d be reduced to writing, and the whole of this extremely creditable
work fell to the Rev. Samuel Pollard, who may be characterized as the
pioneer of this Christianizing movement in North-East Yuen-nan.

In reducing the language to writing, however, considerable difficulty
was complicated by the presence of "tones," so well known to all
students of Chinese, itself said to be an invention of the Devil. Tones
introduce another element or dimension into speech. The number of
sounds, not being sufficient for the reproduction of all the spoken
ideas, has been multiplied by giving these various sounds in different
tones. It is as if the element of music were introduced according to
rule into speech, and as if one had not only to remember the words in
everything he wished to say, but the tune also.

The Miao people being so low down in the intellectual scale, and having
never been accustomed to study, it was felt by the promoters of the
written language that they should be as simple as possible, and hence
they looked about for some system which could be readily grasped by
these ignorant people. It was necessary that the system be absolutely
phonetic and understood easily. By adapting the system used in
shorthand, of putting the vowel marks in different positions by the side
of the consonant signs, Mr. Pollard and his assistant found that they
could solve their problem. The signs for the consonants are larger than
the vowel signs, and the position of the latter by the side of the
former gives the tone or musical note required.

At the present time there are thousands of Miao now able to read and
write, and the work of this enterprising missionary has conferred an
inestimable boon upon this people. When I went among the Miao I was
able, after ten minutes' instruction, to stand up and sing their hymns
and read their gospels with them. Miao women, who heretofore had never
hoped to read, are now put in possession of the Word of God, and the
simplicity of the written language enables them almost at once to read
the Story of the Cross. Surely this is one of the outstanding features
of mission work in the whole of China. I hope at some future date to
publish a work devoted exclusively to my travels among the Hua Miao, for
I feel that their story, no matter how simply written, is one of the
great untold romances of the world. As a people, they are extremely
fascinating in life and customs, emotional, large-hearted, and
absolutely dist