38 Peck ham — Bituminous Deposits of Cuba. 



resistance in a bed of soft, yielding material, and if this can be 

 brought to the surface it is seen to be the same as that in the 

 neighborhood. In the center of some of these springs were 

 bubbles as large as walnuts which, when broken, quickly col- 

 lapsed with some noise. Inside of the bubble was a small hole 

 going down into the ground, indicating the possibility that the 

 bubble was caused by gas. Many other overflows showed 

 holes but no bubbles. The consistency of this material is like 

 that of ordinary coal tar. 



From this place we took a path in a southwesterly direction, 

 through cane fields and waste lands, and after riding about 

 three miles we reached an abandoned sugar plantation named 

 Victoria. This place is a natural occurrence in a depression 

 resembling a crater. The out-crops of bitumen here are not 

 only larger in area than at the first place visited, but in quan- 

 tity as well. There is also a hole here which had been dug, 

 and during the war it was fired and burned for two months. 

 A great deal of coke could be seen all around its edges. In 

 at least two dozen places among a tall grass and low shrubbery, 

 I saw holes from which bitumen was flowing in great quantity. 

 Around some of them were beds of bitumen several feet in 

 diameter, radiating quite uniformly from the center. The 

 center was very soft and easily dug out. Upon several of the 

 holes, as at the other place, I found bubbles which burst upon 

 being struck. Our Cuban guide said these holes had been 

 known for many years and that some of them had been much 

 bigger than they are now. One of them in particular had 

 caused the death of many cattle, which had fallen into it, and 

 being unable to get out, had perished. The guide said the 

 natives had been years trying to render this hole harmless to 

 cattle by filling it with stones. It was then nearly full. All 

 of the holes I saw covered, I should say, about two acres. 

 Still farther to the west the guide pointed out a clump of 

 palms, and said there were more holes under them. I did not 

 go there. They were a mile and a half distant. 



From here we struck out to the west, and a little south 

 towards the railroad, to the ruins of Sabanilla de la Palma. 

 The country through here is level and covered with a grass 

 eighteen inches high. As we passed through here we saw 

 several other depressions filled with water, and holes from 

 which this same black, sticky stuff was flowing. Around the 

 surface of some of these lagoons we observed bubbles con- 

 stantly rising, indicating the presence of gas. One of these 

 isolated holes is within one hundred feet of the railroad and 

 shows considerable activity. On the south side of the track is 

 another hole in the bottom of an excavation about twenty-five 

 feet long, twenty feet wide, and six feet deep. This had been on 



