inaccuracies creep concerning the origin of these peoples.

Yuen-nan and Szech'wan--and a great part of Kwei-chow in the main still
untouched by the increased taxation necessary to provide revenue to
uphold the reforms brought about by the forward movement in various
parts of the Empire--are where the aboriginal population is most
evident. This part of the Empire might be called the ethnological garden
of tribes and various races in various stages of uncivilization. These
secluded mountain areas, their unaltered conditions still telling forth
the story of the world's youth, have been the cradle and the death-bed
of nations, of vigorous and ambitious tribes bent on conquest and a
career of glory.

THE MIAO

Of the Miao, with its various sections, we know a good deal. Their real
home has been pretty finally decided to be in Kwei-chow province, and
they probably in former times extended far into Hu-nan, the Chinese of
these provinces at the present time having undoubtedly a good deal of
Miao blood in their veins. They are comparatively recent arrivals in
Yuen-nan, but are gradually extending farther and farther to the west,
maintaining their language and their dress and customs. I personally
found them as far west as thirty miles beyond Tali-fu, a little off the
main road, but Major Davies found them far up on the Tibetan border. He
says: "The most westerly point that I have come across them is the
neighborhood of Tawnio (lat. 23 deg. 40', long. 98 deg. 45'). Through Central
and Northern Yuen-nan they do not seem to exist, but they reappear again
to the north of this in Western Szech'wan, where there are a few
villages in the basin of the Yalung River (lat. 28 deg. 15', long. 101 deg.
40')."

The Major was evidently ignorant of this Miao district of Chao-t'ong, to
the north-east of the province. Stretching three days from
Tong-ch'uan-fu right away on to Chao-t'ong, in a north line, Miao
villages are met with fairly well the whole way; then, three days from
Tong-ch'uan-fu, in a north-westerly direction, we come to the Miao
village of Loh-In-shan; and then, striking south-west, through country
absolutely unsurveyed part of the way, Sa-pu-shan is met. This last
place is the headquarters of the China Inland Mission, where, at the
present rate of progress, one might modestly estimate that in twenty
years there will be no less than a million people receiving Christian
teaching. These are not all Miao, however; there are be