18P2.] ^^1 IHriiitou. 



Further Notes on the Betoya Dialects ; from Unpublished Sources. 



By Daniel G. Biinton, M.D., LL.D. 

 {^Read before the American Philosophical Society, October y, i8g2.') 



Last spring the Librarian of the Lenox Library, Mr. Wilberforce 

 Eames, called my attention to a manuscript in that collection, with 

 the following title : " Arte de lengua de las Misiones del Rio Napo 

 de la Nacion Quenquehoyos, y idioma gefieral de los mas de ese Rio, 

 Payohuates, Genzehuates, Ancoteres, Encabellados. Jmitamente 

 tiene la doctrina Christiana en dicha lengua y en la del Ynga. A I 

 retnate. ' ' 



It is a duodecimo of seventy-five leaves, complete, clearly writ- 

 ten, and dated at the close "Mayo 4 de 1793." It begins with a 

 brief exposition of the grammatic principles of the language, and 

 follows with a vocabulary of about 1700 words, covering 34 leaves. 

 At the close are versions of the Doctrina in the same tongue and 

 in the Kechua. Through the kindness of Mr. Eames I had op- 

 portunity to examine the MS. carefully, and to make from it a 

 number of extracts which enable me to present the subjoined 

 sketch of the language. 



The stock to which it belongs is one concerning whose gram- 

 matic character the material hitherto available has been quite 

 meagre. In a former contribution to the Proceedings of this Soci- 

 ety I have shown that what are distinctively known as the Rio Napo 

 dialects belong to the Betoya linguistic stock, and are affiliated 

 with others which can be traced over ten degrees of latitude, from 

 3° south to 7° north latitude. 



The dialect presented in the present MS. is a comparatively pure 

 and well-marked member of the stock, and is nearly related to the 

 Correguage of the head waters of the Caqueta and Putumayo rivers, 

 of which vocabularies have been published by different travelers. 



By Hervas, and a number of other writers who have copied from 

 him, these Rio Napo dialects have been classed with the Zaparro 

 stock, with which they have no relationship whatever. 



Nouns, 

 Nouns are usually employed with suffixes denoting relation which 

 allow them to be arranged with a resemblance to declensions. 



