Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1904-08-20

way Indians in natural Open-ai
theater near the $500"
The old legend of the tribe, which
Longfellow has made familiar by his
wonderful characteristic poem, is re-
duced to what might be called tab
leaux vivant, for. as presented by the
Indians, it has scarcely the merits of
the drama as we now look upon it,
and yet it is not a long cry from the
primitive plays from which our
drama was evolved. Much of it is
in pantomime, although speech-the
Ojibway language is used-is not en-
tirely discarded.
The singular appropriateness of
performing this beautiful legendary
drama on the spot where its action is
believed to have actually taken place
in those distant ages whose history
is recorded only in the folk-tales, in
terests the spectator almost as much
as the performance itself. On the
shores of Lake Huron, near Kingston,
only short distance from the famous
800" canal, through whose enormous
locks more tonnage passes each year
than from any port in the world, the
drama is performed each year. Side
by side with the poetic legendary
III
heroes and heroines, is the insistent
commercial present, choking the
canal with it's onrushing tide of bust
ness and clouding the sky with the
smoke of Industrial fires.
While the human desire for gain
may account for some of the interest
taken in the play by the Indians,
there is evidently a deeper incentive
responsible for their appearance in
tne annual play. There is undoubted-
ly family pride in the past of their
tribe, and pride in the fact that the
poet of the pale faces took the tribal
legend and made of it a poem known
around the world. 1t is approached
with the same reverence with which
religious plays are in certain other
parts of the world, for from the In
dian point of view it expresses some
thing of the religion, or former re-
ligion, of the tribe.
The drama of 'Hiawatha" is of re-
cent origin. Although the legend has
been told from generation to genera
ton in the Ojibway tribe, it was only
four years ago that it was reduced to
some semblance OF a play and per-
formed. 1t is known that the Aztecs
had a drama; indeed, one of them
told story start1ingly similar to
that of Damon and Pythias, so ia
miliar in our own literature. With
the coming OF the white men certain
"ballets," or pantomfmes with words,
were written for Central American
tribes, and they were taught by the
early missionaries or travellers to act
in them While the North American
Indians have a strong dramatic gift,
which must be known to all who
have studied them, they have no
drama, although certain ceremonies
and tribal rites are, in a measure,
theatrical.
During the year 1899 sportsmen's
show was held in Boston, and, indeed,
in other cities of the country, at
which a group of Ojibways were pres
ent to give the necessary local color.
While showing in Boston, Kabaosa, a
leader among the tribe, and his
nephew, wabonosa, were entertained
by the daughters of the poet Long
fellow. The Indians were charmed
with the attentions of their hostesses,
and the latter promised to visit the
Ojibways at their home in the Hia-
watha country This by-incident sug-
Rested to L. o. Armstrong, the head
of the Colonizing Department OF the
Canadian Pacific railway, that 1T
would be a novel and interesting spec
| tacle for the Ojibways so perform .