114 I.\J)I w> 01 THE PLAINS. 



Plains. The prophet of the religion was a young Paiute 



Indian (Plateau Area) who claimed to have had a 

 revelation while in a delirious condition caused by an 

 attack of fever. The Teton-Dakota seem to have firsl 

 heard of the new religion in 1889 and in a council held 

 by Red-cloud, appointed a committee to visit the 

 prophet and investigate. On this committee were 

 Short-bull and Kicking-bear, who returned very enthu- 

 siastic converts and began preaching the new religion 

 among the Dakota. The principal belief was that an 

 Indian Messiah was about to appear to destroy the 

 white race, and restore the buffalo with all former 

 customs. As in all Indian ceremonies, dancing played 

 a large part, but in this case the dancers usually fell 

 into a hypnotic trance and upon recovering recounted 

 their visions and supernatural experiences. All partici- 

 pants were provided with decorated cloth garments 

 bearing symbolic designs which were believed to have 

 such relation with the coming Messiah that all who 

 wore them would be protected from all harm. Among 

 white people these garments were generally known as 

 "bullet proof shirts" (see Dakota collections). 



The enthusiasm over the new ghost dance religion 

 spread over the several Dakota Indian reservations, 

 resulting in the attempted arrest and killing of the 

 famous Sitting-bull by the Indian police and hostile 

 demonstrations on the Pine Ridge Reservation, under 

 the leadership of Short-bull and Kicking-bear. In 

 consequence, United States troops were concentrated 

 on the Pine Ridge Reservation under the command of 



