The result of the struggle was that the Phö were terribly decimated; and the population of the tribe is now estimated not to exceed seventy thousand souls. The Chinese were assisted in the war against the Phö by the Ka-tou, generally called the Hua, or Coloured Miao, and so named because they wear fancy-coloured garments, just as the Phö are called Black Miao because they affect dark clothes.

There can be no doubt that the Miao-tzŭ are a race altogether different from the Chinese. In physique they are decidedly inferior; in dress, manners, and customs they stand alone; and their language, although it contains a considerable number of borrowed Chinese words, is undoubtedly distinct. The problem that presents itself to the traveller in Kuei-chow is not the affinity between the Miao-tzŭ and the Chinese, but the relationship of the Miao-tzŭ to each other. They are divided into a number of tribes whose traits are recognized not only by the Chinese, but even amongst themselves; and, as I have already observed, one tribe is prepared to go to war with the other. In physique they are the same, but in dress they differ. Do they speak the same language? The following is a comparative table of the numerals of three different tribes dwelling in South-east, Central, and North-west Kuei-chow, respectively:—

ASSIMILARITY OF DIALECTS.

I.
Numerals.		II.
S.E. Kuei-chow
Phö.		III.
Central
Kuei-chow.		IV.
N. W. Kuei-chow
Ka-tou.
1YiYiYi
2AuOuOu
3PiehPehPu
4HlaoPlouPi
5ChiaPsŭPa
6TiuTsouChou
7HsiungHsiangChiung
8YaYiYi
9ChuChiaChu
10ChiuKuKo

A glance at the above will show that there is a great resemblance; and, as the difficulty of transcribing the living sounds is great, I have no hesitation in saying that a more careful study will evolve a still more marked resemblance. The transcription of the Phö sounds in column II. may be taken as fairly accurate, for they have been repeated and repeated by me in many hundreds of combinations without leading to a single mistake. Nor is the comparison limited to the numerals. I have transcribed hundreds of words of different tribes, and the resemblance is equally evident.

The conclusion I have arrived at, after careful comparison and research, is that the Miao-tzŭ tribes of Kuei-chow are branches of the same stem, speaking somewhat different dialects of the same language. This conclusion, I must not omit to mention, is at variance with the statements of my Phö teacher, who insisted that the Ka-tou tongue is totally unintelligible to a Phö; but I am inclined to think that he was more than anxious to disclaim all affinity with his quondam enemy.

But there is another proof that they are of the same stock. At a gathering of the Phö held once a year, representatives of the other tribes are present and take part in the proceedings. This gathering, which takes place at full moon of the third Chinese month, is of a character altogether different from the annual fair held during the third month at Ta-li Fu, where many different races meet. The latter is a market pure and simple, whereas the former appears to partake of a religious nature, and to be connected with the coming harvests.