BOOKS AND TRANSLATIONS IN THE MOHEGAN, MOHAEKANUC, OR STOCKBRIDGE
LANGUAGE.
63.—The Assembly’s Shorter Catechism. 1 vol. 18mo. 34 pages. _No
imprint or date._
This is one of the earliest translations made into our Indian
languages, and is understood to have been done prior to the American
Revolution, while this tribe dwelt at Stockbridge, Mass., on the
Housatonic River. It has the following endorsement: “This translation
was made by John Quinney and Capt. Hendrick, who received his (their)
commission from General Washington. Little else has ever been
translated into the Stockbridge language besides this.” The name of the
tribes is written on the cover, “Muh hee kun ne ew,” being the plural
of (to preserve the orthography of the endorsement,) “Muh hee kun,”
denoting Mohegan people. It is a well characterized dialect of the
sub-groupe of the Eastern Algonquins.