Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-11-21

PECT OF THE OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES MAY,
HOWEVER, MAKE THEM TROUBLESOME.
The situation Of affairs among the Sioux In
dams. due to the prevailing religious craze, is
believed at the Indian Office to be greatly ex-
aggerated. Mr.. Belt, the acting commissioner
Of Indian affairs, does not believe that the In
dians entertain hostile designs against the
whites. Their belief in the coming Of the
alleged Messiah" he said to a STAR reporter
this morning, lis an evidence of that
1t has been claimed by their medicine men
that the Messiah when he comes will restore
to them their former power in this country
But the Messiah is to do this, not the Indians
THE INDIANS TO REMAIN QUIET.
SAIL that they are counseled to do is to re-
main quiet. Under the influence of the
Messiah powder will no longer have the power
to carry bullet when directed against the In
dIans. great wave is going to sweep over the
country, according to these predictions,
burylng the whites and carrying the Indians
along and preserving them from harm. So
You see the essential feature OF this delusion
rather discourages the Indians from indulg-
ing IN any outbreak. There is no necessity
for them to take any action of this kind, as the
messiah is to do everything. 1t is true that
the Messiah has not appeared ct the timo an
nounced."
DISAPPOINTMENT MAY MAKE THEM TROUBLESOME
'Do you think that the disappointment will
have bad effect on the Indians?" asked the
reporter.
1T is probable" was the reply, "that when
the Indians discover that these stories are not
They will probably turn upon the medi-
cine men who have made those
predictions. Then there will be difficulty
among the Indians which may spread beyond
the confines of the tribe"
Mr.. Belt, however, thought that the precau-
tions already adopted in sending the military
to the reservations would be ample to prevent
any serious outbreak
WHAT INSPECTOR WRIGHT THINKS.
Mr.. Wright. the Indian agent at the Rosebud
agency, which is one of the centers of the
this evening for, the reservation. In his
opinion. if few of the ringleaders were
locked up, the excitement would be apt to
die out. He does not attribute the
present trouble entirely to the religious craze,
although he thinks that some of the Indians
have been deluded into belief in the Messiah.
He says that this story about the COM
ing Messiah was started mainly among
the non-progressive Indians, who are
leo by such men as Sitting Bull and
Red Cloud. These men have been deposed as
chiefs because they opposed the recent sale to
reservation and any other movement which
was in the line of progress.
HOW THE RELIGIOUS CRAZE ORIGINATED.
The religious craze was originated by them
in order to regain their control over the peo-
pie. There is another factor which Mr.. Wright
thinks contributes to the present condition of
affairs, and that is the bad crops of the past
year. The Indians, he says. have not raised
very much grain and they are now hungry.
n oEact 90 ,,<xlx
thinks that if the leaders are gotten out of the
way that possibly the Indians may be quieted
down and all disturbances prevented.
FROM THE MILITARY STANDPOINT.
The Indian scare, as viewed from the War De-
partment end Of the line, took on a more inter-
esting aspect this morning when the following
telegram was received at the War Department
from Gen. Miles az Chicago: Reliable infor-
nation has been received that the Yanktons and
near old Fort Belknap, have unanimously
adopted the Messiah craze. The latter quite
ugly; that Sitting Bull has sent emissaries to
these tribes and to the forty-eight
lodges of Siouxs north Of the British
line exciting them to get arms and ammuni-
Hills in the spring. Every effort is being
made to ailGv and restrain the turbulent
but the violent overt act Of any small
part OF the desperate ones may cause
a general uprising. The latest reports
from the Northern Cheyennes is that they have
abandoned the delusion. There should be no
delay, however, in putting other troops than
those In these two departments in proper
equipment for the field"
PINE RIDGE INDIANS MUCH EXCITED.
Another dispatch from Gen. Miles was to
the effect that the Indians at Pine Ridge are
much excited and large numbers are coming
over from the kosebud agency, fifty miles dis
tant: also that the ghost dance continues. No
replies have been sent by the War Depar tment.
GEN. MILES PRESIDENTIAL BOOM
The remark made by Gen. Miles in his frs.
telegram advising the conce ntration Of troops
in view of the danger OF a general uprising has
started anew the story that he is working on
his presidential boom. which was launched al
a banquet in San Francisco last July.
Said a prominent army officer to STAR re-
porter: "Mies is predicting a general Indian
war and virtually asks that the COM
mand Of the entire army be turned over
to him. He wants to create a scare
and pose as tho savior of the
OF a political Messiah. such as the Indians
themselves are looking for have no doubt
in the world that he is honest in
his candidacy. He has shrewdly enlisted
the favor OF nearly every newspaper
man in California, and has by his
means managed to make himself very popular
in certain way in the west. He is one the
most ambitious men in the army and he is
pulling his wires shrewdly."
APPROPRIATIONS COMMlTTEE.
Not a Quorum Yet-NIr. Cannon Says
Good Work Will be Done.
Mr.. Cannon of Illinois was at the capitol to-
day, looking as happy and amiable as if moth
ing extraordinary had happened at the recent
elections. He WAS on hand and ready for work,
but MIR. Savers was the only other member of
the committee present and the estimates were
not all in yet 1t was thought that about Mon
day a quorum OF the committee would be
present. the estimates would be all in
and they could get down to hard
work. 1t was decided, therefore, that meet
ing Of the committee should be held on Mon
day. 1t is expected that the District appropri-
alton bill will be ready to report to the House
on the first Of the month, and during the first
week of the session it is hoped that both the
pensions and fortiication bills will be re-
ported.
This will leave the sundry civil. legislative
and general deficiency bills to come in about
the time of the holidays or soon after There
is evidently no notion lurking in the minds of
are to be showed aside for other matters and
left to stand their chances at the tail end of the
session.
1t Is proposed that they shall be advanced
as rapidly as possible and no time will be lost
in waiting to take them up.
MR.. CANNON TALKS BRIEFLY.
Mr.. Cannon does not join in what appears to
be q general notion that it will be difficult to
hold quorum Of republicans in the House