THE PAGEANT OF LINCOLN MCMXVII ( ( NEBRASKA" ASEMI-CENTENNIAL MASQUE BOOK BY HARTLEY B. ALEXANDER MUSIC BY HOWARD L KIRKPATRICK PAGEANT DIRECTOR. ROBERT D. SCOTT 'Z^ Copyright 1917 by Hartley B. Alexander D. Of D, JUN 23 191/ INTRODUCTION ^^^:^HE Third Annual Pageant of Lincoln falls ■ ^ J ill the year of the semi-centennial of state- ^^^ hood of the state of Nebraska. The Pageant is, accordingly, appropriately devoted to the state as a whole, and is made a part of the state's semi- centennial celebration. Its title is "Nebraska," and its scenes aim to represent the forces and events which brought the state into being, and the ideals vvhicli animate its citizens. Part I of the pageant is entitled The Spirit of the West. This part is composed of songs and dances symbolizing the forces — hitman and natural — of prairie-land life. It opens with a chorus of Adven- turers, led onward by the Genius of Progress, march- ing into the West. They are greeted by the dancing Prairies, and the song, "Nebraska," which follows their welcome, signifies that their quest for home- stead is ended. The dance of the Fields represents the Prairies transformed into fruitful farmlands. But all is not unalloyed ease. The plague of the Grasshoppers, destroying the life of the Fields, is a token of the toils that beset the breakers of the sod. However, there are compensating forces in nature, — the Birds, driving the Grasshoppers before them, are symbolical of such forces. Then comes the apparition of the Spirit of the West, summon- ing the Golden Hopes of the Future, which gather 12 Pageant of Lincoln about her in ever-increasing numbers. As they re- cede — fairj^-Iike dancers,— the Chorus takes up again the refrain of "Nebraska," and the Part is ended. (This Part of the Pageant of 1917, is formed from scenes in the Pageant of 1915.) Part II is entitled The Louisiana Purchase. The purchase of the "Louisiana Territory" from Napole- onic France by President Jefferson was the event which gave the lands of which Nebraska is a part to the United States. This event is, therefore, the real beginning of the political history of the state. The purchase was made at a time when war was threatening between France and England, a fact which is supposed to have made Napoleon the readier to make the sale. James Monroe, afterwards Presi- dent, was Jefferson's representative in France, al- though the actual transactions were carried on with the American minister, Livingston. The outstand- ing figures in the transaction. Napoleon and his minister, Talleyrand, President Jefferson and INIon- roe, are represented in a series of three scenes meant to be (as their setting suggests) representative of the animating ideas of the men who made history, rather than historically faithful in any narrow sense. Part III is called The Plainsmen. This Part sym- bolizes the different peoples who have made Ne- braska's prairies their home. First appear the abori- gines, tlie Indians. The name "Nebraska" is an Omaha Indian name, a])plied by the Inrlians to the Platte Kiver, and signifying 'the broad' or 'the shal- "Nebraska" 13 low river' ('Platte' is a translation of this, given as a name by the French). First to enter in this scene is a band of Indians, singing an Omaha song (to one of the most beantiful of all Indian melodies). They recognize the 'Nebraska land,' and their leader offers an invocation to all the powers of nature. Next appear a company of French Voyageurs, or ex- plorers. The first white men to describe Nebraska were the brothers, Pierre and Paul Mallet, who came from New Orleans in 1739. Afterwards the Platte country became a regular objective for French trap- pers and traders. Following the French, appear the Pioneers, with their prairie-schooner and ox-team, signifying the coming of the Americans from the eastern states. It was these who finally transformed the prairies from hunting-grounds into corn fields; hence their advent is appropriately followed by the Car of the Corn, led onward by the Harvest Maiden. The Part closes with a humoresque chorus and dance of Nursemaids, to the nowadays popular cry of "Better Babies," — which, after all, has a prophetic point to it. Part IV represents The Making of the State. Politically the two events of moment in Nebraska's history, after the Louisiana Purchase, are the crea- tion of territorial government, in the Kansas-Ne- braska Bill of 1854, and the admission to statehood in 1867. Oddly enough, these two events, falling on either side of the Civil War, are both connected with the issue of slavery and its settlement. The Kansas- IJf Pageant of Lincoln Nebraska liill, with its attendant substitution of "squatter sovereignty" for the Missouri Conipioniise, was one of the great stei)s leading up to the \\'ar, for it reoi)ened the whole question of the expansion of slavery in the Tnited States, in the scene por- tiaying the passage of this bill, appear Stephen A. Douglas, the man whose influence carried through the measure, Dixon, the Southern senator who moviMl the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and Senators Seward and Sumner rei)ie-enting the hostility to the measure on the part of the Eastern states. Fol- lowing this scene, there is a brief symbolical repre- sentation of the ( ivil War, and then we come to the contest between President Johnson and Congress over the admission of Nebraska to statehood, in 18G7. The President maintained that Congress had no Constitutional right to demand that the new state enfranchise colored voters, that this was an issue to be left to the state's own constitutional conven- tion. However, Congress passed the admission bill over the President's veto, and Nebraska became a state under the restriction. Thus, in a sense, the territorial and state admissions of Nebraska mark the opening and close of the Civil War, and are in- evitably associated witli all the great figures of the time, including that of Lincoln, after whom Ne- braska's capital city is named. It is, therefore, proper that the Spirit of Lincoln should be intro- duced as one of the forces which have framed the ideals of the state. It is interesting to reflect that "Nebraska" 15 the events leading to the political formation of Ne- braska were associated with such momentous move- ments in world