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The Colonel’s Ward
(1912) United States of America
B&W : Two reels
Directed by Thomas H. Ince
Cast: Francis Ford
New York Motion Picture Company production; distributed by Mutual Film Corporation [101-Bison]. / Produced by Thomas H. Ince. / Released 25 October 1912. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama.
Synopsis: [The Moving Picture World, 12 October 1912, pages 284, 286] The Indians are on the warpath, and their depredations have reached such a length that the government has massed its troops and after much difficulty surrounded them. The Indians are defeated. In one of the tepees Col. Ward finds a little girl about ten years old, grief-stricken over the loss of her parents. He brings her back to the fort, and he and his wife adopt her. / The Indians lay down their arms, and at a peace conference a treaty is solemnly signed by which the Indians agree not to venture beyond certain boundaries, which the government agrees to protect from further intrusion and settlement. Mary, the adopted child, is sent to an Eastern boarding school. / One morning the Indians get excited over the appearance of a long wagon train which wends its way into their territory. The emigrants prepare to settle down. Wild consternation prevails among the Indians. A delegation is appointed to call at the fort in protest against the invasion of their [hunting] grounds. Colonel Ward sees the justice of the Indians’ protest, and receives them kindly. He promises to take the matter up with the Washington officials. The Indians insist upon the emigrants being removed, and to this the Colonel turns a deaf ear. Mary has just come home from college. The Indians meet her in the yard, and the attraction of race overcomes the years of education and civilization. These are her people — her brothers, and she listens to their impassioned recital of their wrongs, and then tells them wait while she intercedes for them. Mary eloquently pleads the cause of the Indians to the Colonel, but he is helpless in the premises and can only promise to do his best. It is the first time Mary [has] ever asked anything which was not granted her by her [doting] foster-parent, and she feels it [keenly]. / The Indians appeal to the govenment agent, and as they become excited he orders them from his office. They refuse to move. Angered, he draws his revolver and in the [scuffle] that ensues the weapon is discharged and be falls to the floor mortally wounded. The Indian police and soldiers rush in [and] arrest the chief. A court-martial [is] held and the Indian is [sentenced] to be shot. Mary has overheard the [trial] and determines to save the chief. She secures permission to visit him in his cell and unfolds to him her plan, which is to remove the bullets from the guns and replace them with blank cartridges. When the soldiers fire he is to fall and feign death, and, when his body is turned over to his tribe, to continue the deception until he is safely away. / That day at midnight, Mary makes her way to the library and extracts the bullets, replacing them with blank cartridges. In her excitement she drops one of the guns. It awakens the Colonel, who starts to investigate. Mary listens a moment, and hearing [nothing] goes on with her work. The Colonel sees the dark form moving in the room and fires. Hastily lighting a candle he picks up the dead body and sees who it is. Mrs. Ward is frantic with grief, and the Colonel with difficulty controls himself. A [glance] at the guns explains the situation, and he replaces the bullets and decides to conceal Mary’s death until after the execution. The next morning the fort is surrounded by hordes of Indians. The Chief, confident that Mary has carried out her plan, boldly takes his place facing the firing squad. With a dozen bullets in his body he drops like a log. The Indians laugh merrily at what they consider his clever acting. He is placed on a stretcher and given to his tribe. When they [think] they have reached a safe distance from the soldiers they draw back the blanket which covers their chief, and then, for the first time, they learn that he is dead.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 23 June 2014.
References: ClasIm-224 p. 42.
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