Gherardi, Bancroft

U. S. N., was born at Jackson, La., Nov. 10, 1832; entered the navy as midshipman from Ma achusetts in 1846, and entered the Naval Academy in 1852. At the outbreak of the Civil War he was lientenaut on the Lancaster, of the Pacific squadron; in 1862 was made lieutenant-commander, and took part in the engagement at Fort Macon. During the next two years he commanded the Chocorna and the Port Royal , of the Gulf squadron; displayed great coolne and gallantry at the battle of Mobile Bay on board the latter ve el. His subsequent promotions were: commander (1866), captain (1874), commodore (1884), rear-admiral (1887); was commandant of Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1886; in command of the North Atlantic Squadron, and directed the Columbian naval review in New York harbor in 1893. Retired in 1894. Ghika ( geka ), HELENA, Prince Klotzoff-Ma alsky; born at Bucharest, Jan. 22, 1829. She wrote for French Italian, Belgian and Swedish journals; was made an honorary citizen of the Greek kingdom, and a member of several learned societies. Under the name of DORA D' ISTRIA she wrote: La Sui e Allemande; Les Femmes en Orient; Gli Albanesi in Rumenia; Storia dei Principi Ghika, . After her marriage to Prince Klotzoff-Ma alsky, she went to St. Petersburg, residing at the court; afterward spent much of her time in Florence, where she died, Nov. 22, 1888. Ghost Dance. ( Anthrop .) About 1889 a religious movement began among the Piute Indians in Nevada, which quickly spread to other tribes, and was attended by a peculiar ceremony known as the G. D. It maintained that a Me iah was about to appear, who would restore the Indians to all their lost rights and banish the white invaders of the land. The doctrine thus enunciated was not a new one, but has appeared from time to time among the Indians. In the present instance the Indian who claimed the Me ianic dignity was a Piute named Wivoka (called Jack Wilson by the whites), who seemed to have unusual hypnotic powers and gained great influence over the wilder tribes, some of which sent delegates 2,000 miles to hear his teachings. He promised a reunion with dead friends, a future state of happine removed from the whites, and advocated peace and the discarding of everything relating to war, The G. D. takes place at night, men and women joining hands in a circle and moving round from right to left while singing the ghost songs, some being chants in the form of me ages from their spirit friends, others old songs on all subjects but that of war. During the dance certain leaders seek to hypnotize the most excited of the participants, throwing them into a state of trance, during which they are supposed to commune with their departed friends and to receive me ages and visions from the world of spirits. No musical instrument is used in the dance. The Sioux outbreak of 1890-91 arose indirectly from the G. D. ceremonies, but no other disturbance has arisen, although the G. D. is still widely practised. It represents a new religious movement, distinctly superior in its moral significance to the former religious conceptions of the Indians.