Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/55

 The idiom and fimllarity of their language. 43

humorous wits, he fays, in a loud jefting manner, Hara Hara, or Halo, Hala, according to their capacity of pronouncing the liquid R : and it fig- nifies, " you are very hot upon me :" their word, which exprefles " fharp," conveys the idea of bitter-heartednefs with them j and that of bitternefs they apply only to the objects of tafte.

With the Cheerake, Chikkafah, and Choktah Indians, Nanne fignifies " a hill :" and Nanneb^ with the two laft- mentioned nations, " a fifti ;" and Unchaba, " a mountain." , But they call an alligator, or crocodile, Nanntb Chuncbaba, literally, " the fifh like a mountain ;" which the Englifh lan guage would abbreviate into the name of a mountain -fifh j but, inftead of a hyphen, they ufe the Hebrew D, a note of refemblance, which feems to point at the language from which they derived it. In like manner, Aa fignifies to walk, and Eette, wood -, but Eette Cbanaa, any kind of wheel ; which is confonant to the aforefaid Hebrew idiom -, with many others of the like nature : but a fpecimen of this fort muft fuffice.

The Hebrew and Indian words, which exprefs delineating, writing, decy- phering, marking, and painting, convey the fame literal meaning in both languages "fas Exod. xvii. 14. 1310 n/O (Cbetheba Sepbare} " delineate this with delineations ," and, with the Indians, Hcorefo is, in like manner, the radical name of books, delineating, &c. ; and Ootebna that for numbering, inftead of reading. The neareft approach they can make to it, is, .Anumlok boorefo IJhanumbolas, " You fhall fpeak the fpeech, which is delineated."

They call a razor, Bafpoo Sbapbe, " A {having knife :" and Sbapbe always fignifies to fhave, probably, becaufe when they firft began to fhave them- felves, they were ridiculed by the higher, or more religious part of the peo ple, for imitating that heathenifli cuftom. The Hebrew HDttf (Shaphe) fignifying lip, confefilon, or worfhip; which divine writ aflures us, the de- fcendants of Noah changed, when they oppofed the divine will of fettling various parts of the earth, and built the great tower of Babel, as an emblem of greatnefs, to get them a name *.

They often change i into ee,
 * Skin fignifies an eye ; and Skeejkaph<t) one-eyed ; as if proceeding from the divine anger.

G 2 Look

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