Thus it is perceived from the letter, which is printed verbatim—­

1.  That the letter t is not uttered when standing between a consonant and vowel, as in “understand.”

2.  The want and misuse of the prepositions of, from, and to.

3.  The use of the participial form of the verb for the indicative.

4.  The use of pronouns immediately after nouns to which they refer.

5.  The interchange of d for t, and g for k, as in do for to, and “thing” for think.

6.  The suppression of the sound of r altogether, as heard in re, and religion, &c.

7.  Confounding the perfect past with the present tense.

8.  The misuse of the indefinite article, which is wanting, in the Indian.

9.  The habitual non-use of the imperative mood.

10.  The transitive character of verbs requiring objective inflections, for the nominative, &c.

11.  The absence of simple possessives.

12.  The want of the auxiliary verbs have, are, is, &c.

John Sunday came to St. Mary’s in the autumn of 1832.  His prayers and exhortatory teaching completely non-plussed the Chippewas.  They heard him refute all their arguments in their own language.  He had, but a short time before, been one like themselves—­a Manito worshiper, an idler, a drunkard.  He produced a great sensation among them, and overthrew the loose fabric of their theology and mythology with a strong hand.  I had never before heard the Chippewa language applied to religion, and listened with great interest to catch his phrases.  I was anxious to hear how he would get along in the use of the dual pronoun we, as applied to inclusive and exclusive persons.  He spoke at once of the affections as they exist between a father and his children, and addressed the Deity at all times as Nosa, which is the term for my father.  He thus made God the inclusive head of every family, and brushed away the whole cobweb system of imaginary spirits, of the native Jossakeed, Medas, and Wabanos.

March 7th.  “My heart was made glad,” writes Mr. Boutwell from Lake Superior, “that Providence directed you to Detroit at a season so timely, bringing you into contact with the great and the good—­giving you an opportunity of laying before them facts relative to the condition of the Indians, which eventuated in so much good.  We do indeed rejoice in the formation of the ‘Algic Society,’ which is, I trust, the harbinger of great and extensive blessings to this poor and dying people.”