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ARCHiEOLOGIA AMERICANA.

TRANSACTIONS

A-7

V ■?

777^

AND

COLLECTI

OF THE

AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY.

VOLUME II.

CAMBRIDGE:
PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY,

AT THE

UNIVERSITY PRESS.

1836.

FOLSOM,

CAMBRIDGE:

WELLS, AND THURSTON,

PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY.

PREFACE.

A large portion of the present volume relates to the abo¬
riginal inhabitants of the country, — a subject of great and in¬
creasing interest to the American people. They are rapidly
passing away ; and it is deemed wise and important to collect
and preserve such peculiarities of the race as may be found wor¬
thy of the contemplation and analysis of philosophical minds.
With this view, the attention of the Society has been called to
an examination of the various dialects existing, or that have
existed, among the different tribes of North America. “ Until
within a few years past,” remarks a learned writer, “ these
neglected dialects, like the devoted race of men, who have
spoken them for so many ages, and who have been stripped of
almost every fragment of their paternal inheritance, except
their language, have incurred only the contempt of the people
of Europe and their descendants on this continent ; all of
whom, with less justice than is generally supposed, have prob¬
ably boasted of their own more cultivated languages, as well as
more civilized manners.” #

The first step towards this investigation must be a correct
knowledge of individual dialects ; the second, a comparison of
the various dialects with one another. And the greater the
extent to which the latter process is carried, the more satisfac¬
tory will be the conclusions at which we arrive. This has been
termed the “ comparative science of language,” which was
first successfully cultivated under the auspices of the Empress
Catherine of Russia, who took measures to obtain vocabularies
of all the languages in the world. “ She directed her Sec¬
retary of State,” says the writer we have already quoted,

* Mem. Am. Acad. Vol. IV. p. 320.

Vlll

PREFACE.

“ to write to the powers of Europe, Asia, and America ; and
application was accordingly made to President Washington for
our Indian languages, several specimens of which were accord¬
ingly furnished.” A portion of the results of those inquiries
may be seen in the Transactions of the Academy of St. Peters-
burgh, in the accounts of Russian voyages of discovery, and
in the works of various men of science, who have flourished
under the patronage of the Empress and her successors. From
the materials thus collected, the celebrated production of the
German philologists, Adelung and Vater, proceeded in part,
which has been followed within a few years by the more finished
and extended work of Balhi, published in France, but dedicated
to the Emperor of Russia. In the former, the collection of
American dialects was both incomplete and deficient in accu¬
racy ; in the compilation of the latter, the author consulted the
manuscript essay of Mr. Gallatin, in its original state, which is
published in the present volume, after having been much en¬
larged by the addition of copious vocabularies and other ap¬
propriate matter.

The labors of other writers, who at different periods have
bestowed their attention on the Indian languages, are to be
referred to the first branch of investigations, limited to the dis¬
tinct consideration of individual dialects. The works of Eliot,
Cotton, Roger Williams, and Edwards, in New England ; the
Dictionary of Father Rasle, illustrated by the learned and just
discrimination of Pickering ; and the researches of Heckewrel-
der and Zeisberger, on whose data have been reared the philo¬
logical hypotheses and acute disquisitions of Du Ponceau ; are
all of this class. It remained for Mr. Gallatin to bring together,
in a comparative view, the languages and dialects of all the
nations, so far as authentic specimens of them could be procured,
and to describe the various analogies of structure and charac¬

teristic features existing among them. This we regard as the
second step towards a complete philosophical view of the whole
ground, now for the first time attempted on a scale commensu¬
rate with its importance, and executed in a manner, which

PREFACE.

claims the merit of originality, while it brings to good account
the labors of all preceding writers. *

At the request of the Committee, a list of books published
in the Indian languages by the American Board of Commis¬
sioners for Foreign Missions, was prepared by the Rev. David
Greene, one of the Secretaries of the Board, and communicated
for publication in the present volume ; but, as it has been since
given to the public through the medium of another work, which
possesses a wide circulation,*)* it is deemed sufficient to state
here the number of books printed in each language. They are
as follows: In Cherokee, 18 distinct works ; Choctaw, 19 do. ;
Creek or Muskhogee, 3 do. ; Osage, 1 do. ; Ojibway or Chippe-
way, 5 do.; Seneca, 4 do. ; Ottowa, 1 do. ; Abenaki, 2 do ; Si¬
oux, 1 do. With the exception of those in the Cherokee, which
have been printed in the syllabic alphabet invented by Guess,
one of the tribe, the works have been printed in the orthography
proposed by Mr. Pickering, as a uniform method of writing the
Indian languages. J This we regard as a most important im¬
provement, which is calculated to obviate a very serious diffi¬
culty resulting from the various systems of orthography adopted
by writers of different nations. In addition to the above list of
publications by the Board, (which consist of elementary school¬
books and religious works, prepared by the Missionaries,) the
Rev. Mr. Byington has composed a Grammar and Dictionary
of the Choctaw language, the latter containing about 15,000
words, which may be hereafter published.

* In regard to the details of the publication, it may be proper to state
that the correction of the press has been performed without the aid of
the Author. The whole of the Introductory Essay, however, together
with some other portions of the work, passed under the careful revision
of a member of the Publishing Committee, (Mr. Folsom.) by whom
the entire duties of the Committee, in reference to the present volume,
have been performed, in consequence of the engagements of the other
members.

f Missionary Herald, for July, 1836- Boston.

\ Mem. Am. Acad. Vol. IV.

VOL. ii. b

PREFACE.

It is unnecessary to speak here of the other portions of the
volume now presented to the public. They will be preceded
by distinct notices illustrative of their origin and design, where
it may be desirable for the information of the reader.

A considerable period has been suffered to elapse since the
publication of the first volume of the Transactions and Collec¬
tions of this Society ; but, in the mean time, its general inter¬
ests have not been neglected. The munificent bequests of Dr.
Thomas, making provision, among other objects, for the support
of a resident Librarian, whose attention should be wholly de¬
voted to the duties of the office, enabled the Society to secure
the valuable services of Mr. Baldwin, the late incumbent. A
just idea of what was accomplished by that gentleman, during the
few years of his official labors, is conveyed in the well-deserved
tribute to his memory, from the pen of Governor Davis, con¬
tained in the present volume.

But, while the flourishing condition of the Society affords
good cause of congratulation, it should be borne in mind, that
the active and zealous cooperation of its friends is required to
develope and apply the resources placed at their command for
the promotion of its objects. Original contributions, as well as
rare documents, illustrative of the history and antiquities of any
portion of the continent, will always receive the respectful
attention of the Publishing Committee ; and, as the causes that
have retarded the appearance of the present volume are not
expected to occur again, it may be confidently anticipated,
that in future the publications of the Society will be made at
regular and less protracted intervals.

CONTENTS.

Page

Officers of the Society for 1835-6, . . . xv

A Memoir of Isaiah Thomas , LL. D.} First President
of the American Antiquarian Society. By Samuel
M. Burnside, Esq., ..... xvii

I. A Synopsis of ihe Indian Tribes of North America.
By Albert Gallatin, LL. D.

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

Sect. I. Indian Tribes north of the United States, * 9

Eskimaux, - v - - - ib.

Kinai, Koluschen, &c., on the Pacific Ocean, - 14

Athapascas, (Northern, Cheppeyans, Copper Mine,

&c., Sussees, Tacullies,) - - - 16

Sect. II. Algonkin-Lenape and Iroquois, - 21

Algonkin-Lenape, - - - 23

Northern, (Knistinaux, Algonkins, Chippeways, Ot-
towas, Potowotamies, Mississagues,) - ib.

Northeastern, (Labrador, Micmacs, Etchemins,

Abenakis,) - - - - 30

Eastern, (New England, Mohicans, Manhattans,
Long Island, Delawares and Minsi, Nanticokes,
Susquehannocks, Conoys, Powhatans, Mannahoks,
Pamlicoes,) - 33

XII

CONTENTS.

Page

Western, (Menomonies, Sauks, Foxes, Kickapoos
and Mascoutins, Miamis and Piankishaws, Illinois,
Shawnoes,) - 60

Iroquois, - 69

Northern, (Wyandots or Hurons, Extinct Tribes,

Five Nations,) - ib.

Southern, (Tuteloes, Nottoways, Tuscaroras,) 80

Sect. III. Southern Indians, (east of the Mississippi and in Louisiana,)

Extinct Tribes of Carolina, - 83

Catawbas; Cherokees (Guess’s alphabet) - 87

Muskhogees (proper, Seininoles, Hitchittees,) 94

Uchees; Natchez, - 95

Alibamons and Coosadas, - - - 96

Choctaws and Chicasas, - 98

Southern Indians at the time of De Soto’s expedition, 102
Their social state (division into clans, worship of the
sun, monarchical government ; Natchez) - 107

Tribes of Lower Louisiana, east and west of the Mis¬
sissippi (great diversity of languages), - 114

Sect IV. Indians west of the Mississippi,

a. East of the Rocky Mountains, - 120

Sioux (Winebagoes, Dahcotas and Assiniboins,
Shyennes, Minetares, Mandares, Crows, Quappas,
Osages, Kansaws, Ioways, Missouris, Ottoes,
Omahaws, Puncas,) - ib

Pawnees and Ricaras ; habits of western Indians, 128
Black Feet, Rapid Indians, other erratic tribes, 132

b. West of the Rocky Mountains, - 134

Want of vocabularies ; Salish, Atnahs, Shoshonees,
Chinooks, - ib.

Sect. V. General Observations.

Climate ; forests and prairies ; geographical notices, 136
Conjectures (Asiatic origin ; semi-civilization of Mexico;

ancient works in United States,) - 142

Means of subsistence, (hunter state ; agricultural labor
confined to women,) - 149

Labor the only means of preserving and civilizing the
Indians, (Cherokee civilization,) - 154

Sect. VI. Indian Languages.

Diversity of vocabularies and similarity of grammatical
forms ; gender and number, - 160

Substantive verb ; conversion of nouns, &c. into verbs,
reciprocal ; pronouns, - 174

Transitions, - 183

Tenses and moods, compound words, multiplied forms,
defective information, - - - - 197

Suggestions respecting highly inflected languages, 201

Grammatical forms in the earliest stages of society, 206

CONTENTS.

Xlll

Page

APPENDIX.

No. 1. Grammatical Notices.

Eskimaux ; Athapascas, - 211

Algonkin-Lenape, (Massachusetts, Delaware, Chippeway,
Micmac.) _____ 216

Iroquois, (Onondago, Huron or Wyandot,) - - 232

Cherokee, - - - - _ 239

Sioux; Choctaw, - - - - - 251

Muskhogee ; Araucanian, - 256

No. 2. Specimens of Conjugations and Transitions, - - 265

Notes to the Tables of Transitions, &c. - 290

Cherokee Alphabet, - 301

No. 3. Note by the Publishing Committee, respecting Tribes on

Northwest Coast of America, - 302

VOCABULARIES.

General Table, ______ 305

No. 1. Comparative Vocabulary for Fifty-three Tribes, - 307

No. 2. Do. Sixteen Tribes, - - 368

No. 3. Umfreville’s Vocabulary, - 373

No. 4. Miscellaneous Vocabularies, - 375

No. 5. Supplementary Vocabulary, (Muskhogee, Choctaw, Caddo,

Mohawk, Seneca, Cherokee,) - 381

Short Comparative Vocabulary of the Choctaw and Muskhogee, 405

SELECT SENTENCES.

Muskhogee, Choctaw, Caddo, - 408

Ojibway, Cherokee, Seneca, - 414

Supplementary Cherokee Transitions, - 418

The Lord’s Prayer in Cherokee, Muskhogee, Choctaw, and Dahcota, 421

II. An Historical Account of the Doings and Suffer¬
ings of the Christian Indians of New England.

By Daniel Gookin, .... 423

III. A Description of a Leaden Plate or Medal , found
near the Mouth of the Muskingum , in the State
of Ohio. By De Witt Clinton, LL. D., 535

IV. A Description of the Ruins of Copan, in Central

America. By Col. Juan Galindo, . 543

XIV

CONTENTS.

Page

V. A Letter from the Rev. Adam Clarke, D. D.,

LL. D., to Peter S. Du Ponceau, LL. D. 551

VI. Obituary Notice of Christopher C. Baldwin , Esq.,

late Librarian of the American Antiquarian
Society. By John Davis, LL. D. . 557

Catalogue of the Members of the Society ,

565

OFFICERS

OP THE

AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY,

ELECTED OCTOBER 23d, 1835.

PRESIDENT.

Hon. THOMAS L. WINTHROP, LL. D.

VICE-PRESIDENTS.

Hon. JOHN DAVIS, LL. D.

Hon. JOSEPH STORY, LL. D.

COUNSELLORS.

Hon. Benjamin Russell.

Hon. Levi Lincoln, LL. D.
Edward D. Bangs, Esq.

Hon. James C. Merrill.

Rev. Charles Lowell, D. D.
Samuel M. Burnside, Esq.

John Park, M. D.

Frederick W. Paine, Esq.

John Green, M. D.

Joseph Willard, Esq.

list of officers.

SECRETARIES.

His Excellency Edward Everett, LL. D., Foreign
Correspondence.

Hon. Rejoice Newton, Recording Secretary.

William Lincoln, Esq., Domestic Correspondence.

treasurer.

Samuel Jennison, Esq.

committee of publication.

John Park, M. D.

7 *

George Folsom, Esq.

Alfred D. Foster, Esq.

acting librarian.

Maturin L. Fisher, Esq.

The Annual Meetings of the Society are holden at Antiquarian
Hall, in Worcester, Massachusetts, on the 23d day of October, the an¬
niversary of the discovery of America by Columbus.

The Library of the Society, consisting of about 12,000 volumes, of
which a Catalogue is now in press, and the Cabinet, containing many
objects of curiosity and historical interest, are deposited in Antiqua¬
rian Hall.

M EMOi R

ISAIAH THOMAS, LL. D

By SAMUEL M. BURNSIDE, Esq.

VOL. II.

MEMOIR

ISAIAH THOMAS, LL.D.,

FOUNDER AND FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN

ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY.

By SAMUEL M. BURNSIDE, Esq.

It is a prominent principle in the structure of all free govern¬
ments, like that of the United States, that their strength and
their durability are founded in the intelligence and virtue of
the people. In the talents and moral worth of every citizen,
then, the government have a deep interest ; an interest, which
the public good demands should be cherished and improved,
by judicious means, to its utmost extent.

There exists consequently, a corresponding obligation in
every individual to consider his endowments as the gift of
Heaven for the service of his country ; and to be developed
with untiring zeal for that purpose, and consecrated with
unwavering firmness to that object. It is a prevalent, but most
unhappy mistake among the youth of our republic, and too
much countenanced, if not encouraged, by their parents and their
teachers, that the chief end of education is to furnish facilities
for the acquisition of wealth, influence, and power, for their
personal gratification, rather than to sustain, perfect, and per¬
petuate, the institutions of that country, which gave them birth,
and insured the means of knowledge and usefulness.

MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS.

The duty of self-devotion to the claims of country cannot
be unheeded or undervalued by any one, without incurring the
imputation of great criminality. Nor can a disregard of it find
justification or apology in the fact, that nature has not been
liberal in bestowing her favors.

The most ordinary, and the most gifted intellect, belong
alike to the commonwealth, and each is necessary to her
growth and prosperity. And, notwithstanding our admiration
of a few exalted minds, and the distinguished benefits they
sometimes confer on society, it is, after all, ordinary minds
which constitute most of our physical strength, and moral
power, and intellectual riches ; it is these principally, which
give health, and activity, and energy to the body politic. The
boundless philanthropy of Howard will ever be a theme of
grateful praise to afflicted humanity ; and the never-ceasing
benevolence of Oberlin will ever be remembered, with profound
veneration, by the people of his charge ; yet neither of these *
could claim a high standing among the gifted men of their
time ; and, in our own country, there have been many among
the most forward of those who are constantly engaged in
devising and executing plans of reformation and improvement,
who are distinguished for successful efforts in doing good,
rather than for rare endowments of mind, or attainments in
knowledge.

In this latter class of citizens may be ranked the subject of
this memoir ; a man, possessed of a strong and discriminating
intellect, but of none of those commanding powers or splendid
talents, which often delight and astonish the world. With few
of the ordinary means of education, he yet acquired, by a
diligent use of time, an extent of knowledge, which few of the
most favored have equalled ; and by industry and frugality, a for¬
tune not often exceeded, which he liberally devoted to the cause
of learning, of private charity, and public beneficence. It is use¬
ful to trace the progress of such a man from the restlessness of
childhood to the serenity of old age, and to mark his advances

MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS.

XXI

from a condition of dependence to one of opulence, and from
the obscurity of an humble apprentice to the distinction of a
founder of one of the most valuable institutions in the western
world. It will thus be seen, that, in our country at least, the
character, the reputation, and the destiny of every youth are
generally subject to the decisions of his own will ; and how
much society is often indebted for its privileges to the influence
and labors of men, who never shared its applause or par¬
ticipated its honors. The principal portion of the following
sketch of his life and character is taken from an address
delivered at his funeral by the late Isaac Goodwin, Esq.

Isaiah Thomas was bom in Boston, January 19th, 1749.
His ancestors emigrated from England at an early period
in the settlement of Massachusetts. His grandfather, Peter
Thomas, was a merchant, and died in 1746, leaving four
sons and two daughters. Moses, the second son, and
father of the subject of this notice, resided partly at Long
Island, and partly in Boston, and died at sea, leaving a
destitute widow and five children, of whom Isaiah was the
youngest. At the age of six years, he was apprenticed to
Zachariah Fowle, a printer of ballads in Boston. Instead of
being sent to school, he was placed in the printing-office ; and,
to enable him to set his types for the small works executed at
the press, he was elevated upon a bench raised eighteen inches
from the floor. The composing stick he then used, is still
preserved, with a specimen of this early attempt at typography.
Without the assistance of any one, as he himself often declared,
in this shop, he not only acquired a knowledge of the elemen¬
tary branches of learning, but was so far competent to write,
that, at the age of seventeen, he was enabled to take charge
of a newspaper at Halifax, in Nova Scotia, to which place he
went, upon a disagreement with his master. During his resi¬
dence at this place, the memorable Stamp Act took effect in the
colonies. To send out a newspaper with this odious badge of

XXJ1

MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS.

servitude was repugnant to the feelings of the young New-
England man, as he was then called.

An editorial paragraph caused the printer to be summoned
before the public authority. He exculpated himself by cast¬
ing the blame upon his apprentice, who had the charge of
the paper. A second paragraph occasioned a call upon the
young man himself, who was finally dismissed with a slight
reprimand, and with an admonition to remember, that he was
not in Boston. The reams of paper in the office were secretly
divested of the stamps, and the Gazette was afterwards issued
without this obnoxious mark. In March, 1767, he left Halifax,
and, after working some time in New Hampshire, returned to
the employment of his former master in Boston. He separated
from him again, by agreement, and attempted to establish
himself at Wilmington, North Carolina. From this place he
went to Charleston, South Carolina, where he worked for two
years. In consequence of declining health, he abandoned a
project he had formed of going to England to acquire a more
perfect knowledge of his trade.

In 1770 he returned to his native town, and in connexion
with Z. Fowle, commenced the “ Massachusetts Spy,” then a
small paper, published three times a week. Three months
after this he purchased the establishment and issued the paper
upon a half sheet, until December of that year, when it was
discontinued.

On the 7th of March, 1771, he commenced the present
“ Massachusetts Spy,” which he published weekly upon a large
sheet. Although firmly attached to the popular side in the
rising political contest, Mr. Thomas opened his columns to
both parties ; but the Royalists soon withdrew their patronage,
and the paper was thereupon devoted exclusively to the Whig
interest. Overtures were made by the Royalists to obtain his
influence, but were rejected. Attempts were then made to
coerce him, by embarrassing the pecuniary concerns of the
establishment. The interposition of friends prevented any

MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. xxiii

trouble from this quarter. In consequence of an essay, signed
Mucins Sccevola, published in the Spy of November, 1770,
he was summoned, by Governor Hutchinson and his Council,
to appear at the Council-Chamber. He promptly refused
obedience to the order. His answers to the messenger, which
were written down at the time, discover a knowledge of his
personal rights, a resoluteness of purpose, and an intrepidity of
character, that strongly indicated the course he would after¬
wards pursue in the coming contest. From a defect of
authority in the Governor and Council, further proceedings
were suspended until the sitting of the Superior Court, when
a vigorous attempt was made to procure an indictment ; but it
was defeated by the independent spirit of the grand jury. A
proceeding by information was the next course ; but the general
intelligence of the people frowned upon this odious engine of
government for shackling the press. These attempts at prosecu¬
tion were renewed the next year under pretence of punishing
some supposed libels upon the King; but the assistance of
friends relieved him from the danger. A proffer of profession¬
al services from the distinguished James Otis was gratefully
received by Mr. Thomas, and manifests the interest felt for his
security by that statesman of mighty mind, and by other
patriots of the revolution.

At this period there were three other papers, published in
Boston, but neither of them had a patronage equal to that of
the Spy. Upon its first publication the subscription list con¬
tained less than two hundred names; but, such was its popu¬
larity, that in two years it had more patronage than any other
paper in New England.

Questions of political science and constitutional law were
now no longer confined to the forum and halls of legislation,
but became daily themes of discussion in the mechanic’s shop,
at th.e farmer’s fireside, and in the town meeting. The exi¬
gencies of the times called for a journal, conducted by one
whose education, habits, and modes of thinking should har-

XXIV

MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS.

monize with those of the great body of the people, where
every one could find his own feelings and principles reflected
without the expositions of the learned.

Such a paper was found in the Spy, and such an editor in
Mr. Thomas. The ability, prudence, and fearless decision
exhibited by him in this department, give to his character an
elevation and dignity, that few only can attain. It is here
his name stands out in bold relief, and claims the applause of
mankind .

Considering his youth, his limited means for acquiring
learning, and the portentous state of the times, it must have
required a mind of no ordinary bearing to sustain itself in so
unequal a conflict. On one side, was most of the learning
and wealth of the province, together with the patronage of the
government in favor of the existing state of things, and branding,
with the reproach of sedition and rebellion, every movement
for liberty ; on the other, a people of staid and religious
habits, enjoying most unlimited practical freedom, contending,
not against any actual, ostensible oppression, but merely for
principles and abstract right. Thus circumstanced, this youth¬
ful apostle of liberty took the field. Although his paper was
the medium of communication for some of the ablest writers
of the day, and was directed, in some measure, by the leaders
of the popular party, yet all the responsibilities rested upon
the editor and publisher, and a single act of imprudence, or
even of indiscretion , might have involved him in serious conse¬
quences. It is apparent from an examination of the files of
the Spy at that period, that the editorial matter came from his
own pen. Matters of fact, without the tinsel of ornament,
and plain argument, without the sophistry of the schools, were
the simple instruments, by which the tempest of popular indig¬
nation was roused ; and a virtuous community required no other
trident to set bounds to the swelling storm. In a review of
that period, as he himself has justly observed, “ common sense
in common language, is as necessary to influence one class of

MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS.

XXV

citizens, as learning and elegance of composition are to pro¬
duce an effect upon another. The cause of America was just,
and it was only necessary to state that cause in a clear and
impressive manner, to unite the American people in its sup¬
port.” During that time of appalling gloom, when the people
of Boston were goaded to resentment by the provisions of the
Port Bill, the editor of the Spy continued the publication of his
paper in that city. His manner of defeating the attempts to
overawe the freedom of the press manifested a wisdom, a
fertility of expedients, and a patriotic integrity, that insured
him the highest confidence. A numerous standing army held
unlimited control of the metropolis, and repeated outrages on
the part of the soldiery were not discountenanced by the pub¬
lic officers. Mr, Thomas had rendered himself obnoxious to
the British, and threats of vengeance were thrown out against
him and his printing-office. Timely information was given
him of intended violence, which induced him to pack up pri¬
vately a press and printing apparatus, and send them in a boat
across Charles River under the care of General Warren, the
martyr of Bunker Hill.

Early in the spring of 1775, arrangements were made for
sending detachments into the interior to destroy the military
property, which the people w7ere preserving against the ap¬
proaching contest. The vigilance of the friends of liberty in
town, had faithfully transmitted information into the country of
the intended expedition to Concord. The editor of the Spy
was concerned in furnishing this information, in consequence of
which, he left Boston at day-break, on the morning of the
memorable 19th of April, and joined the Provincial militia in
opposing the King’s troops at Lexington. The next day he
arrived at Worcester, opened his printing-office, and recom¬
menced the publication of the Spy, May 3d, 1775.

This event formed an era in the history of the country, as
well as in the annals of the town, where he thenceforward re¬
sided. It was the first printing ever performed in the interior

VOL. II.

XXVI

MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS.

of New England. The Provincial Congress were now in ses¬
sion at Watertown, and it was proposed by them to remove
this press to that place : but it was afterwards determined that
it should remain in Worcester, and that the Spy should be
transmitted by post-riders to Watertown and Cambridge. Un¬
til presses were established in those places, Mr. Thomas exe¬
cuted the printing for the Congress. The labors of Mr.
Thomas were not confined to the Spy. He established the
first newspaper in Newburyport, as early as 1773, which he
soon after transferred to other hands. In 1774 he published
in Boston, the “ Royal American Magazine,” a monthly perio¬
dical. Besides the usual variety of general literature, this work
contains a faithful summary of the public transactions of Bos¬
ton during that eventful year, and great value is added to the
work by the public documents preserved in its pages, and
which are not elsewhere to be found. The small amount of
property contained in the package sent across Charles River,
upon his flight from Boston, was all that he rescued from five
years of unremitted toil in the cause of freedom; — the resi¬
due fell a prey to the soldiery, or was carried off with the
plunder of the army.

With unwearying fidelity to the cause of his country, he
persevered in vindicating her rights to the end of her struggle
for independence. In July, 1776, he participated in the first
celebration of that great event, at Worcester. The charter of
American liberty was first publicly promulgated by him, stand¬
ing upon the porch of the town-house. It was received with
the united acclamations of a vast multitude of citizens, who,
under the open canopy of heaven, superadded to that of the
National Congress their solemn pledge to support it with for¬
tune, honor, and life. After the war, when the government
began to assume a more permanent form, lie extended his busi¬
ness, not only as a printer, but as a bookseller. The first
paper-mill and book-bindery in this country were established by
him. For several years, he employed seven printing-presses

MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS.

XXV11

in Worcester ; and in Boston and its vicinity with Mr. An¬
drews, a partner in business, he furnished employment for nine
more. He established the first newspaper in Walpole, New
Hampshire, and in Brookfield, Massachusetts; and at these
places, and also at Albany and Baltimore he was concerned in
extensive bookstores. From these sources, much of the litera¬
ture of the country was supplied. The systematic manner,
in which the details of this mass of business were conducted,
gave him an elevated character for skill as a merchant. In
1802, he withdrew from the more active avocations of his past
life, and sought leisure and opportunity for literary pursuits.

In 1810 he presented to the public his “History of Printing,”
in two volumes octavo, including a history of newspapers, with
biographical sketches of the ante-revolutionary printers and
booksellers in New England. This work manifested great re¬
search, persevering industry, and no inconsiderable share of
learning. It passed the ordeal of the reviewers both in this
country and Great Britain, and is received as a standard au¬
thority upon the subjects treated of in its pages. During the
long period in which he contemplated the preparation of this
work, and while engaged in its progress, he was continually
laying aside for preservation, every book, pamphlet, and file of
newspapers, that came in his way, which might aid him in this
undertaking, or prove of future use to the historians of his
country. He likewise took unwearied pains, and expended
large sums of money, in procuring from abroad valuable materials
for the same object. To collect and preserve whatever could
tend to illustrate the genius and exact condition of society at dif¬
ferent epochs in its advancement from one state of improvement
to another, was ever a favorite employment of Mr. Thomas, and
formed a prominent habit of his life. Hence his library com¬
prised many rare works, of which no other copies could be
found, and which, but for his care, would have been lost to the
world. It also contained the most valuable collection of Amer-

XXV111

MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS.

ican literature to be seen in the possession of any individual in
the country.

The want of such a library had been sensibly felt by him in
making bis compilation, and the inconvenience bad been over¬
come by personal sacrifices, which few other individuals could
make. He therefore justly deemed its importance to the
literary interests of society to be inestimable. If once scat¬
tered, he observed, it could never be gathered again. These
considerations led him to propose the incorporation of an asso¬
ciation for collecting and preserving the materials of history,
natural and civil, in every form, in which they present them¬
selves, and he offered to endow the Institution by a donation of
his collection. The proposition was approved by a number of
the friends of American literature, and the American Antiqua¬
rian Society was incorporated in 1812. The legislature of
Massachusetts alone could give legal existence to a corporation
of this kind ; but it was considered and designed by its founder
to he an institution national in its character, whose members
should be elected from every quarter of the country, and
whose advantages should he common to every State in the
Union. Nothing less than this would answer his liberal views
of public utility. At the first meeting of the Society, Mr.
Thomas was unanimously elected its President, and continued
to hold the office by annual election till the time of his
death. The interest he manifested in its early success
suffered no diminution in its subsequent progress. Every
year, he made liberal donations of hooks and rare curiosi¬
ties, obtained both as presents to him from their possessors,
and by purchases, at an amount not in considerable. The
first volume of its Transactions was published wholly at his
expense. In 1820, he erected the spacious edifice, now
occupied by the Society, fitted it with convenient rooms
for the accommodation of the library and cabinet, and gave
it for the exclusive use of the Institution. The library
now contains about twelve thousand volumes, embracing nu-

MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS.

XXIX

merous annual files of American newspapers, bound in regu¬
lar series. Nearly all the papers printed before the revolution
are to be found among them. The residue of the library in¬
cludes history, theology, and general literature. One room is
appropriated for a cabinet of curiosities, illustrating the manners
of the fathers, as well as the aborigines of North America.
The Institution enumerates a long list of benefactors, from
whom have been received many valuable donations of books
and other articles ; but for whatever of character, energy, and
living principle it possesses, it is indebted to the untiring gener¬
osity of its founder. In his last will, he has provided for its
exigencies to an extent unequalled in the history of any simi¬
lar society in this country. Benevolence was a prominent trait
in the character of Mr. Thomas, and several other institutions
shared largely in his bounty, under the provisions of his will.
The community, in which he resided, will long cherish his
memory as a public benefactor. To almost all the objects of
public enterprise and philanthropy, which mark our age, he
was a generous contributor, and without discrimination of party
or sect. The unfortunate children of want around him, in the
gloom of sickness and distress, will remember him as a never-
failing friend ; for to them his charities were abundant and
seasonable. He died at his residence in Worcester, April 4th,
1831, at the advanced age of eighty-two years.

Neither the ordinary pursuits of business, nor the regular
studies of a man of science, furnish much variety of incident.
The life of Mr. Thomas was useful to his country, both for the
services he rendered it, and for the example he exhibited, so
full of encouragement to young men, of successful industry in
acquiring knowledge, and of well-directed labor in gaining
property, of invincible resolution in overcoming difficulties, and
of discriminating liberality in applying his acquisitions to the
wants of individuals and of society. In his social intercourse,
he was affable, obliging, and friendly. Young men, just enter¬
ing into active life, and engaging in the untried and perplexing

XXX

MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS.

mazes of business, seldom looked to him in vain for advice,
for patronage, or assistance. His own experience of the em¬
barrassments and hardships, which beset the path of unskilled
adventurers in the world of business, enlisted his sympathies
in their trials, and secured his timely aid of their own en¬
deavours to obtain importance and respectability. Yet it can¬
not be said he had no enemies, for no man perhaps, is without
them ; but it may well be doubted whether he was ever heard
to speak of such with disrespect or unkind ness. To overcome
evil with good, seemed to be a ruling principle of his conduct.
In this respect, his example cannot be too much commended.
If strictly regarded, it would relieve society of much of the
calumny and bitterness, which disturb its peace, and poison the
fountains of social life.

SYNOPSIS

OF THE INDIAN TRIBES

WITHIN THE

UNITED STATES EAST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS,

AND

IN THE BRITISH AND RUSSIAN POSSESSIONS

NORTH AMERICA.

By the IIon. ALBERT GALLATIN.

cir.iv

JAM : . :

PREFATORY LETTER.

JVeiv York , 29th January , 1836.

Sir,

I have the honor to enclose the residue of the Synopsis of the Indian
Tribes of North America, classed in families according to their respec¬
tive languages.

My first attempt was made in the year 1823, at the request of a
distinguished friend, Baron Alexander Humboldt. It was that essay,
communicated it seems to Mr. Balbi, and quoted by him with more
praise than it deserved, in the Introduction to his “ Atlas Ethnogra-
phique,” which drew the attention of the Antiquarian Society, and
induced it to ask me for a copy. I had not kept any, but had in the
mean while collected and obtained access to many important materials.
In the winter of 1825-6, the attendance at Washington of a numerous
delegation of southern Indians enabled me to obtain good vocabularies
of the Muskhogee, Uchee, Natchez, Chicasa, and Cherokee; and I then
published a table of all the existing tribes in the United States, which,
in its arrangement, does not differ materially from that now adopted.
The War Department circulated at the same time, at my request, print¬
ed forms of a vocabulary containing six hundred words, of verbal forms,
and of selected sentences ; and also a series of grammatical queries.
The only communication, received in answer to those queries, is that of
the Rev. Mr. Worcester respecting the Cherokee, which is inserted in
the Appendix. The verbal forms and select sentences in that language,
the verbal forms of the Muskhogee, Chocta, and Caddo, and the copious
supplementary vocabularies in the same tongues, and in the Mohawk
and Seneca, were also received in answer; and that of the Chippeway,
by Dr. James, (Appendix to Tanner’s account,) is partly on the same
model.

I believe that I have, in every instance, stated to whom I was indebt¬
ed for every communication of which any use was made, and pointed
out the authority where recourse was had to works already published. I
received most liberal assistance from every quarter where I made appli¬
cation. The libraries of the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, and
VOL. II. 1

PREFATORY LETTER.

of the Historical Societies of New York and of Massachusetts, were
opened to me at all times, and their books and manuscripts communi¬
cated without reserve. The War Department, both formerly and lately,
communicated the materials in its possession ; and I am indebted to
many individuals, but especially to Mr. Du Ponceau, who, in the most
liberal and friendly manner, put his valuable collection of manuscript
vocabularies at my disposal, and gave me every information which he
thought might be of any use to me.

The form of a comparative vocabulary Avas adopted as far as practica¬
ble ; and, in preparing it, every source of information, Avhether in manu¬
script or in Avorks already published, Avas resorted to. The selection of
the Avords Avas necessarily controlled by the materials. Those and no
others could be admitted, but such as were found in a number of the
existing vocabularies, sufficient for the purpose intended. Some Avords
of inferior importance Avere introduced, only because they Avere com¬
mon to almost all the vocabularies ; and many have been omitted, be¬
cause they Avere to be found only for a few dialects. This Avill account
for the absence of abstract nouns, prepositions, &c., in the Comparative
Vocabulary. The deficiency is partly supplied for the Southern and for
the Iroquois tribes, by the Supplementary Vocabulary. Although the
number of words in the comparative vocabulary (No. I.), which embraces
fifty-three tribes, Avas reduced to one hundred and eighty, less than one-
half of that number could be obtained for some of the languages. A
lesser vocabulary (No. II.) of fifty-three Avords includes sixteen tribes.
About the same number of Avords has been supplied by Umfreville,
for four tribes, (No. III.) The miscellaneous vocabularies (No. IV.) in¬
clude seventeen, Avhose scanty vocabularies could not be arranged in
the same form. Of the ninety languages or dialects of which specimens
are thus given, I think that nine (marked ft and y) are duplicates, or
only varieties.

The Synopsis Avas originally intended to embrace all the tribes north
of the semi-civilized Mexican nations. The Avant of materials soon
confined the inquiry, toAvards the south, to the territory of the United
States. The loss of the vocabularies collected by Lewis and Clarke has
not been supplied. With the exception of the Salish, and of a few
Avords of the Shoshonee and of the Chinook, Ave have as yet no knoAvl-
edge of the Indian languages Avost of the Stony Mountains, Avithin the
United States.

The only existing tribe in the United States, east of the Mississippi,
of Avhich the language has not been ascertained, is that of the Aliba-
mons and Coosadas, consisting of five or six hundred souls, seated on
the Avaters of the river Alabama, and avIio make part of the • Creek con-

PREFATORY J.ETTER.

federacy. West of the Mississippi, and on or south of the Red river,
fragments remain, in Louisiana, of ten or twelve tribes, amounting to¬
gether to about fifteen hundred souls. The vocabularies of four of these
have been obtained. Each speaks a distinct language ; and it is proba¬
ble, that this is the case with some of the others. We are unacquainted
with the languages of three tribes, (the Kaskaias, Kiawas, and Bald
Heads,) estimated at three thousand souls, who wander between the
upper waters of the Red river of the Mississippi, and those of the river
Platte of the Missouri; and we have as yet but specimens of the lan¬
guages of the Black Feet, of the Fall or Rapid Indians, and of the
Crows. In other respects, the Synopsis of the Indians within the United
States, east of the Stony Mountains, is nearly as complete as could have
been expected, and embraces some tribes altogether or nearly extinct.

North of the United States, all or nearly all the families of languages
are known; but the subdivision into languages or dialects of the same
family is incomplete. The inland districts of Russian America have
not been explored; and I must acknowledge some deficiency on my
part, in not having investigated all the existing materials, respecting the
various languages of the tribes which inhabit the seacoast and adjacent
islands, from Nootka to Prince William’s Sound.

The eighty-one tribes (excluding the nine duplicates), embraced by
the Synopsis, have been divided into twenty- eight families.* A single
glance at the annexed Map will show, that, excluding the country west
of the Stony Mountains and south of the fifty-second degree of north
latitude, almost the whole of the territory contained in the United States
and in British and Russian America is or was occupied by only eight
great families, each speaking a distinct language, subdivided, in most
instances, into a number of languages or dialects belonging to the same
stock. These are the Eskimaux, the Athapascas (or Cheppeyans), the
Black Feet, the Sioux, the Algonkin-Lenape, the Iroquois, the Chero¬
kee, and the Mobilian or Chahta-Muskhog. I believe the Muskhogee,
which is the prevailing language of the Creek confederacy, and the
Chocta or Chicasa, to belong to the same family, although, in conform¬
ity with general usage, they have been arranged under two distinct
heads. This would reduce the number of families to twenty-seven. Of

* The Woccons, an extinct tribe, distinguished in the vocabulary as the
XIXth family, have, since that was prepared for the press, been ascertained
to have belonged to the Catawba family, No. VII. The eight great families
embrace sixty-one of the distinct languages. Excluding the extinct Woc-
cons, the nineteen other families have each but one ascertained language or
dialect.

PREFATORY LETTER.

the nineteen others, ten are west of the Stony Mountains ; and seven of
these inhabit, south of the sixtieth degree of north latitude, the islands
and the narrow tract of land contained between the Pacific Ocean and
the continuation of the Californian chain of mountains, as far south as
the forty-seventh degree of north latitude. Six of the remaining nine
families, the probable remnants of ancient nations, are found amongst
the southern tribes, either annexed to the Creek confederacy, or in the
swamps of West Louisiana. The three others are the Catawbas, the
Pawnees, and the Fall or Rapid Indians. Some new families, or totally
distinct languages, will hereafter be found in the quarters already indi¬
cated: West Louisiana, the wandering tribes on the upper waters of the
Arkansas and of the Missouri, and west of the Stony Mountains, in the
territory drained by the Columbia river. Many distinct languages or
dialects of the Eskimaux, of the Athapascas, and of some of the other
great families, will be added to the present enumeration. But I believe
that the classification now submitted will, as far as it goes, be found
correct. I feel some confidence, that I have not been deceived by false
etymologies ; and that the errors, which may be discovered by further
researches, will be found to consist in having considered as distinct
families some which belong to the same stock, and not in having
arranged as belonging to the same family any radically distinct lan¬
guages forming separate families. The only exceptions, in that respect,
refer to the Minetare group and the Shyennes, both stated as being
Sioux, and to the Sussees, annexed to the Athapascas, in regard to
whom the evidence is not conclusive.

It must, howev#, be understood, that the expression “ family,” applied
to the Indian languages, has been taken in its most extensive sense,
and as embracing all those which contained a number of similar primi¬
tive words, sufficient to show that they must, at some remote epoch,
have had a common origin. It is not used in that limited sense in which
we designate the Italian, Spanish, and French as languages of the Latin
stock, or the German, Scandinavian, Netherlandish, and English as
branches of the Teutonic; but in the same way as we consider the
Slavonic, the Teutonic, the Latin and Greek, the Sanscrit, and, as I am
informed, the ancient Persian, as retaining in their vocabularies conclu¬
sive proofs of their having originally sprung from the same stock.

Another important observation relates to the great difference in the
orthography of those who have collected vocabularies. Those which
proceed from the native language of the writer, may be reconciled with¬
out much difficulty ; and it is almost sufficient, in that respect, to note
whether he was an Englishman, a German, a Frenchman, &c. But the
guttural sounds which abound in all the Indian languages, and even

PREFATORY LETTER.

some of their nasal vowels, have no equivalent, and cannot be expressed
with our characters, as used by the French or Eng’lish. The perpetual
substitution for each other of permutable consonants, the numerous mod¬
ifications of which vocal sounds are susceptible, and the various ways
in which we express them, even in our own languages, have been fruit¬
ful sources of the diversified manner in which the same word is spelled
by the European hearers. It requires some practice before you learn
how to decipher those varieties. The habit is, however, acquired by
comparing together the several vocabularies of the same language, and
of two or more dialects previously ascertained to be only varieties of the
same tongue. It is proper here to add, that there are nations known by
a generic name, but spread over an extensive territory, without being
united under a common government, such as the Knistinaux and the
Chippeways ; of whom it may be said that they have, properly speaking,
no general uniform language, but, as might be naturally expected, a
number of patois, differing in some respects from each other, but still so
nearly allied, that they are mutually understood without interpreters.
Whenever this is the case, we consider them as the same dialect.

The number of families, of distinct languages, and of dialects, does
not appear to be greater in North America, than is found amongst unciv¬
ilized nations in other quarters of the globe, or than might have been
expected to grow out of the necessity for nations in the hunter state to
separate, and gradually to form independent communities. Insulated
remnants of ancient languages are also found, not only in Asia, as in the
Caucasian mountains, but even in Europe, such as the Basque. The
difficulty of accounting for that diversity, is the same here as in the
other continent; and there is nothing that I can perceive, in the number
of the American languages and in the great differences between them,
inconsistent with the Mosaic chronology.

Amidst that great diversity of American languages, considered only
in reference to their vocabularies, the similarity of their structure and
grammatical forms has been observed and pointed out by the American
philologists. The substance of our knowledge in that respect will be
found in a condensed form in the Appendix. The result appears to
confirm the opinions already entertained on that subject by Mr. Du Pon¬
ceau, Mr. Pickering, and others; and to prove that all the languages,
not only of our own Indians, but of the native inhabitants of America
from the Arctic Ocean to Cape Horn,* have, as far as they have been

* The grammar of the language of Chili is the only one, foreign to the
immediate object of the Synopsis, with which a comparison has been intro¬
duced in this essay. Want of space did not permit to extend the inquiry to
the languages of Mexico and other parts of Spanish America.

PREFATORY LETTER.

investigated, a distinct character common to all, and apparently differing
from any of those of the other continent, with which we are most fami¬
liar. It is not, however, asserted that there may not be some American
languages, differing in their structure from those already known; or that
a similarity of character may not be discovered between the grammatical
forms of the languages of America, and those of some of the languages
of the other hemisphere. The conjectures lately advanced concerning
the Othomi deserve and require further investigation ; for it seems to be
admitted, that, however different in other respects, its conjugations have
the same character as those of the other languages of Mexico.

Although the materials already collected appear sufficient to justify
the general inference of a similar character, they are as yet too scanty
to enable us to point out, with precision, those features which are com¬
mon to all the American languages, and those particulars in which they
differ ; or even to deduce, in those best known to us, the rules of their
grammar from the languages, such as they are spoken. I have tried to
show how far those points of similarity and differences were as yet as¬
certained, and have also, for one particular branch, attempted to deduce
the rules of formation ; or, in other words, to show, that, notwithstanding
the apparent complexness and multiplicity of the inflexions of the Indian
languages, they were, as in others, always regulated by analogy and
modified by euphony. This branch of the subject is contained in the
last section of the Introductory Essay, and in the Tables of Transitions
now transmitted. I believe, that, with more ample materials and in abler
hands, the inquiry might throw some light on the formation and philo¬
sophy of languages. Though far from being a competent judge, those
of America seem to me to bear the impress of primitive languages, to
have assumed their form from natural causes, and to afford no proof of
their beinsf derived from a nation in a more advanced state of civilization
than our Indians. Whilst the unity of structure and of grammatical
forms proves a common origin, it may be inferred from this, combined
with the great diversity and entire difference in the words of the several
languages of America, that this continent received its first inhabitants
at a very remote epoch, probably not much posterior to that of the dis¬
persion of mankind.

We are, however, left to most uncertain conjectures, not only in that
respect, but in regard to every thing concerning our Indians prior to
their first and recent intercourse with the Europeans. They had no
means of preserving and transmitting the memory of past events. No
reliance can be placed on their vague and fabulous traditions. They
cannot even give an account of the ancient monuments, found in the
valley of the Mississippi and of its tributary streams. The want of

PREFATORY LETTER.

documents elucidating the past history of tribes still in the hunter state,
cannot be a matter of much regret. That of the commencement and
progress of civilization in Mexico, and in some portions of South Amer¬
ica, would, if recoverable, be highly interesting. I rather incline to
the opinion, that that civilization grew out of natural causes, and is en¬
tirely of American origin.

In the brief notices of our Indian tribes, contained in the first five
sections of the Introductory Essay, I have, for the reasons above stated,
confined myself to the events subsequent to the first arrival of the
European invaders. The authorities are always referred to. The “ Re¬
lations de la Nouvelle France,” often quoted, are the collection of the
original annual reports of the Jesuits in Canada, to their superiors in
Europe, from the year 1633 to 1672, when they were superseded by the
“ Lettres Edifiantes.” They have afforded to Charlevoix the principal
materials for the corresponding portion of his valuable and faithful ac¬
count of the Indians; but he had not exhausted all the information they
contain. The Map annexed to the Essay shows, on a very small scale,
the seats of the Indians at the time when first discovered ; that is to say,
at the beginning of the seventeenth century for the Atlantic states, and
to the westward generally, at the end of the eighteenth.

It did not come within the scope of this Essay to delineate the habits
and characteristics which distinguish the Indian race. Ample details
will be found in the writings of the earliest English and French, and of
the latest American and English travellers. I have only adverted to
some peculiarities which appeared to deserve attention, and more espe¬
cially to the means of subsistence of the Indians, to the causes of their
gradual extinction, and to the only means by which, as it seems to me,
the residue can be preserved. Notwithstanding the reckless cruelty
and ravages of the first Spanish conquerors, the descendants of the na¬
tive Mexicans are at present probably as numerous as their ancestors at
the time of the conquest. For this no other cause seems assignable
than the fact, that they had then already emerged from the hunter state,
and had acquired the habits of agricultural and mechanic labor.

I submit the whole to the judgment of the Antiquarian Society, and
have the honor to be respectfully, Sir,

Your very obedient servant,

ALBERT GALLATIN.

To George Folsom, Esq.,

of the Publishing Committee

of the American Antiquarian Society , Worcester , Mass.

P. S. The deficiency in the enumeration of the Indian tribes border¬
ing on the Pacific, between the sixtieth and forty-eighth degrees of lati-

PREFATORY LETTER.

tude, has been alluded to. The vocabularies of Mr. Sturgis and of Mr.
Bryant were received after the others had been prepared for the press,
and the account of the Rev. Mr. Green had escaped my notice. In
order to connect these with my general table, it must be observed
that, of the four families enumerated by those gentlemen, Capt. Bryant’s
Sitka is identic with the Koulischen (xxvii. 62); that the Skiddegat,
which was supplied by Messrs. Sturgis and Bryant, is designated in the
table as Queen Charlotte’s Island (xxix. 64); that the guttural Nass
language, mentioned by Mr. Green as spoken between King George
III.’s and Queen Charlotte’s Islands, was unknown to me, and is omitted
in the table; and that the Newittee of Capt. Bryant, appears to me to
be a dialect of the Wakash, (xxv. 60,) or language of Nootka Sound.

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

The Indian Nations, partly on account of their geographical
position, partly in reference to the materials which have been
obtained, will be arranged under the following heads, viz.

1. Those who are altogether north of the United States,
but not including those families which are partly in the British
Possessions and partly in the United States.

2. The Algonkin-Lenape and Iroquois Nations.

3. The Southern Indians east of the Mississippi, and those on
the western side of that river south of the Arkansas.

4. The tribes between the Mississippi and the Pacific Ocean.
But of those west of the Rocky Mountains an imperfect gen¬
eral notice only can be given, as I have been disappointed in
the expectation of obtaining vocabularies or recent correct in¬
formation from that quarter.

SECTION I.

INDIAN TRIBES NORTH OF THE UNITED STATES.

These embrace only the two great families of the Eskimaux
and of the Athapascas, and some small tribes, bordering on
the Pacific Ocean, and situated north of the 52d degree of
north latitude.

Eskimaux.

The name of Eskimaux, given to the Indians of this family, is
derived from the Algonkin word “ Eskimantick,” cc Eaters of
raw fish.” They are the sole native inhabitants of the shores
of all the seas, bays, inlets, and islands of America, north of
the sixtieth degree of north latitude, from the eastern coast of
Greenland, in longitude 21°, to the Straits of Behring, in longi¬
tude 167° west.

VOL. II.

10 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIPES. [iNTROD.

On the Atlantic, the eastern Eskimaux extend also along
the coast of Labrador, south of the sixtieth degree of latitude,
to the Straits of Belleisle and within the Gulf of Saint Law¬
rence, almost as far south as north latitude 50°.

The western division of the nation extends without interrup¬
tion, along the shores of the Pacific, from the Straits of
Behring, as far south as the extremity of the Peninsula of
Alaska, in north latitude 57° ; and may be thence traced east-
wardly, under the names of Konagen and Tshugazzi ( Tchou-
gatches), till they disappear entirely in the vicinity of Behring’s
Bay and Mount St. Elias, in lat. 60°, and long, about 140°.
A tribe belonging to this division, inhabits the western shores
of the Straits of Behring, or that north eastern extremity of
Asia, which lies north of the river Anadir. It is known under
the name of “ sedentary Tchuktchi,” and is as yet the only
well ascertained instance of an Asiatic tribe, belonging to the
same race as any of the nations of North America.

The identity of language, along such an extent of coast,
contrasted with the great diversity found amongst small and
adjacent tribes as we proceed farther south, is a remarkable
phenomenon. The distance in a straight line, either from the
Eskimaux seen by Captain Clavering on the eastern coast of
Greenland, or from the Straits of Belleisle, to the Straits of
Behring, or to the southwestern extremity of the Peninsula of
Alaska, exceeds three thousand six hundred miles. But as the
Eskimaux communicate with each other only by water and
along the seashore, it will be found that the distance, between
those of the Straits of Belleisle, and the Konagen who inhabit
the island of Kadjak, or Kodiak, (north latitude 58°, west longi¬
tude 152°,) proceeding along the seashore, is not less than five
thousand four hundred miles, without making any allowance for
the sinuosities, bays, and inlets of the coast.

But the Eskimaux, who, though they hunt during their short
summer, draw their principal means of subsistence from the sea,
are rarely found farther from its shores than about one hundred
miles. On Mackenzie’s River, the mouth of which is in latitude
69° 40', the boundary between them and the Loucheux, their
next inland neighbours, is in latitude 67°, 27", but no Eski¬
maux huts are found south of 68° 15" ; and their distance
from the sea is still less on the Copper Mine River. They thus
form a narrow belt surrounding the whole northern coast of
America, from the 50th degree of north latitude on the Atlan¬
tic to the 60th on the Pacific.

SECT. I.] TRIBES NORTH OF THE UNITED STATES. 11

The dividing line between the eastern and western Eskimaux
has been ascertained with considerable precision by Captain
Franklin. It is found, on the Arctic Ocean, at the northern
termination of the Rocky or Stony Mountains, in about 140°
of west longitude, where the western resort annually, for the
purpose of bartering with the eastern Eskimaux iron tools and
other articles of Russian manufacture, for seal skins, oil, and
furs. That intercourse is of recent date, and the western
speak a dialect so different from that of the eastern, that at
first they had great difficulty in understanding each other.
The dialects of the several tribes of the western division,
though obviously belonging to the same stock, differ also more
from each other than those of the eastern Eskimaux. The
actual identity of dialect amongst these, and between very
distant tribes which have no communication together, is aston¬
ishing. Augustus, a Hudson-Bay Eskimaux, of the vicinity
of Churchill, (latitude 59°, longitude 95°,) who was the inter¬
preter of Captain Franklin, could converse with all the Eski¬
maux met with during his two expeditions. Of those found
west of Mackenzie’s River in 137 -|° wrest longitude, Captain
Franklin observes, that 9 their habits were similar in every re¬
spect to those of the tribes described by Captain Parry,”
(north parts of Hudson’s Bay,) “ and their dialects differed so
little from that used by Augustus, that he had no difficulty in
understanding them.” The distance, in that case was in a
straight line twelve hundred' miles, and more than twenty -five
hundred around the seashore.

As now informed, we may distinguish at least three dialects or
languages amongst those eastern Eskimaux, viz. 1 . that of the
inhabitants of the northern and western shores of Hudson’s Bay,
which dialect extends westwardly beyond Mackenzie’s River,
as has been just now stated ; 2. that of Greenland, respecting
which it must be observed, that the inhabitants of the western
have no intercourse with those lately discovered on the eastern
coast, and that these may have a different dialect ; 3. that of
the coast of Labrador, to which it is not improbable that the
language of the Eskimaux of Hudson’s Straits may be nearly
allied.

Captain Parry’s vocabulary, taken at Winter Island in lati¬
tude 67, is the most recent, complete, and authentic we have
of the language of the Eskimaux of Hudson’s Bay, and has
accordingly been selected in preference to those of Dobbs and
of John Long.

12 A SYNOPSIS OF TIIE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

Not having had access to Egede’s Grammar and Dictionary
of the Greenlandish Language, a specimen only could be given,
taken from his and from Crantz’s accounts of Greenland. There
is not, it is believed, any extant vocabulary of the dialect of
the western coast of Labrador. It differs so far from that of
Greenland, that the Moravian missionaries were obliged to
make a new translation of the Gospels for the use of the Lab¬
rador Eskimaux, that previously made for those of Greenland
not being sufficiently intelligible to the other tribe. An exam¬
ination of both has however enabled the learned authors of the
“ Mithridates ” to ascertain the great affinity of the two dialects,
in reference both to words and to grammatical forms.

Iceland was discovered and settled by the Norwegians in the
latter end of the ninth century. I was informed by Mr. Thor-
kelson, a learned native of Iceland, and Librarian of the Royal
Library of Copenhagen, that it appeared by ancient manu¬
script Icelandic chronicles, that the island was found already
inhabited by a barbarous race, which was exterminated by the
invaders. Whether they were Eskimaux cannot be ascertained.
Had they been of Norman origin, they would have probably
been preserved.

Greenland was discovered by the Norwegians or Icelanders,
about one hundred years later than Iceland. Fur colonies
were planted shortly after on the eastern and western coast,
with which an intercourse was continued, both from Iceland
and Norway, till the beginning of the fifteenth century, when
it ceased, from causes which have been but imperfectly explain¬
ed. Unsuccessful attempts were several times made to renew
it, and the eastern coast was found inaccessible from the per¬
manent and enormous accumulation of ice on its shores. It
was only in 1721, that the Danish government sent a new
colony to West Greenland. The ruins of the ancient settle¬
ment, but no traces of the descendants of the first colonists,
were found. The country was then altogether occupied by
Eskimaux, of whom, or any other native inhabitants, no very
distinct account is given in the ancient relations.* The south¬
ern part of the eastern coast continues to be blocked up by
ice. But Captain Scoresby was able in 1822 to approach
its northern part from about 69° to 73° of north latitude ; and

# If the account, tliat the Europeans were for the first time assailed
hy the nations in the year 1386, is correct, it seems to indicate, that
the progress of the Eskimaux, in that quarter, was from west to east.

SECT. I.] TRIBES NORTH OF THE UNITED STATES. 13

Captain Clavering, the ensuing year, met with a tribe of Eski-
maux in about 74° of north latitude. It appears almost incred¬
ible that they should have reached that spot, either by a land
journey of eight hundred miles across Greenland, or the same
distance along the frozen and inaccessible shores between
Cape Farewell and the open sea in 69° of latitude. It is
much more probable that, at a former period, the southern part
of the eastern coast was free of ice, in which case we need
not resort to the hypothesis, which places the old colony of
East Greenland west of Cape Farewell.

In the year 1001, an Icelander, driven by a storm, discovered
land far southwest of Cape Farewell, where a colony was
soon after sent from Greenland. The country was called Vin-
land ; and, if we can rely on the assertion, that the sun re¬
mained eight hours visible during the shortest day of the year,
must have been Newfoundland. There, positive mention is
made of Indians, who from the description and the name of
Skroellings, or dwarfs, given to them by the Normans, must
have been Eskimaux.

No mention is made of this European colony after the year
1121, when a bishop is said to have sailed from Greenland to
Vinland. But it seems that, to a very late date, there existed
in Newfoundland another race of Indians, extremely intrac¬
table, seen occasionally on the eastern seashore at the Bay
Des Exploits, but residing, as was supposed, in the interior
part of the island. These are said to be now extinct ; and it is
not known, whether any vocabulary of their language, which
might indicate their origin, has ever been obtained.

Whatever may have been the origin of the Eskimaux, it
would seem probable that the small tribe of the present Seden¬
tary Tchuktchi on the eastern extremity of Asia, is a colony of
the Western American Eskimaux. The language does not
extend in Asia beyond that tribe. That of their immediate
neighbours, the “Reindeer” or “Wandering Tchuktchi,” is
totally different, and belongs to the Kouriak family.

The vocabulary of the western American Eskimaux which
has been selected, is that of Kotzebue’s Sound immediately
north of Behring’s Straits, taken by Captain Beechy. That
of the Tchuktchi, extracted from Krusenstern, was taken by
KoschelofF; and a specimen has been added of the language
of the island of Kadjak opposite to the Peninsula of Alaska,
extracted from Klaproth s “ Asia Polyglotta.”

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

There does not seem to be any solid foundation for the opin¬
ion of those who would ascribe to the Eskimaux an origin
different from that of the other Indians of North America.
The color and features are essentially the same ; and the dif¬
ferences which may exist, particularly that in stature, may be
easily accounted for by the rigor of the climate, and partly per¬
haps by the nature of their food. The entire similarity of the
structure and grammatical forms of their language with those
of various Indian tribes, however different in their vocabularies,
which will hereafter be adverted to, affords an almost conclusive
proof of their belonging to the same family of mankind.

Kinai, Koluschen, and other Tribes on the Pacific.

Two tribes are found, on the Pacific Ocean, whose kindred
languages, though exhibiting some affinities both with that of
the Western Eskimaux and with that of the Athapascas, we
shall, for the present, consider as forming a distinct family.
They are the Kinai, in and near Cook’s Inlet or River, and the
Ugaljachmutzi ( Ougalachmioutsy ) of Prince William’s Sound.
The Tshugazzi, who inhabit the country between those two
tribes, are Eskimaux and speak a dialect nearly the same with
that of the Konagen of Kadjak Island. The vocabulary
of the Kinai was taken by Resanoff, and is extracted from
Krusenstern.

From Mount St. Elias in about 60°, to Fuca’s Straits in
about 48° north latitude, several tribes are found, both on the
main and on the numerous adjacent islands, apparently in
some respects superior to the more southern tribes along the
shores of the Pacific Ocean ; and whose languages offer some
remote analogies with that of the Mexican. Although similar
affinities have been observed even in the dialect of the Ugal¬
jachmutzi already mentioned, these observations apply more
specially to the Koluschen, (the same with the Tshinkitani of
Captain Marchand,) who inhabit the islands and the adjacent
coast from the sixtieth to the fifty-fifth degree of north latitude.
Those best known to the Europeans, are the natives of King
George the Third’s Islands, called “Sitka” by the Russians.
The influence of their language has been said to extend as far
south as the southern extremity of Queen Charlotte’s Island in
52° north latitude. But it is the opinion of several intelligent
Americans, who have carried on a trade with the natives along

SECT. I.] TRIBES NORTH OF THE UNITED STATES.

that coast, that a greater diversity of languages is found amongst
them than had been presumed by earlier travellers.*

The language of the Wakash Indians, who inhabit the
island on which Nootka Sound is situated (49° north latitude),
is the one in that quarter, which, by various vocabularies, is best
known to us. The appended specimen is extracted from the
Narrative of J. R. Jewitt, who was among these Indians from
1803 to 1806. That of the Koluschen was taken by the
Russian DavidofF. We have added the few words given
by Mackenzie, of the language of the Friendly Village near
the sources of Salmon River in 53° of north latitude, some
of that of the inhabitants of the Straits of Fuca, taken from
the Spanish Voyage of the “ Sutil y Mexicana,” and a short
vocabulary of those on Queen Charlotte’s Islands, lately sup¬
plied by the Hon. William Sturgis, of Boston.

These languages appear to belong to distinct families. But
those several tribes have been introduced here, principally in
reference to their geographical situation.! Bounded on the
east by a range of mountains, which may be traced southward¬
ly to California, and which, running parallel to the coast, no
where recedes far from it, those seashore tribes do not extend,
so far as has been ascertained, farther inland than the sources
of the short rivers which empty in that quarter into the sea.
They, like the Eskimaux, form a belt of about one hundred
miles in breadth, which separates the Inland Indians from the
seashore. We at least know with certainty, by Harmon’s
and Mackenzie’s accounts, that the inland Athapascas extend
westwardly within that distance of the Pacific Ocean.

Sir Alexander Mackenzie, in his voyage to the Pacific, after
having descended the Tacoutche Tesse, or Fraser’s River,
which he mistook for the Columbia, as low down as 52° 30/
of north latitude, ascending it again about one hundred miles,
and then steering his course by land westwardly, across the
chain of mountains last mentioned, arrived at the sources of
Salmon River. Descending that short stream to its mouth in
Fitzhugh’s Sound, he reached the ocean in latitude 52° 20k
He could not collect a vocabulary of the language of the in¬
habitants of the seacoast, but represents it as differing from

* See Appendix, — Note by the Publishing Committee.

f It is also proper to observe, that though placed on that account under
this head, it is without any reference to the unsettled question re¬
specting the boundary between the United States and Great Britain west
of the Rocky Mountains.

16 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

that of the Friendly Village, situated near the source of the
river and about ninety miles from its mouth. All the other
tribes along the route of Mackenzie, from the Lake Athapasca,
or “ of the Hills,” to the sources of Salmon River, belong to the
Athapasca family. The southern point which he reached on
the Tacoutche Tesse, is on the boundary line between the
Athapascas and the Atnahs, another inland tribe which extends
thence southwardly.

The chain of mountains nearest to the Pacific is a natural
limit, which separates the inland tribes from those on the shores
of that ocean. But nature had erected no such barrier be¬
tween the Eskimaux, who inhabit the seacoasts of the Arctic
seas, and their southern neighbours, the Athapascas. They
are in a perpetual state of warfare ; but neither covets the
territory occupied by the other. The deeply rooted and ir¬
reconcilable habits of the two nations, derived indeed from their
respective geographical positions, have rendered the boundary
between them as permanent, as if it had been marked out by
nature.

Athapascas.

If from the mouth of the Churchill or Missinipi # River,
which empties into Hudson’s Bay, in latitude 59° -60°, a line
be drawn, ascending that river to its source, where it is known
by the name of Beaver River (latitude about 54°), thence along
the ridge, which separates the north branch of the River Sas-
kachewan from those of the Athapasca, or Elk River, to the
Rocky Mountains, and thence westwardly till within about one
hundred miles of the Pacific Ocean in latitude 52° 30' ; all the
inland tribes, north of that line, and surrounded, on all the other
sides, from Hudson’s Bay to the Pacific, by the narrow belt
inhabited by the Eskimaux and the other maritime tribes last

* Missinipi, not to be confounded with the Mississipi. Both are
Algonkin denominations, the first derived from nipi , water; the last
from sipi, river. Missi never means “ father,” but, in several dialects,
“ all, whole.” In Algonkin and Knistinaux, missi ackki and messe aski ,
“the whole earth, the world,” from achki, aski, earth, (Mackenzie.) In
Abenaki, messisi, “all, whole;” French tout, (Rasle.) In Delaware,
mesitscheyen, “wholly,” (Zeisberger). I think therefore the proper
meaning of Missinipi and Mississipi, to be respectively, “ the whole
water,” and “ the whole river.” Both designations are equally appro¬
priate. Rivers united form the Mississipi . The Missinipi receives
and collects the waters of a multitude of ponds and lakes.

SECT. I.] TRIBES NORTH OF THE UNITED STATES.

described, do, so far as they are known, belong, with a single
exception, to one family and speak kindred languages. I have
designated them by the arbitrary denomination of Atbapascas,
which, derived from the original name of the lake since called
“ Lake of the Hills,” is also that which was first given to the
central part of the country they inhabit. Their southern boun¬
dary as above described is not in all its details precisely correct,
and is rather that which existed eighty years ago, before en¬
croachments had been made on their territory by the Knisti-
naux.

The exception alluded to is that of the “ Quarrellers,” or
“ Loucheux,” a small tribe near the mouth of Mackenzie’s
River, immediately above the Eskimaux, whose language they
generally understand, whilst their own appeared to Mackenzie
and to Captain Franklin to be different from that of the adja¬
cent Athapasca tribes. As we have no vocabulary of it, no
definitive opinion can be formed of its character.

But a portion of the territory included within the boundaries
we have assigned to the Athapascas remains still unexplored.

The Rocky Mountains are a continuation of the Mexican
Andes. The Columbia is the only large western river, empty¬
ing into the Pacific, which, as well as its numerous tributaries,
has its source in that chain. Between the 35th and 40th
degrees of north latitude, the distance from the mountains to
the sea may not be less than nine hundred miles. Their course
being west of north, they gradually approach the shores, from
which they are not farther than four hundred miles in the lati¬
tude of 57° — 58°. The coast thence recedes westwardly,
whilst the chain continuing its course northwardly, terminates
west of Mackenzie’s River, within a very short distance of the
Arctic Ocean. No part of the inland country west of the
Rocky Mountains and north of the 59th or 60th degree of lat¬
itude, has as yet been explored ; or at least no account of it
has ever been published ; and it is only from analogy, and be¬
cause the whole of the extensive territory above described,
which has been explored, is inhabited by Indians of the Atha¬
pasca family, that it is presumed, that this will also be found
to be the case with the Indians of the portion not yet explored.

The most easterly Athapasca tribe, which extends to Hud¬
son’s Bay, has received from the agents of the Company of that
name th? appellation of Northern Indians, as contradistinguish¬
ed from the eastern Knistinaux, who inhabit the country south

VOL. II. 3

18 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

of the Missinipi or Churchill River. It was under the guid¬
ance of those Indians, and without a single white attendant,
that Ilearne reached in July, 177 1 , the Arctic Ocean, at the
mouth of the Coppermine River. Having no other instrument
but an old quadrant, and having made but few observations, he
placed the mouth of that river in 120° west longitude and
almost 72° of north latitude. It has since been found, by the
correct observations of Captain Franklin, to lie in 115° 37'
west longitude and in latitude 67° 48'. Notwithstanding this
enormous difference, full justice has been rendered to the cor¬
rectness, in other respects, of his relation. All his distances
are indeed apparently estimated from the fatigues of the jour¬
ney and must be reduced. He wintered on his return on the
Lake Athapasca, and he describes the country of the Northern
Indians, as bounded on the south by Churchill River, on the
north by the Coppermine and Dog-rib Indians, on the west by
the Athapasca country, and extending five hundred miles from
east to west. It is evident that a part of Mackenzie’s Cheppe-
yans is included within that description. Hearne regrets
(Preface) the loss of a voluminous vocabulary collected by him
of the language of the Northern Indians. But, from the words
scattered through his relation, it appears clearly to be the same
with that of the Cheppeyans ; and he states (June, 1771,) that
the Coppermine and the Northern Indians are but one people,
and that their language differs less than that of provinces of
England adjacent to each other. The Cheppeyans generally
trade at and are seen in the vicinity of the Lake Athapasca.
According to Mackenzie, they consider the country between the
parallels of latitude 60° and 65° and longitude 100° to 1 10° west,
as their lands or home. It consists almost entirely of barrens,
destitute of trees; and they are obliged to winter in the adja¬
cent woods and in the vicinity of lakes. Though the most
numerous tribe of that family, the highest estimate of their
population is eight hundred men. They call themselves, ac¬
cording to Captain Franklin, Saw-eessaw-dinneli, “ Rising-sun
Men ” ; and their hunting-grounds extend towards the south to
the Lake Athapasca and to the River Churchill. The vo¬
cabulary of their language by Mackenzie is the only one we
have of any of the Indian tribes of that family east of the
Rocky Mountains. The geographical situation and the names
of the other tribes are given either by Mackenzie or by
Captain Franklin, or by both. But they are all expressly

SECT. I.] TRIBES NORTH OF THE UNITED STATES. 19

said to speak dialects of the same language with that of the
Cheppeyans.

The tribes thus enumerated east of the Rocky Mountains
are ; north of the Cheppeyans and east of Mackenzie’s River,
the Coppermine Indians, who call themselves Tantsawhot
dinneh , “ Birch-rind Men,” living formerly on the south side of
the great Slave Lake, but now north of it on Knife River, one
hundred and ninety souls ; and west of them the Thlingeha din¬
neh , or “ Dog-rib ” Indians, sometimes also called “ Slaves,” a
name properly meaning “ strangers,” and which has been
given by the Knistinaux to several tribes which they drove
farther north, or west. Population two hundred hunters.

On Mackenzie’s River, below the great Slave Lake are found
the Strongbow, Edchaivtawoot , or u Thick Wood,” hunters, sev¬
enty ; the Mountain Indians, hunters, forty ; the Ambawtawoot ,
or “ Sheep ” Indians ; and the Kcmcho or “ Hare” Indians, ex¬
tending towards the great Bear Lake, and adjacent, on the west,
to the Dog-rib Indians. Below the Hare Indians are found the
Deegothee, Loucheux, or Quarrellers, already mentioned as
speaking a different language, and being adjacent to the Eski-
maux. On the River Aux Liards, (Poplar River,) or south
branch of Mackenzie’s River, into which it empties in latitude
62° 30' — 63°, the Nohannies , and the Tsillaw-awdoot or
“ Brushwood ” Indians, are mentioned.

On the Unjigah, Unijah, or Peace River, the Beaver and
Rocky Mountain Indians ; together one hundred and fifty
hunters.

Near the sources of one of the branches of the Saskachawan,
the Sussees or Sursees, stated by Sir A. Mackenzie to speak a
dialect of the Cheppeyan language. This is corroborated by
information lately received from an intelligent gentleman of the
same name, who is at the head of the establishment of the
Missouri American Fur Company at the mouth of the Yellow
Stone River. The short vocabulary of Umfreville exhibits
however but few affinities.

The Athapasca or Elk River, flowing from the south, and the
Unijah or Peace River, from the west, unite their waters at the
western extremity of the Lake Athapasca, and thence assume
the name first of Slave, and, from the outlet of the Slave Lake,
of Mackenzie’s River. The River Athapasca has its source
in the Rocky Mountains ; and the territory lying on its waters,
though formerly inhabited by Athapasca tribes, is now in the

20 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

possession of the Knistinaux, who have driven away the origi¬
nal inhabitants.

The Unijah, which is the principal branch, has its source
wTest of the Rocky Mountains, through which it forces its pas¬
sage. It was up that river and its southwestern branch, that
Sir A. Mackenzie proceeded on his expedition to the Pacific.
He found there, as has already been stated, several tribes
speaking dialects belonging to the same family as that of the
Cheppeyans. He designates them under several probably local
names, Nauscud Dennies, Slouacus Dennies, and Nagailers,
and has left a short vocabulary of the last. From Mr. Harmon,
an American, who resided several years amongst those tribes,
we have a recent and much more comprehensive account, as
well as a vocabulary of the principal tribe, the Carriers, who
call themselves “ Tacullies,” or “ people who go upon water.”
He describes the country, called New Caledonia by the North¬
west Fur Company, as extending, west of the Stony Moun¬
tains, three hundred and fifty miles from east to west, and from
the 51st to the 58th degree of north latitude. He says that it
is very mountainous, containing several lakes ; that about one
sixth part is covered with water ; and that the whole popula¬
tion does not exceed five thousand souls. This must include
not only all the Athapasca tribes, as far north as latitude 58°,
but also part of the Atnahs.

The Tacullies appear to be seated principally on the head¬
waters of Fraser’s River, and Mr. Harmon mentions two other
nations as speaking similar dialects, the Sicaunies on the upper
waters of the Unijah River, and the Nateotetains,* who live
west of the Tacullies, on a considerable river of the same
name, which, according to his map, empties into the Pacific
Ocean, in about latitude 53° 30'.

The similarity of language amongst all the tribes that have
been enumerated under this head (the Loucheux excepted)
is fully established. It does not appear to have any distinct
affinities with any other than that of the Kinai. Yet we may
observe that the word “ men,” or “ people,” in the Eskimaux
language is - - - - - innuit ,

in the Cheppeyan ----- dinnie ,

* in some of the Algonkin-Lenape dialects inini ;

and that the Cheppeyan word for “ woman,” chequois , seems
allied to the Lenape squaw.

* Page 379. But this is doubtful.

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IR0Q,U01S NATIONS.

SECTION II.

ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS.

The Cheppeyan and otlier eastern Athapasca tribes are
bounded on the south by Indians of the great family, called
Algonkin by the French, and recently Lenape in America.

The Iroquois tribes are, on all sides but the south, bounded
by the Algonkin-Lenape; and it is most convenient to describe,
in the first place, the limits of the territory which was in pos¬
session of both together, at the time when the Europeans made
their first settlements in that part of North America.

Those limits may be generally stated to have been :

On the north ; the Missinipi River from its source to its mouth
in Hudson’s Bay, and thence, crossing that bay, a line extend¬
ing westwardly, through Labrador, until it reaches the Eski-
maux.

On the east ; the Labrador Eskimaux, and, from the ex¬
treme boundary of these on the northern shores of the Gulf
of St. Lawrence, the Atlantic Ocean to Cape Hatteras or its
vicinity ; the line across the Gulf of St. Lawrence passing
between Cape Breton Island and Newfoundland ; although it
is possible that the Micmacs, an Algonkin tribe, may have
occupied the southwestern parts of the last mentioned island.

On the south ; an irregular line, drawn westerly from Cape
Hatteras to the confluence of the Ohio and. Mississippi or its
vicinity ; which divided the Tuscaroras, Iroquois, and various
Lenape, from some extinct tribes, and from the respective terri¬
tories of the Catawbas, of the Cherokees, and of the
Chickasaws.

On the west ; the Mississippi to its source, thence the Red Riv¬
er of Lake Winnipek, formerly called Lake of the Assiniboins (a
Sioux tribe), down to that lake; whence the original line north¬
wardly to the Missinipi cannot be correctly traced. The Al¬
gonkin tribes are, along the whole of this line, bounded on the
west by the Sioux. But there are several exceptions to the
general designation of the Mississippi as forming the boundary.
This was probably formerly true, as high up as Prairie du Chien
in latitude 43°. But the united Sacs and Foxes, an Algonkin
nation, are now established on both sides of the Mississippi,
from the River Desmoiries to Prairie du Chien ; whilst, above
that point, the Dahcotas, the principal Sioux nation, have long

22 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

been in full possession of a portion of the country on the east
side of the river, at least as high up as the 45th degree of lat-
tude. And the Winnebagoes, another distinct Sioux tribe, were,
when the French made their settlements in Canada, already
established in the vicinity of Lake Michigan.

The Iroquois nations consisted of two distinct groups, both
embraced within those boundaries, but which, when they were
first known to the Europeans, were separated from each other
by several intervening, but now extinct Lenape tribes.

The northern group or division was on all sides surrounded
by Algonkin-Lenape tribes. When Jaques Cartier entered
and ascended the river St. Lawrence in 1535, he found the
site of Montreal, then called Hochegala, occupied by an Iroquois
tribe, as evidently appears by his vocabulary, an extract from
which, taken from De Laet, is annexed. We have no further
account till the year 1608, when Champlain founded Quebec;
and the island of Montreal was then inhabited by the Algon-
kins. The boundaries of the Northern Iroquois appear, at that
time, to have been as follows :

On the north, the height of land which separates the waters
of the Ottawa River, from those which fall into Lakes Huron and
Ontario and the River St. Lawrence. But the country north
of the lakes was a debatable ground, on which the Iroquois had
no permanent establishment, and at least one Algonquin tribe,
called “ Mississagues,” was settled.

On the west, Lake Huron and, south of Lake Erie, a line
not far from the Scioto, extending to the Ohio, which was the
boundary between the Wyandots, or other now extinct Iro¬
quois tribes, and the Miamis and Illinois.

On the east, Lake Champlain and, farther south, the Hud¬
son River as low down as the Katskill Mountains, which separ¬
ated the Mohawks from the Lenape Wappingers of Esopus.

The southern boundary cannot be accurately defined. The
Five Nations were then carrying on their war of subjugation and
extermination against all the Lenape tribes west of the River
Delaware. Their war parties were already seen in 1608 at
the mouth of the Susquehannah ; and it is impossible to distin¬
guish between what they held in consequence of recent con¬
quests and their original limits. These did not probably ex¬
tend beyond the range of mountains, which form southwest-
wardly the continuation of the Katskill chain. West of the
Alleghany Mountains they are not known to have had any
settlement south of the Ohio ; though the Wyandots have left

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 23

their name to a southern tributary of that river, (the Guy-
andot.)

The southern division of the Iroquois, the principal nation
of which was called, in Virginia, Monaeans, in North Carolina,
Tuscaroras, extended above the falls of the great rivers, at
least as far north as James River, and southwardly at least to
the river Neus. They were bounded on the east by Lenape
tribes bordering on the Chesapeake and Atlantic, on the south
by the Cheraws and the Catawbas, on the north and west
by extinct tribes, some of the Lenape stock, others of doubt¬
ful or unknown origin.

ALGONKIN-LENAPE NATIONS.

The numerous nations and tribes, into which that large family
was subdivided, may geographically, but not without some re¬
gard to the difference of languages, be arranged under four
heads ; Northern, Northeastern, Eastern or Atlantic, and
Western.

NORTHERN.

Under this head are included the Knistinaux, the Algonkins
and Chippeways or Ojibways, the Ottawas and the Potowota-
mies and the Mississagues.

The Knistinaux, Klistinaux, Kristinaux, and, by abbreviation,
Crees, are the most northern tribe of the family. Bounded
on the north by the Athapascas, they now extend, in conse¬
quence of recent conquests already alluded to, from Hudson’s
Bay to the Rocky Mountains, though they occupy the most
westerly part of that territory, on the north branch of the Sas-
kachawan in common with the Sioux Assiniboins. And they
have also spread themselves as far north as the Lake Athapas-
ca. On the south they are bounded by the Algonkins and
Chippeways ; the dividing line being generally that which
separates the rivers that fall into James’s Bay and the south¬
western parts of Hudson’s Bay, from the waters of the St.
Lawrence, of the Ottawa River, of Lake Superior, and of the
River Winnipek. Near Hudson’s Bay they are generally
called Northern Men. According to Dr. Robertson, they call
themselves, as many other Indian tribes do, “ Men,” “ Eithin-
yoolc ,” or, “ Iniriwuk” prefixing occasionally the name of their

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

special tribes. Thus the true name of the Monsonies or
Swamp Indians, who inhabit Moose River, is Mongsoa Eithyn -
yook, or, “ Moosedeer men.” The same author says, that
the name Knistinaux was originally applied to the tribe of
Lake Winnipek, called Muskegons. The name has now be¬
come generic, and the variations in the first syllable are only
an instance of the frequent transmutations, amongst adjacent
tribes speaking the same language, of the letters /, r, and ft.
There are, however, several varieties amongst the dialects of
the Knistinaux ; the natural result of an unwritten language,
spoken, through a territory so extensive, by tribes indepen¬
dent of each other and not united by any regular alliance.
Amongst these varieties are mentioned the Muskegons and the
Monsonies, of whose dialects we have no vocabularies. That
of Harmon is most to be relied on. His wife, as he informs us,
was a native of the Snare nation, living near the Rocky Moun¬
tains. Yet, allowing for differences in orthography, it does not
differ materially from that of Mackenzie’s, which must have
been taken from the Knistinaux who traded between Lakes
Winnipek and Athapasca.

It is difficult to ascertain whether the name of Algoumekins,
or Algonkins, did belong to any particular tribe, or was used as
a generic appellation. At the first settlement of Canada, all
the St. Lawrence Indians living below and some distance above
Quebec were designated by the name of Montagnars or Mon-
tagnes. This appellation wTas derived from a range of hills or
mountains, which, extending northwesterly from Cape Tour-
mente (five miles below Quebec), divides the rivers that fall
above that Cape into the St. Lawrence, the Ottowa, and Lake
Superior, from those, first of the Saguenay, and afterwards of
Hudson’s Bay. The chain, or rather height of land, intersect¬
ed by many small lakes, may be traced according to Macken¬
zie, as far as lake Winnipek, of which it forms the eastern
shore. It turns thence westwardly, and is crossed at Por¬
tage Methye, (latitude 56° 40', longitude 109°,) between the
sources of the Missinipi and a branch of the River Athapasca,
where the elevation above the sea has been roughly estimated
at two thousand four hundred feet.

The great trading-place of the Montagnars was Tadoussac,
at the mouth of the River Saguenay, where several inland tribes
and others living lower dowrn the St. Lawrence and speaking
the same language, met annually. In the most ancient speci¬
men we have of the Algonkin tongue, which is found at

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 25

the end of Champlain’s Voyages, it is called Montagnar. The
name, from the identity of language, was soon after extended
to all the St. Lawrence Indians, as high up as Montreal.
Those living on the Ottawa River were more specially distin¬
guished by the name of the Algonkins ; and the distinction
between those two dialects, the Algonkin and the Montagnar,
was kept up for some time, until the name of Algonkin pre¬
vailed.

According to Charlevoix, the Nipissings were the true Al¬
gonkins. They are called in the First Relations, Nipissirin-
iens, and lived on Lake Nipissing, at the head of the Portage
between the Ottawa River and the waters of Lake Huron.
This is confirmed by Mackenzie, who states, that the inhabitants
of that lake, about the year 1790, consisted of the remainder of
a numerous tribe called Nipissings of the Algonkin nation.

The difference, however, between the two dialects must have
been very trifling. Father Le Jeune acknowledges, that it
was with great difficulty that he learnt the Montagnar, and that
he never became perfect in it. But in one of his letters, he
says, “ I was consoled in finding that the Nipissiriniens, the
neighbours of the Hurons, understood my broken Montagnes
(mon baragoin Montagues) . Whoever should know perfectly
the language of the Quebec Indians would, I think, be under¬
stood by all the nations from Newfoundland to the Hurons.”*
And in another place he says that there is no greater difference
between those two dialects than between those spoken in dif¬
ferent provinces of France. Notwithstanding the Father’s mod¬
esty, it appears that he had discovered some of the principal
characteristics of the language. He observes, f

First, that different verbs are used according to the subject
of the action ; for instance, that, instead of the verb nimitisson
which signifies “ I eat,” another verb must be used if you spe¬
cify the thing which you eat.

Secondly, that there is a difference in the verbs, according
as the object is animated or inanimate ; though they consider
several things as animated which have no soul, such as tobacco,
apples, &c. Thus, says he, “ I see a man,” Niouapaman iriniou ;
but if I say, “ I see a stone,” the verb is Niouabaten. More¬
over, if the object is in the plural number, the verb must also
be put in the plural ; “ I see men,” Nioucrpamonet iriniouet .J

# Relations of New France, 1G36.

X “ I see them men.”

VOL. II. 4

f Ibid. 1634,

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

Thirdly, that the verbs are also altered according to the
person to whom they refer. Thus “ I use a cap,” Nitaouin agou-
niscouehon. But if I mean to say “ I use his cap,” I must in¬
stead of nitaouin, say nitaouiouan. And all these verbs have
their moods, times, and persons; and they have different conju¬
gations, according to the difference of their terminations.

Fourthly, that the verbs again differ if the action is done by
land or by water. Thus “I am going to fetch something;” if
it is by land, and the thing is inanimate, you must say ninaten ;
if by water ninahen ; if animated, and by land, ninatan ; if
animated, and by water, ninahouau ; &c.

Fifthly, that the adjectives vary according to the substan¬
tives with which they are joined ; of which he gives several
instances. And he further adds that all those adjectives may
be conjugated. Thus “ The stone is cold,” Tabiscau assini ; “ it
was cold,” tabiscaban ; “it will be cold,” catatabischan.

Sixthly, that they have an infinite number of words signify¬
ing many things together, which have no apparent affinity with
the words which signify those several things. Thus “ The wind
drives the snow ; ” wind is routin , snow is count ; and snow
being;, according; to the Indians, a noble or animated thing;, the
verb “ drives,” should be roikhineou. Now, in order to say
“The wind drives the snow,” the Indians, instead of saying
routin ralchineou coune, say, in a single word, piouan. Thus,
again, nisticatchi means “I am cold,” and nissitai means “my
feet ” ; but, in order to say that my feet are cold, I must use the
word nitatagouasisin.

Besides the abovementioned specimens of the Montagnar,
and some others interspersed in the Annual Relations of New
France by the Jesuits, we have no other ancient vocabulary of
the Algonkin but that of La Hontan. The fictitious account
of his pretended travels beyond the Mississippi has very de¬
servedly destroyed his reputation for veracity. Yet it would
seem that he ventured to impose on the public, only with re¬
spect to countries at that time entirely unknown, and that his
account of the Canada Indians may generally be relied upon.
There cannot be any doubt, notwithstanding the observations of
Charlevoix, of the correctness of his vocabulary, which has
been transcribed verbatim by Carver and by John Long, and
appears to have been the only one used for a long time among
the Indian traders.

Among the Algonkin inhabitants of the River Ottawa were
the Ottawas themselves (called by the French Outaouais ),

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 27

who were principally settled on and in the vicinity of an island
in the river, where they exacted a tribute from all the Indians
and canoes going to, or coining from, the country of the Hurons.
It is observed by the same Father Le Jeune, that, although the
Hurons were ten times as numerous, they submitted to that
imposition ; which seems to prove that the right of sovereignty
over the river, to which the Ottawas have left their name, was
generally recognised. After the almost total destruction, in
the year 1649, of the Hurons by the Five Nations, the Algon-
kin nations of the Ottawa River generally abandoned their
abodes and sought refuge in different quarters. A part of the
Ottawas of that river, accompanied by a portion of those who
lived on the western shores of Lake Huron, amounting to
about one thousand souls, and by five hundred Hurons, after
some wanderings, joined their kindred tribes, towards the south-
western extremity of Lake Superior. #

They were followed there in the year 1665, by tbe Mission¬
aries. Their principal missions in that quarter were at Cha-
gouamigong on that lake, and at or near Green Bay on Lake
Michigan. They enumerate all the Indian nations in that
quarter, excepting only the Chippeways and the Fiankeshaws ;
and an uncertain tribe, the Mascoutens, is added. In every
other respect the enumeration corresponds with the Indians
now known to us there. The Sauks and Outagamies on the
one hand, and the Miamis and Illinois on the other, are spe¬
cially mentioned as speaking Algonkin dialects, hut both very
different from the pure Algonkin. This last designation is
dropped, with respect to all the Indians south of Lake Supe¬
rior, except in reference to language. The nation south of
that lake, mentioned as speaking pure Algonkin, is uniformly
called Outaouais ; and the Chippeways, by whom they were sur¬
rounded at Chagouamigong, are never once mentioned by that
name.f It is perfectly clear that the Missionaries considered
the Ottowas and the Chippeways, as one and the same people.

