In return for the favourite commodities which I have enumerated, all the refreshments may be procured that the islands produce.  These are, hogs, fowls, fish, yams, breadfruit, plantains, cocoa-nuts, sugar-cane, and, in general, every such supply as can be met with at Otaheite, or any of the Society Islands.  The yams of the Friendly Islands are excellent, and, when grown to perfection, keep very well at sea.  But their pork, bread-fruit, and plantains, though far from despicable, are nevertheless much inferior in quality to the same articles at Otaheite, and in its neighbourhood.

Good water, which ships on long voyages stand so much in need of, is scarce at these islands.  It may be found, it is true, on them all; but still either in too inconsiderable quantities, or in situations too inconvenient, to serve the purposes of navigators.  However, as the islands afford plenty of provisions, and particularly of cocoa-nuts, ships may make a tolerable shift with such water as is to be got; and if one is not over nice, there will be no want.  While we lay at anchor under Kotoo, on our return from Hepaee, some people from Kao informed us, that there was a stream of water there, which, pouring down from the mountain, runs into the sea on the S.W. side of the island; that is, on, the side that faces Toofoa, another island remarkable for its height, as also for having a considerable volcano in it, which, as has 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, especially 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 Hepaee which I visited, but also all those islands that have been discovered 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; Hepaee, (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, which those from whom we had our information ranked amongst the smaller isles.