T R A N S A C T I O N S

OF THE

BOMBAY GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY,

FROM SEPTEMBER 1841 TO MAY 1841.

EDITED BY THE SECRETARY .

M a c e-m m m ”

VOLU M E VI.

WW“

B O M B A Y

P R I N T E D A T T H E T I ME S’ P R E S S,

BY J.W. CBOSCADDEN.

MDCCOXLIV.

who, for variety and extent of scientific acquirements, has left no equal

among us. Naturally of feeble constitution, Mr Heddle was unable

to mix much in general society, and his many excellent qualities were,in consequence, only known to those who enj oyed the privilege of hisurivate friendship, or were associated with him in public duties. In

addition to high proficiency in his immediate profession, Mr Heddlewas possessed of extensive and well-arranged information in history ,

geography, chemistry, botany, geology, and other branches of natural

history ; but such was his singular humility, that it was only in the

unguarded moments of friendly intercourse that the fulness of this

knowledge was ever displayed . During the four past yearsMr Heddlehad filled, with marked distinction, the oflices of Acting Assay Mu teand Deputy Assay Master in the Mint of th is place, and during the

six previous years had held, with high credit, various appointments on

the Medical Staff. But it is not alone in the sphere of his public

duties that the loss of this valuable officer will be felt a—cveryattempt that was j udiciously and honestly made with the v iew of

extending knowledge, or directing its application to useful ends, had

not only his cordial support, but the devoted labour of his leisure hours.We would in proof record, that when in the year 1831, at the instigation of the Honourable Moun tstuart Elphiustone, and other gentlemen

connected with the Royal Geographical Society of London , Lord

Clare and Sir Charles Malcolm instituted the Geographical Society of

Bombay—Mr Heddle was selected to fill the office of Secretary ; and

to show how far the expectations which led to this honorary selection

have been realized, we need only point to the h igh estimation in which

this Society is held, both in England and on the Con tinent of Europe .

To the same unalloyed love of knowledge, and its application to the

comfort and happiness of mankind, the Horticultural and Agricultural

Society is under a deep debt of obligation . To the Medical and

Physical Society also, many valuable acts of assistance and support

were silen tly rendered. Apart from the immediate duties of his office,the loss of th is officer will be severely felt by Government ; for we

believe that on his judgment almost exclusive reliance was placed in

regard to the value of the various mineral and other natural products

of this presidency .We feel, indeed, that in these few lines we have paidbut a feeble tribute to the memory of one whose place amongst us it

will at presen t be impossible to supply—but we rest in full confidence

that those Societies of which he was not only a distinguished member,but the sinews and the strength, will record in their pages those nume

rous obligations which it was the study of this true lover of science to

conceal ; and that they will un ite and raise some permanent and suit

able monumen t to commemorate the worth of so loved and honoured

an associate—Bombay Times,March 12, 1842.

XII —A Translation of the Gwalior Nameh, or History of Gwalior.

t om the Persian manuscript. Translated at the request of

Major T. B . Jervis, P. B . 8 .

n —Tide Tables. By Captain D . Ross, with some preliminary obser

vafions by the Sea etary . [Pages 249 to 258 . have been twice

numbered with the same flgures z the first series is marked by

a star The tide tables required to be set up before

the Secretary’s observations were written—they were computed

to occupy 10 pages‘

and no more : they nearly extend to 24,

extracts included ]XXL- Journey from Tajoora to Ankober. By Assist -Surgeon B . Kirk

KK lL—Account oi ebil Teer. By Assist -Surgeon B . Kirk

XXIIL—Note on Lacusterine Tertiary Fossils from the Vindiah Moun

tains. near Mandoo ; and on the period of the elevation of that

Chain . By J. G .Malcolmmn, Esq . .M.D., are .

XXIV.-Extract b orn a Journal kept during a partial Enquiry into the

present Resources and State of North -eastern Africa, with Me

moranda. By Lieut.W. Christopher, 1. N.. commanding Ron .

Company’s Brig ofWar Tigris. Presented by Government

XXV.-Narrative of a Hasty Trip to the Frankimense Country . B y

G .W. Kempthorne, Faq . Communicated by the Author

XXVL—AMemoir on the Country between Bagdad and the Hamreed

B ills. Drawn up by Lieut. H.W. Grounds,of the Indian Navy .

Dated Bukhoba,Wednesday the 28th August, 1839. Presented

by Government.

XXVIL—Meteorology of Ferosepore and SukkurIndex

ii

in London &c. , presented by Mancckjee Cursetjee, Esq., with a letter dated 2nd August 1842.

On the mo tion ofDr. Burnett, K. H., seconded by Co lonel Dickinson ,CmsarMoreau. Esq , F. R. S ., French Vic e-Co nsul in Lo ndon . was elec ted an

honorary mem ber of the socie ty. The names of several gen tlem en we re

se t down lo r e lec tion,but as none of the members presen t were acquain ted

with them , or had been asked e ither to mo ve or second their no m ination,the ir e lection was dete rro 1. It was stated to be considered ne ither respect

ful to the S oc iety nor to the cand idates f or members h ip, that th e partyde oirtng to have them proposed should not think it worth wh i le either toappear in pe rson , or make arrangemen ts with orher members to undertake

the genera lly very ag reeable duty of pro posinut and asce nd ing the e lec tion

of new mem bers. The large Map of Aifgltan lstan w .a shown lin e d up on

clo th with ro llers, varnished , Ste. The picture of Sir Charles Malco lm be .

longing to the sw iety. was still in the hands of Mr. Gwatktn, who hadkind ly undertake n to repair the damage sustained by it when shipwreckedon board the B eutinelt in June 1840. The Secre tary reported that the re

were now a sul ciency of papers se lected for publication from the large co l

lection in the hands of the soc iety, to complete fo ur numbers o f trauss e

tions. Th is would bring them up to the presen t time—the publication of

these papers hat ing fallen a twelvemonth behind : and the re se o med to

be no reason to fear but that, "publication was gone on with , an abundan t

supply of papers of value would tlow in upon them to perm it the regular

Quarterly issue of the Transactio ns to he proceeded with as former ly . S uch

was the state of the B ombay prin ting ottices at presen t. that the cheape st

and most exp editious mo de of ge tting the papers through the press ap

peared to be by sending th e MSS . home, and having the comple ted bco lts

returned . The Agricultural Soc ie ty had this experimen t no w on m al

the copy fo r several numbers of the l f transac tions having been sen t home

on the 19th June . The subject having been very fully discussed . it was

reso lved that Rs . 700 should be placed at the d isposal of t lte Secre tary , f or

the purpose of hat ing the Transac tions printed at home with as ltttle de

lay as possib le. The Chairman poin ted out an 0m 1e81011 which h ad taken

place tn return ing th anks to the ge n tlemen whr se donat'ons had been laid

belore the socie ty last Februar ; and to whom the customary acknowl n tg.

me ttts ltad not. been made. t having been explained that th is o 'h lsson

occurred in consequence of the sickness of the late lamen ted secre t ion

Dr. fid d le, and the absence c l the usual office writer, the Secretarywas attested to ltave th e defect remedied by wrtting to the gen tleme n in

question , thanking them for their favours, and explaining the reason o f in,

previous oversigh t. No o ther business appearing before the society, the

meeting adjourned to the first'

Ibureday 01'

November.

AM aIMeeting qf this Society was held its the Society‘

s Roots , Town

Hall, on Thursday the lSllt August, 1842.

T il l promotions consequen t on the death of Sir Alex. Barnes having ap

peared‘

in the Governmen t Gazette, a special meeting of thts body too lt place

on Thursday. called by requisition of the Vice -Presidents—Co lcne l Dtcktnson, Engineers ; and Cap

t . R. Oliver. R. N. The fo llowing gentlemen were

present t—Colonel Dickinson ; Captain Oltver ; Co lonel Mclvill, Secretary

to Government ; Dr. Kennedy ; Dr. McLenaau ; Dr. Glen ; Dr. B rown ;

ili

Lieu tenant Montrion , I. N. ; Lieutenant Grieve, I. N. ; Lieutenant H‘

.

Barr ; and G . Buist, Esq. Captain Ross, the Presiden t of the Society,be ing at presen t tn the Deccan . Colone l D ickinson was called to the Chat .

The fo llowing requisition , explain ing the obj ects of the meeting, was read :

To G sone s Bursa , Esq., Secretary .

B e ate n . 13th August. l842.

S tn .—It having been unan imously agreed to a t the Ann iversary Mee ting

of the Society th at was he ld on the 5th of May last, that as soon as the

ofllctal in t imation was received of the death of S tr Alexander B urnes. a

spec ia l meeting should be convened for taking in to consideration the best

me thod o f man ifesting the Socie ty's respect fo r h is mem o ry, we beg to pro

pose , in the absence o f the President, that a special m ee tin g be he ld for

that purpose in the Socie ty'

s room, on Thursday the 18 th instant, at 3

o'clock r at .We have the honour to be, Sir, your most obedien t servan ts,

Ron . C ervas .

T . D tcx ts soa.

G s ttr ns sts w,—In compliance with the above , I have to reques t that you

will assem ble fo r the purpo se no tified by the Vice . Presidents, in the Roomof the Society, at 3 o

'

clo ck r . at . ,o n Thursday the 18 th m stan t.

G eo . B o ts-r, Secretary,

Colonel D rcx trt son said—The announcemen t of the circums tances con

nacred with the death of S ir Alexander Burnes has bee n so o verpowering.

and demanded such peculiar sym path ies, that our m tnds can hardly be said

to have y e t rece tve d suffic ien t compo sure to perm it a calm view be ing talten

of the nationa l loss wh tch has been sustained in the removal of that most

en te rpris ing and obse rvan t o f modern trave llers, and accomplished and pro.

misiug o f o ur Ind ian statesmen . Nai r, ltowe t er, someth ing ough t to be,and I have no doubt will be , done, to mark the sense of the ob lio loss wh ichhas bee n s tt-tained try that even t ; more especially at the residency whichhas the ho nour o f c la im ing him as one of its otficers. and o f having trainedhim for the conspicuous services to wb te n he was called : and whe n it is

add e d , in referen t e to the more immediate object fo r wh ich we are this dayassem bled, that it was am ong the claims of that distinguished tn t

'ivtdual to

such commemoration , that no one had more energetically co OperatedWithour ever-

'

o- be lamen ted Secretary, the late Dr. Heddle, tewar ts the for

n ation 01 th is Society, o r more assiduously laboure d, non solam per se sodraagno opera a ltos. to r the attainmen t of all those obj ects to wh ich our

enn eavo ut s have fo r the last twelve years been directed , it canno t, I would

respectfully subm it, be denied that it peculiarly belongs to such an instttu

t io n to take the tn ttiative in domg honour to the memory of o ne who has

done so m uch in furtherance of our vtews, and fo r the advancemen t of geo

graphical d acovery. t h these few observations, by which 1 fear veryinadequate j us tice is done to the merits of our late illustrious colleague,aIas l no mo re

, I proceed to move , in accordance with the resolution whtt hwas unanimo usly passed at our last ann iversary meeting

That. in tea ttmony of the services rendered by the late Lieut. Col. SirAlexander Burnea. C . B .

, to the Geograph ical Society of Bombay,—to theestablishmen t and reputation of which he had so essen tially contributed, notless by h is brigh t example inciting others on whom hrs personal or polittoalinfluence extended, than by h is valuable communications with which theearlter numbers of our Journa‘ abound —and in admiration of the noble

i ts

eyirit ol en terpriae whieh, tron the dem t m tlte cloee of hieWillem]: marked hie career. and obtained for him. the bigp hieh it was: in the power of the preren t Society to confer

Th at a Portrait of thia dtatingn iehed Member of the Sooietyhe prom“lo adorn the Committee

'a Room.

a Committee be appoin ted to carry into efl'

ect the reeoltttiona of thetig,

0 TI.“ he forwarded to the Secretary for the

Oliver.

by nativee who hadwit her! to attend , whe ther it were a public mee ting in the Town Hall andthey had eapreaaed d iaappo in tmen t at ita not being ao . and that partin e notmenthera oi the Socie ty co uld not with propriet take a share in the pro .

eeeoings . He coneidered that the debt oi grat tode wh ich was due to thememory of Sir Alexander Borneo, was a g

r eat na tional obligatio n . and hefe lt aetiefiecl th at it would he hono rah l (ii-charged by the Un i ted Servicin Ind ia, and by th e Crown and Perl meri t of Great Britain at home ;nor did he at all doubt but tha t we ahon ld eee the etattte o f Bo ron not

on ly in the Town Hall of Bombay. hut in St . Pan l'a Cathedral. No one

pu reed now to ecnaicler the em inence of Sir Alexander Bornee aa a mere

geog raph ica l explorer ; the importan t poaition he had he ld in the eyee ofall Ar ia and

lenm of u hle dge wo uld

It was true t

the memo ry of the moat distinguish

produced in this cen tury—one who

operationa in which he moved , and who. when he

while he lived was the head and the heart ol'

er

and the anc hor ofevery Britiah hope in Afl’

ghan io

the refore aelected aa ita tin t vict im, and , na the

th en me lancholy tranaactiorts had on ly reached ne in shreds,hie hand extracts from le tters from one of the priso ners now i

of U lthhar Kha n .to which it“a stated in ao rn any wortle

Alexander B a rnes fe ll all. and that with oo e blow, and in

t appe ared at o nce to have an nk trorn being th e terror

A ghan nation, to be the laughing stock of the rahhle oi'

C l bOn l. Dr .

Kenne tt o al lodcd genera lly to the Par liam e n tary discuss io n and the e

impart to the governmen t ot Lo rd Auckland and the India B oard ofJoh n Hohhooee . of having garbled the despatchea. and

a difieren t tone (rem the or igin al inten tion of the wr tter.B urma

'

s lettera. by artfo l ar rangement —whatever hadve n ture to aay, from the c losest in timacy, that the atain

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M dm al Genernl Meethtg o/ tht‘

a Screw lool p lece in their RTown Hall, on the afternoon of Thursday l ite cult Meg, lb“,8 o

‘

clock.

Colone l T. Dickinson , Viee Pres ident, in the Chair.Pret erm—D r C . Morehead Dr J. B ird Dr J. G . Malcolmson

, F. R. 8. aDr J. Burnes. K . H. , F. R. S . ; and the Secretary. 6 . B uist, Esq., LL.D .

The m inutes of'

lest mee ting having been read,it was s tated that n o

advices had since then been received of the dispatch of the Picture of thelate S ir A. B urn es, wh ich , from former letters, was supposed like ly to beby th is timo en its way to India . In formation to this eflect m ight belooked for by next S teamer. A consideastill outstanding, wh ich the Secretary was

lay .—The m inutes of the proceed ings of the Committee on theto Dr Heddle were read . It appeared that none of the plans 0of monumen ts which had been received from London were such

the views of the Committee , who had , in consequence of this,via te further delay, written home such instructions as would en able the

sculptor to proceed with th e wor lt, the cost ot’

which wee restrieted to 2000

B e. A subscription which had been en tered into by a few of the friend.of Dr Heddle, not members o f either of the moieties with which he was con :

nected . and no t therei’

ore entitled to contribute to the gene ral fund, forerecting an obelisk near the place of h is interment on the Mahabn leshwnrHills, amo unted to 2m Rs . , an d the Committee. find ing that 800 Re.

would be necessary for this purpose , had diver ted loo Rs. from the gen e ralfund , leaving a ba lance in h and for the erection of the monumen t in the Cathedral or at Bycullah Church .

—The following gen tlemen were admi ttedmembers of the Socie ty z—Captain F . Arthur

, H. Mfs t th Regimen t, andMilitary Secretary to the Hon . the Governor of Bombay, proposed by DrJ. B urnes . K. H.. F. R. S ., and seconded by Dr J. B ird L ieut. J. 8 . Akod,ol the 4 th Rifles . Baroda, oposed by Dr J. Burner, K. S . , F . R. S . ,

and seconded by Co lone l D ic inson .

The fo llowing Office -Bearers, on scrutiny of the signed lists, were declared duly e lected for th e year 1843- 44

Three Vit e-Presidents.—Captain R. O live r, R. NJ J. P.

Esqq Colone l T . D ickinson. Twe lve Resident MDe l Haste Dr C . Morehratl Dr R. B rown ; J.

M. D .. F. R. S . : Lieutenan t Co lone l N . Campbe ll ; Lieut.Co l. P.

will ; Rev. G . Pigot t ; Dr J. B urnee , K .H F.R.S . J. Bowman,

J. McLennan CommanderH. B . Lynch , N . ; B all Gungadhu r

Esq. E ight Nom Ress’

dent Members—Captain w. C . Harris ;B ird Major B . C . Rawlinson Lieut . H. A. Ormsby. I. N . . F. B .S

J . Holland ; Major R. Leech ; Captain R. Shortrede ; Captain G .

Th e following Donations were laid on the table of the Society. andthanks ordered to be return ed to the re tpective Donors

B y the Paris Society .—2 Books B ulletin de la Societie de Geogn phie,

Douaieme serie , Vo ls . XVI. and XVII.B y the Asiatic Society .

- l Journal of the Bombay B ranch of the RoyalAsiatic Socie ty, edited by the Secre tary. No . 1“, Apri l, 1842.

B y the Author, throng/t Manocfij ee Curse Esq .—l . Degli ultiu i

progessi de lla Geografia sunto Presentato dal te Cavalliere JacopoGrayberg Da Ren ae, 810.

xi

By the Author . through Benga l Society—1. OnWh irlwinds and Storms ;with Replies to the Objections and S trictures of Dr Hare . ByW. C .

Redfield, Esq . 1842

B y the Rev . G . Pigott. - l . The Presen t S tate of Egypt, or a new relatio n of a late Voyage in to that Kingdom, performed in the years 1672 and1678. By F . Vansleb,R. D .

The accoun ts of the year having been presen ted, it appeared that therewas a sum ofRs.

-9 -2 to th e credit of the Society in the Treasurers'

books . Colonel D ickinson, in felicitating them on the prosperous state oftheir funds , stated that he did not think that excess of wealth was expod ien t

,and that they could not do better than devote a portion of this ample

balance to the reprin ting of the earlier numbers of their transactions.

These were replete with very valuable matter, and had now for a long time

been en tirely out of prin t he therefore proposed that a sum, not for the

presen t exceeding Rs . 1000, should be allotted for th is purpose. Thiswas unan imously approved of and agreed to . The prin ted transactions ofthe Society now occupy about 1500 pages of letter-press : of these there

are two num bers got up under charge of Major Jervis, and one numbercon tain ing the papers ofMr Masson ,

—stil1a considerable supply of copieson hand . The others, to the exten t of above 800 pages, are almost en

tirely exhausted . A reprin t of them would form two very valuable volumes. O rigin ally ,

no m ore were prin ted than served for th e supply of

Members . It had, at a former meeting, been resolved that as m any shouldbe th rown off as would supply public libraries and learned societies in all

parts of the world , to such exten t as was deemed expedien t, leaving a

few copies on hand (o r sale . There were at presen t four numbers in the

prin ter’

s hands, wh ich would be issued in rapid succession , and wouldafford from 200 to 300 pages .of letter-press, costing about Rs. 700. Thefirst of them m igh t now very speedily be looked for ; a considerable portion of it being in type .

valuable paper, by D rWinchester, giving a minute topographical

and statistical accoun t of the lately acquired territories around Hydrabad,was laid before the meeting, and directed to be circulated D rWinchesterto receive the thanks of the socie ty .

The consideration of an application from Cairo for assistance from the

socie ty to Mr B ell, a traveller of great spirit and en terprise, who was

about to start for Abyssin ia, in the hope o f discovering the sources of theWh iteNile , was postponed till the socie ty should be better informed on thesubject. Some very in teresting observations were made by Co lonel Dichin

son on a Map of the Arabian Coast, just completed by h im , and handedup to Governmen t. It was remarked as being singular and unfortunate,that for hundreds of m iles toge ther along some of the shores in the line

of the cruises of our sh ips, we had for hundreds and hundreds of year oh

tained no accession to our knowledge.

T he mee ting was more th 'nly attended than it usually is, many of the

members requiring to attend the funeral ofDr Moh‘

at.—The meeting ad

jourued .

The Quarterly Meeting of th is Society took p lace in their Room, TownHa ll

, on the af ternoon a

;Th ursday the 3d August 1848,at 3 o

'

clock.

Colonel T . Dickinson, ice P resident, in the C hair.

P resent—Dr J. McLennan Dr C .Morehead ; Rev. G . Pigott ;Manock

xiii

B y Chamber of Commerce.-Report of the Bombay Chamber of Com

merce for the Third Quarter of 1842-43.

B y Roya l Geograph ica l Society of London .—The Journal of the Royal

G eograph ical Socie ty of London , Vo l. 12, Part 1. of 1842 with a Le tter

dated 3Waterloo Place, London, l l th November, 1842, from L ieut. -Col.

J. R. Jacksnu , Secre tary to th e above Socie ty.

By the Societie de la Asia tique de Paris (through the Royal Geograph ical Socie ty of London ) .

— 1. Repon se a lexem en Critique de M. S tan islas

Julien, in sere dans le numero de Mai 184 1 do JournalAsiatique. Par M.

G . Pau th ier. 2. Journal Asiatique , on Recueil de Memo ires d’

Extraits et

de Notices relatifs a l’

Histoire, a la Ph ilosophie , aiix langues e t a la litters

tures des peuples orien taux, &c. ; tome 13. 2. D itto tome 14. 1. Exer

cices pratiqut s d'

snslyee de Syn taxe et de Lexigrsphie Ch inoise, &e. &c.

Par S tan islas Julien , l . Vindiciae Stn icae. Dern iere Reponse a M. S tanis

las Julien , &c . Ste . Par G . Pauth ier.

B y D r . G . B uist.—B uist on Fie ld Gates.

B y the Med ica l B oard , under the sanction of Government—L Reporton the Medical Topography and S tatis tics of the Presidency D ivision o f the

Madras Army , &c . 1 . Repo rt on the Medical Topography and S tatistics of

the Cen tre D ivision of the Madras Army with a Le tter dated 17 th June,1843, from D r J. B urnes, K . H .

, Secre tary to the above B oard .

B y the Med ica l B oa rd . w i th th e sanction of Government.—3. Transac

tion s of the Med ical and Physical Socie ty of B ombay , Nos . 3, 4 , and 5. l .

A Practical Memoir on the History and Treatmen t of the D iseases of the

Came l, &c by Assistan t SurgeonW. G ilch rist, public cattle depo t ofMad

ras Establishmen t. l O'

Shaughnessy’s (DrW. K . ) B engal Dispensatory .

l . Annesley'

s (Dr. J. ) Researches in to the Causes, Nature, and Treatmen t

of the m ore prevalen t d iseases of l nd ia, and of warm climates gene rally . 1.

Rep ort on the Epidem ic Cho lera, as i t has appeared in the territories sub

jcet to the Presidency of Fort S t. George or Madras, 1824 ; with a letter

dated 1sth June, 1843, from the Secre tary to the above B oard .

Par an a.

B y Government—1. Remarks on the north -east coast of t frica, and va

rious tu bes by wh ich it is inhab ited, by L ieutenant C . P. Righy , l 6th Regt.

N . L,w ith a le tter dated 3oth May last, from Lieu t.

-Colonel Melvill, Secre

tary to Governm en t.

B y the Author.—l . Note on the practicability of advancing an Army

from Europe in to Asia by the provinces of the Euphrates and T igris, by Dr

J.W.Winchester with a letter dated Rutnagherry, l st June, 1843.

B y the Author .- l . Captain E . P. D el

'Hoste

'

s paper on the Route from

Dessa to Sukkur, with topographical observations on the Desert, be ing the

d irection or line ofmarch performed by the 6 ib Regt. N . I. in 1840.

Mar s.

B y D r George B u ist.— l . Map of comparative Readings of eigh t Baro

meters. 1. Rough plan of the Battle of Meeanee—surveyed by Captain

Jacob.

Lar r s n s .

B y the Roya l Geograp hical S ociety —1. Letter dated 3Waterloo Place,London

,15th D ec . , 1842, from L ieut .- Co lone l J. R. Jackson , Secretary to

the above Society, regarding Lieut.-Co l. S ir A. B urnes’

s Portrait, and

thanks to this Society. 1. Letter dated 12 G loucester Road, Old B romp

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1 1W. A. MonIrlon,mqog e e e e s . e ee e e e

LI'n te‘ COIe Ge MOOI'

O’ u s e s ee e ee

L ieut. G . B . Munbee,B . A. R. NICIIOIIOII, E'qe

, M D a s . e ee

MBjOI' J . R. OIIBIOy’ e e e e ee

R. K . Pringle, Esq .

Dr JOIIII Scatt, e ee e s . e e e e e e e e e

P. E“. e e e e e e e e e e e e s e e

Dr M. Thom.0n , e ee e e e e e e e ee

D I' J. w.WIIICIIQII“, o s . e ee e e . e e e e e e

T C‘ rdWOII, Esq e e e e e e e ee e e e

J. R. RemIDSIOI’

.Esq. e e e e ee . e e

Commander J. P. Saunders, I NJ. M. Davies. Esq.

LIC III. C . P. RIgI’y’ e e e e ee e e e e ee s ee

A. N. Shaw, Esq.

Dr D . C lark.Joh n Harrison . B a

g" I N

H . Borrsdaile, C.

L ieut. G .Wingate, B ombay EngineersC‘pt. R. St JOIIII e e e e ee e e e

Commander H. B . LynCI‘, I.N. e ee e ee e ee e e e

Lieut J. C. Cruttenden, I .N.

Rs. 849

The following Gentlemen had refused to make payment, on the score of

non-liability and fo r other reasons ass ignedW. B . Morris. Esq . , Accoun tant-General.Colonel S ir H. Pottinger, Bart.

The following had omitted to answer the letter forwarded to them, or ex

cuse themselves for de laying paymentCaptain F. J. Arthur.

G eorge G ibern e, Esq.

Capt. Geo . D’

Arcy, A.D .C.

Capt. R. Coghan , LN.

Major General Vans Kennedy.

L ieut. G . Jenkins, I N.

John Skinner, EsqJ. J.Waterston , Esq N. I. I. N.

LIQU I. Jo S . AkedeCapt. R. Shortrede.

L ieut.W. Christopher, LN.

D r C . F . Collier.

L ieut.- Col. U . Felix.

Major R. Leech .

D r T . McKenzie.

L ieut . A . Nash .

H . B . Riddell, Esq.

P. Scott, Esq.

The following Members being in Europe or absent from India, had not

been applied to 3Lieut. J. S. Grieve, LN.

“111

with stringency or rigour, or to be considered exempt from all exceptions,but was laid down as a general principle of action . Capt. F . Ayrton was

d irected to receive the special th anks oi the Society for h is kindness and at

ten tion to their instructions—tho Secretary to explain very fully the various

matters adverted to in h is letters.

8 Garden Court, Temple, Tuesday, i5th August, 1843.

To Geo. B uist, Esq. , Secretary to the B. G . S.

My D ear S ir,—I had the pleasure to receive , on the 9 th instant, yourletter of the 19 th of June in reply to m ine of last November, and advisingm e of the d ispatch o f two sets of such n um bers of the Bombay Geographical

Socie ty'

s Journal as were in prin t, for the purpose o f be ing f orwarded tothe Societie Asiatique and S ocietie G eograph ique of Paris. These parcels

of the Journal I have received safe ly by the respective gen tlem en to whom

they were in truste tl, and I will take them with me to their ultimate desti

nation at Paris, wh ithe r I depart to -morrow even ing to remain a mon th or

more . I am sorry that your no te does not leave m e in a larger capacityth an the mere channe l of these j ournals, though , under o ther circumstances,I should no t aspire to be more ; but if you w tll con sult the Records of theSociety I th ink youWI"find—at leas t I th tnk you should find—a j ournaln e tico of corresponden ce on th e subject of th e exchange of papers be tweenthe Bombay Geograph ical Socie ty and the Paris Societie Asiattque, the

object of wh ich, I th ink, would have been better matured by a commun iestion d irect from one S ocie ty to the o ther. These commun ication s express

ing approbation of the proposition should have been m utual, as I apprehendthe tenor of my letter. dated , I th lok from Aden , October 1840,Wi ll near meout in suggesting. If the Socie tie Asiatique has omitted to write , that isnot exculpatory of your om ission ; but I am n o t sure that they di d om itth is atten tion , since I th ink Mr Mobel tn en t toned to m e having written to

B ombay, and heard nothing m ore of the matter un til I spoke to him. In

presen ting the papers I will make all necessary excuse, and take uponmyse lf to say that Hedd le

’

s death , &c . &c.

Monsecar, the Secre tarie do la Socie tie do la Geograph ic do B ombay,will write to vind icate the good will and in ten tions of this Socie ty at an

early period, which period I pray may be by the return steamer. If directedto me I w ill found in the le tter.

You will allow me to suppose the above remarks repeated in favour ofthe Sovie tic Geograph ique de Paris, who , I th ink, you will in common

agree with me, are a lso en titled to a journal commun ication from yourse lf

in behalf of the Society. You m ust reco llect that M. D'

Avezac info rmedme that he h imse lf had written to the Secretary of the B ombay G eogra

plncal Socie ty , some time back, to make the proposition of an exchangeof publication s, without having been so fortunate as to produce the least

fruit from'

h is letter, or even learn ing on what spo t it ulttmate ly fe ll. Ithink, however, without any great informality, you may assume the willfor the deed , and write to reconcile all past discrepancies. Hoping you willexcuse th is hurried letter.

B elieve me, yours truly,

(Signed) F. AYB 'I'OR.

Paris, Hotel de France, R. St. The . do Bourse, the 2d Sept., 1848 .

My Dear Sir,- Ou the other side is a letter 1 addressed to M. D’Avexac,

xxiv

on the soth August. to accompan y the publications transmitted through a

for th e Geograph ical Society of Paris.

ince writing it some ecclaircissemens have transp ired, which , then;not so full as to ren der farther explanation upon its subjec t unneeet

nary, are ye t such as I free ly con fess it was some fault in me not to hebeen aware of before comm itting the letter to its des tinat ion . NeverthetsI hone the Bombay Geogr h ical Socie ty will approve of my in ten tion , at

confirm the sen timen ts I ave ven tured to advance, particularly on the

behalf, by redeem ing their profess ion s, at the ea rlies t Opportun ity, throwyourse lf. M. D

‘

Avezac comm un ica ted my le tter, toget her w ith an seas

ance of the friend ly feeling with which the two Socie ties desired to e

operate, to the Geos raphica l Society at Par is, at the science lteld'

lsevening (Sept. The Journals were laid on the table, and all d ue a

knowledg tn en ts directed to be recorded . In looking over these ve

Journals, and comparing them w ith other Nos . already in possession of tl

Society, what shou ld come to ligh t in the No . of the Journal of the B om bt

Geographica l Society for 1886 bu t the iden tica l le tter prin ted verbatitsa.the fate of wh ich , to that instant, M. D

'

Avesac—who , reco llec t, ad dr ess

the B . G . S . in behalf of h is Society—had remained igno ran t. l y ,8 of the m iscellaneous matter published by the Bombay G eograph ic

Sbciety, in 1843, under the ti t le of “Regulations of the Geograph icSociety ofWestern Ind ia (a transition in dign ity I presume the Socie

to have made from its original mo re humble afin ity to Bomber.) ia a d lltioct acknowledgmen t of M. D

'

Avezac’s said le tter, and the gratificatis

with wh ich the Bombay Society accede to the propositio n .

Afterwards, at p . 18 , come the names of several members of the Pan

Geograph ica l Socie ty as ltas iog been elected hon orary members of ti

Geographical Society of Bombay among these names is that of D’Avest

h imself ; but no intimation that I am aware ot had ever reached Par is t

the honourable affiliation the B

gen tlemen un til that even ing.

the commen tary, which , I hope,tos ily glad at the Opportunity wh ich gave rise to it.in timation should pass on all these in ts . and peo p le in ton ly know wha t it is, but how so why it is. I knowwas , that the Bombay Society should work its course modestly, with t

little noise as possib le , trusting to its own merit for reputation , but we a n

remem be r also that re putation reacts upon me rit, and, if the Soc iety tr ialsto operate with influence upon its members, it must take the in itiative iits own concern s, and, plac ing itse lf in the ranks of fame with other bodieof similar constitution , trust to its own e nergy to vindicate its posittcThe one course may have been more am tanle, but the o ther is more wit

the world, and not less useful, and so le t the next pos t show the S

afiaira in the same order, and d isco ver them m ind ful of al l those little

in which the very vitality o f their existence, extraneous to the mere label;of

frin ting and publishing, lies .

n conclusion , M. D'

Avezac reques ted to

for copies of such o f the Nos . of your Journdenoted in the accompanying lis t (2 ) he also desires to be in formed exactl

o f the numbers of the Paris Geographical Socie ty'

s Journal received by ti

Bombay Gn

e

zgrapbical Society : I presume that om issions may be suppliet

The auojoi ltst ( l ) will show what numbers of your Journal the PanS ociety have and require.

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xxvi

B ombay Geographical Society justice, in the an ticipation that their futurelabours will have a sumciently retrospective effect.

Mr Buist says, with reference to the publications of the Bombay Geo

graphical Society generallyWe have at present a reprint of the earlier numbers of our transactionsassing th rough the press simultaneously with a large impression of unpub

ishod papers . T he two will make three or four numbers full of novel andinteresting matter.

"

d

The old cepies were not forwarded to you, as we had none of them on

han

In laying the substance of your note before the Socie ty, I was desired toexpress their thanks to you for your meat obliging offer, and to say howhappy they would be to avail themselves of your services. Copies willhereafter be regularly forwarded to you.

I enclose Mr B uist'

s note, from which the above extracts are made, if youchoose to refer to it.—Yours truly,

(Signed ) Faan x . Ar a-rots,M. de la S . de G. de Paris.

P . S .—I have not yet sen t the Journals for the Societie Asiatique, not

having seen M. Mohl, the Jo in t Secretary, but I will do so in a da or

two and let you know. In the mean time, I must write them some'

ngsimilar to the letter above .

(Signed) F . A .

On the motion of Lieutenant G . Jenkins, I. N.,seconded by Captain S ir

R . Oliver, R. N . , Mr John Harrison , Assistant S torekeeper, I . N., was

unanimously elected a member of the Society. The meeting then ad

journed.

A Quarterly Meeting of this Society took p lace a t the Town Hall, in

their Room, on Thursday the 8th F ebruary 1844, at 8 o'

clock r . as.

D r James B urues, K . H. , F. R. S . , Member , in the Chair.

P resent—Dr J. G . Malcolmson, F . R. S. ; and Dr G . Buist, Secretaryto the Society .

The Minutes of the last Meeting h aving been read and approved

The following donations were presen ted to the SocietyB ooh3 .

-By the Author, through Monochj ee Cursctiee Esq —U ltimiProgressi Della Geografia Sun to, &c. , da Jacopo G raberg da Hemao ,with a note dated Musj id B uuder, 27 th November, 1843, from ManockjeeCursetjee, Esq .

B y the Royal Geograp hicai Society of London .—Journal of the Royal

Geographical Society of London , vol. xii. , part II. of 18-12 Address to the

Royal Geographical Society of London ,deli vered at the anniversary mee t

ing on the 2d May, 1843, byW. R. Hamilton, Esq., F . R. S . , President.

B y the Societie Asiatique de_Par is,through theRoyal Geographica l So

ciety of London —Simple expose d'

uu fait Honorable odieusemeut de nature

daus uu libelle recen t de M. Pauthier, suivi, Par S tan islas JulianSupplement aux Vindiciae Sin icae, ou derniere reponse a M. S tan . JulienJournal Asiatique ou recueil de Memoires, 8 m. tome xiv. No. 79, November,Dec., 1842 ; Journal Asiatique ou recueil de Memoires, &c. tome i. No . 1,Janvier, 1843 Journal Asiatique ou recueil do Memoires, &c. tome i. No.

4,AW“, 1843.

xxvii

B y the Societie Asiatique de P aris, through L ieut . Ayrton of the loth N .

L ,at Aden—Journal Asiatique ou recueil de Memoires, &c. tome i . No . 1,

Janvier ; Journal Asiatique on recueil de Memoires, Ste. tome i. No. 8 ,

Mars (2 copies) ; Journal Asiatique ou recueil de Memorres, &c ., tome

No . Avril Journal Asiatique ou recueil de Memoires, 8 m. tome i . No .

5, Mai ; Journ al Asiatique ou receueil de Memoires, &e . . tome i., No 6,

Juin Journal Asiatique ou recueil de Memoires, &c . , tome ii. No. 7 , Juil

let, Aout 1843,—with a note from Mr Young, dated 2oth January, 1844 .

B y the Societie de la Geogr ap h ie de Paris , through L ieutenantAyr ton ,of the loth , a t Ada n—Bulletin de la Societe de Geographic redige Par M .

M . Albert Montemon t, &c. , tome xviii. and xix. of 1842,—with a note from

Mr Young, dated 2oth January 18 44 .

B y the B ombay Chamber of Commerce—Report of the B ombay Chamber of Commerce, for the first quarter of 1848-44.

B y the Governmen t of B ombay .—Alit' Laila, or bt oks of the Thousand

an d One Nights, vols. 8 rd and 4 th , in Persian language—with a letter dated

6 th December, No. 8888 of 1843, fromW. Escombe, Esq., Secretary to

Governmen t.

B y the Rev . Geo. P igott.—Strong’

s Greece as a K ingdom, St e. Si c .

G rey’

s Travels in North,West, andWestern Australia, &c. , in 2 vo ls.,

with 2 Maps in l st vol. MacKeuz ie’s Narrative of the Second Campaign

in China Taylor’s Natural History of Society in the Barbarous and Civi

lized State, &c . &c. , in 2 vols.—with a note dated 5th February, 1844,

from Rev. G . Pigott.

B y D r J. G . Malcolmson, F . R . S ., Secretary to the B . B . of the R . A.

S .—Journal of the B ombay B ranch of the Royal Asiatic Society for Oct.,

No . 6 of 1848 .

P ap er.—By the Author. Journal of the Route between Tajoora and

Ankober, with drawings, and a map of the same route surveyed by Assistan t-Surgeon R. K irk—with a note, dated Tanuah, 29th January, 1844 .

Registers.—By the author. No. 1. One of the daily heigh t of the River

Indus between the Fort of Bukkur and Roree during the period of inunda

tion of the year 1889 . No . 2 , Register of the daily range of the Thermome ter during the hot season of 1839 , kept in the Fort of B ukkur

, and themaximum daily range, kept at Sukkur during part of the hot season 1840.

By R. K irk, Esq. , Civil Surgeon .With a letter from the author datedTannah, 22d Jan., 1844.

Letters. - Letter from Grindlay and Cc.,dated 28th July, 1843, informing

of a picture shipped on board the Malabar, Captain Pollock, being itsvalue £60, with an enclosed bill of ladlug and a man ifest.Letter from Colonel T. D ickinson, dated 25th Nov. , 1843, acknowledging

an extract from the minutes of the meeting of this institution held on the

2d inst., and likewise intimating the advantages wh ich have been derivedfrom the corporation of such most active and talented associations in carryingout the objects of an institution the welfare and reputation of wh ich no one

has more at heart than h im.

Letter from Col. S ir H . Pottinger, Bart., dated 27 th Nov. 1848.

Letter from J. P.Willoughby, Esq ., Secretary to Governmen t, dated th e80th Nov. , No. 1877 of 1843, acknowledging the receipt of this Society

’s

letter No. 285, dated the 19th November last, respecting the charts referredto iu Lynch

'

s Memoir of the River Euphrates, on which reference will be

made to the Right Honorable the Governor-G eneral of India .

Letter from Messrs Remington and Co. , dated' 13th December, 1843,

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7

be less than fifty feet. From the hardness of the rock, its height and

length, and the vast body of water wh ich rolls over i t in the monsoon

when the river is flooded, I have formed the opin ion that no remune

rating labour could ever render the river Nerbudda navigable at San

sadurra, nor can any reasonable hope he formed that land carriage at

that spot would overcome the difficulty .

2d.—Notice of G ran iteprotruding throug

h the T rap Rock in the

B ed of the ri ver Nerbudda at Mundleysir.

In the m iddle of the Nerbudda, Opposite to Mundleysir, there is a

saddle-shaped rock of trap, the highest part of the arch or saddle risingfifteen or twen ty feet above the bed of the river. The rock is rather

coarse but compact black trap, and in som e places inclin ing to porphyritic, but no where exhibiting an approach to columns, nor is there

any appearance of much disturbance of the strata.

On the northern edge of the saddle, I found a huge insulated block

of granite, about forty feet in length, twenty in breadth, and seven in

thickness, the trap in some places firm ly adhering in pieces even to its

upper edge, the two rocks shewing the colours of deep black and grey,as distinctly and contrastingly as if they had been pain ted with a brush .

The trap in some places penetrates the granite as in veins, or it may be

vice versa .

Atfirst it appeared to me that the granite blockwas of the nature of a

boulder, brought by some unknown power, at least in this country , from a

d istance ; but further exam ination proved that not to be the case, for I as

certained it to rest on a solid foundation of gran ite not much large r

than itself, distinctly protruding through the trap, which encircled it

as firmly and closely as if it had been applied by human means .- In

some places where the gran ite and trap are in contact, the latter exhi

bits strong appearances of the action of fire, or at least of decay .

The large block which is rent in several places, appears to me to

have originally stood erect, and that it has fallen in to its present posi

tion by the force of the curren t, but in either case the adhesion of

pieces of trap at the upper edge of the gran ite, seven or eight feet from

the ground, is a very curious circumstance, and will not fail to give

support to existing theories on the subject.Sir John Malcolm

’s work on Central India, as well as every other

authority published and unpublished, that I am aware of, have led me

to believe that there is no granite inWestern India, between the latitude of Goa and the Vindhya mountains,— I am, therefore, inclined to

hope that the information now afforded may prove new and in teresting.

I may here men tion that Mundleysir stands on the north bank of

the Nerbudda, in the country of Nemaur, about 15m iles south of theVindhyas, a range understood to be composed entirely of trap. The

bed of the Nerbudda, and its banks abou t 30 or 40 feet high, are also

composed atMundleysir of trap, and I have not been able in any part to

discover any gran ite but what I have described, and a few detached,fragmen ts of no great magnitude in its immediate neighbourhood .

I beg to forward by the hhangy, specimens of the granite and its

adhering trap.

The above communication may appear to be more of a geological

than a geograph ical character, but trusting to the known desire of our

Society to extend its usefulness in every way, I have, in the absence of

a Geological Society, taken this opportunity to make it.W. S'rranm o , Major, 17th Regiment,

Mundleysir, 9th February, 1841. Bombay Native Infantry.

Papers— l at. Reports, by A. G ibson, Esq., on the Iron Ore found in

Malwan on the Teak Plantations of the Southern Concan, and on

the Alluvial Soils suitable to the Growth of Foreign Cotton . Com

municated by Governmen t.

2d. - Journal of a March from Ahmedabad in Guzerat, to Sukker inin U pper Scinde, by Captain Del

’

Hoste. Communicated by the

Author.

L ibrary . —The second Collection of Books purchased for the Societyby the Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society, in value £45

l l s. 6d., having arrived per sh ip Thomas Cou tls, is inspected by the

Members ; and thanks are voted to Capt.Washington for the troublehe has taken in selecting theWorks, which have all arrived in excel

lent order.

DONATIONS .

B ooxs.—Shurah Ool Islam,Wilson ’s Vishnu Purana,

Journal of Royal Geograph icalSociety, Vol. x" part ii.,

Royal Geograph ical Society .

The following works by the late ]W. Marsden, F R.S

Travels ofMarco Polo,

History of Sumatra,

Num ismata Orien talia, 2 vols

MiscellaneousWorks,

Remarks on the Sumatran Lan ColW. Martin Leaks, D .C .L F.R.S .

guage,On the Chronology of the Hmdoos,

Memoir of the Life andWritingsof th e lateW. Marsdeu.Written by h imself,

On the Fossils of the Eastern

garden of the G reat Basaltic J. G . Malcolmson, Esq.

, F .R. S .

istrtct of India,

Presented by Government.

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IO

Vincen t’s Nearchus and Periplus, Commerce and Navigations of the

Ancien ts,Voyage de Niebhur an Arabic,Ham ilton

’

s Accoun t of Nepal,Ham ilton

'

s East India G azetteer,

D itto D escription of Hindostan ,Forster

’

s Overland Journey from B engal to England,Edinburgh Cabinet Library .

-Persia l , Arabia 2, Chin a 3, Egypt 1,

Nubia and Abyssin ia l ,D alrymple

’

s Collection of Voyages in the South Seas,Smy th

’s Sicilly and its Islands,

E llis’

s Polynesian Researches,D itto H istory of Madagascar,Humboldt

'

s Fragmens Asiatiques

[Received in Frehruary,Abel

’

s Journey in the In terior of Ch ina,Auber

’s Rise and Progress of the B ritish Power in Indra,

B arrow’s T ravels in Ch ina,

D i tto Vorage to Coch in China,B eeckman

’s Voyage to B orneo,

B ern ier’

s T ravels in the Mogul Empire,B rowne

’

s Travels in Africa, Egypt, and Syria,

B uchanan’

s Journey through Mysore , Canara, aud Malabar,B urn es

’

s Travels to Bokhara (new Edition)Charlevoix Histoire du Japau,Davy

’s Travels in Ceylon ,

D CVIS'

Ch in a, s e e s o . o n o n u s e us e

D ubois on the Manners and Customs of India,D

’

Anvrlle’s Memo ires Sur L

’

Egypte,E llis Amherst

’s Em bassy to Chin a,

E lph instone’s K ingdom of Cahoo l,

Forrest'

s Mergui Arch ipelago ,D itto Voyage to New G uinea,

Franklin ’s Tour from B engal to Persia,

G en til'

s Mers de L'

Inde ,G olown in

’s Japan ,

G ran t’

s History of Mauritius,

Hall'

s Voyage to Loochoo,Hanway

'

s Travels in Persia &c.,

Ham ilton’s Eas t Indies,

Hasse lquisrVoyage du Levan tHerodotus, by B eloe,Indra, Edin burgh Cabinet L ibraryIrvin

'

s Voyage, Red Sea, &c .

Keats'

s Pe lew Islands,K inn ie r’s Persian Empire, with Map,K nox

’s Historical Relation o f C eylon ,

K rrkpatrick’s Accoun t of the K ingdom of Nepaul,

L ander’s Exped ition to the N iger,

L eyden’s and Erskine

’

s Memoirs of Emperor B aber,L indsay

’

s Letters on the Holy Land,Le B ruyn Voyages on Muscovis, Perse, Levan t, &c . ,

l l

Lane’s Modern Egyptians,

Morier’

s Two Journ ies in to Persia,N iebhur

’

s D issertation on the Geography of Herodotus, with a

Olivier’

s Travels in Persia,Osheck

'

s Voyages to Ch inaOuseley

’s Ebn Hanke l,

Pottinger’

s T ravels in Persia, &c. ,

Pococke’s Travels in the East,Raffles

’

s History of Java,Do . Memo ir of the L ife

Renaudot’

s China,Reid

’

s Law of S torms,

Spen cer’s C ircassia, &c

Sonn ers t’

aVoyage Aux Indes Orien tales,S taun ton

’s Accoun t of Macartney

’

s Embassy to China,S tavorinus

’

s Voyages to the East Indies,Tournefort Voyage Du LevantThevenot

'

s Travels,Waring’

s Tour to Sheeraz,

At the Anniversary Meeting, held in the Society's Room , Town

Hall, on Thursday, the 6th May, 1841.

Pa rtn er—Colonel T . Dickinson , Vice -President, in the chair Lieu t.W. S .

Suar t ; P . Ewart, Esq . ; Dr C . Moreh ead J . G . Malcolmson , Esq . M D . a Dr

J. B urnes, K ,H . ; George Buist, Esq . ; Dr J. B ird ; Major T . B . Jerv is ; John

Macleod, Es J. JWaterston , Esq . N, I. I. N . ; Captain G . Fulljames ; Bull

Gungadhur beetree ; and J. F . Heddle, Esq . Secretary.

Minutes of the quarterly meeting held on the 19th February , 1841,are read and approved.

The statemen t‘ of the Society’

s account, from April, 1840, to April

3oth, 1841, is laid before the meeting, showing a balance at the latter

date of Rs . 1651 9 a. 1 p . in favour of the institution .

The voting- lists are then exam ined, and the following gentlemen

announ ced as othee-bearers for the ensuing year, being elected by the

general votes of the Society

Vrcs -Pas sm as r s—Colonel T . Dickinson . Captain R. Oliver, B .N and J .

P .Willoughby, Esq .

