442 



INDIAN MESSIAH. 



terposition, their leader recognized the way he 

 had seen in the vision .(and, according to another 

 version, " at each camping-place they were sup- 

 plied with water from a little pool that came out 

 of the ground and furnished just enough for 

 their needs and no more "), and at last the " great 

 sea " was reached. When they awoke on the fol- 

 lowing morning a strong light seemed to come 

 to them across the water, and dimly they saw the 

 outline of the Great Spirit in the luminous mass. 

 As they watched it they saw the Son of the 

 Great Spirit coming toward them. The light 

 dazzled their eyes, but as the Son approached 

 they grew better able to see until they distin- 

 guished a man with all the external features of 

 Jesus Christ as described in the New Testament. 

 The places where the nails had pierced the hands 

 and the feet, and the spear marks in the side, were 

 there. As he came nearer, gliding as it were 

 along the surface of the water, they saw that he 

 was accompanied by the form of their associate 

 whom they had buried on the way. When the 

 figure came within speaking distance, he asked 

 them to come out to him, but as they were afraid 

 to do so, he came close to the shore. Then ad- 

 dressing them he said that he had long sympa- 

 thized with them in their oppressed condition, 

 but that this earth was only a place of prepara- 

 tion from which those who were faithful to him 

 would be taken to a better home after death. 

 For some time he continued to talk to them, ad- 

 vising them as to their conduct and behavior, 

 and, above all, not to attempt a war against the 

 whites. Finally, he said: "In order that you 

 may have some token that I am the Son of the 

 Great Spirit, I have brought back to you your 

 associate, whom I now restore to you. That he 

 did wrong is true, but his sin was one of igno- 

 rance, and I have forgiven him. Return to your 

 homes, tell your friends what you have seen, and 

 assure them of my interest in them." As he 

 finished speaking the young man came to them, 

 and at first they were afraid of him, but soon 

 they touched him and found that he was alive. 

 Then they shook hands with him and welcomed 

 him back. When they turned to thank their 

 benefactor the apparition had vanished and 

 they saw nothing but space and heard nothing 

 but the ceaseless moan of the waves as they 

 dashed on the sands of the beach. Such was 

 the original version as told last summer, but 

 since then many modifications of it have appeared 

 in the newspapers. The "great sea" is said to 

 have been Salt Lake, and the Son of the Great 

 Spirit is said to be a Mormon, who assumed the 

 appearance of Christ in order to convey to the 

 whites a belief in the truth of the vision. Some 

 accounts say his name is " Prophet John " and 

 that for the past four or five years he has been 

 preaching a similar doctrine 'to tribes in the 

 Dakotas and Idaho. He belongs to one of the 

 bands in Utah, and " his doctrines have doubt- 

 less been liberally tinged with the dreamy and 

 unrealistic theology of the Mormon preachers, 

 among whom he dwelt for many years. He 

 speaks the dialect of most of the tribes of the 

 Northwest, and for a time seemed to sway the 

 Indians with even more power than most of 

 their chiefs." It is also said that an Indian 

 called Johnson Sides, known as the " Peace- 

 maker " among the Indians and whites in Ne- 



vada, had acquired a knowledge of the Bible 

 and acted as a missionary among his people. 

 He taught the members of his tribe the story of 

 Christ or the Messiah, and that the time would 

 come when he would again visit the earth, " as 

 it had been taught him by Christian people in- 

 terested in his welfare." He told visiting In- 

 dians of the paradise in store for all people 

 when the Son of God shall once more visit this 

 earth, and the Indian's paradise is whatever his 

 imagination may lead him to believe, the same 

 as a white man. A similar version is the one 

 coining from " Stephen, the Preacher," who ac- 

 quired his information from " Prophet John." 

 He preached a new religious crusade, and an- 

 nounced to the Indians that he had received 

 direct communications from the Great Spirit 

 and that he had visions. He established certain 

 places of pilgrimage for his followers, and even 

 now in Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana the 

 places where he declared that he had seen visions 

 are regarded as sacred by the Indians. His ser- 

 mons all foretold the coining of a Messiah whose 

 advent was close at hand and who would lead 

 his red children to certain victory over their 

 white invaders. It is claimed that " no man in 

 the Northwest is more responsible for the present 

 religious craze than this wild-eyed preacher who 

 goes about from tribe to tribe, and who has never 

 been known to eat or sleep in any man's tent." 

 By some it is asserted that the name of the per- 

 son preaching the doctrine of a Messiah is 

 " Isidor Cohen, who was known throughout 

 southern Colorado as k Nosey ' Cohen, a leader 

 well acquainted with their tongues and cus- 

 toms.'" From Nevada the story comes that the 

 prophet resides in Mason valley, Esmeralda 

 County, Nevada, near Walker river reservation. 

 His name is Capt. Jack Wilson, known among 

 all Indians by the names of We-Vo-Kar and also 

 Co-We-Jo. He is an intelligent, fine-looking 

 Indian of about thirty-five years of age, who 

 goes into trances, or seemingly so. from twelve to 

 fourteen hours, in the presence of large numbers 

 of Indians. Upon his recovery he relates to 

 them what he has seen. He tells them he has 

 been to heaven, and that the Messiah is coming 

 to the earth again and will put the Indians in 

 possession of this country; that he has seen in 

 heaven many Indians, some of whom are dressed 

 in the white man's clothes. He counsels the In- 

 dians not to disturb the white folks, saying that 

 the blanket or rabbit skin that was put over the 

 moon by the Indians long ago will soon fall off, 

 and then the moon, which is now afire, will de- 

 stroy the white people. 



In obedience to orders from Gen. John Gibbon, 

 an Indian scout was sent to Walker's Lake, in 

 Nevada, and talked yith the Piutes, who told 

 him the Messiah had been receiving visits from 

 all the tribes in the West. He found the Mes- 

 siah at the west fork of Walker river, in Nevada, 

 and describes him as follows : 



" The Messiah," Queetize Ow. as he gives his 

 name, "is a full-blooded Piute Indian, and has 

 always been peacefully disposed. He spoke free- 

 ly of his call to preach. His first experience with 

 the Almighty, he said, was one afternoon while 

 hunting. Hearing a noise, he went to learn its 

 origin, when he was thrown to the ground from 

 some unknown cause. He was then taken to 