Of the Potowotamies they say, that they spoke Algonkin,
but more difficult to understand than the Ottawas. As late as
the year 1671, the Potowotamies were settled on the islands
called Noquet, near the entrance of Green Bay. But, forty
years later, they had removed to the southern extremity of
Lake Michigan, where we found them, and on the very grounds
(Chicago and River St. Joseph), which in 1670 were occupied

* Relations, F. Allouez, A. D. 1066.

f Ibid. A. D. 1666-1671.

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

by the Miamis.* They are however intimately connected by
alliance and language, not with these, but with the Chippeways
and Ottawas.

About the year 1671, the Ottawas of Lake Superior re¬
moved to the vicinity of Michillimackinac, and finally returned
to their original seats on the wTest side of Lake Huron.j* It
is well known, that this nation occupied till very lately a great
portion of the Michigan Peninsula, north and west of the Po-
towotamies, whilst the Chippeways, who are much more numer¬
ous, are situated around Lake Superior, extending northwest¬
wardly to Lake Winnipek, and westwardly to Red River, that
empties into that lake. They are bounded on the north by the
Knistinaux, on the west and southwest by the Sioux, on the
south and southeast by the Menomenies and the Ottawas. We
have not sufficient data to ascertain the dividing line which,
north of Lake Superior, separates them on the east from the
residue of the old Algonkin tribes. Both names, Algonkin and
Chippeway, have become generic, and are often indiscriminately
used.

When the Algonkin tribes of the River Ottawa were dis¬
persed in the middle of the seventeenth century, a portion
sought refuge amongst the French, and appears to have been
incorporated with those of their nation, who still reside in sev¬
eral villages of Lower Canada. The Nipissings, and some
other tribes, fled towards Michillimackinac, the Falls of St.
Mary, and the northern shores of Lake Superior. It has al¬
ready been stated that the Nipissings had returned to their old
seats. What became of the others is uncertain.

John Long, an Indian trader, says that he first learnt the lan¬
guage amongst the Algonkins of the two mountains above Mon¬
treal, and that it was mixed and corrupt. Of this he might not
be a proper judge ; but his statement shows, that there was a
difference between that dialect, and that spoken by the Indians
with whom he afterwards traded. These, whom he calls Chip-
eways, reside north and northeast of Lake Superior from Lake
Musquaway, north of the Grand Portage, eastwardly to the
sources of Saguenay and to the waters of James’s Bay. His
Chippeway vocabulary must be that of the dialect of those In¬
dians, and differs but little from those, either of the Chippeways

* They sent word to the Miamis, that they were tired of living on
fish, and must have meat.

f Relations, A. D. 1671, and Charlevoix, A. D. 1687.

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 29

proper, or of the old A Igonkins. That which he calls the AL
gonkin vocabulary is, with few exceptions, transcribed from La
Hontan’s or Carver’s.

Those who understand the language may judge, from the
specimens Long gives of his speeches to the Indians, whether
he was well acquainted with it. A good vocabulary of the
modem Algonkin, as spoken in the villages of that nation in
Lower Canada, is wanted.

We have but scanty specimens of the Ottawa and Potowot-
amie dialects, the last chiefly from Smith Barton, the first writ¬
ten, in M. Duponceau’s presence, by M. Hamelin, an educated
half-breed Ottowa. In the appended vocabulary of the Chip-
peway or Ojibway language, the words, so far as he has given
them, are borrowed from Mr. Schoolcraft, who has lately
thrown much light on its structure and character. It is hoped
that, enjoying so much better assistance than any other Ameri¬
can ever did, he will pursue his labors and favor the public
with the result. The other words are principally taken from
the copious and valuable vocabulary of Dr. E. James. The
residue has been supplied by the vocabularies of Dr. Keating
and of Sir A. Mackenzie. That of Mackenzie is designated by
him as being of the Algonkin language. Coming from Canada,
he gives that name to those Indians, from the Grand Portage to
Lake Winnipek, whom we call Chippeways.

Although it must be admitted that the Algonkins, the Chip¬
peways, the Ottawas, and the Potowotamies, speak different dia¬
lects, these are so nearly allied, that they may be considered
rather as dialects of the same, than as distinct languages. The
same observation applies, though with less force, to the dialect
of the Knistinaux, between which and that of the Algonkins
and Chippeways, the several vocabularies, particularly those of
Mackenzie, exhibit a close affinity. The Northern Algonkin
tribes enumerated under this head, maybe said to form, in ref¬
erence to language, but one subdivision ; the most numerous
and probably the original stock of all the other kindred bran¬
ches of the same family.*

# According to an estimate of the War Department, the Chippeways,
Ottawas, and Potowotamies would amount to near twenty-two thou¬
sand. It is probable that those living in Canada are partly included.
The Chippeways and Ottowas within the United States amount, by Mr.
Schoolcraft’s official report, to fourteen thousand. Adding some Ot¬
towas not included and the Potowotamies, they may together be esti¬
mated at about nineteen thousand. Including the Knistinaux, and the

30 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

Although it may be presumed, that the Mississagues did not,
in that respect, differ materially from the other northern Algon-
kins (a question which Smith Barton’s short vocabulary does
not enable us absolutely' to decide), they appear to have, prob¬
ably on account of their geographical position, pursued a dif¬
ferent policy, and separated their cause from that of their kin¬
dred tribes. They were settled south of the River Ottawa,
on the banks of Lakes Ontario and Erie, and must have been
either in alliance with the Five Nations, or permitted to remain
neutral. We are informed by Charlevoix, that, in the year
1721, they had still villages near the outlet of Lake Ontario,
near Niagara, and near Detroit, and another situated between
the two first on Lake Ontario. Twenty-five years later, their
deputies attended a treaty held at Albany, between the Gover¬
nor of New York and the Six Nations. These, whether from
a wish to enhance their own importance, or because they be¬
gan to feel the want of allies, announced to the British that
they had “ taken in the Mississagues for the Seventh Nation,”
of their confederacy.* * That intended or pretended adoption
was not however carried into effect. The tribe still subsists in
Canada ; aud some amongst them are said to have lately wan¬
dered into the Eastern States.

Northeastern.

This division embraces the A Igonkins of Labrador, the
Micmacs, the Etcbemins, and the Abenakis.

It is probable, though not fully ascertained, that the Algon-
kin or Montagnar language, with some varieties in the dialects,
extended nearly to the mouth of the River St. Lawrence.
No account has been published of the tribes of that family
which inhabit the interior parts of Labrador. But vocabula¬
ries have been published, in the sixth volume of the Collec¬
tions of the Massachusetts Historical Society, of two kindred

Chippeways and Algonkins within the British possessions, I should think
that the whole of this northern branch of the Algonkin-Lenape fam¬
ily cannot be less than thirty-five to forty thousand souls. All the
other branches of the family do not together exceed twenty-five
thousand.

* Golden, Five Nations, Treaty of 1746. The Tuscaroras had been
previously adopted as the Sixth Nation. The Mississagues appear
notwithstanding to have taken part against the British during the
seven years’ war. (1 Mass. Hist. Coll. Yol. x. page 121.)

SECT. II.] ALG0NK1N-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 31

dialects, belonging indeed to the same stock, but quite distinct
from the Algonkin. They are called respectively Skoffies and
Sheshatapoosh or Mountainees. The origin of the last name
is not known ; but the language is not that of the Tadoussac
Montagnars. The vocabularies of both were taken from a na¬
tive named Gabriel ; and extracts will be found in the annexed
comparative vocabularies.

The tribe of the Nova Scotia Indians, near Annapolis in the
Bay of Fundy, with which the French first became acquaint¬
ed, was called Souriquois ; and a vocabulary of their language
has been preserved by Lescarbot. They are now well known
by the name of Micmacs, and inhabited the peninsula of Nova
Scotia, Cape Breton, several other islands within the Gulf of
St. Lawrence, and all the rivers emptying from the west into
that Gull, south of Gaspe. The words in the comparative
vocabulary are taken principally from the manuscript of Father
Maynard, Missionary at Miramichi during and at the end of the
seven years’ war. It was obtained in Canada, by the late
Enoch Lincoln, Governor of Maine, who permitted me to
take copious extracts ; and the original has been placed in my
bands by his brother. The words wanted have been chiefly
supplied from another manuscript vocabulary in M. Du pon¬
ceau’s collection, taken by Mr. Walter Bromley, a resident of
Nova Scotia.

When Father Maynard made his submission to the British
in 1760, he stated the number of the Micmacs to be three
thousand souls.*

The French adopted the names given by the Souriquois to the
neighbouring Indian tribes. The Etchemins, or “ Canoemen,”
embraced the tribes of the St. John’s River, called Ouygoudy
by Champlain, and of Fassamaquoddy Bay ; and the name ex¬
tended thence westwardly along the seashore as far at least as
Mount Desert Island. The Island of St. Croix, where De
Monts made a temporary settlement, has been recognised to be
that now called Boon Island, which lies near the entrance of
the Schoodick River above St. Andrew’s. The river itself is
always called River of the Etchemins by Champlain, who ac¬
companied De Monts, and explored, in the year 1605, the sea-
coast from the Bay of Fundy to Martha’s Vineyard.

The Indians west of Kennebec River, beginning at Choua-
coet, and thence westwardly as far as Cape Cod, were called

t - - — — - * -

* 1 Mass. Hist. Coll. Vol. x. p. 115. He is there called Manach.

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

Almouchiquois by the Souriquois. Chouacoet (probably Saco)
is noticed by Champlain as being the first place along the sea¬
shore where there was any cultivation. The Indians of the mouth
of the Kennebec planted nothing, and informed him, that those
who cultivated maize lived far inland or up the river. These
inland cultivating Indians were the well-known Abenakis, con¬
sisting of several tribes, the principal of which were the Penob¬
scot, the Norridgewock, and the Ameriscoggins. And it is not
improbable that the Indians at the mouth of both rivers, though
confounded by Champlain with the Etchemins, belonged to
the same nation.

The two Etchemin tribes, viz. the Passamaquoddies in the
United States, and the St. John Indians in New Brunswick,
speaking, both the same language, are not yet extinct. The
vocabulary of the Passamaquoddies by Mr. Kellogg was ob¬
tained from the War Department.

The vocabulary of the Abenakis is extracted from the valua¬
ble manuscript of Father Rasle, (the Norridgewock Missionary,)
lately published, at Boston, under the care of Mr. Pickering,
by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The
Penobscot tribe, consisting of about three hundred souls,
still exists on the river of that name. The vocabulary
of their language is extracted from two manuscripts, one
taken by General Treat and obtained from Governor E. Lin¬
coln, the other in M. Duponceau’s collection, taken by Mr. R.
Gardiner of Maine. The dialects of those three eastern na¬
tions, the Micmacs, the Etchemins, and the Abenakis, have
great affinities with each other, but, though evidently belonging
to the same stock, differ widely from the Algonkin language.

They were all early converted by the Jesuits, remained firmly
attached to the French, and, till the conquest of Canada, were
in an almost perpetual state of hostility with the British colonists.
In the year 1754, all the Abenakis, with the exception of the
Penobscots, withdrew to Canada; and that tribe was consider¬
ed by the others as deserters from the common cause. They,
as well as the Passamaquody and St. John Indians, remained
neuter during the war of Independence.

The dividing line between the Abenakis and the New Eng¬
land Indians, which is also that of language, was at some place
between the Kennebec and the River Piscataqua. Governor
Sullivan placed it at the River Saco ; and this is corroborated
by the mention made by the French writers of a tribe called
Sokokies, represented as being adjacent to New England and
to the Abenakis, originally in alliance with the Iroquois, but

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 33

which appears to have been converted by the Jesuits, and to
have ultimately withdrawn to Canada.*

Eastern or Atlantic.

Under this head will be included the New England Indians,
meaning thereby those between the Abenakis and Hudson
River ; the Long Island Indians ; the Delaware and Minsi of
Pennsylvania and New Jersey ; the Nanticockes of the eastern
shore of Maryland ; the Susquehannocks ; the Powhatans of
Virginia ; and the Pamlicos of North Carolina.

Gookin, who wrote in 1674, enumerates as the five principal
nations of New England, 1. The Pequods, who may be con¬
sidered as making but one people with the Mohegans, and who
occupied the eastern part of the State of Connecticut; 2. The
Narragansets in the State of Rhode Island ; 3. The Pawkun-
nawkuts or Wampanoags, chiefly within the jurisdiction of the
Plymouth Colony ; 3. The Massachusetts, in the Bay of that
name and the adjacent parts. 5. The Pawtuckets, north and
northeast of the Massachusetts. Under the designation of
Pawtuckets he includes the Penacooks of New Hampshire,
and probably all the more eastern tribes as far as the Abena¬
kis, or Tarrateens, as they seem to have been called by the
New England Indians. The Nipmucks are mentioned as living
north of the Mohegans, and west of the Massachusetts, occu¬
pying the central parts of that State as far west as the Connec¬
ticut River, and acknowledging, to a certain extent, the suprema¬
cy of the Massachusetts, of the Narrangansets, or of the
Mohegans. Those several nations appear, however, to have
been divided into a number of tribes, each having its own Sa¬
chem, and in a great degree independent of each other.

The great similarity if not the identity of the languages from
the Connecticut River eastwardly to the Piscataqua, seems to be
admitted by all the early writers. Gookin states that the New
England Indians, especially upon the seacoasts, use the same
sort of speech and language, only with some difference in the
expressions, as they differ in several counties in England, yet
so as they can well understand each other. Roger Williams,
speaking of his Key, as he calls his vocabulary, says that “ he
has entered into the secrets of those countries wherever

* Relations, and Charlevoix, A. D. 1646, &c.

VOL. II.

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

English dwelt about two hundred miles between the French
and Dutch plantations ; and that though their dialects do ex¬
ceedingly differ within the said two hundred miles, yet not so,
but within that compass a man by this help may converse with
thousands of natives all over the country.” Governor Hutch¬
inson also states, that from Piscataqua to Connecticut River the
different tribes could converse tolerably together.*

The Pequods and Mohegans claimed some authority over the
Indians of the Connecticut River. Rut those, extending thence
westwardly to the Hudson River, appear to have been divided
into small and independent tribes, united, since they were
known to the Europeans by no common government. Those
within Connecticut were sometimes called u the Seven Tribes.”
With respect to those along the Hudson and within the juris¬
diction of New York, De Laet, who in Dutch affairs is an origi¬
nal authority, places the Manhattans and the Pacbamins on the
eastern hank of the river and below the Highlands; the War-
oanekins on the eastern, and the Waranancongyns on the west¬
ern hank, both in the vicinity of Esopus, which he mentions
by that name ; and above these, extending to Albany, the
Manhikans on the eastern hank, and opposite to them the
Mackwaes, their mortal enemies. “ Maquas,” was the name
given by the Atlantic-Lenape nations to the Mohawks. In
the Manhikans we recognise the Mohicans', Mohikanders, or
River Indians. The Waroanekins and Waranancongyns are
clearly the people since known to us by the name of
Wappings or Wappingers, who have left their name to a
river in Dutchess County, and who extended across the Hud¬
son, not only to Esopus, but also some distance below the
Highlands, where they were bounded on the south by the Min-
si f But they are at a later date embraced under the generic
appellation of Mohikanders, J which seems to indicate a commu¬
nity of language. And the identity of name, between the
Mohikans of the Hudson and the Mohe ans of East Connec¬
ticut, induces the belief that all those tribes belonged to the same
stock. We have however no ancient vocabularies of their re¬
spective languages, and must recur to those of the Stockbridge
dialect.

* Hist, of Mass. Yol. I. p. 479.

f See treaty of Easton, of 1758, in which the Wappings of Esopus
are mentioned, and those south of the Highlands jointly with the
Minsi, execute a deed of release for lands in New Jersey.

| See treaty of Albany of 1746, abovementioned.

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 35

The Stockbridge Indians, were originally a part of the Hou-
satannuck Tribe, to whom the Legislature of Massachusetts
granted or secured a township in the year 1736.* Their num¬
ber was increased by Wappingers and Mohikanders, and per¬
haps also by Indians belonging to several other tribes, both of
New England and New York. Since their removal to New
Stockbridge and Brotherton, in the western parts of New York,
they have been joined by Mohegans and other Indians from
East Connecticut and even from Rhode Island and Lons Is-
land ; and the residue of the Seven Tribes of Connecticut is also
mentioned, as being settled in the year 1791 at Brotherton. j*
They are called Mohicans, or Mohekanoks and appear to speak
but one dialect. All our information respecting that language
is derived from Old or New Stockbridge, or from Canada,
where some Indians of that family have also migrated.

Jonathan Edwards, a divine and a scholar, was brought up at
Old Stockbridge, and, whilst a child, acquired the knowledge of
the language of the Indians of that place. “ It had become
more familiar to him than his mother tongue, and he had in a
great measure retained his skill/’ in that respect, when he
published, in 1788, his valuable observations on the language of
the cc Muhhekanew Indians.”

He states that “ the language which is the subject of
his observations is that of the Muhhekanew or Stockbridge
Indians. They, as well as the tribe in New London (the an¬
cient Pequods or Mohegans), are by the Anglo-Americans
called Mohegans, which is a corruption of Muhhekanew.

“ This language is spoken by all the Indians throughout New
England. Every tribe, as that, of Stockbridge, that of Far¬
mington, that of New London, has a different dialect ; but
the language is radically the same. Mr. Eliot’s translation of
the Bible is in a particular dialect of this language. The dia¬
lect followed in these observations is that of Stockbridge.”

Mr. Edwards’s vocabulary is unfortunately very short. The
defect is partly supplied by two others ; one obtained in 1804,
by the Rev. William Jenks, from John Konkaput, a New
Stockbridge Indian ; the other in M. Du ponceau’s collection
taken by Mr. Heckewelder in Canada from a Mohican chief.
The appended vocabulary of that language has been extracted

* Holmes’s Annals.

f 1 Mass. Hist. Coll. Vol. IX. p. 90, and Vol. V. pp. 12-32.

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

from those three sources, with the addition of some words
supplied by the mutilated remnant of a comparative vocabula¬
ry compiled by Mr. Jefferson, in the library of the Philosophi¬
cal Society of Philadelphia. The vocabulary of the Massa¬
chusetts Indians is taken from Eliot’s Grammar, (including the
words extracted by M. Du ponceau from Elliot’s translation of
tbe Bible,) and from Josiah Cotton’s valuable vocabulary. A
specimen from Wood’s “ Prospect of New England ” has been
added. The words not found in Roger Williams’s Key of the
Narraganset Language, have been supplied from a recent vo¬
cabulary, taken by General Treat, and communicated by tbe
late Enoch Lincoln. There is no doubt respecting the great
similarity of those three dialects ; and that the Indians from
Saco River to the Hudson, spoke, though with many varieties,
what may be considered as the same language, and one of the
most extensively spoken amongst those of the Algonkin-
Lenape Family.

There may have been some exaggeration in the accounts of
the Indian population of Newr England. In proportion as they
are separated from us by time or distance, the Indians are uni¬
formly represented as more numerous than they appear when
better known. Gookin, who wrote in 1674, states that the
Pequods were said to have been able in former times to raise four
thousand warriors, reduced in his time to three hundred men.
These had indeed been conquered and partly destroyed or dis¬
persed in the war of 1637. But, according to the accounts of that
war, the number of their warriors could not at that time have
amounted to one thousand.* The Narragansets, who were
reckoned in former times, as ancient Indians said, to amount to
five thousand warriors, did not in his time amount to one
thousand. As the only wars in which they had been engaged
before the year 1674, from the first European settlement in
New England, were the usual ones with other Indians, such a
great diminution within that period appears highly improbable.
With respect to the other three great nations, to wit, the Wam-
panoags, the Massachusetts, and the Pawtuckets, Gookin esti¬
mates their former number to have been in the aggregate nine
thousand warriors. He states the population of the two last
in his own time, at five hundred and fifty men, besides women

# Seven hundred, on the arrival of the British. Holmes’s Memoir,
1 Mass. Hist. Coll. Vol. IX. pp. 75-99.

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQ,UOIS NATIONS. 37

and children. This great diminution, he and all the other
ancient writers ascribed to a most fatal epidemical sickness,
which, a few years before the first arrival of the English, had
made dreadful ravages amongst those two nations and the
Wampanoags.

But, after making every reasonable allowance for exaggera¬
tions derived from Indian reports, there can be no doubt, from
the concurrent accounts of contemporary writers, that the Indian
population, principally along the seacoast between the Old
Plymouth Colony and the Hudson River, was much greater in
proportion to the extent of territory than was found anywhere
else on the shores of the Atlantic, or, with the exception per¬
haps of the Hurons, in the interior parts of the United States.
This opinion is corroborated by the enumerations subsequent to
Philip’s War, after the greater part of the hostile Indians had
removed to Canada or its vicinity. In an account laid before
the Assembly of Connecticut in 1680, the warriors of the sev¬
eral tribes in the State are reckoned at five hundred.* In 1698,
the converted Indians in Massachusetts were computed to
amount to nearly three thousand souls.f In 1774, by an actual
census there were still thirteen hundred and sixty-three Indians
in Connecticut, and fourteen hundred and eighty-two in Rhode
Island. X Those several numbers greatly exceed those found
elsewhere, under similar circumstances, so long after the date
of the first European settlements. I think that the Indian
population, within the present boundaries of the States of New
Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut,
must have been from thirty to forty thousand souls, before the
epidemic disease which preceded the landing of the Pilgrims.

For this greater accumulated population, two causes may be
assigned. A greater and more uniform supply of food is af¬
forded by fisheries than by hunting ; and we find accordingly,
that the Narragansets of Rhode Island were, in proportion to
their territory, the most populous tribe of New England. It
appears also probable, that the Indians along the seacoast had
been driven away from the interior and compelled to concen¬
trate themselves, in order to be able to resist the attacks of the
more warlike Indians of the Five Nations. Even near the
seashore, from the Piscataqua to the vicinity of the Hudson,

* Holmes’s Report. f 1 Mass. Hist. Coll. Vol. X. p. 129.

f Ibid. Vol. X. pp. 117-119.

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

the New England Indians were perpetually harassed hy the at¬
tacks of the M aquas. They were, Gookin says, in time of
war, so great a terror to all the Indians before named, that the
appearance of four or five Maquas in the woods would frighten
them from their habitations and induce many of them to get
together in forts. Wood and other contemporary writers con¬
firm this account ; and the Mohawks were wont, in Con¬
necticut, to pursue the native Indians and kill them even in the
houses of the English settlers.*

We find accordingly the population to have been chiefly con¬
centrated alontr the seashore and the banks of the Connect!-
cut River below its falls. That of the Nipmuck and generally
of the inland country, north of the State of Connecticut, was
much less in proportion to the territory ; and there do not ap¬
pear to have been any tribes of any consequence in the nor¬
thern parts of New Hampshire, or in the State of Vermont.

The Indians east of the Connecticut River never were, how¬
ever, actually subjugated by the Five Nations. In the year
1669, the Indians of Massachusetts carried on even offensive op¬
erations against the Maquas, marched with about six hundred
men into the Mohawk country, and attacked one of their forts.
They were repulsed with considerable loss ; but, in 1671, peace
was made between them, through the interference of the Eng-
lish and Dutch at Albany ; and the subsequent alliance be¬
tween the Five Nations and the British, after they had become
permanently possessed of New York, appears to have pre¬
served the New England Indians from further attacks.

The first emigrants to New England were kindly received
by the Indians ; and their progress was facilitated by the ca¬
lamitous disease which had recently swept off great numbers of
the natives, in the quarter where the first settlements were
made. The peace was disturbed by the colonization of Con¬
necticut River. The native chiefs had been driven away by
Sassacus, Sachem of the Pequods. From them the Massachu¬
setts emigrants purchased the lands, and commenced the settle¬
ment in the year 1635. Sassacus immediately committed hos¬
tilities. The Pequod war, as it is called, terminated (1637) in
the total subjugation of the Pequods, and was followed by for¬
ty years of comparative peace. The principal event during
that period was a war between Uncas, Sachem of the Mohe-

* Trumbull, passim.

SECT. II.] ALGONIUN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 39

gans and of the conquered Pequods, who appears to have been
a constant though subordinate ally of the British, and Mian-
tonimo, Sachem of the Narragansets, who had indeed assisted
them against the Pequods, but seems to have afterwards enter¬
tained hostile designs against them. He brought nine hundred
warriors into the field against Uncas, who could oppose him
with only five hundred. Miantonimo was nevertheless defeated,
made prisoner and delivered by Uncas to the English. After
due deliberation, the Commissioners of the United Colonies
of New England determined, that he might be justly, and ought
to be, put to death, but that this should be done out of the
English jurisdiction, and without any act of cruelty. He was
accordingly delivered again to Uncas and killed. The act at
this day appears unjustifiable. The English had not taken an
active part in the contest. They might have refused to receive
him from Uncas. But, this having been done, he was under
their protection, and, however dangerous to them, ought to
have been either released altogether, or kept a prisoner.

The Narragansets from that time kept the colonies in a state
of perpetual uneasiness. Yet the war which broke out in 1675,
commonly called King Philip’s war, can hardly be ascribed to
this or to any other particular circumstance, and appears to
have been the unavoidable result of the relative situation in
which the Indians and the whites were placed. Collisions had
during the preceding period often occurred ; but no actual hos¬
tilities of any importance had taken place ; and Massachusetts
particularly, though exposed to obloquy on that account, always
interposed to prevent a war. If the Indians were not always
kindly, at least it cannot be said that they were in general un¬
justly, treated. With the exception of the conquered Pequods,
no lands were ever forcibly taken from them. They were all
gradually purchased from those Sachems respectively in whose
possession they were. But there, as everywhere else, the In¬
dians, after a certain length of time, found that, in selling their
lands they had lost their usual means of subsistence, that they
were daily diminishing, that the gradual progress of the whites
was irresistible ; and, as a last effort, though too late, they at¬
tempted to get rid of the intruders. The history of the Indians
in the other British colonies is everywhere substantially the
same. The massacre of the whites in Virginia, in the years
1622 and 1644, the Tuscarora war of North Carolina in 1712,
that with the Yemassees of South Carolina in 1715, were

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

natural results flowing from the same cause. And in the year
1755, after a peace of seventy years, notwithstanding all the
efforts made to avert it, the storm burst even in Pennsylvania.

Metacom, or King Philip, as he is generally called, was Sa¬
chem of the Wampanoags, and son of Massassoit, the first and
faithful friend of the first settlers of the New Plymouth Colony.
His most powerful and active ally was Conanchet, son of Mian-
tonimo, and principal Sachem of the Narragansets. A portion
of the Indians of that nation, under another chief, named
Ninigret, the Mohegans and the Pequods, fought on the Eng¬
lish side. The other tribes of Connecticut, with the exception
of some in the northern parts of the colony, appear to have
remained neutral. The converted Indians of Massachusetts
were friendly. All the other New England Indians, assisted
by the Abenaki tribes, joined in the war. Its events are well
known, and that, after a most bloody contest of two years,
during which the two colonies of Massachusetts and Plymouth
experienced great losses, it terminated in the complete de¬
struction or dispersion of the hostile Indians. Philip, after the
most desperate efforts, was killed in the field of battle. Canon-
chet shared the fate of his father, having been, like him, taken
prisoner in an engagement, and afterwards shot. A small number
only of the Indians who had taken arms, accepted terms of sub¬
mission. The greater part of the survivors joined the eastern
tribes or those of Canada. Some took refuge amongst the Mo¬
hicans of Hudson River. Amongst those, who did not at that time
join the Indians in the French interest, were those afterwards
known by the name of Sbotacooks, from the place of their new
residence on the Hudson, some distance above Albany. They,
however, at a subsequent epoch, became hostile, and removed
to Canada at the commencement of the seven years’ war.

From the termination of Philip’s war, till the conquest of
Canada, the eastern and northern frontiers of New England
continued exposed to the predatory and desolating attacks of the
Eastern and Canada Indians. But they had no longer any in¬
ternal enemies to combat. It appears, from the statements
already made, that from eight to ten thousand must, about the year
1680, have remained within the settled parts of those colonies.
They have ever since been perfectly peaceable, have had lands
reserved for them, and have been treated kindly and protected by
the Colonial and State Governments. They are said to amount
now to only a few hundred in all the four States. The language,

SECT. II.] ALGQNKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 41

with the exception of the Narraganset, is nearly extinct.
Many had, it is true, removed from time to time to the west¬
ward. But the great diminution and approaching extinction
are due to the same causes, which have operated everywhere
else, and to which we may hereafter advert.

It is probable that the Manhattans and the other tribes,
which may have been seated below the Highlands, on the east-
tern bank of the Hudson, within the jurisdiction of New York,
were of the same stock with their eastern neighbours on the
main along the Long Island Sound, and may also be included
under the general appellation of Mohicans. Of this, however,
we have no direct proof, as no vestige of their language remains.
The Dutch purchased from them the Manhattan Island, where
they erected a fort about the year 1620, and laid the founda¬
tion of New Amsterdam, now New York.* But they appear
to have been in a state of perpetual hostility with those
Indians.

De Laet, who wrote in 1624, and mentions the purchase, says
that the eastern bank of the river was, from its mouth, inhabited
by “ the Manathanes, a cruel nation at war with us.” He also
mentions the Delawares or Minsi, living on the opposite shore,
under the names of Sanhikans and Mahkentiwomi, as a more
humane and friendly nation. It was there accordingly that
they made their first settlement in that quarter, about the year
1610. f

About the year 1643, the Dutch appear to have been re¬
duced to great distress by the Manhattans and the Long Island
Indians. They applied in vain for assistance to the Colony of
New Haven; but they engaged in their service Captain Un¬
derhill, a celebrated partisan officer, with whose assistance and,
it is said, that of the Mohawks, they carried on the war for
several years. Underhill had a mixed corps of English and
Dutch, with whom he is said to have killed four hundred In¬
dians on Long Island. And in the year 1646, a severe battle
took place at Horseneck on the main, where the Indians were
finally defeated. J

* Smith’s History of New York, p. 38, where is given Governor
Stuyvesant’s statement of the Dutch claim in 1644.

f The Delaware tradition (Heckewelder’s Account, chap, ii.) that
they first received the Dutch, is correct.

X Trumbull’s History of Connecticut, passim.

VOL. II. 6

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

It appears, from the researches of the Hon. Silas Wood,
that there were not less than thirteen distinct tribes on Long
Island, over which the Montauks, who inhabited the eastern¬
most part of the island, exercised some kind of authority,
though they had been themselves tributaries of the Pequods
before the subjugation of these by the English. The two ex¬
tremities of the island were settled about the same time, the
eastern by the English, and the western by the Dutch.

The original records of the towns examined by Mr. Wood
show, that the lands were in both districts always purchased
from the Indians in possession. It was only in 1665, after the
British had taken possession of New York and the whole of
the island had been annexed to that government, that it was
ordained, that no purchase from the Indians without the Gover¬
nor’s license, executed in his presence, should be valid.* The
Indians appear to have been at times, or at least with a single
exception, on friendly terms with the English ; and although
there is some discrepancy in the accounts, it is probable that
the hostilities, which had previously existed between those In¬
dians and the Dutch, had ceased prior to the year 1655.f

The several tribes of Long Island spoke kindred dialects, of
which we have two specimens; Mr. Wood’s short vocabulary
of the Montauks, from a manuscript in the possession of the
late John Lyon Gardner ; and that of a tribe called Unchagogs
(by Mr. Wood), taken in 1792, by Mr. Jefferson, and in the
possession of the American Philosophical Society. Mr. Jef¬
ferson states that the dialect differs a little from those of the
Shinicooks of South Hampton, or of the Montauks ; and that
these three tribes barely understood each other. The language
appears to me to differ farther in its vocabulary from those of
New England, than any of these from each other. Although
a reservation of land was made for those Indians, there remain
only some Montauks ; and the language is said to be extinct.

In the absence of the Dutch records, during the fifty years
of their dominion, (1610-1664,) we have been obliged to
resort to the transient notices of the English or American wri¬
ters. A certain fact asserted by all of them, confirmed by eye¬
witnesses, and acknowledged by the Indians, is that the Mohicans
or River Indians including the Wappings, had been subjugated

* Smith’s History of New York, p. 54.
f Wood’s Account of the Settlement of Long Island.

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 43

by the Five Nations, and paid to them some kind of tribute.
According to Governor Trumbull, the Indians as far east as the
Connecticut River had shared the same fate.* It may be
doubted whether this could properly be asserted of all of them.
But it is certain that the Long Island Indians did also generally
pay tribute ; and we have the irrefragable evidence of an eye¬
witness, the late Samuel Jones, that, as late as the middle of
the seventeenth century, it was collected by Mohawk deputies
in Queen’s County.

Judge Smith, in his “ History of New York,” published in
1756, says, that, “ when the Dutch began the settlement of this
country, all the Indians on Long Island and the northern shore of
the Sound, on the banks of Connecticut, Hudson’s, Delaware,
and Susquehanna Rivers, were in subjection to the Five Na¬
tions, and, within the memory of persons now living, acknowl¬
edged it by the payment of an annual tribute.” f He gives no
authority for the early date he assigns to that event. The
subsequent protracted wars, of the Dutch with the Manhattans
and the Long Island Indians, and the continued warfare of the
Mohawks against the Connecticut Indians, are inconsistent with
that account, which is clearly incorrect with respect to the
Mohikander River Indians, or Manhicans. These are men¬
tioned by De Laet as the mortal enemies of the Maquas. It was
undoubtedly the interest of the Dutch to promote any arrange¬
ment, which, by compelling the Mohicans to remain at peace,
would secure their own and increase their trade. If they suc¬
ceeded at any time, the peace was but temporary. We learn
from the Relations of the French Missionaries, that war exist¬
ed in 1656, between the Mahingans and the Mohawks, and
that these experienced a severe check in 1663, in an attack
upon a Mahingan fortified village. And Colden states that the
contest was not at an end till 1673. “ The trade of New

York,” he says, “was hindered by the war which the Five
Nations had at that time with the River Indians ; ” and he adds
that the Governor of New York cc obtained a peace between
the Five Nations and the Mahikanders or River Indians.” J

It is also certain that those Mohikander or River Indians,
were not reduced to tiie same state in which the Delawares

* Vol. I. p. 56.

f Page 216. He quotes the instance of a small tribe in Orange County
which still made a yearly payment of about £ 20 to the Mohawks,
t Colden, chap. ii. p. 35.

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

were placed. It is proved by the concurring accounts of the
French and English writers, that, subsequently to the peace
of 1674, they were repeatedly, indeed uniformly, employed
as auxiliaries in the wars of the Five Nations and the British
against the French. At the treaty of Albany of 1746, which
has already been quoted, they were positively invited and
requested to join heartily with both for that purpose ; and they
acted accordingly. It may be that the Dutch or English had
obtained from the Five Nations a general release of any claim
they might have on the lands of the subdued tribes. But if
the right was reserved, it is proved by the records of Long
Island, that it was not rigidly enforced ; and there is reason to
believe that the same observation applies equally to the ancient
settlements in other parts of the State. The whole western
district has of course been purchased from the Five, or as
since called, the Six Nations.

The Delawares call themselves Lenno-Lenape, which means
“ Original, or Unmixed Men”; perhaps originally “ manly
men,” if Lenape is derived from Lcnno, “ man, homo ,” and
nape, “ male.” They say that they at first consisted of three
tribes, the Unami, or “ Turtle ” tribe, which claimed precedence
over the others, the Minsi , or “Wolf” tribe, who, though still
intimately connected, separated themselves from the Delawares
proper, and speak a different dialect, and the Unalachtgo, or
“ Turkey ” tribe, who remain mixed with the Unami. They were
called Loups (wolves) by the French. But it was because
they confounded them with the Mohicans and New England
Indians, whom they designated by the general appellation of
Mahingan , which means “Wolf” in the Algonkin and Chip-
peway dialects.

DELAWARE AND MINSI.

T1 le Delaware and Minsi occupied the country bounded
eastwardly and southwardly by Hudson River and the Atlantic.
On the west they appear to have been divided from the Nanti-
cokes and the Susquehannocks, by the height of land which
separates the waters falling into the Delaware from those that
empty into the Susquehanna and Chesapeake. They proba¬
bly extended southwardly along the Delaware as far as Sandy

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 45

Hook, which seems to have belonged to another tribe.* On
the north they were in possession of the country watered by
the Schuylkill, to its sources. The line thence to the Hudson
is more uncertain. They may originally have extended to the
sources of the Delaware ; and it was perhaps owing to the
conquests of a comparatively recent date, that, at the treaty of
Easton, of 1758, the Delaware chief, Tedyuscung, who had
at first asserted the claim of his nation to that extent, restricted
it to one of the intervening ranges of hills, and acknowledged
that the lands higher up the river belonged to his uncles of the
Five Nations. East of the Delaware, the Lenape tribes were
separated by the Catskill Mountains from the Mohawks. But
it has already been stated that the Wappings intervened and
extended even below the Highlands. The division line be¬
tween those Wappings and the Minsi, is not known with cer¬
tainty.

That between the Delawares proper, and the Minsi in New
Jersey, is ascertained by an authentic document. Almost all
the lands in that colony had been gradually purchased from
those Indians respectively who had actual possession. Some
tracts remained, which both tribes stated not to have been in¬
cluded within those sales. And at the same treaty of Easton
they both made distinct releases of all their claims to that resi¬
due ; the Delawares, for the lands lying south, and the Minsi
for those lying north of a line drawn from Sandy Hook up the
Raritan to its forks, then up its north fork to the falls of Alama-
tung, and thence in a straight line to the Pasequalin Mountain
on the River Delaware. The line in Pennsylvania between the
tribes is not so clearly ascertained. It is however known that
the tract, on which Nazareth stands, was purchased by the
Moravians from the Minsi.

Various tribes are mentioned by the Swedes and by De Laet,
on both shores of the Delaware, from its mouth to Trenton Falls;
and the same observation applies to the western shore of the
Hudson below the Highlands. But these are clearly local des¬
ignations; and they are all included under the name of Rena-
pi by the Swedish writers. The Delawares proper call them¬
selves Lenno-Lenape ; and the permutations of the letters ?*, /,
and n, are common everywhere amongst Indian tribes speaking
the same language.

* Qwcere, whether the Conois ? See Alrick’s Commission.

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

We have two ancient vocabularies of the Delaware, one in
the description of New Sweden by Thomas Campanius,
lately translated by M. Duponceau, and the other of the Sank-
hicans, so called, by De Laet. They are almost identical and
both are clearly Delaware. The settlements of the Swedes, on
the river of that name, do not appear to have extended far above
the present site of Philadelphia. The Sankhicans are placed
by Campanius at the Falls of the Delaware. They are men¬
tioned by De Laet as occupying the western side of the Hud¬
son, as living along the bays and in the interior of the country,
and, finally, as the upper nation on the Delaware known to the
Dutch, and living eighteen leagues from the mouth of that river.
The Delawares were subdivided into numerous small tribes,
distinguished by local names ; and it is clear that one of those
tribes named Sankhican by the Swedes and Dutch writers,
lived up the Delaware where both place it ; and that when
De Laet speaks of them in the first passage, as inhabiting the
western side of the Hudson, he extends the appellation of
Sankhican to the Delawares generally.*

At the same time when William Penn landed in Pennsyl¬
vania, the Delawares had been subjugated and made women by
the Five Nations. It is well known, that, according to that
Indian mode of expression, the Delawares were henceforth pro¬
hibited from making war, and placed under the sovereignty of the
conquerors, who did not even allow sales of land, in the actual
possession of the Delawares, to be valid without their approba¬
tion. William Penn, his descendants, and the State of Penn¬
sylvania accordingly always purchased the right of possession
from the Delawares, and that of sovereignty from the Five
Nations. The tale suggested by the vanity of the Delawares,
and in which the venerable Heckewelder placed implicit faith,
that this treaty was a voluntary act on the part of the Dela¬
wares, is too incredible to require a serious discussion. It cannot
be admitted that they were guilty of such an egregious act of

* We learn however, from Mr. Heckewelder, that the Delawares
called the Mohawks by that very name “ Sankhicani.” It is therefore
probable that the Maquas, in the course of the war, had a fort or a settle¬
ment near the Falls of Trenton, as they afterwards had one twelve
miles from Fort Christina, and that, the place being accordingly called
by the Delawares Sankhican, the Dutch and Swedes mistook it for the
name of a Delaware tribe. De Laet’s Sankhican vocabulary is at all
events Delaware.

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQJJOIS NATIONS. 47

folly as to assent voluntarily to an agreement, which left their
deadly enemies at liberty to destroy their own kindred, friends,
and allies, with no other remedy but the empty title of Media¬
tors, a character in which they never once appeared. And it
is really absurd to suppose, that any Indian tribe, victorious
too as the Delawares are stated to have been at that time,
should have voluntarily submitted to that which, according to
their universal and most deeply rooted habits and opinions, is
the utmost degradation and ignominy. But it is difficult to as¬
certain when that event took place ; and it seems probable, as
asserted by the Indians, that it was subsequent to the arrival of
the Europeans.

De Laet, in 1624, writes that the Sankhicans were mortal
enemies of the Manhattans ; which proves that the Sankhicans,
or Delawares, were not yet prohibited from going to war. We
find also in Campanius, that the Minquas had a fort on a
high hill about twelve miles from Christina ; and he says
that as late as 1646, the Indians (viz. the Delawares) had
taken and burnt alive one of those Minquas. He adds, indeed,
“ that the Minquas forced the other Indians, who were not so
warlike as themselves, to be afraid of them, and made them
subject and tributary to them, so that they dare not stir, much
less go to war against them.” Still, taking all these remarks
together, it would appear that the war between the two na¬
tions had not yet terminated in complete subjugation. This
is corroborated by what Evans says in the analysis of his Map ;
to wit, that the Iroquois had conquered the Lenno-Lenape ;
but that these had previously sold the lands, from the Falls of
Trenton down to the sea, to Peter Menevit, commander under
Christina, Queen of Sweden.

The first settlement of the Swedes was commenced in the
year 1631.* Peter Menevit, or Minuit, was commander or
governor, in 1638.f Their principal establishment was in the
vicinity of Fort Christina, near the mouth of the river of
that name. In the year 1651, the Dutch built Fort Casimir,
now called Newcastle, a few miles below. % The Swedes
soon after took possession of it. But they were expelled in
1655, by the Dutch, from all their possessions on the Delaware.
The country was then governed by a director appointed by the

* Holmes’s Annals.
| Ibid. p. 24.

f Smith’s History of New York, p. 21

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

Dutch commander of New York, till the year 1664, when,
together with New York, it was taken by the British. Smith
has preserved, in his “ History of New York,” an extract from
the Commission of Alrick, one of the first Dutch Directors,
dated April, 1657. He was appointed “ Director General of
the Colony of the South River of the Netherlands, and the
fortress of Casimir, now called Niewer Amstel, with all the
lands depending thereon, according to the first purchase and
deed of release of the natives, dated July 19th, 1651, begin¬
ning at the west side of the Minquaa or Christina Kill, in the
Indian language named Suspeungh, to the mouth of the bay
or river called Bompt Hook, in the Indian language Cannaresse,
and so far inland as the bounds and limits of the Mmquaas ’
la?id, with all the streams, and appurtenances, and dependen¬
cies.” *

This appears to be the first purchase made from the Minquas ;
and it may be inferred from all that precedes, that the final
subjugation of the Delawares took place about the year 1750.
The Europeans were then too weak to have had much, if any,
agency in that event.

At a preparatory conference held at Burlington, in August,
1758, prior to the ensuing treaty of Easton, John Hudson,
the Cayuga chief, who attended in behalf of the Six Nations,
in his speech to the Governor of New Jersey, said, “ the Mun-
seys are women and cannot hold treaties for themselves ; but
the invitation you gave them is agreeable to us, and we will
attend, but not here ; the council-fire must be held, as hereto¬
fore, in Pennsylvania.” f The treaty was accordingly held at
Easton in October following, and was most numerously attended
by deputies from the Six Nations, the Chihokies or Dela¬
wares, the Minsis, Wappings, Mohicans, Nanticokes, &c. The
result has already been stated. The deeds of release to New
Jersey by the Delawares and the Minsis were approved by the
Six Nations, through three of their chiefs, who signed them.
But, in the course of the conferences, they declared, through
their speaker, Thomas King, that they had no claim to the
lands of the Minsis or of their other nephews (the Delawares)
on the east side of Delaware River. Nor is there any

Smith’s History of New York, p. 25. Chalmers (p.632) mentions
the purchase, and that it was effected by Hudde, a Dutch officer,
f Smith’s History of New Jersey.

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 49

evidence in Smith’s “ History of New Jersey,” that the proprie¬
taries of that province had ever before obtained deeds of
confirmation from the Six Nations, for the lands purchased from
the Delaware and Minsi tribes, which were in the actual posses¬
sion of the same. It would seem, then, that the right to the
Denape lands was not more rigidly enforced by the Five
Nations in New Jersey than in New York. The same course
might perhaps have taken place in Pennsylvania, had not Mr.
Penn applied to them for cessions which they never hesitated
to make. It may be also that, as he introduced the laudable
custom of public purchases made by solemn treaties, the Five
Nations would not permit such national councils to be held
by the Delawares without their approbation.

The use of arms, though from very different causes, was
equally prohibited to the Delawares and to the Quakers. Thus
the colonization of Pennsylvania and of West New Jersey
by the British, commenced under the most favorable auspices.
Peace and the utmost harmony prevailed for more than sixty
years between the whites and the Indians ; for these were for
the first time treated, not only justly, but kindly by the colon¬
ists. But, however gradually and peaceably their lands might
have been purchased, the Delawares found themselves at last
in the same situation as all the other Indians, without lands of
their own, and therefore without means of subsistence. They
were compelled to seek refuge on the waters of the Susque¬
hanna, as tenants at will, on lands belonging to their hated
conquerors, the Five Nations. Even there and on the Juniat-
ta, they were encroached upon by white settlers less scrupulous
than the Quakers had been. Nor can it be denied that the agents
of the Proprietaries were occasionally too urgent in asking for
further concessions of land, and in obtaining extensive and
alarming grants from the Five Nations. Under those circum¬
stances, many of the Delawares determined to remove west of
the Alleghany Mountains, and, about the year 1740-50; ob¬
tained, from their ancient allies and uncles the Wyandots, the
grant of a derelict tract of land lying principally on the Mus¬
kingum. The great body of the nation was still attached to
Pennsylvania. But the grounds of complaint increased. The
Delawares were encouraged by the western tribes, and by the
French, to shake off the yoke of the Six Nations, and to join
in the war against their allies the British. The frontier settle-
ments of Pennsylvania were accordingly attacked both by the
VOL. II. 7

50 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN THIBES. [iNTROD.

Delawares and the Sbawnoes. And, although peace was made
with them at Easton in 1758, and the conquest of Canada put
an end to the general war, both the Sbawnoes and Delawares
removed altogether in 1768, beyond the Alleghany Mountains.
This resolution had not been taken without much reluctance.
At a preparatory conference held at Easton, in 1757, the
Delaware Chief Tedyuscung said, “We intend to settle at
Wyoming; we want to have certain boundaries fixed between
you and us, and a certain tract of land fixed, which it shall not
be lawful for us or our children to sell, nor for you or any of
your children ever to buy ; that we may be not pushed on
every side, but have a certain country fixed for our own use and
that of our children for ever.” And, at the treaty of Easton
in 1753, he accordingly applied to the Six Nations for a per¬
manent grant of land at Shamokin and Wyoming on the Sus¬
quehanna. The Maqua chiefs answered that they were not
authorized to sell any lands ; that they would refer the demand to
their great council at Onondago, which alone had a right to make
sales. “ In the mean while,” they added, “ you may make
use of those lands in conjunction with our own people and all
the rest of our relations, the Indians of the different nations
in our alliance.” It is proper to add that the Delawares
did not lay any claim to the lands on the Susquehanna, which
they acknowledged to belong altogether to the Six Nations.

The removal of the Delawares, Minsi, and Sbawnoes to the
Ohio, at once extricated them from the yoke of the Six Nations,
and cut off the intercourse between these and the Miamis and
other western Indians who had been inclined to enter into their
alliance. The years 1765-1795 are the true period of the
power and importance of the Delawares. United with the
Shawnoes, who were settled on the Scioto, they sustained
during the seven years’ war the declining power of France, and
arrested for some years the progress of the British and Ameri¬
can arms. Although a portion of the nation adhered to the
Americans during the war of Independence, the main body
together with all the western nations made common cause
with the British. And, after the short truce which followed
the treaty of 1783, they were again at the head of the western
confederacy in their last struggle for independence. Placed
by their geographical situation in the front of battle, they were
during those three wars, the aggressors, and, to the last moment,

SECT. IT.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IR0Q,U01S NATIONS. 51

the most active and formidable enemies of America.* The
decisive victory of General Wayne (1794) dissolved the con¬
federacy ; and the Delawares were the greatest sufferers by the
treaty of Greenville of 1795.

The greater part of the lands allotted them by the Wyan-
dots was ceded by that treaty, and they then obtained from the
Miamis a tract of land on the White River of Wabash, which,
by the treaty of Vincennes of 1804, was guarantied to them
by the United States. But the Miamis having contended the
ensuing year, at the treaty of Grouseland, that they had only
permitted them to occupy the territory, but had not conveyed the*
soil to them, the Delawares released the United States from
that guarantee. They did not take part with the British in the
last war, and, together with some Mohicans and Nanticokes,
remained on White River till the year 1819, when they finally
ceded their claim to the United States. Those residing there
were then reduced to about eight hundred souls. A number,
including the Moravian converted Indians, had previously
removed to Canada; and it is difficult to ascertain the situation
or numbers of the residue at this time. Those who have
lately removed west of the Mississippi are, in an estimate of
the War Department, computed at four hundred souls. Former
emigrations to that quarter had however taken place, and sev¬
eral small dispersed bands are, it is believed, united with the
Senecas and some other tribes.

The appended vocabularies of the Delaware and Minsi are
extracted from those in manuscript received from Mr. Hecke-
welder, and which make part of Mr. Duponceau’s valuable
collection.

Captain Smith, the founder of the first permanent British
Colony in Virginia, has given us the names of six tribes on
the eastern shore of Virginia and Maryland. The two most
southern, the Acomack and Acohanock, spoke the Powhat-
tan language. Thence to the mouth of the Susquehanna,

* We have, in the tenth Volume of the Collections of the Massachusetts
Historical Society (1st series), two accounts of the Indians engaged in
the battle on the Miami, where they were defeated by General Wayne.
According to one, there were five hundred Delawares out of fifteen
hundred Indians who were in the action ; according to the other, three
out of seven hundred.

52 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

he designates the Wighcomocos, the Kuskarawaock,the Ozimies,
and the Tockwoghs, amounting together to four hundred and sixty
warriors. He makes no mention of the Nanticokes, but, on his
map, a village of that name is placed on the Choctanck River ;
and we are informed by Mr. Hecke welder that the Nanticokes
were called by the Delawares Tawachguano, in which name that
of Tockwoghs is easily recognised. In more recent times, all the
Indians of the eastern shore of Maryland have been embraced
under the general designation of Nanticokes. We learn from
Charles Thompson,* that they were forced by the Five Na¬
tions to enter into an alliance with them ; a fact easily account¬
ed for, by the erection of the Maqua fort twelve miles from
Newcastle, by their geographical situation, and by their weak¬
ness. During the first part of the eighteenth century they
began to migrate up the Susquehanna, where they had lands
allotted to them by the Six Nations, and were after a while
admitted as a seventh nation into that confederacy. At the
treaty of 1758, Tokaaio, a Cayuga chief, spoke in behalf of
the five younger nations, to wit, the Cayugas, the Oneidas, the
Tuscaroras, the Nanticokes and Conoys, and the Tuteloes.
The Conoys were either a tribe of the Nanticokes or intimate¬
ly connected with them. Charles Thompson calls the nation
Nanticokes or Conoys, but confounds them with the Tuteloes.
Mr. Heckewelder thinks the Conoys to be the same people
with the Kanhawas. This last name is identical with that of
the western river Kanhawa, and it might have been supposed
that the Kanhawas were a tribe living on that river, and that
called by the Five Nations Cochnowas, which at the confer¬
ences of Lancaster (1744) they said they had destroyed. But
it seems certain that the Indians on the heads of the Potomac
were called Ganawese and Canhawaas.j*

The Nanticokes and Conoys, being the allies of the Six
Nations, remained on the Susquehanna till the commence¬
ment of the war oi the revolution, when they removed to the
west and joined the British standard. They do not appear to
exist any longer as a nation, but are still found, mixed with
other tribes, both in the United States and in Canada.

The vocabulary of their language is extracted from two
manuscripts in Mr. Duponceau’s collection, one taken by Mr.

* Appendix to Jefferson’s Notes on Virginia,
f See hereafter under the head of Susquehannocks.

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQTJOIS NATIONS. 53

Hecke welder in 1785, from a Nanticoke chief living in Cana¬
da ; the other taken in 1792, by the late William Vans Murray,
and sent by him to Mr. Jefferson. It was taken from an old
woman called Mrs. Muberry, the widow of their last chief, who
lived at Locust Necktown, Goose Creek, Choctank River,
Dorset County, Maryland. The village consisted of five
wigwams and two board houses. The few surviving Indians
spoke exclusively their own language among themselves.
That particular tribe called itself Wiwash. Winikako, the
last great Sachem, died about 1720. The tribe consisted then
of more than five hundred souls.#

Captain Smith, in the year 1608, sailed from James River
to the head of Chesapeake Bay. He found the western
shore deserted from the Patapsco upwards. The Tockwoghs
or Nanticokes were fortified east of the Susquehanna to de¬
fend themselves against the Massawomeks, the name given
by the Chesapeake Indians to the Five Nations. And he met,
at the head of the bay, eight canoes full of those Massawom¬
eks, on their return from an expedition against the Tockwoghs.
Two days higher up the river lived the Susquehannocks,
amounting to near six hundred warriors, and who were also
“ pallisadoed in their towns to defend themselves from the
Massawomeks, their mortal enemies.”

In the years 1730-1740, the Five Nations complained, that
the inhabitants of Maryland encroached on their lands. The
treaty of Lancaster, in the year 1744, was held principally for
the purpose of settling those differences, and also the claim set
up by the same Indians to the western parts of Virginia. The
Maryland commissioners there stated, that the Susquehanna
Indians, by a treaty above ninety years since (1654), had
yielded to the English the greatest part of the lands possessed
by Maryland from Patuxent River on the western, as well as
from Chocktank River on the eastern side of the great Bay of
Chesapeake. It would seem from that declaration, that the Nanti-
cokes were, in those early times, included by the government
of Maryland in the general designation of Susquehanna Indians.

To this Canassatego, the Onondago chief, replied, that they
acknowledged the validity of the deed, “ and that the Cones-
togoe or Susquehanna Indians had a right to sell those lands
to Maryland, for they were then theirs ; but since that time,

* Mr. Vans Murray’s Letter to Mr. Jefferson.

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

we have conquered them and their country now belongs to us ;
and the lands we demanded satisfaction for, are no part of the
lands comprised in those deeds ; they are the Cohongorontas
(Potomac) lands ; those you have not possessed one hundred
years, no, nor above ten years, and we made our demands so
soon as we knew your people were settled in these parts.
These have never been sold, but still remain to be disposed of.”

The Five Nations agreed in the sequel to sell their claim to
the lands in dispute on the Potomac as high up as two miles
above the junction of the North and South Branch. It ap¬
pears therefore that the Susquehannocks, whose territory ex¬
tended east of the Susquehanna north of the Nanticokes,
possessed the country west and southwest of the said river as
far as the Potomac. In the course of the conferences at the
same treaty, Gachradodow, another Indian chief, in answer to
some observations from the Virginia commissioners, said,
“ Though great things are well remembered among us, yet we
don’t remember that we were ever conquered by the Great
King, or that we have been employed by that Great King to
conquer others; if it was so, it is beyond our memory. We
do remember, we were employed by Maryland to conquer the
Conestogoes, and that the second time we were at war with
them, we carried them all off.”* *

Evans corroborates these facts in the Analysis of his Map.
He says that the Iroquois gave the finishing stroke to the
Susquehannocks; but that* - Bell, in the service of Mary¬

land, had previously given them - a blow, from which they
never recovered, by the defeat of many hundred at the fort
on the east side of the Susquehanna, three miles below
Wright’s Ferry (now Columbia). Wherefore, he says, the
Iroquois claimed only northwest of a line drawn from Cone-
wago Falls to the North Mountain where it crosses the Potomac,
and thence along the said mountains to James River. Evans
adds, that the Susquehannocks had abandoned the western
shore of Maryland before being conquered, and that the Eng¬
lish found it mostly a derelict.

* Chalmers, in his Annals, p. 249, says that, in 1660, the Susquehanna
Indians assisted Maryland against the Sanadoa (Oneidas), and he
quotes Bacon’s Laws, 1661. The British had no intercourse with the
Five Nations till after 1664, when they took possession of New York.

SECT. II.], ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 55

The author of the Preface to the Treaty of Lancaster of
1744 further informs us, that the residue of the Conestogoes
(or Susquehannocks), who were carried away by the Five
Nations, were adopted by the Oneidas, and, when they had
forgotten their language, were sent back to Conestogo, where
they were then living and speaking Oneida. We find accord¬
ingly, m die of Indians who attended the treaty of Lancas¬
ter in 1742, four of them designated as Conestogo Indians that
speak the Oneida language, and with genuine Iroquois names.
Four others are designated as Canoyias or Nanticokes of Con¬
estogo, where a part had in fact at first removed, and remained
some time before they proceeded to the western branch of the
Susquehanna.

This destruction of the Susquehannocks must have taken
place subsequent to the year 1664, since it was effected jointly
by Maryland and the Five Nations, and probably before the
arrival of William Penn in Pennsylvania (1680). But the
records of Maryland are wanted to elucidate their history.

It appears, however, that a remnant was left besides those
carried away by the Oneidas. A portion probably fled toward
the River Delaware, where they are mentioned by some of the
early writers, and may subsequently have returned to their
abodes. William Penn at an early period, anxious to strength¬
en his claim against the pretensions of Lord Baltimore, obtained a
cession of land on the Susquehanna from the Indians, whoever
they may have been, who resided there. And this was confirmed
in the year 1701, by a treaty made with the Susquehanna and
Potomac Indians, but in presence and under the sanction of an
Onondago Chief. At that treaty Connoodaghtoh is styled
King of the Susquehanna, Minquaes , or Conestogo Indians ;
and those inhabiting the head of the Potomac are called
Ganawese.

Mr. Heckewelder, speaking of the Conoys, says, that they
are the people we call Canais, Conoys, Canaways, Kanhawas,
Canwese and, in another place, j* that the Canai settled at a
distance, on the shores of the Susquehanna and of the Potomac.
Colden mentions, under the year 1677, Canagesse Indians,!
and in 1684, the Cahnawaas,§ meaning certainly the same
people, as Indians friends of Virginia, against whom the Five

* Historical Account, p. 26. f Ibid. p. 74.

1 Colden, Hist. Five Nations, Part I. Chap. iii. p. 38.

§ Ibid. p. 57.

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

Nations had committed hostilities. Indians living on the Poto¬
mac, rather than on the Kanhawa, must at that time have been
under the protection of Virginia. And it is probable that the
Nanticokes, the Susquehannocks, and the Conoys, Canawese, or
Cahnawaas, were but one nation, extending from the eastern
shore of Maryland, across the bay, and North of the Patuxent
to the upper waters of the Potomac.

The final cession by the Five Nations of the lands on both
sides of the Susquehanna lying in Pennsylvania southwest of
the North Mountain, was effected by the treaties of 1736 and
1742. We have no remnant whatever of the language of the
Susquehannocks.

Captain Smith has given a detailed account of the various
tribes found in Virginia, at the time of its first permanent set¬
tlement in the years 1707 and 1709. Exclusively of the
Massawomacs (Five Nations), who are invaders, of the Sus¬
quehannocks who lay to the north of the colony, and of the
Nanticokes and Tockwoghs on the eastern shore and already
alluded to, he mentions four nations or confederacies speaking
distinct languages.

Those which formed the Powhatan confederacy embraced,
on the southern extremity of the eastern shore, the Acomack
and the Acohanock. On the western shore of the Chesapeake,
they extended from the most southern rivers that empty into
James River to the Patuxent, consisting of thirty-four tribes,
each having a distinct name, but speaking the same language,
and amounting together (including the Acomacks and Aco-
hanocks) to two thousand nine hundred warriors, or more than
ten thousand souls. Their settlements extended westwardly to
the great falls of the rivers ; but it would seem, though the
accounts are indistinct, that their hunting-grounds extended
farther west towards the first ridge of hills.

South of the Powhatans, on the waters of the Nottoway
and Meherrin Rivers which empty into Albemarle Sound,
he places the Chawonock and Mangoags ; two Iroquois tribes,
known to us under the name of Nottoways and Tuteloes.

West of the more southerly Powhatans, and extending
from James River towards the Roanoke, were the Monacans,
having several tribes (Massinacack, Monasickapanoughs, &c.)
for tributaries. These Monacans are considered as the same
Iroquois nation which called themselves Tuscaroras.

SECT. II.] ALGQNKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 57

And west of the more northern Powhatans, and principally
on the upper waters of the Rappahannock, were the Man-
nahoks, who consisted of various tribes, differing in language,
and in alliance with the Monacans.

This account taken literally, so far as it relates to the
Monacans and the Mannahoks, is attended with several dif¬
ficulties., The Mannahoks were almost interspersed with the
Powhatans, since they were met by Smith on the tide-waters
of the Rappahannock. And the lower town of the Monacans
on James River appears to have been immediately above
the falls. Lawson says that the well-known coal mine above
Richmond was near the Monacan town. It may be that the
Tuscaroras had extended their dominion as far north as James
R iver. But it is not improbable that the tribes, seated above
the falls of James River, embraced under the general desig¬
nation of Monacans, were tributaries of the Tuscaroras ; and
that they, as well as the Mannahoks were, in fact, Lenape
tribes, speaking a different language from the Powhatans,
and, as usual, generally at war with them. We find indeed
that the Susquehannocks themselves, hard pressed as they
were by the Five Nations, were, about the year 1637, carrying
on a constant predatory war against the Powhatan tribe
settled near the mouth of the Potomac. *

The Tuscaroras and other Iroquois tribes, inhabiting the
country south of the Powhatans, will be hereafter noticed.
No specimen has been preserved of the languages of any
of the tribes, .either Monacans or Mannahoks, living west of
the Powhatans. Of the language of these, we have only the
scanty vocabulary left by Smith, with a few scattered additional
words found in Beverly’s “ History of Virginia ” ; but these are
sufficient to establish beyond a doubt, that they were a Lenape
tribe.

The first Virginia settlers maintained an intercourse, often
interrupted by hostilities, with the Powhatans during the life
of the great chief, father of Pocahontas. Soon after his
death, the Indians made an attempt to destroy the infant
colony. Near three hundred and fifty English settlers were
massacred, and more than three fourths of the plantations
abandoned. The English soon recovered, and the contest
terminated in a total defeat and partial subjugation of the

# Bozman’s History of Maryland.

VOL. II.

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

Indians. In the year 1644, they made another effort, attended
with a similar massacre and terminating in the same manner.
According to Mr. Jefferson, the number of warriors of the
different Powhatan tribes was then reduced to five hundred.
In 1676, Bacon, during the insurrection which bears his name,
appears to have completed their total subjugation. From that
time they had lands reserved to them, for which they paid a
nominal tribute ; and they were henceforth considered as under
the protection of the British Government. They gradually
dwindled away, intermarried with the blacks, and have now
entirely disappeared. At least it is not believed that a single
individual remains that speaks the language.

As soon as the British had taken possession of New York,
the governors of Virginia found it convenient, if not necessary,
to secure peace with those Massawomeks, or Five Nations,
whose incursions have been so long formidable to the Indians
living in the vicinity of the heads of the great rivers, particular¬
ly of the Potomac. These Indians were now under the pro¬
tection of Virginia, as appears by the conferences of 1677,
1684, and 1685, already mentioned, and at which Colonel
Kendall, Lord Howard, Colonel Bird, &c., successively attended
on the part of Virginia. Mr. Jefferson states that the whole
of the upper country was obtained by fair purchases, which
must have been from the native Indians taken under the
protection of the colonial government. These, from their
geographical position, could be no other than those mentioned
by Captain Smith, under the name of Mannahoks. The loss
of the colonial records of Virginia compels us to resort to
conjectures, and to the notices preserved in the several con¬
ferences or treaties of Albany and Lancaster.

About the year 1722 a treaty was concluded between the
Six Nations and Governor Spots wood, of Virginia, by which it
was agreed, that the high ridge of mountains, extending along
the frontiers of Virginia, to the westward of the present
settlements of that colony, should be for ever the established
boundaries between the Indians subject to the dominion of
Virginia, and the Indians belonging to and depending on the
Five Nations. Whether the mountain intended was the Blue
Ridge or the North Mountain does not clearly appear. But,
by the treaty of Lancaster of 1774, the Five Nations
recognised for a trifling consideration the British right to all
the colony of Virginia. In the course of the conferences,

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 59

and while that matter was in debate, a speech was delivered
by the Indian Chief Tachanoontia ; a portion of which we
will quote, as it proves by his own declaration, that the more
western Indians of Virginia were Lenape tribes. It must be
premised that the termination j'oonaw, borrowed from the Al-
gonkin lreni (men), was used by the Iroquois, to designate
Indians of the Algonkin language.

“ All the world knows we conquered the several nations
living on Sasquahannah, Cohongoronta (Potomac), and on the
back of the great mountains in Virginia ; the Conoyuch-such-
roonaw, the Cohnoivas- ronovv,* the Tohoairough-roonaw, and
the Kojinutskinough-yoondiW feel the effects of our conquests,
being now a part of our nations, and their lands at our disposal.
We know very well, it hath often been said by the Virginians,
that the Great King of England, and the people of that
Colony, conquered the Indians who lived there ; but it is not
true. We will allow they have conquered the Sachdagugh-
roonawf* (Powhatans), and drove back the Tuscaroraws, and
that they have on that account a right to some part of Virginia ;
but as to what lies beyond the mountains, we conquered the
nations residing there, and that land, il the Virginians ever get
a good right to it, it must be by us.”

The first attempt by the British to colonize North America
was made in the year 1585, on the coast of North Carolina,
at the small island of Roanoke. From the few words collect¬
ed by Ralph Lane and Heriot, in Albemarle and Pamlico
Sounds, and from Lawson5s vocabulary of the Pamhcos, it
is evident that the shores of those Sounds, from the Virginia
line to the vicinity of Neuse River and Cape Hatteras, were
inhabited by Lenape tribes. The Pamlicos were reduced by
a great mortality in 1695 ; J and, according to Lawson, that
particular tribe was reduced to fifteen warriors in the year 1708.

* Here are two names nearly similar, given to two distinct tribes,
perhaps the Conoys of Potomac, and the Kanhawas ot the Kiver

Kanhawa. _ , . , • ,

f Sachdagughs are the same as the Powhatans. (Evans s Analysis.)

| Archdale.

60 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

It is probable however that the Hatteras, the Paspatauks, and
some other small tribes, mentioned by him, spoke dialects of
the same language. They were bounded on the west by the
Chowan and Tuscarora Iroquois tribes; on the south by extinct
tribes of uncertain origin.

Western Lenape.

Under this head we include the Menomonies, the Miami and
Illinois tribes, the Sauks, Foxes, and Kickapoos, and, finally, the
Shawnoes.

The Menomonies or Malominies,* called by the F rench, e( Fol-
les Avoines,” “ Wild Oats,” are seated on the northerly part of
Green Bay, which is their boundary on the east. They are
bounded on the north by those Chippeways, who inhabit the
southern shores of Lake Superior ; on the south by the Win-
nebagoes. Towards the west they join the Sauks and perhaps
the Sioux Dahcota. Their name is derived from the wild rice
(zizania [clavulosa ?] ), which grows abundantly in their country.
The French have occasionally given to the neighbouring Chip¬
peways the same name (Folles Avoines) ; and they have also
extended to both the designation of “ Sauteurs,” from the Saut
or Falls of St. Mary, on account of their visiting it in fishing¬
time. They are first mentioned by the Jesuits, in the year
1669, when they inhabited the same country as at this time.
Their language, though of the Algonkin stock, is less similiar
to that of the Chippeways, their immediate neighbours, than
almost any other dialect of the same stock. As no other tribe
speaks it, and they generally speak Chippeway, it is almost im¬
possible to find good interpreters. It is probably owing to that
circumstance, that they were for along while supposed to have
a distinct language, belonging to another stock than the Algon¬
kin. The appended vocabulary was addressed by Mr. James
D. Doty to Governor Cass ; and some words have been sup¬
plied from Tanner’s Narrative, edited by Dr. James. By the
estimate of the War Department, they amount to four thousand
two hundred souls.

The Sauks or Saukies (White Clay), and the Foxes or

* From Monomonick, “ Wild rice ” ; Monomoniking, “ In the place of
jyild rice.” (Schoolcraft.)

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IRORUOIS NATIONS. 61

Outagamies, so called by the Europeans and Algonkins respec¬
tively, but whose true name is Musquakkiuk (Red Clay), are in
fact but one nation. The French Missionaries on coming first
m contact with them, in the year 1665, at once found that they
spoke the same language, and that it differed from the Algon-
kin, though belonging to the same stock ; and also that this
language was common to the Kickapoos and to those Indians
they called Maskontens.* This last nation, if it ever had an
existence as a distinct tribe, has entirely disappeared. But we
are informed by Charlevoix, and Mr. Schoolcraft corroborates
the fact, that the word Mascontenck means “ a country without
woods, a prairie. ” The name “ Mascontens ” was therefore
used to designate “ prairie Indians.” And it appears that they
consisted principally of Sauks and Kickapoos, with an occasion¬
al mixture of Potowotamies and Miamis, who probably came
there to hunt the buffalo. The country, assigned to those
Mascontens, lay south of the Fox River of Lake Michigan, and
west of Illinois River.

The identity of the language has been more recently ascer¬
tained by the answers of Masco , a Saukie, and of Wahballo, a
Fox chief, recorded in the report of the Rev. Jedidiah Morse.f
The last-mentioned chief says, “ the Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo
nations are related by language ; ” and again, “ There are only
three nations with whom we can converse, the Sauk, Fox, and
Kickapoo nations.”

We have no other vocabulary of the language of those
nations, but that of the Sauks taken by Dr. Keating from the
Sauk chief Wennebea, inserted in his narrative of Major
Long’s Second Expedition.

When first discovered, the Sauks and Foxes had their seats
toward the southern extremity of Green Bay, on Fox River,
and generally farther east than the country which they lately
occupied. The Foxes became particularly hostile to the
French and their Indian allies. In the year 1712, they, to¬
gether with the Kickapoos and Mascontens or Sakies, attacked
Fort Detroit defended then by only twenty Frenchmen. But
it was relieved by the Ottawas, Hurons, Potowotamies, and
other friendly Indians, who, after a long resistance, destroyed

* Father Allouez, Relations of New France, 1666.
f Appendix, p. 122.

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

or captured the greater part of the besieging force. The
Foxes and Sauks, sustained by some of the Sioux tribes, and by
the ( bickasaws, turned their arms against the Illinois, and for
a while intercepted the communication between Canada and
Louisiana. They, together with the Kickapoos, compelled the
Illinois to abandon their settlements on the river of that name;
and the residue of this nation sought refuge, in the year 1722,
in the vicinity of the French settlement at Kaskaskia on the
M ississippi-.*

The largest portion of the territory of the Sauks and Foxes,
even before their late cession, lay on the west side of the
Mississippi. At what time they settled beyond that river is
not known. They partly subjugated, and finally admitted into
their alliance, the lowas, a Sioux tribe, which is stated by Charle¬
voix to have been formerly seated on the eastern bank of the
Mississippi. By the treaty of 1804, the Sauks and Foxes
ceded to the United States all their lands east of that river,
bounded, according to their claim, westwardly by the Mississip¬
pi from the mouth of the River Illinois to that of the Wiscon¬
sin ; eastwardly by Illinois River and the Fox River of the
Illinois, up to the small lake called Sakaegan ; and northward¬
ly by a line drawn thence to the Wisconsin, and down that
river to its mouth.

The Kickapoos by various treaties, 1809 to 1819, have also
ceded all their lands to the United States. They claimed all
the country between Illinois River and tbe Wabash, north of
the parallel of latitude passing by the mouth of the Illinois, and
south of the Kankakee River, the most eastern branch of the
Illinois ; the southern part of it by right of conquest from the
Illinois and fifty years’ possession. But, with the exception of
a tract on Vermilion River, the whole country watered by the
Wabash appears indubitably to have belonged to the Miami
tribes.

The events of the last war with the Sauks are generally
known. According to the estimate, they amount to five thou¬
sand three hundred souls, the Foxes to thirteen hundred, and
the Kickapoos to five hundred. They all now reside west of
the Mississippi.

There is no doubt, says Charlevoix, that the Miamis and the
Illinois were not long ago (1721) the same people, from the

* Charlevoix, passim.

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 63

great affinity between their languages. The same affinity was
observed by Father Allouez, who says that their language,
though of the Algonkin stock, differed much from that of all
the other tribes of that family, and that it was the most difficult
for the Missionaries to understand. The appended vocabulary
of the Miamis is extracted from those of Volney and Dr.
Thornton, both taken from the Interpreter, the. late Mr. Wells,
and with the assistance of the celebrated chief “ Little Turtle.”
That of the Illinois, from a manuscript in Mr. Duponceau’s col¬
lection, is less authentic ; the name of the author, who appears
to have been a French priest, being omitted. He calls it a
“ Pi-lllinois-Mi ” (Piankishaw, Illinois, Miami,) vocabulary,
and considers the three languages as being but one.

The territory claimed by the Miamis and Piankishaws may
be generally stated as having been bounded eastwardly by the
Maumee River of Lake Erie, and to have included all the
country drained by the Wabash. The Piankishaws occupied
the portion bordering on the Ohio. They granted, in 1768,
their lands east of the Wabash to the DelawTares. On the west
they bordered on the Illinois ; the boundary line being the
dividing ridge, which separates the waters emptying into the
Saline Creek and the Kaskaskias River, from those which fall
into the Wabash.

The Piankishaws are the only tribe in that quarter not men¬
tioned by the French Missionaries, who probably considered
them as part of the Miamis. That they were closely con¬
nected is certain. For at a conference, held at Carlisle, Penn¬
sylvania, in 1753, with the Ohio Indians and the Six Nations,
the Miamis or Twightees recommended to the other Indian
nations, and to the English, the infant son of the late chief of
the Piankishaws, whom they call “one of their tribes.”

The name of Twightees is that given by the Six Nations tothe
Miamis, who, independent of the Piankishaws, are subdivided
into three kindred and allied tribes, viz. Miamis Proper, Eel
Ri ver, and Ouitanons or Weas. Though already diminished
by wars, they were still a numerous nation, when first visited
by the French missionaries in 1669; and they continued a long
while in alliance with the French and at war with the Six Na¬
tions. But they appear to have, at least for a while, formed a
connexion with the last-mentioned nation. They sent depu¬
ties to the treaty of Lancaster of 1748, who were presented
by the Six Nations, in order that they might be admitted into

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

the British alliance as they had been into theirs. This connex¬
ion appears to have been dissolved in consequence of the
removal of the Delawares and Shavvnoes to the Ohio. The
Miamis have taken an active part in all the wars against the
United States. They have now ceded the greater part of
their lands, and are said including the Piankishaws to amount
to less than two thousand souls.

The Illinois consisted of five tribes, to wit, the Kaskaskias,
Cahokias, Tamaronas, Peorias, and Mitchigamias. This last
was a foreign tribe admitted into their confederacy, and which
originally came from the west side of the Mississippi, where
they lived on a small river that bore their name.* They were
formerly the most numerous of the western tribes, amounting,
in 1670, to ten or twelve thousand souls, j* But, attacked on
all sides by the Five Nations, by the Chickasavvs, and princi¬
pally by the Sauks, Foxes, and Kickapoos, they were ultimate¬
ly almost entirely exterminated.

Originally they occupied the whole country between the
M ississippi and the Ohio, including both sides of Illinois
River, and bounded eastwardly by the Piankishaws and Mia¬
mis. By the treaties of 1803 and 1818, reduced to about
three hundred souls, they ceded all their lands or claims to the
United States. They had then abandoned every pretension
to the territory west of Illinois River which had been con¬
quered by the Sauks and Foxes. But they included in their
cession all that lay east of that river, as high up as the junction
of the Kankakee and Maple Rivers. The northern part of
that country was, as has been seen, claimed by the Kickapoos
by right of conquest. Their claim to the territory lying south
of the parallel of latitude, passing by the mouth of Illinois
River, was not disputed by any other Indian tribe.

The French had at an early date established themselves at
Vincennes, and at Kaskaskias, and some neighbouring villages on

7 7 o o o

the Mississippi. But the grants of land obtained by them from
the Indians were of very moderate extent ; and the western
tribes, heretofore mentioned under this head, had not before
the present century been disturbed in their possessions. The
diminution in their numbers Was owing to their intestine wars,
and to those of the Iroquois, the Sioux, and the Chickasavvs
against them.

* Charlevoix.

f Relations of New France, 1671.

SECT. II.] ALG0NK1N-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 65

Although the Shawnoes have been well known to us since
the year 1680, their previous history is very uncertain, and the
various notices we have of them difficult to be reconciled.
The first mention we have of them is by De Laet in 1632.
Alter having enumerated the various tribes on both sides of
Delaware River, he says, u some persons add to them the
Shawanoes, Capitanasses &c.” They are mentioned by the
French under the name of Chaouanons, in the year 1672, as
being neighbours and allies of the Andastes, an extinct Iroquois
tribe, lying southwest of the Senecas, by whom they were de¬
stroyed or incorporated in that year.* Their original seats are
uniformly placed, in all the ancient French maps, on the south
side of the Ohio and extending southerly to the Cumberland
River, which, in all the French and English maps, as late as
that of Hutchins, bears also their name. That name which
means “ Southern,” accords with that position. The Sauks
and Foxes say, that they were originally of the same stock with
themselves, and had migrated to the south. f The account
given by the Five Nations corroborates the fact of their having
been in alliance with the enemies of the Senecas, and that they
were but late comers north of the Ohio. In the year 1684, in
answer to the complaint of the French, that they had attacked
the Twightees or Miamis, the Five Nations assigned as one of
the causes of war, that the Twightees had invited into their
country the Satanas, in order to make war against them.J It
is also well known that, when the Shawnoes of Pennsylvania
began, in the year 1740, to migrate to the Ohio, they were ob¬
liged to obtain a grant or permission to that effect from the
Wyandots. And, in a memorandum annexed to the treaty of
Fort Harmar with the Wyandots, of January, 1789, they de¬
clare that the country north of the Ohio, then occupied by the
Shawnoes, is theirs (the Wyandots’) of right, and that the
Shawnoes are only living upon it by their permission.

Lawson, in his account of Carolina, (1708,) speaking of the
erratic habits of the Indian nations, says, that the Savanoes
formerly lived on the banks of the Mississippi, that they re¬
moved to the head of one of the rivers of South Carolina,
since which most of them had gone to the Iroquois country

* Charlevoix. f Morse’s Report.

X Satanas is the name given by the Five Nations to the Shawnoes. —
Colden, chap. V. pp. 69, 70.

VOL. II.

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

[iNTROD.

on the heads of rivers emptying into the Chesapeake. Mr.
Miller, President of the Ebenezer Academy in South Carolina,
has given me the following information. “ My fattier was one
of the first settlers in the VVanhaw settlement. I have heard
him frequently speak of cruel and bloody scenes between the
Catawhas and Shawnees. From what I have heard him
say, the Cherokees, probably at an early period of the settle¬
ment of the Carolinas, occupied a section of country now
partly in York County, South Carolina, and partly in Meck-
lenberg, North Carolina, known in the colonial histories as
Craven County. The Cherokees were driven by the Shaw¬
nees, and the Shawnees were driven in their turn by the
Catawhas.” It is clear that this Shawnoe settlement is the
same which was mentioned by Lawson, and that it was situated
on the head waters of the Catawba or Santee, and probably
of the Yadkin or Pedee.

Lawson expressly distinguishes those Savanoes or Shawnoes
settled on the head of one of the rivers of South Carolina,
from the Savannahs, “a famous warlike friendly nation, living to
the south end of Ashley River.” These Savannahs are men¬
tioned by the earliest Carolina writers and by He watt under
the name of Serannas. That tribe was probably called at
first Savannahs by the European settlers on account of their
vicinity to the river of that name ; and they appear to me to
be the same which was afterwards designated by its true
Indian name of Yarnassees.

M’Call, in his “ History of Georgia,” mentions that, in the
year 1750, a Quaker settlement had been formed west of Au¬
gusta, on a body of land, which had formerly been owned by a
tribe, called the Savannahs, who had been compelled to abandon
it, in consequence of a war with the Lichees, who claimed the
land adjoining them to the southward. Whether they were
a residue of the Savannahs formerly living south of Ashley
River, or of our Shawnoes, cannot be ascertained. It has been
stated to me, on verbal but respectable authority, that some
Shawnoes were for a while settled on the Savannah above
Augusta ; and it is certain, that they were at war with the
Cherokees and received on friendly terms by the Creeks.

Adair, who alludes to those wars between the Shawnoes and
the Cherokees, met, about the year 1740, in the wilderness
a large encampment of Shawnoes, who, after having wandered

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 67

several years in the woods, were then returning to the Creek
country.

We know from Mr. Johnston, the Indian Agent, that a body
of them, who had originally lived north of the Ohio, had, at
some anterior time and from causes not explained, migrated
as far south as the Suwanee river, which empties into the
Gulf of Mexico and is supposed to derive its name from them ;
and that they returned thence, about the year 1755, to the
vicinity of Sandusky, under the conduct of a chief called
Black Hoof. It has been reported, that Tecumseh and his
brother, the Prophet, were sons of a Creek woman married
during that migration to a Shawnoe.

At the time when William Penn landed in Pennsylvania,
they were found in the vicinity of Philadelphia, and have left
the name of one of their tribes (Piqua) to a small river in
Lancaster county. And their name is found in the year
1701, to an agreement with William Penn, ratifying a sale
to him of lands on the Susquehanna by the Conestogo
Indians. It is, however, evident that, at that time, they were
tenants at will under the Six Nations; and they soon after
are found living on a similar tenure on the western branches
of the Susquehanna. Evans, in the Analysis of his Map,
says that their original seals extended from Kentucky river
southwest to the Mississippi, that they were afterwards scattered
into all parts, and that, in the year 1755, they again collected
on the Ohio.

From these scattered notices, it may be conjectured that,
as stated by the Sauks and Foxes, the Shawnoes separated at
an early date from the other Lenape tribes, and established
themselves south of the Ohio in what is now the State of
Kentucky that, having been driven away from that territory,
probably by the Chickasaws and Cherokees, some portion of
them found their way, during the first half of the seventeenth
century, as far east as the country of the Susquehannocks, a
kindred Lenape tribe ; that the main body of the nation,
invited by the Miamis and the Andastes, crossed the Ohio,
occupied the country on and adjacent to the Scioto, and joined
in the war against the Five Nations; and that, after their final
defeat and that of their allies in the year 1672, the dispersion

* The name of the river Kentucky is Shawnoese, and means, “ At the
head of a river.” See Johnston’s Account, 1 Trans. Am. Antiq. Soci-
ety, p. 299.

68 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [lNTROD.

alluded to by Evans, took place. A considerable portion
made about that time a forcible settlement on the head waters
of the rivers of Carolina; and these, after having been driven
away by the Catawbas, found, as others had already done,
an asylum in different parts of the Creek country. Another
portion joined their brethren in Pennsylvania ; and some may
have remained in the vicinity of the Scioto and Sandusky.

Those in Pennsylvania, who seem to have been the most
considerable part of the nation, were not entirely subjuga¬
ted and reduced to the humiliating state of women by the
Six Nations. But they held their lands on the Susque¬
hanna only as tenants at will, and were always obliged to
acknowledge a kind of sovereignty or superiority in their
landlords. They appear to have been more early and more
unanimous than the Delawares, in their determination to return
to the country north of the Ohio. This they effected under
the auspices of the Wyandots, and on the invitation of the
French, during the years 1740 — 1755. They occupied there
the Scioto country, extending to Sandusky, and westwardly
towards the Great Miami, and they have also left there the
names of two of their tribes, to wit, Chillicothe and Piqua.
Those who were settled amongst the Creeks joined them ; and
the nation was once more reunited.

During the forty following years, they were in an almost
perpetual state of war with America, either as British Colonies,
or as independent States. They were among the most active
allies of the French during the seven years’ war, and, after
the conquest of Canada, continued, in concert with the Del¬
awares, hostilities which were only terminated after the suc¬
cessful campaign of General Bouquet. The first permanent
settlements of the Americans beyond the Alleghany mountains,
in the vicinity of the Ohio, were commenced in the year 1769,
and were almost immedately attended with a new war with
the Shavvnoes, which ended in 1774, after they had been
repulsed in a severe engagement at the mouth of the Kanhawa,
and the Virginians had penetrated into their country. They
took a most active part against America, both during the war
of Independence, and in the Indian war which followed, and
which was terminated in 1795, by the treaty of Greenville.
They lost, by that treaty, nearly the whole territory which
they held from the Wyandots; and a part of them, under
the guidance of Tecumseh, again joined the British standard

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 69

during the last war. They are now much dispersed ; the
greater part have removed west of the Mississippi, and the
number of these is estimated at about one thousand five hun¬
dred souls. x

We have not so copious a vocabulary of their language as
might have been expected. That which is appended has
been chiefly extracted from that taken by Mr. Johnston, the
Indian Agent. The other words have been supplied from
Mr. Jefferson’s mutilated manuscript vocabulary, from the
Mithridates, General Parsons, Smith Barton, &c.

IROQUOIS TRIBES.

The northern Iroquois tribes consisted of two distinct
divisions ; the eastern, forming the confederation, known by
the name of Five Nations, whose original territory did not
extend westwardly farther than the western boundary of
Pennsylvania ; and the western, consisting, as far as can be
ascertained, of four nations : the Wyandots, or Hurons, and
the Attiouandarons, or Neutral Nation, north; the Erigas and
the Andastes or Guandastogues (Guyandots), south of Lake
Erie.

When Champlain arrived in Canada, the Five Nations were
engaged in a deadly war with all the Algonkin tribes within
their reach. It is remarkable, that the Wyandots, another
Iroquois nation, were the head and principal support of the
Algonkin confederacy. The extent of their influence and
of the consideration in which they were held, may be found
in the fact, that even the Delawares, who claimed to be the
elder branch of the Lenape Nation and called themselves the
grandfathers of their kindred tribes, recognised the superiority
of the Wyandots, whom to this day they call their uncles.
And though reduced to a very small number, the right of the
Wyandots, derived either from ancient sovereignty, or from
the incorporation of the remnants of the three extinct tribes,
to the country between Lake Erie and the Ohio, from the
Alleghany river to the great Miami, has never been disputed
by any other than the Five Nations.

Their real name, Yendots , was well known to the French,
who gave them the nickname of Hurons. They were called

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

[iNTROD.

