670 PICTURE-WRITING OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS. 
designs have been added to express ideas and words which were not 
American, and devices were incorporated with them intended to repre- 
sent the peculiarities of the Micmac grammar as understood by Kauder, 
and it would seem of a universal grammar antedating Volapiik. The 
explanation of these additions has never been made known. Kauder 
died without having left any record or explanation of the plan by which 
he attempted to convert the mnemonic characters invented by the 
Indians into what may be considered an exposition of organized words 
(not sounds) in grammatical form. An attempt which may be likened 
to this was made by Bishop Landa in his use of the Maya characters, 
and one still more in point was that of the priests in Peru, mentioned 
in connection with Figs. 1084 and 1085, infra. 
The result is that in the several camps of Micmaes visited by the 
present writer in Cape Breton island, Prince Edward island, and Nova 
Scotia, fragments of the printed works are kept and used for religious 
worship, and also many copies on various sheets and scraps of paper 
have been made of similar fragments, but theiruse is entirely mnemonic, 
as was that of their ancient bark originals. Very few of the Indians 
who in one sense can “read” them currently in the Miemae language, 
have any idea of the connection between any one of the characters and 
the vocables of the language. Whenasked what a particular character 
meant they were unable to answer, but would begin at the commence- 
ment of the particular prayer or hymn, and when arrested at any point 
would then for the first time be able to give the Micmac word or words 
which corresponded with that character. This was not in any religious 
spirit, as is mentioned by Dr. Washington Matthews, in his Mountain 
Chant, Fifth Ann. Rep. Bureau of Ethnology, with reference to the 
Navajo’s repeating all, ifany, of the chant, but because they only knew 
that way to use the script. In that use they do as is mentioned of the 
Ojibwa, supra. The latter often by their bark script keep the memory 
of archaic words, and the Miemac keep that of religious phrases not well 
understood. A few, and very few, of the characters, which were con- 
stantly repeated, and were specially conspicuous, were known as dis- 
tinct from the other characters by one only of the Indians examined. It 
apparently had never occurred toany of them that these same characters, 
which in their special mnemonic connection represented Micmac words, 
could be detached from their context and by combination represent the 
same wordsin other sentences. Therefore, theexpression “reading,” used 
in reference to the operation, is not strictly correct. In most cases the 
recitation of the script was in a chant, and the musical air of the Roman 
Catholic Church belonging to the several hymns and chants was often 
imitated. The object, therefore, which has been expressed in the above 
quoted accounts of Fathers Druillettes and Le Clereq had been accom- 
plished regarding the then extant generation of Indians two hundred 
years before Father Kauder’s publication. That object was for Indians 
nnder their immediate charge to learnin the most speedy manner certain 
