living with the remnant of his people in Illinois, and was then
regarded as their chief. He still preached the same doctrine, which
the artist incorrectly supposed was the Christian religion—probably
from the fact that the meetings were held on Sunday in imitation of
the whites—and especially was constantly and earnestly exhorting his
tribesmen to cease from drinking whisky, which threatened to destroy
their race. His influence had extended into Michigan, and many of the
Potawatomi were counted among his disciples. Catlin, who painted his
portrait (of which figure 60 is a reproduction), heard him preach, and
expressed surprise and admiration at the ease and grace of his manner
and his evident eloquent command of language. The traveler continues:
I was singularly struck with the noble efforts of this champion
of the mere remnant of a poisoned race so strenuously laboring to
rescue the remainder of his people from the deadly bane that has
been brought amongst them by enlightened Christians. How far the
efforts of this zealous man have succeeded in Christianizing, I can
not tell, but it is quite certain that his exemplary and constant
endeavors have completely abolished the practice of drinking whisky
in his tribe, which alone is a very praiseworthy achievement, and
the first and indispensable step toward all other improvements. I
was some time amongst those people, and was exceedingly pleased
and surprised also to witness their sobriety and their peaceable
conduct, not having seen an instance of drunkenness, or seen or
heard of any use made of spirituous liquors whilst I was amongst
the tribe. (_Catlin, 3._)
After mentioning, although apparently not crediting the assertion of
the traders, that the prophet had borrowed his doctrines from a white
man, Catlin goes on to describe a peculiar prayer-stick which Känakûk
had given to his followers, and which reminds us at once of the similar
device of the Delaware prophet of 1764, and is in line with the whole
system of birchbark pictographs among the northern tribes. These sticks
were of maple, graven with hieroglyphic prayers and other religious
symbols. They were carved by the prophet himself, who distributed them
to every family in the tribe, deriving quite a revenue from their sale,
and in this way increasing his influence both as a priest and as a man
of property. Apparently every man, woman, and child in the tribe was
at this time in the habit of reciting the prayers from these sticks on
rising in the morning and before retiring for the night. This was done
by placing the right index finger first under the upper character while
repeating a short prayer which it suggested, then under the next, and
the next, and so on to the bottom, the whole prayer, which was sung as
a sort of chant, occupying about ten minutes.
Without undertaking to pass judgement on the purity of the prophet’s
motives, Catlin strongly asserts that his influence and example were
good and had effectually turned his people from vice and dissipation
to temperance and industry, notwithstanding the debasing tendency of
association with a frontier white population.
The veteran missionary, Allis, also notes the use of this prayer
stick as he observed it in 1834 among the Kickapoo, then living near
Fort Leavenworth, in Kansas. The prophet’s followers were accustomed
to meet for worship on Sunday, when Känakûk delivered an exhortation
in their own language, after which they formed in line and marched
around several times in single file, reciting the chant from their
prayer-sticks and shaking hands with the bystanders as they passed.
As they departed they continued to chant until they arrived at the
“father’s house” or heaven, indicated by the figure of a horn at the
top of the prayer-stick. The worshipers met also on Fridays and made
confession of their sins, after which certain persons appointed for
the purpose gave each penitent several strokes with a rod of hickory,
according to the gravity of his offense. (_Allis, 1._)
[Illustration: +Fig. 62+—Onsawkie.]
