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 quantity, and its correspondent uggaushi, to size, or quality. Kishedä, (hot) is restricted to the heat of a fire; keezhautä, 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. Onishishin, and its correspondent onishishsha, 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 repetition of forms, were the noun and the adjective both to be employed in their usual relation, the latter is endowed with a pronominal, or substantive inflection. And the use of the noun, in its separate form, is thus wholly superceded. Thus onishishin, a. i. and onishishsha, a. a. become Wanishishing, that which is good, or fair, and Wanishishid, 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 | Mukkuddäw | au | Mukkuddäw | aug. |
| White | Waubishk | au | Wyaubishk | aug. |
| Yellow | Ozahw | au | Wäzhauw | 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 onishisha is thus declined to mark the person.
| Wänishish-eyaun | I (am) good, or fair. |
| Wänishish-eyun | Thou (art) good, or fair. |
| Wänishish-id | He (is) good or fair. |
| Wänishish-eyang | We (are) good or fair (ex.) |
| Wänishish-eyung | We (are) good a fair (in.) |
| Wänishish-eyaig | Ye (are) good or fair. |
| Wänishish-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 assume, 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 wä, muk to mäk, waub to wy-aub, ozau to wäzau, misk to maisk, &c. The pronoun, as is usual in the double compounds, is formed wholly by the inflections eyaun, eyun, &c.