Part 35

It is obvious that the information supplied by the Mithridates is measured by the extent of our knowledge of the four languages to which it refers.

Of these, the Choktah, which Adelung calls the Mobilian, is the only one for which the Mithridates itself supplies, or could supply, specimens; the other three being unrepresented by any sample whatever. Hence, to say that the Tachi was Caddo, that the Yatassi was Adahi, or that the Carancoua was Attacapa, was to give an instance, in the way of explanation, of the _obscurum per obscurius_. Since the publication of the Mithridates, however, we have got samples of all three--Caddo, Adahi, and Attacapa--so that our standards of comparison are improved. They are to be found in a tabulated form, and in a form convenient for collation and comparison in both of Gallatin's papers. They were all collected before the annexation of Texas, and they appear in the papers just referred to as Louisiana, rather than truly Texian, languages; being common to the two areas.

Of the works and papers written upon Texas since it became a field of observation for English and American, as opposed to French and Spanish observers, the two on which the present writer, when he treated of the subject in his work on the Varieties of Mankind, most especially, and perhaps exclusively relied, were the well-known work of Kennedy on Texas, and a MS. with which he was favoured by Mr. Bollaert, specially limited to the ethnology of the State. Of this MS. a short abstract is to be found in the Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science for the year 1846, made by Mr. Bollaert himself.

The later the notice of Texas the greater the prominence given to a tribe of which nothing is said in the Mithridates; viz. the _Cumanch_. As late as 1844 we had nothing beyond the numerals and a most scanty MS. list of words to tell us what the Cumanch language really was. These, however, were sufficient to show that its affinities were of a somewhat remarkable kind, viz. with the Shoshoni, or Snake, tongues of the southern parts of Oregon[45]. In Mr. Bollaert's notice the Cumanches are divided into three sections: (1) the Cumanch or Jetan, (2) the Lemparack, and (3) the Tenuha, and a list of no less than thirty-five other tribes follows this division, some of these being said to be wholly extinct, some partially so; some to be more or less Cumanch, some to be other than Cumanch.

[Footnote 45: "On the Languages of the Oregon Territory." By R. G. Latham. M. D. Read before the Ethnological Society, Dec. 1844.--_Note._]

The tendency of the Mithridates is to give prominence to the Caddo, Attacapa, and Adahi tongues, and to incline the investigator, when dealing with the other forms of speech, to ask how far they are connected with one of these three. The tendency of the writers last-named is to give prominence to the Cumanch, and to suggest the question: How far is this (or that) form of speech Cumanch or other than Cumanch?

Working with the Mithridates, the MS. of Mr. Bollaert, and Mr. Kennedy's volume on Texas before me, I find that the list of Texian Indians which these authorities justified me in publishing in 1848, contained (1) Coshattas, (2) Towiachs, Towakenos, Towecas, and Wacos, (3) Lipans or Sipans, (4) Aliche or Eyish, (5) Acossesaws, (6) Navaosos, (7) Mayes, (8) Cances, (9) Toncahuas, (10) Tuhuktukis, (11) Unataquas or Anadarcos, (12) Mascovie, (13) Tawanis or Ionis, (14) Wico,? Waco, (15) Avoyelles, (16) Washitas, (17) Ketchi, (18) Xaramenes, (19) Caicaches, (20) Bidias, (21) Caddo, (22) Attacapa, (23) Adahi; besides the Carankahuas (of which the Cokes are made a branch) classed with the Attacapa, and not including certain Cherokees, Choctahs, Chikkasahs, and Sioux.

A _Washita_ vocabulary, which will be referred to in the sequel, concludes the list of Texian languages known by specimens.

At present, then, the chief question respecting the philology of Texas is one of distribution. Given as centres to certain groups

1. The Choctah, 2. The Caddo, 3. The Adahi, 4. The Attakapa, 5. The Cumanch, and 6. The Washita languages,

how do we arrange the tribes just enumerated? Two works help us here:--1. A letter from the Ex-president Burnett to Schoolcraft on the Indians of Texas. Date 1847. 2. A Statistical Notice of the same by Jesse Stem. Date 1851.

Stem's statistics run thus:--

TRIBES. NUMBERS. Towacarros 141 } Wacos 114 } 293 Ketchies 38 } Caddos 161 } Andarcos 202 } 476 Ioni 113 } Tonkaways 1152 Wichitas 100 Lipans 500 Comanches 20,000

giving us several of the names that have already appeared; giving also great prominence to the Cumanches--numerally at least.

