y 8 On the defcent </ the American Indians from the Jews.
I mall here give a fpecimen of the Hebrew method of counting, and that of the Cheerake, Chikkafah, and Mufkohge or Creeks, by which fome farther analogy will appear between the favage Indians, and their fuppofed Ifraelitifh brethren. The Hebrew characters were numeral figures : they counted by them alphabetically, (i)> l (2), and fo on to the letter % the tenth letter of the alphabet, and which ftands for ten ; then, by prefixing i to thofe letters, they proceeded with their rifmg numbers, as N* 1 (n), y (12), X (13), T (14), &c. They had words alfo of a numeral power, as TH** (i), W (2), *ufov (3), JD1K (4), &c. We Ihall now fee how the Indian method of numbering agrees with this old ftandard, as well as with the idiom of the Hebrew language in fimilar cafes.
The Cheerake number thus : Sequo i, Tabre 2> Choeh 3, Nankke 4, IJhke 5, Soot are 6, Karekoge 7, Suhndyra 8, Sohnayra 9, Skoeb 10, Soatoo u, Taratoo 12, &c. And here we may fee a parity of words between two of the Indian nations ; for the Mufkohge term a ftone, Tabre ; which glances at the Hebrew, as they not only built with fuch materials, but ufed it as a word of number, exprefiive of two. In like manner, IJhke " five," fignifies a mother, which feems to mew that their numeral words were formerly fignifica-nt ; and that they are one ftock of people.
The Chikkafah andChoktah count in this manner Cbepbpha i, Toogalo 2, Tootchena 3, Oofta 4, Tathlabe 5, Hannahk 6, Untoogalo 7, Untootchena 8, Cbakkak 9, Pokoole 10, Pokook Aawa Chephpha, " ten and one," and fo on. The Cheerake have an old wafte town, on the Georgia fouth-weft branch of Savannah river, called foogalo^ which word may come under the former obfervation, upon the numerical word two : and they call a pompion, Oofto, which refembles Oofta^ four.
The Cheerake call twenty, Fabre Skoeb, ' two tens :" and the Chikkafah term it, Pokoole Toogalo^ " ten twos :" as if the former had learned to num ber from the left hand to the right, according to the Syriac cuftom ; and the latter, from the right to the left hand, after the Hebrew manner. The former call an hundred, Skoeb Cbcoke ; and, as before obferved, a thoufand, Skoeb Chooke Kaiere^ or " the old one's hundred i" for with them, Keiere figni- fies " ancient," or aged j whereas //, or Eti-u t exprefles former eld time. 7 May
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