“ ation I have allways felt for the wise ruler of a great people, and which I feel more particularly for the philosopher, who instituted and still pursues profound inquiries into the history of the native American tribes and their languages. I flatter myself, that, if you find my book deserving of some attention, You may perhaps be pleased to have it’s principal contents published in your language, and I am confident, Sir, that you will promote the success of my passionat and persevering studies of the languages of your part of the world. the list of the Grammars and Dictionaries I had the opportunity to make use of, be pleased to see in my book pag 154ff. But nothing in this way would be more important to me, than texts of these languages, little narrations or dialogues, taken down from the conversation of the Indians, and explained by a literal translation. I need not tell You, Sir, how important are extensive collections of the words of the American languages, but how little sufficient a collection of words, however extensive, can be for the purpose of obtaining an intimate knowledge of the structure and affinities of any language, how seldom it can be expected to gather information about the grammatical points, the terminations of nouns and of persons and tenses of the verbs; from such persons as may have an opportunity of collecting words, such as Mr. Volney has given about the language of the Miamis, and that such specimens, as I desire to obtain, are the principal means of obtaining that knowledge what it is my wish to have.

"I sollicit your generous assistance not only for the interests of my own researches; it is not I believe too presumptuous to add, that it will be interesting to the general enlargement of historical information in Europe . . .”

Jefferson wrote to Vater from Monticello on May 11, 1811: “ Your favor of Nov. 4. 09. did not get to my hands till a twelvemonth after it’s date. be pleased to accept my thanks for the publication you were pleased to send me. that for D ^r. Barton I forwarded to him. his researches into the Indian languages of our continent being continued, I hope it will be in his power to make to you communications useful to the object you are pursuing. this will lessen to me the regret that my retirement into an interior part of the country, as well as my age and little intercourse with the world, will scarcely afford me opportunities of contributing to your information. it is extremely to be desired that your researches should recieve every aid & encouragement. I have long considered the filiation of languages as the best proof we can ever obtain of the filiation of nations. with my best wishes for the success of your undertaking accept the assurances of my high consideration & respect. ”

He had sent Dr. Barton’s copy to him on October 10 of the previous year, with a letter: “ I lately recieved a letter from Professor Vater of Konigsberg inclosing the packet now forwarded to you, with a similar one for myself . . . not understanding a word of German the book is lost on me . . . ”

Dr. Barton’s reply, from Philadelphia, October 16, comments that: “Mr. Vater, I find, has made very free use of my publication in the American languages, and not, indeed, without acknowledgments, in several instances . . .”

In Jefferson’s manuscript catalogue the entry for this book is in English as above, accounted for by the fact, as he mentioned in his letter to Dr. Barton, that he was unfamiliar with German. The 1815 Library of Congress catalogue repeats Jefferson’s English entry, with the misprint Valer for Vater. The German work is entered in the 1831 and 1849 catalogues, and is not credited to the Jefferson Collection.

Johann Severin Vater, 1771-1826, German philologue, was Professor at Königsberg. For works by Alexander von Humboldt, to whom the book is dedicated, see Chapters 6 and 29.