c.1874 Theatrical Broadside Promoting Performance of "Donald McKay: The Hero of the Madoc War

Brooklyn, New York: New Park Theatre, 1874. Good Toning, water staining, folds, short tears with one larger open tear, no loss to text.. Printed theatrical broadside advertising a performance of "Donald McKay: The Hero of the Madoc War", starring "The Popular Young American Star" Oliver Doud Byron. Includes an exciting list of things for audiences to expect in the performance, including: "Thrilling Situations. Battle Scenes in the Lava Beds. Over One Hundred Persons on the Stage. A Full Military Brass Band. A Thrilling Fire Scene. Encampment of the Warm Spring Indians in Silver Creel Canyon, with a view of Mount Shasta in the Distance. Skirmish at Van Bremer's Ranche. Escape of Long Jim with the White Girl. Donald McKay's Leap, &c., &c." Also promotes a Wednesday matinee benefit for the "Poor of Brooklyn", and a Monday performance of "Lotta". Measures approx. 23.5" by 9" Donald McKay (c.1836-1899) was the son of a fur Trader and a Cayuse woman from the Umatilla tribe in the Pacific Northwest. McKay worked as a translator for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the 1850s, and led the Warms Springs Indian Scouts during the Madoc War of 1872-3. After the War he made his living by touring the country in the then-popular "Wild West" shows and, interestingly, by agreeing to help promote patent medicines by using his name as a part of multiple branding campaigns.