1873.] 4J5 [Brinton. 



formed by adding enu (also a diminutive termination in Maskoke) ; and 

 augmentatives by adding se'l are frequent. 



Causative verbs are numerous, and are generally formed by the termi- 

 nation hvlles to the root. Eple hvlles, to hear, is probably thus formed 

 from epuk, the ear. Adjectives and some possessive pronouns follow the 

 low the words they qualify. 



The numerals are remarkably simple, and testify to their independent 

 construction in the language itself. The word for one, we'tan, witahu, 

 G., seems allied to a Maskoke word sometimes used for first, hvti-chiskv 

 ( = wute-ckiskv).* The latter again leads us to the Yuche hete, one. The 

 number two is merely this primitive repeated with a prefix, a' wete, pro- 

 bably pet one, or one other, as the German noch eins. Three is the, same 

 root eta, with the prefix of the third person singula! - , ne'de, or 

 nay'etie, G., he yet, er noch. Again, in the four, tenv'wete, we recognize 

 the word two, a'wete, with the dual prefix te and a euphonic n, te-n- 

 awete, tenv'wete, literally, two twos. The five, spe'de, or shpedee, G, is 

 evidently the palm of the hand held up to show the five fingers espe'hsev, 

 ispeshe, G. (see the vocabulary). Seven, eight, and nine are clearly built 

 up on the root kwv, thus un'h kwv, v'p kwv tepcs, wete'p kwv tepes. 

 This radical is common also to these three numbers in the chetimacha, 

 pakhu, tsi khuiau, tek khuian, and the Attacapa eight and nine, ku eta, 

 ku icheta. The ten ogu, oku, is possibly the Chok. pokoli, Mik. pokolen, 

 ten. Indeed, Dumont gives pokole as the Nache word for ten. 



In instituting a comparison between the Nache and other tongues, the 

 Chahta-Maskoke stem of languages, which included those spoken over 

 most of the area between the Lower Mississippi and the Atlantic, natur- 

 ally should first be examined. The principal dialects are the closely 

 related Choctaw and Chikasaw on the one part, and the nearly equally 

 closely related dialects of the Creek or Maskoke on the other, the latter 

 embracing the main Creek or Maskoke proper, the Hichita, Mikasukie, 

 and Koosati. 



There are no published dictionaries of any of these tongues, and the 

 vocabularies are by no means full. Besides the printed lists of words to 

 be found in the writings of Gallatin, Buckingham Smith, Buckner, 

 Robertson, Schoolcraft, and Byington, I have consulted various manu- 

 script vocabularies, especially one of the several Maskoke dialects, ob- 

 tained at my request by Mrs. A. E. W. Robertson. The dialects are re- 

 erred to by their first syllables. 



Again, hvmu — Mas. svnv chumv. 



Apple, vpesurer, augmentative of vpesur, peach. The prefix vpe is the 

 Choctaw affix vpi, applied to various kinds of fruit-trees, as ot-vpi chest- 

 nut tree, fik vpi, fig tree (Luk. xviii. 6). 



Beans, popke. Seminole, popka, wild peas. 

 Bed, pe'thup. Mas. pvtakv. 

 * H. F. Buckner, Grammar of the Maskfflke Lang. p. 28. 