In Mr. Burnett's Letter the term _Caddo_ is prominent; but whether it denote the Caddo _language_, or merely the Caddo _confederation_, is uncertain. Neither can I find from the context whether the statements respecting the Indians of the Caddo connexion (for this is what we must call it at present) are made on the personal authority of the writer, or whether they are taken, either directly or indirectly, from the Mithridates. The term that Burnett uses is _stock_, his statement being that the Waco, the Tawacani, the Towiash, the Aynic, the San Pedro Indians, the Nabaducho, and the Nacodocheets are all both Texian in origin and Caddo in _stock_.

His other tribes are--

1. The _Ketchi_: a small tribe on Trinity River, hated by the Cumanches as sorcerers, and, perhaps, the same as--

2. The _Hitchi_, once a distinct tribe, now assimilated with their neighbours.

3. The _Tonkaways_, a separate tribe, of which, however, the distinctive characters are not stated.

Whatever may be the exact details of the languages, dialects, and subdialects of Texas, the general outline is simple.

The _Choctah_ forms of speech are anything but native.

They are of foreign origin and recent introduction. So are certain Sioux and other dialects spoken within the Texian area.

The _Cumanch_ is in the same predicament; though not, perhaps, so decidedly. It belongs to the Paduca class, and its affinities are with the Shoshoni and Wihinast of Oregon.

The _Caddo_ Proper is said to be intrusive, having been introduced so late as 1819 from the parts between the great Raft and the Natchitoches or Red River. I hold, however, that _some_ Caddo forms of speech must be indigenous.

The _Witchita_ is probably one of these:--

ENGLISH. CADDO. WITCHITA.

_head_ cundo etskase. _hair_ beunno deodske. _eye_ nockkochun kidahkuck. _nose_ sol dutstistoe. _mouth_ nowoese hawkoo. _tongue_ ockkotunna hutskee. _tooth_ ockkodeta awk. _one_ whiste cherche. _two_ bit mitch. _three_ dowoh daub. _four_ peaweh dawquats. _five_ dissickka esquats. _six_ dunkkee kehass. _seven_ bissickka keopits. _eight_ dowsickka keotope. _nine_ pewesickka sherchekeeite. _ten_ binnah skedorash.

The _Adahi_ has already been noticed as being a comparatively isolated language, but, nevertheless, a language with numerous miscellaneous affinities.

The _Attacapa_ is one of the pauro-syllabic languages of America, by which I mean languages that, if not monosyllabic after the fashion of the languages of south-eastern Asia, have the appearance of being so. They form a remarkable class, but it is doubtful whether they form a natural one, _i. e._ whether they are more closely connected with each other in the other elements of philological affinity than they are with the tongues not so characterized. They deserve, however, what cannot be given in the present paper, a special consideration.

For the north-eastern districts of Mexico, New Leon, Tamaulipas, &c., _i. e._ for the ports between the Rio Grande and Tampico, no language is known to us by specimens. It is only known that the Cumanch dips deeply into Mexico. So does the Apatch.

A tribe, lately mentioned, that of the Lipans, is, _perhaps_, Apatsh. Burnett states that they agree with the Mescalero and Seratics of the parts about the Paso del Norte. For these, however, we still want vocabularies _iis nominibus_.

Be the Lipan affinities what they may, it is clear that both the Cumanch and Apatsh languages belong to a class foreign to a great part of the areas over which they are spread--foreign, and (as such) intrusive--intrusive, and (as such) developed at the expense of some native language.

That the original area of the latter is that of the Navahos, Jecorillas, Hoopahs, Umkwas, Tlatskanai, and that these occupy the parts between the Algonkin and Eskimo frontiers--parts as far north as the Arctic circle--has already been stated. No repetition, however, is superfluous that gives definitude and familiarity to the very remarkable phænomena connected with the geographical distribution of the Athabaskans.

Neither are the details of the Paduca area--the area of the Wihinast, Shoshoni, Utah, and Cumanch forms of speech--without interest. To the north of California, the Wihinast, or Western Shoshonis, are separated from the Pacific by a thin strip of Jacon and Kalapuya country, being succeeded in the direction of Utah by the Shoshonis Proper. Then follow the Bonaks and Sampiches; the Shoshoni affinities of which need not be doubted, though the evidence of them is still capable of improvement. The Utah of the parts about Lake Utah is known to us by a vocabulary; and known to be Cumanch or Shoshoni--call it which you will. I call them all _Paduca_, from a population so named by Pike.

Now, out of twenty-one words common to the Utah and Moqui, eight are alike.

Again, the Shoshoni and Sahaptin have several words in common, and those out of short vocabularies.

Thirdly, the Shoshoni and Wihinast, though spoken within (comparatively) narrow limits, differ from each other more than the several forms of the Cumanch, though spread over a vast tract of land.

