By this time some large sailing canoes were arrived from different islands in the neighbourhood of Annamooka; and an old lame man named Tepa, whom I had known in 1777 and immediately recollected, came on board.  Two other chiefs whose names were Noocaboo and Kunocappo were with him.  Tepa having formerly been accustomed to our manner of speaking their language I found I could converse with him tolerably well.  He informed me that Poulaho, Feenow, and Tubow, were alive and at Tongataboo, and that they would come hither as soon as they heard of our arrival, of which he promised to send them immediate notice.  He said that the cattle which we had left at Tongataboo had all bred, and that the old ones were yet living.  He enquired after several people who were here with Captain Cook.  Being desirous to see the ship I took him and his companions below and showed them the breadfruit and other plants, at seeing which they were greatly surprised.  I made each of them a present, and when they had satisfied their curiosity I invited them to go on shore with me in the ship’s boat.

I took Nelson with me to procure some breadfruit plants, one of our stock being dead and two or three others a little sickly.  When we landed there were about two hundred people on the beach, most of them women and children.  Tepa showed me a large boat-house which he told me we might make use of, thinking we should have a party on shore as our ships had formerly.  I went with him in search of water but could find no better place than where Captain Cook had watered, which is a quarter of a mile inland from the east end of the beach.  I next walked to the west point of the bay where some plants and seeds had been sown by Captain Cook; and had the satisfaction to see in a plantation close by about twenty fine pineapple plants but no fruit, this not being the proper season.  They told me that they had eaten many of them, that they were fine and large, and that at Tongataboo there were great numbers.

When I returned to the landing-place I was desired to sit down and a present was brought me which consisted of some bundles of coconuts only.  This fell short of my expectations; however I appeared satisfied and distributed beads and trinkets to the women and children near me.

Numerous were the marks of mourning with which these people disfigure themselves, such as bloody temples, their heads deprived of most of the hair, and what was worse almost all of them with the loss of some of their fingers.  Several fine boys, not above six years old, had lost both their little fingers; and some of the men besides these had parted with the middle finger of the right hand.