PREFONTAINE, Aymery, Chevalier de (pray-fon-tane), French soldier, born in Coutanees in 1720; died in Cayenne in 1767. He entered the army very early, and served all his life in the French possessions of South America, holding the post of police lieutenant of Cayenne from 1759 till his death. Ha contributed much to the improvement of the colony, promoted emigration, and presented several papers to the king's councils in advocation of the scheme of " France equinoxiale." He published several works, including "Maison rustique a l'usage des habitants de la partie de la France equinoxiale connue sous le nora de Cayenne" (Paris, 1763), to which is prefixed a dictionary of the Galibi dialect and a grammatical essay, which was afterward reprinted by Lesueur, and is yet considered as one of the best treatises on the language of the Guiana Indians.