Through the kindness of Mr C. H. Bartlett, of South Bend, Indiana, the
United States National Museum has recently come into possession of one
of these prayer-sticks. The stick, of which plate +LXXXVI+ gives a good
idea, is of maple, a little more than 12 inches in length, 2⁹⁄₁₆ inches
in its greatest width, and three-eighths of an inch thick. It is said
to have been painted a bright red on one side and a vivid green on the
other. The paint has now disappeared, however, leaving bare the
surface of the wood, polished from long use. One side is carved with
the symbolic figures already mentioned, while the other is smooth. In
all its details it is a neat specimen of Indian workmanship. According
to the tradition of the Armstrong family, its former owners, the small
square in the lower left-hand corner represents hell or the final
abode of the wicked, while the house with the four pine (?) trees, at
the top, symbolizes the spiritual home of the devout followers of the
prophet. As is well known, four is the sacred number of many Indian
tribes. The significance of several other lines above and below is
unknown. Along the shaft of the stick from bottom to top are the prayer
characters, arranged in three groups of five each, one group being near
the bottom, while the others are along the upper portion of the shaft
and are separated one from the other by a small circle. The characters
bear some resemblance to the old black-letter type of a missal, while
the peculiar arrangement is strongly suggestive of the Catholic rosary
with its fifteen “mysteries” in three groups of five each. It will be
remembered that the earliest and most constant missionaries among the
Kickapoo and other lake tribes were Catholic, and we may readily see
that their teachings and ceremonies influenced this native religion,
as was afterward the case with the religions of Smohalla and the
Ghost dance. Neither three nor five are commonly known as sacred
numbers among the Indians, while three is distinctly Christian in its
symbolism. It is perhaps superfluous to state that the ideas of heaven
and hell are not aboriginal, but were among the first incorporated from
the teachings of the white missionaries. The characters resembling
letters may be from the alphabetic system of sixteen characters which
it is said the Ojibwa invented for recording their own language, and
taught to the Kickapoo and Sauk, and which resembled somewhat the
letters of the Roman alphabet, from which they apparently were derived.
(_Hamilton, 1._)
[Illustration: PL. LXXXVI
THE PRAYER-STICK]
This prayer-stick or “bible,” as it has been called, was obtained by
Mr Bartlett from Mr R.V. Armstrong, of Mill Creek, Indiana, who stated
that it was the only remaining one of a large number which had been
in possession of the family for many years. The story of the manner
in which it was originally obtained, as told by Mr Armstrong, is
interesting. “His father, Reverend James Armstrong, was a Methodist
minister and missionary who had been sent to northern Indiana in the
early part of this century. In 1830, while living on Shawnee prairie,
3 miles from the present site of Attica, Indiana, a large band of
Kickapoo Indians came to his house to visit the missionary, and
apparently regarded the interview as of great importance to themselves.
They declared that they were from beyond the Mississippi river, that
they had heard of Mr Armstrong and his missionary labors, and that they
believed him to be the one for whom their people had long been looking.
Each Indian held in his hand one of these wooden crosses, and as they
knelt on the grass in front of the missionary’s house, they went
through their devotions in their own tongue, moving their fingers over
the inscription that ascends the shaft of the cross. The missionary
understood them to state that this cross was their “bible,” that they
knew that it was not the true bible, but that they had been told to use
it until one should come who would give them in exchange the genuine
word of God. Thereupon the missionary gathered up their crosses—and
there were more than a large basketful of them—and gave in exchange to
each a copy of the New Testament. The Indians received the books with
profuse expressions of gratitude and apparently viewed them at once
as sacred possessions. These wise men from the west then went away to
their far country.”
Känakûk died of smallpox in 1852, in Kansas, where his people had been
removed in spite of his eloquent appeals in their behalf. For many
years he had been recognized as the chief of his tribe, and as such
exerted a most beneficial influence over the Kickapoo in restraining
the introduction and use of liquor among them. At the same time he
staunchly upheld the old Indian idea and resisted every advance of the
missionaries and civilization to the last. He was regarded as possessed
of supernatural powers, and in his last illness asserted that he would
arise again three days after death. In expectation of the fulfillment
of the prophecy, a number of his followers remained watching near the
corpse until they too contracted the contagion and died likewise.
(_Comr., 1._) After his death, the decline of his tribe was rapid and
without check. In 1894 there remained only 514, about equally divided
between Kansas and Oklahoma. These few survivors of a large tribe still
hold in loving reverence the name of their chief and prophet.
