Note 229 — I. VOCABULARIES OF SOME OF THE TRIBES OF NORTHWESTERN AMERICA, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE INDIAN SIGN LANGUAGE

Mr. Gallatin (p. 151) expresses himself on this subject as follows:—"on the other hand, the great extent of ground necessary to sustain game sufficient for the subsistence of a very moderate population, compels them (the Indians) to separate and to form a number of small independent communities. It may easily be perceived that the perpetual state of warfare, in which neighboring tribes are engaged, had its origin in the same cause which has produced the great diversity of American languages or dialects. We may also understand how the affections of the Indian became so exclusively concentrated in his own tribe, the intensity of that natural feeling, how it degenerated into deadly hatred of hostile nations, and the excesses of more than savage ferocity, in which he indulged under the influence of his unrestrained vindictive passions."—Maximilian.