Cha'hta. Chicasa. Alibamu. Koassáti. Creek. Seminole. Hitchiti. Apalachi. Mikasuki.
Warrior táska táska tastenukíha tastanóki taskáya taskáya hú′li-tipi taskaia tasikiá'hli
Woman ohóyo ehó, ihó téyi hókti hókti täígi taiki
Foot íyi iyi i-pát'ha i-pát'ha íli ili i-paláshi ia, ya ili-palasi
Village, town támaha ókla óla óla tálofa tálofa ókli tófun (obj. case) ókli
Chief míngo mínko míko míku miko miko miki miki
House tchúka tchúka ishá ísa tchú'ku tchûku tchíki tchíka tchíki
Knife báshpo bushpo isláfka islátka iskalafki iskalafki
Canoe píni píni pi`lúdshi pi`lódshi(dim) pi`lótsi, pi`li pi`lódshi (dim)
Fire lúak lúak íti tigba tútka tútka íti íti
Water óka, uk'ha óka óki óki o-íwa, u-íwa o-íwa óki óki
Earth, land yákni yák'ne iháni iháni íkana íkana yákni yákni
Stone, rock táli tále táli táli tcháto tcháto táli tale
Wood íti iti itu ítu itu ítu ahí a`li
Sun háshi hashé hasie hási hási hási hási hasi
Moon háshi hashé nenaká hasi-nissi ni′la hási hás-'lisi has-ótali hitok (month) has-otali
Thunder hilóha hilóha tonokóχha winei'hká tinítki tinítki tonuká'htchi tonokatchi
Pine tíak tíak tchúye tchùye tchóli tchoyi
Maize ántchi tántchi tchasié tchási ádshi, átchi ádshi áspi áspi
Grass háshuk háshuk ássi páhi páhi páhi páhi
Bear níta nita níkta nikta nok'húsi nokose noχū'si nókosi
Deer issi íssi ítchu idshu ítchu ítcho itchi itchi
Bird húshi fushé fósi fosi fúsua fosua, fúswa fosi fusi
Fish naní nanné 'lá`lu 'lá`lu 'lá`lu 'la`lu 'lá`li 'lá`li
Good atchúkma atchúkma kanóasu káheno, kánu hi`li hi`li hí`li hí`li
White háta, tóbi tohobi hátka hátga hátki hátki hátgi hatki
Red húmma hómma húmma húmma tcháti tcháti kitistchi kitiski
Black lúsa lósa lótcha lúdsa lásti lásti lódshi lútchi
All móma oklunhá wayamúlu wayili omálga omálga lápki ámali, ilúngta lápki
One atcháfa tcháffa tchafáka tchafáka hámgin hámgin `lámin 'lámin
Two túklo tókolo tokoló túglo hokólin hokólin túklan tóklan
Three tutchína totchéna tut'tchína tutchínan tut'tchínin tut'tchinin tutchínan tusa tot'tchínan
Four úshta oshtá ostáka ostákan óshtin óshtin sitákin tchitákin
Five ta`lápi ta`lápe ta`lápi tsahupága tcha'hkípin tcha'hki′pin tchákgipan tcha′hkípin
Six hanáli hannále hánali ahanna′lin ipákin ipákin ipagin ipákin
Seven untúklo ontokló hontók'lo hontóklun kolapákin kolapákin kolapákin kolapákin
Eight untotchína ontutchéna hontot'tchina undetsínan tchinapákin tchinapákin tusnapákin tosnapákin
Nine tchakáli tchakále ibitchá'hkali pitchakálin ostapàkin ostapákin ustapakin ostapákin
Ten pokóli pokóle pokóli pokóle pálin pálin pokólin pokólin
To see pisa píssa hitchas hitchus hídshita hidshita hitchígi pitcha hidshíki

The Chicasa of this comparative table is from a vocabulary taken by G. Gibbs (1866); the Seminole and the Mikasuki from Buckingham Smith's vocabularies printed in the Historical Magazine (Morrisania, N. Y.) for August, 1866, and in W. W. Beach's: Indian Miscellany, Albany 1877, p. 120-126. The latter differs but little from the Mikasuki of G. Gibbs, in the linguistic collection of the Bureau of Ethnology in Washington. The few words of Apalachi were drawn from the missive sent, A. D. 1688, to the king of Spain, to be mentioned under "Apalachi"; the Koassáti terms I obtained in part at the Indian training school at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, partly from Gen. Alb. Pike's vocabularies, which also furnished the Alibamu terms.

