The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-09-07

Cleveland ball player?" Then that
line of thought is quite likely to
break into--Talk about your Ty
Cobbs, and Wagners and Bakers
guess you never saw Sockalexis when
he was in his prime" or Yes, Big
Chief Meyers and Bender are some
Injuns, but you'd oughter seen Louis
SockaleXis. Why in a game on the
Polo grounds once. I saw him" and
Sockalexis stories will be fan feed for
some years to come.
Much has been written about Sock
alexis of today that is not fact. He is
not dying in poverty" neither is he a
ghost of his former self" He is not
running ferry. He is just a fat
smoky, lazy Indian, who lives with
the tribe on the Indian island reser-
walton of the Penobscots, which is
practically a part of the city of Old
Town, being but a few rods from the
mainland He doesn't work much be-
cause he doesn't have to. He couldn't
die in poverty, because poverty is I'M
times when the people are not living
IN luxury the tribe is in a way the
wards of the state of Maine and has
a tribal income enough to provide for
the necessities. As for being a ghost
he weighs close to 200 pounds
When he takes a notion he picks IN
an odd job and sometimes works for
the ferryman, but for the most part
he spends his time reading the sport
ing news of which he never misses q
line, devours every big league game
with great interest and is always
ready to fan with anyone, for a ne
culiar trait of his is that he is about
the only Indian ever known here that
would talk. About four words is the
extent of the conversation of the
average Penobscot, but Sockalexis has
a great command of language and
plenty of it.
Leaving out his past career, about
the only thing of interest about the
Indian is his work as an umpire.
Many an old-time telegrapher, COPY
reader or compositor feels a bit of a
thrill when the box score of some
game down this way winds up with
Umpire, SockalexiS.' Several years
ago they had some hectic baseball in
northern Maine, when the bloody ri
valry of the big Aroostook towns like
Houlton, Caribou, Pressure Isle and
broke out into organized
war under the polite name of the
Northern Maine League.
The potato barons after a big crop
poured out money by the barrel for
players. The sky was the salary limit
The teams were made up of contract
jumpers. old timers, college pets,
home idols and such. Fines didn't
go. Money was bet on every game
that would make even metropolitan
sport open his eyes The umpire
problem was the most serious Local
men were all but assassinated. Sew
eral former professional umpires from
and Connecticut were
imported to be chased TO the woods
SOckaIexis as Umpire.
Finally someone suggested Socka-
lexis and he was tried out in a game
between the two bitterest rivals. He
was master of the situation from the
moment he stepped upon the diamond.
The keen black eyes, which perhaps
are about the only veStige of the
Sockalexis of old, were always on the
ball He soon won the confidence of
the batteries for his uneTring judg-
ment on balls and strikes. He was
on top in every base play. He in
sisted on big league discipline of the
players. He said but little but when
he had occasion to express himself 70
a player he let fly a single bolt of
sarcasm that was whitening as it was
unanswerable. He finished the season
and has umpired nearly all the i'm