Western actors play Native Americans and settlers

Western actors play Native Americans and settlers

D. W. Griffith directed the Western "Crossing the American Prairies in the Early Fifties" in Lower Topanga. He spoke through a megaphone from the saddle of a cream-colored horse. He included 200 cowboys from nearby ranches, 50 women and children, 120 horses, and 11 prairie schooners.

In the 15-minute film, Native Americans attack a wagon train at night, capturing some of the pioneers and slaughtering the rest. The survivors escape burning at the stake and other terrors before finally reaching California, while the dead are buried by the shifting sands.

1911

Digital only

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Los Angeles Times, 1911-05-15