The Washington herald. [volume], April 21, 1912, SOCIETY SECTION, Image 26

About The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939

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THE WASHESGTOS UERAU5SUIfDAY,:4cRIttLr21. 1912,
m
PREACHER-POLITICIAN IS WRITING THE :
NEW CONSTITUTION OF STATE OF OHIO
When We Made War Upon Women;"
Tales of the Battle of Wounded Knee
.
fou
Buckeye State, Always Interested in Per
sonality, Finds that of Its New
Leader1 Engrossing.
Ey JAMES B. MORROW,
Columbus. April H Anybody caa bo
heard la Ohio. Many a. citizen seems to
say: "Go ahead, my friend; -talk away.
I have a grand old Idiosyncrasy of my
own. When yojL get through I want you
to listen to me?'
Reciprocity, yon understand. I walked
into the constitutional convention the
other day Just as a man exclaimed
"Here (referring to a little valley among
the hills) they (meaning the earls set
tiers, of course) built their homes, reared
their altars, married their young,, and
buried their dead."
Yet every delegate was alert and ap
parently Interested. But there is more
to the case than mere reciprocity, wnicn,
after all. Is only egotism or selfishness.
The people of Ohio are Indulgent. The
path leading from one side of the coun
try to the other passes straight througn
the State. Beatinfe back and forth for
more than a- century have been proces
sions of men with Ideas, hallucinations,
and missions Some of them, stopping
to break cargo, never resumed their
Journeys.
Then, there has been the usual -native
output of persons having voices and
vlsloper John Brown, the abolitionist,
and Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet;
tarried a while In Ohio. The latter, how
ever, was tarred and feathsred. Gen.
Jaccb S. Cozey started his army of
tramps toward the National Capital from
the driving" little city of Masslllon. Re
turning, he ran for governor and "polled
more than WHO votes.
Also personality counts In Ohio. The
face and the ocal notes as well as the
principles of William Jennings Bryan
were nowhere more captivating than in
the State made .famous by Edwin M.
S' an ton, John, Sherman., and -Salmon P.
Chase, chief justice. Audacity, too. is
Oftentimes successful. Tom L. Johnson
came Along, smiled, tossed his ringlets.
denounced protection, and mocicea piU'
tocracy, and Cleveland, smothered In the
smoke of furnaces and factories ana
filled with millionaires, sent him to Con
Kress. Later it chose him to be mayor
of the municipality.
Blgelow the politician.
To-day Ohio 4s tolling over the writing
of a new constitution, and Herbert
Seely Blgelow, a preacher and a single
tazer, and a recall, initiative, and refer
endum propagandist, 4s president of the
convention, likewise, he is an adroit
and resourceful "politician, though the
pastor of a congregation. Further, he is
handsome, magnetic, and oratorical.
Ohio, tolerant and admiring, and care
less, so long as Its assorted principles
are In no Immediate hazard, accepted
Blgelow, simply observing" "Jt's hear
what he has to say." That is ajwajs
the attitude of Ohio. It listens maybe
it laughs and then rejects moonshine
and heresy.
There are plenty of watchful and Intel
ligent men who snigger and predict that
Mr. Blgelow's constitution, or those parts
of it which he-is practically writing, will
be thrown overbjfcrd by the electorate.
It is to go rjerorrtne people in sections,
they to chose or reject. The fight, ac
cordingly, will be over propositions. One
or two or a dozen may do accepted m
euch an -svent they will become the or
ganic law of the commonweaiin. ine
rest will to go the rubbish heap.
last autumn the voters appeared to be
inclined to try the initiative and refer
endum Next autumn, having reflected
on the matter meanwhile,. they may vote
the proposition dortn as being unneces
sary and revolutionary Judson Harmon,
their governor, and a Democrat, is
against it. Burton, their United .States
Senator, and a Republican, says that
"perfect government cannot be obtained
by a change of methods, but by a stimu
lation of the civic virtues and a quick
ened sense tf the responslbllltles-of citi
zenship. The legislator, my friends," he
reminded the constitution makers, "is a
mirror of the people" In other words,
if the people want a grafter, they will
elect him to the city council or the leg
islature. Leaving this nut for the dele
gates to crack-and the voters, to) think
about. Senator .Burton went ' back to
Washington.
Delia Refnaed an Invitation.
Other conspicuous men have come to
Columbus solemnly to take part In the
tournament of eloquence and wisdqm.
President Taft has been here, and CoL
Roosevelt, and Mr. Bryan, and Judge
LIndsey. of Denver, and Joseph B. For
aker. until recently a Senator, and Gov.
