of Malayan immigration of this period swept
over the Philippines is evident from the an-
cient names of Sanskrit origin of places on
the shores of Manila Bay and the coast of
Luzon.
Following the Hindus into the Malay Arch-
ipelago came the Arabs, and with them came
Mohammedanism. In time they entirely sup-
planted the Hindus. Returning from China in
the year 1260, Marco Polo spent some time on
the eastern coast of Sumatra. At that time
he says the seacoast population were “ Sara-
cens.” This was two hundred and fifty years
before the arrival of the Portuguese. Before
the arrival of the Europeans, Mohammedan-
ism had spread almost all over the Malayan
world, including the Philippines. ‘This caused
an Arabic element to be introduced.
Tagalog, probably the most important Fili-
pino language, in common with some other
local dialects, shows also a Chinese element,
but this is very slight. Among the so-called
Christian tribes Spanish has exerted more in-
fluence than all these others. The friars have
been their teachers for several centuries, and
they are the ones whe have reduced these
languages to writing, and this was done ac-
cording to Spanish rules of orthography and
punctuation, etc.
Notwithstanding the Malay origin and all
these influences, the different Filipino lan-
guages differ from each other and the orig-
inal language as much as French, Spanish, and
Italian differ from one another and the orig-
inal Latin. These languages are very diffi-
cult to acquire, as they are extremely idio-
matic, this being especially true of Tagalog.
Long words and a rhythmic movement add to
the difficulties of the student. This latter
peculiarity is as much a part of the language
as the words themselves, but there are no
rules to guide in its use. An illustration of
the long words is found in the following:
“olol,” meaning crazy, changes to ‘“nangas-
isipagololololan,” for “they feign madness.”
The third angel's message must go “to ev-
ery nation, and kindred, and tongue, and peo-
ple” In this are included all the tongues of
the Philippine Islands. Thus it will be appar-
ent to all that the missionary problem of giv-
ing the message to the eight or ten million peo-
ple of this group becomes a matter of the ut-
most importance. We earnestly pray that the
great needs and importance of this field may
be impressed upon many hearts, and that there
may be those who will come to these islands
to help in the work of giving the message to
all these tongues and peoples. We need your
prayers, we need workers. Who will respond?
J. L. McELHANY.
16 Calle Nebraska, Ermita, Manila, P. I.
LI
Tue church at Mena, Ark. could use for
missionary work one hundred copies or more
a week of our papers and periodicals, also
tracts. Send, post-paid, to Mrs. Cora M.
Hedley, Mena, Ark.
Copies of the WarcuMmaN and Signs for
missionary purposes. Send, post-paid, to Mrs.
Jas. Woods, 322 Detroit St.,, Marion, Ind.
THE WATCHMAN
WHAT OF THE DAY?
A so0UND of tumult troubles all the air,
Like the low thunders of a sultry sky
Far-rolling ere the downright lightnings glare;
The hills blaze red with warnings; foes
draw nigh,
Treading the dark with challenge and reply.
Behold the burden of the prophet’s vision,—
The gathering hosts,— the Valley of Decision,
Dusk with the wings of eagles wheeling oer.
Day of the Lord, of darkness and not light!
It breaks in thunder and the whirlwind’s
roar!
Even so, Father! Let thy will be done,—
Turn and o'erturn, end what thou hast begun
In judgment or in mercy: as for me,
If but the least and {frailest, let me be
Evermore numbered with the truly free
Who find thy service perfect liberty.
—W hittier.
SSK SN
DEATH VALLEY
The Traditional Hades of the Indians
NEARLY three score years ago, writes Inez
N. McFee in the World's Events, a party of
emigrants, traveling toward the Golden Gate,
started to cross this portion of southeastern
California. They soon found themselves in a
desert valley, The sun beat witheringly down
upon them, scorching and burning their flesh.
The hot sand burned through their boots, and
made even the slowest progress torture. After
a few hours the water in their jugs was gone;
all around them moisture seemed to be un-
known. Many became crazed with thirst
and wandered in various directions. Some
became delirious, stripped themselves of all
clothing, and began to burrow in the hard des-
ert sand with their bare hands. Twelve per-
sons escaped by reaching the Panamint Moun-
tains. ‘The remaining eighteen persons, men,
women, and children, left their bones to bleach
in the desert sun.
This incident gave to the valley its omin-
ous name,— Death Valley. It is the most for-
bidding portion of the Great Mojave and Colo-
rado Deserts, and lies close beside the Cali-
fornia-Nevada State Line. The valley is about
fifty miles wide by one hundred miles long,
and is about 250 miles from the nearest rail-
road. Geologists have proven that it was
once a lake highly impregnated with various
solutions of sodium. Now it is a jagged rent
in the earth’s surface 210 feet lower than the
level of the Pacific Ocean, 350 miles away.
For weeks at a time the thermometer stands
above 100 degrees, frequently registering as
high as 125 degrees in the afternoon. It is
said to be the hottest spot on earth in sum-
mer. There is one seven-mile stretch, lying
between two elevations called Funeral Peak
and Telescope Ridge, that is the most horrible
spot imaginable. In the summer no man
could live there for half an hour. Its tem-
perature has, of course, never been taken, but
the borders of the forbidding spot record a
temperature of 137 degrees. The traveler, ap-
proaching it from the slope of the Panamint
Mountains, looks down upon a long, gray des-
ert, in which are narrow bands of white made
by deposits of borax. In the southern end a
thin glistening line, like a band of silver,
stretches along the sand and then seems to
disappear. It is the Amargosa River, which
is swallowed up in the burning sand.
Men have died in Death Valley though
abundantly supplied with water, because of
the furnace-like aridity of the air. The whole
atmosphere is impregnated with noxious death-
dealing elements. The volcanic ranges which
surround the valley have queer wind-eroded
sides of many colors, red, green, yellow, brown
and black,— the result of centuries of caustic
mineralization. Aside from being the hot-
test place on earth, this horrible spot in the
Golden State is also the windiest. The hot air
rising from the bottom of Death Valley en-
counters the cold currents from the Rockies
and the Sierras and turns this pit of desolation
into a perfect maelstrom of winds. The light
sand is constantly whirled into new heaps,
and if a severe wind arises while an unwary
explorer or mule-driver is crossing, he is al-
most certainly lost. It is said that the si-
mooms and sandstorms of the Arabian desert
are mere child’s play in comparison. No liv-
ing thing can brave them. If the traveler
stays close in his tent with his head buried
in a blanket, he may survive, but he will
suffer from heat as if in an oven. Old plains-
men, enured to all sorts of hardships, have
weathered the storms of Death Valley, but
they have come out temporarily crazed and
with chronic inflammation of the eyes.
There is another danger to be encountered
in crossing Death Valley. It is the menace
of madness. An impressive, awful silence
hangs over the whole region. Travelers in
no physical danger have become crazed over
the unearthly ghastliness of their surroundings
and died maniacs while digging with their
fingers in the hot sand. Sometimes as the
explorer pushes over the burning sand with
the scorching breeze sucking up every drop
of moisture in his skin, he suddenly sees a
delicious vision half a mile away,—a cool
clover field with cattle wading in delicious,
shady streams, a beautiful lake with a gay
fishing party upon it, or perhaps 2 whole town
with its shade trees and fountains appears
close at hand. He pushes eagerly towards
it, but it fades away and mocks him. He
turns in despair and beholds something more
beautiful in another direction.
This, too, dis-