The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1890-11-12
THE INDIAN MESSIAH.
General Mile. Give. tn. Result. of HI. In

General Miles Gives the Result Of His In
vestigation Of tho Indian Fanaticism.
ST. PAUL. Mimi, Nov. &--Major-G Gen
eral Nelson A. Miles, U. s A., com
nander of the division of the Missouri.
who has returned from tour Of the
West asked regarding the causes and
nature of the religious craze now exist
ing among the Indian tribes OF the
West, said: II have learned that this
belief exists among the various tribes
of Sioux, Cheyennes Blackfeet Sho-
| shones and other tribes In all the
craze has extended to sixteen tribes.
the Snake Indians being the only ones
to repudiate 1t. There is no
doubt that many of the Indians
holding this belief in the Indian
Messiah are sincere, and some few have
certainly seen some person whom they
took to be that Messiah. Several small
parties OF Indians have gone westward
from their tribes to some point which.
as near as can locate. is Nevada. and
there they have been shown somebody
disguised as the Messiah and have
spoken with him. l am inclined to be-
lieve that there is more than one per-
son impersonating this Messiah. as
when Sioux have spoken with him he
has replied in the Sioux language and
to Blackfeet he has spoken their tongue,
and so on with the representatives Of
each nation or tribe, speaking their own
language to each. ="
What do you think is responsible
for this imposition upon the Indians"'
Il can not state positively but it is
my belief the Mormons are the prime
movers in it. This is not hard state
ment to believe, for there are 200, 900
Mormons and they themselves claim to
believe in prophets and spiritual mani
festation, and they even now claim to
hold intercourse with the spirit Of Joe
Smith. Besides they have had mission
aries at work among the Indians for
many years and have many converts"
do you think this new belief of the
Indians will lead to an outbreak and
bloodshed?"
II do not think so. but where an ig-
noEant race of people become religious
fanatics it is hard to tell just whas they
will do. II is noteworthy. however,
that this so-called Messiah tells the In
dians that when he comes to reign over
them he says that firearms will no
longer be used or necessary. He tells
them also that with his coming she
dead Indians will all be raised to life,
the buffalo will return and he will
draw line behind which he will
gather all the Indians, and then he will
roll the eayth back upon the whites
This has naturally excited the indians
and large nsmbers have accepted the
rev belief. Among those who haS
done so none are more ardent than Si,
ting Bull, whD' is intensely Indian in
all his ideas"
do you thiEAn the person who is inn
peryonating the Messiah is q white map
or an indiana"
Those VINO have seem him say he iss
mutfed up and disguised so that they,
dent see lis face; but believe that he.
is a.3oll-blooded white. The argument:
the Indians usezi in discussing the.
matter is that the whites have
had their Messiah and the Indians
now Rave theirs: that If il is reason
able for the whites to- believe in
MESSIAH it is reasonable for the Indians
to do SO, too; and that they have as
much tight to have an Indian Messiah
as tbs whites have to have a white
Messiah. The situation is 1'ot alarming
in any way, and l do'not know whether
any &C zion will be tai:en by the Govern
ment regarding the matter until after I
have made my report