Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1895-11-13
AMERICAN PRINCESS.
In Her Veins Flows the Blood of
King Philip.
ONE WHO DID NOT BUY THE TITLE
She Is Heiress to Continent and Has
Lost Her Heritage Forever-In-
sigma of Royalty.

claimant to the title of Princess, lives
near the quiet little city of Lakeville,
on Lake Assawampsett. which is one
of the most charming of those many
small bodies of water that form what
is known as the lake region of Massa-
chusetts. She, for it is woman Of
whom I speak. is no renegade or exiled
pretender. Her own people acknowl-
edge her claim to royal name and
station. She lives ON the soil that she
and they look upon as hers in immem-
orial rights, in the very rooms which
her ancestors have made famous in
history and in legend, and in the midst
of the alien race who have dispossessed
her and hers. They are the parveneus,
the usurpers, the false claimants. not
she, says the Heralds' correspondent.
To these barbarians she is content to
be known as Melinda Mitchell, con-
descending to acknowledge the dull.
unromantic. comm onplace conditions
which have resulted from their COM
ing. But to her own people she is the
Princess .Teweelema. In the same
way nOl N OQu hAAoudA, lux
tacom, consented in times gone by to
drop that significant and euphonious
name for the meaningless Philip, max
ing the new name glorious among his
own, and terrible to his foes. 1t is as
the nearest heir Of that regal and reg
nant character of the direct descendant
of his father. the almost equally fam
GUS King Massasoit. chief Sycamore of
the Wampanoags. that she has birth
right to her title and a right acknowl-
edged even by the strangers lawless
law to the very land on which she and
hers reside. This is known as Bettys
neck, named after one of its former
owners. Assowetough, whom the Eng
lish ignobly call Betty. 1t is long,
high strip of land, situated on the
south shore of Lake Assawampsett.
Here. under the shade Of the primeval
trees which sheltered their ancestors,
live the last pitiful remnants of the
once powerful tribe of the Wampa-
noags, and here, in their midst. in a
small house. sequestered and we'll nigh
hidden by dense woodland, dwell the
Princess, her mother, Mrs. Mitchell,
and her sister. Charlotte. whose In.
dian name is Woetonekanuske.
Proud Of their descent and tenacious
of the right of exclusiveness claimed
by royalty and its heirs the world
over, the members Of this small family
are averse to notoriety and unwilling
to receive visits of mere curiosity from
members of the race they think they
have reason to distrust and fear. But,
through the genial influence of the
friend who accompanied me, I have
had the honor and pleasure of being
received by them.
Our three gracious hostesses were
Indians to the core with rich brown
skin, high cheek bones, flashing eyes
and straight, 1.-THE and graceful figures,
and possessed, moreover, of much
natural and acquired refinement, both
of speech and manner.
Shorter in stature than her daughter,
Mrs. Mitchell has settled into the feshy
solidity Of age. In spite of her 80
years she is hardly feeble in body.
although her mind is somewhat
blighted. She has a motherly. win.
ming face. with kind eyes and friendly
mouth; but when we listened to her
pleasant tones we realized that her
greatest charm was her voice, SO soft,
SO sweet, so mellow and then so strong.
80 incisive and SO indignant.
Melinda. or the Princess Teweelma,
is somthing past 30. OF most majestic
height and carriage. her picturesque
appearance is much enhanced by her
complete Indian attire and the crown
of beads and feathers which she always
wears upon her stately head.
When questioned concerning this
insingia Of royalty, she says in explain
alton. II am the daughter of King"
And as the words leave her lips there
comes over her fine face a. look of
mingled sorrow and scorn that she is
denied her birthright and forbidden
her heritage. Her voice is resonant
and under good control, her gestures
are at all times we'll chosen and dram.
attic. She was educated at Abingdon.
Mass, as was also her sister Charlotte,
or Wootnekanuske.
Charlotte's Indian name was given
her in honor of the wife of King
Philip, and she does no disoredit TO
the beloved wife of Philip Of Polka
noket," who was sister of Weetamoe.
the unfortunate squaw sschem of Po-
cassett.
While of less distinguished appear
ance than her sister Melinda, Charlotte
Mitchell possesses in large degree the
air of proud and pathetic isolation,
which so characterizes her mother and
Teweelems, and although she was most
cordial in her welcome her domestic
duties soon called her, and we could
hear her busy in the little lean to
kitchen. or fitting with light step
through the dining.room. Once or
twice she tod for a moment in the
curtained doorway and ohatted with
us.
Mrs. Mitchell responded most will