754 THE GHOST-DANCE RELIGION [kth.amh.H 



"Now I have quit swearing — my heart is upside down — it is (■hanged. After I 

 heard the voice I heard another say: 'There it is now — some one to iix you up. 

 Have you prepared your heart? It' you don't believe in Christ, you will go into a 

 big tire and burn forever.' I saw a man's hand coming to my heart. That day 1 

 got up — was well — talked to my friends, advising them. I will remain a follower 

 of Christ as long as I live. 



"Long ago we knew nothing at all. When Slocum came back from God, we 

 found out there was a God. From that time we have prayed for anything we want. 

 We follow Cod's way. God teaches us if we do had wo will go to hell. That's why 

 we pray and avoid bad habits. If we don't ask grace, bad things come when wo 

 eating. When we drink water, we think about God before drinking. If we don't 

 think of him, may be we get sick from water. If traveling, may he we die if we 

 don't think of God. We are afraid to do wrong against God. Long time ago we 

 worked on Sundays, but no more now. Our brother Christ has given us sis days to 

 work. On Sunday pray to God. God put people here to grow — puts our soul in 

 our body. That's why we pray so much. If we quit, like a man quit his job, he 

 gets no pay. We would go to tire in hell. We have no power to put out hell lire. 



"Louis Yowaluch is the strong man of the .Shaker church. He is 6 

 feet tall, rawboned, muscular, and rather slow. While he may once 

 have been, as he says, a drunkard, he is now a Christian man. His 

 conservativeness makes him a tine leader for the organization, while all 

 the Indians respect him for his humanity and charity, for his honesty 

 and uprightness, for his fearlessness and love of right. He fully and 

 freely places John Slocum at the head of the church, as the man who 

 ascended to heaven and brought back a personal knowledge of the 

 road, but at the same time he takes the lead in laying out work, build- 

 ing churches, and sending out preachers to new tribes. 



"A new feature of this religion is found in Sam Yowaluch, the 

 brother of Louis. He is younger than Louis, and has more of the 

 native superstition in his character, lie has by common consent been 

 placed at the head of the faith-cure branch of the church. The follow- 

 ing synopsis of his 'talk' will be an explanation of his position: 



"Among the Shakers, John Slocum is first. Louis is next. I take power and 

 cure people when they are sick. Long time ago I knew nothing — just like an ani- 

 mal. No doctoring, no medicine — no good. I was a drunkard, was a thief, and a 

 robber. When I joined this religion, I was told to be good. When John Slocum was 

 preaching, I heard that if I prayed I would have power and he a medicine-man, and 

 could cure the siik. From time John Slocum preached I tried to boa good Chris- 

 tian man. I prayed and was sick— my soul was sick. I prayed to Cod and he pays 

 me for that. There is lots of difference between this power and old Indian doctor- 

 ing. This is not old power. I can cure people now. I have cured some white men 

 and women, but they are ashamed to tell it. I cure without money. One big, rich 

 man, Henry Walker, was sick — had great pains in his ear and leg. Doctor at < llj m- 

 pia failed to cure him. and he came to John Slocum and me. Wo worked for him, 

 prayed, and he lay down and slept and was cured. He offered us twenty dollars — 

 but no, we refused it. God will pay us when we die. This is our religion. When 

 we die, we get our pay from Cod. 



"No, we do not believe the Bible. We believe in God, ami in Jesus Christ as the 

 Son of Cod, and wo believe in a hell. In these matters we believe the same as the 

 Presbyterians. We think fully of Cod today. A good Christian man is a good 

 medicine-man. A good Christian man in the dark sees a light toward Cod. God 

 makes a fog — -good Christian man goes straight through it to the end, like good 



