Anadarko daily democrat. [volume] (Anadarko, Oklahoma) 1901-190?, 1901-12-27
Indians Give Up Looking for
a Messiah,


dians. which led to such fierce battles
with the whites in years gone by, has
died out and the noble red man no
longer looks for the coming of Mes
siah' who would bring dead Indians to
life, reincarnate the buffalo and deer
and effeotually dispose of the white
Y population of the earth. Ghost dane
ing, according to one who has made
this custom a study is nothing more
nor less than an adaptation Of the
frenzy dances of the whirling der
wishes of Turkey and Egypt, an exer-
else undertaken for the purpose of
placing the physical being in a state
of exaltation wherein the spirit gains
intimate communion with the dead
and with the Messiah. II is curious
fact. attested by the better educated
Indians, that the idea of an Indian
Messiah was an adoption of the Chris
tian idea of the Savior doubtless trace
able to the teachings OF the early mis-
4 sionaries. The expected advent of an
~Indian Messiah has been among the
traditions of the Indians of North Am
erica almost from the beginning of
their contact with the whites. and
when the failure of crops In 1889 and
1890 left the Indians without the sub
sistence upon which they depended
the government failed to furnish all
If the supplies demanded-their minds
naturally turned to the thoughts of the
Messiah's advent
In the summer of 1890 the idea be-
came widespread and was followed
soon after by the announcement that
the Messiah had actually come. Twen-
ty miles from the Pine Ridge agency
about 1000 Indians gathered, many of
them belonging to the band of the
famous old medicine man. Sitting Bull
They believed the Indian millennium
would come with the next spring,
when the new grass appeared Sol
diers were hurried from all parts of
the country. They herded the Indians
into their agencies and pursued the
wandering bands of fanatics into the
Band Lands. and there proved to them
that their ghost shirt was only painted
muslin and incapable of turning the
bullet of the white man. The ghost
dance was held for six days and
nights at the beginning of every new
moon, by command of the Messiah.
Month after month in 1880 the dance
was kept up. By the influence of the
agents and the Indian police. backed
by the soldiers. all of the Indians, ex-
cept the Sioux, were brought under
control. The Sioux were numerous
and defiant. They refused to quit
dancing and treated the agents or
ders with contempt The collision
came at Wounded Knee creek on Dec.
20. Several companies of soldiers had
surprised and captured Big Foot's
band, the leaders of the deviltry of
the times. They were lined up while
a search of their tepees was made for
arms. This proved fruitless and a per-
sonal search was ordered. The first
detachment of searchers was shot
down by the Indians. who had their
guns concealed beneath their blankets
and ghost shirts. There were 140
bucks and $50 women and children in
the band. The signal for hostilities
was given by the medicine man grab
bing handful of earth and fiinging it
above his head. The soldiers were of
Clusters old command and soon raj
lied. The Indians retreated to their
tepees after they had lost So men. Be-
fore the battle ended 116 Indians, in
cluding Big Foot and go or 20 women
aud children. hiding in the tepees,
were killed. The soldiers had 25 kill
ID. The demonstration of the worth
1essness OF the ghost shirt as armor
had a powerful effect upon the other
dancing Indians. and they sullenly
submitted after weeks of protest. The
ghost dance belief died hard. however.
So alluringly did the Messiah idea
present the future to the simple
minded braves that they were loath to
give it up. The following year ghost
dancing was again started, but was
soon stopped by the Indian police. Pc
riodically since then have the follow
ers of the craze sought to revive this
dance, but each time It was sternly re-
pressed. The end came last year, when
only a score of the believers In all
the Sioux could be got together. Then
and then only was 1t finally aban-
doned.