[1] N. A. Review, No. 60, p. 101.

[2] “The little kingdoms and glories,” says Cotton Mather, “of the great men among the Indians, was a powerful obstacle to the success of Mr. Elliot’s ministry; and it is observable, that several of those nations who thus refused the gospel, were quickly after so devil-driven as to begin an unjust and bloody war upon the English, which issued in their speedy and utter extirpation from the face of God’s earth. It was particularly remarkable in Philip, the ring leader of the most calamitous war ever made upon us; our Elliot made a tender of the everlasting salvation unto that king, but the monster entertained it with contempt and anger, and after the Indian mode of joining signs with words, he took a button upon the coat of the reverend man, adding, that he cared for his gospel as much as he cared for that button. The world has heard what terrible ruins soon came upon that monarch and upon all his people. It was not long before the hand that now writes, upon a certain occasion, took off the jaw from the exposed skull of that blasphemous leviathan, and the renowned Samuel Lee hath since been a pastor of an English congregation, sounding and showing the praises of heaven upon that very spot of ground where Philip and his Indians were lately worshipping the Devil.” Christian Magazine, p. 514. Vol. I. Boston. Many passages, breathing the same spirit, will at once occur to the recollection of those who are familiar with the writings of the early puritans of New England. When such was the language learned divines chose to record for posterity, it is not difficult to discover what must have been the general tone of feeling toward the Indians.

[3] Letter to Col. McKenney, from the Principal of the Lancasterian Chocktaw School at the Great Crossings, Kentucky, in the National Intelligencer, July, 1828.

[4] “There are no beggars among them, nor fatherless children unprovided for.” Roger William’s Key, ch. 5.

“Obs. They are as full of business, and as impatient of hinderance, (in their kind,) as any merchant in Europe. Many of them naturally princes, or else industrious persons, are rich; and the poor amongst them will say they want nothing.” Williams, ch. 7. “Obs. The women of the family will commonly raise two or three heaps (of corn) of twelve, fifteen, or twenty bushels a heap, which they dry in round broad heaps; and if she has help of her children or friends, much more.” Ch. 16. “I could never discern that excess of scandalous sins amongst them which Europe aboundeth with. Drunkenness and gluttony generally they know not what sins they be. And although they have not so much to restrain them (both in respect of knowledge of God and laws of men) as the English have, yet a man shall never hear of such crimes among them, of robberies, murders, adulteries.” Ch. 22. Quotations to the same effect might be adduced from nearly all the early writers. Yet we are told that in all that regards their moral condition, the Indians have been gainers by their intercourse with the whites!

It is probably within the recollection of many persons now living, when the very considerable quantities of corn required for the fur trade in the country about Lake Superior, were purchased from the Indians, by whom it was raised at a place called Ketekawwe Seebee, or Garden river, a small stream falling into the strait between Lakes Superior and Huron, about six miles below the Saut St. Marie. “The Indians at the first settlement of the English, performed many acts of kindness towards them: they instructed them in the manner of planting and dressing the Indian corn,” and “by selling them corn when pinched with famine, they relieved their distresses, and prevented them from perishing in a strange land, and uncultivated wilderness.” Trumbull’s History of Connecticut, Vol. I. Ch. 3. In another place, speaking of a famine among the colonists, he says, “In this distressful situation a committee was sent to an Indian settlement called Pocomtock, where they purchased such quantities, that the Indians came down to Windsor and Hartford with fifty canoes at one time laden with Indian corn.” Vol. I. Ch. 6. The Indians on Block Island, according to the same authority, “had about two hundred acres of corn.” This the English, after two days spent on the Island “burning wigwams,” and “staving canoes,” destroyed, and then sailed for the Pequot country. Ib. Ch. 5. Charlevoix, a less exceptionable authority than most of the early French writers, says, that in an incursion into the country of the Senecas, the French destroyed four hundred thousand minots (1,200,000 bushels) of corn. “They also killed a prodigious number of swine, which caused much sickness.” Hist. de la Nouvelle France, liv. XI. It is unnecessary to cite passages, hundreds of which might be adduced to prove, what few, except the reviewer above quoted ever considered doubtful.

[5] The name of this man Tanner pronounces Gish-gau-go. He has subsequently been well known in Michigan, and other portions of the north-western frontier, by his numerous murders and depredations. He died in prison at Detroit, as lately as the fall of 1825.

[6] Sa-gui-na. The word Sau-ge-nong, appears to mean, “the town of the Saukees.”

[7] Tanner has much of the Indian habit of concealing emotion; but when he related the above to me, the glimmering of his eye, and a convulsive movement of his upper lip, betrayed sufficiently, that he is not without the enduring thirst for revenge which belongs to the people among whom he has spent his life. “As soon,” said he, in connection with this anecdote, “as I landed in Detroit on my return from Red River, and found a man who could speak with me, I said ‘where is Kish-kau-ko?’ ‘He is in prison.’ ‘Where is Manito-o-geezhik, his father?’ ‘Dead two months since.’ ‘It is well he is dead.’” Intimating that though more than thirty years had elapsed, he intended now to have avenged himself for the injury done him when a boy not eleven years of age.—Ed.