Hiram Johnson, who beneves that he
"kicked the Southern Pacific Railroad
out of the politics of California," There
was a suggestion that Eugene V. Debs
be asked to tone up and enlighten the
convention So far, however, a formal
invitation has not been sent to him.
Thus, for oncev Ohio has been Inhos
pitable, intolerant, or neglectful. But
slngle-taxers from all over the land have
been stealing In unofficially, and stanch
Socialists are sitting among the dele
gates. Elsewhere, outside of the hall of
the convention, no Ohloan. living up to
his traditions, would refuse to lend his
ear and a little of his time to Mr. Debs
or any one else who Is picturesque, un
common, sincere, or Interesting.
For years a stone stand for speakers,
In the heart of the business center of
Cleveland, was free to permanent and
Itinerant orators. They might preach
everything, anything, or nothing to au
diences of settled citizens and pedes--trlanlzlng
tourists, while playful boys
at the edges of the crowds gave new
comedy to the entertainments by hurling
wads of paper, soft vegetables, anq
lumps of moist earth toward the noisy
and dodging apostles on the platform.
Strange doctrines were preached at such
gatherings and violent ones, besides.
But harm, so far, has never come to
Ohio or Its Institutions through its tol
eration, its contrasting elements, and Is
love of contest and debate. The melting
pot Is always over the fire, but there
are ho explosions. Five groups of un
like people settled the State. Swedes,
Dutch, and English came in from New
Jersey Virginians trickled northward
through the pass's of the Blue Rldg
Mountains. Men from .Massachusetts
founded the town of Marietta. Connec
ticut families moved Into the Western
Reserve. Pennsylvanians crossed over
the line and filled the eastern counties.
There were Germans. Scotch Irish, and
Scotch-Irish among the -new Inhabitants
A Strange Ohlo'Jtlxlnre.
With them were Dunkards who washed
the feet of their bretoren as a pious
ceremony and Dunkards who did not;
Amlsh who wore 'hooks, and eyes in
stead of buttons and whose hair was
cut twice a year by their wives: Zoarites
who started a socialistic community with
a common bakery, a common dairy, a
common grocery and dry goods store,
and a common brewery, but which col
lapsed during, the third generation: and
Mormons who built a temple SO feet long,
K feet wide, and SO feet high, exclusive
of the steeple, that Is standing jet and,
can be seen from the top of Garfield s
monument.
There was ferment, of course many
excited dialogues, tut seldom anything
worse, jjie ancestors or some of Sena
tor Pomerene's constituents In Holmes
County, where he was born and passed
his boyhood, resisted the draft in ISO.
fled to the fields, made a fortification of
fence rails some say of cornstalks end
defied. the national government- Fort
Fizzle the place was called afterward.
No Greenbackers In Jne country were
more irenziea or argumentative tnan
were those living In the .vicinity of To
ledo. John Sherman, twenty years after
be resumed specie payments, went tm
forglven by them to his grave. The
Anti-Saloon League, which now Agitates
and ramifies In all directions. North and
South, as veil as East and West, was
brought together under the very eaves
troughs of the big breweries of Ohio.
Writing a constitution and debating It
will bo pleasant exercise. Getting It
adopted will be a wholly different mat
ter. Not every constitution wrought out
In Ohio goes "through. Whatever may
happen ts the document now In the mld
die stages of parturition, a test will have
been made In ono of the great otates
lying east of the Mississippi .River over
certain principles, which, when applied,
so the guarantee'-' runs, will eliminate
everything that is censurable in govern
ment.
Back In ISO! a convention was called
by the authority of Congress to draft
a. constitution for the people of what
was then the Territory of Ohio. The
delegates met at CblHlcothe on Novem
ber 1 and completed their work In twenty-nine
days. Men .did not talk at that
time with the prolixity of a later gen
eration The constitution was signed by
the delegates. No vote was taken, among
the people. Thus Ohio came Into the
Union. i
Why Ohio Millionaires Dodge Taxes
Forty-nine years afterward. In 1K1.
tne old constitution was moaernizea m
the city of Columbus by JOS .delegates.
The voters accepted the changes by
majority of morn than 15,000. That Is the
constitution In force at present and the
one that Mr. Blgelow and his colleagues
are attempting to transform Cons the
lines of progressive doctrines. To-day
In Ohio property cannot be divided Into
classes for taxation purposes. All prop
ertyhouses, lands, bonds, and stocks.
as well as merchandise and machinery
is supposed to be taxed on the basis of
Its true value In money.
