322 
WEST INDIES AND SOUTH AMERICA 
Trinidad. 1 
SECOND VISIT: April 1st and 2nd; April 11th—14th, 1907. 
We reached Trinidad on our homeward voyage, on the morning 
of Easter Monday. The Queen’s Park, or Savannah as it is usually 
called, reminded me irresistibly of Clapham Common, the more so 
as it was covered with crowds of children and young people dis¬ 
porting themselves at football (T. 80° E.), cricket, and kiss-in-the-ring. 
It is true that the Savannah presented points of difference from the 
surburban Common, as, for instance, a crescent of mountains from 
1500 to 2000 ft. high made a better background than rows of villas, 
and a fine cabbage-palm here and there took the place of the some¬ 
what pudding-shaped horse-chestnuts, while, lastly, nearly all the 
players at the varied forms of pastime were of ebony hue;—neverthe¬ 
less the Clapham-like impression sticks in my mind. The present 
ideal of the young West Indian negro is to be taken for a cricketer, 
and he dresses accordingly. 
The following story which was told me by an eye-witness amply 
confirms the popular opinion as to the hardness of the negro’s cranium. 
The occasion was a cricket match, whether in Barbados or Trinidad 
I cannot remember, the players including both whites and blacks. A 
certain white boy was a local terror, owing to the unusual swiftness 
of his underhand bowling. A lusty negro lad was at the wicket, the 
ground was hard, and one of the dreaded balls rose and struck the 
batsman full on the forehead with considerable force. The spectators 
expected to see him fall stunned; but he simply rubbed his head, 
saying, “ You must be careful, Mr. Arthur; just think, that might 
have hit me on the leg S ” 
Most of my collecting was done on the Ariapeta Road (or rather 
path, for it is little more) above St. Ann’s, where I worked up to 
perhaps 1500 ft. I did not revisit Maraval, but one day we took 
train to San Juan, and another day visited the Pitch Lake at La 
Brea. We were exceptionally fortunate in having a cool breezy day 
for La Brea, as it is famous for its heat, and viscid pitch is not a 
material that any one would choose to stroll upon under a sultry sun. 
Nevertheless it was quite hot enough to make us thoroughly enjoy 
the most delicious green pine-apple that I ever happened upon. 
Some negresses annoyed my wife by staring at her, but one of them, 
when rebuked for her rudeness, said: “If you were the Blessed 
Virgin herself come to the earth, I should look at you.” 
1 It is convenient to deal with April 1st—14th, as one visit, broken by a trip to the 
neighbouring island of Tobago. 