PA′THĔSKĔ
Recent personal investigation among the Winnebago failed to develop
any knowledge of a former doctrine of an approaching destruction of
the world, as mentioned in a statement already quoted (see page 661).
It appeared, however, that at the time indicated, about 1852 or 1853,
while the tribe was still living on Turkey river, Iowa, a prophet known
as Pa′thĕskĕ, or Long Nose, announced that he had been instructed in a
vision to teach his people a new dance, which he called the friendship
dance (chû′‘korăki′). This they were to perform at intervals for one
whole year, at the end of which time, in the spring, they must take
the warpath against their hereditary enemy, the Sioux, and would then
reap a rich harvest of scalps. The dance, as he taught it to them, he
claimed to have seen performed by a band of spirits in the other world,
whither he had been taken after a ceremonial fast of several days’
duration. It differed from their other dances, and, although warlike
in its ultimate purpose, was not a war dance. It was performed by the
men alone, circling around a fire within the lodge. He also designated
a young man named Sara′minûka, or “Indistinct,” as the proper one
to lead the expedition at the appointed time. The friendship dance
went on all through the summer and winter until spring, when the
prophet announced that he had received a new revelation forbidding the
proposed expedition. His disgusted followers at once denounced him as
an impostor and abandoned the dance. Sara′minûka was soon afterward
killed by an accident, which was considered by the Indians a direct
retribution for his failure to carry out his part of the program. The
prophet died a few years later while on a visit to Washington with a
delegation of his tribe.
Although the old men consulted on the subject seemed to know nothing
of any predicted destruction of the world in this connection, it is
probable that the statement given by Agent Fletcher at the time was
correct, as such cycle myths are very general among the Indian and
other primitive tribes. The Arapaho informed the author that we are now
living in the sixth cycle, and that the final catastrophe will take
place at the close of the seventh.
TÄ′VIBO
About 1870 another prophet arose among the Paiute in Nevada. As most
Indian movements are unknown to the whites at their inception, the date
is variously put from 1869 to 1872. He is said to have been the father
of the present “messiah,” who has unquestionably derived many of his
ideas from him, and lived, as does his son, in Mason valley, about 60
miles south of Virginia City, not far from Walker River reservation.
In talking with his son, he said that his father’s name was Tä′vibo
or “White man,” and that he was a _capita_ (Spanish, _capitan_) or
petty chief, but not a prophet or preacher, although he used to have
visions and was invulnerable. From concurrent testimony of Indians and
white men, however, there seems to be no doubt that he did preach and
prophesy and introduce a new religious dance among his people, and
that the doctrine which he promulgated and the hopes which he held out
twenty years ago were the foundation on which his son has built the
structure of the present messiah religion. He was visited by Indians
from Oregon and Idaho, and his teachings made their influence felt
among the Bannock and Shoshoni, as well as among all the scattered
bands of the Paiute, to whom he continued to preach until his death a
year or two later. (_G. D., 1 and 2; A. G. O., 1; Phister, 1._)
Captain J. M. Lee, Ninth infantry, formerly on the staff of General
Miles, was on duty in that neighborhood at the time and gives the
following account of the prophet and his doctrines in a personal letter
to the author:
I was on Indian duty in Nevada in 1869, 1870, and 1871. When
visiting Walker Lake reservation in 1869–70, I became acquainted
with several superstitious beliefs then prevailing among the
Paiute Indians. It was a rough, mountainous region roundabout, and
mysterious happenings, according to tradition, always occurred when
the prophet or medicine-men went up into the mountains and there
received their revelations from the divine spirits. In the earlier
part of the sixties the whites began to come in and appropriate
much of the Indian country in Nevada, and in the usual course it
turned out that the medicine-men or prophets were looked to for
relief. The most influential went up alone into the mountain and
there met the Great Spirit. He brought back with him no tablets of
stone, but he was a messenger of good tidings to the effect that
within a few moons there was to be a great upheaval or earthquake.