[8] War-gun-uk-ke-zee means, as Tanner says, the bent tree; and the pine, which gave name to the place called by the French L’Arbre Croche, was standing when he first visited that village. He spoke with great indignation of the Indian who, through mere wantonness, cut down this remarkable tree.

[9] Pe-twaw-we-ninne.—This, however, is a Cree word; the name among the Ojibbeways, is Sug-guo-swaw-we-ninne. Muskegoe is from Mus-keek, a swamp, and is applied to a band of the Ojibbeways, enjoying in general no very good name.

[10] This word, Win-ne-peg, is derived from win-ne-be-a, “dirty water,” or ween-au-gum-ma, which has nearly the same meaning. The lake is called by the Indians Win-ne-be-a Sau-gie-gun, “Dirty Water Lake.”

[11] Puk-kwi, the cat-tail flag, (Typha Latifolia,) of which we made the coarse mats called by the Menomonies O-pah-keuk, by the Ojibbeways of the Upper Mississippi, O-pah-kwi-wuk. There is a lake on the route from Green Bay to the Wisconsan, called on the maps Puck-away, but the word is, in the country, pronounced Puk-kwi.

[12] Or Spit Roasters, so called from their roasting meats on wooden spits.

[13] Assinneboins, Stone Roasters, from using heated stones to boil their provisions.

[14] A-gutch-a-ninne-wug, the settled people, called by the white Minnetarees.

[15] Lakes of the largest class are called by the Ottawwaws, Kitchegawme; of these they reckon five; one which they commonly call Ojibbeway Kitchegawme, Lake Superior, two Ottawwaw Kitchegawme, Huron and Michigan, and Erie and Ontario. Lake Winnipeg, and the countless lakes in the north-west, they call Sahkiegunnun.

[16] Naw-we-sah-ki-e-gun.

[17] Nebeninnah-ne-sebee—High Craneberry River; since called Pembinah. The Indian name is derived from that of the viburnum, with large red edible berries, somewhat resembling the craneberry; thence called v. oxycoccus. “Red River” is from the Indian Miskwawgumme-wesebee.

[18] Pronounced by the Indians, We-ge-wham.

[19] Needjee—my friend, is commonly used in friendly conversation; but, as in our language, is often used with a peculiar tone and manner, when a threat is intended.

[20] Jebiug-neezh-o-shin-naut—Two dead lie there.

[21] From tub-buz-zeen, imperative, “Do thou dodge down.”

[22] An-nim-me-keeg wus-re-tah goos-e-wuk, (Ottawwaw,) it thunders.—na-mah-ke-wuk kau-ke-to-wuk, (Menomine,) it thunders.—they are both, however, plural nominations, and have verbs in the plural.

[23] The name of this distinguished chief is spelt in “Major Long’s Second Expedition,” Wa-no-tan. To an English reader, this orthography conveys as incorrect an idea of the sound of his name, as the engraved portrait in that work, does of his handsome face and person.

[24] This is one of the species of Psoralea, so abundant in the open countries of the Missouri. When boiled or roasted, the roots are exceedingly palatable and nutritious; but the exclusive use of them commonly occasions derangement of the bowels.

[25] Gah-menomonie gah-wun-zhe-gaw-wie see-bee, (the river of the wild rice straw.) Gaw-wun-je, or Gaw-wunzk, is applicable to the stalks or trunks of many plants, shrubs, etc. as Mee-na-gaw-wunge, (whortleberry bush,) or, in the plural, Mee-na-gaw-wa-cheen, (whortleberry bushes.)

[26] Devil Lake, and on the North West Company’s map, God’s Lake.

[27] Muz-zin-ne-neen, muz-zin-ne-neen-sug—singular and plural. Meshe-nin-ne-shah, Meshe-nin-ne-shuk—Menomonie dialect. These little images, or drawings, for they are called by the same names, whether of carved wood, or rags, or only rudely sketched on birch bark, or even traced in sand, are much in use among several, and probably all the Algonkin tribes. Their use is not confined to hunting, but extends to the making of love, and the gratification of hatred, revenge, and all malignant passions.

It is a prevailing belief, to which the influence of established superstition has given an astonishing power, that the necromancers, men and women of medicine, or those who are acquainted with the hidden powers of their wusks, can, by practising upon the Muz-zin-ne-neence, exercise an unlimited control over the body and mind of the person represented. As it may have been, in former times, among the people of our race, many a simple Indian girl gives to some crafty old squaw her most valued ornaments, or whatever property she may possess, to purchase from her the love of the man she is most anxious to please. The old woman, in a case of this kind, commonly makes up a little image of stained wood and rags, to which she gives the name of the person whose inclinations she is expected to control; and to the heart, the eyes, or to some other part of this, she, from time to time, applies her medicine, or professes to have done so, as she may find necessary to dupe and encourage her credulous employer.