Readers will perceive at the first glance that Cha'hta is practically the same language as Chicasa, Creek as Seminole and Hitchiti as Mikasuki. Alibamu forms a dialect for itself, leaning more toward Cha'hta than Creek. The southeastern group holds a middle position between Cha'hta and Creek. As far as the queer and inaccurate Spanish orthography of Apalachi enables us to judge, this dialect again differs somewhat from Hitchiti and Mikasuki. It will be well to remember that in Indian and all illiterate languages the sounds of the same organ-class are interchangeable; thus, a word may be correctly pronounced and written in six, ten, or twelve different ways. Tcháto rock, stone can be pronounced tchátu, tchádo, tchádu, tsáto, tsátu, tsádo, tsádu, etc. This explains many of the apparent discrepancies observed in the comparative table, and in our texts printed below.

A comparative study of the existing Maskoki vocabularies would be very fruitful for the ethnographic history of the tribes, and likely to disclose the relative epochs of their settlement, if those that we have now could be thoroughly relied on. In the comparative table subjoined I have received only such terms that answer to this requisite.

There are terms which occur in all dialects in the same or nearly the same form, as hási sun, ítchu, íssi deer, ófi, ífa dog, the terms for chief, black, yellow, bird, snake, buffalo, turtle, fox (also in Cheroki: tsu'hlá), the numerals and the personal pronouns; they must, therefore, have been once the common property of the still undivided, primordial tribe. The fact that the words for chief (míki, míngo, míko), for holá'hta, and for warrior (táska, taskáya), agree in all dialects, points to the fact that when the tribes separated they lived under similar social conditions which they have kept up ever since. The terms for maize disagree but apparently, and seem to be reducible to one radix, atch or ash; the terms for dog agree in all dialects—hence, the Maskoki tribes planted maize and kept dogs before, probably many centuries before they separated; and the term ífa went over from them to the Timucua. The word for buffalo, yánase, is the same in all dialects, and was probably obtained from the North, since the term occurs in Cheroki also (yá'hsa in Eastern Cheroki). The name for salt, hápi, a mineral which had a sacrificial importance, is found also in Yuchi in the form tápi, but Creek has ók-tchanua, Hitchiti: ok-tcháhane. The term for tobacco agrees in all divisions of the stock (haktchúmma), except in the Creek branch, where it is called hítchi, hídshi. This weed is said to have received its Maskoki names from a similarity of the top of the green plant with the phallus, which is called in Alibamu and Hitchiti: óktchi or áktchi.

THE NAME MASKOKI; ITS USE AND SIGNIFICATION.

Maskóki, Maskógi, isti Maskóki, designates a single person of the Creek tribe, and forms, as a collective plural, Maskokálgi, the Creek community, the Creek people, the Creek Indians. English authors write this name Muscogee, Muskhogee, and its plural Muscogulgee. The first syllable, as pronounced by the Creek Indians, contains a clear, short a, and that the name was written Muscogee and not Mascogee, is not to be wondered at, for the English language, with its surd, indistinct and strongly modified vocalization, will convert the clearest a into a u. Whether the name Maskoki was given to the Creeks before or after the incorporation of the towns speaking other languages than theirs, we are unable to tell, but the name figures in some of the oldest documents on this people. The accent is usually laid on the middle syllable: Maskóki, Maskógi. None of the tribes are able to explain the name from their own language.

The Cheroki call a Creek Indian Kúsa, the nation Ani-kúsa, probably because Kúsa was the first Creek town they met, when coming from their country along Coosa river, Alabama. But why did the English colonists call them Creek Indians? Because, when the English traders entered the Maskoki country from Charleston or Savannah, they had to cross a number of streams and creeks, especially between the Chatahuchi and Savannah rivers. Gallatin thought it probable that the inhabitants of the country adjacent to Savannah river were called Creeks from an early time (Synopsis, p. 94). The French settlers rendered the term Lower Creeks by "Basses-Rivières."

The Wendát or Hurons call the Creek people Ku-û′sha, having obtained the name from the Cheroki. The Foxes or Utagami call one Creek man U'mashgo ánene-u, the people U′mashgohak. B. S. Barton, New Views (1798), Appendix p. 8, states that the Delawares call the Creeks Masquachki: "swampland."