New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-08-19
u.dicine Man Finds "Moon
Not Ripe" Yet, but Re-
Volt Is in Air
Signal Fires May
Call Chiefs Again
Great White Father in
Washington Is in a
Quandary
Bv Robert H. Rohde

o,ovnAGA INDIAN RESERVA-
,,oN X, Y, Aug. 1S.-"The moon is
~ ~, ,io.. . said Dr. War Eagle, the med
sins man. ID Dc
ayot ripe" sagely assented Mary Big !
-. Grandmother Of all the tribal
rrsndmOthers of the onondasas'
syov not ripe" grunted Tommy Tea
y,ttl,, adapting to the situation the
'.,.iasge Of the paleface. "NOw not
i've, but may be soon"
vs,,o was another speaker to be
"A fror-one we'll qualified to in
' .'- into a warning the fanciful and
,t;spous talk Of these moonstruck red
-. che witch doctor, the old squaw
,bo oyeralled brave. But he can
vAit.
In Shadow of the Long House
rh.ss first three did their talking IN
a. shadow of the Long House." the
...,,a chamber. out of which to this
:, come the laws which govern the six
r,,,uois nations Of whom Cooper wrote.
,bout them stretched away, acre upon
~. as far as the eye could sec, the
,,rtile lands which support in meas
.. A. prosperity the last of the Onon-
;,,ss To the north the houses Of an
o,ondsga village shut off the view.
H,lf.elOthed pappooses and pappooses
.lotsed not at all tumbled over one
,,o,hsr in the dust Of the single street,
,.isily involved in a game that was
Eebly popular before Isabella ever
dreamed Of pawning her diamonds TO
.,lp the inquisitive Columbus.
Prom some hidden quarter the breeze
arrisd the quaverings Of a voice
,r,slsss. vet nevertheless lifted in song
which broke adolescently in the upper
rsgistsr. The song had 10 do with the
.tsts AZ the moon. The moon, too, was
IN the mind Of DR.. Erl A. Bates, presl-
Ssnt a he Indian Welfare Association.
A ,Ovple Of hours after, DR.. wal
Eagle and Mary Big Bear and Tommy
Tea Kettle had their enlgmatlc say Dr'
g,.ss stood with one foot on the 10"
dIofa window that looked out on
EaTen Street, only five miles from the
0.s,1asa village, but in the heart oil
4, ttv of Syracuse. Seven stories
ON biz interurban cars were roliln}
,.rvrh the busy .horoughfare, car;
a ing as the Long House" itself
n, sidewalks were black with otlc'
I'd factory workers released for TIT
isy, commonplace folk only vaguely
t5tscious that the country round abou'
u,r had owners other than their owl
Ind.
DR.. Bates Issues Warning
swhen the moon is ripe" said DR.
Bates, barking back to that threadbart
nple as he looked down upon the street
nevd, 'look out for trouble
fantastic IL may seem and wildly I'm
probable, but right here in New Yorh
State, a scant seven hours out of New
York City. and scarcely seven minutes
liney ride out Of the southernmos'
suburb Of Syracuse, Indian trouble is
brewing which may develop into some
ting far more serious than any Of the
sporadic outbreaks recently reported
from the "wild West" All concerned
ntlsding Dr. Bates, the Sheriff OF
Oteatzgs County and the lroquols
esn3lyes, are hoping deyoutly that II
ssst develop, and fearing that IL Will
Ia moon, in this case, is a figure
i'f he draft. When the draft comes
F" ne hoquois the moon will be ripe,
nd wen that full ripeness is achieved
vi mean the death, at least, Of the
eEs concerning the Englishman who
siats the New Yorker to tell him about
xs Indians And not unlikely, warns
" Bates, il will mean the more sud
~ death Of as many paleface deputies
30 soiolers as the ammunition boarded
y he Six Nations can account for.
An Unconquered People
sovereign nations, they proclaim
.ssn'elves; unconquered peoples they
ave proven themselves. They VOW
S9 vii remain both sovereign and
conquered, though the whole strength
melr surrounding neighbor nation,
asn. P''
nov close the moon came 20 ripen-
Few months back, only a few
~ khow: Dr.. Bates is one Of them
y . he. benefactor and confdant
~e Onondagas. who knows it best.
ohefs who know are in Albany.
Il. record Of the resistance which
- Hoquois had prepared against reg
g,oa 70 now for the first time dis
- 10 the man in the subway,
- aeSSpapcr assures him the year
80, u Will have the sound Of pure
a.. Yet there were days and
9oflng which romance was tinged
-. hose IN state and Federal au-
T-wlth the grimness Of reality.
- I've the story IS IL was told by
~ ~ Bates in the wake Of the matter
faction. s ""i'h was MS INTRO
~ Told by Indians Confidant
s,Ht Of ali Il IS well 20 put down
/ a. efs are living within the boun-
s.,,,.T half dozen reservations
vseieo about this section Of the
4 4. 10 fever than II 900 Indians OF
4 49, nations. The tribal lines no
80 are sharply drawn, but in the
i n, - The Onondsgas who inhabit
4 iS...siyaiion near Syracuse, and the
n. INC reservation beyond Utica.
sr,,,ssl1SeAs are on the Allegheny res
4 tls. N ara or lands south Of Buff
Lss...s 5onawks al the mouth Of the
t,r,l - kiyer, and the Tuscaroras
~ " buaalo. OF the Cayugas 20
ali Iei, that their tribal identity
!. f.,s W lost. A few Of them are 70
n. On each Of the reservations.
y Ia. ~ Nations now thus disposed
8 t,is.s,...a banded In an offensive and
5 .x,s<.e alliance ever since the
s<.y handsome Lake guided his
E.ss.S1 ace down OnondsYa Greek and
/ Dsssss sshere with his eheaf OF
sss-s That was long before the
q be white man, who found
1 ssss nosuo's confederation a full
- t. s,assos,raey already operative on
AZ =, he new continent.
a.sr..s. 't,esgh the centuries that de-
ss,.ss aAs endured the tribes have