But the influence of these images and conjurations, is more frequently tested in cases of an opposite character; where the inciting cause is not love, but hatred, and the object to be attained, the gratification of a deadly revenge. In cases of this kind, the practices are similar to those above mentioned, only different medicines are used. Sometimes the Muz-zin-ne-neence is pricked with a pin, or needle, in various parts, and pain or disease is supposed to be produced in the corresponding part of the person practiced upon. Sometimes they blacken the hands and mouth of the image, and the effect expected, is the change which marks the near approach of death.

In the sanguinary chapter of the Calica Puran, we find reference to a similar superstition among the Asiatics.

“Let a figure be made, either of barley meal or earth, representing the person with whom the sacrificer is at variance, and the head of the figure struck off. After the usual texts have been used, the following is to be used in invoking the axe on the occasion: Effuse, effuse blood! be terrific, be terrific! seize, seize! destroy, for the love of Ambica, the head of this enemy. Having struck off the head let him present it, using the texts laid down hereafter for the occasion, concluding with the word PHAT. Water must be sprinkled on the meal or earthen victim, which represents the sacrificer’s enemy, using the text commencing with Racta draibaih, (i. e. by streams of blood,) and marks must be made on the forehead with red sanders; garlands of red flowers must be put round the neck of the image, and it must be dressed in red garments, tied with red cords, and girt with a red girdle. Then placing the head towards the north, let it be struck off with an axe, using the Scanda text.”

So general and prevalent, among the Indians, is the confidence in the efficacy of these charms, and of those practised by means of a hair from the head of the intended victim, that the belief in them has extended to many of the more ignorant of the Canadians who reside with the Indians, and even to some of the traders. Instances in which a hair is used in place of the image, or mus-zin-ne-neence, are frequently those of young women; and various, and sometimes dreadful, are the consequences supposed to result. So confident are the representations of whites, and those even of some shrewdness, and so strong the belief of the Indians, in the power of these drawings, as to enforce the conviction that effects have been produced in connection with these mummeries, either by the influence of imagination, or the still more powerful and certain operation of poison, administered secretly. Poisoning is a crime of perhaps greater frequency among the Indians than could have been expected from their situation; and they attribute equal guilt to the poisoner, whether he actually and craftily administers some powerful drug, or whether, at the distance of one or two hundred miles, or at any place, however remote, he so applies medicine to the Muz-zin-ne-neence, or to a hair, as to produce pain, sickness, death, or other suffering, in his enemy. The influence of these superstitions and absurd fears is boundless, and would, perhaps, surpass comprehension and belief if we could not look back to the time when the minds of our own race were similarly enthralled, and when the dread of supernatural powers in the hands of the malicious or the envious, formed one among the most serious and real evils in the life even of the most enlightened and independent. Many cases of sudden sickness occur among them, and many deaths happen entirely in the way of nature, which they, being ignorant of the true cause, attribute to poison, or more frequently to bad medicine; but enough of well authenticated instances exist to prove that they, in some cases, practice upon each other by poison; sometimes using such noxious plants, or other substances as their own country affords, and in other instances procuring arsenic, or other drugs, from the whites. To destroy life in this way is perfectly in accordance with their ideas of bravery, or toughness of heart, (Soug-ge-da-win;) he being often esteemed the bravest man who destroys his enemy with least risk to his own life.

The Chippewyans, whose bleak and inhospitable country, affords neither birch bark nor other similar article, indeed nothing from the vegetable kingdom to serve as a substitute for the birch bark, and whose extreme rudeness has left them ignorant of any method of preparing from stones or earth any things suitable to write or delineate figures upon, use, in their preparations for the medicine hunt, the scapular bone of the rein deer, or such other animals as are found in their country. With an apparent poverty of language, corresponding to the meagerness of their soil, and the bluntness of their intellects, they denominate the drawing used in this kind of hunting, El-kul-lah ke-eet-ze, (the shoulder blade bone.) It would appear, also, that the accompanying ceremonies of this superstition are proportionately rude and inartificial. After awkwardly sketching the rein deer, or whatever animal they may happen to consider as indicated to them by their dream, they cast the bone on which the drawing is made into the fire, if, by chance, they happen to have one, and this fulfills all those important ends, which, in the imagination of the Ojibbeway hunter, are dependent upon the proper application of his medicines, and the patient chanting of his prayers.

[28] Match-a-to-ge-wub, (in the Cree, Mait-cha-to-ke-wub,) in the Ojibbeway, means nearly “Many Eagles sitting.”

[29] Ne-je, my friend, used to males; and nin-dong-gwa, used by females to one another.

