among which there is a natural connection. tures of the principle.

All the other fea

language seem

to be subordinate to that general view has been attained by various

The object in

means of the same tendency and often blended together

:

a

multitude of inflections properly so called ; a still greater num ber of compound words, sometimes formed by the coalescence

of primitive words not materially altered,' more generally by the union of many such words in a remarkably abbreviated form,

and

numerous

either

particles,

significative,

or

the

original

meaning of which has been lost, prefixed, added as terminations, body of the word." An extreme illustration furnished by Mather, in the compound phrase of this principle " Kummogkodonattoottummooetiteaongannunnonash," which is or inserted in the

is

" our Edwards illustrates it in a presumed to imply, question." " If a man hold out his hand simpler form in the Mahican. an Indian to

to

" knish"

know the name, he may receive the answer

thy hand ;

he is told " nnisk"

but if he touches the hand of the Indian^ and in either case he will infer ;

my hand

that he has received the

there

is

no such word

in

Indian word for hand, simply, when the language." Schoolcraft, in his

explains this principle

more fully and defines the idioms

and structure of the language.

From this treatise the annexed

treatise,

synopsis is made, presuming that those having occasion to do so,

" An

Essay on the Grammatical Structure of the Algonquin Language"