The Washington herald., 1914-02-28
WARRIORS watch OLD
BATTLES With Indians
Veterans See Themselves in Movie
Reproduction of Bloody Conflicts
of Frontier Campaigns.
BUFFALO BILL" Is DIRECTOR

Army officers. active and retired. griz-
zled veterans of the Indian wars. yes
terday lived again their battles during
two complimentary presentations Of
moving pictures OF frontier battles, in
which many Of them participated. The
pictures were shown first at the Co.
| lumbia In the afternoon, and the Home
\ Club of the Interior Department in the
evening.
Under the direction of Col william
F. Cody, dear to the hearts Of hundreds
of thousands the world over as Buffalo
Bill, the Indian fights through which he
passed as a chief scout with United
States troops were re-enacted last sum-
mer on the scenes Of the original en-
gagements.
The War Department loaned United
States troops for the purpose, and the
Interior Department permitted the mobi-
lization of Indians, and then virtually all
survivors on both sides Of the conflicts
were gathered into a council to make the
scenes historically correct. The result Is
a set of films almost uncanny in their
realism. The realism was carried even
to the point of having officers of general
rank, active and retired, re-enact the
parts they played in battles as young
lieutenants. Mai. Gen. Miles Is seen re-
viewing again on the plains of South
Dakota, the victorious troops following
the battle of Wounded Knee, the last
battle OF the last Indian uprising. And
gathered around him are many who sat
their horses during the review twenty
two years before In an earlier picture,
Col II. G. Sickles, now in command of
the Twelfth Cavalry. is seen scouting on
his stomach through the sage brush, in
company with Buffalo Bill, watching a
wagon train which was about to be at
tackled by a band OF Cheyennes-a part
he had played as a young lieutenant,
and upon the identical spot.
Many national figures appear in the
presentation. Besides Lieut.. Gen. Miles,
are Maj. Gen. Jesse M. Lee, Brig. Gen.
Charles King, Brig. Gen. Frank Baldwin,
Brig. Gen. Marion Maus, from the army
veterans. and Short Bull, who led in
person hundreds of warriors, many vet
Grams of the warpath OF the powerful
Red Cloud, Ogallalla nd Spotted Tail
Brule Sioux through the scenes they re-
enacted in bloody earnest many years
before
The pictures cover scenes from 1876 to
1ssl-from the battle of War Bonnet
Greek in the Custer campaign. to the
end Of the Messiah Ghost Dance Craze
Wharf.-The Pine Ridge campaign.
Many of the scenes are beautiful many
are inspiring, others impress through the
terrible realism they show. All defy a
detailed description, but the verdict of
the audiences who sat spell-bound
through the two presentations may be in
dicated from the remark OF Brig. Gen.
Hall, a veteran Of the Custer campaign
and most of the Indian fights
bill, / didn't think it could be done"
he said, clasping Col. Cody's hand during
the performance at the Columbia. "I
didn't think until / saw these pictures
that 1t would be possible to reproduce
what we went through out there"
The Columbia performance was given
under the auspices of the National Press
Club. Every seat in the house was filled
when Senator Francis z. Warren arose
for a brief introduction Of Col. Cody. In
the audience were most of the general
officers stationed here, among them the
Adjutant General Of the Army.
The evening performance at the Home
Club of the Interior Department was at
tended by especially invited guests of
Secretary Lane, who, with Secretary
Garrison and Maj. Gen Leonard Wood, |
has done everything in his power to make
the venture a success Members of the |
Cabinet and their wives, Senators and
members of Congress and military men |
of this and other nations packed the club |
to capacity.
One complete set of reels will be pre- |
served in the archives Of the War Depart |
ment as a historical record of the frontier |
campaigns, a record such as never be- |
fore was taken Of q similar set Of scenes. |