Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-13
ARMY TO PORTRAY
OX-WAGON DAYS
OF 100 YEARS AGO
Annual Military Exposition at
War College Sept. 1927 to
Have Quaint Drama.
CAVALRY TO BATTLE
INDIANS ON PLAINS
All Branches Of Service to Be
Represented on Program
Of Carnival.

The tide of empire westward, the
trail Of the covered wagons, across
the prairies, the deserts and the Rock
les, beset by hundreds of dangers, will
be told In the play that will be the
principal feature of the annual Mill
tary Exposition and Carnival to be held
at the Army War College September
IS, 26 and 81, 1t was announced today.
The play, depicting the part the blue
clad United States Cavalry played in
the stirring times of transcontinental
travel by covered wagon, is a departure
from the usual practice for these shows,
which heretofore have drawn from the
wealth of material provided by the
World War.
Marking the Tooth anniversary of the
departure of the first wagon train from
st. Louis for Oregon, in 1880, the play,
1.-THE Perils of the Plains" has been
prepared for this years show and will
be given at afternoon and evening per-
formances throughout the carnival.
Oxen and Wagons.
OK teams have been secured from the
farms of st. Mary's County, Md, COW
cred wagons have been rugged up After
hard-riding Fort Myer cavalrymen will
be the Indians who viii battle the
transcontinental emigrants and the
blue-blad cavalrymen who will come to
their rescue.
Over the wide parade ground the
play will be given, the production being
cast on large scale. with amplifierS
hidden in the prairie Schooners and other
places where needed to carry voices of
the players to the stands ranged along
the parade ground.
Another new feature of the show this
year will be q realistic fight between
an Army plane and tank. The fight
will take place with real machine guns
popping and the plane dropping live
bombs on the tank.
Flyers from Boiling Field will engage
in dog fights" and provide stunt fly
ing over the parade grounds throughout
the three days of the show.
The 9Th Field Artillery, from Fort
Myer, as in former years, will give an
exhibition of artillery in action and
execute intricate drill movements.
The infantry of the Washington Bar
racks will provide silent drills and en-
gage in combat with "Strafing" plane
from Boiling Field.
Bridge 10 Be Built.
The Army Engineers will build a
bridge on the parade ground in few
minutes. Artillery, tanks and a wagon
train will pass over 1t and then it
viii be blown up for the spectators.
Tanks will fight each other and at
tack Artillery.
In addition there will be the COM
p1ete military exposition which has
been a part of the show every year,
with all forms of Army equipment,
characterizing all branches Of the serv-
ice, on display. There viii be big and
little guns, field kitchens, radios, aerial
photography equipment, airplanes OF
the standard types in use in the Army
Air Corps, tanks, a collection OF uni
forms of all periods IN the history OF
the Army, tractors, chemical warfare
equipment, weapons of all kinds and
machines for making weapons.
The play, the principal feature, was
written and is being directed by Maj
r. r. Lawrence of the War College.
Mai, Lawrence also has painted the
posters being distributed about town
announcing the event, and painted the
scene which will adorn the cover of
the carnival programs.
Leading parts in the play will be
taken by Maude Howell Smith, Viz
ginia Lawrence, Maurice Jarvis and
&A0NACAAAC @S4A4AsAV SN~~~~S
Picturesque Prairie Scenes.
The opening of the drama will find
the long, slow moving prairie schooner
train drawn by oxen onto the parade
ground, with, all the picturesquenesS OF
theS old covered wagons recaptured.
Herds of cattle will be driven along
side the train; there will be children
walking beside the wagons, dogs trot-
ting beneath them, babes in arms peep
ing from beneath the wagons broad
canopies, and stern men, armed and
watchful, driving or riding slowly
alongside, scouts ranging far to warn
of attacks by Indians and looking for
water.
There viii be an attack by the In
dams, with some fancy riding exhibit
lions to be given by the attackers,
hand-to-hand battles between the In
dams and the emigrants and thrill
ing rescue by United States Cavalry.
All this will be "in sound" Maj. Law
renee says, with a pretty little love
story brought out between a youth OF
the wagon train and a girl. who are
planning a happy little homestead on
the fertile shores of the Pacific.
The annual exposition was inaugu-
rated three years ago for the benefit
of the Army Relief Society and other
Army charities. 1t has become an out.
standing national demonstration OF
what the Army is doing, and all
branches Of the Army have co-operated
with exhibits, participants and material.