1879. | ‘Adbjectiars of Color in Indian Languages. 483 
iron beads,” tchatu zónap láni; silver coin, “ white iron beads,” 
tchatu zonap hatgi; sulphur or brimstone is to them, “ yellow 
gunpowder,” téhdétop láni; copper, brass and bronze, “ yellow. 
iron,” tchatu láni; alum, “sour iron,” tchatu kamuksi. 
In the present article I have rejected all information that 
was not circumstantial and entirely reliable. In six languages I 
have relied on oral information. gathered by myself, while for 
the Santee-Dakota, the words mentioned were extracted from 
Riggs’ Dictionary. To draw general conclusions upon the sub- 
ject of color nomenclature and the Indian perception of color from 
the few instances given here would certainly be precocious. Indian 
tribes show considerable difference from each other in habits, cus- 
toms, intellectual power, not less than in their bodily qualities 
and in language. Hence very few general ethnological truths 
cay be uttered about them that will really apply to them all. 
The following conclusions are, therefore, intended to apply only 
to the seven idioms referred to: 
I. In the lists of colors submitted we find that the Indians in 
question distinguish as many, if not more shades of color, as we 
do, if we exclude the large number of our artificial color-names, as 
ultramarine, isabelle, solferino, etc. 
2. No generic term for our word co/or exists, and it seems that 
such a term is too abstract for their conception. But they have 
terms for coloring matter, dye-stuff, paint, and for our participles 
“colored,” “dyed,” “ painted” and “ tinged. 
3. Many of their colors, even the most opposite ones, are | 
derived from one and the samé radical syllable. Instances were 
given under Klamath, Kalapuya, Dakota. The same may be 
observed when we compare our blank, blue, black and the Ger- 
man bleich (livid, pale); gray and green. 
4. In the Indian lists we observe some names of medley or 
mixed colors, which impress the eye by being not homogeneous. 
Such is the Klamath ma’kmakli, which is the blue mixed with gray, 
_ as observed on wild geese and ducks; tchye-utchzé-uptchi, the 
mixed color of the bluejay; and gray, in most of the dialects, 
means black mixed in with white, or white with black, as 
observed in the fur of the racoon, gray fox and other wild beasts. 
5. In naming some colors Indians follow another principle than 
we do, in qualifying certain objects of nature by their color and | 
then calling them by the same attribute, even when their color — 
