Opuscula: Essays chiefly Philological and Ethnographical

by R. G. Latham

The Arrapaho.—This is the name of a tribe in Kansas; occupant of a district in immediate contact with the Shyenne country.

But the Shyennes are no indigenæ to Kansas. Neither are the Arrapahos. The so-called Fall Indians, of whose language we have long had a very short trader's vocabulary in Umfreville, are named from their occupancy which is on the Falls of the Saskatshewan. The Nehethewa, or Crees, of their neighbourhood call them so; so that it is a Cree term of which the English is a translation. Another name (English also) is Big-belly, in French Gros-ventre. This has given rise to some confusion. Gros-ventre is a name also given to the Minetari of the Yellow-stone River; whence the name Minetari itself has, most improperly, been applied (though not, perhaps, very often or by good authorities) to the Fall Indians.

The Minetari Gros-ventres belong to the Sioux family. Not so the Gros-ventres of the Falls. Adelung remarked that some of their words had an affinity with the Algonkin, or as he called it, Chippeway-Delaware, family, e. g. the names for tobacco, arrow, four, and ten.

Umfreville's vocabulary was too short for anything but the most general purposes and the most cautious of suggestions. It was, however, for a long time the only one known. The next to it, in the order of time, was one in MS., belonging to Gallatin, but which was seen by Dr. Prichard and collated by the present writer, his remarks upon it being published in the 134th Number of the Proceedings of this Society. They were simply to the effect that the language had certain miscellaneous affinities. An Arrapaho vocabulary in Schoolcraft tells us something more than this; viz. not only that it is, decidedly, the same language as the Fall Indian of Umfreville, but that it has definite and preponderating affinities with the Shyenne, and, through it, with the great Algonkin class in general.

English.	Arrapaho.	Shyenne.
scalp	mithash	matake.
tongue	nathun	vetunno.
tooth	veathtah	veisike.
beard	vasesanon	meatsa.
hand	mahchetun	maharts.
blood	bahe	mahe.
sinew	anita	antikah.
heart	battah	estah.
mouth	nettee	marthe.
girl	issaha	xsa.
husband	nash	nah.
son	naah	nah.
daughter	nahtahnah	nahteh.
one	chassa	nuke.
two	neis	neguth.
three	nas	nahe.
four	yeane	nave.
five	yorthun	noane.
six	nitahter	nahsato.
seven	nisorter	nisoto.
eight	nahsorter	nahnoto.
nine	siautah	soto.
ten	mahtahtah	mahtoto.

English.	Arrapaho.	Other Algonkin Languages.
man	enanetah	enainneew, Menom. &c.
father, my	nasonnah	nosaw, Miami.
mother, my	nanah	nekeah, Menom.
husband, my	nash	nah, Shyenne.
son, my	naah	nah, Shyenne.
——	——	nikwithah, Shawnee.
daughter, my	nahtahnah	netawnah, Miami.
brother, my	nasisthsah	nesawsah, Miami.
sister, my	naecahtaiah	nekoshaymank, Menom.
Indian	enenitah	ah wainhukai, Delaware.
eye	mishishi	maishkayshaik, Menom.
mouth	netti	may tone, Menom.
tongue	nathun	wilano, Delaware.
tooth	veathtah	wi pit, Delaware.
beard	vasesanon	witonahi, Delaware.
back	nerkorbah	pawkawmema, Miami.
hand	machetun	olatshi, Shawnee.
foot	nauthauitah	ozit, Delaware.
bone	hahunnah	ohkonne, Menom.
heart	battah	maytah, Menom.
blood	bahe	mainhki, Menom.
sinew	anita	ohtah, Menom.
flesh	wonnunyah	weensama, Miami.
skin	tahyatch	xais, Delaware.
town	haitan	otainahe, Delaware.
door	tichunwa	kwawntame, Miami.
sun	nishi-ish	kayshoh, Menom.
star	ahthah	allangwh, Delaware.
day	ishi	kishko, Delaware.
autumn	tahuni	tahkoxko, Delaware.
wind	assissi	kaishxing, Delaware.
fire	ishshitta	ishkotawi, Menom.
water	nutch	nape, Miami.
ice	wahhu	mainquom, Menom.
mountain	ahhi	wahchiwi, Shawnee.
hot	hastah	ksita, Shawnee.
he	enun	enaw, Miami.
——	——	waynanh, Menom.
that (in)	hinnah	aynaih, Menom.
who	unnahah	ahwahnay, Menom.
no	chinnani	kawn, Menom.
eat	mennisi	mitishin, Menom.
drink	bannah	maynaan, Menom.
kill	nauaiut	osh-nainhnay, Menom.

Fitzhugh Sound forms in-SKUM.—There is still a possible addition to the Algonkin group; though it is probable that it cannot be added to it without raising the value of the class. The exact value and interpretation of the following fact has yet to be made out. I lay it, however, before the reader. The language for the parts about Fitzhugh Sound seems to belong to a class which will appear in the sequel under the name Hailtsa or Haeetsuk. The numerals, however, have this peculiarity, viz. they end in the syllable -kum. And this is what, in one specimen, at least, two of the Black foot terms do,

• English, two.
• Fitzhugh Sound, mal-skum.
• Hailtsuk, maluk.
• Blackfoot, nartoke-skum.