Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1916-09-09
TRINIDAD'S PUZZLE
Mystery OF the Islands Curious
Lake of Pitch.
HOLES FILL UP OVERNIGHT.
And Great Trenches More Than Three
Feet Deep viii Be obIiterated In
Week-The Great Mass Is Solid, Yet
In Constant but Slow Motion.

week ne treat MASS IS ooh1f iSt
In Constant but Slow Motion.
Though disappointing at FIRST sight to
people who have the crater Of an ac-
tive volcano in mind, yet the famous
pitch lake" of Trinidad IS remarkable
enough to satisfy most thoroughly long
ere the visit has come to an end.
The lake is a level plain about hun
bred acres or 50 ia extent, surrounded
by low hils and dotted here and there
with bushes and trees. The surface is
not q shmmering black, as might be
supposed, but a dull, grayish blue col
or, intersected with pools of shining
water. Altogether It is a very prosaic
looking place giving no hint Of It's real
interest.
. one can walk where one plsases on
the surface of the asphalt without any
fcGr Of sinking in. for it Is quite solid
enough to bear ones weight. If you
stand In one place for little while 1t
feels hot to the feet just like an as
phalted street on a very hot day.
Much Of the time fresh breeze
blows, and one remembers with amuse-
ment the stories Of the imaginative
writer's who talked about sitting heat
and oppressive atmosphere.
Tie digging Of the asphalt Is sim
pie operation. a mattock is the only
tool required. and under its blows the
pitch BREAKS readily. The negroes EN-
plOyca are very skilled In the work
and break out Jumps couple OF feet
across. far too heavy for an ordinary
man to carry.
Only q very small amount OF the ma
terial gets broken into little pieces. so
that scarcely any baskets are needed
70 carry the asphalt to the cars. A
laborcr simply lifts one or two Jumps.
puts them on his head walks few
yards aud drops them into the ear.
The crude asphalt as broken out, Is
somewhat bToWuish or earthly IN color
1t is usually quite wet and filed with
many holes, like bubbles, measuring up
TO mn inch Or more Ia diameter.
The gang Of barcfooted workmcn in
one place may number thirty men. OF
whom half a dozen do the digging.
They work on Il space perhaps sixty
feet lnng ana forty feet vide, and in
the course Of day they will dig down
to depth Of three feet, or more IN
some places.
Go 20 that same spot next morning,
aud yuu win find IL little rough. but
approximately level y9tth the re2t of
the lake. The hole has been mystcrI-
ously nllcd up during the night, and in
the course of week all traces of the
digging win be oblierated.
This does not mean necessarily that
fresh asphalt has come into the lake
from underground sources. ON the con
trayy, the excavations are filled 10y
very SLOW settling or leyeling Of the
surface asphalt There Is no such
thing as new" asphalt by the way.
for the transition from liquid petro-
leum TO solid asphalt by natures proc
css involves a period Of time that must
Doe calculated in centuries.
The digging done in past years has
caused the general level Of the lake to
sink several feet. So that 1t SIS not abso
lutoly iuoNh0ustlbR. as some people i'm
ngine. 1t Is believed that fresh asphalt
very slowly pushes itself upward into
thc lake from tha subterraneau depths.
hut how large Il quantity is thus added
annually has not been calculated.
Near the middle Of the lake the ma.
tcrial is less hard than elsewhere, and
in a few places soft asphalt may bo
seen in small. irregular patches ooziug
MP from below. This fresh asphalt Is
of about the consistency Of putty and
can bee kuCaded ANA pulled IN the hands
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