234 
PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
tides of water have been procured from the place called Fresh¬ 
water valley ; and indeed the old captains of some of the cap¬ 
tured ships have informed me, that they have, by great care, ob¬ 
tained from 10 to 12 gallons in 24 hours, and this is the most 
they have ever known to have been procured; and it rarely hap¬ 
pens that this much can be gotten ; then, when so inconsiderable 
a quantity can be obtained, how could captain Colnet so far im¬ 
pose on the world, as to hold out encouragement for vessels to 
stop there for water* ? 
That the island affords water in the interior, there cannot be a 
doubt; but this can only be of service to the tortoises, whose pa¬ 
tience and perseverance enable, and whose instinct teaches them 
to find it. Rut it certainly cannot be supposed, after what captain 
Colnet has said of Fresh-water Bay and Fresh-water valley, that it 
was from either of those places that the Butter worth procured her 
supply, for it seems that an unsuccessful search was made there 
by captains Colnet and Sharp on the first arrival of the ships : they 
could not land on account of the surf; they rowed close to the 
beach, but saw not the least sign of any spring or rivulet. Boats 
were sent in different directions, and the mate and whaling-mas¬ 
ter of captain Colnet’s ship were ordered on the search, but with¬ 
out success. Captain Colnet proceeded also himself on the search, 
and was equally unsuccessful with the rest; yet the captain of the 
Butterworth found it within two miles of his ship, and we are not 
informed in what direction ! Where is the advantage of James’ 
Island furnishing fresh water “ sufficient to supply a small ship,” 
if we are ignorant where it is to be found ? Surely captain Col¬ 
net could not have been ignorant of the importance of this infor¬ 
mation, and, as he has not given it, I must take the liberty of 
doubting the correctness of his statement, page 153 of his jour¬ 
nal*. However, he has committed so many errors in his descrip¬ 
tion of this island, as well as in the chart he has drawn of the whole 
groupe, that in their multiplicity this single one might be passed 
over in silence, were it not for the deplorable consequences that 
might result to a whole ship’s company, who, when short of wa- 
See the quotations from Colnet* p. 232, 233. 
