mooney] GROWTH OF THE SHAKER CHURCH 759 



and their religion, or at least to let them alone. They now feel quite 

 confident of their position, and are acting quite like the average citizen. 

 Even the persons who persecuted them for eleven years now felt obliged 

 to retire from the conflict, and a day of peace is reached at last. 



"The Shaker church now reaches over nearly the whole of western 

 Washington. The story of Slocum's death and visit to heaven, and 

 his return to preach to the Indians, is accepted by them as a direct 

 revelation of the will of God. They say that they do not need to read 

 the Bible, for do they not have better and more recent testimony of the 

 existence of heaven and of the way to that celestial home than is con- 

 tained in the Bible? Here is John Slocum, alive, and has he not been 

 to heaven ? Then, why read the Bible to learn the road, when John 

 can so easily tell them all about it? The Bible says there are many 

 roads; the Catholics have one, the Presbyterians another, and the Con- 

 gregationalists a third; but John Slocum gives them a short, straight 

 road — and they choose that. 



"The Shaker church now has abuilding for church purposes at Mud 

 bay, at Oyster bay, at Cowlitz, Chehalis, and Puyallup. They have 

 about a dozen ministers regularly licensed, and about 500 members. 

 Most of the Indians at Skokomish belong, while the Squaxins, Chehalis, 

 Nisqually, Cowlitz, and Columbia Biver Indians, and in fact the 

 majority of the Indians of western Washington, either belong or are 

 in sympathy with its teachings, so that it is now the strongest church 

 among them. They are sending out runners to the Vakimas east of the 

 Cascade mountains, and expect before long to make an effort to convert 

 that tribe. 



"The Indian is inclined to be weak, aud to adopt the vices of the 

 white man, but not his virtues. However, this is not true of the 

 Shakers. They do not drink intoxicants of any kind, and make a 

 special effort at all times to banish liquor. This is the strong element 

 in their faith, and the one for which they fight hardest. They feel 

 upon their honor in the matter, and contrast the members of their 

 church at every place with those belonging to the other denominations — 

 and it is too true that an Indian does not seem at all to be restrained 

 from drink by belonging to the other churches as he does in the Shaker 

 church. In the others he feels no personal interest. The honor of 

 neither himself nor his people is involved, aud if he disgraces himself 

 it reflects, in his opinion, rather on the white man's church. Not so 

 with the Shakers. No white man belongs to their church, and it is 

 their boast that no white preacher can keep his Indian members from 

 drink as they can — and it is true. After their opposition to liquor, 

 next comes gambling. From these two vices flow nearly all troubles 

 to the Indian, and the Shakers are certainly successful in extinguishing 

 their spread among the Indians. They make special war on drunken- 

 ness, gambling, and horse racing, and preach honesty, sobriety, tem- 

 perance, and right living. 



