18 cook's SECOND VOYAGE JUNE, 



at Amsterdam, as it lay not much out of the way ; 

 but, as the wind was now, we could not fetch it ; and 

 this was the occasion of my laying my design aside 

 altogether. 



Let us now return to Anamocka, as it is called by 

 the natives. It is situated in the latitude of #0° 15' 

 South, longitude 174° 81/ West, and was first dis- 

 covered by Tasman, and by him named Rotterdam. 

 It is of a triangular form, each side whereof is about 

 three and a half or four miles. A salt-water lake in 

 the middle of it occupies not a little of its surface, 

 and in a manner cuts off the S. E. angle. Round the 

 island, that is, from the N. W. to the south, round by 

 the north and east, lie scattered a number of small 

 isles, sand-banks, and breakers. We could see no 

 end to their extent to the north ; and it is not im- 

 possible that they reach as far south as Amsterdam, 

 or Tongatabu. These, together with Middleburg or 

 Eaoowee, and Pylstart, make a group, containing 

 about three degrees of latitude and two of longitude, 

 which I have named the Friendly Isles or Archi- 

 pelago, as a firm reliance and friendship seems to 

 subsist among their inhabitants, and their courteous 

 behaviour to strangers entitles them to that appel- 

 lation ; under which we might perhaps extend their 

 group much farther, even down to Boscawen and 

 KeppePs isles, discovered by Captain Wallis, and 

 lying nearly under the same meridian, and in the lat- 

 itude of 15° 53' ; for, from the little account I have 

 had of the people of these two isles, they seem to 

 have the same sort of friendly disposition we observed 

 in our Archipelago. 



The inhabitants, productions, &c. of Rotterdam, 

 and the neighbouring isles, are the same as at Am- 

 sterdam. Hogs and fowls are, indeed, much scarcer ; 

 of the former having got but six, and not many of 

 the latter. Yams and shaddocks were what we got 

 the most of; other fruits were not so plenty. Not 

 half the isle is laid out in inclosed plantations as at 