The inference from this is, that the Paduca forms of South Oregon and Utah are _in situ_; those of New Mexico, Texas, and New Leon, &c. being intrusive. In respect to these, I imagine that a line drawn from the south-eastern corner of the Utah Lake to the source of the Red or Salt Fork branch of the River Arkansas, would pass through a country nearly, if not wholly, Paduca; a country which would lie partly in Utah, partly in New Mexico, and partly in Kansas. It would cross the Rocky Mountains, or the watershed between the drainages of the Colorado and the Missouri. It would lie along a high and barren country. It would have on its west the Navaho, Moqui, and Apatsh areas; on its east certain Sioux tribes, and (further south) the Arapahos and Shyennes. It would begin in California and end in the parts about Tampico[46].

[Footnote 46: For a full notice of Texas see Buschmann's Supplementary Volume; first published within the present year (1859).]

MEXICO.--GUATIMALA.

The Cumanches, on the very verge, or within the tropics, vex by their predatory inroads the Mexican states of Zacatecas and Durango. Along with the Lipans they are the sparse occupants of the Bolson de Mapimi. Along with the Apaches they plunder the traders and travellers of Chihuhua.

For the parts about Tampico the language belongs to the Huasteca branch of

THE MAYA.--The Maya succeeds the language just enumerated on the _east_. On the _west_, the Otomi, Pirinda, and Tarasca are succeeded by

THE MEXICAN PROPER.--But the Maya and Mexican Proper are languages of such importance, that the present paper will merely notify their presence in Mexico and Central America.

The languages that, from their comparative obscurity, claim the attention of the investigator, are those which are _other than_ Maya and _other than_ Mexican Proper.

Of these, the first succeeds the Huasteca of Huastecapan, or the parts about Tampico; which it separates, or helps to separate, from the northern branches of the Maya Proper, being

THE TOTONACA of Vera Cruz, of which the following is the Paternoster; the German being that of the Mithridates.

TOTONACA.

_Unser Vater o im Himmel steht_ Quintlatcané nac tiayan huil;

_gemacht hoch werde dein Nahme_ Tacollalihuacahuanli ò mi maocxot;

_komme dein_ (_reich?_) Niquiminanin ò mintacacchi

_gethan werde dein Wille_ Tacholahuanla ò min pahuat

_wie wie im Himmel_ Cholei ix cacnitiet chalchix nac tiayan;

_unser Brot,_ O quin chouhcan lacalliya

_uns gib heute_ niquilaixquiuh yanohue;

_uns vergib unsre Sünde_ Caquilamatzancaniuh quintacallitcan

_wie wir vergeben_ Chonlei ò quitnan lamatzancaniyauh

_unsern Schuldigern_ ò quintalac allaniyan;

_Und nicht uns lasse_ Ca ala quilamactaxtoyauh

_damit wir stehen in Versuchung_ Nali yojauh naca liyogni

_gethan werde_ Chontacholacahuanla.

_The same from Hervas._

Kintaccan ò natiayan huill; Tacotllali huacahuanla o min paxca maocxot Camill omintagchi, Tacholaca huanla ixcagnitiet ot skiniau chon cholacan ocnatiayan; Alyanohue nikila ixkiu ki lacali chaocan; Kilamatzancaniau kintacagllitcan Kintalacatlanian ochonkinan iclamatzan-- Caniau kintalacatlanian; Nikilamapotaxtou ala nicliyolau lacotlanacatalit nikilamapotexto lamatzon lacacoltana. Chontacholacahuanla.

Cross the watershed from Vera Paz to Oaxaca, and you come to the area of

THE MIXTECA.--In the ordinary maps, Tepezcolula, on the boundaries of Oaxaca and Puebla, is the locality for its chief dialect, of which there are several.

MIXTECA PATERNOSTER.

Dzutundoo, zo dzicani andihui; Naca cuneihuando sasanine; Nakisi santoniisini; Nacahui ñuuñaihui saha yocuhui inini dzahuatnaha yocuhni andihui; Dzitandoo yutnaa tasinisindo hiutni; Dzandooni cuachisindo dzaguatnaha yodzandoondoondi hindo suhani sindoo; Huasi kihui ñahani nucuctandodzondo kuachi; Tahui ñahani ndihindo sahañavvhuaka dzahua; Nacuhui.

The Mixteca succeeds the Mexican Proper, itself being other than Mexican, just as the Totonaca suceeded the Huasteca, which was Maya, the Totonaca being other than Maya.

The Mixteca is the language of Northern,

The ZAPOTECA that of Southern, Oaxaca.

