332 Ofi the Pitch-Lake of Trinidad. 



landing at Point Breea, which is done on a sandy beach, a 

 person is naturally surprised to see large black rocks of pitch 

 towering above the sand, and pieces of them rolled smooth and 

 plentifully about the beach like pebbles. Every step he takes 

 is on pitch-ground. Extensive masses of it are also found pre- 

 senting a broad and smooth surface. In some places the road 

 has been entirely made over them ; sometimes passing between 

 large pieces, rising some feet above the surface. In some parts 

 it seems as if a barrel of pitch had been upset, and left to mix 

 with the soil. The pitch in general is merely a superficial coat- 

 ing on the surface of the ground ; and nothing but strict exa- 

 mination would allow one to believe that the fertile scene around 

 is situated on pitch-grounds. But it is so; cottages and gar- 

 dens are implanted on it, and on it vegetation thrives most 

 luxuriantly. The pitch-ground is not one continued mass of 

 this substance, but is a series of broken and irregular patches of 

 it, the soil intervening for considerable spaces. After walking 

 up a gentle ascent of a mile and a quarter from the sea, over the 

 pitch-ground, the visitor reaches an elevated basin, which is 

 called the pitch-lake. This is a vast mass of pitch naturally 

 collected in the form of a lake. The surface of it, moreover, 

 assumes the appearance of one, and it is completely surrounded 

 by a wood. The length of this lake is about half a mile, and 

 its greatest breadth about half a furlong. Numerous pools of 

 water abound on the surface, and the deep cracks and fissures 

 in the pitch are filled with it, in which little fish and frogs sport 

 about. The water is perfectly fresh and good. The pitch ap- 

 pears to be in some parts of great depth, if such an opinion may 

 be justified from the cracks and fissures. It is hard enough to 

 sustain the weight of a person walking on it, but becomes a little 

 softened by the heat of the sun ; so that persons at & little dis- 

 tance from each other sometimes disappear by sinking gradually 

 into the hollows formed by their own weight. On the confines 

 of the lake, vegetation is abundant and vigorous ; and pine- 

 apples grown on the pitch-grounds are said to be remarkably 

 good. Many plants also grow in the pitch itself, without a ves- 

 tige of earth for their roots ; but they are stated to have been 

 more barren formerly than at the present time. The name of 

 pitch-lake can only with propriety be given to this small spot, 

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