However, I do not
despair. If it cannot be taken by a '_coup de main_,' patience and
perseverance may in the end prevail. I intend to bend my mind to this
subject for the future. It will probably require much research to settle
this matter. There are some compounds that I form readily, in others I
fail. I have not observed anything in the language like the rythmatic
flow of Greek and Latin poetry; there is no alternation of long and
short syllables; some words are composed entirely of long syllables,
others of short ones, but generally there is at least one of each in
a word.
"I have nothing in the shape of Indian poetry or hieroglyphics, neither
have I seen the rocks you mention south-east of this place, but I have
heard of them. All their traditions, or comic and tragic lore, should be
collected, though it could not all be published in consequence of its
obscenity. Almost all the _Ah-te-soo-kaum_ I have heard, has had more or
less of this ingredient."
Those who contend for a Welsh element in the languages of the American
stocks, find little or no support in modern vocabularies.
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