LANGUAGE OF THE JIISSISSAGUAS OF SCUGOG. 213 



THE LANGUAGE OF THE MISSISSAGUAS OF 

 SCUGOG. [Abstract] 



BY A. F. Chamberlain, M.A. 



In the course of a visit paid to the Indians of Scugog in August^ 

 1888, the writer was enabled to collect a vocabulary of some 700 

 words, besides personal and place names. The vocabulary shows the 

 Mississagua to be almost pure Ojebway, thei-e being, however, several 

 points in which it seems to possess dialectic peculiarities, such as the 

 use (more frequent than in Ojebway) of the o — so often elided or 

 absent in other Algonkin dialects, as recorded by travellers ; it is 

 very difficult to catch this o-sound, and it is perhaps more often 

 indistinctly sounded than omitted altogether. A few words also 

 seem peculiarly Mississagua and to differ from those in use by other 

 Ojebway tribes. The language which the Mississagua most closely 

 resembles is that of the Algonkins of the Lake of the Two Mountains^ 

 as recorded by Cuoq (Lexique Algonquin, 1886). The following 

 words are not to be found in Wilson's and Baraga's Dictionaries, 

 or different words are given : 



Bark-dish (for win- 1 n -t -l- 



^ ■ y . .noslilMtsniqan. 



nowing rice. J "^ 



Ash (Black) wisddjak. Hell-diver 



Bald-headed Eagle .... amigigilioani. Heron moshkdosi. 



Iron-wood mdneh. 



Landing (for boats) hapUkoin. 



Bulrush andlcanashk. Maple (hard) anindtik. 



Burdock osdkcUdhcmug, .< (g^ft) chigimanish. 



_, . , . , , ,, Meat-bird gwingwkh. 



Chisel eshkon (horn). ^ . .,, ,,^ , , , 



^, . . , . ,.. , , Milky Way name/wakweh- 



Chickadee gidjikomshi. bikamitowut^ 



Chipmunk ogw'mgwis. (the sturgeon making rily water). 



Clam dssens. Mat (for drying rice on) . . opddjigan^ 



Currant (wild black) .... amikoivomin. Mudturtle mishika. 



Ear-tish (of Lake Huron) . . otdwgamek. Moth (night-flying) nitos. 



Fox-bird dnuk. Parched rice kaivpiaigan. 



Hemlock kdkamisli. Sarsaparilla okddak (leg-root. ) 



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