232 ON THE ETHNOGRAPHY AND PHILOLOGY OF THE 
niboins, Minnitarees, Mandans, Arickares, Shyennes, Arapohos, or Dakotas of the Missouri, 
and with the exception of the latter, only brief vocabularies of the languages spoken by 
these nations have been published. 
The tribes enumerated in this work have been separated into four distinct groups, and 
it is believed that a more careful study and comparison of their different dialects will only 
tend to confirm this division. 
I. KNISTENEAUX, OR CREES, 
Il. BuackFEet, Algonkin Group, A. 
II]. SHyYENNEs, 
IV. ARAPOHOS, 
V. ATSINAS, 
VI. PAWNEES, 
VII. ARrrkARAS, 
VIL. Daxoras, \ 
IX. ASsSINIBOINS, 
X. Crows, 
XI. Minnitarzes, $ Dakota Group, D. 
XII. Manpans, 
XIU. Omanas, 
XIV. Iowas, y 
Arapoho Group, B. 
Pawnee Group, C. 
Belonging to the last group are the Ponkas, Otos, Missourias, Kansas, Osages, Inapaw, 
Winnibagos, whose languages have not yet been studied to any extent. 
I am well aware how incomplete these Contributions are, and would not at this time 
suffer their publication, did I not believe that there is contained in them much useful in- 
formation which ought to be given to the world in advance of a more elaborate work. 
In stating the definitions of many of the words, I have often used the peculiar idioms of 
those Far-Western men, which they have derived from long intercourse with the Indians, 
and an acquaintance with their peculiar modes of expression. 
In obtaining words from the native Indian, the object is not to labor with any precon- 
ceived opinion in regard to their meaning or their grammatical structure, to which the 
mind of the Indian must bend in giving his replies, but to let him answer freely, and then 
by a variety of cross questions, arrive at an approximation to the truth. It has often been 
a matter of much surprise to me, how much of the grammatical structure of a language 
may be obtained from a wholly uneducated but intelligent native by judicious manage- 
ment. I have found it of great advantage to enlist the aid of the chiefs and leading men in 
my labors, from the fact that they, in almost all cases, take great pride in being regarded as 
