476 APPENDIX. 



1. I saw a little chief, standing upon a small island, with an inferior medal about 

 his neck. 



Ogimas n'gi wabuma nibowid minnisainsing onabikowan shoniasun. 



2. Yamoyden threw at a young pigeon. 

 Ogi pukkitaiwun omimeesun Yamoyden. 



3. A buflFalo calf stood in a small stream, 

 Pizhikees ki nibowi sibeesing. 



4. The little man fired at a young moose. 

 Ininees ogi pashkizwan mozosun. 



5. Several diminutive-looking bass were lying in a small bowl, upon a small 

 table. 



Addopowinaising attai onfigans abbiwad ogasug. 



Some of these sentences afford instances of the use, at the same 

 time, of both the local and diminutive inflections. Thus, the 

 word minnisamsmg, signifies literally, "in the little island;" seebees 

 ing, " in the little stream ;" addojioiuinais ing, " on the small table," 



8. The preceding forms are not the only ones by which ad- 

 jective qualities are conferred upon the substantive. The syllable 

 ish, when added to a noun, indicates a bad or dreaded quality, or 

 conveys the idea of imperfection or decay. The sound of this 

 inflection is sometimes changed to eesJi, oosh, or aush. Thus, Chi- 

 mdn, a canoe, becomes Chimdnish, a bad canoe ; Ekivai, a woman, 

 EJcivaiwish^ a bad woman ; nihi^ water, becomes niheesh, turbid or 

 strong water ; mittig, a tree, becomes mittigoosh^ a decayed tree ; 

 akhik^ a kettle, akicilcoosh, a worn-out kettle. By a further change, 

 loihid, a tooth, becomes tuihidCiah^ a decayed or aching tooth, &;c. 

 Throughout these changes the final sound of sh is retained, so 

 that this sound alone, at the end of a word, is indicative of a 

 faulty quality. 



In a language in which the expressions bad-dog and faint-heart 

 are the superlative terms of reproach, and in which there are few 

 words to indicate the modifications between positively good and 

 positively bad, it must appear evident that adjective inflections 

 of this kind must be convenient, and sometimes necessary modes 

 of expression. They furnish a means of conveying censure and 

 dislike, which, though often mild, is sometimes severe. Thus, if 

 one person has had occasion to refuse the offered hand of another 

 — for it must be borne in mind that the Indians are a hand-shak- 

 ing people as well as the Europeans — the implacable party has it 

 at his option, in referring to the circumstance, to use the adjective 

 form of hand, not onindj\ but om'ji/eesh, which would be deemed 



