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 islot, 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 south-east. 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° 49ʹ 45ʺ S., and we had made seven miles of longitude from Annamooka; Toofoa bore north, 88° W.; Kao north, 71° W.; Footooha north, 89° W.; and Hafaiva south, 12° W.
After passing Footooha, we met with a reef of rocks, and as there was but little wind, it cost us some trouble to keep clear of them. This reef lies between Footooha and Neeneeva, which is a small low isle in the direction of east north-east from Footooha, at the distance of seven or eight miles. Footooha is a small island of middling height, and bounded all round by a steep rock. It lies south 67° E., distant six leagues from Kao, and three leagues from Kotoo, in the direction of north 33° E. Being past the reef of rocks just mentioned, we hauled up for Neeneeva, in hopes of finding anchorage, but were again disappointed, and obliged to spend the night in making short boards. For, although we had land in every direction, the sea was unfathomable.
In the course of this night, we could plainly see flames issuing from the volcano upon Toofoa, though to no great height.
At day-break in the morning of the 16th, with a gentle breeze at south-east, we steered north-east for Hapaee, which was now in sight, and we could judge it to be low land from the trees only appearing above the water. About nine o’clock, we could see it plainly forming three islands nearly of an equal size; and soon after, a fourth to the southward of these, as large as the others. Each seemed to be about six or seven miles long, and of a similar height and appearance. The northernmost of them is called Haanno, the next Foa, the third Lefooga, and the southernmost Hoolaiva; but all four are included by the natives under the general name Hapaee.
The wind scanting upon us, we could not fetch the land, so that we were forced to ply to windward. In doing this we once passed over some coral rocks, on which we had only six fathoms water; but the moment we were over them, found no ground with eighty fathoms of line. At this time, the isles of Hapaee bore from north, 50° E., to south, 9° W. We got up with the northernmost of these isles by sunset, and there found ourselves in the very same distress for want of anchorage, that we had experienced the two preceding evenings; so that we had another night to spend under sail, with land and breakers in every direction. Toward the evening Feenou, who had been on board all day, went forward to Hapaee, and took Omai in the canoe with him. He did not forget our disagreeable situation, and kept up a good fire all night, by way of a land-mark.
As soon as the day-light returned, being then close in with Foa, we saw it was joined to Haanno, by a reef running even with the surface of the sea, from the one island to the other. I now dispatched a boat to look for anchorage. A proper place was soon found, and we came-to abreast of a reef, being that which joins Lefooga to Foa, (in the same manner that Foa is joined to Haanno), having twenty-four fathoms’ depth of water; the bottom coral sand. In this station, the northern point of Hapaee, or the north-end of Haanno, bore north, 16° E. The southern point of Hapaee, or the south end of Hoolaiva, south, 29° W.; and the north end of Lefooga, south, 65° E. Two ledges of rocks lay without us; the one bearing south, 50° W.; and the other west by north one half north, distant two or three miles. We lay before a creek in the reef, which made it convenient landing at all times, and we were not above three quarters of a mile from the shore.