, 1890-11-13
NEW INDIAN MESSIAH
General Miles Explains the
Religious Craze.
NO DANGER OF AN OUTBREAK
When tho Messiah Comes Ho Will
Bury the Whites and Return
the Buffalo.

Sr. PAUL, Nov. 7-General Miles.
commander of the division of Missouri
Is hero, on his return from Western
tour. Regarding the causes and nature
of the religious craze existing among tho
Indian tribes. he says: 81 have been in
Utah, Montana and Cheyenne reserva.
tions, investigating this craze. You
have no doubt heard that Indian tribes
are reported to believe that the Messiah
has come who is to restore them to their
former glory, bring back the buffalo and
drive the whites from the land. | have
learned tnat this belief exists among tho
various tribes, Sioux, Cheyennes, Black
feet, Shoshones and other tribes, in all
tho craze extending to sixteen tribes,
the Snake Indians being the only tribe
to repudiate II. There Is no doubt tina.
many Indians holding this belief in tho
Indian Messiah are sincere, and few
have certainly some person whom they
look to be that Messiah.
Several small parties of Indians have
gone westward from their tribes to some
point which, rs near as | can locate IL.
is In Nevada. There has been shown
somebody disguised as the Messiah, and
thay spoke with him. 1 am inclined to
believe there is more than ono person
impersonating this Messiah, as when
the Sioux have spoken with him he re.
piled in the Sioux language, and to
Biackfeet he spoke their tongue, and so
on with the representatives of each ma
ton or tribe, speaking their own Lam
guage to cach.'
"Who do you think is responsible for
this imposition upon the lndiausP
II can not state positively, but 1t ia
my belief the Mormons are the prime
movers in IL. This is not hard state.
ment to believe, for there are 10000
Mormons, and they themselves claim to
believe in prophets and spiritual mani.
festations, 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 ior
many years aud have made many con-
vortS"
"Do you think this new belief of the
Indians will lead to an outbreak and
bloodshed2"
II do not think so, but whore an ig-
norant race become religious fanatics, 1t
is hard to tell Just what they will do.
1t is noteworthy, however. that this
so-callcd Messiah tells the Indians when
he comes to reign over them lac says fire
arms will no longer be used, or neces
sary. lie tells them also that with his
coming dead Indians will all DO raised tc
| life, buffalo return and he will draw the
line behind on which he will gather all the
Indians, and then will roll the earth
ack upon the whites. This has natur.
ally excited the Indians, and large num-
bers have accepted the new belief.
Among those who do so, none are moro
ardent than Sitting Bull, who is in
tensely Indian in all his IDEAS"
"Do you think the person who Is i'm
personating tho Messiah is a white man
or an Indian?
"Those who have seen him say hc Is
muilled up and disguised so they can
not see his face, but | believe he isa
| full -blooded white. The argument the
Indians use in discussing the matter,
that the whites have had their Messiah
and the Indians now have theirs. The
situation is not alarming in any way,
and do not know whether ans action
will be taken by the government regard
ing the matter until after l make my
report