New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-06-10
INDIAN ACTORS GIVE
'H|AWATHA' All NATUREL
Band of IrOquoiS Enact Scenes
of LOngfeIIOW'S Poem on
Woodland Stage.
ONLY CAMERA MEN JARED
Fine Performance MARRIED by
omnipresent Photographers
Young and Old Enjoy
Poetic Realism.

OCllC hCdllS Ill.
+. e. Moore's troupe Of Iroquois actors,
brought here by the Womans Municipal
League TO present "Hiawatha" in the
woods at Fieldston beyond Van Cortlandt
Park, gave their first performance Of a
months engagement yesterday afternoon.
There was only one Earring note in the
whole thing. That note was Supplied by
the photographers from New York. who
projected themselves into the play.
As far as action went. the photogra-
piers were quite aboriginal and hence in
keeping with the spirit. In their anxiety
TO snap the stars at effective moments
they crouched like members OF hostile
tribes behind rocks and trees. They
stalked them around hillocks and through
underbrush. But their clothes didn't Mt
in the picture at all To see a photogra-
pher In a gray sack suit and trousers
leap out and aim his camera at Hiawatha
and Minnehaha when the lovers came in
feathers and buckskin over the hill from
the Land Of the Dacotahs it was really
a shock 10 ones sense OF fitness
Won't Mr Moore please escort photog-
raphers into the dressing room hereafter
and make them put on feathered head
dress and a blanket before turning them
loose on the grounds? For the grounds
are the stage and really il was beauu-
ful yesterday. with wigwams dotted here
and there. and the sunlight Pickering
down through the trees
Much Of the action took place tn front
Of the tent Of Old Nokomis and on the
other side Of the little pond before which
Il was pitched were the boxes and seas
for the audience. built on the side OF
gentle rise OF ground.
Youngsters Enjoyed Themselves.
Maybe the children in that aud ence
didn't enjoy themselves The older pe'-
pie liked il. but fancy what bliss for the
children to see real Indians doing rca!
war dances and smoking r-al peace pipes
I'm a real forest
The unseen voice that detained the
lines from Longfellow's poem while the
Indians were acting the episodes was
very puzzling TO one wee chap In knlck-
erbockcrs Wee as he was. ne knew
what the poem was about.
"Oh. ] dess dats Gltche Manic talkn. ~
he piped But where's he talkin o:
Up in the trees h. stared. and over the
h!lIochs. and he wasn't happy tN be lo-
Gated the voice in little brush hut by
Nokomis's tent
In the second scene-thc first was just
the smoking OF tn, peace pipe by tue
tr1bes-Hiawatha was the darlingest little
copper-colored papoose mothered BY the
old Nokomis He grew up into small
boy by the opening Of the third scene
and took a lively part in the native
dances that made the play so picturesque.
Some OF the dances By groups Of Indian
children We're. by The way. curiously He
the folk dances. Swedish and Russian. IN
troduced In our public schools.
In the fourth scene Iiawatha brought
his brlde-dark skinned Minnehaha. IN hei
white buckskin. whom he had wooed with
a slain deer. which looked susp.clOus.y
Ike d stuffed one, but never mlnd-WeH'
ne brought her across the hills, and then
come the wedding ceremonies, and the
mischief making OF Pan-Puk- hee"is.
whom the wee chap In knickerbockers IN
stsntlv named "Old ed-White-and-
Blue" because his costume really dId
make him look like Uncle Sam.
Death Of Mlnnehaha.
The famine AMI the death Of Minnehaha
were really quite affecting. even though II
did seem A bit queer 20 see E!aWatnd
looking for deer among the green trees
while the unseen voice was declaim!ng:
"Ob the long and dreary winter.
"Oh the cold and cruel winter!
The sting was taken out Of Mlnnehaha
death. too. by the wee chap In knicAer-
bockers. who piped
ooh. she can't be WEAKLY dead. cause
she's got TO act again tomorrow.
The burial procession up the little hill
was very picturesque-though the dummy
that was Minnehahas corpse was good
deal smaller than Mnnehaha-and so was
the last scene when Hiawatha bade fare
well 10 his people and sailed away INTO
"tbe Land Of the Hereafter" And II you
didn't follow him too far with your eyes
Won didn't see his canoe bump up on the
other side OF the little pond.
The night performance there IN the
lighted forest was deliciously Wierd' out
n heating facilities could be devised IL
would have been more agreeable for the
o,.Jtapca