OCR Text |
Show I I f 1 f v - ? Indian Chiefs at the Unknown V n 1 Soldier entombment ceremony 'k 'V )' X By EDITHA L. WATSON V V "U'l I 1 pDIANS! On the Warpath! THOMAS ( " V X C&f What a parade-, hat a Q SAUNDE 73 X- - ' J J 1 gorgeous, savage, blood-thrill- u jhji-iulko "t ' ' " ' ,5w-rf-'' .4jr fY l'aSwmt 11 would be, to ..r'j.JW'JWHu,JiJmmjiua'jj'i',";'L. pi liwujj; , v ' J-jfs. B see them trooping across the Wtf ' " ,K "v. r ecr-? f ' '- - IVlfU Happy Hunting Grounds! ,J v " If ' ' Tl. First "ould come the an" ' " ilr ' -'" w -- ' V, Xfv cient Stone-Age warriors, clad ;f ' z ' ' in skins and armed with rude t ' f ' ' " hammers trail makers: a terrible vanguard for fl " , ' Vk ' , a terrible army. Then, the prehistoric tribes ) a. & J which followed them, all on foot, glorious to ' ' j .asay behold as their painted bodies rippled by. Here 1 v , were the lords of the Red Gods' creation, the i J CJD1S LEADER. children of Mother Earth, vho nevertheless 1 1 . j October 8th, 101S, he bravely conducted a pa sought battle with their brothers, fighting for - , j trol un(er hoavy tre Dunng the nlght h the sheer joy of it. ? i - j O made a reconnaissance close to the enemy, ol Then, surely, there must be a little space to " . the position which hia section was to occupy mark the coming of the white men and the I If , JS ' .-J in the front, and returning, conducted it to that strange consequences of that coming. After that, f " position.' again, we would see the tribes which shll fought -t J t X. 'll "Such heroism is understood by a man's corn-each corn-each other and those who fought with and - J rades more than can be explained in writing, as against the newcomers, their belts hung with i A e j dunng time of stress the one who doeg what scalps, their moccas.ned feet eager on the war- ts f i . tK f- Saunders did, does it with no thought of self, path- WiifVfiil'f 1 .-'' :t iiiil-l but only of carrying out to the best of his abil-Now abil-Now familiar names and faces pass by. Pope, f f r I ' ' ' lty "hat he belleNes llls dllty to be. In my i leader of the Pueblo rebellion of 1CS0; King 1 ' ') ' 'J'' close contacts. during and since the World war, Philip, whose horrible death in the marches has , Tt, , ,1 , with Saunders, I can state that everything he been almost forgotten ; Sitting Bull, Black ""IT? does is a bit better and with more energy than Hawk, and others of those superb fighting men t-JO-SE-WH UrLAMOMBI other meQ of a puvsic.ue wouid do tne same 4 By EDITHA L. WATSON NDIANS! On the Warpath! What a parade what a gorgeous, savage, blood-thrilling pageant it would be, to see them trooping across the Happy Hunting Grounds! ?A 1 Vy6vS First would come the an- ' v Py cient Stone-Age warriors, clad in skins and armed with rude hammers trail-makers: a terrible vanguard for a terrible army. Then, the prehistoric tribes which followed them, all on foot, glorious to behold as their painted bodies rippled by. Here were the lords of the Red Gods' creation, the children of Mother Earth, who nevertheless sought battle with their brothers, fighting for the sheer joy of it. Then, surely, there must be a little space to mark the coming of the white men and the strange consequences of that coming. After that, again, we would see the tribes which still fought each other and those who fought with and against the newcomers, their belts hung with scalps, their moccasined feet eager on the warpath. war-path. Now familiar names and faces pass by : Pope, i leader of the Pueblo rebellion of 1CS0; King Philip, whose horrible death in the marches has been almost forgotten ; Sitting Bull, Black Hawk, and others of those superb fighting men riding by with war-bonnets flying and lances ready, an eye-filling cavalcade, whose hatred for their conquerors must still show on their keen-visaged faces. Those who befriended the white men could not ride with these grim old war eagles even In the Happy Hunting Grounds there must be a division of opinion which nothing, not even death, could heal! But here come Cornplanter, Red Jacket, and Ouray, making the friendship sign as they pass. And here strides Negwagon, the'Ottawa chief whose espousal of the American cause in the War of 1S12 resulted in his being driven from his home. He and his people retired to their hunting grounds, and raised the American flag over the camp. Happening to be alone. Negwagon Neg-wagon was visited by British officers, who ordered or-dered him to strike his flag. Though he was forced to obey, the chief wound the emblem around his arm, and drawing his tomahawk, said to the officers, "Englishmen, Negwagon is the friend of the Americans. lie has but one flag and one heart: if you take the one, you shall take the other." Women would not be lacking in