On the appointed day, the various motives of flattery, fear, and curiosity, attracted to the amphitheatre an innumerable multitude of spectators; and some degree of applause was deservedly bestowed on the uncommon skill of the imperial performer. Whether he aimed at the head or heart of the animal, the wound was alike certain and mortal. With arrows whose point was shaped in the form of a crescent, Commodus often intercepted the rapid career, and cut asunder the long and bony neck of the ostrich.

A panther was let loose, and the archer waited till he had leaped upon a trembling malefactor. In the same instant the shaft flew, the beast dropt dead, and the man remained unhurt. The dens of the amphitheatre disgorged at once a hundred lions; a hundred darts in succession, from the unerring hand of Commodus, laid them dead as they ran raging around the arena. Such it appears were the prowess and the sports of the ancient Romans, whose counterpart, as it respects this peculiar trait, the fight of the gladiator, was found among the Mexican usages of North America.

Again, when the Romans first got footing in the island of Britain, they erected, or laid the foundation of a town, which they named Verulam, which soon took the title and rank of a city. This town, according to their peculiar manner, was at first circumscribed by a wall, including about an hundred acres, the traits of which still appear.

These square inclosures are found in America, as treated upon in our account of the Roman squares at or near Marietta; strengthening the belief that Roman colonies have, in former ages, settled in America.

AMERICAN LANGUAGES-WAHTANI OR MANDAN.

The vocabularies of languages collected by Lewis and Clarke, in their memorable journey to the Pacific Ocean, appear to have been lost and never published. It is said they were put into the hands of Dr. Benj. Barton, who made no use of them; since his death they have disappeared, and cannot be traced any where.

I met in Lexington, Ky. Mr. George Shannon who was one of the companions of Lewis in that voyage, and who furnished me

with some words of the Mandans on the Upper Missouri, who he said call themselves Whatanis, these added to a few scattered in Lewis' Travels, form the following 32 words.

The 4 words marked * have some analogy with the English, through remote courses as usual, equal to 12 per cent. of mutual affinity.

This language is totally new to the learned, it is found in none of the great philological works. It is stated by Lewis to differ widely from the Minitari, allies and neighbors of the Mandans, although a dialect of it; both are referred to the great Pakhi family of the North, themselves a branch of the Skereh or Panis group of nations and languages. But this surmise appears to me erroneous, I can see but little analogy with the Panis and Recara dialects; but instead, many similarities with the Yancton and Konzas dialects of the Missouri tribes. The Wahtasuns or Ahnahaways of Lewis, called Ayawahs by Shannon, are a branch of the Otos and Ayowehs of lower Missouri, although settled near the Mandans, and speaking an akin dialect.

The word mini for water is found in all the Missouri tribes. In comparing the 10 Mandan numbers with the list of decimals in 50

N. A. dialects in Tanner's Narrative, the greatest amount of analogies are found in the

Konza 1. Meakche, 2 Nonpah, 3 Topah. Analogy. 30 per ct. nearly the same in Omawah.

Yancton 1 Wanchah, 2 Nonpah 3 Yahmene, 4 Topah. Equal to 40 per ct. the same in the Dakotah or Sioux.

Minitari 2 Nohopah, 3 Nahme, 4 Topah, 5 Chehoh, 6 Acahme, 7 Chappo. Equal to 60 per cent. of analogy.

While the Pani has only 10 p. cent of analogy by the single number 2 Patko. The Muscogih so far to the S. E. has even more or 20 per ct. in 1 Homai, 10 Pekole; but they are very

remote.

Mr. Catlin, who has visited the Mandans this year, 1832, says they are properly called Siposka-nukaki meaning people of the pheasant! thus we have 3 names for this nation, this is not unusual, each nation having many nick-names in N. America. He says they are reduced to 1800 souls, and that the Minitari speak a diaJect of the Upsaroka or Crow Indians.

C. S. RAFINESQUE.

Languages of Oregon-Chopunish and Chinuc.

Mr. Shannon confirmed the fact that only 3 languages were met with in the Oregon mts and country. 1 The Shoshonis in the mts, 2 Chopunise from mts to the falls of the Oregon or Columbia R. 3 Chinuc from hence to the Pacific Ocean. But they are spoken in a multitude of dialects.

The Shoshoni is pretty well known to be a branch of the Alietan or Western Skereh, spoken as far as Mexico. The other two are less known. Mr. S. could only furnish 12 words of Chopunish, a few more met with in Lewis and Cox enable me to give 24

It is singular that this uncouth language has six analogies † out of 24 with the English, by primitive connection, equal to 25 per cent. It is therefore Asiatic like the Saca or old Saxon.

I am at a loss to refer it to any group of American languages, I had put it among the Wakash or Nutka group in my table; but it is widely separated from it. New to science as well as the next. Of the Chinuc I have collected 33 words from Cox, Lewis, Cox calls it unutterable and says it lacks F.

and other sources.

1 Ect, Icht

2 Moxt, Makust

3 Clunc, Thlown

4 Uct, Lakut

5 Quanim, quanum The 4 marks

equal to 12 per cent.

Sakqualal
Poclishqua

6 Tuckum, Tackut

77 Sinanixt, Sinbakust

8 Stutkin, Stuktekan 9 Quayels, Quayust 10 Taitlelum, Italilum.

indicate 4 in 33 of analogy with the English,

3 words, man, 9 and 10 have a slight analogy with the Chopunish out of 9 in the two lists, which gives 33 per cent. of analogy.

North of the Chinuc and Chopunish, are found the Wakash and Atnah tribes and languages, the last has many dialects connected with the western Lenilenap group and it appears that both the Chinuc and Chopunish have more analogies with them than with the Wakash the word man is an instance and proof of it.

In the Wakash the numbers have some slight affinities with those of the Onguys and Wiyandots of the East, while in the Chinuc and the others, these decimals resemble the Shawani and other Eastern Lenilenap Dialects. Examples.

Musqnaki. 1 Nekot, 4 Kotwauskik, 5. Kotwauswa, 9. Shaunk. 4 in 10 or 40 per cent. with Chinuc.

Shawani. 1 Nguti, 5. Ninlanwi, 6. Kukatswi, 10. Matatswi, also 40 per cent.

Mohegan. 1 Ugwito, 5. Nunon 6 Ugwitus, 10 Neteumit also 40 per cent.

I conclude therefore that the Chinuc (and perhaps the Chopunish also) is one of the Lenapian languages of the West, one of the fragments of that vast ancient nation that has spread from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean in 200 Nations and tribes. The Ainus of Eastern Asia appear to be their ancestors.

C. S. RAFINESQUE.

THE GOLD REGIONS IN THE SOUTHERN STATES. FROM the American Journal of Science and Arts, we have a highly interesting description of the gold districts in Georgia and North Carolina, extending west even into the state of Tennessee. In this Journal, gold is treated upon as being extremely abundant, and from the situation of the veins, is far more eligible to the operations of the miner, than the gold mines of South Amerca; these having, as is supposed, been greatly deranged in places, and buried deep by the operations of volcanoes; while those in the states are still in their primitive state of formation.

Gold is found connected with various formations of slate, with red clay, and in the bottoms of streams, mingled with the sand and gravel. It is found with the heavy gravelly earth of the mountains, but most of all, in the kind of rock called quartz, which is also mingled with slate. In North Carolina, on Valley River, gold is found in abundance, connected with the quartz rock, which also