THE CHIPEWYANS 155 



ing, which takes even a bright child two or three years 

 to learn! 



Now, I already knew something of the Cree syllabic 

 invented by the Rev. James Evans, Methodist mis- 

 sionary on Lake Winnipeg in the '40s, but Cree is a 



"THA 

 Ed- 



' S'r- 



US' 



WQ.* 



G ttha (J "he Q tthi ) ttho 

 G t^a O tSs Q t e i D t e o 



Chipewyan syllabic alphabet 



much less complex language; only 36 characters are 

 needed, and these are so simple that an intelligent Cree 

 can learn to write his own language in one day. 



In support of this astounding statement I give, first, 

 the 36 characters which cover every fundamental sound 

 in their language and then a sample of application. 

 While crude and inconcise, it was so logical and simple 



