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Show STATUS "OF THE I5DIA5 qCES-TIOS. qCES-TIOS. The assuranco that there Is no Immediate danger of an Indian .uprising unless tho red men are goaded into revolt by the belligerent actions of unscrupulous white people, peo-ple, ecenu to bo gaining ground. Statements to this effect are emanating emanat-ing from authoritative sources. Individuals In-dividuals who aro probably interested inter-ested In precipitating an Indian war are, however, endeavoring to break tho force of these pacific assurances by spreading sensational reports about Indian depredations which havo never occurred. For instances correspondent or the If e w Yurk.S'ui writes thus: 'Oco man, who may prove to be as bis a liar as tho rest of the population ofPino Ridge, report today that the school houses along Medicine Root Creek bare been destroyed by the Indian." The same correspondent also says: "It seems probable that tbo terrible fear of the Indians his been construed tiere as a confeoloa ot hostility, but it is sate to say, that unless goaded into war there is no mora fight in the the Sioux ot Pino Itidge and Itosebud than there is in the Scnecas of Kew York State. "I1i3 Itnscbud Indians have again shifted their camp and are now said to be at tho mouth of Wounded Knco Creek. Some of them have croscd Wluta Ilivcr, and the alarmists say then hole band is rushing to tho Bad Lands, h hero it will makoa tight. "A laan while pony wiih a pore .back, bich is said to have been taken from their camp, vas dragged up before be-fore Agent Rover and all the military lat night. An examination, it was said, bad revealed war paint on the haunches of the beast; but if there was any paint there it was probably the work of some yo jng Sioax wag." An Indian spy Ghost Ilortc was sent into the camps ot 151,; Foot and Hump. On returning be etaled that there were several educated Indians among them. These visi cd the towns and obtained ob-tained copies of tho papers which they read to their brethren. When the accounts of the alarm felt throughout the country by the whites was in this way communicated communi-cated to the Indians they lost their usual stoicism nud indulged in hilarious laughter, and regarded these fears as an indication tnat the coming of Messiah was near. The red men are In great apprehension appre-hension lest an attempt be made to disarm them. Hero is an extract from a IVcrld special ou tint point: "It is reported by Frank Girard, G vcrmnent scout, that the Rosebud Indians and Wounded lCnee Creak wilt bo In tomorrow. Tb-yarotho last to come. The only chance for tronbla is that if an attempt is made to disarm the Indians some young bucks will not tamely submit, and are llablo to raic a disturbance. The cowboys cow-boys on White River bategalherd at Ben Tibbitts' ranch for protection, and are prepared to fight if necessary." Mr. George Bird Grlnnell. an adopted sou of an Indian chief and an able and intelligent mm. gives through the Kew York 7Vi6une, a direct and sensible explanation of the situation. Wo here Introduce an extract from It: "There is good reason, howccr, for believing that there will bo no uprising upris-ing at all. In all times of expected trouble the Indians first of all look out for their women and children. The Indian braves aro the most affectionate af-fectionate of men. and if trouble is apprehended tho first thing they do Is to place their women and children out of tho reach of harm. There is now no placo in the country, except in Arizona, which is not as accessible to the whites as to the Indian, and that is too far away. The Indians know this as cil as tho whites. Thcro is no great section of tho countr; where there are not largo settlements of v bites, and w here thcro aro not lines of railway, alTording quick transportation for troops. Of cour-e, thcro Is an clement of dinger in the spread of ths Mes-iah doctrine, but unles the indians all get au Idta that they are going to be resurrccc J and become immortal, thsy still never stirt a fight "The Indians know perfectly well that they cannnt stanl a long fi.?bt, and tho olieranl wissr beads aming them can be relied upon to try to keep things qniet. Some olj soreheads like Sitting Rail, the Sioux, may try to get tho young men to revolt, but sitting Ball's influence is on the wane, and he is not much bslisved in even in his own tribe. Tho greatest dinger iithttsams s-ulers miykill a faw Indians, and tho spirit of revenge re-venge may c tusc an outorcak. Thcro is a strong feeling aming tho older settlers agiinst tbo Indians. I do not know so much about the feeling among tho new 6cttlcrs. There Is a widegalf berweea tho settler wh thinks the Indian is a ciyote, and tho only good Indi-ij Is a d'ead one, and tb8 cistern sentimentalist who le-lieves le-lieves the Indian is an angck "As an example or the miracles, I wm tell you that while I was at the Cheycana Agency ons ofthe prophets announced that on tbo day