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Transcriber's Note: This work was originally published as a part of:
Powell, J.W.
1881 _First Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 1879-'80_. pp. 553-577.
Washington: Government Printing Office.
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from the full publication and inserted in the appropriate place.
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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION--BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY.
* * * * *
CATALOGUE
OF
LINGUISTIC MANUSCRIPTS
IN THE
LIBRARY OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY.
BY
JAMES C. PILLING.
Table of Contents
Introductory 555
List of manuscripts 562
CATALOGUE OF LINGUISTIC MANUSCRIPTS IN THE LIBRARY
OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY.
BY JAMES C. PILLING.
Mr. Henry R. Schoolcraft, while engaged in the preparation of his
work--"Information respecting the History, Condition, and Prospects of
the Indian Tribes of the United States"--sent to various persons
residing among the Indians a "Comparative Vocabulary of the Languages of
the Indian Tribes of the United States," a quarto paper of 25 pages,
comprising 350 words, and the numerals one to one billion. The returns
from this were for the most part incorporated in his work; a few,
however, found their way into the collection of the Smithsonian
Institution.
In 1853-'54, Mr. George Gibbs, while engaged under Gov. Isaac I. Stevens
in "Explorations for a route for the Pacific Railroad near the 47th and
49th parallels of north latitude," became interested in the study of the
languages of the Indians inhabiting the Northwest, and collected many
vocabularies. To further extend this work, he prepared and had printed a
folio paper of three leaves entitled "A vocabulary of 180 words which it
is desired to collect in the different languages and dialects throughout
the Pacific Coast for publication by the Smithsonian Institute at
Washington."
These were sent to such persons as, in his judgment, were competent to
furnish the material desired, and many of them, filled or partly filled,
were returned to him. A second edition of this vocabulary, 6 ll., folio,
was issued.
In 1863 there was published by the Smithsonian Institution a pamphlet
with the following title:
Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. | --160-- | Instructions | for
research relative to the | Ethnology and Philology | of | America. |
Prepared for the Smithsonian Institution. | By | George Gibbs. |
Washington: | Smithsonian Institution: | March, 1863.
2 p. ll., pp. 1-51. 8^o.
In his introductory remarks, Professor Henry thus states the object of
the paper:
"The Smithsonian Institution is desirous of extending and completing its
collections of facts and materials relative to the Ethnology,
Archæology, and Philology of the races of mankind inhabiting, either now
or at any previous period, the continent of America, and earnestly
solicits the coöperation in this object of all officers of the United
States Government, and travellers or residents who may have it in their
power to render any assistance."
Under the head of Philology, Mr. Gibbs gave a brief account of some of
the peculiarities of Indian languages, with general directions for the
best method of collecting certain words; a simple and practical
alphabet; and a vocabulary in English, Spanish, French, and Latin of 211
words. Speaking of the latter, he says:
"In view of the importance of a uniform system in collecting words of
the various Indian languages of North America, adapted to the use of
officers of the government, travellers, and others, the following is
recommended as a STANDARD VOCABULARY. It is mainly the one prepared by
the late Hon. Albert Gallatin, with a few changes made by Mr. Hale, the
Ethnologist of the United States Exploring Expedition, and is adopted as
that upon which nearly all the collections hitherto made for the purpose
of comparison have been based. For the purpose of ascertaining the more
obvious relations between the various members of existing families this
number is deemed sufficient. The remote affinities must be sought in a
wider research, demanding a degree of acquaintance with their languages
beyond the reach of transient visitors."
The vocabulary given in this paper was separately printed on writing
paper, 10 ll., 4^o, and reprinted, 6 ll., folio, and was distributed
widely among the missionaries, Indian agents, travelers, and local
collectors in ethnology, and has served a valuable purpose, resulting in
the collection by the Smithsonian Institution of a large number of
vocabularies, comprising many of the languages and dialects of the
Indian tribes of the United States, British America, and Mexico.
This material, as it was received, was placed in the hands of Mr. Gibbs
for revision and classification--a work in which he was engaged at the
time of his death, which occurred before any of it was published.
In 1876, Professor Henry turned this material over to Maj. J.W. Powell,
then in charge of the United States Geographical and Geological Survey
of the Rocky Mountain Region, to be consolidated and published in
connection with like material collected by himself and his assistants
while among the Indians of the western portion of the United States. A
number were accordingly published in the "Contributions to North
American Ethnology," Vols. I and III, a quarto series issued by the
Survey.
Wishing to extend the work already begun by the Smithsonian Institution,
Major Powell, in 1877, prepared the following paper:
Introduction | to the | Study of Indian Languages, | with words, phrases,
and sentences to be collected. | By J.W. Powell. | Washington: |
Government Printing Office. | 1877.
Pp. 1-104, 10 ruled ll., 4^o.
In his opening remarks, referring to the manuscripts derived from the
distribution of Mr. Gibbs' paper, the author says: "It has, in fact,
greatly stimulated investigation, giving wiser direction to inquiry,
and the results have abundantly proved the value of the 'Instructions'
and the wisdom of its publication; and it serves to mark an epoch in the
history of ethnographic investigation in America. The material which has
thus been accumulated is of great amount, and its study has led to such
important conclusions that it is deemed wise to prepare a new system of
instruction, more comprehensive in plan and more elaborate in detail.
