Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-11-19 | Page 7 | Stock Actors Give Able Portrayal of Indian Drama

Stock Actors Give Able Portrayal of Indian Drama Wilkes Players Seen to Best Advantage in Play of Heart Throbs. (TJE HEART OF W ETON A," a strong A Indian drama depicting the woes that befall an Indian maiden who loves not wisely but too well, is the offering of the Wilkes Stock company this week. The play is replete with difficult situations situa-tions and portrays the tribal laws and love of honor which are known to be dominating dominat-ing traits of the Indian character. The story is that of a simple, confiding Indian maiden, the daughter of a Comanche Coman-che chief, who has been educated in an agency school and who has absorbed much of the white, man's ways, but knows little of the white map's guile. Welona in her simplicity and gullelessnejss falls easy prey to a designing young officer and is led astray on the promise of marriage. When selected by the tribe to act as a sort of vestal virgin at a tribal eeremonv, such is her pride and honor, that she confesses con-fesses to her father, the chief, but refuses ' to reveal the name of the man she loves. The girl is made an outcast by her people, who invmediat ely begin to hunt for the man. determined to avenge the maiden's uronir. In her desperation she appoals to John TTaulin. Indian agent, a man whom the Indians all respect and believe in. They, however, believe him to be guilty and at the command of the chief. Hard in. who loves her. marries the girl to shield her. The story is well told in action by Ralph Clonincer. a? "John Hardin" and Nana Rryanl as "Wetona," the Indian mniden. Miss Uryant gives a brilliant portrayal 'of the difficult part and is well supported by Mr. Cloninger in the leading role. As ""Quannah." the Comanche chief, ' Frederick Moore displays ability that lends much to the strength of the play and gives it that semblance of reality that is so essentia!. es-sentia!. The supporting parts are w! ciM and plenty of oprortunitv ha s b'-n afforded each of the Wilkes players to show to ad-vantage ad-vantage their ability during the four acts o: the d-ama. The play closes with Wetona nt last aware that the man she trusted never loved hrr and that she bad merely been his plavthing fur the moment. She realizes real-izes the great sacrifice of John Hardin in shielding her sn-i sees in his generous art the firpt gleam of the truth that he p'Mpcd her because he loved her as a man j lo cs the one woman be would wed.