Category: American Frontier

• The Lost Colony of the Welsh Indians

  This theory held that descendants of the medieval Welsh prince Madoc had crossed the Atlantic in the twelfth century and survived among Native peoples in North America. In the nineteenth century, the Mandan in particular were often claimed to be “Welsh Indians,” and explorers, writers, and antiquarians repeatedly sought evidence of European features, Christian traces, fortified settlements, or even the Welsh language among them. The documented record clearly shows that the Madoc legend circulated for centuries and that the Welsh-Indian hypothesis remained active throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. What is not supported is the claim that the Mandan or any other Native nation were actually descendants of a lost Welsh colony.

• The Mormons "Danite" Assassins

  This theory held that Joseph Smith and later Mormon leaders maintained a secret brotherhood of “Danites” or “Destroying Angels” who enforced obedience, intimidated dissenters, and murdered apostates, enemies, or hostile officials. The historical record clearly shows that an oath-bound Danite organization did exist among Latter-day Saints in Missouri in 1838 during a period of acute violence and siege mentality. What is far less secure is the larger legend that this organization survived as a permanent secret assassination corps under Church command. The resulting theory became one of the most durable anti-Mormon narratives of the nineteenth century.