Forty years ago, a constitutional con
tention. Of which Morrison R. Walte,
later chief. Justice of the United States
Supreme Court, was president, tried to
make some classification of property.
The farmers, marching solidly and eag
erly to the polls, tore the Walte consti
tution into pieces and then stamped tne
pieces Into the ground. After that, but
slowly at first, came an era of tax-
dodging. Rich men. owning per cent
bonds and S per cent shares In outside
corporations In railroads, for Instance,
running through the State, and In banks
and manufacturing companies not locat
ed" in Ohio thought it a hardship to pay
most of their Incomes Into the treasuries
of their counties. In some cities taxes
ran as high as 3 per cent If, therefore,
a man with J100.000 of the bonds of the
Lake Shore Railroad obeyed the law to
Its last letter, his net return, after de
ducting his taxes, would have dwindled
to about JLOoa
As a result the average citizen did not
mention his bonds and stocss to the
assessor. He dodged, as the pnrase
went In the legislature and the news
papers. Then followed a period of inqui
sition. Detectives were empioyea ana
given one-fourth of the sums they re
covered to ferret out the delinquents.
They performed their work thorough!).
In the end they knew the' names of all
the shareholders of all the corporation
In the country Rich men everywhere
within the State were put under oath
and then confronted with exact lists of
the personal property standing In their
names on the books of companies In
New Tork, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and
elsewhere.
One Man Paid SO,000.
A millionaire In Cleveland settled with
the Inquisitors by writing his check for
SS0.O0O. Scores of capitalists and manu
facturers rented apartments In New
Tork. Others bought houses in Wash
ington. Most of them continued to live
In Ohio, but all of them abandoned Ohio
place of legal residence They
ceased, of course, to vote In the Stabs
or to pay any taxes therein except upon
real estate and other visible property.
Such. Indeed, are the tax conditions
now operative In Ohio, though the rate
has been reduced to a minimum of 1 per
cent and a maximum of 15 mills. It Is
said that an organization of business
men Is responsible for the present con
stitutional convention. They want prop
erty classified It Is believed that the
farmers and home-owners do not. The
convention, consequently, will probably
let matters stand Just as they are. "Our
views conflict on the subject of taxation."
Mr. Blgelow said to me. "The laws we
have, I think, are satisfactory to a ma
jority of the delegates."
Even so, but Mr. Blgelow himself
would like to change them. He believes
that taxes should be laid on land alone;
that a vacant lot In a city should pay
as much as the lot and skyscraper jext
to It. The business men who planned
the constitutional convention cuuld not
foresee that Mr. Blgelow would be
chosen president, and that 97 of the 113
delegates to be elected would vote for
the initiative and referendum, hedged
about, however, with the provision that
It shall not apply to the single tax as a
legislative proposition. Efforts were
made and made with all the skill of
able politicians to wedge tho slngU 'ax
Into some section of the new constitution,
but twenty-two farmers ars delegates.
and they, with manufacturers, mer
chants, and other practical men outnum
bered the philosophers.
"Why," I asked Mr. Blgilow. "did the
delegates elect you president of the ccn
ventlon? Ton are a Socialist, a slngle-
tftxer. and a referendum. Initiative, and
recall man."
"T have been described a Socialist."
be answered, "by those .who disagree
with me. 3 -am used to the name. So
cialism Is a broad term. It mt-ans one
tEing to you and perhaps another thing
to me. can say, however, that T do
not agree with the philosophy of Social
Ism as I understand the word. 1 do be
lieve, however. In what ts known as the
single-tax theory of raising public funds.
Still. I would not favor the application
of the principle to the whole State of
Ohio.
"I "would prefer that counties And mu
nicipalities call conventions and decide
matters of taxation for themselves.
That would permit experimentation, and
the best plan would eventually be ex
cepted by all communities. While I
have worked for the Initiative and ref
erendum. Ohio, In my opinion. Is not
ready for" the recall. Answering your
Inquiry specifically, I can say that I was
chosen to preside over the delegates
because I was at the head of an organ
ization that Insisted upon knowliur "how
each candidate for membership In the
contention stood on the subject of the
initiative and referendum. We sent'
pledges to the candidate. Here they
HERBERT S, BIGELOW.
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are" and Mr. 'Blgelow took from the
top of his desk a package of papers held
together by a rubber band. ,
"Candidates signing the pledges re'
celved the support of our organization.
A majority for the Initiative and refer
endum was elected to the convention.
