Western Scenes and Reminiscences Part 29

APACES, SAN JUAN BAUTISTA DE, a settlement of Zelaga in the province and bishopric of Mechoacan, containing 135 Indian families. Another settlement, of the same name, with the dedicatory t.i.tle of Santa Maria, in the district of Zitaguaro, contains 24 families.

APACHES, a nation of Indians, located between the Rio del Norte and the sources of the Nuaces, who were reported, in 1817, at 3,500. In an official report submitted to Congress, in 1837, their numbers "within striking distance of the western frontier," are vaguely put at, 20,280.

APPALACHIANS; a nation of Indians who formerly inhabited the extreme southern portion of the United States, and have left their name in the leading range of the Appalachian mountains. In 1539 De Soto found them in Florida, a term at that era comprehending also the entire area of the present states of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and other portions of the southern territory. They were numerous, fierce, and valorous. They were clothed in the skins of wild beasts. They used bows and arrows, clubs and spears. They did not, as many nations of barbarians do, poison their darts. They were temperate, drinking only water. They did not make wars on slight pretences, or for avarice, but to repress attacks, or remedy injustice. They treated their prisoners with humanity, and like other persons of their households. They were long lived, some persons reaching a hundred years. They wors.h.i.+pped the sun, to which they sang hymns, morning and evening. These facts are to be gleaned from the narrative. What were their numbers, how far they extended their jurisdiction, what were their affiliations by language, customs, and inst.i.tutions with other tribes, cannot be accurately decided. Much that is said of their civil and military polity, buildings, ceremonies and other traits, applies to the Floridian Indians generally, and may be dismissed as either vague, or not characteristic of the Appalachians. A quarto volume was published in London in 1666, by John Davies, under the t.i.tle of a "History of the Caribby Indians," in which he traces the caribs of the northern groups of the West Indies, to the Appalachians, and relates many incidents, and narrates a series of surprising wars and battles, reaching, in their effects, through the Mississippi valley up to the great lakes, which have the appearance of fable. How much of this account, which speaks of "cattle" and "herds," may be grafted on ancient traditions, it is impossible to tell. There are some proofs of such an ancient civilisation in the Ohio valley and other sections of the country, but they are unconnected with any Indian traditions, which have survived, unless we consider the mounds and remains of antique forts as monumental evidences of these reputed wars. The Lenapee accounts of these ancient wars with the Tallagees or Allegewy, may be thought to refer to this ancient people, who had, if this conjecture be correct, extended their dominion to the middle and northern lat.i.tudes of the present area of the United States, prior to the appearance of the Algonquin and Iroquies races. Mr. Irving has suggested the name of Apallachia, or Allegania, derived from the stock, for this division of the continent.

LANGUAGE.

LECTURES ON THE GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE OF THE INDIAN LANGUAGE.

The course of lectures, of which the following are part, were delivered before the St. Mary's committee of the Algic Society. Two of them only have been published. They are here continued from the article "Indian Languages," at page 202 of the "Narrative of the Discovery of the actual Source of the Mississippi, in Itasca Lake," published by the Harpers, in 1834. The family of languages selected as the topic of inquiry, is the Algonquin. All the examples employed are drawn from that particular type of it which is called Chippewa, in our transactions with them, but which they uniformly p.r.o.nounce themselves, Od-jib-wa. These terms are employed as perfect synonyms. The phrase "Odjibwa-Algonquin," wherever it occurs, is intended to link, in the mind of the inquirer, the species and the genus (if we may borrow a term from natural history) of the language, but is not fraught with, or intended to convey, any additional idea. The three terms relate to one and the same people.

LECTURE III.

Observations on the Adjective--Its distinction into two cla.s.ses denoted by the presence or absence of vitality--Examples of the animates and inanimates--Mode of their conversion into substantives--How p.r.o.nouns are applied to these derivatives, and the manner of forming compound terms from adjective bases, to describe the various natural phenomena--The application of these principles in common conversation, and in the description of natural and artificial objects--Adjectives always preserve the distinction of number--Numerals--Arithmetical capacity of the language--The unit exists in duplicate.

1. It has been remarked that the distinction of words into animates and inanimates, is a principle intimately interwoven throughout the structure of the language. It is, in fact, so deeply imprinted upon its grammatical forms, and is so perpetually recurring, that it may be looked upon, not only as forming a striking peculiarity of the language, but as const.i.tuting the fundamental principle of its structure, from which all other rules have derived their limits, and to which they have been made to conform. No cla.s.s of words appears to have escaped its impress. Whatever concords other laws impose, they all agree, and are made subservient in the establishment of this.

