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Show ORONHYATEKHA Two twenty-year-old lads stood facing fac-ing each other on a Canadian Indian reservation one day In 1861, while around them crowded brilliantly uniformed uni-formed officers, civic magnates and gayly apparelled Indians. One of the boys was tall, slender, swarthy and was clad In the full regalia re-galia of a Mohawk chief. He was Or-onhyatekha, Or-onhyatekha, lineal descendant of the great war chiefs of the "Six Nations." The other boy slim, light-haired, Of medium height and arrayed in the uniform uni-form of a British colonel was Albert Edward, prince of WTales, the recently deceased King Edward VII. of England. Indian chief and British prince faced each other in a moment of awkward silence, while Oronhyatekha ransacked his brain for the flowery English speech of welcome he had so carefully prepared. He knew just what he wanted want-ed to say. But in this moment of stress his hardly-acquired knowledge of the English language utterly deserted him. The Prince and the Indian. The braves who had chosen the young fellow as their spokesman scowled at him and muttered under their breath. The gorgeous military and civic staff fidgeted uneasily. Suddenly Sud-denly Oronhyatekha's heavy face lighted light-ed with an inspiration. He burst forth Into the speech he had planned. But instead of speaking English, he delivered deliv-ered the address in the purest classical Greek! The prince of Wales and his staff listened with open-mouthed amazement. They had expected to hear a dusky orator grunt out a few ill-pronouuced sentences in broken English. Instead, this moccasined, deerskin-clad savage was addressing his sovereign with perfect fluency In a dead language that comes only haltingly halt-ingly to the Hps of many a college president. That speech made the young chief's fortune. Oronhyatekha was born on the Six Nations reservation, near Brantford, Ontario, Canada, on August 10, 1841. While he excelled, as a child, in the rough sports and exercises of his fellow-Indians, he had almost a mania for study. He saw that education alone could lift him above the sordid life of his fellow-Mohawks. He learned all that the local Industrial school could teach him. Then he managed to raise funds to take him to the celebrated cele-brated old Wesleyan academy, at North Wilbraham, Mass. There he quickly reached the head of his class and was graduated with high honors. The young prince of Wales was making a tour of the United States and Canada. He was due to visit the Six Nations reservation on a certain cer-tain day. Oronhyatekha, as the best educated of the local Indians, was chosen to make the speech of welcome. When the prince of Wales heard the impromptu Greek oration he became at once keenly interested In the speaker. speak-er. A few questions drew forth the iudian's life story. The prince at once took charge of Oronhyatekha's education. educa-tion. He sent the Indian to Oxford university. There he placed him under un-der the tutorship of the royal physician, phy-sician, Sir Henry Acland. By the time he returned to Canada Oronhyatekha was a physician of splendid ability. He settled in Ontario and quickly built up a large practice. Then in 1881 he chanced to get control of a decrepit insurance company. This he strengthened an enlarged until from it arose the famous fraternal society, so-ciety, the Independent Order of Foresters. Forest-ers. His wealth and his importance in the community grew with each passing year. A Canadian Celebrity. Meantime, while taking naturally to the life of a prosperous white man, Oronhyatekha did not wholly forget the warlike instincts of his ancestors. He took the field with the militia in more than one uprising and proved himself a fearless, brilliant soldier. He was also one of the finest marksmen in all Canada. Despite his success, Oronhyatekha was to the last an Indian In-dian of the highest type. He worked constantly for his people's welfare and uplifting. His wife was an Indian girl, great-granddaughter of Brant, the mighty Iroquois war chief. White men and red alike honored the "Mohawk Millionaire" as Oranhyatekha was nicknamed. Physician, philanthropist, insurance magnate, thirty-third-degree Mason, gentleman of leisure Oronhyatekha, up to his death in March, 1907, was one of Canada's best known, most picturesque pic-turesque figures. (Copyright.) CHIEF JOSEPH Down the slope of White Bird canyon, can-yon, In the gray dawn of June 17, 1877, marched a company of ninety United States soldiers and ten armed frontiersmen. Colonel Perry was at their head. They were on the trail of a band of hostile Nez Perce Indians. A thin reck of smoke far down the gorge warned them they were nearing the Indian camp. Moving forward with caution, Perry planned to take the camp by surprise. The canyon was silent as a grave. The savages were apparently asleep. It looked as though the soldiers would-win an easy victory. Suddenly the rocky trail in front burst into a whirlwind of flame and powder smoke. From behind every hush and bowlder spurted a tongue of fire. At the same moment the top of a ridge at the south side of the canyon can-yon bristled with war bonnets and blazed into sudden furious action. The whole gorge reverberated with rifle shots. The troops were mowed down on every side. Battle of the Canyon. In a battle against sixty Indians, Perry and one hundred men had been whipped, with a loss of about one-third one-third their number. And the savage to whom the victory was due was a tall, grave-faced Nez Perce, named by his own people "Hln-Mah-Too-Yah-Lat-Kekt" (Rolling Mountain Thunder), but known to history as "Chief Joseph." Jo-seph." His "nation," the Chute-Pa Lu, were called "Nez Perce" (Pierced Nose) by early French colonists, from their ancient custom of wearing nose rings. They were a mighty clan, living liv-ing In the present states of Oregon, Idaho and Washington. They were more civilized than most Indians and were friendly to the white pioneers. Their most treasured tract of land was the beautiful WTallowa valley In northeastern Oregon.' White men encroached en-croached on this valley, and, by a treaty in 1SG3, the government secured It from the Nez Perces. The Indians were ordered to leave their old home and go to the Laponal reservation In Idaho. The majority of them obeyed. But many stayed where they were, un der Joseph's leadership. Joseph was at this time only twenty-two, but he had already taken his aged father's place as chief. In spite of the chiefs protests the government early in 1877 sent Gen. O. O. Howard to oust Joseph and his fellow Indians from the Wallowa. He ordered them to leave within thirty days. In vain they protested against leaving their crops before fall, and said they could not collect their straying stray-ing cattle in so short a time. Joseph, to avoid trouble, at last consented to go. But before the thirty days were up several Indians were wantonly killed by white settlers. The Nez Perces sprang to arms In revolt. General Howard and a force of troops with cannon now went after the. victorious Indians. On July 11 he found Joseph and 300 warriors waiting behind breastworks on the Clearwater river. For two days the battle raged. Then, unable to withstand the artillery, artil-lery, the Indians withdrew. Joseph, by a clever ruse, got them safely away, and then, by a sudden flank movement, threw his pursuers into disorder. dis-order. Thence he took his followers over an almost impenetrable mountain pass Into safety. General Gibbon with 200 cavalry fell upon them at dawn on August 8, only to be beaten off with heavy loss. The pursuit, however, how-ever, grew all the more hot. The telegraph tel-egraph kept the government apprised of the fugitives' movements. From every side the troops were rushed against Joseph. A Broken Pledge. Detachments under Miles, Howard and Sturgis sought In vain to hem him In. For one thousand miles he conducted his wonderful retreat. Then, only fifty miles from the Canadian Can-adian Dorder, he was stopped by a fresh body of troops in front of him. The chief sent word to Sitting Bull, who was hiding in Canada with twelve hundred hostile Sioux, to coiTle to his help. Sitting Bull would not do it. Joseph could still have escarTed with ease, but would not leave Bis wounded and the women and children (Copyright.) |