All the improvements of the whites—all their houses, their goods,
stores, etc.—would remain, but the whites would be swallowed up,
while the Indians would be saved and permitted to enjoy the earth
and all the fullness thereof, including anything left by the wicked
whites. This revelation was duly proclaimed by the prophet, and
attracted a few believers, but the doubting skeptics were too many,
and they ridiculed the idea that the white men would fall into
the holes and be swallowed up while the Indians would not. As the
prophet could not enforce his belief, he went up into the mountain
again and came back with a second revelation, which was that when
the great disaster came, all, both Indians and whites, would be
swallowed up or overwhelmed, but that at the end of three days (or
a few days) the Indians would be resurrected in the flesh, and
would live forever to enjoy the earth, with plenty of game, fish,
and pine nuts, while their enemies, the whites, would be destroyed
forever. There would thus be a final and eternal separation between
Indians and whites.
This revelation, which seemed more reasonable, was rather popular
for awhile, but as time wore along faith seemed to weaken and the
prophet was without honor even in his own country. After much
fasting and prayer, he made a third trip to the mountain, where he
secured a final revelation or message to the people. The divine
spirit had become so much incensed at the lack of faith in the
prophecies, that it was revealed to his chosen one that those
Indians who believed in the prophecy would be resurrected and be
happy, but those who did not believe in it would stay in the ground
and be damned forever with the whites.
It was not long after this that the prophet died, and the poor
miserable Indians worried along for nearly two decades, eating
grasshoppers, lizards, and fish, and trying to be civilized until
the appearance of this new prophet Quoit-tsow, who is said to be
the son, either actual or spiritual, of the first one.
Additional details are given in the following interesting extract
from a letter addressed to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, under
date of November 19, 1890, by Mr Frank Campbell, who has an intimate
acquaintance with the tribe and was employed in an official capacity
on the reservation at the time when Tävibo first announced the new
revelation. It would appear from Mr Campbell’s statement that under
the new dispensation both races were to meet on a common level, and,
as this agrees with what Professor Thompson, referred to later on,
afterward found among the eastern Paiute, it is probable that the
original doctrine had been very considerably modified since its first
promulgation a few years before.
Eighteen years ago I was resident farmer on Walker Lake Indian
reserve, Nevada. I had previously been connected with the Indian
service at the reserve for ten years, was familiar with the Paiute
customs, and personally acquainted with all the Indians in that
region. In 1872 an Indian commenced preaching a new religion at
that reserve that caused a profound sensation among the Paiute.
For several months I was kept in ignorance of the cause of the
excitement—which was remarkable, considering the confidence they
had always reposed in me. They no doubt expected me to ridicule the
sayings of the new messiah, as I had always labored among them to
break down, their superstitious beliefs. When finally I was made
acquainted with, the true facts of the case, I told them, the
preachings of Waugh-zee-waugh-ber were good and no harm could come
from it. Indian emissaries visited the reserve from Idaho, Oregon,
and other places, to investigate the new religion. I visited the
Indian camp while the prophet was in a trance and remained until
he came to. In accordance with instructions, the Indians gathered
around him and joined in a song that was to guide the spirit back
to the body. Upon reanimation he gave a long account of his visit
in the spirit to the Supreme Ruler, who was then on the way with
all the spirits of the departed dead to again reside upon this
earth and change it into a paradise. Life was to be eternal, and no
distinction was to exist between races.
This morning’s press dispatches contain an account of Porcupine’s
visit to Walker lake ... that proves to me that the religion
started at Walker lake eighteen years ago is the same that is now
agitating the Indian world. There is nothing in it to cause trouble
between whites and Indians unless the new Messiah is misquoted and
his doctrine misconstrued. I left Walker Lake reserve in June,
1873, and at the time supposed this craze would die out, but have
several times since been reminded by Nevada papers and letters that
it was gradually spreading. (_G. D., 3._)
The name given by Campbell certainly does not much resemble Tävibo, but
it is quite possible that the father, like the son, had more than one
name. It is also possible that “Waughzeewaughber” was not the prophet
described by Captain Lee, but one of his disciples who had taken up
and modified the original doctrine. The name Tävibo refers to the east
(_tävänagwat_) or place where the sun (_täbi_) rises. By the cognate
Shoshoni and Comanche the whites are called _Taivo_.