It might appear to be a useless distinction in the adjective, when the substantive is thus marked; but it will be recollected that it is in the plural of the substantive only, that the distinction is marked. And we shall presently have occasion to show, that redundancy of forms, are, to considerable extent, obviated in practice.

For the origin of the principle itself, we need look only to nature, which endows animate bodies with animate properties and qualities, and vice versa. But it is due to the tribes who speak this language, to have invented one set of adjective symbols to express the ideas peculiarly appropriate to the former, and another set applicable, exclusively, to the latter; and to have given the words good and bad, black and white, great and small, handsome and ugly, such modifications as are practically competent to indicate the general nature of the objects referred to, whether provided with, or dest.i.tute of the vital principle.

And not only so, but by the figurative use of these forms, to exalt inanimate ma.s.ses into the cla.s.s of living beings, or to strip the latter of the properties of life--a principle of much importance to their public speakers.

This distinction is shown in the following examples, in which it will be observed, that the inflection _izzi_, generally denotes the personal, and _au_, _un_, or _wud_, the impersonal forms.

Adj: _Inanimate._ Adj: _Animate._

Bad Monaud ud Monaud izzi.

Ugly Gushkoonaug wud Gushkoonaug oozzi.

Beautiful Bishegaindaug wud Bishegaindaug oozzi.

Strong Song un Song izzi.

Soft Nok un Nok izzi.

Hard Mushkow au Mushkow izzi.

Smooth Shoiskw au Shoiskw oozzi.

Black Mukkuddaw au Mukkuddaw izzi.

White Waubishk au Waubishk izzi.

Yellow Ozahw au Ozahw izzi.

Red Miskw au Miskw izzi.

Blue Ozhahwushkw au Ozhahwushkw izzi.

Sour Sheew un Sheew izzi.

Sweet Weeshkob un Weeshkob izzi.

Light Naung un Naung izzi.

It is not, however, in all cases, by mere modifications of the adjective that these distinctions are expressed. Words totally different in sound, and evidently derived from radically different roots, are, in some few instances, employed, as in the following examples:

Adj: _Inanimate._ Adj: _Animate._

Good Onishes.h.i.+n Minno.

Bad Monaudud Mudjee.

Large Mitshau Mindiddo.

Small Pungee Uggaus.h.i.+.

Old Geekau Gitizzi.

It may be remarked of these forms, that although the impersonal will, in some instances, take the personal inflections, the rule is not reciprocated, and minno, and mindiddo, and gitizzi, and all words similarly situated, remain unchangeably animates. The word pungee, is limited to the expression of quant.i.ty, and its correspondent uggaus.h.i.+, to size, or quality. Kisheda, (hot) is restricted to the heat of a fire; keezhauta, to the heat of the sun. There is still a third term to indicate the natural heat of the body, _Kizzizoo_. Mitshau (large) is generally applied to countries, lakes, rivers, &c. Mindiddo, to the body, and gitshee, indiscriminately. Onis.h.i.+s.h.i.+n, and its correspondent onis.h.i.+shsha, signify, handsome or fair, as well as good. Kwonaudj a. a.

and kwonaudj ewun a. i. mean, strictly, handsome, and imply nothing further. Minno, is the appropriate personal form for good. Mudgee and monaudud, may reciprocally change genders, the first by the addition of _i-e-e_, and the second by altering _ud_ to _izzi_.

Distinctions of this kind are of considerable importance in a practical point of view, and their observance or neglect, are noticed with scrupulous exactness by the Indians. The want of inanimate forms to such words as happy, sorrowful, brave, sick &c. creates no confusion, as inanimate nouns cannot, strictly speaking, take upon themselves such qualities, and when they do--as they sometimes do, by one of those extravagant figures of speech, which are used in their tales of transformations, the animate forms answer all purposes. For in these tales the whole material creation may be clothed with animation. The rule, as exhibited in practice, is limited, with sufficient accuracy, to the boundaries prescribed by nature.

To avoid a repet.i.tion of forms, were the noun and the adjective both to be employed in their usual relation, the latter is endowed with a p.r.o.nominal, or substantive inflection. And the use of the noun, in its separate form, is thus wholly superceded. Thus onis.h.i.+s.h.i.+n, a. i. and onis.h.i.+shsha, a. a. become Wanis.h.i.+s.h.i.+ng, that which is good, or fair, and Wanis.h.i.+s.h.i.+d, he who is good or fair. The following examples will exhibit this rule, under each of its forms.

