310 FOSSIL MEN". 



It is a common popular statement, that the lan- 

 guages of the American continent are innumerable 

 and mutually unintelligible. In a very superficial 

 sense this is true ; but more profound investigation 

 shows that the languages of America are essentially 

 one. Their grammatical structure, while very com- 

 plex, is on the same general principles throughout. 

 But grammar is after all only the clothing of language. 

 Its essence consists in its root words, which bear a 

 definite relation to the mental habits and vocal organs 

 of the speaker, and very often equally definite relations 

 to the things spoken of. Now, multitudes of root 

 words are identical in the American languages over 

 vast areas, some of them with precisely the same 

 senses, and others with various shades of analogical 

 meaning. If we leave out of the account purely 

 imitative words, as those derived from the voices of 

 animals and from natural sounds, which necessarily 

 resemble each other everywhere, it will be found that 

 the most persistent words are those like "God," 

 " house," " man," which express objects or ideas of 

 constant recurrence in the speech of everyday life, 

 and which, in consequence, become most perfectly 

 stereotyped in the usage of rude peoples. Further, 

 a very slight acquaintance with these languages is 

 sufficient to show that they are connected with the 

 older languages of the Eastern continent by a great 

 variety of the more permanent root words, and with 

 some even in grammatical structure. So persistent 

 is this connection in time, that pages might be filled 



