48-1 APPENDIX. 



appears more probable, to the powers of the syntax, which permits 

 the resolution of new compounds from existing roots, and often 

 concentrates, as remarked in another place, the entire sense of the 

 parent words, upon a single syllable, and sometimes upon a single 

 letter. 



Thus it is evident that the Chippewas possessed names for a 

 living tree, mittig, and a string, aidh^ before they named the bow 

 mittigwdb — the latter being compounded under one of the simplest 

 rules from the two former. It is further manifest that they had 

 named earth ahki^ and (any solid, stony, or metallic mass) dbik^ 

 before they bestowed an appellation upon the kettle, akkeek^ or 

 akkik^ the latter being derivatives from the former. lu process 

 of time these compounds became the bases of other compounds, 

 and thus the language became loaded with double, and triple, and 

 quadruple compounds, concrete in their meaning and formal in 

 their utterance. 



When the introduction of metals took place, it became neces- 

 sary to distinguish the clay from the iron pot, and the iron from 

 the copper kettle. The original compound, akkeek^ retained its 

 first meaning, admitting the adjective noun piwdhik (itself a com- 

 pound) iron, when applied to a vessel of that kindi^piwdhih akkeek^ 

 iron kettle. But a new combination took place to designate the 

 copper kettle, miskwdkeek. red metal kettle; and another expression 

 to denote the brass kettle, ozaicdbik akkeek, yellow metal kettle. 

 The former is made up from iniskowdhik^ copper (literally red- 

 tnetal — from miskicd^ red, and dhik^ the generic above mentioned), 

 and akkeek^ kettle. Ozaivdbik, brass, is from ozaiod, yellow, and 

 the generic dhek — the term akkeek being added in its separate 

 form. It may, however, be used in its connected form of vcukkeek^ 

 making the compound expression ozawdhik tvukkeek. 



In naming the horse ixdhdizhik6gaz]u.i i. e. the animal with solid 

 koofs,, they have seized upon the feature which most strikingly 

 distinguished the horse from the cleft-footed animals, which were 

 the only species known to them at the period of the discovery. 

 And ihe word itself affords an example, at once, both of their 

 powers of concentration, and brief, yet accurate description, which 

 it may be worth while to analyze. Paizhih is one, and is also 

 used as the indefinite article — the only article the language pos- 

 sesses. This Avord is further used in an adjective sense, figura- 



