| Show HEAP I BIG SCARE An Eye Witness Describes the Ghost Dance RUMORS ARE VERY CONFLICTING Much of the Excitement Is Without Foundation Founda-tion The Messiah Craze Snbsldins Some whatIndIan Scouts Increased Special to THE HERALD Examiner Dispatch KANSAS Crrr Nov 2Thc cannibals of darkest Africa have rivals in the Messiah crazed Indians of South Dakota This information in-formation was obtained today from Mrs James A Finley wife of exCouncilman Finley of this city now postmaster and post trader at Pine Ridge agency Mrs Finley left the few agency a days ago by direction of her husband who sent her here for safety In an interview today describing de-scribing the ghost dance she said the dances had been in progress some time The first she learned of them was last August Aug-ust when a crowd of Indians left the reservation res-ervation to hold as they said a council and when the notice found them they were engaged in the dance Since then they have been holding them regularly One ghost dance that she saw was participated in by ISO Indians In preparing for the dance she said they cut the tallest tree they can find and having dragged it to a level part of the prarie set it up in the ground Under this tree four of the headmen head-men stand others form in a circle and begin be-gin to go around and around the tree They begin the dance on Friday afternoon It is kept up Saturday and Sunday until sun unt down During all this time they do not cat or drink The keep going round in one direction until they become so dizzy that they can scarcely stand then turn and go in the other direction and keep it up till they swoon from exhaustion This is what they strive to do for while they are in aswoon a-swoon they think they see and talk with the new Christ When they regain consciousness they tell their experiences to the four wise men under the tree All their tales end with the same story about the two mountains that are to belch forth mud aud bury the white men and the return of good Indian times They lose all of their senses in the dance Some get down on all fours and bob about like buffalo When they cannot lose their senses from exhaustion they butt their heads together boat them on the ground and do anything to become insensible insen-sible so that they may be ushered into the presence of the new Christ At the end of the dance they have a grand feast the revel lasting all Sunday night They kill several steers and cat them raw drink and gorge themselves to make up for their fast At last Fridays dance one of the braves was to gointo a trance and remain in this con dition four days At the close of this period pe-riod he was to come to life as a buffalo He would still have the form of a man but he would be a buffalo They wore then to kill the buffalo and every Indian who did not eat a piece of him would become a dog The man who was to turn into a buffalo was perfectly willing and I suppose they have killed and eaten him by this time Mrs Finley added I the government just lets them alone there will be no need of troops they will kill themselves Seven or eight of them died as the result of one danco near Wounded Knee |
