PREFACE* 



the Cree or Knisteneux language is, in some meas- 

 ure, a mixed dialect ; and it is far less pure, than 

 that which is spoken by the inhabitants of the 

 plains. The words, also, are spelled by M c Ken- 

 zie, much according to the French sound of the 

 letters, which is frequently calculated to mislead 

 an English reader. Thus, the name of God, or 

 the Good Spirit, which M c Kenzie spells Ki-jai- 

 Manitou, is here spelled Kitch-e-mon-e-too. The 

 above remark will account, in a great measure, for 

 this difference ; and for that which will be found, 

 in the spelling of many other words. This is the 

 native language of the wife of Mr. Harmon, (for 

 so I may now call her, as they have been regular- 

 ly married) and great pains have been taken to 

 make this vocabulary correct, by making the nice 

 distinctions in the sound of the words, as derived 

 from her repeated pronunciation of them. With 

 this language he is, also, well acquainted, since it 

 has been daily spoken in his family, and by him- 

 self, for many years. 



The education of the authour of this work 

 was not classical ; and had it been more extensive 



than it was, a residence for more than half of his 

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