Arizona republican., 1899-10-21

For Billing The Second Coming Of
The MeSSiah.

The trial of D. C. Biggs on a charge
of insanity took place In probate court
yesterday afternoon. Biggs is the
forerunner who went around town on
Thursday afternoon in conjunction
with Mr.. and Mrs. Alfred. Schaffer
warning people of the approach of the
Messiah He was attended in court by
the other two members of the commit
tee on publicity. who had not been ar
rested beca use they had not made so
much noise Biggs may be insane in
this matter, but he is frightfu1ly ig-
norant in all matters. He appears to
belong to the Schlatter healer type,
and, like all of his class, tries to ap-
prOach in his style of hair and beard,
the conception of the classical paint
ers of the Savior.
He first claimed to have heard
voices, the first about a year ago. He
had been hearing them off n on ever
since. The first voice asked him if he
would do what he was told to do, but
he was never told to do anything until
Friday morning, when he went about
| it so vigorously that he was arrested.
He after remodeled this statement.
He had not heard any voices at ALL
him and her husband about it. Biggs
said he was not a Christian, but an
Israelite, though he believed in Christ
the Messiah and Shiloh. Mr.. Schaffer, a
good and sensible looking man, said
he knew BiggS to be all right and
aware of what he was doing. The
Messiah was coming. He had had II
on the authority of mis- wife, who was
put on the stand. Sister Schaf fer dur
ing the testimony of Biggs and her
husband kept nodding approval of all
their statements, except BiggS vain
boast in the beginning that he had re-
ceived his instructions direct from the
most highest God. She looked around
upon the audience with a seraphic
smile and occasionally rolled her eyes
upward as holy persons are supposed
to do. She had had a divine revela-
ton about the coming of the Messiah
and had hustled Biggs and her hus-
band out to work Phoenix. She said
she thought the folks would hear the
news with spasms of joy. She never
imagined 1T was a-goin' to skeer
EN-" She was unable to explain the
nature of the revelation. 1t came to
her in the course of a prayer, but not /
in a voice and not in Il vision. It was
Hsteth and the son of man cannot /
tell whence it cometh or whittier it |
goeth. So the whole thing was too |
deep for Judge MorfOrd and upset the !
statement of Biggs that there had been /
a vision or a divine speech.
The court took Biggs' case under adj !
visement for a few minutes and let !
him go on the theory that he was vic
tim or instrument of insanity and that |
the most responsible insane person
was Sister Schaffer. The trio is prob
ably harmless, though Biggs' manner
Of delivering his message is calculated
to spread temporary alarm. For in
stance. on Thursday he stopped at d
house in the lower part of town and
said to a woman: 4 have a message
for YOU. The woman nearly tainted,
for she had a daughter working in a
laundry, a son in the fire department.
1 boy at school, a member of a foot l.
ball team. and her husband was en-
gagged in some equally hazardous oc-
anita play ayta napta
cupation. A message of death or dis
lster was therefore not wholly uneX-
1ected. But when Biggs at length
added. THE Messiah is coming" she
said. "Oh, is that ALP Her nerves.
hough. were not restored for an hour
" two