HUDSON'S BAY 83 



" What first led him to think of this invention 

 was the difficulty he and others had in teaching 

 the Indians to read in the ordinary way. They 

 are hunters, and so are very much on the move, 

 like the animals they seek. To-day their tents are 

 pitched where there is good fishing, and perhaps 

 in two weeks they are far away in the deep forests 

 where roam the reindeer, or on the banks of streams 

 where the beavers build their wonderful dams and 

 curious homes. The constant thought in the 

 master missionary's mind was, * Can I possibly 

 devise a plan by which these wandering people can 

 learn to read more easily ? ' 



" The principle of the characters which he adopted 

 is phonetic. There are no silent letters. Each 

 character represents a syllable ; hence no spelling 

 is required. As soon as the alphabet is mastered 

 and a few additional secondary signs, some of which 

 represent consonants and some aspirates, and 

 some partially change the sound of the main charac- 

 ter, the Indian scholar, be he man or woman of 

 eighty or a child of six years, can commence at the 

 first chapter of Genesis, and read on slowly, of 

 course, at first, but in a few days with surprising 

 ease and accuracy. 



" Many were Mr. Evans' difficulties in perfecting 

 this invention and putting it into practical use, 

 even after he had got the scheme clear and distinct 

 in his own mind. 



