Patriotic Plays and Pageants for Young People

by Constance D'Arcy Mackay

[Powhatan nods gravely. He and Pocahontas exeunt left. The braves follow next. The Indian maidens, women, and children form the end of the procession. The stage is thus left empty, and the scene ends.

COSTUMES

POCAHONTAS. Pocahontas should wear the traditional costume of "white doeskin with a scarlet mantle flecked with gold sequins." A great chain of pearls should be about her neck. Another chain which reaches to her waist should be of white and blue beads—large beads that will catch glitter from the sun. About her head a band of tan, and a white quill. The embroidery about the neck of her Indian robe is of pearls. The basket which she carries should be white, with a motif of rich blue and scarlet. She wears a tan (dressed deerskin) girdle, heavily embroidered in red beads. Her stockings and moccasins are tan-colored also, the moccasins embroidered in scarlet. The ends of her braids are bound in scarlet and gold. White canton flannel, skilfully slashed for fringing, will make the Indian dress, which should fall in straight lines from a square neck. It should reach to about three inches above the ankle, and should be heavily fringed. The robe, worn fastened at the shoulders, should be of scarlet cloth. The deerskin belt is of cotton khaki. The moccasins can be made of the same material, cut sandal fashion. Or low canvas ties without heels, bead-embroidered.

CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH. Tan-colored costume of the seventeenth century. The coat of tattered, weather-stained brown velvet, the puffed sleeves slashed with tan satin that is soiled and frayed. Great tan boots coming to the knee. A white lace collar at neck, much the worse for wear. A brown leather girdle.

POWHATAN. Indian dress of tan (dressed deerskin), the neck and breast of it gorgeously painted with blue, green, and scarlet. Great chains of shells and beads. A huge head-dress of black feathers that hangs down his back almost to his knees. It should be the largest and most magnificent of all the Indian head-dresses, as it is the insignia of chiefdom. Tan stockings and tan moccasins. The material of his costume may be cotton khaki. (The imitation khaki is best, as the real material is too heavy.)

THE MEDICINE-MAN. The medicine-man is old. He wears a wig of long, white, coarse hair. His costume is of cotton khaki, decorated with beads, bits of looking-glass, and feathers. He wears no feathers on his head. A piece of fur is fastened to his shoulders. His blanket is black, with white cabalistic signs. It can be made of canton flannel.

INDIAN BRAVES. The braves who follow Powhatan should wear costumes resembling those of the chief, save that they are less gorgeously painted, and wear fewer strings of beads and shells. Their head-dresses, too, are shorter. They should be of gray, black, and brown feathers. Their faces are, of course, stained brown, their arms and necks likewise. Red and black warpaint should also be on their faces. Unless wigs of long hair are to be worn, the boys wearing the feathered head-dresses should be careful to see that their lack of long hair is concealed from view. Often the Indian braves wore their long matted locks braided; and black cheesecloth cut into strips and then braided and fastened to a tight black cap will make a splendid wig of this sort—the braids of hair should hang in front of the ears. The Indian braves should carry bows, arrows, and tomahawks.

THE INDIAN MAIDENS. The Indian maidens should wear tan fringed dresses, of the same length and fashion as that of Pocahontas. Necklaces and bracelets of shells. The necks of the dresses embroidered in beads and shells. They wear their long black hair in two braids, the ends of the braids bound either with scarlet, corn-yellow, or vivid blue. They have moccasins and tan-colored stockings. Their bead' embroidered footgear should be in striking color on a tan background. But their chief glory is their blankets. These should be barbarically glowing, since it is partly in their wild flare of color that the beauty of the Blanket Dance lies. The following designs for them are taken from the Indian motifs and colorings studied from the collections in various museums of natural history, and however startling they may seem at first, their color-scheme should be faithfully carried out, as much of the success of the scene depends on them. The material used may be canton flannel throughout. They should be the size of the average, every-day blanket.

1. Blanket made of equal halves of deep royal purple and pale turquoise blue.

2. Blanket of deep cobalt blue. Fastened in the center a great oval of orange.