Chapter YIII 



THE SHAKERS OF PITGET SOUND 



My breath was out and I died. All at once I saw a great shining light. Angels 

 told' me to look back. I did, and saw my own body lying dead. It had no soul. My 

 soul left my body and went up to the judgment plaoe of God. . . . My soul was 

 told that I must come back and live on earth. When I came back, I told my friends, 

 '•There is a (Jod. My good friends be Christians. If yon all try hard and help me, 

 we shall be better men on earth." — John Sloeum. 



Iii 1881 there originated among the tribes of Paget sound in Wash- 

 ington a new religion, which, although apparently not founded on any 

 doctrinal prophecy, yet deserves special attention for the prominent 

 part which hypnotism holds in its ceremonial. Indeed, there is good 

 reason to believe that the Paiute messiah himself, and through him 



FIG. 67 — John Slocum and Louis Ynwahnh. 



all the apostles of the Ghost dance, have obtained their knowledge of 

 hypnotic secrets from the '-Shakers" of Puget sound. 



The founder of the religion is Squ-sacht -mi. known to the whites as 

 John Slocum. lie is now (1896) about 58 years of age. His chief high 

 priest is Louis Towaluch, or Ai-yal as he is called by the Yakima. Both 



areoftheSquaxin tribe. In 1881 (Eells makes it LS82) ] died" or fell 



into a trance one morning about daylight and remained in that coudi- 

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