A DRAMATIZATION OF
LONGFELLOW’S
HIAWATHA.
A Spectacular Drama in Six Acts.
Delineating the Characteristics and Customs
OF
THE NATIVE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN.
Re-written, Revised, Arranged and Dramatized
By A. L. DE VINE.
Entered According to Act of Congress in the Year 1895
By A. L. DE VINE.
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Copyrighted in Great Britain and British Possessions,
France, Germany, Italy,
Belgium, Denmark, Portugal and Switzerland.
INTRODUCTORY.
To ye whose hearts are fresh and simple
Who have faith in God and Nature,
Who believe that in all ages
Every human heart is human,
That in even savage bosoms
There are longings, yearnings, strivings
For the good they comprehend not,
That the feeble hands and helpless,
Groping blindly in the darkness,
Touch God’s right hand in that darkness
And are lifted up and strengthened,
Is submitted this portrayal of the primitive life of the American Indians in their native forest home. Fully realizing how rapidly the race is becoming extinct before the onward march of civilizing influences, and how little the people of this and other countries really know of such customs, dress, and peculiarities, it is believed this spectacular drama will be found historical, an educator to the young and interesting to all. In thus depicting the higher and better life of the Indian race, their mode of living, dress, pastimes, feats of skill, dances, wooings, wedding feasts, festivities, death scenes and legends, the author has adhered to the original language of the poem as closely as is consistent with a faithful dramatization thereof.
This is the first and only known drama of this kind or character in existence, and no other subject, throughout the wide and varied field of poetry, offers like opportunities to the facile pen of the skilled playwright.
SYNOPSIS OF SCENES
AND INCIDENTS.
ACT I. The Peace Pipe. Gitche Manitou (Great Spirit) descends from Heaven and admonishes the tribes to cease warfare and bloodshed—Indians discard weapons and war paint—Gitche Manitou promises to send Hiawatha as a guide—Fashions a Peace Pipe—Sets fire to the forest and vanishes in smoke.
ACT II. Hiawatha’s Childhood. Tribe of Ojibways—Hiawatha a babe in Indian cradle—Nokomis swinging cradle—Indian lullaby.
ACT III. Hiawatha’s Wooing. Scene 1—Hiawatha grown to manhood—Desires to wed Minnehaha, a Dakotah maiden—Discussion—Departs on journey—Nokomis sorrowing. Scene 2—Hiawatha in forest—Shoots a deer—Shoulders it. Scene 3—Tribe of Dakotahs—Minnehaha Falls—Wigwam of Arrow-maker—Hiawatha’s arrival and welcome—Wooing of Minnehaha—Departure of Hiawatha and Minnehaha—Climbing of Falls—Arrow-maker’s despondency—Tableaux.
ACT IV. Wedding Feast. Forest—Ojibway village—Arrival of Hiawatha and Minnehaha—Welcome—Festivities—Feasts, songs, feats of skill, games, dancing and specialties—Tableaux.
ACT V. Fever, Famine and Minnehaha’s Death. Winter—Tepee of Nokomis—Starvation—Minnehaha begs for food—Enter Famine and Fever—Hiawatha hunting food—Disheartened—Appeal to Great Spirit—Minnehaha’s sufferings and death—Lamentations—Hiawatha’s return—Grief—Indian funeral—Tableaux.
ACT VI. Hiawatha’s Departure. Summer—Indian village—Canoe approaches from distance containing Minnehaha as angel—Music—Colored lights—Indians’ astonishment—Hiawatha awaits her coming—Joins her—Hiawatha’s farewell—Canoe disappears—Tableaux.
“HIAWATHA”
DRAMATIS PERSONÆ.
- Gitche Manito; the Indian Great Spirit and Father of all Nations.
- Hiawatha; the Prophet of Peace, of the tribe of Ojibways, sent to guide the Indian nations.
- Ancient Arrow-maker; Minnehaha’s Father.
- Chibiabos; the Singer.
- Pau-Puk-Keewis; the Dancer.
- Bukadawin; Famine.
- Ahkosewin; Fever.
- Minnehaha; Hiawatha’s Bride, a Dakotah Maiden.
- Old Nokomis; Hiawatha’s Grand-mother.
- Miscellaneous Indian Braves.
- Miscellaneous Indian Women.
SYNOPSIS.
| Act 1st. | The Peace Pipe. | |||
| Act 2nd. | Hiawatha’s Childhood. | |||
| Act 3rd. | Hiawatha’s Wooing. |  | Scene 1st. | Hiawatha’s Discussion |
| with Nokomis and Departure. | ||||
| Scene 2nd. | Hiawatha’s Journey. | |||
| Scene 3rd. | Wooing of Minnehaha. | |||
 | Home of Arrow-maker. View of Minnehaha Falls. | |||
| Act 4th. | Wedding Feast. | |||
| Act 5th. | Fever and Famine and Minnehaha’s Death. | |||
| Act 6th. | Hiawatha’s Reunion with Minnehaha and Departure. | |||
ACT I.
THE PEACE PIPE.
