218 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. VII., No. 161 



The language of the Bilhoola in British 

 Columbia. 



The Bilhoola tribe inhabits the district of Dean 

 Inlet and Bentiuok Arm, and is surrounded by tribes 

 of the Kwakiool family. Their language, as those of 

 the neighboring' tribes, is very little known : there- 

 fore the following remarks, imperfect though they 

 be, may be of interest. The material was collected 

 by me from some individuals of this tribe who were 

 brought to Germany by Capt. A. Jacobson, and staid 

 for a fortnight at Berlin. 



The most remarkable peculiarity of the language 

 is, that words in connection cannot be expressed ex- 

 cept by the help of certain prefixes much resembling 

 an article. The most common of these are ti and ua. 

 For instance: 'large,' shg (sh pronounced almost 

 like eh in the German ich) ; ' stone,' t'ht (h like ch in 

 the Scotch loch) ; 4 large stone,' ti shg ti t'ht. 



The plural of nouns is formed in different ways, 

 either by reduplication of the initial sound or by the 

 ending uks. In some instances I found pi and tj. 

 Frequently the singular serves also for the plural. 

 It seems that the cases are only expressed by the po- 

 sition of the word in the sentence. 



The personal pronoun is — 



SINGULAR . 



1st person, ens 

 2d " ino 

 3d ' ; t 'aish 



1st person, th 'mitl' 

 2d " th 'optl' 

 3d 11 t 'auts 



The possessive pronoun is formed in two ways : it 

 is either derived from the personal pronoun, and 

 connected with the noun by ti in the singular, and 

 ua in the plural (for instance: enstl 'ti t'nah, 'my 

 head ; ' th 'mitl 'ua sotl', ' our house '), or it is ex- 

 pressed by a suffix (t 'nah-stsh, ' my head ; ' soil 'tlsh, 

 ' our house '). 



The flexion of the verb is quite remarkable. It 

 is either formed by a personal pronoun and the stem 

 of the verb, both being connected by ti or some 

 other prefix, or by suffixes. Besides, the pronoun 

 can be repeated after the verb : for example , — 



ens ti tl 'ap ) 



th 'apsts I 'I go.' 



th 'apsts ti ens ) 



The suffixes are identical with the possessive suf- 

 fixes of the noun. 



The objective flexion of the verb bears the features 

 of having originated by agglutination of the pro- 

 noun to the verb ; for example, ksh', sh sino, * I see 

 you ; ' ksh 'sh titl,' 1 We see them.' 



I could not find anv distinct traces of the tenses 

 being expressed by suffixes or by prefixes. An itera- 

 tive is formed by the prefix atVf a locative, by nu. 



The principal colors are red, yellow, and blue, the 

 limit between the latter two being indefinite. Green 

 is MHiietimes called yellow, sometimes blue ; viz., 

 similar to the one or the other. 



The names of the numbers are formed according 

 to the quinary- vigesimal system : 6 is 5 + 1 ; 11 is 10 

 4- 1 ; 20, one man, i.e., the number of fingers and 

 toes ; 40, two men, etc. 



The vocabulary bears only a very slight resem- 

 blance to that of the Kwakiool and the Selish. As 

 far as I know, the grammar much resembles that of 

 the Bilballa. 



The traditions and customs of this people are al- 

 most identical with those of the Tlinkit and their 



other neighbors, though in their details there may be 

 some differences. Franz Boas. 



Berlin, Feb. 5. 



Discomforts arising from sponge spicules in pond- 

 soils. 



Near Monticello, in this state, are numerous ponds 

 and sloughs, many of which have been drained and 

 brought under cultivation. The soil is of the typical 

 humus character, containing no clay and but very 

 little sand. For ages, perhaps, each summer has 

 produced its rank growth of aquatic plants, and each 

 autumn has laid this growth beneath the rippling 

 surface of the pond, to be protected from thorough 

 decomposition by its waters : consequently, when 

 the hand of improvement removes the water, a rich 

 bed of vegetable matter is brought to the sun and 

 air. Such situations are peculiarly favorable for the 

 cultivation of corn, and large yields may be pro- 

 duced ; but in the cultivation of the crop a most 

 annoying difficulty is encountered. In bright, warm 

 days, the workmen in these fields experience a dis- 

 tressing itching in those parts of the body where 

 there is rubbing or chafing of the boots or clothing. 

 I cannot better describe this sensation than by com- 

 paring it with the pain occasioned by the attack of 

 a flock of mosquitoes upon the affected parts. It is 

 almost unbearable, and some persons are obliged to 

 stop work and seek relief. Usually by taking a bath 

 and cooling the body the irritation ceases ; but, if it 

 again be heated by over-exertion, the pain is renewed. 

 Such a condition will last for about two days. 



On microscopic examination, we found among the 

 particles of sand and vegetable matter numerous 

 spindle-shaped, sharp-pointed bodies. Some were 

 hooked and curved ; some broken in the middle, 

 making one end blunt ; some were covered thickly 

 with spines. These have been identified as diatoms 

 and fresh- water sponge spicules. The bodies are of 

 a siliceous character, for they are not destroyed by 

 ignition, nor attacked by hydrochloric acid. Since 

 fresh-water sponges are quite abundant in many 

 ponds, their remains form a conspicuous part of the 

 soil. 



Having thus ascertained the cause of the irrita- 

 tion, it is not difficult to understand its production. 

 A fine impalpable dust always rises from the soil 

 when it is being cultivated. This penetrates the 

 clothing, and finds its way to those parts of the body 

 where there is friction between the skin and clothing. 

 The backward and forward motion of the cloth 

 causes the spicules to work their way into the skin far 

 enough to irritate the nerves and produce the pain. 

 The increased circulation due to active exercise in- 

 creases the sensitiveness of the skin, and hence the 

 pain is greater under such conditions. 



No remedy has as yet suggested itself. The best 

 preventive is wearing such clothing as will most 

 nearly exclude the dust. As the spicules are com- 

 posed of one of the most enduring substances, tlu y 

 will not be removed from the soil by the usual 

 changes taking place in it. Wind and cultivation 

 may disseminate them so that they will be far less 

 troublesome, but it will be a slow process. Alto- 

 gether, the outlook for the comfortable cultivation of 

 these pond-soils is not encouraging ; and, if the large 

 crops which they are capable of producing are ob- 

 tained, much annoyance and inconvenience must be 

 endured. S. T. Virden. 



Purdue university, Lafayette, Ind., 

 Feb. 20. 



