THE CfflPEWYANS 155 



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

 bo learn! 



Now, I already knew something of the Crce syllabic 

 invented by the Rev. James Evans, Methodist mis- 

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



much less complex language; only 36 characters are 

 Deeded, 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 



