PITFALLS OF THE VOCABULIST. 51 
can readily reconstruct in imagination the question which La Pérouse 
put to his Samoan informant from whom he derived what he took to be 
the name of the island. Less readily can we reconstruct what the 
polite and always suave Samoan thought that the Frenchman was ask- 
ing him, but it is quite clear that even though he did not understand 
the French the Samoan was filled with sufficient bonhomie to reply 
zoe lava. Down it went into the navigator’s notebook as the name of 
the land. We who understand the Samoan smile at the incident, for 
10e lava means “‘yes, indeed.’ 
Such considerations as these, and I have but skimmed the surface 
of a most interesting chapter of practical philology, should make it 
quite clear that it is the part of wisdom to approach the original record 
of a newly discovered speech with fear and trembling. Into my hands 
have been placed the field notes of discovery; their immense value must 
be recognized, but in their original state they are immense in the sense 
in which the Romans used the term, great but lacking order. Withan 
eye for the pitfalls I have sought to clear the path whereupon others 
may safely tread. Many errors have I rectified; that many more still 
remain is undoubted. 
It is sufficient satisfaction for the present to feel that the beginning 
has been made, that a convenient handbook may be offered to those 
whose duty may engage them in this field. Thus will the errors be cor- 
rected and additions will surely accrue for the improvement of our 
knowledge. Best of all, this small vocabulary will serve the end of 
social betterment and help to a poor folk who from their own kind have 
met with nothing but rapine and toward whom we have assumed a duty 
of protection for the present until they may be raised to the point where 
they may accept the good we offer them. 
It has proved of interest to work out the perturbation factors 
which affect the Subanu source designated as 3 in the foregoing account. 
From my collaborator I learn that the work was done by two collectors. 
The former list (3-a) was collected through a partially tamed Subanu 
who had a knowledge of Visayan, a bilingual assistant. With this 
information it is possible to follow out his method. Against such 
Subanu words as he saw fit to record he set the Visayan equivalent. In 
further development by another hand it was possible from the Visayan 
vocable to pass to the Spanish and thence eventually to the English. 
The collector of the larger part of this material is described by 
Colonel Finley as a rather bright Visayan who was employed as a mu- 
chacho by one of the Spanish mission priests. He was trilingual; in 
addition to his proper Visayan he comprehended the Subanu in one 
direction and to a certain extent the Spanish in the other. Here enters 
yet another factor, one which has been of great assistance to me in 
making determinations whereby I might correct the errors of the original 
text. ‘This is the Visayan dictionary of Fray Juan Félix, a really com- 
