Observations on their Language. 65 



moir. To one unacquainted with the native languages of this 

 country, it would seem hardly possible to find a grammatical 

 structure so complicated and still so complete and systematic, yet 

 perhaps there is no cultivated tongue among the civilized nations 

 of the world more regular than that of the Chippewa and its cog- 

 nate dialects. In the Dakota there are three numbers, singular, 

 dual, and plural. In the Eskimo, according to Biier, nouns have 

 six cases, the same as Latin nouns, and three numbers, through 

 all of which they are inflected. In the Yakama. one of the nu- 

 merous dialects on the Pacific coast, as given by Father Pandosy, 

 nouns and adjectives possess the six cases mentioned above, but 

 'nly two numbers, the singular and plural, and the verb i 



a careful study of our owi 



teness of detail. We can thus see that 



1 aboriginal languages becomes a sub- 



ject of the highest intere 

 philologist. ° 



:st and importance to every professed 



Decl; 



ENSIGNS OF Nouns. 



mi-raan-ka,'X 7mn. 



wo-ra-e-ru-pa,'X hoiv. 



nu mank-a-da, of ike man. 



>vo-ra-e rii-pa-da, of the bow. 



0-nu-mank, to the man. 



wora-e-ru-pa-a-ta, to the bow. 



nii-raan-ka, the man. 



wo-ra-o-rupa,M.5o«.. 



nu-mank, man. 



wo-ra-e-rii-pa, the boiv. 



Du-man ka, with the man. 



wo-ra-e-rd-pa-ta, tuilh the bow. 



Plur. 







xvo-ra-e rii-pa-ke-resli, the bows. 



"o'^^^nZVofthrmen. 



wo-ra-e-rupa-ka-ra-ta, of the bows. 





we-pa-e-ru-pa-ka-ra-a-ta, to the bows. 



nu-raan-ka-ra, the men. 



O-wo-ra-e-ni-pa-ke-re'sh, the bows. 



«u-mau-ka-ke, the men. 



wo-ra-e-rii-pa-ke-re'sh, the bows. 



Remarks in regard to Adjectives. 



T'^p adjective follows the noun which it.quah'fies or describes: as, mf- 



■' ^-' ^li6-ta, the white hor^e, or horse-white, nu-raatnk-, ba-ra-ka, the bold 



'"■ pa-san-, psisb, swift-river. 



■ ■' ""inparative degree of adjectives is formed by the addition of the 



i'Hh-a-desh, "more," and the superlative by the addition of the 



'ivash, " most," as, shish, ffood, shi-, o pah-a-desh, better, slii-, mi- 



■' ; ka'sh-ka, great, n4sh-ka-, o-pah-a-desh, greater, kash-ka-, mi- 



. ''"itest. ath-, ha'=h-kash, this is great, ath-, sblsb, this is good. 



-"•: verbs also are conjugated with remarkable regularity. A few 



lio^^ ^'"'y are given: wa-wa-ru-tosh, I eat or am eating ; vm-rH-rutbsh, 



'^A we eat or are eating'; i-wa-ru-toh-'e-desh, you eat or are eating; ro- 

 '.i-ru-ta-man-ka-hush, iheg eat or are eating ; wa-wa-rut-ma-kih-hash, / 

 '■^''e enien ; wa-vva-ruk-t6sb, I shall or icill eat; i-u-a-ha-ra-posh, / would 

 ^^'e eaten ; wa-rtis-td, ea^ (imperative) ; wd-ru-te-nis-ta, ea^ew; wa-ni-ta- 

 ''^n-ka-hu,h, eating. ' ^ ^ 

 The preceding examples, of which many more might be given, 



