There was only one discontented element, or discordant note, and that was the stand taken by Sitting Bull and a few other Indians, who seized upon this craze to further their own personal aims. Major McLaughlin has commented in full on Sitting Bull’s attitude in his book, pages 183–220. And while I do not entirely agree with him, it is beyond question that Sitting Bull sought to gain through the Messiah craze. To a certain extent he advocated armed resistance, but the dominating desire in his mind, a careful review of events would indicate, was that Sitting Bull desired above all things to see the Indians restored to their old-time domination. Like the others, he prayed for the return of the buffalo, without which “the good old days” would be impossible. He probably believed that volcanic action (“wave of mud”, as the Oglala called it) would sweep across the country, destroy the Whites and leave the red men happy possessors of the Plains and countless herds of bison, elk and deer. That was the belief of many of the Indians, and so expressed by them during the Ghost dance. The Ghost dance, or Messiah craze, was seized upon by all these Sioux as a means of salvation out of their troubles. We must remember that these Indians had lived but a few years on the reservation at Pine Ridge. In 1876, only fourteen years before, they killed Custer and wiped out several companies of the Seventh Cavalry. They had made some progress, but they were still ration Indians, and the cutting down of the supply of beef, etc., hundreds of thousands pounds, before the Indians had become self-supporting, caused widespread suffering. It is not necessary to repeat the troubles of the Sioux here. I have referred to some of the treaties, Indian cause for dissatisfaction, in other pages of this book. In the spring of 1889, so I was informed at Pine Ridge, Congress passed an act authorizing the purchase of a large tract of land from these people. Honorable Charles Foster, ex-Governor of Ohio, and several other gentlemen were appointed a committee to negotiate with the Indians. According to the Indians’ version, many councils were held and a great deal of discussion ensued. Sometimes the debates were rather strenuous and they all related to purchase of lands—to the further curtailing of the Sioux reservation—the same old story. An intelligent educated Indian summed up their cause as follows:— “The lands secured by the treaty were divided into three classes. All tracts selected for farming or grazing purposes within a period of three years from February 15, 1890, were to be sold at $1.25 per acre. Those purchased during the two years following were valued at seventy-five cents per acre. The portions remaining unsold after the expiration of five years could be bought for fifty cents per acre. The money received from the sale of the land was to be placed in the United States Treasury, subject to interest, which was to be paid to the Indians at regular intervals.