Quatoghee by the Five Nations ; and one of their tribes,
JJionondadies or Tuinontatek. They were visited in 16 15
by Champlain, and, in 1624, by Father Sagard. And the
Jesuits, who subsequently established missions among them,
have given, in the “ Relations of New France,” some account
of their language, and ample information of their means of sub¬
sistence, manners, and religious creed or superstitions. They
had, probably on account of their wars with the Five Nations,
concentrated their settlements in thirty-one villages, not extend¬
ing more altogether than twenty leagues either way, and sit¬
uated along or in the vicinity of Lake Huron, about one hun¬
dred miles southwardly of the mouth of French River. They
consisted of five confederated tribes, viz. the Ataronch- ronons,
four villages ; the Attiquenongnahai , three villages ; the Attig-
naouentan, or “ Nation de FOurs,” twelve villages ; the Ahren-
t/oA-ronons, the most northeastern tribe and that with which
Champlain resided, three villages; and the Tionontate, or
“ Nation of the Petun,” the most southwesterly, which former¬
ly had been at war with the other tribes, and had entered the
confederation recently, nine villages.*

The smallpox carried off about twelve hundred souls in the
year 1639. The Missionaries, principally with a view of bap¬
tizing dying children, visited at that time every village, and, with
few exceptions, every cahin ; and embraced the opportunity of
making a complete enumeration of the whole nation. They
give the general result in round numbers, seven hundred cabins
and two thousand families, which they estimate at twelve, but
which could not have exceeded ten thousand souls. f They were
not only more warlike, but, in every respect, more advanced in
civilization than the Northern Algonkins, particularly in agri¬
culture, to which they appear, probably from their concentrated
situation, to have been obliged to attend more extensively than
any other northern Indian nation. The Missionaries had at
first great hardships to encounter, and found them less tractable
than the Algonkins. But, whether owing to the superior talents
of Father Brebeuf, and his associates, or to the national
character, they made ultimately more progress in converting
the Hurons, and have left a more permanent impression of
their labors in the remnant of that tribe, than appears to have
been done by them, in any other nation without the boundaries
of the French settlements.

* Father Lallemand, 1640. Relations, &c.

f Ibid.

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQ.UOIS NATIONS. 71

The only communication of the Hurons, with the infant
colony ol Canada, was by the river Ottawa, of a difficult navi¬
gation interrupted by numerous portages. The Five Nations
directed their attacks to that quarter, cut off the several trading
parties, which were in the habit of descending and ascending
the river once a year, and intercepted the communication so
effectually, that, about the year 1646, the Missionaries on Lake
Huron were three years without receiving any supplies from
Quebec. The Hurons who had lost several hundred warriors
in those engagements became dispirited and careless. They
indeed abandoned the smaller villages and fortified the larger.
This only accelerated their ruin. In the year 1649, the Five
Nations invaded the country with all their forces, attacked and
carried one alter the other the most considerable of those
places of refuge, and massacred all the inhabitants.* The
destruction was completed in the course of the ensuing year.
A part of the Hurons fled down the Ottawa River and sought
an asylum in Canada, where they were pursued by their im¬
placable enemies even under the walls of Quebec. The greater
part ol the Ahrendas,f and several detached bands, surrender¬
ed and were incorporated into the Five Nations. The remnant
of the Tionontates took refuge amongst the Chippeways of
Lake Superior. Others were dispersed towards Michilimackin-
ac, or in some more remote quarters. This event was immedi¬
ately iollowed, as has already been stated, by the dispersion of
the Algonkin Nations of the Ottawa River.

In 1671 the Tionontates, after an unsuccessful war with the
Sioux, left Lake Superior for Michilimackinac, where they
rallied around them the dispersed remnants of the other tribes
of their nation, and probably of the Andastes and other kin¬
dred tribes, which had been likewise nearly exterminated by
the Five Nations. Some years later they removed to Detroit,
in the vicinity of their ancient seats. And, though reduced to
two villages, they resumed their ascendency over the Algonkin
tribes and acted a conspicuous part with great sagacity in the
ensuing conflicts between the French and the Five Nations.

* The two Missionaries, Brebeuf and Lallemand, Jr., were made
prisoners and burnt alive by the Iroquois. Eight or ten Jesuits were
killed in Canada, at different times, Avbilst on their missionary duties.

f Charlevoix says the villages of St. John and St. Michel. These were
names imposed by the Missionaries, and, as appears by the Relations,
both places were inhabited by that tribe.

72 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

Charlevoix, in 1721, writes, that they were still the soul of the
councils of all the Western Indians. Still assuming the right
of sovereignty over the country between the Lakes and the
Ohio, as far west as the Miami, they encouraged the Shawnoes
and the Delawares to remove to the Ohio, by granting to them
the possession, though not the right to the soil, of the territory
west of Alleghany River, bordering principally on Lake Erie,
the Muskingum, and the Scioto. This last river is particularly
mentioned by Mr. Johnston, the Indian Agent, as having re¬
ceived its name from them and belonging to them.

It has been seen, that Pennsylvania thought it necessary to
obtain a deed of cession from the Wyandots for the north¬
western part of the State. The treaty of Greenville was
signed by all the nations which had taken part in the war.
But it was from the Wyandots, that the United States obtained
the cession of the territory, west of the Connecticut Reserve,
lying between the northern boundary line of that ceded by that
treaty and Lake Erie.* Those remaining in the United States,
and till lately at Sandusky, on the Scioto, and near Detroit, are
said not to amount to one thousand souls. A still less consid¬
erable part of the nation, which took part with the British
during the last war, resides in Canada.

The vocabulary is principally extracted from that supplied
by Mr. Johnston, with some additions from Smith Barton, and
from a collection of sentences in the War Department. A
specimen is also given of the ancient Huron from the vocabu¬
lary of Sagard, which would have been farther extended if full
confidence could have been placed in his knowledge of the
language.f

Father Brebeuf was sent in the year 1641, on a mission to
the Attiouandas, who were seated south of the Wyandots on
the northern shores of Lake Erie. But we know nothing of
their language, except that it was a dialect of the Huron.
That tribe was, on account of the strict neutrality it preserved
during the wars between the Five Nations and the Hurons,

* Treaty of 29th of September, 1817, Article V. The Miami of
Lake Erie, and its branch, the St. Mary’s, are there specified as their
western boundary. The St. Mary’s was to its mouth the line
between them and the Miamis.

f Since this paper was completed, I have been informed that there
is a vocabulary and grammar of the Wyandot language in the li¬
brary of Yale College. Mr. Johnston’s Vocabulary is contained in
1 Trans. Am. Antiq. Society, p. 292.

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 73

generally known by the name of “ the Neutral Nation.” Their
policy did not preserve them from destruction, which soon fol¬
lowed that of their kindred tribe. The only further notice we
have of them is, that, in the year 1669, Father Fremin, whilst
on an unsuccessful mission amongst the Five Nations, came to
a village named Gandougarac, inhabited by a remnant of that
nation and by some Hurons, who were living there under the
control of the Senecas.

The Eries, Erigas, or Cat Nation, were seated on the south¬
ern shores of the lake which still bears their name. The
French never had any mission amongst them. We only know
that they were an Iroquois tribe, and that they were destroyed,
in 1655, by the Five Nations. Charlevoix gives the date, and
Evans mentions the fact.

The Andastes or Guandastoo;ues were a more formidable
nation ; and the war of the Five Nations against them appears
to have lasted more than twenty years. Although the French
Missionaries never penetrated amongst them, those who resided
amongst the Five Nations repeatedly allude to the alternate
successes of the war. They saw and conversed with many of
the prisoners, who were always put to death, and ascertained
that their language was an Iroquois dialect. As far as can be
collected from their notices, the Andastes were seated on the
Alleghany River, extending thence westwardly along the Ohio.

Fathe. Lallemand, in the Relation of the year 1663, states
that, in the month of April, eight hundred warriors of the
Five Nations had proceeded from the western extremity of
Lake Ontario to a fine river, nearly equal ( semblable ) to the St.
Lawrence, the navigation of which is free of falls, and which
they descended one hundred leagues to the Andastogue vil¬
lage. He must have meant the principal village, and it could
not have been far from the site of Pittsburgh. The village
was well fortified and the aggressors were repulsed. But,
though assisted by the Shawnoes and the Miamis, the Andas¬
tes were finally destroyed in the year 1672.* It seems
probable that they were a kindred tribe of the Wyandots, and
that which left the name of Guyandot to one of the southern
tributaries of the Ohio.

* Charlevoix,

VOL. II.

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIPES.

[iNTROD.

The confederacy known generally by the name of “ Five
Nations,” called by the French “ Iroquois,” bv the Lenape
tribes Maquas or Menque (Mingos), in Virginia MassawomeJcs ,
in various places by the names more or less corrupted ol
their respective tribes, consisted, as the name imports, ol five
nations, seated south of the River St. Lawrence and ol Lake
Ontario, and extending from the Hudson to the upper branch¬
es of the river Alleghany and to Lake Erie. It has been
doubted whether Hochelaga now Montreal, which Cartier
found, in 1535, inhabited by Indians speaking a dialect of the
Iroquois language, was occupied by the Hurons, or by the
Five Nations. Independent of the much greater proximity
of these, the question seems to be definitively settled by the
declarations of the St. Lawrence Algonkins, who cultivated
nothing, to Father Le Jeune. In the course of his excursions
between Quebec and the site of Montreal, they pointed out to
him several old fields, and informed him that they had formerly
been planted in maize by the Iroquois.* It is therefore certain,
that, within less than seventy years before the arrival of Cham¬
plain in Canada, the Five Nations either wTere driven from
settlements they previously had on the St. Lawrence, or vol¬
untarily abandoned them in order to concentrate their forces
and to be less exposed to the attacks of their enemies.

Their five tribes were, from east to west, the Mohawks,
the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Cayugas, and the Senecas.
The time when the confederacy was formed is not known, but
was presumed to be of a recent date, and the Oneidas and
Cayugas are said to have been compelled to join it. Although
the fact has been questioned, it is proved by the speeches of
the several orators at the treaty of Easton of 1758, that those
two tribes were the younger, and the three others the elder
members of the confederacy. The residue of the Tuscaro-
ras of North Carolina were, after their decisive defeat in
1712— 13, admitted as a sixth nation. And at the treaty of
Easton it was announced to the British, that the confedera¬
tion now consisted of eight nations, the three elder as already
stated, and the five younger viz. the Cayugas, the Oneidas, the

* Relations of New France, 1G36. The word “ Iroquois ” is used
in this essay as a generic term, embracing all the nations speaking
dialects of the same language, and applicable to all those dialects.
It is confined by the French to the Five Nations.

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 75

Tuscaroras, the Nanticokes and Conoys, making but one nation,
and the Tuteloes.* But the Nanticokes and Conoys removed
to the west not long after, and the Tuteloes do not afterwards
appear as a distinct nation.

The Fi ve Nations had already acquired a decided superiority
over the other Indians, before the arrival of the Europeans.
They were at that epoch at war with all the surrounding tribes,
with perhaps the single exception of the Andastes on the west.
That in which they were engaged towards the north, with the
Hurons and Algonkins, was still attended with alternate success
on each side. But southwardly they had already carried their
arms' as far as the mouth of the Susquehanna and the vicinity
of Newcastle on the Delaware, and had become an object of
terror to all the Indians, from the sources of the Potomac and
even farther south, to the Merrimac and the Piscataway.

For this ascendency several causes may be assigned. Their
geographical position was fortunate, and they had the wisdom,
instead of extending and spreading themselves, to remain con¬
centrated even at the time of their greatest successes in their
primitive seats. They were there protected against any sud¬
den or dangerous attack, on the south by wide ranges of
mountains, on the north by Lake Ontario. What was of still
greater importance, particularly in savage warfare, they were
without doubt more brave and more ferocious than any of the
other nations. They were also further advanced in agriculture,
in the fabrication of their weapons, and in the few arts of the
Indians, than those of the Algonkin-Lenape stock. On all
occasions they discovered a greater degree ol cultivated intelli¬
gence, in no instances more than in the formation and long
continuance ol their confederacy, and in attacking by turns the
unconnected and disunited petty tribes by which they weie
surrounded.

The superiority of the Iroquois tribes generally ovei the
ALonkins appears indeed incontestable, and to have been part¬
ly due to the great subdivision of these into small independent
communities. They were far more numerous, and yet, every¬
where, we find a prevailing Iroquois tribe, more powerful and
populous than any of its neighbours of another stock ; in
North Carolina, the Tuscaroras ; in Canada, the Hurons ; above
all, the Five Nations. The disproportion between the population

* Takaio’s speech, at that treaty.

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

of these, and that of their enemies taken in the aggregate, is
often adverted to by the contemporary writers. And we are
astonished to find that, at no time, the numbers of their war¬
riors could have amounted to live, and that about the yeai
1670, they were less than four thousand.*

The intercourse with the Europeans, in its beginning, in¬
creased the relative superiority of the Five Nations and gave
them a decided advantage over their enemies. The western
Indians were, for a long while after, altogether destitute of fire¬
arms. The lower Algonkins were indeed partially supplied
by the French ; but in New England every precaution was
taken to prevent the Indians in their vicinity from being armed ;
and the Delawares could not have been supplied before the
arrival of the Swedes. f In the mean while, the Dutch, princi¬
pally intent on trade, and who had a post at Albany as early
as the year 1614, furnished the Mohawks and gradually the
other Five Nations with ample supplies of firearms and am¬
munition.

The Five Nations, without discontinuing their warfare with
the Mohicans and Delawares, soon turned their principal efforts
against those nations of their own stock which were their most
formidable enemies.

The destruction of the greater part of the Hurons (Wyan-
dots) took place in 1649; the dispersion of the residue anti of
the Algonkins of the Ottawa River, in the ensuing year. It is
probable, that the general terror inspired by those events was
the immediate cause of the final submission of the Delawares,
already bard pressed ; and that, being no longer in need of the
fort near Christina, for the purpose of keeping them in check,
the Five Nations evacuated it in 1651, and sold the adjacent
land to the Dutch. The capture of the principal village of
the neutral nation, the incorporation of a portion of that tribe,
and the dispersion of the rest, are stated as having also hap-

* Relations, passim. That of the year 1660 estimates them at only
two thousand two hundred ; but the letters of the Missionaries for that
year are not given. The Relation was written in France, and there
was a motive for underrating them. The Mohawks are uniformly
stated as having seven hundred warriors. And in 1654-5, the three
western nations had eighteen hundred engaged against the Eries
alone.

f Mr. Heckewelder informs us, that the name of Sankhicans was
given by the Delawares to the Mohawks, because they were armed
with muskets.

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 77

pened in 1651. The war against the Eries appears to have
begun in 1653, and to have ended in their destruction in 1655.
That with the Andastes is first mentioned under the dale of
1656, and was not terminated by their final ruin before 1672.
During the same period the Five Nations were, with but short
intervals of doubtful peace, at war not only with the northern
Algonkins and the French, but also with the Mahingans.
And they had carried their arms against the Miamis and the
Ottawas of Michigan as early as the year 1657.*

The acquisition of New York by the British in a short time
gave peace to the Lenape tribes of that province, and generally
to those who were under the immediate protection of any
of the British Colonies. But the destruction of the Susque-
hannocks, and probably that of the more remote western tribes of
Virginia, alluded to at the conferences of Lancaster in 1744, took
place before the end of the seventeenth century. It appeals from
Lawson, that, in 1701, the excursions of the Senecas extended
southwardly to the upper waters of Cape Fear River. And from
that time they had continual wars with the Cherokees and the
Catawbas. Their hatred against this last nation was most
inveterate and mutual. The only condition in the arrangement
of Lancaster with Virginia, in the year 1744, on which the
Five Nations absolutely insisted, was the continued privilege of
a war path through the ceded territory to the Catawba coun¬
try. The most insulting messages of defiance passed between
those two nations, at the conferences of Carlisle of 1753; and
to that war the ultimate annihilation of the Catawbas may be
principally ascribed.

The Five Nations continued their warfare, during the same
period, against the Illinois, the Miamis, and the other western
nations in alliance with the French. But they followed there
the same policy which they had pursued in other quarters ;
and, in the same manner as they had formed alliances with the
Sokokies, the Mississagues, and the Nanticokes, they seized the
opportunities, offered by collisions between the French and the
Twightees or Miamis, occasionally to detach these from their
connexion. The occupation of the intervening territory by the
Shawnoes and the Delawares, which defeated those plans, was

* With the exception of the subjugation of the Andastes, in 1672,
which is given by Charlevoix, all the other dates in this paragraph
are taken from the Relations of New France.

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

[iNTROD.

equally dangerous to the British interest and to that of the Six
JNations. They showed in that instance more foresight than
the colonial governments. As early as the year 1742, at the
same treaty in which they harshly reproved the Delawares for
claiming lands in the eastern part of Pennsylvania, formerly
sold hy them, they remonstrated against the encroachments
made north of the boundary line on the Juniatta and on the
Susquehanna, which were injurious to their cousins the Dela¬
wares. Those remonstrances were several times repeated, and
particularly at the conferences of Philadelphia of the year
1749; and they may be summed up in the speech delivered by
the Mohawk orator at the Conferences of Harris’s Ferry and
Lancaster of 1757.

“In former times our forefathers conquered the Delawares,
and put petticoats on them. A long time after that, they lived
among you, and upon some differences between them and you,
we thought proper to remove them, giving them lands to plant and
hunt on at Wyoming and Juniatta. But you, covetous of land,
made plantations there and spoiled their hunting. They com¬
plained to us, and we found their complaints true. You drove
them into the arms of the French. It is our advice that you
send for the Senecas and them, treat them kindly, and give them
back some part of their lands, rather than differ with them. It
is in your power to settle the difference with them if you
please.” The Mohawk chief then informed the government
of Pennsylvania of a growing intimacy of the Senecas with
the Shawnoes and Delawares.*

The conspicuous part which the Six Nations had acted
during the eighty preceding years, in the contest between the
two great European powers of North America, is well known ;
and that they almost alone were a counterpoise to the general
influence of France over the other Indian nations. They gave
in the course of it repeated proofs of their sagacity. But it
may be doubted, whether the Senecas, on that occasion, had
really anticipated the consequences that must follow the com¬
plete success of the British arms. That there w7as some
division among the Six Nations is certain ; and, notwithstanding
the practice of incorporating the residue of conquered tribes,
their perpetual wars had by this time considerably reduced

* Probably that portion known in the west by the name of Mingos.

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 79

their numbers. It is still astonishing, that they could, in 1756,
have been reduced to twelve hundred warriors, as they are
estimated in Smith’s u History ol New York.” Whatever may
have been the fact in that respect, with the expulsion of the
French from Canada their importance ceased ; it became the
interest ol Great Britain to preserve peace with the other
Indian nations, and the thirst for war of the Six Nations had
no longer any aliment.

With the exception of the Oneidas, they took arms against
America during the war of Independence. But the Mohawks
were obliged (1780) to abandon their seats and to take refuge
in Canada. Those who remained in the United States have
been perfectly peaceable since the treaty of peace of 1783.
They were estimated in 1796 at three thousand three hundred
souls ; * and those in Canada, at about seven hundred. But
according to the late estimate of the War Department, those
in the State of New \ ork amount to four thousand seven
hundred and sixteen, at Green Bay to seven hundred and
twenty-five, beyond the Mississippi to four hundred and sixty-
five, in all about five thousand nine hundred ; which, deducting
the Nanticokes, Mohicans, and Shawnoes mixed with them,
would leave five thousand. If to these we add the Wyandots
and those in Canada, the remnant of all the Iroquois tribes
cannot much exceed seven thousand souls. They amounted
in the beginning of the seventeenth century to forty thousand.
Their destruction has been almost exclusively the result of wars
among themselves, or against other Indian nations. With the
single exception of the Mohawks, no encroachment had been
made on the native possessions of the Five Nations before the
year 1783 ; and their number has not been diminished since
that time.

The history of the Five Nations is calculated to give a
favorable opinion of the intelligence of the Red Man. But
they may be ranked amongst the worst of conquerors. They
conquered only in order to destroy, and, it would seem, solely
for the purpose of gratifying their thirst for blood. Towards the
south and the west, they made a perfect desert of the whole
country within five hundred miles of their seats. A much
greater number of those Indians, who, since the commencement

* Report of Commissioners of the Missionary Society, 1 Mass. Hist
Coll. Vol. V.

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

[iNTROD.

of the seventeenth century have perished by the sword in
Canada and the United States, have been destroyed by that
single nation, than in all their wars with the Europeans.

But, instead of exerting their influence in assuaging the
passions of the Indians and in promoting peace amongst them,
the European governments, intent only on the acquisition of
territory and power, encouraged their natural propensities.
Both France and England courted a disgraceful alliance with
savages ; and both, under the usual pleas of self-defence and
retaliation, armed them against the defenceless inhabitants of
the other party. The sack of Schenectady, the desolation of
the island of Montreal, the murdering expeditions on the
frontiers of New England, are related by the respective histo¬
rians with indifference, if not with exultation. No scruple was
felt in inducing all the Indian tribes to carry on against America
their usual warfare, and to desolate, without discrimination of
age or sex, the whole extent of a frontier of twelve hundred
miles during the seven years of the war of Independence.

The United States are at least free from that reproach. If
their population has pressed too fast on the natives, if oc¬
casionally they have too forcibly urged purchases of land, their
government, ever since they were an independent nation, has
not only used every endeavour to be at peace with the Indians,
but has succeeded in preventing war amongst them to a de¬
gree heretofore unknown in America. And, at Ghent, they
proposed an article in the treaty of peace, by which both
nations should engage, if unfortunately they were again at war,
never to employ the savages as auxiliaries. We trust that
under any contingency, the two nations will act as if the arti¬
cle had been made a condition of the treaty.

The vocabulary of the Onondagas was extracted by Mr.
Duponceau from Zeisberger’s Manuscript Dictionary. That
of the Mohawks was taken by Mr. S. E. Dwight, of New
H aven, assisted by Mr. J. Parish. That of the Senecas w7as
received through the War Department. Mr. Jefferson’s mutila¬
ted vocabulary has supplied part of the words in the vocabula¬
ry of the Oneidas. The others, and all those in the Cayuga
dialect, were taken from Smith Barton.

The southern Iroquois tribes occupied Chowan River and its
tributary streams. They were bounded, on the east, by the

SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQUOIS NATIONS. 81

most southerly Lenape tribes, who were in possession of the
low country along the seashores, and those of Albemarle and
Pamlico Sounds. Towards the south and the west they ex¬
tended beyond the river Neuse. They appear to have been
known in Virginia, in early times, under the name of Monacans,
as far north as James River.

A powerful chief of the Chowans is mentioned in the ac¬
counts of the first attempts to establish a colony on Roanoke
Island and its vicinity. Lawson, in his account of the North
Carolina Indians, enumerates the Chowans, the Meherrins, and
the Nottoways, as having together ninety-five warriors in the
year 1708. But the Meherrins or Tuteloes and the Notto¬
ways inhabited respectively the two rivers of that name, and
were principally seated in Virginia. We have but indistinct
notices of the Tuteloes. It has been seen that they had mi¬
grated to the north and joined the Six Nations, who brought
them forward, in 1758, as one of the younger members of the
confederacy. Evans, in the Analysis of his Map, says that the
Six Nations had allotted lands on the Susquehanna to several
tribes, amongst which he enumerates the Tuteloes from Me-
herrin River in Virginia ; and he further states, that they (the
Six Nations) laid no claim to the country of the Tuscaroras
who had been driven away, but were not so well satisfied as to
the lands of the Tuteloes and Meherrins, whom they had re¬
ceived under their protection. We have no vocabulary of
that tribe, and no knowledge that they still exist under that
name.

It appears by Beverly, that the Nottoways had preserved their
independence and their numbers later than the Powhatans, and
that, at the end of the seventeenth century, they had still one
hundred and thirty warriors. They do not appear to have
migrated from their original seats in a body. In the year 1820,
they are said to have been reduced to twenty-seven souls, and
were still in possession of seven thousand acres in Southamp¬
ton county, Virginia, which had been, at an early date, reserved
to them. J. Wood obtained in that year a vocabulary of their
language from Edie Turner, who was called their Queen. It
wras transmitted by Mr. Jefferson to Mr. Duponceau, who
immediately recognised it as an Iroquois dialect. They had
till then been supposed to be one of the Powhatan tribes of
the Lenape stock. Another vocabulary has been obtained by
the Hon. James Tresevant, which corresponds with that of

VOL. ii. 1 1

82 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

Wood, and from which we learn that the true name of that
tribe is Cherohakah.

The Tuscaroras were by far the most powerful nation in
North Carolina, and occupied all the residue of the territory
in that colony, which has been described as inhabited by Iro¬
quois tribes. Their principal seats in 1708, were on the
Neuse and the Taw or Tar rivers, and, according to Lawson,
they had twelve hundred warriors in fifteen towns. The
Albemarle district in North Carolina had at that time been
settled more than fifty years; and, although some collisions
had occurred, no serious conflict had till then taken place
between the white emigrants and the weaker Indian tribes,
bordering on the sounds and seated near the mouths of the
rivers. The settlements did not extend far inland towards the
Tuscaroras ; and an accession of German emigrants seems to
have been the immediate cause of what that nation considered
as an encroachment. Lawson, who was Surveyor General of
the Colony, was the first victim of their resentment. Having
taken and murdered him, they thought they had proceeded too far
to retreat, and, falling unexpectedly on the inhabitants, mas¬
sacred one hundred and thirty in one day. (September, 1711.)
They were joined by several small adjacent tribes, which
appear to have inhabited the low country between the Neuse
and Cape Fear rivers, the principal of which is called Corees
or Coramines. The colony was still very weak and was thrown
into great alarm. The government of South Carolina sent to
their assistance Colonel Barnwell with six hundred militia and
about six hundred friendly Indians.* He killed or took near
three hundred hostile Indians, principally of the smaller tribes,
surrounded six hundred Tuscaroras, and made with them a
peace which they soon broke. In the autumn of 1712, all the
inhabitants south and southwest of Chowan River were obliged

to live in forts ; and the Tuscaroras expected assistance from
the Five Nations.f This could not have been given, without
involving the confederacy in a war with Great Britain ; and
the Tuscaroras were left to their own resources. A force,

* Two hundred and eighteen Cherokees, seventy-nine Creeks, forty-
one Catawbas, twenty-eight Yamassees. He watt’s Account of South
Carolina. The Indians sent the following year, under Colonel Moore,
are called Ashley Indians by Dr. Williamson.

f Letter of Governor Pollock to the Proprietors, of September, 1712.
Williamson’s History of North Carolina.

SECT. III.] SOUTHERN INDIANS EAST OF TIIE MISSISSIPPI. 83

consisting chiefly of southern Indians under the command of
Colonel Moore, was again sent by the government of South
Carolina to assist the northern colony. He besieged and took
a fort of the Tuscaroras, called Narahuke, near the Cotechney,
between the Taw and Neuse rivers, (March, 1713.) Of eight
hundred prisoners, six hundred were given up to the Southern
Indians, who carried them to South Carolina to sell them as
slaves. The eastern Tuscaroras, whose principal town was on
the Taw, twenty miles above Washington, immediately made
peace, and a portion was settled a few years after north of the
Roanoke, near Windsor, where they continued till the year
1803. But the great body of the nation removed in 1714—15,
to the Five Nations, was received as the sixth, and has since
shared their fate.*

The Tuscarora vocabulary prepared by Nich. and Jas.
Cassick, native Indians, was received through the War Depart¬
ment.

SECTION III.

SOUTHERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI.

The nations still found east of the Mississippi, and south
of the territory formerly occupied by the Lenape and Iroquois
tribes, are the remnant of the Catawbas, the Cherokees, the
Creek confederacy and the Seminoles, the Choctaws and the
Chickasas. Of the other numerous tribes, which appear to
have formerly inhabited the lower country of Carolina, the
eastern part of Georgia, and West Florida, we have but partial
and very imperfect accounts.

In the year 1670, when English emigrants first settled in
South Carolina, four tribes are mentioned near the seashore
between the rivers Ashley and Savannah : — the Stonoes, Edis-
toes, Westoes, and Savannahs. As the Westoes are said to
have occupied the country between the Ashley and the Edisto
rivers,f it seems probable that the first three tribes were but
one nation. They are represented as cruel and hostile, and a
war between them and the white settlers began in or before the

* The account of this war is derived from He watt and Williamson
compared. f Ramsay and Hewatt,

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

[INTROD.

year 1680.# They were at the same time at war with the
Savannahs, by whom they were shortly after totally defeated
and driven away.f The Savannahs remained in the province,
and, according to Archdale’s testimony, were, in 1695, “ good
friends and useful neighbours of the English.” They are also
mentioned by Lawson, who was in Charleston in 1700, as “a
famous, warlike, friendly nation, living to the south of Ashley
River.” The name of Savannahs, most probably derived from
that of the river on which they lived, and which is of Spanish
origin, is there dropped. Instead of them we find only the
Yamassees, occupying the same seats, mentioned uniformly as
having been, from the first settlement, friendly to the English
and hostile to the Spaniards of Florida; and, as no mention
whatever is made of a war with the Savannahs, or that they
had been expelled from the province, it may be inferred that
they and the Yamassees were the same people, and the last
their true Indian name. That of their principal town was
Poketalico, which belongs also to a tributary stream of the
Great Kanhawa. We have no specimen of their language ;
but the name of Coosa Hatchie,J or Coosa River, is certainly
Muskhogee, and renders it probable that they were a tribe of
that nation.

The Yamassees had assisted the English in twTo expeditions,
carried on by Governor Moore against the Spaniards of St.
Augustine and the Indians living between the rivers Altamaha
and Savannah, and again, as late as 1712-1713, against the
Tuscaroras. ^ In 1715, they suddenly attacked the colony,
massacred a number of inhabitants unaware of any danger, and
involved South Carolina in a calamitous and dangerous war.
They are said to have been excited by the Spaniards, to whom
they had previously been remarkably hostile. Subsequent
circumstances render the suggestion probable. But other
causes, of which the principal was beyond doubt the progress
and extension of the settlements, must have cooperated in
forming the general combination, not only of the Yamassees
and of the Creeks and Appalachians from beyond the Savan¬
nah, but also of the Cherokees, the Catawbas, the Congarees,
and of all the tribes as far as Cape Fear River. These

* Chalmers. . f Archdale.

t Halchxe means River , in the Muskhogee language, and Coosa is the
name of a well-known river in their country.

§ He watt.

SECT. III.] SOUTHERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 85

advanced within fifty miles of Charleston, bat were finally re¬
pulsed ; and Governor Craven, with almost all the militia,
marched against the Yamassees and their southern confederates,
defeated them in a bloody engagement, and drove them across
the Savannah out of the province. They were veil received
by the Spaniards, and still committed hostilities on the frontiers.
The warfare continued several years in that quarter. Peace
was restored by Governor Nicholson ; and that which he made
with the adjacent small tribes northeast of Charleston, of which
no subsequent notice is taken, does not appear to have been
ever after disturbed.* It may be that the small tribe called
Yamacraw , which the first settlers of Georgia found near the
site of Savannah, was a remnant of the Yamassees.

Of the small tribes northeast of Charleston, both in South
and North Carolina, we know hardly any thing but their names.
Lawson, who, in 1700-1, travelled from Charleston to the set¬
tlement at the mouth of Taw River on Pamlico sound, left the
seashore at the mouth of the Santee, and proceeded north¬
wardly to the hilly country, and thence eastwardly to Pamlico
or Pamlicough. He mentions the Sewees, Santees, Wyniaws,
Congarees, Waterees, and Waxsaws, as very small tribes, resid¬
ing principally on the waters of the Santee. He left on his
right the Cheraws and Cape Fear Indians, whom he does not
mention. In his progress northwardly he came to an Esaw
town, which appears to have been situated on the Pedee.
The Esaws were the only powerful nation till he came to the
Tuscaroras. They amounted to several thousands, and within
twenty miles of their town Lawson found that of the Kacla-

paws , in which we recognise the name of Catawbas. As no
further mention is made of the Esaws, and no other populous
nation is ever after alluded to in that quarter but the Catawbas,
there cannot, it seems, be any doubt of their identify with the
Esaws of Lawson, who probably mistook a local for the gen¬
eric name of the nation. Between them and the Tusca¬
roras of the river Neuse, he places the Saponas on a branch
of Cape Fear River, f and in their vicinity the Toteros and

* Nicholson became Governor in 1721. He is said by He watt to have
treated with the Creeks and Cherokees. The permanent peace with
the small tribes is inferred from the silence of He watt and Ramsay.

f Or rather of the Great Pedee, which he does not mention, and
some branches of which he evidently mistook for tributary streams of
Cape Fear River.

86 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

the Keyauwees, three small tribes amounting together to seven
hundred and fifty souls, which had but lately been driven away
from tbe west into that quarter. He was shown, near the
Sapona town, the graves of seven Indians “ lately killed by the
Sinnegars or Jennitos,” ( Senecas or Oneidas,) and the three
tribes had determined to unite in one town for their better se¬
curity.* East of them and west of the Tuscarcras, he mentions
the Sissipahaus on the waters of Cape Fear River, and the Enoes
on a branch of the Neuse. Witli the exception of the Ca-
tawbas, we have not the least knowledge of the language of
any of those tribes.

Lawson has also given an enumeration of the tribes inhabit¬
ing the eastern part of North Carolina, extending westw7ardly
but a short distance beyond Neuse River. He estimates the
warriors of the Iroquois tribes at one thousand three hundred,
of the Lenape at less than one hundred, of the Woccons at
one hundred and twenty, of all the other tribes, including the
Machapunga (or Maramiskeelf), the Bear River, Connamox,
and Neuse, at only one hundred and twenty. This last num¬
ber appears to be underrated ; and neither the Enoes nor the
Coramines are included. But it shows the insignificance of
the small tribes which have disappeared.

The records of North Carolina would probably throw some
light on that subject. We learn from Williamson that the
Saponas and the Chowans, about the year 1720, obtained leave
to join the Tuscaroras.. The Wyanokes, whom he mentions as
having lived on the river Nottoway and formerly emigrated from
the Susquehanna, were probably a tribe connected with the
Nottoways and Chowans. To the names already mentioned
may be added the upper and lower Sawara towns, laid down,
south of the Dan River, in all the early maps of North Caroli¬
na. In Jeffrey’s map, a tribe called Saluda, is also laid down,
south of that river, near the present site of Columbia in South
Carolina, with a note, that it had removed to Conestogo in
Pennsylvania.

Some detached observations of Lawson may deserve notice.
Buffaloes (bisons) were found in his time on the hilly country
on the head waters of Cape Fear River ; and it is not known
that they were ever seen north of that place, east of the Alle-

* Lawson’s New Voyage to Carolina, pp. 44-47.
f Williamson.

SECT. III.] SOUTHERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 87

ghany Mountains. He asserts positively, that the wolf of the
woods is the Indian dog, that the Indians have no other dogs
than domesticated wolves.* But his most remarkable assertion
is, that the C( Indian women never plant corn amongst us, as
they do amongst the Iroquois, who are always at war and hunt¬
ing.” The reason he alleges for the Iroquois usage was
equally applicable to all the other Indians, without excepting
those of North Carolina.

The difference between the languages of those several tribes
struck Lawson forcibly. He observes that he could find but
one word common to the Tuscaroras and the Woccons, who
lived but two leagues apart. In the absence of vocabularies,
it is now impossible to ascertain, whether most of those several
communities spoke languages radically different from each oth¬
er, or dialects of the same. But we are indebted to Lawson for
those of the Tuscaroras, of the Pamlicos, and of the Woccons;
and they certainly belong to three distinct languages. He did
not suspect that of the Tuscaroras to be an Iroquois dialect, and
that his short specimen of that of the Pamlicos would enable
us to ascertain how far the Lenape tribes extended towards
the south. On comparing the vocabularies of the Woccons and
the Catawbas, out of fifty-one words found in both, sixteen
appear to have more or less remote affinities ; and the Woccons
have accordingly been designated as belonging to the same

O J s o o

family of languages. f

The Catawbas, according to Adair and Ramsay, could mus¬
ter one thousand five hundred warriors at the first settlement
of South Carolina. Lawson estimates them, under the name
of Esaws, at several thousand souls. Mr. Miller says, that
they were originally called Flatheads, and were a terror to the
surrounding tribes. They were able, at no very remote time,
to drive away the Shawnoes from their temporary settlement,

* It is mentioned in Captain Franklin’s first Expedition, that some Cop¬
permine River Indians, having caught a litter of young wolves, kept
several in order to improve the breed of their dogs.

f The following are the most remarkable.

Woccon.

Catawba.

Woccon.

Catawba.

one ,

tonne,

dupunna,

brother,

yenrauhe,

murrundeh.

tiro,

numperre,

naperra,

maize,

cose,

koos,

three ,

namraee,

natnunda,

bread,

ikettau,

koostau,

four.

punnum-punne,purre purra,

house,

ouke,

sook,

water.

eiau,

. eeyau,

snake,

yau-hauk,

y-ah,

Indians, y&uh-h.e,

yayeh,

goose ,

auhaun,

ah- hah,

wife,

yecauau,

yakezuh,

fish,

yacunne,

y-ee.

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

on the bead waters probably of the Santee and Pedee, and,
according to Adair, could still muster four hundred warriors in
1743. Yet they are mentioned by the historians of South
Carolina, only in 1712, as auxiliaries against the Tuscaroras ;
in 1715, as having joined the other northern tribes in the con¬
federacy against the colony; in 1756, as requesting that a fort
might be built upon their lands; for the last time in 1760, as
auxiliaries against the Cherokees. It must thence be inferred

that, excepting the short war of 17 15, they were always at
peace with Carolina. Their perpetual wars with the Shaw-
noes, with the Cherokees, and, finally, with the Six Nations,
may have kept them sufficiently occupied, and compelled them
to remain on friendly terms with the only people, by whom
they could be supp ied with arms and ammunition. Another
cause for their peaceable disposition towards the English, may
be found in the slow progress of the settlements in that quar¬
ter. “ In 1736, settlements had extended partially about eighty
or ninety miles from the seacoast. Between 1750 and 1760,
settlements were commenced two hundred miles from Charles¬
ton by emigrants from Pennsylvania and Virginia. Between
the seacoast settlements and those to the westward, a consider¬
able tract of country was for several years left in the undisturbed
possession of the aborigines.” #

The boundaries and extent of the territory occupied by the
Catawbas, cannot be ascertained, and may not always have
been the same. It is probable that the Cherokees were origi¬
nally in possession of the country on the upper waters of the
Savannah, the Santee and the Pedee. If, as has been sug¬
gested, the Woceons, who bordered on the Tuscaroras, spoke
a dialect of the Catawba language, it must have had a consid-
erable extent, and may have been that of the Congarees, of
the Cberaws, and of some other of the small tribes.f It is
altogether distinct from the Cherokee, but has some affinities

* Ramsay’s History of South Carolina, Vol. I. Chap. vi.
f The Cheraws are said to have joined the Catawbas, and to have
been living amongst them in 1768. (Rev. E Potter’s letter to Dr.
Stiles in the tenth volume of 1 Mass Hist. Coll.) Adair mentions the
Cheraws, Waterees. Congarees, Enoes, &c., as having joined the Cataw¬
ba s ; but I believe him mistaken when he says that they spoke different
dialects. The words collected forty years ago by B. Smith Barton are,
all but one, identical with those of Mr. Miller’s vocabulary taken this
year. (1835.) Barton’s New Views, &c. (Philad. 1797.)

SECT. III.] SOUTHERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 89

with the Muskhogee and even the Choctaw. These did not
however appear sufficient to make it considered as belonging
to the same family.

The Catawbas, enfeebled by their disastrous wars and princi¬
pally by that with the Six Nations, greatly diminished by the
smallpox and the use of ardent spirits, and surrounded by the
progressive settlements of the white inhabitants, have ultimate¬
ly ceded all their lands, reserving only a tract of fifteen miles
square, on each side of the Santee or Catawba River, on the
borders of North Carolina, which, now reduced to ninety-eight
souls, they still occupy. Their vocabulary has been obtained,
within this year, through the care of Mr. John L. Miller,
President of the Ebenezer Academy.

t)e Soto appears to have passed, in 1540, through part of
the Cherokee country. But the Europeans since that time
had not come in contact with the Cherokees, before the set¬
tlement of South Carolina ; and they are for the first time men¬
tioned in 1693, when they complained that the Savannahs,
Esaws, and Congarees took prisoners from them, and sold
them as slaves in Charleston.* It appears that the Yamassees
used to make incursions into Florida for the same purpose.
Governor Archdale, who acted towards the Indians with equal
good sense and humanity, put an end to that practice in 1695.f
The Cherokees sent more than two hundred warriors, in 1712,
to assist the English in the war against the Tuscaroras. Al¬
though their name is mentioned, in 1715, amongst the Northern
Indians of the confederacy against Carolina, as the whole
number of those who took arms in that quarter were estimated
at only six hundred, it is not probable that they took a very
active part in that conflict. Governor Nicholson established
friendly relations with them, which were confirmed by the
solemn treaty of 1730, negotiated by Alexander Cummings,
and which secured peace for thirty years.]:

In the beginning of the seven years’ war, they acted as
auxiliaries to the British, and assisted at the capture of Fort
Duquesne. On their return home, they committed some dep¬
redations in Virginia, which were not tamely submitted to ; and

* He watt.

VOL. 11.

f Ibid.

I Hewatt and Ramsay*

90 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

several of their warriors were killed. The proper steps
to pacify them were not taken ; and a war ensued equally
calamitous to both parties. It became necessary to bring
British troops from the north ; two expeditions were made into
their country, and peace was restored in 1761. They took
arms on the British side during the war of Independence, and,
although some prior treaties intervened, partial hostilities con¬
tinued several years after 1783 ; and peace was not secured
till the treaty of Holston in 1791. By this treaty a territory on
which white settlers had encroached, was restored to them.
From that time they have ever been at peace with the United
States ; and, during the last war with Great Britain, they as¬
sisted America, as auxiliaries, against the Creeks.

The territory of the Cherokees, Chelakees, or more proper¬
ly Tsalakies, extended north and south of the southwesterly
continuation of the Appalachian mountains, embracing on the
north the country on Tennessee or Cherokee River and its
tributary streams, from their sources down to the vicinity of the
Muscle Shoals, where they were bounded on the west by the
Chicasas. The Cumberland mountain may be considered as
having been their boundary on the north ; but since the country
has been known to us, no other Indian nation but some small
bands of Shawnoes, had any settlement between that mountain
and the Ohio. On the west side of the Savannah they were
bounded on the south by the Creeks, the division line being
Broad River and generally along the thirty-fourth parallel of
north latitude. On the east of the Savannah, their original
seats embraced the upper waters of that river, of the Santee
and probably of the Yadkin, but could not have extended
as far south as the thirty-fourth degree of north latitude. They
were bounded on the south, in that quarter, probably by Musk-
hogee tribes in the vicinity of the Savannah, and farther east
by the Catawbas.

The Cherokees, like other Indian nations, were almost always
at war with some of the adjacent tribes. They had probably
contributed to the expulsion of the Shawnoes from the country
south of the Ohio, and appear to have been perpetually at war
with some branch or other of that erratic nation.* They

# The last settlement of the Shawnoes south of the Ohio was at
Bull’s Town on the Little Kenhawa. They were obliged to abandon
it about the year 1770, on account of the repeated attacks of small
Cherokee parties.

SECT. III.] SOUTHERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 91

had also long-continued hostilities with the Six Nations, which
do not seem to have been conducted with much vigor on either
side, and were terminated about the years 1744-1750, through
the interference of the British government. It appears by an
answer sent by them at the conferences of Carlisle of 1753,
to a previous message of the Delawares, that they had at a
former period entertained amicable relations with that tribe.
They express in it friendly dispositions, say that they had not
heard from the Delawares for a long time, and call them
nephews.*

The country of the Cherokees was strong ; they formed
but one nation, and they do not appear to have been materially
injured by their Indian wars. It would seem, that since they
came in contact with the Europeans, and notwithstanding suc¬
cessive cessions of part of their territory, their number, at least
during the last forty years, has been increased. Their war¬
riors were estimated at two thousand three hundred in the year
1762, by Adair, who adds, that he was informed that forty
years before they had six thousand. According to a late
estimate of the Indian Department, they now amount to
fifteen thousand souls, including those who have already re¬
moved beyond the Mississippi, and exclusively of about
twelve hundred negroes in their possession. The progress of
civilization amongst them will be hereafter adverted to. We
abstain from any observation on recent transactions connected
with the intended removal of the whole tribe beyond the Mis¬
sissippi, this being the subject of pending negotiations, which,
it is hoped, may be attended with a result satisfactory to all
parties.

The vocabularies of their language are amongst the most
authentic we have of any Indian nation. The appended com¬
parative vocabulary was entirely written by Mr. Boudinot, or
Mr. Ridge, Jun., both native Cherokees, who speak English as
if it were their mother tongue. The Rev. Mr. Worcester

has also aided our enquiries in that quarter.

Dr. Barton thought that the Cherokee language belonged
to the Iroquois family ; and, on this point, I am inclined to the
same opinion. The affinities are few and remote ; but there

* MS. papers of the late John Montgomery of Carlisle, given to me,
with sundry other interesting Indian documents, by his son, the late
John Montgomery, of Baltimore.

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

is a similarity in the general termination of syllables, in the
pronunciation and accent, which has struck some of the native
Cherokees. We have not a sufficient knowledge of the gram¬
mar, and generally of the language of the Five Nations, or of
the Wyandots, to decide that question. But a particular char¬
acter of the Cherokee has been disclosed by Guess’s syllabic
alphabet.

Sequoyah, or Guess, as he is commonly called, is a native
Cherokee, unacquainted with the English language. He saw
books in the missionary schools, and was informed that the
characters represented the words of the spoken language.
Not understanding how this was done, he undertook to make
characters of his own for the Cherokee, and at first attempted
to have a distinct one for each word. He soon saw that the
number would be such as to render that plan impracticable ;
and discovering that, although the Cherokee is eminently poly¬
syllabic, the same syllables variously combined perpetually
recurred in different words, he concluded to have a character
for each syllable. This he did by listening, with a view to his
object, to every discourse held in his hearing, and noting in his
own way every new syllable. In a short time he produced
his syllabic alphabet consisting of only eighty-five characters,
through which he was enabled to teach within three weeks
every Cherokee, old or young, who desired it, how to write his
own language. That alphabet has superseded ours. Several
books and a newspaper called the “ Phoenix,” edited by Mr.
Boudinot, have been published with those characters ; and the
Cherokees universally use them when writing in their own
tongue. When the first imperfect copy of that alphabet was
received at the War Department, it appeared incredible that a
language, known to be copious, should have but eighty-five sylla¬
bles. The examination of a Cherokee spelling-book, published
in our characters by the Missionaries, explained what seemed
to be a mystery.

It was found that every Cherokee syllable ended in a vocal
or nasal sound, and that there were no other double con¬
sonants but tl or dl , and ts, and combinations of s with
four or five different consonants. The lano;ua«;e has twelve
consonants including A, viz. g or A:, A, l, m, n, qu , d or
t, dl or tl, ts, w, y, s ; five vowels, viz. a, e, i, o, u ; and
a nasal ung. It is obvious, that, multiplying the number of
consonants (including the tl), by the six vowels (including the
pasal), and adding to the product the said six vowels, each of

SECT. III.] SOUTHERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 93

which is occasionally a syllable, you have the whole number of
possible syllables in the language, those excepted which result
from the combinations of s united to another following conso¬
nant, with the six vowels. It would have required about
thirty additional characters, if Guess, adhering to his principle,
had made a new one for each such combination, (sta, ste, &c.,
spa , spe, &c.) He gave a strong proof of talent, in discover¬
ing that he might dispense with those thirty, by making for the
s a distinct character.* It wanted but one step more, and
to have also given a distinct character to each consonant, to
reduce the whole number to sixteen, and to have had an alpha¬
bet similar to ours. In practice, however, and as applied to
his own language, the superiority of Guess’s alphabet is mani¬
fest, and has been fully proved by experience. You must
indeed learn and remember eighty-five characters instead of
twenty-five. But this once accomplished, the education of the
pupil is completed, he can read, and he is perfect in his ortho¬
graphy without making it the subject of a distinct study. The
boy learns in a few weeks that which occupies two years of the
time of ours. It is that peculiarity in the vocal or nasal ter¬
mination of syllables and that absence of double consonants,
more discernible to the ear than to the eye, which were alluded
to, when speaking of some affinity in that respect between the
Cherokee and the Iroquois languages.

It is true that the original idea of expressing sounds by
characters was suggested to Guess by our books ; it must be
admitted that his plan would have failed if applied to perhaps
any other language than the Cherokee ; and it is doubtful
whether, in such case, he would have ascended to the discovery
of one character for each analyzed sound. But it cannot be
denied that this untaught Indian, in what he has performed, has
exhibited a striking instance of the native intelligence of his race.f

* When Guess subsequently explained the process of his invention,
he said that what had cost him most labor was the hissing sound. Guess’s
characters amount to eighty-five, viz. seventy-seven as above stated,
less one, the syllable mung not appearing in the language. Finding
that occasionally k Avas pronounced g; d like £; and tAvo distinct as¬
pirations connected with na , he has added eight characters representing
the sounds s , ka, hna, ncih, ta , te, ti, tla.

f Although this syllabic alphabet has been published several times,
it has been thought consistent Avith the object of this essay to annex
a correct copy of it. — See Appendix.

94 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

In the year 1732, when Georgia was first settled, the terri¬
tory of the Creek confederacy, including at that time the
Seminoles, was bounded on the west by Mobile River, and
by the ridge that separates the waters of the Tombigbee from
those of the Alabama, the ordinary though contested boundary
between them and the Choctaws * ; on the north by the Chero-
kees ; on the northeast by the Savannah ; on every other quarter
by the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. It is believed that
at the end of the seventeenth century, the Creeks occupied,
south of the thirty-fourth degree of north latitude, the eastern

as well as the western banks of the Savannah.

- * /

It is not possible to ascertain when the confederacy was con¬
solidated to that extent. During the forty preceding years,

we find the Indians between Savannah River and St. Au-

gustine, on various occasions, divided amongst themselves and
taking adverse parts in the conflicts between the Spaniards of
Florida and the English settlers of South Carolina. It may
be, that, as has been seen recently, the contending European
powers drew to their respective sides different portions of the
confederacy. But we cannot ascertain whether, by the names
of Appalachians and Creeks, both of which occur in Hewatt and
other early writers, distinct tribes are designated. It is proba¬
ble that the appellation of Appalachians was geographical and
applied to the Indians living on the Appalachicola, or Chatahoo-
chee River, as the name of Creeks seems to have been given
from an early time to those inhabiting generally the country
adjacent to the river Savannah.

The Creek confederacy now consists of several tribes speak¬
ing different languages. The Muskhogees are the prevailing
nation, amounting to more than seven eighths of the whole.
The Hitchittees who reside on the Chatahoochee and Flint
rivers, though a distinct tribe, speak a dialect of the Muskho-
gee. The Seminoles or Isty-semole, (“ wild men,”) who inhabit
the peninsula of Florida, are pure Muskhogees, who have
gradually detached themselves from the confederacy, but who
were still considered as members of it, till the United States
treated with them as with an independent nation. The name
of Seminoles was given to them, on account of their being
principally hunters and attending but little to agriculture. A

* According to Adair, the river Coosa was the boundary in his
time.

SECT. I IT .] SOUTHERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 95

vocabulary is wanted in order to prove conclusively the entire
identity of their language with the Muskhogee.

There is some diversity in the accounts given hy the Musk-
hogees of their origin. The chiefs of the delegation, who
attended at Washington in the year 1826, agreed that the
prevailing tradition amongst them was, that the nation had
issued out of a cave near Alabama River. The Hitchittees
said that their ancestors had fallen from the sky. These modes
of speaking, common to several of the tribes, only show that
they have lost the recollection of any ancient migration, and
that they consider themselves as aborigines. Independent of
the ancient division into families or clans, which will be here¬
after adverted to, Mr. Mitchell, a former Indian agent, said
that there was, at no distant time, a political division of the
nation into four principal towns or tribes, viz. the Cussetah,
the Cowetah, the Tukawbatchie, and the Oscoochee, to which
the Creeks, though now dispersed throughout the whole of their
country, still respectively belong. This division, however,
whether geographical or political, has no connexion with the
distinction of languages.

The Uchees and the Natches, who are both incorporated in
the confederacy, speak two distinct languages altogether dif¬
ferent from the Muskhogee. The Natches, a residue of the
well-known nation of that name, came from the banks of the
Mississippi, and joined the Creeks less than one hundred years
ago. The original seats of the Uchees- were east of the Coosa
and probably of tbe Chatahoochee ; and they consider them¬
selves as the most ancient inhabitants of the country. They
may have been the same nation which is called Apalaches in
the accounts of De Soto’s expedition, and their towns were till
lately principally on Flint River. It appears, however, certain
that, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, they were, at
least in part, seated on the western banks of the Savannah.
It has already been seen that, in 1736, they claimed the coun¬
try below and above Augusta. In Jeffrey’s Map they are
laid down in the same manner, but with a note that those
settlements had been deserted in 1715. This was the year of
the signal defeat of the Yamassees, who were assisted by the
Creeks. The Yamassees were driven across the river ; and
it is probable that the Uchees were amongst their auxiliaries,
and that, weakened by this defeat, they found it safer to re¬
move to a greater distance from the English settlements, to¬
wards Flint River.

96 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

It has been ascertained that two other small tribes intimately
connected together, to wit, the Alibamons and the Coosadas or
Quesadas, who reside near the river Talapoosa, also speak a
language or a dialect distinct from that of the Muskhogees ;
but its vocabulary has not been obtained. The Talapoosa and
the Coosa form by their junction Alabama River ; and the
Alibamons must certainly be the residue of the nation of that
name, mentioned by the French writers as living in the vicinity
of the old French fort on the Alabama. These five languages,
the Muskhogee and the Hitchittee, the Ucliee, the Watches,
and the Alibamon or Coosada are, it is believed, the only ones
spoken by the different tribes of the Creek confederacy. The
Appalachicolas, with whom a separate treaty has recently been
made by the United States, are a portion of the Seminoles,
residing west of St. Mark’s near the mouth of the Appalachicola
or Chatahoochee River. It may be here observed, that, al¬
though we have no vocabulary of the Piankishaws and of the
Kickapoo, it is fully ascertained that they respectively speak
dialects of the Miami and of the Saukee. The Alibamons
are the only existing tribe, east of the Mississippi, of whose
language we have no positive knowledge, and cannot say
whether it is peculiar to them, or belongs to the same stock as
some of the other tribes. I incline to the opinion that it is a
dialect of the Choctaw, or Muskhogee.

Although partial and transient collisions with the Creeks
occurred subsequent to the settlement of Georgia, no actual
war with them took place for near fifty years. They took an
active part in that of the Revolution against the Americans,
and continued their hostilities till the treaty concluded at Phila¬
delphia, in 1795. They then remained at peace eighteen
years ; but, at the beginning of the last war with Great Britain,
a considerable portion of the nation, excited, it is said, by
Tecumseh, and probably receiving encouragement from other
quarters, took arms without the slightest provocation, and at
first committed great ravages in the vicinity of their western
frontier. They received a severe chastisement ; and the de¬
cisive victories of General Jackson at that time, and some
years later over the Seminoles, who had renewed the war,
have not only secured a permanent peace with the Southern
Indians, but, together with the progress of the settlements, have
placed them all under the absolute control of the United
States. The Creeks and Seminoles after some struggles

SECT. III.] SOUTHERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 97

amongst themselves have ceded the whole of their territory,
and accepted in exchange other lands beyond the Mississippi.
Their number is estimated at twenty-eight thousand ; of whom
about twenty-three thousand are Muskhogees proper, two thou¬
sand four hundred Seminoles, twelve hundred Uchees, six
hundred Hitchittees, five hundred Alibamons and Quesadas,
and three hundred Natches.

We have copious vocabularies of the Muskhogee ; one ob¬
tained by the late Mr. Hawkins, and transmitted by Mr. Jeffer¬
son to the American Philosophical Society ; two others taken
at my request in 1825-6, by Mr. Ridge, Colonel Hambly,
and Mr. Denny, from two distinct Muskhogee delegations then
at Washington; a fourth since transmitted by the Rev. L.
Compere, a Methodist missionary to that nation. The com¬
parative vocabulary is extracted from those several sources. Its
form did not permit me to give the several variations, which are
more numerous than in the different vocabularies of any other
tribe ; and it is not improbable that they arise from actual vari¬
eties of dialects, rather than from errors of the persons who
collected the vocabularies. Those words have been selected
which had the greatest number of authorities in their favor.
As Hawkins’s vocabulary differed most from the other, a separ¬
ate specimen taken exclusively from that has been appended.
The small specimen of the Hitchittee was obtained at the same
time from a chief of that tribe by Mr. Ridge.

The Uchee language is the most guttural, uncouth, and
difficult to express with our alphabet and orthography of any
of the Indian languages within our knowledge. The vocabu¬
lary here given is extracted from one taken by Dr. Ware,
in Mr. Duponceau’s collection, and from another obtained by
Mr. Ridge from an Uchee chief at Washington. Mr. Ridge had
probably the best Indian ear, but was not so correct in his Eng¬
lish orthography. The Natches vocabulary I took myself from
Is-ah-laktih, an intelligent chief of the remnant of that nation.*

* The vowels a, e, i , o, and the diphthong ie , are, in that vocabulary
and in the Muskhogee words marked G., to be pronounced as in French ;
the u is the short one of but , nut ; the zh is the French j ; the oo, y,
and all the consonants as in English ; the g, always hard. The Uchee
and Hitchittee words taken by Mr. Ridge are, as well as Mr. Haw¬
kins’s and Mr. Compere’s Muskhogee Avords, written in conformity
with the English orthography.

VOL. II.

98 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

De Soto was the first European who discovered the Mississip¬
pi. He crossed it in the year 1541, near the thirty-fifth degree
of north latitude, and after his death the remnant of his com¬
panions, reduced to about three hundred, descended it to its
mouth, and with their frail barks were fortunate enough to
reach Panuco on the Mexican coast. Although the Spaniards
became thus early acquainted with that large river, and their
ships must have passed annually in sight of its mouth, it re¬
mained unknown for one hundred and fifty years after De Soto’s
expedition ; and the river was on that account designated by
the name of a Rio Escondido.” Father Marquette and M.
Joliette, in the year 1673, reached it by the way of the Fox
Ri ver of Michigan and of the Wisconsin. Ten years later
La Salle descended it to its entrance into the sea.* But,
having sailed from France with the intention of forming a
settlement on its banks, he passed by its mouth in 1685, with¬
out recognising it, and landed in the Bay of St. Bernard at the
bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. In his attempt to reach thence
the Mississippi by land, he was murdered by his own people ;
it was only in March, 1699, that D’Iberville entered the river
from the sea f ; and the French, who had first established
themselves at the mouth of the Mobile and at Biloxi, did not
lay the foundation of New Orleans till the year 1717.

The seashore from the Mobile to the Mississippi, and the
banks of that river, were then inhabited by several small tribes,
of which the Natches were the principal. All the rest of the
country from the Gulf of Mexico to Cumberland River, if not to
the Ohio, bounded on the west by the Mississippi and on the east
by the Creeks and the Cherokees, was inhabited by the Choc¬
taws and the Chicasas, two distinct nations, but of the same

# He reached the sea on the 7th of April, 1683. See Tonti’s re¬
lation in the fifth volume of “Voyages au Nord.” Tonti was the
friend and companion of La Salle, and his relation of the inland ex¬
peditions of that enterprising traveller is the most authentic we have,
though disfigured by embellishments in very bad taste, introduced by
the Paris publisher. The only good relation of La Salle’s last voy¬
age is that of Joutel.

f A British ship, probably that mentioned by Dr. Cox in his “ Carola-
na,” entered the river in September of the same year, and ascended
it to the place thence called English Town. (Charlevoix). There is
no evidence that supports the assertion, that the river had formerly
been visited by English vessels.

SECT. III.] SOUTHERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 99

stock, and speaking, with but few varieties, the same lan¬
guage.

The Chicasas occupied the northern, and the Choctaws the
southern part of that territory. The Chicasas were warlike
and in a state of hostility with the Cherokees, the Illinois, the
Arkansas, and occasionally even with the Choctaws. The
Arkansas and especially the Illinois were the steadfast allies of
the French. Enterprising British traders from South Carolina
reached at an early date the Chicasa country. And owing to
those two causes, they became the firm allies of the English,
and the inveterate enemies of the French. It was in vain that
these invaded their territory, in 1736, by the Tombigbee, and
in 1740, from the Mississippi. The Chicasas repelled the in¬
vaders and granted at last only a precarious peace. They
adhered to the British during the war of Independence ; but
they have never committed any hostilities against the Ameri¬
cans since the year 1783.

Their continued wars had considerably lessened their num¬
bers. Tonti, the first European who met with them, but who
had no opportunity of ascertaining their number, estimated their
warriors, in 1682, at two thousand. Adair, who resided many
years amongst them, says, that in 1763, they were reduced to
four hundred and fifty ; which would give at most a popula¬
tion of eighteen hundred souls. According to the late War
Department estimate they now amount to five thousand four
hundred and twenty-nine. There is no doubt of the increase of
the southern Indians during the last forty years ; but it is proba¬
ble that Adair had underrated their number. An arrangement
is in train for a cession of their territory in exchange for lands
west of the Mississippi.

The vocabulary of their language was written in my pres¬
ence by an intelligent boy of their nation, who was living with
Colonel McKinney, then at the head of the Indian bureau of
the War Department, and who spoke and wrote English with
great facility. His orthography may in some respects be
defective ; but it is, on the whole, one of the most authentic
vocabularies we possess. Although the separation of the
Chicasas from the Choctaws must have taken place long ago,
the language is still almost the same, and differs more in the
pronunciation than in the words. They understand each other
without interpreters. The tradition of the Chicasas is that
they came from the west. The Choctaws have lost the

100

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

recollection of a former migration, and, like the Muskhogees,
say that they came from under the ground.*

The Choctaws, properly Chahtas, called also “Flat Heads/’
on account of the practice, common to several other tribes, of
flattening the head in infancy by artificial means, are a much
more numerous but less warlike people. Adair, whose estimate
of the character of the Indians depends on their political con¬
nexions with the English or French, represents the Choctaws
as the most worthless of any of the southern tribes. The
early French writers complain of their fickleness, and that they
could not place confidence in their fidelity. According to
Bernard Romans, they were farther advanced in civilization
than any of their neighbours, less cruel towards their prisoners,
and applying more to agriculture than to the chase. “ The
Choctaws may more properly be called a nation of farmers than
any savages 1 have met with.” “ They help their wives in the
labor of the fields and many other works.” “ Their way of
life in general may be called industrious ; they will do what no
other uncompelled savage will do, that is, work in the field to
raise grain.” f It .is certain that the Europeans have no right
to complain of them. They have had successively for neigh¬
bours the French, the Spanish, the English, and the Americans ;
and they have never been at war with any of them. Their
principal wars have been with the Creeks, always defensive
and not very sanguinary. In a conflict of six years (1765 -
1771), they lost about three hundred people. % B. Romans
estimated their warriors, in 1772, at less than three thousand,
which does not differ materially from Adair’s account. Ac-?
cording to the enumeration by the War Department, they now
amount to eighteen thousand five hundred souls. They have
agreed to take lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for
their ancient territory ; and about fifteen thousand have already
removed to that new country.

The Choctaw or Chicasa language is by Du Pratz called
the Molilian, a common language ( langue vulgaire) ; and the
intercourse of the French with other tribes wTas generally
carried on by the means of Choctaw interpreters. A grammar
of the language has been prepared by our missionaries and will

* Bernard Romans and Du Pratz. The latter writer (Hist, de Lou-?
isiane) explains the tradition by supposing that they invaded the country
in great numbers.

f Br Romans, Nat. Hist. Florida. (New York, 17 76.) pp. 71, 83. f Ibid,

SECT. III.] SOUTHERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 101

shortly be published. In the mean while, some of its principal
features have been disclosed in their spelling-book, or may be
deduced from the appended verbal forms and annotations, sup¬
plied by Mr. Alfred Wright, but in which he was (l believe)
assisted by the Missionaries. Similar in its general structure
to the other Indian languages which have been examined, its
system of inflexions is more simple and uniform than any
other ; and the mode of compounding words in many respects
more similar to that used in our own languages. It appears
therefore to be the least difficult to be acquired by an Euro¬
pean ; which accounts for its having been adopted by the
French as a general medium of intercourse with all the other
adjacent Indian tribes. The annexed vocabularies were ex¬
tracted partly from the Missionaries’ spelling-book,* chiefly from
the copious one transmitted by Mr. W right.

The affinities between the Choctaw and the Muskho2;ee
were such as to make it a matter of doubt, whether they should
not be considered as belonging to the same family. The ap¬
pended vocabularies of both are copious, yet not perhaps
sufficient to decide the question. The short comparative one
of the two languages shows in one view the most striking of
those affinities. I think them sufficient to prove a common
origin ; but, in compliance with received opinions, they have
been arranged in the vocabulary as forming two families.

The four great southern nations, according to the estimates of
the War Department which have been quoted and are in that
quarter very correct, consist now of sixty-seven thousand souls
viz.

the Cherokees ..... 15,000

the Choctaws . 18,500 ) 9 * nnn

theChicasas . . 5,500 £ * * ^’UUU

the Muskhogees, Seminoles, and Hitchittees 26,000

the Uchees, Alibamons, Coosadas, and Natches 2,000

The territory west of the Mississippi, given or offered to
them by the United States, in exchange for their lands east of
that river, contains forty millions of acres, exclusively of what

* First edition. A copy of the second improved edition could not
be obtained.

102 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

may be allotted to the Chicasas. Government defrays the
expenses of the removal, pays the value of their improvements,
and allows them considerable annuities.

Our knowledge of those nations, derived from English and
French writers, does not ascend higher than the end of the
seventeenth century ; and doubts have been entertained re¬
specting their population in former times, and the date both of
their first settlement west of the Mississippi, and of the subse¬
quent progress of the Muskhogees towards the Atlantic. We
have attempted to discover, amongst the Indian names of places
or persons mentioned in the relations of De Soto’s Expedition,
some traces of the tribes, which at that time inhabited the
country along his line of march.

The first of those relations was published in 1557,* by a Portu¬
guese volunteer (of Elvas), an eyewitness, who has not given his
name ; the other in 1603, by Garcilaso de la Vega, on the
oral testimony of a Spanish cavalier, and on written docu¬
ments from two other soldiers, who were also engaged in the
expedition. It is extremely difficult to reconcile in all their
details either of the two relations, with respect to distances and
courses, with the now well-known geography of the country.
There is however a portion of the journey which is sufficient¬
ly clear to throw light on the object of our inquiry.

Ferdinand de Soto landed in the year 1539, on the western
coast of East Florida, in the Bay of Espiritu Santo, now called
Tampa Bay, having with him six hundred men according to
the Portuguese narrator, and twelve hundred according to Gar¬
cilaso. He thence proceeded in the direction of the seacoast
to a village called Anhayca, in the Province of Appalachee.
This was situated in the vicinity of a port into which he or¬
dered his vessels, and which, from the position designated,
must necessarily have been somewhere in Apalachee Bay.
We cannot therefore err much in placing Anhayca, in the
vicinity of the Ockockona River. East, and not far from it,
the names of Uzachil and Anille are mentioned, and there is
a river precisely in the same position, which to this day is

# Catalogue of Mr. Rich, who has a copy of the original edition.
The title is “ Relacam verdadeira dos trabalhos que ho Governador
don Fernando de Souto y certos fidalgos Portugueses passarom no
descobrimento da Provincia la Frodida. Agora novamente feita per
hum fidalgo d’Elvas ” Printed at Evora, 1557. Hakluyt translated
and published this work; Voyages , &c. Vol. V. (1609.)

SECT. III.] SOUTHERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 103

called Oscilla, But I have not been able to ascertain whether
this is, either an Uchee or Muskhogee name, or whether it may
not have been subsequently given to the river by the Spaniards
in commemoration of De Soto’s expedition. 1 have been equally
unfortunate in my inquiries respecting the etymology of the
name Apalachee ; whether it belongs to the language of any of
the existing nations, or whether it has been perpetuated from De
Soto’s time. It is certain that the river Appalachicola is known
to the Muskhogees by no other name than that of Cdiatta
Hatchee, or Rock River. The only name mentioned in that
vicinity, having any known affinity with an Indian language, is
that of a village near the sea-port, which in the Spanish
relation is called Ante. In the Muskhogee language autti or
oty, means an island.

De Soto’s officers discovered in the course of the winter an¬
other and better port, sixty computed leagues wTest of Aute.
This was called Ochuse, and must have been either Pensacola,
or the entrance of the Mobile. Instead, however, of proceeding
in that direction, De Soto, on the information of an Indian boy,
determined to march northwardly in search of a gold region.
He left Anhayca in March, 1540, and, in about forty days of
actual march, reached a district called Cofachiqui or Cutifachi-
qui. Twelve days’ march more in the same direction brought
him to Xuala in the mountains ; and this was the termination
of his travels northwardly. The distance from the vicinity of
St. Mark’s to the sources of the French Broad or of the
Hiwassee, both tributary streams of the Tennessee, is about
three hundred and fifty miles in a direct line. This determines
the position of Cofachiqui , which wTas certainly on a river
emptying into the Atlantic, not far south of the 34th degree of
north latitude, on the Oconee, or on the Savannah River. The
statement, therefore, that, according to Indian information, it
wTas but two days’ journey to the sea, is erroneous. Between
Anhayca and Cofachiqui, we find the two names of Achese ,
on a river which the Spaniards ascended some days, and of
Ocute, a fruitful country. Ochis is the Muskhogee name of
the Okmulgee river.* OTceta in the same language means
woman ; and Cohwita in Uchee means man , and is the well-
known name of a Creek town. These detached names afford
but a slight indication of that part of the country having been

* Ochis hatchee , Hickory-leaf river. Rev. L. Compere’s information.

104 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

at that time occupied by the Creeks. But from Cofachiqui to
the Mississippi, we have a continued series of names, which
seems to leave no doubt respecting the several nations along
De Soto’s line of march, from the time he left Cofachiqui.

In seven days’ march due north from that place, he came
to Chalaque , which cannot be mistaken, since it is the proper
name of the Cherokees or Chelokees. From Xuala, his
course was westwardly, bending to the south. In five days,
crossing some bad mountains he arrived at Quatfule ; in two
days more at Canasaqua or Canasanga, and in five days more
at Chiaha or Ichiaha , situated on the bank of a river, and
opposite the upper end of an island. This was an abundant
country, where the Spaniards rested thirty days in order to re¬
cruit their horses. Connesauga is, at this moment, the Chero¬
kee name of a creek that empties into the Coosa at New
Echota ; and Echoy is that of a well-known Cherokee town,
situated, not indeed on the same spot as Ichiaha , but in the
fork of Tugaloo and Savannah rivers ; whilst Ichiaha must
have been on the Coosa, probably some distance below the site
of New Echota. But we have repeated instances, such as
Echota, Coweta, Tallisee, Piqua, &c., of the Indians having
favorite names for towns, which they transfer successively to
their several villages. There cannot, therefore, I think, be
any doubt that the Cherokees occupied at that time the same
territory south of the mountains, in which they were found
one hundred and forty years later. And it is remarkable that
the line, which then separated them from the Coosa country,
is almost in the same place as that which till lately divided the
Cherokees from the Creeks.

After leaving Acoste a short distance west of Ichiaha , the
Spaniards entered the territory of Coosa, through which they
travelled from fifteen to twenty days,* passing through the
populous village of Coosa, and arriving at Tallisee, another
large, fortified, and apparently frontier town, subject to the
Cacique of Coosa, and situated on a rapid river. The two
names of Coosa and Tallisee afford a decisive proof that the
country was then, as now, in the possession of the Muskhogees.
It is equally clear, that, from the vicinity of the last-mentioned
place, until he reached the Mississippi, De Soto was in the

* There is a disagreement here between the Portuguese and the
Spanish relations. 1 have taken the medium.

SECT. III.] SOUTHERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 105

Choctaw or Chickasa country. We find the names of Tascaluca
or Tuscaluso , “ Black Warrior,” a pure Choctaw name derived
from Tushka , “ warrior,” and Lusa, “ black,” and which is that
of the eastern branch of the Tombigbee ; that of the province
of Pafalaya, the precise meaning of which 1 do not know,
but which is clearly derived from the Choctaw word Falaya ,
“ long” ; that of the town of Maville or Mauvila , identical with
that of Mobile, and given by Du Pratz to the Mobilians, a
Choctaw tribe; that of the chief Nicalusa, probably “Black
bear,” from Nitah , bear, and Lusa , black ; and finally that of
Chicasa itself, given to a village situated within the territory
now occupied by the Chicasas.*

We may thence fairly, and as I think conclusively, infer
that the Cherokees, Chicasas, and Choctaws occupied then
nearly the same territories as at the present time ; and that the
Muskhogees were then, as now, seated on the Coosa, to the
east of the Choctaws. But we have no proof of the extent of
their progress toward the Atlantic. It is, indeed, probable
that the seashores of Georgia, as well as of West Florida,
were then occupied by different tribes now extinct. We know
that the Indians of that peninsula were a distinct nation or
nations from the Muskhogees; and that they were subsequently

# I incline to the opinion, that De Soto left the Coosa river at Tallisee,
and marched thence westward to the Tuscaloosa or Black- warrior river,
which he descended a short distance to Maville. It would appear from
the Portuguese relation, that the Spaniards, in about four days’ march
from Tallisee, arrived at the town of Piache, called by Garcilaso, Tus-
caluza, situated upon a great river, which from that account must have
been distinct from the Coosa, and across which Soto carried his army.
The division line between the Creeks and the Choctaws now is, and
probably was at that time, a river or a ridge, and therefore a north and
south and not an east and west line. I think also that De Soto must
have necessarily crossed the Mississippi at the northern extremity of that
immense swamp, which extends northwardly one hundred and fifty
miles from the mouth of the Yazoo River, and covers almost the whole
ground between that river and the Mississippi. It is impossible that
he should have penetrated, or attempted to penetrate through the heart
of that swamp, so as to cross the Mississippi near the mouth of the
Arkansas. It is equally clear from the details given, that, just before
crossing the great river, he was on the northern edge of the swamp.
This determines the position of the place where he crossed, between
the 35th degree of north latitude and the mouth of St. Francis River.
But whether mistaken or not on those points, it does not affect in the
least the proofs of the actual place of residence at that time of the
several Indian Nations.

VOL. II.

106 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

subjugated or destroyed by tbe Seminoles. The Coloosas, tbe
last remnant of those Florida Indians, bad been driven to some
of the Keys lying near the southern extremity of the penin¬
sula. “ Even here the water did not protect them against the
inroads from the Creeks ; and, in 1766, the remnant ol this
people, consisting of about eighty families, left this last pos¬
session of their native land and went to the Havanna.” *

The accounts of the attempt by the French, in the years
1562 — 1 567 ,'|* to make a settlement on the coast of Florida
and Georgia, prove also clearly that the Indians in that quarter,
instead of being united under a confederate government, were
divided into a number of small, independent tribes, always at
war with each other. None of those now remains, unless some
may have been incorporated in the Creek confederacy. The
few words which have been preserved of their language appear,
with two exceptions, foreign to the Muskhogee and to the
Choctaw. Those two are Antipola . Bonnason , by which the
Indians greeted the French, on their arriving amongst them the
second time, and which meant “ Friends.” Itapela in Choctaw
means “ allies,” literally, “They help each other.” J In the
Muskhogee inhisse is “ his friends,” and ponhisse, “ our
friends.

If we were to place implicit faith in the accounts given by
Garcilaso de la Vega of the number of Indians in various places,
we should infer a greater population than was found to exist
one hundred and fifty years later. Considering the sources
from which he derived his information, the proneness of com¬
mon soldiers to swell the number of enemies, and the habitual
and notorious exaggerations of the Spaniards of his time, we
will in that respect give the preference to the more sober
statements of tbe Portuguese narrator, who kills only two thou¬
sand five hundred Indians by the fire and sword at the storming
of Mauvila, whilst Garcilaso swells the number to eleven tliou-

# B. Romans’ Florida, page 291. Fie calls the Keys, Vacos and
Huyso, and represents the tribe as a set of most inhuman wreckers.

f For an able discussion of the places where the French attempted to
make settlements, see Holmes’s Annals, a work of great merit, research,
and correctness.

1 Choctaw Vocabulary.

§ These two words, Antipola , Bonnason , are from Lescarbot. 1
have not seen the original relation of Laudonniere.

SECT. III.] SOUTHERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 107

sand.* In another place, at Cofaqui or Patofa, the last In¬
habited district before the arrival of the Spaniards at Cofachiqui,
the Cacique, who was very friendly, gave them, according to
Garcilaso, four thousand warriors, to escort them and four thou¬
sand retainers to carry their supplies and clothing. It must be
observed that the total amount of their baggage was such, that,
on their departure from Anhayca, each soldier carried his sup¬
ply on his back. On the seventh day of their march through
an uninhabited country, the army was arrested by the termina¬
tion of the path which they had followed thus far. They were
then within twelve leagues of the first village in the province of
Cofachiqui, and not one of the eight thousand Indian allies
could point out the proper direction, which at last was dis¬
covered by the Spaniards themselves. And the Indian chief
assured De Soto that none of his followers had ever been in that
place, and that in their wars with the Indians of Cofachiqui,
those of Cofaqui had never passed over their own frontiers.
Whether any one Indian warrior has ever been found ignorant
of the way to an enemy’s village, hardly one hundred and fifty
miles distant, and through a country offering no particular
obstacle, we are able to judge. According to the Portuguese
narrator, De Soto had demanded only six hundred Indians ; and
when he found himself at a loss which way to pursue, he had
no other guide but a young Indian they had brought from
Appalache, and who confessed that he did not know where he
wras. “The Indians of Patofa (or Cofaqui) had been sent back
as soon as provisions began to be scarce,” though the poor
men showed a great deal of trouble to leave the Christians
before they saw them in a good country. The numbers, as
stated in the Portuguese relation, are not on the whole incon¬
sistent with a population nearly the same as at this time. The
greatest apparent exaggeration is perhaps that of the Cacique
of Ocute sending two thousand Indians to De Soto with a pres¬
ent of some provisions.

Whatever opinion may be entertained of the respective
population of the four great southern nations three hundred,
and one hundred and fifty years ago, it appears certain that.

* Yet Garcilaso did not intend to impose on his readers, or exceed,
according to his knowledge, the bounds of credibility. Born in Peru, he
was deceived by an erroneous analogy, and saw nothing extraordinary
in the accounts given to him of eight to twelve thousand Indians col¬
lected together.

108 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

their habits and social state had not, during that interval,
undergone any material alteration. They were probably as
ferocious, but less addicted to war than the northern Indians.
Those of New England, the Iroquois tribes, the Sauks and
Foxes, had perhaps made equal progress in agriculture ; but,
generally speaking, the southern depended more on the culti¬
vation of the soil, and less on hunting than the Algonkin
Lenape tribes. We find the Spaniards under De Soto feeding
almost exclusively on maize, and complaining of the want of
meat. Two hundred years later, Bernard Romans says, that
near one half of the Choctaws have never killed a deer during
their lives, and that, whilst in their country, he had but twTo or
three opportunities of eating venison in as many months.
Those southern tribes have also remained respectively united
together as one nation. The Choctaws and Chicasas are the
only exception of any importance ; and the Muskhogees, as
has been seen, incorporated, instead of exterminating subordi¬
nate tribes.

Several causes may be assigned for those differences. Sur¬
rounded on three sides by the Mississippi and the sea, they had
less room to wander or to subdivide themselves. Their
country, particularly that of the Choctaws, supplied them with
less game ; whilst, in a more southern climate, a greater
quantity of agricultural products may be procured with less
labor. Yet, although the men may to some extent have
assisted the women in the cultivation of the ground, the
greater part of the labors of the field still fell upon the latter;
and so long as this is the case, the means of subsistence will
continue to be insufficient to promote any but a very limited
increase of population.

The Indians, as individuals, have preserved a much greater
degree of independence than is compatible with a more ad¬
vanced state of civilization. They will hardly submit to any
restraints ; and it is well known that the nominal title of chief
confers but little power, either in war or peace, on their leaders,
whose precarious authority depends almost entirely on their
personal talents and energy. Yet we find that nominal dignity
of Chief, Sachem, Mingo, or King, to have been, but with few
exceptions, amongst all the Indians, not only for life but
hereditary.* But another institution, belonging to all the

* Generally, bat not universally, by the female line. The hereditary

SECT. III.] SOUTHERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 109

southern, and of which traces may be found amongst the
northern nations, deserves particular consideration.

Independent of political or geographical divisions, that into
families, or clans has been established from time immemorial.
At what time, and in what manner, the division wras first made,
is not known. At present, or till very lately, every nation was
divided into a number of clans, varying in the several nations
from three to eight or ten, the members of which respec¬
tively were dispersed indiscriminately throughout the whole
nation. It has been fully ascertained, that the inviolable regu¬
lations, by which those clans were perpetuated amongst the
southern nations, were, first, that no man could marry in his
own clan ; secondly, that every child belongs to his or her
mother’s clan. Among the Choctaws, there are two great
divisions, each of which is subdivided into four clans ; and no
man can marry in any of the four clans belonging to his divis¬
ion. The restriction amongst the Cherokees, the Creeks, and
the Natches, does not extend beyond the clan to which the
man belongs.

There are sufficient proofs that the same division into clans,
commonly called tribes, exists amongst almost all the other
Indian nations. But it is not so clear that they are subject to
the same regulations which prevail amongst the southern
Indians. According to Charlevoix, cc most nations are divided
into three families or tribes. One of them is considered as the
first and has a kind of preeminence. Those tribes are mixed
without being confounded. Each tribe has the name of an
animal. Among the Hurons, the first tribe is that of the
Bear ; the two others, of the Wolf and the Turtle. The
Iroquois nation has the same divisions, only the Turtle family is
divided into two, the Great and the Little.”*

The accounts are not so explicit with respect to the Lenape
tribes. Mr. Heckewelder indeed says, that the Delawares were
divided into three tribes ; but one of them, the Wolf or Minsi,

principle may have had its origin in the primitive Patriarchal govern¬
ment. A chief is wanted in a state of society which is one of perpetual
warfare with the adjacent tribes. Whatever cause may be assigned for
the fact, the most ancient accounts and traditions agree in representing
barbarous people, when first appearing as independent communities,
under a kingly government. The heroic times of Greece, and the petty
kino-s, cotemporary with Abraham, are familiar to all.

* Vol. III. p. 2G6.

110

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

had altogether separated from the other, and was a distinct
nation or tribe, and not a clan in the sense now under consider¬
ation. According to Mr. Johnston, the Shawnoes have four
tribes, the Chillicothe, the Piqua, the Kiskapocoke, and the
Mequachake. The first two, from having given names to dis¬
tinct towns, would seem to he living in separate places ; but
the fact, that the Mequachake can alone perform the religious
ceremonies of the nation, gives it the character of a clan.
Whether the Totem , or family name of the Chippeways, descends
in a regular manner, or is arbitrarily imposed by the father, has
not been clearly explained. But Dr. James informs us, that
no man is allowed to change his Totem, that it descends to all
the children a man may have, and that the restraint upon inter¬
marriage which it imposes, is scrupulously regarded. “ They
profess to consider it highly criminal for a man to marry a
woman whose Totem is the same as his own ; and they relate
instances where young men, for a violation of this rule, have
been put to death by their own nearest relatives,”* But the
Chippeways and kindred tribes are in this manner much more
subdivided than the other Indians are into clans. Dr. James
gives a catalogue of eighteen Totems, and says, that many more
might be enumerated.

The most direct testimony we have of the similarity, of the
institution amongst the northern and southern Indians, is that ol
Loskiel, in his History of the Moravian Mission.f “ The Del¬
awares and Iroquois never marry near relations. According to
their own account, the Indian nations were divided into tribes
for no other purpose, than that no one might ever either through
temptation or mistake, marry a near relation, which at present
is scarcely possible, for whoever intends to marry, must take a
person of a different tribe.”

That a similar division existed amongst the Sioux tribes, had
escaped former observers. But Dr. Say, who resided several
weeks among the Omahaws, informs us, that they are divided
into two great tribes, the Hongashano, and the Ishtasunda.J
The first is divided into eight, and the other into five bands.
Each of these derives its name from some animal, part of an
animal, or other substance, which is considered as the peculiar
sacred object, or medicine , as the Canadians call it, of each
band respectively. The most ancient is that of the red maize ;

* Tanner’s Narrative, p. 313.

| Major Long’s Expedition, Vol. I. Chap. xv.

f Part I. Chap. v.

SECT. III.] SOUTHERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. Ill

the most powerful that of the Wase-ishta (“male deer”). The
Puncas are likewise divided into similar bands. Dr. Say does
not mention how those several bands or clans are perpetuated ;
but in another place he says, that “ even a very remote degree
of consanguinity is an insuperable barrier to the marriage
union.” *

I am indebted for the first information respecting the object
of that institution among the southern tribes, to the manuscript
notes of Mr. Mitchell, formerly agent amongst the Creeks,
communicated to me by Mr. Forsyth ; and it has been since fully
confirmed by intelligent natives of the several nations. Since,
however, the Cherokees and the Creeks have attempted to
substitute, for their ancient customs, written laws on the model
of ours, the institution is falling into disuse, though very recent
instances have occurred of its being enforced.

According to the ancient custom, if an offence was commit¬
ted by one on another member of the same clan, the compen¬
sation to be made on account of the injury was regulated in an
amicable way by the other members of the clan. Murder was
rarely expiated in any other way than by the death of the
murderer ; the nearest male relative of the deceased was the
executioner ; but, this being done as under the authority of the
clan, there was no further retaliation. If the injury was com¬
mitted by some one of another clan, it was not the injured party,
but the clan to which he belonged that asked for reparation.
This was rarely refused by the clan of the offender ; but, in case
of refusal, the injured clan had a right to do itself justice, either
by killing the offender in case of murder, or inflicting some
other punishment for lesser offences. This species of private
wTar was by the Creeks called “ to take up the sticks,” because
the punishment generally consisted in beating the offender.
At the time of the annual corn-feast, the sticks were laid down,
and could not again be taken up for the same offence. But it
seems that originally there had been a superiority amongst
some of the clans. That of the Wind had the right to take
up the sticks four times, that of the Bear twice, for the same
offence ; whilst those of the Tiger, of the Wolf, of the Bird,
of the Root, and of two more, whose names I do not know,
could raise them but once.j*

* Vol. I. Chap. xiv.

f The Cherokees, according to Mr. Boudinot’s information, were
divided into seven clans, the Deer, the Wolf, &c.

112 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

It is obvious, that the object of the unknown legislator was,
to prevent or soften the effects of private revenge, by trans¬
ferring the power and duty from the blood relatives to a more
impartial body. The father, and his brothers by the same
mother, never could belong to the same clan as their son or
nephew ; whilst the perpetual changes, arising from intermar¬
riages with women of a different clan, prevented their degen¬
erating into distinct tribes, and checked the natural tendency
towards a subdivision of the nation into independent communi¬
ties. The institution may be considered as the foundation of
the internal policy, and the basis of the social state, of the In¬
dians. It must have contributed towards preserving the south¬
ern nations entire and compact as we found them. It certainly
was not preserved in its purity amongst the Lenapes ; and this
circumstance may have had its share in the great subdivision
into small, independent tribes, and consequent impotency, of
that numerous nation.

There were also amongst the southern nations other institu-

tions intended still more effectually to check the spirit of revenge
and retaliation, so universally indulged by every barbarous
people ; and calculated to preserve either internal or external
peace. Such was, among the Cherokees, the City of Refuge
and Peace, Echoteh, where even murderers found at least a
temporary asylum. This place, where a perpetual fire was
kept, wTas the residence of a peculiar class of men, known by the
name of the “ Beloved Men,” in whose presence blood could
not be shed, and who, even out of the city and wherever they
went, secured against any act of violence those under their
protection.* Such was also the division of towns or villages
amongst the Creeks, into White towns and Red towns, distin¬
guished from each other by poles of those respective colors.
Whenever the question of war or peace was deliberately dis¬
cussed at Thlcocotcho, the general seat of government, it was
the duty of the representatives of the White towns to bring
forth all the arguments that could be suggested in favor of
peace. j*

# Information given by M. Boudinot. These “ Beloved Men ” were
entirely distinct from the hereditary Mingoes and other chiefs. Mr.
Hawkins, under the modest name of Beloved Man of the Four Nations,
did, during his life, govern or at least exercise a very considerable
influence over the Creeks, Choctaws, and even Chicasas and Cherokees.

f Information from Mr. Mitchell and Colonel Hambly. But it refers
to customs falling into disuse, and of which traces only remain.

