Page:Archæologia Americana—volume 2, 1836.djvu/154

 118 A SYNOPSIS OP TTIK TNOTAN TRIRF.S. [iNTROD. the Cboctaws, by the names which that people had imposed on them. Of this we have at least two instances in point. The name of Achqfalaya, the principal western outlet of the Mis- sissippi, is pure Choctaw, meaning " the long river," from hucha, u river," and falai/a, "long."* And the name of the Aitacapas, " Men-eaters," whose language, as appears by their vocabulary, is totally different from the Choctaw, is that which had been given to them by this nation, derived from hottok, "a person," and vppa, " to eat." As, with the exception of the Aatehes, we have no vocabularies of any of the smaller tribes originally living on the east side of the Mississippi which were contiguous to the Cboctaws, the presumed identity of lan- guage remains uncertain. It will be perceived by Dr. Sibley's account, that six of these are still existing, to wit, the Taen- sas, the Humas, the Boluxas, the Pacanas, the Tunicas, and the Pascagoulas ; the four last of which he asserts to have distinct languages from the Mobilian or Choctaw. With respect to the tribes, natives of the western side of the Mississippi, exclusively of the Panis, who live beyond the boundaries of the State of Louisiana, Dr. Sibley states that they speak six distinct languages, to which must be added that of the Chitimachas not mentioned by him. We have vocab- ularies of four of these, viz., of the Attacapas and of the Chitimachas, taken by Mr. Duralde and by him transmitted to Mr. Jefferson ; and of the Adaize, and of the Caddoes, transmitted by Dr. Sibley to Mr. Duponceau. We have made but partial use of the last, having received one much more copious from Mr. George Gray, the Indian Agent. The three still wanted are those of the Natchitoches, of the Opelousas, and of the Chactoos. The four which have been obtained, fully justify Dr. Sibley's assertion ; each of those tribes speaks a distinct language and different from any other known to us. It appears also by a letter from Dr. Sibley to Mr. Duponceau, at the time when he transmitted the Adaize and Caddo vocab- ularies, that he had actually obtained those of some of the other tribes, to the peculiarities of which he alludes. These have not been received. From the Arctic Sea to the fifty-second degree of north origin with the Muskhogee hatchee, and okhina, probably " water- Course."
 * There are two Choctaw words for river viz. hucha, of the same