LANGUAGE—PHRASES OF SALUTATION. 347 
and impart to him hour-long communications with only about the usual 
supplement and bridging of gesture (which is great at best). To one who 
has been traveling months in regions where a new language has to be 
looked to every ten miles sometimes, this state of affairs is a great relief. 
There are, as always, many and abrupt dialectic departures, but the 
root remains, and is quickly caught up by the Indian of a different dialect. 
There are not so often whole cohorts of words swinging loose from the 
language. <A ride through the Nishinam land is like the march of a 
regiment through a hostile country; every half-day’s journey there is a 
clean breach of a whole company of words, which is replaced by another. 
For instance, north of the Stanislaus they call themselves mi’-dwol: 
(“‘‘men” or “ people”); south of it to the Merced, mz’-wa; south of that to 
the Fresno, mi’-wi. On the Upper Merced the word ‘“ river” is wa-kal'-la; 
on the Upper Tuolumne, wa-kal'-u-mi; on the Stanislaus and Mokelumne, 
wa-kal'-u-mi-toh. This is undoubtedly the origin of the word “ Mokelumne”, 
which is locally pronounced mo-kal’-u-my. So also kos‘-siim, kos'-siim-mi 
(salmon) is probably the origin of the word ‘ Cosumnes”, which is pro- 
nounced koz’-u-my. For the word “ grizzly bear” there exist in different 
dialects the following different forms: w-zu'-mai-ti, os-o'-mai-ti, uh-zu'-mar-ti, 
uh-zw -mai-tuh. 
Their language is not lacking in words and phrases of greeting, which 
are full of character. When one meets a stranger he generally salutes him, 
wu'-meh? ‘{Whence] do you come”? After which follows, whi-i'-neh? 
“What are you at”? Sometimes it is w2’-oh u-kih'’? about equivalent to 
“How do you do?” How like the savage! Instead of inquiring kindly 
as to the new comer’s health and welfare, with the inquisitiveness and sus- 
picion of his race he desires to know from what quarter he hails, whither he 
is going, what for, etc. After the third or fourth question has been asked 
him, the stranger frequently remarks he'-kang-ma, “I am hungry”, which 
never fails to procure a substantial response, or as substantial as the larder 
will permit. Perhaps he will acknowledge it by ku'-ni, “Thank you”; 
more probably not. When the guest is ready to take his departure, he 
never fails to say wik’-si-mus-si, “I am going”. To which the host re- 
plies jo-to-el-le’, ““You go ahead”, an expression which arises from their 