history as the Napoleonic Wars and our Civil War, and that the Louisiana Purchase and the Making of the State should be, as it were, in the shadows of the two greatest men of the Nineteenth Century — Napoleon Bonaparte, the Imperialist, and Abraham Lincoln, the Democrat. Not even as a wilderness was Nebraska politically remote from the world's centers. Part V of the Pageant is called The State and the Nation. It is needless to observe that no state in the Union is sufficient unto itself, that each is a part of a Federal Unit. No representation of Nebraska which did not symbolize this fact would be equal to the truth. The Spirit of 1776, is the spirit of Liberty and Justice, foundational in the United States as a whole, and hence in each of its several states. This Spirit of '76 is first represented, — the Revolu- tion which gave us the flag of Independence. Next appears Columbia and the Thirteen Colonies which formed the charter members of the nation. Other states are added, symbolized by groups of dancing stars, — twenty-three in all, for Nebraska was the thirty-seventh state. For a time the Union was torn betwixt North and South, but that wound is happily healed, and Nebraska may be regarded as the child of a re-united Union." Fifty Years — ten pentads — have come bringing their gifts since Nebraska became a state, and these are symbolized in the Procession 16 Pageant of Lincoln of the Years, passing Columbia and Nebraska, But it nnist never be forgotten that Nebraska is a child of Colunibia, and that the gifts of the Years are made possible by the sheltering power of the great nation of which it is Nebraska's privilege to form a part and to which Nebraska, along with all the other states, owes the deep allegiance of their common faith in Liberty and Justice, with all that this implies. The pageant closes with an invocation to the flag of the nation, and ''The Star-Spangled Banner." "NE BRASK A" A SEMI-CENTENNIAL MASQUE PART I Spirit of the West PART II The Louisiana Purchase PART III The Plainsman PART IV The Making of the State PART V Nebraska and the Nation PART I THE SPIRIT OF THE WEST Characters and Chorus: GENIUS OF PROGRESS CHORUS AND ADVENTURERS THE PRAIRIES AND CHORUS CHORUS THE FIELDS THE GRASSHOPPERS THE BIRDS THE SPIRIT OF THE WEST GOLDEN HOPES Uhe Spirit of the West SCENE: Background of trees and greenery. Drums announce the opening; then an orchestral overture, brilliant and vivid, suggestive of a vigorous march. From behind the trees are heard the voices of the Adventurers in the first words of their choric song. Westward ho! Westward ho! Westward ho! THE ADVENTURERS enter, led onward by the Genius of Progress, to a martial air, singing as they march: Westward ho! the march of Empire! Westward ho! the way of Man! Westward, where the wings of Promise Like an arch of glory span The horizon of the nations As they read God's destined plan! In the lust of Wonder waking, In the pride of youthful power, Westward, where the light is breaking On a glorious morning hour, Westward, where the soil is waiting Yet to bring man's life to flower! 22 Pageant of Lincoln By the pilgrim Hope led onward, By the warrior Right made strong, For their king the kingly Future, Come the nations, throng on throng. Meeting toil and high adventure Heart upborne by living song! Westward ho! the march of Empire! Westward ho! the way of Man! Westward, where the wings of Promise Like an arch of glory span The horizon of the nations As they read God's destined plan! As the song ceases and the chorus recedes to the wings, the music becomes tumultuous, quivering, faritastic, with stops and starts, croonings and soft laughter, suggestive of early sumyner on the prairie. SPRITES OF THE PRAIRIE enter in small groups, like wind-wisps springing up here and there on a summer's day. They dance and pirouette, and beckon enticingly to the Adventurers. FIRST GROUP: Fairest flowers. Gentle showers, Sunny hours, oh, sunny hours . . . SECOND GROUP: Winds that blow To and fro. Golden, golden afterglow . . . The Spirit of the West 23 THIRD GROUP: Gift of corn Hued with morn, Wonder gift of fragrant corn FOURTH GROUP: Tender dews, Honey brews. Drafts of magic none refuse . FIFTH GROUP: Hill and dale, Swell and swale. Springs of life that never fail ALL: Prairies, prairies, flowing prairies, Prairies, prairies, are we all: Prairies, prairies, living prairies, Hark, O harken to our call! SIXTH GROUP: Cease thy quest, Come and rest On the Prairie's mother-breast . . . SEVENTH GROUP: Far and wide Here abide. Earth can show thee naught beside 24^ Pageant of Lincoln ALL: Prairies, prairies, fallow prairies, Prairies, prairies, are we all : Prairies, prairies, fruitful prairies, Harken, harken to our call! THE SPRITES recede luringly, and the Adventurers and the Chorus advance. The music becomes jubilant, with a note of prophetic exaltation as all join in the choric Hym n to Nebraska. CHORUS: Nebraska, Nebraska, Thee we obey! Jewelled with the Night, Nebraska, Diademed with Day! Nebraska, Nebraska, Land with promise blest, Brightest of the stars emblazoned. Queen of the West! Here the splendors of the prairies Greet the splendors of the skies, And the green of Earth immingles With the blue of Paradise! Here the dance of dewy cornfields Flashes welcome to the sun. And the singing winds make music When the toil of day is done! The Spirit of the West 25 Nebraska, Nebraska, Mother of States! Golden hope shall greet, Nebraska, All who seek thy gates ! Nebraska, O Nebraska, Home shall be thy sod While thy prairies yield in fruitage Bounty of God! THE ORCHESTRA changes to light and graceful varia- tions upon a theme indicative of joy and summertime. In parallel groups, from several points, enter the Fields — girlish forms, with costumes symbolic of Wheat, Corn, the Grasses, etc. They dance joyously while the Chorus sings. FIELDS: CORN: We are the Fields, the singing Fields, Each in turn her treasure yields. Through the golden summer days, On through autumn's ruddy haze . . , Daughters of the Prairies! Darlings of the Sun! One by one we break the sod, Ripen one by one! Dancing through the day's delight. Whispering to the listening night . . WHEAT: Light and shadow, Hide and seek. Hilly slope To shady creek . . , 26 Pageant of Lincoln OATS and RYE: Plumes