CHICAGO, Oct. 14.--_Editor of the Herald_:--In your very interesting
“Missing Links” of to-day you mention the great sunken lake in the
Cascade Mountains as the most deeply sunken lake in the world. This
reminded me of a lake similar to this which I visited while traveling
in the West Indies in 1891. This lake is situated in the island of St.
Vincent on the highest peak of the Souffrière range of mountains, 4,500
feet above the level of the sea.
It is one mile and a half down to the surface of the water and like the
Cascade Lake the depth of the water is unknown.
Soundings were taken many years ago by Lieutenant Smith, of the United
States navy, but with no result. The lake is almost a complete circle
and is about three or four miles in circumference.
The color of the water is light olive, but there are times when it
changes to an intense yellow and is saturated with sulphur. It was in
the latter state that I saw it in 1891, and so thick was the sulphur
that two of our party who ventured to bathe came out with a thin
coating of sulphur on many parts of their body and emitting so strong
an odor that we were forced to quarantine them for some hours.