446 APPENDIX. 



plurals are an, een^ in, on, or un. This simple principle clears up 

 one cause of perplexity in the conjugations, and denotes a philo- 

 sophical method, which divides the whole vocabulary into two 

 classes; while this provision supersedes, it answers the purpose of 

 gender. There is, in fact, no gender required by the conjugations, 

 it being sufficient to denote the vitality or non-vitality of the class. 

 Nothing can be clearer. This is one of the leading traits of the 

 grammar of the language, upon the observance of which the best 

 speakers pride themselves. 



It does not, however, result that, because there is no gender 

 required in the conjugations, the idea of sexuality is unknown to 

 the nomenclature. Quite the contrary. The tenses for male and 

 female, in the chief orders of creation, are iaha and nozha. These 

 words prefixed to the proper names of animals, produce expres- 

 sions of precisely the same meaning, and also the same inelegance ; 

 as if we should say, male goose, female goose, male horse, and 

 female horse, male man and female man. The term for man 

 {inini) is masculine, and that for woman (eqna) feminine in its 

 construction. It is only in the conjugations that the principle 

 of gender becomes lost in that of vitality. 



7. Active and jjassive voices. — The distinction between these two 

 classes of verbs is made by the inflection ego. By adding this 

 form to the active verb, its action is reversed, and thrown back 

 on the nominative. Thus, the verb to carry is nini bemon, I 

 carry; ?im bemon-ego, I am carried. Adoicawa is the act of 

 thumping, as a log by the waves on the shore. Adowawa-ego 

 is a log that is thumped by the waves on shore. Nesaugeah, I 

 love ; Nesaugeigo, I am loved. In the latter phrase, the personal 

 term au is dropped, and the long sound of e slips into i, which 

 converts the inflection into igo instead of ego. 



8. Participles. — My impression is, that the Indians are in the 

 habit of using participles, often to the exclusion of other proper 

 forms of the verb. The vocabulary contains abundantly the indi- 

 cative forms of the verb. To run, to rise, to see, to eat, to tie, to burn, 

 to strike, to sing, to cry, to dance, are the common terms of par- 

 lance ; but as soon as these terms come to be connected with the 

 action of particular persons, this action appears to be spoken of 

 as if existing — both the past and future tenses being thro\\Ta away ; 

 and the senses appear to be, I, you, he, or they ; running, rising, 