[30] Some of the circumstances of this murder seem to identify it with that of Keveny, for which Charles De Reinhard and Archibald M’Lellan were tried at Quebec, in 1818, and the former condemned to death. De Reinhard, Mainville, and Jose, or Joseph, an Indian, otherwise called the Son of the White Partridge, seem to have been the immediate actors in this affair. It is not surprising that Tanner, who was then, as far as opportunities for particular information on this subject were concerned, on a par with the wildest Indian, should have mistaken foreign names, as well as the comparative rank and importance of foreigners in the country.

[31] Many of the names of white men in the northwest and in other parts of the country, which are mentioned in this narrative, are grossly misspelt; the same principle having been followed in writing both foreign and Indian names, in all instances where the name the narrator intended to mention did not immediately recur to the recollection of the writer. Thus Codman is here written for Coltman: in other places, Maveen for Mainville; Tussenon for D’Orsonnens, etc. It is also not improbable that names may have become confounded in the mind of our hunter himself, who appears to have been more conversant with Indians than white men. Thus, in his account of the murder of a governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, of the name of M’Donald, or M’Dolland, he may possibly have used one of these names in place of that of Mr. Semple, who was one of the victims to that spirit of bloody rivalry which occasioned these troubles between the trading companies. This want of precision, particularly in the spelling of names, will not, with the candid, impair the credibility of this humble narrative.

[32] O-poih-gun—pipe; O-poih-gun-nun—pipes.

[33] Nin-us-kun-je-ga kwi-uk we-ke-wah-mik. See note at the end of the volume on the Menominie word Ke-kish-kosh-kaw-pe-nin.

[34] The painful topic of domestic troubles, and the misconduct of persons nearly allied to him, seems to be the only one on which the narrator has not spoken with clearness. There is, in relation to this subject, some want of distinctness; but it is believed this will not be thought to affect the credibility of the narrative, inasmuch as we discover no departure from truth, unless the suppression of some facts can be considered such.

[35] Sug-gus-swaw-waw—the Smoker, in Ojibbeway.

[36] Ka-gah-gum-ming, almost water.

[37] This word, in the language of the fur traders, signifies not the coming back of the clerk or person sent out but the peltries acquired by the outfit, and is equally used if the trader never returns in person to his employer.

[38] Some discussion has heretofore taken place concerning the existence of a priesthood among the Indians. A little inquiry will convince any one, that the medicine men are a set of crafty impostors, who subsist, in a great measure, by practising on their credulity; by selling them medicines, or charms, for ensuring success in hunting, for enticing the females, and for other purposes. When one of these has been so fortunate as to gain an ascendance over their superstitious and credulous minds, he sometimes sets up for a prophet, and claims intercourse with superior and invisible beings.

[39] A copious account of the Medicine Dance, or Metai, as it exists among the Me-no-mo-nies, is contained in a manuscript paper, entitled, “Remarks on the Mythology of the Algonkins,” etc. communicated to the New-York Historical Society, in 1827, by the Editor of this narrative.

[40] O-jee-chau-go-mau—Schoolcraft. This is the substantive without any inseparable pronoun. It is commonly used in combination, as Ne-tah-chuk, my shadow; Ke-tah-chuk, thy shadow; O-tah-chuk, his shadow, among the Menomonies.

[41] Mas-ge-kwi-min-all—Zeis. p. 83.

[42] A substance is brought by the Indians from a place called Na-kaw-wudj, on the shores of Lake Superior, which, when bruised, imparts a bright carnation colour. It is a small root, probably that of a species of Chenopodium, which is sometimes met with on the borders of swamps about St. Marks.

[43] Probably from Weah-gush-ke, dust; or that which is mixed together.

[44] More probably compounded of Mus-keeg, (a swamp,) and Me-taus, (a leggin,) from its resemblance to the leggins worn by the Indians.

[45] From Shig-gau-ga-winje, this word, in the singular number, some derive the name Chikago, which is commonly pronounced by the Indians Shig-gau-go—Shig-gau-go-ong, at Chikago.

[46] A-wes-sis-sac, Del. Zeisb. 2d ed. p. 46.

[47] The young of this animal, if taken out of the uterus with care immediately on killing the dam, and put upon a tree, will cling to it, and often live. The Indians relate, that the porcupines, in the prairie countries of the north, pass the winters on oak trees, where they oftentimes have no hole, or any other protection from the weather, than is afforded by the trunk of the tree. They strip all the bark off one tree, before they go to search for another, and one may pass the greater part of the winter on a single tree, if it happens to be a large one. They also pretend to fatten the porcupine in the summer, whenever they can find him in some hole, where he has constructed his nest, which is of his own excrement. This, they say, he eats, and never fails, when thus confined, to become very fat. The porcupine is not disposed to make any other resistance, when attacked by a man, than his spiny skin affords, and the Indians have a saying of this animal, and of the rabbit, that those whom they bite will live to a great age.