Compound or Noun-Adjective Animate.

Black Mukkuddaw izzi Makuddaw izzid.

White Waubishk izzi Wyaubishk izzid.

Yellow Ozahw izzi Wazauw izzid.

Red Miskw izzi Mashk oozzid.

Strong Song izzi Song izzid.

Noun-Adjective Inanimate.

Black Mukkuddaw au Mukkuddaw aug.

White Waubishk au Wyaubishk aug.

Yellow Ozahw au Wazhauw aug.

Red Mishkw au Mishkw aug.

The animate forms in these examples will be recognized, as exhibiting a further extension of the rule, mentioned in the preceding chapter, by which substantives are formed from the indicative of the verb by a permutation of the vowels. And these forms are likewise rendered plural in the manner there mentioned. They also undergo changes to indicate the various persons. For instance onis.h.i.+sha is thus declined to mark the person.

Wanis.h.i.+sh-eyaun I (am) good, or fair.

Wanis.h.i.+sh-eyun Thou (art) good, or fair.

Wanis.h.i.+sh-id He (is) good or fair.

Wanis.h.i.+sh-eyang We (are) good or fair (ex.) Wanis.h.i.+sh-eyung We (are) good a fair (in.) Wanis.h.i.+sh-eyaig Ye (are) good or fair.

Wanis.h.i.+sh-idigj They (are) good or fair.

The inanimate forms, being without person, are simply rendered plural by in, changing maiskwaug, to maiskwaug-in. &c. &c. The verbal signification which these forms a.s.sume, as indicated in the words am, art, is, are, is to be sought in the permutative change of the first syllable. Thus o is changed to wa, muk to mak, waub to wy-aub, ozau to wazau, misk to maisk, &c. The p.r.o.noun, as is usual in the double compounds, is formed wholly by the inflections eyaun, eyun, &c.

The strong tendency of the adjective to a.s.sume a personal, or p.r.o.nomico-substantive form, leads to the employment of many words in a particular, or exclusive sense. And in any future practical attempts with the language, it will be found greatly to facilitate its acquisition if the adjectives are arranged in distinct cla.s.ses, separated by this characteristic principle of their application. The examples we have given are chiefly those which may be considered strictly animate, or inanimate, admit of double forms, and are of general use. Many of the examples recorded in the original ma.n.u.scripts employed in these lectures, are of a more concrete character, and, at the same time, a more limited use. Thus shaugwewe, is a weak person, nokaugumme, a weak drink, nokaugwud, a weak, or soft piece of wood.

Sussagau, is fine, but can only be applied to personal appearance: beesau, indicates fine grains. Keewushkwa is giddy, and keewushkwabee, giddy with drink, both being restricted to the third person. Songun and songizzi, are the personal and impersonal forms of strong, as given above. But Mushkowaugumme, is strong drink. In like manner the two words for hard, as above, are restricted to solid substances. Sunnuhgud is hard (to endure,) waindud, is easy (to perform.) Songedaa is brave, Shaugedaa cowardly, keezhinzhowizzi, active, kizhekau, swift, onaunegoozzi lively, minwaindum happy, gushkwaindum, sorrowful, but all these forms are confined to the third person of the indicative, singular. Pibbigwau, is a rough or knotted substance. Pubbiggoozzi, a rough person. Keenwau is long, or tall, (any solid ma.s.s.) Kaynozid is a tall person. Tahkozid a short person. Wa.s.sayau is light; wa.s.saubizzoo, the light of the eye; wa.s.shauzha, the light of a star, or any luminous body. Keenau is sharp, keenaubikud, a sharp knife, or stone.

Keezhaubikeday, is hot metal, a hot stove, &c. Keezhaugummeda, is hot water. Aubudgeeton, is useful,--a useful thing. Wauweeug is frivolous, any thing frivolous in word, or deed. Tubbus.h.i.+sh, appears to be a general term for low. Ishpimming is high in the air. Ishpau, is applied to any high fixture, as a house, &c. Ishpaubikau is a high rock.

Taushkaubikau, a split rock.

These combinations and limitations meet the inquirer at every step. They are the current phrases of the language. They present short, ready, and often beautiful modes of expression. But as they shed light, both upon the idiom and genius of the language, I shall not scruple to add further examples and ill.u.s.trations. Ask a Chippewa, the name for rock, and he will answer _awzhebik_. The generic import of aubik, has been explained.