and tresses lift and nod O'er the prairie's verdant sod . . . MEADOWGRASS: Dozing, dewy end of day, Where the fire-fly lanterns play; In the morning webbed and pearled Opening to the sunny world . . . FIELDS: We are the Fields, the dancing Fields! Gladly each her treasure yields . . . Daughters of the Prairies! Darlings of the Sun! One by one we break the sod, Ripen one by one! THE FIELDS circle about in animated dance. Meantime the grisly, ogling forms of the Raveners (the terrible Grass- hoppers) are silently gathering, staring hungrily at the lithe dancers. Suddenly the Fields perceive them; they flee hither and thither in panic. FIELDS: The Raveners! The Raveners! THE GRASSHOPPERS advance, clumsily hopping in pursuit now of this one, now of that; threatening with their antennae; ogling with glozy eyes; pursuing the terrified Fields to a strident song. The Spirit of the West 27 GRASSHOPPERS: Oats! Corn! Rye! Wheat! Wherever we find them, there we eat; Wherever they grow we make our camp, Fill our bellies, chew and champ! Rye! Wheat! Oats! Corn! Green at even, gray at morn; Green in the morning, gray at eve, — Naught but the dead stalks do we leave! Wheat! Oats! Corn! Rye! On labor of men we thrive, say I ! Wherever they sow 'tis ours to reap, — Champ and chew where living's cheap! THE GRASSHOPPERS clumsily pursue the frightened Fields, from the vantage of the trees come the avenging Birds — Bluebird, Blackbird, Jay, Lark, and all the winged tribe — driving the Raveners before them. BIRDS: After them! After them! After the Raveners! Winged ones all, Hark the call! On the pirates swiftly fall! Ho, ye Valkjo-s of the skies. Ours shall be a dread surprise! Where they slaughter we shall slay. From break of day to break of day! A f ter them ! After them ! After the Raveners! 28 Pageant of Lincoln THE BIRDS drive the Grasshoppers after the Fields. As all recede, the music changes from tumultuous pursuit to graceful motion and clear, sweet melody. THE SPIRIT OF THE WEST enters, silvery-veiled, mysterious. She turns and beckons, as if summoning her followers. SONG: Golden Hopes, golden Hopes, Lo, I bid you follow me Where the gate of morning opes Aye, entrancingly . . . Oh, heart of mine, thy dear surmise Maketh me to see Shining hope in all the sky's Blue serenity. Sun and rain will come again. Tender green the fields will show, Harvest come with yellow grain, Where the wild flowers blow . . . Oh, where the breezes bring caress, Where cool rivers flow. Fairy Hopes will come to bless Life with golden glow. AS THE SPIRIT OF THE WEST summons them, the little golden Hopes — fairy-like children — come shyly and gather about her. Like a ring-round-the-rose they dance around the Spirit of the West, others and yet others following, till she is the center of a whole garden of shining Hopes, gaily circling about her. The Spirit of the West 29 HOPES: Hopes we are for men and women, Hopes we are for youth and maid ! Hopes we are for all the future, Glad of heart and unafraid ! On the soil of broad Nebraska, While the sun shall tell his days. Golden Hopes shall be men's children. Golden Hopes will sing God's praise! THE FIELDS, the Birds, the Grasshoppers, and others gather at the wings, so that the whole group forms a crescent bow (symbol of Hope), with the Spirit of the West, sur- rounded by the Hopes, like a constellation within its arms. Again the Hymn to Nebraska. CHORUS: Nebraska, Nebraska, Thee we obey! Jewelled with the Night, Nebraska, Diademed with Day! Nebraska, Nebraska, Land with promise blest. Brightest of the stars emblazoned. Queen of the West! Exeunt, marching. END OF PART I PART II THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE Characters and Figures: PRESIDENT JEFFERSON JAMES MONROE NAPOLEON TALLEYRAND AMERICAN SOLDIERS FRE^fCH GRENADIERS TRUMPETER PAGES AND ATTENDANTS ^he Louisiana Purchase A TRUMPET is heard. The drums heat a dignified march. Enter (center): First, the Trumpeter, mounted on a dark horse, in the garb of a Napoleonic cuirassier (plumed helmet, cuirass, etc.); next, abreast, two Amer- ican Soldiers in the high hat, with pompon, of early U. S. Army, and two Napoleonic Grenadiers, with tall bearskin shakos; the Americans carry United States flags; the grenadiers, military banners of imperial France. Behind these, on white horses, abreast, come Talleyrand, Napoleon, Jefferson, Monroe; a page leads each horse, the pages wearing military costumes of their respective nations. Back of the horsemen march curtain-bearers with wing and back curtains swung between bamboo poles, the back cur- tain adorned with the arms of France and the United States, the poles carrying the national penants; pages in livery assist the polehearers, while other pages follow with the accessories demanded, a small table and a chair of Empire style. THE PROCESSION advances to the forefront and halts. The Trumpeter sounds his trumpet and withdraws, left, halting at a moderate distance. The American Soldiers and the Grenadiers part right and left, the Americans still on the inside, the Grenadiers outside and a little behind. The wing curtains are swung behind them, while the space 5-4 Pageant of Lincoln between the two groups is the full width of the back curtain, which is now spread by its bearers. Before it, on their white horses are the four representatives of France and America. THE TRUMPET sounds again. The four statesmen dis- mount, and advance, saluted by the loivered flags of France and America. The pages lead the horses to each side, forming, as it were, wings to the symbolic stage thus created. Again the trumpet sounds, the lowered flags are raised; Napoleon and Talleyrand step out, left, leaving Jefferson and Monroe before the curtain, which now represents the President's office, Washington. PRESIDENT JEFFERSON {advancing slightly): Monroe, I send you forth this day to France, A special envoy. 