From oral information of Professor A. H. Thompson, of the United States
Geological Survey, I learn some particulars of the advent of the new
doctrine among the Paiute of southwestern Utah. While his party was
engaged in that section in the spring of 1875, a great excitement was
caused among the Indians by the report that two mysterious beings
with white skins (it will be remembered that the father of Wovoka was
named Tävibo or “white man”) had appeared among the Paiute far to the
west and announced a speedy resurrection of all the dead Indians, the
restoration of the game, and the return of the old-time primitive life.
Under the new order of things, moreover, both races alike were to be
white. A number of Indians from Utah went over into Nevada, where they
met others who claimed to have seen these mysterious visitors farther
in the west. On their return to Utah they brought back with them the
ceremonial of the new belief, the chief part of the ritual being a
dance performed at night in a circle, with no fire in the center, very
much as in the modern Ghost dance.
It is said that the Mormons, who hold the theory that the Indians are
the descendants of the supposititious “ten lost tribes,” cherish, as
a part of their faith, the tradition that some of the lost Hebrew
emigrants are still ice-bound in the frozen north, whence they will one
day emerge to rejoin their brethren in the south. When the news of this
Indian revelation came to their ears, the Mormon priests accepted it
as a prophecy of speedy fulfillment of their own traditions, and Orson
Pratt, one of the most prominent leaders, preached a sermon, which was
extensively copied and commented on at the time, urging the faithful
to arrange their affairs and put their houses in order to receive the
long-awaited wanderers.
According to the statement of the agent then in charge at Fort Hall,
in Idaho, the Mormons at the same time—the early spring of 1875—sent
emissaries to the Bannock, urging them to go to Salt Lake City to
be baptized into the Mormon religion. A large number accepted the
invitation without the knowledge of the agent, went down to Utah, and
were there baptized, and then returned to work as missionaries of the
new faith among their tribes. As an additional inducement, free rations
were furnished by the Mormons to all who would come and be baptized,
and “they were told that by being baptized and going to church the old
men would all become young, the young men would never be sick, that the
Lord had a work for them to do, and that they were the chosen people of
God to establish his kingdom upon the earth,” etc. It is also asserted
that they were encouraged to resist the authority of the government.
(_Comr., 2._) However much of truth there may be in these reports,
and we must make considerable allowance for local prejudice, it is
sufficiently evident that the Mormons took an active interest in the
religious ferment then existing among the neighboring tribes and helped
to give shape to the doctrine which crystallized some years later in
the Ghost dance.
NAKAI′-DOKLĬ′NI
[Illustration: +Fig. 63+—Nakai′-doklĭ′ni’s dance-wheel.]
Various other prophets of more or less local celebrity have arisen from
time to time among the tribes, and the resurrection of the dead and the
return of the olden things have usually figured prominently in their
prophecies. In fact, this idea has probably been the day-dream of every
Indian medicine-man since the whites first landed in America. Most of
these, however, have been unknown to fame outside of their own narrow
circles, except where chance or deliberate purpose has given a warlike
meaning to their teachings and thus made them the subjects of official
notice.
Among these may be mentioned the Apache medicine-man Nakai′-doklĭ′ni,
who attracted some attention for a time in southern Arizona in 1881.
(_Bourke, 1._) In the early part of this year he began to advertise his
supernatural powers, claiming to be able to raise the dead and commune
with spirits, and predicting that the whites would soon be driven from
the land. He taught his followers a new and peculiar dance, in which
the performers were ranged like the spokes of a wheel, all facing
inward, while he, standing in the center, sprinkled them with the
sacred _hoddentin_[3] as they circled around him.