It is asserted by those who know that “nearly a thousand languages have given way before the Anglo-Saxon speech.” When the American succeeded to the Spanish over-lordship of the aborigine, why did he not heed the example of his English forbears in their rule of subject races? Tolerant of all that was most sacred and inherent to the conquered, recent English colonial policy has had for a fundamental principle the fostering of native genius, and a respect for the faith and ritual, essential to those brought under subjection. This served as well the useful end of making conquest less offensive and obedience more willing. It makes one envious of what Sir Valentine Chirol writes of his rulers when they mastered India. “They respected the customs of the people, tried to understand their needs, and gave the humblest folk a new sense of security from arbitrary oppression, and a new conception of justice as a boon that was neither to be bought nor sold.” The Spaniard was the pioneer invader and conqueror. The American should have grasped his opportunity as trustee of a rich and original element in the land. Trustees accept a duty and responsibility along with new power, the success or failure of which lies within their own hands. But the white man began by imposing upon the Indian a religion so unlike his own that it soon became a weapon of deceit, and a dangerous impediment to their mutual understanding. The system under which these wards of the nation are ruled to-day would doubtless protest against the old phrase that “the only good Indian is a dead Indian,” but in practice it does not materially improve on that unhappy formula. In justice to a great inheritance of art and of primitive literature (for the chant and the folk-lore are the germ of written tales), can we not _now_ arouse a public pride for the appreciation of this legacy, which constitutes, as has been said earlier in these pages, the only original contribution of the western world to either form of creative genius. The healthy association of the races should promote an education that pays heed to the needs and mentality of the Indian, fostering his deft fingers in his native crafts instead of teaching him that machine-made and artificially dyed rugs are superior; that would help him to develop his innate agricultural talent by better implements and a more generous use of soils and of irrigation. At least let him be protected from political exploitation and even from the selfishness of too ardent exploring students. It does not fall within this writer’s province to suggest solutions for one of the most urgent and complex of national problems. She only desires to bring before the bar of public opinion the tangle of difficulties largely created by an indifference to Indian philosophy and sensitiveness and to a misuse of power which has bred a deep sense of racial injustice. APPENDIX APPENDIX I. THE NAME ÁCOMA