'Tis my will you buy For these United States the broad domain Of Louisiana, — all the lands that lie Between the Mississippi and the hills That crest the continent. Not Spain nor France Nor any Old World state should brunt us West, For westward m.oves our nation's march, And westward lies the hope of New World men, And from the fallow prairies of the West States shall be shaped, sovereignties be born, Each with her gift unto this Federal Whole, Until the Union stands inviolate Between the choric surfs of Earth's great seas! . . . Monroe, go ye to France, Napoleon greet, The Louisiana Purchase 35 And tell him there be empire-builders here, Across Atlantic's waves, whose dreams match his. And whose achievements, hewn with woodman's axe. Cut with the toiler's plow, shall long outlive The sword-carved realms of the Ancient Hemisphere ! MONROE (seizing Jefferson's hand): Jefferson, I accept this statesman's charge. My mind is one with yours, that we should be. Here in America, free from threat and moil Of overseas ambitions. Here Destiny Has framed a home for Liberty, a home For men oppressed, who here shall live that life Of free endeavor which is their human Right! I go, and to Napoleon will bear The plea of equity and the pledge of faith. JEFFERSON: Which he will hear! The land of Lafayette Will ne'er hold back the troth and amity Sealed in the mutual blood of men who gave Freely their lives for freedom. Go you hence: Your country's blessing be your recompense. Exit Monroe, right. JEFFERSON: I have a vision of a land to be Broad as the continent, and sea to sea Consecrate to Justice, Law, and Liberty! 36 Pageant of Lincoln JEFFERSON follows Monroe, right, where the two form a group balancing that of Napoleon and Talleyrand on the left. The trumpet is sounded. The American Soldiers and the Grenadiers exchange places, thus symbolizing the transition from Washington to Paris. The servants in livery enter with the chair and the table. They go out. The Grenadiers salute with the banners of France. As they resume their positions. Napoleon enters, pacing to and fro, hands behind his back. He stops suddenly, with a gesture indicating decision. NAPOLEON: Aye, shadows hang above this moody world . , . War glowers. Europe must be wrapped in red, And smoke of battles must ascend again Blackening heaven's blue. Such is the deed Of empire-makers in a world long puppeted By Kings and Conquerors and Caesarian lines! My fate is here, — but shall the New World, too, Be into war's caldron cast? Napoleon Is not the man to will it! — Talleyrand! NAPOLEON knocks aggressively on the table with his knuckles. Talleyrand enters, bearing papers. A boy, following, places pen and ink on the table. Talleyrand deposits his papers and salutes Napoleon, kissing his proffered hand. TALLEYRAND: Sire, and Emperor! The Louisiana Purchase 37 NAPOLEON: Talleyrand, yesterday came Livingston, America's ambassador, again Seeking to buy New Orleans and its lands; And now Monroe himself, from Jefferson A special envoy, waits. Is it not so? TALLEYRAND: Aye, Sire; you name the circumstance. 'Tis so. And even now Monroe awaits our answer. NAPOLEON: What say you, Talleyrand; shall it be a sale? Here, on the eve of war, a wilderness Beyond the seas is more a hurt than help To our ambitions. England would be quick To make of it our weakness, with the seas In her control. Cash is a potent salve In time of war; and shall we not then put Cash in our coffers, and let the desert go? TALLEYRAND {in amazement and consternation): Is this in earnest. Sire? Have not I wrought With every shrewd device to build for you — For you and France an overseas domain Second to none? Such empire as no dream Of Asia's ancient kings, no Caesar's lust Could in imagination measure out? 'Tis won; and would you now, and for mere gold. Set it at naught? Surely you speak in jest! NAPOLEON (changing his manner to dictation): No! Write. Mine is no wayward policy. 38 Pageant of Lincoln Europe is huge enough an enterprise To match Napoleon's powers. Great though I am Amid these pigmy kings, there is a greater thing Than Napoleon is or France or all the states That huddle round the Alps, and that thing is The free adventure loosed beyond the seas To free a wilderness and set the plan Of heaven's constellations on the flag Bearing men's empiry over plain and hill! Shall I, an adventurer, too, withstand the will Of free Adventure in her own free land? God would destroy me, then, in mine own will! Write! For Napoleon is resolved to see Within this world his glory's shining peer, And it shall bear the name America ! TALLEYRAND seats himself and writes, while Napoleon watches him. Then he rises and turns to the Emperor. TALLEYRAND: Sire, the deed is writ. Napoleon's name Subscribed divides an empire from its emperor. NAPOLEON (seating himself and signing): You statesmen haggle; we soldiers act. And act to bring decision. See, 'tis done! Summon Monroe; I'd seal the bargain now. TALLEYRAND, obeying, makes a gesture of summoning, as if to an ante-room. Monroe enters, and bows to Napoleon, still seated. The Louisiana Purchase 39 NAPOLEON: Monroe, the purchase you are sent to make Is made. I take your price. 'Tis new to me, Soldier and emperor, to turn bargains-man And chaffer in the market-place; but here Is merchandise that's worthy such as I, An empire put to sale, which who should sell If not an emperor! The deed is signed. NAPOLEON thrusts the paper toward Monroe, who takes it, scans it briefly, and turns to Napoleon: MONROE: Imperial acts befit imperial men. This deed which now you give America Means more to France and more to all the world And to Napoleon's glory it means more Than many martial victories. Receive My thanks and Jefferson's; and know, henceforth The arms of our United States shall be Entwined with France in lasting amity! MONROE points to the entwined arms of the two nations on the curtain, as he speaks. Napoleon rises and grasps him by the hand. NAPOLEON: So be it. Men, upon the acts of men Mean values set, and on Napoleon's acts Green tongues will spit their scorn. I am content, For from this deed shall rise a shining power To slay their slander and lift up for France W Pageant of Lincoln The hand of friendship in her hour of need.