The Huron, or as Mr Heckewelder terms it, the Iroquois, is certainly one of the original languages spoken by the Indians of the United States. It is confined to the Wyandots, the Iroquois, and their kindred tribes. The attempt to reduce the Sioux language, under the same general head, could have originated only in the very defective materials, which Mr Heckewelder possessed. The languages comprehended in that class, and spoken by the Sioux, the Winebagoes, the Joways, the Ottos, the Missouries, are radically different from the Huron. And what reason is given, for this dismission of one of the general divisions of the received classification, and for ranging the Hurons and Sioux as branches of the same family? No vocabulary is inserted or referred to; nothing but the sic volo to satisfy the inquirer. In page 390, indeed, the facts are given by Mr Heckewelder, in support of this hypothesis, and most strange they are. It is there suggested, that the Naudowessies or Sioux, and the Hurons or Wyandots, are the same people, because there are three rivers, which we call Huron, and which the Chippewas call Naduwewi, or Naudowessie Sipi, in the vicinity of Detroit. Nautowa is the Chippewa name for the Wyandots, and Assigona for the Iroquois. In the plural Nautowake and Assigonake. Their true name for the Sioux is Bwoinuk ; but Naudowessie is the Chippewa word for enemy, and as the Sioux have for generations carried on war against them, this appellation is sometimes emphatically given to them by the Chippewas. The name of the rivers referred to by Mr Heckewelder is Nautowa Sepe, or River of the Wyandots, and probably took its rise from some local occurrence connected with them. The Sioux and the Wyandots, as we can testify from our own observation, are different from each other in appearance, local residence, many important traits of character and manners, languages, and in everything, which, in the present state of our knowledge, constitutes Indian national identity. Mr Duponceau's opinion of the harmony and music of the Wyandot language struck us as remarkable. Of all the languages spoken by man, since the confusion of tongues at the tower of Babel, it least deserves this character. It is harsh, guttural, and undistinguishable; filled with intonations, that seem to start from the speaker with great pain and effort. It is a well known fact, that no man ever became master of it, after he had arrived at years of maturity; and its acquisition is universally considered upon the frontier as a hopeless task. We cannot but suspect our friends, 'Armstrong and Walker,' of playing old soldiers, and giving a mellifluous twang to their speech, to which it had no legitimate pretensions. Mr Duponceau displays much philological acuteness, and an entire knowledge of the principles of universal grammar; and he deserves great credit for the ardor, with which he has devoted himself to these tedious and laborious investigations, many of which are ably and successfully conducted. But he is evidently much given to classification; he began these inquiries apparently with a strong predisposition for admiration, and with high expectations, that new and important principles would be developed. What,' says he, would Tibullus or Sappho have given, to have had at their command a word at once so tender and so expressive! And what is the word, which has such power to kindle his enthusiasm? It is one, which, in its true orthography, if it sounds to the Muses as it does to our dull ears, would put to flight every poetical effusion; Wulamalessohalian, Thou who makest me happy.' The word should be written and pronounced, Walemulsoohauleun, or Walemulsoo hauleun, for we are strongly inclined to think, that liberties have been taken in these combinations, not wholly justified by the Delaware language. The infinitive of the verb is said, by Mr Duponceau, as quoted from Zeisberger, to be Wulamalessohen, 'to make happy.' Hence, Wulamalessohalid, He who makes me happy. He who makes him happy. As the only variations, by which the pronouns are expressed in these cases, are alid, alquon, alat, alian, these must respectively mean, he who me,' he who thee,' 'he who him,' thou who me.' There are no pronominal affixes, nor do either of these syllables indicate the separable, or inseparable pronominal suffixes. There is no word for who, in the whole range of the Indian languages, as far as we are acquainted with them, and there is certainly none in the Delaware. Into whatever elements these terminations may be resolved, the meaning, rendered necessary by the subjoined translations, cannot be given to them. There is, through the whole book, such a want of precision in the translations, and such a confusion of Delaware and Munsee words, as render the deductions very unsatisfactory. Mr Heckewelder's reply to Mr Duponceau's inquiries, respecting some analagous word in the Delaware, to the word morituri in Latin, affords another illustration in point. He seems unwilling, that any syntactical forms should be found, which do not exist in the Delaware, and produces examples pari passu. Not certainly with the slightest disposition to misrepresent, but because the subject was not very familiar to him, and because slight analogies are easily traced between languages, the most remote in their principles. Mr Heckewelder says, (p. 423,) that there is a Delaware word, Elumiangellatschik, which means, those who are on the point of dying, or who are about to die.' The word meant to be