General Farsom^ Diseoveries in the Wedeni Comiirjj, 125 



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officer of learnings and great curiosity in liis observations in 

 the natural world : and to inform me of their discoveries ; 

 extracts of whose letters I herewith send you. The Indians 

 have no tradition what nation ever buried their dead in the 

 manner we discovered them. The trees on the Indian graves 

 and ancient fortifications (of which there are great numbers 

 in that country) appear to be coeval with the adjoining 

 forests. On the whole^ I am of opinion, that country has 



been thickly peopled, by men to whom the necessary arts 

 were known in a much greater degree than to the present 

 native Indians of that region : but I am transgressing my 

 own system; and shall return to facts only, and let others 

 form hypotheses. Among the Indian nations in general, I 

 find an appearance of a radical similarity in language ; but 

 this is not universally true ; the Huron, or Wyandot lan- 

 guage, having no affinity to the Shawancse, Delawares, and 

 other nations. I do not remember to have heard a single 

 word in that languas;e, which had the least affinity, in 



sound, with the words in other languages, expressive of the 



same idea. A few examples follow^ : 



Shawancse, Delawares. Wyandois. 



Bear Mauquah Mough Un-ycu-ech 



Water Nip-pch Beh San-doos-tea 



Snake Mon-na-too Aukook Kun-gun-see 



Deer Seck-thee Au-tooh Ske-nun-took 



r 



Nose 0-chau-see AYe-ke-un A-yonh-joh 



Eye Ske-sa-coo Wus-kingd Yau-pe-dah. 



Among the tribes, there are as characteristick distinctions 

 in features, size, and complexion, as between the French, 



Dutch, 



