Glacier County chief., 1940-09-13
By ELMO

by ELNO
Woyoka was a Piute Indian. His
name shines not in the armament
Al the great war chiefs who gained
hmc BY their generalship against
he troops Of the United States
Woyoka's home was in Nevada.
Ne apparently was just another
indian for most of his life. Then he
became n crusader. He did not
himself gain any position of promi-
nence. But his crusade had a vast
influence upon the trend of history
IN the intermOuntain west.
Wovoka's gospel Of an Indian Mes
IN inspired the wild elements of all
IN, the days before the white men
|sne. and that the Indians would
t.1in prosper on the old hunting
Pounds with the return Of the buffalo
L countless numbers.
Wovoka's Disciples
among the disciples of Wovoka there
|rose great leaders, like Sitting Bull
n Joseph, whose stories march
hos he pages of Montana history
II others whose names are a part
n the carly traditions Of other sec
Ems OF the west.
an observer of the Messiah craze
r0ng the Indians during the 1870s
The delusion has taken possession
| the wilder portion of the Indians.
Ia leaders have invigorated old
ksthen ideas with SnatcheS Of Chris
un truth. and managed to excite an
|rount of enthusiasm which Is amaz-
la They teach that the Son of God
u presently appear as the avenger
- Il
| liver and a great wave Of new earth
n oyerSpread the face Of the world
d bury all the whites and Indians
IN initiate the ways of the whites.
rle the real Indians will find them
Ives on the surface Of the new earth,
skinc in the light. The old Indian
usoms will be restored in primitive
ryor and glory, and the buffalo, ante
b and deer will return"
EoyOka's Messiah gospel was instru-
tltal in intensifying savage resent
INT Of the white mans encroachment
.na the Indians traditional hunting
rvnd, rebellion against submission
+ another race. and the desire TO
ntnuc the life they had inherited
I'm their anceStorS-all these were
rytallNed into action by a gospel,
~ 10 accept. which promised an
tt!an millennium.
Recorded by General Howard
Gen. o. o. Howard, as commander
the department OF the Columbia
king The seventies. has recorded per-
he more of the story of the Indian
Messiah craze than anyone else who
b the opportunity to observe its in
,xnce General Howard was truly a
sxnd Of the Indian. His sympathicS
be vi, h the red man in the injusticeS
/ suffered at the hands Of the United
sltes government. and he made con-
kklii5uS efforts to right these wrongs
rs!e they came under his obSerVa-
rls: q; the same time he sought t.
gsuade the Indians to accept reSer-
EOa life and learn the white man S
Il the southwest. when Cochise. the
l1che chief. was terroriZing the from
h, General Howard was sent to find
n ard persuade him to peaceful
nyS With a frontier guide. and with
E Military escort, General Howard
1.ered CochiseS camp ana accom-
,Shed alone what the army had failed
! DO in the field. His success IN the
rihwest brought him to the depart
uat OF the Columbia. where the
Esamers-apoStleS of Wovoka-nulN-
b his peaceful efforts.
II his book, My Life and Expert
sces Among Our Hostile Indians, '
+ official record of the library of
1EeSS. Howard attributes the Custer
e.Sacre on the Little Big Horn in
E6 10 the influence of the Messiah
si1e, and it was influential a year
Ter in bringing about the Nez Perce
gHing which ended only after Chief
aeph had led his band across almost
thousand miles of mountain country
esad of the troops. ~
Efforts of the government TO brlng
Indians to the reservations had d.
ned the tribes into two factions. one
pup adopted reservation ways. the
der faction in each tribe insisted on
antaining the wild. nomadlc life o.
e past.
Al about this time Wovoka, who also
sed the name Jack Wilson, became Ill
his Nevada country Of severe fever.
nile he was i'll the sun died tan
Elpse) Wovoka thereupon declared
SAt he had gone to sleep in the day
ne and had been taken up to heaven.
ton this mythical journey he re-
lned with revelations. He said the
cd wanted him to deliver a message
the Indians.
Wovoka's Message
free translation of Wovoka's mes
se, as recorded in government re-
When you get home you must make
lance to continue five days. Dance
En- successive nights, and the last
sht keep up the dance until the
oning Of the fifth day, when all
ast bathe in the river and then dis
Esse TO their homes. You must all do
the same way.
i, Jack Wilson, love you all, and
a you have brought me. When you
home I shall give you good