Logically I was the man for president.
in pie election of -delegates party lines
were practically disregarded. It hap
pens, however, that. the Democrats con
trol the convention, having sixty-five
members, the Republicans having but
forty-five, the Socialists, four, and the
Union Labor organizations about ten
to twelve. We met January J, and may
not adjourn until late in the spring.
The pay of each member Is tt.000. Per
sons familiar with the men who have
composed ur legislatures during the
past twenty years say that the dele
gates to the convention excel them in
character and Intelligence"
"When will the constitution be sub
mitted to the people!"
"That will be determined by the con
vention I am safe In saying. I believe,
that a special election will be called, so
that the electors may vote on the con
stitution alone and not have their at
tention divided between a variety of mat
ters. The plan at first was to write a
new constitution. In that event It would
have been approved or rejected In its
entirety. We decided, however, to agree
on a series of propositions, so that they
might be voted on singly. Some may
carry and others may not, An) war. the
unpopularity of one proposition will not
Jeopardize the others. Those proposi
tions which are accepted by the people
will be attached to the present consti
tution as amendments, nullifying the sec
tions, of course, with which "they are in
conflict. '
Plans of Slngle-taxers.
The special election and the separate
propositions as a scheme of action can
be attributed to the generalship of Mr.
Blgelow. He Is prominent In the group
of tireless, enthusiastic, and skillful tac
ticians who are trying to get the single
tax started In widely separated parts of
this country. They are financed by Jo
seph Fels, the Philadelphia soap manu
facturer, and have a newspaper, an or
ganization of lecturers, and a busy
brotherhood of prophectlc and descriptive
writers. Slngle-taxers seem never ta
think about or work at anything else.
Experience has made them competent as
strategists, while zeal glVes swift wing
to tneir woras ana a shining llant to
their countenances. They arc wiling to
begin In a township or a small village.
The whole country, they think, will
capitulate later. They might be called,
wlthoirt. any disrespect to either body of
believers, the Christian Scientists of
politics.
Up to date the Ohio convention has
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never-cease to be a Tnenace tmtil their enormous proportions have been melted down.bv the heirhtemnr tem-
peraturcs o approaching summer,
prepared propositions establishing" the
Initiative and referendum giving women
the right to vote at all elections, permit
ting three-fourths of a Jury to render
decisions In civil cases thus preventing
corporations, so It Is claimed, from brib
ing a Juryman or two In suits for per
sonal damages and creating a fund of
tSO.000.WIO, no mor than JIO.000,000 of the
amount to be spent In any'one year, to
build good roads connecting county seats.
Also, a proposal has been agreed to
regulating the liquor business. It was
written by D. F. Anderson, a lawver of
IroungJlown. and backed by Wayne
Wheeler, who has successfully prosecuted
2,900 saloon cases, the distillers, brewers.
and retail liquor dealers opposed it. In
some respects it Is unlike any statute or
constitutional provision In existence Sa
loons In "wet' territory are limited to
one for each M0 Inhabitants. Clev elands
2,000 saloons would be reduced 'to "about
L400. Brew era and brewing comrjanles
are prohibited from owning retail liquor
stores. Licenses of saloonkeepers who
are convicted of violating the law are
immediately revoked automatically. No
alien can engage in the liquor traffic No
man can obtain two licenses The fees
for licenses are to be fixed by the local
officials of city and county governments,
and they alone can grant the licenses
"Dry" territory Is to remain so until
citizens vote otherwise.
Carpenter Sit Beside Bankers.
The battle over the liquor proposal
lasted for three weeks, and was won by
a vote of 91 to IS. Among the delegates
are forty-five lawyers, five bankers, four
rclergymen four physicians, three manu-
ikliuich, MU7? jucrbHunia, inrce icaixura.
two college presidents, and two college
proressors. xnere are also printers, wait
ers. Iron molders. glasaworkers, carpen
ters, and miners, and likewise former
members of Congress and Judges sitting
In tne convention.
The Blgelow were Indiana farmers.
Herbert S. after being graduated from
Western Reserve University, in Cleve
land, studied at Lane Theological Semi
nary. He became a Congregational
clergyman In 1596. "I was asked to act
supply In a Cincinnati pulpit." he
told me. "The pastor never returned
and I stayed. I was oung, rash, and
ardent, and said and did things that
caused a division In sentiment down
among the pews. But I remained, call
ing my congregation the People's Church
and Town Meeting Society. We are Uni
tarians and, therefore, are not orthodox
"Young men. professional men, small
business men, clerks, and stenographers
hear me preach. I am trying- to teach
that brotherly relations In commerce. In
dustry, society, and the professions are
a, -service and a sacrament. I can't find
any other, Job, the church can't get rid
of me, and I guess 1 11 siaj ."
