68 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. ix. 



and modes of life. Before they were subjected to the influences 

 of civilization, in every other respect than that which a commu- 

 nity of condition imposed, they diflfered toto coelo from each 

 other. The Algonquin languages are radically distinct from 

 those of the Iroquois, both in grammatical and in verbal forms. 

 The flatter face, inferior stature, and more delicately formed 

 extremities of the Algonquin are in contrast with the prominent 

 features, the larger proportions and muscular development of the 

 Iroquois. The Iroquois is preeminently a landsman, a warrior 

 and a lover of manly sports, while the Algonquin loves the water, 

 is' unaggressive, and spends his spare time in idleness. Tacitur- 

 nity, with all that it implies, such as the absence of humor, is 

 characteristic of the Algonquin, but not of the Iroquois. The 

 Iroquois was originally a sun-worshipper, but such the Algonquin 

 never was. In fact these two families have nothing in common 

 beyond the mere accidents of condition and certain minor features 

 of life resulting from mutual intercourse. The Algonquin and 

 the Iroquois, who have jointly contributed to the portraiture of 

 the ideal red-man, are the representatives of two families as 

 distinct as any that can be found outside of the Aryan and 

 Semitic areas of the Old World. 



In seeking the origin of the Iroquois and Algonquin families, 

 lansuao-e must be our chief o;uide, and first in lan^uanje stand 

 grammatical forms. There are three important difi"erences in 

 structure which separate Algonquin from Iroquois grammar. 

 The former frequently makes use of prepositions like the Aryan 

 and Semitic languages ; the latter invariably employs postposi- 

 tions, like the Turanian tongues. Thus in Cree, one of the most 

 widely distributed Algonquin dialects, trliih-ishutek means "near 

 the fire," tcJuk being the preposition ''near"; but in Iroquois 

 the same expression is translated by ontchiclitahta^ in which 

 akta^ *' near," is a postposition. The place of the temporal 

 index in the order of the verb is a second distinguishing feature 

 of the two grammatical systems. In the Iroquois the mark of 

 time is final, although it is sometimes implemented by a prefix 

 to the initial personal-pronoun ; thus in ke-nonwe-s I love, ke- 

 nonice-skice I loved, wake-nomce-hon I have loved, and enke- 

 nonwe-ne I shall love, s, skwe, lion and ne are the indices of 

 present, imperfect, perfect and future time, nonwe being the 

 verbal root and ke the pronoun. But in Algonquin the temporal 

 index is, in the more important tenses at least, prefixed to the 



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