Coum 'r r s s—Residen t, Lieut . Col . N . Campbell ; Major T . B . Jervis. F .R.S

Lieut. H. A. Ormsby, I .N., Dr J. B urnes, K .H. 5A . B . Orle har , Esq . ;W. C . B ruce, Esq . ; D r R. B rown ; D r C . Moreh ead Captain G . Fulljames ;

J. Skinner, Esq . G . B uist, Esq . J. G .Malcolmson ,Esq . M.D . -Non -Residen t

Lieut. Col. Sir A . B arnes, K t Colonel C . Ovans ; Maj or J. Holland ; J . B ird ,Esq . ; Capta in R Shortrede 3 Captain J. Carles, I.N. ; Major H. Rawlinsonand CaptainW, C .

Harris .

The following gen tlemen are elected members of the SocietyLieut. G . Munbee, proposed by Colonel T . Dickin son, seconded by Captain

Vide Statemen t No. I.

12

G . Fulljames Dr J.McLennan, proposed by Dr J. Barnes, K.H., and secondedby Dr C . Morehead .

Read a letter from the Secretary of the Bombay Branch of the Royal

Asiatic Society, announcing the projec t of establishing a Museum , and

requesting the contribution of objects of Natural History and funds from

this Society in aid of the proposed establishment also forwarding a

copy of the rules of the Museum .

Resolved, That the collection now in the possession of the Societybe made over to the Museum, and that the Comm ittee be informed,that any objects which may hereafter be presen ted to the Society, shallin like manner be contributed ; but that we are unable to afford peou

n iary aid .

The following papers were then laid before the meeting1 . Report on Adam

’s Bridge. By Lieut. Christopher, I. N .

2. Description of the Temple of Ramiseram, with Plan. By Lieut.

Christopher, I. N . Communicated by the author.

3. Vocabulary of the Koolhee Language (in Guzerattee) collectedby Captain Fulljames.

LIBRARY DONAT IONS.

Report of the General Comm ittee of

Public Instruction , dated the soth Octo

ber last ; with the Minute of the Righ t

Hon'

ble the Governq‘r-

MGeneral.

Dl st Vol. Progress o aritime iscoveryby Jame;

S

l

' C larke c

l N h

L leut. Ethersey .

Four 0 s. Trave s in ort ern Gresicby L ieut . -Col .W. M. Leake.

The Author.

Madras Journal of Literature and Sci

ence , from No. 1 to 28 .

Note of a March from B rimh am Ghat

on th e Nurbudda to Umurkun tuck, the

source of that river, by George Spilsbury,B eg

. Five Copies.

x tract Durraport Annuel fait A Is Societe (10 Geograph ic de Paris, pour Le

An n iie, 1839 (Collection Geographiqua dela B iblio theque Royals) .Notice Surlas Gallus de Lemmon , Par M. Jomard, Presiden t Geo

Presented by Government.

Madras Literary Society .

Forwarded from Bengal .

Geograph ical Society of Paris.

M. Jomard Notation Hypsometrique ou graphical Socie ty of Paris,Noovelle Manier De Noter les Altitudes, Member of the French In

par M. Jomard, Membre del Institut. stitution .

At the Quarterly Meeting of this Society held in the Society’

s Room,

Town Hall, on Thursday the 5th August, 184 1.

13

Pu san —Colonel T . Dickinson, Vice-President, in the chair ; Rev.W. K.

Fletcher ; R. H. Kennedy, Esq . ; Dr J.B urnes,K .H. Captain John Fulljames

John Macleod . Esq . ; A. B . Orlebar , Esq . ; J. G . Malcolmson , Esq ., M.D .

J . J.Waterston, Esq ., Ball Gangadhar Shastree ; and J. F. Heddle,Esq ., Secre tary .

Minutes of the Anniversary Meeting held on the 6lb May, 1841, are

read and approved .

D r B . P. B ooks is elected Member of the Society—proposed byCaptain G . Fulljames ; seconded by the Secretary.

Papers were then laid before the Meeting.

Par an a—Report on the Soda Soil

of the B arramahal, by Captain J Presen ted by Governmen t.C ampbe ll,

C om parison of the Route of Isidorusat Charaa

, from Selevcia to Atro G. Masson, Esq.

batana,

LIBRARY DONAT IONS

MAP S . Survey of the Island of

Oorim ,comm on ly called Caran Major T . B . Jervis.

jah Island. B y L ieut Lendrum ,

Survey of Scinde , part of B eloochis

tan , and Afi'

ghan istan principally .

B y the Quarter-Mas ter G eneral’s

departmen t, and shewing the routes Lieutenan t Col. N Campbe ll, withm arch ed by the B ombay D ivision the vouchers of Governmen t.of the Army of the Indus, from the

m ou th of the Indus to and from

C abool, in the years 1838-89, 8: 40.

A View of the Evidence given before

a Select Committee of the House of

Commons on a petition from the

East India Company. 2 Copies.

Travels from S t Pe tersburgh in Rus

sia, to various parts of Asia, by J. M‘Adam , Esq .

John B ell. 2 vols .

Essay on the productive resources of

India, by J, F , Roy le, M .DGovernmen t.

Hakluyt’

s Voyages. 2 vols. ReverendW. K . Fletcher.

Government.

At a Quarterly Meeting of the Society, held in the Society’

s Room,

Town Hall, on Thursday the 1 l th November, 184 1.

PRESENT .—COI. T . D ickinson , Vice-presiden t, in th e Chair ; 0. Morehead,Esq .

, M . D . Major T . B . Jervis, F . R. S Rev.W. K . Fletcher ; G . Buist,Esq . ; and J. F, Heddle. Esq ., Secretary .

15

At the QuarterlyMeeting of this Society, held in the Society'

s Room,

Town Hall, on Thursday the 3d February, 1842

Pa t en t —Colonel T . Dickinson , Vice -President, in the Chair ; MajorW.S tirlin ; Dr C . Morehead ; Lieut . G Fulljames ; John Macleod, Esq . 5and J .

F . He dle, Esq . Secretary .

Minutes of the Quarterly Meeting held on the 11th November, 184 1,are read and approvbd .

The following gentlemen are elected members of the SocietyLieut. J. S . Grieve, I.N., proposed by Lieut. Moutrion, LN seconded by the

Secretary ; 11. B orradail,Esq . O.S ., proposed by Captain Fulljames. seconded

by the Secretary .

Proposed by the Presidents, and resolved unanimously

T hat the Society should take into its consideration in what manner

it can most appropriately mark its sense of the em inent services, in the

cause of geographical discovery, rendered by the en terprizing traveller

the late Sir A. Burnes, Knight, in order to enable the Society to tes

tify its respect for his memory .

Read a letter, dated Ankobar. 8 th October, 1841, from Assistant

Surgeon R. Kirk, attached to the Shoa m ission , relative to the in ter

esting proceed ings of that expedition , and giving a few brief observa

tion s on the state of Abyssinia, and its field to the botan ist and geo

logist

Read a letter from H. B orradaile, Esq ., dated Calcutta, 12th De

cember, 1841 requesting to be informed whether or not it is allowable

for subscribers to the Society to compound for all past and future sub

scriptions, as recen tly proposed by Major T . B . Jervis.

Read a letter from the Hon . G .W. Anderson, Esq . G overnor, to the

address of Major Jervis, expressing the in terest he feels in the ad

vancement of the Geographical Society , and intimating his readiness to

afl'

ord the Society all the aid in his power.

Paper was then laid before the meeting.

Par na .—Outline of the Somauli

Language with Vocabulary . ByL ieut. C . P. Rigby, l6 th Regt .

Presen ted by the Secretary .

N . I.

LIBRARY DONATIONS.

“00 Copies of the Contributions tothe Geography and S tatistics of Jervis .

theWestern Coast of India.

Astronom ical Society’

s Proceedings,con tain ing Major Jervis's Noticeof Colonel Evn ert

'

s Labours.

Register of Maps of the B engal,Madras, and Bombay Presidencies,in 2 vols.

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35

Those who landcd were, Captain 811108 , Lieutenant Hardy, and myself ; the syrang, captain

’s servant, with the pilots and persons from

the Sooltan’

s boat. Under the direction of these last, we walked from

the landing-place, surrounded by a crowd of armed savages, to a large

unshapely heap of mud, called the Palace of Sooltan Hammed, here

we met with our interpreter Mallum Ali. Having entered it through a

wicket in a strong door or gate, we were conducted across a square

court to a kind of open porch, used, it seems, as a place of public au

dicace ; in it were placed several low beds or couches with broken

rattan bottoms, on one of which we were desired to sit down they were

excessively dirty , and looked as if they had been stolen from some

native brother in India ; immediately to the left of the one in which

we were seated stood the Sooltan’

s seat or throne, being nothing more

than a new wooden arm-chair, with a high back and some rude carvingon it on the ground before, a round piece of wood or s tone, w ith a

hole in the middle, supplied the place of a foot-stool and around stood

a crowd of naked men and boys, for all ranks and descriptions have, it

seems, here free access to the presence of their Sovereign . The Sool

tan immediately en tered , and holding out his hand to us severally , took

ours, and put the back of it to his mouth, a ceremony the natives

reversed they all kissed the back of his hand. He is in person of a

middle stature, rather corpulent, and has an agreeable countenance ;

I imagined h is age to be about 35. He was dressed in a long dirty

yellowish-coloured gown, with a greasy turban on h is head, and filthyloose slippers on his feet, and in the left hand carried a sabre, the

handle of which was of black wood ornamented with gold and silver .

B eing seated, a tin goblet of sugar and water, the favourite beverage

of the country, was handed to each, which having drunk, the presen ts,with the letters from Government, were delivered by Captain Smee;

who complimented the Sooltan in the name of Mr D uncan and the

Honourable Company . He returned the compliments, bu t did not at

that time open the letters. A conversation afterwards ensued, in which

the objects of the voyage were stated, w ith a request for all the ia

formation in his power respecting them, but he seemed dissatisfied with

the explanation of our views, which he probably suspected concealed

designs of a dangerous nature, and appeared to stand very much on

the reserve. To our interrogations about the unfortunate Mr Park

and his associates, he only answered, How can I speak of the man P

I never saw him.

”Regarding the rivers on the coast, he confessed

Rogues River to be of immense extent, that its sources were far beyond

his knowledge, commonly believed to be in Europe, or as he expressed

it,“in our coun try that a great number of slaves were brought

down it to B rova but as to the towns, state of the country , or people

which dwell on its banks, he said he was totally ignorant. At my sug

gestion, it was proposed to in troduce the vaccine or inoculation at

Patta, with the means for which I was ready provided. The Sooltan

36

salted if that was possible, for allowing i might be able to do such a

thing, how could it be propagated so as to be of advan tage ? It was

replied, that a sufficient number of persons might be easily instruc ted

for the purpose ; but he seemed to doubt the truth of this assert ion,and treated the proposal with contemptuous neglect. Then rising, he

abruptly withdrew. T hinking the audience at an end, we were about

to retire, but it was intimated that we must walk in to another apart

ment, whither they conducted us, the way to it leading through the

opposite side of the court, and up a narrow mud staircase th is room

was better furnished,n but equally filthy, and more gloomy than the

former. The Sooltan soon followed us, and it presently appeared, if

we did not pay a very high price for liberty to take leave of His Highc

n ess , we must consent to remain fo r a time much exceeding either our

pleasure or convenience ; seating himself for a moment, and whisper

ing to some of his attendants, he rose, and with them retired into an

inner room, where Captain Smee was called, and remained separated

from us during the res t of the conference, which lasted till near sunse t.

About 4 r .u ., they all came out for a few minutes ; and at this momen t

a Lascar arrived from the boat, and told us the people had been

fired upon , but that on shewing their arms they desisted . This out

rage (we had a flag of truce fiy ing all the time) was taken no notice of.

The Sooltan laid it to the charge of his cousin’

s‘party . His High

ness. however, seemed perfectly ashamed of h is own treatmen t of us,

which was such as he did not care to make public, for he carried Captain Smee a second time into the private apartment, for the purpose.as we afterwards understood, of extorting a promise of money and

o ther articles from him . Our feelings were at this moment very un

comfortable . It was easy to see some mischief was in hand, for the

piece where we sat, and the passages abou t it, were fi led with armedmen those who before had none, going out and return ing with spears,bows, and arrows, 8m . Near sunset, Captain Smee again came out,and without sitting down said he was going to the beach ; we followed,and though environed by an armed multitude, reached it without molestatiion, find ing the boat, by the rise of the tide, had got close in, weembarked w ith great satisfaction .When Captain S ince was firs t calledout, the Sooltan required that he shou ld supply them with 15muskets ,lo pistols, l l barrels of gunpowder, several parcels of fiints. Ste. thisdemand was remo nstrated against, on the ground that these articlesbelonged to the Company his masters, and it

’

he parted with them hecould not defend himself again st his enemies,— two of whose vessels,they themselves had acknowledged, were at Zanzibar and Quailemane ;but, again, reflecting he was ent irely in their power, promised to com a

His cousin m at this moment held in confinemen t in a dungeon close tothe residence of th is cruel and um ping reiaticn. tor it seems Ben Bancosi hadthe wior claim to tho Sultanship.

38

the wooly covering of the head un iversally prevails ; the colour of

their skins varies from a reddish brown or tawny hue , like the Arabs ,to nearly a deep black ; in the

ir dispositions they are cunning and

treacherous to the last degree.

On the 9th, the same boat we met yesterday, and which returned

with us to town, arrived at the ships with presen ts from the Sooltan ,

consisting of 60 cocoa nuts, 3 white bullocks, and 3 goats, in charge of

one of his principal men , who came to receive the articles, the promise

of wh ich had been extorted during the interview at Patta. To give

no cause for quarrel, the Sooltan 8 presen t was accepted, but the boat

was sen t back with an answer, that un til Mallum Ali should be sen t on

board not a single article would be parted with . The pilo ts perceivingthe boats go away without them , became very outrageous and at

tempted to leap overboard, but finding themselves too well guarded,

they desisted, and began to say (in direct con tradiction to what theyformerly asserted, and on the strength of which we had allowed ourselves

to be brough t to the presen t anchorage) that there was not water enoughfor the ships to get through the channel of the S .W., as the w ind

rendered it impossible to return the way we came in, and the above

passage the only one by wh ich we could keep clear of the shoals which

surrounded us,—we determined to detain the pilots till the ships were

out of danger.

Next day , the l oth , the boat returned with Mallum Ali, though the

prom ise given to the Sooltan was compulsory, and did not, strictlyspeaking, deserve the least regard yet out of respect to the word and

honour of an Englisman, as well as for the sake of any oi'

our countrymen who m ight hereafter fall in to their hands, and on whom theym ight be tempted to retaliate their disappoin tmen t, it was resolved

to adhere to our extorted engagements as far as consisten t with the

safety of the sh ips. Therefore, 5 muskets. 2 pistols, 2 barrels of gun

powder, 2 bundles of musket ball cartridges, and 160 flints, being all

we could Spare, were delivered, w ith wh ich they departed very well

satisfied, and thus term inated this troublesome business.

From the l oth to the 12th we were occupied in getting through the

south-west channel, which proved a very tedious j ob. The pilots were

either too ignoran t or too unw illing to be of much service, and it he

came necessary to keep our boats out sounding in order to discover

the passage and direct the ships how to steer : we found it very nar

row, and in terrupted in two places by bars, on which at high water,found not m ore than one quarter less three fathom s . From the an

chorage the channel ran 7}W. about half a m ile and then

turned to the southward . In lead i ng out on the l l th , the Sy lp h

grounded , bu t soon got off again ; on the even ing of the 12th, havmg

got clear of the sands and rocks , d ism issed the pilots, and stood ou t to

sea du ri ng the n ight. S i nce anchoring at Patta, the w eather (with theexception of the morn ing of the 8 th, when a few drops of rain fell) was

39

fair, with pleasant easterly winds and heavy dews at n ight. The titer

m ometer generally at 82 deg. The town, as near as we could ascer ‘

min (for we had no opportun ity of de term ining it exac tly) is in lat.2 deg. 8 min . S ., and long. by chronome ter. 4 1 deg. I3 min . B ; va

r iation l 4 deg.W.t3th,Wednesday—No land in sight during the day , and light

easterly winds and calms prevailed, with clear weather. Lat. at noon,2 deg. 48 min . 8 .

14th, Thursdays—The course N . E. by E. Saw land bearingW. N .W., on which several large fires were burn ing, and at su nset

were abreast of some small rocky islands, which seemed a con tinua

tion of the chain to the northward of Patta.Wind variable. Lat.

2 deg . 48 min. 8.

15th, Friday.— ln lat. 2 deg. 4 1 m in . variation per azimuth,13 deg. 29 min .W. Fine weather, with light variable winds.

l 6th , Saturday s—lo course of the forenoon yesterday ,We passed a

rod of rocks, part of which rose considerably above the surface of the

water, and had a very remarkable appearance . The reef runs from

the north-east poin t of Formosa Bay,‘

stretching several miles oil’

d tore in a south-easterly direction ; the situation I supposed to be in

8 . lat. 2 deg. 45min ., for having to-day at noon observed in 2 deg.

68 min ., it was then 15 or 16 miles astern of us. At noon the south

wu t point of the Formosa bay, bearing S.W. byW., observed two

boats under the land : stood in with a view to speak them, and fired

two guns, which they took no no tice of, but crowding all sail, made

round the point into the bay. Crossing the mouth of Formosa bay ,at 5 Pair. saw another reef with breakers on it.We were at this time

about four miles from shore, in 24 fathoms sand, and the breakers

could not, l think, he more than one and a half, or, at furthest, two

m ihes from the ship. At five 5 h. 20m in . hove- to in 13 fathoms ,when the water sudden ly shoaled to six, five, and one-quarter less four

fathoms, rocks. O n shoaling, a mosque or round tower was observed

on a point or projecting part of the shore, bearingW. N., distant

eight or nine miles . Hauled our w ind and stood out for the n ight, in .

tend ing to retum next morni ng to determine, as accurately as possible,th e m at situat ion of this dangerous shoal. To-day there were light

variable winds. with tine clear weather ; the thermometer at 80 deg.

Lat. at noon , 2 deg. 58 m in. 8 . long. 40deg. 8 m in . E.

i 7th. Sunday.—At noon observed in lat. 3 deg. 8 min . the

mosque seen on shore within the breakers yesterday bearing due west.1'

Spoke a country boat, which informed us the tower or mosque was

bay , on the S .W. side. stood the ancient city of Melinda. thesite of which . in crossing the mouth of the bay, we were at too great a du taneofrom to see .

These must, therefore, have been the rocks (men tioned by Captain B iasesin Memoir) on which the Leopard, Admiral B lankett

‘

s flag-ah ip, 8m

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42

cept one, covered with wood, and help to form the harbour. They run

in a semi-circle, the concave side of which is towards Zanzibar, and

are connected together by reefs of rocks, which, in blowing weather,

break the swell, and render the port remarkably smooth and safe ; the

entrances into it are from the n orth and south ; both lead between the

small is les at the extremity of the sem icircle and the western shore of

Zanzibar ; the northern entrance, wh ich leads within the small woodyisle called Frenchman

’

s island,is very narrow and crooked, in consequence

of sand-banks, which run out from opposite shores, crossing each o ther.

On the shallowest part (which will be known by bringing the three

northern woody isles in one) the depth is not m ore than from three or

four fathom s ; the southern passes between a sandy isle,‘and the poin t

on which the town of Zanzibar stands, is broader than the other, and

has seven or eight fathoms water in it. The depth w ithin the harbour

is from seven to n ine fathoms, with a tolerable good bottom : the rise

of water during spring is near three fathom s. Immediately adjoin ingthe north -end of the town is an extensive creek or inlet which runs

a little way in, and turns up behind the town . Here vessels of all de

scriptions are hauled up in security during the virulence o f the south

west monsoon with a very little care it m ight be con verted in to an ex

cellen t dock, and deepened so as to adm it with ease sh ips of at least 5

or 600 tons . T he appearance of the island is extremely deligh tful it

is in general low, especially at the extrem ities, where it is th ickly co

vered with a jungle and brushwood but towards the middle, the land

rises in to h i lls and gen tle em inences, which are cultivated and clothed

with cocoa-nut trees. B esides the period tcal rain s, which fall here from

the mon th of March till September, the island itse lf is well watered

w ith a varie ty of springs, which un ite and form a n umber of deligh tful

stream s that flow during the dry season , and keep up that appearance

of fert ili ty and beau ty which it exhibits throughou t the who le year.

N o ne of these stream s are large ; that at w in ch the sh ips water, is si

tuated about one and a half nn les n orth of the town,whe re it flows in

to the sea at the n orth en tran ce of the harbour. T he water when first

taken up is good, but from the quan tity of putrid vege table matter in

suspen s ion, upo n keeping a short t im e it becomes very offensive bo th

in tas te and sme ll in a few weeks, however, it regain s its original sweet

ness . Ships ough t always to fill at low water, e lse they w ill have it

brackish . The climate of Zanzibar is s im ilar to that of Ind ia, on lythe mon ~oon , or rai ny seaso n . se ts m soon er. From September to

March the season is d ry and u arm ; the res t of the mon ths are rainyand tem pestuous . D ut tng our stay the thermomete r ranged from 802}to 871} degrees at n oon and from the date of our arrival to the 5th of

March, the weather as dry, cloudy, and warm , w ith northerly w inds.

From that i t"our departure it was m general cloudy w ith frequen t vio

Th e only one of this group of islands that has no wood on it.

44

instance of which happened while we were there. One of the lmaum'

s

ships arrived from Muscat with a demand for crowns, to assist

h im in opposing theWahabees, though I sincerely believe it was to

defray the repairs of the very sh ip which brought the demand, and

which was going to B engal for that purpose. As this sum was n o t in

the Hakim'

s possession , he immediately imposed a kind of land tax,so much to be raised in each d istrict, the chief man of which was

ordered to collec t it and be answerable for its paymen t at a stated time ,in default of which he was to be imprisoned . The other source from

whence the revenue proceed s is a custom of 5per cen t. allowed by the

Imaum to be gathered on all imports. This, however. is often veryunjustly collected, and few, I believe, except Arabs, ever pay so little

on their goods as the lawful sum. The Imaum main tains no kind of

militar

y force. The Hakim's slaves, amounting to 400or 500 men , are

armed and serve as soldiers under the above three Arab officers . There

are n o imports or exports, though we were told the Fre nch pay volun

tarily a premium of 10dollars each for the slaves they take. to secure

the good w ill of the Governor ; they are, in consequence, great favor

ites, and from this circumstance we may easily account for his suhac

quent coolness to us, which was not lessened by his hearing of the

surrender of the Isle of France wh ile we were there, and on which oc

cas ion bo th vesse ls fired a royal salute. The principal articles of ex

port are slaves and ivory also a small quan tity of drugs.‘ The num

ber of slaves an nually sent to Muscat, India, and the Isle of France.&c. , are estimated at not less than from 6 to The quantity ofivory is also very great, and is sen t principally to Surat. Of imports,the following are the chiefz—Surat cloths, Dungaree cloth from Cutch,iron, sugar, rice from Bombay, rice from Pemba, dates from the

G ulf of Persia ; slaves, ivory, and drugs, from Magadosho, B rava,Ganu, Mombese, and other towns along the African coast.f Thenumber of trading vessels, including those from Semap and Cutch ,amounted, at the time we left the island, to upwards of 50. I could

not procure accurate information as to the quantity of the above ar

ticles annually imported , but from the amoun t of the custom, the value

cannot be under We were told that the demand for Euro

pean goods on the continent was very great, and if the natives had anyreturns to make besides ivory and slaves , I have little doubt but wemight here find an extensive and lucrative rent for numerous articles

of our manufacture.

Coooa nuts (of which the island produces vast quantities) are also exportedtoMalabar, and also was and tor toise she ll .

1‘ Dried salted shark and other fish , and ghee . are brough t in co nsid erable

quan tities from Socotra, likewise Chinaware, earthen jars, and toys and ornameats from Surat .

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50

duce i t among them. I, therefore, preposed it to the Hakim at our

first interview, confident that i t wou ld be eagerly solicit by thosewho had children and young slaves belonging to them in this, however, I was much disappoin ted, for though the ir interest, and the safetyof their oti

'

spring, were at stake, I had the mortification to find thei rprejud ices stronger than the sen se of ei ther, and i t was w i th the utmostdifliculty I could procure leave to try i t on two ch i ldren . They we reinoculated twice over wi thou t being able to produce the disease, but I

had no great reason to regret my fai lure, for I afterwards heard tha tthe French, who, on purchasing young slaves, always vaccinate them,

had often in troduced i t among the inhabitants, but that i t had beenfound imposs ible to propagate i t. Is not th is aston ishing tha t a peoplewi th whom self- interest is a stronger passion than any other, shouldbe under the influence of moti ves which cause them to act in direc topposi tion to i t. One person (he who al lowed me to inoculate hischi ldren ) acknowledged he himse lf had lost no less than 30 youngslaves during the late prevalence of the d isease. Perhaps the indifference they show at the proposal of a preven tati ve remedy arises froma want of fai th in i ts efficacy.We now began to th ink of setting out on our return along the coastto Mocha ; the wind had begun to set in s teady from the S.W., andour conso rt, the Sylph , which i t had been deemed advisable to convertin to a brig, be ing ready to return to Bombay, whither we had ordersto send her, we were about to depart, when a circum stance occurredwhich for some time delayed i t. The Surat merchan ts, who had oftencornplained of the Hakim

’s treatmen t, represen ted that he had demanded3500 crown s from them as their proportion of the tribute exacted bythe Imaum of Muscat ; and , in fai lure of paymen t, had threatenedthem w i th imprisonmen t. As these people were trading under theEnglish flag, and were, in fact, B ri tish subjects, Captain Smee did not

con ceive that a foreign prince had any right to tax them, especial ly asthey had al ready paid the customary port dues. Impressed wi th thesesen timents, he made a representation to the Hakim, who in com

quence wi thdrew h is claims, but privately threatened the merchan tsw i th a d ouble imposi tion after our departure —to preven t th i s, it wasdeterm ined to leave the Sy lp h to coun tenance them during their stay,and convoy them across to India at the breaking up of the rainy season . Whi le the Hakim, who had been extremely in imical to us duringour stay, and always anxious for us to be gone, informed us he was

coming to re turn our v isi t ; th is he had on various pretences heretofore delayed ; however on Sunday, the 7th April, he came on board,when both ships dressed and saluted him, and he was, notwithstand

ing his ill behav iour, treated wi th the greates t atten tion .

On Tuesday 9th, we weighed and sai led from Zanzibar, and in theeven ing came to anchor under the small is land of Tombat, at the

north end of the island. On the morning of th is day, Henry Gold ing,

S i‘

s etout healthy seaman , was found dead between decks ; he had no

known complain t at the time, and his death was supposed to have beencaused by suffocation , as i t was understood he wen t to sleep verym uch in toxicated . Having in terred him on Frenchman’s Island, thewatering boat returned on board, and reported they had found the bodyof a young female recently murdered, ly ing among the bushes at thefresh-water stream as they had no means of in teresting the neighboursin her fate, they buried her immediate ly. On Wednesday the loth,we got under weigh, and passing between Pemba and the main land,where there is a fine broad channel. we, wi thout any thing furtherremarkable occurring, anchored in Mocha Roads on the 26th April,18 11.

SPECIMENS OF DIFFERENT LANGUAGES USED ON THE

EAST COAST OF AFRICA.

Souallie . Soomallis . Calla.

Dool filah Lut'

tee, Medgur

Lon,es,us,WsnseBoo,jooA

‘jswa

L i in,nse

B os,u so

G sllae

Alema

G nom ,bs iN,damar

Fs,hal,lieCun ,doro

Mow“. 000°

doro An ,nok, Ew es

Gases

The Skin orHide

Csboo. Yalais

P lan tains

Min e,gar

Hoo,woo,looA Compass

53

NUMEBALS .

Galla.

PERSONALS .

English . Gallo

buysell

Tel l himSalutation on

mee ting a JamboorYambo Fa,heitah

Ma,hah ,dul,lah

B ur,ruthaB ur,snm,maMuggul

ArrabaesDoo,bee

Goo,rooAr,reed,neetrie,aMoor,makGur,rupHurke

A Man’ s B reast

AWoman's B reastThe Be l lyThe Bowols

HeartB lood

it?FootHeelToes Koo,wai

TIME.

Ssn ,no,to GammaMey,m Sha,ai,ko Bates,to.kaWash See,koo,sa,ba TodoWagean Gooya,tud,ba

Day Su ,15m ,moys Goosjoo,matokaWinter (Co ld) B arn oir

Summer (Warm) B a,a,rse

Mid-day M,chsnsh

Mid-night Oo,see,ko

Morn ing AssooboyesTo kil l Coo,pei,gah

To lose Po, tai,raTo steal Wee,feeTo cut Teen,dar

To fight Pee,gan,ah

To burn Fangonmota

To fear Oh,gah

To love PendahTo drink Koonwar

To eat Koo,li,ah

To get drunk Koo,lai,wah

To run Cusnda M’be,aTo leap Coo,ro,kar

To fly CoorokarTo swim Ko,gsi,lai,yaTo walk Ter,ra,tu,boTo wash Koo,na,wec

To die KufaKozeeka

Koofeega

Gsmar

SaofstaUlknrBur,ree,teoDokeeB a,theeHat,too

Go,iahHalloo,danslrGeweedamadalviLo DabtacLeejalattesDoo,ges

NiahdooDid,dik,seoD aih ,see

OntanlOntaniTleq akudduKaisseIn ,da,ga,daDoo ,reNukkaeOlokahee

Sur,hob

English .

To singTo be gladTo be sorryTo weepTo curseTo blessTo marryTo be w i th ch i ldTo be del iveredTo forge tTo rememberTo be sickTo hearTo smel lTo tasteTo converseTo standTo come

To goTo circumcise'I'

o be l ieveTo lieTo swearDh mrF i r

U plDown

() pen

Shut

80name.

Koo TaysarFoor,a,har

Koo.cho,karKoo,be,a

Ar,ro,seMeem ,ba

Koo,zarKoo,za,ha.hoKoom ,boo ,kaHow,ai,zee

Selkia

Koo,noo,za

Koo,on,danMoo .zoh

Cum ,do,caN

’

joeCoo,n in,daCoo ,ta Ee,reeSad,dee,kaOo,on ,gowToo,ca,nah

Car,ri,booB aotieLoo

Cbeo,neeFoon ,goo,ahPoon

,gan

M’ba| ,lee

Yoo,mar

M’do,go

M'coo,ba

Fai,da,tai,laiTh

’

saif

Kee,zarM’

shamaChie,aseBa,leeKee,ka,lieTaam

Tai laiCs,do,go

56

Moo,too,mai,ma

See,moo.ar,maGoo,tooHow

,ai,zee

l,zee ,weeWs,zee,moo

Soomallic. Cal la.

Eentoorna

Gun ,a,mee,ds,jeeDad ,da,weeE,m ,bow,s

Har,ruf,uWa,ag,n s ,ai,becsIm .foo,nah

Dai,tieWul la, laiHil

,lal,cba,maiDoo

,koo,wai

Dai,gai,fa,doo

Een ,foo,nan

Da,deem ,sa

Gah,fud,daKs

,hec

Ko,te

B eneethaimiSee,lah,maDoo

,gar

DahrahHur

,ruf,sel

Ta,hee

Ar,lsh

De,eoh

Fa,gob

B ah .nee

Ee,dee

Im,fa,ga,tee

Run,dar

Ga,wa

,wa

Goo,dah

Door,rai

,sahDai,jahDookunGoo ,jahFa,jaFa joHad,dai,dahMoe,ah,wah

Goo,dah

D ec.,ko

Mee,dah ,gah

Rah,mahGe,rai,ja,wahIn

,doo,coo,wall

Js,joo.ko,wsh

56

Souallie. C alla.

Moo,n i.oon ,gai

N’

K a,foo

Moist Pa,na Ma,njes

MotoBar,ri,Ra,an ,

‘

Mo,wee,tee

Gno,woo,zee Gur,ra,cheeWai,hoo,pai Ha,theeWai,hoo,sce Gar,rs,che

Rse,oo ,ne O

,ku l,la

Ma,o,on,go Do ,n ie

Pei ,tai Goo,waiKay,s,dooChoo,ah Kee,tab,neeMoo

,au,zeo

Pas,to,lar

B un ,doo,kill

Moo,zen ,gar

Jes,ah,zeoSa,arRoem ,baiK ee ,ho O

,ah,wee

Cath ,hs

gr in g oi an

: an

Mey,zarg

Kee,teePar

,karGroo,wai

Koo Koo

Navzi

GeeheeHa

,coo,nahGood, well Ghem ,ah

[Norm—It is to be feared that many inaccuracies wil l b e found in the above,om ag to the indistinctness of the MS ., and the impossibil ity of procuring a

person qualified in the languages to revise the proof-sheets.

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58

appoin ted . I have been informed t hat i t is a very smal l vi l lage, lessthan Magadosha or Brava ; that i t has l i ttle or no trade . I arri ved off

the por t of Brave in lat itude l deg. 10m in. N., under the same impediments—a high wind and sea, and strong curren ts, but expected tofind she l ter from the p lan I had of i ts harbour ; however. in stand ingclose in for the purpose of anchoring, I was d isappointed to find i timpossible to bring the vessels up , w i thout imm inent risk of partingand being dri ven on shore, whi ch compe lled me to haul off. I thenl ooked for the ri ver men tioned in my ins truct ions, whose supposedsituati on was to be found in 5min . N. lat., but I could find no en trancewhatever in that parallel . The wind moderating on the line, I anchoredthe vessels on the eve of the 8d February, with a v iew of explo ringt he ri ver cal led Dos Fuegos, and rendered into English by the lateCap tain B isse t, Rogues’ Ri ver." During the n igh t the Sylph partedher cable, and was driven past th is entrance, whose si tuation I couldon ly geographical ly ascertain . The town of John and the bar wered i stinctly seen in passing from hence to Pat te . The coas t i s fortified bya chain of islands

,mostly connected by reefs . Our transactions and en

quiries at the latter port were checked by the unfriendly disposition of

the natives . After clearing Patte, we proceeded southward along thecoach—ascertaining i t. also the two poin ts of Famosa Bay, the Leo

pard's Shoa l, and the Mosque near i t, wi th Quilifi

‘

e River,the town and

harbou r ofMombasa, the islands of Pemba (or Ge ddree, according to theArabs ), and Zungbanr, and the site of the coast between these places .My study has been to cul tivate the friendshi p of all ranks, wi th a

view of gain ing information on the points Governmen t have instructedme, and the result of my labours amounts to the fol lowing, the accuracy of which, as far as I can judge, there is no reason to doubt. Thefate of our countrymen Park, Ho inemann, and the i r compan ions, wasmy first and most anxious enquiry, both at Pat te and th is place, but Ihave not succeeded in meeting wi th any person who has the least knowledge of them, and there i s every reason to suppose the ir fate is entirely unknown on this coast.The town of Magadosha

‘ is not very considerable, i t may con tain150 or 200 houses, and from i ts mosques is very conspicuous fromseaward i t has not any ri ver near i t, and has but l i ttle trade, probablyon coconut of the badness of i ts port, which only affords she l ter forboats wi th in a reef fronting the town. The town ofMarcel is smal l,and has no safe anchorage off i t.Brave townt is composed of abou t 100 huts, and i s as defective in i ts

port as Magadosha. They are several ly governed by Soomaulee chiefs.The mouth of Rogues

’

Ri ver, cal led Govind by the Soomaulees, . l oob(G ibb) by the Arabs, and Foontbo by the Soowilies, in lat. 00 deg.

l3 min . south , i s a large extensi ve ri ver, but on accoun t of i ts shal lowbar, boats can only enter i t at high water : i t has scarcely any trade

No revenue col lected by the Imaum. 1' ibid .

3 Camels numerous , at about 5 dol lars each .

59

but such as is carried on by a few small country boats, the natives onits banks being th ieves in im ical to all strangers. The next principalri ver called Oazee, situated one day ’s journey south of the Is les ofPatte and Lamoo, i s also extensi ve, without trade. Quilifi

'

e, the next in

lati tude 3 deg. 26 min . south, i s a large and deep fresh water stream ,

w i th few inhabi tan ts, and no trade. Foongaruy Ri ver, ofi‘

the N.E.

end of Zungbaur Islan d, is next ; it is in about latitude 5deg. 45min .

south . Leefsege i s another large river, opposi teMoonfia Island ; andthere is also a considerable stream off the port of Qui loa or Kee lwa.

Along thi s extent of coast are many m inor streams, but not one seemsto possess advantages as places of mercan t i le resort, or the Arabswould no doubt ere th is have benefited by any trade they held out.The tides flow up the larger streams, one day

’s journey from thei rmouths, and i t is confiden tly reported they all take the ir rise amongthe moun tains in Abyssin ia .

Five or six coss, or about one day’s journey, at the back of the

towns of Magadosha, Marca, and B rava, is situated a small streamcalled the Doho ; i t does not join the G o vind, being lost among somehills before it reaches so far south . It appears to me to be (from the

accoun ts of the reporter, an in tel ligen t Soemaulee,) a branch of theZcebee, wh ich he cal ls the Dawaha, where the Doho joins. The

other and principal branch, he says, runs through Africa, and disem

bogues on the coast of Adel, near Burburreea.

The town of Gunnanee, on the right bank of the Govind, is aboutfour weeks journey from B rava ; its inhabi tan ts are Soomaulees, and i ti s composed of about three hundred huts. Surat cloths are taken toi t from the coast and exchanged for slaves, elephan ts

’ teeth, St e, Thereis another considerable vi llage called Leeween on the left of the Govind ,some d istance in land from that stream, inhabited by negroes of no professed rel igion . The Eesoomadoo Gal la, a race of cann ibals, theOombaney, Howwahsow, and Arrooseeya,Gal la tribes. in term ixed withSoomaulees, inhabi t the banks of the Dahawa, nearest the sea coastthey do not cul ti vate the ground, but subsist on meat, m ilk, and herbs.T he Guracha Gal la inhabi t the in terior, south of the l ine, and the BoranGalla north of the l ine ; their language is nearly simi lar ; they are re

presented to be cann ibals, and cruel thieves . T he inhabitants opposi teZungbaur areWuddooa negroes, but there is reason to bel ieve thispart of the coast was formerly inhabited by the Guracha Gal la, or, as

my instructions sty le them , the G iagas. The Soomaulees inhabit thesea coast from the equator north round Cape Guardefui to B urburreeaand Zeylah thei r possessions extend some distance in land. The Soo

wilees, on the con trary, are confined close to the sea coast, and inhabi tthat part of i t from the line sou th to about Cape Delgado, tribes ofCaffres occasional ly interven ing, particularly to the southward of

Zungbaur. The various tribes of negroes brough t to this port forsale are too numerous to describe ; the principal are the Mecam t izces,

60

whose country, at three months’ distance, abounds in elephan ts

' teeth ,and some gold is found there.The Muckwa, whose country is twomonths

’ journey distant from thesea coas t.

alga“Meeyabeo is fifty days j ourney ed the Gooroo—is fifteen days’

i d.The Dubai, ten days’ from the coast, are cannibals.

ndoo are situated one month’s journey from the sea-port

The Jiggua, four days'

, and the Moozumbarree. three days,’&c., &c.

The in terior i s represen ted as a most ferti le country, abounding incatt le and elephants.I have not been able to gather any satisfactory informati on regard

ing the ri ver Zambeesee, i ts cou rse, the town of Sofala, character ofi ts nati ves, or description of the surrounding coun try. The Christ ianstates of Yufat and Shoe, on the confines of Abyssin ia, wi th the largetowns of Tombuctoo, Cashna, and Hoossayee, said to be in the interiorof Africa, or Ethiopia, under the governmen t of Mooselman princes,together wi th the circumstances re lat i ve to the trienn ial voyages ofSolomon's flee t from the Ralen tie Gu lph to Ophir, are unknown to theinhabi tan ts of this place ; nor have I yet met w i th on e who could affordme any satisfactory accoun ts of the river Niger or Jol iba, or the Nileof Soudan , or South Afri ca.

I have made l ists of the Soowilee, Soomaulee, and (3t dialects,and shal l add such others as I may be able to col lect.The coast from Cape Guardefui to Magadosha is arid and steri le, not

a but or boat was to be seen, al though the sea-shore abounds with fish .

From the latter place the land improves, and on the l ine i t becomescompletely woody, and so con ti nues far to the southward .

The trade of th is coast is chiefly in the hands of the Arabs fromMuscat, Maculla, &c., and a few adventurers from Cutch and the

coas t of Scinde. T he principal imports at Zanzibar are Surat cloths,to the amount of about twel ve lacs of rupees annually, besides beads,cotton, sugar, ghee, fish, dates. and grain, and about two hundredcandies of i ron -bar, which is partly distributed for use alongthe coast. English woollens are in no demand, consequen tlynot imported . The exports are slaves, elephan ts' teeth, raw dam

mer, rhinoceros’ hides and horns, cowries, was , turt le-shel ls, coir,

cocoanuts, 8m. The duties col lected here on merchandise are said toamoun t to about one and a half lakbs of dollars annual ly but as im

position and extort ion are occasional ly resorted to, they may be cons iderably more . The Imaum of Muscat recei ves from hence a clearsum of dol lars, and yearly makes an addi t ional levy on variouspretexts . The follow ing is a l is t of trad ing vesse ls at Zungbaur at theend of March 18“—Two ships, two snows , three ketches, twen tyone dows, fifteen buglas, four dingeys, ten smal l boats of sizes, besides

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62

pursuing its rapid course to the southward, forms the southern l imit ofZingero, wh ich pro vince 1s v isible

from the h igh land 1n Banren.

The Gochol is, in all probabi li ty, the Bargamo” or

water ” from beyond which the Gal la describe their fort ers tocome. Having been probably dri ven from the vast un explored in teriorby the great cen trifugal force, yet unexplained, they poured from the

south into the coun try vacated alter the defeat of the invader G ragne ,by Don Christopher de Gama. Throughout the region includedbetween the Nile, the Hawash and the Gochol, which may probablybe termed the Galla coun try, no other language is spoken ; whereasto the sou th of the ri ver last named. the new populatinn havingbecome gradually incorporated wi th the aboriginal possessors of the

soi l, have lost the ir own language.The moun tainous pen insula, formed by the junction of the 01110

wi th the Gochol, is 'terma i Cafi‘

a, an independent pagan coun try, overwhich presides Bales, the Queen of King Hollaloo, who died a few

years since. Beyond Gaffe l ies an extensive wi lderness , wh ich probably

persons, and are formed of the trunks of large trees lashed togetherwith strips of raw h ide, and surrounded by high gunwales of the sameconstruction ; the helm being a moveable spar, unaided by cars or

other propel ling power. The passage, accomplished by the curren t,often occupies an en tire day 1n fai r weathe r, whilst in foul it i s extended, as m ight be conjectured, to two and three, the rafts beingoften obliged to put back from stress of weather.Balee

'

1s represented to be a young woman of extraordinary energyand abil i ty, very hospitable to travel lers, who visi t her wi th bluecal ico, beads and trinkets in return for which she gives cloth andother produce of the country. On the demise of her husband she

assembled all the governors of the differen t provinces, and, havingcaused them to be put in irons, proclaimed herself Queen . Her on lyson, Gomarra, sti ll a youth, leads the army in to the field ; but sheoften goes in person , and always plans the expedi tion herself. Whenever she moves abroad, her subjects are bound to spread the way wi ththeir raimen ts and as well during the adm in i stration of justice,which she does from behind a screen wi th a smal l aper ture, as duringher meals, drums, fiddles, and flutes play incessan tly .

The principal towns of Cafl'

aarc,—Nyhn r, Moyey, Ziggahan, Boora,

63

and Mom . The provinces of Dumbaro,Wal lamo, Bouga,Wurretta,and T nfitce, are all tributary to the Queen, and pay chiefly in goldobtained from the lower coun tries. The Golda negroes, who go perfectly naked, are l ikewise tributary . T he whole country is extremelymountainous, and clothed wi th thick forest. The inhabitants reverenceFriday and Sunday, as do the Galla, and like them celebrate the festi valof St Michael by a great feast ; but the language, which i s commonalso to Gobo, Tufi

'

tee, and Dumbaro, i s qui te d istinct from that spokenby the Gal la.

The married men and women of Cafi‘

a live apart during the day and,al though residing under the same roof, never see each other until darkshould the husband require any thing, he durst not seek it in the in terior ofthe house, but u tters a pecul iar note, when the wife, wi thout exhibi tingherse lf, deposits what is wan ted on a neutral spot and retires. B othsexes have one public meal during the day, but they never intermix orare seen by each other. If the woman he acciden tal ly percei ved by herhusband during the day, he cries aloud, by the l ife of the Queenand, tak ing his erring spouse before the royal tribunal, complains thatshe has seen h im eat and smoke, whereupon she is sentenced to imprisonmen t for three years.The Goho occupy the extensi ve wi lderness beyond Cafi

‘

a, and

southwest thereof is a red nation, cal led Susa, who are at constan t warwi th them . Beyond these again are the Doko, a pigmy and perfectly wi ld race, not exceeding four feet in height, of a dark ol ivecomplexion , and in habi ts closely approximated to the beasts thatperish .

” My principal informan t, a nati ve of Enarea, one of a caravanof three hundred merchants from that province, after trafficking six

mon ths in Caffa, wen t on thence to the Doko, for the purpose of kidnapping slaves. From Cafi

‘

a he proceeded to Bouga, five days’ journey, of about ten m i les each ; thence to Tufftee, ten days

’ journey,crossing the Omo river by a rude wooden bridge sixty yards inlength . From T uii

'

tee to Kooloo seven days, and thence to Doko, oneday more. The whole road ascended through forests and moun tainsun inhabited, and swarming wi th wild beasts,—e lephan ts and buffaloesespecially.

The Doko country is clothed wi th a dense forest of bamboo, in thedepths whereof the people construct their rude wigwams of ben t canesand grass. They have no king, no laws, no arts, no arms ; possessnei ther flocks nor herds ; are not hun ters, and do not cul tivate thesoil : but subsist en tirely upon fru its, roots, m ice, serpen ts, reptiles,an ts, and honey ; both of which latter they lick from off thei r armsand hands. They catch serpen ts by whistling to them, and, havingtorn them piece-meal w i th their long nails, devour them raw, fire beingunknown in the coun try ; but, al though the forests abound wi th ele

phan ts, bufi'

aloes, l ions, and leopards, they have no means of destroyingthem. A large tree, called toko, is found amongst many other species,

64

attaining an extraordinary heigh t, the roots of which when scraped arered , and serve for food . The principal frui ts are the yebo and meytee,to obtain which the men and women , not excepting those of the latterwho are pregnant, ascend the trees like monkeys, and in their quarre lsand scrambles for the frui t frequently throw each other down from the

branches.B oth sexes go perfectly naked, and have thick pouting l ips, small

eyes, and flat noses. The hai r i s not woolly, and in the females reachesto the shoulders . The nai ls, never pared, grow both on the hands and

fee t, l ike eagles’ talons, and are employed in digging for an ts . Theyperforate the ears in infancy w i th a poin ted bamboo, so as to leavenothing but the external cartilage ; but nei ther ta too nor pierce thenose. The on ly ornamen t worn i s a necklace, composed of the spinalprocess of a serpent. The men have no beards. The hair does not

turn grey wi th age, nor do they become blind and sickness being unknown in the country, they die usual ly a natural dea th ,fal ling, li ke theautumnal leaves, when the number of thei r years is accompl ished .

The Doko have ne i ther idols, temples , nor sacred trees ; but theypossess a glimmering idea ofa Supreme Being, to whom, in misfortune,such as any of thei r relat i ves being slain, they pray, standing on thei rheads, wi th the ir feet resting against a tree Yere, if thou art, why

. dost thou suffer us to ba killedWe are on ly eating an ts, and ask

nether for food nor raimen t. Thou has t rai sed us up, why dost thoucast us down P"

Marriage being unknown, sexual intercourse is promiscuous . Afier

the birth of a chi ld the mother soon accustoms i t to an ts and reptiles,and abandons i t the momen t it is capable of sh ifting for i tself. Prolific,and breeding like wi ld beasts, the ir coun try afl

'

ords the very seat ofslavery. Although si tuate on one of the highes t culminating poin ts ofNorthern Equatorial Africa, i ts proxim i ty to the equator renders theclimate rather warm than cold . The seasons are ex tremely wet, therains commencing in May, and con tinuing wi thou t the sligh tes t in termiss ion un ti l February. No great ri vers, however, take their sourcein the country, which doubtless forms the separat ion from Nigritia.

