The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1902-10-03

AN INDIAN PLAY ACTED BY INDIAN
CHARACTERS.

Of ltodmen's Ancient Arts and Customs.
Wholly apart from tho spectacular
attractiveness of the play, there is a
significance in the performance Of
the Ojibway Indian drama "Ila-
watha,' presented daily ut Hlawa-
tina Camp, Desbarats, Ont, which rem
dors it worthy the interested attention
of all who view the Indian as ro-
mantle figure or systematically con-
Germ themselves as to his welfare,
writes VIM. e. Brigham in the Boston
Transcript OF all American Indians,
only the Ojibway is increasing in num-
hers yet his contact with the white
man has cost him his nationality and
his dominion, which formerly included
the lands as far east as tho Gulf OF st.
Lawrence and Western Massachusetts,,
His ancestral home, however, was the
country about Lakes Superior and HUI
ron, where the tribe concentrated early
before the advancing whites. AT pres
ent most of the Ojibways live on the
Canadian side of the lakes The tribe
has attained considerable degree Of
civilization and the Ojibways doubt
less are the best types of the aborig-
inal American in existence. A peace
loving folk, their family relations are
singularly pure, most of them are de-
vout Christians and, in a word, they
utterly belle the commonly accepted
estimate of the Indian as a petty thief
and ioaIer. Unfortunately for ro-
nance however the Ojibway learned
the arts of the white man at the eX-
pense Of many of his own, and it is a
gratifying fact that the presentation
of the Indian play, under its peculiarly
happy auspices, is destined to revive
iamong the Indians knowledge Of
their own ancient customs, ceremoni-
ais, arts and style of dress which stood
in grave danger of passing away for
ever.
{ The idea of the play originated with
L. o. Armstrong of Montreal, for more
than 20 years a professional explorer
If the term be permissible-who had
built a neat summer house on one of
the Desbarats group of islands in Lake
Huron, which for centuries have been
the summer playground of the Ojib-
ways Mr.. Armstrong, himself an ar
dent admirer of LOngfellows poem,
was delighted to find that the Indians
were familiar with it. Sympathizing
with the desire of their leading men to
preserve their traditions, he suggest
ed that they should be embodied in
dramatic representation of the chief
episodes in the career of HiaWatha.
The Ojibways took to the idea with
4 enthusiasm, and, under Mr.. Arm
strong's direction, they made their first
attempt at a national drama, when
the three daughters of Longfellow Wis
tied Desbarats, the nearest village to
the tribes playground, in 1900
When this memorable journey was
made the visitors were treated to
spectacle which, as Miss Alice M.
Longfellow afterward wrote, possess
led an indescribable charm" The pres
entation was exceedingly crude from
the present-day point of view, never
theless its very simplicity and the
manifest seriousness of the Indians
charmed the guests exceedingly and
Miss Longfellow described the play
as "a most unique and interesting
adrama Of the forest, with the broad
Ajstretch of lake in front and the for
lest trees closing in on the scene"
The interest aroused was so great that
other representations followed as
mater of course, until the performance
of the national drama became an an
nual fixtures at Desbarats, and per-
formances are now given daily from
July 10 or Is to Sept 1, and a com
Portable hotel and picturesque tepees
afford ample accommodations for Wis
itors. g.,
The reason for the crudity of the
Ioriginal performance is worth noting
Most. of them, as a matter of fact, had
forgotten what the ancient garb Of
the tribe was, and such of the older
lgeneration as remembered lacked
leither the materials or the skill to
make the proper costumes AS the
EZunis excel in pottery and the Nava-
hoes in blankets, so the ancient Glib
ways were masters of that most beau
Itiful of aboriginal arts, bead and por-
Ncupine quill work, yet these Indians
from the Garden River reservation
(near Sault Ste. Mariel had not the
slightest idea of artistic embroidery.
Y Their leggins and moccasins were, in
many cases, destitute of any but the
most commonplace osnamentation
and their general appearance was far
removed from that of the gorgeous
4 .o-o- - tboir tribal history an