before hs had been -rUitcd by people who hid teen dead for a long time, and ti bo hadbronghthunaplcs: of fat buffalo moit. .orttia Iuliaus love bnlfilo meat, bjt thoy havo seen none of I; for six or Keven years. Tho prophet told tbo people that oa the followin-nlght followin-nlght ho would feed them ith the baffilo msat that had bean brought to him. The next nigut a cire'e as fjruied.and thsprophetstepped into the centra with a wooden dish full of cooked meat. Af ier a d inw the dancer, danc-er, filed up, an J toeadi one nascitcn apleoj of rnsiu Although the dancers danc-ers were many and the pieces of meat few, the meat didn't give out. How as it dons? Well, sleight of hand of some kind, I suppose, but I couldn't licovcr the trick." Tho late special Census Agent Tor Nevada has communicated to the Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs at Washington what he laitns to have learned about the person named occasionally John Sides, and sometimes Johnson, but u3-j rcai uanitf appears to be neither or .these. He says: "The prophet resides in Mason Valley, Val-ley, Xmera!da, Nov., closa to tho Walker Rlter Reservation. His name is not John Sides at Itsuo, but Captain Jack Wilson, known among all Indians In-dians by the Indian names or We-To-Karand also Co-Wc-Jo,an intelligent, fine-looking Indian of about thirty-fit thirty-fit e years ofage, ho goes into trances, or seemingly so, from twelve to fourteen four-teen hours, in the presence of large numbers of Indians. Upon hi recovery recov-ery he relates to them what bo has seen. He tclls-them he has been to heaven, and that tbo Messiah Is coming com-ing to the caith again and will pot tho Iudiins in posses-Ion of this country; that he has seen in heaven a heap or Indians, some or which are dressed in the white man's clothes; ho counsels the IndUns net to distarb the white folks." The same gentleman also tays: "The only fear the Xavada Indians have Is tint tho government win Interfere In-terfere through ths troops. I think it I the Indians are let alone sttot various 0 agencies tho whole thing will die away. All of the Indians here do not believe In the prophet, although Jose-phns, Jose-phns, the chief at Walker Lake, thinks may be Co-We-Jo is a prophet, for the reason that he went twice to this prophet pro-phet to consult about water, as there was no rain and Walker River was nearly dried np, and upon each occasion occa-sion the prophet predicted rain, which really cams and saved their crops; beoce their belief in this prophet. "Captain Dave of tho Nevada Agency and Josephus of Walker River aro better posted upon this Indian craze than any other Indians in Nevada. Ne-vada. They are truthful. Intelligent and reliable." At a meeting of the American Folk .Lore Society, a few days ago, the suljectof the ''Indian Messiah" was treated upon. A synopsis of the proceedings appeared in the N. Y. hveting Sun,the following being a portion of what It said in reference refer-ence to n speech made by Dr. Brln-ton: Brln-ton: "More Interesting, perhaps, sta his mention tint 'the Rev. Mr. Anthony, an Indian of tho Delaware tribe, onco told me ths speaker that the word '.Lcnapc' used as ths native name ot the tribe, and generally translated 'the truo man,' had an esoteric significance, signifi-cance, 'the man will come;' and that this idea was in every Delaware Indian's In-dian's mind when he engaged in the medicine dance.' Tho word medicine, it being understood, Is used In the sense of sorcery: a dealing with occult powers. It is Interesting to know lht tho word 'Lcnapc' possessed a meaning beyond its famiiiarone,which was na-urally assumed to themselves by the-o Indians as a tribal designation. designa-tion. Hat tho esoteric meaning of 'Lc-napo' 'Lc-napo' is not very different from that attributed to 'Adam;' thus lbs suggestion sug-gestion is started that this name, too, may not unnaturally have carried an equivalent, esoteric significance, 'tho man will come.' " Then followed the reading of a jajier by Alice B. Fletcher, an authority au-thority on tho Dakotas, who treated upon the origiu of the present religious re-ligious excitement amoog tho Indians. In-dians. Wo again quote: 'It liegaa. It appears, in the Chey-enneRhercoantrysixor Chey-enneRhercoantrysixor seven years ago, with a Christian convert who ls gan to sec visions. He beheld a hunting hunt-ing ground ttith herds of buffalo and a luminous path leading to it, by which approached a human figure. It threw aside its robe, disclosing the Christian Messiah, and jwintingto the crucifixion scars said: 'Behold what the white men did to me. I come now to my Indian children, st houl the white men havo oppressed and despised.' de-spised.' rrom this first seer tho delusion delu-sion spread uutil others be?an hat ing visions all through the Rocky Moun-talu Moun-talu country, and stilt others mado pilgrimages to the places where tho visions were seen, hoping foriike revelations rev-elations to themselvos." |