SECT. III.] SOUTHERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 113

The aristocratical feature of the institution of clans ap¬
pears to have been general. Some superiority is everywhere
ascribed to one of them: — to the Unamis amono- the Dela-

wares ; to the Wase-ishta among the Omahaws ; to the Bear
tribe among the Hurons and Five Nations. Charlevoix says,
that when the Mohawks put to death Father Iogues, it was the
work of the Bear clan alone, and notwithstanding all the efforts
of those of the Wolf and of the Turtle to save him.* But it
is among the Natches alone that we find, connected together,
a highly privileged class, a despotic government, and something
like a regular form of religious worship.

The Natches occupied a territory of moderate extent on
the Mississippi, and lived in three villages near the site of the
town which has preserved their name. The number of their
warriors, which was estimated at twelve hundred, appears from
the details of their war with the French to have been rather
overrated.

They were divided into four classes or clans, on the same
principle and under the same regulations as those of the other
southern Indian tribes. They worshipped the sun, from whom
the sovereign and the privileged class pretended to be descend¬
ed ; and they preserved a perpetual sacred fire in an edifice
appropriated to that purpose. The hereditary dignity of Chief
or Great Sun descended as usual by the female line ; f and he
as well as all the other members of his clan, whether male or
female, could marry only persons of an inferior clan. Hence
the barbarous custom of sacrificing at their funerals the consorts
of the Great Sun and of his mother. Her influence was pow¬
erful, and his authority apparently despotic, though checked by
her and by some select counsellors of his own clan.

Charlevoix says, that most of the nations of Louisiana had a
perpetual fire in their temples. He and Du Pratz describe as
eyewitnesses the temple and sacred fire of the Natches. Ton-
ti saw the temple of the Taensas, then living on the west side
of the Mississippi, and which is described in his relation with
its usual exaggeration. The worship of the sun and fire by

# Vol. I. Year 1646. Father Iogues was the victim of his zeal.
He had with difficulty been saved three years before by the good
offices of the Dutch commanding officer at Fort Orange.

f Amongst the Hurons the dignity of chief is hereditary through
the female line. They believe him to have issued from the sun. Char¬
levoix, Vol. III.

VOL. II. 15

114

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

the Bayagoulas, a Mississippi tribe now extinct, is also particu¬
larly mentioned ; and traces of it are found amongst the
Cherokees, the Choctaws, and the Caddoes of Red River.

Du Pratz asserts that the Taensas and the Chitimachas, both
originally living on the west side of the Mississippi, were kin¬
dred tribes of the Natches. But we have a vocabulary of
the Chitimachas, in which no affinity is perceived with that of
the Natches. They seem to have been alone of their stock
in that region, and according to their tradition had come from
the west.

In the year 1729, on account of a threatened encroachment
on one of their villages, in the expectation of being joined by
the other Indian nations, they unexpectedly attacked and mas¬
sacred more than two hundred French inhabitants. They
were a few months after besieged in their principal fort by the
French and the Choctaws, and driven from their country. They
retired to the west of the Mississippi, where the French pur¬
sued them ; and they experienced such losses, that they have
ever since ceased to exist as a distinct nation. What contrib¬
uted most to its extinction, was the capture of the greater part
of the women, who were carried to St. Domingo and sold as
slaves. The survivors took refuge at first among the Chicasas,
and subsequently among the Creeks, with whom they are
now incorporated. They are reduced to about three hundred
souls, and have preserved their language amongst themselves,
but speak Muskhogee ; and it is only through that medium that
a communication can be held with them, as there is not a single
interpreter of their language.

When, in the year 1826, Isahlakteh, the Natches chief, was
asked whether he was a Sun, he immediately answered that he
was not, for his father was one. But he was less disposed or less
ready to answer the inquiries concerning the creed of his tribe
at this time. After some conversation between him and
Colonel Hambly, this gentleman told me that he said, that the
sacred fire was no longer preserved, and that the sun was to
them an object of respect but not of worship.

We know but little more than the names of the other small
tribes, which formerly inhabited the seashore between the Mo¬
bile and the Mississippi, and the two banks of this last river,
or which are still found west of the Mississippi, and within

SECT. III.] SOUTHERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 115

the boundaries of the United States, on and south of Red
River.

Du Pratz mentions in the vicinity of the seashore, and east
of the Mississippi, the Mobilians , living near the mouth
of that river, and speaking the Choctaw language; the Pasca-
goulas or Pasca Ogoulas (“ Bread nation ”) on the river of
that name, now living on Red River; and the Colapissas or
Aqueloupissas (“ who hear and see ”), living then not far from
the site of New Orleans, but either extinct or no longer known
by that name. He says, that they consisted only of twenty
families, whilst Charlevoix at the same time (1721) estimates
them at two hundred warriors. To these must be added the
Boluxas of Biloxi, now living below Natchitoches.

Those whom he mentions on the eastern bank of the Missis¬
sippi, above New Orleans, are the Oumas or Plumas (“ Red
nation”), of whom a few are said to remain below Manchac and
others to be found in the vicinity of the Attacapas ; the Tuni¬
cas , originally living opposite the mouth of Red River, in
alliance with the French, nearly destroyed by the Chicasas in
the course of the Natches war, and the remnant of whom are
settled at Avoyelle on Red River ; and the Yazoos, who,
together with some small kindred tribes also living on Yazoo
River, amounted to two hundred families. They spoke Chica-
sa, and were in alliance with that nation and the Natches.
During the' Natches war, they were nearly destroyed by the
Arkansas ; the residue of them are now incorporated with the
Chicasas.

The tribes mentioned by the same author on the west side
of the Mississippi, and whose names at least have disappeared,
are the Bayagoulas, the Oque Loussas, (“Black Water,”) the
Avoyelles and the Washittas, driven away by the Chicasas,
and according to him incorporated with the Natchitoches.

The most complete account of the numerous small tribes
still existing west of the Mississippi, on Red River and south
of it, is that of Dr. John Sibley, of Natchitoches.* They consist
partly of such as had within the memory of man migrated from
the east side of the river ; partly of those who were considered
as natives.

The first class embraces the Appalaches , the Alibamas , and

* President’s Message of February 19th, 1806, with the accompanying
documents from Dr. Sibley and others,

116

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

the Conchattas, who came from the Creek country ; the Taen -
sas, who, though originally living on the west bank of the
Mississippi, had in Du Pratz’s time removed to the vicinity
of the Mobile, whence they have again migrated to Red
River ; the Humas, the Tunicas , the JBoluocas, and the Pasca-
goulas already mentioned, and the Pacanas said to have come
from West Florida. Dr. Sibley asserts that each of these
four last-mentioned tribes has a distinct language of its own.

The second class consists of the following tribes, to wit :

1. The Caddoes or Caddokies, who formerly lived three
hundred miles up Red River on a prairie near an eminence,
on which they say, that, after all the world had been drowned
by a flood, the Great Spirit placed one family of Caddoes from
which all the Indians have originated. They have now re¬
moved to a branch of Red River about one hundred and
twenty miles above Natchitoches. Though much diminished
in number by the small -pox and by their wars with the Osages,
and reduced to about one hundred warriors, they are held in
great consideration by all the neighbouring tribes. Amongst
these, the Nandakoes, the Lues or Tachies, who have given
their name to the province of Texas, and the N abedaches ,
amounting together to about two hundred warriors, speak dia¬
lects of the Caddo language.

2. The Natchitoches and the Yatassees, living fifty miles
above Natchitoches, amounting together to one hundred souls,
and speaking the same language, said by Dr. Sibley to be
different from any other.

3. The Adaize, living between the Natchitoches and the
Yatassees, reduced to fifty souls, speak a language totally dis¬
tinct from any other known to us.

4. The Appelousas, in the district of that name, reduced to
forty men, said by Dr. Sibley to speak a distinct language.

5. The Attacapas (“ Men-eaters ”), reduced to fifty men, said
to have been formerly cannibals, speak a distinct language,
which according to Dr. Sibley is also spoken by another tribe
near the seashore, called Carankouas, but who probably are
without the boundaries of the United Slates.

6. The Chactoos , living on Bayou Boeuf, estimated at thirty
men, and having also, according to Dr. Sibley, a distinct lan¬
guage.

7. The Panis or Towiaches, on Red River, near the
western boundary of the United States, and having two

SECT. III.] SOUTHERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 117

villages called Nitehata and Towahach, where they cultivate
corn. The Tawakenoes , who live two hundred miles west of
Nacogdoches, south of Red River, are said by Dr. Sibley
to speak the same language. This, from the similarity of
name, has been presumed to be a dialect of the Pawnees, of
the Arkansa. At the time of Major Long’s first expedition,
they had been driven from their villages by the Osages ; but
they have probably returned, and are the same nation with
those Indians who have now villages on the north of Red
River and are designated by the name of Towecas and Wachos ,
in a treaty lately concluded with several western tribes. Be¬
yond the Panis, there are none but erratic tribes who do not
cultivate any thing.

To this enumeration we must add, though not mentioned by
Dr. Sibley,

8. The Chitimachas , formerly living in the vicinity of Lake
Barataria, and still existing in Lower Louisiana.

Among the various small tribes, the following have Choctaw
names, to wit, the Pascagoulas, “ Bread nation,” from PasJca ,
“ bread,” and ogoulas, corrupted from okla, “ nation, people ” ;
the Aqueloujpissas , “ who hear and see,” from hoklo, “ to
hear, ” and pissa, “ to see ” ; Oumas, “ Red people,” from
humrna , u red ” ; Oqueloussas, from oka, “ water, ” and lusa,
“ black ” ; to which we might add one of the small Yazoo
tribes, mentioned by Du Pratz by the name of Oufe Ogoulas,
or “ Dog nation,” from oufe, “ dog.”

This however alone is not sufficient to prove that those
small tribes were Choctaws or spoke dialects of that language,
unless the names by which they are known to us were those by
which they called themselves. The first settlement of the
French was on Mobile River, and the first tribe near the
mouth of that river with which they came in contact, was
called Mobilian and spoke Choctaw. Hence they designated
that language by the name of Mobilian, and on account of its
great extent it was called the common or vulgar tongue.* In
the same manner as, in the north, we call to this day two Sioux
tribes, who speak languages altogether different from the Algon-
kin, by the Algonkin names of Winnebagoes and Assiniboins,
which they do not recognise as their own. The French were in
the habit of designating nations and objects not belonging to

* Du Pratz.

118

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

the Choctaws, by the names which that people had imposed on
them. Of this we have at least two instances in point. The
name of Achafalaya, the principal western outlet of the Mis¬
sissippi, is pure Choctaw, meaning “ the long river,” from
hucha , “ river,” and falaya , “ long.”* And the name of the
Attacapas , “ Men-eaters,” whose language, as appears by their
vocabulary, is totally different from the Choctaw, is that which
had been given to them by this nation, derived from hottok, “ a
person,” and uppa , “ to eat.” As, with the exception of the
Natches, we have no vocabularies of any of the smaller tribes
originally living on the east side of the Mississippi which were
contiguous to the Choctaws, the presumed identity of lan¬
guage remains uncertain. It will be perceived by Dr. Sibley’s
account, that six of these are still existing, to wit, the Taen-
sas, the Humas, the Boluxas, the Pacanas, the Tunicas, and
the Pascagoulas ; the four last of which he asserts to have
distinct languages from the Mobilian or Choctaw.

With respect to the tribes, natives of the western side of
the Mississippi, exclusively of the Panis, who live beyond the
boundaries of the State of Louisiana, Dr. Sibley states that
they speak six distinct languages, to which must be added that
of the Chitimachas not mentioned by him. We have vocab¬
ularies of four of these, viz., of the Attacapas and of the
Chitimachas, taken by Mr. Duralde and by him transmitted
to Mr. Jefferson ; and of the Adaize, and of the Caddoes,
transmitted by Dr. Sibley to Mr. Duponceau. We have made
but partial use of the last, having received one much more
copious from Mr. George Gray, the Indian Agent. The three
still wanted are those of the Natchitoches, of the Opelousas, and
of the Chactoos. The four which have been obtained, fully
justify Dr. Sibley’s assertion ; each of those tribes speaks a
distinct language and different from any other known to us. It
appears also by a letter from Dr. Sibley to Mr. Duponceau,
at the time when he transmitted the Adaize and Caddo vocab¬
ularies, that he had actually obtained those of some of the
other tribes, to the peculiarities of which he alludes. These
have not been received.

From the Arctic Sea to the fifty-second degree of north

* There are two Choctaw words for river viz. huclia, of the same
origin with the Muskhogee hatchee, and okhina, probably “ water¬
course.”

SECT. III.] SOUTHERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 119

latitude, across the continent of America from the Atlantic
almost to the Pacific, we have not found more than two great
families of languages, the Eskimaux and the Athapascas.

South of these, as far as the thirty-fifth or thirty-sixth degree
of latitude, two other families, the Algonkin-Lenape and Iro¬
quois, filled the whole space between the Atlantic and the
Mississippi or the meridian which passes by its sources. Anoth¬
er great family, that of the Sioux, extends equally far from
north to south, on the west side of the Mississippi. With the
exception of a doubtful tribe (the Loucheux), there is not to
be found, in the extensive territory occupied by those five
families, a single tribe or remnant of a tribe, that speaks a
dialect, which does not belong to one or another of those five
families.

On the contrary, in the comparatively small territory south
of the Lenape and Iroquois tribes, and including that portion of
the State of Louisiana which lies west of the Mississippi, we
find, allowing even the Muskhogee and Choctaw to be but one,
three extensive languages, the Catawba, the Cherokee, and the
Choctaw Muskhogee, and six well ascertained of small tribes or
remnants of tribes, to wit, the Uchee, the Natches, and the
four abovementioned west of the Mississippi. And there is a
strong probability that, independently of the several small extinct
tribes of Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, which still existed
when those countries were first settled, several of those still
existing west of the Mississippi will be found to have distinct
languages. It also appears by the statements of their respec¬
tive population, communicated by Dr. Sibley, and which is
indeed notorious, that those small tribes preserve their language
to the last moment of their existence.*

The most powerful southern nations appear to have been,
upon the whole, less exterminating than the northern Indians.
It is also probable that the impenetrable swamps and the multi¬
plied channels or bayoux by which the delta of the Mississippi
and the Red River country are intersected, have afforded
places of refuge to the remnants of conquered tribes.

# The same observation applies generally to all the Indian tribes.
Instances have been mentioned in speaking of the Nanticokes, the
Nottoways, and the Long Island Indians.

120

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

[iNTROD.

SECTION IV.

INDIANS BETWEEN THE MISSISSIPPI AND THE PACIFIC

OCEAN.

The Indians under this head are divided into two great
sections by the Rocky Mountains.

Those east of the mountains are the Sioux; the Pawnees ;
the Fall, Rapid, or Paunch Indians ; the Black Feet, and some
other erratic tribes, not so well known, and which may be
embraced under the general though obsolete denomination of
Padoucas. Some bands of Snake Indians or Shoshonees,
living on the waters of the river Columbia, and of Hietans or
Camanches, whose principal residence is south of Red River
and of the southern boundary of the United States, are also
occasionally found, either towards the sources of the tributary
streams of the Missouri, or north of Red River. As the
Winnebagoes, whose seats are near Lake Michigan, speak a
dialect of the Sioux language, we have also included them
under this head.

The nations which speak the Sioux language may be con¬
sidered, in reference both to their respective dialects and to
their geographical position, as consisting of four subdivisions,
viz. the Winnebagoes ; the Sioux proper and the Assiniboins ;
the Minetare group ; and the Osages and other southern kin¬
dred tribes.

The Winnebagoes, so called by the Algonkins, but called
P uciTis and also Otchagras by the French, and Horoje (“ Fish-
eaters”) by the Omahaws and other southern tribes, call them¬
selves Hochungohrah , or the <c Trout ” nation. The Green Bay
of Lake Michigan derives its French name from theirs. (Baye
des Puans). It is not known at what time they separated from
the Sioux people; but it must have been prior to the settlements
of the French in Canada. Champlain, in the map annexed
to his Travels, has given an erroneous position to Lake Michi¬
gan, which he knew only from Indian information ; but he calls
it “ Lac des Puans.” They are first mentioned by Father
Allouez in the Relation of the year 1669, at which time they
occupied nearly the same territory as at present. He says,
that they had been nearly destroyed thirty years before by the

SECT. IV.] BETWEEN THE MISSISSIPPI AND THE PACIFIC. 121

Illinois, and that they spoke a language altogether distinct from
the Algonkin and the Iroquois. They are said by Charlevoix
to have been, in the year i TO 1 , in alliance with the Sauks, the
Foxes, and the Potowotamies, against both the Sioux and the
Iroquois ; and he adds in his journal, (1721,) that they formerly
lived on the shores of Green Bay, but had retired farther in¬
land. Carver was the first American who, in the year 1766,
travelled through their country, at which time they appear to
have been on friendly terms with the Sioux and all their neigh¬
bours. Pike, in 1807, estimated their number at two thousand ;
but, according to the War Department, they amount to four
thousand six hundred souls, and appear to cultivate the soil
to a considerable degree. Their principal seats are on the
Fox River of Lake Michigan, and towards the heads of the
Rock River of the Mississippi. Their territory extends north¬
wardly towards the Wisconsin ; and they are bounded on the
north by the Menomonies, on the west by the Sauks, and on the
south by the Potowotamies. As their limits are nearly the
same as one hundred and fifty years ago, it may be presumed
that they have, during that time, lived generally on friendly
terms with the Algonkin tribes by which they are surrounded ;
but of their former history we know but little. They took
part with the British during the last war against the Ameri¬
cans. Their vocabulary, which was received from the War
Department, had been transmitted by Mr. N. Boilvin, an
Indian agent. Some words were supplied by General Cass ;
and some have been taken from Major Long’s account of his
first expedition.

The Sioux proper, or Naudowessies, names given to them by
the Algonkins and the French, call themselves Dahcotas, and
sometimes Ochente Shakoans , or, “ The Seven Fires,” and are
divided into seven bands or tribes, closely connected together,
but apparently independent of each other. They do not ap¬
pear to have been known to the French before the year 1660 ;
and they are distinctly mentioned for the first time, in the
year 1666, by Father Allouez, then a missionary at Chagoua-
migong, towards the southwestern extremity of Lake Superior.
He says that they lived forty leagues more westwardly in a
prairie country ; that they did not cultivate the ground ; that
they were ferocious, warlike, and feared by all their neigh¬
bours ; and that they spoke a language entirely distinct from
any other known to the French. It has already been stated,

VOL. II. 16

122

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD,

that they had a war with the Hurons and the Ottowas of
Lake Michigan, who had taken refuge in that quarter, and
compelled them to abandon the country. The French carried
on a trade with them from their post at Prairie du Chien on
the Mississippi ; but it is only very lately that they have come
into contact with the Americans. Carver was the first who
visited them, and gave a short vocabulary of their language,
which is generally correct.*

It may be observed that, considering the short time which
Carver resided among the Indians, and that he derived his in¬
formation of the country north of St. Anthony’s Falls almost
entirely from Indian reports, his geographical notices of the
upper Mississippi were remarkably correct. He is the first
who placed the sources of that river within about forty miles
of their actual position, in the vicinity of the Red Lake of the
Red River of Lake Winnipek, and south of the Lake of the
Woods. The map annexed to the original edition of his
Travels was published during his life, in the year 1778, but
does not appear to have been deemed authentic by the com¬
missioners who negotiated the treaty of peace of 1783. The
pretended grant of lands from the Indians to him is neither
alluded to, nor annexed to that original edition. It made its
first appearance after his death, and in subsequent editions.

The four most eastern tribes of the Dahcotas are known by the
name of Mondew akkanto an , or “Gens du Lac,” Wahlcpato an
and WahTcjpaTcotoan, or “ People of the Leaves,” and Sisitoans.
The first of these is the only one that cultivates the ground, and
occupies, on the east side of the Mississippi, a tract of country
extending from the Prairie du Chien, in the forty-third, to the
Spirit Lake, north of the forty-sixth degree of north latitude.
The three other, inhabit the country between the Mississippi
and the St. Peter’s, and that on the southern tributaries of this
river, as well as that which lies on the head waters of the Red
River of Lake Winnipek. These four are better known to us
than the more westerly tribes ; and their aggregate number
may be fairly estimated at about five thousand souls.

The three westerly tribes, the Yanktons, the Yanktoanans,
and the Tetons, wander between the Mississippi and the Mis¬
souri, extending southerly to the forty-third degree of north

# That which he has given of the Chippeways is only a transcript
of that of La Hontan, spelt according to the English orthography.

SECT. IV.] BETWEEN THE MISSISSIPPI AND THE PACIFIC. 123

latitude and some distance west of the Missouri, between the
forty-third and forty-seventh degrees oflatitude. According to
Lewis and Clarke, who in their ascent up the Missouri had
frequent interviews with them, their number does not exceed
six thousand souls. Renville, a half-breed Dahcota, who
served as an interpreter in Major Long’s second expedition, has
raised the number to twenty-one thousand six hundred, of whom
he allows fourteen thousand four hundred to the Tetons alone.
From the still more exaggerated account he gave of the popu¬
lation of the Assiniboins, whom he supposed to be still less
known to us, very little reliance can be placed on his state¬
ments in that respect; and it is believed, though our data are
imperfect, that the seven tribes together amount at most to
twenty thousand souls.

The western Dahcota tribes have carried on a constant pred¬
atory war against all the tribes living on the Missouri, or its
tributary streams, from the Mandans to the Osages ; and the
eastern tribes appear to have been, from time immemorial,
inveterate enemies of the Chippeways. The government of
the United States has, during the last thirty years, used unre¬
mitted efforts to establish a permanent peace between them,
and lately, it is believed, with better hope of success.

The Assiniboins (Stone Indians), as they are called by the
Algonkins, are a Dahcota tribe, separated from the rest of the
nation, and on that account called Hoha or “ Rebels,” by the
other Sioux. They are said to have made part originally of
the Yanktons ; but we are not acquainted with their real name.
Their separation must have taken place at an earlier date than
has been presumed by late writers. Father Marquette, wri¬
ting in the year 1669, from the Chagouamigong Mission, after
having mentioned the Nadouessies, as a formidable nation
speaking a language altogether different from the Algonkin and
the Huron, adds, that the Assiniponiels have almost the same
language as the Nadouessies, and live about fifteen days’ jour¬
ney from the mission on a lake, which, from a map annexed
to that volume of the Relations, must have been Lake Winni-
pek. The only detailed account we have of them was given
by Sir Alexander Mackenzie, and is confirmed by subse¬
quent English writers. They formed an intimate connexion
with the Knistinaux and, jointly with them, drove away the
ancient inhabitants of the main Saskachawin and of the north
branch of the same river. They also continued to occupy the

124 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

country bordering on the river, which bears their name, and is
the western branch of the Red River ol Lake Winnipek.*
It is probable from its situation north ol the Y anktons, that
this was their original seat. Mackenzie estimates their aggre¬
gate number in both places at about five thousand souls, which
may be underrated. According to Renville’s account, they
would amount to twenty-eight thousand. Lewis and Clarke
estimate them at sixteen hundred warriors, or rather more than
six thousand souls.

Another tribe, called Shyennes or Cheyennes, were at no
very remote period seated on the left bank of the Red River
of Lake Winnipek, and have left their name to one of its
tributary streams. Carver reckoned them as one of the Sioux
tribes ; and Mackenzie informs us that they were driven away
by the Sioux. They now live on the head waters of the
river Shyenne, a southwestern tributary of the Missouri. The
names of the chiefs who signed the treaty, concluded with
them in 1825 by the United States, are pure Dahcota of the
Yankton dialect, as will be seen amongst the appended vocab¬
ularies. It had been thence concluded that they certainly
were a Sioux tribe. I have been however assured, by a well-
informed person who trades with them, that they speak a
distinct language, for which there is no European interpreter ;
that the treaty was carried on, through the medium of some
of the Sioux ; and that the Indian names subscribed to the
treaty are translations into the Sioux language of the Shyenne
names of the chiefs. They are estimated by Lewis and Clarke
at sixteen hundred, and by the War Department at two thou¬
sand souls.

We have only two vocabularies of the Dahcota dialects.
That of the Yanktons was obtained by Dr. Say. That of the
eastern Dahcotas of the Mississippi has been principally extract¬
ed from one transmitted by General Cass to the War Depart¬
ment, and partly from those of Mr. Keating and Major Long.
It is probable that the dialects of the Tetons and of the Assini-
boins, though similar, differ from both. A few words of that
of the Assiniboins, supplied by Umfreville, will be found amongst
the supplementary vocabularies.

# The source of Mouse River, a southern tributary of the Assini-
boin, is within one mile of the main Missouri River, about one hundred
miles above the Mandan village. The slightest variation in the na¬
ture and elevation of the intervening ground would have thrown all
the waters of the upper Missouri into Lake Winnipek and Hudson’s Bay.

SECT. IV.] BETWEEN THE MISSISSIPPI AND THE PACIFIC. 125

The Minetares (Minetaree and Minetarles) consist of three
tribes, speaking three different languages which belong to a
common stock. Its affinities with the Dahcota are but remote,
but have appeared sufficient to entitle them to be considered as
of the same family.

Two of those tribes, the Mandanes, whose number does not
exceed fifteen hundred, and the stationary Minetares, amounting
to three thousand souls, including those called Annahawas,
cultivate the soil, and live in villages situated on, or near the
Missouri, between the forty-seventh and forty-eighth degrees
of north latitude. They are kept in a state of perpetual
alarm by the Assiniboins, the Tetons, the Rapid Indians, and
other erratic tribes, and have on that account been often obliged
to change the seat of their villages. Yet they have been often
quarrelling with the Ricaras, who like them are an agricultural
people ; and they make often predatory expeditions against the
Shoshonees, in the eastern valleys of the Rocky Mountains.
Both the Mandanes and the Minetares consider themselves as
natives of that part of the country. The tradition of the
Mandanes is, that they came from under ground by means
of a great vine, which, breaking under the weight of some of
them, has left behind a part of their nation whom they expect
to join after death. The color of the chief, who visited Wash¬
ington, appeared less dark than that of our Indians ; and he
was the only full-breed Indian, ever seen by me, whose eyes
were of a bluish cast. It is believed that this is the tribe,
often spoken of as white Indians, and which gave rise to the
fabulous account of a tribe descended from the Welsh and
speaking their language ; a tale, which the knowledge we have
now acquired of the various Indian nations and of their dialects
has set at rest.

The third Minetare tribe is that known by the name of the
Crow or UpsaroJca nation, probably the Keeheetsas of Lewis
and Clarke. They are an erratic tribe, who hunt south of the
Missouri, between the Little Missouri and the southeastern
branches of the Yellowstone River. According to Mr. Do¬
nald Mackenzie, who resides at the mouth of the Yellowstone,
they have about three hundred lodges, and may be computed
at three thousand souls.

The vocabulary of the stationary Minetares, and the speci¬
men of the Crow or Upsaroka dialect, were obtained by Dr.
Say. We knew from Lewis and Clarke, that the Mandanes
spoke a kindred dialect, and this has been confirmed by the

126 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

significant names of their chiefs, subscribed to a treaty with
the United States. Lewis and Clarke appear to have consid¬
ered the Rapid, Fall, or Paunch Indians, sometimes also called
“ Minetares of the Prairies,” as belonging to the same family.
But all the subsequent accounts agree in assigning to them an
entirely distinct language.

The southern Sioux consist of eight tribes, speaking four or
at most five kindred dialects. Their territory originally extend¬
ed along the Mississippi, from below the mouth of the Arkansas
to the forty-first degree of north latitude. They were, and still
are, bounded on the north by the Dahcotas, on the west by
the Pawnees, on the south by the Washitta and Red River
tribes, on the southwest by erratic nations. Their hunting-
grounds extend as far west as the Stony Mountains ; but they
all cultivate the soil, and their most westerly village on the
Missouri is in about the one hundredth degree of west longitude.

The three most southerly tribes are the Quappas or Arkansas,
at the mouth of the river of that name, and the Osages and
Kansas, who inhabited the country south of the Missouri and
of the river Kansas. Both the Osages and the Arkansas were
first seen by the French, in the year 1673, and they always
remained in alliance with them. It is not known whether
Quajjpa was the true name of the whole nation, or of only one
of its tribes ; and it may be that they are those called Pacahas
in the relation of De Soto’s expedition. The residue of the
Arkansas is now known only by that name (Quajppas'). They
consist of only five hundred souls, and still live on the lower
parts of the Arkansa.

The Osages, properly TVausashe, were more numerous and
powerful than any of the neighbouring tribes, and perpetually at
war with all the other Indians, without excepting the Kansas,
who speak the same dialect with themselves. They were
originally divided into Great and Little Osages ; but about forty
years ago almost one half of the nation, known by the name of
Chaneers or Clermont’s Band, separated from the rest, and
removed to the river Arkansa. The villages of those several
subdivisions are now on the head waters of the river Osage,
and of the Yerdegris, a northern tributary stream of the
Arkansa. They amount to about five thousand souls, and have
ceded a portion of their lands to the United States, reserving to
themselves a territory on the Arkansa, south of the thirty-
eighth degree of north latitude, extending from the ninety-fifth

SECT. IV.] BETWEEN THE MISSISSIPPI AND THE PACIFIC. 127

to the hundredth degree of west longitude, on a breadth of
forty-five* to fifty miles. The territory allotted to the Chero-
kees, the Creeks, and the Choctaws, lies south of that of the
Osage, extending in longitude from 94° 20/ to 100°, and in lati¬
tude from the thirty-seventh degree to the Red River, the course
of which in that quarter is east and west, between the thirty-
third and thirty-fourth degrees of north latitude.

The Kansas, who have always lived on the river of that
name, have been at peace with the Osage for the last thirty
years, and intermarry with them. They amount to fifteen
hundred souls, and occupy a tract of about three millions of
acres, in about the thirty-ninth degree of north latitude, and
ninety-sixth to ninety-eighth degree of west longitude.

The five other tribes of this subdivision are the Iowai/s or
Pahoja , (Grey Snow), the Mis souris or Neojehe, the Ottoes
or Wahtootahtdh , the Omahcnvs or Mahas, and the Puncas .
The Osages consider themselves the aborigines ; but the tradi-
tion of these five tribes is, that at a distant epoch they, together
with the Winnebagoes, came from the north ; that the Winne-
bagoes stopped on the banks of Lake Michigan, while they,
continuing their course southerly, crossed the Mississippi, and
occupied the seats in which they were found by the Europeans.

The Ioways are mentioned, perhaps- erroneously, by the
first French missionaries, as living east of the Mississippi. It
is certain that they were driven away from the banks of that
river by the Sauks and Foxes, with whom they have contracted
an alliance which borders on submission. Their principal
seats are north of the river Des Moines ; but a portion have
joined the Ottoes, and are said, though the fact is not fully
ascertained, to speak the same dialect.

The Missouris were originally settled at the junction of the
river of that name with the Mississippi. They were driven
away by the Illinois, were found in the year 1724 by
M. Bourgmont settled on the Missouri, about two hundred miles
above its mouth, near the place where the French fort Orleans
stood, and have since joined the Ottoes, with whom they are
intermixed, and speak the same dialect.

The Ottoes and the Omahaws, after several changes in their
villages, now occupy the territory on the southwest side of the
M issouri, above and below the mouth of the river Platte ; the
Omahaws on the north, and the Ottoes on the south side of that
river. They speak kindred though different dialects. The

128

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

Puncas, who are settled on the Missouri one hundred and fifty
miles above the Omahaws, speak the same dialect.

The population of the loways is estimated at twelve hun¬
dred ; that of the Ottoes and Missouris at sixteen hundred, and
that of the Omahaws and Puncas at two thousand ; making,
with the Quappas, Osages, and Kansas, an aggregate of eleven
or twelve thousand souls. All the nations speaking languages
belonging to the Great Sioux Family may therefore be com¬
puted at more than fifty thousand souls.

The vocabularies of the Quappas and of the Osages are in
Mr. Du ponceau’s collection ; the first was transmitted to him
by General Izard, and is spelt according to the French orthogra¬
phy ; he received that of the Osages from Dr. Murray of Ken¬
tucky, and we have another of the same language published by
Mr. Bradbury.* Those of the Ottoes and of the Omahaws
were taken by Dr. Say. We have not that of the loways ;
but nineteen wTords, supplied by Governor Cass, seem to leave
no doubt of its identity with the Ottoes.

The Pawnees speak a language altogether different from
that of the Sioux tribes, or of any other Indians known to us ;
unless that of the Panis or Towiachcs of Red River should
be found to be the same. They consist of two nations, the
Pawnees proper, and the llicaras or Aricaras, sometimes also
called Black Pawnees.

The Pawnees proper inhabit the country on the river Platte,
west of the Ottoes and Omahaws : their three villages, two of

• • • • O 7

which are distinguished by the names of Loup Pawnees and
Republican Pawnees, are now in the same vicinity on the
river Loup, a northern tributary of the river Platte, about sixty
miles above the confluence of those two rivers. They raise
corn and other vegetables, but apply still less to agriculture
than the Ottoes and Omahaws. They hunt southerly as far as
the Arkansa, and westerly to the sources of the river Platte.
They were seen by Bourgmont, in 1724, in the same country
which they now occupy, but were not known to us before the
acquisition of Louisiana. Their number, by the concurrent
accounts of General Pike and Major Long, amounts to six

# The words in the appended vocabulary of the Osage, taken from
those two sources, have accidentally been confounded.

SECT. TV.] BETWEEN THE MISSISSIPPI AND THE PACIFIC. 129

thousand five hundred souls ; their vocabulary was taken by
Dr. Say.

The Ricara villages are situated on the Missouri, about one
hundred and fifty miles below the Mandanes, in latitude 46J°.
They cultivate the soil, and are, like the Mandanes, always
exposed to the attacks of the erratic tribes. They accordingly
had formerly united with them, and were settled together
twenty miles below the present site of the Mandane villages.
They quarrelled and separated, since which time they have
had also a short war with the United States. They appear
now to be at peace with their neighbours, and are computed at
three thousand souls. All the accounts of the Indians and of
the interpreters agree in the fact of their speaking Pawnee,
but we have no vocabulary of their language.

We have now enumerated all the Indian tribes west of
the Mississippi which cultivate the soil ; and it has been seen,
that north of the Red River they consist only of the Sauks and
Foxes, who are Algonkins ; of the Pawnees; and, amongst
the Sioux tribes, of those only which belong to the southern
group, and of the Mandanes and stationary Minetares. The
six western tribes of the Dahcotas, the Assiniboins, the Crows,
and all the other tribes not yet enumerated, whether east or
west of the Rocky Mountains, cultivate nothing whatever ; and
those east of the Rocky Mountains subsist principally on the
meat of the buffalo. But whether erratic, or agricultural,
there is a marked difference between the habits and character
of all the Indians, who dwelt amidst the dense forest which
extends from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, and those of the
inhabitants of the western prairie. These are everywhere less
ferocious than those on the eastern side of the Mississippi.
Like all savages, they put to death the prisoners taken in
battle ; but the horrid practice of inflicting on them the most
excruciating torture for days together, does not appear to have
prevailed anywhere beyond the Mississippi. These observa¬
tions seem, however, to apply more forcibly to the southern
cultivating tribes of the Sioux family and to the Pawnees.
Dr. Say, during his residence amongst the Omahaws, collected
some important facts, which are equally applicable to their
neighbours on the south of the Missouri, of either of those two
families.

They reside in their villages at most five months of the year,
principally for the purpose of planting, cultivating, and gathering

VOL. II. 17

130 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

maize and a few other vegetables. Two winter months are
employed by the men in hunting beaver and other fur animals.
During the rest of the year, the whole population remove to
the buffalo grounds, subsist on its meat, and preserve a portion
of it.

They address prayers to TVahconda , the Creator and Pre¬
server of the world, to whom they ascribe infinite power and
omnipresence. But, although they believe in a future life, it
cannot be said that this vague belief has any important influence
over their conduct. Like all the other Indians, they put more
faith in their dreams, omens, and jugglers, in • the power of
imaginary deities of their own creation, and of those consecrated
relics to which the Canadians have given the singular appel¬
lation of medicine.

The Missouri Indians of the male sex exceed in height the
ordinary average of the Europeans ; but the women are in
proportion shorter and thicker. The average facial angle is
78°, (that of the Cherokees 75°) ; the transverse line of
direction of the eyes is rectilinear ; the nose aquiline ; the lips
thicker than those of the Europeans ; the cheek-bones promi¬
nent, but not angular.* The recently born infants are of a
reddish brown color, which after a while becomes whiter, and
then gradually assumes that tint, which is not perfectly uniform
amongst all the Indians, and which, for want of a better
approximation, we call copper color. They designate that of
the European by words which mean white or pale. Theirs is
not the effect of exposure, as all parts of the body present the
same appearance.*)* The women marry very young, bear
children from the age of thirteen to forty, and have generally
from four to six.

The Indians who cultivate the soil, are perpetually exposed
to the attacks of the wandering tribes. Those of the Missouri
had also for enemies the Sauks and Foxes, who have acted too
much in that quarter the same part as the Five Nations in

# The superiority of this family of Indians struck the French, who
called the Arkansas Beaux Homines. The Osages, who visited Wash¬
ington and New York twenty-five years ago, were the finest race of
Indians ever seen in our Atlantic cities, and answered the description
of the Omahaws given by Dr. Say. That gentleman omits another
uniform physical character, straight black hair and black eyes.

f Captain Clavering says, that an Eskimau boy of East Greenland,
after being thoroughly washed, was of a copper color.

SECT. IV.] BETWEEN THE MISSISSIPPI AND THE PACIFIC. 131

theirs; but they had also continual quarrels, often degenerating
into actual hostilities, between themselves. These originated
in encroachments on hunting-grounds, elopement or carrying off
of women, and stealing of horses. During their temporary
absence from their villages, cornfields and provisions in store
appear to have been generally respected by straggling parties,
even of enemies ; with the . understanding, however, that
Indians when hungry have a right to feed on any provisions
which they discover, and may actually want for that purpose.
But it is in their mode of warfare, either amongst themselves,
or against other tribes, that we find a decisive proof of much
less ferocious habits, than those which characterize the Indian
who dwells in the forests between the Mississippi and the
Atlantic.

The enemies wounded in battle are killed on the spot, hut
without any particular act of cruelty, and rarely if ever scalped.
The prisoners carried home are neither tortured nor put to
death. The women are made slaves ; the men are considered
as servants, and generally employed in taking care of the
horses, and in other menial offices, but not in raising corn, that
being woman’s work. The children are almost always adopted
into the nation.

Amongst the exploits which are the boast of their warriors,
that which confers the highest distinction is to take a prisoner
alive ; the next, to strike with a lance or some other weapon
an enemy alive ; the third, that of striking in the same manner
the dead body of an enemy in presence of his friends ; the
fourth, taking a horse; last of all, shooting an enemy at a
distance with a bullet or arrow, this being that which any one
can do.

It is but just to observe, that traces of chivalry were also
found amongst our eastern Indians. It was a settled rule
amongst them, that those who killed stragglers, should leave
marks designating to what tribe those who had committed the act
belonged. But if done in the vicinity, or even in the heart, of
the village of an enemy, the warrior was bound, at the moment
he took off the scalp, to raise the warwhoop, thus giving notice
of the deed, and trusting to his own superior swiftness and skill
for escaping the immediate pursuit of an enraged and unforgiv¬
ing foe.*

# The fact, so far as relates to the Delawares, was fully confirmed
by General Douglass of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, a gentleman of

132 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

It may be added, in reference to the Missouri Indians, that
the annual sacrifice of a prisoner, a practice which prevailed
amongst the Pawnees, and was lately abolished by the coura¬
geous exertions of a celebrated chief, affords an additional proof
of the comparatively humane manner in which prisoners were
generally treated by them.

Two wandering and purely hunting nations, the Fall, Rap¬
id, or Paunch Indians, improperly called Minetares of the
Prairie, and the Black Feet, have their principal seats on the
south fork of the Saskachawin. Their hunting-grounds ex¬
tend as far south, as the sources of the Yellowstone River and
of its various tributary streams. The Rapid Indians are the
most easterly tribe, and are more generally found between the
Saskachawin and the Missouri in the vicinity of and above the
Mandane village. They have about three hundred lodges, and
are estimated at three thousand souls. The Arrapahoes (or
Arrapahays) are a detached tribe of that nation, which has late¬
ly wandered as far south as the river Platte and the Arkansa,
where they formed a temporary union with the Kaskaias (or
Kaskayas) and some other erratic tribes. Although intimately
connected with the Black Feet, they speak a distinct language.

The Black Feet are one of the most powerful Indian na¬
tions known to us. Their lodges are estimated at two thou¬
sand five hundred, and their population at thirty thousand.
They occupy, as hunting-grounds, the whole territory west of
the Minetares and of the one hundred and third degree of west
longitude to the Rocky Mountains, and extending from the
fifty-second to the forty-second degree of north latitude.
They carry on a perpetual war against the Flat Heads, the
Shoshonees, and other tribes of the Rocky Mountains, whom
they confine within the mountains, and prevent from hunting
in the buffalo country. They are always at war with the
Crows and other Minetares ; but they appear to act on the

the most strict veracity and integrity, who during his youth had resided
amongst them, and is said to have spoken the language as a native.
I regret that, during an intimacy of seventeen years, not having at that
time turned my attention to the subject, I neglected so favorable an
opportunity of obtaining the most correct information respecting the
language of that tribe.

SECT. IV.] BETWEEN THE MISSISSIPPI AND THE PACIFIC. 133

defensive against the Knistinaux and the Assiniboins, who have
in fact driven them away from the easterly portion of the
Saskachawin country, and call them the Slave Nation.* We
have as yet no other vocabulary of those two nations and of
the Assiniboins, but the scanty one of Umfreville. It is how¬
ever sufficient to show, that the Assiniboins are, as they have
been uniformly stated, a branch of the Sioux family ; and that
the languages of the Rapid Indians and of the Black Feet
are distinct from each other, and different from any other
known to us.

It will be perceived by an inspection of the map, that, with
the exception of some detached bands of the Shoshonees or
Snake Indians, who occasionally cross over to the head waters
of the Yellowstone and of the river Platte, the only Indians
within the United States, east of the Rocky Mountains, not
included in the preceding enumeration, are those who may
wander between the upper waters of the river Platte and the
Red River, west of the Pawnees, Kansas, and Osages. They
were designated by Bourgmont, in 1724, by the name of
Padoucas ; an appellation which seems to have disappeared.
The Panis, or Towiaches of Red River, have fixed villages,
and have already been mentioned. The Hietans, or Caman-
ches, are within the Mexican dominions; and some stragglers
only are occasionally seen within the territory of the United
States. Three tribes appear to wander and hunt within their
limits in that quarter, or along the Mexican boundary, between
the thirty-fourth and forty-first degrees of north latitude. These
are the Kaskaias or Bad Hearts, the Kinawas (or Kioways), and
the Bald Heads, who, united with detached bands of the Arrapa-
hoes, of the Shyennes, and even of the Shoshonees, were met
on the Arkansa by Major Long’s detachment during his first
expedition. The vocabularies, which Dr. Say had taken of
the languages of the Kaskaias and the Iviawas, have been un-
fortunately lost. We only know, that both were harsh, guttur¬
al, and extremely difficult. It is a remarkable circumstance,

* The information respecting the Crows, the Rapid Indians, and
the Black Feet, has been principally derived from Mr. Kenneth Mac¬
kenzie, who is at the head of the establishment of the American Mis¬
souri Fur Company at the mouth of the Yellowstone ; and from whom
I hope to receive in the course of next year correct vocabularies of
those and other adjacent tribes. The Paegan and Blood Indians are
subdivisions of the Black Feet.

134

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

that none of those tribes understood the language of any of
the others ; and that they communicated together partly by
what is called the <e language of signs,” partly through the
medium of the Crow, which was not the native language of
either of them. Their number lias been estimated at only
fourteen hundred souls by the Indian Department, and, includ¬
ing other small bands mentioned by Lewis and Clarke on
uncertain information, cannot well exceed three thousand.

The Wakash or Nootka Sound Indians are the most southern
tribe on the shores of the Pacific, of which we have been
able to give a vocabulary. With the exception of a few words
collected in the Straits of Fuca, and of some of the Chinook
language at the mouth of the river Columbia, we have not a
single one along the coast, till we come to the Ellenes and the
Ruslenes of the Spanish missions of New California. Mac¬
kenzie has given a short one of an inland tribe, the Atnahs,
who, in 52° 30' north latitude, are bounded on the north by
the Tacullies, and extend thence southwarldy down Frazer’s
River towards the Straits of Fuca. It is also a language dis¬
tinct, so far as we are now informed, from any other. But of
all the tribes inhabiting the territory west of the Rocky Moun¬
tains between the forty-second and the forty-ninth degree of
north latitude, we have, besides a few Shoshonee words col¬
lected by Dr. Say, no other vocabulary but that of the Salish
or Flat Heads, which belongs to Mr. Duponceau’s collection.
This is a small tribe, computed at two hundred warriors, waging
an unequal war with the Black Feet, and residing towards the
sources of one of the branches of the Columbia River, which
must be either the most southern branch of Clarke’s River, or
the most northern branch of Lewis’s River. It will be per¬
ceived that, with that single exception, our deficiency embraces
all the Indian tribes living on the Columbia River and all its
numerous tributary streams. Messrs. Lewis and Clarke had
brought with them copious vocabularies of all the Indian tribes
along the line of their route. These had been placed by Mr.
Jefferson in the hands of the late Dr. Benjamin Smith Barton
for arrangement and publication, hut could not be found after
his death. The country has now been for many years occupied
by the British traders ; and for the present we must look to

SECT. IV.] BETWEEN THE MISSISSIPPI AND THE PACIFIC. 135

that quarter for information. A long list of the tribes, together
with an estimate of their numbers, is annexed to the account
of Lewis and Clarke’s expedition, to which we must refer the
reader. Captain Lewis was of opinion, that along his route
there were three distinct families of languages on the waters of
the Columbia River ; that of the mountains, that of the Col¬
umbia plains, and that of the seashore. According to his
estimate of the population, which was almost entirely derived
from Indian accounts, those on the waters of Columbia
River amounted to eighty thousand souls. A more recent
statement reduces the number to five thousand six hundred
warriors. It is probable that they have been overrated in the one,
and underrated in the other estimate. Considering the nature
of the country and the means of subsistence which it affords,
it is probable that they can hardly amount to fifty thousand
souls. This however, as well as any estimate of the popula¬
tion of the Eskimaux, of the Athapascas, and generally of
the tribes north of the United States, can only be founded on
conjecture. That of the Indians within the territory of the
United States east of the Rocky Mountains, is, with few ex¬
ceptions, as correct as the nature of the case will admit.
With this observation we submit the following recapitulation.

Eskimaux, Athapascas, Atnahs, and tribes on the Pacific

as far south as Fuca’s Straits .

Indians of Columbia River, and the seashore of Pacific

from 42° to 49° north latitude .

Algonkin-Lenape ; in British dominions 20,000
“ “ in United States 40,000 I

Iroquois tribes; in British dominions . 1,000 )

“ “ in United States . . 0,000 I

Choctaws and Chicasas .

Muskhogees and Seminoles .

Cherokees .

Uchees, Natches, small Lousiana tribes ....
Sioux, including Assiniboins (7,000) in British Dominions
Pawnees 9,509; Panis or Towa-ash 1500

Black Feet and Rapid Indians .

Chiennes .

60,000

50,000

60,000

7,000

24,000

26,000

15,000

4,000

50,000

11,000

33,000

2,000

Kaskaias, Kiawas, Bald Heads, and other small erratic bands 3,000

345,000

136

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

SECTION V.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

The Rocky Mountains are the great line of demarcation, in
reference both to climate and to the means of subsistence
which the country in its natural state affords to its inhabitants.
The difference between the climate of the Atlantic shores of
North America and the opposite European coast, is well known.
It consists less in that of the summer heat, which, though
greater on the American than on the European side of that
ocean, does not vary essentially under the same latitudes, than
in the intensity of the cold in the American winters. This is such
as to make a difference equivalent to one of more than ten degrees
of latitude. Neither the Alleghany Mountains, nor the less
elevated transversal chain which seems to extend from the river
Saguenay to the sources of the Saskachawin, produce any sen¬
sible change in that respect. The comparative observations,
made at several military posts, show on the contrary, that the
excess both of heat and cold respectively is greater, in the
valley of the Mississippi and the adjacent prairies, than on the
shores of the Atlantic. * It may be said generally, that, with
variations arising from local causes, the same climate prevails
from the seacoast to the Rocky Mountains. But the country
lying west of that chain, and more particularly that portion
which lies along the Pacific, enjoys a climate similar to that of
Western Europe.

Since it is also ascertained, that the climate of Pekin is the
same with that of Philadelphia, and that the temperature both
in summer and winter of the eastern coast of Asia, north of the
Torrid Zone, corresponds generally with that of the eastern
coast of North America, under the same latitudes, it appears
certain that this difference of climate arises from the respective
exposure of the seacoasts. Those which face the west enjoy
a much more temperate climate than those which have an
eastern exposure. In order to account for such a general result,
we must seek for an equally general cause. Apart from the

* This may perhaps he accounted for, by the winds, which, whether
from the south or from the north, sweep that immense valley, without
being intercepted by any sufficient transversal chain of mountains.

SECT. V.]

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

137

variations produced by a different configuration of the surface of
the earth, and by the difference in the general course of the
great chains of mountains in the two hemispheres, the most
probable general cause will be found in the great prevalence
of the western winds throughout the Northern Temperate
Zone. The fact is fully ascertained, and is the cause of a dif¬
ference amounting to about one third in the length of the pas¬
sages between Europe and America. Those winds reach the
western coasts of both, after having crossed the Atlantic or the
Pacific Ocean, and with a temperature corresponding with that
of the sea. The same winds, on the eastern coasts of Asia and
of America, are land winds, and bring with them, especially in
winter, when they come from the northwest, the temperature
of the country where they originated.

If the trade-winds of the Torrid produce a counter-current in
the atmosphere of the Temperate Zone, the rotatory motion of
the earth and the effect of the solar heat may be assigned as the
primary cause of the difference of climate to which we allude.
Whatever that cause may be, there cannot be any expectation
of a permanent change in that respect. It is not indeed per¬
ceived, how cultivation could make any sensible alteration ; and
it is ascertained that the absence of trees produces none.*
But the difference between the forest and the prairie country
had a greater influence on the means of subsistence and the
habits of the Indians, than even that of climate.

The whole country, east of the Alleghany Mountains, was
covered with a dense and uninterrupted forest, when the
European settlers landed in America. South of the fortieth
degree of latitude, it extends in the same manner, as far west
as the Mississippi, without any other considerable exception,
than a tract called “ the Barrens,” situated in the vicinity of
the river of that name in the State of Kentucky. But, between
that latitude and Lake Erie, some intervals of land destitute of
wood, and called “ Prairies,” begin to appear, as you approach
the Scioto, and even more eastwardly in the vicinity of the
Lake. These prairies gradually increase in size and in num¬
ber as you proceed westwardly, and are nearly equal in extent
to the forest land, in the northern part of the State of Illinois

* It would seem that the climate of Rome was formerly colder in
winter than now. The account given of that of Paris by the Emperor
Julian would nearly answer for the present time.

VOL. II. 18

133 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

and of the adjacent country on the north. North of the Lakes,
the forest continues uninterrupted, at least in their vicinity, as
far west as Lake Winnipek. Beyond the Mississippi, the
prairies continue to encroach rapidly on the woodland, until at
last an immense plain, bounded on the west by the Rocky
Mountains, extends from the vicinity of the Arctic Sea to the
Gulf of Mexico, leaving only narrow strips of wooded land
along the banks of the rivers and water-courses. The forest
makes again its appearance in the Rocky Mountains, in the
secondary ridges, and in the intervening valleys. Beyond the
mountains vast prairies are again found, extending as far west
as the northern continuation of the Californian chain of moun¬
tains, and known by the name of Columbia Plains. Their
extent to the north is not known, but southwardly, and assuming
a different character, they reach the Gulf of California. A
great portion of the Mexican dominions is equally destitute
of trees. The tract of land, contained between the Pacific and
the Californian chain, does not exceed one hundred and fifty
miles in breadth, and is well timbered.

But there is a vast difference, in the means of subsistence
they afford to the Indians, between the Columbia Plains and
the Prairies of the Missouri. These are the native country of
the bisons, or buffaloes, as they are universally called in
America, and through which they range, from the fifty-fifth
degree of latitude to the sources of the rivers that empty into
the Gulf of Mexico between the Mississippi and the Rio Norte.
The buffaloes constitute the. principal article of food of the
erratic tribes, as well as of the cultivating Indians whom we
have designated by the name of Missouris ; and their undi¬
minished numbers prove, that the Indian population has not
quite reached the extent, of which, in that state of nature, it
was susceptible. The Columbia Plains, on the contrary, are as
destitute of game as of trees. The buffalo has never pene¬
trated there ; the principal and cheapest article of food of the
European and American traders was, at least till very lately,
horse flesh ; * and dogs were a luxury. The Indians who did

* The horse is not a native of America. The wild herds of Texas
are entirely of Spanish origin. They have been obtained by the Indians
either directly or by internal exchanges among themselves, and are
now abundant in a domesticated state on both sides of the Rocky Moun¬
tains, as far north as they can subsist without the aid of food supplied
by man.

SECT. V.]

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

139

not live immediately on the shores of the Pacific, or in the Rocky
Mountains, derived their means of subsistence almost exclusively
from the salmon, which ascends the rivers to their sources, and
from various species of native roots, some of which are very
unwholesome. They cultivate absolutely nothing : and it is
therefore evident that their population must be less, in propor¬
tion to territory, than that of the Indians east of the mountains.

The bisons are found, in the Missouri plains, in flocks of
several thousands. They generally migrate in winter to the
country south of the Arkansa. Many however find during that
season, even in high latitudes, an asylum in the valleys of the
mountains, or wherever a detached tract of forest land is to be
found. Their bulk, shape, and habits render mountains a formi¬
dable obstacle to their progress. Wherever a buffalo path is
found in a mountainous or hilly country, it is a sure guide for
the most practicable way of crossing the mountain. It was such
a path, which, for a number of years, became the main route across
the Cumberland Mountains, between the southwest parts of Vir¬
ginia and Kentucky. In the same manner the buffalo has
pointed out the most practicable route, across the ridge which
divides the sources of the Yellow Stone and the river Platte, from
that of Lewis’s River, a southern branch of the Columbia, and
from those of the Rio Colorado of California. They have
penetrated down the last river as far south as the fortieth degree
of latitude, and down Lewis’s River as far west as the one hun¬
dred and fifteenth degree of longitude. Beyond those points
they have been arrested in both directions by impassable moun¬
tains. Toward the east they had crossed the Mississippi, and,
before they were driven away by the American settlements, they
had ascended the valley of the Ohio within one hundred miles of
Pittsburgh, and that of the Tennessee to its sources. They were
but rarely seen south of the ridge which separates that river
from the sources of those which empty into the Gulf of Mexico,
and nowhere, in the forest country, in herds of more than
from fifty to two hundred. The bison is but a variety of the
European ox ; and the mixed breed will again propagate.* He

# As doubts have lately been raised upon that point, I must say that
the mixed breed was quite common fifty years ago, in some of the north¬
western counties of Virginia ; and that the cows, the issue of that mixture,
propagated like all others. No attempt that I know of was ever made by
the inhabitants to tame a buffalo of full growth. But calves were occa¬
sionally caught by the dogs and brought alive into the settlements. A

140

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

is very intractable, and is not known to have ever been domesti¬
cated by the Indians.

Some unforeseen circumstances have prevented General
Ashley of Missouri, from communicating to me in time, as be
intended, some further information respecting the country,
which he explored in the Rocky Mountains, and thence in a
southwesterly direction beyond Lake Timpanogo. Rut he
has transmitted to me a manuscript map, accompanied with
numerous explanatory notes, the materials for which consist of
various journeys and explorations by some of our enterprising
traders and hunters. It is on that authority, and subject to
such corrections, as more complete explorations and scientific
observations will hereafter render necessary, that several geo¬
graphical innovations have been introduced in the small map
annexed to this Essay.

It will be seen by this, that the sources of the Multnomah do
not reach farther south than the forty-third degree of latitude ;
that some rivers, which had been believed to belong to it, are
southern branches of Lewis’s River ; that the sources of the
Rio Colorado of California are as far north as almost the forty-
third degree of north latitude, whilst those of the Rio Norte do
not reach the thirty-ninth degree ; and that the river commonly
called Rio Rojo, that heads nearly opposite to Taos and Santa
Fe on the Rio Norte, is a branch, not of the Red River of the
Mississippi, but of the Canadian fork of the Arkansa. The
most important discoveries, however, relate to the country be¬
tween the Rio Colorado of California and the Pacific Ocean
south of the forty-second degree of north latitude.

The Lake Timpanogo has been found, and is laid down, in
the same latitude and longitude nearly, as had been assigned
to it by Baron Humboldt. It receives two rivers from the east,

bull thus raised was for a number of years owned in my immediate
vicinity by a farmer living on the Monongahela, adjoining Mason and
Dixon’s line. He was permitted to roam at large, and was no more dan¬
gerous to man than any bull of the common species. But to them he
was formidable, and would not suffer any to approacli within two or
three miles of his own range. Most of the cows I knew, were descended
from him. For want of a fresh supply of the wild animal they have
now merged into the common kind. They were no favorites, as they
yielded less milk. The superior size and strength of the buffalo might
have improved the breed of oxen for draught ; but this was not at¬
tended to, horses being almost exclusively employed in that quarter for
agricultural purposes.

SECT. V.]

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

141

which issue from the mountains west of the Colorado, is known
to the Americans by the name of Great Salt Lake, and has no
outlet whatever towards the sea. General Ashley’s own ex¬
plorations extend as far south as another smaller lake, to which
his name has been given, and which is situated about eighty
miles south of the southeastern extremity of Lake Timpanogo.
It is also fed by a river coming from the mountains in the
southeast, and has no outlet. The discoveries south and west
of that place appear to belong to others, and principally to
J. S. Smith. Another river known by the name of Last River,
coming also from the coast, falls into another lake, also without
outlet, situated in 38° north latitude, and in the same longitude
as Lake Timpanogo.

J. S. Smith descended the Rio Colorado of California, in
the year 1826, as far south as the thirty-fifth degree of north
latitude. Proceeding thence westwardly, he reached the Span¬
ish Missions of San Pedro and San Diego near the Pacific.
The ensuing year, he visited Monterey and St. Francisco ;
ascended the river Buenaventura some distance, and recrossed
the Californian chain of mountains, called there Mount Joseph,
in about the thirty-ninth degree of latitude. He thence pro¬
ceeded north of west, and reached the southwestern extremity
of Lake Timpanogo. The eastern foot of t he Californian
chain, where he recrossed it, is about one hundred and eighty
miles from the Pacific. There he crossed some streams, coming
from the south, which may either be lost in the sands,
or, breaking through the mountains, north of Mount Joseph,
unite with the river Buenaventura. The course of this last
river, so far as it is known, is from north to south, between and
parallel to the Californian chain and the Pacific.

The most southern branch of the Owyhee, a southern tribu¬
tary stream of Lewis’s River, takes its source not far west from
the northern extremity of Lake Timpanogo, and in its most
southerly bend passes, in the forty-first degree of latitude,
through an extremely mountainous and rocky country. The
result of Mr. Smith’s journey is, that the whole country south
of that river, from the vicinity of the Rio Colorado to the Cali¬
fornian mountains, is an immense sandy plain, in which a few
detached mountains are seen, “ from which flow small streams
that are soon lost in the sand. A solitary antelope or black¬
tailed deer may sometimes be seen. A few wild Indians are
scattered over the plain, the most miserable objects in creation.”

142

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

The chain of mountains, east of Lake Timpanogo, and west
of the Rio Colorado, continues southwardly, close to that river,
to the thirty-sixth degree of latitude, where it terminates. The
chain which divides the waters of the Rio Norte, from those of
the Arkansa, is well known, and is an easterly branch of the
Rocky Mountains. But the main chain, which may be consid¬
ered as a continuation of the Mexican Andes, lies between the
Colorado and the Rio Norte. This section of the country is
known to us only through the reports of our beaver-hunters
(trappers), who have not penetrated farther south than the
thirty-seventh degree of latitude. They represent the country
extending thence northwardly to the sources of the river Platte,
as being only a body of mountains, intersected at right angles
by rivers that empty into the Colorado. The only section,
which has not at all been explored by the Americans, is that
lying east of the Colorado between the Rio Gila and the thirty-
seventh degree of north latitude.

The uniformity of character in the grammatical forms and
structure of all the Indian Languages of North America, which
have been sufficiently investigated, indicates a common origin.
The numerous distinct languages, if we attend only to the
vocabularies between which every trace of affinity has disap¬
peared, attest the antiquity of the American population. This
may be easily accounted for, consistently with the opinion that
the first inhabitants came from Asia, and with the Mosaic
chronology. The much greater facility of communication,
either across Behring’s Straits, or from Kamschatka or Japan
by the Aleutian Islands, would alone, if sustained by a similarity
of the physical type of man, render the opinion of an Asiatic
origin, not only probable, but almost certain. The rapidity with
which the human species may be propagated under favorable
circumstances removes any apparent inconsistency between that
opinion and the early epoch, which must be assigned to the
first appearance of man in America.

Reasoning a priori , it would appear that the population of
a country may be doubled in the short period of fifteen years,
provided it finds adequate means of subsistence. We know
with certainty, that the white inhabitants of the United States
continue even now to increase, independent of migration, at the
rate of near thirty-three and a third per cent, in ten years, and

SECT. V.j

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

143

that their number is therefore doubled within less than twenty-
three years. So long as man, compelled to seek, or voluntarily
seeking new' places of residence, found in his progress no
obstacle from more ancient inhabitants, there was no impedi¬
ment, that could either arrest his .march, or retard the natural
increase of the population. We know this to be the fact with
respect to an agricultural nation. Hunting tribes would meet
with no greater difficulty in finding means of subsistence ade¬
quate to a similar increase in their numbers ; the only difference
being that, wanting more space for that purpose, they must have
moved faster, and have peopled the earth in their own wTay, in
a shorter time than agricultural nations would have done.

Assuming the central parts of Asia to have been the cradle
of mankind, and since three couples would, in thirty periods of
duplication, increase to more than six thousand millions of souls,
we may fairly infer, not only the possibility, but even the proba¬
bility, that America began to be inhabited only five or six hun¬
dred years later than the other hemisphere.*

Another problem perhaps more interesting, and the solution
of which is not less difficult, is that of the origin of the semi¬
civilization which wTas found to exist in certain parts of America.
With respect to our own Indians, the only difficulty consists in
assigning sufficient reasons for their having remained during so
many centuries in the state of comparative inferiority in which
we found them. It is perhaps partly on that account, that the
Europeans were astonished to find, in Mexico and Peru, a great
comparative progress, and in every respect a much farther
advanced state of civilization. Yet it is but lately, that any
plausible reasons have been suggested, in support of the opinion
that assigns a foreign origin to that civilization. The proofs
attempted to be deduced from the affinities of languages, appear
insufficient. In comparing the vocabularies of twenty distinct
American, with those of as many Asiatic languages, accidental
coincidences will necessarily occur. The similarity of the structure
and grammatical forms of those of America indicates a common
origin, and renders it probable that the great diversity of their
vocabularies took place in America. Should that have been

# These observations must be understood, as they were intended, as
only showing that there is nothing in the American languages and the
early epoch which may thence be deduced of the American population,
inconsistent with the opinion of an Asiatic origin and with the received
chronology.

144

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

the case, it can hardly be hoped that any one American will be
found to have preserved in its words indisputable affinities with
any one Asiatic language. An investigation of the grammatical
character of the Asiatic languages, with which we are as yet but
imperfectly acquainted, may perhaps lead to a more satisfactory
result.* Even then, the questions would arise, whether a simi¬
larity in that respect does not ascend to the most remote anti¬
quity ; whether the first emigrants to America were much
superior to the present inhabitants of the northeastern parts of
Asia ; how, if they brought with them a superior degree of
civilization, no trace of it is to be found in those northern parts
of America, which they must have inhabited in their passage
towards a more southern region ; and why the civilization which
they brought with them was ultimately confined to certain
favored spots.

We may indeed suppose, for we have no proof of the fact,
that the American arts and institutions, of which we seek the
origin, were introduced by subsequent migrations from the other
hemisphere, which took place long after America had been first
peopled, and when European and Asiatic nations were already
far advanced in civilization. Without denying the possibility of
such an origin ; admitting, as is proved by the population found
in the islands of the Pacific, that such a migration was practi¬
cable; it is equally obvious that it could, at any one time, have
consisted of but few individuals. Any number, however small,
might without difficulty have occupied uninhabited islands.
But they might not have found a very friendly reception among
the American savages; and the influence founded only on the
persuasion of a few foreigners, to such an extent, as to induce
a barbarous people to change their habits and social state, ap¬
pears to me less probable, than a gradual progress towards civ¬
ilization of domestic origin.

On the other hand, it cannot be denied, that a correspon¬
dence has already been pointed out, between the style of arts,
the hieroglyphics, the calendar, the worship, and other American
institutions, and those found in some parts of the other continent.
Alexander Humboldt has thrown great additional light on that, as

* The ingenious dissertation of an enlightened Mexican, pointing out
affinities between the Ottomy or Othomite, and the Chinese languages, is
not quite satisfactory. The principal distinguishing characters of the
Indian languages are found in the verb ; and the author resorts to the
supposition that the Ottomies borrowed their conjugations from the
Mexicans.

SECT. V.]

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

145

on every other subject which he has discussed. Much remains
to be done, and all the attainable materials have not yet
been collected. All that remains of ancient paintings, hiero¬
glyphic or descriptive, should be collected and published ; fair
and correct drawings of many ancient monuments are still
wanted.* The works, in the Indian languages, of the earliest
writers after the conquest should be translated ; and every other
proof collected of the authenticity of the Mexican and Peruvian
annals, and of that of the paintings, or other means of transmit¬
ting the knowledge of events, on which they are founded.
Should subsequent investigations fail of adducing satisfactory
proofs of a connexion between the civilization of America and
that of the other hemisphere, the progress that had been made
in America has, after all, nothing so wonderful as to render it
absolutely necessary to resort to the supposition of a foreign
importation. On the probable supposition, that the whole conti¬
nent of America was inhabited one thousand years after the
flood, or near four thousand years ago, the faculties of man,
gradually unfolded and improved, may, in the course of so long
a period, have produced, without any extraneous aid, that more
advanced state of society and of knowledge, which existed in
some parts of America, when first discovered by the Europeans.
Those centres of American civilization were all found precisely
in those places, where we might have expected to find them, if
that civilization was of domestic origin.

Those countries where, on account of the climate, greater
exertions are required in order to obtain the necessaries and
comforts of life, may be those which ultimately will make the
greatest progress in the arts and in the acquirement of wealth
and knowledge ; but they are not those where civilization has
been found generally to originate. We uniformly trace its
commencement and first progress in the other hemisphere, in
countries equally exempt from the rigor of severe winters, and
from the excessive heat of the Torrid Zone. In America, the
corresponding latitudes are subject in winter to cold as seveie as
that of the north of Germany ; whilst, in the Torrid Zone, exten¬
sive and fruitful districts of elevated table land and valleys enjoy
a climate as mild and favorable, as the banks of the Euphrates

# Some of the plates of Delrio’s account of the City of Stones appear
suspicious, as relates to the style of architecture, and. still more as to the
correctness with which the human figures are drawn.

VOL. II. 19

146

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

and of the Tigris. And it is accordingly in those favored spots,
in the vicinity of Mexico, of Santa Fe de Bogota, of Quito, and
of Cusco, that were found those agricultural and manufacturing
nations, those extensive empires and populous cities, with regu¬
lar forms of worship and of government, which excited the
wonder and inflamed the cupidity of the European invaders.

Although we may not place full reliance on the details and
the dates of the Mexican annals, it is indubitable that several
nations, some of them speaking different languages, have, sub¬
sequent to the first civilization of the country, successively
occupied the various provinces of the Mexican empire. The
ruins of Palenque and of other cities are monuments of those
revolutions. The annals and traditions ascend no higher than
the Tolteques, as the authors of the first civilization. Whether
the merit is due to them, or to some more ancient and unknown
people, it may be asked, whence came the subsequent succes¬
sive conquerors? The abodes of the Azteques, or Mexicans
proper, may probably be traced as far north as the Casas
Grandas of the Rio Gila ; but from what quarter had they come
to that place ?

In order to account for their success, it must necessarily be
admitted, that they were previously an agricultural people ; for
the pastoral state cannot exist where there are no domesticated
animals ; and we know with the utmost certainty, that no purely
hunting nations could be numerous enough, or keep together
and support for any length of time a force sufficient successfully
to invade, or make any serious impression on a country, such as
Mexico is represented to have been, and in fact was at the time of
the invasion. But we now know that, north of the latitude of the
Rio Gila, there is nothing west of the Rio Colorado but a sandy
desert, nothing between that river and the Rio Norte but accumu¬
lated ridges of mountains, nothing east of the last river but the
buffalo plains. In fact we find in no part of the country, whether
east or north, adjacent to the northern civilized provinces of
Mexico, any trace, or any probability of the former existence,
of an agricultural people. But we may easily understand, that
the civilization of Mexico gradually extended its influence, as
from a common centre, northwardly as well as southwardly ;
that the northerly tribes, as far north as the thirtieth degree of
latitude, and perhaps the Rio Gila, without having made the
same progress in arts, or attained the same degree of wealth as
the ancient inhabitants of Mexico, may have been gradually

SECT. V.]

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

147

converted into an agricultural people ; and that, like the Ger¬
man nations in Europe, they may ultimately have conquered
their less warlike southern neighbours.

I he next and more immediate subject of inquiry is, how we
shall account for those ancient tumuli, fortifications, and other
remnants, both east and west of the Mississippi, the origin of
which is entirely unknown to the Indians, who in the seventeenth
century were the sole inhabitants, and still continue to occupy
a part of that country.

On this, as on many other subjects relative to our Indian^
we are still in want of facts. We are not yet sufficiently
acquainted with the extent of the country over which those
monuments are spread, or how far they differ in character
extent, or number, in the different sections of the country.
They only appear to have been more numerous and of greater
importance in the vicinity of the Mississippi and in the valley
of the Ohio. There is nothing in their construction, or in the
remnants which they contain, indicative of a much more ad¬
vanced state of civilization than that of the present inhabitants.
But it may be inferred from their number and size, that they
were the work of a more populous nation than any now existing ;
and if the inference is correct, it would necessarily imply a
state of society, in which greater progress had been made in
agriculture. For wherever satisfactory evidence of a greater
population is found, this could not have existed without ade¬
quate means of subsistence, greater than can be supplied by the
chase alone.

Those monuments seem in two respects to differ from any
erections that can be ascribed to the Indians, such as they were
found by the first French or English settlers. Some are of a char¬
acter apparently different from those purely intended for defence.
It may be doubted whether those extensive mounts, so regularly
shaped and with a rectangular basis, such as that near the Mis¬
sissippi, on which the refugee monks of La Trappe had built
their convent, one hundred feet in height, facing the lour cardi¬
nal points, and with those platforms designated by the name of
Apron, are entirely the work of man, or whether they may
not have been natural bills, artificially shaped by his hands.
But if they have been correctly described, they have a stiong
family likeness to the Mexican pyramids, as they are called,
and were probably connected with the worship of the nation.
Of these, for there appear to be at least two more, and of

148

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

other enclosures or works which cannot be accounted for by a
reference to military purposes only, we want lull and precise
descriptions.

But, if considered only as fortifications, ramparts of earth, in
a forest country, strike us as a singular mode of defence, against
savage enemies and Indian weapons. All the defensive works,
without exception, that were used by the Indians, east of the
Mississippi, from the time they were first known to us, wTere of a
uniform character. The descriptions of Mauvilie at the time of
De Soto’s expedition, and of Hochelaga by Cartier, agree entirely
with the Indian forts within our own knowledge, with that of
the Fi ve Nations in the siege of which Champlain was engaged
in 1615, and of which he lias left a correct drawing, and with
every other description given by the early writers. They all
consisted of wooden palisades strongly secured, with an internal
gallery, from which the besieged party might under cover repel
the assailants with missile weapons. And they were also of a
moderate size, and such as could be defended by the population
of an Indian villao-e. Wood affords the natural means of forti-

fication against a savage enemy, where the material is abundant.
It cannot indeed be understood how these works could have
been properly defended, unless they were surrounded, not only
by the rampart, but also by a palisade. And it is on any sup¬
position extremely difficult to account for works containing five
hundred acres, such as that on the banks of the Missouri, which
was correctly measured by Lewis and Clarke.

The only conjecture I can form, and it is but a conjecture, is,
that the people who erected those works came from the west,
and that it was during their residence in the prairie country,
that they were compelled to resort to that species of defensive
works. They may, as is often the case, have persisted in the
habit when there was no longer occasion for it. From the
Colorado or the Rio Norte, the way to the Mississippi was easy
by the river Platte or the Arkansa. The conjecture is entitled
to consideration, only in case further investigation should show
a probable connexion between the monuments of the valley of
the Mississippi with those of Mexico. The extensive tract of
alluvial land along the Mississippi opposite St. Louis, now
called the American Bottom, is the place in which are found
the strongest indication of a concentrated population.

It is not necessary to refute the opinion of those who
would ascribe these works to European emigrants. There is

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

149

SECT. V.]

nothing in them, which may not have been performed by a
savage people. The Scandinavian colony of Vinland (New¬
foundland) is out of the question, The Norwegians might
indeed have penetrated through the Straits of Bellisle to the St.
Lawrence. But, if not destroyed by the savages, a considera¬
ble time must have elapsed, before they could in their subse¬
quent progress, have reached the Mississippi, and ascended its
western tributaries. The well ascertained age of trees, growing
on those ramparts in the lower part of the valley of the Ohio,
proves, that some of those works were erected before the thir¬
teenth century ; and we know, that the insignificant colony of
Vinland had not left its original seats in the year 1120. Igno¬
rant as we are and shall ever remain of the internal revolutions,
which may have formerly taken place amongst the uncivilized
tribes of North America, it is not probable that we can ever
know by whom the works in question were erected. Should it
appear, from a review of all the facts, that they must be
ascribed to a populous and agricultural nation, we must, I think,
conclude that this was destroyed by a more barbarous people. It
appears at least extremely improbable, that, independently of
external causes, or of some great catastrophe, a people once
become agricultural should take such a retrograde step, as to
degenerate again into the hunting or savage state.

All the Indians of North America, north of the civilized
districts of the Mexican empire,* may be arranged in two
classes ; those who cultivated the soil, and those who derived
their subsistence exclusively from the natural products of the
earth and the sea. The territory, over which cultivation had
extended, is that which is bounded on the east by the Atlantic,
on the south by the Gulf of Mexico, on the west generally by
the Mississippi or perhaps more properly by the prairies, on
the north, it may be said, by the nature of the climate. The
northern boundary of cultivation was, near the Atlantic, that
which divided the Abenakis from the Etchemins, including
certainly the river Kennebec, and probably the Penobscot.
With the exception of the Hurons and other kindred tribes on
the northern shores of Lake Erie, there was no cultivation

* These do not now extend so far north as the thirtieth degree of
north latitude, unless an exception be found in the long and narrow valley
of the Rio Norte called New Mexico. I do not know whether the
Indians there cultivated the soil before the Spanish conquest, or whether
they have been compelled to do it. The subject deserves investigation.

150

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

north of the great Lakes ; nor does there appear to have been
any amongst the Chippeways, who occupied the country along
the southern banks of Lake Superior. They and the Menomonies
depended for vegetable food, principally if not altogether on
the wild rice, or wild oats, as the plant is called. The few
tribes west of the Mississippi, which attend at all to agriculture
have already been designated, as well as those, which, extend¬
ing thence to the Pacific, derive their principal means ol sub¬
sistence, either from the buffalo, or from roots and fish. Nor
were the inhospitable regions of the north destitute of those
means. Innumerable lakes cover perhaps one third of the
inland country, and would afford an abundant supply of food to
an industrious and provident population. The musk ox and
the American rein-deer are found under those latitudes, where
the buffalo and the common deer cannot exist. Even along
the shores of the Arctic Ocean and of its numerous bays, the
Eskimaux appear to be as well provided as the more southern
Indians. Immense quantities of salmon are caught in the sum¬
mer, and are easily preserved till the ensuing year. The seal,
which is taken even during the winter, supplies the Eskimaux
with food, fuel, light, and clothing. And even, where there are
neither trees nor drift wood, and where subterraneous abodes
are not resorted to, or cannot be excavated, the ice itself
affords materials for winter dwellings, as comfortable and as
quickly constructed, as the leather lodges or the bark huts of
the erratic tribes.

It is obvious, that the population of nations which, for their
subsistence, depend exclusively on natural products, is neces¬
sarily limited by the quantity naturally produced. A nation of
hunters, living exclusively on game, cannot increase the quan¬
tity which a given extent of territory can sustain. All they
can, at most, effect for that purpose is the destruction of car¬
nivorous animals. If, at any time, their population should be so
increased, as to require a greater consumption of food, than
is afforded by the natural production of game, this would be
checked, and the population would soon be diminished till the
equilibrium was again restored. In order to keep up their
numbers, the Indians must resist any encroachment on their
hunting-grounds. They must fight in their defence, against
invaders, as for existence. On the other hand, the great extent
of ground necessary to sustain game, sufficient for the subsist¬
ence of a very moderate population, compels them to separate

SECT. V.]

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

151

and to form a number of small independent communities. It
may easily be perceived that the perpetual stale of warfare, in
which neighbouring tribes are engaged, had its origin in the
same cause which has produced the great diversity of Ameri¬
can languages or dialects. We may also understand, how the
affections of the Indian became so exclusively concentrated in
his own tribe, the intensity of that natural feeling, how it
degenerated into deadly hatred of hostile nations, and the ex¬
cesses of more than savage ferocity in which he indulged under
the influence of his unrestrained vindictive passions.

It is worthy of remark that the population of those hunting
nations does not appear to have ever reached the maximum of
which it was susceptible. We have the proof of this, in the
undiminished numbers of the buffalo in the prairies, and even
of the deer in the north, and in the facility, with which the
numerous servants of the European and American trading com¬
panies derive their means of subsistence in those districts from
the natural resources of the country, from the chase or from the
product of the lakes. The only species of animals, which
have decreased, are those which supply furs and skins, for
which commerce has created an extraordinary demand. The
intestine wars of the Indians may have checked the increase of
population ; but this is not the only cause, and we may find
another in their inveterate indolence, united, as it is, with that
habitual improvidence, occasionally attended with the greatest
privations and even with famine.

War and the chase are the only pursuits which the men do
not think beneath their dignity. This is the uniform char¬
acteristic of all our Indian nations. When not thus engaged,
they sink into a state of mental apathy and physical indolence,
from which strong stimulants alone can rouse them ; and to this
cause may be traced their excessive passion for gambling and
for ardent spirits. Women are everywhere slaves and beasts of
burden. Independent of that portion which naturally falls to
their share, the cares of maternity and of the household, every
other species of labor falls upon them. And this alone has
prevented the beneficial effects which would otherwise have
flowed from the introduction of agriculture.

It has already been seen, that cultivation is exclusively con¬
fined to that portion of the country, clothed with forests, which,
between the Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, extends from the
Atlantic to the Mississippi, and hardly beyond it. This terri-

152

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

tory, and Chili, in South America, might, in some respects, be
considered as centres of an incipient civilization. But the
Araucanians appear to have ceased to be hunters, and to have
derived their subsistence exclusively from agriculture. Their
long and successful resistance against the Spanish invaders
proves them to have been a numerous and united people ; they
were not, like the Peruvians and Mexicans, under the yoke of
a civil or religious despotism; and, although they had not made
the same progress in arts or knowledge, they may perhaps be
considered as the most favorable specimen of the American race.
The social state of the semi-agricultural nations of North America
presents a very different picture.

Cultivation amongst them appears to have been confined to
the maize, some species of beans ( phaseolus ), and pumpkins
(cucurbit a) , and in some quarters the sweet potato ( convolvu¬
lus ), the watermelon, and tobacco ; all which plants were also
cultivated in Peru.* Maize, which constituted the most impor¬
tant article, is decidedly of southern origin ; but whether the
cultivation first took place on the continent, or in the West
India islands, cannot be ascertained. It would seem more
probable that it originated in the favored elevated plains of the
Torrid Zone, and that, in its gradual progress, it was introduced
from the neighbouring islands of the Gulf of Mexico, into the
country which lies along its northern shores. Its extension
northwardly would be a natural process, and may have been
favored by the greater difficulty of obtaining food where there
is no fish, and the game, consisting principally of deer, is com¬
paratively less abundant, and obtained with greater labor, than in
the prairies. But the introduction of agriculture produced little
alteration in the habits or manners of the men. They continued
to bb still hunters, and being too indolent to attend to the daily
and tame labors of agriculture, these were again thrown upon
the women.

Apart from the pernicious influence of that state of society
on the moral feeling and conduct of both sexes, we will here
observe, that, although agriculture did to a certain extent
increase the population, yet, left to women alone, its effect was
very limited. In order that the cultivation of the soil may pro-

* Some species of corn, chestnuts and other nuts, as also some roots,
were natural products, which made some addition to their nutritious
yegetable food.

SECT. V.]

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

153

mote that increase of mankind, which is limited only by the
quantity of land fit for cultivation, it is necessary that the annual
agricultural labor should produce a quantity of food, at least
equal to the annual consumption of the whole existing popula¬
tion. The labor of women alone is not sufficient to produce
that result. A portion of their time is necessarily employed in
the other domestic occupations which must always fall to their
share; and the residue is unequal to the task of raising food
adequate to the whole consumption of the nation. The pro¬
portion may vary, according to soil, climate, and the greater or
less degree of assistance, which, amongst some tribes, they
occasionally receive from the men. But it fell short every¬
where of that which was required ; and the result was, that, after
producing an increase of population proportionate to the addi¬
tional supply, that increase was again ultimately limited by the
quantity of game which the territory afforded.

Supposing, for instance, that a territory containing ten thou¬
sand square miles supplied game enough to sustain a population
of five thousand souls, and that the labor of women afforded a
supply equal to three fourths of the subsistence of the whole
population, a most favorable supposition, its total amount could
never have exceeded twenty thousand, or four times the num¬
ber which could be supported by the game alone. For, if we
suppose the number to have been for a time raised to twenty-
four thousand, since the agricultural labor of the women could
only support eighteen thousand or three fourths of the whole,
and the game still five thousand, one thousand must have been
left without food.

The first European settlers were not, like Cortez, Pizarro,
and his worthy comrade De Soto, reckless invaders, who,
actuated by the thirst of gold, laid waste the country with fire
and sword, and claimed as of right the sovereignty of the land
and the servitude of the natives. The Puritans of New Eng¬
land, William Penn, Oglethorpe, and Lady Huntingdon were
all conscientious people; and, though Locke’s plan of govern¬
ment was a failure, those who on that occasion consulted that
great benefactor of mankind, the most powerful advocate of
civil and religious liberty, must have been men of liberal minds.
Yet it does not appear, that, in forming their plans, any of them
was at all arrested by considerations arising from the rights of
the natives to the soil. The emigrants all arrived, without any
previous steps having been taken in reference to the Indians.

vol. ii. 20

154

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

It seems to have been a general opinion, that they had certainly
much more land than they wanted ; that there would be no
difficulty in obtaining a sufficient quantity from them, since there
was enough for both parties ; that their situation would be greatly
improved by the blessings of Christianity and a participation in
the arts and superior knowledge of the Europeans ; and that
both races would subsist and flourish together. Those expec¬
tations were fulfilled in every respect but that in which the
Indians were most immediately concerned. The fact was, that
the Indians, so long as they preserved their habits, had but little
if any more land than they actually wanted. And, to this day,
they have almost universally proved refractory to every attempt
made to induce them to change these habits. The Indian
disappears before the white man, simply because he will not
work. The struggle was between inveterate indolence and the
most active and energetic industry ; and the result could not be
doubtful. The Indian at first thoughtlessly sold his land for a
trifle ; he then vainly fought in order to recover or to preserve it ;
he finally was compelled to seek a retreat farther to the west :
and the few who remained behind, though protected by govern¬
ment, and with reserved lands sufficient, as we might think, for
their sustenance, still persevering in their indolent habits, sank
into a most degenerate race, and have almost altogether disap-

The four millions of industrious inhabitants, who, within less
than forty years, have peopled our western States, and derive
more than ample means of subsistence from the soil, offer the
most striking contrast, wdien compared with perhaps one hun¬
dred thousand Indians whose place they occupy. Not only
was the hunter unable to procure food for an increased popula¬
tion, but he had generally to provide daily for the wants of the
day, and never could accumulate the product of his labor in the
shape of capital. An agricultural people, even though as little
advanced in that respect as our western settlers are at first,
have always, from the moment they have prepared a field suffi¬
cient for the food of the family, a capital either in their barns
or growing, equal to the product of one year’s labor. Within
two years, more corn is produced than is wanted for their own
support. The surplus affords means of subsistence to new
emigrants ; it is either sold to those who have some prop¬
erty ; or advanced in the shape of wages to those who bring
nothing with them but their labor. This simple process.

SECT. V.] GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 155

renewed every year in a fast increasing ratio, and carried on
with unexampled activity and energy, has produced those
results unparalleled in the known history of nations. There
was nothing to prevent the Indian from reaching the same
state of agriculture and population, but his own indolence.

It may be admitted that the intercourse with the whites has
enlarged the sphere of ideas of the Indians and of late softened
their manners.* Without examining whether, even with those
who have preserved their lands, those advantages have not
been more than counterbalanced by the introduction of new
vices and new evils, it may be asserted, that the general ten¬
dency of that intercourse has rather been to perpetuate than to
change their habits. The furs and skins of wild animals were
the only articles they could offer in exchange of European
commodities ; and commerce, which by increasing their wants
might be considered as beneficial to them, has thus stimulated
them to apply still more exclusively their time and faculties to
the chase. Even the benevolent intentions of the government
of the United States have not always taken the most proper
direction. The larger compensation allowed for their lands,
and the annuities bestowed upon them, have promoted the habit
of being supported otherwise than by labor. It is not by treat¬
ing them as paupers, that a favorable change can be expected.

So long as the Indians were formidable, their mode of war¬
fare and their excessive cruelty and ferocity made them objects
of execration. The feeling has been universal, and is exhibit¬
ed in as strong colors in the contemporaneous accounts -'of
Ne w England, as it may have since appeared on our western
frontiers. That state of things is at an end ; the natives have
ceased to be an object of terror, and they are entirely at our
mercy. We may indeed say, that, if a scrupulous regard had
always been paid to the rights of the Indians, this nation would
not have sprung into existence. The fact is not less true, that
it has been created at their expense ; and the duty is imposed
upon us to exhaust every practicable means to prevent the
annihilation of those who remain, and to promote their happi¬
ness. Though their .intellectual faculties were palsied and

# The cessation of internal wars amongst the Indians has been suc¬
cessfully promoted by the government of the United States. There
may have been, but I have not heard of any instance of a prisoner being
tortured, burnt by a slow hre, &c., during the last forty years.

156

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

their moral feelings debased, this was the result of the circum¬
stances under which they were placed. I cannot persuade
myself, that they were doomed to a transitory existence, cor¬
responding with that of the flocks of deer and buffalo on which
they fed. Their natural affections, though exclusive and im¬
properly directed, were not extinguished, and were still displayed
within their own tribes, and often towards strangers. They
have exhibited repeated proofs of intellectual powers appa¬
rently very superior to those of the African, and not very
inferior to those of the European race.* If a correct view has
been taken of the great obstacle to be surmounted, that of con¬
verting a purely hunting into an agricultural nation, it must be
acknowledged to be one of the most difficult undertakings
within the power of man.