this spectacular spectac-ular parade of fighters. Here is Bicaganab, the Chippewa woman who defeated a band of Sioux although her own people ran away and left her. Iiere is Winema, the "woman chief," who, nt the age of fifteen, rallied her people when they would have fled during an intertribal war. Here, too, is that unnamed Cherokee woman whose body, painted and decked like a warrior's, was found among her dead menfolk, where they had vainly tried to defend themselves on the "Trail of Tears," as they were driven out of their homeland. Warriors, these! And the mothers and fathers of warriors! Some historians claim that the entire history of America would be changed had the Indians not participated in the Revolutionary war. There is not a war in the history of the United States Jn which these first Americans did not make themselves known. But It was not until the World war that they took their places as American Amer-ican citizens and fought for the land of their birth and their ancestry. Then, on strange warpaths, war-paths, they fought their greatest fight, and surely sure-ly the great warriors of other days leaped down from the Happy Hunting Grounds and strode with them over the battle fields of France, nod-lirig nod-lirig grirn approval to each oilier as their children showed themselves valiant members of the fighting race. Surely, too, these World Warriors knew that they were aided by Tbose-who-ba ve gone-before ; their faith In ancient things Is as much a part of them as their fighting hearts. Perhaps a tiny Mono fetish, with an arrow head tied to It, or Borne other charm that was once the protection of n fighting chief, reposed In an olive-drab fiocket ns It once had lain over another stout heart. Perhaps, while the chaplain Invoked the white man's Coil, n silent appeal to Wakanda or to Those Above mingled with bis words. What If the warpath has given place to the highway? The lighting heart, essential Ingredient, Ingredi-ent, of a warrior, never dies. Seventeen thousand Indians heard the call to Die great halt In In 1!H7; they eniiiled as inn-rlJii'rt, inn-rlJii'rt, Koldlern, sailors, physicians, nurses, law-J'or:i, law-J'or:i, clerks, clergymen, engineers; they came October 8th, 191S, he bravely conducted a pa trol under heavy fire. During the night h made a reconnaissance close to the enemy, ol the position which his section was to occupy in the front, and returning, conducted it to that position.' "Such heroism Is understood by a man's comrades com-rades more than can be explained in writing, as during time of stress, the one who does what Saunders did, does it with no thought of self, but only of carrying out to the best of his ability abil-ity what he believes his duty to be. In my close contacts, during and since the World war, with Saunders, I can state that everything he does Is a bit better and with more energy thaD other men of equal physique would do the same thing. "During the World war, Saunders served with valor at Chateau Thierry and was evacuated from there. He served at St. Miliiel ; Blanc Mont (Champagne), where again he was evacuated evacu-ated wounded, and in Germany during the occupation occu-pation of the Second division. 'He received the Distinguished Service cross for his valorous conduct on October 8th, 1918, and the Croix de Guerre with Palm for his valorous conduct on September 12, 1918." And this man is a Cheyenne, of which tribe Mooney, famous ethnologist, says, "They are proud, contentious, and brave to desperation." Saunders is a worthy son of his beloved people. The Croix de Guerre, awarded for gallant action ac-tion in war, decorates a fine representation from various tribes. Among them are Ordnance Sergt. James M. Gordon, a Chippewa, who received re-ceived this honor for rescuing while under shell tire a lieutenant of the French army, who was wounded while on an inspection tour; Chester Armstrong Fourbear, Sioux, who was cited for bravery in swift running us a messenger at Bellicourt; John Harper, Ute; Thomas D. Saunders, Cheyenne; Marty Beaver, Creek, and Nicholas E. Brown, Choctaw, who was killed In action, lie was a corporal in the One Hundred and Forty-second Infantry (composed largely of Oklahoma Indians), and was posthumously awarded the medal. The Crow tribe proudly speak of Joe Sehen-derleon, Sehen-derleon, who was given the Distinguished Service medal as well as the Croix de Guerre. A Seneca-Modoc, Bert Dayman, also received the French medal, and among the Pueblos are "Indian Joe," Na-Iliv-A-Ta, a llopl, to whom was awarded the Distinguished Service medal, and Gus Gertiez, a Pueblo bugler, who has the Croix de Guerre. Four tribes were represented In the ceremonies ceremo-nies at the burial of the Unknown Soldier In Arlington Ar-lington