s remarkable for its softness. The Carib
tongue, somewhat more guttural than the former, is spoken in a smart,
vivacious manner. "Those who speak it in its purity, regard as corrupt
the language of those Caribs who elsewhere have intermarried with other
races," observes Mr Brett. It may easily be understood how an
unwritten tongue can, in the course of ages, be thus totally changed, so
as to bear no resemblance to the original language. Although in some
there is a wide distinction, there are others in which all the Indian
dialects seem to agree. In their method of numeration, especially, the
first four numbers are represented by simple words. Although the Indian
children learn to read and write with facility, they acquire with
difficulty the simplest rudiments of arithmetic. This arises from their
general method of numeration--five is represented by one hand; two
hands, ten; then they use the toes, and call twenty by the name of
"loko," or man. They then proceed by men or scores. Thus forty-five is
laboriously expressed by a word signifying two men and one hand upon it.
Some of the Indian words are of great length. Among the Arawaks, such
words as _lokoborokwatoasia_ (his thought, or remembrance),
_rabuintimen-rutibanano_ (eighteen), are continually used.
"Notwithstanding these," says Monsieur du Ponceau, "the Indian languages
are rich in words and grammatical forms, and in their complicated
construction the greatest order, method, and regularity prevail."

MOUNDS FULL OF HUMAN REMAINS.

Undoubted proof has been discovered of the cannibal propensities of some
large tribe now passed away, in mounds situated on high ground, and in
swamps in the neighbourhood of the coast. On opening one of them--
upwards of 20 feet in height and 130 in diameter at its base--it was
found to be composed of shells mixed with a large number of broken
bones, apparently the relics of meals. The shells were chiefly
periwinkles; there were also mussels, the large claws of crabs, the
bones of vertebrate fishes and land animals, as well as some hard slabs
of pottery resembling the baking-pans used by the wilder tribes at the
present day. Among them, the labourers were startled by coming upon
human bones, in irregular positions and at unequal depths, huddled and
jumbled together. The skulls, some of which were of great thickness,
were in fragments. The long bones had all been cracked open, and
contained sand and dust. Each mass appe