The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-01-15

attacks the body and destroys life. The
wild craze of the Indians of the western
plains and mountains furnishes a striking
example of the character and effects OF
this fearful disease
The law of human history Is that when
any tribes or races of men are hard driven
by a certain kind Of distress an excited and
highly morbid expectation of Messiah APP
pears among them When it has once ap-
peared it runs its course Ike coutagfon.
The delusion seizes all classes, and all are
! insane together The first thing to be
| noted about such fact is that II requires
certain peculiar forms of distress to pro-
! duce it.
It cannot be doubted that the principal
| antecedent of the Messianic insanity is the
! oppression OF one race by another. This
cause Is always requisite to bring on the
ethnic paroxysm. Without this condition
the belief in a phenomenal deliverance by
a savior never arises. No other kind Of
distress will produce it. There may be
earthquake and pestilence, ravages by fire
and deluge, but these things are not suffi-
Gent of themselves to engender the de-
fusion. The Messiah is always expected in
the character of a race deliverer. It is the
heavy hand of one race pressing upon tho
breast of another, with the consequent
sense of sufTocation and despair, that pro-
duces the delirious dream of miraculous
salvation.
But while the oppression of one race by
another is the prime cause of the delusion,
hunger and famine, either present or ex-
pected, are the occasion. Famine alone is
not sufficient to bring on the fever Men
may die of eff fiop. ubola ri opd
kindreds may suffer or even perish from
hunger and thirst, and yet give no sign of
the Messianic delusion. 1t is only when
the sense of race degradation is present
that famine cries out for the Christ
The second thing to be observed is that
the Messiah is always one of the suffering
race. He is not a deliverer from abroad
but one of the oppressed. Moses and the
Christ are ever of the down trodden tribe.
No other than the pure seed of slaves is
worthy to lift them up; no alien can be the
swift coming avenger, the warning evangel
of hope and restoration to the tribes about
to perish.
There is in all this kind of logic-the
logic of insanity The broken syllogisms
run thus through the fevered brain. We
are oppressed by the strong and tn wick
c0 lHty are lufdOcrS anu aliens, LOT Ul0
land was ours aforetime, and our fathers.
1t is ours yet, and will be ever. We have
tried to free ourselves by battle-to save
ourselves by war-but the oppressor was
strong and slew our people. Therefore is
he unjust. But there must be a deliver
ance, and hence deliverer. Lo, he comes
quickly, and his vengeance and his reward
are with him. The good Christ will be one
of us. He will be on our side He will
love us and hate our enemies. He will
fight our battles and the proud shall lie
low before him. Behold we starve. The
children of our people are dying for food,
but the deliverer will bring as plenty. He
will take from the naughty who have de-
spoiled us their storehouses full Of wheat
their vineyards and their cattle. Let US
watch for his coming, for he will appear
tomorrow.
In this form and with this feverish
dreaming, the delusive hope of a Messiah
has returned in many ages and among
many peoples. 1t is one of those miscon-
ceived phenomena which have led men to
believe and say in the language of the
aphorism that history repeats itself The
saying is not true; but it is true in part
That is, it seems to be true-iust rs the
retrograde movement among the planets