cemetery. (What if this Unknown was an Indian? Perhaps he, too, follows the great warpath In the Happy Hunting Grounds!) Whirlwind Soldier and lied Owl, 1'iiie Ridge Sioux, and Stranger Horse, from the Rosebud Reservation, Lone Wolf, a Kiowa, and Plenty Coups, a Crow chief, assisled In the ceremonies. Thomas D. Saunders, whose story was told above, was one of the pall-bearers. Joseph Takes the Shield, Sioux, and Ray Red Fox, Chippewa, nre also at rest In Arlington. Arling-ton. Ancient foes, these nations, but their children chil-dren burled the hatchet that they might further the cause of their allied country, and now they are honored together for their devotion. Their warpalh ended In everlasting peace. There Is something strange and a Utile pathetic pa-thetic In the thought of American Indian sol diors, so far' from all they bad ever Known, enduring en-during hardships, danger, and death (for over 200 bring up the rear of that glorious parade In the Happy Untiling Grounds), with that admirable ad-mirable stoicism for which they are famous. Today, as Old Glory Hon Is serenely In Hie sunlight over a deserted warpath, Negwagon's words eiuiie back to us. Seventeen Ihonsand llghling Indians have proved them true; "The Indian Is the friend of the ' A mei-lean. has but one llag and one heart: If you tako the one you shall take the oilier." CO ty Wi'Hti-rn Nkwiiv'mmt llnltiu.l from the wigwams of the Chippewa, the tipis of the Sioux, the pueblos of the Hopi. Each tribe sent its best to serve the nation and what a service it was ! Two all-Indian companies were organized. There were 33 Sioux in the Fourth cavalry, U. S. A., at one time. There were between 35 and 50 Indian officers. Four brothers, Blackfeet, enlisted en-listed as privates. Surely their "medicine" was strong and their hearts brave, for they all returned re-turned at the end of the war with commissions. But we want to hear stories about individuals, individ-uals, the Red Clouds and Chief Josephs of this generation. Perhaps the ancient custom of re-clcing re-clcing their deeds in council has been dropped, but we will recite some of them here: The Chippewa evidently have not forgotten how to fight, for Francis Lequior, a young Chippewa, Chip-pewa, in company with two or three others, attacked at-tacked a machine gun nest, and when left as the only survivor, faced all that remained of the machine gunners and killed or captured the entire group. He received eleven wounds In action. Sergt. Odis N. Leader, Choctaw, was foreman fore-man of a cattle ranch In Oklahoma when he entered the war. To his great indignation, rumors ru-mors gained currency that he was a German spy, so he gave up his business at once, nnd enlisted to prove his loyally to America. lie was cited for bravery in the course of his brilliant bril-liant record, which included action at Cantigny, Soissons, the Saint-Mihiel salient, and the Ar-gonne Ar-gonne forest. He was twice wounded ami gassed. The French government selected Sergeant Leader as the model American soldier, of whom an oil painting was made to hang on the walls of the French federal building,, whore types of all the allied races are displayed. Sometimes Some-times the warpalh leads to high places! Private Joseph Oklahonibi, Choctaw, received re-ceived the Croix de Guerre, under order of Marshal Mar-shal I'elain. A translation of the order follows: "Under a violent barrage, dashed to the attack of the enemy position covering about 201 yards through barbed-wire entanglements. He rushed on machine gun nests, capturing 171 prisoners. He stormed a strongly held position containing more than 50 machine guns and a number of trenvh mortars. Turned the ruptured guns on the enemy, and held the position for four days in spite of a constant barrage of large projectiles projec-tiles and gas shells. Crossed No Man's Land many times to get Information concerning the enemy, and to assist bis wounded comrades." Here Is an extract from n letter written by Sergt. Major Maurice Long: "'Corporal Thomas I). Saunders, Company A, Second engineers, while a member of the first wire culling platoon, made his way forward In advance of the unit until he was In line wllh and In company with Private Willcerson, Company Com-pany B, Second engineers, were the first soldiers sol-diers to enler .laulny. then Infested with snipers, and swept with wicked machine gunfire, being occupied by rearguard detachments of the enemy. They alone captured (;.'! German prisoners pris-oners after searching Ihe caves of a hospital with persistence anil courage. . This at. .laulny, France, on September 12, 19I.H.' (Extracted from General Orders No. MS, Second division.) "'Corporal Thomas I. Saunders, Company A, Second engineers; at SI. 101 lenne a-Armcs, on |