NARRATIVE, <ta 69 



dence in them, they remain in a state of mental alarm, which 

 often impels them to resort to their inlluence. Nothing is more 

 common, however, on conversing with them, than to find indi- 

 viduals, who are ready to acknowledge, the insuflicieney of 

 these means, and who appear to be prepared to abandon them, 

 and embrace the doctrine of the Savior, the moment the fear 

 of popular opinion among their own people, can be removed. No 

 dead man has been deified by them, and they have not a name 

 Of word in their language, so far as known, which represents a 

 god, but that of " Monedo." This word, I am inclined to think, 

 is itself, a derivative from one of the forms of the active verb, 

 Momo, to take. But, like other Chippewa verbs, it is go buried 

 and clogged with adjuncts, in the nature of prefix and suffix, 

 that it might often require a Champollion to decipher it. And 

 here, it may be observed, that Indian verbs, have not only the 

 active and passive forms, but these forms arc indicated by sepa- 

 rate words. Thus, momo, verb active to take. Odapin, verb 

 passive, to take. Each verb has the animate and inanimate 

 forms. As most verbs arc transitives, and their simplest forms 

 indicate the third person singular of the imperative mood, the 

 following conjugations of the verb, to take, result : 



Momih, verb active, animate, take him. 



Momon, verb active, inanimate, take it. 



< Maptn, verb passive, animate, take him. 



Odapinun, verb passive, inanimate, take it. 



