186 THE MOHAWK LANGUAGE. 



more from the Mohawk than any of the others. For the Chiefs of 

 the Mohawks, Oneiclas, Onondagas, Cayugas and Senacas speak each 

 in his own language in the Council House and are readily understood 

 by all. But the speech of a Tuscarora Chief usually has tc be 

 interpreted into one or other of the five dialects before it can be 

 understood by the Council. 



Our first inquiries must be directed, as a matter of course, to the 

 alphabet of the leading language, viz : the Mohawk, and atten- 

 tion will at once be arrested by a curious peculiarity, in the entire 

 absence of the labials which, in English, are so prominent. 



I ought, perhaps, here to explain that the name Mohawk was given 

 to us by foreigners, and that the signification or derivation is entirely 

 unknown to us. Some writers, I believe, have conjectured it to mean 

 man eaters ; but if it is implied by this that the Mohawks were Can- 

 nibals, I have no hesitation in pronouncing it to be a libel. 



The name by which we are known among Indians is, perhaps, not 

 quite so euphonious, but much more complimentary. It is Ka-nyen- 

 ke-hd-Jca which means "Flint People" or "people derived from the 

 flint," given no doubt by those who had experienced something of the 

 flinty character and the scalping propensities of the Mohawk upon 

 the war-path. The following comprises all the letters of the alphabet^ 

 viz : 



Vowels. 

 Vowels followed by h have a short quick ex- 

 plosive sound, e g., eh as e in met ; ih as i in 

 pin. 



E followed by n has the sound of u in 

 under. 



Consonants. 

 dhjknqrstwxy. 

 It will thus be seen that bcfglmpvz are wanting, leaving 

 17 letters in the alphabet. 



Writers who have gone before me have, as a general thing, retained 

 c and q, but I conceive uselessly, as I think where those former 

 ■Writers would employ these letters, j and k could be used quite as 

 correctly. 



It will be my object, not so much to exhibit the language in some 

 particular form, or according to certain preconceived grammatical 

 notions, as to examine and analyze the language, and afterwards de- 



