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About The Hesperian / (Lincoln, Neb.) 1885-1899 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1890)
Mi THE HESPERIAN. II 1 W )) m he shows a childlike desire for truth, and reverences rev elation, he seeks to obey the spirit as well as the letter of that revelation. His discussion is a candid, unimpnssioncd expositon of his views, one worthy of careful perusal. The knowledge that he, the greatest showman of the age, has in his busy life found time and inclination to examine the foun dations of his belief in maltcis spiritual, fully justifies the opening assertion: "wonders will never cease." CURRENT COMMENT. It is sad, but true that the great Irish national leader, the man that has led the Irish people from bondage to within sight of the promised laud; the man that has had calumny heaped upon him, but who has survived these attacks and kept his character unsullied; the man that has been extolled to the skies, and whose name has trembled upon the lips of the Americans as well as on the lips of the English and Irish; the man who has gained the great reputa. tion of being the strongest leader of n down-trodden peo ple, has "fallen from giacc" In the recent divorce case in which be played a part he made no defence and was therefore adjudged guilty by the jury. The question comes up now, will he retire from a political life and leave the guidance of Ireland's welfare to other and less able men? Ireland is in such a position now that Parncll seems indispensable to her. The Evening News sajs: " 'Ireland's Uncrowned King' has been crowned with infamy." Surely then an infamous man will not be left at the head of the Irish people. The bishops have asked that l'arnell be forced to resign and the probabili ties are that he will have to comply. Parnell is, comparatively, dead, politically, but while we censure him for his conduct of late let us give him credit for what he has done for Ireland in the past. Let us acknowledge that he has brought her within sight of happiness and prosper ity; that he Iies made it possible for his successors, whoever they may be, to consummate the welfare of Ireland, and that without him Ireland would still be in the position she was some years ago. There is a great deal of excitement at present among the Indians of the Northwest concerning the Indian millenium as foretold by the new Messiah. This Messiah has come among them disguised, and has told the Indians that he has come to restore them to their former glory; that their dead shall be raised to life; that the buffaloes shall return, and that the whites will all be swept away and never more molest them. This belief has been accepted with childlike simplicity by the Sioux, Cheyennes, Blackfcct, Shoshones and other tribes, and these Indians are now preparing to usurp the place of the whites when they will have been driven from the land. Sit ting Bull, one of the most vicious chiefs among the Indians, has accepted the belief and is doing all he can to stir up dis content Those that have seen this Messiah say he is muffled up so that his face is hardly discernable, ami some think he is a full-blooded white man. General Miles, Commander of the military division of the Missouri thinks that the Mormons have a great deal to do with stirring up the exiting dissatis faction. They have had missionaries at work among the In dians for some time, and have won many converts among them. The situation on the agencies is certainly very grave. The Indians have stared a ghost dance on Medicine Root Crcelc and propose dancing until spring. Their determina tion is made manifest by a verbal message sent to Agent Roycr, of Pine Ridge Agency, by Little Wound, the high' priest of the ghost dance. He says: "Our dance is a relig ion one, and wc arc going to dance until spring. If wc find then that the new Christ docs not appear wc will stop dancing, but in the meantime troops or no troops wc arc going to start our dance at this creek in the morning." The Indians arc considerably worked up over this matter and will perhaps fight at a moment's farning. They disclaim any hostile in tentions, but this fact alone coming as it does from the Indians should more than anything else put the government on its guard against treachery. The authorities have been very prompt in this matter and already Agent Royer has received authority to r i-c too scouts. 24,000 rounds of ammunition have been sent for the troops of the Ninth Cavalry and 60,000 for the galling and Hotchkiss guns. Troops from all parts of this state have either been ordered to the scene of the difficulty or they have been commanded to be in readi ness to go there at any moment. The government means business in this matter and it has ordered that no rations be given to those Indians that will not forsake tne ghost dance and cease creating disturbances. If the difficulty cannot be overcome in this manner the Government will propably use force. This will be the last resort and if once begun it should not cease until the Indians arc completely subdued and paci fied. An Indian is at best but a savage and as long as he is allowed much liberty he will show his ingratitude by acts of treachery. VANDALISM IN EGYPT. To the Editor of The Nation". SIR. The names of Englishmen are being solicited to a petition to the British government to use its great influence with the Egyptian government to put a stop to the illegal and shocking mutilation of the monuments and sculptures of old Egypt. It Is in the power of England to accomplish much. A list of American names will be forwarded by me to the British museum, to be placed in the proper hands, and I ask for signatures from our people for that petition. Will not our press state thir. fact? Most Faithfully Yours, Wm. C. Winslow Vice-president of the Egypt Exploration Fund. The above communication is an appeal to all students of aucient history. Egypt is one of the most ancient countries that wc know anything about. We know but very little about its former history and what we do know has been revealed to us in modern times by means of monuments and of sculptures principally. It is important that this history should remain to us and that the work of exploring, finding, and decipher ing should goon until we have become familiar with Egypt as it existed many hundred years before Chri, if this may be possible. How can these traces of old Egypt be preserved unless a move be made to put a stop to their mutilaYion? How much would we know now of the internal work ings of the city of Pompeii if recent excavations had not been made and the old relics carefully preserved and examined? Whole rooms were found showing the const mction of the Pom peian houses and in these rooms were revealed the workings of the Pompcian government to some extent. Had these vestiges of ancient life been mutilated or destroyed, modern research would have been of little avail. The success attained through modern iavestigatton has been brought about by the most careful and thorough work, and at times this work has encountered many" checks, hes been hindered and almost discontinued on account of par' Esmxm