The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-11-11

times the size of a hand, occasionally much
larger. / learned afterward hat these are
Salle spo'p perhaps Mnsps s a little Ees Custer Of leaves nas
perhaps a twig, or occasionally a larger
branch. AS the sun softens the surface
these things sink in and the pitch closes
over them. When they decay enough gas is
generated to blow the soft pitch open, and
only the little hole remains. The curiosity
that my guide showed me was even more
interesting.
"..Dere, boss he said, try dat one. He
" Dat one was one of the mushroom-like
circles, perhaps five feet in diameter, with a
more: 1 stepped upon the black platform
and began to sway back and forth, and,
sure enough. the. platform rocked with me.
moving very easily and touching its neigh.
bors on whatever side / drove it toward.
When | investigated this apparently strange
soft pitch from underneath had been forced
up through a small round aperture in the
har rda cs sunk EN- IS, surface RIA + e,r evidently d SO that at
eight or ten inches diameter, precisely like
a mammoth stick of macaro1i coming
der reached the surface it fattened out to
the shape / found 1t in, leaving the cylin-
der in the center to support it. There are
lake.
A VERY HOT PLACE.
"The islands OF the lake nave no p~articu-
lar interest, though some of their trees are
large enough to give a very welcome shade.
i L IL UOl OILY TIE direct rays Oh the sun IDdt
make crossing the pitch lake an uncom-
Portable and sometimes a dangerous matter;
the rays are reflected from the shining pitch
SO furiously that, in spite of umbrella and
broad-brimmed hat, tie crosser is sure to
be badly scorched. The islands, however,
lead on to greater things beyond; to the
very fountain-head of the lake, where the
soft pitch, fresh from below, Is ever oOzing
10 the surface. Ii is not necessary for the
guide to tell a visitor when he is approach
ing this place-he finds it out for himself.
Oh, the smell of 1t! Sulphur and birthstone
and kerosene oil and sulphuretted hydrogen
combined If you could take all the asphalt
pavements in New York and put them in a
bag, and beat the bag and then put your
head in it you would get a faint idea of the
perfume of that part of the lake. There is a
sulphury looking foam that colors the pitch
yellow and white, and gas bubbles arise
from both pitch and water. !.
In the openings between the mushrooms
fresh pitch was constantly ooZing out, and
In the places where we stood 1t was SO soft
that we sank in as into mud. / could hardly
ing out must be hot, and that II must burn
the bare feet of my Guide. That is a very
natural impression, but, OF course, an err
more hot than coal ir a m,ne is hot; 1T is
only when lying on the surface under the
sun that IL becomes heated.
Naturally you will ask, Where does this
fresh pitch go to that is constantly oozing
out? Nowhere. 1t presses back the 'mush-
rooms closer together, fills up what vacant
spaces 1t can find. and takes life with true
tropical careiessness. If it cannot find foot
room to-day, by tomorrow some more of
the edges of the lake may have melted and
run over. and then there VIII be room for
more crowding. And why, instead of all this
pushing, does IL not rise INTO the air and
form columns, and pyramids and things?
/ was foolish enough to ask myself that
question at first, and perhaps it may occur
TO you. Simply because IL is the weight of
the hard surface that forces the fresh pitch
up, and the soft STUFF cannot rise higher
than the weight that forces il. You've heard
OF the man VINO tried 90 raise himself by his
boot straps, without any great success. II
is on account of this simple law of mechan-
les that the surface of the lake is practical
ly level.
I'VE stopped down over the fresh. soft
pitch and washed our hands in il without
backing them in the least. I cannot say
without soning them, for the fresh pitch is
oily, and Ii is also full OF mud. Twenty
axes clay, thoroughly Incorporated with
ne pitch. 1t Is because Ii Is wet and mud
iy and oily thac it will not stick to the
hands. i took handfuls OF IL up and nodded
Z into a dozen different forms; drew il out
into long ropes and wound these around my
Walking stick. but neither TO hands nor
stick did the smallest particle Of pitch ad
lere. though l cannot say as much for the
mud and oil.
" spent a night in La Brea and aboard
ne boat TO give me an opportunity TO make
mother visit 10 the lake next day, for l
vas greatly Interested in the spot that Is
sradually coming down the hill by the OK
art load TO make + ssments for New York
reefs. The evening in La Brea added &c
he information 1 had gained about the
,Oolies OF Trinidad."