Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1892-09-30
A CARGO OF ASPHALT.
STICKY SUBSTANCE THAT 10
IMPORTED FOR OUR ROADS, =.

,,out the Island and Its Workers'
uov tho stun Is Handled.
rt.asnhalt barks from the West indies
i1i.ort the only vessels outside the coast
W boomers that ever favor Washington
y. .visit. Two Of them are lying OIL the
w. W. AZ the foot Of New Hampshire ave
mi nfc we'll worth u visit.
~ IN iu the hold the cargo looks like
,,i,.o ~ n dead lava field. black aud
~, and apparently og hard ~ rock;
,...,t. ba,lurss d deceptive. Break up u
pl'tIsf thr "pitch." ~ u il known to tho
WI. and nile the fragment on top Of the
.,.,,iis AID field which fills the whole u
~. loacr deck. and by tomorrow morning
~, would disappear, sunlcn slowly back
Xxx the parent mass. THIS slow running
',.ii,r makes the cargo one Of The most
f,s.ted among the chptaina in the Island
VA. far when the ship has been listed
port or ninrboani for couple Of
rt1- running before u strong wind,
~ ~ rtsscatgo will quietly shift over aud
Hto l. broken up and trimmed bnci.
IN. rnpcr position to keep the ship On
80 kel 49,, D.. iii. -.
,t,liy 90 the Asphalt n the world j. now
S1rn. isa British possession In tho West
800 Il was me Of the little spots of
,',r, Gma against which Columbus ran,
stss IN ills he pushed his exploration.
t.,,ber westward In search ~ that igari-
- uhantnsm. the northwest passage.
nj island was then inhabited solely by
r,,1.. wild and warlikc. but wlthnl In.
,,llleent. race, not unlikcthc North Amer
~, Indians, peculiar In their language,
,,lleb. Ike the Choctaw Of our own west.
I'm tfibc. has been mastered by Tow II amy
,bits men. For many years the island
,ualnol n neglected dependency uf Spain.
,iha constantly dwindling population.
ally natives aud imported negroes. In
i-fit pasted into the hnnds Of the British
s.,efnmtnt and has remained Hu English
ulony since.
rberc are but two towns Of Importance
"a thc island Port " Spain and san Fer.
rthdo. These live mostly BY their inn
rrt.. the chief productions Of the island
rond IT, own necessities being asphalt
n cocoanuts. The sugar crop is large.
lsi % docs not pny TO export IL. The pop
nlaion OF the towns b. mixed. English b.
dc court language, but the majority u
de people arc ncgrou, descendants of the
tl slave stock, who talk a ptfois " min
ia French, Spanish aud English that Is
iacfibcd ~ th, most hack hnndcdcss
lnnH any heather ever invented.
some oi The original C1Hhs are still 20
d found among tho island people. hut
10y arr rapidly disappearing, and in their
tato is now seen the imported eully. Tie
tooy trade, which was originally iusti-
ia.ed TO furnish cheap labor for the plan
iai.oas. was Ia former times a terrible dis.
grace 90 the islands and p7rtook II more
Than ala tho horror, Of the African hlayc
,ale Thousands OF the miserable Asiat-
lsuofe sacrificed In the business by the
gntd aud inhumnuity ~ the masters who
lrushi them over. ard although imported
trltrthr puise uf labor contract, not
Ue 10 hundreds Of them ever lived to re-
ifn home. Stringent laws governing tho
table alo now enacted. however, aud, what
hmore To the purpose, are well enforced,
"a many Of tho coolies by the time thoy
h1earvod their eight years contract out
AZ we'll 10 do citizens, being paid for their
work hy tho piece and saving nearly all
they tafn.
Ihe grat pitch lake which IS the chief
vcpisr aud attraction OF the island, IL sit
uaiol Ia low, sandy stretch Of the south
vpi coast near Cape Corharay. The sur.
plaling country II low and mnlarial, In
striking contrast to the high bills and rich
Woodlands Of the coast farther back. Tho
hkeis owned by the British government
ul leased hy 10 20 an American firm which
controls tho trade for the United States.
lhelr present lease has forty.two years yet
iomn The laborcrs are all negroes, even
lle coolies shrinking from the heat and
l9F ieyura u the place, Tho lake Itself
i ubout mile In diameter, hard at tho
.eilu aud soitguing toward the middle.
TIE surface is continually changing, APP
lfeutly FROM some subtoruncnn action,
All litle oases OF dry land and even trees
and 'brubs will disappear In q single
night and ircsh islands OF soil be reared Ia
other places.
The hko Is IN all probability merely an
unusually large dCposl, Of hltumpn or soft
eoal that has undergone IT, transformn-
uon rom decaying vegetable matter In
ecaiae; with water aud too near the sur
lace Tor the earth pressure above TO harden
y thoroughly, Hundreds Of tho negroes
We year around toll At the lakes edge.
uklng out cargo after cargo from the sup
pV That seems never to diminish They
NofA under oyerseers OF their own color
anu afe paid at the rate Of srycnty-two
cents day. The asphalt crust IL broken
upWlth picks md cfowbnis, and Is loaded
ugump carts drawn by single sun dt!ed
mule In whom the constant boiling tenn.
s'a'ufo seems 10 have concentrated all
We native mcauncss Of his species,
Inc ears crunch through long sandy
'ela down TO the wharf at the waters
slse' Whore the load III dumppd and carried
" Nhecluarrows on board the lighters.
N4eh In turn carry 10 out TO the ships, ~
Ens a half milo out IN the shoal water.
4l,ipugh humps VI pickings are hoistcl
"a board In baskets and piled ia the hold,
NntFo theJ siul; down into u compact mass,
,HWuhs u fresh filing the next day, and
%gn tlll the solid cargo IL completed.
"heh the vessel reaches It's port OF dis.
sllIsg tho asphalt has TO bo broken up
ilsah before IL cun be removed from tho
tol' Owing to tn viscug quality OF the
saVye pitch, Il has In the course Of ages
il''''d through the sandy soil around the
~, and OF late the company has been
threatened by a rival, which has begun
l''u'as operations ON the island not far
Ivy The confines Of tho older oumpany's
s'oly, uncoyering great fields OF the
rsal That Is, " anything better aftrr
nteuns process than the original de.
EA"-WMhington Post.