Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-01-10
.S0RCERY DID 1T
How the Bureau Of Ethnology E1-
plains the Indian Outbreak.
THE MEDICINE MEN
Wonderful Things the Indian sorcerers Can
Do-Making Grass Grow and Birds Talk
How Sitting Bull and the Other Mystery
Men Stirred Up the Braves.

Wou0erfuI Th1ngS the indian SOrcererS Gan
Do-Making Grass Grow and Birds Talk
How Sitting Bull and the Other Mystery
Men Stirred Up the Braves.
Written for The Evening Star.
OORCERY HAS BEEN at the bottom Of the
Orecent Indian troubles, in the opinion of the
bureau Of ethnology at Washington.
The influence paramount among the savages
Of North America is the supernatural. They
are governed and controlled nominally by war
rior chiefs, but in reality by jugglers, whose
skill surpasses that possessed by any other pro-
fessed magicians in the world. Extraordinary
accounts have been written of the dexterity
and powers, apparently superhuman, of the
conjurors Of India, who plant a seed which
grows before the sight Of the beholder into a
plant that seems to touch the sky and perform
other seeming miracles not less amazing, but
of the actual accomplishment of such won
drous feats reliable evidence is stacking, whereas
there are ever SO many priests and other per-
sons of credit for truth-telling who have made
affdavits to having seen, for example, an abo-
riginal mystery man" go out to an entirely
bald spot on the prairie and make grass spring
up all over it within few moments.
OTHER WONDERS
equally surprising are performed by the Indian
mystery man. He will take number of little
wooden efigies of human beings and, hay
ing buried them up to the waist in the earth.
will cause them by drumming, singing and in
gle with fire in a most extraordinary fashion.
He will seat himself in his lodge, while the
young men surround it entirely with ring of
brightly blazing fire. At the came time an
empty lodge at a distance will be encircled with
fire in like manner. Both lodges are closed
tightly, all the people in the village looking on
intently, and yet, after the space of few
moments, the old gentleman, the faggots hav-
ing been kicked away, is discovered calmly sit
ting in what was before the empty lodge, while
the one which he previously occupied is left
vacant. This is trick often done. but how
the transit is effected no white man in this
world can tell.
HOW SOME OF THE TRICKS ARE DONE.
OF course, all this sorcery business is hocus-
pocus, excellently well done. Much of it is pal
pably such, from the white mans point Of view.
For instance the mystery man will lay upon
the ground with his medicine sack" of mink
or weasel skin and, standing at distance,
make it take life apparently and move. But
| the trick is known by the wise to be accom-
other small animal into the sack. the drumming
causing 1t to try to escape. The feat, occa-
sionally performed, of causing stuffed gull on
top of a tall pole to speak in human language
is readily explained in this way: To begin with,
the pole is hollow. and tube is inserted in it
at the height of about five feet from the ground.
80 that while a dance is going on around the
pole the mystery man takes a convenient op-
portunity, when the attention of all is ex-
pectantly directed to the gull, to call into the
| tube. At the top of the pole is whistle. and
| the voice comes out from it with most impress
slve representatives.
AS JUGaLERs.
The Indian sorcerers are most expert al
| juggling of all Sorts A mystery man will make
| a string Of beads at distance from him on the
ground crawl like snake. If called in to treat
q sick person he exhibits five tubes each foot
| in length, with which he proposes to suck out
of the diseased part the evil spirit that is max
ing the trouble. Every complaint is believed
by the Indians to be caused BY an evil spirit
that has found lodgment in the body. The
| physician puts the first tube in his mouth and
| apparently swallows it. He takes the second
and swallows that; likewise the third and the
| fourth. The fifth tube he permits to project
from his lips and with it sucks out the ailment.
Having accomplished this he spits out the dis
| ease into basin wherein at once appears the
evil spirit that has occasioned the trouble, in
the shape Of a dead mouse or other such
creature. Lastly, the mystery man produces
from from his mouth the five Tubes successfully and
away. whether in his alimentary canal or other
wise, it is impossible to say.
1t is readily understood how ignorant and
superstitious savages would be led away by
such clever imposture as this, and one may
| easily comprehend why it is that the sorcerers.
like Sitting Bull who was not chief. but a
mystery man, should be able to precipitate such
disturbance as has just been agitating the
country.
The department of the government chiefly
sv,tA~ &Ax1. -, H.. II.
ethnology-has its idea of the cause OF the
trouble and the methods Of the sorcerers who
fomented it.
According to it's account, the sorcerers were
at the bottom of the whole dificulty-Sittirg
Bull ct their head. Uncompromisingly a foe
to the whites, he was forever bent upon re-
venge, even although he foresaw that its execu-
ton would react destructively upon his own
people. Pale-face blood he must have and so
he and others OF the sorcerers have been doing
their utmost for some time past TO incite the
warriors to fight Methods for accomplishing
this object were readily enough at hand.
THE MESSIAH BUSINESS.
The sorcerers are the head priests of the
tribes and it is part of their business to 20
into frances and have interviews with the Great
Spirit, which they duly report to the warriors
upon awaking. 1t is easy enough for them to
stir up the believers to a warlike frenzy by con-
veying orders and promises of success from
heaven. by tnls methOd sitting Bull and
others of his profession started the recent row.
| The Messiah business not the cause of the
| trouble, but was merely incidental Nor was
the notion Of Messiah a new thing among the
Indians. For many generations past they have
| looked forward to the coming of q divinity who
will drive all the white people off the continent
| fetch back the game. and make things agreeable
generally.
| The sOrcerers, known otherwise as ''dream-
| ers," hold periodical dreamer dances for
trance purposes. On these occasions of cere-
mony they will dance in circle for as long as
| twenty-four hours sometimes. but at all events
until they are completely exhausted and fall
down helpless upon the ground. intoxicated
| by long-continued nervous excitement, they
are carried to the sacred lodge and go into con-
| niption fits during which they have the super
natural experiences referred TO.
DREAM DANCE AND SUN DANCE.
Recent newspaper writer's have ignorantly
spoken Of these dreamer dances as ''sun dances,
although in fact there is no connection what
ever between the one and the other.
The sun dance-an ancient institution among
the Sioux and other Indian peoples-is purely
and simply n form OF initiation for the Young
| men to the dignity of warriorship. One is held
| III the spring of each year. The youths who
| aspire to be considered as men present them
| selves for the trial, which is as follows:
The candidate offers his chest and back to
the knife, by which are indicted eight gashes--
four in front and four behind. Just above
each nipple two cuts nearly an inch aoart are