The slave merchan ts of Enarea go in large bodies, and, holding s gaycloth before their persons, dance and sing in a peculiar manner, whenthe orant and defe nceless Doko, knowing, from sad experience, thatall w o attempt to escape by fligh t will be ruth lessly hunted down and

perhaps slain, tamely approach and suffer themselves to be taken the

cloth being cast over thei r head . They are mos t frequen tly found inh igh trees, and ent iced down by the offer of ants, reptiles, and sal t.One hundred merchan ts can thus kidnap a thousand Doko, and fromtheir ignorance of the coun tries beyond thei r own, the capti ves makeno attempt to escape. They are neverthe less tied up until accustomedto eat bread, to whi ch at first they display a great a version , as also toany food which has undergone a culinary process and long after thei r

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66

which is resorted to in close combat . The Baden Gal la are tributaryto Enarea, but those ofManchu are independent, and at constan t warwi th Cafl’s.L ittle sickness of any sort prevai l s in Enarea, and men dicants, theof Abyssinia, are unknown in the land . The houses of a c ircularm,resemble those of the Amhara, but are be tter constructed . The

wild vine flou ris hes and bears abundance of grapes ; and the gosso tree,wh ich attains a vast height, is covered during the season w i th del iciousb lackberries. The nat i ves fasten the tendrils of the vine around thetrunk, and thus ascend. Cofl

‘

e e grows wild in the woods to the heigh tof eigh t or ten feet, and bonds under the l oad of frui t. A large skinbag full is sold for an amolee I t flourishes spon taneously inCuffs also, and among all the surrounding tribes, though not in suchluxurian t abundance . The Dumbaro do not drink coffee, but in Ennrea i t is prepared as in Europe, and always presen ted to the strange r.There i s besides, a tree l ike the tea plan t, growing wi ld, and cal led thatwhich i s used by the people of Dumbaro, who both chew the leavesand drink an infusion of them in boi led mi lk .

Throughout Tufl’

tee and Dumbaro, horned cattle are abundan t, butin Cafl

'

a they are so scarce that the soi l is dugwi th the spade, ins tead ofba

'

ng ti lled. Wheat, maize, barley, and a coarse species of cale, cal led

goomun in Abyssinia, are widely cul ti vated , both in Cafl'

a and Enarea,between which coun tries them-h is a con siderable trade ; cloth and slavesbeing ob tained from the former in exchange for horned cattle, horses,mules, ci vet, copper, and the merchandize of Gondar. A good clothis purchased in Cafl’a for a piece of sal t, value 2§d. sterling. T he

people of Enarea employ myrrh in the i r rel igi ous ceremon ies, offeringburn t-sacrifices of this incense to thei r guard ian gen ius ; and th is gum,

together wi th frankincense, which is employed in funeral obsequies,and in the fum igation of houses, is procured from Zinge ro .

Civet is extens i ve ly used as a pe rfume the cats, of a very large size,being caught in gins, and common ly kept in the houses of the inhabitan ts, where they are fed on meat and boi led maize, and dai ly placedin a ges before the fire, when the operation of remov ing the secretionis perfbeing yielded at each baking.S immon, whereof the capital is Sobicha, is a province annexed of

old to En ron, and in i ts forest rises the K ibbee, across which is a

wooden bridge. This ri ver is larger than the Hawash, and instead of

flowing east, as represen ted by the extant maps of Africa upon the nuthority of the Portuguese, takes i ts course north -westward, join ing firstthe Dambee , then the D irdeza, and ul timately becom ing tribu tary tothe Nile—o f this fact there is no doubt . The people of T immo and

Simmpn uniting, made las t year an inroad in to Zingero, which i s twodays

’

Journey below, and was constant ly at war wi th Enarea. Havingdethroned Arno the rul ing king—who was a very brave warrior—they

67

appointed a governor in his room ; since which period that ancient

principality has become a dependency of Abba Bokebo, and pays ann ual tribute in c loth , frankincense, and myrrh .

The capital of Zingero is Anger, situated on the summit of a very,high mountain ; and the whole coun try, which extends at a much lowerlevel, is rich and fertile. In the days of its independence the success ion to the throne was determined from amongst the nobles, who, onthe death of the monarch assembled in an Open field, when be over

whose head a bee or a vulture first chanced to fly was elected by theunanimous voice of the people. Although no portion of the population

professes the christianity of Ethiopia, and none of its fasts are observed,the rite of circumcision is universal, and Sunday is respected , togetherw ith the festivals of Kidane, Meherat, and St Michael. The mommaof male children are amputated, from a belief that no warrior can bebrave who possesses them . and that they should belong o nly to we

men . This statement is fully corroborated in the persons of the fewmale prisoners of war who reach this kingdom from Zingero 5 the

greater number committing suicide the very first opportunity, and beingtherefore considered hardly worth exporting.

The practice which obtains in Zingero of selling no male slave whohas not been taken in battle, is said to have originated from the follow.

ing circumstance one of the kings of old commanded a man of rank

to slaughter his w ife, her flesh having been prescribed by the sorcerers

as a cure for some malady wherewith his majes ty was afflicted. Returning to h is house for the purpose of executing the royal mandate,the noble found his fair spouse sleeping, and his hand refused to pee

petrate the murderous deed . Hereat the king, waxing wroth, orderedthe lady to slay her husband, which she did without hesitation , and

thus brought odium upon the whole sex, who have since been con

sidered fit only to become slaves and drudges.

Human sacrifices are frightfully common in Zingero when export

ing slaves from that country the merchants invariably throw a female

in to the lake Umo, in form of a tribute or propitiatory od‘

e ring to the

gen ius of the water. It is the duty of a large portion of the population

to bring their first-born to the king as a sacrifice to the Deity ; a cue

tom which tradition assigns to the advice of the sorcerers. In former

days it is said that the seasons were jumbled ; there was neither sum

mer nor winter ; and the fruits of the earth came not to maturity.

Having assembled the magicians, the king commanded them to show

how this state of things m ight be rectified, and the seasons be reduced

to order. They advised the cutting down of a certain great pillar of

iron which stood before the capital, the stock whereof remains to the

present time ; this had the effect desired, but in order to prevent a

relapse into the former chaos of confusion , the magi directed that the

pillar might annually be deluged in human blood, and a tribute was

therefore levied upon the first-born , who are immolated upon the spot.

68

Cambal is a smallmountainous province lying north-east cf Zingero

end south-east of B oarca, about six days’

journey from Aimellellee .With exception of a few Mahomedan merchants, this independent state

is inhabited so lely by Christians, who have fifteen churches, but are

without priests . The capital, Karemaa, is constructed on a high hil l

of the same name, and the king Degoyey, who is ext remely advanced

in years, is represen ted as a just and upright ruler, very hospitable to

travellers, and a great warrior. Be tween Aimellellee, which is a de

pendency of Sahela Selassie, and Cambst, the road passes through the

Adeen and Alaba Galla, the latter governed by a queen, whose notori

cus treachery renders the passage unsafe.Wallamo is an adjacen t christian province under an independent

sovereign . the exact position whereof is no t well ascertained ; though

it is known to be cast of Zingero , below Combat, and at war with bo th

these states. T he coun try is extremely moun tainous, and th e inhabi

tants, who are purchased for twenty pieces of salt, and occas ionallybrought by the slave dealers to Shoa, are of fair complex ion , and speak

a d istinct language. The capital isWafana, and the province is wa

tered by a considerable river styled Oema (Omo —.the surroundingtribes being the Roolloo,Woradda, Simmon , Assoc , and Jimma.

Eight days’

journey beyond Zingero is the coun try of Mager, the kingof which, Degaie, is represen ted to be a very powerful monarch. The

inhabitants of Koorchassi and Sidama are christians, surrounded on all

sides by heathens. In the former province rises a great lake styledWabi .The following are the animals raid to be most common in the coun

tries bordering on the river Gochob

The Boye—a beast about the size of an ass, with cloven hoofs and

hair like that of a red cow, a thin tail with a black tassel, and long

projecting cross teeth . It holds its head low, and never looks upwards ;is very fierce, and strikes always at the knees . It is found in the

forest in families of five or six, and of its hide the best shields are

manufactured .

TheWurseza—an herbivorous animal, the size of a calf, with four

horns turned backwards ; a black back and white belly . It is found

in the wilderness of Beyko, towards Gocderoo, a very feverish tract,abounding with wild beasts. To have slain aWurseza is esteemed a

great honour.—The Borofa, the size of a sheep, w ith large horn s. It

leaps and stops, and its speed is immense ; but the natives encircle it

on horseback—TheWorubba. as large as a don key, with horns

curved backwards, and very full brilliant eyes ; it is extremely timid.

The Adoc , of the catp tribe, as large as a lioness ; very lank and

active, of a cream colour, with s

ringed tail,

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70

try will be increased. which from its known fertility , and extent of its natural resources. ofi rs an enlarged field for commerce .

Hav ing, through the kindness of the Secretary of the Bombay Geo

graph ical Society, been favoured with the perusal of the papers of the

late Lieut. Smee , who was, in the year l fl l i , sent by Government to

explore the Eastern coas t of Africa, and he having also requested me

to extract such parts as, added to other sources , m igh t be deemed in

teres ting, I have copied such parts of Lieut. Smee's journal as at this

distance of time may be thought to pos seas srulficient interest, especiallyhis description of the Island of Zanzibar : l have also added such in

formation as I was able to obtain from Abyssinians and Somaulies at

Aden, and extracts fromWilford '

s learned essay on the Hindu knowledge of the countries bordering on the Nile, published in the 3d Vol.

of the Asiatic Researches.

The information obtained by Lieut. Smee is extremely meagre and

scanty ; the ill-feeling of the natives, promoted at that time by the

French slave-dealers who traded to the ports on the east coast of Africa,having prevented their examining many places and fulfilling the objectsof the expedition .

The only account that I have me t with of Europeans traversing any

part of the country in the neighbourhood of Cape Guardafui, is a nar

rative written by an officer of the ship Foxy Adam , which was wreckedthere when returning with troops from Egypt, in 1801, when most of

the crew perished from hunger, fatigue, and the attacks of the natives ;some of them, however, made their way from the south of Cape Orfoy,

passed Cape Guardafui, and reached in safety BundeaAllulah and Bundee Felix, where they were kindly treated, and remained nearly two

months . They found good wells on the road, and represen t the people

at Bundee Felix and Allulah as being kind and hospitable. Lieut.

Smee’

s journal commences with part of the Somauli coast to the northof Cape Guardafui, of which be remarks, that it is unifom desert

and barren, even on the aea o coast, where the abundance of fish would

render the means of subsistence easy to be obtained, not a boat or but

was to be seen throughout its whole exten t,—a strong proofof the coun

try near the coast be ing destitute of the material requisite for construct

ing these necessaries . The few inhabitan ts probably belong to the

Somauli tribes, whose limits of residence are said to extend to the Line .

”

Lieut. Smee does not appear to have been aware, that the scan ty pcpu

lation in the vicinity of this coast is no t caused so much by the ina

bility of the soil to furnish the means of subsistence, as from the bane»

ful efl'

ects of the ho t winds and hot season, which compel the inhabi

tan ts to retire during several months of the year to the high land in the

in terior. Being also of nomadic habits, the Somauli tribes have no

settled habitations, moving about with their flocks and herds, the principnl source of their wealth, for the conven ience of pasturage .

To the south of Cape Guardafui is that part of the coast known to

7 !

the English by the name of Azan or Ajan, and called by the ArabsBerr-d -SmnaP— the country of the Somaulis ; it is represen ted as

barren and desert, occupied principally by the Somaulis and the wan

dering tribes of Sownhilis —a degraded barbarous race—who are sup .

posed to be sprung from the Galla Negroes and Arabs, and. as their

implies, occupy only the sea-coast from Cape Guardafui near]

to the 2oth degree of south latitude ; the flat nose and thick lips m tgficiently mark their Negro origin , whilst their name being of Arabia

deri vation (Sowahil be ing the plural of Sahila shoes) would imply theirconnection with the Arabs ; the colour of their skin varies from a red

dish -brown or tawny hue, like that of the Arabs, to the desp black of theNegro ; they have short woo lly hair, and are looked upon by the sur

rou ndi nation s as a race of eleven— the term Abed"by the Arabs,

and idod"by the Somaulis, both words signifying slaves, being

commonly applied to them as a reproach. The country behind them

is inhabited by the various tribes of the Galla nation, who are scattered

over a portion of the African continent, and are doubtless the ah

orl race of central Africa ; they are found in separate independent

tribes over nearly the whole of Abyssin ia, and to the south of the Equa

tor on the eas tern side, also in terspersed over the wide tract inhabited

by the Affer or Adel the Somauli and Sowahili tribes waging unceas

ing war with all the surrounding nations, they have hitherto preserved

their independence, whilst their ferocity and cruelty cause them to be

equally dreaded by all ; they generally occupy the most inaccessible

parts of the country ; they have one common language, and although

surrounded by Mahommedan and Christian nations, they have, with

the exception of a few tribes in the south of Aby ssinia, preserved their

own pagan religion, which in many respects resembles that of the Callers.

They have an idea of a Supreme Being, called in their languageWith,to whom they pray for the accomplishment alike of their blessings and

their curses. Their principal occupations are agriculture and tend ingtheir cattle ; but those on the eastern coast trade with the Arabs and

Sowahilis, principally provid ing the ivory and produce of the inte rior.

Mr Krafp, who has resided several years in Abyssinia, gives a list of

more than fifty (lids-rent tribes o f Gallas, residing in and around the

kingdom of Shawn ; beyond the limits of Abyssin ia they also ex ist in

great numbers, and are neither so savage nor barbarous as those towards

the eastern coast. Mr Krafp, who has visited some of their tribes,

mentions that the Moo lofallada tribe of Gallas are governed by a Queen,a woman of great spirit, named Tshami, who, when repeated ly re

ques ted by k ing Sehela Selassi to visit him at his capital—Ankobar, replied, that if he wished to see her at his capital, it would become him

as a king to orerlay all the road from Moolafallada to his palace with

silk and velvet, as she would certainly have done had she invited h im

to visit ber country .

”The Anko Galina, also, to the north-west of

Shows , were governed by a queen. Part of the province of Amhara

72

also, comprising the coun try on the west of the river Tecasse or Tenesh

Abai, has, since the beginning of th is century, been subjec t to a Galla

family, that of Baa Guxu, of whom the tutor of the nominal king of

(3e or upper Abyssin ia, is said to be a decendan t. G reat numbers

of Gallus of various tribes are annual] sold as slaves, and in fact prin

cipally supply the slave markets of airthat part of Africa, maintain inga continual warfare with the Abyssiniang—the latter make an nual fo

m ys into their country. seizing all they can, to he sold as slaves, and

driving off their Books and herds : no wonder, then, that the unfor

tunaba Gallas re taliate on every opportun ity, and hence have acq uired

that character for feroc ity and cruelty which has been caused by the

barbarous conduct of the ir neighbours towards them . The females of

the Galla race of Abys sin ia are greatly prized in the markets of Egypt

and Arabia for their superior beau ty and fairness of skin, and theyalways realise it much higher price than slaves of any other tribes

exported from the African coast.

The Gallas on the eastern side are divided in to two great divisions,the Booran Galla, who inhabit the coun try to the north of the equator,

stretching from the eastern coast as far as the southern dis tricts of

Abyssin ia and the Carratche Galla, who occupy the coun try to the

sou th , beh ind the Sowahilli tribes . These two divisions, however, do

not differ much in person , language, or man ners.

Accord ing to their own traditions,the Gallas have always dwelt

on the shores of the Abay or N ile others relate that their ancestors came

from the south, and spread themselves over the countries to the

north and east, which they now inhabit.

The principal towns inhabited by the Sowahili tribes on the eastern

coast, are Magadosha or Mukdm ha, situated in latitude 2 deg. 3 min .

north, and longitude 45 deg. 42 min . east ; B rava, situated in latitude

l deg. 11 min. nw lb, longitude 44 deg. 9 min . east ; Jabs, situated at

the mouth of the river of that name ; and Patta, which is their

principal place, situated in lati tude 2 deg. 8 min . south,longitude 41deg. 13 min. east : variation 13 west accord ing to Smee .

The language of the Sowahilis bears no resemblance to that of the

Callas, Somaulis, or Danakil

SAffer o r Adel tribes. ) I have ap

pended specimens of the Sowah'

i, C alls , and Somauli languages on

eas tern coast. from a co llection of words made by Lieutenan t Smee ;sm imens of the Galla language towards Aby ss inia by Mr Krafpand also of the Somauli and Danka lli languages bordering the Gulf of

Aden and the Red Sea the Sowah ili language con tains many ArabicWords, afl‘

ordiug another proof of their origin being derived from that

Magodoaha or Mukdu shm—The town of Magadosha or Mukdeeshawas visited by li eu tenan t Smee : he describes it as being large andirregular, situated on an uneven sandy piece of ground close to theWho the land behind considerably lower than that on either side

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75

breeze, and a steep rocky shore, in many places rendering wharfs

unnecessary, and in others forming a shelving sandy strand, where

vessels can be hauled up and careened, favoured by a tide risingtwelve or fourteen feet.

The island is three miles long by two broad,capable, by very little

labour, of being rendered almost impregnable, nature having formed it

like a huge castle, encircled by a mote, over which at the back there

is but one dangerous ford, passable only during low water of springtides. The surrounding country is fertile and healthy, there being no

swamps nor stag nan t pools. The surrounding country is inhabited

by the Sowahilis, who cultivate the sugar cane : various grains, abun

dance of vegetables, and nearly every kind of fruit peculiar to tropical

climates, are procurable,— many of them growing spontaneously .

P atna—Lieutenan t Smee describes the town of Patta as standingon a low square island between two salt water creeks, surrounded

with woods chiefly of cocoa-nut trees : it is composed of wretched

mud buildings ; fresh water is very scarce. The sheep—which are

covered with hair instead of wool, and the goats, are excellent. The

Sowahili inhabitants are cunning and treacherous to the last degree.

It has very little trade it was formerly much resorted to for cowries,but the trade has now declined .

The island on which the town of Patta stands is bounded by h ills,and divided from the main land by a narrow sandy creek, through

which boats only can pass to the town , and thence to the Bay of

Patta. Little of its early history is known, except that it was a place

of much greater importance formerly than at present ; the ruins of a

castle built by the Portuguese are still visible .

P emba .—Pemba, called by the Arabs Al Khuthra,’or the Green

Island, is a low even island of considerable extent, being perhaps 16or 17 leagues in length . It is en tirely covered with wood, and is well

peopled. The shore is generally low and steep to the water’s edge,shelving in some small spots to a sandy beach, remarkably white, thatat a distance appear like walls or portions of buildings ; throughoutits whole exten t are numerous creeks or inlets, and towards the southwest end is a deep hay, with several small islands at its mouth. It

possesses a fine port, called Musal el Chak Chak, with a good and

secure anchorage. Owen describes it as being one of the most fertileislands in the world, luxuriant vegetation springing spontaneouslyfrom the soil, and abounding in excellent ship timber : it is situated

about eighteen miles from the main land, and twenty-five from Zanzibar. It yields rice of the finest quality, and carries on an extensivetrade with the ports on the coast and Zanzibar. No soundings canbe obtained between Pemba and the coast, nor between it and Zanzibar.

Lieutenant Smee thus describes the island of ZanzibarZanzibar .—Zanzibar, situated between the 6th and 7th degrees of

south latitude, and 39th and 4oth of east longitude, is an island of

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8 1

tance from the coast. These rivers united are probably the river

Gochol,”described, as above mentioned, by Captain Harris, from

native information ; the Q uilimauci or Southern branch disemboguingin 2 deg. 45min . south latitude. To the south of this is the river

Quilifl'

a or Killefy, situated in lat. 3 deg. 36 min . south, long. 39 deg.

26 m in . east. There formerly existed a large town at its mo nth ,which was attacked and destroyed by the Gallas. A short distance below

it is another river called by the natives Channey ; these probably units

at some distance from the coast, or are branches of the Quilimanci.Further to the south several large rivers are known to exist, the prin

cipal of which are the river Foon'

ganey or Pangany, situated between

Zanzibar an d Pemba ; the river Cuevo or Rovooma, situated in about

9 deg. 20min . south lat., which empties itself by two mon ths, and isone of the largest rivers on the east coast ; its course and source are

quite unknown to us : the Zambeze, which is supposed to surpass allthe other rivers in magnitude and extent - it discharges itselfby severalchannels wh ich bear different names, the principal of which are the

Luabo, or Suabo, and the Quilimanci. A short distance to the south of

these are the Zimbaoe or Boozy river, which d isembogues near theancient town of Sofala, which is supposed by many to be the Ophir of

scripture, and the river Sabia, which is said to be a branch of the great

river Zambeze ; it is a large river in the in terior, but narrow at its

mouth . The river Inhambane, to the south of thu s, is only navigable

for ships a few miles from its mouth .

The river Lindy discharges itself into a deep bay, in which the water

is very deep ; the en trance to the river is e ight m iles across, and the

depth of water inside considerable, but, like most African rivers, a bar

at the en trance, over wh ich the depth does not exceed three fathoms at

low water, presents great obstacles to navigation a few m iles from the

sea the river branches ofl’

into several small streams , forming a number

of low islands.

To the north of Cape Guardafui the whole country , as above stated,is inhabited by various tribes of Soumalies, as far as Zeila and the

neighbourhood of the river Hawash ; the tribes adjoin ing them on the

north are called Dankali (plural Danaltil) by the Arabs, Adel by the

Abyssinian —which name is also generally applied to them and the

country they inhabit, in European maps, but they call themselves Afl'

er.

T hey occupy all the coast up the Red Sea as far as Arkeeko ; theycon sist of various independen t tribes, who frequently have bloody bat

tles with each other : the principal tribe is the Ad-Alli, who occupythe southern part, and from them the name Adel is probably de

rived. The Shoho are the principal northern tribes ; they have allone

common language. Those, however, towards the north speak the

Tigre ; they are a savage wandering race, generally of a jet blackcolour, with sharp feature s, and wear a large bushy head of hair. Their

dress generally consists of a piece ofcoloured Surat cotton tied round

at

82

the waist. They are bigotted Mahommedans ; very treacherous and

cruel in disposition . Those who reside on the coast carry on a

considerable trade—their bouts v is iting Zanzibar, Berberrs . and the

ports on the eastern coast ; the chief town they occupy is Ho uses,situated some distance inland, near the river Hawash they are

also the principal slave-dealers on that coast. purchasing them from

the Abyssinians and selling them at Tajurrs. Zr ila. and Berberra. T he

women are chiefly employed in making mats of the leaves of the Doom

palm, which are used for covering their huts and o ther purposes, as

amongst the Somallie tribes. A great quantity of ivory and hippopota~

mus'teeth are procurable in several

'

parts of their country, especiallythe valley of the Hawash the lat ter article is now likely to become a

considerable article of trade, as they are more valuable for some pur

poses than elephan ts’ivory, being of a finer grain until late the na

tives never collected the tee th, killing the hippopotamus only for the

sake of the skin, of wh ich they make shields, &c.

Their language is much mixed with Amharic and Arabic. The pecu

liar an tipathy which they man ifest to the flesh of the common fowl, has

been con sidered strongly indicative of their Egyptian origin, and se

veral circumstances connected with the tract they occupy tend t0 °

a

belief that they are not the original inhabitan ts of that coast, or have

been much m ixed with Arab and other races. Their coun try yields

myrrh, senna, gum s rabic, and various other productio ns.

Harm an—The kingdom of Hurre r, situated some distance inland

between the Dankalli country and the southern boundary of Abys

sinia, from its importance and wealth, deserves some notice ; but as no

European has hitherto succeeded in visiting it, being deterred by the

savage and jealous character of the Sultan, very little respecting it is

known to us . Its capital, bearing the same name, is reported to be a

large flourishing place, defe nded by a square fort, and the river Sambiruns close to the town ; but its further course has not been traced.

Hum r is the seat .of an extensive trade in coffee, which is much supe

rior to that of Mocha, and always fetches a higher price- it dimers fromthat of Arabia in being of a large a n berry,—gums, myrrh, frankincense, senna, slaves, ive ry. &c. : it is visited by caravans from Abyssinia. Gurague, Berberra, Tajnrra, Zeila. and other places ; and is muchfrequented by Arab merchan ts from the Red Sea. The soil is reportedto be extremely fertile, and the climate mild ; but whilst governed bysuch a bigotted, barbarous chief, no commercial advantages can be ex

pected from it.

The language of Hurrur is stated to be difl’erent from any otherknown ; a fewmanuscripts written in it have been procured by a Frenchm m , but, although I made re

peated inquiries at Aden, I was unable

to procure any specimen of it.

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85

According to Philostorgius, the southern coast of Abyssinia was

peopled by a colony of Syro-Jews transported there by Alexander,and that in the fourth cen tury they spoke the Syrian language ; that

in the course of time they spread over the interior, and that on the

route the Jews took in going from the Holy Land to Abyssinia, were

many Jewish States, up to the middle of the sixth century .

The great degree of reverence in which the Abyssinians have always

held Jerusalem and the Holy Land, is a further proof of their Jewish

connection . B rought up from their infancy to reverence it in an equal

degree as the Mahommedans do the Kaaba of Mecca, they formerlymade frequent pilgrimages to it, although of late years, from the dis

tracted state of the country, and the difficulties thrown in their way bythe Mahommedan rulers of Egypt and Syria, the number of those who

v isit the Holy Land has very greatly diminished.

The term gyz, the name given by the Abyssinians to both their

coun try and written language, and which signifies colony or emi

gration,”was doubtless first applied to the colony of Syrians or Syro

Jews, and spread with them o ver the coun try, and was eventuallyapplied to the language, from the Jews hav ing introduced the learningand sciences of Europe. It is a matter of surprise that so numerous

and interesting a people as the Jews of Abyssinia, have excited so

little atten tion in modern times ; and that, although the zeal of Missionaries has carried them into the most barbarous coun tries, so little

information has been acquired regarding the condition of the Abyssi

nian Jews.

Ludolphe is of Opinion that the Abyssinians were a colony of Arabs.who peopled the country at a very remote period, an terior by some

cen turies to the Christian era. T he term gyz”which the Abyssinians

apply to themselves, would favor this supposition but it is not sup

ported by their customs, manners, physiognomy, or history .

Neither do the Arabs claim for their country the peopling of Abyssinia, nor do the Abyssinians believe themselves to be descended from

the Arabs ; although it is well known that numerous Arab colon ies

have at various times emigrated to the Abyssinian coast, where to this

day numerous Arab tribes are found quite distinct from the other

inhabitants, preserving. and in some cases sedulously cultivating, their

own language, and leading the nomadic life so characteristic of their

original country.We have accounts of two of these emigrations, the

first which occurred in the fifth year of Mahommed’

s mission , when

sixteen persons of the Koreish tribe fled into Abyssinia, and these

were afterwards followed by others, to the number of eighty-three

'

men , eighteen women , besides children . The refugees were kindlyreceived by the Nagash i or king of Ethiopia,

’and he refused to give

them up.t It is a singular circumstance, as distinguishing the Abys

Properly Nagtts 1 oyaAmh . 1' Sale

’s Preliminary Discourse

86

sin ians from all other Afi-ican natious, that although all the snrround

ing nations were quickly com pelled to embrace the doctrine of Ma

h ommed, which spread with rapidity over great part of the African

con tinent, from the shores of the Red Sea and Mediterranean almost

to the South Atlantic, and the Christian kings of Ethiopia and Yemenhad become converts to his faith, no impression was ever made on the

Christians of Abyssinia, who remained firm in their own religion, and

at a late r period successfully resisted every attempt to con vert them to

the Roman Church, although the Portuguese priests were for a time

successful, and had con verted the king to their doctrines. Although

the modern Abyssinians have much and the ancien t pros

perity and learning at the coun try ed, yet being the earliest

African nation that embraced the Chris tian religion, they have a pecu

liar claim to our notice . The present state of ignorance and superati

tion unfortunate ly so prevalent in that fine country, arises princ ipallyfrom its isolated position, by which for several cen turies they have

been excluded from all intercourse with the civilized world ; and sur

l‘elix to assist the Christians of that country against the persecutions

of the Jews, were so powerful that they not only drove the Jew ish

King, Dhu Nov as, from the throne, but four Abyssinian princes

governed the coun try successively until Khusru Anushirwan, King of

Persia, having sent succours to the prince of the tribe of Hamyar,dro ve out the Abyssinians, but was himself slain by some of them who

were left behind. The Abyssinians had at a very early period esta

blished a commun ication with India, and even possessed a colony in

the Concan ; they were also employed as officers of the fleet under the

Hindoo princes of the Deccan , and held the fortified island of Jingeera

they are also said to have erected the fort of Chakun, near Poonah,but the precise time of the commencement of their power in this

In some remarks prefaced to an Outline of the Son auli Language, I havestated an opin ion that the Somaul ies are the descendan ts of th e remnan t ofthe Ab

yss in ian invaders of Arab ia their customs and features are very simi

lar to.

t one of the Ab

yssinians, and they say their ancestors fled from the

opposi te coast. and too possession of the,country they now occupy .

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country, and their ssat sf government fixed at Dharthr, oas of thn

guest cities of Arabia, situated near the modern Sennas, the capital atemen.

The Shangallas or Shanksllss an the ancient Cushites and Traglodytes ; they inhabit a low fiat cnantry to the north of Abyssinia. between the river Tecassi, the annient Astaboras. and the r

‘

wer Marsh ;they are black negroes, in the most primitive state of barbarism ; th e

Abyssinians hunt them like wild beasts. selling those they capture as

slaves, but inhabiting as they do the low marshes and impenetrableforests, they dwell in comparative security, and multiply with great u

pldity. From the description given by Ca n Harris of the Dob .

”

a set of barbarians living to the-oath of t Lino. they appaar grsatlyto resemble the Shankalll s.who. like them, live on insects and reptiles;and live in caves, and whom formed of the bangbs of trees.

The Agows. of which there are two distinct races. inhabit the annu

try bordering on the lower part of the Tscassi, and the fert ile countryof Temben ; they have a distinct language of their own, are a quid

pastoral people, generally selecting the banks of rivers for their hesi

dence. Most of then profess the Christian religion.

The Teltels, a branch of the Afi'

er or Adel tribes. occu

py a narrow

tract cf land bordering on the Red Sea and the grest Salt h is s some

of them were converted to Christianity by Sebagadis, the lies of

Tigri ; they are a treacherous cunning race, read-ing it very unsafe

for any traveller to venture among them.

A singular class of people exists in the province ofWojprat, whopride themselves on being the descendants of the Portuguese soldiers

who settled in the country in the seventh century. Pearse describes

them as being taller and stouter than the generality of Abyssinians,and hospitable and kind to travellers. To the south of them is an ia

suls ted tribe of negroes called Doha ; their coun try has not, however,been explored.

The Hazorta tribe, also a branch of the Afi'

er or Adel nation, cc

cupy a tract along the shore of the Red Sea to the south of Arkeeko

they are a wild roving people, much given to plundering, and few tra

vellers have ven tured amongst them.

Of the various tribes of Arabs who have at different times located

themselves in the fertile vallies watered by the Nile and its numerous

branches, the Berbers, the Sheygya, the Ababde and B isharye are the

principal. The Barbers are described as being very numerous, and lead a

pastoral life ; their country is just below the two great branches of the

Nile. The Sheygya dwell more to the north, and form the most pow

ertul State in Sennaar : they are described by Burckhardt as a perfectlyindependen t people, possessing great wealth in corn and cattle, like the

B edouins of their original country : they pay no tribute to their Chiefs

they are very hospitable, and hold sacred the person of their guest.

Their language is exclusively Arabic, and they have schools in which

89

are taught all the sciences which form the course of Mahomedan study .

The Ababde and B isharye are a savage treacherous race : they still

retain their B edouin habits, wandering about with their cattle, bywhich they principally live. Various other Arab tribes are scatteredalong the shores of 'the Red Sea, and towards the Nubian desert, but

nothing interesting regarding them is known : they in general live

quite d istinct from the settled inhabitants of the country .

Hindu knowkdge of N. Af rica . -According to the Puranas, theknowledge the Hindus formerly possessed of the north east parts of

Africa, and the countries bordering on the Nile, was very considerable.

The Shankallas, or ancient Cushites, bear, to this day, the name ap

plied to them in the Puranas, and which is a word of Sanscrit derivation , fom shanka a shell, because its inhabitants (the Troglodytes ofthe G reeks) lived in shells, or caverns hollowed out like shells. The

Sancha-divissa of the Puranas is the Troglodytica of the ancien ts, and

included the whole western shore of the Red Sea as far as the Straits ofB ab-el-Mandeb .

The B erbera-desa of the Puranas is the same with the Berber ofthe present day, which includes all the land between Syene and theconfluence of the N ile with the Tecasse, which is the Asthimati orlesser Chrishna of the Puranas,

‘and the Sanchanaga or March .

Various em igrations have, according to the Puranas, taken place

at differen t times from India to Cusha-divissa, the land -of the

Cushites or Abyssinia. Supposing these accoun ts to be founded on

truth, it may accoun t for a great portion of the African continen t

being formerly called India by the G reeks. Even in the time of

Marco Polo, Abyssin ia was called Middle India. It is remarkable,as Mr B ruce and B ryant have proved, that the Greeks gave the ap

pellation of Indians to the southern nations of Africa ; and Strabo

relates that they called all the southern nations in the world Ethiopian,thus using Indian and Ethiopian as con vertible terms.

It also appears from the Puranas, that the Sanchayanas or old

Shangallas were not so entirely destitute of knowledge and science as

at present, and the B rahmins admit that they possessed a part of the

Vedas.1' B ruce describes the arbours inhabited by the Shangallas, in

the depths of the Abyssinian forests, in a manner quite conformable to

the description given of them in the Puranas. The Greeks also re

present one of the two Cupids as living on the sea coast occupied bythe

'

I roglodytes or Shangallas.

The origin of the Gypsies of Europe has been ascribed, with dif

ferent degrees of probability, by various persons, to Egypt, India, and

the western coast of the Red Sea ; but it appears to have been over

looked that the Amharic name for Egypt is still G iptz, and for theWilford’s Essa vol. 3, Asiatic Research es.

1'W' ord .

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Answer

92

Somauli.

Biase s, ma (Arb . )Summakee (do )FarssesyG smeca

Gnombs iCundow

Dambar

M’booar

MortooKeyah , our

Doogoo

Babs

Mahmah

Tambo or Yambo Ha, hsitshJambo Yambo,Salmceu

JumkaMurhubba (Ans .)

Arb.) Toda-ahSee-cd

Seegail

Tomoon

Anna Beetee

Muggeen

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97

and it is as well marked as any channel can be—the lotus leavesfloating on the surface of the water on each hand marking it as ac

curately as if a line of buoys had been laid down for the purpose.

It appears to be in the very cen tre of the lake, traversing it in a north

westerly direction and when we passed through, the water was still,or at least there was no appreciable curren t. The stillness of thewater, and the non-existence of lotus in this channel, may be accountedfor, from the fact that the Arral at one end of the lake, and the Narrahriver at the other, pouring their waters simultaneously in to its basin,must at length neutralize any pre

-ex isting current ; but when the mainriver subsides, and the waters of the lake once more flow through theArrn l, a current must doubtless take place in this channel— thus

keeping it clear of the lotus, and so disturbing the plant as to prev ent its taking root.We passed two or three large cargo

-boats lying here, and severalfishermen with their families were observed here and there followingtheir occupation in small boats, which glided about over this greatlotus field.

About an hour and three quarters steaming carried us out of thechannel into clear water, having patches of a small plant like commonsea weed floating under its surface—depth of water from 6 to seven

feet, gradually deepening to 10 and 12. In one hour of the time of

leaving the lotus field we had crossed the lake, and reached the clumps

of long reeds and grass which line its northern and eastern borders

the whole having the appearance of a large marsh, with openings at

intervals, suflicient to adm it boats of small burden .

‘ Steering along theverge of this mass of reeds and grass, gradually hauling up in a north

westerly direction, in one hour more we arrived at the en trance of the

Narrah, which is here a rapid muddy stream, about 40 feet broad and

6 feet deep, obscured‘

l‘

and impeded by large clumps of long grass and

elephant reed. It is very tortuous, and sets into the lake from the

north east. The velocity of the current at this time was three miles

per hour.

The above mentioned obstructions could be easily cleared away, and

a good fair way opened at very little cost. Meanwhile, so dense are

those clumps of reeds, &c., that even native boatmen, as I have been

informed, sometimes have a difliculty in finding the mouth of the river.

In consequence of the winding of the stream, the eddies and shallows ,

and no doubt the peculiar build of the vessel, she answered her helm

so badly, that she went bumping along agains t the banks, right and

left, at short distances, unless it was when we occasionally got into a

long straight reach.

Here we met nine small cargo boats laden with grain.

1’ So obscured was it, that we took on board a fisherman, whom we found

at hand, to act as pilot. By his direction we came to the mouth of the riversabout 200yards only above the place where we took turn on board .

0

98

In shallow water her helm was nearly useless. As we proceeded up,the river gradually widened to 70, and at some places to more than 100,feet, the lead giving on an average from six to eleven feet depth ofwater,the banks became clearer of jungle, and the country also more Open,stretching away in level alluvial plains. Villages, or collections ofherdsmen

's huts, built of wattles and other temporary materials, were

spread over the country , but more particularly close by the river.

There were flocks of buffaloes here and there, and sheep of mos t ex

collent quality, and goats seemed abundant.

About eight miles above a large town on the left bank of the river,named Meer Mahomed Sheerah, the stream divides into two branches ;the one N E , the other to the N. E. by E. The latter branch,which is ed by the natives Kootaar, we found to be the properchannel,

‘ but obstructed, about four miles above its month, by a largebund thrown across near a village called Chunnuh as well as eu

other, three or four miles further up, opposite a village named Gabe.

"

About midway between these were the remains of an old hand, which

gave us considerable trouble in consequence of the narrowness of theopenings.

The Kootaar is about 50 feet broad. at the entrance 83 feet

deep ; it contracts a little as you proceed up towards the bund of

Chunnah,” but before reaching that spot, it expands to about 100

feet in width its average depth throughout is from 5 to 8 fee t.

For 2 or 3 miles up from its mon th this channel is beautifully pic

turesque : its margin is overhung with tamarisk trees, creepers, and

underwood, which line it to the water’s edge ; and its right bank is

studded for some distance inland with babool trees of great size .

On arranging with the native authorities, labourerswere set to work,and an opening of about 32 or 33 feet wide in each of the above-men

tioned bunds was soon effected .

The upper or largest band is, as before stawd, close to Gabe.”a

village situated on the right bauh of the Narrah and Kootaar. The

band crossed the latter stream in a north-westerly and south o easterlydirection , shutting off the waters of the Narrah, which at this place is a

fine river 1041 feet broad, and 8} deep, with a current setting south

About one mile and a-half above Meet Mahomed Sheerah t a branch

called the Giddar debouchee in to the main stream from the N. N. E. It

averages from 18 to 26 feet broad for about th ree miles above its mouth , and

themaocording to the native account, expands in to a broad stream of about

100 feet . Semi-segmen ts of the paddles were taken otf, and angles of the

banh were cut awa . for the purpose of tracking the vessel up to the broad

part of the stream, at after proceeding up about 200yards, we were obliged

to abandon the attetnpt after three days'

hard labour. The Giddar would

seem to be the branch taken by the native bow to ge t into th e main stream

above , and I am inclined to beh ave this, because . though comparatively nar

tow at its mouth, it is of considerable depth—about n ine fee t in mid -channel,with a current running at the rate of two and a-halfmiles per hour .

1 By actual admeasuremen t.

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100

speed of the vessel, we thus have the average distance from the village

of Gabe"to where the Narrah joins the Indus (28 miles below Suk

kur) 284 miles. I calculate that a vessel of the same horse power

as the Meteor,’viz. 24 II. P.,

did she steer well, mi ht make the passage from Sehwan through the Narrah to the Indus uring the mo n ths

when the river is high, in about 80hours’steaming, exclusive of the

time consumed in taking in th el. Thus from Schwan to the Munch ar

mouth of the Narrah, 5 hours ; from Lake Munchar, 6 ; Gaha,”12

hours ; and from Gabe” to the Indus 63 hours . A steamer. to p lysuccessfully on the Narrah, should, I think, not be more that 80 fee t in

length and 16 or 17 feet broad measurin from the external rings of th e

paddles, draught from to 3 feet, and must steer well in shallows

and obey her helm quic ly in her own draught of water. Plenty o f

fuel could be had, particularly about the upper part of the river. To

native craft, or boats of any description, the navigation is remarkablyeasy and perfectly safe, the water being quite smooth and the average

very great except nearO

to where the Narrah

July

Letter from Gam e:H. Por rm c nn, to the P oli tical Secretary to the

Government of B ombay, da ted 22d Ap ril, 1839, No. 424, fir

soarding herewith Cop ies of Repot ts on the Gan'ah Creek, (and the

Routef rom K urrachee to Tattah .) By Lieutenan t BUCKLE, of theI. N ., and Lieutenan t MACLEOD , of the Bombay Engineers.

[Communicated by Captain D . Ross, F. R. S. , Presiden t ]

Su n— l .With reference to my letter No. 297, of the 12th ultimo, I

have the honor to forward herewith cupies of Reports on the GarrahC reek (and the route from Kurrachee to Tattah,) by Lieut. Buckle, ofthe Indian Navy, and Lieutenant Macleod, of the B ombay Engineers.

2. I also forward a Compass Sketch”of the Garrah Creek, from

which the Honorable the Governor in Council will perceive that it isin reality connected with the harbour ofKurrachee, and although Lieut .Macleod states that it is not pervious after the monsoon sets in ,

yet, both from my own inquiries, and from Lieut. Buckle’s silence as

tp that point, I suspect it must be a mistake, and that, with the exception of occasional stormy periods, the passage from Moonorah Fort toGarrah will be found practicable throughout the year. This question

101

will, however, be easily and finally settled during the approachingsouthwest monsoon .

3. On my route from Tattah to Kurrachee, I came down the Creek

from Garrah, and can vouch, from personal observation, for the m inute

correctness of the sketch which I now submit. The road from Tat

tab to Garrah was repaired when I passed, as far as the village of Gun

dah, and very little will make it fit all the way for wheeled carriages

during the dry season, but from the nature of the soil, which is allu

vial, and the lowness of the face of the country, which causes much of

it to be overflowed during the inundations, I doubt whether it will

ever be possible . without an enormous expense, to make it permanent,or such as could be used even in wet weather.

4 . I accomplished the trip from Garrah to where I landed on the

sandy poin t, on the western side of the Ghisree Creek—which is a blind

one, and only runs up a mile or two, in less than thirty-six hours

—twelve of which we were anchored—against a strong foul wind,which

prevented our hoisting sail except for the last six m iles, where the river

was sufficiently broad and deep to enable us to tack. I met two offi

cers—Captains Corsellis and Miller—at Goojah, who had come from

the shipping in Kurrachee harbour to Garrah in one tide, so that the

facilities which this fine Creek affords for rapid commun ication , and

transport of goods in to the country, may be said to be already de

monstrated, and it is a curious proof of the ignorance in which we

have been kept by the suspicious jealousy of the Scinde Government,that it has hitherto been unknown—even to our Commercial Agen ts,who formerly resided some years both at Tattah and Kurrachee, -and

was only lately discovered by Naomull, the Kurrachee merchant, casu

ally suggesting, that we should move our stores by it.”

5. The Jam of Garrah paid me a visit at Tattah, and personallyexpressed, as he had previously done through others, his perfect readi

ness to meet our wishes in every respect as to the use of the Creek

and his Town, wh ich be particularly explained he held on independent

tenure . He said, that in very good seasons he had rarely received as

much as four thousand rupees in export and import duties—that the

average might be nearly three thousand rupees per annum, but that

for the past two years he had not got above two thousand, and this

year not a fourth of this latter sum , owing to all the produce in grain,

ghee, &c., which commonly comes for shipment to Garrah, having been

drawn off by the demands of our tr00ps. He further told me, that

the protection of the roads and the coun try lying between Kurrachee

and Tattah, was assigned to him as the head of the Jokhya tribe, but

that the Ameers were bad paymasters, and that he had not the meanshimself of keeping up a sufficient body of troops. He said he would,however, be answerable for the safety of all our supplies, and hoped

that the B ritish Government would look on him as their well-wisher

and servant.

any trouble or delay. A host leaving the mouth immediately after

low water, would, with tolerable luck. get up the same tide . The dis

tance by the windings of the creek is 25miles , judging at the rate we

sailed u

Thegommunicatiou between G isree and the town of Gahra. is openat all masons, and, except during the monsoon. much trade is carried

on M the interior with Kurrachee, Sonmeanee, and other parts of the

coast. After a favorable monsoon, the natives during the fair season

erect temporary huts on the banks of the creek and live there. This.however, at presen t is not the case , ow ing to the scarcity of rain for

the last three years. Two years ago pearls were d iscovered at the

mouth, and the right bank is strewed with shells. The specimens I

saw, however, were very small.

The town of Gahra stands on an eminence on the left bank of the

creek. It consists of about 200mud houses. The inhabitants are com

posed of Mussulmen and Hindoos—chiefly the latter. The cholera.

per cent. on all

merchandize passing up or down the creek . T he country in the

neighbourhood of the Mullur river, also belongs to him. His yearlyincome amounts to about 3000Rupees. There are two wells of good

water at Gahra, and any quan tity could be obtained eight feet below

the surface of the ground. The following shews the prices of the

different kinds of grains 8m. procurable, and the rates—which, as will

be seen, are dearer than at Kurrachee.

Rates at Kurrachee . Provisions. Rates at Gahra.

10Pucca Seers per Rupee . B ergerie . 10Pucca Seers per Rupee8 Rice l st sort 7

9 Do. 2nd 9

22 Do. 8rd 13

12 Huldee. 9

20 Dates. 7

9goon 8

33 est e r . 2

51 Onions.

ppe25

8 Sursee Oil. 8

In addition to the increased rates at Gahra, the scar is less than at Kurrachee .

l Kurrachee Pucca Seer weighs 72 Cassanee Rupees.

l Gahra ditto d itto 62 do. do.

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wheeled carriages have to descend the hill. a road must be made—mt

present there is nothing of the sort.

The general direction of the road from Gahra to Tatta is due Eastthe distance measured with the perambnlator, 21 miles .

From Gahra to 5 miles

Gundah to 6

Gooijer to the well near 6

The well to Tatta . . 2

From Gahra to 21 miles.

On the tand route from Kurrachee to Gahra, water is procurable

within every ten miles, but the road is every where bad for whee led

carriages, and would take a long time to put in order. The route bywater is in all respects preferable, but during the monsoon the boats will

have to be loaded at the (3i which place the road requires

much to be done to : the distance from Kurrachee is six miles. I speak

[Communicated by the Author.]

One of the first Geographical papers written by the late Sir Alex.

Burnes was, a Memoir on the Eastern Branch of the Indus,” dated

in March 1827 . This interesting report was presented by the Hon’ble

the Governor in Council to the B ombay Literary Society . It containsa very able description of the Runn of Cutch, the Korea or eastern

mouth of the Indus, and the alterations caused in that very singular

portion of country by the earthquake of 18 19, with remarks on itsformer state.

At the period when the report alluded to was published, Sinde maybe said to have been terra incognita, and notwithstanding the anxietywhich the late Sir Alexander Burues felt to explore that country, the

jealousy and suspicion of the Ameers was an efi'

ectual bar to his (10‘

mg so.

If the memoir in question is referred to, it will be seen that a vital

blow to the interests and revenue of the province of Cutch, was in

flicted by Goelam Shah Calora in the year 1762, who, by throwing upan embankment, called in Sinde a Bund, on the eastern branch of the

Indus at the village of Mora, prevented the waters of the Indus from

107

reaching that portion of the Cutc h territory called Sayre—until then

a fertile tract. At the time Sir Alex. Burnes penned the fact above

recorded, he must have depended for his information on native authority—where the B und alluded to, or the village is, I have been unable to dis

cover. Goolam Shah Calora threw up a bund at Mona on the lan es,to prevent that village and one near it named Guj jera, from being carriedaway by the inundations of the river—and a most beneficial work itproved. If the waters of the Indus on its eastern bank were obstructed

by him, it is p robable that the Ar rore B and was the spot, but this ismerely a conjecture.

It was my good fortune to be selected, in August 1840, to conduct

the 6th Regiment N. I. overland from Deesa to Sukkur, and thus to

have had the opportunity of following the eastern branch of the Indus

from Omercote to within a few miles of the Indus near Roree (the details of that journey are before the Society), and to complete the sur

vey the eastern branch requires to be traced from Omercote through

the Thurr, down to near Raoma Bazar, where the Narra debouches,and where a vast sheet of water is said to exist, and from thence toLuckput, to complete our knowledge of it.

During the period I was in Sinde in 1832, I first heard of the Narra,or eastern branch oi the Indus, and from the intelligence I procuredthere, I was enabled to follow up that branch from Omercote in 1840.

I have, since then , made many inquiries regarding that portion of Sinde ,and amongst other information, the following singular traditions were

made known to me.

It is said that about 150years ago, seven holy men were unj ustly putto death near Halls ; that after their heads were struck off, a voice issuedfrom their bodies, and pronounced twenty

-two prophesies regardingSinde ; of these, nineteen are said to have been fulfilled— those I had

not time to write down the three last are as follows

That Sinde shall be conquered by an enemy coming from the north ,although it shall be threatened from the south .

,

That fire shall appear in the southern part of Sinde, near Gorabaree.

That when the Arrore Bund is broken, happiness will be restored

to Sinde and Sindree.

