minutes of filming, Bill Kurtis - owner of Kurtis Productions, a former CBS News employee, and host of three television series including "Investigating History" - told reenactors his style of film production differs from many documentary filmmakers. His company uses news techniques in its productions and runs four cameras at most times. "You can expect that there is a camera on you at all times," he said when telling members of the emigrant party to "get in the period" of 1857 and stay there throughout the two full days of filming.

In the process of making the documentary, actors "killed" members of the emigrant party. Horseback rider James Olguin of Saratoga was the first to "die," eventually falling from his horse several times as the scene was recreated multiple times in order to get different camera angles. The first woman "casualty" was Isabelle Anderson of Encampment. Lynn Finney, "wounded" in the initial attack, was dragged to safety no less than five times.

Star-Tribune correspondent Candy Moulton can be contacted by e-mail at Candywwa@aol.com.