New-York tribune., 1911-03-01
THE DRAMA
A Play of Indian Life. 1.-The
Arrow Maker"


a, The New Theatre. are astonishingly
good You may find IT in your heart 10
ask If they are alive. and II any Indians
So clean. cheerful, agreeable. well dressed
and cultivated ever inhabited the golden
valleys Of California. Doubts VIII ehsfn-
der These Indians are indeed of minor
tribe. the Sagharawites. Perhaps that Is
why they are uncommonly nice people as
| il were tribe of minor poets. There is
only ono fierce man among them and ne -
as fierce as an alderman. There is ONLY
| one treacherous man among them ana ne
! is as treachorous as white man. Mos'
| of them arc as superstitous as white folks
| And so IL is on the cards that the run of
us by and large, must revise our prlini-
| tive notions OF the primitive red man
| These Indians occupied California before
| the whites ever heard OF the place. and 1t
| is in that idyllic. IL undrained. era that the
scene Of the new drama is laid.
The story Of The Arrow Maker has
been told in this newspaper. Only the
| briefest summary is. therefore necessary
now The Chisera, Friend Of the Gods
| seeresS prophecies. fath-heaer. herb
| healer. provider OF magic and fortunes. is
! % lovely Indian maiden. doomed TO single
! life, l., the customs Of the tribe, because
| she is the Chisera. But secretly she loves
Simwa. the arrow maker. who pretends. Sc
! rrety. 10 love her. and who has made her
| his mistress. She. by her enchantments
\ and friendship with the Gods. makes
Simwa the war leader of the tribe. SimWa
rewards her by deserving her and marrying
Smwa the war leader Of the tribe Simwa
| who Is more astute as a politician than
| skilful as a warrior. leads the tribe from
/ defeat to defeat. and is finally removed
/ from his leadership and degraded. The
| broken hearted Chisera, who has dropped
| her incantatons for a year. and who could
not foresee her own msfortunes any more
| than II she were white medium In Sixth
avenue. takes heart of grace, is stirred By
| tho supplications OF the tribe, rises 10 the
| occasion and leads the tribe quite as Sue
| cessfully as IL she were white lady ex-
| pounding a new gospel 10 n congregation
OF faithful followers.
Now, all this is said not in depreciation
Of the play. but in praise OF IT, For weeks
ago the statement was given out in the full
! flush Of authority. that "A purpose Of the
| author of The Arrow Maker was TO show
| the SaGharawite equivalent of "a mans a
| nan for a that" or expressed in another
way. red or white. It's all the same. each
! f. human. And the PLAY proves ii. These
| Indians are as white under their skins as
any folk YOU will find in that red palace of
political joy i'm l4th street. or at Coney
! Island. or ~ that great hotel which one OF
/ the Wise Men OF the East said had been pro-
vided FOR the cXclusiveness Of the masses.
or az any OF the wealthy curled darlings of
/ Fifth avenuo. And that is why it must be-
necessary. If the author is right. and II the
theatre l. right to oyerturn the white mans
| long accepted ideas of human nature and
! Indian nature Tines" Indians have no cruz
! city in their blood. are tender with women
and smile In their dances. thev are as
/ ioyial as any crow Of jack tars as ever
sailed the briuy. Even when they so to
! war thoy are moro tender than terrible
| And AT all times they talk the choicest Eng
lish
) For tho life of YOU. you cannot say what
they would speak in a play written for
English speaking audiences II they were not
to talk English, just as tho characters in an
adapted French play speak English, or
Rroadwaycse in 2 New York performance.
But Mr. Hollands English is so very, very
choice. and Mr. Holland Is tho Indian chief
|
savage Cyvho would not hurt a fy) speaking
in Mr. Hollands incest manner. than which.
as cyerv one knows nothing is nicer. Rain
| Wind Is like one Of Mr.. Hollands dear old
family lawyers gone -masqueradng
But incongruity is bound To stare an au-
dienco in the face when an effort is made
10 present the life OF the aborieinals in
such poetic shape as the modern theatre
nj MI
mands in this instance every sort OF poetic
aid. No drama has ever been more beaUt-
fully presented at any theatre in the world.
The exquisite pictures OF canon and val
ley and mountain, the beautiful groupings
of the beautifully clad living figures. the
play Of light. the glory and delicacy Of
color, like tho colorinG OF heaven OF
dreams. are not likely 10 be surpassed In
our time The New Theatre Is to he cred
tied with a superb achievement in pictorial
and plastic art
! Without these exquisite and. at times
ma jestic aids. tho play itself might not SO
far but the loveliness of the entire ar
rangement must draw liberal support from
the public, should draw it. i'm fact because
nothing more beautiful can he ina gned
anything to equal il in beauty can hav,
been but seldom seen. The drama is dig
nined. poetic in spirit. without exciting
movement or any Of tho conventional at
tributes which its behol1crs are accustomed
to associate with the life Of the American
Indian. Perhaps its spirit is too poetic Il
be- convincing its setting too aesthetic to b'
true TO the life IL surrounds. But howcyt II
thar may be- the effect is enchanting.
The players Of The New Theatre have
difficult test 10 pass through I'm this piece
But most Of them pass 1t with nigh credit
Not one of them. Of course can make "a
think that he. or she. l. "A red Indian, anC
the author does not help them much In tha
respect Miss Edith Wynne MatthiSon Il
better than ever I'm scenes requiring declam
atory power. once or twice she rises e
surprising heights. But she is dressed witt
astounding lack Of discretion I'm the secono
T act the stripes Of her costume stretching
horizontally have the effect Of dwarfing he
at the very moments when her stature
- should bc commanding.
- Miss Bateman- Hunter gives an excellent
performance a. Bright Water the Chief
daughter. Mr. Gilmore looks we'll as al
70 Of them do. but he runs his words together
Mr.. Johnson is the only one in the cas-
n who makes you think he ever saw an In
dian living in the open. But. after all +
said where are the actors who could play
{ Indian" better than these New Theatre act
, ors do? Nowhere. Perhaps it is just a
q we'll that they are not more like real In
+ dians. But If much is said on this rioin
: the author can retort that nobody know
what the Indians were like before the Whit
I mans invasion. Anyhow. you may be SUR