The latter runs thus

ey Band ArroreSoo wa Sinde wa Sindree ,Mir Michi Keysa bar,Zalun matte e do c tree,Murdun muttee bal,Tunny sund a be].Punch y dubbi waitchee .Which,being translated, may read thusWhen the Arrot e Bond is broken,

Happ will be Sinde and S indree .

How now you the (Ameer) Beloochee,

Their women wear their hair in two knobs .

The men in o ne .

A time will come when the ir children

Shall be sold for five pics a piece .With respect to the first, it is singular that an army, in 1838 ,

threatened Sinde when advancing from the south, but did no t take itun til coming from the north . The prophecy has, however, been ful

filled .

The Comet is supposed to be the fire alluded to in the second, and

the third remains yet to be accomplished .

I have never visited the Arroro Bund, but it will be found described

in 'f' Burnes’s Travels into Bokhara.

" How far it influen ces the

NW, I cannot therefore determ ine, but the natives of Sinde assert

that it is the obstruction to the waters of the Indus passing by the

eastern branch, and that, on any unusual or exceed ing inundation tak

ing place, the waters pass over the bund, and the Nan a is filled .

The Narra, as will be seen by the accompanying map. leaves the

filled. There is no doubt of this branch being the Nalla Sankra, mentioned as the boundary between Khoras san and India, in a treaty with

Nadir Shah and the Emperor of Delhi, dated, I belie ve, in 1727 .

In my first journey in the v icinity of the Narra, in February 1832,when proceeding with d ispatches for Meer Roostum Khan from Hydrabad to Khyrpoor, l traversed a portion of country covered with remains

of old tombs, mounds of earth, denoting the s ite of villages,— ruined

water-courses and canals, and other proofs of the existence of a flourish

ing and highly populated country . In all probability, at that period

the inhabitants of this part of Sinde were dependen t on the waters of

the Narra for their support, and it is easy to imagine, that by the wa

ters being cut ofi, the ruin of the country would follow. Traditiongives out, that the erection of the Arrore Bnnd caused the destruction

of the fertile coun try along the banks of the Narra, and the allusion to

Sindree is so far singular, that it stood i n the course of the Na rra on

the edge of the fertile tract called Sayra. By the mention, therefore ,

Although the water of the lakes is salt, excellent fresh water is found bydlgging a few inches near the edge of the lakes. It is an posed that the wate rbecomes brackish from the saline nature of the soil—se t be ing formed alongthe edges of the lake as the water dries .

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Meer Roostum and the Nam river, a line of flint and lime -stone hills

extend, running upwards of 40miles south from Roree, and where the

range terminates,hei

gh sand hills in many places in tervene. I

hardly imagine, the ore, that the inundations fiom the Nam could

affect the Khyrpoor vicinity .We have now possession of Scinde, and I conceive that one of ou r

first objects should be to conciliate the working clau se—Hindu s and

Sindians, and I know no better method of benefiting the countrythan by opening some of their bunds, especially in the vicinity of

Bhoor and Muggerbee . I co nceive it possible that the tract of countrybetween Bhoor and Luckput might be rendered fertile and productive

that it has formerly been so does not admit of a doubt, for I saw the

trunk. and roots of trees and bushes covering the desert, and the soil

is as good as the best in Sinde, and merelyIt is well known that Cutch has frequently sufi

'

ered from famine, be

ing dependen t on the periodical rains alone for its produce of grain ,and from its position nearly on the tropic, the rains are frequen tly very

and one-fourth more fell to the sh

venue. No wonder that extensive deserts occur in Sinde .

Should the prophecy be fulfilled by our destroying the Arrot e bund,and opening the others alluded to in the former page, we shall be effect

ing a great work and doing justice to the people, as well as renderingour new territory more approachable.

Luckput would probably rise into consequence, and the district of

Lab, now a desert, become a fertile country, thus affording an easyaccess at all times into Sinde. The wretched population of the country—Hindoos and Sindians—merely want protection and encouragement

to become industrious and, fostered by B ritish care, Sinde'

and its

people will, ere long, become one of the richest provinces in the world.

I trust, therefore, it will not be many years before it may be said

with truthBha

gey bund Arroro.

800 we Sinde wa Sindree .

(Signed) EDWARD P. DEL’Hos'r n ,

Cap tain , Acting Dep uty Quarter Master General.Bon e" , June 24, 1843.

111

Some arcount of the Koree or Eastern B ranch of the Indus. By B .

A. R. Nrcn onso n, Esq., Civil Surgeon . April, 1842.

[Communicated by the Author.]

In the beginning of June last (1835) a friend and I being at Luck

put, in the course of our inquiries made relative to the Koree or

Eastern Branch of the Indus, we were not a little surprised by an oldmuches-walla informing us that there was a Ford perfectly passableon foot at low tide, about five or six hundred yards above the Bunder.We, doubting the information, immediately repaired to the spot, fromwhich a man started and walked across to the other side—we were

certainly astonished at finding a Ford not exceeding the depth of threefeet in any part. The bottom is composed of tolerably firm clay,but would not bear horses, Szc.

I mention this merely as an instance of the uncertainty of the navi

gstion in general of all large rivers. the courses of which, towards

their embouchure , lie more or less through a low sandy or muddycountry—as the Nile, Ganges, and Indus—owing to the continual un

dermining and falling in of the banks, as well as inundations al

tering or partially filling up the bed of the river. The changes in

this branch have been very great, not so much from the causes justmentioned, as by human agency assisted by a convulsion of nature.

Prior to 1762 it was a large fresh-water stream ; a Bund was then

built across by the Sindians, which reduced the stream to less than one

foot in depth.

From this time it continued a general ford for beasts of burden

(principally carrying rice to Luckput) till 18 19, when an Earthquakethrew up Ullah-Bund, entirely cutting ofi

‘

all communication between

the Indus and the Korea, and from the date of this occurrence, the

tides have flowed considerably above Luckput.

By a note in the 3d volume, page 312, Burnes’s Bokhara Travels, I

learn that Captain DavidWilson, of the Bombay Army, found a Ford

here in 1820. In 1826, Burnes , and I believe in the same year Colonel

Pottinger, found a depth of fifteen feet here,and in 1835 I again found

only three feet of water 1 Yet none of the natives I spoke to on the

subject were aware of any change taking place in the course of the

Korea sincs 1819, since when it has ceased to be a frequented ford.

(Signed,) B . A. R. Ntcn ou ou,

Ram on , 19th Ap ril, 1842. Civil Surgeon, Kattiawar .

On the Advantages- to be derived f rom establishing a com

between K ur rachee and Jam e/t , and making the latte

an d D ep otfar the Indus in stead q a tta . By E. P. D st.’

Capt., Acting Deputy Quarter-Master~ General.

[Presen ted by the Author . )

Scrap s having been made a B ritish province, and being ii

one , everything con

has arrived when it is nw essary to use

provemen t. The expec tations entertai

in a commercial poin t of view,have not, I

doubtingly on this subject, however, a

instituting inquiry regarding it .

From being well acquainted with the country, as well

river, I can easily conceive that trade rs would meet with

convenience. especially in the lower parts of the stream t

enumerated as follows t .

l . The diflicnltaentrance or en trances to the Indus, which

year ich mus t naturallytuy such as Scinde .

the sea to the river

3.

boats

ready to receive the goods, - the absence of storehouses

&c.

These are inconven iences wh ich have no doubt been felt, and that

severely, by the trader, and the remedying of which will be the first

step towards improving th e trade of the Indus.

From what has been said regard ing the mouth of the indus, I am no

advocate for its be ing the commercial en trance to Sc inde,— the danger

of crossing tn e bar, and the delay of tracking up the river, added to

the other inconveniences already men tioned, are my reasons for objectingto it.

I would, therefore, propose, that Kurrachee should be the sea-

port

for all vessels proceeding to Scinde, and Jurruck the river-port or de

pot on the Indus.

Kurrachee is well known it affords a good harbour for small vessels

and were a pier or jetty erected near the landing-

place, it would prove

a most conven ient port.

The nearest place (to Kurrachee) on the Indus is Tatta, which itwas intended should be the depot on the river ; but there are objections,and serious ones, to that town , which I will endeavour to describe.

1. The distance of the town from the Indus, and the uncertainty at

tending the course of the river near Tatta.

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14Q

If, therefore. it can be proved that Jurruck has none of these evils

to contend with, my object in recommending it as the depot on the

river will, 1 b ust, be seen and approved d .

1 shall therefore proceed to give an account of it drawn up in 1840.

This report will be accompanied by a survey of Jurruck, and sketch'map of Scinde, which I trust will fully illustrate the subject ofper .

situatio n

hills A. and B .

and land sides

ng of the river ,of the river at

raised 150 feet

town at the spotmarked C ; but I consider that if this is made an entrepot for stores,the most eligible position for one would be at D , and the high ground

above it an excellen t situation for store rooms, &0

S upp lies— Supplies are abundant : there were no less than 200shops,and the bazaar covered in with matting— the water is brought from the

Indus, and also after rain procurable at the tank north of the town .

Coun try or the Vicin ity—The country north of Jurruck is an ex

tensive plain covered with grass and bushes, and cultivated at the

proper season ; a band extends from the hill N . E. of the town for

nearly two miles, by which the water from the river is prevented from

overflowing the plain . The country is hilly and gravelly from N.N.W.to S. S.W., the intermediate point being low. I cannot see any rea

son for believing that this place would prove unhealthy the on ly

places where water lodges are at Sal, n ine miles north, and at or near

Doondey, about the same distance east—both are bunds, which are

drained off as soon as the inundations subside .

Tatta and Sehwan .—At Tatta and Sehwan there are marshes which

nearly surround both places, and the dense jungle above the former

place is of itself a nest of fever ; the country to be passed over from

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Kurrachee to Tatta, is partly subject to inundation, and that betweenSehwan and Kurrachee choked with jungle in several places ; added to

which I do not believe that in the hot weather water would be found

at the nalting places ; were it abundant, the Looniries and Tokenswould not retreat, as they usually do, to the Hubb river during that

period.

Roads compared.

‘ —The roads leading from Kurrachee to Jurruck

are all good— the average period laden camels take to accomplish the

distance, is five days by the diwct road to Kurrachee, six if via Ghar

ra, three of which are employed in reaching that place.

Gharra Creole—I do not think a sufficient consideration has been

given to the advantages derivable from the Gharra Creek it will be

(in my opinion) of the greates t importance in all trafiic carried on bythe Indus. If the port for Scinde is made at Kurrachee , two tides

will take the doonds'

ss up from the harbour to Gharra, and they are

capable of carrying from 70 to 100 candies of merchandise ; the land

j ourney will then be from Gharra to Jurruck,50miles, overan excellentroad, which, with but little labour, may be made practicable for carts.

This line of route is out of the influence of the inundation, or near

ly so .

The advantages of that via Sehwan are also great indeed for the

merchan t, I think superior to the one j ust mentioned, because byreaching Sehwan during four or five months of the year, the water

communication via the Arrul to Larkhana, can be taken advantage of.

The average time which boats take in being tracked up the river, is

fromGorabarree to Tattafor about 25miles above Gorabarree

8 or 10 do .

14 or 15 do .—say 37 days

8 or 10days—tide assists

from the sea to Sshwan .

By Kurrachee to Sehwan, 146 miles, it will take 12 do .

8 Kurrachee to Gharra 2 do .

G to Jurruck 3 do .

Jul-ruck to Sehwan 17 do .Which gives theFrom the Sea.

Tatta to Sehwan, sag

30 do .

Ditto via Gharra an Jurruck, say 16 doDitto

.

Kurraohee b land, say 12 do

.

The hire of aoam from Gharra to Jurruck, is Ba t .

From Kurrachee to Sehwan . 7-8 as

[a m en ding from Garrah to Jurruck, I made three marches through amteresting coun t but have unfortunately mislaid the journal contain

mg the account of it. he road was excellen t. Two rivers were eras edone, th e Bhood, a very a one, eviden tly a branch of the Indus. T h e edgeof an extend ve lake was I owed for several miles. and a ruined Hindoo temple of great age, soataining a subterranean chamber of curious construction.were met with . The only difficult part of the road was found about 7 milesfrom Jurruok. where there was a dimcult nullah and rocky ridge to cross.

116

which it seems will he reduced, as the scarcity of camels at Kurrachee

is stated to be the cause of so high a nerick (rate )I think from this comparison , that the Jurruck route via Gharra and

the creek to Kurrachee , is the best, and that Jurruelt itself is the mos t

eligible spot for a force to be stationed at— one forced march will takea detachment to Hydrabad from Jurruck, and three forced marches

from Kurrachee to the latter place .

Troops can be brough t from India direct to Jurruck, either from

Cutch v ia Luckput, Ebcor, Meerpoor, and B ulrey, or by Juggee,

Shah bunder, and Moogerbhee.

From Mandav ie or Jukkow to Kurrachee, or to Goraharree, and

from Joort’

a Bunder in Kattiawar to any of the ports in Sinde . T h is

will be a matter of consideration in relieving the troops when neces

sary .

I do not think that I have any further remarks to offer respectingJurruek.

F ebruary ISM—Received orders to proceed by sea to India,—hiredboats, on ly two small ones of 12 karrars each being procurable, paid

20 rupees to Tatta. Left Jurruck at 8 A. M., reached a landing place

below Tatta (2 miles) by sunset.

mils—Hired two fresh boats at 20and 13 rupees each for Gorabar

ree, left at dayligh t, dropped down the river to a small temporaryvillage 34 m iles .

l 7 th .- U nmoored at 3 A.M ., and arrived at Gorabarree at 8 A. n . ,

distance 28 m iles , tide favourable .

l Sth . —T he town of Gorabarree is distant from the branch of the

river on which I am now , s ix m iles . This branch is called theWunnyaneh orWunn iany , that on wluch the town is , the Hujamree ; I passed

the branch of the Indus which led down to the town,it was blocked

up and barely kneeo deep, my boats could not ge t in to it, and this turn

in the river has been of some an noyance to the boatmen from the

coast who wen t to the Huj amree, and could proceed no further. T he

presen t outlet is wide and easy, beacons have been erected at the

mouth of the river.

t h - Hired a n owrze of 40kharans to proceed to Cutch , paid 8 1

rupees,— this is a singular kind of vessel, it draws but 45h . water, al

though of 135 cand les, and is consequen tly well adapted for river na

vigation ; this boat “as 30 years old, and I had some doubt of its

safety as it was quite ro tten : however there were on ly two others

which I could have ge t, but as Sir John Keane’

s baggage had arrived

before me at the bunder, I conceived it but fair to give him the two

first boats, wh ich I sen t to the conductor, taking the third .We started

with the tide, and came at once out to sea, sounding as we went in one

and a~ half, two , three , and even tually m five fathoms ,when we s teered

S . E. and reached Mandavie on the 22d.

The branch by which I came down has been in existence two years .

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Mint, Bombay . Having returned to my appointment, it became myduty to protract the route surveyed ; and on questioning the guide

ting the nature of the country, he informed me that he had

it mentioned that cepper was abundan t (and silver and gold

doubtful.) Mines formerly worked by the Kafi'

ers, who these Kafi'

era

were I could not discover : but. on inquiring respecting the a

most intelligent native, named Sookeramdass (brother to Naom in

formed me that the was quite correct, and that a Ban ian of

Kurrachee and his son ad brough t capper from Beyla, or near it, and

sold it to advan tage. The Banian himself was dead, but his son was

living at Kurrachee, and brought to me. His statement is as fol

lows

Twenty years ago,my father (named Phuttoo) and myself (namedKutto) having dealings at Sonmeanee, were informed that near Bey lathere was a hill where copper (tombs ) was procurable in abundance .We went with in four knee of this b ill, and got some Beloochees to

we melted ,advised to

on it.

The following questions were put to the Banian, Kutto, by me

How did you go to Beyla P— By Sonmeanee.

Is there any other road to Beyla—Yes, by the Kunnaray River.

How far is Kunnaray River from the place where copper is found P

I believe about 20 koss ; but I do not exactly know, never havingbeen that road.

From whom did you get the ore from which you extracted the

copper P—From a hill 12 koss S. E. of Beyla. Some Beeloocheesbrought it to us.

Do the people then work the ore —No, they are ignorant Mahomedans, and think of nothing but their cattle and thiev ing.

Is it known to many that the ore exists —1 do not know—theJam and some of his people know it.Of what description was the copper you brough t away -Of the

very best, equal to that sold in bazaars which comes from Velete

(Europe )What is the average quantity of copper which the ore yields

119

It varies : some will give one-half, and others one-third the average

is a little less than one-half.

How did you extract it -Simply by melting it with wood fire in a

common mud furnace. The copper ran ofi‘

like a stream of gold.

At what cost —At that of the fire wood.What is the value of copper ore at Kurrachee - Sixty rupees

for 80 lbs the best.

Do you know the value of 80 lbs. of copper in Bombay ?- I be

lieve about 40or 45Re.Where is it brought from —From Velete : it is sheet copper .What would it cost to bring 60 lbs. of copper from the place whence

you had the ore — I could, I think, bring 60 lbs. of copper to Kurrachee and sell it with advantage if I got three or four rupees for it,and sell it for less if worked on the spot.

Are any other metals found where the copper is procured - I can v

not say, we searched by stealth, and were afraid of being discovered

but it is said silver is found in these mountains.

D id you ever hear of a black substance like charcoal, which burns

well, being found— No, I never did, but I have said how much afraid

of being found out we were.

Could you show the hill from whence you got the copper - Cer

fainly , I saw it plainly, and could find it out.

Is this ore abundant P—Yes, you could get any quantity—it is ona mountain .

ls lead and antimony found —Yes, abundance of both—the latteris exported.

I have every reason to credit the account, as it is corroborated bywhat the people here say, who avouched the fact of the man having

gone to Beyla about the copper.

Also, from the guide’

s statement, he went to the Kunnaray River.

Enwaan P . Dan’I-los'rs .

Narrative of a Journ ey from K ilat to Sonmeeanee via Nat, theDaw n Luis, and Octa l. By Lieutenant G . H. ROB ERT SON, 25thRegt. Bombay Native Infantry .

Communicated by the Author.]Before entering upon the narrative of my journey to Sonmeanee

K ILAT latifrom Kilat, it may not be inappropriate to say a few

tude, 290 0’ words regarding this city, the capital of Beloochistan .

19 ” N .On approaching it from the northward, the citadel (the

Heigh t above Meeree or residence of the Meer or chief) first burstsm . 6240 into eight about one and a halfmile distant. Its appear

?‘t' ance is very imposing ; its height from the plain below

“Sf is 191 feet, but being built on the terminating spur of a

20 3, low range its base is about 50 feet above the same level

its entrance is on its east side, and is approached by a

120

ascent up the streets after-entering the town walls. It is com

posed of no less than sixty houses or rooms, large and small, jumbledher side by side and one above the other, inmted by innumer

a narrow, dark, and passages Seme 0 rooms are veryancient, and betray toke

d

nisrt

zfdeoay others have evidently lately been

built, as they appear still unfinished. The Shsesh Mahal ia the princi

pal state room ; the ceiling is inlaid with common lookingv

glaasea of

diflbren t sizes, varying from twelve to fifteen inches in length, by eight

to n ine in breadth ; its walls are whitewashed, and ornamented with

paintings of flowers : upon the whole, it is a prettier and neater place

than I expected t o see. l t waa used as a messroom by the ofiicers of

my regiment during their occupation of the Fort, while some of the

rooms afi’orded them excellen t quarters. The spot where MeerabKhan fell, at the capture of the ci ty in November 1839, is marked bys m all mud wall enclosure, near to a similar one raised where his

mother’s body was washed, 8m. previous to interm Close to this

he was standing when he received the first of the two bullets which

alew him, fi>r it appears he had been assured of success if he did so, hythose who were wise above others in unforeseen events. The view

from the top of the Meeree is very good, and atforda abundan t mate

rials for an excellent picture.

small watch tower and connecting wall. There are three gatesn thatto the north is called Mustoong to the south Gilkhund,from the small

khund or dip in the adjacent hill, where . the red clay (gil) is found, ofwhich flat plates for cooking are made ; to the east, D ildar, either

from its maker or from some doorkeeper (durwan) of former days. Thecity is 6240 feet above the level of the ocean, 922 above Mustoong,and 990above Kwetta, and con tains 2000 houses, 500 of which are

now vacant. It has three bazaars : the one near the Mustoong gate,and called after it, has 60 bunias

’

shops, 20 of them deserted ; theD ildar gate bazaar has 30bunias

’shops open out of 45 and the Koon

dokhana and G ilkhund gate bazaar has six shops open out of 26. Besides

these Hindoo shops in the bazaars, are the following—l l of goldsmiths,10of tailors, 6 of carpenters, 10 of workers in leather, 3 of black

smiths (and seven outside) . The houses are shabby, crowded, and illbuilt, and the streets narrow and dirty, and redolent of unsavourysmells. There are 14 musj ids— the principal one called Musj id James—and 10wells within the walls, and 2 wells outside— one near theMustoong, and the other the Dildar, gate. The residents in the fortare the Khanuzads (household slaves) of the chief, the Hindoos, and afew of the Dehwar tribe.

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122

Classification of the Delmar Tribe.

1. Sawazr . 11. Ann a" . III. Moeuazr . IV. Tonou V. Denm a

r aas v naas r .

l . Restok. l . Tingbzy .

2. Palwazy 2. Chugosy . Kundhareezy .

3. B un n y . 3. Moreshkazy. Bonrozy . 3. Ghungho 3. Tuttoosy.

Mangut ay. Sultosy . Kaboolesay .

Moosaay. Buddoxy .

6 . Bourazy. 6. B ussunsy . 6. ltujjnbzy .

reemsy .

Ra Hukmat Res Oomsd Res Rodin-dad.

ooaah s Ame.

Meer ab Oos Moor-ah Pool Meer-ab Ah Meer-ah Noorman . lee . Mahomed .

Each grand division has a head man styled Res—that of the Dodnkkaneezy, Mahomed Allee, being the chief of the whole tribe . Thereis also another person, called the Meer-ab, whose duty it is to appor

tion to the differen t fields of his own class their share of water.

The locality of the Dehwars is a semi-circle of about two mila

radius, from the north to the south south-east, Kilat being the centre ;their houses amount to 300, each having, on an average, from two to

five male adults, so that probably the number of the men may be esti

mated at 1000. They supply the Khan with 50horsemen (formerlyonly who are annually changed ; while with the Khan, he feeds

them and their horses, and finds them in horse shoes, and when theyare dispatched any where, he gives them provisions for the road ; the

person to whom they are sent supplies them while they are with him ,

and with provisions for their return journey . Their duty is simplythat of messengers (Kasids) ; they accompany the Khan in his journ ies ,but do not moun t guard— this latter duty being performed by th e

Langou tribe, who dwell in the valley of Moonguchur, between Kilat

and Mustoong, but on ly when the Khan is travelling, for as far as I

can understand, neither in the city or Meeree is a sentry at any tim e

placed, except perhaps during a period of actual warfare .

No manufactures can be said to exist at K ilat, except the veryrough agricultural instruments, metal ornaments of women , shoes and

sandals, for which the leather is brought from Shikarpoor. The women

of the differen t households embroider their wearing apparel in a verybeau tiful manner, unsurpassed in any other place. Fire -arms and

swords are brought from Khorassan ; the former are also brought in

great numbers from Kabool, where they are well made. The black

sh ields (Baftu) are procured from Lahore and Umbursur, the yellow

ones from Mandavee, and a few of inferior description from Bombay .

Around K ilat, on its north -eastern , eastern , and sou th -eastern lace ,

there are 140gardens, but only one belongs to the Khan . They , as

123

well as the fields, are well supplied with water from a splendid springabout a mile to the east of the town , which issues from some low hills,and is divided into 4} shares, which run in canals, called respectivelyJoee Booneekoo, Joee Macanjo, Jnee Goolaman, Joee Bund, or

Restolt, and Joee Punjoom, the last being the half share. Each Joee

is calculated to supply a certain number of runs, of a day and a night

each, termed a showanee, and each showanee is divided into eight pas,

(a run of three hours.) Jose Punjoom and bond belong to the Surkar,out of which a certain number of showanees and poses are given in

enam to certain individuals. Joee Goolaman runs 24 showanees,which are shared between the Surkar and the Mogulzy ; the remainingtwo , Booneekoo andMeeanjo, run 17 showanees, of which the Sewazy,Alleezy, Tolonteezy, and Dodukaneezy, each enjoy three ; of the fiveremaining, the four Res of these classes have one each, and the four

Meer-abs one among them. The Res’

share is so great because theyhave to furnish the Surkar with grass, booses, wood, kasids, &c., when

required. The shares mentioned above as alienated in sw am by the

Surkar, are these ; of Joee Punjoom, three showanees are held by TsjBeebee Syud, one by Res Taj Mahomed, one by Akhoond MahomedSiddeek, Sooltan Mahomed Alle,

‘and Moolla between them ;

of Joee Goolaman , two and a half showanees by the three last men

tioned persons, one by Surdar Mahomed Khan Kumburanee, half toD ilshad Khan Kumburanee, one by Res Oomed Allee Mogulzy, one bythe Kandareezy Dehwars, one pas by a Fukeer, and one pas by the

individual who beats the drum once a year for 15days or so, to collect

the people to clear out the spring and put it in order, &c.

There are also numerous karez, (aqueducts) but at some distance

from the city. I refrain from en tering into particulars regarding the

number of their showanees and their distribution, lest I should prove

tiresome.

The produce of the fields is principally wheat ; a small quantity of

barley is grown . Jowarree, when sown, yields only fodder, the climatebeing unsuited to it. Only one crop is taken from the ground yearly .

The gardens furnish a variety of fruit, such as apples, pears, grapes,apricots, mulberries, prunes, 8m.

The burial place of the Khans of Kilat is not very far from thehead of the spring ; it is a small enclosure containing a few tombs.

I shall conclude this short description of Kilat with an account ofthe principal event which took place during my sojourn there from the22d September to the 9th October. On the 26th of September, Bri

gadier England, commanding the Scinde force, and Major Outram,

political agen t, and several other officers, and Nusseer Khan the youngchief, now recognised as such, arrived from Kwettah, and on the fol

At one time Sooltan Mahomed Allee possessed 500showanees of water invarious parts of Balooch -i-stan , but from extravagance became so impoverishedas to be obliged to sell all, and now resides in obscurity at Kunda in Kutches .

lowingmorning s royal saluteWas fired in honour of the auspiciousevent of the hdeer

's taking possession of the place

"-ao said the field

orders. His flag, a tricolor (red, green, and yellow, in triangular pieces

put the red next to the stafi’

) was hoisted at the h ighest part

On the 6th of October was the ceremony of the l nstalleticn. At four o'cloclt rn the sfternoon we all wen t to the Meeree,and were received by the young Khan in the Sheesh Muhsl, which st i ll

exhibits, unfilled up, the cannon shot holes made by the B ritish gunstwo years ago. The Khan, and his uncle, Azim Khan, (a d isreputableand disliked old debauchee) and the English were seated on chairs, the

rest of the standing; After a few minntes the dress of cere

mony was and the Khan enrobed, Major Outram and theB rigadier assistihg. As soon as be was am yed, a salute was fired byhis guns—and very well done too, consideri ng that on] two , or at themost three, guns were served. He has only five or sl

’x, and they are

lying on a small open-space on the left before entering the Meeree gate .

They are very old, and very honey o combed—of Spanish or Portuguese

disappointed in the Khan’s appearance ; his countenance was net so

intelligent as I expected to find it, but this may be accounted for from

the state of great trepidation in which he eviden tly was .We now

wen t down from the Meeree, and moun ting our horses, accompanied

the Khan while he took a short circuit to shew himself to his lovingsubjects.We merely went down the narrow street leading to the

D ildar Gate, and out to an open space on the east of the Fort, where

the 25th regiment had been pitched. Here there was an attempt at an

exhibition of horsemansh ip, but nothing of any consequence ; the onlything mentionable was the riding at speed, and scattering three small

pieces ofwood piled together, by discharginga matchlock at them while

passing them.When the Khan proceeded on to the Mustoong Gate,we left him there and returned to our tents.

At night, after feasting sumptuously with Colonel Stacy, where the

health and prosperity of his son , the young Khan, were drunk with due

honours, according to the English fashion, we proceeded to the stables

at the foot of the Meeree : there we found the Chief, and were en ter

tained with national dances. The number performed while I remained

was three ; the first was called the Jhalawan Chap, the next the Af

ghanee Chap—the performers being all Moossulmans, the third th e

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Goran eoumenoes. Buddoo is said to he the name ot'

a

bird , Tik of a white earth or stone t isihle on the adj so

6752 feet. cent bills, and Gor of an animal, the wild ass, which

once abounded in this valley .We crossed the Rod é q xhanec (Khan 'sriver) fn qnently ; its source is near my last greund ; in it at two places

(zi n d of miles from Shau dee) is a small pool or well of ind itfer .

ent water. This valley is bounded on the north by the Kallagsn Hills,on the west by a continuous range of moun tains of various names, fo r

insh oce Mm mh bndeQ Mm rdan , Sodafi and lstrab ; on the sou th

hy small low hiheckg called Pungoo and Smnboo ; on the east, by t

swellings, not deservi the name of hills : its length is ahout sis-mi

u d bresdth ten, hut i the whole spsoe up to the Syud Alice

eastward be included, the bread th will be about twenty miles. It is

subdivided hgnimaginery lines into several portions, each distinguished

by a name, it will he sudicien t if I mention in general terms its

apportionment . The Rod-i-Khsnee passes through it, and , after flow n

ing wes tward for some mib s, turns abruptly north to the Shereen -ah

habited , one well ; KoodM i-M five houses uninhabited, on e

here: (aqueduct), occasionally dry when there is no rain, two wells :

and lower down on the same bank, Huhbee Boolla, ten houses ihhabited, one well. From the cultivators of this portion the Haroonoetribe take one-sixth of the produce, but they have no right to it.

I am pitched near the Kooddee o i-Gool Mahomed the well is small,and the water good , and suflicient for a party of twenty or thirty persons. Rodenjo is eas t of this hamlet about six or eight mil

1 1th October . Monday .—The road good the whole way, for the firstGonn so sn M

few miles over and among the small hills of Sumboo

miles and Pungoo, where the Soormasing river commences,3 038“abovean being atfirst a small n ulls called Zumbon these hillssea, 6470feet. end at about six miles, and there we found a pool of

very unpalatable water : thence the road is le vel toSoormasing, over what is called the Soormasing Sur Jungul.Soormasing is eleven miles from B usht-i-Goran ; the fragments of

rock about this spot are very singular— they are extremely hard, je tblack, and shin ing, and contain, 1 think, a large quantity of iron , although I was surprised to find the pieces I took up so much lighterthan I expected ; this,

’

however, is no proof of the absence of iron, forCaptain C.W. Grant, of the Bombay Engineers, mentions in his

127

Memoir on the Geology of Ketch, that of the two descriptions of ironare found in that province, that extracted near the town of Doodaee isof small specific gravity, and valued by the natives more than the

heavier variety, from its being more easily smelted owing to its frangibility. On this poin t my imaginary iron ore differs considerably, beingtruly as hard as iron.

”I thought my compass needle afi

‘

ected by it.

This halting ground derives its name from the dark has of thesestones, and not from the vast quantities of antimony (soorma) collooted in the vicinity.

”The ruins of a Suraec are to be seen on the

left bank of the river, which is now perfectly dry, so that we were

obliged to come on three miles three furlongs to this place, which is

worthy of its name (Gundahanlten) t it is bad altogether, nothing procurable, very little water, and that in most of the holes in the river bedfoul from long disuse. After ascending the river bank the road fromSoormasing is excellent, over a level plain .

There are said to be some copper mines a little southward of Soorab,and on making enquiries about them at Kilat, two men , residents of

Rodenje, were named as being acquainted with their locality . I sentfor them, and they joined me yesterday at B usht-i-Goran, denying all

knowledge of the matter. I tried them in many ways, and promised

them a handsome reward if they would take me to the spot : nothingwould do—they either could not, or would not, give me any informa

tion, declaring they had never seen the mines, and had only heard of

there being such things near Soorab. I was obliged to let one of them,

Allum Khan, return to his village ; the other,Wollee Mahomed Fukeer,is still with me, but goes back during the night.

12th and l 3tlt October .—Road undulating down the valley of

Soorab on the left lay a range of lofty mountains

1

833533

38

3323 in continuation of those of Syud Allee (or wildabove the goat) viz., Feera

'

oojou Chunneeree (the ladder,feet. from its steepness D iraj Rustaree Duzeree Shee

rentoh, and beyond these to the further east Mun

nace, then Sehbund, and to its east Golik and Mahomed Tawah, terminating in the high bluff point of Tarukkee. On the right wereWultltabee Kulkuttee, Taphoee Teng, Chilbuggoo, forming a less continuous and lower range of bills, many of them having sharp

-pointed

crests.

Soorab is towards the southern end of the valley, a wretched ruin of

a place, totally deserted ; it was plundered a few months ago by that

worthy Gool Mahomed the Darogah . Its inhabitants were none but

Hindoos, the chief of whom is Gooloo . Three springs of fine water

flow from the'

I‘

arultkee hills, and supply several villages, of which

the northernmost is Hajeeka, thirty houses and two gardens near to

it Janullo, an aqueduct, ten houses, inhabited by some of the Oomur

Haroonee tribe ; and Meeranee, one garden and eight houses occupied

by Nubbec Bukhs and Mahomed Soomallee. Below Hajeeka is Goor

128

gout, belonging to Khan Mahomed, chief of the fl arootwe , it has flour

gardens.fifteen houses. Nearest to Soorsb are the two M enace, b e

longing to Khyr Mahomed, chief of Rodense Brahooees ; he lives

here. I rode over to sec these two v illages, and found thom in ruins ;

they have'fifiy houses, of which thirty-dve are occupied. Half a mile

below Soot-ab is Snort, two garde ns belonging to Shufiee Mahomed .

(of Khyra near G iddar) twenty houses, of which ten are deserted ; it

is held by several members of the Khanan d.

About a eouple of miles from Soorab, cn the Bagm are

Nigger and Kukwee. the former belonging to Surdar Eta Khan Men

gnl, and Surdar Rehim Khan, son ofWolice Mahomed, chief of the

Mongols, slain at the storm of Kilat ; four showanees of the water

were enjoyed by the late Bebee Satee. mother of Mehrab Khan,'

and

now oby her son Azim Khan . It contains thirty houses , fifteen of

which are deserted,and has n ine gardens. Kuhwee has twenty housea,five of them vacan t, and seven gardens, and is held half by the Niggar

of the country, but some years before we came here there was a cessa

tion of the usual showers.

I have egain endeavoured to get some information regarding thecopper mine at Moulee . I was told of another man at this place who

is one of the few remaining alive who know any thing about it ; he

formerly resided at Dun, and Moclla Izzut of Rodenjo used to put upat his house when he made his trips to the mine. A handsome reward

in money and clothes was prom ised to him if he would take me there,but without avail—he denied all knowledge of the matter, farther thanthat the Moolla used to stay with him in his periodical visits to andfrom the mine, but that he had never accompanied him. This man ,doubtless, knows more than he chooses to admit, and it is a pity he will

not show me the place, as an examination of it m ight lead to beneficial

results to the people themselves. The Moolla’s son, Ahmud Alice,says the produce of the metal was twenty

-five per cent of the ore.

14th October . Thursday - A fatiguingly long and hot march : we

left Soorab at 9 A.M., and reached this village at

about half-past 5 P .M . The road is very good, and

above the“M4750 over excellent soil the whole way . Immediatelyfeet. on leaving the valley of Soorab, three miles below

the village, our road lay through a defile called

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130

Dasht-i-Mnt, and passes between the Koochenee and Kulgullee hills

up the bed of the Kulgullee river, which is described as being verynarrow in some places : the distance of Punjgoor is 11 days

’

journeyen camels. (See Appendix.) Dates of a very fine description

are brought from it, and supply all this and the upper country . The

ground at this village is strewed with the stones of the dates, upon

which the people seem to feast prodigiously.

15th October . F r iday.—Early this morning my moonshee MahomedBhakur, came with much delight to tell me he had fallen in with a manwho knew something about the copper mine. although he had not

actually seen it ; he said his field was not far from the spot in the bill

at Moulee, and he could point out where a great quantity of green

looking stone was to be found, similar to what Moolla Izzut of

Rodenjo used to carry away in former days ; he had come to the

bazaar to-dsy for seed. After conversing with the man, he said, that

if I would promise him a rupee he would go and fetch a specimen of

the stone he had described ; the distance was great, but he would be

back early tom orrow morning. 1 determined, if his specimen proved

satisfactory, to take a trip to the spot. To my surprise he made his

appearance again this afternoon, but as he bore no traces of fatigue, it

was very evident he had not been many yards from this village the

whole day ; he brought with him a parcel of common stones, most

probably picked up in the neighbouring nulla. I could not help laugh

ing heartily at the fellow’

s impudence, and the admirable seriousness of

countenance he maintained ; and although he had not performed his

part of the agreement, I thought it advisable to give him half the

stipulated reward, as it would show there was no unwillingness with

me to remunerate for any odd jobs that migh t be done for me.

l 6th October . Saturday—Road generally good. At seven fur

Rosa na -an . 12longs from G iddur we crossed the Soormasing ri

m iles z furlongs . ver, the ground on this side being much brokenHeigh tabove the and cut up by n ullahs ; the road then skirted a

3e ’s446 ‘ feel low range (the river being on the right for a short

distance ) into a small plain, where it became very good. At five anda quarter m iles we passed on our left a black hill (Mortkoh), thebeginn ing of the D ush t- i -Drooggee, a plain of small exten t, covered

with the stunted roots of the grass called D roog ; to our left lay the

high road.We left five m iles the other side of G iddur the day befo re

yesterday ; we did not come in to it un til we reached a small river at

n ine and a quarter m iles, the banks of which are very steep, but I

am told it is easy to cross where the road passes it higher up . Th isriver flows from the north -east into that of Soormasing, and the j unction is about three m iles lower down . “’c are encamped at a bend in

the Soormasing river, which has a flow of excellen t. water in it ; on

the right bank is a mass of hills round which the river sweeps, of verycurious appearance, showing the strata about perpendicular ; they are

l 3l

called Purra-i-Shadad, and appeared to me composed of bu sh and

chalcedony . I climbed up the highest and found the ascent difficult.that portion of the rock which I imagine to be basalt being verybrittle and readily falling in flakes from beneath the tread . From thetop, about 100 feet high, I was able to see a considerable exten t of

country to the west ; it seemed a sea of small swelling hills runn ing upto the B ond Range. There is plenty of tamarisk for camels, and firewood, and grass of a coarse description was brought by my grass

cutter for my horse ; there is plenty in the adjacent hills.Six of Jumsheer Khan

’s men, chief of the Shadadzy, have joined

me and are to accompany me to Nal. As we were coming to the

halting ground, eight or ten men with a few donkeys passed us, and lwas amused to find on enquiry they were the Lush/cur of SurdarBhaee Khan Soomalaree ; shortly afterwards another party of B rahooes

pased in hot pursuit of the redoubtable army, who it appears had coollyhelped themselves to a sheep belonging to the others !

1703 October. Sunday .—To-day’s road would require some re

K n oLm r . 10 pair for artillery at the commencemen t, for the

m iles 7 furlongs. first mile and a half, the sm ile s should be smoothedHeightsbove tbe down , and after that, for a short distance, the tall“:“05 fee t. marish jungle should be cleared. The same ope

rations are required here and there to a small extent. At one m ile

three furlongs, we passed the halting ground of Allut, occasionallycultivated by the Shadadzy tribe of Mahomed Sunnees, who haveten geedans in this quarter. Our road lay along the left bank ofthe Soormasing river for six and a half miles , and down its bed forabout a mile and a half : we then crossed over some small swellingscausing a bend in the river, and again entering it at nine m iles andthree-quarters, we proceeded to our ground on the right bank, close tothe foot of a very remarkable rock about 100 feet in height, calledMoocheereekhul. Guns should continue in the river bed the wholeway to this after entering it the first time. There is camel forage andcoarse grass here, and plenty of water, but it is not very good, beingsaltish, so that it is fortunate for me that my servants have broughtsome from Koshun-ah.

Only three of Jumsheer Khan’

s people have come on ; they all

claimed something from me, which I refused to give. I told them Idid not require them, and they might return home if they liked ; upon

this they all remained behind : subsequen tly, three of them overtookme, perhaps believing that they may safely trust to my giving them

some remuneration on the termination of that portion of the journeythey are to take with me.

October . Monday . Our road the whole way lay either in the

Cn oor ox, n river bed or across short angles in the bank, caused

m iles. Height by bends in its course . On both sides we were consbove the sea, fined by ranges of bills ; those on the left, Sinjdec and3937“C‘ Seeroo, and the lower hills of Subsrung, were ofgood

ly height, but those on the right were brokened by the Hoon range.We wound about

deal ofclearing away of the stones . this

artillery, particularly on this side of a small pass ovm-one of the

bends called Nihing, about seven mllea and a balf from Khulboot.There is some camel forage here, and grass ; the water is not very

good—there was plen ty of it in several places on the way.

My observation has been particularly attracted to-day to the varietyof colours in the bills. particularly light green (hypersthene greenstone ?) I should much like to wander about this spot for at least a

week—I am sure the result would be satisfactory ; there must be

copper in the neighbourhood.

19th October . Tuesday —We left the Soormasing river at three

Tro n -an . 11 quarters of a mile from the last ground.“ma gm a ” ,crossing a bend at two miles, did not come to it

B eigbt sbove the again until we reached its left bank at this haltingm y 3316 fw place, which is upwards of a mile from the said

the bed of the river, which is here at least a M ia

windi

Thggwater here is excellent ; camel forage and firewood are at hand,and coarse grass is obtainable from the neighbouring hills. The river

extends over a considerable space of the hollow we are now in, amongthe hills of which those to the south are a large mass of great height

and visible from a long distance they are called Shashan . The halt

ing ground of Khoorma-i-stan lies to the south-east, the village of Nal

to the east. and the valley of Grasha about south-west.

2oth October .Wedn esday —For the first three miles and a half our

road lay in the river bed, which here receives several tributarystreams, but is now nearly dry .We then entered the Shaband Khund ,a pass a mile long ; it is rough and narrow, but is steep for a furlongonly ; it led us into the plain in which Nal stands . In proceeding to

the coast, guns should avoid Nal, and go direct from Tegh-ab to

Khoorma-i-stan, distant six miles.

Shortly after my arrival the uncles of the chief called on me and

were very civil. I was extremely sorry to learn that the chief himself

was absen t, having proceeded in the direction of Kilat to see the Khan .

In the afternoon he returned, and sen t me a message to say he was

tired from his journey, and as I must be so also from mine, he would

not come to see me to-day, but would do so to -morrow. In reply, I

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short distan ce . It has a small thrt with en trance on the esst n b out a

mile on this side are l l houses and a garden, having inside and about

it 3l date trees (Khoorma) . It is occupied by the Nindou Seeapad

tribe of Beesunjos. The land it and Nal is cult ivated bythe Muzzar Oomurraree Beezunjos, who have no village here but

live in geedans .

Fnkeer Mahomed Hummullaree is the chief of the BeezunjoB rahooees . I have seen him frequen tly at my tent during mystay he re, and have m eived much kindness and civility from

him. He is a pleasing young man between and 30 years

of age, somewhat reserved except on those occasions when he

came to me unaccomm ied by his un cles : he is treated with

great respect by every one, and is much beloved for his verykind and generous disposition . He is Naib of Kej. and I am told

the only vernor the Beloochees of that province pay any atten

tion to. e proceeds thither in a few days to settle afiairs and col

lect the revenues, which are very fluctuating in amount, and depend

upon the power of the ruling authorities to collect them : a considerable

sequen tly by no means liked by the peopleare exceedingly hospitable and generous ;willingness to distribute on their own part may account for their constant asking for small presents ; more accomplished beggars it has neverbeen my fate to fall in with.

My tent has been at various times surrounded by groups of menand women (the latter much less reserved and shy than those farther

north) anxious to see the Feeringee, and what he is about ; numbershave applied for medicine, and I have been obliged to practise exten

sively . One of the applican ts was a man who complained of a painin the bowels as he had just had himselffired for it, I declined p re

scribing, and told him that now he must wait and see the effect of thetreatmen t he had undergone. A day or two after, he died, and I gotthe credit of great sagacity ; it was supposed I knew he was likely to

die, and on that account would not give hint any daroo, lest it shouldbe said I had killed him I certainly am glad I gave him nothing, for,in the state in which he was, I do not th ink I could have done him any

good, and his death would probably have been charged on me . Hasil

Khan’

s little girl, Noor Beebee, about a year old, has been under myhands, and I trust beneficially so the mother has had eight or nine

135

children , and they have all died of the same complaint, fever, when

at the same age : the poor little creature is very emaciated. hav inghad constant fever for the last two months. I at first administered to

it with fear and trembling ; but the fever has now been checked , and as

I have left some quinine for it, I do hope the little thing will recover,although I fear for it in the hands of its nurses. The last time it was

brought for me to look at before my departure, the mother sent mesome very fine dates : the poor people seem very grateful.

‘

One day I returned the Chief’s numerous visits, dressed in the Be

looch costume it seemed to give great satisfaction, particularly as myadoption of their dress is considered complimentary to them .WhenI saw the chief subsequently, be expressed his great disapprobation of

my usual costume, and wondered I should prefer the tight English

Poshak to the flowing garments of the Brahooees .We had also a

discussion on the subject of beards, and he could not understand whythe English should disfigure their faces by not allowing them to grow,

and was surprised when I told him my lengthy heard and mustachios

must disappear on my mixing in civ ilized society. On the occasion

of my calling on him, I hoped to have been admitted into the fort butinstead of this, a carpet was spread outside, and the womenkind (curiouseverywhere and in every clime) crowded to the windows and entrance

to see the U ngreez. No state of any kind was attempted, the povertyof the chief stood undisguised. Our conversation was on various

topics, but the subject that occasioned most surprise, and the greatest

questioning, was that of the English having a woman to reign over

them , this being so con trary , in their ideas, to the dignity and importance of the lords of the creation , whom men we call.

”

25th October. Hominy—Road excellen t, crossing the SoormasingRiver, 500yards broad, at 5miles, and encamping

H9“. 9 03 9 a short distance from it at this place, which is merelya halting ground, and derives its name, I imagine,

8“88 19; feet from the exceeding productiveness of the soil, which

is excellent. The re is good running water here,coarse grass and camel forage, all in abundance.

26th October . Tuesday —Road pretty good, in some places (aboutthe second mile) the ground is broken and cut up

6 03 301 8 . 3 m il“by small nullas, and there is also a good deal of3d furlongs . Heigh t low tamarisk jungle.We crossed the river at

feb

d’

t

" the sea, 8025 6 furlongs from last encampment, and proceeded

down its left bank until 6 m iles, when we again

crossed it, and came over undulating but clear ground to the present

spot in the bed of the river, the descent to which is somewhat stony but

not very dimcult.

I was much tified to learn . a day or two ago, from a man who has justarrived from Na thatmoor Beebee has perfectly recovered—(28th January,

l36

Troops should encamp elther on the bank above,“processi on

through the gsp. At 3 m iles 5faflo

ys from“st ar 0 we passed

a curious looking-village composed a number of mud uts excavated

from the ground and covered over. At ahout d milea.we were abreast of

a small fort. built by Fukeer Mahomed of Nal two or three years ago :

it is on the right bank, and appears a miserable place, being of single

walls on a small mound. About two miles before reaching our presentone from

there is water, and it is occasionally made ahalting place. After leavinwe continued to cross for some distance several parallel ridges of me

(basa lt I think) lying about eas tand west they appeared like the backbon es of h ills which had been covered over from their bases. At 5miles from Guz, and continuing almost to this place, we fell in with,and passed among, similar ridges somewhat more exposed, but lyingnorth and south. In some instances the ridge was composed of two

parallel rows of enormous square stones. In yesterday’

s march, after

crossing the river just before the j unction of the Nal and K hoorma- i

stan roads, similar ridges running north and south were met with.

Our present camp is on the bank of the Guz river, which flows fromthe east from a hill of that name, and having been joined by a stream ,

the Parecbee, from the south, turns abruptly north, and joins the Soormasing river.Water from the river good, camel forage, firewoodand grass procurable. Our position is confined among low hills.

28th October . Thursday — Our road lay five m iles up the bed of theParechee river to its commencemen t as a mere n ulla

at a Khind, on this side of which was another nulla

running into a river (also called Parechee) at a mile lower down. On

Gu sr o, 9 miles.

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tion have committed any at

w ith the Khan's sowars who

him any of their [shone las t

not have treated him so shabbilywith any one who is unprovided.

berated this, and remarked, thatre] manner, he would be thought

29th October .

