[Footnote 175:  See Captain Wallis’s Voyage in this Collection, vol. xii.  Captain Wallis calls both these islands high ones.  But the superior height of one of them may be inferred, from his saying, that it appears like a sugar-loaf.  This strongly marks its resemblance to Kao.  From comparing Poulaho’s intelligence to Captain Cook, with Captain Wallis’s account, it seems to be past all doubt that Boscawen’s Island is our Kotahee, and Keppel’s Island our Neeootabootaboo.  The last is one of the large islands marked in the foregoing list.  The reader, who has been already apprized of the variations of our people in writing down what the natives pronounced, will hardly doubt that Kottejeea and Kootahee are the same.—­D.]

But the most considerable islands in this neighbourhood that we now heard of, (and we heard a great deal about them,) are Hamoa, Vavaoo, and Feejee.  Each of these was represented to us as larger than Tongataboo.  No European that we know of, has, as yet, seen any of them.  Tasman, indeed, lays down in his chart an island nearly in the situation where, I suppose Vavaoo to be, that is about the latitude of 91 deg..[176] But then that island is there marked as a very small one, whereas Vavaoo, according to the united testimony of all our friends at Tongataboo, exceeds the size of their own island, and has high mountains, I should certainly have visited it, and have accompanied Feenou from Hapaee, if he had not then discouraged me, by representing it to be very inconsiderable, and without any harbour.  But Poulaho, the king, afterward assured me that it was a large island; and that it not only produced every thing in common with Tongataboo, but had the peculiar advantage of possessing several streams of fresh water, with as good a harbour as that which we found at his capital island.  He offered to attend me if I would visit it; adding, that if I did not find every thing agreeing with his representation, I might kill him.  I had not the least doubt of the truth of his intelligence; and was satisfied that Feenou, from some interested view, attempted to deceive me.

[Footnote 176:  Neither Dalrymple nor Campbell, in their accounts of Tasman’s voyage, take any particular notice of his having seen such an island.  The chart here referred to by Captain Cook, is probably Mr Dalrymple’s, in his Collection of Voyages, where Tasman’s track is marked accurately; and several very small spots of land are laid down in the situation here mentioned.—­D.]

Hamoa, which is also under the dominion of Tongataboo, lies two days sail N.W. from Vavaoo; it was described to me as the largest of all their islands, as affording harbours and good water, and as producing in abundance every article of refreshment found at the places we visited.  Poulaho himself frequently resides there.  It should seem that the people of this island are in high estimation at Tongataboo; for we were told that some of the songs and dances with which we were entertained, had been copied from theirs; and we saw some houses said to be built after their fashion.  Mr Anderson, always inquisitive about such matters, learnt the three following words of the dialect of Hamoa;