PROCEEDINGS OF THE REGENTS. 91 



founded on comparative philology, habits, &c., and psychology — in fact, to 

 have as wide a range as there are reliable materials to work on. As it would 

 take too long to await its entire completion, it might appear in a series of mono- 

 graphs, such as you have already published on various subjects, but the field is 

 too wide for any one man to undertake ati exhaustive work, embracing the 

 whole. 



I should explain that this suggestion comes entirely from myself, and that I 

 am led to it by consultation with these gentlemen as to their views of the 

 demands of ethnology in a work of this kind, not that they desired to invite 

 such a request. 



GEORGE GIBBS. 



December 26, 1882. 



I had the honor to receive, in due course, your letter of December 18, 

 informing me that the questions submitted in mine of December 3 had been 

 referred to Professor Whitney, and shall hope to hear from him in reply. 



Pursuant to the directions 1 received in a former letter, I v>'rotc to Dr. Davis, 

 requesting him to make any suggestions which might occur to him in regard to 

 the archaeological circular ; but having received no reply, I presume that he is 

 absent from the city. 1 called on Mr. Squier, v/ho promised to send mc his 

 views on the same subject, but have not yet received them. I mention this as 

 the cause of the delay in communicating the result to you. If I do not hear 

 from you to the contrary, I will let the circular stand as it is. 



In accordance with your desire that I should prepare a list of additional 

 words to accompany the philological circular, I have gone into one at some 

 length, in concurrence with Mr. Shea. We agree in submitting to you that the 

 publication of this additional vocabulary be deferred for the present, and appear 

 hereafter as a sort of supplement, v.hcn we shall have rendered it tolerably 

 perfect. It may be advisable to extend it to some two thousand or twenty-five 

 Imndred words and phrases, some of them generally applicable, others to only 

 particular parts of the country. The reason for this extension is as. follows : 



As regards nouns, the almost entire absence of generic terms renders it 

 necessary that each object should be as specifically designated as possible ; for 

 instance, eacli particular kind of animal, tree, &c. Mr. Morgan's circular illus- 

 trates this point in respect to relationships, which are distinguished by singular 

 complication and a great variety of uam?s. In the pronouns there are noL onh'- 

 absolute but copulative pronouns, sometimes both personal and possessive, the 

 copulative being joined to or incorporated with nouns and adjectives or verbs, 

 as the case may be. In some languages, at least, there are two and even three 

 sets of cardinal numbers, one being positive or simple, another personal or 

 applied to men, and still another to the counting of money. Again, of the 

 verbs, the degree of detail into which these languages run may be eeen fi-om 

 the fact that vv'hile there maybe no abstract word for " to wash" or "kill," 

 there will be found separate words for to wash the hands, face, and clothes, 

 and to kill by stabbing, shooting with a bow, gun, &c. 



You will therefore perceive that in order to arrive at any degree of precision 

 it v/ill be necessary to furnish quite a numerous collection of words, and that 

 reference must be had in the selection both of these and the phrases to the 

 idiom of the language and turn of thought of the speaker. To accomplish this 

 in a way satisfactory to yourself will require some time, but in the mean while 

 the present circular will perform its own more limited task. 



The scientific names of animals, &c., should, of course, be given ; but whether 

 it will be best to undertake a translation of the whole into other languages is a 

 question, for there are many words of daily use in Indian life which have no 

 synonyms in dictionaries, or except in the various patois. 