Ooa nu '

cn ,

miles 2

sea 966 1 feet.

short distance th

Tung are several large stones,

far apart, they would be little

passing through the defile, gun

river for about four miles, and

or valley of Oornatch is 9 milesbroad by about 14 long in the centre are the ruins of what was oncea small fortification, destroyed during the many fights between the

Menguls and Beezunjos ; a short distance to its north is a Bunia’

s

shop, where small quan tities of flour, jowarree, barley, and dates areprocurable ; scattered about are 10 houses, in which grass , &c. are

stored, for it is only occasionally in the cold weather they are inhabit

ed, the people preferring their geedans. There is camel forage here,and kurbee can be purchased ; the water is not very good, having an

unpleasan t taste ; it is from the Oornatch river which flows from the

north east through the valley, and joins the Parechee about 10 miles

below the fort, and thence retaining its own name, I am told it runs

southward and enters the Hingol river a m unz il above its debouchure

into the sea about 60 m iles west of Sonmeeanee in the province of

Lus.

Cultivation depends upon the rains principally , but there are two

channels wh ich draw off the water from the river ; they belong to Hybut Khan K umburraree who resides here, having naturalised himself

among the Beezunjos, because when the Beezunj o Surdars were slain

139

on a certain memorable occasion at Khozdar by Muhmood Khan ,

grandfather of the present K han of K ilat, his father was with them ,

and shared their fate. He is one of the chiefs of the Mahomedzy and

K eeazy tribes, who some generations back murdered some of his an

ces tors, and were on that accoun t placed under the authority of his

family . The other chiefs associated with him are Mahomed K hanand his two nephews, Daood K han of Mushky , and his brother Sadut

K han, resident at K ilat, who having married the widow of the late

Miaree K han of G iddar, enjoys his share of water at that village.

The Oornatch district is occupied by the Tummurraree Beezunjos ;their chief is Allahdinna, who is also head of the Mahomedaree, Gubbur

raree and Loodanee the un ited force be can bring in to the field is 300

fighting men . He is very unwell at present, and Hybut Khan , when

calling on me yesterday, begged me to halt here to-day, in order to

give him some medicine. This forenoon I went to see him ; he is

living in geedans some distance off ; he is extremely venerable and

pleasing in appearance,and there is a striking resemblance between

h im and Hybut Khan ; they are both fine-looking patriarchs, with

beards as white as snow. T he old gentleman en tered in to a long and

wearisome accoun t of his ailmen ts, wh ich were complicated enough

and embraced a period of many years. The geedan into wh ich I

went was a very n ice one, about twenty-five feet long, by n ine or ten

broad ; it was constructed of three erect half-oval frames of wood eight

or nine feet high, set up at intervals, and over them a black kamles,whose web was goats

’hair, and woof sheeps

’wool : this reached to about

four feet from the ground, and the lower space was filled up except on

the en trance side, by matting. I found the heat inside very great, the

sun’s rays making their way in through the interstices of the coarse

kumke. The women in the next geedan seemed to be much amused

at my appearance, for they kept up a hearty giggling while I was

outside, and two or three of them came into the geedan I entered after I

was tn .

Besides the four tribes under Allahdinna, are the six following, thewhole being under Fukeer Mahomed ofNal, as chief of all the Beezun

jos : Letance, Chunnal, Buddoozy, Oomurraree, Seeped, and Nindowarree ; their Lushkur amounts to about 400, besides those of Allah

dinna.

The notorious plunderer Futtelee is staying in this neighbourhood

just now his usual locality is below the Baran Luk, west of Kanejee,but on accoun t of the recent quarrel (not yet satisfactorily arranged)between the Beezunjos and Menguls he has come here. This man isthe curse of the road and the terror of Kafilas, and will probably some

day experience the fate of that celebrated robber Nubbee B ukhsh of

the Hooreh Pass, who was blown from a gun for his malpractices byShah Niwaz Khan, and perhaps this is one of the few beneficial acts performed by that detested and tyrannical prince during his brief reign

he is e person of no such celebrity happily ) nre the sons of Monile, who ,with Ruhmut (father of Kurrum Khan residing at Bela), and AllKhan (father ofAllahdinna of Oornatch,) are son s of

'

cc, chief ofTummurraree. B ahmut and Moolla (the latter still ving ) are the

mom who joined Cap tain Christie and Lieutenan t Pottinger at

in 18 10.

3 1st October. Sunday—Road good ; in some places the bushes mayrequire clearing away .Water very good from holes in the. bed of theOornatch river. Course grass and camel forage procurable.

31st October .—This spot is close to the bank of the river sfl er

Hcross ing it, and takes its name from a Peer who lies

buried here ; his grave is enclosed by a small wall of

mu” . Heigh tstones and covered in with leaves, so that it might

s hove the g” ,be mistaken for a dese rted hovel ; at its en trance are

” ga g“,hung some offerings, such as camel bells, and the

tssse ls of Koorj eea. (saddlebags.)

we came to a narrow pass between the h ills which bound the Oornatchvalley on the cast, that on the right being of a conical shape, and namedKeeroo through this defile the Oornatch river flows from Toorkubbur, and where we crossed it the banks require a little sloping and

clearing of bushes. At Datunnadeer we found water, of which , hadwe been certain, we should have made th is the halting ground yes

terday . The road from Toorkubbur joined ours at a quarter of a m ilefrom the commencement of the Baran Luk, which is at four and a half

m iles from Peer Hussen . At this point there are two roads, one lead ingdirect up the Pass, and the other goes round by the right, and is a little

longer, and is considered the best of the two by the Kafilas, but the

jemadar of the Madras Pioneers, accompany ing Captain John Leeson’s

detachment, marching to the coast from K ilat viaWud, is now atWork here with h is men , and tells me that after examining both roads,finds that the straight or eastern one will give him least trouble to

repair, as he can , by a slight deviation here and there, avoid some of

the worst parts . At six m iles from Peer, (by the western road) thetwo roads meet, when the descen t of the Pass begins ; it is gradual,

until just at its termination, where the road is extremely narrow for

about 150yards, part of which is through a cleft in the rocks, and

then goes down the steep southern face of the hill.

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2

Saturday .—About one hundred the trees

Snm.on Rn“at Kanrjee we descended into theriver

13 mil” . Heigbl of that name, and continued tn it for a m ile and

.bo" the three quarters ; at two miles and a half we entered

test. the Aranweree river, and ascended its bed for

about three furlongs. we then left it by a bad piece

of road, and crossing over pretty good ground entered it again at four

miles and three quarters, and continued zigzaggin

gin it for about

a mile, (it being shut in by steep clifih on one side) and then

zigu gging up a hill, did the same down another. after first pro

ceed ing for a short distance on level ground ; the last windingdescent may be avoided, by using a road striking ofl

‘

to the left,

made lately by the people of the country ; it joins the old road

at seven miles and a quarter from Kanejee, the foot of the steep.We then proceeded along the dry bed of a river, called Meeren

Khooshta, till it strikes 05 to the left three quarters of a mile farth er

on, at wh ich spot there is a hole of water. The bed of the river is

one . Most of to-day’s road is in narrow defiles, some parts are very

pretty, particularly in the river near the Bascou Khance, and there is

abundance of jungle to please the eye : with the aid of the pioneers

this road will not put guns to much inconven ience.

There is plen ty of grass and tamarisk in the river, and the water is

good .We are now on ly 72 feet below the level ofOornatch— the countryis bare and barren, and the clumps of cactus appear to me to

render the scene more desolate. O n looking back northward, a wall

presents itself of sterile rocky hills, each with its jagged and weather

worn crest ; it seems hardly possible we can have found away through

them .

7th Novemben —The road, upon the whole, is excellent. At 300

p oom u“Rive n , yards from last ground, we en tered the Pinj River16 m iles 7 fnrlongs .

by a slightly stony descen t, just at the pointHeight above the where the Sullon River join s it. At three furlongsi“, 860 fee l farther, we came upon a small puddle of goodwater at the bend of the river, wh ich is here shut in by lofty walls,and is very narrow, varying from 12 to 25 feet in breadth ; it isstony, and may require some pioneering. At one m ile five furlongs,we came upon a fine stream of runn ing water (in the river bed) whichcontinued with us for upwards of a quarter of a mile. Below it, if

143

necessary, troops might encamp. There is plenty of tamarisk forcamels, and. I dare say, grass ; but it was too dark to see this latter.

Again , at a quarter of a m ile lower down, we fell in with water, and

he re first felt the sea breeze ; it was very acceptable, as marching,although at n ight, was warm work, particularly to those on foot. In

many places in this river there are some fine tamarisk trees, and to

wards the part where we left it (six and a half miles) the j ungleis very thick, but the hills are considerably decreased in size. Higher

up, they are from 50 to upwards of 100 feet in height, with steepsides down to the river bed. At 500yards after leaving the river byits right bank, we passed a small heap of stones called Ched-i-Bohn r

(B ohur’s collection or gathering) near which people occasionally

encamp, but the water is said to be two or three miles distant at presen t.

Three miles farther on,after gen tly ascending, is the head of the KohuuRiver, such a miserable little n ullah that at first I could not distin

gu ish it, but it very rapidly increased to the dimensions of a mighty river

w ith high precipitous banks, but quite dry. Its bed, like that of thePinj , is a splendidly smooth road, with a very apparent descen t . In

only one place would artillery meet w ith any obstacle, this is at the

Trup-i-Kobun , which is much narrower than any part of the Bolan

Pass, being on ly ten or twelve feet wide, and crossed by rough fragments of rock . 300 yards lower down are a few holes of water.

At sixteen m iles five furlongs, the Kohnn joined the Poorallee River,down which we have come a couple of furlongs further, and encamped

on the right bank among the trees, which are here very thick and

afford good shelte r, but I would recommend no one to select so con

fined a spot, for the musquitoes are most annoying, and the sea breeze

so much excluded that at noon the thermometer indicated 104 degrees,and while I am writing (6 P . M.) it stands at 90 degrees.We havedescended 1729 feet in this march, and now the climate appears quite

changed—the beat all day has been most oppressive, and I have ex

perienced a degree of weariness and lassitude such as is common to

the Konknn in India at certain periods of the year, and I could easilyfancy myself there, for that peculiar noise, like the action of water,which the wind makes among the tamarisk trees and those of the

cassarina kind, resembles the beating of the sea against the shore.

The supply of water is plentiful and excellent, and fire-wood, grass,and camel forage abundant.Wat is the word for mon th

"in Judgallee, the language of the

Lns prov ince ; and the place where the Kobun River en ters the P00

rallee is called Kobun-wat, and is the usual encamping ground .

8th November . Monday .—Road very good ; for two miles and three

quarters it lay down the bed of the Poorallee, the

last quarter m ile being through thick jungle, and

inn“3} fur then along its left bank nearly the whole way , crossingongs.

numerous rivers and nullas. At five miles and a

uarter we passed a singular looking hill called Know Cheroe . The

gountry is now more open , the high mountains are left behind, th ose

to the eas tward are a considerable distance 06. while those wh ich

separate the province ofLns from Mukran are j ust appearing to the

westward . “e are pitched close to some fine fields of jowarree and

rice on the right bank of the Poorallee, which is here of great bread th .

Excellen t water from a running stream which supplies the Mill (Asses)lower down. Plenty of grass, but camel forage less abundan t than

hitherto.

9th to Noosmber .—We entered the Poon llee at two miles three

furlongs, and co ntinued down it for about two miles :

SHON E -“B B it is rather rough from small stones, but no t so as to“uv“mm" 11 impede guns. At three miles and three quarters“ll“?W“Aseea (the Mill) lay off to the right a short distance,

sand at seven and a half miles Turt urro. At eight

by walls and con tains 23 houses, three of them upper-roamed. Besides

these, there are in the town 450 houses, chiefly made of wattle and

dab, and all with bad geerees (ventilators) facing the sea breeze ; of

these 50 are empty, but probably only temporarily, most of them

are padlocked. There are 120 bun ias’shops open, and apparently

well supplied with goods, and 23 shut, two shops of the makers of thesandals peculiar to this province, and strikingly resembling those of

the ancient Grecian s, two shops of the makers of women’s shoes,

seven of tailors, four of carpen ters, two of blacksmiths, four of

goldsmiths, four of dyers in blue (Neerolee ) , three of potters, two of

ubbruk (printers of cloth for wear ing appar el) , three of confec

tioners, one of a butcher, one of a gunpowder maker, and eight of

oilmakers. There are also 13 muspds. The streets do not appear

to me so narrow and dirty as those of K ilat, but in some places

the etfluvia is far more disagreeable. The inhabitan ts are principallyHindoos. East of the town on the lower ground, are two arrota (wellsw ith Persian wheels worked by camels) and two wells without wheelson the west two arrn ts, and on the south one .

“About one koss eastward of the town is a mound, said to have been the

site of the former B ela : the trad i tion is, that the inhabitants were a most in i

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narasy Jamotra, while the other chief, Khallltdlnna, hold

tainiu 20 houses and one well.

16! Norman pretty good ; it

tracks throughBoon e-s o, 8

miles 4! furlgs.

settle. There isAt onewhere t

or .Wsdna dayF -Road extremelyway, although at first leaving our

R" difficult to find it ; it lies throughu s . 8 mi l” 2

extremely thick, requiring cutting“MW?“places, but artillery might travel th

with great ease. At about h

graves and the to

shallow and dry

ut no grass .

18th to 20mNovember_ Road very good the

or two places where it lies in a narrow

Oo'

run . 12 m iles short distance it would require levelling for artillery ,

furlongs. but this could be easily done, the ground being verye'gh t above th e

soft at one lace fiv d b If'

l fsea, 856 feet p e an a a m l es

.

rornBocheree, the bushes m us t be cut away, and It ts

just after this that one of the narrow nullas is .We crossed several

rivers, but none of any con sequence . At about the first m ile the

Ghar, 60yards broad at four and a half m iles the Kippeewullee ; at

four m iles six and a half furlongs, the Laeewarroa ; at five and a half

m iles, the Jarruk ; and at ten and a half m iles, the Kulhullee, 240

yards broad. At ten and three quarter m iles, we were stopped for

a short time by a rapid n ulla swo llen sudden ly by the rain which has

fallen in the hills . At n ine and a h alf m iles is the small village

called Dooloowallee, hav ing one well and 20 houses and at nearly ten

miles is another, somewhat larger, having one well and 25 houses,belonging to D ureea, chief of the Mandurra, who occupy both thesevillages.

Ootul con tains 7 wells about 60 feet deep, 200 houses , and 30 Eu

n ias’shops, and is chiefly occupied by Hindoos there are also 2 shops

147

o f tailors, 2 of sandal-makers, who also tan their own leather, I of a

b lacksmith, and l of a carpenter, who is likewise skilled in turn ing.

There is no grass, but abundance of excellent camel forage here, and

kurbee can be purchased. The Naib is Rehitndinna he is appointed

by the Jam, and is a good-tempered looking old gen tleman , with a nice

white beard unpolluted with the abom inable red or blue dye so much

used in this country .

Five furlongs to the south of Ootul is Dooroowallagot, con taining 1

well and 20houses it belongs to Jam Dooroo, a near relation of the

Jam’s. Three furlongs farther is Kulla, occupied by some of the

Boorra tribe ; it has 1 well and 15 houses.

2 l st Novemben—Road very good the whole way ; for the first mile

it lay through narrow lanes and by the two hamlets lastS

par

ta

f

at

“, men tioned, and then through thick jungle of wild caper

{1.52tflag; and tamarisk : at 2 m iles 7 furlongs we came upon the

.he a“, 0.

bank of the Kan tro (or Kulhullee) river, and proceededwith it on our left 3 furlongs (passing a nulla requir ing

smoothing ), and then crossing it, con tinued through a low jungle ex

tending to Shekh Raj , which is a miserable village chiefly occupied byB unias ; it has 25 houses and 7 shops

’

of Hindoos and Memuns, and

is supplied with water from the Poorallee—but should that river be

dry, water is said to be obtainable by digging 6 or 8 feet . The head

man is Khalikdinna, who is the principal chief of the Shekhs ; be re

sides here, but is at present absent at Bela. There is no grass to be

had, but kurbes can be purchased— camel forage abundant ; the water

is very muddled from the late rain, but as far as I can judge of it in itspresent state it is good.

Lyaree’ is 5} m iles to the N.W. byW., and I am told it contains

100houses and 20 B unias’

shops its Naib is Darogah B illal, a slave

of the Jam’s. The inhabitan ts are principally Hindoos its cultivation

depends on the water from the Poorallee, and when this fails the people

go to Ootul and elsewhere .

224 November . Monday—Shortly after leaving Shekh Raj , we

crossed the stream which supplies it with water ; it is

about 30 yards broad and waist deep ; the road is

pretty good, through j ungle, and for some distance

from the stream over ground covered with n ice green grass. This

spot is merely a halting ground, there is no village ; the water is in

4 pools about 3 feet deep, in what looks like the bed of a river or else

dry swamp. It is o ver this, I imagine, that at a period of copious

showers the dammed up waters of the Poorallee extend. At this

ground there is very little camel forage, and that little bad.

Cn uanoott,4 mls. 5frlgs.

Le is the 1 14d for tamarisk, wh ich abounds densely about this village ,whence its name ; perhaps it should be spe lt Learee .

22d to 26th Novanbn 'F -aRoad very good ; at about the 8 th mile

80there is a ridge of deep sand wh ich would be veryheavy for guns, and close to Sonmemuee the re is mother sand range less heavy than the first—neither of

them in m y opin ion is above 20 fleet h igh. It was not

until I ascended tha last, and was elose to the town, that l esugh t s ight

of the sea, the view of which, with its associations, must always impartindescribable deligh t to the heart of an Englishman .

The opinions regarding the Poorallee and the position of 80a

tree . are very conflicting. Lieut. Potti nger in his travels says , the vil

lage is advantageously si tuated on the southern bank of the Pooralleeriver ; Captain Harris of the Bomb ay Engineers, states it is on the

eastern bank of the Poorallee ;”and Captain Har t of the 2d Grenadier“

meat, that it is at the extremity of a lar e but shallow bay .

"but

in map which illustrates his pilgrimage to inglaj the Poorallee ismade to disembogue in to this bay . Maj or Outram blends the Foe tal

e village on the west of the

quirisa, which is, that this junction of the r

(be tween 16 and 20miles) west of the town . In corrobo ration of the

opin ion that the river en ters the bay, I must men tion the other account

I have heard, and which also I am inclined to believe ; it is, that the

river below Lyaree divides into two , one portion runn ing westward as

above men tioned, and the other finding its way in to the bay but as it

spreads and covers a large space, and resembles a marsh rather than a

river, th is may be the reason why its existence as the latter is den ied .

In addition to lh lS , I find Lieu tenan t Carless, of the Indian Navy,writes, that from the spo t 4 m iles N . E. of Lyaree where the Poorallee

receives the waters of the Hub (query , the Kan tro or Kulhullee to

its mouth, the river has n o bad ; that, as the river fills during the

rains, the dam (constructed to co nfine the waters) is swept away, and

the water escapes through a level plain covered with bushes, about 5

m iles broad, which it inundates to a depth of two or three feet. Thisplain is bounded by the sand h tlls on the coast, and extends in a wind

ing directio n to the mouth of the river, which is situated at the head

l

of the harbour o f Son tneeanee, and on ly runs 4 or 5 m iles in to the

and .

”

Sonmeeanee is on the eastern side of the bav . close to the edge of

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150

the presen t state of the country would be enormous—but this, on oect

sions of emergency , would be more than counterbalanced by the rapidi t

with which troops could be poured in to the upper country . As 1

personal safety to stragglers, there is a strong comparison to be drawn

in the Bols n, to remain behind in ten tionally is to be guilty 4

file do se—not so in the Jhalswsn territory from the particular en

quiry I have made on th is head, I am perfectly satisfied, that though

straggler would be robbed , yet he would not inevitably be murders

too ; this cannot be said of the Sarawan districts and their bloodthirstoccupan ts, whether they are at war or peace with us. I believe no de

scri ption of harm was experienced by Captain Leeson’

s de tachmen

and with regard to myself, it has been seen how unmolested I hav

travelled, and this comfortable state of affairs was not caused by an

terror of grape and cannister. I was personally unarmed, and almos

always alone with the moonshee and a sowar or two, and m ight easil'

have been cut down or shot at any time.

In conclusion , I must request great indulgence in behalf of thi

Journal. Unfortunately the instruments with which I was supplied tsurvey the road were so extremely bad , that my labour has been inconceivably increased, and, since the hour I left Kilat, the mapping dOWlof the daily work, rendered extremely intricate by the innumerable ohservatious I have been compelled to take, has so entirely consumed at

,

time and occupied my attention, that I have been utterly unable t

make enquiries on many poin ts of interest, so that these pages are as

cessarily wanting in much valuable information .

Gsonc s Hanav Ro s anr so s , L ieutena n t,

25mRegimen t B ombay Native Iva/huh },

l50

the present state of the country would he enormous—but this, on occa~

sions of emergency, would be more than coun terbalanced by the rapiditywith which tm ps could be poured into the upper country . As to

personal safety to stragglers, there is a strong comparison to be drawn

in the Bolas , to remain behind inten tionally is to be guilty of

file do se—not so in the Jhalawan territory : from the particular en

quiry I have made on this head, I am perfectly satisfied, that though a

straggler would be robbed, yet he would not inevitably be murderedtoo ; this cannot be said of the Sarawan districts and their bloodth irs tyoccupants, whether they are at war or peace with us. I believe no de

scription of harm was experien ced by Captain Leeson’

s detachment,and with regard to .myself, it has been seen how unmolested I have

travelled, and this-comfortable state of afl'

airs was not caused by anyterror of grape and cann ister. I was personally unarmed, an d almost

always alone with the moonshee and a sowar or two, and migh t easilyhave been cut down or shot at any time .

In conclusion, I must request great indulgence in behalf of this

Journal. Unfortunately the instruments with which I was supplied to

survey the road were an extremely bad, that my labour has been inconceivably increased, and, since the hour I left K ilat, the mappin downof the daily work, rendered extremely intricate by the innumere e oh

nervations I have been compelled to take,

time and occupied my attention, that I

make enquiries on many points of interest, so that

cessarily wanting in much valuable information .

Gam ma Han a? Roeaa 'rso rt, L ieutenant,

25th Regimen t B ombay Native Infan try .

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157

B rief Histor ical, Geographical, and Statistical Memoir on Okto

muudeL‘ By Captain G . L. G . Jace s , l st Assistant to the Poli

tical Agen t in charge Katteewar .

[Pru ented by Government ]

Oxn anm m . is a triangular tract of land lying north and south ,

about 30miles in length , and 14 or 15 in breadth. situated between a

small Runn , the Gulf of Ke tch, and the sea. Its ch ief towns are

Dwarka and Be t ;Wurwala, Posheetra, Arumbhra, and Dhenkee, &c.

are the principa l v illages . lt originally belonged to the tribes ofWadhel Rajpoots and“'aghers, in the following proportions, viz.

BeLT Dwarlra.

Arumbhra. Dhenkee.

Posheetra. And the subordinate villagesthereto.

And the subordinate v illages thereto.

These tri bes principally were indebted for the ir support to the heavytax (kur) exacted from pi lgrims to Dwarka and Bet, and to plunder

both by land and sea, to wh ich they were greatly add icted ; the

re venue customs were accord ingly very lim ited, and the agriculturalresources less . The origin of these tribes is lost in obscuri ty : bysome they are supposed to be aborigines of the so i l ; their habits noware as described by the Greeks 2000 years ago .§B etween the years A. D . I801 and 1804, the in h abitants of Bet and

Dwarka were concerned in the plunder of a vesse l belonging to mer

chants oi B ombay, during wh ich act they flung o verboard a lady and

gen tleman who were passengers in the vessel .“T he circumstance becom ing known in Bombay, armed vessels were sen t against Okha, butafter remain ing a short time they returned reinfectfi. Government,however, directed that Okha should gi ve compensation for the losssustained ; but the call made on the chiefs was not attended to : the

confidence they felt in the ir own strength induced them to make light

Common! written Oka, but I have followed the correct orthography.

1' The islan of Bet is situated in the Gulph of Kutch . and is commun icated

with from the mainland by a. ferry . It l l also called Shunkood hur .

”from its

resemblance to the shunk or“conch she ll, and from the Duet Shunkasoor

hav ing h is nativi there . It is 15miles long b 2 b read .

I A small fort nown by the name of Kutc 100 Ghur is situated near th isplace, belonging to th e B oo of Ke tch . It was built to protect Kutoh vesselsfrom the pirates of the coun try.

s It has been sta ted without. 1 th ink, satisfactory proof, that they may betraced to Kutcb .

ll Such is my information, but I have no dooameutsry proof of the allegation .

40

Mukundpoor

B orketr. 000 000 Wl ‘ie .

RungpoorWurwallaKee lapoor

P‘dlee 0 00

Gureehee

NagasurRungasur

Wuss e

Tee turiaMehwasa

Tobs r (Mbe loe)Tobnr (Nhanee )

B elonging to the tatDn m 'e‘

of Poshcetra.

Dwarka (Gomtee)L‘d" 000

Umrl poor 0 00 000

Dhm kec

Churnkla Waste .

Bbawroo Dhansharoo

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l6¢

Kaolin, to shew the sheet whi

sh i p in Counci l be pleased toshal l then forward what I am directed to prepare.

3. i t was my inten tion, inSoils

necessary for me to godistrict to complete my information upon

ducts, for a descriptive work which 1 amI have the honour to be,

(Signed ) J. C

Bowaccr u e , 2oth April, 1811 .

no herb growing on them , bu t

they lay upon a bed of kunkur, wh ich is sometimes, asof cons iderable depth.

3. These beds of Soda soi l are wel l known to the nati ves, who cal lthem in Tamul, Chour- munnoo, and extract the Soda for the purposeof fluxing pounded wh ite quartz to make bangles w i th . The dhobeesalso collect the earth , and by lixivating it, make a solution of Soda,wh ich they use in wash ing clothes, by adding quick l ime to make the

so lution caustic . But so ignoran t are they in general of the princ i pleof the mode of use, that they often convey the earth sometimes fiftym i les. not being aware that the labour of carriage m ight be decreasedby extracting the sal t.4. The bangle-makers extract the impure Soda by mixing the earth

w ith water in a pit, and allowing it to settle ; the solution is then

drawn off, and e vaporated by sprinkling it on cow-dung spread uponthe surface of a gran i te rock . When the cake has become about halfan inch in th ickness, it is taken 06 and is broken in to pieces, in wh ichstate it is cal led Chour-bi llah, and is stored in h ouses for use, some

t imes to the amount of 400maunds .

5. The Chour-billah is sold at the rate of 17; rupees per ton, and

contains 23 per cen t. of insoluble matter, the soluble part being in

165

greatest part all carbonate of soda, w ith a l ittle vegetab le and extrac

t i ve matter, and some muriate and sulphate of soda in small quant i ty .

A solution of it wi l l not crystall ize in consequence of the extractivematter, and the natives are qu ite ignorant of the mode of crystalliaingit, and do not even know that it contains a salt.6. In Bengal soda soi ls are also found but according to Dr.

O’

shaughnessy (Manual of Chem istry, p. it contains 15per cen t .of sulphate of soda, wh ich salt be ing more soluble in hot than coldwater, cannot be separated by crystallization from the carbonate ; and

the product of these so ils in Bengal cannot, therefore , be applied toany useful purpose, un less the very expensive process of decomposingthe su lphate by fusion in a furnace is resorted to.

7 . B eing engaged in an extensive chem ical exam ination of the

m inerals of this district, in which pure carbonate of soda is required inconsiderable quantity as a flux, and as the price of the salt, as vendedin retai l at Madras, is very great, it has occurred to me to endeavourto supply the wan t from the m ineral resources of the country.

8 . I have found by experimen t, that a very pure carbonate of sodamay be separated from the crude soda, wh ich the so i ls of the Barramahal yie ld, by s imply charring the Chour- billah or the residue, after

evaporating to dryness in a gen tle heat, by wh ich the extracti ve andvegetable matters are converted into charcoal, and can then be s implyextracted by filtering, and the solution w i l l then crystal l ize on evapo

rating to a pellicle. The first crystal lization gives a tolerably puresoda, coloured a l ittle by the impuri ties, but after crystall iz ing three or

four t imes, the crystals are beautifully wh ite and transparent ; andafter six crystall izations, the salt is so pure as hardly to gi ve any precipitate with n i trate of barytes after supersaturation wi th n itric ac id,denoting, thereby, the nearly total absence of any muriate or sulphate.

9. In England great quanti ties of carbonate of soda are required inglass-making, soap-mak ing, and dye ing. Th is was formerly preparedfrom the Span ish bari l la, wh ich contains, according to D r. Ure, mu

riate and sulphate of soda, l ime, and alum ina, and on ly at most 24 percen t. of soda. A large quantity was also made from kelp prepared inthe Scottish Isles ; but this is no longer manufactured, as it has beenfound that in consequence of the cheap price of sulphuric acid, sodacan be manufactured by decomposing the muriate of soda (commonsalt) at a price wh ich remunerates the manufacturer.

10. In this operation, the muriate is first decomposed by heating it.in leaden vessels with sulphuric acid, by wh ich the muriatic gas isdriven ofi

‘

, and wh ich is condensed and allowed to run to waste, as ofno value, -the demand in the arts for muriatic acid being very smal l .The resulting sulphate of soda is then m ixed wi th charcoal and somelime, and is roasted by a powerful heat in a reverberatory furnace, bywh ich it is partly decomposed and formed into sulphuret of soda,wh ich, by further heat and stirring, is again decomposed, and the sul

phur volatilired, and an impure mixture of carbonateand charcoal, results, which is called in trade blackarticle of commerce .

11. Th is impure pr

in mak ing sal tpetre, the i nference that the expense w i ll be nearly thesame in both manufactures may be allowed, and as saltpetre is madefor two rupees per maund, therefore it would seem that nearly pu recarbonate of soda can be manufactured in South India for less thanfive rupees per cwt.

16. As the so i ls wh ich y ield th is product are now qui te unproduc

tive, and the time required for the manufacture is during the d ryweather when the ryuts are unemployed, the agricultural produce can

not be affected, wh ile the revenue w ill he certain ly increased .

17 . Whi le the cotton trade of South Ind ia is so rapidly increasing,an article for export wh ich wi l l serve the purpose of dead we ight fo rbal last in the sh ips will be m uch required, and as carbonate of soda isnot affected by exposure to air or damp, it may be packed in bags andw ill be useful for the purpose.

18 . As these soi ls are of l im ited extent, and as the manufacturecannot be carried on during the whole year, therefore the producemust always be l im i ted , and the introduction of the article into themarkets of England cannot affect the present market price, becausethe quanti ty yielded in India can only take the place of a certain quan

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168

3. The kaolin is, in some places, several feet in thickness, and i s

generally of a pure wh ite colour and soft greasy fee l, and is sometimesmixed wi th a fine quartoze sand in smal l quan tity .

4. Th is kaol in is mentioned by Dr Heyne, who m istook it for pipeclay,—a m istake which seems strange in an observer general ly so cor

rect in his remarks and researches .

5. The extent of th is bed of kaol in I have not had an opportun i tyof ascer tain ing ; but 1 know that it is found from Bangalore as farnorth as Nundydroog.

6. That th is kaolin is fitted for the manufacture of the finer k indsof pottery and porcelain, l have not been able to ascertain by directexperiment, in consequence of the laborious process, and, to an indivi

dual, expensive apparatus required to grind it down to an impalpablepowder by stones of hornstone under wate r but from its m ineralogical characters, I bel ieve there can be l ittle doubt of its be ing of finer

qual ity than many k inds in England.7. My atten tion was called to the m ineral , in consequence of be ing

engaged in researches on the fusi bi l ity of the rocks and m inerals of theSalem district—generally called igneous, in which it was necessary toexpose them to a very h igh degree of heat in a wind furnace sumciently to fuse cast-stee l, and for wh ich I could procure no crucibles ata suiiicien tly cheap rate, and I have found th is kao l in, when m ixed w i thun equal quan ti ty of finely-pounded quartz, to fully answer the pur

pose of affording cruci bles and covers upon which the most intenseheat has hardly any efl

'

ect, the outside be ing on ly sl ightly, by the alkal i of the fuel, and the crucible be ing very slightly softened. Theyare also much superior to those called Hess ian, in not cracking unless

by very extreme changes of temperature .

8 . In Calcutta, there are probably many manufactures carried on. in

the fusion of metals, &c ., where th is earth wou ld be of great value, and

it m ight even be useful in the manufacture of fire-bricks for l in ing furnaces. &c., if the carriage by land for 200miles would not render themtoo expensi ve.

9. At Madras, at the m int, for mak ing mufles and crucibles ; at the

gun ocarriage manufactory, and in several other manufacturing depots,this kaol in m ight be useful, and a manufacture of the articles m igh t beeither es tablished at Bangalore, or the earth itself m ight be transported .

10. Coarse ch inaware is an article of import from Ch ina, and platesof th is ware are purchased in considerable quanti ties by some of the

nati ves at 4 annas each, whi le it is reaso nable to suppose that these arti cles m ight M ly be manufactured in Mysore at a cheap rate. w i thoutthe necessity of any very expensive mach inery being required .

(Signed) J. Cam an n, Cap tain,Assistan t Surveyor Genera l.

3. The kaol in is, in some plam m veral fest in thickness, and i s

generally of afipn

ure white colour and soft

mixed wi th a ne quartoze sand in smal l quantity.

4. Th is kao lin is mentioned by D rHeyne, who mistook it for pipeclay,—a m istake which seems strange i n an observer general ly so cor

rect in his remarks and researches .

6. The extent of this bed of kaol in I have not had an opportunitynf amertaiuing ; but 1 know that it is found from Bangalore as far

north as Nundydroog.

6. That th is kaol in is fitted for the manufac ture of the finer kindsof pottery and porcelain, I have not been able to ascertain by directexperiment, in consequence of the laborious process, and. to an ind ivi

dual, expensive apparatus required to grind it down to an im

l pabtepowder by stones of hornstone under water ; but from its mm

cal characters, I believe there can be l ittle doubt of its be ing of finer

are also much superior to those cal led Hess ian, inby very extreme changes of temperature .

8 . In Calcutta, there are probably many manufactures carried on, inthe fus ion of metals, &c ., where th is earth would be of great value, andit migh t even be useful in the manufacture of fire-bricks for l in ing furnaces, &c. , if the carriage by land for 200m i les would not render themtoo expensi ve.

9. At Madras, at the m int, for mak ing mufies and crucibles , at the

gun carriage manufactory, and in several other manufacturing depots,this kaol in m ight be useful, and a manufacture of the articles m igh t beei ther established at Bangalore, or the earth i tself m ight be transported.

10. Coarse ch inaware is an article of import from Ch ina, and p latesof th is ware are purchased in considerable quan ti ties by some of the

nati ves at 4 annas each, wh ile it is reasonable to suppose that these ar

ticles m ight easily be manufactured in Mysore at a cheap rate . w ithoutthe necessity of any very expensi ve mach inery being required.

(Signed) J. CAMP B ELL, Cap tain ,Assistan t S u rveyor General.

169

Memoir , in three par ts, of the River Eup hr ates. Drawn up by Com

mander H. B . LYNCH, of the Indian Navy, while in command of the

Euphrates Floti lla.

[Presented by Government.]

Memoir to accomp any the Cha rt of the River E uphrates.

Sheet A0. l .—The survey of the Ri ver Euphrates was commencedin the mon th of October, 184 l , in the s team vessels Nitocrt

'

s and N'

rod, under the command of Commander H . Blosse Lynch, assisted byLieutenan ts Campbe ll, Jones, and G rounds, I. N .

A ser ies of chronometrical measuremen ts connect the ri ver at the

l ight station below Bales w i th the Med iterranean at Sawediah and

Alexandretta, and wi th the C i ties of Aleppo and An tioch.

The chart shews the r iver in its lowes t state, and is constructed fromtrigonometrical measureme n ts from a base l ine, measured on the level

plain bt tween Bales and G iaber. The instruments used were a brass

chain 66 feet 8- inch theodo li te , by G i lbert (a very good instrumen t)and excellent sextan ts, by Troughto n and S ims . The chro nometers

were an e ight-day M‘Cabe, No . 262 ; Hedger

’s e ight-day, No . 473 5

and a po cke t chronometer by Tobrias, No . 179. The astronom icalposit ions were determ ined by single and merid ian altitudes of sun ,

moon, and stars, and Inner d istances. The scale of the chart is one

inch to a geograph ical m ile taken at 2025yards. The bed of the riveris shewn in the chart tw ice its actual breadth, to enable the shoals to

be mo re clearly v i s ib le o n that scale .

The sheet No. 1. extends from Bales to the m ines of Edhein . The

Euphrates, in th is part of its course , during the low seasons is ex

tremely shal low in many places, and is navigable on ly by vesse lsdrawing not more than two feet watt r. The bed is composed of loosepebbles, wh ich are easi ly moveable by the stream ; during the spr ingfloods (when the curren t is very rapid ), they are swept along the straightreaches, and the narrow parts through of the r i ver, and deposited wherethe rapidi

'

y of the stream is checked e ither by its becom ing w ide r, orby some natural obstacle or sudden change of course. The ri ver, in itslowest state,may be properly described as a success ion of long deep pools,wi th s light current, d i v ided and he ld up by shallow pebbly bars extend

ing across be low them from bank to bank. The curren t is r apid overthese bars from 3} to tli nules per hour. but the log does not show the

degree of ve loc ity, or the res istance a vesse l would have to o vercome inascenuing over them, as the l ine of curren t is in all considerably inclined ; very light vessels alone could be got past them, and palingmigh t in some cases be requisi te— indee d all vesse ls employed on the

Euphrates should be furn ished w i th po les and sweeps for the moreSpeedy passage of these obstacles.The most uificult passages are lettered in the chart. and a separate

description given of them 3 the river, however, frequently changes its1:

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173

D escrip tion of the B anks of the Euphrates, continuedf rom a former

Memoir.

B ELOWEthdelieen about four m i les, and on the same side, are the.

ruins of Soo rieh, of the Saracene age : the principal remains are thoseof a square fo rt of brick , surrou nded by low heaps of ruin . The

natives have a tradi tion that the SP'

N 'G between Soorieh' end Ethdeheen,and on as much further to the bluff promo n tory called Siche r, wasonce the s i te of a state l y c i ty. Ruins and remnants of pottery are

thin ly strewn o ver most of th is space .

O ppos i te Soorieh, on the left hank of the ri ver, are the rui ns of Al

B i lian i, formerly a smal l octagonal temple on the cliff : there are now

some rude columasf strewn around, and the ruins of a m i ll in the r iver

just below it.At Shergiani is a mound on the same range as Al B illan i, and is

said to be the s ite of an old bui lding : a round mound is all that

rematns.'

l’

he blnfl'

promon tory, about 7 m iles below on the same

s ide, is called by the Arabs S icher,”from the remai ns of wall s that

extend from its base in to the ri ver.We found here the foundationof two w alls of beaut ifully cut stone extending 18 to 20 feet

from the righ t bank in to the stream , and pro bably still fartherunder water, slan t ing downwards, parelle l, and about 20 feet apart.

There are also the remai ns of a brick bui lding of the Saracens

age abo ve the cliff. and there have been o ther exte nsi ve and veryancien t buildings at th is spot : the stones are beautifully cut, w i th theprojections of the under layers carved off n i th great care .We wereat a loss to accoun t for the purpo se fo r wh ich these walls had been

erected w ith such care and e legance, un ti l we d isco vered the remai nsof a canal on the oppo s i te shore runn i ng by the m um of He ragnlla

(Heracles ?) to Rogga— the ruins of wh ich are in s ight from this.

The Arabs state that it was de ri ved from the ri ver at th is poin t, andtold me a l i ttle tale, wh ich say s that a fai r Queen of Rogga made the

format ion of th is canal the price o f her lo ve . The ru ins we saw are

doubtless those of its breastwork and defences.

From Sicher the mounds of Abd Ali, Heragulla, and B ogga on the

left bank, are in sight. Abd Ali is merely a mound on “inch ruinsare said to have been known by the Arabs. Heragulla is a squarefortress 590 paces round, on the left bank, and 100 yards d istan tfrom the canal, which extends from S icher to Rogga. It is appa

rently very ancien t. of s tone, brick. and in the lower parts the old

system of strata of l ime and pebbles. On the superstructure are

Balsa—Tbs expression It is as old as Bales, ts common in this part ofthe Euphrates.

f 14 inches minors by two inches deep, kiln burn t.

3 Arabic . T edee , pops. T hedeheen , two pape

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175

Kesra from their be ing, in the passage of the clinic, enabled to breakand defeat all the enem ies that attack them. This is, however, merelya boast, and on ly worthy of note as showing the difficulty of the

passes on to the plain .

The ruins of Rogga are of the Saracens age, and occupy the siteof Gallenicum and Nicephorum. It is the nearest po in t of the ri verto the ancient Haran. and the h igh road from the Euphrates to Orfa

and Mesopotam ian Comagene.

'

l here are no remains of any interest ;the bui ld ings are of brick, and a ruined m i naret is the most prom inentfeature of the ancien t c i ty, wh ich has been of great exten t.

There are several traces of ruins along the river on the Mesopo.

tamian side, as at Sheik Moose Alhhan ”and “Sel Humaitha,

”

but they were probably on ly forts of commun ication or caravansariesof a latter age ; and, on the bo ld cl iffs of the Syrian side, the fortress

of Snfi‘

cin Anchyla and Jeslah, all of the Saracen ic age— or probablySaracenic bui ldings over older ruins, show that the valley of the

Euphrates has once been we ll guarded .

Not many m iles below Phunsah , at a place called by the ArabsAl Ghater,

” is a very remarkable cavern or grotto in the cl iti', w i thfresh water trick l ing from the rocks that form its roof ; the cave isabout 40yards broad. by above 100 in length, f ormed out of the l imestone rock by the constant action of the l ittle stream that tricklesthrough it.

There are the remains of a canal runn ing along the valley, midwaybetween the clifi

'

s and ri ver.We traced it,many m i les, and it is said

by the Arabs to be derived from the ri ver near Phunsah—we couldfind no traces of it so high, but its d irection adds probabi lity to the iraccoun t, and the r i ver has changed its bed so much, that the canal canonly be traced on the h igher levels above the al luv ial so i l of the val ley.

The clifi'

s on the Syrian side extend all the way to Al Hams,”

where the river has broken through them— I should probably rather

say runs through them, as the volcan ic matter th ick ly strewn on them,

and from which they take their name of the B lack Cliffs, would leadme to suppose that they were sent by Other power than that of the

river, which may have found and occupied the on ly passage by wh ichit could escape to the southward. after a long course to the east

ward. Thc beautiful ruins of Helibe ”on the right bank, occupy

and command the gorge, extend ing from the clitt‘

to the stream.

It is of the age of the lower Roman empire. bui lt of lame carvedb locks of coarse white marble. The masonry is of a h igh order asto strength and beautys - srches of the Roman order, with brick domesof the fist Saracen ic style. It is difficult to judge whether the brickcovering of these domes and the arches wh ich support them, are ofthe same age, but an examination of the tombs would lead me tobelieve that they are all of the same period, the brick having been

introduced for lightness and probably greater durability than the sofi

marble of the lower wal ls and arches.

The ci tade l is on the cl iff abo ve, iso lated from, and commanded by,the surrounding ch ill , from wh ich it is separated by a deep gorge .

From the ci tade l, s trong wal ls w i th square towers extend to the ri ver,enc losing w i th the rtver wal l a triangular space, the river lace of wh ichis 600 paces, the o ther sides twice the length the wal ls are now 36 fee tin he ight by 8 fee t th ick, and the he ight of the c i tade l abo ve the lowerwall is 315feeL—tlte wall be ingabout 40feet above th e le vel of the ri ver.The space w i thin the walls is nearly vacan t, wi th the exception orthe ruins of two churches, and some bui ld ings about them . T he palace

is about two-thirds of the way up the north wall, on the shoulder o f the

c liff, and extends beyond the wall. I cal l it the palace. as be ing so

termed by the nati ves , from be i ng the largest of the square towe rs or

proj ecti ons from the wall, and the beauty of the arches that supportedthe domes— some of wh ich remai n , and the execu tion of the maso n ryrender it probable that it was once the residence of the ch ief of the

fortress.

The tombs or man

are a remarkab le feature in the gorge o f He libe .

'

l hey are nume

rous and in various states of rui n ; two however remai n sufficien t ly

p erfect to enable us to fo rm a j ust conceptio n of the i r original sta te.

T he larges t is s i tuated some It t tle d i stance up the cliff, about half arude to th e Northward of Hc ltbe . The form of the bui ld ing is a

square of 20 fee t , and abo r t d ouble the he igh t ; halfof wh ich shews a“all ornamen ted w i th pil tsters of well executed masonry, and the

o ther half now a pyram idal rui n, was probably a dome or pyram idal roof. The en trance to the tomb is n ow thro ugh the bro

lten wal l, where probably the doorway o nce was placed . On enter

ing the tomb, a square chamber is befo re you, havi ng an arched

recess on each side ; the floo r of the recess is raised a l i tt le more than

two fee t on three narrow vaults , probab ly receptacles for the rofli tte o f

the i nferior mem bers of the house ; the princ ipal eotfins were pro bablyplaced in the recess abo ve the recesse s . On the edge of the pedime n tthree small figures stood in h igh relief : the ir mut i lated fo rms couldgi ve no idea o f the degree of exce llence w i th which they were executed .

The roof of the cham ber closed in on all sides above the ped imen t,and though not arched, the incl in i ng walls gave all the effect of a dome.

Outside the door of the lower chamber, wh ich occupies all the lower

177

area of the tomb, a staircase leads to the right along, and just insidethe outer wall, encircling a middle and upper chamber. The middle

chamber was differen t in arrangement from the one described, havingmerely three vaults in the side for cofiins, and the recess above them

on which others may have been placed. The upper or third story is

now in ruins, but the traces of the stair case leading around the cham

ber are still visible.

Another tomb, a mile to the south of B elibe, shews a difi'

erent ar

rangement of the interior—the exterior being nearly similar. There isthe flight of steps winding from the base all round the building, and

small vaults at intervals occupy the in terior, which, with this exception,appears solid. In the seco nd vault from the bottom, a coffin had,within a few years, been opened by some Arabs.We found the re

mains of it, and the remains of an embalmed body which they had

disturbed. The coverings of the body were of very fine linen and

silks, with a resinous composition, which had been used to prwerve

the body . A rude mask of gold was found among the rubbish in the

coffin, which had escaped the search of the Arabs .

The form of the tomb, the winding steps, which brought to my mind

the ascents of the more magnificent structure s of antiquity ; the evi

dent practice of embalming, and the use of the gold mask, which probably, though now much flattened, bore the semblance of the tennan t

of the tomb, argued a greater degree of antiquity for these tombs than

the appearance of the ruin of Helibe had led me to assign to it. The

caves or tombs in the cliffs much resemble those of Seleucia Peria”

and Arfa,”ancien t Eddesse, and may be older than the principal part

of the m in, which I should assign, from its architecture, to the time

when the Roman legions lay on the banks of the Euphrates.

Below, on the cliffs of the left bank, hang the ruins of Zelibe : theyare of the same age, but the greater portion have fallen with the cliffinto the stream be low, and nothing remains to denote their particularcharacter ; a fine canal runs from them, along the high level of the leftbank, as far as the Khabour, which once watered the rich valley and

plain between the Mesopotamian hills and the Euphrates. The canalcan now be traced by its ruins.

Below the gorge, the valley of the Euphrates again opens to its

usual breadth, and presen ts a beautiful plain, on either side occupied

by the Do-Snbeye, and Buggara Arabs, whose encampment com

mences here on the left bank. A splendid range of clifi‘

s of calcareousstone and marble, mixed with coarse marble, bounds the valley on theSyrian side, and the h ills of Mesopotamia fall far back, leaving a richtable land between them and the alluvial valley .

The canal of Zelibe,”

probably trench of Sem iramis,”ran through

this elevated plain, and the ruined walls of an extensive city, now called800

5001 Hamar, lay on the point between the Euphrates and the

can

The long grass is now growing over the ruins, and save for their

Y

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179

margin of the river, form a noble object over this part of the valley of

the Euphraws, and the tomb and minaret of Meschid Ali, with the

sacred grove on the lefi bank, add to the beauty of the scene. The

castle is said by the natives to have been built by Rahal) ibu Ageir il

Amlachi, prior to the Mahommedan era ; to have been besieged and

destroyed by Ali, and te-peopled by Sultan Murad in his progress to

Bagdad. It ofl'

ers evidence of great an tiquity, and is wholly difi‘

erent

from the ruins hitherto met on these banks the principal portion of

the m in is of large blocks of cut stone, of a species of coarse white

marble, carved with great care round the edges on the face of the

block, which is left rough and protruding in the centre, after a sty le, I

think, known as the Etruscan, and the same as that of the Pitti Palace

at Florence. The southern side of the building, which was probablythe principal face, presen ts a long high wall, flanked by

‘

square towers

at either end, and pierced with windows and embrasures in the lower

floor ; a range of apartments ran along this face and commanded an

unbounded view of the desert, which is here perfectly level, clothed

with the richest verdure (and about 150 feet above the level of the val

ley) . An immense hall, built of hew n stone, of the same order, of an

angular form , runs at the back of this suite, and occupies the centre of

the building. Several parts of the building are of brick, as are some of

the vaults under the castle, which are very extensive, arched with a

slightly pointed arch.We found the head of a flight of steps in one of

the vaults, near the north west angle. The steps are now choked upwith the ruins, but are said by the late inhabitants of the castle to ex

tend to the level of the valley, and they have heard that they once ex

tended to the river. The river, however, once ran close to the castle,where the perfect level shews its deserted bed.

