Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.2): between the years 1826 and 1836 : describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagles's circumnavigation of the globe

656 MIGRATION OF MAN. learned men who have devoted so much time to following its intricate traces, I would ask whether, when a language was not written, or in any manner fixed, it was not liable to vary continually as fresh separations of families into tribes occurred; and whether therefore it is possible to do more than classify unwritten languages, following some few traces of resemblance which may occasionally be marked, and detecting the root, though not the branch ? In such an interesting pursuit, how- ever, every sign, even the faintest, is valuable ; — but only men of deep research and extensive learning can advantageously pursue this method of inquiry into the migrations and early history of our race. I believe it will be found that the remarks I have ventured to make in the preceding pages, are by no means at variance with most of their deductions ; and I much regret that our opportunities of collecting words, and modes of expression, were not such as to enable me to add many to their collections.