Indian Languages Database
Record Details
The present state of Hudson's Bay. Containing a full description of that settlement, and the adjacent country... To which are added, remarks and observations made in the inland parts, during a residence of near four years; a specimen of five Indian languages; and a journal of a journey from Montreal to New-York.
London: Charles Stalker, 1790
Physical Description: [4], vii, [1], 230 [i.e. 226] p., [3] leaves of plates (2 folded) : plan ; 22 cm. (8vo)
Call number: D790/ U51p
Accession number: 34622
Notes: Contains vocabulary of five Indian languages, as listed on p. 178: those of the Ne-heth-a-wa; the Assinnee-poetuc, “a detached tribe from the Naudawissees on the river Mississippi, mentioned in Carver’s Travels, who anciently separated from the general flock... yet [whose] language... has undergone no material alteration” (p. 195-196); the Fall, referred to by the French as “gros-ventres” (p. 197); the Sussee Indians, who “now harbour in some country about the Stony Mountain” (p. 198); and the Black-Feet, Paegan, and Blood Indians, who “though divided into... three tribes, are all one nation” and “speak the same language” (p. 200).
Section on Hudson’s Bay Esquimaux includes notes on counting and calendrical systems and the names of the moons with English glosses (p. 54-55). “Of the Nehethawa Indians” (p. 179-195) includes the names of the 13 moons with English glosses (p. 191-192) as well as remarks on counting and computing time. “A specimen of sundry Indian languages spoken in the inland parts of Hudson’s Bay, between that coast and the coast of California” (foldout plate facing p. 202) is a table listing 3 dozen nouns and numbers 1-10 in 7 columns: English; Ne-heth-a-wa, or Ka-lis-te-no; As-sin-e-po-e-tuc, or Stone Indians; Fall Indians; Black Foot Indians; and Suffee Indians; column 6, with heading Snake Indians, is blank.
To access digital facsimile copy of book, click here.
Languages: Assiniboine / Cree / Sarsi / Shoshoni / Siksika
Genre: Vocabulary
Region: North America
