The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-11-11
GREAT LAKE OF PITCH
ON A HILLTOP ON THE GREEN
ISLAND OF TRINIDAD.
IL Covers Nearly n Hundred Acres, md
Top, but Almost Liquid Beneath.
New York Sun.

Top, but Almost Liquid Beneath.
New York Sun.
"a part of Trinidad In which New York
ers can hardly fail to be interested is the
great pitch lake. as 1t Is called. This is in
teresting to New Workers because SO much
Of the pitch is dug out and brought here to
make our asphalt pavements. The pitch lake
must necessarily interest any one. but 1t is
brought home to US here when we walk
over part of its black contents every day.
This largest body of asphalt in the
world" said the young b~otanist. sis down
the coast of the Gulf OF Parla, about thir-
ty-ive miles below Port OF Spain. and a
mile or more back from the shore. In as
new and wild a country as Trinidad a jour-
ney OF thirty-fve miles Is a serious matter,
If IL must be made into the INTERIOR; but
when Ii is along the coast the problem Is
always easy. There are various ways OF
reaching the lake from the capital. For in
stance, you can start in the afternoon and
take the railroad to San Fernando, spend
the night there, and proceed on horseback
next morning. Or on any Saturday morning
or Monday morning you can take the little
that runs down to La Brea, visit
the lake, and return the same day. But the
RltCn n plCoCnto w nan IN e
lures to be gone over hurriedly, and ! made
a little route Of my own by chartering a
small sloop, manned by a captain and two
copper-colored boys. putting some provis-
ions in her, and sailing down the coast. The
expense of all this luxury was only Sc a
day, and ii gave me not only a fine view
OF the island and a pleasant sail, but the
opportunity TO stay at the lake as long as
] wished, with the certainty OF a lodging
place at night. We set out at about mid
night. under the light of a nearly full moon.
in the hope Of reaching La Brea at a rea-
sonable hour in the morning.
1.-THE canals of Venice may be all very
fine. but 1 doubt whether any boating can
be more pleasant or romantic than sailing
down the coast of Trinidad on a moonlight
night. There was no cabin to the sloop.
and, indeed, no deck: but that was no hard
ship, for In latitude 10 degrees a bit of spare
sail Is ample covering on a clear night. the
far higher under the moonlight than they
do under the sun. The air is SO clear and in
difficult for a stranger TO estimate the
height of mountains in the tropics. but
moonlight shows them for what they are.
The boatmen assured me that an Indian
village once stood on the site of the pitch
ty so terribly that the Village was destroyed
and the barren black lake appeared in its
place; They . told t b me some s. me, wonderful Z stor-
~
quilted In the pitch, and of men standing
sometimes in one spot TIL the surface sank
five or six feet across and three or four
feet deep. However, they had a stone jug
of de night chill, boss and / noticed that
the more chills they kept off the more
There were few signs of occupation or
civilization along the coast; so ii was a lit
tie startling when we reached La Brea, at
was not there toAe guard the pitch, which
people PEEK sft wou the h inHaSits snfs d 6f t isea little but se to
Element on the shore. The whole occupied
part Parer OF tine is nal1ce is a polic 5sar IN this sxsr way ,i by
settlement has its lookup. This does not in
dicate, that the people are particularly de-
PRAYED, or that a stranger runs an I'M
usual risk In travelling anywhere. The ne
groes find native rum very. cheap and eff
fective. and under its genial influence they
sometimes become boisterous. The coolies,
too, gentle and graceful as they are, need
a pretty. little half-naked child Of ten or
her from her parents and married her in
due form. consider her a piece of property
% q f tse .r eatent p of stickin as s : SnI P,eaiS ni'o even Ssr
IL they think best; and this has been their
f sSsv ! m through nnt . sss w so many AMY o gene spoII5 ,n that
kin, no other mans. The British are trying
to teach them better manners, with the aid
OF the island police.
A QUEER IT OWN.
This black policeman in a blue uniform
began TO give us some directions about
landing, but gave it up as soon as he recog-
nized the boatmen, who, he knew, were ia
.niliar with the place. To any strange boat
man he would have given directions about
the reefs, which are not reefs OF rock, but
reefs OF asphalt. Some of them are so large
that they must contain thousands Of tons;
and the greater part of one of the largest
has been cut away and brought to New
ment in Central Park.
81 did not imagine that any little settle
ment in the tropics could be absolutely ugly
and repulsive, but this one was. 1t was
almost on the beach. but the beach was
p DiteR' and piie sand mas w m,nT rolled Ti up toe siaq' into aao
black pebbles. All the tiny buildings. even
TO the police station. We're built of wood,
to give a free circulation of air underneath.
This. at least. Is the native reason given
posts. but / suspect strongly that the de-
sire to avoid snakes and insects has some
would have looked like American corn cribs
II they had not been rooted with th2tch.
o oHmT OIL nn, mem : iit Mere II pd is un usu u TO i see 4
British police station in bad order, SO /
made inquiries. and was told that it is i'm
possible to keep any building on a proper
line on that soil. Brick or stone buildings
would not stand there at all. and that is
why everything is built of light frame. The
constantly overlooking from the lake and
running down 10 the sea, and in that eli
mate pitch Is kept at about the consistency
OF soft putty, except when an unusually hot
day makes a liquid Of il. This mixture of
pitch and brown clay ~sustains a rich vegeta-
ton. but il makes a poor foundation for
buildings.
ITO make the situation clear let us sup
pose that this little settlement stood on the
beach OF Staten island with tropical vegeta-
ton all about IL, and a decided smell or
pitch; with asphalt rocks showing their
heads above the soil. and little rivulets OF
pitch hardened and stopped by the GOODNESS
OF the night, but ready to resume their
journey toward the sea under the days
sun: with that sun beginning to warm up
TO an uncomfortable extent, and with large
and luscious p%lneapples growing in every
possible space and corner, for La Brea is
celebrated for it's pineappleS. Then you are
to imagine a broad and reasonably smooth
asphalt road leading from the beach up TO
the summit OF the Staten island hills. a cls-
tance OF more than a mile, TO an elevation
OF about 80 ~feet-for one of the peculiarities
OF this strange lake Is that il is on the sum-
init of a hill. You must suppose the lake TO
be on the top OF the highest Of Staten ISL
and's hills, and you viii have a pretty good
idea of its location And, by the way, you
must see deep rutS worn in the asphalt road
by the OK carts that carry the stuff down to
the coast.
ON THE WAY TO THE AXE
MY boatmen did not care to make the
journey up the hill, as the lake was an old
story to them; but the offer of a small coin
induced one of the boys TO act as my guide.
and We set off on foot for the lake II was