There is a deep well in the interior of the castle ; it is now dry, but

the water is said to have been brackish. There are also several wells

of good water in the now dry ditch of the castle.

The in terior of the ruin is strewn with the humbler ruins of thehouses of the Arabs who within the last 30years dwelt in the castle,and who declare themselves the lineal descendants of Rahab ibu Ageir,the Amalekite. The chief of them, who now with the remnan t of hisrace reside at the little town of Meadeen, accompanied me on my v isit

to the ruin, and his countenance spoke strongly in favour of his claimto Jewish extraction.

The tablet of an inscription, probably Arabic, from its few remaininglines, and having been on a part which has evidently been repaired at a

later date than that of the ruin , may still be seen on the outside wall ofthe southern face. My guide told me that he had seen inscribed stoneslaying about the building, but we were not so fortunate as to find any.

The castle is now deserted, the last inhabitants having been unable tomaintain their communication with the river, when the Anczc Arabs firstled their flocks and predatory bands to the vicinity of the Euphrates.

i80

From the summit of the castle, the ruins of Circesiutn at the mouth

of the Khsbour, are visible ; the little town 0

bank, about 10m iles distant, and the ruins of the canal whichtioned as extending from Deir to this place . The Mesopotamian side

has taken the character of a vast unbroken level, but the cliffs still holdin the valley of the Euphrates on the Syrian side .

There is nothing in the little town of Meadeen to attract attentionits size, population, and revenue has been noticed under the proper

The little town of Ashamh, on the right Mnk, which the

passed shortly after leaving Meadeen, may be elm with it,except the tradidon of the natives would makeit more ancien t. It isnow only a rude assemblage of Arab huts.

H. B. Lt s en ,

D escrip tion of the River Euph rates, between B ales and Giaber , i tsthe Loss Seam .

After passing Bales, which is now some distance from its margin,the river is broken into several small channels, having a depth, as

shewn by the map, of from 3 to 15 feet over a pebbly bottom, with a

stru m of from four miles per hour to one or one and a half.Where the stru m is much divided, and the bed broad, the navigationin drawing more than three feet is very dificult, the passages

being narrow, tortuous, and the entrance often crossed by the stream.

It would be useless to enumerate the various shoal places which occur

su lly at the turn of every reach, the water collecfing and runningwn under the high alluvial bank, which, gradually breaking ofl

“into

a low pebbly point, throws ofi‘

shoals all across the river, generally car

tying a depth of three feet six inches to four feet, but in many plan“as low as three fee t. A description of the G iaber shoal marka lchart A, may serve to give an idea of the nature of them.

The river in one bed of three

hundred yards bread is swelled

slightly by two low pebblyhanks, situated respectivelyabout fifty yards from either

side ; the main body of water

flows down with a depth of five

fa t between the heads of the

shoals, till the retiring form of

them show the water to spread,when it deerm cs to two feet

from shoal to shoal, barring the

passage to boats drawing more

than twen ty inches, and then

difiw lt. Betwm the heads of

the shoals and each bank, the

pebbly ledge extends with a

18 l

depth of three feet by the sounding pole, but the obstruction being

partly the cause of the swell in the stream, there is, in reality,not water for a vessel drawing more than two feet n ine inches at

most. Afier passing this bar, the water which is narrowed by the

form of the shoals. runs with great rapidity, and deepens the channel

from five to seven feet un til clear through it ; the length is about

one hundred and fifty yards, current four miles per hour. I pass

over thns cursorily the shoals in the river between Bales and G iaber,because, from the bed of the river changing with every yearly rise

and fall of water, no directions could be given for passing them ; a

pilot will always be necessary, but it will be generally found that

which ever passage the river takes on the subsiding of the springflood, it generally maintains and deepens it during the low season : so

that an officer constantly running on the stream would watch the river

and easily navigate it, while ignorant of it in heavy vessels we find it

almost impracticable.

River between Giaber and Room .

Afterpassing the

Giaber or A shoal.

the river turns to

wards the cliffs

under HobbousePoint, forming a

shoal reach, at thelower part ofwhich

is a dificnlt rapidB , with four feet inthe centre channel.

The river then runs

slowly till near C,above which there

ed by the meeting of two streams (a large island having been passedon the right bank ) the passage is in the middle, with four feet water.stream very rapid. On to D the river is good, but at D the shoal extends nearly to the left bank, where there is only three feet water ; both

From the description of the G iaber shoal it will be seen that the centreWwasfi

nd to the lower end of the shoals where it was shut up, and thatthe passage tween the shoals and either bank was shut it at their upper

mand deep below. A similar character applies to most 0 the Euphrates

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183

only a narrow passage of three feet, over a quick-sand, which the ves

sels crossed, after some little difficulty and delay. The river is then

good to Howej Furrej, where, just under the ruin and promontorycalled Al Billiani, there are the remains of brick-work in the river, overwhich the stream rushes with great rapidity, with three feet four inches

water on the left side of the ruin . About 500 yards further on , the

water is shoal and divided into several channels, with on ly two feet

ten inches to three feet, over sand, close to the island of Furrej . Thencethe river is good to Soorrieh and on to the Sicker below, which is a

difficult passage through the shoals, with three feet six inches to Ris

asch . Channels from this to Bales are intricate and difficult, steamers

making only four to five miles per day progress

The Risasch, or ancient bridge at Pbunseb, is a mass of modernmasonry in the cen tre of the river, of? a bold promon tory (calledPhunseh) laying on some very fine ancient masonry of cut stone, evi

den tly the piers of a bridge ; there is three feet six inches water on both

sides of them, and then by the left bank for some little distance—goodwood on the banks. The river changes its character at Phunseh,and, instead of the long pools and pebbly bars h itherto met, low fiat

mud banks begin to appear, the river being less rapid and more even

in its course, and the navigation much easier. The shoals off Racca

are, however, very intricate ; the passage is now on the left bank, but

from their nature species of quicksand) very changeable. At Nimrod

island a bar eaten a across the river with only three feet, and below,

along the island between it and the Mesopotamian side, are several

quicksands and sunken trees, one of which went through the Nimrodsteamer on the l6th February, 1842. The passage is close in with the

left bank, with n ine feet water, (passage) forty to fifty yards broad.

The first rise in the river occurred on the 2d of March, (about threefeet) which remained a few days, and then gradually fell to near its

old level.

Below Nimrod island, the river is very narrow—passage close underthe right bank, then through low islands and sand banks, winding verymuch to the river Beleek, which is ten feet broad, and falls into the

Euphrates from the Mesopotamian side ; then round Akershee, througha very narrow channel close to the right bank, inside a low pebblysand bank with four feet water, not more than ten yards broad, j ustroom to warp through thence round Rahabeh nothing less than

four feet. The channel, as you approach Anchyle, rather intricate,close to the left bank ; round the second Zoor of Rahabeh by the

tents of Manuedool Ghuraum, river good, until the passage of Bckerete

Sheik Shebly, where there is a ford, and the river winding under the

Anchyle cliff is divided by sand banks in to several branches, with

four feet, through an intricate channel-passage in the centre ; thence

the river turns round to the rocks of Nimrod, where it is again divided

Ain Kullah—spring of the cattle .

l 84

into several channels by sand banks and a heap of rociu in the centreor nearer to the ri ht bank . There is a passage with four feet near the

ofand difficult : another passage lays along the right

bank, inside a pebbly island . The spit extends from the top of the

island to the right bank , having four feet of water. in little narrow

them to avoid the w hy passage ; good wood on the right bank. A

low projection from the desert range comes down to the river here,

the Syrian side, and divides theWeldee and Subkeh tribes.From the rocks of Nimrod the river is good generally, but requi

much care, as sand banks sre formed at ev w ww m ma passage of four feet to four feet six inches ween them , till Muglah ,where there are several pebbly islands. with only two feet six inches

between them, except through a rocky channel close to the left back,

about 20 yards broad, with four feet six inches, thro h which the

steamers were dropped with some little difliculty'

and clay. From

Muglab to the ford of Kumeseh the river is difficult, through sand

banks, with three feet six inches at the shoalest place, about three miles

above the ford, at Aboo Chelbee, where the river is divided by four

dry sand banks, laying diagonally across, with only three feet six

inches, thro h a narrow passage between the‘

second and third islands

(from above Thence to Kumeseh, good . At Kumeseh the river

is divided by sandbanks into two channels, that on the left bank hav

ing three feet close to the bank . The steamers grazed over, but would

be unable to steam up at their present draft. This is one of the prin

sipal fords over the river, and is said to be as easily passed by horse.

men as the Anadee ; we found more water by one foo t on it, but it is

sald to have been deepened lately— there is no safety that it may not

again fill, and become shoal as the Anadee. The river is had all the

way from the ford to a place called the Khan, on the left bank, wherethe river touches the h igher desert. There are the mounds of a square

building, 40yards square, here. From the shoals of Kumeseh, which

extend about one m ile below the ford, the passage is close to the right

bank, by a narrow channel, through which the steamers dropt. SheikKudthur ool Murdood is just above the Khan, Sheik Ali ool Abed opo

posits with the larger part of the Subkeh. A lower range of cliEs on

the right bank, between the river and the high range of desert, com

mences here . From Al Khan the river is good to the rocks of Breje,about eight miles below there a ledge of rocks springs from the lefl.

hank nearly across the river, leaving only a passage about forty feet

broad, with deep water close to the right bank. The rocks are under

water, but the stream is broken on them all across the river, ex in

the passage above alluded to. Leaving the rocks, the river runs own

towards the dark high cliffs of Al Hams , through which it breaks, tothe ruins of Helibe and Zelibe about four m iles below the gorge.When approaching the gorge great care is necessary, as there are rocksin several places in the bed of the river, all the way to, and along the

185

clifi‘

s, on which B elibe hangs. The gorge is about five miles in

length ; the steep clifi'

s hanging over the stream, with their limestone

base covered with a thick coat of basalt ; the marble ruins of Halibo

reaching from the upper clifi'

to the stream the m in of Zelibe on the

distant opposite d id ; with the ancient tombs laying in ruin on each

projecting d iff of the valley, render the gorge of Al Hams , or the val

ley of the dark cliffs,”one of the most picturesque spots on the

Euphrates.

The river is good from Zelibe, where there is six fathoms under

the cliff to Sekeran it is divided into several channels by small islands

and sand banks, but three feet water with an easy current will be found

below Sekeran, which is a low cape on the right bank, and near which

there are the ruins of a mill. At the lower end of the island of Boweit, the

bed of the river is much divided by banks, and under the cape and

ruin of Soor el Hamar i t has lately changed its bed, leaving a broad

shallow channel on right bank, and a passage with five feet through a nar

row channel ou the left, called Killidge Soor ool Hamar. The steamers

dropped through—the passage being very tortuous, and in places not

more than twenty -five yards broad .

The river is still good to the old ford of Muthlen , where it is verybroad, and in the low season three feet water can only be depended on ;we crossed with four feet six inches after a rise of 18 inches. The

present ford of Taboos above the island of Lehtar, is the general pas

sage between Syria and Mesopotamia. The passage for steamers is

along the centre of the left channel, the river being divided into two

great branches, wh ich are again divided by numerous sandbanks .Wefound in the end of March four feet six inches, after a rise of about 18

inches, and the natives say it is an easier and shoaler ford than Ku

meseh—three feet is the most that can be depended on in the lowest

state of the river.

From Taboos the river is good to the shoal of Gub al Araish, wherethe bed of the river is thickly studded with shoals and sand banks, withthree feet of water in the lowest season . The navigation of the riveras far as Deir may also be called easy, after it is known, with nothingless than three feet six inches in the lowest season . From Taboos toD eir, the banks are destitute of wood for the firht time since Bales.

NoteWood is always found between Bales and Taboos at short disn aces,—say five to ten m iles.

At De ir the trigonometrical survey of the river was given up for the

season, the water having risen nearly two feet, and rising daily, render

ing the examination of the shoals comparatively useless . I may con

clude this description of the upper part of the river in its lowest state,w ith the idea that I found while surveying it, that the upper part ofthe Euphrates from Bales to Phunseh is not favourable for steam navi

gation in any vessel of the present day ; that the portion from Phunseh to Deir is much more favourable, but not well adapted for quick

z

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Note on the cf Advancing an Art sy f rom Europe in to

Asia by the P rovinces of the Euphrates and By Dr J.W.Wrscl m aa.

[(h nmnnia ted by the Author .)

Tax former importance enjoyed by the countries of the Euphratesand Tigris having in some measure. afte r being for centuries regardedwith almost profound indifi

'

erenee, been partially revived, it may not,therefore, be uninteresting to exhibit some of the present informationwe are possessed of, and to calculate on the future prospects of thesehi

ghly interesting regions in connexion with Asiatic and European

po itics .

These countries were known as the seat of a very considerable landcommerce, even before the captivity of Judea, and it cannot be doubtedthat these chests of rich apparel so carefully bound with

came probably by interior caravans from Hindostan , and perhaps already from the fron tier of Rapidly, from that time, as theempires of Assyria. Medea, and Persia, rose in richness and power, so

did the commerce of this part of the East increase, until from AsiaMinor. Europe was supplied, by an easy and safe route, with the com

modities an d luxuries of the whole of Asia. B ut, when by Europeanenterprise this commerce was converted from a land trade to a sea

trade, the royal city on the banks of the Euphrates gradually declined,and with its decay the surrounding provinces, deprived of their com

merce, fell a victim to the twofold oppression of anarchy and des

potism. Previous to this, European in vasion into the countries of

Asia Minor, the empires of Persia, and also the countries borderingthe river Indus, had been frequent, and attended by a uniformity of

success, only accounted for by the superior bravery and discipline of

the hostile armies, as well as the facilities afi'

orded for supporting and

conveying a large force with ease and rapidity into the heart of theseempires. The river Euphrates facilitated much every invasion, and itscourse was generally chosen as the route of the different armies cdvancing from Europe into Asia.

The bygone aspect of affairs in the East again draws the attention

of EurOpe, more especially of Great Britain, who holds the empire and

commerce of Asia, to these long forgotten countries, which may yet

become the soil on which the dominion of the East is to be disputed .

Tbs cofl ingency of Egypt’

s friendship, and the great uncertain ty as

well as difl culty of crossing an army from Alexandria to Suez, and

hence to India, is so generally well known, that it would be super

hero to enter into detail, we shall therefore be contented with

that should either Mehemet Ali coalesce with Russia, or

Ezekiel . t Vincent.

Egypt become the province ofround

B ritain

Eastern possessions with troops to resist invasion, and

the same time, the integrity of her vast possessions

Russia, with Persia as her ally, Khiva, Bokhara, Balkh,her feet, would make rapid strides towards the Indus,would be

back theBritish troops could be thrown

Cen tral Asia, in time to oppose with assurance

army Russia must, should she e

in motion towards Hindostan .

turn our attentio

wealth, beauty, and power, though now presenting scenes of desola

tion as complete as those the neighbouring continen t exhibit, would

still answer as military depots, and of them all we consider Cyprus to

be the best adapted for this purpose. Cyprus, one hundred and fortymiles in length by sixty

-three in breadth, was the most beautiful, as

well as the most voluptuous, of these isles. Still, the inhabitants boast

that the soil will produce, in the greatest perfection , the fruits and

grains of almost any other land and climate, and although cultivation

is imperfect the wheat is of excellen t quality, and until lately was ex

ported ih considerable quantities.Wine, however, is the staple pro

duct of Cyprus, whose grapes possess a rich and luscious juice, whichaffords to the wines those generous and restorative qualities for which

they have long been celebrated.

By the despotism of its Government this island has been reduced to

nearly a desert. Its population does not exceed and since the

late G reek insurrection afforded a plea for letting loose a horde of ban

ditti to exercise every form of plunder and cruelty, the number of in

habitants have been dimin ishing. Leather, carpets, and cotton cloth.

of good quality and durability of colour, are the manufactures of the

present day . Collecting medals and other antiquities, with which the

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island abounds. is also a source of considerable gain to the inhabitants.

whose pri ncipal sea-

port is Laruica. on the southern coast. Larniea.though the ancient harbour is choked up. has a good ro adstead . in

which Levantine ships trading with Malta, Egyp t. and Smyrna.anchor.

‘ The character of the inhabitan ts . subject for a series of

ages to tyran ny and oppre ss ion . exhibits noth ing noble. Their ap

pearance is h igh ly G recian, and their females possess great beauty .

This island’s proximity to the mainland em inen tly adapts it for a

depot, from whence troops and their eq uipage may be transfe rred to

Latakia or Scandenoon, sometimes called Alexandre tta. B ut although

this last sea port possesses a fine road, and is the only good anchorage

in Syria, still from its being surrounded by extensi ve mars hes and

liable to endemic diseases, the former would perhaps be the pre ferable

place to land troops at, were they likely to be detained an y length of

time previous to marching on Aleppo , the modern capital of Syria.which, by the disastrous earthquake of lS22, became almost a heap of

ruins, and to this day has not regained any of the importance it en

j oyed when the emporium of Syria. At th is city further preparations

must be made for cross ing the desert to the river Euphrates, and for

gathering materials to con struct rafts and boats, and putting together

steam v essels to con vey the troops and munitions of war into the lower

pro vinces of that river .

Surrounding Alexandre tta and Latakia the country is almost desolate,and cannot yield any great abundance of supplies . Volney wro te ofthese regions Everywhere I saw only tyranny and m isery , robberyand desolation . I found daily on my route abandoned fields, desertedv illages, cities in ruins and as the face of the coun try is

still unchanged, it would be futile to expect this part of Asia . o fur

n ish other supplies than forage and firewood . The former can be

readily procured in some abundance from the banks of the Atry or

l

(

zron tes, whilst the neighbouring wooded districts would furn ish the

tler.

From the sea coast to Aleppo , the roads, though diflicult, are prscticable, and the march from Latalt ia or Scanderono would occupy five

or six days. Julian crossed his army from Antioch to Berda (Aleppo)in two laborious marches, halting at Aleppo on the th ird day .

Aleppo is the capital of the Turkish Pashalik of that name, and

might be expected, as a friendly power, to assis t in procuring carriage,chiefly dromedaries and mules, for conveying an army and its s tores to

B irr or Beles, after which the march would be along either bank of the

Euphrates. The route from Aleppo to B irr is across a sandy desert,and would occupy a considerable space, as it would be impossible to

pass a large army save in detachmen ts or divisions, from scarcity of

Dr Clarke describes Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, situated in the centre

of the island. to possess the grandest fortifications 0 had ever seen, both on

account of their exten t and solidity .

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l91

nature of this report, will not allow us to do more than notice : we

can, however, add our unqualified belief in the geographical and other

facts therein contained ; and we may mention that, in case of any armyfrom the north invading this country at the present day, we believe

that they would have to follow not only the very steps of their Greek

and Roman predecessors, but would have also to take the same precautionary measures to secure supplies, and keep up the discipline of

their troops, otherwise the attempt would prove futile in a countryimpoverished as this has been by the sword, and overrun by so many

plundering tribes of Arabs, who, if they could no t conquer, would

always harass an army as of old, and be ever ready to cut ct? its de

tached parties.

”

Birr (Berjick) is a small town , and Buckingham says it is the chiefford for caravans crossing the Euphrates. The river here is broad,rapid, and not always fordable : however, no invading army has ever

crossed so high up, the march being along the right bank until close tothe fertile plains of Assyria. Cyrus and Julian crossed at Circessum,

where the river Chahoris falls into the Euphrates, which is probablythe branch of the river above the modern Dahem. At this spot,the latter destroyed his bridge of boats, after crossing his army, to

convince them that they must place their hopes of safety in the suc

cess of their arms. Here, also, a detachment of 4000 men was left,while the main body advanced in three separate columns, the baggage

being secured between each ; but so open was the whole line of

march that it occupied ten miles. Julian’

s success was complete, and

Ammianus does not relate any extraordinary difficulties encountered.

The upper part of the banks of the Euphrates are described as a barren

desert, filled with clouds of sand, and subject to frequent gusts of

wind, which, from their suddenness and violence, overthrew the sol

diers’tents.

‘ Zenophon likewise described the upper provinces of theEuphrates as equally barren with the deserts of Arabia ; but neither

that historian, nor others who relate the progress of armies by this

route, mention difficulties a modern force could not easily overcome.

Indeed, the greatest difficulty to be encountered is in the want of timber to build boats on the banks of the Euphrates- 4 species of poplar

and the cypress being almost the only timber procurable ; and, as

these trees never attain any great height, the requisite number of boats

and rafis could not be obtained with facility . Moreover, the boats

themselves are very fragile, being mere frame-work covered with

hides, and coated with bitumen ; so that flat-bottomed hosts, of a

Mr Floyd states (at supra These s calls occur from May to September ; they can never prove an obstacle to t e navigation of river, as the

accident which occurred to the Tigris was owing ch iefly to her peculiar con

struction, and be at the time to beav The violence of these squalls weobserved to pass 0 quickly, and c not eem them any obstacle.

construction stronger than those now in use, would be

ordnance stores ; but the native custom of floating rafts

hides would be suficient, with the bitumen covered boats,veyance of provisions, 8m,

Cultivation on the upper banks of the Euphrates and

from extensive . The grains are, therefore,en tities ; but sheep, goats , &c., are—beingArab tribes—plentiful, and moderate in pricewould be scan tily supplied from B irr to Ann

banks of the river begin to presen t a broad strip

approaching force with ease, and the privations

part of the river would soon be forgotten in the abundance of that of

the lower.

A few days halt at Anna, or Hit, would permit the army at once to

proceed down the bank of the river to Bussorah, where troops can be

embarked on board transports of 600 tons burthen , or large steamers,and be conveyed either from thence to Bombay or the mouths of the

Indus. From the latter position steamers ply to Sukkur, a distance of

400miles, into the heart of this portion of Asia, from whence troops

can proceed with ease to defend the B olan defiles, or advance, if the

season permitted, into Afl‘

ghanistan and the Punjaub. The navigation

of the river Indus to Sukkur by steam is easy, and we have alreadyseen European troops con veyed from Tatta to Sukkur in the short

space of ten days, when sailing boats have occupied a period of upwards of six weeks in making the distance between these towns. O n

the Indus the depots are very complete, and troops could dispense

with much of their heavy armament, as guns and ordnance stores,

which accompanied them down the Euphrates, and which m ight be left

in depot at some strong and convenien t spot in Mesopotamia.

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195

form spurs. Solitary limestone ridges occasionally exhibit themse lves

on the left bank, entirely unconnected with any larger or more exten

sive rocky formation . Confining, or rather bordering, the Indus, theyremove much of the flatness so common in alluvial countries ; but,

destitute of vegetation, they add little to scen ic variety .

The periodical rise of the Indus fertilises its banks, and annuallyincreases the luxurian t growth of the tamarisk and babool trees ; the

latter, chiefly occupying the banks of the river, form a highly pic

turesque feature in the landscape . Beyond the immediate banks the

country is an extended alluvial plain, mostly from neglect, and decayof old jungle or desert tract, thinly sprinkled with tamarisk,

stunted babool, and ziziphi, un less on spots irrigated by canals cut

from the river, or from wells dug in the vicin ity of villages . O n the

wes t bank the alluvium is soonest lost, and beyond its limits the soil

becomes intermixed with pebbles and sandstone— the former com

pos ing the flat country bordering the hilly tracts of the letter, which,as already described, g1adually join the moun tains of Beloochistan.whose termination is at Cape Monze . Besides this range, west of the

Indus there are the Pubb range commencing beyond Cape Monze, and

of winch the m ountain of that name is the highest point—and the

Lakkau Hills, the More,the Undher, and More Pubb, with the

Juliesl- lukki, Carra, and a number of detached hills, all barren save a

few bushes of the euphorbia antiguorum, and with vallies in which no

cultivation exists. Their only objects of interest are occasional hot

springs— the natural productions of alum and sulphur, and to

wards Cape Monze , where the surface is one heap of bills divided byrav ines, lead, antimony, and copper. Betwixt these bills and the Indus,cultivation is limited by the fertilizing effects of the inundation .

East of the Indus, as already remarked, there are only isolated

ranges of bills, and the country generally possesses its alluvial cha

racter until near the Thurr and the vicin ity of the Runu of Cutch,when it becomes a flat sandy desert : to the eye it is a perfect level,often richly cultivated—jowarrec being the most common grain, although wheat, barley, bajree, and rice, are procurable in some abun

dance near every large village . The country is much intersected bybroad and deep canals, rendering transit through this part of Scinde

tedious, many of the canals being so deep as to require boats to ferryover men and animals : others have temporary bridges for this pur

pose, whilst the roads themselves are such as entirely to prohibit the

use of wheeled carriages in Lower as well as in Upper Scinde . In

fact, they are merely footpaths, better being unnecessary for the

passage of camels, horses, bullocks, and asses, the animals of burthenemployed throughout Scinde. On these roads water is never wanting ;but permanent villages being rare, provision for any large katlila or

body of troops is with difficulty obtained .

The Tharr, or great Indian desert, which adjoins Scinde from the

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river Locase its ou t border, to Scinde its west, and from the Runn

of Cuteh to the south, to within 60m iles of Jo sulmere on the north,and stated by Herodotus to be the boundary oflnd ia, merits some description, as does the Runn of Cutch—bo th being appendages of Scinde .

The Thurr is an extensiwe sandy track destitute trees ; but abound

ing in forage and j ungle babool, pelno, kureer and mi lls -bush. It

rises from the Runu and the plains of Scinde in bo ld relief, with a de

marostica as dis tinct as if it aro se from the sea. Its features are pe o

culiar, and throughout its whole extent re tain an un iform character ,being composed of in numerable ridges of loose sand, of a brigh t yel

low colour, in height varying from 50 to 200yards—i ntersecting each

other almost every mile, so as constantly to fo rm basins or reservoirs

from whence there is no e vident.outlet, -all rain being absorbed in the

light sand of the soil, and no stream or water-course being anywhere

observable. These ranges of hills thus confusedly heaped togethe r,

preserve a general direction, run ning from N . E. to S.W. Nor thward

Mussulmen, with here and there a Hindoo, who purchases and exports

ghee, the sole product of this tract, othe rwise in a great measure a

barren and unproductive soil, ill capable of supporting even for a time

any addition to the few m iserable inhabitan ts it possesses. Yet in doingthis it is less a desert than the Runn of Cutch which it borders. Thissingular and unparalleled tract occupies 7000 square miles, extendingfrom the river Indus to Guzerat, nearly 200 miles in length, w ith an

average breadth of 30miles, and neither yields fresh water nor life to

the most stunted vegetable . A perfectly level tract, its soil a mixture

of mud, sand, and clay, is covered with a thick encrustation of salt dur

ing the dry season, and in the monsoon by water, possessing in nei

ther condition any of the attributes of a marsh . Its banks are in many

places very fertile, often sandy, and in some places rich alluvian . On

these, water of excellent quality is found within a few feet of the sur

face, and tanks of rain -water, within 200 yards from the Runn itself,retain their sweetness for many mon ths. In appearance the Runn is

uniform, and is somewhat below the level of the surrounding coun tries .

This, and its being flooded during the mon soon by the water of the

ocean, driven in by the violence of the south -west winds from the

Gulf of Cutch, and the creek or inlet of the sea leading up to the Ko

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ree branch of the Indus, as well as the Loonee river falling into its up

per or northern portion , render it high ly probable that this was for

m erly a dried up sea or inland lake. Native tradition tends to this

belief ; but the entire absence of all marine remains either on the Runn

itself or along its shores, is strong proof against this popular belief.

Indeed, from the changes exhibited on its surface after the great earth

quake of 18 19, it migh t readily be imagined that on a former con

vulsion, some huge change or uprising of the earth had occurred to al

ter the course of an eastern branch of the river Indus, disemboguingitself towards Luckput bunder, and thus left a vast space of alluvial

soil a barren waste, which, from the nature of such soils, aided by an

annual influx from the sea, speedily assumed its present highly deso

late and saline aspect. Portions more elevated than the rest— as the

B unnee and the other islands—escaping the general catastrophe, still

exh ibit the fertile soil its banks have while on these (in a great mea

sure) and along the banks of the Runn, the water is drinkable. Fur

ther, it may he stated, in support of this opinion , that the level of the

Runn is higher than that of the sea ; and that the traditions of natives

may have their origin more from this vast flat being annually ia

undated on the rise of the Indus, and being called , as the river Indus

is still when th us swollen, the Duryea or Sea of Scinde.

”But

the limits of this article do not permit more than the expression of

this theory, which has for its support many facts.

Having n oticed in an extremely cursory manner the general aspect andboundaries of Scinde, with the exception of those to the north, it remainsto be stated, that a spur from the Great Soliman range of moun tains,

forming theMurree and Bhoogtie hills, bound Cutchee, a province bordering on Upper Scinde to the north-east and east, in a north-easterlyand southerly dire ction . This range is rugged and barren, affordingonly brackish water in pools, the coarser grapes and tamarisk j ungle,with a scanty cultivation at their bases. Naturally they produce sul

phur, alum, and saltpetre, but in quan tities too small to be rendered

profitable. From the foot of these hills the country is sandy and barren, with little variation until in the vicinity of the river Indus, when

the soil becomes fertile, and relieved from its flatness by the rockybanks of the river and occasional date groves.Without, however,the influence of the irrigating powers of the Indus, the soil again be

comes hard and sandy, sprinkled with the camel-thorn and stun ted

shrubs. Dry and cracked from the heat of the sun, its loosed sand is

raised, by the constantly prevailing westerly winds, into little hillocks,from twenty to thirty feet high, which gradually assume the appearanceof desert, running imperceptibly into the Thurr.Within these limits, the vast territory occupied by the Delta of theIndus—extending from the rocky shores of Cutch, at Luckput Bunder,to Cape Mom s - presents a very uniform formation, being composed of

the richest alluvium, mingled towards the north with fine sand, gravel,

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199

tion, and the superiucumbent sandstone is huge flat masses cappingthe summits and resting on their sides. Their sandstone is tertiary ;generally soft and friable, sometimes hardened by a mixture of quart

zose matter, and abounding with iron either in the form of the carbo

nate or spicular ore. Their height seldom exceeds 200feet, and they

j oin imperceptibly with the more inland ranges . These, resting on

similar bases, are composed of an harder and older tertiary formation

of sandstone and limestone, in which marine fossils are very abundan t.

In describing the general features of Scinde, they have been alluded to

by name, as well as their containing towards CapeMonze sulphur, lead,antimony, alum, and copper, but in quan tities so disproportionate to

the labour required to work them as to be very far from valuable pro

ductions. As these bills extend inland, they become united with the

Hala and Lukki ranges—secondary ranges of an uniform appearance,which they preserve until they join the moun tains of Beloochistan .

Bordering chiefly the west bank, and in some degree confining the

Indus, several low ranges of bills rise abruptly from the soil.Withoutany indication of the stone on the plain below, they form a singular

feature. Their structure is conglomerated and breechiated masses of

limestone resting on a calcareous base, which forms a broad line or

belt along the alluvial valley of the Indus. Much m ixed with fossil

shells, their structure as it first shews itself is a friable calcareous

sandstone, d isappearing in its elevation in an aggregate of rounded

and angular masses of cream-coloured limestone. Agglutinated toge

ther into huge blocks, without any intermediate basis, often a softer

cretaceous stone is observed of a similar construction, in which no

fossil remains are found, although they exist in considerable quan

tity in the harder limestone breechia, wh ich also contains numerous

rounded concrete grains of quartz. On the right bank, and occasion

ally on the left, are several solitary conical hills of a white cretaceous

stone, which appear as if they, along with the ranges of bills borderingthe Indus, were clysmic accumulations, not belonging to the effects ofone general flood, but of a very extensive local cataclysm. Many ofthese masses exhibit considerable marks of friction, others few or none,

marking the respective distances they have travelled—whilst at theirbases marine and fluviatile shells, varieties of genera at present existing,are found buried in the earth little changed, except in colour, and in

being extremely fragile.

Throughout Scinde, the soil is generally fertile but in many places

the rapid decay of vegetable matter on its surface renders it a desert.

O ther parts are so far removed from the vivifying influence of the ia

undation, that they speedily when neglected become little else than a

waste, or a jungle of tamarisk when in the interior, and in the Delta,of mangrove. All that portion of Scinde which borders on the rockyinhospitable moun tains to the westward. and the equally barren sandy

plains of the great and little deserts to the eastward, are tracts on wh ich

only the hardiest vegetable productions can exist. Beyond the influence

of the Indus, its branches and numerous canals, guided only to

certain districts, the coun try has no fresh springs, and the torren ts

from the mountains are so quickly swallowed u in their sandy beds,that they cannot be said to add even to the frui aim s of their imme

diate banks. Few wells are employed for the purposes of i ation ,

and as is the case on the banks of the Ptolemaid, it may be tru y said

of Scinde, that on its river the resources of the country alone depend.

The branches of the Indus in Scinde are—the Narra, which leaves the

main stream twenty-four miles above Roree, pursuing the direction to

wards Omercote, which it nearly approaches when flooded. Its chan

nel is obstructed by numerous bands or embankmen ts, the lart of

which is termed Annee B und, from whence cultivation is extended ,and numerous fish caught. Another branch called the Han d , leaves

the Indus below B ukltur, near Larkhanah, and in its passage to rejointhe main stream again, forms a clear small lake called Munchnr, issuingfrom which it assumes the name of Am ] ; in breadth it seldom exceeds

the smallest boats pdistricts they pass thr

arresting the passage of their waters, scatter them over and irrigate a

vast space . This, by the immense annual deposit of sedimen t, has

been found to gradually raise the level of the country surroundingthese hunds, and to con tract the vivifying influence of these streams.

The last branch of the Indus marks the commencement of the Delta,and is called the Ruggar, or western branch of the Indus. Its course

commences five m iles below Tatta, and after a tortuous passage disem

bogues itself into the ocean a few m iles east of Kurrachee. Like theother branches of the Indus, it is dependent on the flooding of the

main river for its waters, each con sisting during the remainder of the

year of merely a series of detached pools .West of the Indus, issuingfrom the rocky ridges, are several moun tain torren ts distinguished byname, v iz., the Mulleeree, Kurchee , Liaree, K owranee, Rooah, PepreeGorban , Murale, Pokun ,Warkee, Kayjooree, and Dombee. They are

dry during the greater part of the year, but by excavating their beds

a few feet, water is un iform ly and abundan tly found, which could be

raised by a double set of Persian wheels in sufficient quan tities for

irrigating purposes. There are two o ther streams, generally called

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rivers, bt sides these smaller ones, on the wes t of the Indus, named the

Hubb and the Burran . The former has a course of on ly fourteen and

a half miles, neither is it a running stream , unless after heat y rain 3 at

o ther times it consists of merely detached pools, abounding with fish

and alligators. It is never en tire ly dry , and its banks are the principal

resort of the Beloochees and Loomnees. The B urrau, wh ich has its

source from a hill called Kirtee, north -west of Hunelanee sixty miles,

forms a j unction with the Indus a quarter of a mile below Ko trce. In

character it much resembles the Hubb, but generally con tains a larger

quantity of water.

The climate of Scinde has two great periodical variations—the hot

and cold season . In the former the heat is excessive, the thermome

ter often rising in the shade above 120° F. , and averaging in the sun

above 140°F This great degree of heat lasts from the end of March

till the commencemen t of August, and is of a dry parching nature ,

u tterly exhausting every thing possessed of vege table life, save what

is freely and duly irrigated . Indeed, during this period, the whole of

Scinde, except the green forests of babool, skirting the banks of the

river Indus, presents a most arid appearance, relieved barely by the

annual rise of the river, laying much of the coun try on e ither bank

under water , which in September and October gradually declines and

dries up, leaving but in those spots where art has exercised cultivation ,

a dry and cracked soil. The setting in of the cold and violen t north

erly winds of November, prevents all vegetation besides a few grapes,or stunted tamarisk and babool bushes. Frosts and blighting dews at

th is season , also tend to des troy a great portion of what would other

wise have been germs of much vegetable life, which if they chance to

escape, rise only to be ann ihilated by the heats of April and May , or

swallowed up in the clouds of dust ; the westerly winds of these

mon ths blow and accumulate against every obstacle. Under such cir

cumstances, it will not be expected that Scinde shoulJ alfo rd much in

terest to the botanical inquirer, for beyond the necessaries of life ,wh ich, notwithstanding the little care bestowed on their cultivation ,

grow luxuriantly, the whole surface of the country is very barren of

vegetation . In the beds, and on the banks of the water courses, andthe lower spots where humidity is longest retained, several shrubs, us

the tamarisk, the caper plan t, the accacias, mimosas and capias, flourish

with some degree of exuberance. Towards the Delta, where the so il

is saline and very moist, the mangrove and salsolas abound. These,with the exception of the wooded grounds along the banks of the In

dus, its branches and large canals alone, exhibit vegetable life in acti.

v ity . They occupy nearly one-fourth of the richest part o f Scinde,and their trees are the accacia and m imosa, chiefly the mimosa aggreg .

tis, which grow to an immense height and size. B esides the m imosa;and accacias, the mangoe tree, the jamhoo, neem, banyan, and in Upper Scinde the date tree are met with in the neighbourhood of the

B l

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203

away which has since continued. and been the means of deterioratingthe country lunch. for its revenues are not one half what they were

during the reign of the Calloras, when the whole co un try was subjectto one rule.

‘ Unequally divided between the late chiefs, who had

each absolute pews over his own share—Scinde scarce possessed

any government. In fac t, the Ameers were little else than the landed

proprietors of the soil, who, in virtue of a sort of hereditary right, tooh

rent for their lands in money and kind . Their influence did no t ex

tend beyond the limits of their territories and these being divided

among three difiw'

erent branches of the Talpoor tribe, all independen t of

each other, the administration of public afi'

airs in all their details wasmost compficated. The Hydrabad Talpoor fam ily, always the most

prom inent, in a gru t measure threw in to the shade that of Meerpoor

and Kbyrpoor—the latter of whom possessed the northern portion of

Scinde, whfle the former held the coun try round Meerpoor S. E. of

Hydrahad -bnt each striving to be first, and all cons tan tly e ngaged in

family diqmtes, the ir territories were always in an unsettled condition .

Throughout the coun try there was no police. All the large towns andsurrounding dis tric ts were under the con trol of governors, whose chief

care was to co llec t the revenue, and to settle, without reference to high

er authority , all dispu tes.

The re venues of Scinde arise principally from the land tax, export

and import duties, transit and other duties on certain produce, such as

the fisheries on the Indus, the pearl fishery in the Gharra creek, &c.

- the former, or the tax on the mohamias or fishermen on the river, being a considerable source of revenue, though generally paid in kind.

The land or soil collection is also paid in kind , and the excessive tax

ation was such as to swallow up all spirit of an te -

prize. Seldom

more than one-fourth of the profits of the fields were realised by the

cultivators—the remaining three-fourths be ing seized on by the d if

ferent age nts employed in the colla tion of revenue. Indeed, so ex

tortionate were these agents, and so eviden t was it that the idle

alone reaped the benefit of the labour of the ryot, that it is not sur

prising the face of the greater portion of Scinde presen ts a desolate

aspect—the natural conseq uence of ruinous taxatio n, and ill-regulated

auth ority. Considering that a great portion of the re ven ues of Scinde

are paid in kind, and that it was the custom of the Ameers or holders

of the soil to realise in to money by the sale of grain, fish, &c., their

income, or in o ther words, that they were the corn merchants of the

country, it is a matter of some difficulty to estimate the actual

amount realised . That of the Hydrabad family may be grossly stated

to have been thirty-three lacs annually— that of Meerpoor, six lacs

-and that of Khyrpoor, twelve lacs -a total revenue, exclusive in

Th is statemen t is given o n the authority of Mr. N. Crow, many yearsCommercial Resident in Scinde, and is similar to that made by us, in the ar

ticle on Scinde , in Ruahton, erroneously attributed to another pen .

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207

to on all occasions towards the Hindoo, who, either in seeking redress

o r defending himself from Oppression, suffered .

The native of Scinde labours for his daily food, and oppression has

made him temp rate . He is lazy when he finds opportunity, and in

dulges in tobacco, but rarely in bang or spirits. On the other hand,

the Belooch is indolent and debauched,—one-half of the morning is

spent in preparing bang, which intoxicates till the afternoon . when the

use of spinm and tobacco varies his debaucheries. Among the higher

classes these indulgences are seldom resorted to, and if so , sparinglyand in secre t ; they are not, however, without many of the degradingvices of the East. The Hindoo wants the peculiar refinemen t and

polished manner of his race, degraded in their religion,—and, as a

people, their feasts are marked by the grossest drunkenness ; and their

whole conduct is opposite to that which distinguishes them in Hindus

tan . Ths dress of the Seindian consists of a wide pair of trowsers, an

outer garment which covers their whole person, and a small round hat ;they are always armed either with a sword or matchlock, and a knife

stuck in their girdle, but their quarrels seldom end in the use of either.

The women of the poorer classes go about and add their labour to that

of their husbands but the richer have all the rigours of oriental despo

tism exe rc ised towards them.

It wou ld exceed the limits assigned were the local geography of

Scinde fully entered upon. There is, as yet, little to in teres t, and its

statistics, with improved means, have still to be developed.

Scinde possesses only two seaports, one on the Hnjamree branchof the Indus, a few m iles from its embouchure, and the other at its

northern extremity . The former, Vikkur, is merely a small village,any permanent town being useless, from the changeable nature of the

main channel of the river. Such as it is, it enjoys the trade of theDelta and the Indus. Boats drawing 10 to 12 feet of water can crossthe bar of the Hujamree, but those exceeding in draught six feet canbarely ascend to Vikhor bunder at the highest tides. From April tillthe end of October, the navigation of the mouth of the Indus is closedby the strong south-westerly winds which during that perio d prevail.Kurrachee is a town of considerable note, and is situated at the

head of a creek, distan t from the sea four m iles . A harbour at its

entrance, protected by a high headland, affords safe anchorage, at all

seasons, to vessels of 300 tons, from whence large boats can pass upclose to the town, which is built on a slight rising ground, and sur

rounded by a mud wall unfit for defence. Kurrachee has extensive ha

zaars, but its streets are narrow and filthy . Its inhabitan ts amount to

and the port, carrying on an extensive trade with India, Arabia, and Persia, yields a large annual revenue. East of Kurrachee isthe town of Tatta ; formerly it was the capital of Scinde, but new a

heap of mud ruins, of which every town in Scinde is built it scarcelycontains eight thousand souls once it commanded all the traffic of the

208

lndns, from which it is distant four miles—now it has no commerce .

Ilydrabttd, on the east bank of the Indus, is the most importan t and

populous place in the interior of Scinde . It contains close upon thirty

thousand inhabitan ts . and the surrounding country is populous and

well watered . East from Hydrabad, about fifty m iles, lies Meerpo re .

a town with a mud fort in its cen tre, and a population of n ot more

than 4000. Beyond this latter place, in the desert, are Islsmkote and

Omerltote ; the former. a celebrated town and port, used to be cousi

dered the stronghold of the Ameers of Scinde. The town, however, is

small, and does not contain above 400 souls, and is apparently of no

actual importance. Its trade is limited to that of the Thorr, and the

arrival of an occasional kafiila from Parhhur. The fort is built of

burnt brick, and if properly garrisoned, is capable of being defended.

In form it is square, with bastions at each angle thirty-six feet high ,

and a gateway to the south-east. lslamltote was the usual depos it for

revenue collected in kind from the neighbouring districts of the Thurr.

Omercote, long the place of contention between the Rajahs of Jand

co te . as the birthplace of Ackbar, derives.

some consequence, and it is

the largest town in the Thurr, carrying on considerable trade as the

central point in the desert. Its inhabitants are chiefly Rajpoots , and

do not exceed in num bers 2000. Khyrpoor is a very miserable lookingtown , with the chief

’s residence in the cen tre of the bazaar , and a

population of souls. On the east of the Indus, Shikarpore is

the largest and most important place ; its trade is extensive, being the

emporium of the countries beyond Scinde, and the number of its inha

bitan ts exceeds Larkannah and Sehwan are less populous

towns, their population averaging but, as the capitals of veryfertile districts, possess considerable trade and wealth.

JAMESW.Wm cn ss'rs n .

April, 1843.

A Translation of the Gwa lior Name/t, or History of Gwalior , f r omthe P ersian manuscrip t. T ranslated at the request of MajorT . B . a vre, F .R.S .

GLoar be to that Creator who has formed of this earthen castle an

impregnable fortress, and has constructed the vast race of mankind

209

like strong towers, and having bound down the four opponen t ele

m en ts, has created him in multitudes and appointed him lord and

m aster of this earth, and given him undisputed power over all the

liv ing creatures of the land or water : all living creatures must obeyh im ; he is the victorious lord over all. The praise of the Prince of

God’

s messengers, the last of the prophets.—Praise and obeisance is

due to him who with the key of revelation has opened many towers

full of ignorance and infidelity, who by the light and wisdom of truth

has enligh tened the eyes of the world . The gates of the beginn ingand end were Opened by this imperishable, the last of the prophe ts,whose greatness and splendour will con tinue till the last day , un til the

migh ty highway of religion re mains safe and secure from the attacks

of opposing enemies. The peace of God be upon him.

Let us relate a brief history of the ancient inhabitants of Hindoos

tan , who built and constructed the castle of Gwalior and held pos

session of it. The climate of Gwalior was finer than that of any other

province in India ; travellers who have traversed the whole globe have

never seen so n ice a spo t. O n this lofty fortress still exist palaces

and halls built by the greatest rajah s and sultans. “’e will now relate

how this castle was first founded , the h istory of its founder, and those

who comm anded and ruled in it. The old Indian historians, the brah

mins, state that the name of this mountain on which the castle is built

is Koom un t ; all round it lions, tigers, and all kinds of creepinganimals were collected, for men seldom passed through its wild j un

gles ; but a reverend old monk, by name Gwalior, who feared his

G od, and had separated from mankind, had retired to this secluded

spot for the enjoymen t of rest, and was con tent to live on herbs and

v egetables. Three hundred and thirty-two years had passed since the

time of Bekermajeet, and the castle had been founded 3 15years before

the Hegira, by a landholder named Sooruj Seen Kuchwasa, who livedat Loosinan in the province of Chenaver : he one day in a huntingexcursion passed the foot of that mountain, and whilst ascending it in

chase of the deer was honoured with a sight of the old monk (whosename in the Hindu language is Seddee Joogy) . After the usual salutations, from excessive thirst he begged of the old monk to show him

some water ; the old man poin ted at a fount flowing from the root of

a small tree, and giving a handkerchief to Sooruj Seen, he said, Fill

it, and bring it to me.

”Sooruj Seen then went to the foun t, and

having first washed his feet be filled the handkerchief, and on his

return presented it with the greatest respect to the old man . It is

said the water did not drop through the towel, but remained firmlyenclosed inside it. The old man drank a little and gave the rest to

Sooruj Seen, who also drank sufficien tly to allay his thirst. The oldman having heard that Sooruj Seen had been suffering from theleprosy for ten years, enquired whether this was true. Sooruj Seenthen stated the nature of his disease ; the old man told him to come

0 l

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22 l

rics . Khan-i-Jehan c i-Sodi was kille d in this fight ; it was for thi s

splendid achievemen t that Moozufer Khan obtained the title of K han

i-Jehan . In this battle the elephant proved of great use, and as the

Seyed had a great affec tion for him, he ordered a stone resemblance o f

it to be made, and when finished, placed the statue opposite the north

ern gate of the deceased Khan - i-dooran , near the mendev i or park,

which Moozuferpoor had planted and named after himself, which is si

tuated close to the northern mendevi or park—he planted a pleasan t

garden , in the midst of which he erected arbours, &c. , it was a general

resort for all classes of people who wished to enjoy themselves. On lya few trees are now left to mark the spot. Near the house of Seyed

Kasoo he built a beautiful palace for himself ; its rooms and terraces

are lofty and numerous—in its spacious court-yard he built a splendid

reservoir, round it be planted large meadows— no place in the whole

city could bear a comparison with this for beauty or comfort . i t is

said that the Seyed used to take plan s of all the buildings of Hoomayicon Munder, Jehan GeerMunder, &c., and send them to the king. As

the materials of Shere Khan’s palace had been consumed in building

the palace of Jehan Gee r Munder, and an empty space was left, he

ordered that on th is empty ground the palace of Shah Jehan -i-Munder

should be built close to the Jehan Ge er palace. D uring the Seyed'

s

governorsh ip, the buildingof the palace was fin ished— its rooms are lofty

and numerous. and its court-yard beautifully laid out—opposite its

large aud ience chamber a large tank was dug, and around it beautiful

gardens were planted : the Khan'

s reservoir was joined to this tank,this palace is situated on the eastern side, and is con siderably elevated

above the rest—it was a heart-enlivening and delightful spo t— all those

who were sick generally visited th is castle, and lived in this sweet re

treat. Outside this palace, on its western side, is a house for the

poor, and inside the walls is a bungalow, and near it a lofty gateway .When Seyed Mansoor was governor, he planted a garden, which he

named after himself, on the banks of the Soonreekh, which to this dayis a pleasant resort for all classes— it is surrounded with strong walls,and is a deligh tful place to dwell in . He also built the mendev i of

Mansoorpoor, which exists to the present day . Khan - i-Jehan , after a

governorship of 19years, went to Lahore, and died there ; and Seyed

Se n laur Khan, one of the aforesaid Seyed’

s oldest servan ts, presented

himself to the king, and en treated that, as he was a true Seyed, the

governorship of the castle m ight be given to him he gained his

desi re , and was appointed governor and overseer of the surroundingdistricts. After a period of two years he left his brother Seyed Alum

in charge of the castle, and proceeded himself to settle some affairs

in the provinces. Seyed Alum was governor for five years he plant

ed a garden near Meher Ali'

s house, and built the mendevi of Shah

Ganjaband, near a place called Gesapoor, and as the planks of the

Badilkaddah and Peelpoor gates were old and rotten , Seyed Alum put

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235

remain near his majesty in Shahp hanabad, and was permitted to resign

his appointmen t as governor of Aurungabad. The name of the author

of this insign ificant work is Heeramun, son of Giderdass Moonshee .

