303 



Another remarkable property of the Chilian is 

 the frequent use of abstract words in a peculiar man- 

 ner. Thus, instead of s^y'm^ pfi Jluinca^ the Spa- 

 niards, they commonly say Huincagen, the Spani- 

 olity ; tanién cuiagen^ your trio, that is, you other 

 three; epu tamen cajugen layai^ two of you other 

 six will die, literally, two of your sixths. The verb 

 phi^ wJiich signifies to say, is repeated in almost 

 every sentence in familiar conversation, as is usual 

 with the lower class of the Bolognese ; pu auca 

 cumegei^ pi ; dachelai, pi ; dagechelai cai, pivin : 

 the Araucanians are good says he ; they do no harm 

 says he ; then they ought not to be ill treated says 

 he." An ambassador or mese-enger always expresses 

 himself in the very words of those who send him, as 

 was customary among the Hebrews and the ancient 

 Greeks. 



Many more reflections might be made upon the 

 simple structure of this language, but as these will rea- 

 dily occur to those who have attended to the remarks 

 already made, it will be unnecessary to dwell longer 

 upon the subject. From what knowledge we possess 

 of it, the Chilian appears to combine the genius of 

 the primitive languages of the East, with that of the 

 ancient and modern European. It is obvious from 

 its very structure that it is an original language, and 

 it is a circumstance not a little remarkable, that it 

 should have produced no particular dialect, notwith- 

 standing it has extended itself over a space of one 

 thousand two hundred miles, among so many insub- 

 ordinate tribes wholly destitute of all kind of literary 

 intercourse. The Chilians who live in the 24th de- 



