The Ghost-dance religion and the Sioux outbreak of 1890 : $b Fourteenth annual report of the Bureau of Ethnology, part 2.Mooney, James
Religion
The Ghost-dance religion and the Sioux outbreak of 1890 : $b Fourteenth annual report of the Bureau of Ethnology, part 2.
Mooney, James
Dakota Indians -- Wars, 1890-1891; Ghost dance
It was not long after this that the prophet died, and the poor
miserable Indians worried along for nearly two decades, eating
grasshoppers, lizards, and fish, and trying to be civilized until
the appearance of this new prophet Quoit-tsow, who is said to be
the son, either actual or spiritual, of the first one.
Additional details are given in the following interesting extract
from a letter addressed to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, under
date of November 19, 1890, by Mr Frank Campbell, who has an intimate
acquaintance with the tribe and was employed in an official capacity
on the reservation at the time when Tävibo first announced the new
revelation. It would appear from Mr Campbell’s statement that under
the new dispensation both races were to meet on a common level, and,
as this agrees with what Professor Thompson, referred to later on,
afterward found among the eastern Paiute, it is probable that the
original doctrine had been very considerably modified since its first
promulgation a few years before.
Eighteen years ago I was resident farmer on Walker Lake Indian
reserve, Nevada. I had previously been connected with the Indian
service at the reserve for ten years, was familiar with the Paiute
customs, and personally acquainted with all the Indians in that
region. In 1872 an Indian commenced preaching a new religion at
that reserve that caused a profound sensation among the Paiute.
For several months I was kept in ignorance of the cause of the
excitement—which was remarkable, considering the confidence they
had always reposed in me. They no doubt expected me to ridicule the
sayings of the new messiah, as I had always labored among them to
break down, their superstitious beliefs. When finally I was made
acquainted with, the true facts of the case, I told them, the
preachings of Waugh-zee-waugh-ber were good and no harm could come
from it. Indian emissaries visited the reserve from Idaho, Oregon,
and other places, to investigate the new religion. I visited the
Indian camp while the prophet was in a trance and remained until
he came to. In accordance with instructions, the Indians gathered
around him and joined in a song that was to guide the spirit back
to the body. Upon reanimation he gave a long account of his visit
in the spirit to the Supreme Ruler, who was then on the way with
all the spirits of the departed dead to again reside upon this
earth and change it into a paradise. Life was to be eternal, and no
distinction was to exist between races.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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