[48] From O-muk-kuk-ke, (toad,) and Ah-koo-se-win, (sickness,) is probably derived the word Ma-muk-ke-ze-win, (the small pox.)

[49] The Gween-gwe-sha is met with about the Saut De St. Marie, in the winter season. It is a little smaller than the blue jay, and of a leaden colour on the back, the lower part of the neck, and the wings; a few of the feathers about the belly are a dirty white above, but plumbeous below, as are those on the forward part of the neck, and about the insertion of the beak. It appears to be the Corous Canadensis of Rees’ Cyclop. It is said to have been found as far south in the United States, as the Little Falls of the Mohawk.

[50] This social little bird seems to be not less the favourite and companion of the Indian than of the white man. They relate, that long ago, soon after Nanabush had made the ground, there was an old chief, a great and good man, who, with his wife, had one son. But this young man disregarded the advice and admonitions of his parents; particularly he neglected to fast and pray, as all young men and women are enjoined to do. For many successive days, had his father presented him his breakfast in one hand, and in the other offered charcoals with which to paint his face; but the ungracious son had steadily preferred the venison, or the broth, to the coals. One morning he directed the old woman to make a choice kettle of Mun-dah-min-aw-bo, or corn broth, and taking a bowl full of it in one hand, and as usual some coals in the other, he presented them both to his son. The young man choosing the broth, the father returned to the fire place, and taking a handful of ashes, threw it into the bowl. The young man then took the coals, and rubbing them in his hands, painted his face, and retired to the bushes near by. After he had lain three or four days, his father offered him something to eat, but he would not accept it. This was repeated from time to time, until the tenth day; then the young man still remaining in the bushes, called his father, and his mother, and his relatives, and addressed them thus: “My friends, it has been unpleasant to you to see me eat so much as I have eaten; hereafter I shall eat less; but although I can no longer live with you in the lodge, I shall remain near you, and it shall be my business to forwarn you when any stranger is approaching.” He then took some red paint, and put it on his face and his breast, to signify that his fast was finished, and was immediately changed to a bird called O-pe-che. Still he delights to live near the lodges of those who were his relatives; and oftentimes taking a stand on the highest branch of a tree, he cries out n’doan-watch-e-go, n’doan-watch-e-go, to foretell that some one is coming. But having found that his prediction often proves false, he is ashamed as soon as he has uttered it, and flying down, he hides himself in thick bushes, or on the ground, crying out che! che! che! che!

[51] Ziskemanis, Zeis. 66.

[52] Gok-hos, Z. 11.

[53] Man-e-toanse-sug, or man-e-toanse-ug, small spirits; not exactly synonymous in this application with our word insects, but used to designate, indiscriminately, all very small animals.

[54] Mesissachowak, Zeis. 84.

[55] This is one of those clumsy sphinxes, or moths, that are found on the ground in damp weather, or after showers of rain, and the Indians imagine that they fall from the Annimekeeg, the beings whose voice is the thunder.

[56] The Nautoway Indians have a fable, of an old man and woman who watched an ant heap until they saw the little insects changed to white men, and the eggs which they carry in their mouths, to bales of merchandise.

[57] The tribes known to the Ottawwaws, are by them denominated as follows:

4. Kekaupoag, Kickapoos.

5. Oshawanoag, Shawneese, or southern people.

6. Wawbunukkeeg, Stockbridge, or white tops.

7. Muskotanje, Muskantins of the early French writers; formerly lived at Wawkwunkizze, whence they were driven by the Ottawwaws, and the latter now consider them as lost. By some they are supposed to have been a band of Potiwattomies; but the Ottawwaws enumerate them as a distinct people.

8. Osaugeeg, Sankewi.

9. Mahnomoneeg, Menomonies, (wild rice people.)

10. Kneestenoag, Crees. They are said to call themselves Nah-hahwuk.

11. Muskegoag, Muskegoes, (swamp people.)

12. Muskegoag, Nopemit Azhinneneeg, or Nopemetus Anineeg, (back woods people,) a second relationship of Muskegoes.

13. Sheshebug, Ducks.

14. Bowwetegoweninnewug, Fall Indians.

15. Tuskwawomeeg, Uskwawgomees; near Montreal.

The above fifteen tribes are thought to speak languages which resemble Ottawwaw.

