in later times. The inhabitants, whom the discoverers of the sixteenth century found in Newfoundland, and who called themselves "Beothuk" [i.e. men], received from the Europeans the name of Red Indians, because they smeared themselves with ochre; they have now been exterminated, partly by the Europeans, partly by the Micmac Indians, who in the last century wandered into Newfoundland from New Brunswick. Of their language only a few remnants have been preserved, but still enough to enable us to form a tolerably good idea of it. This language lacks f, but possesses b, d, g, l, m, n, v as well as the vowels a, e, i, o, u, so that its sounds conform entirely to the requirements of the four Skrelling-words. Unfortunately no glossary for the words father, mother, king, has been preserved, so that a direct comparison is impossible; however, the female name Shanandithit and the word adadimit [spoon] bear a remarkable resemblance to the ending -didida in Avilldidida, and the words buggishaman or bukashaman [man, boy] and anyemen [bow] may also be compared to the termination -amon in Avalldamon [Ref. Gatchet, two discourses before the Amer. Philos. Society, 19 June, 1885, and 7 May, 1886]. This is, of course, only suggested conjecturally; since the Beothuk seem now to have died out, we shall probably, never succeed in obtaining more accurate results. I must, however, not omit to mention, that the Micmac language [in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick] also has such sounds, as to render it possible that these words might have been derived from them; but the glossaries, which I have examined, and which are much more complete than that of the Beothuk tongue, afford no especial resemblance to the Skrelling-words under consideration.' [Storm, Studier over Vinlandsreiserne, l. c. pp. 349–51.]
Captain Gustav Holm, of the Danish Navy, whose explorations both upon the east and west coast of Greenland, and whose prolonged residence in that country entitle him to speak with authority, has, at my request, acquainted me with his conclusions respecting the possible resemblance between the Skrelling-words and the Eskimo language, and also with reference to the points of resemblance between the Skrellings of the saga and the present inhabitants of Greenland. These conclusions are as follows:
'1. Although the four names, Vætilldi, Uvœgi, Avalldamon and Valdidida have nothing in common with Eskimo words, it cannot be gainsaid that they may be of Eskimo origin, since
'(a) We do not know whether they have been properly understood and recorded.'(b) The different manuscripts of the saga give the names in entirely different forms [e.g. Avalldania instead of Avalldamon].'(c) Even if the names have been correctly understood and recorded, there is nothing to prevent their being Eskimo; as illustrative of this, the name-list of East-Greenlanders may be cited, [in 'Den østgrønlandske Expedition,' Copenh. 1888, pt. II. p. 183 et seq.], in which many names, although they are recorded by a Greenlander [my steersman, who was a remarkably intelligent and talented man] have quite as little appearance of being Eskimo as the four under consideration.'(d) The Eskimo language has not always the harsh guttural sound which has hitherto been ascribed to it. The Angmagsalik language is, on the contrary, very soft; they use d instead of ts and t, g instead of k, &c. [Cf. Den østgrønlandske Expedition, I. p. 156; II. p. 213.]
