Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1890-11-20
The General Gives His View Of the
Maneuvers Ut the Red
Man.
The Indians are Strong Enough TO
do Serious Harm if They
Desire.
An Interesting Interview with an
Indian who Saw the Alleged
Christ.

trouble in the northwest. Col. Corbin
said to day there is no doubt if the In
dians were to decide upon an outbreak
they could do much harm. They have an
abundance of rifles and ammunition,
plenty OF horses and large SUPPLIES of meat
But winter is coming on, and the officers
hardly think there is any
immediate danger of an outbreak
Col. Corbin said the stories of the evacua-
ton of districts by settlers IN North
Dakota are overdrawn There may be
some fearful residents who. fearing the
red skins, may have left their homes, but
the stories of wholesale excavations are
absolutely without foundation We have
made, he said, a careful estimate of the
number affected by .he Messiah craze, and
there are in all not to exceed 10000 lndi-
ans. OF this number perhaps one-hfth
are able-bodied warriors and one-half OF
fifteen thousand could bear arms. Such
body, of course, could do much harm if
their movements were not promptly ar
rested, but we have taken measures to in.
tercept any outbreak.
Gen. Miles has received from the post
adjutant at Ft. Custer, Montana, the re-
port of Lieut.. Robertson, who carefully in
vestigated the new religious craze at the
Cheyenne agency. His talks were princi.
pally with Porcupine, the apostle of the
new religion of the Cheysnnes and with
big Beaver" who accompanied "Porcu-
pine" on his visit to the new Christ at
Walker Lake, New, last year. "Porcu-
pine told him there were several hundred
Indians at Walker Lake at She time in
Guiding the representatives of the Chey-
ennes, Sioux, Arapahoes, Gresventres,
Utes, Navaioes, Sheep Eater Zannocks
and other tribes he did not know. He
(Porcupile) first heard of this new Christ
at the Arapahoe agency, Wyoming
where he and some other
Cheyennes visited last fall.
an Arapahoe who had been TO the south
western country In 1888, told them about
t. Porcupine and others were much in
terested and determined to see this new
Messiah. They went on from point to
point, travelling sometimes by railroad
and sometimes 10y ponies or wagons. Por-
cup ne insists that the teachings of the
new Christ were in the interest of peace
and .ood order and industry on the part
of the Indians. Lieut. Robertson asked him
how it was that certain Indian tribes
had made this new doctrine "a
basis Tor neglecting their crops
INDUCING in demoralizing dances and
even in disorder. Porcupine replied that
nearly all the Indians who had gone to hear
this new Christ with him had gone hop
ing to hear him preach some incendiary
doctrine. They were disappointed at
hearing that the new creed required them
to simply work and behave themselves and
concluded ON their return home not TO
relate strictly what had been told them,
but ~ preach doctrines more agreeable to
the lAuIIns. These men, said Porcupine
to tn Ii utenant are all liars, and they
are l,. ,,onsible for any trouble that oc-
ours not che new Messiah. Porcupine
cites one case in point of Sioux warrior
whom he beard of but did not know. This
man preached that the new Christ told
them the belief in his religion gave the
Indians charmed life against the whites.
From this arose the insolenee and trouble.
Lieut., Robertson obtained from Henry
Reed, an Arapahoe interpreter, an intelli-
gent half-breed, information which If true
would establish the identify of the So
called new Messiah. Reed says he is
Pap Ute Indian named John John
son, very intelligent, but not an
educated man. This man lives on the
Walker Lake reservation, where other
Indians claim TO have seen the new
Christ Reed reports that the Araphoes
are much excited over the doctrine and
that many OF them have even torn down
their houses and sold the logs Reed says
the agent and Indian police have entirely
"a ant
Robertson could learn Psrcupine' S intlu
ence has been constantly exerted for good
and in line with what he
claimed the new messiah told him
in contradiction of the preaching
of other redskin missionaries. Appended
to the lieutenant's statement is state
ment of Porcupine, as written down by
Robertson with the aid of interpreters. 1t
is lengthy one, describing in detail how
he first heard of the new Christ and the
various stages of the journey Of himself
and his companions TO meet him. He
said the people at the point where the new
Christ was, seemed all good people, al
though of many tribes There was no
fighting or drinking The chiefs of the
home tribe brought word from the Messi-
an to remain fourteen days in camp when
he would come to see them. He sent them
something TO eat like big white nut
Finally one morning hundreds of people
gathered near Walkers Lake agency
in a great ring and just before
shutdown more people came dressed
in white men 8 clothes, although mostly
Indians, and The christ was with them.
He was not so dark as an Indian nor so
light as a white man, he had no beard but
very heavy eyebrows. He was dressed
like white man except that he had on
mocassins He commenced our dance,
everybody joining in and the christ sing
ing; we danced till late at night, when he
told us we had enough. | had heard
that Christ had been crucifed, said
Porcupino and saw scar on this man s
wrist and on MS face. Next evening we
assembled aPain; he sang then trembled
violently, and then lay down apparently
dead, while we danced all night Next
morning he sat down among US and talked
with us, saying: ! am the man who made
everything you see around you. | have
been to heaven and hag seen your dead
friends and have seen my own father and
mother In the beginning after God
made the earth they sent me back 10 teach