The Irish standard., 1907-03-30
Thus the Noble Object Sought by Helen
Hunt Jackson in "Remona" Seems
Near to Realization.
Since Her Time Other Friends of the Indians
Have Worked in Their Interest
Continuously.

A few weeks ago President Roose-
velt sent a message to Congress rec
ommending legislation which would
restore to certain mission Indians in
Southern California the lands from
which they had been evicted years
ago. Few persons connected that act
with one of the greatest American
novels ever written, says a local cor
respondent Of the st. Louis Globe
Democrat, for comparatively few per-
sons know that Ramona" one of the
most beautiful stories of any age or
any land, q story which In literary
quality has few, if any, superiors in
the English language, and which has
had more readers than any work of
fiction ever published in America, with
the exception of "Uncle Toms Cabin"
few persons know that the sole OBJ
ject of this classic of Western litera-
cure was the relief of the mission In
dians. Ramona Is. a novel with a
purpose. a most deliberate purpose.
and it took the form of novel solely
because the author believed that pur-
pose could best be served by present.
ing facts in a way that would reach
the great masses of the American
people. That it failed. Of immediate
accomplishment was no fault of the
story, nor of the worthiness of its OBJ
ject. "Uncle Toms Cabin" dealth with
a problem upon the solution of which
the very life of: the nation depended,
it appeared at time when the cur
rent of events was bringing the neces-
sity of the immediate solution of this
problem home to every American citi-
zen, and it's influence was in conse-
quence entirely out of proportion to
its value as a literary work, however
great that may be considered. "Ra-
mona" dealt with the wrongs of
few poverty stricken Indians dwelling
in a faraway corner of the country,
so far away at that time that they
might as we'll have been in Afghani-
stan, so far as public interest in them
was concerned. Few, indeed, of the
readers to whom Helen Hunt Jackson
appealed had ever heard of the mis-
sion Indians, and to the great major
ity ramona" was just a story,
wonderfully written story, but nothing
more. ...
In the Coronel collection of Califor-
nian relics, which is a feature of the
permanent exhibit of the Los Angeles
9Chamber of Commerce, the visitor
will notice an oil portrait of Helen
Hunt jackson, the author Of "Ramo-,
na," and beneath it the little table
upon which part of the story was
written. He may wonder why this par
ticular portrait and table are associa-
ted with this particular collection,
and If he follows an inquiry with in
vestigation, as 1 did, he will learn
SOIue very interesting 1dCtS WnlCn
throw new light on the inspiration and
meaning of Ramona" he will learn
how and under what circumstances
the story was conceived and written,
and he will make the acquaintance of
some real flesh and blood characters
who did not appear in the book, but
who were important factors in the
making Of it.
1t was in 1882 that Helen Hunt
jackson came to California, with a
commission from Scribners' to write
something about the mission Indians.
She was already widely known as a
writer and worker in behalf Of the
American Indians generally. Her
Century Of Dishonor" had thrilled
the nation and Influenced the govern
ment as no other book on the subject
has ever done, before or since. Her
original purpose was to make: a thor
ouSh Investigation Of the condition