The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1909-09-11
REAL HERO OF LoNGfELIow.
Rev. T. c, Thomas, ,Full.Blooded Chip
pewa, Tells Some Facts.


Traverse City, Mich. -Resplendent in
a red blanket, clad in the costume of
his fathers, head dress and all, Rev. T.
c. Thomas, full blooded Chippewa
Indian of Odanah Wis. made two inter-
esting statements at the closing sessions
of the Indian camp meeting at North
port. First he declared that Hiawatha
was unknown to the American Indian
and, second, that one day, an Indian
would fill the chair of the chief execu-
tive of this nation.
'It is very simple, he said. "When
a white man asks an American who is
your greatest mani" he says, George
Washington" The little Indian lad
sitting in the forest with his bow and
arrow, observing the trees and the sky
and the sand and the waters of the great
lakes and the animals and fishes asks
himself, who made all these?" He can
not answer, so asks the old man of the
tribe. "Minebooshoo," says the old
man. "Minebooseoo made the earth
and the sky, the sun and the stars. the
wild things and the fishes and he made
you too, oh, my son."
"The Indian, before he became
Christian, naturally supposed that
Minebooshoo was the greatest man of his
nation and when the first white men
asked him that question he replied,
'Minebooshoo.'
Where does he live?" asked the
white man.
'Kit-che-wah-sah,' said the Indian
meaning far off.
''The white mans ears were not tuned
to the Indian pronunciation and they
caught it 'Hiawatha' and one great
white man, Longfellow, wrote our leg
ends with this unknown Hiawatha' as
his hero. We do not know any Hia-
watha do WEI" asked the speaker ap-
pealing to the aged men who had places
of honor on the platform. There was
a slow shaking of the heads. mime
booshoo," said the speaker. and over
each scanned and SCARED countenance
there came the light of understanding
and grunt of assent.
After outlining the similarity of the
primitive Indian religion with that of
the Jewish church, stating that the In
dians had legend of the destruction
of the earth by flood and used the
cross as symbol in their great med
icine Dances" the speaker stated:
when l was away to school, l who
was born little red papoose in hut
in wilderness and kept warm by means
of bark, went down to the white mans
school and saw his numbers, saw his
great resources, his wonderous wealth,
his inventions and how he made even
the earth to obey him, l thought it twould
be well, Nabanayash. if you and your
people were wiped out, annihilated,
for of what avail would it be to you to
survive when the white man has all this?
But God put good thoughts into the
white man and made him look after
the Indian and lift him up, so the white
man gave us schools.
There is hope for the Indian. One
of these days, l am going down to Wash.
ington and help you make your laws.
You have given me the right of the
ballot and you will give me seat
among your councils.
Listen" and the tall figure became
still taller. Outside the summer breeze
rustled through the birches. The twi
light was beginning to fall. The meet
ing was being held in great open aud
itorium, sheltered not from the winds
but only from the rain. Within were
the gay decorations the Indians love
with row after row of dusky, tense face,
while scattered about were the whites
On the platform was seated the native
choir with the native organist and al
old men, old, old, men, some of then
as old as Time itself, wrinkled and with
cIcu hhc PiPpiiio thoI uou iiot WhheSiS'
well, yet following the English discourse
of their learned brother with perfec
ease.
Listen, and the powerful right arm
swung into abeautiflly natural gesture
Zone of these days, the white men ant
the negro, whom you landed on thes'
shores will fight. 1t will be a bite
fight. The white man is strong and ha
q good brain, but there are many blacl
men. Each sun that dies, sees befor
he rests, 700 little black babies born in
to this world. The fight will continu,
for days. 1.-THE aged line was bending
forward, the speaker in his earnestnes
having used the Indian equivalent TO
battle land neither side will conquer
Then you white men and the negroe
will come to the Indian and say, Re
man, you decide this trouble; you be tn
arbitrator and the red man, grow
wise and strong, will consent. He wi
use his brains and he will decide wisely
Then the black man will say, w