TRINIDAD: THEN AND NOW- 



227 



place it is in a fairly solid state as will be shown 

 later ; but it must be remembered that Dr. Ander- 

 son's description of it, was written, over a hundred 

 years ago. But to resume his description : 



' ' It is circular in form, about three miles in cir- 

 cumference. At my first approach it appeared a 

 plain, as smooth as glass, excepting some small 

 clumps of shrubs and dwarf trees that had taken 

 possession of some spots of it ; but when I had pro- 

 ceeded some yards I found it divided into small holes 

 of water of different sizes and shapes : the chasms or 

 divisions joining together through every part of it ; 

 the surface of the small pools is perfectly horizontal 

 and smooth, the margins of the side slope down 

 till they join at the bottom. On the surface the 

 margin of each bank is distant from about four to six 

 feet, and the same depth before they join at the bot- 

 tom, but some of them are wider and deeper than 

 others. When I was there all these chasms were full 

 of water which rendered my (investigation of it diffi- 

 cult ; the truest idea that can be formed of the little 

 islands between each pool of water is to liken it to the 

 back of a turtle. Its more common consistency and 



appearance is that of pit-coal ,As to the depth 



I can form no idea of it. ' ' 



Dr. Anderson gives a much longer description 

 but as I am sure my readers like variety I will now 

 give some extracts from Joseph, already referred to 

 in this book ; his description is about thirty-five 

 years after that of Dr. Anderson, and mine will be 

 about forty years later than that of Joseph so the 



