mookey] EELLS ON SHAKER RELIGION 747 



tion uiitil the middle of the afternoon, when be awoke and announced 

 that lie had been to heaven, but bad been met at the entrance by 

 angels, who forbade him to enter on account of bis wickedness, and gave 

 him his choice either to go to hell or return to earth and teach his 

 people what they must do to get to heaven. Accordingly, he came back 

 to earth and began bis divinely appointed mission, introducing into the 

 new doctrine and ritual a great deal of what he had learned from the 

 white missionaries. From the nervous twitchings which so peculiarly 

 distinguished them, his followers soon became known as "Shakers." 

 Although strongly opposed by the agent, who arrested and imprisoned 

 the leaders and visited various minor penalties on their followers, the 

 Shaker religion grew and flourished until it now has a regular organi- 

 zation with several houses of worship, and has received the official 

 indorsement of the Presbyterian church. 



The following account of the system, in response to a letter of inquiry, 

 was obtained from the missionary, Reverend Myron Eells, brother of 

 the agent: 



.. iiriiuis phase of religion sprang up in the fall of is*:.' among some of the Indiana 

 on the southern part of Puget sound. It has prevailed mainly among the Squaxon, 

 Nisqually, Skokomish, anil Chehalis Indians, and has been called by its opponents 

 the " shake religion," and its followers have been called "Shakers" on account of 

 a large amount of nervous shaking which is a part of the form of its observance. It 

 is evidently based upon about the same principles of the mind as the jerks and shout- 

 ing at camp meetings among the whites of the southern and western states fifty 

 years ago, when they were more ignorant and less acquainted with real religion than 

 they are now. When superstition, ignorance, dreams, imagination, and religion are 

 all mingled together, either among whites, Indians, or people of any other race, they 

 produce a strange compound. It has proven so in this case. 



In the fall of 1882 an Indian named John Slocum, who was living on Skookum bay, 

 in Mason county, apparently died. Some years previous he had lived on the Skoko- 

 mish reservation, where he had attended a Protestant church, and had learned some- 

 thing of the white man's religion, God, Jesus ( 'lirist, and the morals inculcated. He 

 had also learned something in his early life of the Catholic religion and its forms 

 and ceremonies. Many Indians were present when he was sick and apparently 

 died. They said his neck was broken, and that he remained dead for aboutsix hours, 

 when he returned to life, jumped up, and ran off a short distance, and soon began 

 to converse with the people. Whether or not it was a case of suspended anima- 

 tion is a question. A white man, a near neighbor of his, who saw him before his 

 apparent death, while he thus lay. and after his resuscitation, said he believed the 

 Indian was " playing possum." But the Indians believed that he really died and 

 rose again. 



The Indian stated that he died and attempted to go to heaven, but could not enter 

 it because he was so wicked. He was there told, however, the way of life, and that 

 lie must return to this earth and teach his people the way, and induce them to become 

 Christians. He gained a small band of followers, a church was built for him, and 

 he steadily preached to the people. 



Affairs went on this way until the next August. Then, after consultation with 

 other Indians who favored him, especially on the skokomish reservation, it was 

 decided to hold a big meeting. The Indians of the surrounding region were called 

 to go. They were told that they would be lost if they did not; that four women 

 would be turned into angels : that persons would die and be raised to life again, and 

 that other wonderful things would be done. 



