e entertaining a few Chippewas, and murdered
them, when the government took a hand in the affair.

17. The slight knowledge of metals and wide-awake observation
of an inexperienced miner discovered gold in Arizona.

CLEARNESS OF THOUGHT

Clearness is fundamental. The writer should be content, not when his
meaning may be understood, but only when his meaning cannot be
misunderstood. He may attain this entire clearness by giving attention
to five matters:

Reference (20-23)
Coherence (24-28)
Parallel Structure (30-31)
Consistency (32-35)
Use of Connectives (36-38)

REFERENCE

By the use of pronouns, participles, and other dependent words, language
becomes flexible and free. But each dependent part must refer without
confusion to a word which is reasonably near, and properly expressed.
Ordinarily a reader expects a pronoun or a participle to refer to the
nearest noun (or pronoun) or to an emphatic noun.

=Divided Reference=

=20. A pronoun should be placed near the word to which it refers, and
separated from words to which it might falsely seem to refer. If this
method does not secure clearness, discard the pronoun and change the
sentence structure.=

Uncertain reference of _which_: He dropped the bundle in the
mud which he was carrying to his mother. [The reader for a
moment refers the pronoun to the wrong noun. Bring _which_
nearer to its proper antecedent _bundle_.]

Right: He dropped in the mud the bundle which he was carrying
to his mother.

Vague reference of _this_: My failure in mathematics was
serious. My grades in English, history, and Latin were good
enough. But this brought down my average. [_This?_ What _this_?
Five nouns intrude between the pronoun _this_ and its proper
antecedent _failure_.]

Right: In English, history, and Latin I received fairly good
grades. But in mathematics I received a failure. This brought
down my average.

Remote reference of _it_: If you want to make a good speech,
take your hands out of your pockets, open your mouth wide, and
throw yourself into it.

Right: If you want to make a good speech, take your hands out
of your pockets, open your mouth wide, and throw yourself into
what you are saying. [Or, better] Take your hands out of your
pockets, open your mouth wide, and throw yourself into the
speech.