— Adieu, Monroe! — Console you, Talleyrand! MONROE goes out right, Talleyrand left. Napoleon is alone. NAPOLEON: I was First Consul, am an Emperor. If I did betray, in one small measure, The Republic that I served, I have atoned! The Republic o'er the sea, I have made great — Our sister Fates born of one Destiny! NAPOLEON stands with folded arms while the Grenadiers lower their flags in salute. The trumpet sounds again. The Grenadiers once more change place with the American color -bearers, while Napoleon goes out, left. Servants remove the chair and table. The scene is Washington again. The Americans salute with the American colors. Enter Jefferson and Monroe, cordially. JEFFERSON: Monroe, I welcome you to Washington. News of your happy ventui-e says you bring Deed to Louisiana from Napoleon, MONROE (producing the document, which he hands to Jefferson) : Beyond our dreams I found him generous. The deed of sale is here, with treaty rights And guarantees such as we gladly give. The Louisiana Purchase ^1 JEFFERSON {examining the document): From Florida and Mississippi's mouth, Louisiana, reaching to her source And westward to the mountains, all is ours! — From this rich gift, Monroe, proud states shall rise To bless our names, and in remembrance build Altars to liberty, lit with undying flame! Mine has been the task, to speed the venture; Yours it shall be to guide the forming states, For James Monroe shall yet be President. MONROE {advancing, and lifting his hand, as if in oath) : If that day comes, I here and now make oath To use my power to give America, In both her continents and all her lands, The freeman's right to fashion freemen's homes, Untouched by Old World hates, and undespoiled By kings and their ambitions. Here I swear America shall govern her own Destiny! THE AMERICAN SOLDIERS salute with their flags. The trumpet sounds. Monroe and Jefferson go out, right, to the horses waiting for them. They mount, as do Napoleon and Talleyrand, left. The orchestra plays a few bars of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and then follows with the "Marseillaise," to which the company march out, the Americans to the right, the French to the left, while the curtain-hearers and servitors retire center. END OF PART II PART III THE PLAINSMEN Characters and Chorus: CHORUS OF INDIANS INDIAN SCOUTS INDIAN CHIEFTAIN CHORUS OF VOYAGEURS LEADER OF VOYAGEURS CHORUS OF PIONEERS HARVEST MAIDEN SPIRIT OF THE CORN NURSE MAIDS The Plainsmen PRELUDE^ huilt on Indian musical themes, opens the Part. A flute breaks in with an Omaha Indian melody^ and there enters a procession of Indian choristers chanting the Song oj the- Prairies, CHORUS OF INDIANS: Very pleasant are the prairies, oh ! Wide is the trail of many buffalo; Here it was our fathers wandered through the moons of long ago, Following on the trails that lead to and fro . . . Very pleasant are the grassy prairies, oh ! Following on the trail of many buffalo . . . Ah, where went our elders, there all must go. TWO SCOUTS advance, with hands shading their peering eyes. FIRST SCOUT: Nebraska bluffs! Nebraska hills! I see the low Nebraska hills! SECOND SCOUT: Nebraska plains! Nebraska streams! I see them where the sunlight gleams! 46 Pageant of Lincoln CHIEFTAIN {advancing and raising his calumet): Thou shining Sky! Thou grassy Earth! Ye Winds that sigh With Heaven's breath! ... Ye make my heart rejoice! My spirit ye make young! . . . With song my voice, With joy my tongue, Hills of Nebraska, shall praise ye! . . . Glad Earth! Glad Sky! Rejoice again hills that did upraise me — Nebraska, gracious Mother of Men! . . , THE MARCH and chant are resumed. The Indians circle about the stage and range themselves on the right, forward. On the last beat of their drums there breaks in a vigorous, exultant march, to which enter, in marching order, a group of the early explorers of Nebraska — the French voijageurs, — singing as they march. CHORUS OF VOYAGEURS: En avant! En avant! En avant! . . . En avant! ... Cn, on into the Wilderness, Seeking the golden realm of Heart's Desire! On, on breaking new trails, we pass, On into no man's land, on to the sunset fire! En avant! En avant! En avant! . . , En avant! . . . The Plainsmen J^7 A VOYAGEUR: What pleasant land is this before our eyes, Whose rolling lawns lead on until their green Kisses the azure hem of Paradise? In all the world no fairer sight is seen ! LEADER: It is the Prairie! It is the boundless bosom of the West, Circling in swell and swale from crest to crest Of clear horizons, till all earth and sky In one wide vision Nature glorify! It is the Prairie! Rose-panoplied with dawn, arched with the blue Of kindly noontide, soothed with starry night: With spring m.ade sweet, grateful with summer's hue, With autumn fruitful, blest with winter's white! It is the Prairie! O'er all her verdant reaches there shall be, Throughout the centuries that count men's days, Rich yearly gift- from her full treasury, The sower's song, the harvester's glad praise! CHORUS OF VOYAGEURS: En avant! En avant! En avant! . . . En avant! . . . On, on, into the Prairie-land! Here is the golden realm of Heart's Desire ! Here, here, shall rise for every hand A happy homestead and a fruitful byre! En avant! En avant! En avant! . . . En avant! . . . 48 Pageant of Lincoln THE VOYAGEURS advance' until they come left forward, where they station themselves opposite the Indian choristers. Horns announce a new entry, and an ox-drawn prairier- schooner, with drivers, armed with long whips, enters^ CHORUS OF WHIPSTERS: Pioneers, Pioneers f Bring the wagon, yoke the steers, Cast behind all doubts and fears! Forward, through the waiting years! Pioneers, Pioneers! 'Tis your toil shall break the road; 'Tis your backs shall bear the load ; 'Tis your souls must feel the goad! Where ye sow shall others reap; Others laugh where ye must weep; But your deathless souls shall keep Vigil through the waiting years. Pioneers, Pioneers! Snap! Crack! Thud and thwack! 