Hervas writes, that the Zapoteca, Mazateca, Chinanteca, and Mixe were allied. The Mixe locality is the district around Tehuantepec.

South of the areas of the three languages just enumerated comes the main division of the Maya--the Maya of Guatemala and Yucatan, as opposed to the Huasteca of the parts about Tampico. This, however, we pass over _sicco pede_, for

HONDURAS AND SAN SALVADOR.

Limiting ourselves to the districts that undeniably belong to those two States, we have samples of four dialects of

The LENCA language; these being from the four Pueblos of Guajiquiro, Opatoro, Intibucá, and Sirmlaton, those of the last being shorter and less complete than the others. They are quite recent, and are to be found only in the Spanish edition of Mr. Squier's Notes on Central America. The English is without them.

ENGLISH. GUAJIQUIRO. OPATORO. INTIBUCA.

_man_ ---- taho amashe. _woman_ ---- move napu. _boy_ ---- guagua hua. _head_ toco tohoro cagasi. _ear_ yang yan yangaga. _eye_ saing saringla saring. _nose_ napse napseh nepton. _mouth_ ingh ambeingh ingori. _tongue_ nafel navel napel. _teeth_ nagha neas nigh. _neck_ ampsh ampshala cange. _arm_ kenin kenin kening. _fingers_ lasel gualalasel ---- _foot_ guagi quagi guaskaring. _blood_ uahug uah quch. _sun_ gasi gashi gashi. _star_ siri siri ---- _fire_ uga 'ua yuga. _water_ guass uash guash. _stone_ ca cah tupan. _tree_ ili ili ili. _one_ ita ita itaska. _two_ naa ---- ---- _three_ lagua ---- ---- _four_ aria ---- ---- _five_ saihe saihe ---- _six_ huie hue ---- _seven_ huis-ca ---- ---- _eight_ teef-ca ---- ---- _nine_ kaiapa ---- ---- _ten_ isis issis ----

As Mr. Squier is the sole authority for the Lenca of San Salvador and Honduras, so he is for

NICARAGUA.

Limiting ourselves to the undoubtedly Nicaraguan area, and taking no note of the Mexican Proper of more than one interesting Mexican settlement, the three forms of speech for which we have specimens are--

1. THE CHORETEGA; 2. THE NAGRANDA; and 3. THE WULWA, of the Chontal district.

And now we pass to the Debateable Ground. The language of

THE MOSKITO COUNTRY

gives us a fourth form of speech; at least (I think) as different from the Choretega, Nagranda, Wulwa and Lenca, as they are from each other. This is--

THE WAIKNA of the Indians of the coast, and, probably, of several allied tribes inland.

Of the Waikna, Wulwa, Nagranda, and Choretega, samples may be found either in Squier's Nicaragua, or vol. iii. of the Transactions of the American Ethnological Society.

ENGLISH. NAGRANDA. CHORETEGA.

_man_ rahpa _n_uho. _woman_ rapa-ku _n_-ahseyomo. _boy_ sai-ka _n_-asome. _girl_ sai-kee _n_-aheyum. _child_ chichi _n_-aneyame. _father_ ana goo-ha. _mother_ autu goo-mo. _husband_ a'mbin 'mhohue. _wife_ a'guyu _n_ume. _son_ sacul-e _n_-asomeyamo. _daughter_ saicul-a _n_-asayme. _head_ {a'cu goochemo. {edi ---- _hair_ tu'su membe. _face_ enu grote. _forehead_ guitu goola. _ear_ nau nuhme. _eye_ setu nahte. _nose_ ta'co mungoo. _mouth_ dahnu nunsu. _tongue_ duhu greuhe. _tooth_ semu nahe. _foot_ naku graho. _sky_ dehmalu nekupe. _sun_ ahca numbu. _star_ ucu nuete. _fire_ ahku nahu. _water_ eeia nimbu. _stone_ {esee nugo. {esenu ---- _I_ ic-u saho. _thou_ ic-a sumusheta. _he_ ic-a ---- _we_ hechel-u semehmu. _ye_ hechel-a ---- _they_ icanu ---- _this_ ca-la ----

For the Waikna there are other materials. The Wulwa specimens are few. Hence it may be doubtful whether the real difference between it and the Waikna be so great as the following table suggests.

ENGLISH. WULWA. WAIKNA.

