The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-02-09

sports mas risen PhoonlX-iike from t
wears and the remnants of the dying
Tor1te sports OF his pale face dctractol
Baseball annals contain no name
that have achieved more prominence
than those OF Bender, the Chippewa
Meyers, the Mission Indian, and Socka
LEXIS, the Penobscot the football worlc
mas never known such SENSATIONAL,
consistent teams as those representing
the Carlisle Indian school, while tb,
nance of Hudson, Mt Pleasant, Cavou
Fierce and the great Thorpe arc ranked
with the kiugs of the gridirou game
Thorpe, the Sac and Fox from Okla
homs, has been classod as the greatest
aH-around athlete tho world has ever
known, and Longboat, the Onondsco;
Ueerfoot, the Penobscot. and Tewanima
the Hopi, have run rings around their
pale face opponents on the cipder
path
In all these couquests Of the pale.
lace the Indian has had nothing but
has natural racial adaptability to stb
te1lcs TO draw upon, as through il all
be has stesdfastly remained the tvpical
soorisine, recognizing TO discipline. dis.
Inclined 10 put forth any unnecessary
ehort and scoruing any preparation for
ms work, such as is recognized in The
careful physical training of the pale
tace athlete, careless. sbiftless. lazy.
except in the face OF an extreme cxi.
sency, partial to the pleasures of life
and absolutely lacking iu that self 4
DENIAL necessary 10 the dcvclopmept
Of physical perfection.
The story Of one is the story Of all
THIS racial trait being dominant. What
the Indian athlete has been he ALWAYS
was. His is not story of gradual de-
veiopment, arriving at his highest ef.
ticieney through q steadfast aprlics.
tion of industry and careful training
that improved on his past efforts such
az the pale face athlete, but rather a
story OF gradual retrogression from the
point of highest efficiency that marked
his pntural ability. Through each sto.
ry IS woven the fact that 'ewhat' g born
IN the blood can t be eradicated, - and
the aboriginal lack of discipline and
sef-denlal aud thirst for the pleasures
of Life have caused the active life of |
the Indian athlete to be much shorter
than that of his pale face brother. |
though the natural ability Of the rcd !
man has been unmatched.
Hook up the natural adaptability Of |
the Indian for athletics with the in
dustry, mental poise and capacity for
overcoming difficulties Of his pale face
brother and you would probably give
the world an athlete that would boost
marks so high that the present exist
ing athletes couldn t see them with the
and OF the Lick telescope.
Aside from their physical ability. each
aboriginal American who has left the
mark of his tomahawk on athletic rec.
ords has succeeded mainly through the
same natural racial characteristics, Just
as each has been handicapped by tho
same racial traits Of character. The
dominant factor in each Indian ath-
lete's success, aside from his natural
physical adaptability TO the sport. has
oeen coolness under fire that
amounts almost to csrelessness, quick,
ilnerI1ng eye, craftipess, cool. calculat.
conditions, and absolute lack of per,
vons system and a stoicism that refuses.
TO be shaken in the most crucial situa-
tons Each has been fspinch' play-
er and has excelled in those points Of
the game that call for an unerrinp
eye and lack OF nerves. Sockale1is,
Meyers and Bender, the baseball rep
Tssentatives Of aboriginal America,
have all been uncrring batsmen and
e1celled in their work in the most @
crucial situations. No batsmeu of their
DAY nave been more feared in the
piucbes" than have Sockalexis and
Meyers, and n crucial series ON which
everything depended on the resuIt of
mat one game no pitcher known to
baseball has proved more effective than
mas Bender, while when "pinch hit .
Mas needed to elinch an important ar
gument his manager has frequently
overlooked the rest Of his available
swatting talent and called on the In.
dian pitcher in the crisis.
Inns same racial trait of the red
man has always given the Carlisle In
dian football team a whole flock of I
skilled drop kickers who could be de.
pended upon to boot the ball between
the posts in crisis and FOR the same
kicks and open field running and dodg,
ing where an unerring eye and ouicE
cool judgment were required, while
being inferior TO their white brother
IN the physical mau-to-man struggle,
Even on the cipder path Longboat. TIE.
wanima aud Thorpe have exhibited this
racial trait To marked degree in their
cool, calculating nerve that refused 70
he shaken by any burst of speed on
the part of an opponent. ,
In a like degree each has shown that
ether racial characteristic Of failing