264 SYSTEMS OF CONSANGUINITY AND AFFINITY 



terras, apart from tlieir use, the work, which barely failed of being complete, was 

 entirely lost. All that appears is that the relationships of brother and sister are 

 in the twofold form of elder and younger, and that the different relationships, 

 both by blood and marriage, are fully discriminated. 



III. Village Indians of South America. 



It is with extreme regret that the author acknowledges the entire failure of his 

 attempts to procure the system of relationship of the Indian nations of South Ame- 

 rica. The importance of the system of these nations in its bearing upon the great 

 question whether they are constituent portions of the Ganowanian family, will at 

 once be seen and recognized. At the outset of this investigation, as- has elsewhere 

 been stated, schedules were sent to the several diplomatic and consular repre- 

 sentatives of the United States throughout Spanish America, with the hope that a 

 portion at least of these nations might be reached, and their system obtained. These 

 schedules were forwarded by the Secretary of State of the United States, with a 

 circular commending the subject to their attention. The principal diificulty, un- 

 doubtedly, was the barrier of language, which might have been avoided, to a con- 

 siderable extent, by the translation of the schedule into Spanish.' 



One of these schedules sent to New Granada, was placed by General Jones, U. 

 S. Minister Resident at Bogota, in the hands of Dr. Uricoechea, who filled it out, 

 as far as he was able, in the language of the Chibcha or Muyska Indians of New 

 Grenada. In his letter to the author, he remarks, " I send, partially filled up, one 

 of your schedules in the language of the ancient inhabitants of this city. The 

 nation has been long lost, and its language is nowhere spoken. However little we 

 know of their language and customs, I believe that they have ilie very same system 

 of consanguinity as the Iroquois. ... As the language, besides the notices given 

 in Triibner's Bibliotheca Glottica, I have just discovered a new grammar and 

 vocabulary, of the year 1620. I possess three difi'erent grammars (two in MS.), 

 and two dictionaries, which seem to be copies of an older one." Although the 

 schedule is not sufficiently filled to develop the essential characteristics of the 

 Muyska system, it is extremely interesting from the general conformity to the com- 

 mon system, which it shows, as far as its own form is displayed. Since the number 

 of the questions he was able to answer are few in comparison with the entire list, 

 the questions and answers will be presented in fuU. They arc as follows, except 

 the translations of the terms, which have been added : — 



' The schedules sent to the United States Legation at Brazil were placed in the hands of an 

 attache, Porter C. Bliss, Esq., who afterwards visited a large number of Indian nations in Brazil, 

 Paraguay, the Argentine Confederation, Bolivia, and Peru, for ethnological.and philological purposes. 

 He succeeded in filling out schedules in nations representing several stock languages in South America, 

 but becoming afterwards involved in the civil disturbances in Paraguay, he was arrested and impri- 

 soned by President Lopez, and his papers, the schedules among them, were seized and destroyed. 

 He informed the author, after his return, that he found the system of the Northern Indians, with more 

 or less distinctness, amongst the South American Indian nations. The principal stock languages 

 south of the Amazon, as determined by him, are the Qnichua, Aymara, Araueanian, Abipone, Toba, 

 Ecole, Metagwaya, Guaraui, Payagua, Machicuy, Chequitian, Patagonian, and Fuegian. 