16. Nautowaig, Naudoways, (rattle snakes.)

17. Mat-che-naw-to-waig, Bad Naudoways.

18. Ioewaig, Ioways.

19. Nabuggindebaig, Flat heads; said to have lived below the Illinois River.

20. Winnebagoag, Winnebagoes, or Puants.

21. Bwoinug, Sioux; Naudowesseeg, Ott., Roasters.

22. Ussinebwoinug, Assinneboins, (stone roasters.)

23. Agutchaninnewug, Minnetahres, (settled people.)

24. Kwowahtewug, Mandans.

25. Ahmeekkwun Eninnewug, Beaver People; among the Fall Indians.

26. Mukkudda Ozitunnug, Black Feet.

27. Ussinnewudj Eninnewug, Rocky Mountain Indians.

28. Pahneug, Pawnees.

29. Wamussonewug.

30. Kokoskeeg.

31. Aguskemaig, Esquimaux, (those who eat their food raw.)

32. Weendegoag, Cannibals. This last is an imaginary race, said to inhabit an island in Hudson’s Bay. They are of gigantic dimension, and extremely given to cannibalism. The Muskegoes, who inhabit the low and cheerless swamps on the borders of Hudson’s Bay, are themselves reproached by other tribes as cannibals, are said to live in constant fear of the Weendegoag.

33. Ojeeg Wyahnug, Fisher Skins.

[58] A person born in this moon, (January,) will be long lived.

[59] These rude pictures are carved on a flat piece of wood, and serve to suggest to the minds of those who have learned the songs, the ideas, and their order of succession; the words are not variable, but a man must be taught them, otherwise, though from an inspection of the figure he might comprehend the idea, he would not know what to sing.

[60] Ke-da-ne, ke-da, (thy heart;) but a syllable is added in singing.

[61] The sound of B and P are used indiscriminately in many words, thus: bena, pena, for the word meaning a pheasant.

[62] In the sitting figures of Na-na-bush, as rudely delineated by the Indians, there is some resemblance to the Asiatic Iswara, or Satyavrata, who, in the eastern mythology, is connected with one of their deluges. Like Noah, like Saturn, and like Iswara, Na-na-bush preserved, during the inundation, those animals and plants, which were afterwards to be useful to mankind; and his addresses to the animals, which the Indians often repeat, remind us of the age when one language was common to men and brutes. (Tooke’s Pantheon, p. 118. Am. ed.) It is true, that, like the Ovidian Deucalion, Na-na-bush reproduced men, the old stock having been entirely destroyed; but it is to be remembered, that any resemblance, however strong, between these traditions, have had ample time to be obliterated. Instead of complaining that the similarity in the opinions of these people to ancient fables, is no stronger, we ought, perhaps, to be surprised that any resemblance exists. If any one would attempt a comparison between the opinions of the Americans and the Pagans of former ages, or of any other race, he should bear in mind how vague and mutable must be all such traditions, in an unwritten language. He must not be surprised to find, on close examination, that the characters of all pagan deities, male and female, melt into each other, and, at last, into one or two, for it seems a well founded opinion, that the whole crowd of gods and goddesses of ancient Rome, the modern VÁrÁnes of the east, and Mani-toag of the west, mean, originally, only the powers of nature, and principally those of the sun, expressed in a variety of ways, and by a number of fanciful names. (Asiatic Researches, Vol. I. p. 267, Lond. ed.)

The resemblance between the Algonkin deity, (Na-na-bush,) and Saturn and Satyavrata, or Iswara, of the Sanscrit, may be farther traced in each being figured with a serpent, sometimes held in the hand, and in other instances, as in many of the Roman figures of Saturn, in the mouth. This resemblance is, perhaps, the more worthy of remark, as the Americans seem not to have retained any very satisfactory explanation of this circumstance.

It will not be supposed that these vague resemblances in religious opinions, if they may be so called, afford the means of tracing the American tribes to their origin. That these people have customs and opinions closely resembling those of the Asiatics, particularly of the Hebrews, previous to the Christian dispensation, will not be denied; but the final result of all inquiries into this subject will, perhaps, be the adoption of the opinion of Bryant, of Sir William Jones, and other men of profound research, that Egyptians, Greeks, and Italians, Persians, Ethiopians, Phenecians, Celts, and Tuscans, proceeded, originally, from one central place, and that the same people carried their religion and sciences into China and Japan, to Mexico and Peru, and, we may add, to the banks of the Mississippi, and the coasts of Hudson’s Bay.

Some of the arguments adduced in support of the favourite opinion, that the American tribes are the long lost remnant of the children of Israel, certainly require no answer. An intimate acquaintance with many languages is now so widely diffused, as to supersede the necessity of remarking, or of proving, that a strong similarity in the sound of some few words of different languages, even though they should be found similar in meaning, does not establish the fact of community of origin; and the wide dissimilarity between the American and the Hebrew, and its cognate dialects, in the one particular, of the compounding of words, is probably, to the learned, conclusive proof that our tribes are, in no sort, derived from the Hebrew stock.