Although I have passed my life in a humble situation, I have had the

satisfiction of praying for the increasing greatness and power of this

good Khan. May the great God grant my desires l Thanks are due

to that God who has brought these writings to a happy conclusion .

a Series of Observations on

the Titles in B omba Ha rbour , 1835 to 1840. By Captain

Ross , President of t a S ociety . some P reliminary Remarks

by D r Burs-r, Secretary .

In publishing the following Tables of observations on the T ides,

conducted through the space of five years without in tt rrnption, un

der the supervision of Captain ltoss, Master Attendant, Bombay ,

and President of the Geographical Society , it has been conside red

expedient to preface them by some general remarks ; not with a

viev of commun icating anything new or original o n the subj ect, butin the hope of promoting the spirit o f e nquiry amunga in

the El st, who, deprived of acces s to public libraries , and ve ry s can tilysupplied with books of their own , m ay require to be en ligh tc

-n u l on

subjects familiar to many classes of person s at home , who make no

pretensions to em inence in literature or scie nce.

T he number of facts collected beyond the confines of Europe o n tlu

subject, il so exceedingly small, compared to the am o un t “hich it

would be desirable to obtain , to a s ullic it n t con t e ntio n o l tln

tables supplied by theoretical computatio n— the im po rtan t of c o ll! c t

ing information so great, and the l‘

aeilines f or do ings o in many cases

so abundant, in proportion to the e\ tent to which they ha ve bevn

taken advan tage of, that any ru natks , ho u c r t r t o l d of n o ve ltyor depth, which may conduce to the improv In fl n t of our know ledge ,must be looked on as not unwor thy o f d l s se ruinattm . No gre ate r (lin

couragement can be experienced by the o rdmary Ulh ' l w r, at the com

mencement of a laborious s t rit s o f enquiries , tlu n the l'

e liq ; of un

certain ty , as to what may be already fam i l iar to the wo t ld in gt-nu ah

and what really requires to be known— than to doub t , in ad di t i o n , as to

whether the mode proposed to be adopted for conducti ng the in tended

in vestigation, is really that most suitable for the end in iew , or most

gong-ally approved .

If either source of perplexity should stand any chance of being r e.

moved by the following outline : if any one ignorant of the lun itswhich define the extent of the field of our knowledge should fet l hisconcep tions on the point more precise than before, and thereby be en

conn ged to exert himself to place new facts in our possession ;should find dificulties which previously presented themselves as stum

49m. of mean solar time. The whole

is called

about new and full moon,19m. About the time of the moon’s quadradatures it is

The tides, in similar circumstances, are greatest when the

rigee. and least when she is in

they succeed each

properly speaking,o ther the m idnight

othersl The same

coasts of Gallowaycon tending bran

the other round

German Ocean betwixt the Orkneys and Ndetachment along the coasts of B ritain, which

jeeling coast of Norfolk upon the n orth coast

the tide wave again on the coast of Denmar

ference of difl'

erent tide waves the tides are almost entirely oblion the coast of Jutland, where their place is supplied by nearly pct

ifitnal high water. Indeed this must always be the case , where one

arrives about six hours later than another, or where more tu lv

arrive at still shorter intervals. At Aden, the tide is som e tn

The ch ief portion of th is part of th e above paper is abridged from

ticle'

l‘

tdes in the Encyclopaedta B r i tann ica, seven th ed ition , vol xxi. p259 to 279. T he other pape rs wh ich have been taken advan tage of are

on they come to be drawn upon .

1’ Scott Russe ll

’

s Report before the B ri

237

a period of days interrupted altogether—sometimes h igh water occurs

of the pen insula, while it is low water at the other

distance betwix t the two sides is less than three m iles.

surface of the earth uniformly covered w ith ocean , the

tides would follow the moon from east to west ; one long wave extend

ing fiom pole to pole—so that it would be high water at the same time

throughout the en tine length of each meridian . This is far from beingthe case in reality ; the appearance of tides at ditfenant places, under

the same meridian, occurring at very difi'

eren t hours, and being modi

ded in eve-

y imaginable way by the form of the con tinents and islands

by which the great tidal wave is obstructe d or deflected from its

course . The nearest approach to coincidence betwixt theoretical

deduction and observed fact, occurs in longitude 55 deg. 56 m in . E.,

h igh water taking place nearly at the same time in the same longitude,

from Socotra to the Almeran ts and Isle of Bourbon . The southern

extremity of the line advances as it passes the Cape of Good Hope,so that it there turns up towards the Atlan tic, which it enters ob

liquely, so as to arrive nearly at the same momen t at the Isle of

Ascension and at the Isle Martin Vaz, or the Trin ity . After several

irregularities about the Cape Verd Islands and in the“’ est Indies. theline appears to run nearly east and west, front S t. Dom ingo to Cape

Blanco, the tides proceeding due northwards ; and then turn ing still

more to the right, this line seems to run north-west and south-east, tillat

h ot the tide runs due east up the Bristol channel and round the north of

Scotland. sending 03 a branch down the north sea—the two waves meet

ing,as already explained, along the eastern shores of Britain. The tides

in the northern parts of the Indian Ocean are subject to very great irre

gularities, afording the singular phenomenon in the port of Tonquin of

one tide a day. The tides at Aden , in the Arabian Sea, are. as alreadystated, still more anomalous than even this, several days sometimes 00

curring in succession when permanen t high or low water is maintained

this seems in part dependent on the direction of the monsoon, the

water rising on the one side or other of the peninsula according as the

currents impelled by the winds sweep across from the shores of Africa,

or set along the Arabian coast.‘ Considering how important it is for

the purposu of commerce, that the depth and rise of tides should be

This Is stated on the authority of Lieut. Curtis. residentEngineer atAden .

It is singular that this peninsula should now have been nearly six years in our

puma-ion 5and though two or more sh ips of the Indian navy are constan tlystationed there. with some 80or 100intelligent army oth cers as residents, that

we should, up to this date, he in possession o f no t onepage of authentic mate

rial in refere nce to its natural h istor or geography Ve know something of

its climate from the observations 0 Corporal Lion s of H. M.

’s 17th . or its

hyd‘

r

lzraphy we know noth ing. Col. Gran t and Major Jacob , after having ox

pen nearl

yfour mon ths in surveying the line of fortifications at Aden

found themse ves without an y informatio n as to the climate of that peninsula,or of the rise and fall of the tides upon its shores.

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239

subject : the following directions forwarded by Mr'Whewell to the

Asiatic Society, Calcutta, with Mr Prinsep’

s introductory remarks,will indicate to the tropical observer the points on which it is desirableto obtain information

Sm isreastruc l Inequality of the Tides.

[We hasten to publish the followin letter fromlthe Rev.W.Whewellof Cad in correction of a quotai on from the learned Professor

’

s

Essa on tidal Lines in our editorial notice of Mr. S inclair's tables of

the lentta tides, in the third volume of the Journal, p. 408 .We regret

that the period fixed for the contemporaneous observations on the shores of

England should have passed : but we once more re eat a request to our

friends on the coast to furnish the information now ca led for.- Eu .]In the number of your Journal for August, 1888, is given a table of the

times cl high water at the principal places between Calcutta and Poin tPalmiras, by Mr. P. A. Sinclair an addition to our previous materialsfor a map of Gotidal L ines which I saw with much pleasure . B ut I amdssirous of removing a misapprehension which I perceive in the remarksaccompanying th is table. Mr. Sinclair has given the time of h igh water forevery day of the moon

’

s age, at the places con tained in his table, calculatedon the snppcsition ofa daily retardation of the tide, to the amoun t of 48

minutes : and in the remarks a rule is quoted from my paper for the

correction of the time so given . B ut the rule quoted is erroneous for the

purpose th ere stated. The rule wh ich should have been given is the follow

ing nearly.

Correct ion to be applied to the time of high water calculated by supposingit to be always at the same interval after the moon

’

s transit as it is on the

days ofnew and full moon.

hours .

T ime ofmoon'

s preceding transit, 0 l 2 8 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 l l

Corn elion, - 72- 75 0+13+l l

The fact is, that th e correction quoted from my paper belon gs theoreticallyto the correct establishment,

"or m e an of all the intervals of moon

’s tran

sit and tide, not to the vulgar establishmen t”

or interval of moon’

s travel

and tide on the day of new and full moon, which is the establishment takenby Mr. S inclair.T he correction which I have given above is probably not exact for India:

for it is taken from theLondon tide Observations and it would be ex treme

ly desirable, as you have observed in yourJournal, to verify or correct it byobservations at some stations in the Indian seas, made daily for a snficien t

length of time . I may add, that the above correction is what has been called

the sema'

mem trrm l inequality . and does not arise from the inequal ity of the

moon's daily mo tion, but from the varying angular distance of the moon

from the sun , in consequence of which the so lar tide sometimes co incides

with the lunar, and at other times is separated from it by a large angle.

I am very glad to find you expressing your hapes that youWill be furn ished by your correspondents with tide observations from an extensive

range of places in India. I would observe, that for the purposes ofscience,the daily observations themselves are much more valuable than the esta

blishment,"or an other inference collected from them .

In conclusion. would beg particularly to state, that directions have been

given for tide observations on the whole coast of England from the 9th to

2“trifling expense to which they may lead, relying, with confidence , on your

judgmen t and discre tion to cd’

eet the object as cheaply as possible .

I have the pleasure to remain,Dear Sir,Yours very faithfully,

J. Pexs ssr ,

Secretary.

Anu s-xc Secl s'rv

’s Avas t-u sers. 7th June. 1837 .

Suggestions for Per-em who have opportun ities to make or collect Observations

It was shown by Newton , near ly lso years ago , that the fact of the T ides

sud several of their circumstances, resulted from the law of the Un iversal

Gravitation of matter. B ut in th is interval of time scarcely any th ing has

been d on e wh ich might enable us to combine into a general view the phone

mena of the Tides as they take place in all the diffe re nt parts of th e world

and at very fewplsou have good and continued observations been made and

pnb l'

uhed . It is conceived that by collecting such observations as have been

made, or

7u sily be made . the connexion and relation of the Tides of all

the parts the Ocean may be in a short time clearly made out : and that

persons a s, be induced to make such careful observations as may serve to be

compared with the theory . in th is h e the present paper is circulated .

0 most useful Observations with re erence to our general knowledge of

the Tide. are the following, inn ing with those which are most easily made .

I. The Observation of the me of High water at a known place on anyday ,and especially at new and full moon .

l The Observa tion of the Time of High water on several days in succee

sion at the same

13. The Observation of the Heigh t of several successive Tides at the same

p ace .

4. Observations of the commrative T ime ofHigh water on the same day at

difl'

ercnt plsess in the same seas.1. An Observation of the r uns of High water at a given place on any known

dslrmqy be nsefhl.the Time of the Moon

's vomiting on the same day be noted, th is will faci

h tfl e them e of the observation, and will furnish an additional evidence of the

correctne of the date .

The T ime ofHigh water on the days of New and Full Moon is more particularly useful than on other days.

.

Observations of the T ime of High water may be made with sufficient accuracywi thout a tide-post. A place ought to be selected where the water is to

lerably smooth .

3 If there be Opportunity at any lace, it is desirable to observe the T imeof High tu tor a n y day for afortnigiit.If i t be m tsined that the two T ides on the same day occur at regular inter

vs ls. one of them only need be observed .

But there m olten irro laritics in the relative T imes of the morning and

ow i ng Tide s and these rregularities are d ifferent for different ages of the

moms. In this esse botlt dad Tides should be observed .

8 A i ngle observation 0 the Height of the T ide is not of much value .

B ntn Series of Heigh ts{or a fortnight is valuable, especially if accompanied

with observations of the imcs .

The mean ing and evening T ide are ofte n unequal, and this inequality some

times " I!“considerably from one fortnigh t to another .

In Obeu vations of the He ight of the Tide, the d if fu se; of High on ] Lowteeter ought to be taken.

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243

ef depth may be pretty confidently relied upon but it is by no means“h its that high water was noticed when the tide first reached its maximum, or that any rule has been very regularly observed in reference to

the period of time for making the observations . It is proper that this

source of possible inaccuracy should be kept in view, though it is

believed the observations at Bombay are altogethe r as minute and

trustworthy as those on which ProfessorsWhewell and Lubbock havefounded their speculations.

Shortly after the erection of the buildings for an astronomical ob

servatory at Colabah, it was resolved that a series of tidal obse rvations

should be commenced in the neighbourhood, on a much more perfect

system than that which the state of the Master Attendant’s establishment, or the position of the Government Dockyard, permitted. At thistime nothingwas known of the self-registering tide

-guages, since intro

duced at home ; and a very simple and ingenious contrivance, bymeans of a large float and pulley, was sugges ted by Captain Ross forthe purpose in view. Opposite the Observatory, the sea occasionallyreceda a distance of nearly 700 feet from the nearest point on theshore where a guage could be erected . A well 22 feet deep, and 18

by 10 in area, with a nes t register-house over it, was constructed just

above high-water mark. It was at first preposed to connect this with

the sea at low water, by means of a syphon-shaped pipe—an idea un

fortunately afterwards abandoned. It was next suggested, that water

should be admitted by an Open cut through the rocks, and about

Rs . 2000were expended in endeavouring to have this executed . It

was speedily found. as might from the first have been an ticipated, that

in the first plans, were it practicable to make such a cut as was de

sired, it would to a certainty be choked up every year with sand and

gravel during the south-west monsoon . A more formidable obj ection

than even this was found in the fact, that unless by the use of a cof

fer-dam or diving-bell, the excavation of a cut, to admit the sea at all

times, could, as it approached the line of dead low water, o nlyhave M n worked at for half an hour o r so at a time for one or two

tides a-year ; so that its completion would either have incurred an

unwarrantable amount of expenditure, or occupied an infin itude of

time. The work, therefore, was abandoned, and that which had been

eeri ly-lewd left unserviceable for the ends desired to be attained, after

every thing was supposed nearly ready for the work of observation .

In this state were matters found when the present writer was placed in

charge of the Observatory in July, 1842—a beautiful self-registeringtide-gauge, with all appurtenances, then lying unemployed amongst the

unserviceable instruments of the establishment. Government havingbeen applied to, at once gave a general sanction for the resumption

of operations. The difficulties of the plan, which had already so far been

noted on, were apparen t and the following was suggested in its stead .

Four stout supports, of wood or iron, twenty-four feet long, were pro

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247

limb of the syphon getting choked with mud—a danger obviate d by a

common cleansing cock or plug ; the second, that of the accumulation

of air in the upper limb—a risk obviated by a small air cock openingwitb a float every time the knee was covered by the tide. The pro

pagation of the undulations occasioned by the ordinary waves above

the enm ity of the pipe is easily prevented by narrowing the aperture

by which the water is admitted. On these apparent difficulties beingexplained away, Government at once acceded to the carrying out of

the project, which has only been delayed in consequence of the defi

cisney of Engineer Oficers at the Presidency for the emergencies of

the routine of service.

The pipes, which are of cast iron, 4 inches in diameter, and un ited byl ocket-joints, have at the present date (July 28) been provided, and willprobably bs h id down so soon as the season permits ; and it is to be

hoped, that before the se tting in of the hot weather a series of observa

tions, worthy in point ot'

miuuteness and frequency of the importance

(1 the subject to be enquired into, may be in progress, in connection

with the other investigations in which the Colabah Observatories are

The Colabah Building Company had at one time in contemplation

the erection ofa tide-guage at their pier similar to that at the Obsor

vatory , butabont two miles further up the harbour ; aud though the

execution of the project has for the present been postponed, it is hopedit will yet be resumed, and that by and bye we may see tidal obser

vations in progress all round the island, and in the creeks and en tranceson the mainland adjoining. The very great irregularities which

prevail so near na—as at Mahim, Tannah, Penwell, and Nagotana

places all within 30 miles of us, and constantly frequented by the

inhabitants of Bombay, taken in connection with our utter destitution

of information concerning them, are frequent sources of the greatest

inconvenience in the construction of public works, and more especiallyin the movements of troops and stores. The erection of a few self

registering tide-guages, costing less altogether than the loss incurred

by the want of them amounts to in a single year, would, under the

supervision of a custom house officer, in correspondence with the

ameer at the Observatory, give, in a couple of years, all the informationthat is desired. The light

-house at Minors Point, at the mouth of

the Indus, would afl'

ord an excellent station for a gauge for determin

ing the state of the tides along the shores of Scinde ; while another at

Mandavee, a third at Pore Bunder in Goozerat, and a fourth at the

mouth of the Taptee, near Surat, would connect the chain of observa

tions from Bombay, along the line where tidal anomalies seem most

to prevail in our neighbourhood, and over which, from the extent to

which commercial intercourse prevails, it would be most important

to have the matter investigated.

A pipe from dead lowwater to the shore, though necessary at Bom

bay. is not at all in every case essen tial. At Aden , for example, so

far as l am ahle to judge ot’

the nature of the coast from charts and a

cursory general inspection, a vm‘tieal pipe, to serve the purpose of a

well, might be made fast to some of the rocky islets which aboundnear the beach—a tide house for the guage and clock-work beingplaced anywhere close at hand that might be most convenient.

The float in this, which ought to be a heavy stone or mass ef metal,m ight be connected with the clock-work by a tough and flexible cop

per wire, such as that made use of by bell-hangers, kept tight. so

as no t. to be influenced by the action of the winds or waves, by a weightadequate to counterbalance the float, intentionally made hes for the

purpose of stretching the wire. By the help of a support every feet orso, a connecting wire of this sort might be extended for some hundreds

of yards, without risk of im ccuraoy, were the pipe serving as a we ll

made w ide enough . Suppose, instead of a pipe, a wooden box threefeet square, or cask eflsimilar area, were made use of. Am en

-0r d

a the t new et plainedmight suffice—the counterpoise to the being fitted up with a scaleat its landward extremity .

[The shiver indicates the portion of the space absent ]

B arm an Onss avar rows .—The amoun t of information on the tides of

the shores of India is singularly meagre in amount, and incomplete inkind. In the 18th volume of the Asiatic Researches, a series of oh

In the library of the Bombay B ranch of the Royal Asiatic Society therets a very comp

lete collection of the T ransactions of o ther Socie ties, but th evolumes are so frequently out for long periods on end, that l have found it

249'

serrations on the tides of the River ll oog'

nly from 1305 to 1828. u i-h

obscuration: on the results thus obtained by James Kyd, Esq ., is pub

lished. The discovery ofMrWhewell in reference to the differenc e be

twixt the elevation of the day and night-tides at different seasons of the

year, had not than bea t made. Mr Kyd had observed the fact : In the

north-mat monsoon.”

says he, the night-tides are highest, whilst in

the south-west monsoon the day-tides are highest. The cause of this I

cannot M rily explain . A conjecture has been hazarded, that,as in both monsoons the wind is generally higher during the day than

in tho night, that the wind in the south-west monsoon raises the daytidc, whilst in the north-west monsoon the wind during the day with

holds and dq wcsses the day-tide ; but this is not satisfactory, inasmuch

as the wind cannot possibly be uniform, whereas the fact of the higher

tide duringths day in the one monsoon and during the night in the otheris beyond s doubt.

” The night tides in the north-eastmonsoon are also

more uniform in this respect than the day- tides in the south-west mon

soon. Ths horiaon tsl parallax of the moon,”says Mr Kyd,

“invariablysfl

'

ects the tide —when that is high the tides are high, and vice m m ,

to such a degree of correctness that, allowing for local causes, I could

venture to construct a table for a year in advance. that should not varytwo inchu from the actual tides .When the parallax is highest on thesecond or third day of the full or change of the moon , the highest

this will correspond with those days—as that is the natural perio dof

its gra n d height : should the parallax be decreasing, the highest this

will be on the day of"

full or change ; and should the parallax be de

creasing and near its lowest, and increase again after the natural perio d

has passed. the highest tide will he on the fourth day after the full or

change of the moon. The difference of the effect between the high and

low parallax of the moon upon the height of the tides, is about two

feet, frequently much more ; and as its variation as to the time is shewn

so be fourdays,this is of importance to all mariners, as enabling them in

cases of th ngcr to ascertain by their nautical ephemeris, the true state of

the tides. No longer need they trust to the partial theory founded thereon ,of pilctssnd seamen

—most ofwhom have a notion , that the dark springsides are always the highest, and that the n ight-tides are higher than the

day-tides ; and that the highest tide must always occur on the second

or third day after full or change, whereas the parallax of the moon

will sh otuslly supersede this uncertainty, and either warn a mariner

wifi his hark on a shoal not to wait till the second day and lose the

ham to examine them through . T here may, therefore , he papers o r

r on which I have been unable to lay my hands, though I shouldthink they could neither be numerous nor important.

Tho tables were set up and printed off before the preliminary observation were written. The

o

s

‘pace estimated as sufficient. for these (It; pages) has

been considerably exceed so as to occasion doub le paging ; to preven t un s

tskss, when this occurs, thofigures, from pages 219 to 253, have bee n marke d

with a star. as also have the signatures.

c l"

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251‘

Surface of theWater below th eGu n Mark.

At 8 .W. At L .W. Mean Level .

Pt . In . I t . In .

m I'm’aoo o o o a o 4 7. 7 8

4th 4 93 8 3

5th 4 10! 8 It 6 5

00000. 4 l l i 8 2 6 6

5 3 7 11

35 4 7 9

M —m .e u n aa a 6 l Oi l 10;loth 6 4 2

g12th 6 7 8 st 7 65 1 l ot

6 e s a4

314 5 1 1 l

5 81 8 Of l Ob

5 6; 8 1 6 10 a 6;The Madras Herald of the ard June, 1835, whence the above table is ex

tracted , m at h 3 that until the 29th of July, the observations were fre

quently interrupted but that after that date, they were made daily, at every

l lds , in every 24 hours and as there appears some difi'

erence in the results

obtaiuzd from the subsequent period, they are given in the following state

ment.

cm . of the Tides from 29th Jalzto 10th October , both inclusive.

Surface of theWater below th e

Guage mark .

L.W. Mean .

Full and Change16th,

aaao e a

18th, .

7“ an

m _ m ’s oa oaoa aa

1M - 2‘th’s s a n a aaa

l l th

14th —28ths

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255°

filth :“0 ffofl 'llifih the possibility of inaccuracy will in a great measure be excluded.

The ru narkable local currents dependent on the tides have not

been touched upon. The Bore in the Hooghly has been very fullyand minutely described in the Journal of the Asiatic Society, and

could scarcely be brought in amongst our Bombay observations.

An excellent account of the Bore in the Gulf of Cambay, from the

pen of Lieut. R. Ethel-ney, of the lndian Navy, is to be found in the

Tran-etions of the London Geographical Society . It is given below en

tire ae a note, as not perhaps very familiar to most Bombay readers,m ay of whom have, from time to time, the opportunity of observing the currents described.

“El n a-lt d“) lies between t l deg. em . and 22 deg . l7 m . north latitude, and 12 deg .

19 II . a d'fl h l l I t.fi t longitude ; lt is seventy-twomiles long, and varies con siderably in

m . At the-trance between Vaux's Tomb and Gupnat’h Po in t it measures thirty-two

m ea n .I“In a distance often leagues narrows, between B'

aroch Bar and th e island of

ra i l . b m miles; it then opens out again to nineteen m iles, between th e en trance of the

M I !" and Bhaunagar on the Kathwar coast ; this space, with the exception of th ree

m h M i ll ed by extensive shoals. The Gulf con tracts again to ten m iles between Gong.

we n ! h weatern coast, on the same pen i le!with a remarkable spit of land wh ich has formedwithin the In‘ twn ty years . Band-banks extend from th e

'

ahores on either side, wh ich leave

e eh nuel b etween them towsrds th e centre of th e Gull from thrse and a balt to fonr and a

h fi e h ead ot fi e l alaoca banks. in lat . at deg. lOm.N., to the parallel of Letters , a point

d fi e northern side of th e entrance of th e Narbada River, in at deg. 38 m . N ., the Gulf is“fi l m of the Bhagwa 8ands,t clear of sh oals, with irregular soundings h em“i t tn fi irv fathoms ; but above th is parallel it is filled with extensive shoals and sand ~

h al aJsavlng several deep channels between them , all of wh ich are liable to sh ift, particu

lfi y M ing fi e s'eina. These channels all take a north erly direction, and th e two principal

a . n th in Infig . 1 m. N . and 12 deg. 36 m . n ., a little below 6 on the plan, forming a chan

u l fi es I I a half miles wide. th e greatest depth of water in th is channel being slx fathoms

D tal c a nu fi -u d srly direction , runs close past Cambay Creek, from wh ich it crosses to

fi e eeath -mmward , and enters th e u nli t River .

M ar cha n nel extends in a wind ing direction from th e Sabarmatl River close past th e

Al l]! Olefi .b om whence it keeps pretty close to th e shore. and joins the main channel in

M ” deg. Ol in . N . below the Bore rocks ; in both of these channels the flood -tide makes

fl a boae ce m canaed, wherever it is observed in this gulf, by a rapidly fiowlng tide

m t rough a narrow obstructed pamage.

1 h l ist swhich empty themselves into this gulfare the Narbada. Dhadar. and Mab le, from

Ch“ ; fi e h barmatl from th e north ; and th e Bhadar, or Come, from the westward

the fi res Iatter on iy n u have any sn'

oot on the Bore, which, in th e line season, is trifl ing. as the“I. m m is then very lnconsidcrable ; for th e channel opposite Dehwen, on the

n th bank of the Halli, is on ly 300yards wide, a few inches deep , and the stream scarcely per .

" this. Agaimet th e small pagoda marked H ln th e chart, in as deg. 26m . N., on the east

h uh d fi e h harmatl River,the channel at low water is on ly we yards wide,with a mean

depfi d twoM and the stream ls too weak to be ascertained by the log.

The titles throughout the Guitars extreme rapid , an d th eir rise end fell very ism ; the

0 M " 7 M t al ahe Oall ol Ce“the und fi e elic itin g-fie m q

ahore es thr es M u has le tely fl amlnet ln dn ll, fi n e extend re sheab ,m l0

de ad w as-vies ”n ewt—I d.m

h fl n a m a azu nbyol e “li k es- fi lledfis h a l ivc , which takm i-sfis eab

h It“.

1 Valge l'

hat.

M 7. len d—Very high spring—tide, nearly up to tbe mark ef the tide in th e rahbstwesn the poiat O and Oambay Creek the highest part ofth e wave rose six feet. and its ve

isd ty was t- h ou sed a quartsr. ths atrengtb being ae follows

O bo after e et oo ” 1 0i so , s o

The dood tlde raa three hours and two miuutes . T he rlse and fail of the nigbt tids was th ir.

ty led eleva ted -fibe dsy tide twenry-three fest the dicc ence being seven feet eleven

u d m m m ‘m bon e . 0 .

Ditto second

mm mm hour o .

fi e ebb dh ruu stsedliyJ ut do uot acquire tbeir greateat streugth untii more than half

t lde hu M whsn thehigh banhs are unoovered, and the stream is oonl ued to its pro per

J“. is, lu f f - l eer th e village of Dehwan , on the north bank of the l ah i, the h igh est part

d the wave was seven feet. and its velocity ten kn ots. Th e rise and fall of the n ight tide was

b a tty-two b et zhut by the mark of th e tide on the shore, th is was one foot lower than it

had been aday or two before, wh ich is too trifl ing to have dim inished th e eflect of th e h ere .

I was not able to measure the risa of the tide here, having no conven ient place to erect a

sa le ; it ran on ly two hours flfty minutes ; th e grsateat velocity of the flood was seveu ltnob ,

Ol d the ehh aix huots two furlongs.

h eWm Bore is so nearly similar to that j ust described, in almost every particular.“t h e direction and efleot, th at a very few additional remarks w ill be aumcien t to point

e¢ the smali dil sreuce between them i and eveu that would h ave been superfluous , had i“fon d s very great alteration in th e banks and chann el subsequently to my former

[ found that from 100 to laee yn th of the western shore bad been washed away throug h

fi e whole space from I to th e east point, wh ich is i300yards farther south than its former

m en tha lmut all along, bei ng a sandy clil . continues still to fall with such frequency ,

fiu the ad en d the tide undermining it, that. in a short time, the coast will be quite

” gi t from the Amii Creek to below that which is now the east poin t Tons of this sandy

m are detached from the shore at one time. and these masses con tinue to fall into th e we

r at dl ereut parts in such quick succession, that tha report sounds at a distance like heavy

u tilit y 3 the top of these cliflb. at two-thirds ebb, being from eigh teen to twenty feet above

bi sm u the m .

Agaiq tbe high mad-banks to tbe eastward of the Amii Creek. which were oniy partially

elut ed by th e neep tides, have been swept away noth ing but low sand -banks remain ing in“I p lace. and the chanuel leading to th e Sabarmati B iver , which before took a N . N. 8 .

direction from Amii Point direct for that river. now turns to tbe N . N .W. at em it Point. and

In aloeg the shere cloee past amii Ci-eek, whero it turns to tbe N. n., for th e Sabarmati

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262

AUGUST 1835.

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257

JANUARY 1836.

Time . Time.

9 30A.Il . 12 8 3.30r .1s

I2 3 4 30

e e e l.) 6 0 e e e

12 9 5 30

I 3

6 0 2 0 e e e

6 0

I 8

l 8 '030

6 2 45

3 0

11 30 5 3 6 30

6

13 3 1030

l l 3 3 30 o 9 45

l l 9

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263

JULY 1886.

T ime . Time . T ime

R . N

o sos as. 6 30a u i 0 v .11 I6 9 m s 5

e e e e e e lb 6 7 45 5

e e e e e e 3 6 2 30 5

0 00 s e e 7 O 4 . l5

11 30

1 30 9 0 8 45

3 6 045 If. 0 6 30

15 0

4 3 14 9

5 0 2 45'

4 6 9 15

1030 1: 0

t o 8 45

i 3 1045

i 9 6 30

0“

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JUNE 1887 .

75

JULY 1887 .

Time.

O O

3.45a .sl . 3 6 1030A.u 14 3 10. 15mu. 13

3 6

3 9 00

0

00. 9 7 030

1 1 9 9 15

1 0

I 3

l 9 5 30

l 0

0 2 30

0

5 6 9 30 l 8

00. e a .

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T ime .

11 I

M I

. 3 ‘

28 1

JANUARY 1838 .

T im e .

H M

(I

i)

(1

i i

T im e.

4 30

7 30

l 30

50

2 30

3 4a

4 30

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293

JANUARY 1889 .

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T ime.

305

JANUARY 1840.

1080

11me.

E . u .

m s

1 9 6 45

13 6

12 O 1030

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311

JULY 1810.

Time.

1030

Time.

312

AUGUST 1840.

T ime .

313

SEPTEMBER 1840.

11me.

8 6 0

6

00 . 8 6 4 0 0 0.

a l o

ls 0 4 0 0 0 .

Time .

1 6

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320

is no regular bazaar dollars are used in larger purchases, but they have

no smaller currency ; buttons, beads, tobacco, or bot tles, are received in

exchange for milk, fish. Sac ; an d amongst themselves hides, d ivided

into portions suited to the formation of the soles of their sandals, are

used in barter.

The weather, during our stay at Tajoora, was very hot, the thermogmeter in our tents generally rising to 96 or 98 degrees during the day,though rendered less oppressive by the sea breeze, which usually se ts

in about 1 1 The n igh ts also were very close and war m.We remained at this place un til the end of May, the deten tion being

principally caused by the difficulty in procuring camels, owing to the

advanced seaso n of the year, the approaching hot season, and dreaded

shimal being said to render the earlier po rtion of the roa'

d nearly im

passable : much difficulty also arose from the avarice and extortio ns of

the principal authorities of the place at length these were overcome

camels, o riginally promised at seven teen dollars each for the journey .

could only be obtained at the rate of twenty, and an exorbitan t sum

was demanded as the pay of an escort . Great objections were ra ised

to the size and weight of many of the packages con taining the presen ts

for the King of Shea, and much time was occupied in reducing their

dimensions where practicable. At las t the camels began to arrive . and,on the 25th, we had the pleasure of seeing the first string of eleven

start on their road to Ambaboo, there to rendezvous until the required

number was obtained : from this time from twelve to thirty were dis»

patched daily, until the 3oth May , when the number reached about one

hundred and fifty . No more camels being procurable, it was determined

to leave the remainder of the baggage, and part of the Missio n, untilarrangements could be made, at Shoa, and proceed with those alreadyladen .

The camels, with the exception of ten procured by Sheik Shoemake

from Zeyla, were far inferior to the Indian camel, the saddles verysimple and light, but, as our experience during the journey, proved of agood construction, very few of the camels becom ing sore-backed ; it

consisted of two or three mats thrown over the back, then a couple of

sticks on each side fastened above, and two round pads formed of date

stalks, sewn in matting, to relieve the hump and spine from pressure .

The camels were divided amongtit many proprietors,fifteen or twen ty, others only one, the owners generallyof them on the journey.

Essk and Cassim, bro thers of the Sooltan of Tajoora ; Mahomed Ali,son of Ali Abi of the Rookhba ; and Abrahim Shem, of the Abli tribe,are the principal natives who accompanied us.

Our party now consists of Captains Harris and Graham, Assistan t

Surgeon Kirk, Lieutenan t Barker, I.N. , and Dr Roth, with an escor t

of ten European soldiers from Aden, all mounted on mules procured at

Tajoora, but we also have several horses brought from Aden .

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331

Ramudalli, studded with coarse grass, on which we saw the first cone of

the termites about six feet in height ; crossing this plain for five miles,we ascended on to a slightly elevated plain, and after three miles more

descended a ridge of lava on to the grassy plain ofGobat, bounded byhills running in a north-east and south-west direction the valley is

about three miles in width, shut in to the ou tward by hills distant

about eight miles, to the westward by a range at a distance of from

twelve to fifteen miles. Crossing some lava ridges we entered the open

plain, and encamped near the bed of the stream on the southern side.

Marched twelve miles. By Lieut. Barker’

s observations this station is in

lat. 11 deg. 0m in . 56 sec. N and the thermometrical boiling pointgave

an elevation of feet above the sea. This spot was pointed out

to us as the site of a foray made by the Essa Soomalies last year, when

150horsemen drove off the flocks of the Donakil from this station ;at presen t it is inhabited by a portion of the Robeita tribe, whose chief,who takes the title of Agil, is said to be in the neighbourhood.

June lain—Halted partly to rest the camels and cattle, but princily for the purpose of meeting Loheita Ibu Ibrahim, Agil of theboitas, a tall stalwart savage, a renowned warrior in these parts,

having, after the route to Tajoora had been closed for three year un

dertaken a campaign against the hostile tribes and re-establish the

communication. Passed a hot day, thermometer rising to 1 10 deg.Water good and obtained from a large pool under the rocks.

Jun e 17tha—Marched at halfpast six A. n ., ascended the range tothe southward, commanding a fine view over the Gobat valley, and

then passed over a stony plain, covered with basaltic boulders : enteringa small valley we came to a group of wells, at which a flock of sheepand goats were being watered. Proceeding half amile further down thevalley, we encamped at the station of Sunhul, which seems to be the

focus of several small valleys converging from the table land. Therocks in the neighbourhood were all basaltic, almost passing into hornblende ; in one of the precipitous cliffs we found a small cave occupiedby a colony of bees,—marched four miles. Thermometer at max.

108 dog. The evening was occupied in filling our water skins, a and

m a of a coming day without water to our cattle, which are now fast

losing their strength from the heat and frequent scarcity of grass and

water.

Jim 18th, —Fine fresh morning, with a refreshing breeze, though

the thermometer at sunrise did not fall below 84 deg. S tarted at six

m m , and ascended from the Sunhui dale on to the table land of Hon.

dali ; passed south-south-west over a stony level thickly studded with

grass, much resembling the Deccan plains, and extending to the east

and west as far as the eye could reach . After proceeding four milessaw some flocks cfgoats a short distance to the eastward, which we weretold were at the encamping station of Arabdoora, butwe passed on, asit was reported that there was not a sufficient supply of water for the

ltafila. Proceeding two m iles further we came to the brow of theHoodali range, from whence we had a fine view over the valley of

D ooloo l ; it appeared to be about six miles in breadth, extend ing, as doall these valleys, in a northw est and south-east dire ction to the south

ward, bounded by the Mari range, running parallel to the one we were

on, but of greater elevation to the westward , shut in by the Oobnoomoun tains crossing it at right angles, but Open as far as the eye

it to the eastward. Its surface near the hills was in parts coveredwith masses of lava and blocks of basalt from the adjoin ing hills , bu tafterwards 'with alluvial deposit, studded with extensive tracts of coarsedry grass.

Descending the bill, a fall of about 2 or 300feet, and skirting itsbase for a mile, we reached Sugageedau, an arid spot on the cpen plain,

just on the skirt of a tract of lava ; grass was abundant, and there was

some forage for our camels, but no water was to be obtained, and our

cattle were much exhausted even after this short march of 7 m iles .

covered with coarsegrass,ungle of acacias. Proceed

ing a short distance up the ravine, we came to some fine pools of good

water, at which we watered the cattle and filled up the skins, and then

return ing to the plain , proceeded to an open spot called Dahwailaka,where we

.

found our kafila encamped passed a very hot day, the

T herm . at 3 I‘ .M . standingat 107 deg— two mules were obliged to be

deserted on th is last march . In the even ing the Roheita chief left us.

Jun e 20th .—Afine freshmorning, although the Therm . at sunrise stood

at 87 deg. at daybreak we returned to the pool to water the cattle and

fill up the skins, as no water is to be found at our next halti ng ground .

T here are two roads from Dahwailaka— the shortest one passing over

the range to the southward,— but the camel-men declared that their beasts

were so much exhausted that we must take the lower road we there

fore skirted along the base of the range in a westerly direction , passingo ver a desert plain for 6 m iles, and then came to a grassy spot on which

we saw a few an telopes ; we next came to a small de tached hill, and

soon afterwards entered a jungly patch near which we halted, the s ta

tion being called Oomergoolf : our day’

s march was about m iles.We saw some cattle grazing on the plains, but were told that no water

was to be obtained in the neighbourhood. Nearly opposite Gomer

333

goolf, the Dulool plain is divided by a projecting spur from JibulOobnoo, a lofty range v isible to the westward, into two vallies, thesouthern one being namedWaddy Arfa. The Mari range, which ishere of about 8 or 900feet elevation, is basaltic, its base strewn withhuge masses which have been detached from the summit, most pro

bably by earthquakes, which Mahomed Ali said were by no means

of unfrequent occurrence in these parts and that he had several times

himself felt the earth shaking under his feet. and seen masses of rockfalling from the hills. Another mule was obliged to be deserted to

day.Weather very hot and oppressive, Therm. in tent at 3 P .M . 108

deg. ; in the evening the sky clouded over, and we fully expected that

the much-dreaded and still much wished-for rain was at last coming ;it proved, however, to be the hot

-blast of the simoom bringing with itclouds of dust : the n ight was very close and hot.

At this station we saw a fine effect of the mirage—a great portion

of the plain having the appearance of an extensive bay shut in by the

projecting headlands of the opposite range. A hot spring is said toexist in this neighbourhood , but our guides said it was unsafe to approach it on account of the hostile tribe in its v icinity .

June 2lst.— Started at half-past 3 ans. the road as yesterday skirtingthe base of the Mari range to the northward a desert tract extended for 3

miles, and we then entered on stony ground, thickly strewn with rounded masses of basalt and lava, apparently the detritus of the neighbour

ing hills ; 2 or 3 miles over this brought us near the abutment of the

range, here much diminished in height ; we now ascended the hill,amongst blocks of lava, rendering it so bad for camels that they went

round by the more circuitous route of the plain . The VVaddy Arfawhich we now left runs for some miles to the N.W., when it appearsbounded by the JibulOobnoo range, overwhich the road to Oussa runs totheW. N.W., said to be from hence one day

’s journey for a mule and

two for a katila. Having crossed the lava ridge, we had a fine view

over the plain of Amadoo, running parallel to, and bounded on its

by, the Mari range ; to the westward openingon toWaddyArfs, and to the eastward at 6 or 8 miles

’

distance apparen tly dividinginto three smaller vallies.We crossed the plain for two m iles to a ver

dant-looking spot under the opposite hills, where, in a rocky nook,amidst huge blocks of basalt, we found a fine pool of greenish stagnant

water at which our cattle relieved their thirst ; it was a bustling scene,

as there appears to be a populous settlemen t in the neighbourhoood ;

a dozen women were busy, on the opposite bank, bathing and fillingtheir water-skins, whilst one old lady, in spite of the Moslem prej udiceagainst the unclean beast, was tenderly washing a pet sheep

-dog. Soon

after our arrival, a herd of donkeys came down to be watered then, at

tracted by a herdsman’s about on the lofty summit of the opposite h ill,

we saw a fine drove of cattle looking no larger than sheep, slowly wind

ing down a steep and narrow path to the pool, whilst from another di

T l

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335

June 24th.—Turned outat2 a .u ., loaded the camels and started athalf

past 3, passed over rocky, broken, and stony ground, gradually slopingto the southward for a mile and a half, passing the group of bushes

at Fiulloo ; we then entered on the extensive plain of Kulallee, crossingit to the S .W. Skirting the base of a low undulating range of bills

to the westward called Jibul Essa, at daybreak we were able to judgeof the full extent of this plain, the largest we have yet crossed ; it ap

peared bounded by blue distant ranges of bills, the nearest apparently20miles cd

'

the plain was a vast level of alluvial deposit, and covered

with dry grass. At the 8th mile we came to some low rising ground to

the eastward near the remains of some small Bedouin stone-huts called

Ulwulli, and afterwards passed several small low hills in the same dircetion . At this time the range to the southward kept gradually risingin sight, running, as all the others we had passed,N.W. and S.E. it bad a

single lofty peak called Kuli'

al Ali. After two or three short halts, at 10

a . at . we reached the station of Borududa, having marched about 15

miles. No waterwas to be procured at this station,and we received but

bad accounts of our next halting-ground, which is said to be crowded

with the differen t tribes and their herds, driven there by the great scar

city of water in all parts of the coun try at this season.

As usual, the ground near our camp was thickly strewn with ba

saltic pebbles, and in the neighbourhood were a few shrubby acacia

bushes.We passed a hot dusty day, the wind coming in squalls from

the N.E. From here the highest point of Kufl‘

al Ali bore ap

parently forming a head-land extending some distance into the plain .We saw a large herd of cattle grazing on the plain, and were cautioned

to be on our guard against horse-stealers—a hint given rather too late

—one mule having been stolen when out grazing yesterday even ing.

Thermometer at 3 a n . 108 at night sky overcast and stormy, and a

few drops of rain fell.

June 26th—Started at 4 a .u ., and continued as yesterday to skirtthe low Base range to the S.S.Wthe road, after a mile or two, be

coming sbut in by low rounded bills to the eastward. After crossingthe plain, for seven miles the road passed up a bushy dale, and then

crossed over stony and rocky bills for 3 miles ; we passed many herdsof cattle and sheep on the road, all making their way in the same direction as ourselves, and on reaching the brow of the last hill overhangingK ilulloo, low white streaks of sheep and goats were seen descendingthe sides of the opposite mountain, whilst the lowing of cattle, and the

bleat of sheep, rose from the ravine below. On descending into thehollow in which the water is found in pools of 30or 40feet long, but

very shallow, a most pastoral scene presented itself ; thousands of

sheep, cattle, and goats were collected in dense masses round the water,whilst women and men were bustling about, separating their flocks anddriving t hem off to graze.

Kilulloo appears to be an important station to all the tribes for a

336

considerable distance around , who; when the water fails in their own

districts, d rive their herds and flocks to this spo t, where it is alway s t obe found, though at this advanced period of the hot season it was of

a wretched qual ity, black, muddy, and smelling tas ting strongly of

the pollutions it receives from the numerous cattle which are here

watered . It is found in pools ex tending along the bottom of a narrow

ravine opening on to the Kulallee plain, and appears to receivezthe drainage of the southern portion of the Oobnoo range.We saw no habits .

tions in the immediate vicin ity, but were told that some of the numerous

centers of the pools erect their temporary mat huts on the table

to the southward .We remained at this station five days, and had a good opportunityof observing the difl

‘

erent tribes, of whom the Eesa with their bows and

poisoned arrows were'

by far the stoutest and handsomeat race ; thencame the Donekll tribes with their broad-headed spu r and shield ; and

the Somauli with his lighter lance and smaller shield, all mixed promiscuously in the noisy crowd, and we saw no traces of those dmdlyand sanguinary feuds said to exist between them.

T he constant tale of our guides has been of forays and deeds of arms

between the different tribes ; but on carefully noticing every shield

borne by the men of our kaflla, in number at least 60. but one bearsthe mark of having been opposed to a hostile spear, though most of

them have the appearance of high an tiquity .Whilst here we had a

good Opportunity of seeing the Donakil women ; when young, manyof them are good looking ; in colour varying from the black of thenegro to a dark brown : they wear their hair plaited very small, their

features are generally pleasing and good humoured, the upper part of

the body to the waist is usually quite exposed, the unmarried women

wearing no covering, or only a white cloth over the bead, whilst themarried are distinguished by a head-dress of dark blue cotton cloth,which they occasionally draw across the breasts ; the rest of their dressconsists of a cloth or two, or leathern petticoat tied round the waist, and

half way down the leg. They seem fond of ornaments : themore wealthy wear silver bracelets and anklets, and massive brass earrings, whilst large bead necklaces of many rows are in common use.

Soon after passing the period of youth, the pendulous appearance of

their breasts tends much to destroy the symmetry of their form. Theywere particularly free in their manners, and apparen tly rather lax intheir morals and ideas of decorum, forming a striking contrast to theWand '

ousy of the peop le of the cou t .

uring time we remained at this station, the leaders of ourkafila, and several of the chiefs we met here, t whom were AliAbi, Mahomed Ali

’s father, his uncle, chief of the ookhba tribe, l bu

Ibrahim, chief of the Eysomauli, and numerous others, passed the

greater part of each day in solemn conference, arranging the aflhirs ofthe nation, and tbe more trifling concerns of our kaflh mttling ques

337

tions of precedence, and other equally weighty matters. These meetings seemed to be commenced and ended with prayer ; when the objectof the convocation had been arranged, wh ich was generally after longand serious discussion, conducted with the greatest propriety and

solemnity, all spears, until now erect, were laid on the ground, and a

Species of litany rehearsed by one of the assembly, each paragraph or

prayer being followed by a deep hum of amen from the whole of the

congregation . The assembly then broke up, and returned to their

domestic avocations.

In such a motley collection from numerous tribes, there were, of

course, occasional quarrels, on which occasions the crease was usuallydrawn ; but the valiant disputants were invariably separated by the

bye-atanders in time—save on one occasion, when a man of our kafila

received a cut on the head from a crease, having indiscreetly entered

into a quarrel when rather distant from his companions.