First, it is found necessary to enlarge the alphabet so as to include a
greater number of sounds, which have been discovered in the North
American languages, and to mark other letters with greater precision.
Second, it is necessary to enlarge the vocabulary so as to modify it
somewhat, as experience has dictated, so that new words may be
collected. Third, it is desirable that many simple phrases and sentences
should be given--so chosen as to bring out the more important
characteristics of grammatic structure."
In the preparation of this paper, the alphabet was considered to be of
prime importance. Concerning it, the author says: "After devoting much
time to the consideration of the subject, and the examination of many
alphabets devised by scholars and linguists, none was found against
which there was not serious objections, and the author attempted to
devise an alphabet which would contain all the supposed requirements;
but there were many difficulties in the way, and many compromises to be
made in weighing the various considerations. At this stage of the work
he applied to the eminent philologist, Prof. W.D. Whitney, for
assistance. After much consultation and the weighing of the many
considerations arising from the large amount of manuscript material in
the author's hands, Professor Whitney kindly prepared the following
paper on the alphabet."
The words, phrases, and sentences to be collected are arranged in
schedules, each preceded by instructions, and followed by blanks for
additions, as follows:
I. Persons, 15 words.
II. Parts of the body, 103 words.
III. Relationships:
Relationships arising from the first and second generations,
58 words.
Relationships arising from the third generation, 224 words.
Relationships arising from the fourth generation, 24 words.
Names of children in order of birth, 26 words.
IV. Social organization.
V. Governmental organization, 22 words.
VI. Religion, 6 words.
VII. Disposal of the dead, 8 words.
VIII. Dress and ornaments, 39 words.
IX. Dwellings, 26 words.
X. Implements and utensils, 36 words.
Basket-ware, 15 words.
Woodenware, 7 words.
Utensils of shell, horn, bone, &c., 5 words.
Stone implements, 13 words.
Pottery, &c., 11 words.
XI. Food, 6 words.
XII. Games and sports, 5 words.
XIII. Animals:
Mammals, 91 words.
Parts of the body, &c., of mammals, 36 words.
Birds, 192 words.
Parts of the body, &c., of birds, 26 words.
Fish, 12 words.
Parts of the body, &c., of fish, 12 words.
Reptiles, 6 words.
Insects, 11 words.
XIV. Trees, shrubs, fruits, &c., 8 words.
XV. The firmament, meteorologic and other physical phenomena and
objects, 41 words.
XVI. Geographic terms, 8 words.
XVII. Geographic names.
XVIII. Colors, 13 words.
XIX. Numerals:
Cardinal numbers, 58 words (1-1000).
Ordinal numbers, 30 words.
Numeral adverbs denoting repetition of action, 23 words.
Multiplicatives, 22 words.
Distributives, 23 words.
XX. Measures.
XXI. Divisions of time, 29 words.
XXII. Standard of value.
XXIII. New words, 84 words.
XXIV. Phrases and sentences, 545 phrases, &c.
This paper was prepared with special reference to the wants of the
collector, being printed on bond paper and bound in flexible cloth. It
was widely distributed and, like that of Mr. Gibbs, resulted in the
collection of valuable linguistic material.
In 1879 Congress consolidated the various surveys, including that of the
Rocky Mountain Region, into the United States Geological Survey, but
made provision for continuing the publication of the Contributions to
North American Ethnology under the direction of the Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution, and directed that the ethnologic material in
Major Powell's hands be turned over to the Institution. Thus the Bureau
of Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution was organized, and Major
Powell was placed at its head.
By this time the growing interest manifested in the study of North
American linguistics rendered necessary the preparation of a new edition
of the Introduction. In the words of the author:
"The progress made by various students, and the studies made by the
author, alike require that a new edition be prepared to meet the more
advanced wants and to embody the results of wider studies. Under these
circumstances the present edition is published. It does not purport to
be a philosophic treatment of the subject of language; it is not a
comparative grammar of Indian tongues; it is simply a series of
explanations of certain characteristics almost universally found by
students of Indian languages--the explanations being of such a
character as experience has shown would best meet the wants of persons
practically at work in the field on languages with which they are
unfamiliar. The book is a body of directions for collectors.
"It is believed that the system of schedules, followed _seriatim_, will
lead the student in a proper way to the collection of linguistic
materials; that the explanations given will assist him in overcoming the
difficulties which he is sure to encounter; and that the materials when
collected will constitute valuable contributions to philology. It has
been the effort of the author to connect the study of language with the
study of other branches of anthropology, for a language is best
understood when the habits, customs, institutions, philosophy--the
subject-matter of thought embodied in the language--are best known. The
student of language should be a student of the people who speak the
language; and to this end the book has been prepared, with many hints
and suggestions relating to other branches of anthropology."
The title of this publication is as follows:
Smithsonian Institution--Bureau of Ethnology | J.W. Powell Director |
Introduction | to the | Study of Indian Languages | with | Words
Phrases and Sentences to be Collected | By J.W. Powell | Second
edition--with charts | Washington | Government Printing Office |
1880
Pp. i-xii, 1-228, and 8 ruled leaves. 4^o.
The following is the
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.--ON THE ALPHABET.
Page.
Vowels 4
Diphthongs 5
Consonants 6
Mutes 6
Nasals 7
Spirants 8
Sibilants 9
W, Y, R, L, and H 9
Interrupted sounds 11
Synthetic sounds 12
Complex combinations 13
Alphabet 14