ASIATIC TRIBES OF NORTH AMERICA. 181 
running and wrestling, and in this respect present a marked contrast 
to neighbouring Asiatic and American tribes. They are equally 
noted for manual dexterity and mechanical skill, with capabilities 
for self improvement, as the present civilization of the Cherokees 
and Choctaws attests, and as is evident from the fact that the highly 
civilized Japanese are nearly related to the Koriaks. A Choctaw 
tradition, reported by Catlin, states that, a long time ago, the 
Choctaws “commenced moving from the country where they then 
lived, which was a great distance to the west of the great river and 
the mountains of snow, and they were a great many years on their 
way.” It is worthy of note that the Tuhuktukis (1? Tchuktchi) are 
mentioned as members of the Cherokee confederacy. 
In treating of the Choctaw language I find it necessary to compare 
ts dialects with those of the Peninsular family in general, owing to 
the paucity of my collection of Koriak and Tchuktchi terms, and to 
the fact stated by Dr. Latham, that of the Peninsular languages the 
grammatical structure of only one of them, the Japanese, is known. 
The same writer adds that “the Peninsular languages have a general 
glossarial connection with each other,” and “in the opinion of the 
present writer, the Peninsular languages agree in the general fact of 
being more closely akin to those of America than any other.” The 
Choctaw word for man hatak is the Japanese otoko, and the Muskogee 
chauheh is the Loo Choo chu. The Choctaw tike, tekcht woman is 
the Loo Choo tackki. Boat is pent in Choctaw, and fune in Japanese; 
and bone is font in Choctaw and fone in Japanese. The two 
Tchuktchi terms for father, annaka and attaka, are represented by 
the Choctaw unke and the Cherokee chatokta. The Cherokee agaula 
and the Choctaw kullo, fish, are equally derived from the Tchuktchi 
tkhalik. The Tchuktchi name for god is istla and the Choctaw 
hoshtahli, while the Muskogee god, efeekeesa, is not unlike the 
Japanese jebisu. The Tchuktchi aganak woman is the Cherokee 
ageyung ; the Tchuktchi wnako to-morrow, the Choctaw onaha ; the 
Tchuktchi nowna, water, the Cherokee omma. But I must refer to 
the accompanying vocabulary for the lexical evidence thus introduced. 
In regard to grammatical forms, absence of gender characterizes 
the Choctaw and Peninsular languages, and the same may almost be 
said in regard to number. Case is marked in both groups by post 
positions. The form of the genitive is worthy of special note. In 
the case of each the possessor, with an affix originally representing 