'Tis the chanty of the plains — Never, never, turn we back ! O'er the trails that rise and dip. To the whistling of the whip And the clanking of the chains- Snap ! Crack ! Thud and thwack! Sing the chanty of the Plains — Never, never, turn we back! The Plainsmen J^9 THE PRAIRIE SCHOONER, with its whipster chorus, passes on, taking its station at the right rear, between the group of Indians and the center entrance. At the same time there enters, guided by the Harvest Maiden, a second float, representing the harvest, shocks of yellow corn, with the Corn Spirit presiding. All greet the entrance of this symbolic car of the Corn. HARVEST MAIDEN: Daughter of Heaven, Earth's first-born, Hail to thee! Hail to thee! Spirit of Corn! Thou at whose bounteous feasts we are fed, Who givest us life in giving us bread : Hail to thee! Hail to thee! Spirit of Corn! Thou who dost welcome the Sun-Father's glance With tassel and spear flung aloft to his Morn, With nodding of plume and waving of lance. Thou who dost make the green gardens to dance With joy of thee, joy of thee. Spirit of Corn! Thou who dost gather the sunlight and rain Till the body of Earth with Heaven is o'erlain, — Life, life is thy largess, who givest us grain! Daughter of Heaven, Earth's first-born, Hail to thee! Hail to thee! Spirit of Com! THE CAR OF THE CORN circling slowly during this paean now takes its place at the rear of the Voyageurs and opposite the Prairie-Schooner, thus completing the crescent arrangement of the choric groups. As they take 50 Pageant of Lincoln their position the orchestra strikes in with a spritely measure. CHORUS: Corn, Cattle, and Contentment, These are the magic three That bring to broad Nebraska Her fair felicity, — That make of her a dwelling-place For men of every race ... Corn, Cattle, and Contentment, The magic three! RIGHT CHORIC GROUP: But the future yet shall bring Richer, richer harvesting! LEFT CHORIC GROUP: What can this rare treasure be Better than the magic three? ENTER the Nursemaids, each with a gaily adorned baby carriage. They advance in a spritely dance while the chorus greets them. CHORUS ALL: Better Babies! Nebraska Babies! These shall ever be What shall give to broad Nebraska True felicity! The Plainsmen 51 Better Babies! Nebraska Babies! Better men and women, too! Cradled on the rolling prairies, Swung beneath the heaven's blue! A NURSE-MAIDS' DANCE, humor esque, follows, leading up to the final chorus. FINALE: Nebraska, Nebraska, Thee we obey! Jewelled with the Night, Nebraska, Diademed with Day! Nebraska, Nebraska, Land with promise blest, Brightest of the stars emblazoned, Queen of the West ! Exeunt, marchi^ig. END OF PART III PART IV THE MAKING OF THE STATE Characters and Figures: SENATOR DOUGLAS SENATOR DIXON SENATOR SUMNER PRESIDENT JOHNSON SECRETARY TO THE PRESIDENT GHOST OF LINCOLN FIGURE OF THE NORTH FIGURE OF THE SOUTH PAGES AND ATTENDANTS SOLDIERS OF NORTH AND SOUTH The Making of the State TRUMPETS are heard, right and left, answering each other with military hugle-call. Enter, right, a company of American soldiers of the Civil War period, with banner and bugler; left, a company of Confederate soldiers, sim- ilarly provided. The two companies foryn in wing groups, well separated and somewhat back. They symbolize the approaching Civil War, whose time is not yet; for the event about to be represented, the passage of the Kansas- Nebraska bill, occurred in I85J4.. THE SPIRIT OF THE NORTH enters, center, repre- sented by Liberty armed with a sword and accompanied by a Toiler with a sledge. They pause for a moment and then advance to right forefront, where they assume the attitude of a statuesque group, Liberty proffering the sword to the Toiler, who relinquishes his hammer. Behind them come pages bearing a pole-swung curtain which they erect behind the group. THE SPIRIT OF THE SOUTH enters, center, repre- sented by a Master and Slave, the latter in shackles. These are followed also by curtain-bearers, and take their position, left, opposite the preceding group. TRUMPETS sound again. Enter, center, four senators — 56 Pageant of Lincoln Douglas, Dixon, Seward, Sumner, in the costumes of the period. They advance preceded by Senate pages and followed by curtain-bearers and other pages. In the fore- center, just behind and between the two symbolic groups, the Senators stop; the great curtain is swung as a back- ground behind them, revealing the arms of the United States. Pages place four senatorial chairs, two right and two left, and the senators seat themselves. The scene now represents the Senate Chamber, Washington, 185 J,.. ROLL OF DRUMS calls for quiet. It is followed by three vigorous beats, like the fall of a gavel calling for order. The Senate is in session. DOUGLAS (rising): Senators of the United States! I come once more to plead a precious cause Which oft before I've plead, — Nebraska's cause. Beyond the Missouri's bluffs there lies the vast And fertile prairie, drained by the spreading Platte, Which is today a Canaan to men's eyes, A haven to their hopes, and to their hearts As dear with promise as are Eden's bowers! The patient folk who there would make their homes Wait upon you to give their prospect form. On you to raise the bars that close the gate. And by high act of Congress to lay ope The golden West to happy settlement. The virgin prairies wait, an eager bride, The singing plowman and his marriage song! The Making of the Stale 57 DOUGLAS seats hlmselj. SUMNER rises. SUMNER: The Senator from the growing West speaks well. E'en we of the East feel sensibly the lure That draws men on and on toward the shining hills. But there's an issue deeper than mere growth Divides these United States and sets the brake On the wheels of progress! Say, how shall we grow, Bond states or free, into the untamed West? Shall we maintain the Missouri Compromise A nd lay the airy edge of latitude Athwart our plains, to cut, an unseen knife. In equal parts freedom and slavery? Can these two share one flag eternally? DOUGLAS (rising to reply, as Sumner is seated): Judge not that I have given no thought to this. Our past is loud with windy compromise; But 'tis an evil thing time cannot slay, Which like the Hydra lifts a venomed head To each new victor. On that document Our fathers drew, our Constitution, I Do rest my hopes, granting to each state The sovereign right to its own sovereign will, And free determination of its Law. This sovereignty, to those who make their homes There in the wilderness, I freely give— The ancient right of true democracy! DIXON (rising, as Douglas is seated): Well speaks Douglas! We of the South doubt not 58 Pageant of Lincoln The emptiness of compromise that seeks Vainly to curb the natural lives of men And blur the clear distinctions Nature draws- I here and now do move that we repeal The vain attempt to bi;id our fellows' wills In futile words: the Missouri Compromise Is tried and is found wanting; let ft end! SUMNER and SEWARD both leap to their feet; eren DOUGLAS is startled, SEWARD (gaining the floor): What thing is this! Shall all