S. F. Peckham—Piteh Lake of Trinidad. 33 
Art. IV.—On the Pitch Lake of Trinidad; by S. F. 
PECKHAM. 
AT the risk of saying a superfluous word, I am led after a 
recent visit to Trinidad, to add my testimony to that of the 
numerous observers, who for more than a hundred years have 
written concerning this remarkable phenomenon. 
The earliest account of a visit to Trinidad, accessible to Eng- 
lish readers, was published in the Transactions of the Royal 
Society of London in 1789, by Alexander Anderson.* He 
describes point La Brea as a promontory fifty feet high jutting 
into the Gulf of Paria. Ascending to the Lake he describes it 
as three miles in circumference divided into “areola” resem- 
bling those upon a turtle’s back, the surface of each being 
“horizontal and smooth.” He was there in the rainy season, 
and concluded that evaporation on the clear afternoons removed 
the torrents of water that fell in other parts of the day, as there 
was no other outlet. He further states that the soil around La 
Brea consists of cinders and burnt earth, being evidently the 
product of subterranean fires, as there were hot springs in the 
neighboring woods. 
The next visitor is Dr. Nicholas Nugent, who published an 
account of a visit made in October, 1807.+ He landed on the 
south side of La Brea point which he describes as consisting of 
a bluff of porcelain jasper, ‘“‘ generally of ared color.” Ascend- 
ing to the Lake he perceived a strong sulphurous and pitchy 
smell, like that of burning coal, and soon after had a view of 
the Lake, which at first sight, appeared to be an expanse of 
still water, frequently interrupted by clumps of trees and 
shrubs, but on a nearer approach it was found to be a plain of 
mineral pitch with frequent crevices filled with water. ‘The 
surface of the lake was not polished or smooth so as to be slip- 
pery ; the consistence was such as to bear any weight, and it 
was not adhesive; though it partially received the impression 
of the foot, it bore us without any tremulous motion whatever, 
and several head of cattle were browsing on it in perfect 
security. The interstices or chasms are very numerous, and 
being filled with water, present the only obstacle to walking 
over the surface. The arrangement of the chasms is very singu- 
lar, the sides are invariably shelving from the surface, so as to 
nearly meet at the bottom, but there they bulge out towards 
each other with a considerable degree of convexity. These 
crevices are known occasionally to close up entirely, and we 
saw many marks or seams from this cause. The lake contains 
* Philosophical Transactions, Ixxix, 65, 1789. 
+ Transactions of the Geological Society of London, i, 63, 1811. 
Am. Jour. Sci.—TsIRD SERIES, VOL. L, No. 295.—Juty, 1895. 
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