The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-07-07
TIE TRINIDAD pTTCHLAKE.

III was IN tne autumn OF 1910 JnaJ visited
the English colony of Trinidad; and / shall
never forget the effect produced upon me by
the first glimpse of this truly picturesque and
beautiful island. 1t is situated at the mouth
of the river Orinoco, and extends from lati-
tude nine degrees thirty minutes to ten de-
grees fifty minutes north, and is separated
from the province of Cumana, on the South
American Continent, by the Gulf of Paria.
The island appears at distance like an i'm
mense ridge of rocks along its whole north
front; but, on entering the Gulf of Paria, we
behold one of the most magnificent, varie-
gated, and luxuriant panoramas that nature
ever formed To the east, the waves of the
mighty Orinoco dispute for the empire of
the ocean with contending pillows; the lofty
mountains of Cumana rise from the bosom of
the horizon in stupendous majesty; and, on
the west, appear the cape, headlands, noun
tains hills, valleys, and plains of Trinidad
enamelled with eternal verdure, and pre-
senting a coup dGI which is rarely surpassed
Nor is the mind disabused of these delightful
emotions on penetrating into the interior of
the island. Its azure skies, deep-blue seas,
fertile glades, and elastic atmosphere, have,
in the language OF one of its historians, each
and ALL combined to crown Trinidad with the
appellation of the Indian Paradise
1t is not the object of this article to furnish
graphic account of the island, but merely
to give description of very remarkable
phenomenon existing there, called the "Pitch
Lake." had not long been in the island be-
fore an opportunity presented itself of join
ing party of ladies and gentlemen on visit
to this interesting lake, which readily availed
myself of. The lake is distant from Port of
Spain, the capital of the island, some sixty
miles, and is most readily accessible by water.
The western shore of the island for about 20
miles, is quite fiat, and richly wooded and
though only one or two houses are perceptible
from the sea, the interior is well cultivated.
Nearer, towards the lake, the shore assumes
q more smiling aspect. Here one sees a noble
forests there, sheet of bright green points
out cane field. Cocoanuts and palm trees
are sprinkled over the landscape, and now
and then well-built house, close to the
waters edge, appears, with a verdant lawn
extending from it to the sea, and the ground
sometimes broken into sinuosities, and then
slightly undulating.
The lake is situated at Cape La Brea, where
we arrived in a small steamer used for con-
yeying passengers to and from different places
along the coast. After vending our way
over rocks of pitch and crustulated sand, we
soon come to the road leading directly to
the lake, and, emerging from it, the spectator
stands on the borders of what appears at the
first glance to be lake, containing many
wooded islets, but on q second examination
proves to be a sheet of asphatum (pitch).
The lake is elevated eighty feet above the
level of the ocean; a gradual ascent leads
to it, which is covered with pitch in q hard
state, and trees and vegetation flourish upon
| it. In some places beds of cinders are found;
and strong sulphurous smell pervades the
ground to the distance of eight or ten miles
from the lake. and is perceived in approach
ing the shore.
| The lake is bounded on the northwest by
the sea, on the south by a rocky eminence,
and on the east by the usual argillaceous soil
of the country; it is nearly circular, and more
than half league in length, and the same in
breadth. The variety and extraordinary mo-
| bility of this phenomenon are very remark
able; groups of beautiful shrubs and flowers,
tufts of wild pineapples and aloes, swarms of
magnificent butterflies and brilliant hum
ming birds, enliven a scene which would be
an earthly representation of Tartarus without
them. With regard to mobility, where a
small islet has been seen on an evening a
gulf is found on the following
the lake, a pitch-islet has sprung up,
to be in its turn adorned with the most
Injurious vegetation, and then again engulfed
The usual consistence and appearance of the
asphaltum Except in very hot weather, when
it is usually liquid an inch deep) is that of
pit-coal, but of grayish color. Sometimes,
however, the asphaltum is jet black and hard.
| Deep creVlceS, or runners, are 1Ounu In
various parts, filed with excellent limpid,
running water, and often containing great
variety of mullet and small fish. Alligators
even are said to have been seen in these ex-
traordinary chasms. Pieces of what was once
wood are found completely changed into
bitumen, and the trunk of large tree, on
being sawn, was entirely impregnated with
petroleum. Where the petroleum mixes with
the earth, it tends greatly to fertilize it, and
the finest fruits of the island come from dis
tricts bordering on this singular lake, the
pineapples, in particular, being less ibrous,
more aromatic, and of a deeper golden
color, than are to be found anywhere
else The pitch at the sides of the lake is
perfectly hard and cold, but, as one walks to-
wards the middle with the shoes off, in order
to wade through the water, the heat gradually
increases, and the pitch becomes softer and
softer, until at last it is seen boiling up in q
liquid state, and the soles of the feet become
so heated that 1t is necessary to dance up and
down in a most ridiculous manner. During
the rainy season it is possible to walk nearly
over the whole lake, but in the hot season, a
great part is not to be approached. Although
several attempts have been made to ascertain
the depth of the pitch, no bottom has ever
been found. In standing still on the lake,
near the centre, the surface gradually sinks,
forming sort of bowl, as it We're; and, when
the shoulders become level with the lake. the
prudent traveller will make the best of his
way ont.
Science is at a loss to account for this ex-
traordinary phenomenon for the lake does
not seem TO occupy the mouth of an exhausted
crater, neither is the hill on which il is situ-
ko1 of xrol0 pia rirri,, 10, L.. soo 81,