The languages dealt with are those that lie between Russian America and New California. It is only, however, such as are spoken on the sea-coast and on the American frontier that are fairly known to us. Concerning some of the latter, such as the Blackfoot, the notices are deferred. Little, in the present state of our knowledge, can be attempted beyond the mere verification of vocabularies. In his list, however, of these, the writer has attempted to be exhaustive.
It is convenient to enumerate these vocabularies separately and to proceed from North to South.
Queen Charlotte's Island.—The two chief vocabularies are Mr Tolmie's and Messrs Sturgin and Bryant's, in the Journal of the Geographical Society and the Archæologia Americana respectively. They represent different dialects.
With these, the few words in the Mithridates coincide
| Mithridates. | Tolmie. | |
|---|---|---|
| One | sounchou | squansung |
| Two | stonk | stung |
| Three | sloonis | klughunnil |
Chimmesyan.—Mr Tolmie's vocabulary—Journal of Geographical Society. Spoken between 53° 30´ and 55° 30´ N. L.
Billechoola.—Mr Tolmies vocabulary; ibid. Spoken on the Salmon River.
Friendly Village.—In Mackenzie's Travels, we find a few words from a tribe on the Salmon River. Their locality is called by Mackenzie the Friendly Village. By the aid of Mr Tolmie's vocabularies, we can now place this hitherto unfixed dialect. It belongs to the Billechoola tongue.
| English. | Friendly Village. | Billechoola. |
|---|---|---|
| Salmon | zimilk | shimilk |
| Dog | watts | watz |
| House | zlaachle | shmool' |
| Bark-mat | zemnez | |
| Cedar-bark-blanket | tzummi | |
| Beaver | couloun | couloun |
| Stone | dichts | quilstolomick |
| Water | ulkan | kullah |
| Mat | gistcom | stuchom |
| Bonnet | ilcaette | kayeete |