We read in the legends of those nations which had preserved
a recollection of a previous barbarous state, that they were
taught agriculture by a Triptolemus, or a Manco Capac. It
is much to be apprehended, that necessity and compulsion were
the deities that made men submit to the fatigue of agricultural
labor. The annals of every nation, of which we have any
ancient and authentic records, exhibit to us a state of society, of
which slavery constituted a component and important part.
Such was the case with the Romans, with the Greeks, and
with the eastern nations, without excepting the Jews. It
seems as if, after man had departed from the first ordinances
given to him, conquest and slavery had become necessary
ingredients in order to bring him within the pale of civilization.
It may be, that it was on that account that slavery, or, upon the
most favorable construction, a servitude of fifty years, was
expressly allowed by the laws of Moses, and that it is not
expressly forbidden by the Gospel. The great and fundamental
moral principles of Christianity were left to produce their effect
on man, according to his conscience and knowledge, by a
religion, intended for all times and for all men without regard to

* Father Le Jeune, answering in one of his letters the objections
made to the prospect of converting and civilizing the Indians, says, that
it was admitted on all hands, that they were superior in intellect to the
French peasantry of that time. It is curious enough to see him at the
same time advising that laborers should be sent from France in order
to work for the Indians. The same sentiment is expressed in a letter
written in the Indian language by an Algonkin, who had visited
France.

SECT. V.]

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

157

their political or social state, and which disclaims any inter¬
ference or alliance with the powers that may regulate the
machinery of human affairs.

Had the Five Nations, or any other conquering Indian tribe,
instead of murdering or adopting prisoners of war, reduced them
to a state of slavery and made them their helots, they might
have attained a Spartan civilization. That of Peru and Mex¬
ico was avowedly the result of conquests, and, in both cases,
had for its foundation the abject servitude or submission of the
many, the military power of the conquerors, and the yoke
imposed by a false religion.

The only well ascertained instance, amongst our own Indians,
of their having, at least in part, become an agricultural nation,
meaning thereby that state of society, in which the men them¬
selves do actually perform agricultural labor, is that of the
Cherokees. And it is in proof, that, in this case also, cultiva¬
tion was at first introduced through the means of slavery. In
their predatory incursions they carried away slaves from Caro¬
lina. These were used to work, and continued to be thus
employed by their new masters. The advantages derived by
the owners were immediately perceived. Either in war, or in
commercial intercourse, slaves of the African race became
objects of desire ; and gradually, assisted by the efforts of the
government and the beneficial influence of the missionaries, some
amongst those Indians, who could not obtain slaves, were
induced to work for themselves. Accounts vary as to the
extent of that true civilization. It is believed that it embraces
nearly one third of the male population ; and the following
statement of an actual census of that part of the nation which
remained on this side of the Mississippi, taken in the year 1825,
corroborates this opinion.

Free males . 6883; do. females . 6900; total 13,783

Slaves, male-. . 610; do. female . . 667; total 1,277

15,060

White men married to Cherokee women . 147

Cherokee men married to white women . . 68

33 grist mills; 13 saw mills ; 1 powder mill.

69 blacksmith shops; 2 tan yards.

762 looms ; 2486 spinning wheels.

172 wagons ; 2923 ploughs.

7683 horses ; 22,531 black cattle ; 46,732 swine ; 2566 sheep.

158 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

The number of ploughs, compared with that of male slaves,
shows clearly that no inconsiderable number of male Indians
must have been employed in agriculture.

The purchase of slaves to be given to the Indians in order to
enable them to live without labor, or the use of compulsory
means to oblige them to work themselves, are inadmissible.
Example and persuasion can alone be resorted to. And,
although these have so often failed, the instance of the Chero-
kees shows that the case is not hopeless. It is hoped that
government, in carrying into effect its laudable intention of
providing a permanent place of refuge for the Indians, will give
to its operations the direction best calculated to produce that
favorable result. But I think that it is principally on the efforts
of the missionaries, that we must rely for effecting the object.

The Indians do not and cannot love us ; and, seeing the little
regard paid to engagements, which they at least had considered
as binding on both parties, they look on all the acts of govern¬
ment with a jealous eye. Those ministers of the Gospel who
with equal zeal, disinterestedness, and singleness of purpose,
have devoted themselves to the service of the Indians, have
deserved and alone have acquired their confidence. They may
succeed in converting to Christianity the present generation;
but this alone will not prevent the speedy annihilation of the
Indian race, which is inevitable, unless, forsaking their habits,
the Indians shall become an industrious people. There can be
no hesitation in asserting, that the labor necessary to support a
man’s family is, on the part of the man, a moral duty ; and that to
impose on woman that portion, which can be properly perform¬
ed only by man, is a deviation from the laws of nature. I
leave it to those, who have undertaken the task of instructing
mankind in their religious duties, to decide, how far the obliga¬
tion to labor may be enforced by the religious sanction. For
all temporal purposes, a day of rest in the week is unnecessary
for those who are idle the greater part of their time. And it is
believed, that no nation, or individual, can transgress with im¬
punity that first decree which, allotting to each sex its proper
share, declared labor to be the condition, on which man was
permitted to exist.

Let not the Indians entertain the illusory hope, that they can
persist in their habits, and remain in perpetuity quiet posses¬
sors of the extensive territory west of the Mississippi, lately
given to them in exchange for their ancient seats. The same

SECT. V.]

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

159

causes will ultimately produce the same effects. A nation of
hunters cannot exist, as such, when brought in contact with an
agricultural and industrious people. They must be deeply im¬
pressed with the conviction that their ultimate fate depends
exclusively on themselves.

The obstacles to be surmounted, before deep-rooted habits
can be eradicated and a total change be effected, are undoubt¬
edly great, and should be fully understood. If the missions to
the Eskimaux have been so much more successful, than those
amongst the more southern Indians, it has been principally,
because a profitable cultivation of the soil was impracticable in
that frozen region, and that, as the inhabitants must continue to
draw their subsistence from the sea or the chase, it was only
requisite to regulate and not necessary to change their habits.

The attempt may be hopeless with respect to men beyond a
certain age ; and the effort should be directed towards the chil¬
dren. For that purpose, it is sufficient, that the parent should
be thoroughly convinced of the absolute necessity for a change,
without requiring him to do himself what perhaps has be¬
come impracticable. If that point could be accomplished, and
the Indians would permit their children to be brought up by us,
the success of the experiment would depend on those appointed
to superintend its execution. Moral and religious education will
not be neglected. In the present state of those people, no
greater demand need be made on their intellectual faculties, than
to teach them the English language ; but this so thoroughly,
that they may forget their own. That, without which all the
rest would be useless, is the early habit of manual labor. They
must be brought up to work, to till the ground, in short, in the
same manner as our own people, as the sons of our industrious
farmers. They have land of their own, and will not, when
reaching manhood, be obliged to work for others. They have
an abundant quantity of land, and may, if they please, be per¬
petuated and multiply as ourselves. There is no reason why, if
they become an agricultural people, the sixty thousand southern
Indians should not, within less than a century, increase to one
million.

160

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

[iNTROD.

SECTION VI.

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

The vocabularies appended to this essay will enable the
reader to judge, whether the preceding classification of the
Indian languages is correct. Those of the Mohawk, Seneca,
Cherokee, Muskhogee, Choctaw, and Caddo, were prepared
according to a model circulated by the War Department at
the request of the author of this essay. But, . in framing a
general comparative vocabulary, the selection of the words was
controlled by the existing materials ; and many have been
omitted, because they were found only in a few of the vocabu¬
laries, either manuscript, or already published, which could be
obtained. It happens, however, that the greater number of
words of which we have the equivalents in most Indian langua¬
ges, belong to that class, which has generally been considered
as so absolutely necessary in any state of society, that the
words of which it consists must have been in use everywhere
in its earliest stages, and could not have been borrowed by any
nation from any other. Whenever therefore a sufficient num¬
ber of words of that description have been found to be the same
or similar in two or more languages, such languages have
generally been considered as of the same stock, and the
nations which spoke them, as having belonged to the same
family, subsequent to the time when mankind was divided into
distinct nations. The same principle has been adopted in the
classification of the Indians ; and its correctness has been
proved in every instance, where it had been previously ascer¬
tained, by the unanimous testimony of the missionaries, traders,
and interpreters, that two or more languages were certainly
dialects of the same, or kindred tongues. But such is the
tendency of languages, amongst nations in the hunter state,
rapidly to diverge from each other, that, apart from those
primitive words, a much greater diversity is found in Indian
languages, well known to have sprung from a common source,
than in kindred European tongues. Thus, although the Minsi
were only a tribe of the Delawares and. adjacent to them, even
some of their numerals differed. It is proper however to ob¬
serve, that commerce may have communicated to barbarous
tribes in the other hemisphere, the numerals used by more

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

161

civilized nations ; and that, as between hunters and hunters
there are rarely any objects of exchange, numerals cannot in
America have been borrowed by one tribe from another. The
pronouns of the first and second person belong also in the
Indian languages to the class of primitive words. No definitive
opinion can, for want of sufficient materials, be formed with
respect to prepositions.

An apprehension of being deceived by false etymologies, or
accidental coincidences, has perhaps led into a contrary error.
The only case where any language has been placed as belong¬
ing to a certain family, without conclusive proof, is that of the
Minetares. But there are several, and particularly the Choctaw
and Muskhogee, which have been set down as forming distinct
families, that will probably be found, on further investigation,
to belong to the same. Some of the vocabularies are not
sufficiently copious ; in many instances, affinities will be dis¬
covered through the medium of kindred dialects ; and, in
order to have a full view of the subject, w7e should have not
only a small collection of primitive words, but dictionaries in¬
cluding derivatives. Thus, for instance, the numeral, one , in
Choctaw is, achufa , and, in Muskhogee, humma, between which
there is not the slightest affinity. Yet it is revealed by the
Choctaw word for once, which is himmunna. It is therefore
highly probable, that the number of distinct families of Indian
languages will be found to be less than has been here stated ;
though, at the same time, that of subordinate dialects is un¬
doubtedly greater.

The diversity which does actually exist proves only, that
the separation of some of the Indian nations took place in very
early times ; and the difficulty of accounting for it is not
greater here than on the other continent. We find there, in
one quarter, the Sanscrit and the Chinese in juxtaposition, and,
in another, the Basque surrounded by languages of Latin
origin. The same cause, which produced that effect, may,
under different circumstances, have given rise to ten, instead of
two totally distinct languages. In point of fact, the number
does not appear to be greater in North America than in Africa,
in the northeastern parts of Asia, or in the Oceanic region.
The varieties of languages and of dialects must be more num¬
erous amongst uncivilized tribes, principally those in the hunter
state, necessarily subdivided into small communities, than in
populous nations united under one government. Public speaking
VOL. II. 21

162

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

in their councils is the only standard of language of our
Indians. None can become fixed and stable, until that char¬
acter has been imparted to it by the art of writing and the
influence of powerful writers. We have proofs of the multi¬
tude, at least, of dialects, which will spring out of an oral lan¬
guage, in those of Germany and of Italy, and in the Patois of
France. These are indeed but varieties of the French, with
a greater or less residue of Latin or of the other more ancient
language of Gaul ;* but they still differ (much more in words
than in grammatical forms), and are perpetuated, notwithstand¬
ing the long-continued influence of a common government and
of a common written language. To those obvious causes of a
tendency to produce changes, we may add, that inflected
languages seem to be more liable to alterations, than those
which, like that spoken in China, consist principally of mono¬
syllables.

Although, for a proper study of the character of a language,
a dictionary could afford but little aid, if it did not include
derivatives and compound words, even our meagre vocabula¬
ries, if thoroughly investigated, might offer interesting results.
Thus for instance, a single glance at the table of numerals
shows, that all the Indian nations have resorted to a decimal
numeration. But an examination of several of the languages
will afford proof, that they must at first have counted by Jives ,
instead of tens. Thus, in the Choctaw, the numerals seven
and eight , untuklo and untuchina , are evidently derived from
tuklo two and tuchina three, meaning respectively, five and
two, five and three. The same will be found in various other
languages, and particularly in those belonging to the Algonkin-
Lenape. A further investigation will also show, that, although
the Knistinaux, Chippeways, Algonkins, and Abenakis use
for the unity the word peyac , or paizhik, instead of nequit or
ngut, as the other nations of the same stock, they must origin¬
ally have had also the last word ; since their numeral six is,
in all of them, derived from it. It is probable, that those two

* In seventy-five French Patois, of which specimens have been
lately published, no greater grammatical variations are to be found than
the union of the pronoun with the verb, such as Soui for Je suis. In
one, in the Ardennes, the pronoun coalesces with the noun, as in our
Indian languages; J\Tper , and S'pe?', for Mon pere and Son pbe. Mr.
Heckewelder’s apostrophe has, probably for the same purpose, been
ysed by the French writer.

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

163

words were used, as a and one are, in the English language ;
and Mr. Schoolcraft corroborates that which with me could
only be a conjecture.

It will also be found, that, in the Knistinaux and the Chippe-
way, the initial in is often prefixed to the noun, instead of the
pronominal characteristics n, Ic , w, when such nouns are taken
in an absolute or abstract sense, as, mislccewon , nose, misko-
ticic , forehead, meeton , mouth, meepit, teeth, &ic. ; which seems
to corroborate the existence of a definite article mo, discovered
by Mr. Du Ponceau in Eliot’s translation of the Bible.

Another feature, which may be discovered by the vocabu¬
laries, consists in the different names, by which all the Indian
nations distinguish the various degrees and modifications of
relationship, such as the elder brother, and the elder sister, as
distinguished from the younger ones ; paternal, or maternal
uncle, &c. But what is remarkable, as a feature common to all,
is, that women use different words from men for those pur¬
poses ; and that the difference of language, between men and
women, seems, in all the Indian languages, to be confined to
that species of words, or others of an analogous nature, and to
the use of interjections.

It is perhaps less, however, in dictionaries, than by an inves¬
tigation of grammatical forms and structure, that we must
study the philosophy of language and the various ways, in
which man has applied his faculties to that object. We may
discover in their Relations, that the Jesuits had analyzed the
two principal languages spoken in Canada. The venerable
Eliot had in his Grammar, published in 1666, exhibited the
most prominent features of the Massachusetts dialect. And
we have long been in possession of good grammars of several
of the languages of Mexico and South America by the Catho¬
lic missionaries. But it was not, till after the publication of
the more popular works of Egede * and of Crantz, that public
attention was attracted by the peculiar character of the Karalit
or Eskimau language. And the first inference was, that the
Eskimaux must have been a colony from Europe, or from some
other civilized country, and a distinct race from the other
American Indians. In the year 1819, Mr. Du Ponceau, after
having elicited with much labor, from Mr. Heckewelder, the
principal features of the Delaware, and compared it with the

# Alluding to his account of Groenland, rather than to his Grammar.

164

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

Eskimau, with the languages of South America, and with the
scanty specimens within his reach of those of our own Indians,
submitted to the further investigation of the learned the three
following propositions, to wit :

1. That the American languages in general are rich in
words and in grammatical forms, and that, in their complicated
construction, the greatest order, method, and regularity prevail.

2. That these complicated forms, which he calls polysyn¬
thetic, appear to exist in all those languages from Greenland to
Cape Horn.

3. That these forms appear to differ essentially from those
of the ancient and modern languages of the old hemisphere.

The last proposition does not fall within the scope of this
essay, and is far beyond my very limited knowledge of lan¬
guages. All the information, connected with the first propos¬
ition, which could be obtained, has been collected, and will be
found in a condensed form in the annexed grammatical notices
and specimens of conjugations. But the inquiry has, with a
single exception, been confined to the languages of our own
Indians ; and the result, so far as it goes, fully confirms the
first two propositions of Mr. Du Ponceau ; although I think,
that there is less of method and regularity in the Delaware and
other dialects of the Algonkin-Lenape, than in some of the
other Indian languages.

Yet the materials are very incomplete ; although we may
perceive the general features, we cannot yet deduce with suf¬
ficient precision the rules of grammar or of the composition of
words ; and there is some difficulty in discriminating between
the specific characters which distinguish certain languages, and
the general features which belong to all. But we are at least
justified in asserting, that such a general character does exist, that
it applies to all those American languages which have been suf¬
ficiently investigated, and that it seems to prove, beyond a doubt,
that common origin, which could not be discovered in vocabula¬
ries so entirely different from each other. It is not however
intended to assert, that all the American languages, without
exception, possess that general character. It would indeed
appear more astonishing, to find them all belonging to one and
the same family, than to discover some, like the Chinese in
Asia, and the Basque in Europe, of a structure altogether
differing from the general mass.

The fundamental characteristic of the Indian languages of

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

165

America appears to be a universal tendency to express in the
same word, not only all that modifies or relates to the same
object, or action, hut both the action and the object ; thus con¬
centrating in a single expression a complex idea, or several
ideas among which there is a natural connexion. All the
other features of the language seem to be subordinate to that
general principle. The object in view has been attained by
various means of the same tendency and often blended together:
a multitude of inflections properly so called ; a still greater num¬
ber of compound words, sometimes formed by the coalescence
of primitive words not materially altered, more generally by the
union of many such words in a remarkably abbreviated form ;
and numerous particles, either significative, or the original
meaning of which has been lost, prefixed, added as termina¬
tions, or inserted in the body of the word.

The modern languages of Europe generally, and none more
than the English, have substituted, for the inflections of the
ancient languages, auxiliary verbs and separable prepositions ;
and the inflections or compounded words, in the classical lan¬
guages, bear no proportion in point of number to the multiplied
forms and combinations exhibited by those of the Indians.

Notwithstanding this great apparent complexness, all these
various forms, either of inflected or compounded words, must
necessarily have their foundation in analogy, modified by eupho¬
ny : but they render a competent acquirement of the language
extremely difficult to a foreigner ; and even after this object has
been attained, more by routine than in any other way, it must* be
no easy task for the student, to analyze the words, to reduce
them to their proper elements, to class them in conformity with
the genius of the language, and to convey to others his knowl¬
edge with method and sufficient perspicuity.

This remains to be done for almost every Indian language ;
and we can, in the mean while, only try to give some imperfect
notions of the most general features which appear to have been
ascertained.

Number and Gender .

There is a great variety in the Indian languages with respect
to Genders and Number.

Like all others, they have various distinct words, expressive
of the differences of sex in the human species, in reference

166 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

principally to age and consanguinity ; such as, father and mother,
son and daughter, man and woman, boy and girl, &lc. ; and also
distinct names for the male and female of various animals.
But, if the grammatical distinction of gender be understood, as
applying exclusively to the varied inflections by which it is
designated, the Eskimaux,the Choctaws, the Muskhogees, and,
it is believed, the Sioux, having no inflection of that description,
may, in that sense, be said to make no distinction between gen¬
ders. And the languages of the Iroquois family afford the only
instance, as yet discovered, of such a distinction between the
masculine and the feminine.

Father Brebeuf pointed it out,* in the third person of both
the singular and the plural of the Huron, or Wyandot : ihaton,
‘ he says’ ; iouaton, ‘ she says ’ ; ihonton , ‘they say (the men)’ ;
ionton , ‘ they say (the women)’. The same distinction and
applied to the same person is found in Zeisberger’s Grammar of
the Onondago, a language of the same family : wctharrie , ‘ he
beats’; iagorrie, ‘she beats’; hottirrie , ‘they (the men) beat’;
guetirrie, ‘ they (women) beat.’ And we find it again in the
specimen of the conjugation of the verb “ to eat,” in the Mo¬
hawk, another Iroquois language.f In all these cases the
inflection is that of the pronoun of the third person. Zeisberger
also discovered it in some Onondago nouns, where, as well as
in the pronoun of that dialect, it is generally expressed by pre¬
fixing or inserting the sound g: sajadat , ‘a male’; sgajadat , ‘a
female.’

A much more prevailing distinction is that between animate
beings and inanimate things. It is not, however, universal,
since it does not exist in the Eskimau, the Choctaw, the Musk-
hogee, and the Caddo, and has not, as yet, been discovered in any
other of our Indian languages than the Iroquois, the Cherokee,
and the Algonkin-Lenape.

Our information respecting the Iroquois is very limited ; and
we can say little more than that the distinction is made. The
only notice taken of it in Zeisberger’s Onondago Grammar is
(when speaking of the prefixed letters by which, in some cases,
the feminine are distinguished from masculine nouns), in these
words, “ Nouns of inanimate objects have no prefixes and

* See his letter of July, 1636, in the Appendix,
f See Appendix, verbal forms ; and do. and grammatical notices of
Zeisberger.

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

167

accept none.” In our Seneca vocabulary, as well as in another
printed in London, a word is given for the pronoun it, distinct
from those for he or she. And Father Brebeuf, in the letter
already alluded to, amongst the most remarkable features of the
Huron verbs, says, “ that they have some for animated beings,
and others for things without life. 55 *

In the Cherokee language, Mr. Pickering has pointed out
the prefixed particles, used to designate the plural, which are
commonly assigned to inanimate nouns, and those belonging to
the animate class : Jcutusi , ‘ a mountain 5 ; tikutusi , 6 mountains ’ ;
atsutsu , c a boy ’ ; cmitsutsu, i boys ’ ; a distinction which, in various
cases, extends to adjectives. And it will be seen amongst Mr.
Worcester’s answers to grammatical queries, that the same dis¬
tinction prevails, both in the third person of intransitive verbs,
and in the inflections of transitive verbs, according as they
govern the noun of an animate, or of an inanimate object.

But it is in the languages of the Algonkin-Lenape family, that
the distinction is most remarkable, and may be considered as
one of its specific characteristics. It wTas first pointed out by
Father Le Jeune in the Algonkin, f and distinctly stated by
John Eliot in the Massachusetts, is repeatedly alluded to in
Father Rasle’s Dictionary of the Abenaki, specially mentioned in
Father Maynard’s notes on the Micmac, and explained in Mr.
Heckewelder’s correspondence with Mr. Du Ponceau respecting
the Delaware dialect. “ The principle,” Mr. Schoolcraft
observes in his lectures on the Ojibway (Chippeway) language,
“ has been grafted upon most wTords and carries its distinction
throughout the syntax. It is the gender of the language, and
of so unbounded a scope, as to give a twofold character to the
parts of speech.” We find accordingly that the inflection, which
designates the plural of nouns, varies according to the class to
which the noun belongs. According to the dialect or different
language, it is og, aig , or ak for the animate ; ain, ash , or all
for the inanimate gender : but the vocal sound which precedes
the characteristic consonant varies, according to euphony, or

* Charlevoix, a faithful compiler, who derived his information respect¬
ing Indian languages from the writings of Brebeuf and other early his¬
torians, has inserted the observation in his journal. But he assigns
erroneously to the Huron the exclusion of the distinction between
masculine and feminine. It is the Algonkin, instead of the Iroquois
languages, which do not make that distinction.

f See above, Section II., under the head of Algonkins.

168 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

usage. Zeisberger seems to confine the use of the Delaware
animate termination ale to substantives without the prefixed
pronoun.

Adjectives, when susceptible of a plural form, are subject to
a similar variation of inflection, according as the noun, with
which they are connected, is of the animate or inanimate class.
Numerals and demonstrative pronouns appear to follow the
same rule as adjectives. The distinction seems to be wanted
in the personal and possessive pronoun of the third person ; or,
at least, it has not, if it does exist, been distinctly pointed out.
But the inflection of the verb varies in reference to the nature
of the noun it governs. Thus, in the Massachusetts; ‘I keep
him,’ Noowadehan ; ‘I keep it,’ Nooivadchanumun: in the
Delaware; 1 1 see a man,’ Lenno newau; ‘ I see a house,’ Wi-
quam nemen: in the Chippeway ; c I see a man,’ n’wabima; ‘ I
see a house,’ n’ wabindan. We are not however informed,
whether the terminations or inflections of the verb, which dis¬
tinguish, whether its regimen belongs to the animate or inani¬
mate class, are always the same, or, if they vary, whether the
variations are due to euphony, or usage, or may be traced to
some other principle ? It appears also that there are some cases,
where the termination of the noun governed by the verb is
altered on account of the class to which it belongs.

According to Eliot, “ there seemeth to be one cadency of the
form animate, which endeth in oh, uh, ah, when an animate noun
followeth a verb transitive. Thus anogqs, ‘ a star,’ (which by the
Indians is considered as animate) in the plural is anogqsog, ‘stars.’
But in the sentence, c He made stars,’ this last word must be »
anogqsoh, because it followeth (is governed by) the verb agim,

1 he made.’ ” This it would seem, if I have not mistaken Mr.
Schoolcraft’s meaning, is confined to the case when the verb is
in the third person. There is in that person no distinction
between the singular and the plural ; and its termination, oh, ah
in the Massachusetts, an, in, he. in the Chippeway, is given not
only to the verb, but to the regimen when this belongs to the
animate class. It appears, that, in the Chippeway, that termina¬
tion (an, in, he.) is also that of the plural of inanimate things ;
but why these are not, in all the languages of that family, sub¬
ject to the same rule as animate beings, does not appear ; and
all that relates to regimen, with respect both to nouns and pro¬
nouns of the third person, requires further investigation and
explanation.

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

169

The class of animate beings is not in the Algonkin languages
confined to animals. In the Massachusetts, it embraces cer¬
tainly the stars and probably several other personified objects ;
but, according to Eliot, all vegetables belong to the inanimate,
whilst forest trees, both in the Delaware and the Chippeway,
are included in the animate class. Various other objects, not
probably always the same in every dialect, are also considered
as belonging to it, on account of peculiar properties belonging
or ascribed to them. Such are, at least in the Chippeway, a
stone, a bow, a kettle, a pipe, &,c.# It was probably in refer¬
ence to this, that the French Missionaries have designated the
two classes by the names noble and ignoble.

It will be easily perceived, that, if this distinction constitutes
an essential character of the Algonkin-Lenape languages, it is
not on account of the principle itself, but of its extensive ap¬
plication, which pervades the whole language, and affects the
termination of every part of speech without excepting the
adverbs. The existence of the neuter gender, in the classical
languages, renders it almost certain, that it had its origin in the
same distinction. But, by a deviation, much more extensive
than any found in the Indian tongues, the greater number of
inanimate objects came to be designated by the masculine and
feminine genders. In the French, the neuter has been alto¬
gether excluded ; and the arbitrary distinction of masculine and
feminine is one of the great difficulties of the language, one
also, of which the application is very extensive, on acpount of
the change of termination to which not only the pronouns but the
adjectives are subject. In the English, the natural distinction
between inanimate and animate, and the subdivision of the last
class, according to sex, have been preserved or adopted : but
adjectives are indeclinable ; and the distinction appears only in
the third person singular of the personal and possessive pronouns
and in the relative ; so that, if the words her, it, hers, its, who,
whom, and whose were expunged from the language, it might
be said of it, as of the Eskimau, that it had no genders. But
the distinction has been preserved, in the English, in the case
where it was most needed, for the purpose of correcting the
ambiguity inherent in the third person of the pronoun ; whilst,
in the Algonkin, this is the very case which appears not to be
provided for, the characteristic sign of the third person being

VOL. II.

* Mr. Schoolcraft.

170

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

either omitted altogether, or the same for the animate and inan¬
imate genders.

Nice distinctions may, in a purely oral language, escape the
notice of the inquirer, if their application should happen to be
limited to a few particular cases ; and of this at least one
instance in point may be given.

We have, in order to institute a useful comparison, inserted,
amongst the grammatical notices, an extract of Father Febre’s

O c5 J _

Grammar of the language of Chili.* The distinction between
animate and inanimate, which was not advened to by Molina, is
there pointed out, but incidentally and only in a single case.
The particle pu, prefixed to nouns, is the common sign of the
plural, and is properly applicable to animate, though sometimes
used for inanimate objects. But the proper designation of the
plural for the inanimate class, is the termination ica, substituted
for the pu prefixed.

The plural number of the nouns is in most Indian languages
designated by the addition of a particle prefixed, inserted, or
affixed. It is affixed, or an inflection of the termination in the
following:

Eskimau, et , it, ut ; innuk, ‘ man ’ ; innuit , ‘ men ’ ; iglo, ‘ a
house ’ ; iglut, ‘ houses.’

Sioux, pee; weetshaslitah , ‘man’; wectshaslitahpee , ‘men’;
wahtali, ‘ a canoe’ ; ivalitapee, ‘canoes.’

Algonkin, as already stated, g, k for the animate ; sh , n, ll for
the inanimate :

Massachusetts ; nunksqau, ‘ a girl ’ ; nunsqauog, ‘ girls ’ ; hussun,
‘ a stone ’ ; hussunash, ‘ stones ’ :

Delaware; okhqua, ‘a woman’ ; okhquewak , ‘women’ ; akhsin ,
‘ a stone ’ ; akhsinnll, ‘ stones ’ :

Chippeway ; pinai, * a partridge ’ ; pinaiwug , ‘ partridges ’ ; ossin ,
‘ a stone ’ ; ossineen, ‘ stones.’

Cheppeyan (Athapasca), tlilang ; dinne , ‘a man’; dinnethlang,
‘ men ’ ; tsakhulley , ‘ a hat ’ ; tsakhulleythlang, 1 hats.’

In the Cherokee the plural is designated by the prefixed
particles t, ts , generally though not universally used for inani¬
mate, and ni for animate nouns.

In the language of Chili, by pu prefixed, or ica affixed, as
above stated.

In the Iroquois languages by particles generally affixed,

* I am indebted to Judge Davis of Massachusetts for having pointed
out that excellent grammar, and loaned to me the only copy, I believe,
in the United States.

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

171

sometimes inserted, varying in the several dialects, and even in
the same, according to the termination of the noun. The par¬
ticles shoh, vie, ogu are used in the Onondago ; dah , suh ,
shoeh in the Seneca.

Seneca ; * halijenah , ( a man ’ ; lialidctlijcnah , ‘ men ’ ; IiudogooJionch ,
‘ a chief ’ ; hudc/goohonehsuh, ‘ chiefs.’

The Choctaw, the Muskhogee, and the Caddo nouns have,
with few special exceptions, no inflection designating the plural.

. That deficiency is respectively supplied by the words oJcla,
ulgy, or homulgy, and wia, all of which mean, ‘ several/
‘ many/ ‘ a multitude.’

When adjectives are connected (not incorporated) with nouns
substantive, the sign of the plural may, in most languages, be
transferred to the adjective ; and, in the Sioux, the plural sign
pee, added to the last word of the sentence, be it noun, verb, or
even adverb, makes the whole sentence plural.

The plural of pronouns, personal and possessive, is almost
universally designated by particular terminations or inflections,
distinct from those assigned to the plural of nouns, and which
will be adverted to, when treating of conjugations.

In all the languages which have been investigated, with the
exception of those of the Sioux family, concerning which the
information is not sufficient, there is, besides the singular and
general or indefinite plural, a third number, which is sometimes
a dual, more generally a definite or special plural, occasionally
assuming both forms.

It is represented as a pure dual by the grammarians of the
Eskimau, and of the language of Chili ; and it appears to be
such in the Athapasca. In the various dialects of the Algon-
kin-Lenape, and in the Choctaw, it is a definite plural ; but,
although including always, in every such dialect, a definite
number of persons, it is not applied precisely in the same man¬
ner in all.

In the Delaware, according to Mr. Heckewelder, it embraces
our family, nation, select body, us who are here assembled, in
this room ; and including therefore, at least when he, or they
belong to the nation or select body, the person or persons
spoken to. But in the Chippeway, as we are informed by Mr.
Schoolcraft, it always excludes the person or persons thus
spoken to ; and it is used in the same manner in the Micmac.

# Seneca Spelling-Book. London, 1818. This was not seen till
after the appended vocabularies had been prepared for the press.

172

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

The following examples given by Father Maynard appear con¬
clusive in that respect; “ Rik tan kinoo aunka moolk,” ‘ There
is somebody who sees us ,’ is the indefinite plural ; “ Ninenoo-en
oolanook najamooloktau,” ‘ One of us will go this evening to see
you,’ is the special or definite form ; and it is obvious that, ‘ one
of us ’ contrasted with c you ,’ excludes the person spoken to. The
Jc\ characteristic of the second person, is always prefixed in the
general, and the n\ characteristic of the first person, in the
special or definite plural, in both the Chippeway and the Del¬
aware languages. It will be seen hereafter, that it is a constant
rule in both, that whenever the second person, whether in the
nominative or objective case, is one of the pronouns connected
with the verb, A;’ is prefixed. Therefore, the w’ prefixed to the
special plural shows that the second person was intended to be
excluded, that the Chippeways have preserved the original
meaning of that plural, and that the Delawares have departed
from it. And this seems to corroborate the opinion, that the
Chippeway, or Algonkin, is the primary language, and the Dela¬
ware one of those derived from it.

In the Choctaw, where pishno is the pronoun of the first
person for the definite, and hupishno that for the indefinite ;
according to Mr. Wright, “ hupishno is used, when speaking of
an action in which all the hearers are concerned. But if all
the hearers are not concerned in it, but only the speaker and
some other persons (understood or designated f pishno is used.”

It is not practicable, from the specimens we have .of the
Caddo, to decide whether the third number is a dual, or a defi¬
nite plural. It appears to be a dual in the Muskhogee.

In the Cherokee, the distinctions connected with number
are more minute than in the Algonkin and Choctaw. There
are in that language distinct words or inflections for each of the
following combinations of pronouns either personal or posses¬
sive, viz. he and I ; they and I ; thou and 1 ; you and I ; you
two ; you all ; they. Of these combinations, the two last are
the indefinite plural for the second and third persons ; the first,
third, and fifth are three distinct forms of the dual ; the second
and fourth, two distinct forms of a special plural ; but none is
given for a general plural we which might include you and they
with the speaker.

Zeisberger’s Grammar of the Onondago throws no light on
the subject. But the examples given by Father Brebeuf of the
Huron (in the letter already quoted) show, that, though proba¬
bly differing in the details, the distinctions that relate to the

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

173

number, are, in the Iroquois languages, founded on the same prin¬
ciple as in the Cherokee. 4 We set off, thou and I,’ kiarascsa ;

‘ he and 1/ aiarascsa ; 4 we, several of us ’ (nous autres )
asarascsa ; 4 we along with you,’ exarascxa.

In the Eskimau, the dual applies not only to pronouns, but
also to nouns which, in that number have a distinct inflection
from the plural, viz. k : iglo, 4 a house ’ ; dual, igluk ; plural, iglut.
In all the other languages, the inflection of nouns is the same
for dual, definite, or indefinite plural. The pronouns are alone
affected by the distinction, and generally only in the first per¬
son ; in all the three persons in the language of Chili ; in the
Cherokee and Iroquois, in the manner already stated. In some
languages, the distinction applies only to the nominative, and,
in others, embraces also the objective case ; but the information
is in that respect as yet incomplete.

There is a vocative case in some at least of the Algonkin-
Lenape languages, terminating, in the singular of the Delaware,
in an, and of the Massachusetts in in ; in the plural Delaware
in enk, “ when coupled with the pronoun our” (Zeisberger,
page 99). The same termination eunk is used generally for
the second person plural in the Massachusetts. Woi kenaau
Jerusalem wuttaunzunk, 4 O ye daughters of Jerusalem.’ (Du
Ponceau on Eliot). The only instance of an inflection of the
noun, in what may be called the direct regimen, correspond¬
ing in some degree with the Latin accusative, has been
pointed out.* The genitive is designated in the Eskimau by
an inflection of the noun ; in other languages occasionally by an
abbreviated form of the possessive pronoun, generally by the
relative position of the two nouns. With respect to the other
oblique cases, the offices performed by inflections in the classi¬
cal languages, and by separable prepositions in most of those
of Europe, are, in those of America, generally performed by
affixed or prefixed inseparable prepositions. Delaware ; uteny,
( a town ’ ; utenink, 4 in, from, the town’ ; menuppeque, 4 the lake ’ ;
awossenuppeque, 4 over the lake.’ In the Eskimau, there are but
five such prepositions ; mik, 4 with, through ’ ; mit , 4 from 5 ; mut,
4 to’; me, 4 in, upon’; kut, ‘around.’ They are more numerous in
other languages ; f and it might be inferred, from the general

* The objective cases of the pronouns, or the manner in which they
are supplied, will be adverted to in the conjugations.

f In the Onondago, Zeisberger gives fourteen inseparable affixed
prepositions, meaning, in, on, at, to, under, along, through, & c. ; but
some may be added in the separable form.

174 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

tendency to incorporate the accessaries in the same word with the
noun or verb, that separable prepositions were not to be found,
or but rarely used, in any Indian language. Eliot, in the Mas¬
sachusetts Grammar, and the authors of the English Seneca
Spelling-Book, have enumerated respectively the parts of speech
of those two languages ; and prepositions are omitted in both.
But reasoning a priori is unsafe ; and facts are still wanted, in
order to ascertain, in almost all the Indian languages, the num¬
ber, the derivation, and the mariner of using or compounding
the inseparable and separable propositions.

Substantive Verb. Conversion of Nouns into Verbs.

The preceding observations relate rather to peculiarities
than to the general character of the Indian languages. The
substitution of intransitive verbs for the substantive verb, in
cases, where this is generally used in modern languages,
may be reckoned as one of the general characters of those at
least of our Indians.

It appears certain that the Indians have one or more verbs,
expressive of locality, and corresponding with the verb to be,
when used in that sense, as, ( Peter is at, or in, such a place.’
And it may be, that some of the nations have a verb denoting
absolute existence. Mr. Schoolcraft has, in his vocabulary,

‘ To be,’ v. s. Ja, and c I am,’ c thou art,’ nin dya , Tci dya ;
Mr. Worcester mentions the Cherokee verb geha, meaning
c I exist,’ and sometimes, ‘ 1 dwell,’ and another defective
impersonal verb gesunggi, but which seems rather to denote
time, than to apply to existence. Mr. Compere alludes to a
Muskhogee verb, domist , as implying existence ; and other
instances may perhaps be adduced. But, whether such a verb
be found or not in some of the languages, and whatever may
be its proper meaning, it is at least certain, that no such verb
is used, either as an auxiliary in the passive voice, or in con¬
nexion with attributes, or with substantives susceptible of a
verbal form. Although the English language has a great
number of intransitive verbs ; yet, in the passive voice, or
when it is intended to express a certain particular state of
passive existence, implying no voluntary, organic, or instanta¬
neous action, the substantive verb is uniformly used. We say
indeed, e to run,’ c to sleep,’ and even, 1 to die ’ ; in which last case,

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

175

the act of dying is alone implied. But if we intend to ex¬
press the state, in which that act places the person, we must
recur to the substantive verb and say, 4 He is dead.’ I may
not have expressed the difference with sufficient perspicuity ;
and the line of distinction between the cases, where we use an
intransitive, and those in which we must resort to the substan¬
tive verb, is not perhaps always accurately drawn in the
language. It is sufficient for our purpose to say, that in all
the cases, where we use the verb to be , in connexion with an
attribute, or with a noun, the Indians use an intransitive verb ;
and that where we use it in connexion with the participle past,
they substitute an inflection. Thus the passive voice in the
Indian languages is, as in the simple tenses of the Latin, formed
by an inflection, consisting generally of the insertion of a par¬
ticle, such as xi, ssi , in the Delaware, ull in the Choctaw, &c.#
And, instead of saying, 4 I am cold,’ 4 I am sick,’ 4 1 am a
man,’ &zc., they say, I cold, I sick, I man, &c. These various
expressions are, each of them, an intransitive verb conjugated
through all its persons, tenses, and moods. The only differ¬
ence is, that, in all those cases, it is the substantive verb which
we conjugate ; whilst the Indian conjugates what we call the
adjective and even the noun itself, in the same manner as he
does other intransitive verbs. We find, in the Latin language,
several instances of similar neuter or deponent verbs such as
sitio, esurio, segroto, Szc, which we cannot render into English,
without resorting to the substantive verb. The Indian does,
in every instance, that which in Latin occurs only in some
cases ; and he extends the principle to nouns and even to proper
names.

When the process is applied to a noun, the noun undergoes
the inflexion proper to the verb. Thus in the Micmac, from
lenno, £ a man,’ is derived the verb, n’looi, 4 1 am a man,’ the
conjugation of which will be found in the Appendix. But the
adjective, which, according to our habits, we should consider as
converted into a verb, appears in the Indian languages, as if
it were the simplest form of the verb. In most cases, the word
he is cold, or it is cold, is found to be identical with what we

# The passive voice in the Onondago and probably other Iroquois
languages is formed by an inflexion, not of the verb, but of the pro¬
noun ; and, in the Choctaw, the objective case of the pronoun is used,
beside the inserted particle.

176 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

call the adjective cold.- Mr. Zeisberger accordingly hesitated,
whether, in his Grammar of the Delaware language, he should
consider the adjectives as a distinct part of speech ; and he
ultimately arranged the greater number of them under the
head of verbs adjective. There are however, in every Indian
language, some adjectives, or words generally considered as
such, which from their nature are not susceptible of a verbal
form, or which by usage appear only in that of an adjective.
Instances of that kind will be found in Mr. Zeisberger’s Onon-
dago Grammar.

I believe that it must appear sufficiently obvious, that this
general if not universal character of the Indian languages, the
conversion into verbs and the conjugation, through all the
persons, tenses, and moods, of almost all the adjectives and of
every noun which, without a palpable absurdity, is susceptible
of it, is entirely due to the absence of the substantive verb ; *
the idea of which is nevertheless as clear in the mind of the
Indian, when he says, I cold r, and conjugates the word, as in
that of the European, when he says, 4 1 am cold/ and con¬
jugates the verb I am.

The adjective, whether considered as the root, or as one
of the forms of the verb, appears nevertheless to have pre¬
served some of the properties of the noun adjective. A few,
in the Choctaw, have a distinct plural form. The feminine
gender in the Onondago, the inanimate or animate in other
languages, are distinguished by a varied inflection. The
degrees of comparison are in almost every language expressed
by words, corresponding to the English more and most, prece¬
ding or following the adjective.

It appears, that in the Onondago language, a distinction is
madel between the adjectives which may, and those which do
not coalesce with the substantive, and that, when thus coales-

* Father Febre says, that the passive voice, in the language of
Chili, is formed by substituting for the termination of the active (in the
first person of the present indicative) gen, which he asserts to be the
substantive verb sum, es ; and, in another place, that the same termina¬
tion gen, meaning existence, added to an adjective, makes the noun
substantive of abstract qualities, (corresponding to the English termina¬
tion ness.) This makes an exception, as to the passive voice, for that
language. But the adjectives, substantives, and even proper names are,
in the Chilian, as in our Indian languages, converted into intransitive
verbs and conjugated without the aid of gen, or of any other analogous
auxiliary verb.

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

177

cing, the adjective invariably becomes a verb : eniage , ‘ band ’ ;
ostwi , ‘ little ’ ; eniastwi , ‘ a little band ’ ; wageniastwi, ‘ my hand
is little’ ; saniastwi, ‘thy hand is little’ ; honiastwi , ‘his hand is
little.’

It will be perceived that, in this instance, the conjugation
can he carried through all the tenses and moods, but only in
the third person ; the variations of hand and hands , and of
my , thy, his, our, belonging properly, the first to the noun and
the other to the pronoun.

The notions of time belong properly to the action and not to
the object, to the verb and not to the nouns. Yet we find, con¬
trary to the universal usage amongst our own languages, in¬
flections, in those of the Indians, of nouns and adjectives
denoting time, both in the past and future tenses. Mr. School¬
craft has given instances of it in the Chippeway, where the
termination, bun, added to a noun proper, indicates that the
person has ceased to exist. But the most numerous exam¬
ples, applying both to adjectives and to substantives, are found
in Father Maynard’s Notes on the Micmac. It may be, that
this peculiarity is due to the verbal form, so easily assumed by
nouns of every description.

This process of conversion is reciprocal. Verbs, in almost
all the Indian languages, may by a small varied inflexion be
converted into nouns. Both verbs and adjectives become
substantives in the Chippeway, by adding to them the termina¬
tion win. The same result is obtained in the Delaware by the
termination gan, and in the language of Chili by that of gen.
This termination appears, in the three languages, to be princi¬
pally .used for the purpose of forming abstract nouns expressive
of qualities. Thus are derived, in the Chilian, cumegen, ‘ good¬
ness,’ from cume, ‘ good ’ ; in the Delaware, wulissowagan,

‘ prettiness,’ from ivulisso, ‘ pretty ’ ; in the Chippeway, minwai-
dumowin , ‘happiness,’ from minwaindum, ‘he (is) happy.’

Of Pronouns.

Nouns substantive are often and the verbs are always em¬
bodied, the first with the possessive, the other with the per¬
sonal pronouns, so as to form in each case respectively but a
single word. And this union of the verb includes the pronoun
not only in its nominative case, or as agent or subject of the
vol. ii. 23

178

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iMTROD.

action, but also in its objective case, or as object of the action.
Thus the various sentences “ He loves me,” “ I love thee,”
&c., are always expressed by a single word. This feature is
found universally in every American language, from Greenland
to Cape Horn, which has been investigated.

John Eliot accordingly commences his Grammar with an
examination of the pronoun ; “ because of the common and
general use of the pronoun to be affixed with both nouns and
verbs and other parts of speech, and that in the formation of
them ; therefore, that is the first part of speech to be handled.”
But although the principle is the same in all the Indian lan¬
guages, it has been applied in a different manner in almost
every one of them. Referring for further details to the Ap¬
pendix, we will give here only some general notions on that
part of speech.

In almost all the Indian languages, there is an intimate con¬
nexion between the separate personal pronouns, and the
personal or possessive connected with the verb or the noun.
An exception is found in the Cherokee, where the pronouns of
the first and second person, when used in an absolute sense, in
answer for instance to a question, (Who has done it ? J.) differ
from those united with the verb ; but these are the same with
the possessive united with the noun.

In conformity with what has already been said of the dual
and plurals, the inflections which designate the number affect
particularly, and in some languages exclusively, the pronouns ;
varying, for the dual and plural and for their subdivisions,
according to the nature of each dialect. The only exceptions
are found in the third person, for which there is no personal
pronoun in the Choctaw, and no distinction between the sin¬
gular and plural in some other languages. In the Sioux also,
the general termination pee, designates alone the plural in many
instances ; and the plural sign te, prefixed, performs the same
office in the Cherokee with respect to the objective case of
the pronoun.

In the Eskimau and in the language of Chili, the personal
pronouns are affixed to the verb, and the same rule applies, in
the Eskimau, to the possessive pronoun connected with the
noun. The possessive and also the personal pronoun, both in
its nominative and objective case, are prefixed to the noun and
to the verb respectively, in the Choctaw, the Sioux, the Chero¬
kee, and apparently the Iroquois. In the Muskhogee, the per-

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

179

sonal pronoun in the nominative case is affixed, and in the
objective case is prefixed to the verb. In the Choctaw the
objective case is always clearly, and in the Muskhogee and
Sioux generally, distinguished by its inflection from the nomin¬
ative. Its position is also always determined in the Choctaw
and in the Eskimau.

In the Algonkin-Lenape languages, the two plurals of the
pronouns are, as in others, distinguished from the singular and
from each other by inflections ; the nominative of the personal
pronoun connected with the verb is not distinguished from the
objective case by its position ; and the particles or inflections
by which that object is effected, as well as the terminating in¬
flections which denote the two plurals, both in the possessive
and the personal pronouns, are separated from the characteris¬
tics which distinguish the several persons. These character¬
istics are prefixed, and the other inflections are affixed, to the
verb or to the noun. Both are very similar in the several
languages of that family.

MASSACHUSETTS.

Separate.

Verbal.

Posses.

Separate.

Verbal.

Possessive.

nenn,

noo,

n ;

ire, neenawun, kena-

noo — umun,

nu — anon,

thou,

ken,

koo,

k ;

\ye, kenaau, [wun,*

koo — uraumwoo,

k — anoo,

he,

noli, nagum,

oo,

w ;

\they, naliohj nagau,

umwog,

\v — anoo.

DELAWARE.

7, ni,
thou, ki,

he, neka, nekema,

n’

ice, niluna, kiluna,*

n’ — neen,

k»

you, kiluwa,

k’ — himo,

w’

they, nekamawa,

w’ — ewo, wak,

a’ — ena, una,
k’ — owa, uwa
w — wawall.

Although Mr. Schoolcraft was, in his lectures on the Chip-
peway, treating specially of the noun and not of the pronoun,
the examples he has given of their combination are the most
satisfactory that can be selected in reference to the various lan¬
guages of that family. The exclusive or special plural is that
which excludes the person spoken to. The inclusive or in¬
definite includes that person ; and although it has, for that
reason, the same characteristic ( [k ) as the second person, they
are distinguished from each other by a different termination.
It appears that the syllable oom, which is susceptible of the
variations dm , aim, im, eem, dm., and which Mr. Schoolcraft
considers as the distinctive sign of the possessive pronoun, is

* Kenaivun, kiluna , indefinite, or inclusive pronoun of first person.

180

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

occasionally dispensed with ; but, whether at the option of
the speaker, or according to some fixed rule, is not explained.

my,
thy ,

our, (excl.)
our, (incl.)
your ,
his ,
their ,

Moz, a moose.

Os, a father.

m moz-oom,
ki moz-oom,
ni moz-oominan,
ki moz-oominan,
ki moz-oomiwu,
o moz-oomun,
o moz-oomiwan,

nos,

kos,

nos-inan,

kos-inan,

kos-iwa,

os-un,

os-iwan,

Os-un-, fathers.

nos-ug,

kos-ug,

nos-inan-ig,

kos-inan-ig,

kos-iwa-g,

os-un,

os-iwan.

It is obvious, that the termination ug, or ig , which desig¬
nates the plural of the noun, is the only inflection of that part of
speech, and that all the other variations are the inflections
of the pronoun and not of the noun. It could hardly at first
have been otherwise in the formation of languages.

When we say, ‘ my house,’ 6 thy house,’ ‘ his house,’ £ our
house,’ &x., the object which we designate by the name, house ,
remains unchanged ; and the variations refer only to the person,
or to the number of persons, who own the house. The same
observation applies to the combinations of the verb with the
pronoun. The variations of number or of person (first, second,
or third), either as agent, or as object of the action, belong
also in reality to the pronoun and not to the verb. This is at
once seen in those languages where the amalgamation has not
taken place, or has been but partially adopted. When, in
English, we say, ‘ my house,’ c our house,’ or, 1 1 love,’ ‘ we love,’
it is evident that our and we, are the plural of my and I; no
one will presume to say that they are inflections respectively
of the noun house, and of the verb love .

In those languages where, from reasons or accidental causes
unknown to us, the principle of combination has been adopted,
it would seem, that an amalgamation of the entire pronoun with
the noun or verb, so as to concentrate both in one single word,
must have been the first process, at least so far as relates to
the first and second persons of the pronoun. An abbreviation
of the pronoun would afterwards be substituted. The last
process must have been the substitution of an arbitrary letter,
or syllable, in which there was no longer any trace of affinity
with the original pronoun.

It might indeed be supposed, that, inasmuch as such nouns
as father are relative and have no real existence without their
correlative, and as the verbs, such as love, are also independent

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

181

of the subject and of the object of love, a pure abstraction ;
the expressions my father , thy father , I love thee, &c., must
have preceded the invention of the verbs, nouns, and pronouns,
in their respective insulated forms. This might be true of
pure relative nouns, such as, father ; and we find some reasons
for thinking that it was so, in Father Brebeuf’s letter and in
the manner in which Mr. Hecke welder answered Mr. Du Pon¬
ceau’s inquiry on that point. The question might be doubtful
with respect to some verbs. But it seems that distinct words,
designating -the first and second persons of the pronoun must
have been amongst the first which were wanted and therefore
invented by man. At first, proper names alone would be used.
Adam and Eve did not stand in need of pronouns. Children,
who begin to speak, generally designate themselves at first by
the names given to them, and only after a while substitute the
pronoun I. But, as it became impossible to designate every
individual by a distinct proper name, the great convenience, if
not the absolute necessity, of words designating the person
speaking and that spoken to, must have soon become apparent,
and have produced the invention of such words, which, when
used in the singular number, have also the great advantage of
precision. And we may here take notice of one of the dis¬
tinguishing general features of the Indian languages, and such
a one as we might have expected to find in them.

It must have been the primary object of every language to
designate with precision every object and every action, and
every modification of which every object or action was suscepti¬
ble. Specific names would naturally precede generic terms ;
and, if the Indian languages are often deficient in these, they
abound in distinct names for every particular species of tree,
for every variety of age, sex, or peculiarity, in certain species
of animals, and in degrees of consanguinity, and generally for
those subdivisions of the same genus, which in our languages
are distinguished by attributes which qualify the generic term.
Thus, instead of designating the several species of oak by the
names of white oak, black oak, swamp oak, &lc., the Indians
have a distinct name for every species, and, in many langua¬
ges, no generic term, embracing all the species of oak.* And

* There are some exceptions ; and even these show the gradual
progress of language. Uppe , in Choctaw, means trunk or stalk, and is
often used, in compound words, for tree. An acorn is nusse ; all oaks
bear acorns ; JVussuppe (the acorn tree) is the Choctaw word for the oak.

182 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

instead of discriminating brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts,
&c., by the attributes ‘ elder/ ‘younger,’ ‘ paternal/ ‘ maternal/
&c., they have also distinct names, which have no affinity with
those expressive of those qualifications, for c elder brother/ c youn¬
ger brother/ ‘ paternal uncle/ ‘maternal uncle/ &tc. In the same
manner, when passing, in the pronouns of the two first persons,
from the singular to the plural, instead of designating this by
a general, indefinite expression, the Indians have all resorted to
a dual, or to a specific definite plural ; and, in some languages,
they have carefully distinguished the several species of dual,
and given distinct names to each species, in the Cherokee and
Iroquois, for instance, to thou and I, you two, &c. The ap¬
parent confusion in the third person, the want of a word for it
in some languages, and its occasional omission in others, may be
traced to the same cause ; not to a want of precision, but to the
tendency to avoid whatever was not definite and precise. The
pronoun of that person is in its nature vague and indefinite, a
relative, the proper use of which depends on the structure of
the sentence and the skill of the speaker or writer. If, in the
Choctaw language, tokclie equally means, ‘ to tie/ ‘ he ties/
‘ he ties him/ and ‘ tie him 5 ; and if olda tokclie means both
6 he ties them ’ and ‘ they tie him/ it is because, in fact, the
pronouns he, him, they, them, are not to be found in the lan¬
guage. The proper names of the persons, whether subject or
object of the action, are used instead of a vague pronoun,
‘ John ties Peter/ instead of ‘ he ties him.’ And when at
last the necessity of a general plural expression was on certain
occasions felt, the word okla, which means ‘ a multitude of men/

‘ a people/ ‘ a nation/ was adopted as a substitute for the
pronoun which was wanted. The third person singular of the
verb is accordingly, in several Indian languages, its root, or
simplest form.

In many languages of the other continent, the process by
which the pronoun was incorporated with the verb has reached
its last stage. Thus, in the Latin, where it has not been
adopted with respect either to the possessive or to the objec¬
tive case of the personal pronoun, but only in the combination
of the nominative case of that pronoun with the verb, there
does not remain the slightest trace of affinity between the ter¬
minations s and t, which, in the active voice of all the verbs,
are the signs of the second and third person singular respec¬
tively, and the separable pronouns of those two persons. Those

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

183

and other similar terminations, in their present shape, appear
and are considered as inflections of the verb. It is quite
otherwise in the Indian languages. In all of them, whether
in the combination of the possessive pronoun with the noun,
or in both the simple and compound conjugations, the separable
pronoun and its inflections, though generally in an abbreviated
form, are still visible ; and the possessive pronoun in one case,
and the personal pronoun in the other, are almost always nearly
identical. There are undoubtedly some exceptions, such as the
first personal singular in the Choctaw, and the plural termina¬
tion of the second person in the Delaware ; and the division
of the pronoun into two parts, in the Algonkin-Lenape lan¬
guages, has rendered the affinity less immediately obvious.
But there is no language, or dialect, in which there are not
still evident traces of the original pronouns, and of which it
may not be asserted, that in all the combinations alluded to, the
inflections of number and person are those of the pronoun, and
neither of the noun or verb. There is accordingly but little
difficulty in the declensions, if they may be so called, of the
noun and possessive pronoun combined, or in the simple conju¬
gations which involve with the verb only the subject of the
action, or nominative case of the pronoun, provided the varia¬
tions of which the pronoun is susceptible be previously under¬
stood.

It has been already mentioned that, in the Sioux language,
the plural sign pee is applicable to every part of speech ;
and that, in the Cherokee, the corresponding sign te is used
for the purpose of designating the plural of the objective case
of the personal pronouns. In several of the languages, such
as the Algonkin-Lenape, the plural is formed by adding a ter¬
mination to the singular of the pronoun. There are some in
which that plural, especially in the first and second person, is
not an inflection, but a distinct word having no affinity with the
singular. We find the same feature in many European lan¬
guages : ego , nos ; tu , vos ; I, we; thou , you; &c.

Transitions.

The complex compound conjugations consist in the amalga¬
mation of the verb with the pronoun, both in its nominative
case, or as agent, and in its objective case, or as the object of

184 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

the action. As the passing of the action, from the agent to the
object in which it terminates, is thus expressed by a single
word, the Spanish authors of Indian grammars have designated
that species of conjugation by the name of transition. It is
common to all the Indian languages, which have been investi¬
gated. But, although the character is common to all, the prin¬
ciple does not belong exclusively to them. That, which in
that respect characterizes them, is the manner in which the
principle has been applied, and which, varying greatly in the
different languages, has in some of them been the cause of those
countless inflections, which at first excited the wonder of
European philologists. Every Hebrew student knows that
these transitions exist in that language, and in a form so simple,
as not to cause him any great embarrassment. They are
founded on the same principle as in the Indian languages.
Abbreviations of the inseparable pronouns become respectively,
pronouns possessive by being added as terminations to the noun,
and the objective case of the personal pronoun by being in the
same manner added to the verb. Other distinct abbreviations
represent the nominative case of the same pronoun ; and as, in
the compound conjugation, the abbreviated form of the pronoun
in the objective case always follows that in the nominative
case, and there are also distinctive variations between the sin¬
gular and the plural of each, the whole process unites precision
with simplicity. It differs no otherwise from the conjugation
in the English language, so far as pronouns are concerned,
than in the collocation of the pronoun, and in the pronuncia¬
tion in one word instead of three. They say, lovlthee, in
one word, instead of I love thee in three words ; and the
number of inflections, or combinations of inflections, required
for the purpose, is the same with that of the words, which we
use in order to attain the same object, (1, thou, me, thee, we,
us, &c.)

The system is nearly the same in the Choctaw. The fol¬
lowing table exhibits the pronouns, personal separable in the
first column ; united with verbs in the nominative case in the
second ; possessive united with the nouns designating the parts
of the body, and used also (as in Hebrew) as the objective
case, when united with verbs.

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

185

thou ,
he ,

ice, (exc. pi.)
w>e,[(indef. pi.)
you ,
they ,

Separable.

fc Inseparable.

unno,

Personal nominative.

ille,

Personal objective.
sa, SU,
che, chi,

me,

chishno,

ish, is,

thee,

him,

ipishno,

pe, pi,

us,

huppishno,

eho,

huppi,

us,

huchishno,

hush, hus,

huchi,

you,

okla,

them.

All the pronouns, In the nominative case, precede the verb,
excepting ille, which is a termination. The rule applies equally
to the simple conjugation and to the transitions. All the pro¬
nouns, in the objective case, are placed, in the transitions,
immediately before the verb and therefore immediately after
the pronoun in the nominative, with the exception always of
the first person in the nominative, which is still a termination :
tokch , ‘ he ties ’ ; tokchill , ‘ I tie ’ ; ishtokch, ‘ thou tiest,’ &c.
Suttokch, ‘he ties me’; chittokchM , ‘I tie thee’; ishjpittokch,
‘ thou tiest us ’ ; (exc. pi.), &lc.

Those two rules constitute the whole system of the Choctaw
transitions in the paradigm of the verb tokche, ‘to tie,’ and
equally apply to all the tenses and moods, passive voice, and
negative form ; all these being each distinguished by the inser¬
tion of its characteristic particle, but without interfering, other¬
wise than by their respective collocation, with the pronominal
inflections. It is not stated, whether there is more than one
conjugation ; and, where this depends solely on the inflections
of the pronoun, it may well happen that, with some anomalies,
there is but one. Such is found to be the case in the language
of Chili, where the system of transitions, though somewhat more
complex, is governed by uniform rules and attains a precision
nearly equal to that of the Choctaw. The pronouns, in the
nominative and objective cases, are placed in the Choctaw in
the same order as in the French. The English say, thou tiest
me; the French and the Choctaw, tu me lies, thou me
tiest.

A peculiarity in that language deserves notice. An inserted
particle, ull, denotes the passive voice ; but the personal pro¬
noun, instead of being as in our languages in the nominative, is
in the Choctaw in the objective case. Instead of saying, ‘ I (am)
tied,’ ‘ \.uUo\toX\ille,'> they say, ‘ me (am) tied,’ ‘ si^twZ/okche.’
The same rule applies to all those intransitive verbs which we

vol. ii. 24

186

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

express by 4 I am/ and to all those, such as, 4 I sleep/ 4 simnusse ’ ;
4 I die/ 4 sidle 5 ; in which the person appears to be the object
of the action, rather than an active agent.* But when action
is implied in the intransitive verb, the pronoun is put in the
nominative case : 4 1 sing/ 4 taloa lie', 7 4 1 came/ 4 minuZZetokok.7

If we now turn to the numerous paradigms of the simple
conjugations in Zeisberger’s Grammar of the Delaware, amongst
those anomalies, which compelled him to class the verb into
eight conjugations, and many other even in verbs of the same
conjugation, we find upon the whole a great uniformity and
regularity, and also sufficient evidence that the inflections belong
to the pronoun. The initial characteristics of the three per¬
sons, which precede the root of the verb, are generally pre¬
served in the indicative mood; the principal exception being
found in the frequent omission of the characteristic of the third
person, sometimes accompanied by a change of the termination
into u, or eu. The plural termination of the first person eneen,
or hena, is derived from that of the possessive pronoun ena , or
of the separable una, both allied to the Chippeway termination
inan. The plural termination of the third person, wak, or ewo ,
is likewise derived from that of the separable pronoun wa. But
the connexion between the separable pronoun and its termina¬
tion when united with the verb is lost in the second person
plural, which in the last case ends always in himo, or humo.
Referring to the tables in the Appendix for details, the follow¬
ing examples of the present tense of the indicative will be suffi¬
cient to explain what precedes.

Infinitive.

To eat.
mitzin,

To he happy.
wulamulsin,

n’mitzi,

n’ulamalsi,

thou ,

k’mitzi,

k’ulamalsi,

he ,

mitzu,

w’ulamalsi,
n’ulamalsi hena,

we ,

n’mitzi neen,

ye,

k’mitzi himo,

k’ulamalsi himo,

they ,

mitzo wak,

w’ulamalso wak,

To hear.

pendamen,
n’pendamen,
k’pendamen,
pendamen,
n’pendamen een,
k’pendam ohumo,
pendamen ewo.

But, if we pass to the transitions, we find a multitude of
varied terminations, for which it appears extremely difficult to
find any general rules. There is however one respecting the
initial characteristic, which at once strikes the eye. It has

* The same principle is found in the passive form of Latin deponent
(neuter) verbs.

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

187

been seen, that, in the Hebrew, in our modern languages, and
in the Choctaw, the pronoun, in the nominative, is always distin¬
guished from that in the objective case by their relative
position. That fundamental and essential principle has been
entirely neglected in the Delaware, and probably in all the
other languages of the same family. Instead of this, it will be
found, that a preference has been given, in the first place, to the
second, and an the next to the first person. When the second
person occurs in the transition, whether in the nominative, or
in the objective case, we find its characteristic k placed before
the verb. Whenever the transition is from the first to the
third, or from the third to the first person, the n, characteristic
of the first is, in like manner, placed before the verb, whether
that person be the agent, or the object of the action. When
the action passes from one third to another third person, its
initial characteristic w is placed before the verb, or is omitted
altogether.* It thence follows, that the termination, placed
after the root of the verb, must perform the various offices of
distinguishing, which of the two pronouns is in the nominative
or objective case ; wdiether both, or, if only one, which of the
two is in the plural ; and, whenever the second is one of the
persons concerned, that is to say in sixteen cases out of twenty-
eight, whether the other pronoun is of the first or third person.
To distinguish with precision all the various combinations,
resulting from those several offices, requires twenty-eight dis¬
tinct, different terminations for each tense. The Choctaw
requires but twelve, in the same manner as, in English, twelve
wTords are sufficient in order to effect the same purpose ; and
these run regularly through all the tenses and moods of the
verb, whilst numerous discrepancies are found in that respect in
the Delaware.

The comparative simplicity of the Hebrew, of the English,
and of the Choctaw rests on three principles, neither of which
has been observed in the Delaware ; the regular relative posi¬
tion assigned to the pronouns in the nominative and objective
case ; the distinct designation by which the objective is always
distinguished from the nominative case of the pronoun ; and a

* There are a feAv anomalies, some only in appearance, such as
k’milgneen, 1 they give to us,’ in which the k designates the indefinite plu¬
ral. But the rule may be considered as general. No exception to it is
found in the paradigms of the Massachusetts conjugations in Eliot’s
Grammar.

188 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

similar distinction for the plural. And the Delaware conjuga¬
tions are rendered still more complex, by the transfer of the
plural termination of the pronoun, which has separated it from
its initial characteristic.

This example shows how men, though setting off upon the
same principle, may, by pursuing different routes in its applica¬
tion, impress a different character on their respective languages.
Yet the preference given by the Algonkin nations to the second
and, next to it, to the first person, though unfortunate in its
consequences was very natural. In an oral language, there
are always two parties, the person who speaks, and the person
or persons whom he addresses. When speaking of the person
spoken to in connexion either with himself or with a third
person, the person thus addressed is generally the most prom¬
inent in the mind of the speaker ; and on that account, or from
courtesy, he will be named first, without regarding the distinc¬
tion, whether he be the agent or the object of the action. The
Delaware may very naturally have said, 1 thee I love,’ ‘ thee
he has insulted.’ When speaking of himself in connexion with
a third person, he becomes the most important party.

May we not also trace to an exclusively oral language, com¬
bined with the habit of public speaking, the special plural of
the Indians, as well as the different manner in which it appears
to be applied ? According to Mr. Heckewelder, the Dela¬
wares deliberating in council, on a question of war or peace,
say 6 we,’ meaning all of us here present, our nation, as contra¬
distinguished from any other body of men, or nation. Accord¬
ing to Mr. Schoolcraft, the Chippeway, addressing another
person in behalf of himself and some others, will, in saying,

4 we,’ exclude the person to whom he speaks. And thus
gradually the special plural may have been modified, and have
received a different signification in the two languages.

Notwithstanding the great number of varied inflections in the
transitions of the Algonkin conjugations, and the numerous
apparent anomalies in the several tenses and moods, they still
exhibit a degree of uniformity which had its origin in analogy;
and there can be no doubt that the rules of their formation,
though not very obvious, may be deduced from the paradigms
collected by Zeisberger and others. It is not intended to inti¬
mate, that the language was formed according to any such
preconcerted rules ; but only that analogy has necessarily pro¬
duced that uniformity, which renders it practicable to deduce
the rules from the language.

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

189

The characteristic letter or syllable which precedes the root of
the verb designates only, when it is k’ , that one of the two
pronouns is that of the second person ; when it is n\ that the
two pronouns are those of the first and third person ; when it
is w\ that both pronouns are in the third person. The ter¬
mination must show, in the first case, to what person the other
pronoun belongs ; in every case, which of the two pronouns
is in the objective case ; and that termination must also desig¬
nate, when required, whether one, or both, and, if only one,
which of the two pronouns is in the plural number. If there¬
fore, we select those transitions only, in which the action passes
from a person in the singular number to another person also in
the singular, the termination, not being encumbered with the
varied signs of the plural or plurals, must only show in what
manner the pronoun, when unknown, is discovered, and which
of the two is in the objective case.

There are in each tense seven such transitions from the sin¬
gular to the singular ; and the table, in the Appendix, of the
transitions of the present of the indicative of the five Dela¬
ware paradigms given by Zeisberger, shows, that when the
action passes from the first or second person singular to the
third person singular, a particle, viz. a, an, awa, or awan is
inserted immediately after the root, or unchangeable part of the
verb ; when the action passes from the third singular to the
first or second person singular, the particle inserted is uk , ag ,
or agun ; when the action passes from the first to the second
person singular, the particle is ell or olen ; and when the action
passes from the second to the first person singular, the particle
is i, or awi. The four characteristic letters used in the four
cases respectively are a, or wa ; g, or k ; l ; and i ; the other
sounds or letters aw, un, &c., varying according to euphony or
usage. Those letters or sounds stand respectively ; a or wa
for him ; g, k for he ; l for 1 ; i for me. And combined with
the initial characteristics n’, k’, w* , (the last often omit¬
ted,) they are sufficient to designate with precision the two
pronouns involved in each transition, and which of them is in
the objective case. When the action passes from one third to
another third person singular, although this might be deemed
the simplest case, it presents in our five paradigms more varie¬
ties than any other case. They are as follows.

190

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

Second pers.

sing. Imperative.

Third pers. sing, transition to third pers. sing.

Give thou ,
bring 11

mil,

lie gives him,

milan, milgol, milawal,

petol,

he brings him ,

petagol,

hear 11

penda,

he hears him ,

pendagol,

love u

ahoal,

he loves him,

w’dahoalawall.

say 11

ill,

lie says to him ,

w’dell gun, w’dell ak.

A single example will be sufficient to illustrate the rules for
the six other transitions :

I give him,
thou givest him,

n’mil

an,

(him,)

k’mil

an,

(him,)

he gives me,

n’mil

uk,

(he,)

he gives thee ,

k’mil

uk,

(he,)

I give thee,

k’mil

ell,

(A)

thou givest me,

k’mil

(me.)

With each of these seven transitions from the singular to
the singular, three others are connected, in which either one or
the other, or both the pronouns are in the plural number.
Thus we have, 1 give him , 1 give them , They give me, They
give us ; and so on for each of the seven primitive transitions.
The terminations added to these primitive transitions designate
therefore, whether one or both the pronouns are in the plural,
and, if only one, which of the two. This is effected with
great precision for every case, so as to prevent any confusion or
ambiguity ; but it is difficult to reduce those final terminations
to uniform rules. The following table, subject to several ex¬
ceptions and anomalies, shows the most usual or general of
those plural terminations.

he,

I, thou ,

me.

thee.

him.

us.

na,

neen,

you.

wa,

himo,

they,

£ e>

( ewo,

ewo,

neen,

himo,

Ve,

we.

himo,

neen,

ewo,

neen,

hena,

them.

wak,

wawak,

wawuna.

These plural terminations, which are nearly the same with
those of the simple conjugation, combined with the four inserted
particles a, g, l, i, and with the three initial characteristics n ,
Tc, w, constitute the twenty-eight personal forms or transitions
of the present of the indicative ; and united, though not with
perfect uniformity, with the particles ep, up, and tsh, which are
the respective signs of the preterite and future tenses, they
also form the twenty-eight transitions of each of those tenses

SECT, vr.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

191

in the indicative mood. But an entirely different plan has
prevailed in the subjunctive, or, as Eliot calls it, the supposi¬
tive mood, which is rendered into English by if or when.
The initial characteristics of the pronouns are, in that mood,
almost always omitted ; and the following examples of the
simple conjugation and of the seven primitive transitions (from
a singular to another singular person) will show how their
place is supplied :

If I love , <■
if thou lovest ,
if he loves ,
if ive love,
if ye love,
if they love,

Alioalan, to love,
ahoal ak,
ahoal anne,
ahoal at,
ahoal enk,
ahoal eque,
ahoal akhtit,

Ltuen, to say.
luey a,
luey anne,
lue te,
luey enk,
luey ek,
lue khtit.

If, when,
he loves him,

I love him,
thou lovest him,
he loves me,
he loves thee,

I love thee,
thou lovest me,

ahoal ate,
ahoal akhte,
k’d ahoal anne,
ahoal ite,
ahoal quonne,
ahoal anne,
ahoal iyanne,

1 ate,

1 ake,

1 at panne,

1 ite,

1 uk quonne,
lei lanne,

1 iyanne.

We find, in the two last transitions, the characteristics, l, and
i , indicative of the action passing from the first to the second
and from the second to the first person, but little affinity with
the original pronouns. The plural terminations are diversified,
enk, enkwe, yenk, yenkwe , ank, awank, kivek, kwenk, akhtite,
&c,, apparently with the general plural sign, but with difficulty
reducible to general rules. The simple conjugation and the
transitions in the singular number are very uniform, but dis¬
similar, in reference to the pronouns, from those of the indica¬
tive mood. Eliot’s paradigm shows, that his suppositive mood
was, in the Massachusetts language, of the same character with
the Delaware subjunctive.

It appears extraordinary, that there should be, for the moods
of the same verb, two systems of conjugation so entirely dif¬
fering from each other ; that for the indicative founded on the
inflections of the common pronouns, and that of the subjunc¬
tive without any apparent affinity with these, or with the in¬
dicative.

In the subjunctive of our languages, the verb is governed by
a separate conjunction, which requires a varied inflection in the

192

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

verb. But the corresponding Indian mood embraces the con¬
junction, and concentrates in a single word the verb, the pro¬
noun or pronouns, and the conjunction expressed or implied.
Zeisberger says, that conditional conjunctions, such as ane and
ajppane are thus compounded with the verb in that mood. And
in his list of particles, we find ank, ‘ when 5 ; eet , * perhaps.’
The coincidence of those with the terminations ak, ank , anne ,
it , at , of the singular subjunctive, might therefore sustain the
conjecture, that that mood was derived from the incorporation
of those conjunctions with the verb. But Mr. Schoolcraft has
pointed out certain possessive pronouns, differing from those in
general use, to which I think it more probable that we can
trace the formation of the subjunctive mood.

He designates these possessive pronouns as “ pronominal
suffixes,” which supply the ordinary distinctions of persons,
and are used in connexion with a certain class of substantives
descriptive of country and place ; and he has given the follow¬
ing example of the union of the possessive pronoun of that
species with the word home , which may be compared with the
subjunctive of the simple Delaware conjugation.

Mil home ,
thy “
his “
our u
our 11
your (i
their u

Chippeway.

ainda-yan,

ainda-yun,

ainda-d,

ainda-yang, )

ainda-yung, )

aindayaig,

ainda-wad,

Delaware.

lue-ya,

lue-yanne,

lue-te,

lue-yenk,

]ue-yek,

lue-ktit,

If I say,
** thou “
lt he u

11 we 1

“ ye ‘
“ they

Allowing for the usual permutations of g and k, and of d
and t, and considering that the comparison is instituted be¬
tween two distinct languages though of the same family, the
similarity of the pronominal Chippeway suffixes, wfith the
Delaware subjunctive terminations, is so striking, that it is
hardly possible that they should not have had a common origin.
But why there were two distinct sets of pronouns, and w hy
this was adopted for the subjunctive mood, remains unexplained.

Amongst the various forms of which the verbs are suscepti¬
ble, some are mentioned by Zeisberger, which are conjugated,
in the indicative, in a manner analogous to the conjugation of
the subjunctive ; such as,

To be or stay there,
to go,

to be, or do, so,
to say,

achpin, achpiya;
aan, aane ;

lissin, lissiye :
luen, lueyaj

where I stay, epia, epianne, &c.

where I go, eyaya, eyayanne, &c.

as I am, or do, elsiya, elsiyanne, &c.

what, (or as) I say, oloweya, eloweyanne, <fcc.

SECT, VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

193

But those forms are generally conjugated In all their moods
as the primitive verb. This appears to be the case with the
causative form, generally designated by the conversion of the
infinitive termination into owen , or sheen ; and also in verbs
compounded with prepositions. Thus the verb witeen, from
aan c to go,5 and witschi, ‘ with,’ (Zeisberger, page 246) is con¬
jugated as its primitive.

N’da,

K’da,

eu,

N’witt,

K’witt,

witt eu,

N’daneen, &c.
N’wilteneen, &c.

The Muskhogee pronouns in the singular and in the first
person plural of the objective case have a great affinity with
those of the Choctaw. In the specimens of its transitions, it
will be seen that a common termination ist occurs throughout,
the meaning of which is not understood. The objective case
of the pronoun precedes, and the nominative case follows, the
root of the verb. In other respects they would not materially
differ from the Choctaw system, were it not that the Muskhogee
appears to want distinctive signs for the dual and plural of the
second person. They substitute for those, with some varied
terminations, the words hoTcolyn , from holcico, which means
c two/ and komulgyon from omulga, 1 a multitude.’ When those
two substitutes occur together, and are united with the verb
and its two pronouns, they appear rather as three distinct
words, than as a concentrated transition.

The Cherokee transitions are less complex than those of
the Delaware, though not so simple as in the Choctaw. The
two pronouns in the nominative and objective case always
precede the root of the verb, leaving no doubt that the inflec¬
tions of person, number, and case are those of the pronoun, and
not at all of the verb. The usual sign of the plural, te, pre¬
fixed, uniformly indicates that the objective pronoun is in the
plural. The pronouns themselves are principally the same
as those used as possessive, either entire or in an abbreviated
form. St is the sign of the dual, and ts of the plural for both,
particularly in the second person. Aivgm designates c him’ and
4 me,’ and gin, ‘ thee ’ and £ me,’ both in the transitions, and as
possessive when united to the noun. The signs sJci, sJciya , slcina,
distinguish the second person in the nominative case, according
to certain fixed rules. But that, by which the pronouns, in
the nominative and in the objective case, are distinguished from
each other, is not apparent in every instance.
vol. ii. 25

194

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

[INTROD.

In the conjugations of the language of Chili, the pronouns
in an abbreviated form are always placed after the verb.
They vary according to the mood, and, both in the indicative
and subjunctive, amount to nine, distinguishing the singular,
dual, and plural in each person, as follows :

Indicative. Singular,
Dual,
Plural,

First Person.

Second Person.

ymi,

yu,

ymu,

yinn,

Third Person.

ygu>

ygn-

All these pronouns are preserved in the transitions, and
occupy the same place as in the simple conjugation ; and the
other pronoun is expressed by the insertion of a particle, which
is not derived from any pronoun. Those transitions are, in
conformity to the genius of the language, classed according to
the person in whom the action terminates. The first transition
is that in which the action passes from any one person to the
same individual person, and consists therefore of the reflected
verbs. The second transition is that, in which the action
passes from any of the three persons to the third person. The
last four transitions are those, in which the action terminates in
the first, or in the second person.

In the first two transitions, the nine pronouns contained in
the table represent the nominative case ; and the pronoun in
the objective case is represented by the insertion of u for the
first transition, and of vi for the second, immediately before the
termination expressive of the acting pronoun. In the second
transition, the terminations egu, and egn are respectively added
at the end of the word, when the pronoun in the third person,
in whom the action terminates, is either in the dual or plural
number.

In the last four transitions, the nine pronouns contained in
the table represent the objective case, or that in which the
action terminates. The particles e and mo, the first always
placed before one of the said nine pronouns, the second some¬
times substituted for it, in other cases added as a termination of
one of the nine pronouns, represent the pronoun in the nomina¬
tive case. But the various positions of these two particles, e
and mo, are not sufficient to distinguish in every case, whether
that pronoun is in the singular or plural, or indeed to which
person it belongs ; and when the action passes from the first
person, in the dual or plural number, to the second person, it

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

195

is necessary, in order to prevent confusion, to resort to a form
derived from the first transition.

Some cases remain, in which the same form expresses two
or more distinct combinations of the pronouns in the nomina¬
tive and objective case; such as I-thee and he-thee ; thou-me
and he-me. The confusion falls generally as usual on the
third person: and, upon the whole, the plan is inferior to that
of the Choctaw, both in simplicity and precision.

The simple conjugations and the transitions of the Sioux
consist altogether of combinations of the pronouns with the
root of the verb. They always precede it ; but the general
sign of the plural, jnee, is affixed as a final termination when¬
ever either of the pronouns or both are in the plural number.
It seems, that in the two first persons singular the objective case
ol the pronoun is distinguished from the nominative, and the
plural from the singular in the nominative of the first and in
the objective case of the third person : ‘ 1/ wah ; ‘me,’ mnh;
‘ we,’ e us,’ oan ; ‘ them,’ weetsha ; * ‘ thou,’ ‘ ye,’ ecah ; ‘ thee,’
c you,’ nee. The plan is extremely simple ; but the apparent
want of distinction between the nominative and objective case,
in the plural of the first, and in the plural and singular of the
second person, produces ambiguity in some instances. Thus
neetsheeng pee means equally, ‘he loves you,’ ‘ they love thee,’

‘ they love you ’ ; and oan tsheeng pee, ‘ we love .thee,’ ‘ we love
you,’ ‘lie loves us.’ We have however too few paradigms of
the verbs of the Sioux languages to form a definitive opinion.

The information respecting the Iroquois languages is still
more incomplete. We have no paradigms of their transitions.
It appears from those of the simple conjugation of the Ononda-
go, given by Zeisberger, that it is founded, both in the active
and passive voice, on pronominal inflections, that the pronouns
are always prefixed to the root of the verb, and that there are
several varieties of pronouns for each person. This last fea¬
ture is peculiar to the languages of that family ; and it seems
probable, that the selection depends on the termination of the
verb.

Egede’s Grammar of the Eskimau, which is said to give full
information respecting that language, could not be obtained ;
and the paradigm inserted in his account of Greenland is only
the present indicative of the verb “ I wash.” It is, however,

* Apparently abbreviated from weetshashtah , ‘ man,’

196

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

certain, that the separate pronouns are distinguished from each
other in the three numbers ; that they are used in an abbre¬
viated form in the simple conjugations and in the transitions ;
and that they are always affixed to the verb, as well as to the
noun. The objective case of the personal is said to be identic
with the possessive pronoun.

Separate.

Abbreviations.

wash self, selves,

wash him.

Nomin.

Object., Possess.

we two ,
we,

unga,

uaguk,

uagut.

nga,

guk,

gut,

ga, ra,

puk, guk, vuk,
put, gut, vut,

ice tico,
we,

erinikp unga,

“ oguk,

“ °gut,

ermikp ara,
“ arpuk,
“ aiput,

thou,
ye tico

ye,

iblit,

iliptik,

ilipse,

tit,

tik,

se,

et, it, t,
tik, sik,
tik, se,

thou,
ye two ,

ye,

u otit,
u otik,
u ose,

“ et,

“ artik,

“ arse,

he,

una,

k, au,

ne, me, a, at,

he,

“ ok,

It o

they ,

okko,

uk, ut,

aet,

\lhey,

“ ut,

“ aek.

It appears from all the information we possess on the subject,
that all the inflections of person and number, which are found
in the Indian languages, connected with the verb, are in reality,
as from their nature they might be expected to be in primitive
oral inflected languages, the inflections of the pronoun and not
of the verb. If, considering the limits of this essay, more
space has been allowed to this branch of the subject, than may
appear necessary, it is because it was the only one, respecting
which the materials within our reach were sufficiently ample,
for the double purpose of reducing it to rules, and of instituting
a comparison between the several modes which nations, that
had adopted the same principle, have pursued in the applica¬
tion of that principle. It must also be recollected, that nine
tenths, at least, of the several hundred inflections found in the
conjugations of some verbs are due to those pronominal com¬
binations ; and that, as a preliminary process, they must be fully
understood, and the noun and verb be disentangled from those
accessaries, before any progress can be made in the acquire¬
ment of the language. It is undoubtedly for that reason, that
both Eliot and Zeisberger have allotted so great a portion of
their Grammars to that object.

There can be no doubt that, even in those languages which
appear most complex, the power of analogy in the human
mind is such as necessarily to produce a sufficient degree of
uniformity for common purposes ; and that accordingly all those

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

197

multiplied inflections are in every instance reducible to rules,
subject to more or less exceptions, according as the plan has in
its progress become more or less complex. Many of these
exceptions may be traced to euphony, and become also subject
to the rules which it imposes. One instance will be given,
which will explain the apparent anomalies of some of the
Delaware inflections.

It seems that the surd or vocal sound belonging to the ab¬
breviated pronouns, and which Mr. Heckewelder expresses by
an apostrophe, (id , k\ w\ or nc, ke, we ; in Chippeway ni,
ki, o,) is essential to them, or cannot coalesce with a vowel.
Whenever therefore a vowel is the first letter of a verb, the
expletive consonant d is inserted between the characteristic of
the pronoun and the verb. The rule does not apply to the
sound u or o, but extends to the cases where the verb begins
with l.

Achpin , s to stay ’ ; rddappi , k’dappi , ‘ I stay,’ ‘ thou stayest.’

Aan, ‘to go ’ ; id da, k’da, &c. Ahoalan , ‘ to love 5 ;

id dahoala, k’dahoala, &c.

Lissin, ‘to be so 5 ; rddelsi, &c. Lauchsin ‘ to live ’ ; idde-
lauchsin, &c.

Luen, ‘ to say ’ ; rddellowe, &c.

But wulamalsi makes Ti’wZamalsi, and walhaton makes id o-
halton. The rule appears to extend to the Chippeway.

Ishkodai , ‘ fire 5 ; ni t/?*shkdaim, ‘ my fire 5 ; ossin, ‘ a stone 5 ;

nin t/ossineen, ‘ my stone ’ ; ais, ‘a shell’; nin cZaisim, ‘my

shell.’ (Schoolcraft.) But there are exceptions; os, ‘ father’;

nos , ‘ my father,’ and not ni dos.

The various means adopted by the several Indian nations in
order to effect the same object, that of concentrating in a
single word the two pronouns and the verb, and the different
character which the first steps once taken have impressed on
the several languages respectively, seem to deserve attention,
inasmuch as the investigation may throw some light on the his¬
tory of the formation of ’ languages. It must be admitted that
the cumbersome apparatus, with which, in order to attain such a
simple object, some of those languages have been overwhelmed,
is calculated to excite wonder rather than admiration. Their
system of transitions, with its multiplied inflections, appears to
me to be the most defective part of the Algonkin-Lenape lan-

198 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

guages. Their merit seems to consist in their innumerable
analogical and most convenient derivatives;* in the happy
manner by which, through the insertion of a single particle,
not only tenses and our common moods, but almost every
possible modification of the action, is specially expressed ; in
the flexibility of the several parts of speech, which has
enabled the Indian to enrich his language with so many graphic
compound words, and, almost at will, to create new words,
perfectly intelligible to the hearer, for every new object or
idea. Thus, for instance, the horse is called by the Chippe-
ways, paibaizhikogazhi , and by the Delawares, nanayanges.
Both are compound significative words ; the literal meaning of
the first being u the animal with united (solid) hoofs,” of the
second, “ the animal that carries on its back.”

The several Indian languages seem to differ considerably
in their respective powers and methods of compounding words.
Our information on that subject is as yet very imperfect for
most of them. But the designation of the several modifica¬
tions of which the action is susceptible, by particles prefixed,
affixed, or inserted, either significative, arbitrary, or the mean¬
ing of which is lost, appears to be a feature common to all.
An illustration of this principle is found in the formation of
the tenses, of the passive voice, and of the negative form in
various languages. It will be seen by the tables in the Appen¬
dix, that the number of tenses is not the same in all. All
indeed have a present, a preterite, and a future ; but we find in
some a pluperfect, in others a double future, sometimes referring
to the nearer or greater length of time which may elapse be¬
fore the action takes place, sometimes implying respectively,
as in the English will and shall, a voluntary act or an obligation.
In some of the languages, that of Chili for instance, there are

O O 7 J

tenses, the nice shades of distinction between which may not
be precisely understood by foreigners. A peculiarity common
to many is the use of the present for the preterite. In the
Cherokee, a form derived from the participle has been resorted
to, in order to designate with precision the present (“ I tying ”
meaning “ I do now tie ”). In the language of Chili, an insu¬
lated tense, unconnected with the regular general system, has
been added for the same purpose.

