TRINIDAD : THEN AND NOW. 



257 



it. Two gentlemen, one the Warden of the district, 

 and the other of a speculative turn, to whom a license 

 was granted to search for and obtain samples, took 

 their way in an open boat from Moruga to Guaya- 

 guayare, a distance of about 30 miles by sea. "Wind 

 and current was strong against them and they had a 

 pretty rough time before they reached a welcome 

 shelter in Guayaguayare bay. A vivid description of 

 the journey was given to me by one of the gentlemen 

 indicated. 



They remained there for some days and returned 

 elated with their success (?) ; the one in hopes that 

 he was in a fair way of obtaining what would, in all 

 probability, turn out to be a good thing ; the other 

 buoyed up by the hope that he would be able to re- 

 port favourably to the government and that at last 

 " Oil was struck." Alas ! for human expectations, 

 this also proved abortive ; the speculative gentlemen 

 did not lay the foundation of a huge fortune and the 

 government had still to hope on. It is somewhere 

 said that " everything comes to him who waits," 

 more particularly if he can wait long enough. This 

 the government could, of course, afford to do and 

 they did. 



Eventually Mr. Randolph Rust came along ; a 

 gentleman to whom Trinidad owes a lasting debt 

 of gratitude, and whose portrait I am pleased to 

 reproduce in this work. What agreement he en- 

 tered into with the government he never told me, 

 pioneers of new industries don't generally do so 

 to men whom they know cannot help them either 



Q 



