In this study of the concept of "savigism" as reflected in American writings on the Indian that appeared in political pamphlets, missionaries' reports, drama, poetry, novels, and anthropologists' accounts, Roy Harvey Pearce traces the conflct between the idea of the "noble savage" and the neeed to Christianize the heathen which ended with the rejection and virtual extermination of Indian culture.About the Author: Roy Harvey Pearce is professor of American Literature, University of California, San Diego.