[63] In Mr. M’Kenney’s “Tour of the Lakes,” p. 202, 205, some account is given of Na-na-bou-jou, and the renovation of the earth after the deluge, which agrees, in most particulars, very closely with the traditions among the Attawwaws and Menomonies. But these last relate it with the following addition: “When the earth, which was found in the claws and in the mouth of the muskrat, began to expand itself upon the surface of the water, Na-na-bou-jou sat, day after day, watching its enlargement. When he was no longer able to see the extent of it, he sent out a wolf, and told him to run around all the ground, and then return to him, that he might thus know how large it had become. The wolf was absent only a short time, and returned. After some time he sent him out the second time, with similar directions, and he was gone two years. Again, after this, he sent him out, and he returned no more. Then Na-na-bou-jou gave the animals, all of whom he called Ne-she-mah, (my younger brother,) each his own peculiar kind of food. He also told such of them as were to be for food for men, that he had given them to his uncles, and they must expect, from time to time, to be hunted and killed; he also enjoined it upon them, that as long as men should choose a speedy and merciful method of killing them, they should make no resistance; but, in cases of wanton and cruel injury, they might turn to resist.”

It is also to be observed, that this renovation of the earth is clearly distinguished, in the traditions of the Attawwaws, from the original creation, which was long previous. How much of the instructions of the Jesuits, and of other whites, may now be combined in these legends, it is difficult to say. But they relate that men, before the flood, though they had been long before upright and good, had now become exceedingly degenerate; but they do not assign this as the cause for which the deluge was brought upon the earth. They say that the younger brother of Na-na-bou-jou was slain by the Great Spirit, the father of both, and it was in grief and in anger that Na-na-bou-jou himself caused the earth to be overwhelmed. To so great an extent did he carry his resentment against the Great Spirit, and the other Spirits, that they, with the hope of appeasing him, restored his brother to life. But Na-na-bou-jou said, “No, my brother, this cannot be, that any should die and come again to live here as before; return again to the place to which they had sent you; it is there that many of my uncles and aunts must come every year. You shall be the friend and the protector of those, as I am of the living, who are here on this earth.” He returned accordingly, and it is this brother of Na-na-bou-jou, who is now spoken of as Ning-gah-be-ar-nong Man-i-to, (the western god,) though this is not his name, by which he was known to his brother. He is the god of the country of the dead, the towns of the Je-bi-ug, which are always towards the setting sun.

[64] Waw-bun-oank-tus-e-kwa.

[65] Of the origin of the name Chip-pe-wi-yan, by which, since Hearne and M’Kenzie, these people have been called, it may now be difficult to give any satisfactory account. A very intelligent person among the Ojibbeways asserts, that the name is derived from that language, and is only a vicious pronunciation of the compound word O-jee-gwi-yan, which means the skin of the fisher weasel. But the Chip-pe-wi-yans, in their own country, have no knowledge of the animal, and it is not easy to imagine how the name of its skin should have been fixed upon by them as a distinctive appellation. They are called by the Canadians, and many white men residing in the Athavasca country, “Mountaineers,” which appellation they derive from the country of bleak and snowy rocks, which they inhabit. Tanner thinks the name O-jee-gwi-yah-nug may be derived from a word which means, “To pierce with an awl a fold of skin.”

[66] A is to be sounded as in fate; ah as in father; the still broader sound is marked by aw, or au. The other English vowels are less ambiguous. C only used before h, and the sound thus indicated is never to be compounded with that of K. G is always hard, as in go; J always soft, as in June. At the end of words it has the sound of the English dge, as in knowledge; zh sounds as s in pleasure.

Several of the consonant sounds are used interchangeably, not only in different dialects, but even in the same, and by people of the same band: thus, m for n, g for k, or t for either, b for p, d for t, l for n, and r for either of these. In the Cree dialect, for example, the word, e-rin-ne signifies man; in the Ojibbeway it is e-nin-ne; in some other dialect approaching the Delaware, it is il-len-ni; in the Delaware, according to Zeisberger, len-no; in the Menomonie e-nain, or e-nai-new, when the meaning of the verb substantive is combined. This observation should be borne in mind by all who take the trouble to compare and examine the written words of any Indian language. To many of the Algonkin dialects the sound of b is entirely foreign; others have no r. Many of the guttural and nondescript sounds of the Chippewyan, as well as several of those in the Winnebago, and the nasal in the Algonkin, cannot be represented by our alphabet.

[67] Wah-wia-ke-mut? With whom doth he We-ge-wam? This is similar to the Greek in John i. 14. “The word was made flesh, and dwelt among us; es????se? e? ???, literally, tabernacled among us.”

[68] This word, which means, as here used, back, or off the routes of communication, has been translated, or rather paraphrased by the traders, in the lands. No-pe-mik means, also, at the back side of a house, etc.

[69] From this example compared with the preceding, we may see how flexible are the words in these dialects, when used in combination; nin-ne-wy-gun instead of a-nin-ne o-kun-nun.

