Carver, who went from Boston to the Mississippi in the latter part of the 18th century, is not an author to glean much from. I, however, re-perused his volume carefully, and extracted notes. Some of the stories inserted in his work have thrown an air of discredit over it, and caused the whole work to be regarded in rather an apocryphal light. I think there is internal evidence enough in his narrative to prove that he visited the chief portions of country described. But he probably neglected to keep diurnal notes. When in London, starvation stared him in the face. Those in office to whom he represented his plans probably listened to him awhile, and afterwards lost sight of, or neglected him. He naturally fell into the hands of the booksellers, who deemed him a good subject to get a book from. But his original journal did not probably afford matter enough, in point of bulk. In this exigency, the old French and English authors appear to have been drawn upon; and probably their works contributed by far the larger part of the volume after the 114th page (Philadelphia ed. 1796), which concludes the "Journal." I think it questionable whether some literary hack was not employed, by the booksellers, to draw up the part of the work "On the origin, manners, customs, religion, and language of the Indians." Considerable portions of the matter are nearly verbatim in the language of Charlevoix, La Hontan, and other authors of previous date. The "vocabulary of Chippewa," so far as it is Chippewa at all, has the French or a mixed orthography, which it is not probable that an Englishman or an American would, _de novo_, employ. CHAPTER XVIII.
Rapid advance of spring--Troops commence a stockade--Principles of the Chippewa tongue--Idea of a new language containing the native principles of syntax, with a monosyllabic method--Indian standard of value--Archaeological evidences in growing trees--Mount Vernon--Signs of spring in the appearance of birds--Expedition to St. Peter's--Lake Superior open--A peculiarity in the orthography of Jefferson--True sounds of the consonants--Philology--Advent of the arrival of a vessel.--Editors and editorials--Arrival from Fort William--A hope fled--Sudden completion of the spring, and ushering in of summer--Odjibwa language, and transmission of Inquiries.