Long ago when they were fugi from the Chinese and ''on trek," they came upon a large expanse of water (presumably the Tungting lake in Hunan) and being confronted with the difficulty of crossing, called a council. It was observed that there were spiders and insects skimming on the surface of the water, and it appeared feasible that the Miao should do likewise. This piece of picturesque but unsound logic soon had them all in the water up to their necks, and with the "gulp" they gave when the water reached their mouths, incontinently they swallowed the whole of their "characters"; and so nothing has since been written All their history is contained in legend, handed down from grandfather to grandson, and it was most interesting, the lecturer observed, to sit in an aborigine cabin at the close of a day's journey and listen to these tales of a grandfather. Collected and put into book form, these legends should fotui a valuable addition' to the world's folklore.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.