86 SEA FISH OF TRINIDAD 



fell into the water, at a distance of 400 toises (fathoms), and 

 this caused on the sea-shore such a 'remous' that it (the 

 boat) was capsized and thrown perilously near the iceberg." 



3. Counter-currents formed on each river boundary, 

 which direct themselves to the source after having struck 

 the bank. On the great rivers there are along the sides con- 

 siderable "remous," and these intensify in power the nearer 

 the sea is reached and the larger the river bed becomes. 



Some etymologists derive "remous" from the Latin 

 remover e, but others assert that "remole" derived from the 

 Latin emolere is the proper appellation. "Remole" is a sea 

 term in France rarely used, and means a whirlpool which is 

 always more or less dangerous. The Spanish word " remo- 

 lino," also meaning a whirlpool, is evidently derived from 

 the same source. Chateaubriand in his book on the Chase 

 in America, mentions the word thus: "lis (the beavers) 

 approchent du souperail (trou menage dans la glace), le re- 

 mole qu'ils font en nageant les trahit. " 



It must be remembered that there is the sweep of two 

 contrary currents along the coast, which have their point of 

 conflict in the bay opposite Port of Spain. The currents are 

 made up of the resultants between the tides of the sea, the 

 Orinoco currents and the Caroni current. When the tide is 

 ebbing a current sweeps along the coast from the Serpent's 

 Mouth towards Port of Spain and seeks an outlet through the 

 Bocas into the Caribbean. But when the tide rises, a con- 

 trary current forms outside the Bocas, forces them back to 

 the eastward, and there is a moment just at the lowest ebb 

 and the approaching rise, that the famous boiling of the 

 waters, called the "remous" takes place; afterwards the 

 Bocas currents assert their supremacy until the tide begins 

 to ebb once more. 



It is a curious and withal fascinating sight to stand on a 

 headland commanding a good view, especially on a calm day, 

 in the vicinity of the Bocas, and watch the "remous" from 

 its coming to its passing away — a period of about thirty 

 minutes, when there is a spring-tide. Personally, I prefer 

 the rocks at Pointe Baleine, the headland cocupying the 

 western end of Gasper Grande, because the view from there 