(Coprriffht. 2912, bj Junes B Uorrair )
NEMESIS OF "UNS INK ABLE" TITANIC.
thp manners of vessels pn the northern route, who arc continually on
r -
An exhibit representing the Sioux In-
diaaslsew)y placed on view at the Na
tional Museum, Is largely composed of
relfca trim tile so-called "battle" of
Wounded ' Knee the most disgraceful
episode, bar none,- in the history of this
country. It was a massacre pure and
simple, 'In which" women and children
Were shot-' down with machine runs
those of them who escaped the first
wholesale slaughter being pursued for
miles by' ttff soldiers and ruthlessly kill
ed, many of thtm mothers with Infants
)n their arms,. Fnally, and to- cap the
ciunaxv the wounded of both sexes ana
all ages, were allowed1 to remain without
succor, for three- day.aod to freeze to
death in a blizzard that followed the
tragedy.
The exhibit in question, which includes
several of the-t. "ghost shirt" worn by
the Sioux at that, period In the notion
that these garments would render them
invulnerable to the white man's rifle bul-
tetSt has for one of Its features a life
like figure of. 'a lyounc sauaw wearing
a buckskin 'garment which Is pierced by
several holes. They certainly look like
bullet hopes, and. It they are such, one
oT the'buliets must have passed directly
through the -wearers heart.
When tne field of the massacre was
cleaned up all of the Indian dead.
eluding about, one hundred men and 130
wqmen and children (figures from officlsl
report) were thrown like -cordwood Into
one big trench for burial. Many bad
been stripped by tbe whites, who wanted
the ghost shirts and other articles or
apparel for relics Even the Infants did
not escape such despoilment. As one of
the burial party wrote, "It was a thing
to melt the heart of any one. if not of
atone, to see those little children, with
bodies shot to pieces, thrown naked Into
the pit!"
The Coat of "Whitewash."
The War Department made an Investi
gation, administering a coat of white
wash .to those concerned, and nobody
was ever punished''. All of which shows
what a truly civilized nation we are.
But. In order to understand how the
tragedy came about. It Is necessary to
grasp the circumstances which led up
to It Also, one should realize that the
troops were themselves overcome by
panic fear, which, beyond any other
emotion whatsoever, renders men fero
cious and bloodthirsty , They had not
fcrgotten the wiping out of Custer and
his command by the Sioux.
Tbe ghost (lance began the whole
trouble. But this, to start with, needs
explanation, for notions as to the char
acter and texson why of the ghost dance
have been many and commonly erro
neous. Summed up in a word. It was
a ceremonial connected with a new re
ligion, spreading among the Indians In
ISO and later, which promised the wip
ing of the white people off or the earth
and the return of all the tribes of dead
aborigines, together with the buffalo and
other game tbe whole of North Amer
ica to be thenceforth the exclusive prop
erty and happy hunting ground of the
red man.
The excitement, which started among
the Plutes, and was later taken up
with enthusiasm by the Sioux, bore much
of the character of what we call a "re
vival." It had even the Inspiration of
a Messiah. James Mooney, an expert of
the government Bureau of Ethnology,
went to see blm and talked with him.
He was a full-blood Piute named
Wovoka, and otherwise called In the In
dian tongue Big Rumbling Belly. To
the whites he was known as Jack 'Wil
son, and he worked as a laborer on a
ranch In a shut-In valley among the
ruggedest mountains of Nevada, He
was tall, mild-mannered, and dwelt In
modest hut with a wire and two chil
dren. He told yery simply of a revelation
which had been made to him from on
high The sun died (was eclipsed), ana,
falling asleep In the daytime, he was
taken up to the other world There he
saw Uoa, wttn ail tne tnaians wno naa
died longogo, engaged In their old-time
sports and occupations all happy, ana
forever young Uod told htm to tell ms
people to be" good and love one another,
and to abandon Wax Also. He gave him
the description of a dance, by the per
formance or which happiness would be
secured, and bestowed upon him con
trol over the elements so tnat he couia
make It rain or snow, or be dry, at
wilL
Thereupon Wovoka returned to the
earth and began to preach, convincing
the people by the exercise or the won
derful powers conferred upon him He
asked an employe -or tbe local Indian
agency to draw up ana forward to Pres
ident Harrison a statement ot his super
natural claims, with a proposition to
take up his residence on tbe reservation,
and. In -eturn for a small regular
stipend, to Keep the pecrl of Nevada
informed of all the latest news trom
Heaven, and to furnish rain whenever
wanted.