* See, for instance, the derivatives of wulik, 1 good,’ in Du Ponceau’s
and Heckewelder’s Correspondence, pp. 394, 395.

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

199

Referring to the Grammatical Notices and to the Tables for
further details, we insert here only the most general modes of
formation.

The preterite is formed in the Delaware by affixing the ter¬
mination eep, neep, ep, or hump ; in the Eskimau by affixing
sole ; in the Choctaw by affixing kamo or chnmo , tuk or tolc ,
each of which terminations designates a different modification ;
in the Onondago, by affixing ochre , ochqua, nha, &c., vary¬
ing according to the termination of the verb ; in the Sioux by
affixing kong ; in the language of Chili, by inserting vu.

The future is formed in the Delaware by affixing tsh, or
Tctsh ; in the Eskimau, by affixing savok ; in the Choctaw, by
affixing chi, or he, according as the action is to take place im¬
mediately or at some remote time ; in the Onondago, by
prefixing n, or na, the first if the act is voluntary, the last if

ordered ; in the Sioux, by affixing ktay ; in Chilian by insert¬

ing a.

The negative form is made in the Delaware, by affixing wi
and prefixing generally the negative atta, or matta; in the
Choctaw, by prefixing ik, or ok ; in the Eskimau, by inserting
ngil ; in the Muskhogee, by affixing kost (?) ; in the Cherokee,
by prefixing tlah ; in the Chilian, by inserting la.

The passive voice is formed in the Delaware, by affixing xi,
or gussi ; in the Cherokee, by affixing gung ; in the language
of Chili, by inserting ge ; in the Choctaw by inserting ull in
the body of the verb and using the objective case of the

pronoun (‘ thou tiest,’ ish tokch ; ( thou art tied,’ chit full

okch ) ; in the Muskhogee, by affixing agy, and also using the
objective case of the pronoun. In the Onondago, a distinct
set of pronouns is substituted in the passive voice. Active
ivagerio, ivascherio, waharrie, i I, thou, he, beat,5 passive ;
junkerio, jetserio, thuwarrie, ‘I am, thou art, he is beaten.’

The collocation of those particles is in each language respec¬
tively very uniform, and may be understood by the following
examples.

neg. pr. verb . pas. neg. plur. pret.

Delaware, Matta n’penda xi-wi-wun-ap ; c we were not heard.’

verb. neg. pas. pret.pl. pran.

Chili, Elu-la-ge-vu-ygn ; c we were not given.’

The indicative and subjunctive moods alone have as yet
been mentioned. Of the imperative, it may be sufficient here

200

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

[iNTROD.

to observe that its second person singular is, in many of the
Indian languages, if not the root, at least one of the most
simple forms of the verb. In others the present of the indica¬
tive, and sometimes the infinitive, are amongst the simplest
forms. In the Choctaw, tokcKe , which is the root of the verb
“ to tie,” is equally the third person singular of the present of
the indicative, the second person singular of the imperative,
and the infinitive. But if the third person of the present in¬
dicative appears in that and several other languages in a more
simple form than the two first persons of the same tense, it is
only owing to the common omission of the pronoun of that
third person. The infinitive seems to be less used in the In¬
dian languages than in those of Europe ; but they are, in
general, rich in participles, present, past, and future, active and
passive, and susceptible of modifications which render their
use extensively applicable and of great utility.

If we take the word “ mood,” in its most extensive sense, it
will be found that their number far exceeds, in the Indian
that in the European languages. By affixing, prefixing, or
inserting an arbitrary particle, or rather an abbreviated noun,
verb, adverb, preposition, or conjunction, the verb is made to
designate the specific modification of the action. Whether
that new form should be considered as a mood of the same
verb, or as a derivative, is not very important. But it* is a
matter of regret, that our information on that most interesting
view of the Indian languages, and generally respecting all that
relates to derivative and compounded words, though sufficient
to show the extent to which those several processes are car¬
ried, is too limited to enable us to exhibit the subject in a
condensed and perspicuous form. The appended grammatical
notices embrace the substance of what could be collected in
that respect ; and reference must be had for further details,
particularly concerning the Algonkin-Lenape languages, to the
works of the American philologist, from whose writings extracts
have been made. A very incomplete and desultory enumera¬
tion may convey some idea of those multiplied forms.

Nouns have varied terminations indicative of resemblance,
locality, analogy, fellowship ; diminutive and derogative forms,
and others implying beauty or increase ; annexed inseparable
prepositions, meaning, in, under, on, at, about, near, towards,
through, &tc. And substantives coalesce with adjectives so as
to express in a single word almost every qualification of which
any object is susceptible.

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

201

Independent of causative, reflected, and reciprocal verbal
forms, the following are found :

‘ He is used, continues, intends, is about, is finishing, is at lib¬
erty to do a certain act.’ ‘ I see far off, near, one I know,’ &c.

‘ It rains hard, by showers, steadily.’ ‘ The action is, has been,
or may be done, ill, better, in a different manner, quickly, at¬
tentively, rarely, probably, jointly , repeatedly,’ &c., with vari¬
ous other modifications expressive of doubt, likeness, denial,
various degrees of assertion, &c.*

Words compounded by the union of two verbs, or of a
verb and a noun, are in general use. The manner of com¬
pounding words, by uniting in a single one the abbreviations,
sometimes a single syllable, or even letter, of five, six or more
words, belongs equally to the Eskimau and to the Algonkin,
and extends, if not universally, probably to many other langua¬
ges. Some examples will be found in the Grammatical Notices,
and amongst these, one of seventeen syllables in the Chero¬
kee : wi-ni-taw-ti-ge-gi-na-U-skaw-lung-ta-naw-ne-li-ti-se-sti ;
which means, “ They will by that time have nearly finished
granting (favors) from a distance to thee and me.” But this
and similar words are not in common use, and only show to
what extent words may be compounded in conformity with the
analogies of the language, so as to be perfectly intelligible to
an Indian.

That flexibility which has brought into common use the
conversion of every part of speech into another, and which
has produced that multiplicity of forms, of derivatives, and of
compounded words, and that perpetual concentration of com¬
plex ideas in a single word, is not only the most striking com¬
mon characteristic of the Indian languages, but must, it is
believed, have in some respects imparted to them greater pow¬
ers than seem to belong to those of Europe. Some most
respectable philologists have indeed seen in those features the
proof of an ancient civilization. Even the learned authors of

* Even in the Cheppeyan language (Athapasca), of which we have
only the specimen of two pages in Mr. Du Ponceau’s collection, we
find the following forms : bainaysnie , ‘ I have some recollection ’ ; 6am-
asnie, ‘ 1 recollect ’ ; subainasnie , ‘ I do remember.’ When I asked
Mr. Boudinot to give me, amongst other verbal forms, the Cherokee
word for ive two are tied , he immediately answered ; there are two
forms. ‘We two are tied together,’ agehnahlung ; ‘we are both tied,
but each separately,’ dagenahlung. (Note, that Mr. Boudinot uses d,
where Mr. Worcester writes 2.)

vol. ii. 26

202 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

the Mithridates wonder “ bow such people can have performed
such philological work, which can only have been the result of
profound and abstract meditations.” And it is remarkable that
this assertion is in part founded on the multiplied inflections of
the transitions of the verb. “ What is most extraordinary is
the prodigious number of forms expressing the accusative case
of pronouns governed by the verb.”*

May not our early impressions have associated in our minds
a general, though vague notion of inflected languages, with an
advanced state of civilization ? The admiration felt for the
great writers of Rome and Greece, the real superiority in many
respects of their languages over those of Modern Europe, the
origin of these in the invasions of barbarous nations and in the

ages of darkness which followed, have given us the habit of
associating inflected languages with knowledge and civilization,
and those destitute of those forms w7ith barbarism and ignorance.
Yet the undeniable merits of the classical languages will be
found, on reflection, to consist in their perfection, in the manner
in which the principle has been applied, rather than the princi¬
ple itself.

It is not certainly in the multiplied inflections used in the transi¬
tions of some of the Indian languages that we find proofs of pro¬
found meditations. All those inflections, however varied, never
contain, independent of the root of the verb, any other ideas,
but those of two pronouns, respectively agent and object of the
action. In whatever manner the ideas contained in 1 1 love
thee? 1 you love me? may be expressed, the accessaries embraced
by the word or words are never any thing more or less than
* I thee? ‘ you me? &c. The fact that, although the object in
view was, in every known Indian language without exception,
to concentrate in a single word those pronouns with the verb,
yet the means used for that purpose are not the same in any
two of them, shows that none of them was the result of philo¬
sophical researches and preconcerted design. And, in those
which abound most in inflections of that description, nothing
more has been done, in that respect, than to effect, by a most
complex process and with a cumbersome and unnecessary
machinery, that which, in almost every other language, has
been as well if not better performed through the most simple
means. Those transitions, in their complexness and in the still

* Mithridates. — Esquimaux.

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

203

visible amalgamation of the abbreviated pronouns with the verb,
bear in fact the impress of primitive and unpolished languages.

But even taking into consideration the most happy features
of the Indian languages, the fact, that they were universally
spoken by the American nations, whether uncivilized or semi-
civilized, does not, so long as we remain unacquainted with their
origin, justify either of the assertions, that men in the early
stages of society necessarily must, or, on the contrary, that
they could not have adopted such forms. The only natural
and legitimate inference, since the fact is indubitable, is, that
compounded and inflected words were one of the modes which
naturally might be, and which in this instance was actually,
resorted to by man, in order to communicate bis ideas in an
intelligible manner.

There are strong reasons for believing, not only that this,
though perhaps nowhere carried to the same extent as in
America, was a process early adopted by other nations ; but
that all that belongs to the grammar, to the character, and to
the general structure of every ancient language must have had
its origin in the earliest stages of the social state, and before
man could have attained a high degree of knowledge, and made
any great progress in all that constitutes civilization. It must
indeed be admitted, that those reasons cannot, from the nature
of the question, amount to absolute proof ; and the following
remarks are intended only as suggesting subjects of inquiry.

There are in Africa, in Asia, in Polynesia, numerous nations,
of whose languages we know little more than what may be
inferred from meagre vocabularies. An investigation of their
grammatical forms would throw great light on the subject. In
the mean while, it deserves notice, that the great philologist
Vater could point out but two languages that, on account of the
multiplicity of their forms, had a character, if not similar, at
least analogous to those of America. These were the Congo
and the Basque. The first is spoken by a barbarous nation of
Africa. The other is now universally admitted to be a remark¬
able relic of a most ancient and primitive language, formed in
the most early ages of the world.*

* Without admitting the antediluvian pretensions of Cantabrian
writers, it is at least obvious that the Basque was the ancient Iberian,
the Aquitanian of Caesar, and that, before the progress of the Teutonic,
Phoenician, and Latin nations, Western Europe was occupied in the north
by the Celts, in the south by the Iberians. Their respective languages

204 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

The modern languages of Western Europe were formed at a
time when writing had long been in general use ; and it is diffi¬
cult, if not impossible, to discriminate between what might be
considered as the natural progress of language, and the effect
produced by the mixture of distinct idioms, and by the respec¬
tive influence of each. It is obviously impossible to have any
evidence of the oral languages of antiquity, before they had
been reduced to writing. We cannot ascend higher than the
most ancient works which have been preserved.

We cannot assert positively, that the Pentateuch and the
Iliad were the first books ever written in Hebrew and in Greek.
But there is the highest degree of probability that both of them
were composed and written at an epoch so near the time when
writing had been first introduced amongst the Jews and the
Greeks respectively, that that invention could, as yet, have
produced but little effect on the language of either. We may
therefore justly consider those two works, as the nearest possi¬
ble approximation to the oral language of those two people
prior to the discovery of the alphabet. If we find in them the
same grammatical forms, and substantially the same structure of
language, as in the following ages of Hebraic and Greek litera¬
ture, it affords a strong presumption, that those forms and all
that essentially constitutes the character of a language had
their origin prior to the invention of writing, and in a very
early stage of society.

Those two languages belong to two distinct and dissimilar
families. In one of them we find a system of compounded
words and of inflections, much less extensive than that of the
American nations, but, I suspect, much more perfect, and as
superior, as the Greeks even of the Homeric times, were to
our Indians. In the Hebrew, we discover, besides several other
correspondences,* * transitions, or the combination in a single
word of the two pronouns with the verb. Thus, although the
application of the principles differs widely in the several lan¬
guages, still the modes adopted were originally of a similar
character. This may be adduced as an additional proof of the
common origin of mankind. It proves, at all events, that the

prove the more ancient origin of the Iberians, or, to speak more cor¬
rectly, that they had separated from the common stock and migrated
westwardly at an earlier date.

* The use, for instance, of the present tense for the preterite, and the
resort to the participle for designating the present time with precision.

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

205

same modes of communicating ideas were in use among very
different nations, at the most early times of which we have any
knowledge.

A further proof of the very early use of inflected forms is
afforded by the fact, that we find them amongst all those nations,
from the Ganges to the Atlantic ocean, which indubitably belong
to the same stock. They must therefore have had their origin
at an epoch prior to the separation of those nations, and which
ascends much higher than the invention of writing, or historical
times.

Though not belonging to our Indians, it may be observed,
that the invention of the substantive verb, and its use as an
auxiliary verb, are also of great antiquity, since they are common
to all those nations. The infinitive to be , in the Latin and Sla¬
vonian, and, as I am informed, in the Sanscrit, means also to eat.
In the Delaware language, the verb jpommauchsin means ‘ to
walk ’ and ‘ to live.’

Amongst those nations, there are two, which do not appear
to have ever been subdued, since they occupied their present
seats, and whose languages, apparently unmixed with any other,
must have been the result of their own natural progress. The
transient dominion of Charlemagne and of his successors was
that of a Teutonic, over another kindred tribe ; and the Latin
did not penetrate beyond the Rhine. The variations along the
eastern boundary of Germany, which divides it from the
Slavonic nations, have only affected particular districts in its
immediate vicinity. The heart of Germany and the adjacent
kindred northern nations have been and remained Teutonic,
without any foreign mixture, from the most remote antiquity to
the present time. Although the Tartars had imposed a tribute
on Russia, they made no permanent settlement in the country;
and their language cannot have had any marked influence on
the Slavonian.

The Gothic translation of the Gospels by Ulphilas was made
in the fourth century, and is the oldest specimen we have of
the Teutonic languages. I have seen no other specimen of it
than “ Our Lord’s Prayer,” in the “ Mithridates ” ; but, if I am
correctly informed, the language of that translation exhibits the
same, and even a greater variety of inflections and of grammati¬
cal forms, than are found in the modern German, or in any of
the other languages of the same family. The grammars of the
ancient Anglo-Saxon corroborate the fact. All that relates to

206 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

the German must be left to the great philologists of that nation.
But, generally speaking, it would seem, as if the progress of
language, in a more advanced state of civilization, had a ten¬
dency towards lessening inflections and rendering it more ana¬
lytical.*

The introduction of the alphabet in Russia and her conver¬
sion to Christianity belong to the tenth century; and we have
translations of the Bible and of various church books, written in
the ancient Slavonic, almost immediately after those events took
place. They are therefore the true representation of that
which till then had been only an oral language. There again
we find inflections, less numerous perhaps in the verbs, but
more so in the cases of nouns, of which there are seven.

These various facts, combined, sustain the opinion, that the
grammatical forms, found in polished languages, had their origin
at a very remote epoch, and that, having impressed a distinct
character upon each, they have not been materially changed by
the introduction of writing and by the progress of knowledge.
Although the early formation of languages must ever remain a
subject of conjecture, we may yet say, that there is nothing
inconsistent in that opinion with the manner in which we may
rationally suppose that they were formed. After names had
been given to visible objects and to most common actions, the
foundation being laid in nouns and verbs, the necessity, for an
intelligible communication of ideas, of expressing the relations
existing between things and actions and the modifications to
which they were subject, must have given rise to some expe¬
dient for that purpose. Since there were several means for
effecting the object, the modes resorted to by different people
have varied. But whatever mode might be adopted, the neces¬
sity for such expedient was the same in the earliest stages of
society as at this day. Grammatical forms were as necessary,
for the most common purposes, and when the knowledge of
man and his sphere of ideas were most limited, as in the most

# In the English, in the French and other languages of Latin origin,
the substitution of the principle of position, for that of inflection, is suf¬
ficiently visible. The most general and conspicuous effect has been the
annihilation, save only in the pronouns, of the inflections denoting the
case of the noun governed by the verb. As these have been preserved
in the Slavonian languages, it may be inferred, that the mixture of idioms
has had a great share in producing that effect. May not the changes in
the modern Greek be partly ascribed to the influence of the Italian ?

SECT. VI.]

INDIAN LANGUAGES.

207

advanced state of civilization. Notwithstanding the great
progress of knowledge during the last four centuries, though
new words have been introduced and others become obsolete,
though languages have been polished and adorned, the gram¬
matical forms remain the same as they were four hundred years
ago, and have been found sufficient for the communication of
new ideas and of all that may have been added to our knowl¬
edge. The most uneducated men, those who in Europe speak
only patois of the written language, deviate from the established
rules of grammar, but use grammatical forms to the same extent
as the best masters of the language. It seems indeed obvious,
that the tendency of a written language is to give it stability,
rather than to change its nature ; and 1 believe that experience
shows, that the changes have everywhere applied much more
to words than to grammar.

Although we cannot say, why or how it happened, that the
relations existing between things and actions, the qualifications
of the things, and the modifications of the action were expressed,
in some languages by new words invented for that special pur¬
pose, and in others by changes of termination, insertion of
abbreviated particles or words compounded in different ways,
we easily understand how the principle, which was once intro¬
duced, must gradually have extended its influence over the
whole language. Analogy is sufficient to explain all the phe¬
nomena, after an innovation suggested by necessity had been
generally adopted ; and there is no difficulty in conceiving, how
a peculiar character was thus impressed on each language from
its earliest formation.

Every innovation in language must, in the first instance, have
been the work of some one individual, to whom it was suggested
by the necessity of finding some new means in order to render
himself intelligible. After names, till then inflexible, had been
given to visible objects, and to the generality of actions, the
man, who first thought of expressing the qualification or modifi¬
cation of either, or their relation, by a mere variation in the
word, was an inventor. It is very natural to suppose, that that
variation consisted at first in blending together two words, either
entire or abbreviated. But, whatever the process may have
been, the inventors were not philosophers. The invention was
suggested by necessity, adopted on account of its convenience
and utility, and extended to similar cases by analogy. The
inventors, and those who adopted the innovation, were equally

208 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

unaware of its ultimate and extensive consequences, and of the
character it would impress on the whole language. It may be
doubted, whether the utmost sagacity of men could have anti¬
cipated those effects, and whether a more perfect language
could, even at this day, be formed by the most learned philolo¬
gists, than any that has been produced by what may be called
natural causes.

If, from all the facts which we can collect, it appears that
inflections and compounded words have been, amongst the
natural and common means, resorted to in the most ancient
times by other nations, for an intelligible and full communication
of their ideas ; if it is also natural to suppose, that, where not
regulated by writing and eminent writers, the application of the
principle may have become superabundant and excessive ; there
is not, it seems, sufficient reason for inferring from the peculiar
character of the languages of the Indians, that they had their
origin in a state of society, differing from that which was found
to exist in North America, when discovered by the Europeans.

APPENDIX

✓

. .

APPENDIX.

(No. I.)

GRAMMATICAL NOTICES.

ESKIMAUX.

[Extracted from the “ Mithridates ” and from Crantz.]

The Eskimaux have a distinct word for every thing, or ac¬
tion, if it requires the least distinction. Thus they designate
with a peculiar name animals of the same species, according
to their age, sex, and form ; and what we call, in general,
“ to fish,” has a distinct name for every species of fish. (Que¬
ry, whether it is not for every distinct mode of fishing.)

Their words are varied and declined with multiplied different
modifications, and are attended with numerous ajjixa and siif-
Jixa ; and they join many words together, so as to render the
language concise and significant, but extremely difficult for a
foreigner to acquire.

They want many of our letters, never use many consonants
together at the beginning of a syllable, have a deep guttural r
and some diphthongs difficult to pronounce. They often alter
letters for the sake of euphony.

The substantives and verbs have three numbers, singular,
dual, and plural, but no gender ; the plural ends in t, and the
dual in k. The genitive is expressed by the termination b ,
or m, the other cases by prepositions, of which there are only
five, mik , 1 with,’ ‘ through ’ ; mit, ‘ from ’ ; mut , ‘ to’ ; me, t in/
‘ upon ’ ; lent, or agut, ( through/ ‘ around ’ ; and these are
placed at the end of the nouns, changing the m into n in
duals, plurals, and pronouns. The nouns may be much varied
by additional terminations, of a diminutive ( rsoale ), augmenta¬
tive ( nguoak ), odious (jpiluk), or agreeable signification ; and

212

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

two of those are sometimes united, as pilurksoak , both dimin¬
utive and derogative. (Crantz).

Others derived from verbs ; mio, designates the place where
you are ; vik, or bik, locality ; out or ut , the instrument
of action ; katak , a fellow companion ; ursak, analogy, resem¬
blance ; susia, the abstract name of the quality. They have
no inflection designating the gender. (Mith.)

Adjectives. — ■ There are no primitive adjectives; their place
is supplied by verbal adjectives or participles. Tlius from
kernekpok , c he is black,5 is derived the preterite kernertok ,
used also as a participle and adjective, and meaning black. In
the same manner the comparative and superlative are expressed
by pronominal inflections of the verb. Angivok, ‘ he is great ’ ;
angnerrovok, ‘ he is greater 5 ; angnerriosarpok, ‘ he is the
greatest.’ The comparative is also expressed by the suffix mit.

Pronouns.

Personal.

United
with verbs.

United with nouns.

Possessive.

uunga,

°nga,

my ;
thy ;

ga, ra, ka, a,

thou ,

iblit,

tit,

et, it, t,

(suus) ( cjus )

he, she ,

una,

k, au,

his ;

ne, me, e ; a, ait, it,

we two ,

uaguk,

guk,

our (of us two ) ;

puk, guk, vuk,

we,

uagut,

gut,

our ;

put, vut, vuk,

you two,

iliplik,

tik,

your (of you two) ;

si k, tik,

you,

ilipse,

se,

your ;

se, tik,

they,

okko.

uk, ut,

their.

aet,

Example .

my land,
thy “

his “ ( sua ,)
Ids “ ( rjus ,)
our “ (pf us i
our “ (pi.)
your “ (dual)
your li (pi.)
their “ (du. &

nunaga,

nunet,

nunane,
nun a,

o,) nunarpuk,
nunarput,
nunarsik,
nunarse,
.) nunaet.

When verbs govern the pronoun, the possessive affixes are
used, preceded by the particles ma , am, an.

Verbs. — Four conjugations (five according to Crantz), of
which the third person singular present indicative is respec¬
tively terminated in rpok, kpok , pure (viz. preceded by a
vowel) ; ok, pok, or vok ; and au. The various tenses are de¬
rived by various inflections from that third person singular ; the
other persons as by the above table °. And the termination prop¬
er of the tense is moreover occasionally inflected, according to
the person. (Mith.)

Tenses. — -There are properly but three tenses; the present,
used also as an imperfect ; the preterite, used also as a
pluperfect and denoted by the insertion of s or t; the fu¬
ture, which is twofold, according as the action is to follow
immediately, or to take place some time hence. (Crantz.)

Moods. — There are several varied terminations, or inflections,
expressive of and distinguishing, not only the mood generally,
but the modifications of that mood. The imperative and the

APP. NO. I.] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES. - ESKIMAUX. 213

permissive have, each, distinct inflections, according as, in the
one, the person orders or asks, and, in the other, prays or
asks.

The subjunctive has a causative and a conditional form, and
a third according as the action passes from the third person
to the subject of the proposition, or to another third person or
object. The infinitive by various inflections becomes a gerund
either in the past, pluperfect, or future tenses. There is a
future participle, but no participles proper, in the present or
past tenses. (Mith.)

In the conjunctive the equivocal character of the third
person is distinguished by variations of a single letter. Thus
in the equivocal sentence, 44 He was angry when he washed,”
the sound he is varied so as to show whether he (A) was
angry, when he (B) washed him (A), or himself (B), or him
(C) another person.

The infinitive has a triple modification expressing “to wash,”
ermiklune ; 4 whilst he washes/ (participle present,) ermiksillune;
4 before he washes/ ermiksinanne ; each with varied inflec¬
tions, according as the agent washes himself, me, thee, another,
and in the singular, dual, and plural. (Cranlz.)

Voices. — 'There is no voice passive proper; but this is ex¬
pressed by the insertion of the syllable si or ti before the
passive person, adding the pronoun of the acting person.

A great number of derived verbs is formed by adding to the
primitive verb certain terminations which pervade every mood
and tense, and modify the sense of the primitive. Such as
arau ,.4 he is used to, &c.’ ; karpok, 4 he begins to, &tc.’ ; uar-
pok, 4 he continues to 5 ; saerpok , 4 he ceases to, &tc.’ ; narpok ,
4 he does nothing but to, &c.’ ; tarpok, 4 he intends to ’ ; jek -
pok , 4 he was on the point to, &c/

And there are also, instead of adverbs, particular termina¬
tions to express the ideas of, probably, in a different manner,
better, ill, attentively, faithfully, hardly, rarely, as also, of wish¬
ing, expecting, doing for the first time, &c. (Mith.)

Their compound verbs enable the Eskimaux to express a
number of ideas by a single word. Thus,

Aglegiartorasuarpok , 4 he goes away hastily to write ’ ;
( asuar , 4 hastily.’)

AglekHgiartorasuarmarpok ; 4 he goes away hastily and ex¬
erts himself to write.’ (Crantz.)

Transitions . — What is most extraordinary, is the prodigious

214

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

number of forms expressing the accusative case of pronouns
governed by the verb. All the European languages do like¬
wise express that relation by inliections belonging to the
eonjugation of the verb and by the termination of the several
persons of the pronoun. These accessary forms have pro¬
duced not less than twenty-seven different inflections for each
tense of the Greenland ish language, in order to express the
action when it terminates in the third person ; and there are
as many for that terminating in either of the two other persons.
Analogous inflections are found in every tense, and in each
tense of every mood, as also in most of the various forms indi¬
cated in the preceding paragraph. (Mith.)

The paradigms of conjunctions are very difficult ; as you
must conjugate with the adjunction of the active pronouns (and
of those in the oblique case), through the three numbers in
both, and also through all the tenses and moods, of which the
conjunctive alone is inflected in twelve different ways. So
that we shall find each verb, whether in the affirmative or nega¬
tive form, to contain one hundred and eighty inflections, neces¬
sary to be kept in the memory ; a difficult task, though the
inflections are regular. (Crantz.)

Negative form. — This form is expressed by the termination
ngilak and other changes according to the tense, and then is
also liable to variations similar or analogous to those of the affir¬
mative form. (Mith.)

Syntax. — There are several rules, such as, that the nomina¬
tive precedes the verb, unless there is in the sentence an
oblique case, when the nominative is put at the end of the sen¬
tence ; the adjective assumes the same termination as the sub¬
stantive, &c.

The learned authors wonder “ how such people can have
performed such philological work, which can only have been
the result of profound and abstract meditations.” (Mith.)

Their proper numeral table is five; then counting on their
fingers they call six by the name of the first finger and for the
following, repeat two, three, four, five ; and count from ten to
twenty with their toes. Sometimes instead of twenty they say
a man; for one hundred, five men. But the generality are not
so learned, and the number, if above twenty, they call innu¬
merable. (Crantz.)

APP. NO. I.] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES.

ATHAPASCAS. 215

ATHAPASC AS.

The following paper, which belongs to Mr. Du Ponceau’s Col¬
lection, is the only specimen we have of the grammatical forms
of the Chippewyan. The part which relates to verbs will be
found inserted amongst the other conjugations.

Dinne , ‘a person’ (male or female). Dinne is sometimes
used also in the plural, as dinne aiss i, ‘ I see or discover peo¬
ple.’

Dinne you, ( a man ’ ; dinne you Iceh, c two men.’ Dinne iceh
is a contraction or corruption of the former. Dinne you thlang ,
6 many men.’

The word Iceh is the name given to a person’s foot or feet,
a shoe or shoes, a track or tracks, either of people or animals,
&c. It is also often used to express the numeral two, as fol¬
lows ;

Teitchin keh,

Teitchin thlang,
Tsidde keh,
Keintsee,
Keintsee keh,
Keh keh,

Sick keh,

Sick keh keh,

T’sackhalle,

Sit sackhalle keh,

Nit sackhalle keh,

Bit sackhallee keh,

Hoot sackhalle keh,
T’sackhalle thlang net see,
See aze,

See aze keh,

Nee aze keh,

Bee aze keh,

Hoo bee aze keh,

See aze keh thlang, or )
Siskaine, j

two pieces of wood, (the ch pronounced
as in church.)

many pieces of, or much ivood.
two blankets,
a pair of shoes,
two pairs of shoes,
two pairs of shoes.

my foot or shoe, and familiarly, my feet,
as, ‘ sick keh ayah,’ my feet are
sore ; but * keintsee ’ is the proper
name for shoes,
my feet,
a hat.

my two hats,
thy two hats.

his two hats, or ‘ noneh bid tsakhalle
keh.’

their two hats.

thou had many hats.

my son.

my two sons.

thy two sons.

his two sons.

their two sons.

my children.

216

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

a good woman.

Adjectives :

Dinne eela, a good man , or ‘ dinne nasong/ a good

or handsome man.

T’seck honi eela, or )
t’seck honi nasong, )

Dinne sline, or dinne jidde, a bad man.

a bad woman, or old woman. The lat¬
ter, however, is oftener expressed
‘ sean koui sline.’
an old man.
a bad boy.
a bad girl.

T’seck honi sline, or
t’seck honi jidde,

Enditha koui,

Dinne you aze sline,
T’seck honi aze sline,

[it would thence seem that Tceh is the sign of the dual and
thlang of the plural, and that the possessive pronouns are

First Person. Second Person. Third Person.

His, their,

Si, or sit, see. Nit, nee. Bit , bee, noot , hoo.]

ALGONKIN-LENAPE.

Massachusetts.

[Extracted from John Eliot’s “ Indian Grammar,” published in 1666.]

Of the Pronoun.

Because of the common and general use of the pronoun to
be affixed unto both nouns, verbs, &c., that is the first part of
speech to be handled.

C Neen,

Sing. < Ken,

( Noh, or Nagum,

Thou,

He,

T Neenawun or Kenawun,
Plur. < Kenaau,

( Nahoh or Nagoh,

We,

Ye,

They.

Interrogative of persons ; how an , plur. howanig, who ?
Interrogative of things, uttiyeu, plur. uttiyeush, which ?

Demonstrative of persons ; yeuoh, plur. yeug, this, these.
Demonstrative of things, yeu , or ne, plur. yeush , or nish, this,
these.

APP. NO. I.] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES. - MASSACHUSETTS. 217

The third person singular is affixed with such syllables as
these, unit, wun, um , oo, &c., having respect to euphony ; and
sometimes the third person, especially of verbs, hath no affix.

These pronouns, nc.cn and ken, when they are affixed, are
contracted into nc, and ke, and varied in the vowel according to
euphony, with the word it is affixed unto ; as noo, koo, &c.

Of Nouns.

The variation of nouns is not by male and female; but
according to the kind, as they signify either a living creature or
a thins which is not a living creature.

In the animate form, the nouns make their plural in og ; and
in the inanimate, in ash.

The way of affixing nouns with the pronouns is by using the
noun in all the three persons, both singular and plural.

Examples .

Singular.
Nnnnufcheg, my hand,
Kenutcheg, thy hand,
Wunnutcheg, his hand ,

Menutcheg, a hand.

Plural.

Nunnufcheganun, our hand ,
Kenutcheganoo, your hand,
Wunnutcheganoo, their hand.

Singular.

Nunnutcheganash, my hands,
Kenutchegash, thy hands,
Wunnulehegash, his hands ,

Plural.

Nunnutcheganunnonut, our hands,
Kenutcheganoowout, your hands ,
Wunnutcheganoowut, their hands.

Singular.
Neek, my house,

Keek, thy house ,

Week, his house,

Singular.

Neekit, in my house,
Keekit, in thy house,
Weekit, in his house ,

Plural.

Neekun, our house ,
Keekou, your house ,
Weekou, their house.

Plural.

Neekunonut, in our house,
Keekuwout, in your house ,
Weekuwout, in his house.

Diminuti ve nouns are formed by adding, with a due euphony,
es or enes to the primitive noun.

Nouns used in the possessive rank , are affixed with the
pronoun, by adding the syllable cum, oom, or um, according to
euphony. Num-Manittoom, ‘ my God.7 (The author does
not explain in which cases the syllable oom , &, c. is added, as in
this last instance, or in which it is omitted, as in the preceding
examples.)

VOL. II.

218

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

[iNTROD.

Of Adnouns, ( Adjectives .)

Adnouns have the animate and inanimate forms, and agree
with the leading noun, in form, number, and person. The inani¬
mate form of adnouns ends in i or c ; the animate form in es or
esu.

Plural , Wompiyeuash.
W ompesuog.

Inanimate , W ompi, white ;
Animate , Wompesu,

Put the affix (pronoun) to these, and they are verbs.

Numerals, like adnouns, receive the grammatical variation,
according to the things numbered, animate or inanimate.

The numbers 6, 7, and 8, are formed from 1 , 2, and 3, by
adding tahshe , which has no meaning.

The adnoun is frequently compounded with the noun, and
then usually they are contracted. And when the noun becomes
a verb, the adnoun becomes an adverb.

Degrees of comparison are expressed by adding the words
anuc, 4 more,’ and nano, 4 more and more.’

Of Verbs.

There are two sorts of verbs, substantive and active.

(The author seems to have designated as substantive verbs
all those including the passive voice, in which we use the verb
4 to be.’ But he appears to have included our intransitive
verbs, such as, 4 1 sleep/ 4 I eat,’ as belonging to the class of
active verbs.)

The verb substantive is when any thing has the signification
of the verb substantive (am, art, is, he.) added to it. Our
Indians have no complete distinct word for the verb substan¬
tive, as learned languages and our English tongue have, but a
regular composition whereby many words are made verbs sub¬
stantive. And these may be referred to three sorts, so far as
yet I see.

The first sort is made by adding to the word, with due
euphony, any of the terminations, o-oo, a-oo, yeu-oo. And
this, be the word a noun, as ivosicetompooo, 4 he is a man ’ ; or
adnoun, as, wompiyeuoo , 4 it is white ’ ; or the word an adverb,
or the like, as, mattayeuooutch, 4 let it be nay ’ ; nuxyeuooutch ,
4 let it be yea.’

The second sort is when the animate adnoun is made the
third person of the verb and so formed as a verb, as wompesu,

APP. NO. T.] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES. — -MASSACHUSETTS. 219

c white 5 ; noowompes, 1 I am white 5 ; koowompes , ( thou art
white 5 ; ivompesu, ( he is white.5

Whatever is affirmed to be, or denied to be, may be verbs
substantive.

The third sort are the verbs substantive passive, when the
person affixed is the object of the act ; as, nooivadchanit , ‘ I
am kept.5

The action, when doubled or frequented, is expressed by
doubling the first syllable ; as, mohmoeog, ‘ they oft meet.5

Active verbs have two forms, the simple and the suffix.

The suffix form active has five various formations. I think
there be some more, but I have beat out no more. I call them
concordances, because the chief weight and strength of the syn¬
taxes of this language lies in this eminent manner of formation
of nouns and verbs, with the pronoun persons.

1. When the object of the act is an animate noun ; as,
koowadchansh , ‘ I keep thee.5

2. When animates are each other’s object ; as, noowadchan-
’ ttimun , ‘ wTe keep each other 5 ; which form w^ants the singular
..umber.

3. The suffix animate and inanimate object ; as, koowad-
chariumoush , ‘ I keep it for thy use.5

4. The suffix animate form social ; as, kooiveechewadcha -
numwomsh, ‘ I keep it with thee.5

5. When one acts in the room of another ; as, koowadcha-
numwanshun , c I keep it instead of thee.5

All these forms may be varied, according as they' are affirma¬
tive, negative, and interrogative, and also in a causative form.

The modes of action are the indicative ; the imperative ; the
optative or wishing ; the subjunctive or rather suppositive, as,
‘ if it be,5 c when it is,5 ‘ it being,5 which last sense turns the
mode into a participle ; and the indefinite (infinitive) which is
made of the indicative mode by adding the termination at and
taking away the pronominal affix.

The potential mode is expressed by a word, commonly woh ,
signifying may, affixed to the indicative mode.

The times are two ; present and past. The time to come is
expressed by a word signifying futurity, added to the indicative
mode ; as, mos, pish, c shall,5 or ‘ will.5 *

Verbs are often turned into nouns; and a frequent way is by

* The past tense indicative is generally formed by adding ap to the
present.

220

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

[iNTROD.

adding onle. Every person of the verb that is susceptible of
such a change may so be turned into a noun singular or plural.

Adverbs are often turned into ad nouns, specially when the
verb is turned into a noun.

There are in the language ornamental superlative syllables of
no signification, as, tit, tin , tinne.

D E LAW ARE.

[Extracted from Zeisberger’s Grammar, translated by Mr. Du Ponceau.]

Indians have no declensions properly so called, there being
no inflections for cases excepting the vocative expressed by the
termination an, and by enle when coupled with the pronouns
‘my,’ ‘our,’ and the ablative or local, which designates locality,
and is formed by the suffixes ink and unle , corresponding with
c in,’ ‘ on,’ ‘out. of.’ The genitive is expressed by placing the noun
in that sense before the nominative, sometimes by prefixing the
inseparable pronoun of the third person w, ‘ his.’ The dative
and accusative are expressed by inflections in the verbs. ‘ Get-
anittowit n quit ay ala ,’ ‘ God I fear him .’ (Mr. Du Ponceau
discovered an article mo, as, m’hittulc, ‘a tree,’ or ‘ the trees.’)

Substantives are generally combined with inseparable posses¬
sive pronouns prefixed, which are in the singular, le for the first,
n for the plural, w or o for the third person. That in the
third is often omitted both in the singular and in the plural.
The singular and the plural of the noun may each be combined
with either the singular or the plural of the pronoun ; which
variations are distinguished by distinct pronominal inflections.
The plural inflection of the first person is the suffix na, of the
second wa, of the third wall or wale. The duplication nana ,
wawa, wawall, distinguishes the double plural, or combination
of both the noun and possessive pronoun in the plural (‘our
fathers.’) The termination naninga is employed in the double
plural when speaking of a deceased person.

Substantives without the prefixed pronouns are generally
inflected in the plural by suffix all for the inanimate, and ale
for animate objects. Substantives derived from verbs take, in
the plural, the termination ile.

Substantives combine themselves with almost every part of
speech, but principally with the verb. Some are derived

APR. NO. I.] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES. - DELAWARE.

221

from verbs active, neuter, or passive, and some assume the
character of participles. Others are formed of two substantives
together, or a substantive with a verb or adjective. Diminu¬
tives are formed by the suffix tit (in the animate gender. In
the inanimate, the termination cs is used. Schis applies to
(parts of) little animals. Thus the word kuligatschis, ‘ thou
pretty little paw,’ addressed to a pet dog, is derived from k,

‘ thou ’ ; wulit , ‘ pretty 5 ; wichgat, ‘ leg’ or ‘ paw ’ ; and schis,
the diminutive form. — * Mr. Du Ponceau.)

Adjectives are mostly verbs, which, though not inflected
through all the persons, have tenses. The adjectives proper
end in uwi and owi, and are sometimes derived from substan¬
tives or from verbs. The comparative is expressed by allowiwi ,
‘more’; and the superlative by eluwi, ‘most.’ (The author
hesitated whether he should class adjectives by themselves, or
include them all under the head of verbs. He has given
no rule to discriminate pure adjectives from adjective verbs. —
Mr. Du ponceau.)

Genders are not distinguished as masculine and feminine, but
as animate and inanimate. Trees and large plants belong to
the former, annual plants and grasses to the latter. Adjectives
of the former class generally end in t, of the latter in k. The
feminine of the human species and of some quadrupeds is desig¬
nated by several distinct words. The masculine of beasts is
generally expressed by the word lennowechum ; the female of
quadrupeds by ochquechum , of birds by ochquehelleu.

Numerals, when connected with substantives, assume the ter¬
mination ak for animate and ol for inanimate objects.

Personal pronouns either separable or inseparable, but much
more frequently used in the latter form. The separable pro¬
nouns are,

ni, /,

kiluna or niluna, we,

Id, thou, neka or nekama, he, she, it.
kiluna, you, nekama wa, they.

The inseparable pronouns are, in both numbers, n ’ for the first,
k? for the second, w’ for the third person. When two pronouns
are employed in verbs, the last or pronoun governed is express¬
ed by an inflection. The possessive pronoun is the same as
the personal, separable and inseparable. The personal pronoun
combines itself also with the conjunction nejpe, ‘also.’ Nepe, ‘ I
also ’ ; kepe, ‘ thou also ’ ; nejpena or kejpena, ‘ we also,’ (as
the word is used in a general or particular sense). The par¬
ticular plural refers to a certain description of persons ; as, ‘ we

222

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

Delawares,’ ‘ we who are here together.’ The other is more
general and indefinite. In verbs the prefixed n from niluna indi¬
cates the particular, k from Minna the general plural in the
first person. IMr. Du Ponceau.)

There are various demonstrative and relative pronouns ; ivho,
what, this, that, all, some, every, &c. ; auwen, i who?’ auweni ,

( who is he ? ’ auwenilc, ‘ who are they ? ’

Adverbs. — The author enumerates about three hundred, and
a great many verbs derived from thirty-one different adverbs.
Prepositions, both separable and inseparable, are also numerous;
and they are frequently combined with verbs. Conjunctions
and interjections are also enumerated.

Conditional conjunctions are, in the conjunctive mode, com¬
pounded with the verb ; as, ane, annjy, anyjanne, i when,’ ‘ if,’

‘ as,’ &c.

Verbs. — There is a great variety of verbs in this language.
To exhibit all their compound forms would be an endless task.
Every part of speech may be compounded with the verb in
many ways.

The verbs to have and to be do not exist in the Delaware lan¬
guage, either as auxiliaries or in our abstract substantive sense.

The idea of possession in a verbal form combined with the
thing possessed may be expressed. Thus vd damochol, 6 I have
a canoe ’ ; wHamochol, 1 he has a canoe.’ And the idea con¬
veyed by the substantive verb is also expressed by various
combinations ; as, m’ V damochol, 1 it is my canoe ’ ; nekama
w1 damochol, ‘ it is his canoe.’

The idea of the verb to be is also combined with adjectives
and adverbs. Wulisso, ‘ good ’ ; nulilissi, ‘I am good’; kuli-
lissi ’ ; ( thou art good ’ ; wulilissu, ‘he is good,’ &c.

There are eight conjugations, the termination of the infinitive
of which respectively is, in, an, elcndam , (indicative of the dis¬
position of the mind,) men, an, en, in, (conjugated only through
the personal forms, or transitions,) and ton , which has no
passive form.

[The great bulk of Zeisberger’s Grammar consists of the
numerous paradigms he has given of the several conjugations.
They amount to not less than twenty-three, of which five are
of transitive verbs and include those compound personal forms,
called transitions. Those of the first person of one of the plu¬
rals are however omitted, and it appears that that given is of
the particular and not of the indefinite, which corresponds with
ours. And although the author has clearly laid out the distinc-

APP. NO. I.] GRAMMATICAL NOTTCES. - DELAWARE. 223

lion between the two genders, the animate and the inanimate, he
has not, in the simple conjugation of the transitive verbs, desig¬
nated the difference of inflections due to that cause. But the
paradigms are most useful for a comprehension of that part of
the language, and most honestly done. It is clear that they
exhibit the language such as it is, and not such as it ought to
be. Want of space prevents our making as many extracts as
we could wish. We have tried to condense as many as possi¬
ble in the appended tables. But we insert here some partic¬
ular forms which could not be embraced in the tables, and
which show how rich is the language in that respect.]

From the verb achpin , ‘ to be in a particular place,’ is de¬
rived epia, ‘ where I am 7 ; from lissin, ‘ to be so disposed/ elsiya ,

‘ as I am disposed 7 ; from aan, ‘ to go,7 eyaya, ‘ whither I go 5 ;
and from luen, ‘ to say/ eloweya , ‘ what I say/ and liiehundi,

‘ it is said.5

Some verbs at least have three inflections of the infinitive,
and some, three distinct participles.

Gauwin, ‘to sleep 5 ; gctuwineep, ‘to have slept5; gauwint -
schi, ‘ to be about to sleep/ ( dormiturus esse.)

Mikemossin, ‘ to work/ mikemossit, ‘ working/ mikemossit -
schik, ‘ having worked 5 ; mikemossintsch, ‘ being about to work.5

And the participles are occasionally susceptible of transitive
forms. From wlamattsin, ‘to be happy/ is derived wlamalles-
schcen , ‘ to make one happy 5 ; and the participle wlamallesso-
holuwed, ‘ he who makes one happy/ is made by various in¬
flections to mean, ‘ he who (or, O thou who) makes me,
thee, him, us, you, them happy.5

We find also, beside the causative form, already pointed out,
various others ; such as,

A continuous form ; ivaivuiamallsin , ‘ to be always happy.5

A social form ; iviteen , ‘ to go with.5

[This verb in its transitions, ‘I go with thee, with him/ &c.,
seems to correspond with the special dual of the Cherokee ;
‘ thou and 1/ ‘ he and 1/ &c.]

A reciprocal form ; from ahoalan, ‘ to love/ ahoaltin, ‘ to
love one another.5 Those reciprocal forms have generally the
infinitive termination in tin. [Qusere, whether this is not
derived from the pronoun ntintin or ntinin , ‘ self 5 ? See
Maynard’s Micmacs.] This reciprocal form is what some of
the Spanish grammarians call the double transition, inasmuch
as ‘we love one another5 embraces the two transitions, ‘ I love
thee/ and ‘ thou lovest me.5]

224

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

The way in which the Delawares express the reflected form
is not an inflection. They simply add t lie w?ord n’hakcy, ‘my
body.’ ‘I hear myself’ is ,n’penda n'hakey , ‘I hear my body.’
One instance occurs of an animate form as distinct from the
inanimate amongst Zeisberger’s paradigms, in the verb peton,
‘ to bring.’

The following are examples of the manner in which, either
by inflections, or by compounding the verb with some other
part of speech, complex ideas are expressed in a single word.

‘ It rains,’ sokelan ; ‘ it rains hard,’ kschilan ; c it rains by
showers,’ popetelan ; ‘it is a general rain,’ alhacquot. ‘The
river drifts ice,’ massijjook ; ‘it is clearing up of ice,’ mosch -
hoquat ; ‘ the water is rising,’ petaquiechen ; ‘ the water is high,’
Wb chaquiechen ; ‘it is ripe (corn),’ winu; ‘ it is ripe (fruit),’
winxu ; ‘ he fetches wood,’ natachtu .

Chippeway Nouns.

[Extracted from Schoolcraft’s Lectures.]

All words of whatever denomination are separated into two
classes, animates and inanimates. This principle pervades the
whole language. It may be considered as forming two gen¬
ders, into which are merged the masculine and the feminine.
And it requires different inflections in the verbs, the adjectives,
and the pronouns.

Examples.

I see ,
good, ,
this,

Animate.

wabima,
onishishin ?
mabum,

Inanimate.

wabindan,

onishishi ? (is this correct ?)
mandun.

The animate gender, besides animals, embraces trees, fruits,
seeds, the sun, moon, stars, thunder, lightning, and various in¬
animate objects possessing certain real or fancied properties, such
as a consecrated stone, a bow, a pipe, a feather, a kettle, wampum,
&ic. The sex is distinguished by distinct words in a few
instances, such as man, father, husband, grandfather, and their
correlatives, deer, dog, &c. The sex of animals is commonly
distinguished by adding the words iabai , male, and nozhai ,

APP. NO. I.] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES.

CHIPPEWAY.

225

female. There are also distinct words to designate the elder
brother and the elder sister, and another which applies to all
the younger brothers or sisters.

Women use different words from men in the interjections and
some other instances. The word, my friend, is different when
applied by a man to a man and by a woman to a woman ; and
is never used between man and woman. And there are differ¬
ent words for my cousin , when a man applies it to a woman,
when a woman applies it to a man, and when either addresses
a person of his or her own sex.

The language has three numbers, the singular, the indefinite
plural which corresponds with ours, and a limited or exclusive
plural which embraces only us, or our men, (who are present.)

Both plurals have the same inflections in the nouns, and are
formed by adding to the singular the termination g in the ani¬
mate, and n in the inanimate gender, if the singular terminates
with a vowel. Otherwise those consonants g and n must be
preceded by one of the vocal sounds, a, ee, i, 6, oo.

But distinct inflections are required for the two plurals re¬
spectively, in the first person of the personal and possessive
pronouns. The manner in which the possessive pronouns are
combined with nouns whether animate or inanimate will appear
by the following paradigms.

Ishkodai, Fire.

my fire, nin dishkod-aim,
thy “ ki dishkod-aim,

his u ' • o dishkod-aim,
our “ (indef.)ki dishkod-aim-inan,
our “ (excl.) ni dishkod-aim-inan,
your “ ki dishkod-aim-iwa,

their “ o dishkod-aim-iwa,

Pinai, a Partridge ,
Pinai-wug, Partridges .
my partridge, nim binaim,
thy “ ki bin-aim,

his “ o bin-aim-un,

our “ (indef.) ki bin-aim-inan,
our 11 (excl.) ni bin-aim-inan,
your “ ki bin-aim-wa,

their “ o bin-aim-iwan.

Singular. (of noun) Plural.

my father,

nos,

my fathers ,

nos-ug,

thy “

kos,

thy “

kos-ug,

his “

os-un,

his “

os-un,

our “ (indef.)

kos-inan,

our u (indef.)

kos-inan-ig,

our “ (excl.)

kos-iman,

our “ (excl.)

nos-inan-ig,

your “

kos-iwa,

your “

kos-iwag,

their u

os-iwan,

their

os-iwan.

VOL. II.

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

[lNTROD.

2 26

It appears from the last example, that there is no distinction
between the singular and the plural of the nouns of the animate
gender in their combination with the third person of the posses¬
sive pronoun. Os-un is equally used for his father and his
fathers : and os-iwan for their father and their fathers. And
the same observation applies to the combination of the third
person of personal pronouns with the verb. In other respects
the first two examples of the animate and inanimate forms
differ only in the additional termination un to the third person
of animate nouns ; which termination is the same as that of
the plural of inanimate nouns in their simple form. The same
variations are found in the vocal sounds which precede the
characteristic m of the possessive pronoun, as in those which
precede the characteristics g or n of the plural of nouns. The
consonant d is prefixed to the substantive when it begins with a
vowel and is preceded by the possessive pronoun ; (unless this
should appear, as in nos , ‘ my father, ’ in an abbreviated form.)

Mr. Schoolcraft seems to indicate a kind of objective or ac¬
cusative case in animate nouns.

Ogima ogi nissan muk wun, literally, “ Chief he has killed
him, bear him.” Yet this may be but a superfluous accordance
and applicable only to the third person. But there is no
doubt about the verb. The Indian always indicates by an in¬
flection of the verb the object of the action. He does not say
1 I love,’ but, 1 I love him or her.’ (Schoolcraft, p. 195). The
personal forms, called transitions, are perpetually substituted, in
the third person, for the simple form of the verb.

A large class of compound descriptive terms, such as of
country, place of dwelling, or employment, field of battle, &c.
use no pronominal prefixes, but only suffixes, as may be seen
in the following pronominal declension of aindad , ‘ home,’ or
e place of dwelling.’

Singular.

my home, ainda-yan,

thy

ainda-yun,

his

ainda-d,

our

(excl.) ainda-yang,

our

(indef.) ainda-yung,

your

ainda-yaig,

their

ainda-wad,

Plural.

my homes,
thy “
his u

our iC (excl.)
our “ (indef.)
your “
their u

ainda-yan-in,

ainda-yun-in,

ainda-jin,

ain da-yang-in,

ainda-yung-in,

ainda-yaig-in,

ainda-wadjin.

The terminationsing*, oong, Szc. denote 1 in,’ £ at,’ 6 on ’ ; but
there are also other prepositions denoting ( on.’ Example :

APP. NO. I.] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES. — CHIPPEWAY. 227

Chimaning, 4 in the canoe ’ ;

Monomonikaning, 4 in the place of wild rice.’

But the termination ing to an animate noun connected with
an adjective, indicates resemblance.

The terminations ais, eas, os, are the diminutive form. Ex. :

Eekwa^ais, 4 a little woman ’ ; ossinees, 4 a small stone.’

The termination ish implies bad quality, decay, or imperfec¬
tion. Ex. :

lniniwish, ‘a bad man ’ ; wakyiganish, £a decayed house.’

Ahmikoosli , 4 a poor beaver,’ (not valuable).

The termination bun , suffixed to a noun, indicates the past
tense, and is used when speaking of a person or thing which
has ceased to exist.

The prefix tah, together with the suffix iwi to an animate,
and iwun to an inanimate noun, designates the future.

The second person of the imperative, and the third person
singular of the indicative present, are generally the simplest
forms of the verb.

Nouns are converted into verbs by a simple inflection : from
chiman , 4 a canoe ’ ; chimai, 4 he paddles ’ : Ojibwai, 4 a Chip-
peway ’ ; ojibwamoo, 4 he speaks Chippeway.’

Another class of nouns is converted into verbs, in which the
equivalent of the substantive verb does not appear, unless we
suppose the terminations ow, aw, iw, oow, to be derived from
the verb law, 4 to be.’ No monidow, 4 1 (am) a spirit ’ ; ni
waikyigungiw, 4 I (am) a house.’

On the other hand the termination win, added to the indica¬
tive of the verb or of a (verbal) adjective, converts either into
a substantive. Keegidowin , 4 a speech,’ from keegido, 4 he
speaks ’ ; aukoosiwin, 4 sickness,’ from aukoossi.

All the words of more than two syllables, and the greater
part of these, appear in this language to be compound words.
The principle of a rapid conveyance of ideas by consolidation
has led to a coalescence of words, by which all the relations of
object and action, time and person, are expressed in one word.
The primitives have often thus become obscured and lost.
The process of amalgamation was progressive, and has led the
Indian, when he wanted to express new objects or ideas, to
modify or to compound existing, rather than to invent new
words. Hence the facility with which they bestow appropriate
names on new objects. Thus they have called the horse pai~
baizhiJcogazhi, from paizhik, 4 one,’ (used also as an article,)

4 united,’ 4 undivided ’ ; which becomes plural by duplicating

228

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

the first syllable, paibaizhik. Gauzh, from oskuzh, ‘ nail,’

‘ claw,’ ‘horny part of the hoof’ ; o is used to make the two
words coalesce ; the final i is that of ahwaisi , ‘ a beast,’ and
designates the name as being that of an animal ; which literally
translated is ‘ the undivided-hoofs animal.’

The names for liquid extracts, drinks, &c., are derived from
abo, a word never used alone. Shominabo , ‘ wine,’ from shomin,
‘grape’; totoshabo, ‘milk,’ from totosh , ‘ the female breast.’

A numerous class of compounds is derived from jecgun, or
gun , meaning instrument, words also never used alone. To
that class belong opwagun, ‘ a pipe’ ; sheemagun, ‘ a lance,’ &c.
And from wyan, ‘ a skin,’ they have derived several words ;
amongst others, wabiwyan (white skin) ‘ a blanket.’

Another class of compound words is derived from the third
person singular of the present indicative, by adding d, and
changing the vocal sound of the first syllable. JVeeba, ‘ he
sleeps,’ nabad, ‘ a sleeper ’ ; weesini, ‘ he eats,’ wassinid, ‘ an
eater’ ; keegidoo, ‘ he speaks,’ kagidood, ‘ a speaker.’ The in¬
sertion of the particle shki gives those a derogative form. JYa-
bashkid, 1 a sluggard ’ ; kagidooshkid, ‘ a babbler ’ ; wassinish-
kid , ‘ a gormandizer.’ There are many other combinatives,
by which the noun, coalescing with the verb, the adjective, and
the preposition, produces numerous compound expressions.

Micmacs.

[From Father Maynard’s Manuscript Notes, obtained in Canada by the late

Enoch Lincoln.]

[Note. The Jesuits use the character x, which we have preserved
for the sound oo. We have substituted for the genders, the designa¬
tions animate and inanimate , instead of nolle and ignoble.)

In the animate gender, the past tense is generally terminated
in cdc or ok ; and the plural in k * or in gik. f In the inanimate
gender, the plural ends in al, el, oul, il ; the past tense in the
singular ends in ek, and in the plural in kel or eguel.

#Proper nouns make the plural in ok ; and the past plural in ik, or shnik.
f Animate nouns ending in it, et, make the plural in gik.

i* i

" z : — * r , . -

Ad me nouns ice Ziifmenoaie ar me dnmnutwe icrm z~
acunmi j.i t ;/7 .;/7. .n jc'.j, zeziaers ci trie inimare and m me
snnuiar at me irEHumate. me , ?* ■ . in me pfncri ct me m-
amirn me ... . : meet a zzzsz :e

mac jg the noun.

Toe xum i~;n.z ir mm r imz: aimer teems- :c ifbez me
icun means mi* me mm zf/

E/mzc? IZ.:.
^hvamatti

Titia- r?r

rnr.
roman.

F~ sent.

jciunem.

^niLLrr^il

P ISZ.

:c — -

II * ; _= 1_E

-rTi |T — - £_

- . :.;.c.

Irian.' muz xmder.

LSI.

j rs. lafcea.

imfk. £,”□■

r~-.zn nod. ijiciim.
litr. si^VOEL.

sT~-r~ c
laciimeii

a^TZe..
»nc n :taei.
c_T~ — <±i.

F xsL

- ; ' - ; -

-r-H-'i D LXLi^L

_ : : ' . . . 1 ' . ■ : n it:

me x*-- . in :r towards . i zisiz : si^andfcsi. zz

me me : • m zi. me sea : - m . . zz me sea

:r ■ awards me sea/

Jerez tires zr me izimie lender dome me mm zz mide
Or i£fc Z and fcsp of Ag immimaiff it QT fa/ ; SOfi they

zaTe dmzin mdemzcizs ~m me nouns m zesmzmm me nast
:ense. me ~:rz mm' .. maced zeiore me idendve. sunni.es
me : ice :: me : m: : mzzi m :r s*: :ezizn~e lezzee, 1 mm',
impiies me m zest sunermnne oemme

Pr&iyjt Btf-

wZ. I : las. r- Ttm. we :

&£ mo a : izum. vou :

mm. ’ i . i r , • : me so

j/ m s _sed aelv wizen me ezeam zeeween mensemes:
me 1 ; "men me so end m inomer nerscc zee mcz_dinn
him .

/ : i m ; : : -

\dc t v_ > ■ ,mz>> z .za aizm cknii. • ;z, wi_ m mis e enmm

m see mi

230

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

[iNTROD.

&la and nan are used for c this 5 ; in the plural sakela and
nahela ; and in the past tense seguela and neguela ; which
also mean 4 formerly.’

Possessive pronouns are formed by adding aye to the initial
letters of the singular personal pronouns nil, kil, of the first and
second person ; substituting for the third « instead of negeum
(probably abbreviates from sla .)

In order to form the plural, take the initial for the first two
persons and insert aye before tbe termination ; substituting also
s for negm in the third person. Naye, 4 my,’ 4 mine kaye,
4 thy,’ 4 thine ’; o’ aye, 4 thy,’ 4 thine.’ Kay ns, naynen, 4 ours
Tcaysau, 4 yours ’; saysaw, 4 theirs. ’

[It would seem, that there is also a second plural for the
second and third person ; but I apprehend that there is some
confusion in the text, and that what is called in this instance
second, means double plural, that is to say, when both the
pronoun and the noun are in the plural number, our children .]
When the possessive pronoun is united to the noun, you
must follow the same rules.

n’nixkam,* my God,
k’nixkam, thy 44
s’nixkam’l, his 44

n’kish,t

my mother,

k’kish,

thy 44

sfkigel,

his 44

n’stch,

my father ,

k’stch,

thy 44

ischel,

his 44

k’nixkamins,

k’nixkamsau,

s’nixkamsau,

k’kixkamina/,

k’kenixkamsa/,

s’nixkamsa/,

k’kiginsr,

k’kijsau,

sfkijsal,

n^xhinen,!

ksschieau,

sschisau,

neschinak,§

ksschisak,

sschi&akal,

our God,
your 44
their 44
our Gods ,
your 44
their 44

our mother,
your 44
their 44

our father,
your 44
their 44
our fathers,
your 44
their 44

* This is the example given, but it is not clear whether the termina¬
tion is c or l ; and there is evident confusion in the use of the char¬
acteristic n and k, of the first and second person of the plurals.

f This last example is the most correct. The characteristic n or k,
in the first person plural designates the two plurals as in other Algon-
kin dialects. The termination k in the last three persons [our, your,
their fathers) is the plural termination of the noun.

I Or, keschins. § Or, keschinak.

APP. NO. I.j GRAMMATICAL NOTICES. - MICMACS. 231

When the noun begins with a vowel, t is inserted between it
and the pronoun. N’telcguem , 4 my king,’ instead of n’ele-
guem.

Relative Pronouns.

tien, 4 he who ’ ; past tense senak ; plural, senik , and for the
past tense sennkik.

Tan is also used for 4 he who,’ declined as sen both in the
plural and past in the animate gender. But tan is also used
for the inanimate gender, meaning 4 that which ’ ; in which case
it is declined for the past tense tanek , and in the plural tanel ,
in the past tense tannkel.

Tan means also 4 when ’ applied to the past ; but if 4 when ’ is
used in the future, you must say tamsk.

Father Maynard has given several paradigms of the simple
conjugation of verbs, but none of transitions. He generally
omits the characteristic initials of the personal pronoun, some¬
times writes them at large, and sometimes in the same abbre¬
viated form as is used in the possessive pronouns, but omitting
the syllable aye. In some instances, he distinguishes the two
plurals of the first person ; generally he gives but one of the
forms. In the first case there is a different inflection in the
verbal termination, as well as in the initial of the pronoun.

He gives the conjugation of the verb nildelei , 4 I am ’ ;
but he afterwards explains that it means, 4 to be like,’ 4 to
resemble.’

From almost all simple verbs, words are extracted, which,
united to other verbs, serve as adverbs or prepositions. Thus
from delei , 4 I am like,’ del is extracted, and may be united
with many other verbs. Thus, from elsgsei , 4 I work,’ is formed
deVlsgsei , 4 it is thus I work.’ And from pasetem, 4 I will,’ is
formed delipasetem , 4 I will have it thus.’ From the verb
nakshwshi, 4 I am quick,’ and from the verbs migishi, 4 I eat,’
pemici, 4 I walk,’ are formed nakshimigishi, nachipeniei , 4 I eat,
I walk, quickly.’

Verbs also express, by a simple variation of inflection, the
various modifications of the action. Thus, nemids , 4 1 see
some one far off’ ; nemik , 4 I see some one near ’ ; nenak , 4 I
see some one I know ’ : and each of these, as a new verb, is
conjugated through all the persons, moods, and tenses.

He gives also a list of impersonal verbs, many derived from

232

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

[iNTROD.

adjectives ; and he observes, that whenever it is used in the
negative, the termination is changed. Examples : c It is cold,’
tegueg ; ‘ it is not, cold mstaguen.sk : ‘ It snows,’ pejalc; e it
does not snow,’ mspejanxlc : ‘It is true,’ deliak ; ‘it is not
true,’ msdeliansk.

One of his paradigms will be found in the appended tables.
He has given none of the passive voice.

The manuscript was entirely written for his own use, ap¬
parently as if he were trying to learn the language, and without
having been revised except in the few cases which have been
extracted, in which he gives some general rules.

The following should have been inserted amongst the pro¬
nouns :

nil ntintin, myself \
kil ntinin, thyself,
negeuin stinin, himself,
kins k’tininens, ourselves,
ninen n’tininenen, ourselves,
kilau ktininesau, yourselves,

negmau stinineaal, themselves,
n’tinin, signifies also, my body,
m’tinin, himself,
m’tininikteh, in himself,
n’tintniktak, in myself,
k’tininiktsk, in thyself.

IROQUOIS.

Onondago.

[Extracted from Zeisberger’s Manuscript Onondago Grammar, translated
by Mr. Du Ponceau ; a manuscript in the Library of the American Phi¬
losophical Society in Philadelphia.]

Genders. — Two genders, masculine and feminine, distin¬
guished, 1. By particular names, etschinak, c a man’; echro,
‘ a woman ’ ; 2. By prefixes ; the feminine prefix being gen¬
erally g. Sajadat, ‘ a male person ’ ; sgajadat, ‘ a female.’
T’hietago , ‘ two male persons ’ ; fgietago, ‘ two females.’ This
g is used in plural of females ; as, echro-gechro, plur., and also in
the plural of all animals where the sex is not specially dis¬
tinguished.

APP. NO. I.] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES. - ONONDAGAS. 233

Nouns of inanimate objects have no prefixes and accept
none.

Numbers. — Plural is formed by addition of a syllable to the
singular, shoh , nnie, ogu, varying according to termination or
usage. Nouns compounded with the adjective ios, ‘ long,’ change
ios into es and add o for the plural. • Garonta, ‘ a tree ’ ; ga~
routes, ‘ a long tree 5 ; garonteso, plural.

In proper nouns compounded with certain numbers, the
syllable age is added ; -unque, ‘ man ti-unquetage, ‘ two men.’

Cases. — None except, 1. In words beginning with a vowel,
s prefixed makes the vocative. Unque, ‘man’; sunque, ‘thou
man.’ 2. Inseparable prepositions suffixed to nouns correspond
to the ablative, dative, &c. Possessive pronouns are prefixed
to nouns (and personal pronouns to verbs).

Examples.

giatattege, my brother,
thiatattege, thy “

hatattege, his “

twattege, our brother,
swatattege, your “
hunatattege, their “

Adjectives mostly coalesce with substantives and then may
be conjugated as a verb ;

eniage , ‘ hand ’ ; ostwi , ‘little eniastwi, ‘ a little hand ’ ;
ivagcniastwi , ‘ my hand is little ’ ;
saniastioi , ‘ thy hand is little 5 ;
honiastwi , * his hand is little.’

They have also a present and future tense ;

tiogaras, ‘ dark ’ ;
tiogarasqua, ‘ it is dark ’ ;
njogarak, ‘ it will be dark.’

But most of the adjectives which coalesce with substantives
distinguish the masculine and feminine gender ;

unquctohekte , * a bad man ’ ;
hunquctahckte, ‘ he is a bad man ’ ;
gunquctahcktc, ‘ she is a bad creature.’

The substantive is placed before the adjective when they do
not coalesce.

The adjective, when implying ‘ is ’ or ‘ are,’ goes before
the substantive, and the adjective becomes a verb.

VOL. II.

234

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

If two adjectives meet and one coalesces with a substantive,
that which becomes a verb is placed last ;

Unquequeki hotiheJcte, ‘ all men are corrupted.’

But if not coalescing, the substantive is placed between the
adjective and the verb ;

Oqiield unquehogu hotiheJcte ‘ all men are corrupted.’

Scata, ‘ one,’ and ieJceni, ‘ two,’ may coalesce with a sub¬
stantive ; sk, s, or tsh, ‘ one,’ and t , or ti, ‘ two,’ being respec¬
tively placed before, and tat, or to, ‘ one,’ and age, ‘ two,’ at
the end of the substantive ;

ganliochioa, door,
sJcanhochwata, a door ;
unque , man,
shiunquetat , a man ;
tiunquetage , two men.

But usage alone can learn when these two words, one and
two, do or do not coalesce with a substantive.

The adjective ‘ many,’ is often supplied by iotgate, ‘ mul¬
titude ’ ; unquegotgate, ‘ many men.’

The comparative is formed by adding haga, or tshilcha ;
the superlative by adding tshiclc to the positive.

Some have no comparative. Others have no superlative
and substitute aquas, ‘ very.’

Pronouns absolute, personal and possessive: — ‘I,’ ‘mine,’ i ;
‘thou,’ ‘thine,’ his ; ‘he,’ ‘his ,’ hauha; ‘she,’ gauha; ‘we,’
ni; ‘ye,’ his ; ‘they,’ masc. honuha, fem. snuha.

In composition, the following are placed before verbs, and
also before nouns, those marked * excepted.

ojata, person,
sqjadat , masc.
sgajadat, fem.

a person.

SINGULAR. PLURAL.

1st per.

2nd.

3 d. 3d fem.

1$£ per.

2nd.

3d.

3d fem

ga.

sa,

ha,

unque,

tiunque,

s’wa,

hoti.

ge,

se,

ho,

s’we,

hati, 1

•

*waga,

*wassa,

*waha,

tessa,

hunti,

*wage,

*wasse,

*waho,

*tshiaqua,

tesse,

hunna,

tga,

tge,

wakge,

wash,

tessa,

tishi,

t’ha, tiago,

t’ho, t’go,

go, tago,

t’wa,

tiuque,

tess’wa.

*wahunna,

*wahunti,

t’hiti,

t’hoti,

t’hunti.

gunti,

t’gunti

In passive : — ‘I,’ JunTci ; ‘ thou,’ Jets a ; ‘ he,’ t'huwa,wahuwa ;

APP. NO. I.] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES. - ONONDAGAS.

235

‘ she,’ guwa ; ‘ we,’ tiunqua ; 4 ye,’ jetswa ; ‘ they,’ masculine,
fhuwati , wahuwati ; ‘ they,’ feminine, guwati .*

Verbs. — Active and passive verbs have the same termina¬
tion, but the pronominal prefix is changed as stated above :

Wagerio , ‘I beat’ ; Junkerio , ‘ I am beaten,’

Teiises. — Gato , ‘ I say ’ ; gatochne , ‘ I said ’ ; ngato , ‘ I
shall say.’

Participle. — Hattie is added to express continuation of
action done or suffered :

Wagiote, ‘ I work’; wagiotehattie, ‘ I am working.’

Wagin , 4 1 come ’; waginhattie , ‘ I am coming.’

Voice, number, person, gender are distinguished by prefixed
inseparable pronouns.

Infinitive is the root. The first person of the present indica¬
tive has the pronoun prefixed and generally drops the first
syllable of the infinitive :

Wauntgachtwi , 6 to see ’ ; gatgachtwi , 1 I see.’

Perfect is formed by affixing to the present ochne , ohqua ,
chta , nha , squa , hqua, sta , hka, &c. ; which of these shall be
used depends on and varies with the termination of the verb : — *

ending in ta- clique, chne,
“ (< wa— chta,

“ “ ra - nha, ochne.

Perfect.

in qua - squa,
“ ze- ho chne ,

in eli, ti - ung,

“ ani,ji, — hhuchqua.

Future by prefixing to present en , or in, pronounced ’n.
Imperative by prefixing or intercalating a ; future imperative
by prefixing na.

By future imperative is meant a future which orders ; you
shall ; simple future, you will.

Zeisberger makes four conjugations besides irregular and
defective verbs.

The prepositions are supplied by inseparable suffixes ;

age, in and upon,
acu, wacu, in,
achera, on, upon,
ocu , under,
acta, at, on, by,

astuntie, about,
hattie, during,
atie, along,
ati, on the other side,
ge , oline, to, unto,

tochsgehha, near,
hoquadi, towards,
hactaitie, without,
acic, attie, through.

* g, s, iv, are properly the distinguishing letters of pronouns and go of
the third person singular feminine.

In verbs beginning with wa or t, the distinguishing pronominal letters
are placed between the first and second syllable.

236 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

But some appear to be used as our prepositions.

Some conjunctions appear also to be suffix ; as se, ‘for,’ c be¬
cause5 ; satgatto, sattoch garriaxse, ‘you eat, you are hungry
because .5

Hurons or Wyandots.

The deficiencies in Zeisberger’s Grammar may, though but
very imperfectly, be partly supplied by the information respect¬
ing the language of the Hurons or Wyandots, transmitted by
Father Brebeuf, the most eminent of the French Missionaries
to that Nation. It is contained in a copious account of that
Nation (First Part, Chap, iv.) given by him under the date
of 16th July, 1636, and makes part of the relations of New
France for that year. We annex its translation.

LANGUAGE OF THE HURONS.

This is only a foretaste, in order to show some of its par¬
ticular character, until a grammar and a dictionary can be
prepared.

They have a letter common to the Montagnes and the
Algonkins for which we have none corresponding, and which
we express by khi. They have neither b, f, l, m,p, j, v, x,
or z. Most of their words are composed of vowels. They
want all the labial letters; which is the reason why they all open
their lips so ungracefully, and you can hardly understand their
whistling or when they speak in a low tone. As they have
almost no virtue nor religion nor science nor police, they have
no simple words significative of whatever is connected with those.
And we are much embarrassed in explaining to them many
fine things derived from such knowledge. But compound
words are in great use and have the same force as the adjective
and substantive united together. A?idatarasse, ‘ fresh bread.5
Achitetsi, ‘ a long foot.5 The variety of those compounded
words is very great, and the key of the secret of their
language. They have the same various genders as ourselves,
the same variety of number as the Greeks.* Moreover a kind

# Alluding to the dual.

APP. NO. I.] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES. - HURONS.

237

of relative declension which embraces in itself the possessive
pronoun, meus, tuus, suits ; for instance, iatacan, 4 my brother,5
aiatacan, 4 my brothers 5 ; satacan, 4 thy brother,5 tsatacan, 4 thy
brothers 5 ; otacan, 4 his brother,5 atatcican , 4 his brothers.5 As
to cases, they have them all, or they supply them by very well
adapted particles.

The wonder is that all their nouns may be universally con¬
jugated. Thus gaon, 4 old 5 ; agaon, 4 he is old5; agaonc,

4 he wras old 5 ; agaonha , 4 he is going to grow old,5 he. And
likewise iatacan , 4 my brother 5 ; oniatacan , 4 we are brothers 5 ;
oniatacanehen, 4 we were brothers.5 That is rich ; this is not.
A noun implying relation always implies with them one of
the three persons of the possessive pronoun ; so that they can¬
not say simply 4 father,5 4 son,5 4 master,5 4 servant,5 but they are
constrained to say one of the three, 4 my father,5 4 thy father,5
4 his father 5 ; although I formerly translated in a prayer one of
their nouns by that of father.* We are accordingly embar¬
rassed how to say properly in their language, In the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Would
you think it proper to substitute in lieu thereof, In the name of
our Father and of his Son and of their Holy Ghost. Indeed
it seems that the Three Persons of The Most Holy Trinity
would be sufficiently expressed in that way; the third being
in fact the Holy Spirit of the First and Second ; the Second
the Son of the First; and the First, Our Father, in the words
of the Apostle, Ephesians iii. ; and according to the example
of our Lord, both in our Lord’s prayer and also in St.
John xx. 44 1 ascend to my Father and to yours.55 May we
dare to do so until the Huron language becomes richer, or
until the Hurons may acquire other languages? We will do
nothing without advice.

Speaking of that name, father , another difficulty occurs in
making those who have no father on earth say, Our Father
who art in heaven. They consider it as an insult to speak to
them of the dead whom they did love. A woman, whose
mother was lately dead, almost gave up the wish of being

* Father Brebeuf here alludes to his translation of a religious tract
into Huron, made by him before he was master of the language, and
in which he had struck off the characteristic letter of the pronoun of
the first person from the Huron word for my father ; which was bad
Indian. This translation is printed in the Appendix to Champlain’s
Edition.

238 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

baptized, on being taught through carelessness, Honor thy
fattier and mother.

As to verbs, what is most remarkable in their language is,
first, that they have some for animated beings and others for
things without life ; secondly, that they vary their tenses and
also their numbers in as many ways as the Greeks; besides
which the first person as well of the dual as of the plural is
also double. For in order to say, for instance, 4 we set off,
thou and I,’ you must say Idarascxa ; and to say, 4 we set off,
he and I,’ aiarascxa ;* likewise in the plural, 4 we set off, sev¬
eral of us,’ ( nous autres ) axarascsa ; 4 we set off along with
you,’ eaarascsa.

Beside that they have a double conjugation ; and I believe
this to be common to all the American languages. One is
simple like that of the Latin and French. Iehiaton, 4 1 write,’
chiehiatonc, 4 thou writest,’ chahiatonc , 4 he writes,’ aaahiatonc ,
4 we write,’ scsahiatonc, 4 you write,’ attihiatonc, 4 they write.’

The other way of conjugating may be called reciprocal, in¬
asmuch as the action signified by the verb is always terminated
in some person or some thing ; so that, instead of saying as we
do in three words, 1 love thee , the Hurons say in one word,
onnonhse ; and also, I love you both, inonhse ; I love you
many, sanonhse, &c.

What I find most singular is that there is a feminine conju¬
gation, at least in the third person of the singular and plural ;
for we have not discovered with certainty the distinction else¬
where. Here is an instance ; lhaton, 4 he says 9 ; Isaton ,
4 she says’; lhonton , 4 they say, (the men)’; Ionton, 4 they
say, (the women) ’. The principal distinction of that feminine
conjugation is the want of the letter h, with which the mas¬
culine abounds ; perhaps in order that the women should
understand that there must be nothing harsh or severe in their
words and manners, but that grace and mildness must be on
their lips, according to the same lex clementice in lingua ejus.

They are fond of similes, trivial sayings, and proverbs.
Here is a common one ; Tichiout etoatendi, 4 there,’ say they,
4 is the fallen star,’ when they see somebody fat and in good
order. It is because they believe that on a certain day a star
fell from heaven in the shape of a fat goose. Amantes sibi
somnia fingunt.

* The same distinction is made in the Cherokee language.

APP. NO. I.]

GRAMMATICAL NOTICES.

239

CHEROKEE.

We are indebted to Mr. Pickering for our first knowledge
of the structure and grammatical forms of the Cherokee
language. Unfortunately he has published only the com¬
mencement of his Grammar, of which a very concise outline
is here given. We refer for further details to the Grammar
itself and to the essay on Indian languages, in the Appendix to
the sixth volume of Dr. Lieber’s American edition of the “ Con-
versations-Lexicon,” which is understood to have also been
written by Mr. Pickering. But we give entire the answers of
the Rev. S. A. Worcester to twelve grammatical queries, which
-were circulated at my request, in the year 1826, by the War
Department. They have not been answered from any other
quarter. %

EXTRACTED FROM MR. PICKERING’S GRAMMAR.

There is no word corresponding precisely with the English
articles a and the. Instead of these the Cherokees use
saJcwah , c one 5 ; or hi ah, ‘ this 5 ; and naski , or, na, ‘ that.’
These words are indeclinable.

The masculine and feminine genders appear to be no other¬
wise distinguished than by the different names given to the
male and female respectively of certain animals, or by using,
with the name of the animal, words signifying, male, or female.
But the nouns are arranged under the two classes of animate
and inanimate beings ; a distinction which is denoted by varied
inflections in the plural of nouns, in the inseparable possessive
pronouns, and in the verbs.

There are three numbers, singular, dual, and plural ; but in
nouns the termination is the same for the dual and the plural.
The distinction is made by a varied inflection in the inseparable
possessive pronouns.*

The plural of nouns is formed by the prefixes t, te , ti, ts.,
and ani, uni, united to the singular ; the four first being com¬
monly used in the plurals of inanimate, and the two last in
those of the animate class, though not invariably. When an

* And also, as appears in the essay, in the inseparable personal pro¬
nouns united to the verb.

240

SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

[iNTROD.

adjective accompanies the noun, the plural prefix is in some
instances added to both, and in some others to the adjective
alone.

Examples.

tlukung, a tree ; ekwoni, a river ; atsutsu, a boy.
tettlukung, trees ; tsekwoni, rivers ; anitsutsu, boys.

ekwahi tlukung, a large tree ; usti kihli, a. little (log.
tsekwahi tetlukung, large trees ; :*tsuhasti kihli, little (logs.

asi sunkuta, a good apple ; asi seti, a good walnut.
tanasi sunkuta, good apples ; f tsasi seti, good ivalnuts.

The nouns have no inflections expressive, as in the Latin
and Greek languages, of cases.

When the inseparable possessive pronouns are combined
with nouns, the dual is expressed by a varied inflection in the
pronoun alone. But a distinction is also made in the dual and
plural of the pronoun (of the first person) between ( our,?
meaning of you and me, and 1 our,’ meaning of him or
them and me, and in all the numbers of the third person, (Jiis,
their), according as the person or persons may be absent or
present. But from the two examples given, those inseparable
pronouns are not always the same.

my,

thy,

his, of one present,
his, of one absent,

our, of thee and me,
our, of his and me,
your, of you two,
their, of them two present,
their, of them two absent.

our, of you all and me,
our, of them all and me,
your, of you all,
their, of them all present,
their, of them all absent.

Examples.

house.

tsinelung,

hinelung,

* ka nelung,
ka nelung.

ini nelung,
asti nelung,
isti nelung,
tuni nelung,
ani nelung.

iti nelung,
atsi nelung,
itsi nelung,
tani nelung,
ani nelung,

heart.
aki nahwi,
tsa nahwi,
tu nahwi,
u nahwi.

kini nahwi,
akini nahwi.
sti nahwi,
tuni nahwi,
uni nahwi.

iki nahwi,
aki nahwi,
itsi nahwi,
tuni nahwi,
uni nahwi.

* In this instance the two prefixes ts and un are used,
f The animate prefix an used for apple ; the inanimate ts for walnut.

APP. NO. I.] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES. - CHEROKEE. 241

When the noun is in the plural, ( houses , hearts ,) this is
formed by the addition of the usual prefixes placed before the
pronoun.

EXTRACTED FROM MR. PICKERING’S ESSAY.

The same distinctions of dual and plural are found in the
conjugations of verbs, distinguishing in like manner in the
personal pronouns we, whether it means thou (or you ) and I,
or he (or they) and 1 ; and in the pronoun of the third person,
whether he is, or they are absent or present. (See the Essay.)
Many other peculiarities are also noticed in the same paper.
The plural prefixes are affixed to the verb, when the object of
the action is in the plural. Moods, in the general sense of any
modification in the action, are numerous, such as, c I do
habitually,’ ‘I am at liberty to do,’ &c., expressed by varied
inflections. In the same way the action is distinguished if done
collectively or distributively, ‘ he is tying thee and me to¬
gether,’ tikinaluniha ; e he is tying thee and me, but each
separately,’ tetikinalun-iha , &c.

ANSWERS TO GRAMMATICAL QUERIES BY REV. S. A.
WORCESTER, MISSIONARY TO THE CHEROKEES.

1. Are nouns, whether substantive or adjective, indeclinable ?
Ans. All adjectives and many substantives are declined.

Many substantives are indeclinable.

2. Do the varied inflections apply to number, gender, tense,
or case ?

Ans. The inflections of substantives apply to number and
person ; of adjectives to number and person, and sometimes to
tense.

Examples.

Tsi*ska-ya,

Hi-ska-ya,

A-ska-ya,

I-ni-ska-ya,

Aw-sti-ska-ya,

I-sti-ska-ya,

I-ti-ska-ya,

Aw-tsi-ska-ya,

I-tsi-ska-ya,

Ani-ska-ya,

I ( am ) a man.
thou a man.
a man.

thou ancl I men.
he and I men.
ye two men.
ye and / men.
they and I men.
ye men.
men.

Kaw-si-yu,

Haw-si-yu,

Aw-si-yu,

I-naw-si-yu,

Aw-staw-si-yu,

I-staw-si-yu,

A-taw-si-yu,

Avv-tsaw-si-yu,

I-tsaw-si-yu,

A-naw-si-yu, ")

Tsaw-si-yu, )

I ( am ) good,
thou good,
he, she, or it good,
thou and I good,
he and I good,
ye two good,
ye and 1 good,
they and I good,
ye good.

they good.

VOL. II.

242

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES [iNTROD.

A-naw-si-yu is applied to animate objects
solid shape. Tsaw-si-yu to other things.

and things of a

P resent tense. U-ni-tsa-ta, many.
Past tense. U-ni-tsa-tung.
Future tense. U-ni-tsa-te-sti.

The adjective may become a verb, thus ;

U-ni-tsa-ta, there are many.
U-ni-tsa-tung-gi, there were many.
U-ni-tsa-te-sti, there will he many .

Substantives denoting relationship and those which neces¬
sarily imply a possessor, as the members of the body, &c.,
usually have inflections denoting the number and person of the
possessor. Thus ;

E-taw-ta,

Tsa-taw-ta,

U-taw-la,

Gi-ni-taw-ta,

Aw-gi-ni-taw-ta,

I-sti-taw-ta,

my father,
thy father ,
his father ,
thy and my father,
his and my father,
the father of you
tico,

I-gi-taw-ta,

Aw-gi-taw-ta,

I-tsi-taw-ta,

U-ni-taw-ta,

Ti-gi-taw-ta,

Ti-tsa-taw-ta,

Tsu-taw-ta,

your and my father,
his and my father,
your father ,
their father ,
my fathers,
thy fathers,
his fathers , & c.

Tsi-skaw-li, my head,

Hi-skaw-li, thy head ,

A-skaw-li, his head ,

Ti -ni-skaw-li, thy head and mine , &fC.

3. IIovv many numbers? Is there a dual, or definite plural,
or both, besides the general or indefinite plural ?

Ans. In the first and second persons, or rather in the second
person and in the combinations of the first and second, and
of the first and third persons, there is a dual as well as a plural
number. In the third person there is no distinction between
dual and plural.

4. Of what inflections are pronouns susceptible ? Do they

depend on number, gender? Do those used in the conjugation
of verbs differ from those used in an absolute sense ? ‘Who saw
thee ? ’ ‘ He — -he saw ’ : Does the word he differ ?

GRAMMATICAL NOTICES,

CITEROKEE,

243

APP. NO. I.]

An s’.

Examples.

A-quung-sung,
Tsung-sung,
U-wa-sung, )
Tu-wa-sung, 5
Gi-nung-sung,
Aw-gi-nung-sung,
I-stung-sung,
I-kung-sung,
Aw-kung-sung,
I-tsung-sung,
U-nung-sung, )
Tu-nung-sung, )

myself ,
thyself,

himself,

thou 1, ourselves ,
he and I, ourselves ,
ye two yourselves,
ye and I, ourselves,
they 1, ourselves,
yourselves,

themselves,

A-qua-tse-li,
Tsa-tse-li,
U-tse-li, )
Tu-tse-li, 5
Gi-na-tse-li,
Aw-gi-na-tse-li
I-sta-tse-li,
1-ka-tse-li,
Aw-ka-tse-li,
I-tsa-tse-li,
U-na-tse-li, ")
Tu-na-tse-li, )

rny or mine,
thy,

his, her,

thy and my,
his)and my,
yours (of you two,)
yours and my,
their and my,
your ,

their .

When the noun united with the possessive pronoun is in the
plural (more than one,) the plural sign is prefixed to the pro¬
noun, as in the following table. Ex. : £ my cow,’ aquatseli waka ;
1 my cows,’ tiquatseli waka.

Tiquatseli, my,

Titsatseli, thy,

Ti-gi-na-tse-li, our, (of thee me)

Tsaw-gi-na-tse-li, our, ( of him me)

Ti-sta-tse-li, your, (of you two)

Ti-ka-tse-li, our, (of you fymc)

The second form of the third person, Tu-wa-sung, Tu-tse-li ,
&c. denotes an intention that the person spoken of should hear
what is said.

A-quung-sung , with a little variation of accent, signifies ‘ I only ’ ;
a-quung-sung-hi, the same emphatic, a-quung-sung-hi-yu, more
emphatic, £ I entirely alone’ : a-qua-tse-li, £ my ’ ; a-qua-tse-li-ka,
emphatic, £ mine ’ ; a-qua-tse-li-ka-ya, more emphatic, £ truly
mine,’ c my own.’

