330 



BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE 



McLean (J.) — Continued. 



to the student of philology, commencing on p. 

 241. This includes titles of works in Mohegan 

 and Delaware, Onondaga, Algonquin, Iroquois, 

 Micmac, Cree, Ojibway, Dakota, Natick, Es- 

 kimo, Mohawk, Tukudh. — A section devoted 

 specially to Eskimo literature extends from 

 p.247 top. 251.— Indian syllables (Tukudh, Cher- 

 okee, Cree), pp. 251-253.— The Cree language, 

 general grammatic remarks, syllabic system, 

 literature, pp. 253-258. — The Lord's prayer in 

 the Cree syllabic characters, p. 351. 

 Copies seen : Eames, Pilling, Powell. 



James Evans | inventor of the syl- 

 labic system | of the Cree language. | 

 By I John McLean, M. A., Ph. D., | 

 (Robin Rustler), | Author of "The In- 

 dians of Canada : Their Manners and 

 Customs," [ etc., etc. | 



Toronto: | William Briggs, | Wesley 

 buildings. | Montreal : C. W. Coates. 

 Halifax, N. S. : S. F. Huestis. [1890.] 



Portrait 1 1. title verso copyright 1 1. dedica- 

 tion verso blank 1 1. preface verso blank 1 1. 

 contents pp. vii-viii, list of illustrations verso 

 blank 1 1. poem by Whittier pp. xi-xii, text pp. 

 13-208, 12°. 



Missisauga and Mohawk sentence, with Eng- 

 lish equivalent, p. 46. — A prayer in the lan- 

 guage of the Indians of Grape Island, with Eng- 

 lish translation, pp. 76-77. — Chapter xi, pp. 

 160-174, is entitled " The syllabic system of the 

 Cree language," and contains, besides an ac- 

 count of the invention of the syllabic system 

 and extended remarks on the grammar of that 

 language, the syllabic characters, pp. 165-166; 

 the Lord's prayer, p. 171 ; the ten command- 

 ments, pp. 172-173; and a hymn entitled "The 

 sweet by and bye," p. 174 (all in syllables). 



On pp. ^62, 163 are found the following re- 

 marks concerning the invention of the Cree syl- 

 labary: "He [Eames] found two efficient and 

 willing helpers in Mr. and Mrs. Ross, the factor 

 and his wife. An old Hudson's Bay employee in- 

 formed the writer that Mrs. Eoss rendered the 

 chief help to the missionary in studying the lan- 

 guage. . - . Quick to observe the principles 

 of language, he beheld with joy the recurrence 

 of certain vowel sounds, which, when fully 

 grasped might prove of great service in sim- 

 plifying language and preparing a literature 

 for the people. . . . Pondering deeply, 

 . . . at last, in the year 1841, the Ciee syl- 

 labic system was completed, the alphabet dis- 

 tributed among the Indians and placed in the 

 school, and instructions given in its arrange- 

 ment. In less than one year from his advent 

 to Norway House he had devised and perfected 

 the syllabic system upon which his enduring 

 lame rests." 



Copies seen : Eames, Pilling. 



[Dictionary of the Blackfoot lan- 

 guage.] (*) 



Manuscript in the possession of its author, 

 who describes it for me as follows, under date 



McLean (J.) — Continued. 



of Aug. 24, 1887 : "I have this well underway. 

 It is a dictionary, not a vocabulary, and includes 

 grammaticalnotes as well as the meaning of the 

 words. There are at present over ten thousand 

 words recorded, and when completed, which I 

 hope to do in from six to twelve months after 

 the grammar, willcontain probably from twenty 

 to twenty-five thousand words." 

 [Grammar of the Blackfoot lan- 

 guage.] c^y 



Manuscript in possession of the author, who 

 is preparing it for publication ; in a late letter 

 (April 8, 1890) he informs me he hopes to have 

 it published in the succeeding autumn, anrl that 

 it will probably make a volume of 250 pages, 

 12°. Under date of Aug. 24, 1887, he outlinerits 

 contents, as follows : 



Preface, introduction. 



Part first: Orthography. The alphabet; ac- 

 centuation ; euphony. 



Part second : Etymology. Definition of parts 

 of speech, with examples ; notes on the articles, 



Chapter I, the noun: Classification of nouns, 

 with examples ; noun terminations, with exam- 

 ples. Formation of nouns; diminutive nouns; 

 nouns of contempt ; personal abstract nouns. 

 Gender ; modes of denoting sex. Number ; how 

 formed; elision. Case; different cases; how 

 formed (fully exemplified) ; possessive termina- 

 tions; the double possessive. Declension of the 

 noun. 



Chapter II, the pronoun : Kinds of pronouns : 

 personal pronouns ; inflection. Possessive pro- 

 nouns; separable, conjunctive. Demonstrative 

 pronouns; animate, inanimate. Interrogative 

 pronouns. Relative pronouns. Indefinite pro- 

 nouns. 



Chapter III, the adjective: Separable adjec- 

 tives. Inseparable adjectives. Verbal adjec- 

 tives. Comparison of adjectives. Numeral ad- 

 jectives; cardinals; multiplicative numerals; 

 ordinals ; numerical combinations ; numerical 

 expressions of time, age, money, measure. 



Chapter IV", the verb: "I am now working 

 at this department of my grammar." 



Chapter V, the adverb: Adverbs of time, 

 place, interrogation, quantity, manner, compari- 

 son, affirmation, negation, uncertainty. 



Chapter VI, the preposition : Separable prep- 

 ositions ; inseparable prepositions. 



Chapter VII, the conjunction. 



Chapter VIII, the interjection. 



Part third: Syntax. "I am now working at 

 this." 



"The reason I am taking so long with the 

 grammar and dictionary is that I am deter- 

 mined to make them full and accurate, that 

 they may be entitled to be called standard 

 works," 



Translation of the Lord's prayer into 



the Blackfoot language. 



Manuscript, 1 1. 8<^, in the library of the Bu- 

 reau of Ethnology, "Washington, D. C. Com- 

 piled at the Blood Eeserve, Canada, August, 

 1885. 



