TH'E PACIFIC OCEAN. .iij 



the agreement of the languages of people livmg diflant from j'^^^J" 

 each other, may be affumed as a ftrong argument for their 

 having fprung from one common fource ; difagreement of 

 language is by no means a proof of the contrary *. 



However, we mufl have a far more intimate acquaintance 

 with the languages fpoken here and in the more Northern 

 parts of New Holland, before we can be warranted to pro- 

 nounce that they are totally dilFerent. Nay, we have good 

 grounds for the oppofite opinion ; for we found that the 

 animal called kavgcoroo at Endeavour river, was known un- 

 der the fame name here ; and I need not obferve, that it is 

 fcarcely poflible to fuppofe that this was not tranfmitted 

 from one another, but accidentally adopted by two nations, 

 differing in language and extraftion. Befides, as it feems 

 very improbable that the Van Diemen's Land inhabitants 

 fliould have ever loft the ufe of canoes or failing vefTels, if 

 they had been originally conveyed thither by fea, we muft 

 necefTarily admit that they, as well as the kangooroo itfelf, 

 have been ftragglers by land from the more Northern parts 



* The ingenious Author oi RUherche$ fur les Ainericains, illuflrates tlie grounds of 

 this aflertion in the follov.'ing fatisfadlory manner : " C'eft quelque chofc de furpre- 

 " nant, que la foule des idiomes, tous varies entr'eux, que parlent les naturels de 

 " TAmerique Septentrionale. Qu'on reduire ces idiomes a des racines, qu'on ls= fim- 

 " plifie, qu'on en fcpare les dialedtes & les jargons derives, il en refulte toujours cinq 

 " ou fix langues-meres, refpeftivement incomprehenfibles. On a obferve la meme 

 " fmgularite dans la Siberie & la Tartarie, ou le nombre des idiomes, & des dialedtes, 

 " eft egalement multiplie j & rien n'eft plus commun, que d'y voir deux hordes voi- 

 " fines qui ne fe comprennent point. On retrouve cette meme multiplicite de jar- 

 " gons dans toutes les Provinces de I'Amerique Meridionale." [He might alfo have 

 included Africa.] " II y a beaucoup d'apparence que !a ■uie fuimage^ en difperfant les 

 " hommes par pct'itcs troupes tfolees dans des hats cpais, occafione n.cejjairement cette grande 

 " dherfite des langues, dont le nombre diminue a mefbre que la fociete, en raflemblant 

 " les barbares vagabonds, en forme un corps de nation. Alors I'idiome le plus 

 " rjche, ou le m.oins pauvre en mots, dcvient dominant, & abforbe ks autres." 

 Tom. i. p. 159, 160. 



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