The above examples exhibit all the inflections of pronouns.
The personal pronouns a-yung, £ I,’ £ we ’ ; ni-hi , £ thou,’ £ ye ’ ;
na or na-ni £ he,’ £ she,’ £ it,’ £ that,’ £ they,’ £ those,’ as well as
the interrogative and demonstrative pronouns, he. are inde¬
clinable.

If the prefixes of verbs be considered as inseparable pronouns,
they are entirely different from those used absolutely ; but it is
very doubtful whether they should be so considered, particularly
as the separate pronouns often are , and in cases of emphasis
must be used with the verb.

Ka-gaw tsa-gaw-he-i, £ Who saw thee? ’ Na, £ He.’ Na-a-gi-
gaw-hung-gi, £ He saw me.’ The pronoun in both instances is
the same. In the former case however, na-ni is commonly
used ; in the latter it is never or at least seldom used.

Tsutseli, >
Titutseli, $
Tsaw-ka-tse-li,
Ti-tsa-tse-li,
Tsu-na-tse-li, )
Ti-tu-na-tse-li, $

his, her,

our, ( of them fyme )
your,

their.

244

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

5. Besides pronominal combinations and the inflections de¬
pending on number, person, tense, and mood ; of what other in¬
flections are verbs susceptible ?

Jins. Several ; but I am not able to enumerate or define them.
In the first place, those depending on number, person, mode, and
tense are almost innumerable. Some specimens may be seen
in recent and current numbers of the Cherokee Phoenix (Dec.
1829.) The forms of the verb denote the number and person,
both of the subject and object of the verb. They also denote
whether the object be animate or inanimate ; whether or not the
person spoken of, whether as agent or object, is expected to
hear what is said ; and in regard to the dual and plural numbers,
whether the action terminates upon the several objects collec¬
tively, as it were one object, or upon each individual separately
considered. The relations expressed by relative pronouns, are
in Cherokee expressed by inflections of the verb. Circumstan¬
ces expressed in English and other languages by prepositions,
are in Cherokee expressed by forms of the verb. Several re¬
lations of place and motion are so expressed.

Examples.

Ga-lung-i-ha, I am tying it.

Tsi-ya-lung-i-ha, I am tying him.

Ka-lung-i-ha, I am tying him , (implying an intention that
he shall hear.)

Ga-tsi-ya-lung-i-ha, I am tying them (those persons) to¬
gether.

Te-ga-tsi-ya-lung-i-ha, I am tying them , each separately.

Ga-lung-i-ha, he is tying it , or him.

Taw-lung-i-ha, he is tying him , (meaning that the person
tying shall hear.)

Ka-lung-i-ha, he is tying it, (meaning that the person tying
shall hear.)

Tu-lung-i-ha, he is tying him, (meaning that the person tied
shall hear .J

A-qua-lung-i-ha, he is tying me.

Tsa-lung-i-ha, he is tying thee, &fc.

Ga-lung-i-he-sti, I shall he tying it.

Wi-ga-lung-i-he-sti, I shall he tying (a distant object.)

Ni-ga-lung-i-he-sti, 1 shall by that time he tying it.

Wi-ni-ga-lung-i-he-sti, I shall by that time he tying ( a dis¬
tant object.)

APP. NO. I.] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES. - CHEROKEE.

245

Hi- a-tsi-ga-lung-i-ha, this which I am tying.

A-yung-hi-a-tsi-ga-lung-i-ha, I who am tying this.

A-i, he is going, i. e. moving , in whatever direction .

Wa-i, he is going away ( from the speaker .)

Ta-ya-i, he is moving towards us, he is coming.

Na-i, he is moving over against, he is passing by or moving
as if passing by.

Ga-lung-i-ha, (as above') I am tying it.

Tsi-ya-lung-le-ha, I am tying it for him.

Ga-lung-sti-ha, 1 am tying with it. A-sti-ga-lung-sti-ha, I
am tying it with a string.

Gaw-whe-li-a, 1 am writing.

Tsi-yaw-whe-la-ne-ha, 1 am writing to or for him.

Ga-‘lung-i-hung-gi, he was tying it, (implying that the
speaker was an eyewitness .)

Ga-‘lung-i-he-i, he was tying it, ( implying that the speaker
was not an eyewitness .)

Ga-lung-i-he-i, I was tying it, (; implying that I was uncon¬
scious, as in sleep.)

Ka-law-ska, he is passing here.

Wi-ka-law-ska, he is passing a place at some distance.

Ti-ka-law-ska, he is passing this way by, or coming from a
distant place.

6. In what manner are words compounded ? And are there a
great many compound words ?

Ans. There are few if any which can strictly be called com¬
pounds. Words are frequently placed mjuxta-position, as ka-ta -
gu-gu, ‘earth-bottle,’ i. e. ‘ earthen jug’ ; in which case it might
be doubted whether to consider the whole as a compound word,
or the former as a substantive used adjectively. Proper names,
however, are often formed as compound words by uniting in one
syllable, the last syllable of one word and the first of another, as,
Yaw-nung-waw-yi, ‘ Bear’s-paw, ’ (the name of a man,) com¬
pounded of yaw-nung, ‘ a bear,’ and u-waw-yi , ‘ his paw ’ ;
A-mu-ska-se-ti, c Dreadful-water,’ (a man’s name,) of a-mci,
‘ water,5 and u-ska-se-ti, ‘ dreadful.’

Since writing the last paragraph I recollect instances of com¬
mon nouns compounded in the same manner as proper names
above : a-me-quo-hi, 1 the sea,’ of a-ma, c wTater,’ and e-quo-hi,
1 great’ ; a-ma-ye-‘li, ‘island,’ of a-ma and a-ye-li, ‘ the midst’ ;
qua-nu-na-sti, ‘plums,’ of qua-nung, ‘ peach,’ and u-na-sti, ‘ lit¬
tle.’

246

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

7. Same question as to derivative words.

Ans. All derivatives or nearly all are from verbs. The
principal of these are from verbal nouns, and verbs formed from
other verbs ; unless participles also, of which there are many,
be denominated a distinct part of speech. A large proportion
of the names of things are verbal nouns, each expressing some
attribute of the thing named.

Examples.

Axe, Tca-lu-yastij c something to chop with,5 from tsi-lu-ya-
sJca, c I chop.5 ‘ Paper,5 kaw-whc-li, ‘ to write upon,5 from kaiv -
whe-li-a , ‘ I am writing.5 * Pen,5 ti-Tcaw-whe-lo-ti , c to write with,5
from the same. ‘ Horse,5 saw-qui-Ii, ‘ pack carrier,5 from u-saw-
qui-la, 1 he carries a pack.5 f House,5 i. e. dwelling, a-ta-ne-
lung , e where some one dwells,5 from tsi-ne-la, ‘ 1 dwell.5 e Hand¬
kerchief,5 a-ya-tlaw , £ to go round the neck,5 from a-quct-ya-
tlung, £ I have round my neck.5

The following are specimens of verbs derived from verbs,
which may be regarded as coming under the present question,
or under the fifth question. Each of them runs through the in¬
flection of number, person, mode, and' tense.

Primitive word Ga-lung-i-ha , I am tying.

Ga-lung-li-hi-ha , I am coming to tie.

Ga-lung-le-ga, I am going to tie.

Ga-lung-li-si-ha, I am tying over again, (that is, for the
purpose of tying better.)

Ga-lung-li-sa-ni-hi-ha, I am coming to tie it over again.

Ga-lung-li-sa-ne-ga , I am going to tie it over again.

Ga-lung-li-taiv-ha, I am tying here and there, — going about
tying..

Ga-lung-li-taw-li-hi-ha , I am coming to tie here and there —
to go about tying.

Ga-lung-Ji-taw-Je-ga , I am going to go about tying.

Ga-Iung-sti-ha, I am tying with it.

Ga-lung-sta-ni-lii-ha , I am coming to tie with it.

G a-lung-sta-ne-ga, I am going to tie with it.

G a-lung-sti-saw-ti-ha, I am tying over again with it.

Ga-lung-sti-saw-ta-ni-hi-ha: I am coming to tie over again
with it.

Ga-Iung-sti-saw-ta-nc-ga , I am going to tie over again with
it.

APP. NO. I.] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES.

CHEROKEE.

Ga-lung-sta-ni-taw-ha, I am tying here and there with it.

Ga-lung-sta-ni-taw-li-hi-ha, I am coming to tie here and
there with it.

G a-lung-sta-ni-taw-le-ga , I am going to tie here and there
with it.

G a-lung-sti-sa-ni-taw-ha, I am tying over again here and
there with it.

Ga-lung-sti-sa-ni-taw-li-hi-ha, I am coming to tie over again
here and there with it.

Ga-Iung-sti-sa-ni-taw-le-ga, I .am going to tie over again
here and there with it.

G a-lung-aw-hung-sJca, I am finishing tying.

Ga-lung-aw-ni-hi-ha , I am coming to finish tying.

Ga-lung-aw-ne-ga, I am going to finish tying.

Ga-lung-aw-ni-si-ha,\ am finishing tying over again. And
so on through all the above forms.

8. Is there much irregularity in the same dialect, in the con¬
jugations, verbal forms, or transitions, and in the various species
of inflections ?

Ans. There are a few and but few irregular words. In gen¬
eral, the language is very regular in its inflections. Yet the va¬
riety is so great as to render the task of acquiring a knowledge
of them extremely difficult.

9. Are adverbs and other words indeclinable in the Euro¬
pean languages, declinable in the Indian dialect ?

Ans. Not in the Cherokee language.

10. Do women use, in any case, and if any, in which, differ¬
ent words or inflections from men ?

Ans . Men use ung-gi-ni-li ,‘ my elder brother’; ung-gi-nung-
tli, ‘ my younger brother’ ; ung-gi-taw , 1 my sister ’ : women use
ung-gi-taw, £ my brother ’ ; ung-gi-lung, ‘ my sister ’ : img-gi-
wi-nung , ‘ my nephew,’ is used by women only.

11. Does the substantive verb to be exist in the Indian lan¬
guages in a distinct form, and not as a compound ?

Ans. The verb Ge-ha signifies ‘ I live ’ or ‘ I exist.’ Its pri¬
mary signification appears to be ‘ I exist,’ inasmuch as it is appli¬
cable to inanimate objects, and simply affirms their existence.
It is not used as an auxiliary, nor in connexion with attributes,
like the English I am, the Latin sum , the Greek ap, and as
amatus sum , £ I was loved,’ homo sum, ‘ I am a man,’ bonus sum, ‘ I
am good,’ &c. The Cherokee verb like the English I exist, ex-

248

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [fNTROD.

presses existence simply, and cannot be associated with another
word, so as to express mode of existence. The English I am,
is so constantly associated with a noun or adjective expressing
what I am, that he, who, through an interpreter, would attempt
to find it in the Cherokee language, would almost invariably
frame a sentence, which, in the translation, would exclude it ;
and would be likely to form the opinion that it is not to be
found. Yet the verb of existence is to be found, and that in per¬
petual use. It may be so with other Indian languages, where it
is said there is no verb of existence. I know not.

The verb ge-ha is also used in connexion with adverbs or
nouns of place, to denote where a person or thing is habitually,
and then, in regard to persons may be rendered to dwell, as ga-
lung-la-ti e-ha, ( he dwells above.’

There is also another verb, ge-sung-gi, used only in the past
and future tenses and in the sense of the imperative mode,
which corresponds to the verb to be as an impersonal verb and
as connected with an attributive.

Tsi-sJca-ya, I (am) a man.

Tsi-slca-ya ge-sung-gi, I was a man.

Tsi-sJca-ya ge-se-sti , I shall be a man, or, (with a little va¬
riation of intonation) let me be a man.

U-ne-gung ge-sung-gi, he was white.

U-ni-ne-gung ge-sung-gi, they were white.

The changes of person and number belong to the words in
connexion, and not to the verb ge-sung-gi, ‘ it was,’ which is
strictly impersonal. Instances of the use of this verb and of a
verbal noun derived from it, viz. ge-sung-i, c the being so,’
occur in the translation of the Lord’s Prayer, which see.

This verb occurs less frequently than it otherwise would, on
account of the peculiarity of the language, in which the place
of adjectives which in other languages are used to express al¬
most all attributes, is supplied in great part by verbs ; as Tsi-
nu-waw-ga, ‘ 1 am cold’ ; a-gi-tlung-ga, ‘ I am sick,’ &c.

12. In what particulars, exclusive of those above alluded to,
does the dialect differ from the English or other languages fa¬
miliar to us ?

Ans. The most striking peculiarity of the language is what
Mr. Du Ponceau has called its polysynthetic character. This it
possesses in the highest degree. This feature is the occasion

APP. NO. I.] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES. - CHEROKEE. 249

of another, viz. in some forms it is remarkably polysyllabic.
The following example may be taken, in addition to those which
have already appeared, as illustrating both these characteristics.
It is but a single word :

Wi-ni-taw-ti-ge-gi-na-li-skaw-liing-ta-naiv-ne-li-ti-se-sti ;

which may be rendered in English,

‘ They will by that time have nearly done granting (favors)
from a distance to thee and to me.’

The following peculiarities also exist.

Every syllable in the language ends with a vowel sound.
There are few monosyllables, very few, I believe only 15.
These are all interjections and adverbs, except one, na, which
is sometimes an adverb and sometimes a pronoun. This num¬
ber excludes a few syllables which are really perhaps distinct
words, but which like the Latin que, cannot be separated from
the end of other words.

There are no prepositions.

There is no relative pronoun.

Adjectives are comparatively few, their place being supplied
by attributive verbs. Verbs constitute by far a greater propor¬
tion of the Cherokee than of European languages.

Most adjectives, and many substantives, may assume verbal
prefixes, and be used as verbs ; substantives and many adjectives
only in the present tense, but other adjectives in the most simple
forms of present, past, and future.

There are very few abstract terms, though the language is
not entirely destitute of such.

NOTES ON THE SELECT SENTENCES.

By Rev. S. A. Worcester.

1 — -2. Anciently, at common meetings of acquaintances, no
salutation was used. When friends met after a separation of
considerable time, they expressed their joy by exclaiming, £ We
see each other ! ’

3 — 16. See answer to grammatical query 5. There is no
distinction of gender denoted by inflections. Inflections of verbs
distinguish between animate and inanimate objects, but pronouns
vol. ii. 32

250

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

make no distinction. The verbs give , take , carry , bring, and
a few others, mark several distinctions in the form of the object,
as solid, (in shape) long, flexible, liquid, thick (as mud), &c.

17 — 26. Cases of nouns are not distinguished by inflections of
the nouns themselves. All such offices are performed by the
verbs ; except the relation of possession, which is denoted by
possessive pronouns, except in the cases noted in the answer to
the second grammatical query.

63 — 71. See answer to grammatical query 11 — 63, 65, 66.
The verb ge-taw-ha , and thence we-taw-ha, wa-ne-taw-ha , is
formed from the verb ge-ha (considered as a verb of place), in
the same manner as the forms derived from other verbs, denot¬
ing that the action is performed in different places, as we say
in English, here and there. See derived verbs under query
7, 71. 1 should have no hesitancy in regard to the correct¬

ness of this translation of the clause in Ex. iv. 3, were it not
for the allusion to it in the last clause, “ I am hath sent me
where the verb ge-ha , ‘ I exist,’ must be used instead of na-
qua-sti , ‘ I am such,’ ‘ I am that.’

72 — * 100. (See query 5, Ans.)

77 — 79. No distinction is here seen between the verb gov¬
erning a person and that governing a thing, except in the length
of the first syllable. It is not so with the greater number of
verbs. A-ska-ya-tsi-ga-lung-i-ha , c I am tying a man ’; nung-
ya ga-lung-i-ha, ‘ I am tying a stone.’ Tsi-yung-ni-ha , c I am
striking him ’; nung-ya gung-ni-ha , ‘ I am striking a stone.’

78. The use or omission of the final syllable, ha, and, in the
past tense, of the final, gi, depends on the verb’s closing a sen¬
tence or preceding another word ; though in familiar conversa¬
tion it is often omitted in both cases.

80 — 81. The form vn-tsi-haw-vm-ti-ha, in distinction from
tsi-gaw-wa-ti-ha, denotes that the object seen is at a distance.
In ordinary cases the prefixing of the syllable wi, or simply of
the letter w, if the word begins with a vowel, denotes that the
action is performed at a distance from the speaker.

82 — 95. In numbers 91 — 93, it will be seen that a different
verb is used. The verb u-lu-tsung-gi indicates the arrival at
the place of speaking, and the verb ta-yu-law-sung-gi the leav¬
ing a distant place in a direction towards the speaker. The lat¬
ter would be used in all the cases from 82 to 95, if the place,
from which the person spoken of comes, be in the mind of the
speaker, but the verb u-lu-tsung-gi cannot be used in numbers
93 — 95.

APP. NO. ].] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES.

SIOUX.

251

SIOUX. — Dahcota Dialect.

[Extracted from grammatical notices, communicated many years ago by
General Cass to the War Department.]

The plural of nouns is formed by adding the termination pee
to the singular. If this ends in pee, the termination pee is add¬
ed to the verb or adjective. The plural of verbs appears to
be formed in the same manner. Sometimes a whole sentence
being in the singular number, the termination pee added to the
last word, whether verb, pronoun, or adjective, makes the whole
sentence plural.

The comparative of adjectives is generally formed by pre¬
fixing kahpeiah ; and the superlative by prefixing eeoatah.
Sometimes khindgah is used for the comparative : in other ca¬
ses the abbreviations ee and eeoo are used for the comparative ;
and in the word 4 great,’ eeoatah is used for the comparative and
kapeyah for the superlative.

The preterite tense is formed by the termination kong, the
future by ktay or hakata ; the subjunctive by tshesh, or konsh.
(Mr. Atwater quotes a Grammar of Mr. Marsh, which I have not
seen, and gives the following forms : mendooza , c old ’ ; preter¬
ite, mendooza kong ; future plural, oohapekata ; subjunctive,
mendoohaoonkonsh ; infinitive, oohape .)

The pronouns are ;

I, meeah, mish, me, ma, mine, meetaJmah.

we, us, oangkeeah, ours, oangkeeahlaherahpee.
thou, neeah, nish, thee, neeahnah, thine, neetahwah .

ye, you, neeah pee, yours, neetahwahpee.
he, eeah, ish, him, eeah, hey, his, eetahwah.

they, eeahpee, them, eealipee, heyna, theirs, eetahivahpee.

father, atay, thy father, nee atay, his father, atay hookoo .
mother, eenah, my mother, nee hoong, his mother, hoongkoo.
my elder brother, tscheeing , my younger brother, meesoongkah.
my elder sister, meetungkee, my younger sister, meetungkshee.
my son, meet shin gk she e ; thy son, neetshingkshee ; his son,
thshingkshee ; my daughter, meetshoongkshee ; thy daughter,
neetshoongkshee.

252

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

Miah wonah 1,

Oangkeah wonah Ipie,

Neeah thseetshoo,

Oakekah eeah ee,

Wahtah hey eetawah ,

Eeoh tah ivahtahpee,
Mahzahkhong tuay neetshoopee

I have now come.

we have now come.

to thee I gave it.

down the river he has gone.

canoe that is his.

theirs are the canoes.

guns the who gave you.

CHOCTAW, or CHAHTA.

[Extracted from “ Missionary Spelling-Book,” first edition, 1825, and
Mr. Alfred Wright’s Notes to the Vocabulary, 1828.]

Nouns have but one form in the singular and plural numbers.
Nouns in the Chahta language have no plural form. This de¬
fect is in part remedied, by means of verbs and adjectives, many
of which, especially the former, have a plural form ; as,

1. Hottok vt gomma hikia, a man stands there.

Hottok vt gomma hiohli , men stand there.

2. By adjectives ; as, hottok achukma , a good man ; hottok
hochukma, good men.

Nouns are not varied under two general classes of animated
beings and inanimate objects.

The gender of nouns is distinguished by using with the
noun, a distinct term, which signifies male or female.

Compound nouns are generally formed by uniting to the sim¬
ple noun or to a verb, certain significative nouns used for that
purpose, or certain inseparable particles.

Examples.

From isht, 4 a cause ’ or c instrument,’ prefixed to a verb, as,
ishtittibe , 4 a weapon,’ from ittibe, 4 to fight.’

From a, a-i, or i prefixed to verbs, and meaning place where
or in which (a used before a consonant ;) as, anuse, 4 a roost,’ from
nuse, 4 to sleep’ ; ayutta , ‘ a dwelling-place,’ from yutta, c to stand.’

From ushe, ‘ a son ’ or ‘ offspring, ’ suffixed to another noun ;
as, i-ynshe, ‘ a toe,’ from iye ‘ the foot ’ ; oklushe , ‘ a tribe,’ from
okla, ‘ people,’ 4 nation.’

From nppe, ( a stalk ’ or 4 trunk,’ suffixed to another noun; as,

APP. NO. I.] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES. - CHOCTAW.

253

nussupe, ‘ an oak ’ (generic for every species of oak,) from
nusse , ‘ an acorn.’

From itte, £wood’ or ‘tree,’ prefixed to another word ; as,
ittefobussa, ‘a pole,’ from fobussa, ‘slim’; itteshamfe , ‘ a join¬
er,’ from shamfe, ‘ to shave.’

From nippe , ‘flesh ’ or ‘ meat,’ affixed or suffixed to other
words ; as, nippehumma , ‘ a mulatto,’ from humma , ‘ red ’; isse-
nippe , ‘ venison,’ from isse, ‘ deer.’

From hishe, ‘hair,’ suffixed; as, ittehishe , ‘ leaf of a tree,’
from itte , ‘tree.’

From na or nan, ‘a being’ or ‘thing,’ prefixed; as, nan -
pissa, ‘ a spy,’ from pissa, ‘ to see ’; nanachunle , ‘ a tailor, ’ from
achanle , ‘ to sew.’

Many other nouns are compounded by the simple union of
two or more.

Adjectives are generally indeclinable. A few are inflected
in the plural number, viz.

Singular.

chi-to,

ok-cbim-ma-le,

ib-buk-to-kon-le,

put-ha

tun-nok-be,

ok-shau-ah-le,

ul-lo-ta,

a-chuk-ma,

yush-ko-lo-le,

is-kit-i-ne,

fub-bus-sa,

Plural.

ho-che-to,

ok-chim-mush-le,

ib-buk-to-kush-le,

ho-put-ka,

tun-nul-la,

ok-shau-ush-le,

ul-lo-lu-a,

ho-chuk-ma,

yush-ko-lush-le,

che-pin-ta,

fub-bus-po-a,

big.
green,
blunt,
wide,
crooked,
fair complexion,
full,
good.,
small,
small,
slime.

Adjectives are compared by adding inshale for comparative
and inshatale for superlative : achukma , ‘ good ’; achukma in¬
shale, ‘ better’; achukma inshatale, ‘ best.’

But they generally say, ‘ In being good I am superior to you ;’
or, ‘ I am superior to all.’ In the first case they use for supe¬
rior, the word inshale ; and, in the last case, inshatale, which
respectively mean, ‘ I am better than you’; ‘I am the best of
all.’

Pronouns absolute or separate.

I, | un-no-a,

un-no,

me,

un-no,

mine.

254

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

flNTROD.

chishno,

thou ,
he, she ,
we ,

i-pish-no,
hup-pish-no, we,
huch-ish-no, ye ,

■ - they,

chish-no-a, thee,

- him,

pish-no-a, us,

hup-pish-no-a, us,
huch-ish-no-a, you,
- them,

clhsh-no, thine.
ll-lap, his, hers.

pish-no, ours.
hup-pish-no, ours.
huch-ish-no, yours.
'il-lap, theirs.

Pishno is both dual and plural.

Hopishno is only plural. When a number of persons in
conversation are giving an account of something in which they
are all concerned, they say, hopishno. But when they are re¬
lating to others something, in which the hearers are not con¬
cerned, they say, pishno.

Hochisno is dual and plural. Perhaps it was originally dual;
as the Chahtas, to express the plural, often add the word okla
( vulgus .)

The possessive pronouns are always prefixed to nouns ex¬
pressing kindred.

The possessive pronouns, used in composition, when united
to nouns, are,

1. When prefixed to nouns expressing kindred, or to the
names of the members of the body, or to the word “ dog ” :

lsZ Person. 2d Person. 3 d Person.

Singular, su or sai , che or chi , none.

Dual. pe or pi,

Plural. nuppe-huppi , hitch, none.

(okla, ‘ multitude,’ sometimes used for the third person plural.)

2. When prefixed to other nouns :

lsf Person. 2d Person. 3d Person.

Sing, an, um , chin , chim , in, im,

Dual, pin, pirn, huchin, huchim, okla,

Plur. huppin, huppivn.

He, she, it, and they, are wanting. They are implied in the
verb, and the subject of discourse determines whether the singu¬
lar or plural is intended ; as, pisa, 1 he, she, or they see.’
Sometimes the word okla is used ; okla pisa , ‘ they, the multi¬
tude, see.’ The same remark applies to him, her, it, and them,
as, pisa, ‘ he sees him, it, or them,’ according to the subject of
discourse.

Adjectives have all the variations of neuter verbs, including
the participial, frequentative, and negative forms.

The verb of existence does not occur in a separate form.

CHOCTAW.

255

APP. NO. I.] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES. -

Examples of adjectives used as verbs.

suk-kul-lo,

lam strong.

su-toh-be,

/ am white ,

suk-kota,

I am weak or languid,

su-lu-sa,

/ am. black,

sul-lush-pa.

I am hot.

sai-ub-be-ka,

I am sick ,

su-chuk-wa,

I am cold,

um-a-chuk-ma,

1 am well.

sai-him-mi-ta,

lam young ,

sai-yup-pa,

I am glad,

sus-se-pok-ne,

lam old,

sun-nuk-honk-lo,

I am sorry ,

such-e-to,

I am large.

si-a-chuk-ma,

I am good,

sus-lut-i-ne,

1 am \ small ,

sai-ok-pul-lo,

I am bad.

Neuter or

intransitive

verbs are conjugated as

the passiv

transitive verbs.*

Verbs in the Chahta language admit of various changes, to
express the relations and states of things ; as,

Pisa, He sees , ( The root of tlte verb.)

Pisa, He is seeing , ( Participle .)

Pihisa, He is in the habit of seeing, or he frequently sees. ( Frequentative .)

Piesa, He does not sec. ( More emphatical than Pisa.)

Pisachi, To make to see. (Causal form.)

Pisahanchi, He keeps or continues to make him see.

Each of the above has a negative form ; as,

Ikpeso, He does not see.

Ikpiso, He is not seeing.

Ikpihiso. He does not f requently see.

Ikpieso, He does not see.

Ikpis-acho, He does not make him see.

Ikpisahancho, He does not keep making him see.

Besides this negative form of the verb, the language has sev¬
eral negative particles ; as keyu, ‘ not ’ ; aheld , ‘ cannot ’ ; awa,
‘ cannot,’ 4 will not,’ c shall not.’

Pisa keyu,
Pisachi keyu,
Pisa held,
Pisa wa,

Pisa na,

He does not see.

He does not make him see.

He cannot see ; used in familiar conversation.
He cannot see ; the language of passion, used in
public speaking and in animated discourse.
Let him not see; used only in the imperative
mood.

To express past time, the verb has several forms; as, tuk ,
tok, Icamo , or komo , and chamo.

Pisa tuk , 4 He has seen,’ referring to what is just done, or to

an action though commenced not completed.

* This is inferred from the examples given of the conjugations in
the Spelling-Book of the verbs to sleep and to die . For the specimens
of verbal forms see the appended tables, A, G.

256 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

Pisa tok. 1 He did see/ ‘ he has seen ’ ; referring to an

action past and completed. The termination
oke, is generally added to these, as pisa tuk
oke.

Pisa kamo, or komo. ‘ He has seen ’; referring to what is

more recent. The most literal translation
which can be given is, c he sees it wTas so.’

Pisa chamo, ‘ He has seen ’ ; referring to what is more remote,

and admits of nearly the same translation as
the above.

To express the future, the verb has two variations, viz. achi,
and ahe , as,

Pisa chi, ‘ He will see, ’ c he is going to see simply im¬
plying that the action will immediately take
place.

Pisa he, ‘ He will see foretells that the action will take

place at some future time. It also implies
obligation and the determination of the mind ;
as, pisa he, c he ought to see ’ ; pisa he, ‘ he
intends to see.’

The terminations for expressing the past and future tenses
are variously combined, as,

Pisa-chin-tuk, c He was about to see.’

Pisa-chin-tok, ‘ He was about to have seen.’

Pisa-he-tuk, ‘ He ought to see.’

Pisa-he-tok, ‘ He ought to have seen.’

The language has no prepositions. It has a few particles,
used in the composition ol other words, which are denominated
in other languages inseparable prepositions. Most of the rela¬
tions expressed by prepositions, in other languages, are, in this,
expressed by verbs ; as,

Auwantia, 1 He goes with him ’; literally, c accompany¬
ing, he goes.’

Bvshpo ishit bvshti, ‘ He cuts with a knife,’ or literally, ‘ a

knife (being the) instrument, he cuts.’

MUSKOGHS.

Mr. Compere, from whom the large vocabulary was obtained,
made that communication in the year 1827 ; at which time he

APP. NO. I.] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES. - MUSKOGH. 257

said that he did not feel sufficient confidence to answer the
grammatical queries. The few observations which follow are
extracted from his miscellaneous notes to the vocabulary, &c.

It appears that some nouns have a plural, such as man , wo¬
man, boy , girl, child, and that they are formed by the addition
of the syllable ukky, ochy, or agy. But, generally speaking,
there is no inflection in the nouns denoting plural; and Mr.
Compere says that “ whenever ulgy is affixed to any word it
always gives it a plural signification.” (Okla, in Choctaw, sig¬
nifies multitude , and is also used to designate the plural.)

It would also appear that, with the exception of the human
species and a few animals, whose sex is distinguished by dis¬
tinct words, there is no inflection in the Muskoffii lanffuatre to

• * __ x o o o

designate genders. Mr. Compere says, ‘‘ the sentences intended
to furnish a clue for the ascertaining the different genders, will,

I fear, fail of the object : for neither verbs nor pronouns seem
to me capable of such inflections.”

Women, in few instances, use different words from men.
Thus, instead of the words in the vocabulary, they say, for ‘ my
brother,’ chachilh wan ; cmy elder brother,’ chachilhly wan;
‘my younger brother,’ chachilh woochy ; ‘my sister,’ ty chok
ki ady ; ‘ my elder sister,’ chahlaa ; ‘ my younger sister,’ cha-
chrisy ; ‘my son ’ or ‘my daughter,’ cha chose wan. (The
same difference between the language of men and that of wo¬
men is found in most of the Indian languages. And it applies
uniformly to the same class of words, and to no other.)

The degrees of comparison of the adjectives are formed by
prefixing for the comparative, sim, sin , or sy, and for the super¬
lative by adding to the comparative the termination may : ‘ great,’
hlokky ; ‘ greater,’ sinhlokky ; ‘ greatest,’ hlokkymay. ‘Good,’
hyyhly ; ‘ better,’ syhyyhly ; ‘ best,’ syhyyhlymay. In the
first example, the termination may is, for the superlative, added
to the positive, and the characteristic of the comparative is
dropped ; but this is a rare exception.

On the subject of the substantive verb Mr. Compere says,
“the word domest, as connected with some of the sentences,
between 63 and 71,1 believe has precisely the same significa¬
tion, as the neuter verb to be', but it is defective in almost ev¬
ery tense, excepting in the present, and even in this, it is not a
word of common use. In most cases a word signifying to exist ,
to live, to stay, to lie down , is used, when we should use the
verb, to

VOL. II.

258 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

Almost all the adjectives may be converted into verbs, hav¬
ing the meaning which in English is expressed by the verb, to
be. They may likewise be converted into substantive nouns by
an inflection. Mr. Compere says, 44 almost every word in this
language is capable of being used in these different forms, may
be varied in a similar way. Nohoolky , 4 wicked’; chonnahool-
kyst, 4 1 am wicked ’ ; nahoolkdya , 4 wickedness.’

The dual and plural forms of the first person are distinguished
by a varied inflection in the verb, the pronoun pony being used
for both. But in some cases, even the verb has but one form
for both the dual and the plural. There does not seem to be
any special plural, but only a dual proper. The past tense
takes its form from the word poxunggy, 4 yesterday,’ ung or
ungist. Mr. Compere observes, that 44 words in the future have
so great an affinity in sound to those in the perfect tense, that
he finds it difficult to distinguish one from the other.”

The obligatory and causative forms are derived respectively
from the verbs tydiist , 4 it ought, ’ 4 it is right ’; and pajy to 4 com¬
pel.’

The reciprocal form, 4 we tie each other,’ is expressed by
uniting the two forms, 4 you tie me,’ and 4 1 tie you.’

The affixes, adid and hok, mean on, in, by, and are varied
according to the subject. To say that a man came by land, the
affix adid is used ; and hok if he came by water ; both being
respectively added to the words meaning land or water.

Mr. Compere adds that there is in the language almost an
infinity of affixes, which render the acquisition of it very diffi¬
cult.

ARAUC ANI AN.

[Extracted from Father And. Febres’s Grammar of the Language of

Chili. Lima, 1765.]

Nouns have three numbers, singular, dual, and plural.

The dual is designated by the termination egu, and the plural
by prefixing pu. This prefix pu is properly applicable to ani¬
mate or living beings, though sometimes used for inanimate
things. But the termination ica, substituted for pu prefixed, is
the proper designation of the plural for inanimate things. This

APP. NO. I.] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES. - - ARAUCANIAN. 259

is the only allusion, in the whole Grammar, to the distinction
between animate and inanimate genders.

The particle que , placed between the adjective and the sub¬
stantive, is also used, instead of pa, to designate the plural.
So is also the termination es:n.

Cliao, ‘father’; chaoegu, ‘two fathers’; puchao, ‘the fa¬
thers.’

Came, ‘ good ’ ; cumeque chao, ‘ good fathers.’

_/Yz, abbreviated from the possessive pronoun, is used for the
genitive termination ; and the particle meu supplies the ablative
case. Chaoni, ‘ of the father’; chaomeu, ‘ for, with, by the fa¬
ther. ’

Huenthu, which means ‘ man ’ or ‘ male,’ is used to designate
the masculine sex of all animals, except birds, for which alca is
used. Domo, ‘ a woman,’ is used to designate the feminine of
all animals, birds included. When thus used, those names are
prefixed to that of the animal. There is not in the language

y .... . o o

any inflection indicative of the gender.

Pronouns. personal absolute. possessive. personal , abbr’d, united

with verbs
nominative.

nom.

genit.

united with nouns.

indie.

imperat.

subj.

inche,

incheni,

incheni, or ni,

chi,

li,

we two ,

inchiu,

inchiu yu,

yu, or tayu,

yu,

liu,

we.

inchin,

inchin in,

tain,

in,

lin.

thou ,

eymi,

eymi mi,

mi, or tami,

ymi,

ge,

lmi,

you two ,

eymu,

eymu mu,

tamu,

ymu,

mu,

lmu,

ye,

eymn.

eymn mn,

tamn.

ymn.

» nrn,

Iran,

he.

teye,

teyeni,

pe,

le.

they two ,

teye egu,

teye eguni,

ygu,

gu,

]gu,

they,

(eye egn,

teye egnni,

ygn,

gu,

lg»,

The particles ta or ga are often prefixed for euphony’s sake
to those which denote the genitive, or the possessive pronoun.

Tva, ‘ this,’ and Tvy or vey, ‘ that,’ are inflected, as tcye,
‘ he adding chi, when connected with the substantive :

7 O 7

Veychi patiru, or patiru tva, ‘ that,’ or ‘ this father.’

Verbs. — The first person singular of the indicative of the
verbs always ends in n. All the persons, tenses, and moods are
formed by the conversion of the final n into the other abbrevia¬
ted personal pronouns, and by the insertion of particles before
the said n or its substitutes. But that which precedes the n is
invariable and the root of the verb.

This final n is the characteristic of the pronoun of the first
person of the indicative, as may be seen in the above table ;

260

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

and the various persons are formed by substituting, for the n ,
the various abbreviations, as indicated in the above table for the
three moods.

There are, botli in the indicative and the subjunctive, four
primitive tenses; present (sometimes used as a preterite,) an
imperfect, a future, and a mixed tense partaking ol the past and
future ( ‘ I had to give.’) The last three tenses are formed in
both moods, by respectively inserting before the final n, or other
pronominal termination, the particles vu, a, avu.

Four secondary tenses are formed from the four primitive by
inserting before the pronominal termination ol the present, and
in the three other tenses, before the three last-mentioned parti¬
cles respectively, the particle uye, which implies a continuation
of action. The shades of difference between these tenses are
so nice, that they must be fully acquired only by usage, and
some have no precise equivalent in our languages. On account
of the equivocal character of the present, a ninth tense has been
added in the indicative, by the insertion of the particle que be¬
fore the pronominal termination ; which gives it the character of
a positive present. (‘ I do give,’ or ‘ am giving.’)

Elun , I love, loved,
Indicative, 1st p. sing.

; primary , secondary ,

Present , elun, eluuyen,

Preterite, eluvun, elu uye vun,

Future , elu an, elu uye an.

Mixed , elu avun, elu uye avun,

Infinitive, elun, eluvun, &c. Partic.

2 dpers, sing, imperat. eluehe. Partic.

Eluguen , I do love.

Subjunctive, 1st p. sing. Gerunds.
primary , secondary ,

elu li, elu uye li, eluum elunmo.

elu vuli, elu uye vuli, eluvuurn,

elu ali, elu uye al i , eluaum,

elu avuli, elu uye avuli, eluavuum,

act. elu lu, eluvulu, elualu, eluavulu, &.c.
pass, eluel, eluvuel, eluael, eluavuel, &c.

[Father Febres, having arranged his Grammar according to the principles
of that of the Latin language, has distributed what he calls the Infinitive un¬
der the four heads of Infinitive, Participle present, and Past, and Gerunds.
With respect to the participles and perhaps to the gerund, this answers well;
as there are, in the Chilian language, inflections corresponding with and
equivalent to those of the Latin and of the Spanish languages. But, as to the
infinitive proper, it appears to me that he only means to say, that what is
expressed in our languages by the infinitive, may be rendered in Chilian by
the first person of the several tenses of the indicative. And most of the ex¬
amples he gives, correspond rather with participles than with the infinitive.
This he renders, not by an inflection, but by a combination with the other
verb, which governs the accusative. Let him however speak for himself.]

The infinitive is identic with the first person singular of ev¬
ery tense of the indicative, prefixing the acting possessive pro¬
noun, Elun , ( I give ’ ; incheni elun , 1 that which I give ’ ; tami
eluvun , ‘ that which thou didst give.’

Prepositions prefixed, or inserted, will also convert the indie-

APP. NO. I.] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES. - ARAUCANIAN. 261

ative into an infinitive ; eluduamn, < I wish to give ’ ; quimelun,

‘ I am able to give.’

Active participle formed by changing the final n of every
tense of the indicative into lu ; elulu, 6 be who gives ’ ; elunolu ,

‘ be who does not give ’ ; eluvulu , ‘ be who gave,’ &tc. By ad¬
ding chi ( eluluchi , or eluchi ,) they become adjectives ; v. g.
quimn , 4 to know ’ ; quimlu, ‘ knowing ’ ; quimchiche, ‘ a wise
man.’

Passive participle, by changing the n into el and prefixing the
possessive pronoun of the agent ; ni eluel, ‘ that which I give ’;
mi eluvuel, ‘ that which thou didst give.5 The particle el is
properly that of the passive participle, and supplies the place of
future infinitive and future active participle ; as, layalu neghimi ,
morituri nascimini, (from lan, morir, ‘ to die,’) ayu lan mi elual ,
no quiero el que des ; ayun, querir, (£ to wish.’)

The gerund de accusativo, (‘ in order to’) is formed (ren¬
dered) by changing into um or el the final n of the two futures
and of the two mixed tenses of the indicative, (dropping the u
and the e when formed from the future) ; and the gerund de
ablativo, (the Spanish andos and hahiendos ,) by converting into
um the final n of the four primary tenses of the indicative, (add¬
ing the termination mo for the hahiendos) ; and prefixing, in
every case, the possessive acting pronoun :

v. g. tani eluam, 1 para dar yo ’ ; tami elual , c para que tu
des tami eluavuel, ‘ para que tu dieras ’ ; tani elum, ‘ when
thou givest ’ ; tami eluvuum , c when thou didst give ’ ; ni eluum
mo, i having given.’

Either of those four terminations of the infinitive, the two
participles and gerund, may with propriety be substituted for
another. Those equivalents are in perpetual use ; and they cor¬
respond to many Spanish ways of speaking, such as being, hav¬
ing, when, why, least, &c. A great many examples are given,
but no rules. Inche elulu , or, inche ni eluel, ‘ in (my) giving
tani eluel mo, tani elun mo, £ having given, in order to have giv¬
en ’ ; mi umaughtuvuyum, or, mi umaughtuvuel, ‘ whilst you
slept ’; ni ullcuel meu , ni ullcuum meu, ‘ having vexed me ’; cuda-
valu eymi, tami cudallael, ‘ instead of thy working ’ ; ni layan
mo, ni layael, layalu inche, layali, (moriturus), ‘ when on the
point of death.’

The passive form converts the final n of the active into gen,
which is the verb sum, es. The passive is then conjugated like
the active voice : elugen , ‘ I am given ’ ; elugeymi , 4 thou wast
given/ &c.

262 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

The negative form is formed by inserting in the indicative
la , in the imperative and present subjunctive qui, in the other
tenses of the subjunctive and in the infinitive no ; observing that
those particles must precede those which designate the primary
tenses, and be placed after the aye of the secondary tenses.

The impersonal form changes the final n of the indicative and
the final i of the subjunctive into am; eluam, in Spanish dan,

( they give, ’ c it is given.’

Transitions.

This is the name given by the Spanish grammarians to those
compound conjugations, (familiar to the Hebrew student,) in
which the verb is combined not only with the acting pronoun
but also with that in the objective case ; ‘he loves me,’ ‘ I love
you,’ he.

Those transitions (common to all known American langua¬
ges,) are, according to the character of the Chilian, arranged in
reference to the person to whom the action passes, and in
whom it terminates, or generally in reference to the object of
the action.

Derivatives are numerous. Nouns corresponding with those
ending in Spanish in or (Eng. er) are formed by changing the
termination n of the first person of verbs into voe or vo ; eluvoe ,

‘ a giver ’ ; hueneve , ‘ a robber.’ Nouns corresponding with
those of the termination bilis in Latin, by inserting val in the
participle ; ayuvallu , ‘ amiable.’ The conversion of the final n
into hue, and the insertion of que, pe, mo, before the final am of
the gerund, also produce nouns designating locality, instrument,
&c. Abstract nouns are formed by adding gen (the substan¬
tive verb sum) to adjectives or verbs ; cumegen, ‘ goodness, ’
from cume, ‘good.’ The same gen prefixed to a substantive
means ‘ lord,’ ‘ master’ ; and placed after the verb, implies the
obligation, or being worthy to do, the act signified by the verb.

Verbs are often used, wdthout any alteration, as either adjec¬
tives or substantives ; but they more generally drop for that pur¬
pose the final n : and reciprocally, nouns, pronouns, and even
adverbs may become verbs by the addition of n ; dimen, ‘ to be
good ’ ; pedrovuy, ‘ he was Peter.’

Neuter verbs may become active by the insertion of several
particles, some being used for some verbs and some for others.
A.thun, ‘to be tired’; athucan, ‘to tire another’; putun, ‘to
drink ’; putuln, ‘ to give drink ’; lan, ‘ to die ’; lagumn , ‘ to kill ’;
themn, ‘ to grow ’; thcmumn, ‘ to bring up,’ he.

APP. NO. I.] GRAMMATICAL NOTICES. - ARAUCANIAN. 263

The noun in the objective case often coalesces with the verb ;
entun, ‘to bring/ entuge, ‘ bring’ ; co, ‘ water,’ entucoge, ‘ bring
water.’ Verbs are also compounded from two verbs. But the
various modifications, of which the action is susceptible, are
more generally expressed by the numerous particles, either pre¬
fixed to the verb or inserted immediately after the root of the
verb.

Such are, among those which are prefixed, cupa, ‘ will pepi,
‘may’; deu (from deuman , ‘to finish,’) finally, deumaimi , ‘you
have done eating ’; entu , (from entun ) answering to the insepa¬
rable un in English ; petu, ‘ whilst ’; quint (from quimn, 4 to
know,’) unites with most verbs, and means ‘ to know how’; tude
expresses doubt; vem, likeness ; uno , repetition, &ic.

A much greater number of similar particles are inserted, such
as do , expressive of aid ; menculn, ‘ to load, ’ mencuclovige, ‘ aid
him to load.’ The same particle do also means ‘jointly ’; conn ,
‘ to go in ’; conclo , ‘ to thrust one’s self in ’; and from conclo , and
dugun , ‘ to speak,’ is made duguconcloloquilmi yuthemegn , ‘ do
not interfere speaking jointly with elder people,’ ( loquil is the
imperative negative, and mi the second person.) Hue means
‘ more ’; yau, ‘ to go ’; ue , ‘ strong assertion ’; tu, ‘ reiteration
val, ‘possibility’; rque, ‘likeness’; re, ‘pure, unmixed.’
Whence the Araucanian calls himself (from die man) reche, ‘ a
pure, unmixed man,’ a designation identic with that assumed
for their name by the Delawares. The Chilian will also call
himself, as contradistinguished from a Spaniard, hunthu, ‘ man, ’
6 male ’ (vir) .

The particles added as a termination are also numerous, such
as cam , ‘ contingency ’: chum , asserts ; no, denies ; chey, and
may, ‘ doubt and contingency ’ ; pie, ‘ towards ’ ; ula, ‘ until ’;
rume, ‘ though ’; & c.

As the tenses, transitions, &c. are also expressed by particles
inserted, the collocation of those various particles inserted for
different purposes is one of the most difficult parts of the lan¬
guage. General rules are given for the most important cases ;
many depend on usage.

Prepositions, amounting to about thirty and many of which
may also be used separately, may be united with the noun, be¬
ing sometimes prefixed and at other times added as a termina¬
tion. Conjunctions also are often thus united as terminations.

The syntax is easy. The nominative may be placed before
or after the verb ; the adjective always precedes the substan-

264

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

tive, and the genitive the noun that governs it. The compara¬
tive is formed by the particles yod , or day prefixed to the adjec¬
tive or to the verb ; the superlative by the particles aldu, mu ;
diminutives by prefixing or substituting chi or ch ; votum , ‘ son ’ ;
vochum , ‘ little child.’

Men and women use different words for some degrees of con-
* sanguinity. The father calls his son votum ; the mother, coni
huenthui ; he calls his daughter, nahue, and the mother, coni
domo. A brother calls his brothers peni and sisters lamuen;
the sister calls them both lamuen. The nephew calls his pater¬
nal uncle mulle , and his maternal uncle vuthamun ; the niece
calls them respectively llojpu and huccu.

The Sedrn turv Tell ujrt-rfii
QfAsiu are K.vk/maux

‘S*J hide west of Green

t( (’I, if if/

L tuun,0*

'■rj'/tri

r ft.

so itf11

The Jnfiab it nr us oj 'Alaska.,
the Korwgart of Kadjuli Jsl?
anti the Tshu</azzt a-ve all ,
hskirnUux .

Northerul

citercl"1

a sea

ffissi rvCpi

■ iri cntCtv / f' >

ViUQtfC\\s/' \\

C ■\f)r ri e r

JrtmcX

s see S’

uudteijft

A'ontlm , i’f n ’i(j

JteYer.ro n

%anaf, rts^?v

^lenotuf

fr Utnpso ny'r'
* tinker h- Ppaf\lr

V (r T efai

\ , . VeaM /

' - -t}:^ "r [in
o rrn “l •’

Tunc as

rtrio

’j-ntt rr.'r

‘h.'nponMf, flukt

I'fnue

.A Shl,y

Blue. r

Red.

Yellow.

Brown

Purple

Bed

Exkvmaux

Nthapascas

Xlffnlim r.enape

Iroquois

Cherokees

Creeks

Choc tax & I

Chicasas j

Sioux

Black Feet

Pawnees.

S- Frond,

hi i\ ft

,f [zas H.

[Swinish pen tf/

Monterpy

,S caroia

Indian Tribes

NORTH AMERICA

about /Coo A I).
nloiU) (he Atlantic-,

Sc about 1S00A.D.
wpstwardlv .

linroKj..

AYHartst

'ilwS

Ureen.
Fur pie.
Ye Uon’.

Jj.Tpintp J 'arl

Ten ri ic in, r [, uho <j rup h y

M E X\l C 0

IVorte

y A

\ r

N /

rsj

\ o'" C C~f

<3=>

i*;

' v

ir *

■ r x

W v-
\

v'n t* n\y

V«* V V«

'VUQ t\vv. yxy v\Av
! . . - A, V’^'V'

•J^u, UV'^^S'HvVt <!\ • x f\

:i|i i £» I

lIMfw

, ' ■

J " w ■’ ' '!*% ' ,# ■ >

1 i; >\>

*> — '- '‘-'r

« . V Q*

t>' '

1 'W

■ %

•Sk .1

V 0 :_■

' "v-

/■

||i ,

% V

•>?

; '

, 0

0 ,

>■ » - A

f. ✓

•&S ;, ,

X - ! ••• '* .

f'/fj , . ■' ^

- Pj , , r. ✓ *

v • ■ 7 (y > ✓

HO/-"* ,

iJ^.. '

i ' ' • / ' ,

; V S •’ ■ #

> . 'H*

v a**.

< ' ; ‘ ) 4 *-•■

> -1 f
•

y -ZK y

)

* t

:\ v

j • \

T>,

■ . •••/

>■-»■ 3*v-v... set” ■■•:•/*■

p\ ’ ^>.v‘ * v * • ?.■•.. ii* ■ >fy

\ •' V> V ftp > Lr‘v

(No. II.)

VERBAL FORMS.

SPECIMENS

SIMPLE CONJUGATIONS

AND

TRANSITIONS.

VOL. II.

^ I

' •

• ■

+ ■

■ I

APP. NO. II.]

CONJUGATIONS AND TRANSITIONS

267

IROQUOIS.

I beat,

thou

she

you

they ( masc .)
they ( fem .)

I have beaten,

thou

she

you

\they (masc.)
they (Jem.)

I shall beat,
thou wilt
he
she

we shall
you will
they (masc.)
Jhey (fern.)
thou shalt
he
she
you

they (masc.)
they (fem.)
beat thou,
beat ye,
to beat ,

to have beaten,
to be about
to beat ,

ONONDAGO.

1st Conj.

Active.

wager io,
wascherio,
waharrie,
jagorrie,
unquerrie,
swarrie,
hotirrie,
guntirrie,
wageriochne,
wascheriochne,
waharriochna,
jagorriochne,
unqua, or t’warri-
ochne,
swarriochne,
hottirriochne,
guntirriochne,
n’gerio,
ntscherrio,
ns’harrie,
njagorrie,
ntwarrie,
nswarrie,
ns’hotirrie,
nguntirrie,
narcherio,
naharrie,
najagorrie,
naswarrie,
nahotirrie,
naguntirrie,
ascherio,
aswarrie,
waerio,
waeriochne,

n’waerio,

(Zeisberger.)

Passive.

junkerio,

jetserio,

thuwarrie,

jaguewarrie,

tiunquerrie,

jetswarrie,

t’huwatirrie,

jaguatirrie,

junkeriochne,

jetschrione,

jt’huwarriokne,

jjawugarriokne,

tiunquarriochne,

jetswarriochne,

t’huwatfirriochne,

jagawatirriochne,

njunkerio,

njetserio,

nt’huwarrie,

njaguwarrie,

ntiunquarrie,

njetswarrie,

n’tliuwatirrie,

n’jaguwatirrie,

najetserio,

nahuwarrie,

naguwarrie,

najetswarrie,

nahuwatirrie,

naguwatirrie,

ajetserio,

ajetswarrie,

aguwarrie,

aguwariochne,

n’guwarrie,

there ,

I go there,

thou

we two
they two
we
you
they

I have been

thou

we two
you two

they two

they

I am eating,

thou

she

we two

you two

they two, (masc.)

they two, ( fem.)

vie

you

they, ( masc.)
they, (fem.)

I have been ,
thou hast been,
l will,
thou shalt,

MOHAWK. (S. E. Dwight, from Mr. Parish.)

atehowughatih,

atehountsatsh,

atehouslinlih,

atehounyokehnih,

atehounneh,

atehounyokwehtih,

atehounswehtih,

atehonyahhoonih,

atehowuhkluhhtuh,

atehowuhsquohtuh,

atehowuhhuhquohtuh,

atehoyoonghinneequohtuh,

atehowuhsinnequohtuh,

atehowuhneequotuh,

atehogoonghohquohtuh,

atehonuhhoonteequohtuh,

giohttykhoonihwahhih,
sob tt y klioonih wahhih,
soohtlykhoonihwahhih,
jekikklootikloonih wahhih,
yoonghattykhoonihwahhih,
chahttykloonih wahhih,
wahgattykhoonih wahhih,
wahkattikhoonihwahhah,
wahtahwattykhoonihwahhah,
swahttykhoonihwahhih,
wahhoontykloonih wahhih,
wahkoontykhoonihwahhih,
gihttykloonihhahguch,
sihttykloonihhahquch, <^c.
ungohttykloonih,
unsohttykhoonih, fyc.

ALGONKIN-LENAPE.

DELAWARE. (Zeisberger.)
ahoalan, to love. 5th Conj.

ACTIVE.

PASSIVE.

Indicative.

Subjunctive.

Indicative.

Subjunctive.

n’dahoala,

ahoalak,

n’dahoalgussi,

ihoalgussiya,

thou

t’dahoala,

alioalanne,

k’dahoalgussi,

ilioalgussiyen,

he, she

ahoalew, or w’dahoala,

elioalat,

alioalgussi,

ahoalgussite,

n’dahoalaneen,

ahoalenke,

u’dahoalgussihhenna,

ahoalgussiyenk,

you

k’dahoalohhumo,

ahoaleque,

k’dahoalgussihhimo,

ahoalgussiyek,

they

ahoalewak,

n’dahoalep,

ahoalachtite,

ahoalgussowak,

ahoalgussichtit,

I have

ahoalachkup,

n’dahoalgussihump,

ahoalgussiyakup,

thou

k’dahoalep,

ahoalannup,

k’dahoalgussinep,

ahoalgussiyannup,

he, she

ahoalep,

ehoalachtup,

w’dahoalgussop,

ahoalgussitup,

n’dahoalennenap,

ahoalenkup,

n’dahoalgussihhenap,

ahoalgussiyenkup,

you

k’dahoalohhummoap,

ahoalekup,

k’dahoalgussihhiaioakup,

ahoalgussiyekup,

they

ahoalepannik,

ahoalachtitup,

w’dahoafgussopannik,

ahoalgussichtitup,

l have had,

none,

ahoalakpanne,

none ,

ahoalgussiyakpanne,

thou

ahoalanpanne,

ahoalgussiyanpanne,

he, she

ehoalatpanne,

ahoalgussitpanne,

ahoalenkp anne,

ahoalgussiyenkpanne,

you

ahoalekpanne,

alioalgussiyekpanne,

they

ahoalachtitpanne,

ahoalgussichtitpanne,

l will

n’dahoalatsch,

ahoalaktsch,

n’dahoalgussitsch,

ahoalgussiy aktsch,

thou

k’dahoalatsch,

ahoalantsch,

k’dahoal gussitsch,

ahoalgussiyantsch,

he, she

ahoaleuchtsch,

ehoalatsch,

ahoalgussutsch,

ahoalgitsch,

ahoalgussiyenktsch,

j we

n’dahoaleneentsch,

ahoalenketsch,

n’dahoalgussihenatsch,

you

k’dahoalohliummotsch,

ahoalequetsch,

|k’dahoalgussihhimotscli,

ahoalgussiyektsch,

they

ahoalewaktsch,

ahoalichtitetseh,

ahoalgussiwiwaktscli,

ahoalgussichtitsch,

thou

Imperative .

ahoal,

Imperative.

ahoalek,

ivanted.

Infinitive,

ahoalan,

I am not.

attan’dahoalgussiwi,

I do not

I do not.
attan’dahoalawi,

Negative form.
attan’dahoalawanne,

attaahoalg issiwak,

l did not

attan’dahoalawip,

atta ahoalawonnup,

attan’dahoalgussiwip,

attaahoalg issiwakup

l will not
Infinitive.

attan’dahoalawitsch,
jatta ahoalan,

attan’dahoalawiwonne,

attan’dahoalgussiwitsch,
not giwn.

attaahoalg'issj-

[waktsch.

268

SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES

[iNTROD

ALGONKIN-LENAPE.

DELAWARE.

mikemossin , to work. 1st Conj.

aan, to go thither.

2d Conj.

Indicative.

Subjunctive.

Indicative.

Subjunctive.

thou ,

n’mikemossi,

mikemossiya,

n’da,

aane,

k’mikemossi,

k’mikemossiyan, or yanne,

k’da,

ayane,

hs* she*

mikemossu,

mikemossit,

eu, or waeu,
n’daneen, or n’dahhena,

ate,

ayenke,

we,

mikemossihena,

mikemossiyenk,

you,

k’mikemossihhimo,

mikemossiyek,

k’dahhimo,

ayeque,

they,

mikemossuwak,

mikemossichtit,

ewak, waewak, or w’danewo,
n’dahump, n’danep,

aachtite,

I have ,

n’mikemossihump,

mikemossiyakup,

aan up,

thou,

k’mikemossihump,

mikemossiyannup,

k’dahump, k’danep,

ayannp,

he^ she,

mikeraossop,

mikemossitup,

eep, w’danep,

atup,

ayenkup,

we,

mikemossihhenap,

mikemossiyenkup,

n’dahhenap, or n’dahhenakup,

you,

k’mikemossihhimoap,

mikemossiyekup,

k’dahhimoakup,

ayekup,

they,

mikemossopannik,

mikemossichtitup,

epannik,

aachtitup,

I have had,

none ,

mikemossiyakpanne,

none,

aanpanne,

thou,

mikemossiyanpanne,

ayanpanne,

he, she ,

mikemossitpanne,

atpanne,

we,

mikemossiyenkpanne,

ayenkpanne,

you,

mikemossiyekpanne,

ayekpanne,

they,

n’mikemossitsch,

mikemossichtitpanne,

achtitpanne,

I will,

mikemossiyatsch,

n’dantsch,

aanetsch,

thou,

k’mikemossitsch,

mikemossiyanetsch,

k’dantsch,

ayanetsch,

he, she,

mikemossutsch,

mikemossitetsch,

euchtsch,

aktsch,

we,

mikemossihhenatsch,

mikemossiyenketsch,

In’dahhenatsch,

ayenketsch,

you.

k’mikemossihhimotsch,

mikemossiyequetsch,

k’dahhimotsch,

ayeqnetsch,

they,

mikemossuwatsch,

mikemossichtitsch,

ewak’tsch,

aachtite tsh,

Imperative.

Present Imperative ,

Future.

thou,

mikemosil,

mikemossik,

aal,

3 d person sing, at-

ye,

aak,

etsch,

plural, achtitesch.

Infinitive.

Present,

mikemossin,

aan,

Past,

mikemossinep,

none ,

Participles.

Present,

mikemossit,

eyat,

Past,

mikemossitschik,

ahek,

Future,

mikemossintsch,

none,

ALGONKIN-LENAPE.

M1CMAC. (Father Maynard.)

MASSACHUSETTS. (John Eliot.)

nil Insi, I am a man.

waantamunat, to be wise.

Indie. Present.

1 Subj. Present.

Indie. Present.

Optative Present.

n’lnyi,

n’lnain,

noowaantam,

noowaantamuntoh,

thou ,

k’ln«in,

koowaantam,

koowaantamuntoh,

he,

a’lnsit,

a’lnsin,

waantamnoh,

oowaantamuntoh,

we,

k’lntdnek,

k’lnwinena,

noowaantam nmus,

noowtiaantamnnantoh,

you ,

k’liitfiok,

k’lnainau,

koowaantamumwoo,

koowaaantamuneautoh,

they,

s’lnsigit,

s’flmdnau,

waantamwog,

oowaaantamuneautoh,

Conditional.

Indicative, Preterite,

Optative , Preterite,

Preterite.

(essem.)

n’lnsiep,

n’lnaik,

noowaantamup,

noowaantamimtaztoh,

thou ,

k’lnaichip,

k’lnyikp,

koowaantamup,

koowaaantamunaztoh,

he,

a’lusichp,

k’liiaiekchep,

.v’lnaich,

k’ln«iguekp,

waantamup,

oow^aantamunaztoh,

we,

noowaantamumunnonup,

noowhaantamunanoiztoh,

you,

k’ln«iokchep,

k’lnaigokp,

koowaantamumwop,

koowaaantamunaoiztoh,

they,

a’lnaichenik,

a’lnsitich,

waantamuppaneg,

oowaaantamunaoiztoli,

Future.

Conditional,

(fuissem.)

Imperative, Present,

Suppositive, Present,

n’ln«idesh,

n’lnsigaben,

waantamon,

thou,

k’lnaidex,

k’lnaikpen,

waantash,

waantaman,

he,

a’lnsidau,

k’lnaltideihna,

«’ln«ichop,

waantaj,

waantog,

iv e,

k’lnaiguekpen,

waantamuttuh,

waantamog,

you.

k’lnaildekns,

a’ln»igokpen,

waantamook,

waantamohettich,

waantamog,

they ,

a’lmdtidal,

a’lnailichok,

waantamohettit,

Suppositive, Preterite, ’

waantamos,

waantamas,

waantogkis,

waantamogkis,

waantamohettia.

APP. NO. II.] CONJUGATIONS AND TRANSITIONS

£69

CHOCTAW.

tok-che } to tie.

ACTIVE.

PASSIVE.

Indie. Present.

tokchille

suttullokche

thou

ishtokche

chittullokche

tokche

tullokche

we two

e tokche

pittullokche

ehotokche

huppittullokche

you

hushtokche

huchittullokche

they

oklattokche

oklattullokche

thou

him

we two

you

them

thou

Imperative
(let me),
oktoche
tokche
ittokche
ketokche
kehotokche
hotokche
oklakashiktokche

Potential
(I may),
tokchillahinla
ishtokchahinla
tokchahinla
we two etokchahinla
we ehotokchahinla

you hushtokchahinla

they oklattokchahinla

thou

we two
we
you
they

Subjunctive (if),
tokchillikma
ishtokchikma
tokchikma
etokchikma
ehotokchikma
hushtokchikma
oklattokchikma

sunnuse, I sleep.

(Choctaw.)

sunnuse

chenuse

nuse

penuse

huppenuse

huchenuse

oklatnuse

sulle, I die,
(Choctaw.)

sulle

chille

ille

pille

huppille

huchille

oklattille

SIOUX. (Gen. Cass.)

DAHCOTA.

I love, wah tscheens ■
Indicative Present.

I | wah tscheeng
thou eeah tscheeng
he tscheeng
we oants-cheengpee
you eeahtscheengpee
they weetschahtscheengpee

Preterite Indie.

I wahtscheengkong
thou eeahtscheengkong
he tscheengkong
we oahtscheengpeekong
you eeahtscheengpeekong
they tscheengpeekong

Future Indie.

[ wahtscheengktey
thou eeahtscheengktey
he tscheengktey
vve oantscheengpeektey
you weetshahtscheengpeektey
theyweetshyatscheengpeektey

CIIEPPEYAN.

yaws' t-hce, I speak

Present.

I yaws’thee

thou yawnelt’hee

hej yawlt’hee

we yawoulPhce

you tayoult’hee

they tayathee

thou

you

they

ATHAPASCA.

disse, I say.
Present.

disse
deennee
liehnee

tcootee or toon tee
doonnee or toonnee
hell heh tee

Preterite.

yawaylt'hee

yayolt’hee

yalthee

tayaolthee

ta}rahelthee

tayolthee

Preterite.
dissee nee
deennee nee
heh nee nee
deedee nee
doonnee nee
heddee nee

270

SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD

COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE FORMATION OF TENSES AND

VOICE.

Micmac

Massachusetts

Chippeway

Delaware

do.

Choctawee

Muskhogee

Cherokee

Onondago

Sioux

E ski mail

Chili

y°

ACTIVE VOICE.

Infinitive.
keloogi nk
wadchan umunat
takop chegawing
ahoal an
pendam en
mikemoss in
tokche
wonn agi
lung lung
norochqua

ermik lune
elu n

to be good
to keep
to tie
to love
to hear
to work
to tie
to tie
to tie
to love
to love
to wash
to give

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

1st person.

3d person.

Micmac

keloogi

Massachusetts

noo

wadchan umon

wadchan amon

Chippeway

neen

takop etoon

Delaware

n’

dahoala

ahoal eu

do.

n’

pendam

pendam en

do.

n’

mikemossi

mikemoss u

Choctaw

tokch ill

tokche

Muskhogee

wonni yest

wonni ist

Cherokee

lungiha

o-a

lungiha

Onondago

norochqua

ho norochqua

Sioux

wall

tsheeng

Eskimau

ermik para

ermik pa

Chili

elu n

elu y

PASSIVE VOICE.

Present Indicative.

1st person.

3d person.

Massachusetts

noo

wadchan it

wadchan au

Chippeway

neen

takop ecz

takop i%zo

Delaware

n’

dahoal gussi

ahoal gussi

do.

n’

pend a xi

penda xu

Choctaw

sut

t ull okche

t ull okclie

Muskhogee

cha

wonn ag ist

Cherokee

ungqua

lung ung

aga

lung ung

Onondago

junki

norochqua

t’huwa

norochqua

Eskimau

Chili

elu ere n

elu ge y

The particles in italics designate the tense, mood, passive voice, and
negation. < *

APP. NO. II.] ^CONJUGATIONS AND TRANSITIONS

271

COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE FORMATION OF TENSES AND

NEGATIVE FORM.

ACTIVE VOICE. INDICATIVE.

Preterite 3d person.

Future 3d person.

keloogi slip

keloogi dau

oo wadchan umun ap

wadchan itch

o \ takop

etoon

o gah takop

enan

ahoal ep

ahoaleu ktsh

pendamen ep

pendamen tsh

mikemoss up

mikemossu tsh

tokch ikamo

tokch achi

wonn a ist

wonni al

ist

u lung lung hi

tali ga" lung lung li

waho norochqua squa

?i’ho norochqua

tsheeng kong

tsheeng ktay

ermik s

ermik sav

elu vu

elu a

IMPERATIVE.

SUBJUNCTIVE.

2d person singular.

Present 3d person.

keloogi sh

3d p.

wadchan ish

wadchan uk

takop ish

takop enuk

ahoal

ahoal ak

1st p.

penda

pendam a

mikemossi l

mikemossi ya

tokche

tokch ikma

wonni us

wonni yau

hiya lung tsa

yig a

lungiha

assa norochqua

ermi na

elu ge

elu le

NEGATIVE FORM.

ACTIVE.

PASSIVE.

Present Indicative.

Transition of 3d person to 3d.

1st Person.

he does not him.

oo wadchan m oo un

noo wadchan ittro

haw o takop inn azen

haw n’ takop izzoze

w’ dahoal a wi

matta n’ dahoal gussiwi

atta pen dam a ici

atta n’ penda xiwi

ik tokch o

ik sut t ull okch o

wonni yik ost

cha wonni agyk ost

tlayi ga lungiha

tlay ungqua lung ung

* ermi ngil ak

elu la vi

elu lage n

Micmac

Mass.

Chippew.

Delaware

do,

do.

Choctaw

Muskhog.

Cherokee

Onondag.

Sioux

Eskimau

Chili

Micmac

Mass.

Chippew.

Delaware

do.

Choctaw

Muskhog.

Cherokee

Onondag.

Sioux

Eskimau

Chili

Mass.

Ch ppew.
Delaware
do.

Choctaw

Muskhog.

Cherokee

Onondag.

Eskimau

Chili

* 1 he does not wash himself.’

The verb proper is easily distinguished.

The residue consists of pronouns.

SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES

[iNTROP

212

CADDO.

to tie
tie them
tie
tliou tiest
he ties
ice tico tie
we tie
you tie
they tie
he ties me
11 “ thee
“ u him

her

us two
us

you two
you
them
they tie me

u a
« a
tc u
it ti
a it
it it

dughanosh
ughanosh hiano
hichuckanosh
ahia issickeenosh
deli slio eh yokehnosh
yoishehnosheh
wanteh yoishehnosheh
yokashwanash wanteh
yunutsehdunheh
yosinehunchehnosli
liohanosha
hitaughanosh

(woman)
hitaughanosh nutteh

yoehkushehnosh
yoehkushehnosh wanteh
kohanosha
kohanosha
kohanosha deli
.daughkughanosh

they tie thee
“ “ him

11 u us two

It ti

j wanteh yokushwanosh

yokushwanosh

you two
you

I tie thee

II 11 him

“ “ you tico

11 u you

11 11 them
ice tico tie thee
“ “ him

we two tie
you two
we tie thee
you two tie me
11 11 him

11 “ us

kohanosha

dehdughou si yokanosh
hokseh hichickanosh

hitughanosh
a

[objects)
(pointing to the
yokushwanosh
yoishehnosh

yoehhananeh

yokushwanosh
dakhouaneh nash
yoehkushanosh
wanteh yokawanteh

he has tied me
11 “ thee

a 11 him

I have tied him
thou hast tied me

“ u him
he will tie me

II 11 thee
u him

I will tie him
thou wilt tie me
11 “ him

he would tie thee
u “ him

he might tie thee
u “ him

CHOCTAW.

sa tokchi kamo
chi tokchi kamo
tokchi kamo
tokchili kamo
issa tokchi kamo
ish tokchi kamo
sa tokchachi
chi tokchachi
tokchachi
tokchilachi
issa tokchachi
ish tokchachi
chi tokcha he tuk

MUSKHOGEE.

chi tokcha hinla
tokcha hinla
he ought to tie thee chi tokchi vlhpesa
“ “ him tokchi vlhpesa

that he may tie thee na chi tokcha hinla
him na tokcha hinla

if he tie thee
11 u him

chi tokchi liokma
tokchi liokma

chawonnayist

chiwonnayist

wonnayist

wonniyest

chawonniyhitchkist

wonniyhitchkist

chawonniahlis

chiwonniahlis

wonniahlis

wonniyahlis

chawonniyichkahlis

wonniyichkahlis

chi wonniy undoos

wonniyundoos

chiwonniibundoos

wonniibundoos

chiwonniahli tidiist

wonniahli tidiist

machiwonniibis

chiwonniyad

wonniyad

APP. NO. II.]

CONJUGATIONS AND TRANSITIONS

273

CIIOKTA W, (Continued.) MUSKHOGEE, (Continued)

he makes me tie thee
u 11 “ them

I tie myself
he ties himself
ice tie ourselves
they tie themselves
we tie each other
you tie each other
they tie one another
he who is tying thee
11 “ him

he did tie him
he will tie him

I am tied
thou art tied
he is tied
we two arc tied
we are tied
you tioo are tied
you are tied
they arc tied

1 was tied

I was tied, by thee

I was tied by him
he shall be tied
he does not tie me
he does not tie thee
he does not tie him
he has not tied me
he icill not tie me
he shall not tie me

I am not tied
he is not tied

I was not tied
does he tie thee?
has he tied thee ?
shall he tie thee ?
do they tie him ?
have they tied him ?
will they tic him ?
shall 1 tie him ?
shall I tie them?
wilt thou tie him 9

an tohno ho chi tokchili
an tohno ho tokchili
ili tokchili

il ili tokchi
ili tokchi
il iti tokchi
hvsli iti tokchi
iti tokchi

tokchi kok osh
tokchi tok ok osh
tokcha he tuk ok osh
sa talokchi
chi talokchi
talokchi
pitalokchi
hvpilatokchi
hvshtalokchi
hvsh talokchi
talokchi
sa talokchi tok

C you are the one, I was tied
t chishno oho sa talokchi tok
takokchi pullashke

ik sa tokcho

ik chi tokcho

ik tokcho

ik sa tokcho kanio

ik sa tokcho ha chi

sa tokcho hiraa keyu

ik sa talokcho

ik talokcho

ik sa talokcho ke tok

chi tokchi

chi tokchi ha

tokchi
tokchi ha
tokcha he o
tokchi la he o
tokchi la he o
ish tokcha he o

chickavvonniipajist

chawonnawajipajist

iwonniyibest

iwonniyibist

iwonnawajibist

iwonnawajagist

chawonniyhichkin chivvonniyest

chimidat tiwonniyagachkist

amidat tiwonnawajist

chiwonniadi

wonniadi

mawonniyaddi

mawonniahli

chawonnagist

chivvonnagist

wonnagist

hokolid powonnagist
homulgiad powonnagist'
hokolid chiwonnakuggist
homulgot chiwonnakuggist
wonnawagist
chawonnakunggist

chawonnayhilchkunggist

chawonnayunggist

wonnuggipahlista

chawonniyikost

chiwonniyikost

wonniyikost

chawonaikost

chawonnayikost

chawonnayikosta

chawonnagikost

wonnagikost

chawonniygikunggist

chiwonniya

chiwonnaya

chiwonniahlidi

wonniyaga

wonnayaga

wonniyakahlidi

wonniahlidi

wonnawajahlidi

wonniyhitchkahlidi

VOL. li.

274 SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

TABLES OF TRANSITIONS.

CHOCTAW TRANSITIONS OF THE PRESENT OF THE INDICA¬
TIVE.

* tokche, to tie.

I tie tokch ill || 1 We e tokche || 2. We ehotokche

thou ish tokche || Ye hush tokche ||

he tokche || They oklat tokche ||

the^

1. we

2. we
thou

him.

a b c d

tokche

okla tokche

tokchill
e tokche

eho tokche

ish tokche

hush tokche

them.

b a c d

oklat tokche

oklat tokchill

oklat e tokche

oklat eho tokch

oklat ish tokche

oklat hush tokche

they

1. we

2. we

thee.

chit tokche

okla chit tokche

chit tokchill

e chit tokche

eho chit tokche

you.

a b c d

huchit tokche

okla huchit tokche

huchit tokchill

e huchit tokche

eho huchit tokche

they

thou

vie.

sut tokche

okla sut tokche

is sut tokche

hus sut tokche

1. us.

pit tokche

okla pit tokche

is pit tokche

hus pit tokche

they

thou

2. us.

huppit tokche

okla huppit tokche

ish huppit tokche

hush huppit tokche

Choctaw pronouns used with verbs.

ill,

Columns marked

1. we

1. us

a nomin. case of pronoun

2. we

eho,

2. us

hupi

b object. “ “ t(

thou

ish,

thee

chi

c verb

hush,

you

huchi

d nom. 1st p. sing, pronoun

There is no singular pronoun of the 3d person ; but for its plural, okla , or
oklat is used, a word which means, a multitude, a nation, people. The pro¬
nouns in the objective case are the same as the possessive used in connex¬
ion with the parts of the body.

* totclie pronounced, totchay , totcheh.

APP. NO. II.]

CONJUGATIONS AND TRANSITIONS.

275

MUSKIIOGEE TRANSITIONS OF THE PRESENT OF THE

INDICATIVE.

wonnayi, to tic.

I tie wonni yest || we wonniyist || we two hokolid wonni yist

thou “ wonni yichkist |j ye wonni yachkist ||

i he il wonni ist jj they wonni yagist ||

they

dual we
plur. we
thou
ye

him.

d c a

wonni ist

wonni yagist
wonni yest

hokolid wonni yist

liomulgiad wonni yist

wonni yichkist
homulgot wonni yachkist

them.

d c

wonn awagist
wonn awajagist
wonn awajest
hokolid wonn awajist

homulgiad wonn awajist

wonn awajichkist
homulgot wonn awajachkist

they

'dual we
■plur. we

thee.

d be a

chi wonni ist

chi wonni yagist

chi wonni yest

hokolid chi wonni yist

liomulgiad che wonni yist

* you.
d c

homulgin chi wonni ist

homulgin chi wonn a?cajagist
homulgin chi wonni yagest

hokolid chi wonni yugist

homulgin chi wonni awxzyugist

•

they

thou

me.

d b c a

cha wonni ist

cha wonni yagist
cha wonni yichkist
homulgot cha wonni yachkist

us.

d b c a

homulgin po wonni ist

homulgin po wonn yagist

homulgin po wonni yichkist

homulgin po wonni yachkist

they

thou

us two.

hokolin po wonni ist

hokolin po wonn «?mjagist

hokolin po wonni yichkist

hokolin po wonni yachkist

The Muskhogee pronouns used with verbs are

yest,

cha,

yist,

po.

thou

yichkist,

thee

chi,

yachkist,

you

chi,

ist,

him

they

yagist,

them

awa

Columns marked

a nom. case pronoun
b obj. “ “

c verb

d pi. and dual distinctions.

As there is no distinction between the dual and plural of the pronouns of
the first and second person, nor between the nominative and objective cases
of the second, the words, in the nominative, liomulgiad , (or homulgot) and
hokolid ; in the objective case, homulgin and hokolin, are used, homuUnad
and homulgin, to designate the plural, and hokolid and hokolin, to designate
the dual.

* It is apprehended that there are some errors in some of these forms
which terminate in the second person plural.

276

SYNOPSIS OP THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

* We as used throughout this table stands for they and 7; it is a special dual of which he
and I is the dual. There is another corresponding form, thou arid 7, ye and they , which
has been omitted here. But there does not appear to be any indefinite plural, nor any
general form ye, they and 1.

The confusion between a , a, and b, b, is owing to etsa , esta, having no objective case.
In the two first transitions, te makes g (they) in the obj. case. In the two other, te puts
etsa and esta in that case.

This is obviated in the transitions c, c, and d, d, because awtsa and awsta have each an
objective case, viz. awha and awgina.

| This is the only instance where g does not stand for the 3d person plural. It is used
for the 1st sing, nominative. But ungya which means 7 — thee , would seem sufficient.

CHEROKEE TRANSITIONS OF THE PRESENT INDICATIVE.

galungiha, I tie.

they

* we
he and I
thou

ye two

him.

ana

tsiya

awtsa

awsta

hiya

etsa

esta

lung ilui
lungiha
lungiha
lungiha
lungiha ;
lungiha
lungiha
lungiha

them.

ana

ga tsiya
g awtsa
g awsta
g ihya
g etsa
g esta

lungiha

thee .

you.

tsa

lungiha

tsa

lungiha

they

etsa

lungiha

etsa

lungiha

you two.

sta

lungiha

they

esta

lungiha

me.

us.

aqua

lungiha

awka

lungiha

they

ungqua

lungiha

awka

lungiha

him and me.

awgina

lungiha

they

awtgina

lungiha

thee.

you.

t I

ungya

lungiha

ungya

lungiha

its

ungya

lungiha

ungya

lungiha

he and I

ist

ungya

lungiha

ungya

lungiha

you two.

ungya

lungiha

ungya

lungiha

he and I

ungya

lungiha

me.

us.

thou

iya

lungiha

iya

lungiha

iya

lungiha

iya

lungiha

ye two

ina

lungiha

iya

lungiha

him and me.

thou

ina

lungiha

ina

lungiha

ye two

ina

lungiha

APP. NO. II.]

CONJUGATIONS AND TRANSITIONS.

277

CHILI TRANSITIONS OF THE PRESENT INDICATIVE.

Elun, to

give

SIMPLE COJMJUGA-

REFLECTED

TION.

FORM.

elu

myself

thou

elu

ymi

elu

ymi

thyself

elu

himself

elu

ourselves

dual <

elu

ymu

elu

ymu

yourselves

> dual

f they

elu

ygu

elu

ygu

themselves \

elu

ourselves

plural 4

elu

ymn

elu

ymn

yourselves

> plural

[ they

elu

ygn

elu

ygn

themselves )

•

SINGULAR.

DUAL.

PLURAL.

him.

them.

•*

du.

pi.

elu

egu

elu

egn

thou

elu

egu

elu

egn

elu

egu

elu

egn

elu

egu

elu

egn

dual 1

elu

egu

elu

egn

they

elu

egu

elu

egn

elu

egu

elu

egn

plural <

elu

ran

elu

egu

elu

egn

[ they

elu

egu

elu

egn

thee.

you.

du.

you.

pi.

elu

ymi

elu

ymu

1 elu

ymn

* dual

elu

ymi

elu

ymu

! elu

ymn

* plural

elu

ymi

elu

ymu

elu

ymn

elu

ymi

elu

ymu

elu

ymn

dual

they

elu

ymi

elu

ymu

elu

ymn

plural

they

elu

ymi

elu

ymu

elu

ymn

me.

ilS

us.

pi.

thou

elu

dual

elu

plural

elu

J elu

elu

dual

they

elu

plural

they

elu

| elu

The particles printed in italics , viz. u, vi, e, mo, designate the respective
transitions.

The columns marked : a — nominative case of pronoun.

b — objective “ “

c — verb.

du. — dual termination,
pi. — plural do.

* These forms elumo, ymi, ymu, ymn, are not used. One derived from the
reflected form has been substituted for common use.

278

SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

[iNTROD.

DAHCOTA (SIOUX) TRANSITIONS OF THE PRESENT

INDICATIVE.

- — - — — - - - - - — — —

tsheeng, to love.

1 love
thou u
he “

wah tsheeno-

yah tsheeeng
tsheeng

we love
ye 11
they “

oan tsheeng pee
yah tsheeng pee
weetshah tsheeng pee

him.

them.

tsheeng

weetsha

tsheeng

pee

they

tsheeng

pee

weetsha

tsheeng

pee

wah tsheeng

weetsha

wah

tsheeng

pee

ICC

ah tscheeng

pee

weetsha

oan

tsheeng

pee

thou

yah tsheeng

weetsh

yah

tsheeng

pee

weetsh yah tsheeng

pee

weetsh

yah

tsheeng

pee

thee.

you.

nee tsheeng

nee

tsheeng

pee

they

nee tsheeng

pee

nee

tsheeng

pee

tsheen

tsheeng

tsh

een

tsheeng

pee

oanee

tsheeng

pee

nee

tsheeng

pee

me.

us.

mah

tsheeng

oan

tsheeng

pee

they

mah

tsheeng

pee

oan

tsheeng

pee

thou

myah

tsheeng

oan

yah

tsheeng

pee

myah

tsheeng

pee

oan

yah

tsheeng

pee

The rules to be deduced from this example are very simple.

1. The termination pee is affixed, whenever either or both pronouns are
plural.

2. The pronouns are prefixed ; that in the objective case preceding that
in the nominative.

3. The pronoun in the third person singular is omitted, except * we —
him,’ weetsh yah ;

4. That in the third person plural omitted in the nominative case is
zceetsha (abbreviation of 1 men ’), in the objective.

5. In the transitions between the third and the first or second person, the
pronouns are; I, wah, me, mah ; we, us, oan. Thou, ye, yah; thee, you,
nee.

C. In the transitions from first to second person; from singular tshcen ;
from plural oanee.

7. In those from second to first person ; to singular myah ; to plural oan -
yah; of which, oanee, myall, oanyah , are obviously compound of oan, mah,
yah, nee.

But having no other paradigm, we cannot draw any general conclusion.

APP. NO. II.] CONJUGATIONS AND TRANSITIONS.

279

ESKIMAU TRANSITIONS OF THE PRESENT INDICATIVE.

ermiklun, to wash .

him.

them.

ermikp

plural

they

ermikp

aet

ermikp

ase

dual

they

ermikp

aek

ermikp

atik

ermikp

ara

ermikp

aka

plural

ermikp

arput

ermikp

auvut

dual

ermikp

arpuk

ermikp

auvuk

thou

ermikp

atit

plural

ermikp

arse

ermikp

eit

dual

ermikp

artik

ermikp

atik

thee.

you.

ermikp

atit

ermikp

ase

plural

they

ermikp

atit

ermikp

ase

dual

they

ermikp

atit

ermikp

ase

ermikp

aukit

ermikp

ause

plural

ice

ermikp

autigit

ermikp

ause

dual

ermikp

autikit

ermikp

ause

me.

us.

ermikp

anga

ermikp

atigut

plural

they

ermikp

anga

ermikp

atigut

dual

they

ermikp

an ,ia

ermikp

atigut

thou

ermikp

arma

ermikp

autigut

plural

ermikp

ausinga

ermikp

ausigut

dual

ermikp

autiga

ermikp

autigut

REFLECTED FORM.

he washes himself
plural they wash themselves
dual they wash themselves
I wash myself
plural we wash ourselves
dual ice wash ourselves
thou washest. thyself
plural ye wash yourselves
\ dual ye wash yourselves

ermikp

unga

ermikp

ogut

ermikp

oguk

ermikp

otit

ermikp

ose

ermikp

otik

280

SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

MASSACHUSETTS TRANSITIONS.

INDICATIVE PRESENT.

Inanimate Form.

I keep it

thou

they

noo

koo

noo

koo

wadchan

um um

woo

WOg

Animate Form.

him.

them.

wad chan

wadchan

thou

koo

wadchan

koo

wadchan

oo g

noo

wadchan

noo

wadchan

oo g

they

wadchan

ooh

wadchan

oon

kco

wadchan

koo

wadchan

oog

roe

noo

wadchan

oun

noo

wadchan

oon

onog

he.

they.

thee

koo

wadchan

koo

wadchan

quog

noo

wadchan

noo

wadchan

quog

you

koo

wadchan

uk oo

koo

wadchan

oo-og

koo

wadchan

uk qun

noo

wadchan

qun onog

we.

thee

koo

wadchan sh

koo

wadchan

umun

you

koo

wadchan un umwoo

koo

wadchan

umun

thou.

ye.

koo

wadchan e

koo

wadchan

woo

koo

wadchan

imun

koo

wadchan

APP. NO. II.]

CONJUGATIONS AND TRANSITIONS

281

G. 2.

MASSACHUSETTS TRANSITIONS.

SUPPOSITIVE PRESENT.

Inanimate Form.

I keep it

wadchan

umon

tliou

wadchan

uman

wadchan

ice

wadchan

umog

wadchan

umog

they

wadchan

umahetitt

Animate Form.

thou

they

him.

wadchan ont

wadchan adt

wadchan og

wadchan ukahetit

wadchan og

wadchan ogkut

them.

wadchan ahettit

wadchan adt

wadchan og

wadchan ahetit

wadchan og

wadchan ogkut

he.

they.

thee

wadchan ukquean

wadchan it

wadchan hettit

you

wadchan ukqueog

. we.

thee

wadchan unon

wadchan unog

you

wadchan unog

thou.

ye.

wadchan ean

wadchan eog

VOL. II

282

SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD

H. 1.

DELAWARE TRANSITIONS.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

luen, to say.

I say

n’

dellowe

Present Indicative.

thou

k’

dellowe

w’

dellowe

n’

dellowe

neen

k’

dellowe

liimo

they

w’

dellowe

newo

him.

them.

b c

w’

dell ak

w’

dell

wak

thou

k’

dell an

k’

dell

wak

n’

dell an

n’

dell

wak

they

dell a

newo

w’

dell

wawak

dell a

newo

k’

dell

wawak

ice

dell a

neen

n’

dell

wawuna

he.

they.

thee

k’

dell uk

k’

dell

n’

dell uk

n’

dell

you

k’

dell g

uwa

k’

dell

ehimo

n’

dell g

una

n’

dell

' g

eneen

we.

thee

k’

dell ell

k’

del

neen

you

k’

del lo

humo

k’

del

liena

thou.

ve.

k’

dell i

k’

dell

himo

k’

dell i

neen

k’

dell

hena

The columns marked : a — initial characteristic of pronoun.

c — inserted “ «

d — plural terminations “ «

b — verb proper.

APP. NO. II.] CONJUGATIONS AND TRANSITIONS. 283

H. 2.

DELAWARE TRANSITIONS.

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE,
lil, tell me.

if I say
if thou
if he
if ice
if ye
if they

lue ya

lue yan

lue te

lue yeuk

lue yek

lue khtit

Present Subjunctive.

if he
if thou

if 1

if thei /

if ye

if ice

him.

a b c

1 ate

1 atpan

1 ake

1 akt ite

1 e que

1 a nque

them.

a b c

lak hitite

lak pan

lak tit pan

le que

len que

thee

you

he.

