04 NARRATIVE, &c. 



But we shall not pursue the subject. The Leech Lake In- 

 dians, like others of the stock, derive their distinctive appella- 

 tion from a mere accident. They are not, however, separated by 

 any distinctive feature, from the rest of the more favorably lo- 

 cated Chippewas. Their prominent manners and customs, 

 ceremonies and opinions, are the same. They migrated by the 

 same track, adopted the same means of living, sought the at- 

 tainment of the same general objects, and speak the same lan- 

 guage. There are minor peculiarities of speech in most of the 

 bands of this nation, separated by a few hundred miles. But 

 they consist mostly in accent, with some interchanges of the la- 

 bial and liquid consonants. The vowel sounds are identical. 

 Whatever remarks could be made, therefore, on the principles 

 of the language, would be equally applicable to the current lan- 

 guage of other Chippewa bands. 



This language covers an extensive area in the west, and the 

 north-west. It is emphatically the court language of the In- 

 dians, being the medium of communication, in all general 

 councils. Its copiousness and freedom from the barbarities 

 which disfigure many of the native languages, were remarked 

 at an early day, and have led to its being more studied and 

 spoken, than perhaps any other native American language. 

 The regret has been expressed, that where so many good points 

 exist, there should be found any defects to mar them. In its 

 grammatical structure, it exhibits some peculiarities, which do 

 not, perhaps, admit of being strictly classed with other transpo- 

 sitive languages, although it has most features in coincidence 

 with them. Originally, simple in its character, and consisting 

 of scarcely any distinctions of speech, beyond the verb and 

 substantive, and the pronominal and other primary particles, the 

 tendency of usage and invention has been, to increase the 

 length of words by combination, rendering them formidable to 

 the eye, and pompous to the ear. These combinations assume 

 almost every shape, in which words can be made to coalesce. 

 And the primitives when thus united, are still further compoun- 



