Englishman or Frenchman, for example, would use k; and the substitution of k for g will often disclose analogies that are not at first obvious. In the present instance, the Indian words for eye, in the kindred dialects, are generally written by English and other writers with the letter k, as will be seen in the Vocabulary. So the word for sun, which in Delaware is written with g (gischuch) is commonly written by the French and English with k; as keesogh, keesuck, kizous, &c. There are undoubtedly slight modifications of this sound in different dialects, which would sometimes require the use of g and sometimes of k; but the remark of Mr. Heckewelder on this point should be kept in mind by the student: "Sometimes (says he) the letters c or g are used in writing the Delaware language instead of k, to shew that this consonant is not pronounced too hard; but, in general, c and g have been used as substitutes for k, because our printers had not a sufficient supply of types for that character."* (9) Wikwam. "The i long, as ee." Heckewelder. (10) Wil. "The i long." Heckew. (11) Tendeuhel, make a fire. "I could send you no proper word for dress the kettle, as the Indians have no such expression." Letter from Mr. Heckewelder to the Editor. (12) Tschipey or tschitschank. "The word tschitschank, for the soul or spirit in man, is the only proper word, and none other is to be made use of in discoursing on religion or religious subjects; though tschipey has been made use of, even by missionaries, who knew no better, and had learned it so from Indians, who had no conception of the purity of the soul or spirit, other than that after this life they would undergo a transformation, similar to something they had not before seen. Therefore they call the place or world they are to go to after death, Tschi-pey-ach-gink or Tschipeyhacking, the world of spirits, spectres or ghosts; where they imagine are various frightful figures. None of our old converted Indians would suffer the word Tschipey to be made use of in a spiritual sense; and all our Indians were perfectly agreed, that Tschitschank implied the immortal soul or spirit of man; and they had a reverence for the word itself, whereas the other had something terrifying in it." Letter from Mr. Heckewelder. (13) Lematachpil. "The i long." Heckew. MINSI. (14) Amochk. This Minsi word is from Mr. Heckewelder's letter, before cited; all the others are from Barton, who informs us, that they also were originally obtained from Mr. Heckewelder. New Views, preface, p. x. (15) Angellowoagan. The termination -woagan, (which corresponds to -ness in English and -heit or -keit in German) is commonly written wagan by Mr. Heckewelder; who informs us, that the Ger *Correspond. with Mr. Du Ponceau, Letter xi. p. 382. man missionaries sometimes put the letter o after the w in order to express the English sound of this last letter. Correspondence with Mr. Du Ponceau, Letter xviii. SHAWANESE, or SHAWANOESE, (16) Weeseh. Dr. Edwards thinks this word is mis-spelt, for weenseh. Observations, p. 6. NARAGANSET. (17) Mosk. "As the Greekes and other nations and ourselves call the seven Starres, or Charles' Waine, the Beare, so doe they [the Indians] mosk or paukunnawaw, the Beare." Williams' Key, preface. (18) Pautiínnea, bring hither. (19) Wetu, an house; wetuomuck, at home. (20) Nippitch ewò, let him die. (21) Nippawus, sun. Kesuck is used for the heavens. MASSACHUSETTS. (22) Muskeesuk, eye or face. (23) Wétu. "Weekuwout or wekuwomut, in his house. Hence we corrupt this word wigwam." Eliot's Gram. p. 11. (24) Weshagan; the hair of beasts. (27) Pebon, the present winter; pebɛné, the past winter. Rále. ST. FRANCIS. (28) Temarqua. In this specimen of the St. Francis dialect, the letters ar and or and ur appear to be used frequently to denote the sounds which we usually denote in English by ah, aw and uh. From the annexed Comparative Vocabulary it is already apparent, that the Winnebago dialect does not belong to the Lenape (or Delaware) stock, as was supposed at the time when Dr. Edwards wrote. This error has been accordingly corrected, (upon the authority of Professor Say) in the Notes upon that Vocabulary; where it is further observed, that the dialect in question has been since found to belong to the Sioux or Naudowessie stock.* The Editor now has it in his power, through the kindness of Mr. Du Ponceau, to exhibit a small Table of several dialects, belonging to this latter stock; which will satisfactorily show the affinity of the Winnebago, and at the same time form a useful addition to our Indian vocabularies.