Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1888-02-29
The Band That Wouldn't Play.

An Indian chief who had been to
Washington on visit to the Great Faith
er gave the people of his tribe a glow
ing account of his experiences on his
return. What seemed to interest him
mOrerhan anything else was musical
performance at which he had been pres
ent. The playing by the orchestra was
something SO far away from anything
that he had ever before conceived that
it filled him with wonder. Come, my
brothers, he said to his people, land
viii tell you of the brave music chief,
who made his men play when they did
not want to, and tried to rebel.
"You see, we had come, the other
chiefs and I, with some of the warriors
of the Great Father, to hear the music
braves play upon their instruments.
The music men were in their places.
The music chief was in his place, which
WAS higher than the places of his men,
SO that he might see that none OF them
ran away, or put down their 1nstru-
ments.
go my brothers, there were great men
among them One brave of the num-
Der was larger about the body than any
two men of our tribe, and he played up
on great shining instrument, ike the
smokestack upon the white mans loco
motive; and at the side of it there was
rod which he moved back and forth,
like the mighty moving rod which turns
the wheels of the iron horse and pulls
the train. He was surely the greatest
brave of them all, next to the music
chief; but he sat in a humble place, with
the rest Yet, if he had chosen, he
might have crushed all the rest with
his instrument.
"Well, my brothers, the music chief
bad taken his place; the braves had
their instruments in their hands: the
big brave of whose instrument have
told you had filled his cheeks with much
air; the chief waited, but they wouldn't
play Then the music chief lifted his
hands high in the air, as if to threaten
them; but they wouldn't play.
t'Then the music chief got very mad;
he shook his stick at them with his
right hand so hard that he trembled
upon his box, and his face grew with
anger as red as the sunrise over the
mountain.
"The rebellious music braves were all
afraid, seeing the chief shaking his stick
at them, and they played. At first they
did not make very mnch noise; it was
like the south wind, when it whistles
through the tops of the poles of the te-
pee. The music chief let them play a
little time like this, but he was not sat
isfed He shook his stick at them again.
Then they were all afraid again, and
played louder. 1t was like the north
wind blowing through the pine-trees,
when some of the dead limbs fall TO the
ground. Our hearts were very full.
"But still the music chief was not sat
isfed. He raised himseltupon his toes,
and shock his stick more and more.
He shook it first at one music brave, and
then at another. Then he shook it
at them all at once. One could see that
he was very, very angry. And then
their music became like the cyclone,
when it floats the tepee upon the clouds,
and tears the pine-trees up by the roots.
Our hearts felt as yours have felt when
the war-whoop has been sounded, and
the tribe has gone forth to fight and to
conquer.
1--WE were glad that the music chief
shook his stick at his braves, for they
were rebellious, and would not have
played if he had not made them afraid"