220 REMARKS on THE ANCIENT works, &¢. 
other fuppofition, than that the waters.of the river had, 
at fome time, flowed fo much higher. 
With refpect to the POPULOUSNESS of the natives, I 
cannot give you any fatisfactory account; and from whence 
they came it is fill, more difficult to determine. The. 
Chickafaw fay they came from where the Sun fets in the 
water, and that they were feven years on the way, march-. 
ing only. one moon in a year, remaining the other part of 
the time at the fame camp, preparing for the next year’s 
march. The fimilarity between. their language-and that of © 
the Chacktaw evidently proves that they are from the fame 
origin. The lan2uages of the different tribes of the Six=. 
Nations are alfo very fimilar to each other, as are the lan-. 
guages of many of the Weftern nations.and the Creek- 
nations, or Mufcows, with very little alteration Mu/fco- 
wites, But the languages of the Six-Nations, the Weltern. 
nations and the Chickafaw are fo different even in found. 
and in conftrution, that they never could have been des. 
rived from, or any way dependent on, each other. 
With refpe@ to their customs and MANNERs, I am 
equally unable to give you any fatisfactory information. 
I cannot. help thinking ita great misfortune, thatno meas. 
fures have ever been taken which held out fufficient induce- 
ments for men of abilities to travel amongft the tribes 
which are fo. far removed from the nations of Europe, that 
we might be. aflured. their cuftoms were not borrowed 
from, or.any way intermixed with, ours. It is.equally, 
a misfortune that we are fuffering fo many of their Jan-. 
guages to become extinét, without preferving their radical 
characterifticks : for-there is a certain charaCteriftick pe- 
culiar to different languages, not dependent on each other, 
which, though difguifed with a variety of founds, or 
different dialeéts, on accurate examination, will give 
fome grounds to conjeture from what language they are 
Gerived 3 