[70] Wah-o-tos-hi-ah-wik? is pronounced by the Menomonies as one word; it is probable that the interrogative pronoun wah should be considered separate. Of the remaining syllables, the prefix o seems used to indicate the third person; the next syllable, to, pronounced toe, is the word oos, meaning canoe; and iahwik implies possession. The whole sentence is similar in form and signification to what we often hear from Canadians, or persons very imperfectly acquainted with the English language. “Who belongs that canoe?” The word neen-di-ah, which has by some been thought to afford an affirmative answer to the question, whether these languages have the verb substantive, to me appears to correspond very accurately with the Latin habeo, Iche iah’t, habere, and like that verb, it may be used for the true verb substantive.

[71] Gitche-gitche-gum-me, (far, far across.) This seems to be the only word the western Indians have for the ocean, a circumstance which would induce one to believe, (could any reliance be placed upon a language preserved only by the memories, and consequently depending on the external circumstances of a few rude men,) that these tribes are not the remains of those formerly driven west, but have long occupied their present position. The manner of expressing the superlative degree appears similar to that in the Hebrew, where we are informed the degrees of comparison are made sometimes by prefixing certain syllables, or by repeating the word expressing quality, whether substantive or adjective. By some the word Gitche-gum-me is considered a compound of Gitche, (great,) and gum-maig, (water.)

[72] Lemattachpin, Del. Zeisb. 51, second edition. Pom-mis-so-wak, (they walk), Ib. 62. All these words here given as infinitives, have not a form and termination analogous to those of the Delaware infinitives, as given in Zeisberger’s Grammar, but they resemble very closely those of the Massachusetts language, as represented by Mr. Elliot. Infinitives appear not to be used with great frequency by the Chippeways; some examples, however, occur, in which we can scarce suppose ourselves mistaken respecting the mood of the verb; such as this, n’noan-do-waw a-ne-moose-me-gid. (I hear a dog bark.) The preposition to appears to have no other signification that our to, with infinitives, their local case, as it has been called, affording a substitute for it, in all cases where we should prefix to to a substantive, as, to the house, to the town, to the substantive, etc. if they had any such words.

[73] The final t in many of these words would, to many, appear more closely to resemble our consonant sound d; but so unsteady is the practice of the Indians themselves in this particular, that the ear must be far nicer than ordinary, that can distinguish, in the language of the best speakers, any steady and invariable usage in pronouncing the same word. It is allowable, in attempting to give a written form to any language, to decide a little arbitrarily in such cases. We may, perhaps, have been influenced to give preference, in some instances, to the sound of t, as the termination for this mood, by the example of Mr. Elliot, who steadily gives it in the infinitive forms of the Massachusetts dialect; and we are convinced that no Chippeway will ever mistake any word, on account of its having the final sound t, instead of d. They are, in the main, perfectly interchangeable.

[74] Neither i-ah nor goo-sah, are thought to be the verb substantive in these examples. The former seems to approach, in signification, very closely to the Latin habeo.

[75] Gemilelen, Del. Zeib. 2d ed. p. 46.

[76] Tah-ko-bitche-gum, (prisoner string,) Tah-ko-bitche-gun-un, (prisoner strings.) These cords are made of the bark of the elm tree, by boiling, and then immersing it in cold water; they are from twenty-five to fifty feet in length, and though less than half an inch in diameter, strong enough to hold the stoutest man. They are commonly ornamented with porcupine quills; and se-bas-kwi-a-gun-un, or rattles are attached at each end, not only for ornament, but to give notice of any attempt the prisoner may make to escape. The leader of a war-party commonly carries several Tah-ko-bitche-gun-un’s fastened about his waist, and, if in the course of the fight any one of his young men takes a prisoner, it is his duty to bring him immediately to the chief, to be tied, and the latter is responsible for his safe keeping.

[77] Mr. Elliot seems to have used oh-ke-oo-ook as a verb, as if he had said, while the earth earth’s, or, “is the earth,” which is perfectly in accordance with the principles of these dialects.

[78] These two examples will be found, in almost every respect, entirely similar, and they afford striking instances of the tendency of these dialects to crowd together, and to change all words to verbs. Wun-au-mon, in Elliot’s Bible, means a son.

[79] Many instances might be adduced, to show the close affinity between the language of Mr. Elliot’s version of the Bible, and several of the dialects of the present day. The termination in wug is found among the Crees, and, as in that translation, it is used in speaking of animate objects. We-at-ehim-me-nash (corn,) in the plural number, is the same in both, and the same forms of expression: as, No-wad-cha-num-un-neek, (I keep my house,) No-wad-cha-num-un-ash-noo-we-at-chim-ne-nash, (I keep my corn). Gram. p. 10, precisely analagous to n’ko-noan-dun new-ke-wam, (I keep my house,) n’ko-no-wa-ne-maug ne-man-dah-min-e-wug, (I keep my corn of the harvest day.)

[80] Ojibbeway—Me-tus-uh ge-na-beek a-naut a-new-e-kwa-wun, kaw-ween-go-sah ke-kah-ne-boas.—C.J.