1777- THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 421 



been already mentioned, burnt violently all the time 

 that we were in its neighbourhood. It may be 

 worth while for future navigators to attend to this 

 intelligence about the stream of water at Kao ; espe- 

 cially as we learned that there was anchorage on that 

 part of the coast. The black stone, of which the 

 natives of the Friendly Islands make their hatchets 

 and other tools, we were informed, is the production 

 of Toofoa. 



Under the denomination of Friendly Islands, we 

 must include not only the group at Hapaee, which I 

 visited, but also all those islands that have been dis- 

 covered nearly under the same meridian to the north, 

 as well as some others that have never been seen, 

 hitherto, by any European navigators ; but are under 

 the dominion of Tongataboo, which, though not the 

 largest, is the capital, and seat of government. 



According to the information that we received 

 there, this Archipelago is very extensive. Above 

 one hundred and fifty islands were reckoned up to us 

 by the natives, who made use of bits of leaves to 

 ascertain their number ; and Mr. Anderson, with his 

 usual diligence, even procured all their names. 

 Fifteen of them are said to be high or hilly, such as 

 Toofoa and Eooa ; and thirty-five of them large. 

 Of these only three were seen this voyage ; Hapaee 

 (which is considered by the natives as one island), 

 Tongataboo and Eooa : of the size of the unexplored 

 thirty-two, nothing more can be mentioned, but that 

 they must be all larger than Annamooka ; with those, 

 from whom we had our information, ranked amongst 

 the smaller isles. Some, or indeed several, of this 

 latter denomination, are mere spots, without inhabi- 

 tants. Sixty-one of these islands have their proper 

 places and names marked upon our chart of the 

 Friendly Islands, and upon the sketch of the harbour 

 of Tongataboo, to both which I refer the reader. 

 But it must be left to future navigators to introduce 

 into the geography of this part of the South Pacific 



ee3 



