THE INDIAN STATUE, NEAR OREGON, ILLINOIS.

By Richard V. Carpenter, Belvidere, Illinois.

One of the most noteworthy examples of private enterprise for public good along historical lines is the Indian statue erected near Oregon, Illinois, by Lorado Taft.

Nearly seventy years ago (in July, 1843), a woman possessing one of the most poetic and artistic minds that this country has produced, spent a few days dreaming and writing on the beautiful bluff that rises almost from the water's edge on the bank of the Rock River about three miles northerly from the city of Oregon. Here, on the edge of the bluff is a curious tree called the "Eagle's Nest," and from the foot of the ledge a cold, clear spring gushes out and flows into the river. Since Margaret Fuller's visit this has been called Ganymede Spring. Out in the river is an island, which has been given her name. For some years past on this same bluff, there have gathered during the summer, a number of other men and women, whose love of beauty and ability in art has been ably set forth, not in words, but by the brush and the chisel. Among them is Lorado Taft, whose fame as a sculptor is world wide. Their cottages, picturesquely hugging the top and sides of the bluff, reflect the artistic abilities of the owners. This little settlement is known as the "Artists' Colony." The Indian statue stands between the colony and the city.

Long before Margaret Fuller and the artists came to love this spot, the Indian made it his home. While in some ways fierce and ignoble, his knowledge of the secrets and beauties of nature exceeded that of most white men, and he had many qualities we admire. As is well known,

this is the Black Hawk country, and the statue is usually called by that warrior's name. But it was, in fact, not intended to represent any one Indian, but simply "The Indian," to typify that race, which, from the time of Black Hawk back to the dawn of American history, when the receding glaciers left this bluff as a watch tower over the broad plain in front, had loved and habited this spot.

The manner of making this statue was most interesting, and for explanations as to the details, we are indebted to the sculptor himself. Mr. Taft made his first model life size, or to be exact, six feet in height. The final model was enlarged to seven times this size by an ingenious machine devised by Mr. John G. Prashun, who had charge of the work from this point. The framework of the great figure consisted first of large timbers, then of smaller lumber placed to support folds of drapery, etc. When the smaller forms were finally perfected in wood, the framework was covered over with "chicken netting." This surface was in turn covered with burlap, which was solidified by a coat of plaster of Paris. The head, meantime, had been modeled in clay with even greater precision of measurement, and cast in plaster by the ordinary method. This was then elevated to its position, and the model stood complete, in flimsy material to be sure, but apparently a solid mass. Next followed the even more formidable task of making a plaster mould over the whole. The mould was made about four inches thick of plaster and fibre and strongly supported by braces which became part of the scaffolding as the work progressed. Upon its completion the entire model was torn down and taken out; timber, laths, chicken netting and burlap. Then followed the filling of the mould as in plaster casting, excepting that in this case the heavy and slow-setting cement was used instead of plaster. The work was carried on under canvas, with steam heat, and was completed during the holidays, 1910. The figure

was left in the mould until the spring, when the protecting shell was broken off, and "Black Hawk" emerged

once more.

The statue stands about three miles up the river from Oregon in Ogle county. The figure itself is forty-two feet in height and rests upon a solid cube projecting above the ground about six feet, thus making the whole structure rise about forty-eight feet from the surface. The statue, without the foundation or pedestal, weighs 268 tons. It is a solid mass of concrete, except for a small shaft in the center which ends just above the folded arms, and allows a person to gaze out over the broad landscape. The statue represents an Indian, with his long blanket extending gracefully to his feet, and standing with folded arms gazing calmly over the scene of beauty before him. As Stonehenge typifies the earliest inhabitants of England, as the pyramids point back to the morning of Egypt's history, and the Pelasgic stonework tells of the forerunners of the Greeks, so the Indian statue typifies, with all the grandeur and significance of a great artist's skill, what was best in that race which occupied this region, when our forefathers-wholly ignorant that America existed-were peasants, burghers, or knights in the various shires of England, or the countries of continental Europe.

The statue was dedicated Saturday afternoon, July 1, 1911. Seven hundred citizens of Oregon and the vicinity attended, and a special train with about two hundred people came from Chicago. Mr. Frank O. Lowden presided. The program included an original poem, "The Pine Forest," by Elia W. Peattie, an address by Edgar A. Bancroft, general attorney for the International Harvester Company, and responses by two speakers of Indian blood, Miss Laura M. Cornelius representing the Oneidas, and Dr. Charles Eastman, the Sioux. Hamlin Garland read a poem on the "Trail Makers," and Lorado Taft, after a vigorous demand from the audience, gave