1 ukquon

1 ite

1 ukquegTie

1 nkquenque

they.

lukquon

liktite

lukque que

lukquen que

thee

you

1 ellanne

1 elle que

ice.

lell an que

lell en que

thou.

1 iyanne

1 iyenkpanne

ye.

liy e que

liy e n que

a — verb proper.

b — characteristic * and pronoun,
c — plural terminations.

* The a is still visible in the transitions which terminate in the third person ; the ft, in those
originating in the third person ; the l and i , in those between the two first persons. The other
peculiarities of this mood not explained.

284

SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD

H. 3.

DELAWARE TRANSITIONS,
luen, to say.

PRETERITE INDICATIVE.

Singular.
a b c

I said

tliou

n’

k’

w’

dell

owe n

him.

w’

dell

thou

k’

dell

k’

dell

they

w’

dell

newo

k’

dell

newo

n’

dell

wuna

kup

thee

k’

him.

dell

n’

dell

you

k’

dell

n’

dell

unen

thee

k’

del

len

you

k’

del

humo

k’

thou.
dell i

k’

dell

nen

Plural.

n’

dell

owe

hen

k’

dell

owe

himo

w’

dell

owe

newo

them.

w’

dell

panik

dell

panik

k’

dell

panik

w’

dell

wawa

panik

k’

dell

wawa

panik

n’

dell

wawa

panik

they.

k’

dell

n’

dell

k’

dell

ehimo

dell

enen

we.

k’

del

nen

k’

del

humo

akup

ye.

k’

dell

himo

akup

k’

dell

hena

kup

e designates the tense : a, b, c, d, as in the Present.

APP. NO. II.] CONJUGATIONS AND TRANSITIONS

285

H. 4.

DELAWARE TRANSITIONS.

luen, to say.

FUTURE INDICATIVE.

Singular.

Plural.

b c

c d

I will say

n’

dell owe

tsh

n’ -

dell

owe hena

tsh

thou

k’

dell owe

tsh

k’

dell

owe himo

tsh

w’

dell owe

tsh

w’

dell

owe newo

tsh

him.

them.

b c

c d

w’

dell an

tsh

w’

dell

awak

tsh

thou

k’

dell an

tsh

k’

dell

awawak

tsh

n’

dell an

tsh

n’

dell

awak

tsh

they

w’

dell a

newo

tsh

w’

dell

awawak

tsh

k’

dell a

newo

tsh

k’

dell

awawak

tsh

n’

dell e

neen

tsh

n’

dell

awawak

tsh

he.

they.

thee

k’

dell g

tsh

k’

dell

g e

tsh

n’

dell g

tsh

n’

dell

g e

tsh

you

k’

dell g

uwa

tsh

k’

dell

g ehimo

tsh

n’

dell g

una

tsh

n’

dell

g eneen

tsh

we.

thee

k’

del le

tsh

k’

del

le neen

tsh

you

k’

del lo

humo

tsh

k’

del

lo hena

tsh

thou.

ye.

k’

dell i

tsh

k’

dell

i himo

tsh

k’

dell i

hena

tsh

k’

dell

i hena

tsh

a, b, c, d, e, as in the Preterite.

286

SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

[iNTROD.

H. 5.

DELAWARE TRANSITIONS.

•

luen

to say.

PRETERITE

SUBJUNCTIVE.

FUTURE SUBJUNCTIVE.

Singular

•

Plural.

Singular.

Plural.

I said

lue yak

lue yenk

I will say

lue yak

tsh

lue yenk

tsh

thou

lue yan

lue yek

thou

lue

yane

tsh

lue yek

tsh

lue t

lue klitit

lue

tsh

lue khli

tsh

him .

them.

him.

them.

he will

1 at

aakhtit

he will

ate

tsh

1 aakhtile

tsh

thou

1 atpan

akpan

thou

atpane

tsh

1 akpan e

tsh

1 ak

ekpan

ake

tsh

1 ak pan e

tsh

they

1 uktink

uktitpan

they

inde

tsh

1 ak tite

tsh

1 equek

eque

tsh

1 ek e

tsh

1 ank

enk

ice

anke

tsh

1 enk e

tsh

he.

they.

he.

they

thee

1 ukquon

ukquonk

thee

ukquon e tsh

1 uk quon

etsh

1 it

ink

it e

tsh

1 ink

etsh

you

1 ukquek

ukquek

you

uk quek tsh

1 ukquek

etsh

1 ukquenk

ukquenk

uk quenk tsh

1 ukquenk etsh

we.

thee

1 ell an

ell ank

thee

ell ane

tsh

1 ell anque tsh

you

1 ell ek

ell enk

you

ell eque

tsh

1 ell enque

tsh

thou.

ye.

thou.

ye.

1 i yan

l yek

i yanne

tsh

1 i yeque

tsh

1 i yenkpan

i yank

i yenque

tsh

1 i yenque

tsh

APP. NO. II.]

CONJUGATIONS AND TRANSITIONS

287

H. 6.

DELAWARE TRANSITIONS.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

miltin,

peton,

pendarnen,

ahoalan,

luen,

to give
to bring
to hear
to love
to say

Observe in columns c, the ) „ „

, , , , . ’ - > a, an, awa

constant characteristic ) ;

k, or g

l, lo, le
i

a — initial characteristic
b — verb proper
c — inserted characteristic
d — plural termination

in transitions 1, 2, 3

“ 4, 5

“ 6

“ 7

he.

they.

1dm

mil

awall

mil

newo

pet

aool

pet

awa

newo

pend

awall

pend

awa

wall

w’

dahoal

awall

w’

dahoal

newo

w’

dell

w’

dell

newo

them

mil

wak

mil

wawak

pet

awa

wak

pet

awa

wane wo

pend

awa

wak

pend

awa

wawall

w’

dahoal

wak

w’

dahoal

wawak

w’

dell

wak

w’

dell

nawak

we.

him

n’

mil

n’

mil

hena

n’

pet

awan

n’

pet

awa

neen

n’

pend

awa

n’

pend

awa

neen

n’

dahoal

n’

dahoal

una

n’

dell

n’

dell

neen

them

n’

mil

newo

n’

mil

wawuna

n’

pet

awa

wak

n’

pet

awa

wuna

n’

pend

awa

wak

n’

pend

awa

wunanak

n’

dahoal

wak

n’

dahoal

wawuna

dell

wak

n’

dell

wawuna

thou.

ye.

him

k’

mil

k’

mil

newo

k’

pet

awa

k’

pet

awa

newo

k’

pend

awa

k’

pend

awa

k’

dahoal

k’

dahoal

newo

k’

dell

k’

dell

newo

them

k’

mil

ano

wak

k’

mil

wawak

k’

pet

awa

wak

k’

pet

awa

wawak

k’

pend

awa

wak

k’

pend

awa

wawak

k’

dahoal

wak

k’

dahoal

wawak

k’

dell

wak

k’

dell

wawak

288

SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD

H. 7.

DELAWARE TRANSITIONS.

PRESENT INDICATIVE,

(continued.)

he.

they.

n’

mil

n’

mil

n’

pet

agun

n’

pet

ake

n’

pend

affun

n’

pend

age

newo

n’

dahoal

n’

dahoal

newo

n’

dell

n’

dell

n’

mil

neen

n’

mil

neen

n’

pet

agu

neen

pet

ake

neen

pend

agu

pend

age

neen

n’

dahoal

n’

dahoal

hena

n’

dell

ana

n’

dell

neen

he.

they.

thee

k’

mil

k’

mil

k’

pet

aguk

k’

pet

ake

k’

pend

agun

k’

pend

agu

wak

k’

dahoal

k’

dahoal

newo

k’

dell

k’

dell

you

mil

k’

mil

himo

k’

pet

agu

k’

pet

ake

newo

k’

pend

agu

pend

agu

wawak

k’

dahoal

k’

dahoal

himo

k’

dell

k’

dell

himo

we.

thee

k’

mil

ell

k’

neen

k’

pet

olen

k’

pet

ole

neen

k’

pend

olen

k’

pend

ole

neen

dahoat

ell

k’

dahoal

neen

k’

dell

ell

k’

del

neen

you

k’

mil

ello

humo

k’

humo

k’

pet

olo

humo

k’

pet

olo

hena

k’

pend

olo

humo

k’

pend

olo

hena

k’

dahoa

humo

k’

dahoa

hummena

k’

del

humo

del

hena

thou.

ye.

k’

mil

k’

mil

himo

k’

pet

awi

k’

pet

awi

himo

k’

pend

awi

k’

pend

awi

himo

k’

dahoal

k’

dahoal

himo

k’

dell

k’

dell

himo

mil

neen

k’

mil

hena

k’

pet

awi

neen

k’

pet

awi

hena

k’

pend

awi

neen

k’

pend

awi

henook

k’

dahoal

neen

k’

dahoal

hena

k’

dell

neen

k’

dell

hena

APP. NO. II.] CONJUGATIONS AND TRANSITIONS

289

COMP A R A T I VE V I E W.

DELAWARE, MASSACHUSETTS, AND CHIPPEWAY TRANSI¬
TIONS.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

The obelisk (t) stands for the unchanged verb.

DELAWARE.

MASSACHUSETTS.

CHIPPEWAY.

Sincr. to sino*.

a b

he — him

w’ t

*ak

oo f u

o t

aun

thou — him

k’ t

koo t

ke t

I— “

n’ t

noo t

neen

aun

he — me

n’ t

noo f uk

neen t

u — thee

k* t

koo t uk

ke t

I — thee

k’ i

koo f sh

ke t

thou — me

k* 1

koo t eh

ke t

ish

Sing, to plur.

he — them

w ’ t

wak

oo f

o t

aun

thou — “

k’ t

wak

koo f

oo g

ke t

auo-

/ — “

n’ t a

wak

noo f

oog

neen

au g

he — its

n* 1

una

+ koo t uk

qun

% ke t

owa

i( — uou

k’ 1

uwa

koo t uk

ke t

owau

1 — you

k’

humo

koo f un

U 111 wo

ke t

thou — us

k* 1

neen

koo t i

mun

ke t

ish e

min

Plur. to sing.

they — him

w’ t

ne wo

oo f

ouh

o t

waun

ye — i 6

k’ i

newo

koo t

ke t

wau

we — u

n’ f

neen

noo t

oun

neen

n aun

they — me

n’ 1

noo t uk

quo g

ne t

oaor

11 — thee

k’ t

koo t uk

quo g

ke t

oacr

we — i thee

k’ f

1 e

neen

koo tun

umun

ke t

in e

nim

ye — me

k’ t

hi mo

koo t im

woo

ke t

izh e

min

Plur. to plur.

they — them

w’ t

wawak

oo t

ounak

o t

waun

ye — “

k’ t

wawak

koo t

oog

ke t

waug

we — “

n’ t

wawuna

noo t

ounonog

X ke t

nanilc

they — us

n’ t

eneen

noo t uk

qunonog

X ke t

owau«[

11 — you

k» t

ehimo

koo t uk

oo-og

let

owauff

we — you

k* t

hen a

koo t un

un union

un e

nim

ye — us

k’ t

liena

koo t i

mun

iz-zh

e min

a Initial characteristic ; — b, inserted characteristic d, plural terminations,
c. This expletive en seems peculiar to the Chippeway.

* He — him ; ak, wall, gol, &e.

vol. ii. 37

X First person, plural inclusive.

NOTES

TO TIIE

TABLES OF TRANSITIONS.

Choctaw.

There is no pronoun of the third person : but for its plural, okla , and
oklat, which mean, ‘ a multitude,’ ‘ people,’ are used respectively in
the nominative and the objective case.

The derivation of the pronouns of the first person, used in the nomi¬
native case with the verbs as subjects of the action, is not known :
but those in the nominative of the second person are abbreviated from
the corresponding separable pronouns : and those in the objective case,
both of the first and second person, are the same as the possessive
pronouns used in connexion with the parts of the body.

The pronouns are prefixed to the verb, with the exception of ill, ‘I,’
which is affixed. The pronouns in the objective case are placed im¬
mediately before the verb and after those in the nominative case, with
the exception of oklat (them,) which always precedes the other pronoun.

As, with the exception of the third person, there is, for each number,
a distinct word, for the nominative and for the objective case respec¬
tively, the only defect is found in the union of oklat with the singular
of the same person. Thus the sentences, ‘ he ties them,’ and, ‘ they
tie him,’ are both expressed by oklat tokche.

The transitions of all the tenses, moods, voices, and forms of the
verb tokche , ‘ to tie,’ are, with respect to the pronouns, conjugated as
the Present of the Indicative.

Muskhogee.

There are distinct words for the singular and plural respectively of the
three persons in the nominative case, and of the first person in the objec¬
tive case ; and also one, clii (same as in the Choktaw), for both numbers
of the second person in the objective case. In order to distinguish
the dual and plural from the singular in that instance, and the dual
from the plural in both persons, the word homulgiad or homulgot, from
homulga, £ multitude,’ is used for the plural ; and hokolid, from hokoly ,
‘ two,’ for the dual. In the objective case, they become hoinulgin and
hokolin: and, in either case, they always precede the pronouns and
verb. There is no word properly for the objective case of the third
person : but the particle awa, prefixed to the pronoun in the nominative
case, supplies its place in the plural.

The pronouns in the nominative case are always affixed, and those
in the objective case, (with the exception of awa, as aforesaid,) always

APP. NO. II.] NOTES TO TABLES OF TRANSITIONS.

291

prefixed to the verb. These last, therefore, follow the words homulgiad ,
hokolik , homulgin , hokolin , when used.

Although not inserted in the Table, there appears to be a dual for
the second person, formed in the same manner as that of the first.

There are some deviations from the rules in the paradigm ; blit
whether anomalies, or proceeding from errors, is not ascertained. Nor
is it known, whether those rules apply to the other moods and tenses,
or whether there are several conjugations.

Cherokee.

The Cherokees have three separable indeclinable pronouns : Ayung,

4 I,’ ‘ we ’ ; nihi, 4 thou,’ 4 ye ’ ; na , 4 he,’ 4 they.’ Traces of them are still
visible in the transitions : ungya , 4 1 — thee ; ’ ihya, 4 thou — him ; ’ ana,
4 they — lnm.’

But it will appear, by the Grammatical Notices, that the possessive
pronouns united with nouns, are the same with the personal pronouns
united with verbs, and that they correspond with the numerous nice
distinctions made in that language, between the different species of
dual and plural.

It is also necessary to observe that, in many Indian languages and
particularly in this, the transitions may be divided into two general
classes, that of the third person with the third, first, or second ; and
that between the first and second persons. The first class is
susceptible of various subdivisions, according to the character of each
language respectively; separating, in some cases, the transitions from
one third to another third person, from those between the third and the
first or second person ; distinguishing, in some languages, the transi¬
tions, in which the third person is in the nominative, from those in
which it is in the objective case.

This being premised, the three following general rules for the indi¬
cative present, are deduced from the Table.

1. The verb, in every instance, terminates the word ; the pronouns,
in Cherokee, being always prefixed.

2. Te (sign of plural) prefixed, always shows that the pronoun in the
objective case is in the dual or plural number.

3. G, ge, gung, prefixed, or inserted immediately after the plural
te , designates the third person plural.

Whence it follows that teg means 4 them,’ in the transitions which
terminate in the third person plural. But the g is omitted in the tran¬
sition from the third person plural to the third person. 4 They — him,’
ana ; 4 they — them,’ ieana.

The pronouns used, either as possessive, or as personal in the tran¬
sitions between the third and either the first or the second person, are

Simple conjugation.

him.

lie.

tsiya ;

me,

aqua, awka

awtsa

we,

awtsa ;

us,

te awka

awsta

he and I,

awsta ;

him and me,

te awgina

thou ,

ihia ;

thee ,

tsa

itsa

pi. ye,

etsa ;

you,

tetsa

ista

du. ye two,

esta ;

you two,

testa

he.

ga;

ana

they ,

ana ;

292

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

4. Whence a fourth rule is deduced, viz. the designation of the plu¬
ral by ts , and of the dual by st ; except the objective case of the dual
of the first person, where the termination inci is substituted for st.

But in the transition from the first to the second person, ungya ex¬
presses the two persons combined ; and the transition from the second
to the first person, is expressed by skiya , changed into skina for the
dual.

The uniformity of the transitions, from which the rules have been
deduced, and the defects of those between the first and second person,
though obvious in the Table, will be still more apparent in the follow¬
ing recapitulation, in which the verb itself, ( lungiha ,) which without any
change always terminates the form, is omitted.

From the third to another third person,

him.
lie ga
they ana

them.
te ga
te ana

Between the third and the first or second person,

him. them. he. they.

tsiya

tega tsiya

\ aqua

gung que

pi. ice

awtsa

teg awtsa

pi. us

te awka

teg awka

du. he and I

awsta

teg awsta j

o m

du. him and me

te awgina

teg awgina

thou

ihya

teg ihya

thee

tsa

ge tsa

pi. ye

etsa

teg etsa

pi. you

tetsa

tege tsa

du. ye two

esta

teg esta

du. you tico

testa

tege sta

Between the first and second persons,

plural,

dual,

plural,

dual,

him and me

thou.
skiya
te skiya
te skina

plural, ye.
skiya
te skiya
te skina

dual, ye two.
skina
te skiya
te skina

pi. ice.

du. lie and I.

tliec

g ungya

its ungya

ist ungya

you

tets ungya

you two

test ungya

tets ungya

test ungya

It will be perceived that the dual designations are used in the transi¬
tions between dual and singular, between dual and dual, and between
dual and third person plural ; and that the plural designation prevails
in the other transitions between plural and dual, except in the transition
Ye — him and me , where ina is used.

The defect of the system is obvious in the transitions between the
first and second persons, where the same forms are used to express
different transitions, and the resulting ambiguity is evident. This is
due to the want of a distinctive sign between the singular and plural,
either in the nominative or objective case. There is also confusion in
the forms tegetsa and tegesta, both of which are applied to two different
purposes.

In preparing those several tables, the etymology has alone been
attended to, and the Cherokee distinction of syllables, as they are pro¬
nounced, has been disregarded. This distinction is made in Mr. Wor¬
cester’s transitions and notes, as given by him, and to which the atten¬
tion of the inquisitive reader is specially called. (Grammatical Notices.)

APP. NO. II.]

NOTES TO TABLES OF TRANSITIONS.

293

It must be recollected that every syllable in Cherokee ends in a vocal
or nasal sound. This last is, in the tables, &c., represented by the let¬
ters ung, from analogy to the English words long , clung, &c. Thus
the forms teg-esta, its-ungya, &c., are pronounced te-ge-sta, i-tsung-ya ,
&c.

It will not escape notice, that the pronouns in the singular number
of the simple conjugation differ from those used in the transitions, and
that, in the simple conjugation, that of the first and that of the third
person are the same. We have in the simple conjugation, ‘ 1,’ ga ; ‘ thou,’
ha; ‘ he,’ ga ; in the transitions, ‘I — him,’ tsiya ; ‘thou — him,’ ihya ;
‘ he — him,’ ga.

It has appeared to me most natural to suppose that, in the transitions,
(with the exception of that from the third to the third person,) the sin¬
gular of the third person, he and him, was implied and not expressed :
but this is only a conjecture, and requires further investigation.

There are other forms of the same verb, in which the pronouns he,
him, are expressed, and vary, according as the person is present, or
absent, or in order to express some modification of the action :

Ga -lung i ha, ‘ he is tying him, or it,' is the form as set down
in the table.

But, Taiv-lung i ha, 1 he is tying him ’ ; if the person tying hears the
speaker.

Ka-lung i ha, 1 he is tying it ’ ; if the person tying hears.

Tu-lung i ha, ‘ he is tying him ’ ; if the person tied hears.

Tegatsiya-lung i ha, ‘ I am tying them ’ (viz. each separately,)
in the form set down in the table.

But, Gatsiya-lung i ha, ‘ I am tying them,’ viz. both together.

This last instance seems contrary to analogy, since the te prefixed
does uniformly designate the plural of the objective case ; and it is here
used when each person is tied separately, and omitted when they are
tied together.

Again: there are two past tenses (at least), and one future, in the
Cherokee.

The forms are respectively, independent of the pronouns : lung lung
gi, and lung isa, for the two past tenses ; and for the future, ta — lungli ,
in which la ( taw , lay , tung) is prefixed, and lungli affixed to the pro¬
nouns.

And they are in other respects generally conjugated as the present :

tsiya-lung lung gi, I have tied him ; ta-tsiya-lungli, I will tie him ;

getsa-lung lung gi, they have tied thee ; ta-getsa-lungli, they will tie
thee.

But they differ in the transition from the third to the third person.
Omitting the final verbal form, we have, viz.

Present.

Preterite.

He — him

ga — l.

u — l.

He — them

te ga — l.

te u na — l.

They — him

ana — l.

gungwa Z.

They — them

te ana — l.

te gungwa — l.

Future :
ta — ga — l.
taw — taga — l.
ta — gungwa — l.
ta — gungwana — l.

This shows," not only the difficulty of pronouncing definitively re¬
specting the omission of the third person, but also that, notwithstanding
the uniformity of the transition forms of the present of the Indicative,

294

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

from which the rules have been deduced, such is the variety of forms,
of which the verb, even in its connection only Avith the pronouns, is
susceptible, that those rules must be considered as a mere attempt, or
first essay, to deduce rules from the spoken language. There can be no
doubt, that the difficulty of ascertaining all those pronominal varieties and
of reducing them to rules is, amongst other causes, one of the principal
obstacles to a complete acquirement of the Cherokee. Mr. B. informed
me that many Americans, after a residence of eight or ten years, could
neither understand or speak tolerably the language, Avhilst the Muskho-
gee is generally learnt in three years. Cherokee children find, hoAvever,
no greater difficulty, and it requires no longer time for them to speak
their language, than is the case Avith our OAvn children Avith respect to
theirs.

There is reason to believe, that there is a similarity of character be-
tAveen the languages of the Iroquois family and the Cherokee, which
may account for the acknowledged difficulty of acquiring a competent
knowledge of them, and for our scanty information in that respect.

Chilian.

The transitions Avhich terminate in the first and second persons are
very defective, the same words being repeatedly used to express differ¬
ent forms. But the system is astonishingly regular. A different series
of abbreviated pronouns is used for the subjunctive, and another for the
imperative : the tenses and voices are formed by the insertion of cer¬
tain particles, invariably the same respectively in every verb : and the
transitions, or combinations of pronouns, are, without exception, the
same for every tense and mood. Thus the particles Avhich, in the Indi¬
cative, designate the simple tenses, viz. the imperfect, future, and mixed,
are, respectively, vu, a, avu. Inserting either of these after elu, the root
of the verb, in every transition of the table D, you will have the transi¬
tions of the tense designated by the particle. The same rule applies to
the transitions of the negative form, of the passive voice, and of vari¬
ous other forms expressive of various modifications of the action, all
which are also designated by the insertion of some particle. And in
order to convert any transition Avhatever of the Indicative into a cor¬
respondent transition of the subjunctive, it is only necessary to substi¬
tute, for the pronouns of the Indicative, those of the Subjunctive. (See
Grammatical Notices.)

Such perfect regularity is not natural to any, much less to an oral
language spoken by various independent tribes along a coast of tAvelve
hundred miles in extent. They have had missionaries for three hundred
years, avIio were the first writers of that language, and Avho may, for a
very useful and laudable purpose, Avithout altering its character, and by
a skilful analogy, have given it the great regularity exhibited in Father
Febres’s grammar.

Delaware.

It Avill be recollected that, independent of the plural terminations and
of the constant portion of the verb proper, there are, in the Delaware

APP. NO. II.] NOTES TO TABLES OF TRANSITIONS.

295

transitions, two pronominal signs or characteristics ; 1. the initial n’, k\
v? (the last often omitted), which respectively show : k\ that one of the
pronouns of the transition is of the second person ; n\ that the pronouns
are, one of the first and the other of the third person ; w\ (or no initial
prefixed to the verb proper,) that both pronouns are of the third person.
2. That inserted immediately after the verb proper, viz. a , an. aiva, or
awan, when the action terminates in the third person ; g, or k, when the
action passes from the third to the first or second person ; l , when it passes
from the first to the second ; and i when it passes from the second to
the first person.

Thence are deduced the forms of all the transitions of the Indicative,
when both pronouns are in the singular number ; observing, that that
from the third to the third person, (he — him,) still preserving the
characteristic a, has various terminations, which, together with other
varieties, may be seen in the table H. 7. Those forms, independent of
the verb proper, are generally

He — him , w’ — awall, agol, ak ; I — him , n’ — a ; thou — him, k — a ;

he — me, n — uk ; he — thee, k — uk ;
1 — thee, k — 1 ; thou — me, k — i.

The plural terminations are less uniform. Referring to the table H. 7.
for the varieties, we insert here the most usual ; distinguishing those,
in which both pronouns are in the plural, from those in which one of the
pronouns, either in the nominative or in the objective case, is in the
singular.

nom. obj;

k' w’

from

2d, or,

3d to

< c

1st

1 st

1st

nomin.

nominate

sing.

plural.

a wak

a newo

a wak

a neen

g una

g e

g uwa

g e

i neen

i himo

lo humo

le neen

loth

plural:

a wawak
a wawuna
g eneen
g ehimo
i hena
lo hena

^ 3d p. obj.

^ 3d p. nom.

7 1st p. obj.

3 1st p. nom.

The plural terminations of the simple conjugations are: for the Indi¬
cative present, neen, for the first ; himo, humo for the second ; wak, or
newo for the third person. In the transitions, where one pronoun only
is in the plural number, which terminate in the third person, or which
include only the pronouns of the first and second person, (a &c.) the
same terminations are used precisely for the same purpose, ( neen stand¬
ing for we, or us, &c.), with one exception, viz. in the transition ‘ye —
him,’ where eivo stands for ‘ ye.’ In the transitions from the third to the
first or second person, the g, or ge, designates, according to the second
rule, the pronoun in the third person ; and una and uwa stand respec¬
tively for us and you : but if, in that transition the third person is in the
plural number (they), ge alone is generally used without any plural ter¬
mination ; the initial k, or n, sufficiently distinguishing whether the
Pronoun, in the singular objective case, is of the second or first person.
In those transitions where both pronouns are in the plural number, iva
added after the characteristic a (a wawak, awawuna,) shows that the
third person is in the objective case (them) ; geneen and gehimo , which
respectively indicate that the first or second person is in the objective

296

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

case, are compound respectively of ge, ‘ they,’ and of neen, ‘ we,’ c us ’ ;
and himo, 1 ye,’ ‘ you ’: and hcnct , contracted from hum-ena (ye, we), de¬
signates that the pronouns of the two first persons are both in the plu¬
ral number, the preceding characteristic l, or i, showing which of the
two is in the objective case.

Thus, notwithstanding the original defect and the consequent com¬
plexness of the Delaware transitions, they answer the purpose intended,
and express distinctly, and with great precision, every combination of
the verb with the pronouns. But the rules given for the plural termina¬
tions, though general, are subject to many exceptions, as may be partly
seen by the table H. 7. It would indeed be a most extraordinary phe¬
nomenon, to find a purely oral language, highly inflected, exempt of
those anomalies and exceptions, which exist in languages regulated by
the art of writing and the influence of great writers. We cannot
investigate any branch of our Indian languages, without discovering
evidences of the power of analogy in creating that uniformity which
renders them proper vehicles for the communication of ideas, and new
proofs of their gradual progress, the result of the application of the
natural faculties of man to that object, but not of any preconcerted
philosophical system.

There does not appear to be any very evident connexion between
the usual pronouns and those inserted and variously modified particles,
(a, g or k, l, i,) inserted immediately after the verb proper, which I
have designated as the “ inserted characteristics of the Pronoun.” *
But both the initial characteristics and, with the exception of himo,
(you), all the plural terminations are derived from the separable, and of
the same character as the possessive Pronouns. Why himo was sub¬
stituted to uwa , the termination of the second person plural of the
separable pronoun, and preserved, as well as una , in the transitions
he — you, he — us, does not appear.

Table I. is a comparative view of the Delaware transitions, in the
Indicative present, with Eliot’s Massachusetts paradigm of the verb
wadchan — unumat, 1 to keep,’ and with that of the Chippeway verb ta-
kop — • chegawing, ‘to tie,’ as given by Dr. James in the Appendix to
Tanner’s Narrative. They exhibit many correspondences and several
differences. If we were to judge from those specimens alone, it might
be inferred that the Delaware was, in that respect, more uniform, com¬
plete, and precise than the two other kindred dialects. But the infer¬
ence may be premature. A laborious investigation of Eliot’s transla¬
tion of the Bible would be necessary, in order to form a correct estimate
of the Massachusetts. It is not worth while to attempt, with the mate¬
rials on hand, any further researches into the Chippeway ; and we must
wait for the expected elucidations from Mr. Schoolcraft and other in¬
telligent men, who are engaged in that pursuit. That language is
spoken by the most numerous tribe of that family, and acquires addi-

* The third person perhaps excepted. Neka, plural nchamawa , is the
separable pronoun, and the particles a and h (or g) may have been derived
from it. The origin of awa, una, uwa is obvious. Niiuna , Kiluna , are the
plural of the two first persons. Quere, as to l and i ?

APP. NO. II.] NOTES TO TABLES OF TRANSITIONS.

297

tional importance from its great affinity with the Ottawa, the Potowo-
tami, the Knistinau, and the Algonkin proper.

It may, however, be observed, that the origin of w ’ in the Delaware,
and of Oo in the Massachusetts, substituted, in the conjugations, for
neka, and nagoh , the inseparable pronouns of the third person, may be
traced to the Chippeway ween and o-oon (James), o-un (Schoolcraft).
The same iv , with various modifications, ( ive , wi, civo , &c.) is found for
that person, not only in the old Algonkin, the Knistinau^ and Potowo-
tami, but also in the Mountanee, Penobscot, Narraganset, Mohican,
Miami, and Shawnee. (Comparative Vocabulary, which see also for
various corresponding plural terminations of the Pronouns.)

The objective case of the third person deserves particular considera¬
tion, since, in the Algonkin family at least, the operation of the verb on
the object, being expressed by a pronominal termination, the inflection
which designates that operation, or what we call the case, is transferred
(or extended) to the verbal form or transition. The Indians of that
family say, £ I fear him God,’ n’ quitalaya ; 1 1 love him God,’ ?i’ dahoala.
A small inaccuracy of Mr. Heckewelder must be noticed : it is not
alaya or ala which designates the objective case of the pronoun (him) ;
it is only the final a. Ahoal belongs entire to the verb proper and
remains unchanged through all the varied pronominal combinations and
inflections. But the a clearly designates him , in every conjugation, as
may be seen by reference to the tables H. and H. 7., and to Zeisberger’s
paradigms ; and is preserved in the plural (them), adding to it the pro¬
per plural termination. It has been suggested that this a is derived
from the termination of the inseparable pronoun neka. In the Chip¬
peway, the termination un, an,ivun , of the same pronoun ( ween , o-un) is
likewise preserved for the same purpose in the transitions. O sagian ,

‘ he loves him.’

But in the Chippeway, and it seems also in the Massachusetts, the
same inflection is extended to the noun, if animate, which is the object
of the action, when the verb is in the third person (he — him, he —
them). Mukwa means £a bear’: £ he saw a bear,’ £he has killed a
bear,’ are Ogiwabumcwi mukwim, and Oginissan mukwim : £ he saw
him? £ he has killed him? £ a bear him .’ This inflection of mukwa into
mukwun corresponds with the Latin accusative. It seems also that it
supersedes the plural termination of the noun (ag) ; so that, in that case,
it is uncertain whether the man saw or killed a bear or several bears.
(Schoolcraft).

This observation is quoted here, principally for the purpose of point¬
ing out what seems to me the principal deficiency in Zeisberger’s
Grammar. The omission of the inclusive, or general plural, may be
easily supplied. But since it is certain that the terminations of verbs,
or of the pronouns connected with them, (which of the two I cannot
say,) are altered, according to the nature of the object of the action,
whether animate or inanimate, (Heckewelder’s Correspondence, page
438,) it seems to follow that there must be another set of transitions
terminating in the third person, so as to distinguish when the object is
animate or inanimate. A single additional pronominal inflection, dis¬
criminating it from him, might be sufficient for the purpose. But we
are left ignorant of the process. The two instances (of transitive
verbs) given by Mr. Heckewelder are, Nolha lla, £I possess’; Newau,
vol. ii. 38

298

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

{ I see,’ if the object possessed or seen, is animate ; Nolha tton and Ne-
men, if the object is inanimate. The distinction extends to intransitive
verbs — 4 Here lies my horse,’ or, 4 my axe. In the first case, lies is 4 shin-
gieshm,’ in the other, 4 shingieshen.’ In the Chippeway, Dr. James gives
for them , egieu if persons, enieu if things. The distinction may have a
more extensive influence in that language than in the Delaware : and
this is rendered extremely probable by the manner in which Mr. School¬
craft speaks of it. (Lecture 1st, page 171).

It may be proper to observe, in addition to what has been said respecting
the subjunctive, that, amongst Zeisberger’s paradigms, there is one, of
which the plural of the Indicative present may be conjugated as the sub¬
junctive. JYihillapewi, 4 1 am free ’ (or, made free), or, * my own master.’

Plural first person — Nihillapewineen, or, Nihillapewn/en&
second 44 — Nihillapewihimo, or, Nihillapewh/e&

third 44 Nihillapewak.

FORMATION OF TENSES, VOICE, &c.

The Table K. is intended to give some notions of the manner in
which the tenses, the passive voice, and the negative form of verbs are
genearlly formed ; but it embraces only the principal tenses ; and many
languages have also more than one negative form.

The pluperfect of the Delaware subjunctive, the optative of the
Massachusetts, and those tenses or moods of the Choctaw, Muskhogee,
Cherokee, Chilian, &c., which are expressed in English by 4 I may,’ 4 1
would,’ 4 1 should,’ &c., as well as several (such as the causative form)
belonging to some Indian languages, have been omitted. Specimens
will be found in the detailed transitions of the respective languages.
It will also there be seen, that, in all those of which we have a sufficient
knowledge, the several tenses of the same mood are, with slight varia¬
tions, conjugated, in every other respect than the particle characteristic
of the tense, as the present tense.

It appears by the table, and it would be still more evident, had there
been space for the conjugations of the several moods and tenses in both
voices, that those characteristic particles are almost universally placed
next to the verb proper, much oftener after than before it, and that they do
not interfere with the pronominal combinations. The tables H. 3. 4. 5. 6.
will show this for the Delaware so far as relates to tenses. We add
examples for the passive voice and negative form.

Delaware.

Il uu.uua.ici

n’ dahoala neen
n’ dahoal gussi
n’ dahoal gussi hena
Atta n’ dahoala wi
Atta n’ dahoala wu neen
Atta n’ dahoal gussiwi
Atta n’ dahoal gusai wineen

I love
We “
lam loved
We are “

I do not love
We do not “

I am not loved
We are not “

n’ pendamenep
k’ pendamohumoap
n’ penda xi hump
k’ penda xi himo akup
Atta n’ pendam owi p
Atta k’ pendam o wu newo ap
Matta n’ penda xi wi p
Matta k’ penda xi wunewo ap

I have heard
Ye “ “

I was “

Ye were “

I did not hear
Ye “ “

I was not heard
Ye were “

APP. NO. JI.]

NOTES TO TABLES OF TRANSITIONS.

299

Choctaw.

ish tokche
bush tokche
chit t ull okche
huch it ull okche

thou ticst
ye tie

thou art tied
ye are tied

ch ik tokch o
hush ik tokch o
ik chi t ull okch o
ik huch it ull okch o

thou dost not tie
ye do not tie
thou art not tied
ye are not tied

In the Choctaw ull is the sign of the passive, and is inserted in the
body of the verb proper tokche , between t and okche. We have another
similar instance in the negative form of the Massachusetts. Wadchan
um oo un, 4 he does not keep.’ Oo is the negative sign, and is inserted
within the pronominal combination umun .

It has already been remarked that, in the passive voice of the Choc¬
taw, (as well as in some intransitive verbs,) the pronoun, which with us
is in the nominative, is put in the objective case. The same observa¬
tion, for the passive at least, applies to the Muskhogee and to the Chero¬
kee. Ycst is the nominative of the first person singular in Muskhogee,
and cha is the objective case singular : 4 he ties me,’ cha wonni ist ; 4 thou
tiest me,'’ clia wonni yichkist. The plural objective of the same person is
po. (See Table B.)

In the passive voice we have :

4 1 am tied,’ cha wonnagist ; 4 we are tied,’ homulgiad \ • ,

4 we two are tied ,\hokolid, £ P° wonnatols •

In the Cherokee, a verbal termination ung is the sign of the passive,
(as gussi , or xi in the Delaware) ; and, in the verb 4 to tie,’ lungiha is
converted into lungung. But, besides that change, the pronoun is put
in the objective case.

‘They tie me,’ ungqua lungiha ; 4 He ties you,’ tetsa lungiha,

4 1 am tied,’ gungqua lungung ; lYe are tied,’ tetsa lungung

Tsiya (I), and etsa (we), are the respective nominative cases.

The reason of this use of the objective case is obvious. We put the
pronoun in the nominative case, on account of its connexion with the
verb substantive : but, in reality, the person is, in the passive voice, the
object and not the subject of the action. But the pronouns are also
used, in the objective case, in the negative form of the Choctaw verb ;
and for this I cannot account.

The visible correspondence of the pronominal combinations between
the Delaware, the Chippeway, and the Massachusetts, is less evident in
the signs of the tenses, voice, and negation. The preterite and future
in the Chippeway are expressed respectively by ke (or, gi) and gah, pre¬
fixed, instead of being affixed, to the verb proper. The sign of the
passive voice in the Massachusetts is it. That of the negative form is,
in. the Chippeway, haw prefixed ; in the Massachusetts, Oo inserted as
above stated.

Although our information respecting the Iroquois is limited, Zeisber-
ger has given the conjugations of the Onondago, (one example of which
will be found in the appended tables of simple conjugation,) and gen¬
eral rules for the formation of the tenses, and of the passive voice.

There are various modifications of the inseparable pronouns. They
are prefixed to the verb, and there is a distinct series for the passive, by
which alone that voice is distinguished from the active.

300 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD.

The most usual of those pronouns are :

Active Voice.

Singular. Plural.

First person, ge, wage ; unque ;

Second person, se, wassa, sa ; swa ;

Third person, mas. ho, waho ; hoti ;

Third person, fern, go, tgo ; gati.

Passive Voice.

Singular. Plural.

First person, junki ; tiunqua ;

Second person, jetsa ; jetswa ;

Third person, mas. huwa ; huwati ;

Third person, fern, guwa ; guwati.

When the verb begins with wa or t, the pronoun is inserted between
the first and second syllable of the verb, instead of being prefixed to
it.

There are two future tenses corresponding with the English will
and shall. The first, or simple future, is formed by prefixing In , ’n ;
and the future imperative by prefixing na to the pronoun ; the Imper¬
ative by inserting or prefixing a, (the second person singular being thus
converted from sa into assa). The preterite tense is formed by affixing
to the present a termination, ochne, squa, chta , &c., varying according
to the termination of the verb.

In every other respect, the verbs are conjugated like the present
of the indicative, the differences of number, gender, and person being
distinguished only by the pronouns as above stated. Various preposi¬
tions meaning in , on, to, under, near, &c., and some conjunctions, (as
se, ‘ for,’ 4 because,’) may be affixed to the verb and modify or alter its
meaning.

No mention is made by Zeisberger of a subjunctive mood, of a dual
or special plural, or of transitions. The few specimens of those of the
Mohawk, collected by Mr. Dwight, are not sufficient for any general
inference. But Zeisberger’s Grammar, translated by Mr. Duponceau,
from which the preceding notes have been extracted, and which is in
the library of the American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, con¬
tains much additional interesting information ; and it is desirable that
it should be published. A very voluminous manuscript German and
Onondago dictionary, compiled by Mr. Zeisberger, is also in the same
library.

Examples have been given of the relative position of the particles which
denote tenses, voice, and negation, both with each other, and with respect
to the pronoun and to the verb proper. The view even of that branch of
the subject is not complete ; and materials are wanted to throw any
light on the selection, or position of the various prepositions or other
particles, which, being either prefixed, affixed, or inserted, modify or
alter the meaning of the verb. Although the Chilian Grammar of
Father Febres is far more complete and satisfactory than any we have
of our Indian languages, he has not been able to give more than a few
very partial rules ; and declares the choice and collocation of those par¬
ticles to be the most difficult part of the language, and to be acquired
only by usage.

Note. Zeisberger’s paradigms having been examined first in order, his definition of moods
has been followed throughout — e. g. what Eliot more properly calls the supposilive mood, is
here termed the subjunctive.

CHEROKEE ALPHABET.

301

CHEROKEE ALPHABET.

CHARACTERS AS ARRANGED BY THE INVENTOR.

D W

AS P

B 4

o5)

r a

h $

E ©

(J*>

*y*

JL €■

S G

i o

•V

CHARACTERS

SYSTEMATICALLY

ARRANGED WITH THE SOUNDS.

•

g°

na tr

hna g

\ nah

qua

que

qui

quo

quu

quv

rit)

u sa

w ta

de t> te

di a ti

(P3

dla

c tla

tie

tli

tlo

tlu

tlv

tsa

tse

tsi

tso

tsu

tsv

c©

SOUNDS REPRESENTED BY VOWELS.

as a in father , or short as a in rival ,

as a in hate , or short as e in met ,

as i in pique , or short as i in pit,

as aw in law, or short as o in not,

as oo in fool, or short as u in pull,

as u in hut, nasalized.

CONSONANT SOUNDS.

g nearly as in English, but approaching to k ; d nearly as in English, but
approaching to t ; h, k, 1, m, n, q, s, t, w, y, as in English.

Syllables beginning with g, except %, have sometimes the power of k ; a,
s, <j», are sometimes sounded to, tu, tv ; and syllables written with tl, except £,
sometimes vary to dl.

(No. III.)

NOTE BY THE PUBLISHING COMMITTEE.

[See 'page 15.]

Since the printing of this volume was commenced, two sources of infor¬
mation respecting the Indian tribes inhabiting the northwest coast of Amer¬
ica, from lat. 48° to lat. 59°, have been consulted, viz. the manuscript
journal of Capt. William Bryant, now of Springfield, Massachusetts, kept
on that coast during the years 1820-7, embracing vocabularies of several
dialects, originally communicated through George Bancroft, Esq., and now
in the hands of the Committee ; and a “ Report of an Exploring Tour ”
amongst the same tribes, made in 1829, by the Rev. J. S. Green, an
American Missionary, and published in the Missionary Herald, Vols. xxvi.,
xxvii. (Boston, 1830-1.)

Capt. Bryant enumerates twenty tribes within those limits, inhabiting the
numerous islands, and the coast near the sea ; but, if considered according
to the difference of language, they compose only four grand divisions.
Commencing on the north, from lat. 59° to lat. 55°, there are found ten or
more petty tribes that speak the Sitka language, viz. the Chilcart , one of
the most numerous and powerful of these tribes ; the Sitka, on the island
called by the Russians Baranoff, and by the English King George Illd.’s
Island ; the Hoodsunhoo , at Hood’s Bay ; the Jlrk and Kake , on Prince
Frederick’s Sound; the Eelikinoo, in Chatham’s Straits; the Kooyou, ne ar
Cape Decision; the Hennega, on Prince of Wales’ Island; the Stickeen,
and Tumgarse.

Mr. Green reckons the whole number of those who speak the Sitka lan¬
guage to be 6500. He describes this language as soft and musical. It is
well known that the Russians have a settlement on Sitka Island, at Norfolk
Sound, called New Archangel, where a governor resides, whose jurisdiction
extends over all the Russian settlements in that quarter. New Archangel
was originally founded by Baranoff, a Russian governor, in 1800, but, being
soon after destroyed by lhe Indians, it was rebuilt by Lisiansky, the Russian
navigator, in 1805. It was visited by Kotzebue in 1824. Mr. Green found
here two ecclesiastics of the Greek Church.

The second division includes those Indians who speak the Nass language.
Of these, three tribes only are mentioned, viz. the Nass, on Observatory
Inlet, lat. 55° ; the Sliebasha, a powerful tribe inhabiting the numerous
islands in Pitt’s Archipelago ; and the Millhank Indians, on Millbank Sound.
This language is described as excessively harsh, and difficult to be written,
from the multitude of strong guttural sounds. It is spoken, according to
Mr. Green, by about 5500 Indians.

The third division comprises the tribes on Queen Charlotte’s Island, and
others speaking the same language. These are the Cumslicwar , the Massit,
and the Skiddegat or Skittigeet, which inhabit different parts of Queen Char¬
lotte’s Island ; the Keesarn, and the Kigarnee. The language spoken by
these tribes, of which Mr. Sturgis has furnished a specimen, is partial^ known
to most of the Indians on that coast, and is generally used by the traders as
a medium of intercourse with them. Skiddegat, the principal Indian village
on Queen Charlotte’s Island, is in lat. 53°. It has been much visited by
American traders, together with other places on this coast, for furs; but the
trade has declined, and almost ceased, of late years.

A fourth language was found by Capt. Bryant on the northwest extremity
of Quadra and Vancouver’s Island, in lat. 51°, which he terms Newettee or
Nooitty, and of which he has preserved a specimen. An interesting account
of the manners and habits of these various tribes is furnished by the same
gentleman, in his journal; but our limits forbid us availing ourselves of it at
the present time.

VOCABULARIES

AND

SELECT SENTENCES.

» *

GENERAL TABLE OF THE TRIBES, OF WHICH VOCABULARIES

ARE ANNEXED.

Names of Tribes.

Authorities.

Eskimaux

Hudson’s Bay

Parry

Kotzebue’s Sound

Beechy

Tshuktchi (Asia)

Koscheloff, (German)

t Greenland

Egede ; Crantz, (do.)

t Kadiak

Klaproth, (do.)

ii. 4

Kinai

Resenoff, (do.)

in.

Athapascas

Tacullies

Harmon

Cheppeyans

M’Kenzie

§ Sussees

Umfreville

IV.

Algonkin-Lenape

Knistinaux

Harmon, h. ; M’Kenzie, m.

Chippeways

Schoolcraft; James, j.; Keating, k.

1 Algonkins, (M’Ken-

M’Kenzie

zie’s)

Ottawas

* Hamelin, (French) ; James, j.

X Potowotamies

* War Dep., w. d. ; Barton

Old Algonkin

La Hontan

f Chippeways (east’n)

John Long, (trader)

t Mississages

Barton

Sheshatapoosh

Gabriel, (Indian boy) ; Mass. Hist. Soc.

(Labrador)
t Scoffies

Gabriel

Micmacs

* Father Maynard, (French); * Bromley, b. ;

t Souriquois

Etchemins (Passa-

Gabriel, g.

* Kellogg ; * Treat, t.

maquoddy)

Abenakies

Father Rasle, (French)

t Penobscots

* Mrs. Gardiner, g.; * Treat, t.

Massachusetts

Eliot ; Cotton, c.

t New England

Wood

Narraganset

Roger Williams ; * Treat, t.

Mohicans

*Jefferson, t. j.; * Heckewelder, iie.; Edwards,

Long Island

e. ; Jenks, h.

* Jefferson, t. j. ; S. Wood, w.

* Heckewelder ; Zeisberger, (German)

Delawares

t Sankhicans

De Laet, (French ?)

t New Sweden

C. Holm, (German)

f Minsi

* Heckewelder, (German)

- lv z 20

• Nanticokes

* Vans Murray; * Heckewelder, (German)

t Powhattans

Smith ; Beverly

X Pampticoes

Lawson; Heriot ; Lane

Miamis

* Thornton, t.; * War Dep., w. d.

Illinois

* Anon , Duponceau Collection, (French)

Shawnoes

* Jefferson, t. j. ; * War Dep., w. d. ; John¬
ston, j. ; Barton ; Gibson ; Butler ; Parsons
Keating

Saukies

Menoinenies

* Doty, v . ; * War Dep.; James, j.

Iroquois

Wyandots

Johnston; Barton; War Dep.

t Huron s

Sagard, (French)

Mohawks

* Parish, p. ; * Dwight, d.

De Laet, (French)

X Hochelaga

Onondagoes

* Zeisberger, (German)

Senecas

* War Dep. ; .Parish, p.

Oneidas

* Jefferson, t. j. ; Barton, s. b.

I Cayugas

Barton

vol. ii. 39

306

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

Names of Tribes.

Authorities.

Tuscaroras

* Parish

Nottoways

* 1. Wood ; * Trevezant

VI.

Sioux

* Boilvin, b. ; * Cass, c.; * War Dep. ; Maj.
Long, l.

Winnebagoes

Dahcotahs

Keating, k. ; Maj. Long, l. ; * Cass

Yanktons

Say

§ Assiniboins

Umfreville

Quappas

* Gen. Izard, (French)

Osages

* Dr. Murray ; * Cass, c; Bradbury

Ottoes

Say

t Iowavs

* Cass

Otnahas

Say

Minetares

Say

t Crows

Say

f Mandanes

Indian treaties

t Shyennes

Do., (doubtful)

vii. 41

Catawba s

*J. L. Miller; Barton, s. B.

viii. 42

Cherokees

* Boudinot, b.; .Worcester; (Pickering’s orthog¬
raphy, nasal ung)

IX.

Chahtas

* A. Wright, Mission. Spell. Book, Pickering’s
orthography

Choctas

Chicasas

* Gallatin, from a Chicasa boy

Muskhogee

Muskhogee
t Hawkins’ Muskho-

* Gallatin ; * Compere, c.

* Hawkins

gee

t Hitchittees

* Ridge, (a Cherokee)

* Ridge, g. ; Ware, d.

xi. 46

Utciiees

xn. 47

Natches

* Gallatin

xin. 48

Adaize

* Sibley

xiv. 49

Chetimachas

Duralde, (French)

xv. 50

Attacapas

Do.

xvi. 51

Caddoes

* G. Gray

xvii. 52

Pawnees

Say

xvm. 53

Salish

* Anon., Duponceau Coll.

xix. 54

t Woccons

Lawson

xx. 55

§ Fall Indians

Umfreville

xxi. 56

§ Black Feet

Do.

xxii. 57

f Shoshonees

Say

xxiii. 58

t Atnahs

M’Kenzie

xxiv. 59

\ Straits of Fuca

Voyage of Sutil y Mexicana, (Spanish)

xxv. 60

t Wakash

Jewitt

xxvi. 61

J Salmon River,

M’Kenzie

(Friendly Village)

xxvii. 62

1 Koulischen

Davidoff, (German)

xxviii. 63

t Chinooks

f Franc here, (French)

xxix. 64

' Q,u. Charlotte’s Isl

* Sturgis ; * Bryant

Explanatory Note.

Where not otherwise noted, the orthography is English, but not always uniform.
The Vocabularies of the tribes numbered 1 to 53, are in the Vocabulary No. I.

“ “ “ “ marked t “ u “ No. II.

“ u 11 11 “ § are in Umfreville’s Vocabulary.

“ “ u “ u | are in the Miscellaneous Vocabularies.

Tribes belonging to the first ten families, not inserted in the large vocabulary,
are designated by the letters a to r. Those marked by the Greek letters p and y,
are duplicates or varieties.

The Woccons, though marked xix. 54, belong to the vii. (Catawba) family.

The letters annexed to authorities in this table, stand for those authorities,
when particularly referred to, in the vocabularies.

The mark * denotes MS. authorities.

No. I

COMPARATIVE VOCABULARY

FIFTY-THREE NATIONS.

Names of Tribes.

God.

Wicked Spirit.

Eskimaux, (Hu. -Bay,)
Do. (NW. Coast Am.)
Do. (Tshuktchi, Asia,
E. shore)

Kinai,

Tacullies,

Cheppeyans,

Knistinaux,

Chi ppe ways,

Ottawas,

Old Algonkin,
Sheshatapoosh, (Lab.)
Micmacs,

Etchemins, (Passam.)

Abenakies,

Massachusetts,

Narraganset,

Mohicans,

Montaugs, (Long Isl.)

Delawares,

Nanticokes,

Miamis,

Illinois,

Shawnoes,

Saukies,

Menomenies,

Wyandots,

Mohawks,

Onondagoes,

Senecas,

Oneidas,

Tuscaroras,

Nottoways,

Winnebagoes,

Dahcotahs,

Yanktons,

Quappas,

Osages,

Ottoes,

Omahas,

Minetares,

Catawbas,

Cherokees,

Choctas,

Chicasas,

Muskhogee

Utchees,

Natches,

Adaize,

Chetimachas,

Attacapas,

Caddoes,

Pawnees,

Salisli,

aghatt

nakchtultane

karmok, k.

kilchemonetoo
ketche manito
kitche manito
kitchi manitoo
shayshoursh
kijoulk, ( Creator ) ;

mixham

saisos

ketsini*esk«

manit

manitoo

paulaumomvoth, h.
manto ; massaket
mund, (a great God)
kitshe manitto
mannitt

kitchi manetwa, v.
kisseh manetou
wishemenetou, j.
tepenemenok

matche manito

matchi manitoo
machemantouee
manecton, b.

matsinisetka

mattanuit

mtandou, mannito, e.
machees cund, w.

mattateashet
matshi manitto
matt anntote
matchi manitoo, v.
matcimanetou
matchemenetoo, j.
matchemanetoo

tamaindezue

lawaneeu, p.

nioh, otcon

awaneeu, p.

neeyooh

yaiwuhneeyou

quakerhunte

mahahnah, b.

wahkhoutunghah

wacatunca

wakautakeh

wakondah

wahcondah

wahconda

manhopa

ehopweh

oonalahnunghe, b.
hvshtahli, w.

hihsagita ( breath ) ;

himise ( master )
kauhwu hoo, g.
aleksandiste tza

ehnehko

thouwahot

anlahreu

deghshurenoh, oky
oonoosooloohnoo, d.

otkum

wahkansheecha, l.

waconsheeclieh

issahonwakkahheh

wahcondahpishcona

ishteeneekee

yahwerejeh

askina

tsaheekshkakoohrai-

wah

yaujeh

308

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES

Man.

Woman.

Bov.

J. 1

arnqna

tuak

oolea

einyook

juk

aganach

ii. 4

kocbtaana

ssioo

hi. 5

tennee

chaca

dinnie

chequois

iv. 7

esqui

negousis, (my), m.

kweewizais, s.

anini

uque

kwiwisens

alissinap

ickweh

napew

sehquovv

tchinem, (vir) ; ln»i,

epit

albado

(homo), b.

oskitap

apet

seenanbe, (vir) ; are-

phainen

yskinyy

nanbe, (homo)

wosketomp

mittarmvosses, esh-

nunkomp

qua, c.

iouskeene

nnin, skeetomp

squaws

neeinanaoo, h.

p’ghainoom, H.

penaupahthuh, h.

run ; wonnun, (relate

squah ; wonnunk,

machuclian ; rnacha-

man), w.

(white woman), w. ;

weeskt, (little child),

younskquask,

(young woman , w. ;

weenai, (old wo~ "

man), w.

lenno

okhqueh, khqueu,

pilawets hitsh

wohacki

acquahique

wahocki

helaniah, v.

metamsah

kwewisah, t.

inim, illini, s. b.

ickoe

illeni, g.

equiwa, j.

skillewaythetha, j.

neneo

kwyokih

kwee-essah

eenayayneewuk, (pi.)

rneetayaymo

oapahauneeshah

v. 26

aingahon

utehkeh

omaintsentehah

oonguich, p.

o-oonhechlien, p.

lueksare

2 r

etschinak

ecliro

haxliaahehawak

unguoh, t.

yehong, p.

aukshawau, d.

loonkquee

acunhaiti, t. j.

laesagh, t. j.

aineehau

aitsrauychkaneaweah

wariaugh, s. b.

eniha

ekening

aqueianha

vi. 33

wongahah

nogahali

weetshahsktah

weenowkhindgah

oaksheeduh

weechaslia

weeah

hoheesheenai

nikkah

nek a

wako, w. d.

shinzo shinga

wahsheegai

nahhakkai

chintoingyai

noo

waoo

noojingga

mattra

meeyai

shikanja

vii. 41

yabrecha

eeyauh

eechahuli

viii. 42

ask ay a

ageyung

atsatsa

ix. 43

hottok nokni ; hottok,

hottok oliyo

vlla nokni, w.

(a person)

x. 45

istahouanuah

hoktie

chibouosi

xi. 46

cohwita, g.

wauhnehung, g.

susunedah, g.

xn. 47

tomkuhpena

tahmahl

tamunoonoo

xiii. 48

haasing

quaechuke

tallahache

xiv. 49

pautchehase

kithia

hacsehamche

xv. 50

iol

nickib

ishpe

xvi. 51

shoeh

nutteh

sheatsseh

xvii. 52

tsaeeksh

tsapat

peeshkee

xviii. 53

ekeltamauih

simmaem

NO. I.]

VOCABULARIES.

309

Girl.

Infant, Child.

Father.

I. 1

attata

kangneen

eegeelugugaga

aganagach, K.

taunogach ; mikisli-

atta, ataka

kak, m.

ii. 4

kisna

zkaniken

stukta

in. 5

chutun

apph

zitah, (my)

iv. 7

squaisis, l.

awasis, h.
abbinoji, (babe), s.

nootawie, (my), m.

ekwazais, s.

nos, s. ; nosai, (my), j.

aquesens, ( little )

apinotching

nos

ickwessen

bobilooshin

noussey, (mrj)

squashish

awash

notowee, (my)
n«tch, (my)

epidek

my»achich

pelsquasis

warsis

mataqus

1 4

naiiksk»e

asansis

nernitangus, (my)
noosh, (my)

nunksquau

mukkis

squasese, ( a little ) ;

papoos, nonanese,

osh

kibtuckquaw, ( mar¬
riageable )

(sucking)

peesquasoo, e.
squasses ; squashees,

chacqseseet, h.

oghan, m.

neechuntz

cws

(little girl), w.

okhquets, hsitsh

amemeus

nokh, (my)

pechquah

awauntet

nowoze, nosah

kwaniswa, t.

apilossah, v.

noksaheh,v.; nosah, s.b.
nossack

coessensak

squithetha, j.

hippelutha, g.

notha, (my), j.

skwessah

apenon

nossa, (my)

keeshayshah

hoahnun

v. 26

yavveetseutho

chealihah

hayesta

icksau, d.

lukshaha, p.

laganee, p.

jahagona ecliro

ixhaa

jouihha ; ageneu-

hos, s. b.

yekshawau, d.

ukshaha, p.

hanee, p.

caidazai, t. j.

ixhaah

rageneh, laggeh

aikautsali

awkreeuh

nahkasehkeh, w. d.

akroh, w. d.

vi. 33

heenuhkeenik, b.

neekchunkeenik, b.
oakshee opah, c.

chahchikal, b.

weetsheeahnah, c.

atag, c.

weechinchano

okcheechopa

atcucu

schehjinka

ihntatteh

shema shinga

indajah

cheemeeing yai

cheeehingai

antchai

inee jingga

shinga shinga

dadai, or, dadaiha

meeyaikan ja

manongah, (children)

tantai

vii. 41

yahwachahuh

yeenturawa

yahrnosa

viii. 42

ayayutsa

oostekuh, r.

etawta, (my)

ix. 43

villa tek, w.

imulla, (his) ; umul-

la, (my)

aunkke

take, g.

chippotah, g.

unky, g.

x. 45

okulosoha

hopohy vah

ilhie

xi. 46 i

suneaah, g.

cohnih, g.

chitung, g.

xii. 47

hohlenoo

tsitsie

abishnisha

xiii. 48

quoatwistuck

tallahening

kewanick

xiv. 49

kimniche

natsepo

hineghie

xv. 50

nickibishpe

sherapstapaham

shau

xvi. 51

nuttaitesseh

kiaotseh

xvii. 52

tclioraksh

peeron

ateeash

iviii. 53 '

skoksaigh

anlahrew

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

Mother.

araama

anna

unnu no;cool
zinah, (my)
ekawe, h.

ningai, (my), k. ; ne-
gah, (my), m.
g&chi

nahkhowee

kich

nikos

niga»s, (my)
okasoh

nokasu ; nichwhaw,
(my)

okegan, h.
cwca
gahowes
nicque

kekiah, (yr), v ; nin-
gah, s. b.
meckia

neegah, (my), j. ;

nevva, g.
kekeenan

meekeeushaymauwuh

aneheh

ystun, p.

onurha

nooghe

ragoonoohah, aggoon-
nolhoh
eanuh
ena, w. d.
chahcheekah, b.
eenah, c.
hucoo
jadah
enauh
eehong
eehong
eeka
vaxu

etsi, (mrj)
iskeh

sushca, (my), g.
ichskie

kitchunghaing, g.

kwalneshoo

amanie

haille

tegn

ehneh

ateerah

skohe

Husband.

ooino-a, ooema

quaoog

uika

eki

zidinnie, (my)
nenabem, H.
nabaim, s.

nape

napema

naapen

tchenememal, saypee-
tah, b.
noskitapain
nekitsde, (I am)
wahsuk
vvasick

waughecheh, (her), h
ks-hamps

wekhian, (your), s. b.
niusrsoh (?) soh (?)
hahpama, w. D.

nampeheman
washetshe, (your), j. ;
was eche, w. d.

naupeum

teakneederoo, p.

teachnee
tiaganeite, t. j.

nayyuts
gotyakun
eekunah, b.
henahkoo, c.

eneeca, c.

yakezuh
agiwehi, (my)
kottok, w.
illahwah, g.
ih hi

ohdieuhtang, g.
tamahlnesoo
hasekino
hichehase

we iol, (my) ; ha, (her)
ahhannoh

Wife.

nooleeanga

agnak, k. ; nulliak, m .

ssioo

ayeye

zizayunai, (my)
echemagun, h.
nimindimoimish,

(my), s-

tishquah

niguemck, saypee-
tum, b.
n’wennaisom
nifssi, (lam)
mittamwossis
weewo, mittummus

weewoue, h.
keeus
okhqueu
nee-eewah

niwewa, v. ; neewee-
wah, (my), s. b.
ouiono

keevva (your), j. ; ne-
wah, s. b.

azuttunohoh

teeaganeeterlook,

(my), d.
echro

teyauknee, (my), D.
nailooh, t. j.

kautyaukuh

dekes

heechahweeno, b.
toweetshoo, c.

yakezuh
aquatalii, (my)
tekche, (his)
ough wahah, g.
hy vali

ohdieuhtang, g.

stepenisoo

quochekinok

hichekithia

nickib ; ha, (his)

danahhe

NO. I.]

VOCABULARIES.

311

Son.

Daughter.

Brother.

I. 1

eerninga

panneeya

kattangootee, anninga

oowingeelaka, (my)

rinaka ; jegnaka, k.

pannica

anechluktik, kamgojak

ii. 4

ssija

ssazaa

kula

hi. 5

eyaze

eacha

echill

ziazay, (my)

zilengai, (my)

zi raing, (my)

iv. 7

equssis, h.

netanis, (my), m.

ningwisis, (my), s. ;

nin danis, (my), s. ;

osyaiema, s.

negwis, (my), j.

nedannis, (my), j.

kwis

tanis, an, (plur.)

sayin, (elder)

nitianis, (my)

nikanish, (my)

nouseneechen

natanisli

meecange

unquece

n’kos

untouse

chish wichekecteak

n’suos

nesiwas

nnemmann, (my)

nedas, (my)

nitsie, (my)

naumon

nuttonis, (my), c.

neemat, (my)

nummuckiese, (my)

nittaunis, (my)

neemat

w’tiyouman, h.

otoosan, h.

oghethman, h.

contayux

quissall, (his)

ukhdanall, (his)

nimat

nucksquah

hunttawu

ne-eemat

akwissima, v. ; un-

atanaleh, (his), v.

wedsa-milaneh,(mi/) ,v.

gwissah, w. d.

koisso

tahana

nickethvva, g. ; naque-

neetanitha, (my), j.

negenena, s. b.

thah, w. d.

nekwessa

tanes

lessema

nekeesh, w. D.

oatauneemau

oanahshaymauwuh

v. 26

hoomekauk, (his), w.d.

ondequieu, h.

haenyeha, (my)

leeyan, p.

ekheya, p.

teeahgattahnoonduc-
lih, d.
jattatege

hehawak

echro jehawak

eeavvook, p.

keawook, p.

teyaucraltaanouaa.fwv)

yungh, t. j.

kayungh, t. j.

laktschee

wahnoohnuh, ainee-

kaunuhwulih

caunotka, ketot-

hau

keh, (?) s. b.

wakatonta

eruha

kahtahtekeh, w. d.

vi. 33

eeneek, b.

heenuhk’hahhah, b.

suhnkeechee, B.
sonkakoo, (his), m.

ineetshingkshee,

meetshoongkshee, c.

(my), c.

cheeheetcoo

weetachnong

weeshinga, (my), c.

evvespinda

eeingyai

eeongai

ee jmggai

ee jonggai

moourishai

macath

vn. 41

koorewa

enevvah

murraundau

viii. 42

aquaetsiaskaya, (my)

aquetsiageyung, (my)

unggenele, (my el -

der), b.

ix. 43

ushe (offspring),

oshetik, (his) ; susso-

itibapishi, w.

susso, (my)

tek, (my)

unchippotah, g.

ussatic, g.
chahchostie, (my)
teyunung, (my), g.

enuckfe, h.

x. 45

chahpozhe, (my)

tuychokkaduy, c.

xi. 46

tesunung, (my) g.

chohtuh, g.

xii. 47

akwalnesuta

mahnoonoo

kakanesha

xiii. 48

tallehennie

quolasinic

gasing

xiv. 49

hicheyahanhase

hicheyahankithia

hasepa

xv. 50

shka

tegu

hashka

xvi. 51

hininshatrseh

hinin nutteh

nahyin, s.

xvii. 52

peerontata

tchoorageelaha

eerarce

xviii. 53

asintzah

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

Sister.

katlangootee, neiya

najaka

tatsclia

etaze

missaiu, k.

nemish

nebaenem»n, (my
man says )
menitsokessa, (my
woman says )
missis, wetompasin, c.
weticks, weesummis
weetawnpthooan, h.

keesunis, w.

akoshimomah, t.
missen

tolemah, s. b.

netekwema

oamayshaymauwuk

aenyaha

kege, p.

akzia

kege, p.

aktschee

eanunnoor, c.

ahkahchee, w. i>.

wichkeh, b.

tunkshe, m.

towinochtee

wetongah

toinggai

yadali

unggedo, (my cider), b.
nuckfis, h.

chuhyunung, g.

aluwuchnesoo, (my)
nasing

hichekilhiepa

penn

dathdin, s.
eeta hee
antlesitzoops

An Indian.

innueet, ( pi. )

nishanawba, j.

illenou
illenoh, b.

aberginian, w.

inchun, w.
lenape
ihn, iin

tosenneoh, w. d.
elanematethalene,w.D.

mahcheetah
iomwhen, (pi.)
guihhoonwih, d.

ungquaooway, d.

wanksbick, l.
hickechewechas-
ta, w. d.

yayeh

pungwiya

hotok vpi hurama, w.
huttuck uppeho-
mah, w. d.
istuychaduy, c.
coetseechchlah, d.

tapakop

hassaiynaiy

Head.

neakoke, neakoa

neakoa

naskok

aissagge

pitsa

edtliie

istegwen, h. ; usti-
quoin, m.

ne ostegwon, (my), j.
ondip, (his)
oostikwan
stoukoaan

«nidgik, mononchee,B.

neneagan

metep

puhkuk
uppaquontup
weensis, (his), e. ;

utup, s. B.
okeyununc
wil, vvihl

nulahammou, (the)
indepekoneh, v.
wupip

vveelekeh, s. b. ; wee
seh, (his), p.
weslii
wayish
skotau, s. b.
anoonjee; p.
anuwara
oonooen, p.
onoonjee
ohtahreh
setarake
nahsuhhah, b.
pah, c.

pah

pahhih

watatereh

nasoo

pah

an too

iska

askaw

nushkobo

islikubo, g.

ikah

ptseotan, d.
tomne apoo, (man's
head)
tochake
kutte
ashhat
dokundsa
pakshu
splakeen

NO. I.]

VOCABULARIES.

313

IIair.

Face.

Forehead.

I. 1

nuyakka

keniak

kaowga

nuchet, nooit, c.

kenuck

nujak, nujet

kauok

ii. 4

szugo

ssantuch

hi. 5

otezega

thiegah

iv. 7

raistekiah, h.

miskawtick, ii.

minisis, k.

oschkinjik, k.

oskattik, k.

nisis, (my)

katlg

lissis, (pi.)

peeshquahan

nepiesamar

nesissegak, (my)

meskateg«e

meesunk

muskesuk

wuskodtuk, (his)

wesheck

mscatluck

weghaukun, e.

nakaishkuh, t. j.

nawachgannawe, iie.

weush

niickhheken

wushginkunk

wakhgalau

nee-eesquat

nelissah, v.

keelingeh, t.

mahawingilleh, v.

nississah

welathoh, p.

neseeh, s. b.

nenossoueh

eskishekokeh

nekeshih

weeaynetinun

neskeshik, (my), d.

nekah, (my), d. '

v. 26

arocbia, h.

aonchia, h.

ayeutsa, h.

oonooquiss, D.

ookoonseh, d.

ainnaguhsuhkorloh-

gheh, d.

onucnquire

offachra

ogenquare

onunkaah, d.

kaugohshau, D.

kawkanejou, d.

onanquis, t. j.

ieconksk, t. j.

okeenquah

oowaara, s. b.

howerac

vi. 33

palikee, c.

eetai, k.

paha

eetai

eetaihoo

nijihah

ikteh

pauha

inga

pak

natoo

injai

pai

pahee

indai

pai

arra

eeta

eeree

vii. 4 1

iskonsa

heemoh

eetaup

viii. 42

gitlung

ookahtunge, (his), b.

ahgung dahgane,

(his) , b.

ix. 43

panshe, (his)

mushshuta

ibitokla, \v.

paslia, g.

issokuh, h.

x. 45

isti

tohlova, c.

uyganoma, (his), c.

xi. 46

ptsasong, d.

xn. 47

etene

xm. 48

calatuck

annack

xiv. 49

kutteko

kaneketa

xv. 50

taesh

Tune

xvi. 51

baat

dachunkia

dautsaughadiaugh

xvii. 52

oshu

paksheeree

xviii. 53

kornku

sshtakutloostu

VOL. II

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES

Ear.

Eye.

Nose.

heeutinga

eieega

kingara, keinak

tshee utik ; shudek,c.

eerruka ; enga, c.

kingar, kingnuk ;
nga, c.

tsehintak, tschistuchk,
(plural)

iik

chinga ; tatuk

szaga, (plural )

snaga

paninchis

oclio, (pltcral )

onow, (pi.)
nackhay

otoweegie, m.

eskisoch, m.

miskeewon, n. ; oski-
win, m.

ottowug, s.

oskingick, (pi-), m.

schaiiguin, K.

tawag

tchkijik

tchaje

ooskinshik, (pi.)

yash

hadosmgan

posogsl

achicksn

chalkse

n’siscol

nitou

netasaks, (my)

tsesik*

kitan

wehtauog

wuskesuk, (pi.), (his)

wutch

wuttovvvog, (pi.)

wuskeesuck, (pi.)

towahque, s. b.

ukeesquan, (his)

okewon, s. b.

catawoe

skesuc

cochoy

wittauak

wuskingwal

wikiwon

nucktowhuck, (my)

nucksskeneequat, s. B.

nickskeeu

tawakeh, v.

keshekweh, v. ; kee-

kiwaneh, v. ; keewah-

seekwee, s. b.

nee, s. b.

nittagai, (my)

isckengicon h

towakah, p.

skisseeqwa, s, B.

ochali, g.

nektowakje, (my)

neskishekwih

nekkiwanuek

oashkayshayic

oocheeush

hoontauh, s. b.

yochquiendoch, s. B.

yuungah, s. b.

wahunchta, (pi.), p.

ookorla, p.
ogachra, (pi.)

geneuchsa, p.

ohuchta

oniochsa

waunchta, (pi.), p.

kaka, p.

cagonda, p.

ohuntah

ohkunlau

onoo-oohsahonoo-ooli-

sah

ohhuhneh

ookawreh

ohtchyuhsay

suntunke, (pi.)

unkoharac, (pi.)

oteusag

nahchahwahhah, b.

ishchahsuhhah, b.

pahhah, b.

pohe, k.

ishta, or, wishta, k.

poaghay, c.

nougkopa

ishtah

pasoo

nottah, (pi.)

inschta

naughta

eghtaugh

pau

nan to is

ishtah

paisoo

neetah

ishtah

pah

lahockee

ishtah

apah

doxu

heetooh

eepeesooh

gule

tikata, (pi.)

kohyoungsahli, (my)

hoksibbsh

mishkin

ibichulo

hoksebit, H.

sushkin

ibechellah, s.

huchko

tolltlowah

yopo

cohchipah, g.

cohchee, g.

cohtemee, g.
shamats

ip ok

oktool

calat

analca

weeoocat

urahache

kane

chiche

ann

uill

idst

dabishta

dachiaugh

dasweliaugh

atkaroo

keereekoo

tshusshoa

tainah

sktloons

aspsaacks

NO. I.]

VOCABULARIES.

315

Mouth.

Tongue.

Tooth.

I. I

kanneera

okkara

keuteetka

kainneeak

kootay ; kautilka, (pi.)

kandak

gutyk ; gutluk, (pl.),v.

ii. 4

ssussak

szulio

ssakoistii

iii. 5

tsoola

ohgoo, (pi.)

edthu

goo, {pi.)

iv. 7

meeton, h.

otayenee, h.

ineepit, (pi.), H.

oton, k.

otainani, m.

wibid, (pi.), s.

tone

tenanian

put ; nibit, (my)

ooton

tibit

tellenee

mepeethex

willenonh, b.

t/abidbl

neswone

nyllal

ned^n, (my)

miras«

nepit, (my), (pi.)

nuttoon, (my)

meenannoh

meepit

wuttone

weenat

we pit, (his)

otoun, s. b.

wepeeton, (his), E.

cuttoh

keput, (pi.)

wdoon, wtoon
huntowey

wilano

wipit, (pi.)

neeannow, ah (?)

neeput, (pi.)

tonenneh,v. ; toneeli,

S. B.

wehlanehj v.

weepitah, (p>l .), v.

wilei

weelinwie, b.

we pee tale e,(Ztis), (pi .),

wektoneh

nennaneweh

nepitan, (pi.)

oataynunneewuh

way pay

v. 26

esskauhereeh, s. b.

undauchsheeau, s. b.

uskoonsheeau,(^Z.),s.B.

wachsacarlunt, p.

oonachsa, p.

cuhnoojuh, d.

ixhagachrahuta

enachse

onotschia,

wachsagaint, p.

wanuchsha, p.

kaunujow, d.

yesaook

owinaughsoo

onouweelah, onouwee-
loot

otoatseh, otohseh, s. b.

oskavvruli weigh

auwuntawsay

eskaharant

darsunke, q.

olosag, (pi.)

vi. 33

eehah, b.
ea, c.

delizeehah, b.

tshayzhee, c.

hee, c.

e-e-e

chaidzhee

hee

jhhah

ehaugli

dehzeh

raizai

hee

eehah

they see, or, thaisee

e-e-e, (sing.)

ee-ee-eepchappah

neigh jee

ee-ee

vn. 41

I esomo

heesoomosch

heeaup

viii. 42

tsiawli, (my)

gahnohgah

tetsinutawgung, (my)

ix. 43

ishtd

issunlush

note

itta, g.

issoonlush, G.

nutta, g.
notte, (pi )

x. 45

chaknoh

tolasoah

xi. 46

teaishhee, D.
heche

cootincah, g.

tekeing, d.

xii. 47

itsuk

int

xiii. 48

wacatcholak

tenanat

awat, (pi.)

XIV. 49

cha

huene

xv. 50

katt

nedle

ods, (sing.)

xvi. 51

dunehwatcha

hadehto

tonaugh, (pi.)

xvn. 52
xvui. 53

tskaoo

spleemtsau

hatoo

haroo

rr o

A SYNOPSIS OP THE INDIAN TRIBES

Beard.

Neck.

oomitkee

tokelooga

oomich ; oongai, c.

koomootsia

tamljutuman

tanutschuk

michitoune, m.

mequiyou, H.; oqui(
M.

mizhidonagou, s.

nichitonagan an

•

misshitou

mit«ar

nedabskykye, (my)

vvishittoo

missitteipeg, c.

wichtoneijin, he.

sitchipuck

wattoney

keesquish, w.
whiltangan

neeweeghtouiwaah

mussehtoningeh, x.

kwaikaneh, t.

nitania, s b.

mesetonakanan

nekwakaneh

ochquieroot, s. b.

ohoura, h.
sunyarlahgheh, d.
oniara

onusgera, oquntwes
oknnstvveah, d.

oonyauau, d.

ohcustuahla, t. j.

oniahla, t. j.

osuhkareh, s. b.

pootaihi, k.

steereke

tahoo, k.

pooteehee

tahoo

eehee

tahu

tashai

eehee

pahee

apoontee

apeeh

esomoesa

edut

ahhahnoolungliunge,

aligelega, b.

(his), b.

notokfish, (hair of the

ikunla

jaw), c.

nootokhish, s.

nootostup, s.

choke vviissuy, c.

innokewau, (his), c

tosocat

hautoleat

chattie

kaiho

osh

coinac

chumeeceto

dunatsehaugh

raroosh

tshusheeree

Arm.

teiyakanak
tadleek ; dallek, c.

skona

mfspetoon, h.; onisk,

onik, s.

sheptton

untelmohouj b.

telmagan

pedin

muhpit

wuppittene

tennemaganegau,scH.j
cannaghk, T. j.
coputte

nickpetq

ninihkeck

naponenek

oanay

oonunsha, p.

canunsha, p.
onantsa, t. j.
onuntcheh
ohnunchahk, w. d.
ahhah, e.
ishto, c.
isto
aa

ha ugh

agratchee

arrough

eeksuli

kuhnohga

shukba, (his)

shukbah, a.
sakpa

sitanthee, r.
ish

walcat

unache

nok

dumishaugh

heeeeru

VOCABULARIES

317

NO. I.]

Hand.

Fingers.

Nails.

I. 1

addeeyutka, iyuteka

tikkiek, (a)

kookee

argc-gei ; aisliet, c.

tamaridreh, {the) ;

kookwikka ; shetooe,

tegheya, {the first)

tatlichka, m.

aihanka, {sing.)

setunka, ishtuk

ii. 4

skona

hi. 5

ola

elaki

law

iv. 7

mecheechee, h.

miscussee, ii.

nenintchin, k.

nipinakwannenint-

oschkingin, K.

chan, k.

nipinakuaniuinteh

teekechee

daisheesh, {sing.)

naskacliee

kpiten

clooegan, g.

okkochi

petin

nezetsi, (my)

neretsi, {mij)

mekas

nutcheg

rnuppuhkukquanit-

kos, {pi.), w.

cheash, (j)l.)} c.

wunnicheke

mokassuk

oaniskan, t. j.

catishquonejau, T. J.

cacashiac, t. j.

coutchi

contchews

cocassac, w.

nakhk, wanakhk

lenshkanall

wikashak

nuluutz

namishka’, quulgaws

oneksah, v. ; enahkee,

haarslinieh, {pi.), t.

S. B*

nich

niligie, g ; licbic, b.

nepakurnetcheh

ekweenenanesikenet-

neskashah

chih

oanah

v. 26

yoreessaw, s. b.

eyingia, H.

ohelta, h.

oochsoochta, p.

sahhuguehlahgheh, d.

oocheelah, d.

luiages

eniage

eechta

hashrookta, p.

yaneawsrashouo'h, d.

kauehtaushough, d.

snasagh

oadzichl, t. j.

ohehneh

nunke

yetunke

vi. 33

nahbeehah, b.

naap, l.

nahmpay, c.

shake, k.

shaka, m.

napai

napchoopai

shakai

nopeh

noposah

nuraba

shagah

shaga haugh, (finger)

nawai

shagai

nomba

s hagai

s hagai ha

shantee

shanteeichpoo

ichpoo

vii. 41

ecksapeeah

eekseaah

eeksapis

vm. 42

agwoeni, {my)

dagahyasahdunge,

oonahsugoh, b.

{his), b.

ix. 43

ibbuk, {his)

ibbuk ushi, c.

ibbokchush, c.

ibbuck, g.

ibbuckoosha, s.

thiukhuse, h.

x. 45

inkke

ingwuysauga, {his), c.

inggososowau, c.

xi. 46

keanthah, d.

coonpah, {sing.), d.

xn. 47

ispeshe

xin. 48

secut

okinsin, {sing.)

sicksapasca, (sing.)

xiv. 49

unachiekaithie

unache kitset

unache hacpe, (sing.)

xv. 50

uish

nishagg, (sing.)

tiggsnaggst, (sing.)

xvi. 51

doshaugh

dasimbin

dasehkono

xvii. 52

iksheeree

hashpeet

hashpeet, (sing.)

xviii. 53

318

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES

Body.

Belly.

Leg.

I. 1

neiyuk

kannara

aseet

naiyak

kannuk ; kanaiac, c.

aksheka

ii. 4

ssigiss

szjutla

in. 5

oput

ocachin, ( pi. )

bitt

edthen

iv. 7

meyovv, h.

mitti, ii.

miskcite, h. ; nosk,

(pi.), M.

nimysat, (my), m.

okat, k.

ischkat

yao

misshimoot

neescaatch

ktenia

kageecun

nut

nhaghe

nanigan

mekant, (3d p.)

hog

nogkus

muhkout

wuhock

wunnaks

mohcont

omauchtei, machtey,

nachgachquan, sch.

crackish

casawn, w.

hackey

wakhtey

wikhaat

nowawoak

nutah (?)

awuomeh, t.

moitsheh, t.; mooyee-

kahanih, t.

che, s. b.

nickahta

wscheki, t. j.

weeyaweh

nenanah

omote, d.

oakauut

v. 26

undeerentoh, s. b.

tchahtahgheh, D.

unagwenda, p.

surliuks; D.

ojatah, t. j.

otquoenta

ochsina, t. j.

giaudau, d.

uhtqueeshta, p.

kohshenongesuh, s.

yayelunk, t. j.

ochsheehount

olanksa, t. j.

otqueh

ohtequahk

franseke

vx. 33

neehahhah, b.

oorah, (pi-), d.

taze, m.

oosndee, c.

hoo

jaccah

chesa

sagaugh

eeio

hoo

naughpaihee

eehtawhirta

vii. 41

eehageo

eepah

viii. 42

ahyalunge, (his), b.

oosquolee, (his), b.

gahnungska, b.

ix. 43

hoknip, {his)

ikfuk^, c.

huknip, h.

tukooboh

eechamo, s.

x. 45

enah

innhalkay, (his), c.

xi. 46

coushoh, g.

teaichhah, d.

teantho, (pi. ), n.

xii. 47

iwit

xiii. 48

stieng

noeyack

ahasuck

xiv. 49

kipe

chi

xv. 50

hath6

tat

tets

xvi. 51

dunko

dabina

sifedahoh, s.

xvn. 52

kaslioo

xvn i. 53

tsoshin

NO. I.]

VOCABULARIES.

319

Feet.

Toes.

Bone.

I. 1

ittikeik, (a)

putoogo, (err eat)

heownik

iddiguy ; etscheak, c.

woodooah, (great)

oaeeyak

iguk, iuclika, ( sing •)

ii. 4

skajetlna, (sing.)

zinzju

hi. 5

oca

cull, (sing.)

iv. 7

mesit, h.

oskann, m.

ozid, s.

nipinakwanissitan, k.

okun, s.

sit, (sing.)

okunnun, j.

neeshetch, (sing.)

fckksat

sakwndau

n’sit

nesit

meghitkwesit, (big toe)

sigyat

wusseet, (his)

muppuhkukqueset, c.

uskon

wussette, (sing.)

wunnicheganash

wuskan

ussutin, He.

wochgun, t. j.

cusseed

sut

wulinshgansital

wokhgan

nist

wpisscan ; kann, s. b.

katah, v. ; neekahtee,

akaatimeh, t.

kaanih, t.

(my), s. b.

wissit

kussie, s. b.

nithitschi, t. j.

ochcunne, s. b.

nekatcheh (?)

nanesekanesetakan

okaneh

oashayet

okuuun, j.

v. 26

ochsheetau, s. b.

onna, onda, H.

oochsheeta, (sing.), p.

queer lahgheh, d.

ohsteeuh, d.

ochsita

gotachiequironi, t. j.

oschtiehnta

oochsheeta, (sing.), p.

onaeyoh, d.

ochsheecht

ohiaguee, t. j.

oastee

uhseh, (sing.)

ohskereb, s. b.

saseeke, (sing.)

seeke

vi. 33

seehah, b.

seehah, c.

seehukasa, or, seesu-

hoohoo, c.

kassa, k.

ceeha

ceeshastai

hoo

sih

see, (sing.)

see paugh

cee, (sing.)

wahoo

see, (sing )

seepa

yhee

itsee

itseeshankee

eerouh

vn. 41

hepapeeah

epuhyetah

heposaup

vm. 42

tsulahsedane, (his), b.

aakahnahsahdunge,

ookolah, b.

(his), b.

ix. 43

iye, (his) ; saiye, (my),

iyushe

fonne

(sing.)

eaya, g.

euseh, s.

fooneh, s.

x. 45

eili, (sing.)

uyfonny, c.

xi. 46

tetethah, d.

teteeshpah, (sing.), d.

xii. 47

hatpeshe, (sing.)

ikwel

xiii. 48

nocat, (sing.)

notocal, (sing.)

wahacut

xiv. 49

sauknuthe, (sing.)

saukutie, (sing.)

catese

xv. 50

tippe!, (sing.)

tippetha, (sing.)

tsigg

xvi. 51

danuna

sirabatoh, (sing.), s.

nahaks

xvii. 52

ashoo, (sing.)

ashoohashpiet

keesho

xvm. 53

kokinst, (sing.)

A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES.

Heart.

Blood.

Town, Village

omut

aoonak

aook

auku

ogee

sko

dell

metay, h.

mithcoo, h.

otaheh, k.

mishkwi, s.

ninde, ( my )

miskwi

mishewah, l.

miskweli

oodenann

n’kamlam&n

moldan

pocagun

outain

are^angen

bagakkann

tdane

tah

oosqlieonk

wuttali

mishque, neepuck
pocaghkan, t. j.

otan

utoli, (his), HE.

w’dee

mocum

oteney

weuscheu

puckcuckque

tahehj v. ; entahee, s.b.

nihpeekanueli, t.

miskom

oteehe, s. b.

misqueh, s. E.

otey, (ota)

oli, D.

raeskweh

yootooshaw, s. b.

ingoh, s. b.

onhaiy ; carliata ;
date, h.

ahwayrlee, d.

ootkunchsa, p.

nekantaa, p.

aweriachsa

otquechsa

ganataje, kanadaje

owyngawshaw, d.

utquensa, p.
oneequonssah

iennekariandaa, p.

auweal

auwereahseh, s. b.

cotnuli

kautaunauyuhah

sunke

gatkum

nachkeh, l.

waheehah, b.

cheenunk, b.
otoe, m.

chantai, k.

wey, c.

shan tai

ouai

otongyai

nocbteh

tou

tow ah

nantchai

wapagai

naundai

wainee

towoin

nahtah

eehree

ameteh

deehauh

eet

oonohe, b.

keegung

£ahdoohung,-e, b.

chunkush, (his)

ississh

toinaha, c.
uklah (?), g.

chunkush, g.

issish, g.

ifike

chata

talofah

coutkuh, g.

wace, c.

oontza

itsh

pchack

unipe

iggP

wait

munn

baaho

kwat

peetsoo

haitoo

NO.

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Full text of "Archaeologia Americana transactions and collections of the American Antiquarian Society"

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