University of Virginia Library

---

408

LXXXVI. LXXXVI

NICHOLAS BIDDLE TO WILLIAM TILGHMAN[1]

LXXXVI. [Qriginal MS. in possession of American Philosophical Society. We follow a transcript furnished
by Secretary Hays.]

Dear Sir: I have the pleasure of depositing with the Historical
Committee the papers & books which accompany this letter, in compliance
with the request of Governor Clark in his letter to me of the
10th of October 1816 transmitted by Mr. Jefferson.

It may perhaps be useful to add such notices of other objects
connected with them, as may enable the Committee to extend its
researches.

It was in the Spring of 1810 that I received from Governor Clark in
Virginia, & brought to Philadelphia the papers & documents deemed
necessary for the publication of the Travels. They consisted of,

1.

• A large map of the country between the Mississipi & the Pacific
  illustrating the course of the journey

2.

• A map for Mr Hassler who was in the state of New York and
  engaged in some astronomical calculations for the work.

3.

• Some documents for Dr Barton

4.

• The manuscript journal of Serjeant Ordway, one of the party

5.

• The pocket Journals of the expedition
  Of these,

1.

• The map after the draft was made from it for the engraver was
  delivered by the draftsman, Mr Lewis, to Governor Clark when last in
  Phila. about the year 1813.

2.

• The other map was forwarded by Mr Vaughan to Mr Hassler, who
  in his letter dated Augt. 12. 1810 at Schenectady mentions the receipt
  of it
  

  ---

  
  
  

  VOCABULARY

                                                                           

  ---

  
  
  
                                                                                         

  Fire	a man	monax	tooth
  water	a woman	beaver	tongue
  earth	belly	raccoon	ear
  air	back	opossum	neck
  wind	side	to-day	arm
  sky	bubby	to-morrow	wrist
  sun	nipple	a day	hand
  moon	thigh	a month	finger
  star	leg	a year	moose
  light	foot	spring	bear
  darkness	toe	summer	wolf
  day	skin	autumn	panther
  night	nails	winter	wild-cat
  heat	bone	a man	pole-cat
  cold	blood	a woman	fox
  smoak	life	a boy	monax
  cloud	death	a girl	beaver
  fog	food	a child	raccoon
  rain	meat	father	opossum
  snow	fat	mother	hare
  hail	lean	brother	squirrel
  ice	bread	sister	flying-squirrel
  frost	Indian-corn	husband	ground-squirrel
  dew	milk	wife	mole
  rain-bow	egg	son	a bird
  thunder	a house	daughter	an eagle
  lightning	the mammoth	the body	hawk
  yesterday	buffalo	the head	owl
  to-day	elk	the hair	turkey
  to-morrow	deer	the beard	swan
  a day	moose	the face	wild-goose
  a month	bear	an eye	duck
  a year	wolf	the nose	turkey-buzzard
  spring	panther	the cheek	raven
  summer	wild-cat	chin	crow
  autumn	pole-cat	lip	black-bird
  winter	fox	mouth	crane
  pigeon	ninety	to jump	three
  dove	a hundred	to fall	four
  pheasant	two hundred	to break	nine hundred
  partridge	three hundred	to bend	a thousand
  mocking-bird	four hundred	yes	white
  red-bird	five hundred	no	black
  snake	six hundred	gold	green
  lizzard	seven hundred	silver	blue
  butterfly	eight hundred	copper	yellow
  fly	ugly	a stone	red
  fish	sick	wood	good
  frog	brave	gum	bad
  mulberry	cowardly	a mountain	large
  a vine	wise	hill	small
  tobacco	foolish	valley	high
  joy	I	sea	low
  sorrow	you	lake	broad
  one	he	pond	narrow
  two	she	river	old
  three	they	creek	young
  four	this	a spring	new
  five	that	grass	hard
  six	to eat	a tree	soft
  seven	to drink	pine	sweet
  eight	to sleep	cedar	sour
  nine	to laugh	sycamore	bitter
  ten	to cry	poplar	hot
  eleven	to sing	ash	cold
  twelve	to whistle	elm	dry
  thirteen	to smell	beech	wet
  fourteen	to hear	birch	strong
  fifteen	to see	maple	weak
  sixteen	to speak	oak	pretty
  seventeen	to walk	chesnut	ugly
  eighteen	to run	hiccory	sick
  nineteen	to stand	walnut	brave
  twenty	to sit	locust	cowardly
  twenty-one	to lie down	mulberry	wise
  thirty	to smoke a pipe	a vine	foolish
  forty	to love	tobacco	I
  fifty	to hate	joy	you
  sixty	to strike	sorrow	he
  seventy	to kill	one
  eighty	to dance	two

---

409





3.

• The documents for Dr Barton, were delivered to him immediately
  after my arrival in Phila. Not having received any list of them from
  Govr Clark I of course took none from Dr Barton, and as I was merely
  the bearer of them, my recollection is not as accurate as it would have
  been had they fallen more immediately under my examination. My
  impression however is that the packet for Dr Barton consisted of small
  manuscript books & some papers. The books were chiefly extracts
  relative to objects of natural history taken from the original Journal now
  deposited with the Committee. The papers were Indian vocabularies,
  collected during the journey. They formed, I think a bundle of loose
  sheets each sheet containing a printed vocabulary in English with the
  corresponding Indian name in manuscript. There was also another
  collection of Indian vocabularies, which, if I am not mistaken, was in
  the handwriting of Mr Jefferson.[2]

  I have turned to my letter to Governor Clark dated July 7. 1810,
  the first to him after my arrival at Phila, in hopes of finding some
  further particulars, but the letter merely states in general terms "I need
  not say that I arrived safe at this place / that the map was immediately
  forwarded to Mr Hassler, and that Dr Barton received all his
  papers "In the preface to the printed travels which, being published
  in Phila whilst Dr Barton was there, must be presumed to have been
  correct it is stated that "those parts of the work which relate to the
  various objects of natural history observed or collected during the
  journey, as well as the alphabets of the Indian languages are in the hands
  of Professor Barton, and will it is understood, shortly appear." This
  was in 1814.

  I have mentioned these particulars so minutely because the description
  may perhaps enable some of the Committe to recognize the vocabularies,
  which I incline to think were the only things delivered by me to
  Dr Barton not included in the volumes now deposited.

4.

• The journal of Serjeant Ordway was I believe a private purchase
  from that person. Governor Clark in his letter to me of the 24
  Jany. 1818 desires me to send it to him.

---

410





5.

• The Journals of Mefsrs' Lewis & Clark from the beginning to the
  end of the journey are contained in the 14 volumes, all of which are
  now deposited. There is besides one volume of astronomical observations
  & other matter by Captain Lewis, a small copy book containing
  some notes by Captain Lewis / the rough draft of his letter to the
  President from St Louis announcing his return / and two statistical
  tables of the various tribes of Indians west of the Mississipi made by
  Governor Clark.

  These are all the observations which occur to me as promising to be
  useful to the Committee,