_man_ all waikna. _woman_ y-all mairen. _son_ pau-ni-ma lupia-waikna. _daughter_ pau-co-ma lupia-mairen. _head_ tunni let. _eye_ minik-taka nakro. _nose_ magni-tak kamka. _mouth_ dinibas bila. _blood_ anassca tala. _all_ duwawa semehmu. _drink_ mahuia bo-prima. _run_ dagalnu bo-tupu. _leap_ masiga bo-ora. _go_ {aiyu pa-ya. {icu ---- _sing_ nagamo pa-coondamu. _sleep_ ami pa-yacope.

COSTA RICA.

The following is from a vocabulary of Dr. Karl Scherzers of the languages of the _Blanco_, _Valiente_, and _Talamenca_ Indians of Costa Rica, occupants of the parts between the River Zent and the Boca del Toro. We may call it a specimen of

THE TALAMENCA.--It seems to be, there or thereabouts, as different from the preceding languages as they are from each other.

ENGLISH. TALAMENCA.

_ear_ _su_-kuke. _eye_ _su_-wuaketei. _nose_ _su_-tshukoto. _mouth_ _su_-'kuwu. _tongue_ _es_-kuptu. _tooth_ _sa_-ka. _beard_ _sa_-karku mezili. _neck-joint?_ tzin. _arm_ _sa_-fra. _hand_ _sa-fra-tzin_-sek. _finger_ _fra_-wuata. _nail_ sa-krasku. _sun_ kanhue. _moon_ tulu. _star_ bewue. _fire_ tshuko. _water_ ditzita. _one_ e-_tawa_. _two_ bo-_tewa_. _three_ magna-_tewa_. _four_ ske-_tewa_. _five_ _si-tawa_. _six_ _si-wo-ske_-le. _seven_ _si-wo_-wora. _eight_ _si-wo_-magnana. _nine_ _si-wo-ske-tewa_. _ten_ _sa_-flat-ka.

The same volume of the Transactions of the American Ethnological Society that supplies us with Mr. Squier's vocabularies for Nicaragua supplies us with Dr. Seeman's for

VERAGUA.

These being for

THE BAYANO; THE SAVANERIC; and THE CHOLO.

The Cholo is the same as Dr. Cullen's Yule, and also the same as Cunacuna and Darien of Balbi and the Mithridates.

ENGLISH. CUNACUNA. DARIEN.

_one_ quensa-cua conjungo. _two_ vo-cua poquah. _three_ paa-cua pauquah. _four_ paque-cua pake-quah. _five_ atale eterrah. _six_ ner-cua indricah. _seven_ cugle coogolah. _eight_ vau-agua paukopah. _nine_ paque-haguc pakekopah. _ten_ ambegui anivego.

It is also the same as some short specimens of the Mithridates; where

_water_ = dulah. _moon_ = nu. _father_ = tautah. _mother_ = naunah. _brother_ = rupah. _sister_ = ninah. _wife_ (_woman_) = poonah.

The Cholo leads us into South America, where for the present; we leave it.

ADDENDA.

I will now add two notes, which may possibly save some future investigator an unremunerative search.

First, concerning a language called _Mocorosi_.--In Jülg, this is made a language of Mexico. It is really the _Moxa_ of South America under an altered name.

ENGLISH. MOKOROSI. MOXA.

_I_ nùti nuti. _thou_ pìti piti. _he_ ema ema. _this_ màca maca. _that_ màena maena. _that you_ màro maro. _she_ esu esu. _my_ nuyee nuyee. _thy_ piyee piyee. _his_ mayee mayee. _one_ eto eto. _two_ api api. _three_ mopo mopo.

This is from an _Arte y vocabulario de la Lengua Mocorosi, compuesto por un padre de la compañia de Jesus missionero de la Provincias de los Moxos dedicado a la Serenissima Reyna de los Angeles siempre Virgen Maria, Patrona de estas Missiones_; _en Madrid, año de 1699_.

A Lima edition A.D. 1701 differs from this in omitting the name _Mokorosi_, and being dedicated to a different patron. In other respects the two works agree _verbatim et literatim_.

Secondly, in respect to a language called _Timuacuana_--For this we have a _Catechismo y examen para los que comulgan ex lengua Castellana y Timuquana, por el Padre Fr. Francisco Pareja_; and _y Padre de la Provincia de Santa Elena de la Florida_, &c. _Mexico_, 1627.

Also, the following numerals in Balbi, perhaps, taken from the above:--

ENGLISH. TIMUACUANA.

_one_ minecotamano. _two_ nauchamima. _three_ nahapumina. _four_ nacheketamima. _five_ namaruama. _six_ napikichama. _seven_ napikinahuma. _eight_ napekechetama. _nine_ natumama.

ADDENDA AND CORRIGENDA

(1859).

=P.= 252.--"_Is not this Mozino's?_"--No. For a further notice see _p._ 388.