The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1870-07-30

!
Il va the sat.an Of 1863 that visited tn
English oolooy Of Trinidad; aud shall neve,
fseget the ef8eet peoduoed upon me By the 6rsi
glimpse OF this truly picturesque and beautiful
island.
1t is not the object of this article to furnish q
graphic account Of the island, but merely to give
. description Of q very remarkable phenomenon
existing there, called the "Pirch.Lake" had
not long been on the island before an opportunity
presented itself Of joining party of ladies and
gentlemen on visit to this very interesting lake
which readily avai!ed myself Of The lake is
distant from Port of Spain, the capital of the
island, some sixty miles, and is most readily &C.
cessble by water. The western shore of the
island, for about twenty miles, is quite fiat, and
richly wooded, and, though only two houses
are perceptible from the sea the interior is we'll
cultivated Nearer, toward the lake, the shore as.
sumes q more smiling aspect.-Here one sees a
noble forest there sheet of bright green points
! out cane field. Coooa.nuts and palm.trees
sprinkled over the landscape. and now and then
well-built house, close to the waters edge ap.
pears, with 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 q small steamer used for conveying
passengers to and from different places along the
coast. After vending our way over rocks of pitch
ouO cEOstutdteu Sauu we soon came 10 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. contain.
| ing many wooded islets, butt on "A second examin.
alton, proves to be sheet of asphaltum (pitch)
The lake is elevated eighty feet above the level
Of the ocean gradual ascent leads to it, which
! Is covered with pitch in a hard state. In some
places beds Of cinders are found and strong
sulphurous smell pervades the ground for the
L sokn -,
| is perceived in approaching the shore.
! The lake is bounded on the northwest by the
| sea, on the south by 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 tho same in breadth.
| Tho variety and extraordinary mobility of this
phenomenon are very remarkable: groups of
beautiful shrubs and flowers. tufts of wild pine
apple and aloes, swarms of magnificent butter.
flies and brilliant humming.birds enliven a scene
which would be an earthly representation of Tar.
where small islet has been seen on an evening,
a gulf is found on the following morning, and.
on another part Of the lake, pitch.islet has
| sprung up, to be, in its turn, adorned with the
| most luxurious vegetation, and then again en-
quilted. The usual consistence and appearance
Of the asphsltum Except in very hot weather,
when it is usually liquid an inch deep is that of
pit-coal. but of a grayish color. Sometimes, how.
| ever, the ssphaltum is jet black and hard. Deep
crevices, or tunnels, are found in various parts,
filed with excellent limpid running water, and
often containing great variety of mullet and
small fish
| AlllgatOrs even are said to have been seen in
| these extraordinary chasms. Pieces of what was
| once wood are found completely changed into
bltumen, and the trunk of a large tree, on being
sswn, was entirely impregnated with petroleum.
Where the petroleum mixes with the earth. it
tends greatly to fertilze it, and the finest fruits
| OF the island come from districts bordering on
this singular lake, the pineapple in particular
being less hbrOus, more aromatic, and of deeper
golden color, than are to be found anywhere else
The pitch vt the sides of the lake il perfectly
hard and cold, but az one walks towards the mid.
die with the shoes Oft, in order to wade through
the water, the heat gradually increases, and the
pitch becomes softer and softer Until at last il il
seen boiling up in liquid state, and the sole, Of
the feet become so heated that it il necessary TO
dance up and down in a most ridiculous manner.
During the rainy season, it is possible to walk
nearly over tho whole lake, but in the hot sea-
son, great part Ia not to be approached AL.
though 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 were end when the
shoulders become level with the lake, the pru.
dent traveller will then make the best of hi, way
out,
Sciehce is at loss to account for this extraor.
binary phenomenon, for the lake does not seem
to occupy the mouth of an exhausted crater,
neither is the HILL on which it is situated, of
volcanic origin, for its basis is clay The flow of
pitch from the lake has been immense, the whole
country round being covered with it, and it
seems singular that no eruption has taken place
during the memory of man. although the prin.
ople OF motion still exists in the center of tie
lake. During the past three years several thous-
| and tons have been slapped to this country, and
yet am assured by gentlemen residing there,
with whom / am ia frequent correspondence,
that no dimlnution is visible. My last advces
from Trinidad inform me that a company, form.
ed in the United States, was at that time engaged
IN seeking for oil in the neighborhood of the lake
and that oil had been discovered in some places
GRAssHoHPERs STOP RAILROAD Train
The Stockton California; LdpcAda June
| 10th says:
| Judge Underhill, who left this city on a .rip
to the east on the 9th inst. writes, under date
OF June ., that curious incident occurred AZ
the train was going up steep grade on Echo
Canon. The ears gradually slowed down until
at lsst they came to dead halt. Upon going
out it was found that they were stopped by
grasshoppers. The ground was perfectly alive
with them, and 80 many were crushed by the
wheela OF the engine, and the track was 40
creased, that the wheels would not take hold
Sand and brooms were brought into requisition'
and when the hotel train overlook the other by
dint of its pushing, and men on the cow-catcher
| holding brooms on the rails in front, the cars
got along, and soon left the Yrasshopper region.