They lie scattered, at unequal distances, and are, in general, nearly as high as Annamooka; but only from two or three miles, to half a mile in length, and some of them scarcely so much.  They have either steep rocky shores like Annamooka, or reddish cliffs; but some have sandy beaches extending almost their whole length.  Most of them are entirely clothed with trees, amongst which are many cocoa palms, and each forms a prospect like a beautiful garden placed in the sea.  To heighten this, the serene weather we now had contributed very much; and the whole might supply the imagination with an idea of some fairy land realized.  It should seem, that some of them, at least, may have been formed, as we supposed Palmerston’s Island to have been; for there is one, which, as yet, is entirely sand, and another, on which there is only one bush, or tree.

At four o’clock in the afternoon, being the length of Kotoo, the westernmost of the above cluster of small islands, we steered to the north, leaving Toofoa and Kao on our larboard, keeping along the west side of a reef of rocks, which lie to the westward of Kotoo, till we came to their northern extremity, round which we hauled in for the island.  It was our intention to have anchored for the night; but it came upon us before we could find a place in less than fifty-five fathoms water; and rather than come-to in this depth, I chose to spend the night under sail.

We had, in the afternoon, been within two leagues of Toofoa, the smoke of which we saw several times in the day.  The Friendly Islanders have some superstitious notions about the volcano upon it, which they call Kollofeea, and say it is an Otooa, or divinity.  According to their account, it sometimes throws up very large stones; and they compare the crater to the size of a small islet, which has never ceased smoking in their memory; nor have they any tradition that it ever did.  We sometimes saw the smoke rising from the centre of the island, while we were at Annamooka, though at the distance of at least ten leagues.  Toofoa, we were told, is but thinly inhabited, but the water upon it is good.

At day-break the next morning, being then not far from Kao, which is a vast rock of a conic figure, we steered to the east, for the passage between the islands Footooha and Hafaiva, with a gentle breeze at S.E.  About ten o’clock, Feenou came on board, and remained with us all day.  He brought with him two hogs, and a quantity of fruit; and, in the course of the day, several canoes, from the different islands round us, came to barter quantities of the latter article, which was very acceptable, as our stock was nearly expended.  At noon, our latitude was 19 deg. 49’ 45” S., and we had made seven miles of longitude from Annamooka; Toofoa bore N., 88 deg.  W.; Kao N., 71 deg.  W.; Footooha N., 89 deg.  W.; and Hafaiva S. 12 deg.  W.