396 



BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE 



Pickering (J.) —Continued. 



and tlien studied law. He returned to Salem 

 in 1801, and, after being admitted to the bar, 

 practiced in Salem until 1827, and then removed 

 to Boston. Mr. Pickering became celebrated 

 by his philological studies, which gained for 

 him the reputation of being the chief founder 

 of American comparative philology. These 

 he began as a young man, when he accom- 

 panied his father on visits to the Six Nations 

 of central New York, and as he grew older 

 they increased by his study abroad until, 

 according to Charles Sumner, he was familiar 

 with the English, French, Portuguese, Italian, 

 Spanish, German, Romaic, Greek, and Latin 

 languages; less familiar, but acquainted, with 

 Dutch, Swedish, Danish, and Hebrew, and had 

 explored with various degrees of care Arabic, 

 Turkish, Syriac, Persian, Coptic, Sanscrit, Chi- 

 nese, Cochin-Chinese, Eussian, Egyptian hiero- 

 glyphics, Malayan several dialects, and partic- 

 ularly the Indian languages of America and the 

 Polynesian islands.— AppZeion's Cyclop, of Am. 

 Biog. 

 Piegan. See Blackfoot; also Satsika. 

 [Pierronet (Thomas).] Specimen of the 

 Mountaineer, or Sheshatapooshshoish, 

 Skoffie, and Micmac Languages. 



In Massachusetts Hist. Soc. Coll. first series, 

 vol. 6, pp. 16-33, Boston, 1800, 8°. 



In four parallel columns, English, Micmac, 

 Mountaineer, and Skoffie ; about 300 words and 

 aeutehces in each language. 



" The ensuing vocabulary I transcribed viva 

 voce from Gabriel, a young Mountaineer Indian 

 (servant to Louis, a Micmac, in the Bay of St. 

 George, Newfoundland), whom I met with in 

 the Bay of Islands. ... He spoke both 

 French and English tolerably, and was well 

 acquainted with Skoffie, Micmac, and Moun- 

 taineer dialects." — Introductory remarks. 



' ' Even the Micmac vocabulary of Gabriel can 

 not be depended upon, and although he was an 

 Indian boy, yet he was not a Micmac native, 

 but a Montaneer, whose dialect differs widely 

 from the Micmac language. I have examined 

 his vocabulary, and compared it with the man- 

 uscripts of Father Menard and with the living 

 Micmacs, and I found it very erronrous. 

 "Whatsoever may be his worth in the Moun- 

 taineer language, his Micmic is certainly not 

 correct." — Yetromile, manuscript Abnaki dic- 

 tionary, preface. 



Pierson (Abraham). Some | helps for the 

 I Indians | Shewing them | How to im- 

 prove their natural Rea- | son, To know 

 the True God, and | the true Christian 

 Religion. | 1. By leading them to see 

 the Di- I vine Authority of the Script- 

 ures. I 2. By the Scriptures the Divine 

 I Truths necessary to Eternal Salva- 

 tion. I Undertaken ( At the Motion, 

 and published by | the Order of the 



Pierson (A.) — Continued. 



commission- | ers of the United Colo- 

 nies.] by Abraham Peiison. | Examined, 

 and approved by Thomas | Stanton In- 

 terpreter-General to the U- I nited 

 Colonies for the Indian Language, | 

 and by some others of the most able | 

 Interpeters Isic'] amogst [sic^ us. | 



Cambridg, | Printed by Samuel Green 

 1658. 



Title within a border of acorn-shaped orna- 

 ments verso blaukl 1. " To the Reader " (signed 

 "A. P."; p. 3, title in Indian with interlinear 

 English translation (being a repetition of the 

 above as far as the word "Salvation") p. 4, 

 text in Indian with interlinear English trans- 

 lation pp. 5-67, verso blank, 2 blank leaves at 

 the end, sm. 8*^. Signatures A to D in eights, 

 and E in four. See the facsimiles of the title- 

 pages and of the first page of the text. 



Copies seen : Lenox. 



This copy, with the original title as first 

 issued, is supposed to be unique. It is bound 

 in blue morocco, gilt edges (by F. Bedford), and 

 cost Mr. Lenox 121. 12s. 



A biographical sketch of Mr. Pierson la 

 given at the end of this article. On account of 

 the curious variation in the title-pages of the 

 two varieties of this edition, the following par- 

 ticulars concerning the interpreter named in 

 the above title are inserted here : 



Thomas Stanton was born in England about 

 the year 1615. In 1635 he sailed from London 

 to Virginia, and from there to New England, 

 where he was one of the first setders of the 

 town of Hartford, in Connecticut, founded in 

 1636. In 1637 he was employed as an interpre- 

 ter of the Indian language, to accompany the 

 English forces in the expeditions against the 

 Pequot Indians. He was also in the service of 

 the Commissioners of the United Colonies as an 

 occasional interpreter as early as 1644, and was 

 often employed by them in treating with the 

 Indians. In 1650 he was regularly "enter- 

 tained ... to attend the meetinges of the 

 Comissioners as an Interpretor to the Indians; 

 to gather vp the Tribvte ; and to doe such other 

 services for the Comissioners with Reference 

 to the Indians as might accrew," for which he 

 was to r.iceive a yearly salary of 301. out of the 

 tribute paid in. 



When Mr. Eliot was preparing his Indian 

 catechism for the press in 1653, the Commis- 

 sioners recommt nded " Thomas Stanton to as- 

 sist in the worke; whoe is the most able Inter- 

 pretor wee haue in the countrey for that Lang- 

 wige that the worke may bee the more pfectly 

 carried on." In 1656, they "spake with and 

 desired Tho : Stanton to adaise with M' Pear- 

 son about a fitt Season to meet and Translate" 

 his catechism into the Indian language of Con- 

 necticut; and in the following year they gave 

 him "a suitable allowance" for having "Im- 

 proued his skill in healping M' Person . . , 



