The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-08-18
EMOTION PUMPED DRY
GREENFIELD AUDIENCE THRILLED
BY c. ROBINSON.
''The Rowing Red Rangers. or Laura
Lamar" Scored Instant Success
Saturday Night.

a reserved niche in the Hall OF Fame and
has at the same time gathered unto him
self enough shekels to keep the wolf from
the door until he is ready TO fill the niche.
The crown of success was placed upon his
blushing brow last Saturday night amid
wild huZzas from the threats of four
hundred OF the authors townsmen. Saluted
by salvos of hand clapping, that roared like
the wild sea waves upon the breakers of a
stormy coast. c. A. Robinson. of Greenfield.
chief Of the Wenonahs, Great Sun Dis
covery AL, author OF The Rowing Red
Rangers. or Laura Lamar of the Susque-
hanna" entered into his own and became
one Of the immortals. Even the vulgar
sound of silver coins being counted in the
theater box-office could not disturb the
celestial harmonies of the supreme mo-
ment of triumph.
1t in Giants Opera House Saturday
night that the gods boosted literature the
drama and the fortunes of c. A Robinson,
chief of the Wenonahs. in three hours of
such tempestuosity that the emotions of
the fortunate four hundred were shaken
and beaten into mere rags Of feeling. Fol-
lowing the fortunes of the golden-haired
heroine, Laura Lamar, hope. fear, joy,
sorrow, wonder. expectation, all were ex-
hausted, used up, pumped out, left limp
and formless as a towel laundered and hung
10 dry on a backyard clothes line. 1t Is
true that after the creator of the stirring
and moving tale finished his polished and
touching speech of thanks TO the awed four
hundred, their brains, which had been
stunned by Overpowertng emotional activi-
~, responded by exciting larnyXes and
hand-palms TO slngularly powerful demon
stra tiOns; but only the native genius Of the
thanks, could have electrified emotions
taxed by such a tremendous and even dan
gerous drain of resources. The very sight
was an inspiration TO youth; 10 those who
may have rosy dreams of some day stand
ing in the exalted way with the author Of
The Red Rangers" of making a distinct
selves pulling some day the latch string
of the hall where dwell the togaed senators
of realized achievement. Facing that for
tunate four hundred-left as has been said,
weak and nerVeless from the dissipa ton
of their powers to feel, but buoyed up in
their mental exhaustion by the personality
of Chief RobinSon-were the chief himself,
calm and seemingly oblivious TO the storm
that ragged around him, and one Rosskam
the gifted Chicago dramatizer, with repu-
tation himself along certain lines. Truly
inspiring, eXhilarative and uplifting.
Who is Chief Robinson? The eager ques-
ton was answered recently by the New
York Sun in a fun-poking article abiding
to Indiana's sudden spring into literary
fame with the erroneous statement that
the chief is an Indian. Literally, however.
G. A. Robson is not an Indian. He &C
cupies the distinguished position of chief
of the Wenonah Tribe of the Order of Red
Men, and is plain man with the modesty
of true genius. l. or two years he has been
a townsman of Greenfield; the rest OF his
life he has spent in Indiana, having been
born in Hancock county. Whatever visions
the Sun man may have had of a file of
silent red brothers stalking grimly into the
Greenfield theater. red-blanketed and tur-
key-feathered, pulling at peace pipes and
perhaps not altogether pleased with the eff
forts of the chief along lines hitherto re-
garded purely Caucasian, would have
been dissipated by the real show. The only
Indians present were the Little-Boys-U n
afraid, whooping and bowling in the gal
lery.
AS to the play itself. which departs little
from the book, II may be said in all truth
that few literary and dramatic successes
are like it. The carping critic troubled
by the microbe of supercilious attention to
unimportant details, may grumble some
what at the lack of that which. for want of
q better name, may be termed consistency
of plot and a lofty disregard of the unitieS,
but to a genius of Robinsons kind such
trif1ing matters must always De SuDSerVlent
to action-roaring, flaming, hustling, pant
ing action. Suppose the plot threads do
get tangled now and then, occasionally
dropping out of the web altogether, what
matters il if the deus eX machina bobs up
serenely i'm time 20 circumvent the wiles of
the villain with the naughty Van Dyke and
10 rescue the heroine from fate worse
than death? Action is the thing; action IL
Illuminated by the lamp of the peaceful
home circle, the sinister beams or the ad-
venturers dark lantern, the burning of the
old mill and voiced by the death cries of the
worsted villain and the happy coolng OF the
little gal
STORY OF THE PLAY.
All this, in a word, is The Rowing Red
Rangers; or, Laura Lamar of the Susque-
hanna" The play is the narration of the
fortunes of simple family 'living in from
tier village sorely plagued by warlike In
dams under the chieftainship of a white
renegade. The characters are:
Laura Lamar; Mrs John Lamar; Martha
Ann, a poor relation; RUDE, Martha's son;
Mrs. Perkins, one of the villagers; Henry
Arson, alias Rattesnake; John Lamar, a
frontier settler; Walter Vanway, in love
with Laura; Jumping Fox, Rattlesnake S
companion; Kidder, just at the postofice;
Simon Barker, editor OF the Squeaier; Pat
The first act strong in its simplicity,
gives promise of wonderful complications.
In the first scene Martha Ann, the poor re-
latiOn is discovered TO nave matrimonial
designs upon Simon Barker, the editor, a
jewel in the rough, with pronounced hk-
ing for mountain dew. Martha is coy and
betWitching, in a Mother Hubbard of green
and yellow Simon. in a linen buster small,
red-topped boots and a high hat, the ordi-
nary rural attire, makes bashful love. To
them enters John Lamar a simple son of
i
has a past. At OppOrtune moments come
the son, a splendid youth in patent leather
boots, carrying a fowling piece, and Laura,
attired in buckskin, displaying a remark
able familiarity with deadlS weapons.
Gaspingly she relates to the family circle a
tale of pure horror. Riding her mare Black
bird along the trail, she finds the body of
the murdered mail carrier, his pouch
robbed She is pursued by two redskins,
but outsrips them and gets safely home
The pursuers call TO her in English. and
singularly enough, make no gun play, all
! of which is mystifying TO the simple child
| of nature. Later still comes a Philadelphia
/ lawyer. a strange and wonderful creature
| with the joyful news that Laura, who is
| but an adopted child, has fallen heir 10 a
! great fortune i'm Philadelphia and that il is
| his duty to escort her East TO. loving rela-
! tives. To the discerning person it is evil
/ dent at first glance that the lawyer is ar
| imposter and a rank villain. and the La
/ mars suspect IL almost as quickly as the
| critics in the gallery Amid tears and sobs
will never leave him for gold and the Phil
| adelpha lawyer stands discounted. To
/ these, swayed by powerful emotions, enters
/ a ragged tramp, who starts at the sight OF
| the Philadelphia lawyer and dramatically
! accuses him of being the murderer of the
| mail carrier. The tramp, of course had
/ been concealed in the usual hedge. The act
/ ends with no less than four guns pointed al
the head of the legal viper, who stands
/ with a sneering smile and a sort of III
bide-my-time expression on his white face
| The strain was somewhat relieved be-
/ heroine. Laura with the golden hair
/ streaming down her back, coming out in
/ full costume and singing;
yield not 10 temptation,
/ For yielding is sin
/ In the second act the plot thickens with