Rensselaer Standard, Volume 1, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 August 1879 — Indian Views of Immortality. [ARTICLE]

Indian Views of Immortality.

Colonel Carrington, U. B. A. The physical ability of the red man is coupled with the assumption of his untamed ferocity. He is called a savage, while the record shows that the \airagansette of New England, the Delewares of New York, the Pawnees aud Wimiebagoes of the Northwest have faithfully kept their faith and have done good for tbe white man. The popular Impression holds fast ground that the Indian has neither religion,'rporals or honor, Iu spifeof the fact that modern treaties have been shams, and that Sitting Bull was simply emphatic when he said to General Terry that he would makepeace “when he saw a white man that did not lie,” there are some facts of a different nature which dignify the Indian, and teach the Christian white man a lesson. These foots go farther than this, and instruct skeptics that their notions professedly scientific, would be despised by the Indians # of the Northwest. Ingersoll’s dogmas*would be considered foolishness, aud a senible Indian would cry out, “Wiskeat”—“Out of my path:” “I despise you.” ■ A few leading thougts as to the religious views of the Sioux, Pawnees, Arrapahoes, and Northern Cheyennes will illustrate the idea now presented. Ik is strange that the commissioners who have interposed in behalf of the Indians have sought to teach them the Christian faith without seeking to find out what they held as a spiritual faith. Interviews with chiefo of all these bands bring to light some startling focts as to their views upon some quite orthordox questions. Three are noted: 1, profanity; 2, future reward; 3, future punishment. The ludian holds that the profanation of the Great Spirit (God) is vile. An old Indian called upon the writer of this article, and. pointing to a child only 5 years old, said: “Papposse wiskeat an teas” (pappoose curse father,) “pappoose wiskeat autrara” (pappoose curse mother.) When remonstrated with he answered: “Great Spirit gives us air,earth and water. Great Spirit gave pappoose to white chief, Great Spirit gave white chief this pappoose. Not so bad for pappoose to curse white cheif. as for white chief to curse the Great Spirit.” Thus, while the Indian may borrow expletives from the whPe man, he has no tolerance of the idea of using in vain the holy name of the Great Spirit. This is a lesson from the Indian to the white man. ! .

As to a future state, his views are best reflected from a simple statement of facts. The battle-field, after the Phil. Kearney massacre, was a horrible scene. Three officers ami seventy-eight men were brought into the fort for burial. The mutilations were never before, never since, equalled. On one rock was a half-skull, cut through at the mouth, cleared of brains, and filled with eye-balls, toe aud finger joints. The calves of the leg, the muscles of the thigh, breast, arm, and back, were taken out, so that if the victim had mental consciousness he could not move his body. Earnest inquiry of some Cheyenne chiefs devoloped this explanation of this multilation. The explanations was the more impressive, because the victims had not been-kill-ed by rifle or pistol halls, but had been slowly tortured to death, after their ammunition wes speut. Everybody was stripped, everybody was full of arrows, more than a hundred were taken from their bodies, aud many shafts had to be cut oft before the dead men could be loaded in wagons, when their remains were rescued.

This seemed horrible; but the philosophy of Indian torture brings to light a strange indorsement of the pervasive ideas which ail mankind entertain as to eternal rewards and punishment. Of course, there are exceptions to the term, all mankind. Colonel Ingersoll is not one, for his whole nature is humane, and when he really knows himself, he cannot have lower aspirations than the Indian. The exceptions proper, for there are infidels, theoretically, rarely sentiously, can get a hint from the North American savage. What is the Indian heaven? Jt is a happy hunting ground, where every physical taste or longing Is promptly and fully satisfied. If he wants food it is ready to his bund. Horses, game, and all luxuries abound. Blossoms and fruit grow upon the same tree at the same time. All (s perennial and perpetual. What is the Indian’s hell? It is the same in place and profusion of luxury, but the bad caunot partake. Like Dives, who beheld Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom, he sees, craves, and punts*for relief, but he cannot grasp. If is in the light of these facts that the tortures referred to have significance. With the muscles of the arm cut out, the victim could not pull a bowstring, a trigger, or throw (isspear; with the muscles of the leg and back cut out, the victim could not ~toop for water, or put a foot in thestirrup; with hunger aqd thirst wrought up to agony with water at his feet, and meat ready oooKed, within bis reach, he could niot reach it.

A grander idea still, grows out of this Indian philosophy, ahd that Is this, that as a man ends his life, so he begins a new life, and that in proportion as he is crippled, here, so he will be feeble for the future. Thus ft is that bad habits, physical or mental enfbetdemept, lessen the fitness for enjoyment of the happy hunting grounds. This much of Indian religion is suggestive to the average Christain, and demonstrates, so far as it goes, the great law of accountability and responsibility, which no dogma of the infidel and no affectation of science, falsely, so-called, can long combat. £j g IT It Is real worth that distinguishes the true gentleman, or lady.