Scenery:
Description as nearly as possible to follow description according to the poem. In background, high mountains. In foreground, lower hills, with forest trees and Indian tents in the distance: GITCHE MANITO; The great Spirit and FATHER of all NATIONS descends from the clouds encircled in a flood of bright lights of various colors; strains of soft sweet Music, as from a distance, accompanying his descent as though from Heaven to Earth or to the top of the mountain. The Indian representatives from all Nations in their peculiar distinct dress of the several different tribes, grouped here and there among the trees and rocks are attracted by the smoke signal and are then seen coming from all directions in full Indian war paint and costume; when signaled to by GITCHE MANITO, the Great Spirit, as per the following poem:
Act and Description of Gitche Manito:
On the Mountains of the Prairie,
On the great Red Pipe-stone Quarry,
Gitche Manito, the Mighty,
He the Master of Life DESCENDING,
On the red craigs of the quarry
Stood erect, and called the Nations,
Called the tribes of men together.
From his footprints flowed a river,
Leaped into the light of morning,
O’er the precipice plunging downward
Gleamed like Ishkoodah, the comet.
And the Spirit, stooping earthward,
With his finger on the meadow
Traced a winding pathway for it,
Saying to it,
Gitche Manito:
Run in this way!
From the red stone of the quarry
With his hand he broke a fragment,
Moulded it into a pipe-head,
Shaped and fashioned it with figures;
From the margin of the river
Took a long reed for a pipe-stem,
With its dark green leaves upon it;
Filled the pipe with bark of willow,
With the bark of the red willow;
Breathed upon the neighboring forest,
Made its great bows chafe together,
Till in flame they burst and kindled;
And erect upon the mountains
Gitche Manito, the Mighty,
Smoked the calumet, the Peace Pipe,
As a signal to the nations,
And the smoke rose slowly, slowly,
Through the tranquil air of morning,
First a single line of darkness,
From the vale of Tawasenthena,
From the Valley of Wyoming
From the groves of Tuscaloosa,
From the far-off Rocky Mountains,
From the Northern lakes and rivers.
Act, Indians:
All the tribes beheld the signal,
Saw the distant smoke ascending,
The Pukwana of the Peace Pipe.
Indian Warriors (to each other, pointing):
Behold it, the Pukwana!
By this signal from afar off,
Bending like a wand of willow,
Waving like a hand that beckons,
Gitche Manito, the Mighty,
Calls the tribes of men together,
Calls the warriors to his council!
Act of Indian Tribes:
Down the rivers o’er the prairies,
Came the warriors of the nations,
All the warriors drawn together
By the signal of the Peace Pipe
To the Mountains of the Prairie,
To the great Red Pipe-stone Quarry.
And they stood there on the meadow,
With their weapons and their war-gear,
Painted like the leaves of Autumn,
Painted like the sky of morning,
Wildly glaring at each other;
In their faces stern defiance,
In their hearts the feuds of ages,
The hereditary hatred
The ancestral thirst of vengeance.
Act, Gitche Manito:
Gitche Manito, the mighty,
The Creator of the nations,
Looked upon them with compassion,
With paternal love and pity;
Over them he stretched his right hand.
Gitche Manito:
O my children; my poor children!
Listen to the words of wisdom,
Listen to the words of warning!
From the lips of the Great Spirit,
From the Master of life, who made you!
I have given you lands to hunt in,
I have given you streams to fish in,
I have given you bear and bison,
I have given you roe and reindeer,
I have given you brant and beaver,
Filled the marshes full of wild fowl,
Filled the rivers full of fishes;
Why then are you not contented?
Why then will you hunt each other?
I am weary of your quarrels,
Weary of your wars and bloodshed,
Weary of your prayers for vengeance,
All your strength is in your union,
All your danger is in discord;
Therefore be at peace henceforward,
And as brothers live together.
“I will send a Prophet to you,
Hiawatha will I send to you
A deliverer of the nations,
Who shall guide you and shall teach you
Who shall toil and suffer with you.
If you listen to his counsels,
You will multiply and prosper;
If his warnings pass unheeded
You will fade away and perish!
Bathe now in the stream before you
Wash the war-paint from your faces,
Wash the blood stains from your fingers,
Bury your war clubs and your weapons,
Break the red stone from this quarry,
Mould and make it into Peace Pipes,
Take the reeds that grow beside you,
Deck them with your brightest feathers,
Smoke the calumet together,
And as brothers live henceforward!”
Act, Indians:
Then upon the ground the warriors
Threw their cloaks and shirts of deer-skin,
Threw their weapons and their war-gear,
Leaped into the rushing river,
Washed the war-paint from their faces.
Clear above them flowed the water,
Clear and limpèd from the footprints
Of the Master of Life descending;
Dark below them flowed the water,
Soiled and stained with streaks of crimson,
As if blood were mingled with it.
From the river came the warriors.
Cleaned and washed from all their war-paint,
On the banks their clubs they buried,
Buried all their warlike weapons.
