1 88 COOK’s VOYAGE. 
hardfhip which they had fuffered by the fhipwreck, and the 
furvivors were fent in a fmad velTel to Europe. 
Rotte is in much the lame fituation as Savu ; a Dutch fac- 
tor refides upon it to manage the natives, and look after its 
produce, which con hits among other articles, of fugar. For- 
merly it was made only by bruifing the canes, ar.d boiling the 
juice to a fyrup, in the fame manner as Toddy ; but great 
improvements have lately been made in preparing this valu- 
able commodity. The three little iflands called the Solars 
are alfo under the in fluen e of the Dutch fettlement at Con- 
cordia : they are flat and low, but abound with proiifions of 
every kind, and the middlemen is faid to have a good har- 
bour for (hipping. Elide, another little ifiand to the weflvvard 
of the Solars, is ftill in the hands of the Portuguese, who have 
a good towm and harbour on the north eafl: corner of it, called 
Larntuca : they had formerly an harbour on the fouth fide of 
it, but that being much inferior to Larntuca, has for fome 
time been altogether neglefted. 
The inhabitants of each of thefe little iflands fpeak a lan- 
guage peculiar to themfelves^ and it is an obje£t of Dutch po- 
licy to prevent as much as poflibie, their learning the lan- 
guage of each other. If they fpoke a common language, 
they would learn, by mutual- intercourfe with each other, to 
plant fuch things as would be of more value to themfelves than 
their prefent produce, though of lefs advantage to the Dutch ; 
but their languages being different, they can communicate no 
fu:h knowlege to each other, and the Dutch fecure to them- 
felves the benefit of fupplying their feveral neceffities upon 
their own terms, which it is reafonable to fuppofe are not ve- 
ry moderate. It is probable with a view to this advantage 
that the Dutch never teach their own language to the natives 
of thefe iflands, and have been at the expence of tranfiating 
the Teffament and catechifms into the different languages of 
each ; for in proportion as Dutch had become the language of 
their religion, it would have become the common language of 
them all. " 
To this account of Savu, 1 fhall only add a fmall fpecimen 
of its language, by which it will appear to have fome affinity 
with that of the South Sea iflands, many of the words being 
exactly the fame, and the numbers manifeftly derived from 
the lame fource. 
A man , 
A <wQ?nan, 
T he head , 
’The hair , 
The Eyes, 
' The Eje-laJhts , 
Momonne. 
Mobunnee. 
Catoo. 
Row Catoo. 
Matta. 
Rowna matta. 
Swanga. 
w 
