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UNITED STATES. 



closures of clay or wickerwork, in which water is poured upon hot stones. Charms and 

 incantations are generally resorted to as means of curing disease. The courtships, marriages, 

 and divorces of the Indians are attended with little ceremony. Divorces are generally at the 

 pleasure of each party, and courtships are mostly managed by friends. The various tribes are 

 governed by their own customs. Murder is generally punished by the friends of the de- 

 ceased, and adultery by the husband. The Indians have been instructed in many vices by 

 the white traders, who are too often men without character or morals. From them, many 

 get the means of intoxication, which they swallow to the most riotous and beastly excess. 

 They have, in this respect, no command over themselves. In gaming, also„, they will adven- 

 ture to their last earthly possession. Many of the tribes have horses, and those of the north 

 make much use of dogs, which are made to draw, as among the Esquimaux. The United 

 States pay large annuities to various tribes, principally for purchases of land. There are In- 

 dian agents at various points, missionaries, schools, and mechanics for the use of the Indians. 

 The aboriginal inhabitants are, however, gradually receding westward ; and one of their number 

 has truly said, that when a white man puts down his foot, he never takes it up again. 



The Indian languages have not the various forms that are found in the eastern hemisphere ; 

 a uniform system seems to pervade them all. The American languages are richer in words, 

 and more regular in their forms, than those of other countries. The most curious part of the 

 Indian language is the process of compounding words. The number of words can thus be in- 

 creased to any extent. A multitude of ideas are combined by the process ; for instance, says 

 Mr. Duponceau, " when a Delaware woman is playing with a little dog or cat, or some other 

 young animal, she will often say to it, Kiiligatschis, which I would translate into Enghsh, — 

 Give me your pretty little paio ; or, What a pretty little paio you have ! This word is com- 

 pounded thus ; k is the inseparable pronoun of the second person, and may be rendered thou or 

 thy, according to the context ; iili (pronounced oolee), is part of the word wulit, which signifies 

 handsome, or pretty ; it has also other meanings, which need not be here specified ; gat is part 

 of the word ivichgat, which signifies a leg, or paio ; schis (pronounced sheess), is a diminutive 

 termination, and conveys the idea of littleness : thus, in one word, the Indian woman says, thy 

 pretty little paw ! and, according to the gesture which she makes, either calls upon it to present 

 its foot, or simply expresses her fondling admiration. In the same manner, pilape (a youth) 

 is formed from pilsit (chaste, innocent) and Icnape (a man). It is difficult to find a more ele- 

 gant combination of ideas, in a single word, of any existing idiom. I do not know of any lan- 

 guage, out of this part of the world, in which words are compounded in this manner. The pro- 

 cess consists in putting together portions of different words, so as to awaken, at the same time, 

 in the mind of the hearer the various ideas which they separately express. But this is not the 

 only manner in which the American Indians combine their ideas into words. 



"In the Cherokee language, fourteen different words are used to express the action of washing • 



Kutuwo, I am washing myself, as in a river 



Kulestula, my head 



Tsestula, another person's head 



Kukusquo, my face 



Tsekusquo, another's face 



Takasula, my hands 



Tatseyasula, another's hands 



Takasula, I am washing my feet ; 



Tatseyasula, another's feet ; 



Takungkala, my clothes ; 



Tatseyungkela, another's clothes ; 



Takuteya, dishes, etc. ; 



Tseyuwa, a child ; 



Koivela, meat. 



" The word old in English has a genera] sense ; but among the Delawares the expression is 

 varied according to the object which it describes, as kikey (old, advanced in years), applied to 

 things animate ; choioiey or choioiyey (old by use, wearing), &c. ; kikeyilenno (an old man, 

 advanced in years) ; kikechum (an old one of the brute kind) ; chowigawan (an old house), 

 from wikwam or wigwam; chomaxen (old shoes), from maxen (moccasins or shoes) ; they say 

 also, pigihilleu (torn by long use or wearing) ; logihilleu (fallen to pieces), &c. The same 

 remarks may be made on the word young, &c." 



It now remains to describe briefly the Indians of the Rocky Mountains and the country 

 beyond. There are some general characteristics that run through them all. Generally they 

 are not so well formed as the Indians heretofore described, and they study various and 

 successful methods of creating artificial deformity. The people of no civilized country 

 ever studied so much to appear beautiful, as some of these India is to look hideous. One 

 of these practices, which runs through several of the tribes, is that of flattening the head. 

 This is done by a flat piece of bark tied in infancy on the forehead. The forehead, when the 