written here, is Alumeeungelutcheek, but it has been evidently formed to meet the case, and formed upon erroneous principles. Alemee is an adverb, and means about. Mr Heckewelder calls it Elumi, and says it is derived from the verb N'dallemi, which means, I am going about (something.") N'dallemi Wickheen, I am going to build.' There is no such verb in the Delaware language as dallemi. The N' is the pronominal sign of Nee, 1. The d is inserted in all cases after this sign, where the next word begins with a vowel. Alemee is the adverb, which generally, in the arrangement of Indian sentences, precedes the verb. Ungelukeek is from Ungel, to die, with the pronominal sign suffixed, ukeek, or keek, they, which we believe is confined in this form to neuter verbs, and retains or drops the u, as euphony may require. Tsh, which indicates the future, is not used in this combination. The word Alemee sufficiently indicates, that the time is about to commence. The word, therefore, intended to be formed by Mr Heckewelder, should be written Alemee ungelukeek, and, literally translated, means, about they die.' So much for analogy. There is, in all our Indian languages, a strong tendency to combination. We believe they were originally monosyllabic in their formation, and extremely limited in their application. Even now at least one fourth part of the Chippewa words are monosyllables. As the poverty of these languages be came apparent, and necessity required the introduction of new terms, they were formed by the combination of words already existing. It is not easy to define the limits of this principle, nor to analyse the rules of its application. Some letters are omitted, and the changes are frequently so great, as to render it difficult to reduce the word to its original elements. Mr Heckewelder has given many examples of this process, but too often with the negligence, which characterises his work. Mr Duponceau exclaims in a quotation from Göethe, 'O how a nation is to be envied, that can express such delicate shades of thought in one single word." Here follow other examples. Mamschalgussiwagan, Honor, the being honored. The receiving favor, mercy, tender ness. The being held in remembrance. Amangachgenimgussowagan, The being raised or elevated by praise. Mamamchtschimgussowagan, The being insulted. Pronounce these who can. We eschew the task. It is idle to talk of such words. Every language may have as many, as the most ecstatic philologist could require. It is only to combine the words together, and when the combination ceases, there is an end to the compound word, and not before. But little would be gained for the ear, or the mind, by such a process. In page 368, we have, Wuskilenno, Kigeyilenno, Gichtochqueu, 6 Wooskee is young, and Lunno is man, and the word given as a combination by Mr Heckewelder is pronounced Wooskee lunno, and is as much two words, as young man in the English language. Kigeyilenno' should be written Khiki, old, Lunno, man. 'Gichtochqueu' should be Khiki, old, Ohkwaa, (not Ochqueu,) woman. The unsettled orthography adopted in this work conveys to the reader very imperfect notions of the sounds of the words. In the translation of works from one language to another, it is commonly the object of the translator to preserve the spirit of his author, and to avoid the introduction of foreign idioms. But in inquiries into the comparative principles of different languages, words should be literally rendered; and this precision can alone give value to these investigations. Mr Heckewelder has violated this rule, and to such a degree as greatly to impair the utility of his work. In page 422, Eliwulek is said to be, 'He who is above everything.' The expression should be Aloo Woolituk, from Aloowee, more, and Woolit, good. The uk is the mark of the superlative degree; so that Aloo woolituk is 'most good.' Eluwantowit is translated, 'God above all.' The word should be Aloo wontoowit, and is formed from Aloowee, more, and Katunatoowit, a compound, of whose elements we are ignorant, but which means God; so that Aloo wontoowit is, more God.' Eluwiahoalgussit is translated, 'The beloved of all things,' (p. 423.) It should be Aloowee ahoalkooseet, 'more he is loved.' Eluwitschanessik is said to be, the strongest of all.' It should be Aloowee tsharnesseek, 'more he is strong.' Eluwischiechsit, the supremely good,' should be Alooweek sheekseet, most he is good.' 6 Again, (p. 454,) it is said, that Ndellemuske means, 'I am going away.' This word is formed from the pronominal sign N", I, the adverb Alemee, about, and bumskau, go, and should be rendered, I about go.' So Ickalli áal is said to be,' away with you.' Ikarle means there, and awl is a verb, which means to go or come, properly, to move, and this expression should be translated, there move.' In page 458, N'dapi aman, is rendered, 'I come from fishing with a hook and line.' Aman on the same page is rendered a fish hook. So that the word Aman, must mean fishing with a hook and line, and a fish hook. But this incongruity is to be found, not in the Delaware language, but in Mr Heckewelder's book, and results from the unjustifiable liberties taken with the translation. N'dapi does not mean, 'to come from.' That idea implying locomotion is conveyed by the word Noom, I come. N'dapi implies the termination of a recent act; and Aman is simply a fish hook. The words cannot with any propriety be used together. Naumase is a fish, and the participial form of that word should have |