MACCAULEY,] IDEAS OF TIME, NUMBER, AND COLOR. 525 
I suppose that the spelling of these words could be improved, but [ 
reproduce them phonetically as nearly as I can, not making what to me 
would be desirable corrections. The months appear to be divided 
simply into days, and these are, in part at least, numbered by reference 
to successive positions of the moon at sunset. When I asked Tal-la- 
hiis-ke how long he would stay at his present camp, he made reply by 
pointing to the new moon in the west and sweeping his hand from west 
to east to where the moon would be when he should go home. He 
meant to answer, about ten days thence. The day is divided by terms 
descriptive of the positions of the sun in the sky from dawn to sunset. 
NUMERATION, 
The Florida Indians can count, by their system, indefinitely. Their 
system of numeration is quinary, as will appear from the following list: 
1, Ham-kin. 7. Ko-lo-pa-kin. 
2, Ho-ko-lin, 8. Tci-na-pa-kin. 
3. To-tei-nin, 9. Os-ta-pa-kin. 
4. Os-tin. 10. Pa-lin. 
5, Tsaq-ke-pin. 11. Pa-lin-hiim-kin, 7 e.,ten one, &e. 
6. I-pa-kin. 20. Pa-li-ho-ko-lin, i. e., two tens. 
As a guide towards a knowledge of the primitive manner of counting 
the method used by an old man in his intercourse with me will serve. 
He wished to count eight. He first placed the thumb of the right hand 
upon the little finger of the left, then the right forefinger upon the 
next left hand finger, then the thumb on the next finger, and the fore- 
finger on the next, and then the thumb upon the thumb; leaving now 
the thumb of the right hand resting upon the thumb of the left, he 
counted the remaining numbers on the right hand, using for this pur- 
pose the fore and middle fingers of the left; finally he shut the fourth 
and little fingers of the right hand down upon its palm, and raising his 
hands, thumbs touching, the counted fingers outspread, he showed me 
eight as the number of horses of which IT had made inquiry. 
SENSE OF COLOR 
Concerning the sense of color among these Indians, I found that my 
informant at least possessed it to only a very limited degree. Black 
and white were clear to his sight, and for these he had appropriate 
names. Also for brown, which was to him a “yellow black,” and for 
gray, which was a“ white black.” For some other colors his perception 
was distinct and the names he used proper. Buta name for blue he 
appled to many other colors, shading from violet to green. A name 
for red followed a succession of colors ali the way from scarlet to pink. 
A name for yellow he applied to dark orange and thence to a list of 
colors through to yellow’s lightest and most delicate tint. I thought 
that at one time I had found him making a clear distinction between 
green and blue, but as I examined further I was never certain that he 
would not exchange the names when asked about one or the other color. 
