THE SAN BLAS PEOPLE 



Panama is the youngest nation of the West- 

 ern World. Has she the will or the desire to 

 profit by the mistakes of her older neighbor to 

 the north, or will she let the San Bias people 

 fall a prey to those evil practices which 

 destroyed the Indians of our plains? If she 

 has that willingness, the opportunity for a 

 humane act is hers, and the San Bias tribe 

 will thrive; if not, it will doubtless disappear. 



Charlie Robinson, the chief of River Di- 

 abolo, came to Colon to see me and thence out 

 to the spillway where the tarpon were striking. 

 To the music of the rushing waters of the 

 Chagres and in the shadow of those great con- 

 crete walls, he said, naively: 



"We are good people, only we don't know 

 how to speak English. Tell us how to get our 

 lands so that we may leave homes for our 

 babies to live in. The President of Panama 

 says he can't help us. Do you think the 

 Americans can?" 



I wanted to reassure him, but I could 

 not. 



As he went away he shook my hand and 

 said: 



"You are our friend. You will come back 

 some time, and we will be glad to see you." 

 10 J 39 