There Is no doubt that the man tuny
believed in his own claims, "mere was
an eclipse of the sun, observable in Ne
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vada, on the 1st day of January. IKS.
At that Urae Wovoka was III with a
fever, and bla vision was presumably
incidental to delirium, it lr not true,
as was alleged, that be declared himself
the Christ, though by msny ot bis tol
lowers he was supposed to be omnis
cient, knowing all languages, and able
to render iilmself Invincible M tbe white
manw Delegates sent to visit mm oy tne
Bloux, the Cbeyennes, arid other trwer
returned with statements to the effect
that be could make animals taiK aria
distant objects appear close at hand. He
conjured up before their eyes a vision
of the spirit world, so that when they
looked they beheld the ocean, and be
yond it a land on which they saw "all
the nations ot Indians coming home."
Dancing as a form of religious cere
mony dates back from beyond the day
when the daughter of Saul Mo-jked
through the window and saw King DavlC
leaping and dancing before the Lord.
As for the ghost dance (says Mooney),
"with Its scenes ot Intense excitement,
spasmodic action, and physical exhaus
tion even to unconsciousness, such man
ifestations have always accompanied ro
llglous upheavals among primitive peo
ples, and are by no means unknown
among ourselves."
Among the different tribes that ac
cepted tbe new faith, various beliefs
were entertained as to the character of
the expected cataclysm. The medicine
men of the Shoshones declared that a
great sleep would come upon the Indians,
who would awaken to Immortality on a
new earth. Tbe Idea, as promulgated
lemons the Cheyennes and the Arapahos.
was tnai me new eartn, witn an me
resurrected dead trom the beginning and
with the buffalo, elk. and other game,
on it, would come from the west and
slide over the surface of the present
earth, blotting out the latter. Tet an
other notion was that a wail of fire
would drive the whites across the great
water to their original and proper coun
try, but the Indiana would not be hurt.
Among the powerful and warlike Sioux
-of the Dakotas, already restless undecl
both old and recent grievances. andN
brought to the edge of starvation by a
reduction of government rations, the
doctrine speedily assumed a hostile mean
ing. The first definite news of the faith
was brought by delegates who crossed
the mountains to visit the Messiah in the
fall of ISffl, returning In the spring ot
1S90. On tlidr report, the dance was at
once Inaugurated. James McLaughlin,
Indian agent at Standing Rock. In a let
ter to the War Department. October 17.
1S90, wrote that the Sioux, under the in
fluence of Sitting Bull, were greatly ex
cited over the near approach of a pre
dicted mlllenlum, or "return of the
ghosts." when the white man would be
annihilated and the Indian again be made
supreme.
The decimated ranks of the aborigines
were to be reinforced by all the Indians
who had ever died, and these sdrlts.
already on their way to relnhablt the
earth, were driving before them, as they
advanced, enormous herd of buffaloes and
fine ponies. The great spirit, who bad
long deserted his red children, was now
once more with them, and against the
whites, and the white man's gun powder
wculd no longer have power to drive a
bullet through the skin of an Indian
"Ghost shirts" were worn by all be
lievers. They were of buckskin, with
eagle feathers attached to them, and
sometimes adorned with designs repre
'ndlng the sun. moon, stars, and sym
bolic animals. The fringe of these gar
ments was painted with sacred red nalnt
They were supposed to be Inpenetrable
ta bullets or weapons of .any kind A
woman picked up on the field of the
massacre at Wounded Knee said, refer
ring to the shirt she wore "Tes, take
It off. They told me a bullet would not
go through. Now I don't want It any
more
The Cheyennes and Slonx.
In the spring of 1900 there was wild ex
citement among the Chexnnes In Mon
tana, and the Sioux of the Dakotas The
dancing of the ghost dance went on with
all the enthusiasm and abandon of a
revival." It began with fasUng and
purification The bodlen of the partici
pants were painted by the medicine men
wlih the sacred red paint There was
shooting ot arrows to the four points
of the compass, and the faithful danced
about in circles with Joined hands, chant
ing songs Frenzies, trances and recitals
lslons brought the religious orgy
to a climax.
It should be understood that the Sioux
were then, as the are to-day. the larg
est and strongest tribe of Indians in the
United States, numbering about 36,000.
