Brinton.] [Nov. 21, 



in d ~rk caves and holes in the ground, covered with reeds, and gain- 

 ing subsistence by fishing.* 



They are described as very jealous about .their language and un- 

 willing that any foreigner should learn it. As they all spoke more 

 or less Kechua, their religious exercises and necessary communica- 

 tk ns with the authorities were carried on in that tongue which 

 will explain the presence of a number of words appropriate to such 

 relations in their own idiom. 



The entire dissimilarity of the Puquina to both Kechua and 

 Aymara is forcibly shown by a comparison of the numerals. 



Kechua. Aymara. Puquina. 



1. hue mayni pesc 



2. iscay pani so 



3. quimsa quimsa capa 



4. tahua pusi sper 



5. pichka pisca tacpa 



6. soccta chocta chichun 



7. canchis pa-calico stu 



8. pusacc quimsa- calico quina 



9. iscon llalla-tunca checa 

 10. chunca tunca scata 



In these lists, three of the Aymara numerals, i, 2, and 4, are in- 

 dependent ; four of them, 3, 5, 6, and 10, are taken from the Ke- 

 chua ; and the remaining three are compounds, pa-calico being 

 * "i~ 5 ) quimsa calico, 3 + 5, and llalla tunca meaning "next to 

 ten" or "less than ten." Calico is derived from the word for 

 " foot," the counting being with the toes. On the other hand, 

 there is not a single numeral of the Puquina which can be taken 

 from either Kechua or Aymara, and, what is more singular, there is 

 apparently not one which is compounded. 



To illustrate the general appearance of the language, I shall give 

 some extracts from De Ore's work, presenting the versions in the 

 other lenguas generates for the sake of comparison. 



The Sacrament of Baptism. 



P. Quid fertes ad ecclesiam, virum aut mulierem ? 



R. Virum. 



P. Quid petit ab Ecclesia Dei ? 



* Alcedo, Diccionario Qeograficc-Historico de las Indias, s. v. Chucuito. 



