INDIAN HOME LIFE. IIt 
language even, are all things of the past. This rem- 
nant of a race, living so quietly in these islands, 
hemmed in between forest and ocean, peacefully cul- 
tivating their gardens and weaving baskets, quietly 
breathing away existence, are slowly but surely pass- 
ing on into the great gulf of forgetfulness. Already 
have they forgotten the deeds of their fathers, the 
dread prowess of their ancestors. The bow, the 
hatchet, the war-club, mighty weapons in willing 
hands, are lost. In all their settlements one cannot 
find a bow. Here, then, are people who have lost 
language, prestige, tradition, ambition; and it is a 
matter of comparatively little time ere they will have 
ceased to exist, and the forests and rivers, the cool, 
fern-shaded baths and tropic streams, no longer know 
their presence. ' 