Anciently the) held the headwaters of
the Mississippi, but were driven into the
praine region iwo ceniunes ago oy me
Chippewas, who iad outalned firearms
from the French. Coming out on the
buffalo plains, they acquired poses'on
of the horse, and, being soon enabled, to
resume tbe offensive, made themselves
undisputed masters of an immense terri
tory, extending from Minnesota to the
Rocky Mountains, and from the Yellow
stone to the platte. With millions of
buffalo to furnish an unlimited food sup
ply, and housand3 of ponies, the Sioux
up to 16S were the richest, the proudest,
and. perhaps, tbe wildest of all the
tribes of the plains.
But the white man was fiercer and
more powerful than they. A few years
saw a striking change in their condition.
Robbed of their territory, deprived of the
buffalo, and reduced to practical subjec
tion, they found themselves obliged to
depend upon government rations for their
maintenance, while restricted to the nar
row limits of a reservation. All of this,
ot course, could not come about without
resistance on their part, and of the losing
fight which they fought the Custer mas
sacre was an incident Failure of their
crops In an arid country, disease attack
ing their cattle, epidemics of measles and
whooping cough which destroyed their
children wholesale, reduction ot the ra
tions allowed by the government, and
the unjust withholding by Congress of
money due In payment for their lands-
all these and other wrongs had rendered
them fairly desperate.
The largest of the Sioux agencies was
at Pine Ridge, where 6,000 ot the wildest
and most warlike of the tribe were gath
ered, under control of the celebrated
Chief Red Cloud This locality and
btandlnr Rock, where Sitting Bull was
the leader, were the two principal cen
ters ot excitement In the spring of 1E90.
1 nines got worse and worse until, in
November of that year, the government
sent troops, under Gen. Nelson A.
Miles, to prevent an outbreak. The In
dian agents recommended certain ar
rests, especially that of Sitting Bull.
who was plotting mischief and had
broken the pipe of peace At daybreak
on December 13. soldiers surrounded Sit
ting Hull's house. Followers came to his
rescue, and In a fight which ensued Sit
ting Bull was shot through the bead.
his son. Crow Foot, a youth of seven
teen, being alio killed.
.Thus died Sitting Bull, the great medi
cine man ot the Sioux, aged about fifty
six. Though a priest ratherthan a war
chief, he gained a reputation In his early
years by organizing and leading war
parUes, and became prominent by his
partlc'i'atfon In the battle o' Little Big
Horn, In Montana. June S, 1S76. by
which Custer's command was wiped out
He and his band left for Canada, where
they remained .until issi, when they were
pardoned. To his death he was a leader
of opposition to the white man, and for
seven Jenrs he fought the treaty by
which the Sioux reservation was at last
broken up. In 1SK). As Gen. Miles said.
'ails tragic fate was but the ending ot
a tragic life. Since the days of Fontlac,
Tecumseh, and Red Jacket, no Indian
has had the power of drawing to him
to large a following of his race, or of
Inspiring It with greater animosity
against the whits race and civilization."
A decision having been reached to dis
arm tbe Indians, a. considerable body of
tbem was rounded up and obliged to go
Into camp at Wounded Knee Creek,
twenty miles northeast of the Pine Ridge
Agency. The tepees were pitched on
the open plain and surrounded on all
sides by soldiers, who comprised eight
troops ot cavalry and a company of
scouts. In the center ot the Indian camp
flew a white lag, as a sign of peace and
guarantee of safety. Behind It was a
dry ravine, and on a slight rise In front
a battery of four Hotchklss machine
guns was trained directly upon the In
dian camp.
Shortly after 8 a. m. the warriors were
ordered to come out of the tepees and
deliver' up their arms. They came for
ward with only about forty old and
rather worthless rifles. Accordingly, a
-letachment of soldiers was sent to search
the tepees. They overturned the beds,
drove out the women and children, and
caused much excitement.
Meanwhile, Yellow Bird, a medicine
man. was walking about; blowing an
eagle-bone- whistle, urging tbe warriors
to resist, and telling them that bullets
Would be, unavailing against the sacred
"ghost shirts" which all of them wore.
Suddenly he stooped and threw a hand
ful of dust Into the air, wben. as If this
were a -signal, a young Indian. Black
Fox. drew a rifle from under his blanket
and fired It at the soldiers, who Instantly
replied with a volley Into the crowd. So
close were" they that the volley must
have killed nearly half the warriors.
The surviving Indians sprang to their
feet, throwing off their blankets, from
beneath which many of them produced
rifles, and for a few minutes there was
a terrible hand-to-hand struggle, where
every man's thought was to kill. Those
Indians who had no guns had revolvers
and knives in their belts, and some were
armed with the murderous war clubs
used by the Sfoux.
The First 1 oiler.