Act, Gitche Manito:
Gitche Manito, the Mighty,
The Great Spirit, the Creator,
Smiled upon his helpless children.
Act, Indians:
And in silence all the warriors
Broke the red stone of the quarry,
Smoothed and formed it into Peace Pipes,
Broke the long reeds by the river.
Decked them with their brightest feathers.
A beautiful transformation. Scene and tableaux can be given here with the groups of Indians, Bright colored lights, soft Heavenly music, and GITCHE MANITO ASCENDING again to Heaven in a CLOUD of SMOKE.
(See following description.)
While the Master of Life, ascending
Through the opening of cloud-curtains,
Through the doorways of the heaven
Vanished from before their faces,
In the smoke that rolled around him.
ACT II.
HIAWATHA’S CHILDHOOD.
Scenery:
A short scene or acting tableaux, can be given here, the scenery to follow the description in the poem, HIAWATHA, a baby, in an Indian cradle swung between the trees which is being rocked by old NOKOMIS (his grandmother) while she is singing the Lullaby song, Little Owlet. (See following description.)
By the shining Big-Sea-Water,
Stood the wigwam of Nokomis.
Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis.
Dark behind it rose the forest,
Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees,
Rose the firs with cones upon them;
Bright before it beat the water,
Beat the clear and sunny water,
Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water.
There the wrinkled, old Nokomis
Nursed the little Hiawatha,
Rocked him in his linden cradle,
Bedded soft in moss and rushes,
Safely bound with reindeer sinews;
Stilled his fretful wail by saying,
Nokomis:
Hush! the Naked Bear will hear thee!
Lulled him into slumber singing,
Nokomis Song:
Ewa-yea! my little owlet!
Who is this, that lights the wigwam?
With his great eyes lights the wigwam?
Ewa-yea! my little owlet!
Wah-wah-taysee, little fire-fly,
Little, flitting, white-fire insect,
Little, dancing, white-fire creature,
Light us with your little candle,
Ere upon your bed I lay you
Ere in sleep you close your eyelids!
ACT III.
HIAWATHA’S WOOING,
TRIBE OF OJIBWAYS.
Scene First.
Hiawatha’s Discussion with Nokomis and Departure.
Scenery:
Same as Act II. This is supposed to be the TRIBE and land of THE OJIBWAYS. Showing the INTERIOR of the TEPEE of Old NOKOMIS. HIAWATHA; (tall, straight, of majestic figure, commanding aspect, dashing and handsome,) is seen shaping an arrow to fit a bow. NOKOMIS; a majestic Indian woman as befits HIAWATHA’S grandmother, sits making a robe of deer skin or work of like kind. HIAWATHA sits working, thinking, pondering.
Description of Hiawatha:
Out of childhood into manhood
Now had grown my Hiawatha.
Skilled in all the craft of hunters,
Learned in all the lore of old men,
In all youthful sports and pastimes,
In manly arts and labors.
Swift of foot was Hiawatha;
He could shoot an arrow from him,
And run forward with such fleetness,
That the arrow fell behind him!
Strong of arm was Hiawatha;
He could shoot ten arrows upward,
Shoot them with such strength and swiftness,
That the tenth had left the bow-string
Ere the first to earth had fallen!
He had mittens, Minjekahwun,
Magic mittens made of deer-skin;
When upon his hands he wore them,
He could smite the rocks asunder
He could grind them into powder.
He had moccasins enchanted,
Magic moccasins of deer-skin:
When he bound them round his ankles,
When upon his feet he tied them,
At each stride a mile he measured!
Hiawatha; (speaking meditatively):
As unto the bow the cord is,
So unto the man is woman,
Though she bends him, she obeys him,
Though she draws him, yet she follows,
Useless each without the other!
Nokomis; (in a warning and dissuading voice):
Wed a maiden of your people,
Go not eastward, go not westward,
For a stranger, whom we know not!
Like a fire upon the hearth-stone
Is a neighbor’s homely daughter,
Like the starlight or the moonlight
Is the handsomest of strangers!
Hiawatha; (persuadingly):
Dear old Nokomis,
Very pleasant is the firelight.
But I like the starlight better,
Better do I like the moonlight!
Nokomis; (gravely):
Bring not here an idle maiden,
Bring not here a useless woman,
Hands unskillful, feet unwilling;
Bring a wife with nimble fingers,
Heart and hand that move together,
Feet that run on willing errands!
Hiawatha, (Smiling):
In the land of the Dacotahs
Lives the Arrow-maker’s daughter,
Minnehaha, Laughing water,
Handsomest of all the women.
I will bring her to your wigwam,
She shall run upon your errands,
Be your starlight, moonlight, firelight,
Be the sunlight of my people!
Nokomis, (still dissuading):
Bring not to my lodge a stranger
From the land of the Dacotahs!
Very fierce are the Dacotahs,
Often is there war between us.
There are feuds yet unforgotten,
Wounds that ache and still may open!
Hiawatha, (laughing):
For that reason, if no other,
Would I wed the fair Dacotah,
That our tribes might be united,
That old feuds might be forgotten,