Mackey – Encyclopedia Of Freemasonry Vol. 1

318 SECRET SOCIETIEScheerfully as the Assassins of yore obeyed the Old Man ofthe Mountain . If he had a message to send to one of hislieutenants, however far away, a letter was entrusted to oneof his disciples, who ran full speed to the next station, andhanded it to another, who forthwith left his own work, andhastened in like manner to deliver the letter to a third. Inorder to clinch his power over his followers, Ram Singhcontrived to interpolate his own name in a passage of the" Granth "-the Sikh Bible-which foretells the advent ofanother Guru, prophet or teacher. But, whatever theteachings of this new religious leader, there is reason tothink that his ultimate aim was to restore the Sikhs totheir old supremacy in the Punjab by means of a religiousrevival ; and he stirred up the religious fervour of his followersby impressing on them that their war was a waragainst the slayer of the sacred cow, which to their Europeanconquerors of course is not sacred, and has ceased tobe so to many natives of India. But the insurrection wasquickly suppressed. The whole band, which never numberedthree hundred, was literally hunted down, and the ringleadersblown from guns . This may appear severe punishment; but it is to be borne in mind that though the numberof insurgents who were taken with arms in their hands wasonly small, they had behind them a body of nearly'ioo,ooofollowers, bound together by one common fanaticism, whohad to be taught by very prompt and severe action that ourpower in India is not to be assailed with impunity .The Sikhs are divided into numerous sects, the most importantbeing the Govind Sinhi community, comprehendingthe political association of the Sikh nation generally . TheSikh sect, as a religious and secret one, is rapidly diminishing .740. Silver Circle, Knights of the.-A secret organisationformed in the Rocky Mountains in 1893 against the suspensionof silver coinage . The Knights threatened, in case theSherman Law should be repealed, to compel Colorado toleave the American Union and unite with the republic ofMexico, which is a silver coinage country. The westernstates were at that time honeycombed with secret societiesdeliberating the question of secession . Many of thesesocieties were armed organisations, and were, it is said, inthe habit of holding moonlight meetings for purposes ofdrill . The members had secret signs and passwords torecognise one another in public. But the repeal of theSherman Act in August 1893 crushed their hopes, andcaused the collapse of the society .