At the first volley the machine guns
opened and sent a storm of shells and
bullets among the women and children
who had gathered In front of the tee
pees to watch the spectacle of military
display. The guns poured In two-pound
explosive shells at the rate of fifty a
minute, mowing down everything alive
In the camp The terrific effect of the
fire may be Judged from the fact that
one woman survivor. Blue Whirlwind,
received fourteen wounds
In a few minutes 200 Indian men. wom
en, and chldren, with forty soldiers, were
llng dead and wounded Tbe tepees were
torn down by shells and some were burn
ing over the helpless Inmates The sur
viving handful of Indians, flying In wild
panic to shelter In the ravine, was pur
sued by hundreds of madden-1 soldiers
and followed up by a raking fire from
the Hotchklss gun. whle.i had ben
moved Into position to sweep the ravine-
The pursuit was simply a massacre.
Fleeing women, with Infants in their
anrs. were shot down Ions after re
sistance had ceased, and when almost
every warrior was etretcnel dead or
dying on the ground Blind rage and
bloodthlrst possessed tb- soldier Some
women were shot and killed two mbes
f "om the scene of the nrounter As al
ready stated, about ICO Indian men and
over 13) women and children were nft.r-
wfcrd found dead. Ineljdlnt? those who
died later from wounds or exposure the
number ot victims was probably close
(pen 300.
And et there was certilnly no Inten
tion on the part of tbe Indians to precip
itate a conflict. The meant to )leld.
though they did so with reluctance Cir
cumstances and the act of one hot-headed
warrior, provoned to sudden rage, started
the whole mischief But what Imagina
ble excuse could there be for firirg upon
groups of women and children with ma
chine guns
The firing was plainly heard at the
Pine Ridge Agenc), where several thou
sand Indians had encamped for the pur
pose of surrendering When the fugi
tives, mostly women and children, began
come In. telling the stor) of the
slaughter and showing their wounds as
evidence, the Indians believed that It
was the purpose or the whites tirt to
disarm and then to massacre them all.
The result was panic and desperation.
and a scries of rights followed before.
about a fortnlghtt later peace was
Anally made
On New Years Da). 1S31 three days
aftr the massacre, a detachment wan
sent to Wounded Knee to gather up and
bur the Indian dead and bring in the
wounded. Meanwhile, there had been a
heavy snowstorm culminating In a bliz
zard. Bodies of men. women, and chil
dren were found I)lng under the snow,
frozen stiff and covered with blood
Nearly all the warriors "were found 1) Ing
nar where the fight began, but the
women and children were scattered along
for a distance of two rr Tes from the
scene of the encounter A number ot
women and children were still alive, but
all badly wounded and frozen, so that
most of them died after they were
brought In Four babies were found
alive under the snow, beside their dead
mothers, whose last thought had been to
wrap them. In shawls.
Only four children survived the mas
sacre and subsequent exposure One of
these, a son of Yellow Bird, four jears
old. was pla)lng on his pony In front rt
his father s tepee when thje filing beran.
ne wa aaoptM Dy mm. Lucy Arnold.
a. teacher am ing the Sioux. Anothei. a
l.aby girl, three or four months oil was
frund unde the snow, carefully wrapped
a shawl, besue her deal mother.
whose bod, was ilerced with two bul
lets On her head was a llt'le cap tit
b'ickskln. with an America.! flog eb-
brolderrd in blight beadwork S"ie was
enly slightly frozen, and soon recovered
on being brought to the agency Gen.
Colby, 'of the Nebraska State troops.
adopted her. and the Indian women
gave her the name 7.1tkala-Nonl, meaning
lost bird " ItEXE BACUE.
a. Remarkable Happening.
From Jvttet Lftmir
An elderly gentleman of rural appear
ance bad hardly seated himself In the
cross town car when a young lady who
had followed him In approached him
Sir, did you lose a five-dollar ..blir
she asked
For a moment the farmer observed her
with a surprised, curious look, then said
convincingly, "Yes. ma'am. I did "
Tnen here It Is. said she. hsndlng the
bill to him. "I picked It up behind vou
from the car floor."
Thank ye very much, young lady, for
M our hones ty. ' -This Is a most remarkable
Happening: .
Oh. I don't think so. sir' I believe
every one should return the money In
such a case as this. What is there so re
markable about ItT"
"Why, I lost my five-dollar bill two
years agor
The Birth Rate.
Frctn Sletdi.
The Mistress (Interviewing servant in
search of work perhaps) "And have you
nnd an) experience in taxing care of
child renT"
Tho Maid (with proper contemcO "No.
ma'am, certainly not' I've always Wockad
for the v,y best families."
C
Y
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