the weary toils Of Clay and Webster and the nation's great Be blown to powdered nothingness by us? Shall we go down once more to anarchy, Shattering the house of state ere the cement Can bind its shaken walls? What statesmanship Is this that would snap wide the hard-forged link That makes us one, and like a traitorous spy Open our gates to madness and to war? SUMNER (on his feet again, before Seward is seated): The Pilgrims trod New England's rocky shores For love of freedom! Washington and those Mho in that day were great in love of right. And love of liberty which God gives men A& birthright, fought to maintain the precious gift! So may the future judge us if we stand Not true to this great heritage they leave I The Making of the Stale S9 DOUGLAS (leaping energetically to his feet): Men of the Senate, I accept the glove, Challenge to Liberty, which the South flings down! There is no compromise within my soul, And in my faith no compromising doubt That there, upon the sunlit prairie-lands. The men who make their homes will keep their troth With Right and Freedom! I but ask for them That privilege of conscience and of deed By conscience guided, for which our fathers died! . . . DOUGLAS pauses. As he does so a map of the proposed Nebraska-Kansas territories appears upon the curtain {at night, as an illumination; other lights being extinguished), DOUGLAS {prophetically): Behold, the new-born realm! Can any doubt The right to polity of such lands as these? Broad as the full horizon, freely lit By all the splendors of the unveiled sun. Fruitful with Earth's fresh green, a granary To states and nations and to all the world, Shall it be said we set our pigmy wills To bar the gates to Destinies that move Resistlessly as this? Men will t!ome here With spade and plow to turn the fallow soil. And reap their labor's tithe, — can such men be, Breathing free air and blest with sunshine free, Lovers of lesser thing than Liberty? Never! My faith is in them! Let the ayes Affirm men's right to homes beneath such skies! 60 Pageant of Lincoln EOUGLAS pauses for a response. From the groups with- out, on either side, comes the cry of: "Aye! Aye! Aye!" DOUGLAS: The act is passed; the Territories formed. Kansas and Nebraska now shall be Lands of fair promise to humanity! THE MAP vanishes from the hack ground. The Senators go out. Pages remove the Se^iatorial chairs. Military bugles sound ''Call to Arms"; the orchestra plays "John Brown's Body" and "Dixie" to symbolize the Civil War. BUGLES sound "Taps," symbolizing the end of the War. In the symbolic group of the North, Liberty offers the sledge once more to the Toiler, who has cast aside his swcrd. In the group of the South, the Slave rises, his shackles broken. PAGES place a chair and table before the curtain. A candelabrum, with lighted candles is set on the table. The time is now the Reconstruction Period, after the War; the year 1867. The scene represents the office of President Johnson. The bill for the admission of Nebraska to state- hood has just been passed over his veto. LOLL OF DRUMS amwunces the new scene. President Johnson enters and seats himself at the table, resting his chin moodily upon his hand. The Making of the State 61 JOHNSON {soliloquizing): War's aftermath! What problems, tangled, tough, And snarled with human obstinacies arise After war's madness! I were less than man To escape untouched the time's distemper , . . Oh, To shift this burden to that one great soul Strong to sustain it, — mart3rred now, and gone! But I shall play no coward, — no, though I be The loneliest man in these United States! A knock is heard. JOHNSON: A knock? Business from the Senate, I doubt not, That hates and would impeach me. — Enter, sir, SECRETARY to the President enters with a paper ivhich he lays on the table. SECRETARY: Over your veto Congress has repassed The bill that gives Nebraska statehood rights. Subject to that provision which you deem Unjust, namely, that the state shall draw no line Hurtful to the suffrage of our colored citizens. As you know, the law commands your signature. JOHNSON: I know the law. I have but played the part Conviction forced, in vetoing their bill. It is not enmity, but friendliness 62 Pageant of Lincoln To the people of Nebraska that impelled The answer which I gave when Congress chose To take away the new state's sovereign right To frame its suffrage law. Congress again Denies this right. What my duty is I must resolve alone. Leave me the bill. SECRETARY hows and goes out. JOHNSON remains in meditation. JOHNSON: What pains beset a man torn diverse ways By unclear duties! The law says I must sign, And yet the thing I sign runs counter Law, If I have truth of judgment. I am sworn As President to keep the nation's laws. Obey her Constitution, — yet today I know not which is troth : to sign this act. As law commands, though it deny the Law, Or boldly it destroy . . . Oh, had I now The wisdom of great Lincoln for my guide! What would he say? Sign, or refuse to sign? . . . JOHNSON pauses; then starts suddenly, as if hearing something. JOHNSON: What's that? . . . Methought I heard a voice. Like Lincoln's own, commanding me to sign! . . . ril ask, I'll ask again! Lincoln, shall I sign? . . . The Making of the State 63 JOHNSON has risen from his chair, and stands with hands on the table. In the shadow appears the Ghost of LINCOLN, swathed in a long black toga. GHOST {extending a commanding arm): Sign! JOHNSON sinks back into his chair. JOHNSON: Art thou in truth the soul of our nation's guide? Great Lincoln come again in counsel here To map our puzzled ways? GHOST: Yea, I am he. My spirit lives, and shall live, governing America's ideals! I bid you sign, For with the soul of Lincoln leading theirs My countrymen to freedom must be true! The GHOST recedes, JOHNSON half rising to follow it. As it disappears he sinks back, and then, without hesita- tion, affixes his signature. He rises, with the paper in hand. JOHNSON: Nebraska is a state! What men may say Of Andrew Johnson is no matter now. With Lincoln's soul inspiring, it shall shine 6^ Pageant of Lincoln Bright in the constellation that bestars Our flag with glory, — Lincoln's name shall be Its pledge to Honor and Humanity! A BLARE of trumpets welcomes the new state. The orchestra strikes up "Nebraska" which is taken up by the unseen Chorus. The Soldiers file out, right and left, and the central groups recede through the center gate. END OF PART IV PART V NEBRASKA AND THE NATION Characters and Chorus: FIFER AND DRUMMER OF 1776 COLUMBIA THE COLONIES THE STATES SOLDIERS OF NORTH AND SOUTH NEBRASKA PRNCESSION OF THE YEARS BANNER-BEARERS LIBERTY Nebraska and the Nation ROLL OF DRUMS. The sound of fife and drums is heard, and the fifer and drummers enter, playing "Yankee Doodle." It is "THE SPIRIT OF 1776" entering to symbolize the love of Liberty and Justice in which the United States of America came into being as one of the world's great nations, FIFER AND DRUMMERS pass, while to "Hail Colum- bia" enter Columbia and the Thirteen Colonies — the first Stars on the Flag. They deploy with picturesque evolu- tions. Columbia is attended by a group of boyish soldiers in the Revolutionary uniform. The Colonies, led by Columbia, perform a stately dance to a military measure. BLARE OF BUGLES announces the coming of the States, who enter from various points in groups, and move in starry squadrons, to a lighter music, back and forth across the stage. This is a symbol of the growth of the Nation. Columbia welcomes each group as it comes, while all range themselves back of the thirteen original Stars. MUSIC changes suddenly. "John Brown's Body," "Dixie," "Marching Through Georgia," "Maryland, My Maryland," "The Battle-Hymn of the Republic," follow one another in quick succession, while, one party from the 68 Pageant of Lincoln right, the other from the left, there enter two chorus groups, one representing the forces of the Union, the other those of the Confederacy, with the flags of each section. They execute the pantomime of war, folio tved eagerly by Columbia, who at last, as it were, reconciles them. The banners are crossed at the center forming an arch. "NEBRASKA" is sounded by the orchestra and as the chorus of Stars and States takes up the refrain, there enters from the center the new-come state, Nebraska, admitted shortly after the close of the great war for the preservation of that Union of which she is now to become a shining member. In the background, a military group displays the battle-flag of the First Nebraska Regiment, entered for service in 1861. Columbia receives the new State and presents her to the audience, thus completing the great tableau. THE MUSIC changes to a mysterious and prophetic temper, and filing before all, with a symbolism at once exalted and beautiful, the Procession of the Years sweeps by, each bearing her magical gift in a bowl of iridescent crystal. As they pass, they salute Columbia and Nebraska. The chorus of Stars hails them. CHORUS: Ye are the Years that come and go! Ye are the Years that bear Life's precious gift! With flowery Spring ye come, pass with Winter's snow, Nebraska and the Nation Out of the Future peer, on into Memory drift! Ye are Life's Years! Be each a perfect gem, Adding new luster to her diadem! THE YEARS take the stations on either side of Columbia and Nebraska. The banner-bearers advance, with the Stars and Stripes, while at the same time, the Spirit of Liberty, announced by the Fifer and Drummers of '76, who follow her, enters from the central gate and advances to a post beside the Flag, and opposite Columbia. In the final stage picture thus made, the central position is held by the Flag of the United States. To the right of this stands Liberty, and a little behind the Fife and Drums of '76. To the left of the Flag bearers, is Columbia, with Nebraska just before her, and the little Revolutionary soldiers behind. A crescent background to these is formed by the group of the Years, to the left, and of the Thirteen Colonies, to right. Behind all are the groups of the States, while to the right and left forefronts, respectively, are the groups of the North and the South with their flags. The standard-bearer at the center uplifts the Flag, while Liberty speaks. LIBERTY: Thou Flag of my Country — Thou banner of my native land — Thou Stars and Stripes of mine America — Hail, hail, hail! Forever, hail! 70 Pageant of Lincoln I behold thee, and my heart leaps high, Greeting thy rushing waves with answering wave Of blood resurgent, till my body rings With the clear hymn of liberty and thee, Flag, flag of my country ! Conceived thou wert in peril, Painted in hour of war, And thy reddened stripes furrow thy field of white As war's red share furrows the white of peace. Telling what men have dared and done for liberty I Conceived thou wert in peril, and in hope. And all thy blue — star-spangled like the skies — ■ Sings of the watches of the night That men have kept in love of thee. In love of thee and of the emulous stars Which send hope's answer back from heaven ! Concord and Trenton, Orleans and Gettysburg, How many fields have seen thy tattered folds Wave the last triumph to the eyes of men Who sang their death-song to thee I On how many seas Have tall ships borne thee at the peak Mid thundering guns and wild careen Of fire less ruddy than men's fiery hearts' Thou Flag of my Country, Men have died for thee! With cheers on their lips and gladness in their souls, With faith in thee and me! Nebraslca and the Nation 71 O save me to thee! Be thou mine and my country's prayer — Into my life let thy bright image burn Like purifying flame, like tempering steel, Like heaven's night, star-glorious! Make thou my spirit clean. Clean in the love of liberty and thee, Uncleft in truth and loyalty! Let thine ensanguined stripes — Like th' ensanguined stripes on Christ's white body- Bid me be noble ever! Let all the watching stars Of vigilant heaven shine From thy clear blue on me, and in me find Such constancy to thee as heaven's is In all her constant stars! O Flag of my Country, Be for me the purge that shall bear fa,r— Yea, in my blood if need be- All deed, all thought, all love, That measures not thine honor and thy troth I Make thou of me a blade of strength, A fortress stone, a staff To raise thee, raise thee, ever! Let not nobility Perish from America! Flag, Flag of my Country! ''THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER," ivhich chorus and audience join in singing, ends the Pageant. THE END LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 016 088 076 4