Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1901-06-14


dams under the French and made
raid into English territory, includ-
ing an attack on Ticonderaga. With
the English force was a trader from
Boston named Chamberlain, who got
into a hand-to-hand conflict with
powerful Penobscot Indian. In the
struggle they clinched, but the red
skin was the better wrestler and
threw the white. Chamberlain man
aged to regain his feet and start on
a run, but the Indian overlook him.
and, having picked up club, knocked
Chamberlain down before he could
use his knife. The strength and
courage of the white evidently won
the admiration of the Indian, for as
he stood over Chamberlain with club
in hand the Penobscot said in Eng
lish:
II like you. Make you my son.
You good fighter"
Chamberlain was accordingly treat
ed as a prisoner and was taken to
the Indian village of st. Francis, on
the st. Lawrence river. While he
the village, the Indians kept watch
full eye on him, and he knew he was
a captive. He learned, however, to
like the Indian life and remained
three years. Then in a fit of home
sickness he decided to go home, but
the captor refused to let him depart.
Chamberlain had won the hearts of
many of the squaws by lending them
a helping hand in their drudgery,
and some of the maidens of the tribe
aided him in escaping under cover of
darkness. He afterward became
man of consequence in Boston, and
the ethnologist of to-day is one of
his descendants.
The Penobscot Indians in time re-
turned to Maine and settled on the
island in the Penobscot river, which
is still their home. Montague Cham
berlain, in the course of his investi-
cations discovered that Wah-ta-waso
was descended from the Indian who
had taken his ancestor captive at
Tieonderoga, and he took it upon
himself to give her an opportunity to
gain an excellent education. She has
had the advantage of common and
high schools, and is now preparing
to enter the Harvard annex next
summer. Mr.. Chamberlain has
helped a number of the Penobscots
to go to Carlisle, and he has built
them library on their island.
Bright Eyes is an accomplished
young woman, for she sings well and
plays the piano. She is also a pet
of a certain circle of New York So
ciety, and has been entertained in
that city. On one occasion she made
a hit by an address she made dur
ing the discussion of the problem of
immigration by a woman's club. She
said, in effect:
II believe / am the only real Amer
lean here, and if anyone in the COM
pany has reason to complain of the
immigration of Europeans am that
one. My forefathers owned the coun-
try from the st. Johns river to the
Connecticut, hut the immigrants
from Europe, your forefathers,
robbed my people of tract after tract,
until now we are restricted to one
small island in the PenobScot river.
Even the railroads, which are large
ly responsible for our loss, have de-
prived us of the half-fare rate they
used to give the Indians. Fortunate
ly, my people are happy though poor,
but it comes with poor grace that the
Americans of to-day should complain
of the incursions of more poor immi-
grants from across the sea-
Wah-ta-Waso spoke in this strain
at some length, and the audience was
surprised by her self-possession, her
fiuency and her command of English.
Bright Eyes is no ordinary Indian
maiden, and Mr.. Chamberlain is con-
fident she will give good account of
herself after she enters Harvard
Chicago Times-Herald.