no THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



from below. A broad belt of white foam and towering breakers 

 marks where the mighty waves, rolling shoreward in their might, with 

 all the force gathered in an unbroken sweep of seven hundred miles 

 across the Gulf, are suddenly arrested, and sink down, conquei-ed and 

 powerless, so soon as they come within the mysterious influence of this 

 gentlest of rulers. 



Unfortunately, this peaceful haven is very shallow ; its depth is 

 variously stated at twelve and eighteen feet, so that only vessels of 

 light burden can here take shelter. But to these, blessed, indeed, is 

 the change of passing suddenly from the wild tossing of the outer 

 ocean to the wonderful calm of this strange harbor, where the weary 

 crew may rest as securely as though within an encompassing coral reef. 

 Indeed, the stranger approaching this wall of breakers would naturally 

 assume it to be caused by a dangerous reef, and would, as a matter of 

 course, seek safety by steering away from it. 



We believe that no scientific examination of this so-called Oil-Spot 

 has yet been made. Sailors who have here found refuge state that 

 the bottom is of a soft, soapy mud, into which they can easily push a 

 pole to a considerable depth — a mud which, when applied to deck- 

 scrubbing, is found to be exceedingly cleansing. 



That the existence of this little haven is due to a submarine oil- 

 spring there can, we think, be little or no doubt, though we have no 

 positive information of discovery of oil-spi-ings on the seaboard of 

 Louisiana or Texas. We know, however, there are many points 

 around the Gulf where petroleum, asj^halt, or naphtha in some form, 

 is found in immense quantities, chiefly in the three eastern States of 

 Mexico — Tamaulipas, Vera Cruz, and Tabasco. In the first of these, 

 inexhaustible beds of asphaltum lie on both banks of the river Tha- 

 mesi. It oozes in an almost pure state through the sedgy borders of 

 the river, and is collected in boats of light draught, which convey it 

 sixty miles down the stream to the port of Tampico. 



In the State of Vera Cruz, asphaltum, naphtha, petroleum, stone- 

 coal, and kindred bituminous substances, are found abundantly along 

 the whole coast-range. Six counties are specified, one being especially 

 rich in these deposits, which are sometimes found pure, sometimes 

 mixed with rock-salt and saltpeter. Dr. Hechler, a scientific German 

 traveler, has described the great asphalt-beds near the village of 

 Moloacan. " The salt-mine," as it is there called, is an isolated coni- 

 cal mountain about twelve hundred feet in height, cracked by earth- 

 quakes. On its slopes are a number of pits, some of which are cold 

 and still, others seething and bubbling with much noise and a stifling 

 odor. Some of these seething pits eject masses of liquid asphaltum, 

 which the Indians call chapopote. The whole adjacent surface con- 

 sists of asphalt, partly liquid and partly solid, mingled with rock-salt. 

 External heat and subterranean noises tell of the fires still smolder- 

 ing within the mountain. Dr. Hechler hazards a suggestion that pos- 



