2.58 cook's first voyage SEPT. 



CHAP. IX. 



A PARTICULAR DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND OF SAVU, ITS 

 PRODUCE AND INHABITANTS, WITH A SPECIMEN OF THEIR 

 LANGUAGE. 



1 his island is called by the natives Savu ; the mid- 

 dle of it lies in about the latitude 10 35' S., longitude 

 237 30' W. ; and has in general been so little known 

 that I never saw a map or chart in which it is clearly 

 oi accurately laid down. I have seen a very old one, 

 in which it is called Sou, and confounded with Sandel 

 Bosch. Rumphius mentions an island by the name 

 of Saow ; and he also says, that it is the same which 

 the Dutch call Sandel Bosch ; but neither is this 

 island, nor Timor, nor Rotte, nor indeed any one of 

 the islands that we have seen in these seas, placed 

 within a reasonable distance of its true situation. It 

 is about eight leagues long from east to west ; but 

 what is its breadth, I do not know, as I saw only the 

 north side. The harbour in which we lay is called 

 Seba, from the district in which it lies : it is on the 

 north-west side of the island, and well sheltered from 

 the south-w r est trade-wind, but it lies open to the 

 north-west. We were told, that there were two other 

 bays where ships might anchor; that the best, called 

 Timo, was on the south-west side of the south-east 

 point: of the third we learnt neither the name nor 

 situation. The sea-coast, in general, is low; but in 

 the middle of the island there are hills of a consider- 

 able height. We were upon the coast at the latter 

 end of the dry season, when there had been no rain 

 for seven months ; and we were told that when the 

 dry season continues so long, there is no running 

 stream of fresh water upon the whole island, but 



