Evening journal., 1912-01-17
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
The Scholar Whose Know
ledge Died With Him
By Holland


OF the late DR. j. Hammond Trum-
bull of Hartford Conn, it was said by
the highest authorities upon booklore,
both in the United States and in Great
Britain, that he was the most pro-
foundly learned authority upon books
of his time in the United States. To
the people of Connecticut j. Ham
mond Trumbull was, in the days Of the
Civil War, better known as an asso-
ciate Of the great war governor Of
Connecticut, William A. Buckingham,
because all Of Governor Buckingham
messages and proclamations were
.countersigned by j Hammond Trum-
bull, Secretary Of State. To the world
of scholars Dr. Trumbull was known
as very high authority upon some
features Of the geological and geologi-
cal history of New England and es-
pecially of Connecticut.
It was my good fortune to become
acquainted with Dr. Trumbull in the
early seventies. | was especially in
/ terested in him because l had heard
the late Professor William Whitney OF
Yale, in his day Americas foremost
.philologist. say: There is now only
one man living, and l think that for
more than a hundred years there has
been no other man living, who is able
to translate the wonderful book writ
ten by the Rev. John Eliot. in which
he translated into the Algonquin In
dian language considerable portions o.
the Bible"
] repeated to DR.. Trumbull who was
collateral descendant Of Jonathan
Trumbull-- Washington's Brother
Jonathan what / had heard Profes'
sor Whitney say of him in connection
with the famous Eliot Indian Bible
With characteristic modesty, DR.
Trumbull replied
"Well, il Professor Whitney is cor.
rect, 1t is because am the only per-
son who has been tempted to make 9
study of the Indian languages, al
though / have heard that Thoreau
when he was in the Maine woods, be-
gan compilation of Indian words"
81 asked Dr.. Trumbull if any spe'
cial or peculiar reason had turned his
attention to the study of the Indian
languages of New England.
81 was born at Stonington, Conn,
DR. Trumbull replied. "A consider.
able branch OF the Trumbull family
settled there in colonial days. AS a Lad
my interest in colonial and Revolu-
tionary history was greatly stimulated
by the traditions which cluster around
| Southeastern Connecticut Many ol
those traditions have to deal with the
Indians But what especially interest
| ed me was the site of the fOrt-only
q few miles from my home-in which
! the Pequot Indians were trapped by
Captain Mason about 1910. They were
| almost eXterminated and the reign Of
the PequOt tribe was ended / used
frequently to wander over what was
/ left of that old Indian fort
Then. only a few miles farther
west was reservation set apart by
the State Of Connecticut for the rem
nant of the tribe of Mohegan Indians
of which Uncas, who was the hero o
Coopers novel, "The Last Of the Mo
hogans, was The chief That place
sometimes used to visit. There 7 hear'
for the first time Indian words spoken
I was able, by inquiry, TO learn wha
the meaning of them was in Engllsi
and ] became satisfied, after a while
that the great race of Algonquins, o
the collective name Of the Indians wit
inhabited New England, had a Ian
guage which was picturesque and fig
urative, and was even able TO express
abstract ideas. It was with this en-
thusiasm that | looked first at a cop
of Eliot's Bible. You know he was
missionary TO the Indians in YER
early colonial days. And so took u
the work, determined to master it,
was not labor; It was recreation G
the highest kind because / discovere
intense pleasure in it.
"I hope that some learned societ
will take up the work of preserving
at least as a dead language, the won
derfully beautiful and picturesqu
language which those who inhabite
the land before our forefathers cam
spoke for ages"
DR.. Trumbull did not live to see hi
hope REALIZED. And today there is nC
one man living who possesses n
knowledge that made DR. Trumbu
unique among the savants Of the worl
of his generation.
Copyright, 1912, by Associated Liter
airy Press)
Tomorrow Mr.. Edwards will tell (
"a Story of the Opening Up OF
State"