† Mr. Du Ponceau, in his letters, makes the following observations on this point: "I send you eight words in seven different dialects of what I call the Sioux or Naudowessie race of Indians. You will see that it extends from Lake Michigan to Louisiana, and forms one of what I call the two great Ultra-Mississippian Languages; the other is the Pawnee, or Panis, of which I have a vocabulary, but none of the idioms of its cognate tribes. Those I understand to be the Keres, Comanches, Kiaways, Paducas and others, yet but little known. Major Long had collected vocabularies of those languages on his expedition to the westward; but they were lost by the desertion to the Indians of a party of men who had charge of them. This Professor Vater bitterly laments, in a note at the end of the second part of his Analekten der Sprachen kunde. That these languages are branches of the Pawnee is a surmise of some of our travellers; the fact itself however, as we have no vocabularies of them, we cannot completely ascertain; but it appears to me very probable, because the Pawnee being a language sui generis, and having no connexion in etymology with the Sioux branch, it is nearly evident that it does not stand single; therefore I have put the Pawnee by the side of the Sioux, at the head of a second class, and I have little, if any doubt, that the fact will turn out so, when vocabularies shall enable us to ascertain it." An accurate classification of the Indian Languages must necessarily be a work of great labour, and for which we are not yet in possession of sufficient materials. It is a remarkable fact, and one which should be duly weighed by American scholars, that, for the best systematick arrangement of the languages of our own continent, we are still obliged to resort to the learned of the old world. To them we are indebted for that wonderful monument of philology, the MITHRIDATES; in which is to be found the substance of all that was known respecting the languages of America, until the late publications of Mr. Heckewelder and Mr. Du Ponceau. In that work we find a classification of the Indian languages, made with a sagacity and justness of discrimination, which are truly astonishing, when we consider under what disadvantages it must have been undertaken by writers, who are placed at so great a distance from the countries where those languages are spoken. The classification there given (both of the American and all the other languages of the globe) is made with so much care and ability, that it has been followed by the present learned Adelung, in his late Survey of all the known Languages and their Dialects. By the labours of the distinguished philologists abovementioned, and of Baron William von Humboldt (who is now devoting his eminent talents to the American languages in particular) we may hope soon to be possessed of as perfect a classification, and as accurate general views of these languages, as can be desired. But while learned foreigners are thus devoting themselves to the more general views of the American languages, the scholars of our own country should not neglect to employ the means, which their local situation affords them, of carefully collecting all those details of the various dialects, which will be essential to the formation of an exact classification of them, and to the ultimate object of these inquiries-a just theory of language. Much has been recently done, in both these respects by Mr. Du Ponceau and Mr. Hecke welder, whose publications upon this subject (apparently dry and barren, but in reality interesting and fertile in results) have eminently contributed to the common stock of learning and to the elevation of our literary character. But, it may be added (as Mr. Du Ponceau himself observes) that "the knowledge, which the world in general bas acquired of the American languages, is yet very limited..... The study of the different languages of the different races of men, considered in relation to their internal structure and grammatical forms, has but lately begun to be attended to, and may still be considered as being in its infancy; the difficulties which * Uebersicht aller bekannten Sprachen und ihrer Dialekte. 8vo. pp. xiv-185. St. Petersburgh, 1820. COMPARATIVE TABLE Of Dialects of the Sioux or Naudowessie Stock; comprehending the Winnebago. Communicated by Mr. Du Ponceau. various families of human beings, by whom this globe now is possess of the origin, history, connexions, and relations, of the some path, that may lead to a better knowledge than we yet not to deter us from still pursuing it, in hopes of discovering attend the pursuit of this interesting branch of science ought and formerly was inhabited." * Ehaugh Ee Ee Eeh (feet) Ear Hand Nopay Nawé. F. Nombé. F. Nombé. F. Nomba Napa Foot See hah Ce. (Engl.) Seh Nokh-ray Nantois. F. Nahtah See Ce-ba Nahper Netah Naughta Nongkopa Nookah (ears) Wee Pé Meah Qué F. Wee-dah Paabtah * Report on the American Languages; pp. xxii. and xlvi. "N. B. The letter F after an Indian word means French pronunciation; the words |