26 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



Mr. Lang then presented a series of maps, published from 

 1436 to 1513, and by crayon sketches illustrated the progress 

 of geographic discovery of the coast of North and South 

 America, as exhibited in said series. 



On the Effacing Power of tropical Forest-growth in 

 Trinidad Island. 



By MILES ROCK. 



Columbus discovered this island in 1498. In the year 

 1588 the Spaniards made the settlement of Saint Joseph, on 

 the river Maracas, an affluent of the Caroni, which empties 

 into the Gulf of Paria near the modern city of Port of 

 Spain. Instead of entering the Gulf of Paria and passing 

 up the valley of the Caroni, they moored their vessels in the 

 little bay of Las Cuevas on the north side of the island, and 

 crossed the mountains over a pass that rises to the height of 

 2,000 feet in four miles. The road passes on one side of the 

 highest peak in the island, Tucuche, or Eagle's Beak, which 

 rises 1,000 feet above the pass and seems almost vertical. 



On the other side they descended and followed the Mar- 

 acas River to the last foot-hills, where they beheld the plain 

 of Caroni. Here they built the settlement of Saint Joseph. 



The road over the mountain, though seldom used now, by 

 the great amount of travel in former times was deeply worn 

 and is now quite passable. 



While laboring through the thick forests on the cape 

 east of Las Cuevas Bay, Mr. Rock and his party stumbled 

 upon some rusty iron cannon protruding above the ground. 

 On this rocky headland, therefore, commanding the entrance 

 to the bay, the Spaniards had a fort. The tropical forest 

 has overwhelmed every vestige of its existence. With a 

 little care it was possible to trace where a settlement had 

 existed back of the fort. A few mango trees survive of all 

 that once constituted this station. 



