Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1886-06-18
FAITHISTS OF SHALAM.
a Peculiar Religious Colony Which
Arises to Reconstruct Society.
*ew Bible Written by a New York Tooth
Doctor Under the Immediate Control
of Observation-Disclosures of d
New Calendar.

a.
Doctor Under the Immediate Control
of Observation-Disclosures ofa
New Calendar.
Has Cruces N. NJ Cor. st. Louis Globe.
Democrat
On the eastern hank of the Rio Granle
river and about six miles from this place
IS colony of people whose customs, his
tory and religion are the most peculiar to
Do FOUND in this country. They call them
selves "Faithists;" have a new Bible writ
ten by one of them selves; have new
calendar in which the days, Sabbaths and
holidays are changed, and the months are
called signs; cat only two meals day,
while fish and flesh are forever forbidden
as IN article cf food.
The Faithists, as the members of the
Shalam colony term themselves, claim to
be religious sect. They discard all re-
ligions save their own, the essential dogma
of which is faith in Jehovih, as he is called
in their Bible, and to become covenant
member a person must abjure all other
gods, lords or saviors. According to their
Bible, Jehovih is tho spirit that created all
things, is omnisccnt, omnipresent and
earth, of which the Faithists are tho
sole members up to date. DR.. J. II.
NewbrouSh, dentist of New York CITY,
is the originator OF this sect lie claims TO
TO have been wrestling with tho spirit for
ten years; he admits that he wrote the
new Bible under the influence of the spirit,
and he is now the head or chief of Shalam
colony, which has been established as Je-
hovih's kingdom on earth, according to
plans laid down in the Faithist Bible.
This new bible Is called "Oahspe," "mcan-
ing that it contains oil that is worth know
ing about light, earth or sky, or tho sun
of all knowledge, and in it Jehovih saws:
at is not for the past, hut for the present
era" 1t was written Mt No. 1913 West
Thirty-fourth street, New York, i'm 1881;
and i'm letter to the editor of tho Banner
Of Li0M explaining its origin, DR.. New
brough says:
HOW "oAuSrE" WAS WRITTEN
Oahspc was mechanically written through
my hands Ivy some other intelligence than
my own. discovered, many years ago. In
sitting In circles 10 obtain spiritual mani.
fcstatiOns that my hands could not lie on the
table without flying OF into "taniriims."
Often they would write messages, left or
right. backward or forward, nor could con.
troll them In any other way than by with
drawing from the table
went TO work In earnest to investigate spir.
tualism, and Investigated over two hun
urcd mediums. In course OF time
ten or fifteen years. began to believe In
spiritua!ism. But ] was not satisfied with
the communications; was craving for the
light OF Heaven ] wished TO learn some.
thing about the spirit world; what the an
gels did, how they Travelled and the general
plan OF the universe. So after awhile I
took IL Into my head that wise and
exalted angels would commune better
with MS IL VIC purified ourselves physically
nnd spiritually. Then gave up eating flesh
ana fish, milk and butter, AMI took to rising
before day, twice Il day and occupying
small room alone, where I sat every morn.
ing half an hour bofi.re sunrise rccount:ng
daily to my Creator my shortcomings in
governing myself in thought and decd In
six years training reduced myself from two
hundred and nifty pounds down to ono hun
ured and eighty, my rheumatism WAS all
gone and had no more headaches. be.
came Timber and sprightly. new lease on
Ii c came to me.
NEW POWER.
Then new condition of control came up.
on my hands; instead OF the angels holding
my hands as formerly, they held their hands
over my hend-and they were clothed with
sufficient matcriality for me t. see them
and Il light fell upon my own hands rs they
lay on the table. In the meantime had at.
tanned to hca; audible angel voices near me-
was directed to get n typewriter which
writes by keys, Ike piano. This did and
j applied myself in,,usiriousiy to learn IT,
hnt with only indifferent success. For two
years more tic angels propoundcd to me
questions relative to Heaven and Garth
which no mortal could answer very intcili-
gently. always look back upon those Two
yeas rs an enigma. Perhaps IL was TO show
me that man was but an ignoranus at best;
perhaps 1 was waiting for constitutional
growth TO be good.
Well, enc morning the light struck both OF
my hands on the back and they went to the
type writer for some fifteen minutes very
vigorously. was told not to read what
was printed, and had worked myself into
such religious fear OF losing this new pow.
or, that obcycd rcvcrcntIy. Thencxt morn.
Ing, also before sunrise. the same power
came and wrotc-or printed, rather-aGain.
Again laid the matter away very religions.
ly, saying little about it to anybody. Ono
morning acknowledgement accidental
TO mc-looked out Of the window ana bchcId
the line OF light that rested on my hands ex.
tending heavcnward like n telegraph wire
toward the sky. Over my head were three
pairs of hands, fully matcrlallzed; behind
me stood another angel, with her hands
resting on my shoulders. My looking did
not disturb tho scene; my hands kept right
on prin:inG-prirting. For fifty weeks this
continued every morning, half an hour or
so before sunrise, and then II ceased and
was told to read and publish the book
Oahspe. The peculiar drawings I'm Oahspc
were made W ill pencil In the same way
few OF the drawings ! was told TO copy
from other books, such rs Saturn, the Egyp-
tian ceremonies, etc.
The above letter is signed by New
brough, and is printed in full i'm the front
leaves of some of their Bibles. The brok
contains nine hundred pages, and is writ
ten in the most ancient style, doubtless
TO give it musty smell. IL is sold at fivc
dollars a volume, and has been circu-
lated quite extensively. The work of cs-
tablishins Jehovih's kingdom on earth
was first attempted on what is known as
the Thompson farm in New Jersey, but
that failed in months time, OH account
of a disagreement with.Mr. Thompson in
the year 1882. Headquarters were kept UP
in New York City until in December, of
1885,. the FaitIists began to assemble at
Pearl River, Rockland County, New York
In November, 1851. they held a conven-
tion in New York, at which a COM
mittee was appointed to search for Sh al
am, and in pursuance Of this appointments
Messrs. Newbrcugh and Grill left Pearl
River in August, 1881. Sbalam was dis
covered by these gentlemen in Septem-
Der, 1854, when deed was made by John
d. Bancastle. of Dona, N. NJ, conveying
about four hundred acres of level land in
the Rio Grande Valley to VIM. How
land, Of Boston, Mass, and i'm October,
1Ss4, two delegations of Faithists arrived
in Shalam, one Of waom was the veritails
DIR. Henry Samuel Tanner, who tasted
forty-two days several years ago.