_From Copyright Photograph 1906 by E.S. Curtis_
"The girls and the women must likewise have new clothing, bearing the
sacred symbol, ever in readiness. All their water bottles, burden baskets,
and saddlebags must also bear the sign, and should any desire to ride
horses, only the best, fleet and strong, branded upon the left buttock
with the _daiita ilhnaha_, may be taken. The permanent homes of all people
living in bands under a chief must no longer be scattered, but must be
built close together in long rows, that no time may be lost in assembling
when our Great Father wills that you depart from this life to go to that
where all is peace and plenty. Until that time, which is not far off, you
must conduct yourselves as I have directed, discarding also all old
medicine symbols for the new."
The plain Greek cross and the crescent have been used by the Apache as
decorative and religious symbols from early times, but this recent
adaptation of the combined form came as a sudden wave.
With an unusually strong personality, Das Lan had long been held in fear
by those who knew him best, and with his story of the new messiah he soon
became of great prominence in the tribe. Das Lan first made confidants of
the leading spirits in the various bands, who in turn converted others to
the new faith before public announcement was made. Having won the
strongest men in the tribe through personal appeal to their vanity, the
crafty Das Lan could now remain at home, enjoying the prosperous practice
that grew out of his new cult.
Throughout the reservation those most deeply affected by the messiah
belief have been appointed spies over the others. If any persist in the
use of old medicine paraphernalia, they are reported at once and harassed
by threats of plague, sickness, ill-luck, disaster, and even death, which
Das Lan claims to be able to cause or to dispel at pleasure. Once the
threat is made, nothing unwelcome can happen to one under the ban that is
not immediately attributed, by all the medicine-man's disciples, to the
disfavor of the gods; and nothing more potent is necessary to convert the
unbeliever, for there is no Indian reared in the wilds who is not steeped
in the belief that his gods are all-powerful in both causing and
eradicating every ill.
About two years ago, on the Cibicu, a woman murdered her husband. She did
not deny the act, but pleaded justification, alleging that her husband was
guilty of unfatherly conduct toward his daughter. The local authorities
were very sceptical of her defence, since the murdered man had always
borne an excellent reputation among both Indians and whites; but no
contradictory evidence could be adduced upon which to base an open trial,
so the matter became quieted. After time had cancelled the crime in the
mind of the guilty, it became known that the murder had been committed at
the instigation of the scheming Das Lan, who found the deceased an
obstacle to his prophetic assumptions, and under the guise of an order
from Kuterastan had him despatched. Naturally fierce, strong, and bold,
Das Lan has become more emboldened by his success as a prophet, and
indirect threats of further crafty murders are sometimes uttered by the
more fanatical members in each band when anyone presumes to defy his creed
and will.
In 1903, throughout the White Mountain reservation, the Government farmers
found it difficult to persuade the Apache to plant the usual corn. The
following winter found them with a scant food supply, and Government aid
was neccessary to relieve suffering. The cause of the failure to plant,
none of the officials then knew; but to his tribesmen Das Lan had
prophesied the probable advent of the messiah at that time--so why plant
corn?
Another effect of Das Lan's prophecy is noted in the fact that although a
few years ago the Apache houses were scattered far and wide, now there are
many villages consisting of long straight rows of grass-thatched huts,
bearing testimony to that deep-seated superstition which in the Apache
apparently will never be eradicated.
[Illustration: Sand Mosaic - Apache]