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LETTER XIV. 
ACCOUNT OF BITUMENS CONTINUED, PROM MORE MODERN AUTHORS, 
RAY, DOLOMIEU, ETC TAR LAKE IN THE ISLAND OF TRINIDAD 
PETROLEUM WELLS IN THE BURMHA DOMINIONS, RUSSIA, ETC. 
In my last I showed you the notice which these substances have 
obtained from writers of the highest antiquity ; in this, I purpose 
to place before you such remarks of more modern writers, as appear 
to be most deserving of your attention. 
According to the relation of Hasselquist, asphaltum is gathered 
by the Arabs, in considerable quantities, every autumn, on the shore 
of the Dead Sea. It is carried by them to Damietta, and there sold ; 
being employed, he says, in dying wool*. 
In the Island of Zante, in the Venetian dominions, there is a 
spot, which, on being trod upon, shakes under the feet like a quag- 
mire ; in the neighbourhood of this part are springs, which yield a 
considerable quantity of bitumen, and it has been remarked, to be 
particularly affected during the time of earthquakes. It is much 
employed, instead of pitch, in paying the bottoms of ships : upwards 
of a hundred barrels in a year being used for this purpose. 
At Gabian, about a day’s journey from Montpellier, in the way 
to Beniers, is a fountain of petroleum. It burns like oil, is of a 
strong pungent smell, and a blackish colour. It distils out of 
* Hasselquist’s Voyages and Travels in the Levant, p. 284 . 
