VALENTINE ISLAND. 123 



upon the coasts, and within the interior of this in 

 many respects extraordinary continent, the want of 

 water appears to be the chief drawback to the fer- 

 tility otherwise to be anticipated from its geogra- 

 phical position : at the same time, it is quite im- 

 possible to blind oneself to the fact, that further 

 researches on the one hand, and the application of 

 the great discoveries in hydraulics, of which recent 

 years have been so fruitful, on the other, may, and 

 probably will, spread the vernal bloom of cultiva- 

 tion over wastes, now condemned to prolonged and 

 arbitrary periods of drought. 



This spot, which long arrested my attention, and 

 upon which I gazed with the selfish feeling of 

 delight inspired by the thought that thereon never 

 before had rested the curious eye of any restless 

 and indefatigable wanderer from the west, is distant 

 about 500 yards N.N.W., from a solitary patch 

 of low red cliffs, the first of this formation that 

 present themselves south of Foul Point. Extensive 

 flats fronting the coast to the southward, almost 

 connect it at low water with Valentine Island, which 

 we reached at two p.m., just on the top of high 

 water, and shortly afterwards grounded the boats 

 in a small bay to the westward. The greatest 

 extent of Valentine Island is three-quarters of a 

 mile in an E. by S. direction : either extremity is 

 formed by high cliffs, a low valley intervening. On 

 landing we found a fire still burning, near the 

 beach, and beside it a bundle of the bark of the 



