Among the tribes with whom he resided this writer has especially noticed a highly interesting sept, the Mandans, in whose dialect he has pointed out a variety of instances of close resemblance to the Welsh, which he has left to the judgment of those who are conversant with that language. On this subject I conceive there cannot be any difference of opinion among those who are vernacularly acquainted with the venerable tongue of the Cymry. Of the Mandan terms selected by Mr. Catlin (which are subjoined below), the majority must be admitted to present plain and unequivocal features of resemblance, or rather of identity, to the equivalent Welsh terms.

Now, it will be seen that of these[147] examples of affinity the greater number consist of terms which belong exclusively to the province of Grammar!

English.Mandan.Welsh.Other Asiatic And European Languages.
I.Me.Me.Me (Latin and Eng.), Eme(Greek.)
You.Ne.Chwe.Nee, (Chinese.)
He.E.E.E.ee.a, E.ou.e, or E.v.e,“He, She, It,” (Heb.)
She.Ea.E, Hee.Ea, “She,” (Latin.)
It.Ount.Hooyant, “They” (Plural.)[148]Onuh, “It, Him, Her,”(Turkish.)
They.Eonah, (Onúh ha, Honúh ha, “They,” Iroquois Dialects.Nhou, “They,” Hyny, “Those.”E.n.e, “They,” (Hebrew), Oona, “They,” also “He,She, It,” (Mixed Indian Dialects of Asia.)
Ainah, Ont, Ent, (Endingsof the third person plural of Indo-European Verbs.)[149]
We.Noo.Nee.Nōi (Greek), Nou, Nc'hnou(Hebrew.)
No, or, There is not.Megosh.[150]Nagoes, Nage.
Head.Pan.Pen.
The Great Spirit.Maho peneta.Mawr[151] Penaether Yysprid Mawr.

By some of our countrymen it has been sanguinely maintained that the descendants of a body of Welsh, who left their country under Prince Madoc in the twelfth century, may be still traced by affinities of language among the North American Indian Tribes. Struck by the resemblances he has detected, Mr. Catlin has been led to favour the same conclusion, and to suggest that the Mandans may probably be shown to be the descendants of the lost Cambrian Colony!

But the examples selected by this writer, however creditable to his accuracy and research, do not tend, as he suggests, to prove the existence of a specific connexion between the Welsh and the Mandans! This will be evident from the words contained in the right-hand column (which have been added by the author of this work). An examination of the whole comparison will serve to show clearly, that though in most of the instances he has noticed the resemblance displayed by the Mandan to the Welsh is a close one, in many of them it displays an equally close affinity to the Latin and Greek, &c., while in some—this North American Indian dialect totally differs from the Welsh tongue, and at the same time agrees with—other languages of the Old World. Many of those examples which precede the Comparison are also illustrations of the principle that the Mandan, like other North American Indian dialects, exhibits a general resemblance to all, and not a specific relation to any one of the Asiatic and European tongues. Thus Khe cush, “Bad,” which is identical with the Greek, but is totally unlike the Welsh, is a Mandan word!

The prevalent theory, that there exists a group of Indo-European languages and nations—peculiarly connected among themselves—peculiarly isolated from others—will, I conceive, be found to be fallacious; and what is highly remarkable, distinct proofs of its fallacy, as will presently be seen, are derivable from the dialects of the North American Tribes!

The writers by whom this theory has been maintained have overlooked, on the one hand, the numerous points of resemblance which connect the Indo-European languages with other Tongues; while, on the other hand, they have also overlooked the numerous points of difference which they mutually display. On a close investigation it will be evident that it is only in the basis of their Grammars that any of the ancient languages of Asia and Europe, even those which are very nearly related, agree; they do not display an identity of Grammatical forms! Compare, for example, the inflections of the Verbs in the Latin and the Greek, and the numerous points of difference which they exhibit in almost every tense, combined with mere partial coincidences. That these remarks are equally true of the relation displayed by the North American Indian dialects compared to those of the Old World will be apparent from the following examples, in which it will be manifest that these dialects in their basis agree with, and in their inflections and details only partially differ from, the Asiatic and European languages!

Present Tense of a Verb in two Dialects of the Algonquyn Class.

“Chippeway” Dialect.“Lenni Lenape” Dialect.
(Root) Nond—“Understand.”(Root) Pend—“Understand.”[152]
Singular.Singular.
N'-nond-OM.N'-pend-AMEN.
“I understand.”“I understand.”
K'-nond-OM.K'-pend-AMEN.
“Thou understand-est.”“Thou understand-est.”
---- -Nond-om.---- -Pend-amen.
“He understand-s.”“He understand-s.”
Plural.Plural.
N'-nond-AM-IN.N'-pend-AMEN-EEN.
“We understand.”“We understand.”
K'-nond-AM.K'-pend-AM-OHUMO.
“Ye understand.”“Ye understand.”
---Nond-UM-ÔG.---Pend-AMEN-OWO.
“They understand.”“They understand.”

It will be observed that the inflections of the Algonquyn Verb, indicative of persons (corresponding to those in Leg-o, Leg-is, Leg-it, Latin), are “Om and Amen.” In another form of the Algonquyn Verb, “Amo” is also used.