As usual, the various chiefs were introduced to the mission, and pre

sents exchanged theirs consisting of bullocks and sheep, ours of

scarlet superfine cloth for man tles, razors, and other ar ticles. Theirfollowers were also to be propitiated, and great was the consumption

of tobacco and blue cotton cloth,—the latter being folded by the re

naiver into the shape of a small triangle, and carried about in a cleft

stick. Fo r writing paper there was also a great demand, and the doors

of our tent were daily crowded with applicants for wurkut,”

(paper)to be applied to the purpose of receiving a magic spell, and being worn

as amulets.We found here, on our arrival, a kafila belonging to the

son of the Kazee of Tajoora, with about twenty slaves, none of

them above the age of twelve or fourteen they had arrived from

Shoe in 16 days, bringing letters from Mr Krapf, dated 8th June, and

expect to reach the coast in 8 or 10days ; having just passed over the

same desolate route, we can form an idea of the sufferings and hard

ships these poor children will have to undergo before reaching their

destination. By this opportunity we forwarded a packet of letters forBombay. The weather during our stay was very hot, as we were

shut in on all sides by black basaltic rocks, and all air excluded from

the tent by the swarms of prying savages.Who seldom left us save

during meal times, when they always retired. The thermometer gen

erally rose during the day to 108 deg. ; the afternoons, however, were

generally overcast, and the nights very cloudy . On the 26th, we had

a slight shower at night, quite sufficient to make us uncomfortable, as

we were sleeping in the open air,- Esak not allowing our tent to re

main up during the night, lest the Bedouins should be tempted by such

a display of white cloth to cut it to pieces. On the 27th we also had

a few drops, but the night passed cd‘

pretty well. On the afternoon of

the 2sth the sky was very cloudy, and about 8 m a. heavy rain set in

and continued at intervals during t he greater part of the night ; for

tunately we had pitched a small waterproof tent, which, with some

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339

July 2d.- After a

gruiet night, without rain , started

Ann , crossed to the and S .S .W” o ver low sto nywe found several flocks of sheep grazing. then came to a small cluster

of bee-hive-shaped huts made of matting, from whence we descended

into a small valley named Doomi, apparently a branch ofWaddy Xilulioo ; we passed along its eastern side for 2 m iles, then crossed it,and ascended the opposite low hill on to a level table- land covered

with dry grass ; passin over this for 5 miles, we reached a low pro

jes ting hill. having a c uster of huts or village called Kc riddra on its

point : continuing our course another mile to the westward, we halted

under a second low point called Nagskoomi ; no water was to be

found, but there was abundance of grass for our cattle.—Marched 15

miles. A moun tain range was visible from here, extending from N .W.to S .W., and distant about 12 or 15miles, called Jibul Pfceo ; the is

a perfect desert, save where the view was

bushy hills . At 4 R M. we had heavy rain

and at n ight much lightn ing to the southwcrd andesstwt rd.

July 3d.—Commenced loading camels at 4 A.H ., sod started at half

past 6 ; passed to the westward over broken and jungly ground foramile, when the hills in, and our route ran through a narrow

" l

agging much grass, and an unusual number of fresh green-loch

ing ascending from this valley , our road ran S .S.W. over ajungi and stony plain; the hills still basaltic, and the ground strewn

with ffagments of obsidian. At the loth mile we came to a fine greenp

patch of bushes, called Arnoot, a most refresh ing sight ; herds

of and flush of sheep were grazing in the neighbourhood, and we

here found some pools of muddy waten whieh as usual, onr thirstycattle rendered still more undrinksble b rushing in to the centre : byall accounts we havc to thank ths last w e ights rain for this most

welcome supply. After watering the cattle we q s in pursued our

journey, and soon en tered a long narrow valley, bound in by low sloping hillg wh icln with the bed of the valley, were thicldy clothed with

grass ; proceeding along th is fo r five miles, we came to some pools

muddy water called Meinhatolli, uear wbich numerous cattle were

grazing, and here we encamped at half-past l l , having marched 16

m iles. To the south west the valley appears to open on to an exten

sive plain, beyond which several detached peaked mountains are in

sigh t.We found that to-day we had struck into the upper road , as

the r-s ins having fairly set in the pools on this route were expected to farThe lower road, we learned,

range, and runs to the northward of Jibul

Tbe water here we fonnd very had and dirty, and smelling verystrong e f the dong hill. Heavy rain , with thunder, lightn in

ssvers squstls, set in about 7 in the evening causing mnc con

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361

Number of days occupied in the journey from Tajoorato Alio.mb' a aa aao an aaa aaa aae u a m m a a aaa aao a aa aaa aaa aaa

Number Of“I‘mhe. aaa o aaa aaa aaa aaa a aa aaa a s a a aa aa a a aa a aa aaa a o o

B ‘lt. a aa aaa a aa 00 000 an aae an aaa aaa aae aaa a“s e e a n a s a aaa a aa aas aaa

'i‘hon tWOter au au aaa aaa as a a ao a o o a aa a aa a s a a s s a s s a s a aaa

D i‘t.nce to Ankober 370mile'.M'tcha to do . 86

Average number of miles marched per diem

R. K t ax , Assistant Surgeon ,Attached to the Embassy to the Court of Shea.

No. Il a—Astronomical Observations taken by L ieut. B arker, 1. N .,

between Taj oora and Ankober.

June 6th, N t h—Artificial Horizon .

Double Marid. Altitude Benetnach

I E

moss -ao

Mooya near B ahr Assal Salt Lake 518 11 5-45Refrn .

50° Decln.

Latitude, N.

June 12th , 1841.—Artificial Horizon .

Merid. Altitude B enetnach lO2'

80'

50

I E

-40

S i gOd‘r. a se a se aaa aas oao s ea as s aaa ass asa aaa a aa a s a s aa

°46 Refrn .

Declu.

Latitude, l i'l9 °

3 N.

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355

November 18 th, 1841. Ankober. (DObsd . Merid. Alt. Sun

’s Lower limb 12 14 51 0

L at. by a°

50 1. E.

by Moon , Mn . Alt.

by O Merid . 45'27 Refrn .

Mean Latitude

of Ant oe aaaaaa aae No D1.met°f .

28 49 29

Corrected Decln .

Latitude, N.

Astronomica l Observa tions, by Assistant-Surgeon R . K irk.

October 13th, 184 1.

OM ”Grid . Alt. Fomalh.Ut, OOO O OOO OOO O OOO O OO OOO

Is E0

2) 99 5556

Ankober’ 58

R f48 e ru.

49

30 Decln .

Latitude, N.

November 9 th , 1841.

Obsd. Merid. Alt. Sun ’s Lower Limb,

i D iameter, 2 5 I. E .

Refill . s aao aooa a o s a 24

a) tee-

sea s

63

‘ flkOber, oa s s oaa aas -a s a ae a aas a sa aaa as s oaa aaa aaa u s e s . 26

Corrd. Decln .

Latitude, N.

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361

By Observation inl st September, 8 164

OOO e e e 7 th do. 8 159

5th

4 ) 32792

Mean Ankober 8 198 feet above level of Sea.

No. lV.—D istribution of the Tribes between Taj oora and Shea,f rom

information given by Mohamed Ali.

The tribe and authority of the Sooltan of Tajoora extends from Mursa

Dooan to the Salt Lake . From the Salt Lake to Ramudalli is the territoryof Loheita l bu Ibrah im , Agil of the Roheitas, who are also called De

beu ik. From Ramudalli to Snggagedan is th e territory of Ibrahim l buHameido, Agil of the By Seumali (Wuheema.) From Sugeagedan toWarim illee is the territory ofWyses Ibn B ugaio , Agil of theWuheema. FromWarimillee to Murow belongs to the tribe of D eben ik

, who have two ch iefs,

B eder and Abukeri Ibu Soomboo l. From Murow to How is the territoryof Sheik Om ar B utto, of the tribe of T nghael. From How to Ferri is a

mixed population from all the tribes, but principally the Adalli, under theauthority of the“oolusma Mahomed Abogas, under the king of Shoa.

These tribes, in time of war, or when called out to repel the attacks of e ither

the Eesa, Mudaitos or C allas, their n e ighbours to the S.E. and N.W. , assemble toge ther under the title of Deben ikWuhuma. The road lies through

these tribes from Tajoora to Abyssin ia, bounded on the north -west by the

Mudaitos, on the south -east by the Eesa as far as K ilulloo,and from thence

by the sub-tribes of the Galla. The Eesa appear to be the most powerful

of all the tribes, their coun try extending from G oobut K hrah to 30m iles

south of Zeyla, and from thence to the very limits of the Galla territory.

No. V. Observations to determine the longitude of Ankober, by Assistant

Surgeon R. Krax .

To CaptainW. C . B u rm a, in charge of a Mission to the Court of Shoa.

a ,—Deem ing it an object of considerable Geographical in terest to de

term ine the true position of Ankober, as a poin t of departure from which

routes in this part of Africa may be protracted, I have the honour to forwardthe Report of a series of Lunar Observations taken during the two last

mon ths.

L ieutenant Barker, I.N ., places Ankober in latitude 9 deg. 34 m in . 44 sec.

N .,and my observation s make its longitude 39 deg. 54 m in . E . This result

was obtained as follows —the total number of lunar distances observed was

28 , giving a mean longitude of 39 deg. 51m in ., but as several of these differed

very considerably from this approximation , I have though t it better to selectthe five best observations on each side the sun, by which the following series

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365

Right Ascension of 43m.

Horary Angle, D ' 98t Ofo e eo e e e e e e s s e e e 3 5 29 .

60

p’

s Right Aseen . at time ofObservation, 12 38 5 °

64

D’

s Do. Greenwich, Jan . soth, l6h . 12 37 14 °

48

51 ° 16 remainder.

As 2' change between 16th and 17 th hours log.

8 hour, 000 000 000 000 OOOQ OQ OOO e e e e a e o o e o e e e c oo. e o e ooo e e e 3600, e e e

e e e e n aso e ee en e ee e e e e ee ene e ee e ee e ee e e e e e e e e e e e ee e e e e e eo e e e e e e e ee e e ee

5295234

2 eee e ee e ee e ee e ee eee e ee e e e e ee e e e ee e s e e e e ee e e e e ee 60) 1419'iee ee e ea e e e e 3 152160

Proportional period for

319004 1016 Of Obsel'Vat D. " n ou n s lgbo 8m0398e .3Mean Greenwich T ime corresponding to D

’s R.A. time

16 23 39 °6Of Observation . 00. 00. C O . 00. I O . 00.

Difiarence being Longitude in Time e e e e e e e ee e e e e ee 2 89 59 °7

39 59 55E .

This problem is very simple, appears perfectly correct in principle, beingmerely the converse operation to finding the apparen t time, and requ ires butone observer ; but to obtain a satisfactory result the greatest nicety is re

quired in the calculation , more especially in reducing the sun and moon'

s

elemen ts to the corresponding G reenwich time. G reat accuracy is alsorequired in the time, an error of one second of time, and consequen tly in themoon

'

s righ t ascension , producing an error of abou t six miles in longitude.

I have found the morning and even ing twiligh t, wh ilst there is yet ligh tsufficient to read off the altitudes, the most favourable time for these ehservations.

—I have the honour to be, &c., &c. ,

Ant en na , Feb. 27, 1842. R. K ra ir,

Assistant S urgeon .

A glass for observing the eclipses of Jupiter’

s satellites was subsequen tlyreceived from B ombay ; but from its inferior quality, and th e great indis

tinctness of the margin of the planet as seen through it, no satisfactoryobservations could be taken.

No. VL—Rep ort on the Magnetic Variation at Ankober.

To His Excellency CaptainW. C. Han ars, Ambassadorat the Court of Shoa.

S IB ,—I have the honour to forward a Report of the following Observax 1

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37 1

quoted as an authority on the age of the Ghauts, or the Vindiahmountains, regard ing which he was possessed of so little information.

’

There is another v iew in which the discovery of the h custerincfossils of the Hyderabad, Nagpore. and Bundlecund territories so farto the north -westward, is important.

In my memoir on these fossils (Geol. Trans. vol. v. pp. 553 andI have referred to the proof that they afforded, of the aspect

of the country having been entirely changed since the time when theseshell-fish lived ; as no natural lakes now exist in these countries, norcould shells have accumulated in such vast quan tities in rivers such as

those that at present intersect the coun try. Mandoc is 400 m ilesnorthwest of Neermull on the Godavery, near to which I first noticedthe fossils, and nearly 300m iles west of Jubbulpoor, where they havebeen collected by Voysey and Dr Spilsbury , and they have been ohserved in theDeccan as far south as the basin of the Kistnah . O ver allthese tracts, then, I am j ustified in believing that, at one time, extensive lakes and marshy plains extended, full of the ordinary forms oflacusterine life. T he precipitous, thirsty moun tain ranges which intersect India, and which now rise bare and burned up in inaccessiblecliffs, which for months of every year hardly afford water for the birdsof the air, must then have exhibited vast plains full of fresh water lakesand marshes, on the muddy shores of which multitudes of gavials, crocodiles, and tortoises must have preyed, and amidst the rank luxii rianceof the bordering vegetation the mastodons, hippopotami, bisons, andsirathena must have ranged, whose bones are now found so abundan tlyscattered over India. So mighty a change in the features of our

adopted country may j ustify a little speculation : and I ven ture to suggest, that the changes induced by the stupendous igneous eruptions,which have formed so many picturesque mountain ranges, must not

only have modified the drainage, but must at the same time have so

altered the distribution of the meteoric agents, as to have cut off the

As the original work of Elie do Beaumont is in few hands, I extract at theend of this paper all that he has said regardin Indian chains of moun tains,and which the i llustrious author has entitled in t 0 table of con ten ts Conj eetm s sur les Gates,

”830.

Since this was written, I have read Humboldt’s great work Asie centrale

Recherches sur les chaines do mon tagnes, i n wh ich I was d isappointedto find so little regarding India, and that not marked by the all-search ing andclear-judging knowlefi

e which distinguishes the rest of h is works, and the

greater rt of this . ow much is it to be regretted that he did not effect h isfond ly c erished inten tion of exploring the Himalayas ! The whole workappears to be based upon Elie do B eaumon t

’s grand generalization . The im

portan t fact that the precious me tals, and many of the most rare or usefulminerals.are found in ce rtain lines of e levation, is i llustrated by a vast collectionof facts ; and taken in connection with the association of theWes tern Ghauts

,

th e Ural and Boler mountains, in one system of e levation, extending from CapeComorin or Point do Gallo to the Frozen Sea, is so full of inte rest, that it maywell stimulate those who have opportunities to work out the details.

373

which is 25miles due east from the sea, and 4500feet above its level,that the mean annual quantity of rain is 2398 0 inches . The greatest

annual fall (which occurred in 1834) amounted to 2974 1 inches, a

result unprecedented in meteorology .

‘ B ut the most extraordinaryfact bearing on this point is that exhibited in the following table byD r Murray, showing the amount of rain at the Sanatorium at Maha

buleshwur ; at Pamhgurry, a v illage only 10 miles distant, on the

eastern slope of the hills at B ombay, and at Poona, for 1842.

Amount of rain during June, July, August, and September,

AMOUB T or RAIN.

Sanatorium

Mahabuleshwur.P‘mhgm

'WFOOD3 .

In .

In . 14-775.

This table leaves no room to doubt, that the elevation of these

mountains would be sull'

icient to produce the efl‘

ects which I have

ascribed to that event in the earth’

s history.

Non l .—E.rtractsfrom Recherche: sur quelques-tmes denRévolutt'

ons

de la Surface da G lobe. Par M. L . Earn a n B eaumont-r .

Conj ectures sur les Gates.

”

Vouloir suivre cc systems jusque daus l’Inde para

‘

i‘

trait pen t-étre abuserde la faculté dee rapprochemens : cependant je crois devoir faire remarquer

la chains des Gates. ear la cote de Malabar, semble ee coordonncr encore

direction dont je m’

occupo . La grands faille 6 laquelle parait do l’esearpe

ment occidental den Gates, en élevan t les plateaux da pays des Marhattes, daDecan et da Carnatic, a Glevé en meme temps lo grand depot argilo

-ferrugineuxde latérite qui forme les points les plus clevés do can

lplateaiix, ainei que le

mon tre la coupe den Gates, donnée ar M. Christie . est a regretter que

en depot do laterite , ui couvre dane’Inde do ei vaetes etendues , n

’ait

'

usqu’

a

presen t effort aucun oseile, et ne puisse etre rapporté avec certitude gaucunCtage géologiag

te determine; main on pent toujours remarquer t

gie taut qu

’

on

n’aura pee in qu6 d

’

autre chains qui produise sur la latérite l’o et mentionné

til-deems, tout oonduira a voir dane les Gates la chains la plus recente de la

BombayMedical and Physical Transactions,vol. i., p . 107,DrMurray quotean ob servation of a M. Lego. recorded by Humboldt, who thinks that 280mayhave fallen in 1821 only, at San Luis de Maranho in Brazil, where the land is

in much the same state as I suppose the Deccan to have been before the elevation of the Chants.

to;Bombay Medical and Physical Transactions, vol. v., p . 176. I have not

erred to Colonel Syke’s paper on the extraordinary fall of rain at the Maha

bnleehwur B ills, as his information is derived from a copy of Dr Murray’s

observations, and did‘

era from Dr Murray’s report 440 inches in excess ; and

because Colonel Syke’s paper was not read till 1839. or ub lished till 1840 in the

reports of the British Association for 1839 ; wh ile Dr urray’s excellen t report

above quoted was resented in 1836. and published in 1838 . It is a practice toocommon to quote m the European retai lers of the labours of observers inIndiag inl tend of from the original observations, wh ich is as injan i t inun

'

net to individuals . I believe that Colonel 8 Res had no intention ofclaimin merit of these very interesting and we conducted observationsof Dr urray

‘

e.

I

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375

tracts, known in India under the name of Laterite, I believe to O

havo had i ts

origin in the decomposition (generally in situ) of rocks contain ing minerals

abounding in iron—such as syenite, hornblende, sch ist an l Obasslt,—and i ts

ordinary relations will, therefore, afford no proof of the period ofthe eleva

tion of the chains on the summits or declivities of which i t occurs. On the

h ighest part of the hills at Khandalls, the basalt is seen changed in situ into

this singular rock.

Non IL Conjecture as to the Cause of the great Extent of AncientGlaciers in Europ e.

Ir it could be shown that similar causes have been in operation to modifythe distribution of rain in the Alps, as we have supposed to have produced

such great od‘

eote in India, we would require to have recourse to no such

improbable snppositions as that of a period in the earth’s h istory of axons

sive cold. The extension of glaciers from the main chain of the Alps across

the valley of Switzerland, by which the great blocks of th e granite ofMoun t

B lanc were placed on the steep slopes of the Jnrs, would be otherwise ac

coun ted for. Such a cause may, perhaps, be found in the D iluvian ocean ,

wh ich then covered a great part of Europe, and which left those vast beds

of rolled pebbles and sand, which occur with tho erratic blocks, but wh ich

were evidently‘produced by a different cause . This sea would have afforded

a great body 0 watery clouds, wh ich, hurried on by the south winds, would

have been condensed into snow on the h igher Alps, and have fed glaciers of

fargreater exten t than those that nowdescend in to the valleys of

J

the

aRhone.

M.

Extract f rom a Journal kep t during a p artial Enquiry in to the

p resen t Resources and S tate of North Eastern Af r ica, with Memo

randa. By LieutenantW. Cn ursr or n na, I. N ., commandingHon’blo Company

’s B rig ofWar Tig ris.[Presented by Government.]

January 5th, l S43.—B eing ordered off expeditiously, with fourmonths

’

provisions, to convey his Excellency Ali B in Nasser (EnvoyExtraordinary from the Imaum of Muscat to her B ritann ic Majesty )back to Zanzibar, l quitted Aden on two days

’notice.

Had very little wind till round Gardafui on the lgth January,when the monsoon was strong and steady down the coast on to two deg.

south, where it moderated (probably from the vessel nearing the land).Experienced very little current any way until close in shore, when the

currents were violent and changeable, runn ing against the wind fre

quently .

During the voyage, in addition to my ship duties, I made a pointof rendering my guest

’s passage agreeable : as he had been accustomed

to the luxuries of a first o rato hotel, at Government expense, duringh is stay in England of some months, I almost despaired of doingmore than showing that the Government in tentions were to honourhim with every consideration until his arrival at the capital of theImaum

’s dominions.

His Excellency Ali B in Nasser has been twice to England in the

376

capacity of Envoy, and visited every place of interest in London, the

Zoological Gardens, I asked h im what kind of animals were

found in the v icinity of Mombss or on the coast, mentioning the ele

phant, &c. ; be named the "ziraf,

"and described it as follows,

That animal has two horns a cubit long, projecting as those of a

bull from the head , which can be lowered or raised at pleasure. It is

very irascible and strong ; shields are made of its hide ; sword handles,

cups, and other things, from its hom e.” From this accoun t it is

evident that his excellency, although he had twice visited England,and been eight times to Bengal, had never discriminated between the

accounts he had heard of the camel-leopard and rhinoceros.Whatdependence can be placed on the tes timony of natives, when one whom

we should suppose well qualified from his enterprise and intelligence, is

so defective in knowledge ? O ne fact is, however, certain, that the

name in these parts given to the rhinoceros's horn is garu el siraf."

Having put in to Mombas for a few hours, I proceeded on to Zanzibar, and arrived on the 3oth January . It happened that our arrival

was on a propitious day. the weather, which had been rainy, clearingup. The lmaum

’s ensign at the fore, and union at the main, attracted

notice, and nearly 100 guns, in the various salutes of the occasion,shook the air . The Imanm, to whom I presented the complimen ts of

the Government, and congratulating him on the safe arrival of his

envoy, with letters, &c. , from the Queen , was particularly gratified,and reiterated his thanks and acknowledgments to the English, saying they were his son and shield .

By the Imaum'

s invitation we visited the clove plantations . He

has expended some money on two palaces, which are, however, also

adapted for defence from their solidity and loop-holed upper stories ;the balls are paved with marble flags, and pomelaiu or glassware

ornament the niches, large mirrors being distributed about the rooms.

The son of a high functionary accompanied us, a young man of 22,dressed in rich Arab costume, and riding a bay palfroy of the first

blood. He was our conductor by the imaum’

s appointment, and beingan owner of clove-grounds himse lf, was very communicative. The

plantations have a most pleasing appearance, and from their ex tent

render the air part icularly agreeable, and it is said wholesome. Thereare no bridges but of the roughest kind, though the Iman ta has causedan aqueduct to be built extending yards into the woods, wh ich

conveys water as pure as crystal to the beach , firs t passing through

his palace ; this water is now universally praised for its qualities,excepting immediately after heavy rains .

The clove trees are plan ted on the oldest soil or higher grounds of

the island, at about 14 feet apart, the intervals being kept well woodedand hard, the dead branches be ing cut off ; the large and oldest trees

reach forty feet in height, growing thick and bushy and of circular

form, making highly picturesque park trees. Three dsys'sunm

’

ng

377

dries the bud for the market ; trees produce 1000frazillas (of35 lbs. each) annually, worth from to dollars at Zanzibar.

On the l l th February, after a stay of eleven days, a requisition was

made by the B ritish Consul for the vessel to proceed to Kilwa to makeenquiry into the objects of a ship under French colours, said to be a

slaver, that visited that port some months ago. My report on this

subject has been already forwarded . I met five native boats bound to

Noabay,”the recent French settlemen t on Madagascar.

A specimen of a metal, which through a native I obtained at K ilwa,I have the honour to forward to Government. It is found in great

quantities in the bed of a native course .

Should any attempt be made to penetrate Africa from the eastern

coast, 1 would strongly recommend the neighbourhood of K ilwa to be

avoided ; its climate is most deadly to Europeans, while on the other

hand the natives report the climate of Mombas and northward ex

ceedingly healthy and recruiting in its efl'

ects.

I called on the Sultan of K ilwa, and gave him assurances of good

will and amity. He presented me with a trifling gift of sheep, and

received an equivalent return . The people of K ilwa are well disposed

to the English ; the forts, which were once formidable, are now com

plete ruins. On leaving Zanzibar there was every expectation of

meeting a slaver of 22 guns ; the crew were all in health, and our

hopes were high of earn ing distinction and meriting applause ! A few

days after quitting Kilwa a most virulent fever broke out ; in three

days young men and old were brought to the grave, and I had the

melancholy duty of burying three Europeans from our small number

in one day. I could not avoid the reflection, that the amount of suffer

ing would have probably been less in an action with the slaver, and

the loss of life perhaps not greater. Returning to Zanzibar on the

28th February I experienced the kind and valuable aid of the British

and American Consuls, who from their local experience were well able

to tender advice. Remain ing at Zanzibar till the 4th March I hastened

to procure better water at Mombas, where I anchored the followingday. The fort of Mombas is the best on the coast, and has a garrison

of Beloochees twenty in number ; they are regularly paid two or three

dollars a month, and provide their own arms, matchlocks and swords.

The Jemedar or Killedar is a Beloochee also. The trade from Mom

has is trivial ; there is no fresh water in the neighbourhood exceptingfrom wells. The town of Uzi, about 20miles to the south of Lamee,

appears the mart for the commerce of this neighbourhood ; there the

Gallas and interior tribes meet the Arab merchants. TheWonikatribe are located two days in the interior of Mombas. As a specimen

of native names I record the following designations of tribes of the

interior to which the slaves brought to the coast usually belong,

Miban, Min uido, Mumwera, Mahiwa, Makondi, Michings, Mutumbi,

Manyassa, ubisa, Maumnesi. These people buy and sell each other ;

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379

at anchor landmark and Barawa town in one N. E. 1 N. ; southernextreme of land S.W. 2W. in n ine fathoms sand 1300yards fromthe nearest shore.

March 19th.—Landed for chronometric observations, which gave

the minaret or landmark in 1 deg. 05min. 17 sec. north latitude, and4 deg. 19 m in . 51 sec. east of Mombas fort. The latitude was ascertained by thirteen separate observations of stars north and south ofmeridian . In the evening landed at the town in an armed boat, to call

on the chief and deliver the letter of Imaum Seid Seid of Zanzibar,together with the letters relative to the wreck of a buggalow havingB ritish property on board which was very urgently wanted at Zanzibar.I was received to my surprise, in a warm and friendly manner, and

conducted to the best-looking house in the place by a Somali chief

named I-Iadjee Awisa, who carried in his hand a highly ornamented

sword, which I was afterwards informed was sent to him by Seid Seid.

I had not been seated many minutes before a man of a very unpro

mising appearance, with large features and a dead yellow eye, his

unusual height somewhat lessened by an ugly stoop, came towards me

holding some papers, which, after the usual compliments and cuqui

ries, and seating himself, he unceremoniously presented for perusal.

These papers were very importan t documen ts for a stranger intent on

examining the country in the neighbourhood and gaining information ;the first gave the bearer an high character for honesty and fair

dealing as a broker, or agen t for purchasing cargoes, hides (principally)and ivory ; the next happened to be a statement written by the bar

pooner of an EnglishWhaler-boat, acknowledging the great k indnessand attention shewn him by the bearer Dera,

” he having, with five

others, when chasinga whale, unfortunately lost his ship, and making for

the nearest land , reached about60miles north ofMugadushu in nine days.

Two of his companions having died from exhaustion, and the officers

expiring shortly after reaching the shore : they were brought down to

Mukutshu by the natives, and, I fancy, sold as slaves unknown to

themselves. Dera”said he rescued them from the people of Mukutshu

for 30German crowns,which is probably true, as the statement says that

they were badly off un til their arrival at Barawa. I made arrangements

at once to v isit the river in the neighbourhood said to be two hours off

at the back of the line of sand hills of 150 to 250feet elevation, which

abut on the sea shore hereabouts, forming a continuous line nearly

parallel with the breach, at about two m iles distance. Having satisfied

myself that the people were well disposed, I returned on board takingwith me the man who engaged to be my guide for the morrow.

March 20th.—B efore daylight started from the vesse l. Passed the

town, which is am ile from the landmark, before sunrise ; being joined bySheik Awisa, before mentioned, who declared his determination to ac

company me. I found him a very amusingbut vain-glorious companion ;

he had the fine classic features of the Somalies, though very dark in cc

380

lour, and hair somewhat crisped .We saw two kinds ofantelope,'

tbe one

ofa spotted fawn colour,with spiral annulated horns, sa nding somewhat

higher than the largest sized goat, the other, Salt’

s antelope,”

verynumerous. Of birds, there were a large brown hawk , the bare neckedvulture, the gigan ti c crane, another species usually called the com

mon stark," having a red bill and black about the covert feathers

of the wings, besides honey birds of every hue, the green and gold

flashing in the sun as they fiitted past. Proceed ing direct to the culti

vated ground on the banks of the river, we found the country was

artificially inun dated two miles from its banks, though the alluvial soil

was found within half a m ile from the sea beach, and Indian co rn and

jowery flour ishing n icely. The stream being still distan t, we retired

under the great shade of a large acacia, which trees at this season are in

full flower. Skins being spread on the ground, all were soon seated, and

the hospitality of our host produced excellen t mutton boiled with rice,the only peculiarity being that the slaves seated at some distance were

eager to receive the bones picked by their masters, which underwen t

a second, th ird, and fourth gnawing from successive hungry mouths

before they were finally scattered as useless. All these people eat solid

fat in large quantities. The first course, as arranged by the Sheik’

s

kind ofiiciousness, was a large bowl of rice, on which ghee was poured,and then boiled meat piled up the latter soon disappeared, and a small

propor tion of the rice with it neat lumps of fat were piled on the rice

in a similar way to the meat they disappeared as quickly : the remainder

of the rice was then deluged with milk and the bowl emptied, the

whole occupying about five minutes. (I beg to say I was a spectator

merely.) The meat, after the Abyssinian fashion, was crammed into

the mouth, and then a knife passed through it close to the nose andlips, no man taking time to consider how much his mouth would hold,but incessan tly putting it to the proof l A sheep disappeared amongst

seven of them, for we had two strangers, old Somali persons of tespectable appearance, who, after partaking of coffee, pronounced a

m t of benediction on the provider of the feast, wishing him cv

blessing of heaven and earth, rain, fruitful season s. and to his

dren’s children honourable among men ! The Somalies here eat cofi

‘

es

stewed in ghee, the bean slightly bruised only, and the husk unre

moved. The docility of the slaves is remarkable their greediness inreceiving the bones of their masters' leaving has been noticed, yet theyare the only herdsmen and shepherds,—the sheep are the black-headedvariety. All went to sleep about l l An t . and rested till 3, when we

had arranged to start for the river. I found the whole of the peoplevery commun icative, but very ignorant even of their own neighbourhood, and con tinually making contrary statements as to distances,numbers, and qualities ; what in formation I gained and could dependon, has m embodied in the rough sketches and notices of this neighbourhood.

381

It was a very fatiguing trip from the tree to the river, we were full

three hours going and returning, but the muddiness of the ground was

the cause n ot the actual distance . A common short hoe was the onlyimplement of husbandry in use, the slaves and their wives being the

labourers, housed miserably in small half-roofed huts : their usual

food parched Indian corn, and fish from the river. A large kind of eatfish weighing about two or three pounds, and a snapper of one and a

half pounds, I purchased for a trifle. As we passed on, sometimes

wading up to the middle in water, and always trudging over soft mud,with tufts of grass here and there to relieve the foot, numerous birds

started from their perches : the white Egyptian ibis, rising in pairs,

was conspicuous with its powerful black beak and neck bare of fea

thera the kullum also, and two species of divers, besides every varietyof crane—black, white, and slate colour. As we approached the edge

of the river we found it somewhat sunken in its bed, the streamlets of theswamped ground over which we had passed running into it. Nume

rous alligators frequent the stream, which I was told is now at its

lowest, the monsoon rains being daily expected we found it from 70

to 150feet broad, 10 and 15deep, with a current by estimate of a

mile and a half an hour, taking a turn wes t by south at the point

where I was standing, having come from a direction due north (true)this elbow in the stream, by prismatic compass and estimated distance,is due north of the town of Barawa seven to eight miles. The countryall round is spotted with trees, and appears level as far as the eye can

reach in the interior. In returning we succeeded in shooting an ibis,apparently a young bird only j ust paired, the neck having a little re

mains of down and feathers on it, not so thoroughly leather -necked as

the older birds become. Having passed the n ight in the op en air

sheltered somewhat by a hedge on the windward side, under which the

hides had been by my guide’

s forethought removed, I returned to the

ship in the morning having been very civilly treated by Dem ,

” he

providing a breakfas t of fowl, tea, and milk. I asked him again to letme see his papers, as I had imperfectly perused them before by lamplight : they prove that Brava for fourteen years has been a welcome

port to European and American traders, several of whom have resided

on shore for days at a time, -the chiefs, seven in number, say thatCaptain Owen

'

s visit reconciled them to European intercourse. Theriver Jab or Govind is under the authority of the Sheiks of Barawa,who, on being closely questioned by me, mentioned every particular ofthe murder of the men belonging to the frigates that sen t their boatsfor water during the expedition to the Red Sea : their statement, whichagreed with an account I had obtained from an old fisherman two days

previously, comprised the following particulars : The natives (Somaliesnot Gallus) on the banks of the Jub or Govind, on seeing the ships inthe omag for some days, had prepared themselves to resist a land ing,

reading the Koran and using incantations to ascertain the inten tions ofz 1

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383

under the protection of which a boat can nearly always land in calm

water. The anchorage is a good one for country craft, there being a

break in the reef which runs parallel to the shore about two hundred

yards distant, having one to three fathoms inside of it. The day sub

sequent to the landing of the Barawa guide, I went on shore early in

the morning, and, to my annoyance, learn t that the people of Galwen

had threatened the guides with instan t death if they brough t a Feringi

to their town . Foiled in this attempt, I remained about an hour on

shore conversing with people who had come from the town, and visited

the ruins of an Arab settlement, which was once of considerable ex

tent, but, as I was informed, suffered so much from the petty wars of

rival Somali Chiefs, that the inhabitants returned to Barawa. The coun

try on shore here is spoken of in raptures by the people—they liken it

to Burorah and the banks of the Euphrates. The sugar-cane and all

Indian fruits grow luxuriantly ; among others a delicious wild fig is

abundant, the plantain, pomegranate, cocoa- nut, melons, tamarind,almond, Indian corn, and juari, are abundantly cheap, eigh t Bengal rice

bags, or 1280 lbs., being sold for one dollar. As I had an opportunityof explaining to twenty or thirty men belonging to Galwan who were

friendly in their manner (though a few showed much astonishment and

fear, not having seen a white man before,) that I came with peaceful

intentions, though the boat’s crew were armed, I could appeal to the

vessel, she being two or three m iles in the offing, as a proof that I did

not come for war, and, making a small purchase of grain (j uari,) I returned ou board by 10A n ., and anchored off the town of Merka the

same evening, losing one day in this abortive attempt. I had pro

posed, when ashore, to ascend the sand hills, which rise two or three

hundred feet in height here (as every where else along this shore,) andlook down on the country on the other side, it was not an hour

’

s walk ;however , the guides said they would suffer hereafter if we were seen todo so by any of the town

’s people.

Apr il Isa—Landed at Merka for chronometric observations. Here

I was received civilly by an Arab merchan t of respectability, to whosehouse the heads of the Somali tribes of the neighbourhood came in

the course of an hour or two ; one chief was wanting. I heard he wasthe principal, but now bedridden from age, and I waited on him in the

evening : this trivial circumstance had an excellent effect, however. I

found the Sultan, as he is styled, of Merka, seated on bullocks’ hides,(in one of the round Somali huts, opposite to a little window. ) I sayhides, as the only visible distinction between his circumstances andthose of poorer men, consisted in perhaps a dozen hides being placedon each other to form a bed, instead of the single one sufiie ing. He isblind with age. I told him I had heard he was unable to leave his

.house, so had come to call on him : he was profuse in his expressionsof good

-will, and insisted on feeling my clothes, and keeping his handson some part of my person, while I remained (he had never seen,

384

and, poorman, was not destined to see, an n. ) Telling him I

had come in peace, and wanted a,few supp and to go up and see

the country,he said he could not answer a

}:lb”; the elders of his tribe

would that, please God, I should obtain a my wishes . The followingday the chiefs presented the ship a bulleck. for which they received a

return in cloth, as per appendix. I then told my host, the Arab merchan t, that I wanted to go to the river in shore. He said it would beimpossible to go without the Somalis} good-will. I then told him tocall them all and consult they met and to guarantee my safety,and provide a guard (which they statedwqul be absolutely u

but that I must make them a compensatory presen t, as n o

had ever penetrated the country he re, I consented to give

dollars : in mentioning this I ought to say that I consulted with two

parties and my Barawah guides. and did not agree to make them the

presen t above-men tioned until all other means failed. As the vesselwas we from, the

me . The river is represen ted to be three hours of , which is aboutten or eleven miles . I have arranged to start early , and purpose re

turn ing before n igh t.

Ap rzl 5th .- My safe return has caused much j oy in the town—all

the people were out to welcome me back, the women and children on

the top of the houses, and the men , to the amount o f two thousand,ad vanced n early a m i le from the town . T he principal cause of this ex

cn cmen t appears to be that th ey apprehe nded the slaves , o r rather se lf

hbe rated free men, of the in terior, would treacherously i n tercept my re

turn , and then they would suffer from the ship ; the time of day, how

e ve r, n ear sunset, favoured tll l S demons tration of feeli ng.Wh en firs t,from the brow of the h i lls o verlooki ng the town ,

I de s cried the multi

tu de advan cing, I was rather anxmus, and so were my compan ion s ;

they in stinctively stopt a few m i nutes and consulted : proceed ing at a

slowe r pace , we soon d i stinguished that the people u e re u narmed , and

th at m ere curiosity had led the greate r n umber from til t‘ l l‘ houses ; but

it i s n eces sary to de tai l my journey . N o t be i ng able to ge t away be

fo re 7 .L N . in s tead o f 5 as I hadWi shed, about o ne hund red m en col

leered , and nccom p u n ed my self and guard of n ine men , to the suburbs .

Here the o ther Barawa gu ide faltered l ll courage , and pre tty plai n lysaid, He could be of no use, and (l id notWish to go with me .

”I

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immediately sent him back to the town, thereby placing myselfwhollyin the Somali guards

’

hands. I carried pistols, sword, and gun, and se

lected the man, who appeared the chief, as my companion, keepinghim in conversation by means of Arabic, and we walked together

nearly the whole way.

Leaving Merka, which is a stone-built town of about three thousandinhabitan ts, evidently founded by Arabian traders, we proceeded over

the sand bill, which backs the sea-shore here as elsewhere. On reach

ing near its summit at about two hundred feet elevation, and one mileW.S.W. from the town, we found excellent water four feet from the

surface in half a dozen places. Looking down on the country beyond,it presented every evidence of great fertility, and some degree of in

dustry—green Indian corn and m illet were waving to the gentle land

wind other places of cleared ground showed the labour of the reapers

was over for a season ; grain, I was assured, ripened all the year

round, yielding from eighty to one hundred andfifty fold. The harvest

home of the slaves is here kept up by singing in procession through the

streets of the town, a few dancers preceding it ends by a feast and

presents from the masters. After passing over the soft surface sandof the hills, we descended to the lower cultivated ground, and soon

came to labourers. I stopped to watch their labour, —they were

thrashing the grain ; the heads of the millet had been plucked bywomen and children, and brought on donkeys to a cleared, hardened

spot, protected from cattle and dust by a circular hedge formed of the

prickly branches of the acacia,mixed with the straw of the grain : when

the space was sufficiently filled with the heads of grain , strewed three

or four feet deep, thirty or forty persons with fiails (a stick slightlycurved at one end) commenced the thrashing, with their faces out

wards ; they worked away, treading and thrashing, until they met

back to back in the centre of the circle ; when women and children

collect the stalks, and winnow the grain in heaps, merely waiting for

the usual sea breeze to scatter the chafl'

as they toss it in the air it is

then packed in baskets of a particular form, and supplies the whole

coast of Hydramant and Oman . Here I saw an instance of severity of

treatment to a runaway slave : he had heavy shackles on his legs, had

been so three years, allowing him to move ten inches on ly at a time ;

he was carrying water to the labourers at a distance of four miles from

the well. At about five miles from Merka there were large herds of

cattle, which pastured roaming over tracts uncleared for cultivation

(the straw of the grain being burn t on the ground.) The slave in

chains was offered to me for twen ty German crowns, but I declinedw ithout assigning a reason . There were many thousands of men em

ployed in cultivation here ; their only housing is the loose stalks of

the common millet piled in a cone, admitting of three or four persons

sitting in the interior sheltered from the sun, but pervious of course to

rain : families pass their lives thus. On surmounting a slight rising,

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of the existence of a river whose stream and body increase in forceand volume as we advance to the northward. The compass bearingsand observations are embodied in the plan . I gained much informationfrom various classes of natives here at Marks, and also succeeded inobtaining some knowledge of the routes and tribes of the interior fromtwo natives of Burbarra (the Somali port directly opposite Aden), whohad but lately arrived with a few head of cattle and sheep for sale,carrying back cloth and tobacco. It is useless to detail all the means Iused, and the trifling presents I gave to differen t persons, to obtain iaformation I trust all that is useful is embodied in the map.

Ap ril Gila- Having taken in 2300gallons of excellent water from a

well 100 yards westward of the town, and 200 feet only from high

water mark—J tarted for Mukudesha (after a delay of four days) to eu

quire further as to the destination of the property lost in the buggalow,

reported to be wrecked still higher up the coast. The natives assure

me there is considerable waste of river water by its percolating through

the soil and runn ing into the sea at many places from Barawa to Mukudesha ; excellen t water is certainly every where abundant on this coast.

The current still adverse, or to the westward ; passed several bedus,”

or the peculiar Arab trading boat of these parts, carrying cargoes of

slaves to Oman . They usually put in here, as it may be styled the

grain coast for the supply of Southern Arabia, to take in a cargo ; the

profits are enormous—3 and 500 per cent. in a passage of 15 or 20

days. They come down, however, in October with their dates and

cloth—employ their boats for hire to carry slaves to Zanw ar, to bringwood for housebuilding, and in fishing, and return to Arabia earlyin the south-west monsoon . From Merka to Mukudesha the range of

sand hills still continues rising more or less abruptly from the beach

the various villages between these parts are entered on the map, with

remarks of interest ; the coast has a barren aspect from the sea, but

beyond the sand h ill range all is luxurian t vegetation .

Anchoring at Mukudesha in the forenoon of the 7th, one of the

guides was landed to inform the Sheik that I would wait on him ; he

said he would meet me . I have added, by way of addenda, all the ia

formation I had of the usual conduct of the natives : and thinking diss

play might have a good effect, the boats were manned and armed, and

when at the back of the surf, a'

salute from the launch’s gun was fired

in honour of the Sheik ; the beach was crowded with armed men . I

had procured letters of civility from the Sheiks of the Merka tribes, inaddition to the one from the Imaum of Zanzibar, and was not disappoin ted in a most friendly and even warm reception. I had heard at Barawa

and Merka of Mukudesha as a most treacherous place, and dangerous

even for a person to land at, so I had prepared the marines to aecom

pany me on shore.

Owen does not appear to have landed here at all ; Horsburgh ex

pressly says tbe natives are hostile to EurOpeans. The only record

388

of one of our vessels visiting th is town is the case of the Albem rls ,whose boats were fired on in attempting to open a commun ication with

the people. T he surf on the beach induced me to countermand the

landing of the marines, excepting four who came in one of the quarter

boa s. I very soon found that I had called on the Sheik of a party not

hold ing authority over all the town his nephew had been elected chief

of a large portion of the town by the sedition of some of the Somali

chiefs. Neutral ground of perhaps 100 yards in extent, occupied byruins of buildings, separates the lordships of the unc le and nephew the

trading hosts of neither party can be employed—A hey are housed in on

the beach .

The chief presented me with a bullock ; and an Arab merchant, a

shereef, ofiered me lodging, inviting me to stop on shore.

Mukndesha, once the capital of a kingdom, is now half in ruins ; it

contains 3 or 4000 inhabitants, Somalis. with pe rhaps thirty families of

Arab origin. Here the Somalis are residing in substan tial stone houses,that neither they nor their fathers ever built : four watch towers, Bro”or perhaps belfries, with inter ior spiral steps of superior construc tion,evince the former reign of the Portuguese, but their remembrance has

passed away from the presen t generation . One building, wh ich was

evidently a church or chapel, with its aisle and chancel, con tains a black

marble slab bearing an inscription recording the piety of a shereef who

repaired it and ded icated it to Koran ic devotion—the worshipper moa

destly saying the deed was undertaken in hopes of meriting heaven byits performance . The town has a ruinous neglected appearance fromthe oiling, and on entering it the filth and pover ty which presen t themselves are both distressing and offensive. Hearing that the river rolledby in the neighbourhood, I determined to remain on shore and prose

cu te enquiries ; the burly shereef, who would match in port and up.

pearance with any fat priest in the world , gave me a kindly reception .

His house is three stories h igh, fiat-roofed, with dark narrow stairs.but capacious rooms, and might, if kept clean and furnished, be made a

very tolerable dwelling ; the windows were small, some had Venetian

blinds, all wooden shutters ; the o nly furni ture hides stretched on wooden

bed-frames, and a strong chest. An arrangemen t was soon effected

with a messenger to carry a note to the chief residing on the river,with whom I sent one of the Barawa guides, telling him I had a presen tfor the chief, who was described as a pommus man, very vain of hislearning and reputed good fortune . Return ing on board the followingday,April 8th, I made arrangemen ts to land filteen men with muskets toaccompany me as a guard—followin in this the ad vice of the Somalich iefs p f Merka (who I presumed, om the nature of the caution, hadsome i nclination , when I was in their power, to play me false .) Awareas I am that there is cons iderable responsibility incurred by me intaking an armed force on shore, I now record my motives

389

l st, Security to my own person in carrying out the wishes of mysuperiors.

And, 2dly, To establish B ritish influence with the natives of the

in terior, nothing but a display of force can effect these objects. The

people here, that is the present generation , have never (with a single

exception) seen a white man ; there is record of three only having landedat Mukudesha— all agree in saying that the Sheik of the interior andhis people have never seen one.

Ap r il Sun—The guide having returned with the chief's written per

mission for me to proceed, I landed but the surf being high, was oh

liged to order the other boats back. I found ten spearmen had been

sent down to accompany me back to the Sheik they had been six

hours coming, so I hope to go there during one night and return the

next.

Ap ril 9th - No communication with the sh ip, the surf very high .

Ap r il loth—In the afternoon, Mr Metcalf went off in a large native

canoe, and, although swamped in the surf, succeeded in getting on

board the ship rain came on heavily, wh ich allayed the swell some

what, and the boats landed in the even ing with seven European musketeers and seven sepoys, and I prepared to start at once, being accom

panied also by Messrs Robinson and Metcalf.

Ap r il“tin—Returned, having completely effected both objectswalked up the river

’s bank (now increased to a noble stream) for ten

miles, and visited six considerable villages : we were detained by the

absence of the Sheik one day and a night, and the fatigue the men ex

perienced made a rest of thirty-six hours necessary—the se

‘

poys sufi‘

eringmore than the Europeans. The distance, twenty-two miles, was greater

than I had supposed but to detail the j ourney : quittingMukudesha at 6

ram, having ten men of the town to carry necessaries, and ten others, the

guard from the Sheik of the interior, the party from the ship being seven

teenmuskets, and three Arabs (a guide, the ship’s pilot, and interpreter) .

Pushing on with short intervals of rest till m idnight, the guide recom

mended a halt near a supply of fresh water. The plan was for the Euro

peans to accompany me immediately after the guides, keeping all toge

ther, and the naique and six sepoys to bring up the rear of the baggage

carriers. At 4 A . M. started again, but were overtaken with rain before

daylight. which wet us to the skin we were all on foot, and the mud

began to be very deep. As soon as the guides could see the way,

pushed on until within a mile of the town halted to put the arms in

order—all right but one musket ; entered the town j ust at 8 a . n .,

fired a salute of three volleys, in the presence of about 7000 spec

tatora. Having to cross the river in the ferry boat to enter

G iredi, the capital of Sheik Sultan Yusuf bin Mahomed, as he styleshimself, requested permission to have a house given us for dressing in,as we were wet, &c. Four very tolerable houses were given up at

once ; they were of the round form, with conical thatched roofs beforeA 2

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391

as he wished —that we English not by orders,—who is to order me i’You can only permit.

” This conversation explains how it was he

used Her Most Gracious Majesty’

s name in the written paper attached.

l am not responsible for the style or manner of its insertion. The

Chief’s brother paid me a private visit, and proposed to me to assist

him and land with 100 Europeans at Minguia, and establish it as the

grain port of this coast. I conceive this was not asked in sincerity , it

was said merely to ascertain my object in wishing to see Galwen . The

Chief came over to my quarters the day previous to my leaving his

town , and remained for three hours con versing very familiarly , asking

questions, indicating a great desire for further intimacy with, and ih

formation regarding, Europeans. Every thing I had— to the knittingof a stocking—I explained as carefully and lucidly as I could : the lion

’s

head on the hilt of the uniform sword, struck him as so peculiarly ap

propriate, that he harangued the bystanders for some minutes on its

emblematic meaning. His own shoes were of camel- leopard’

s skin his

dress of cotton the growth and manufacture of the country the arm

let he wore round the right arm was exceedingly neatly plaited of

narrow strips of the delicate skin of Salt’

s antelope,”stained a dull

red ; his food is m ilk and flesh meat, with stewed coffee and millet in

the morning. No Somali eats fish, unless he has lost all self respect

many do not learn to eat grain even they are essen tially a pastoral

people. The Chief and his two brothers, Sheik Musa and HadjeeIbraham, are all six feet in height or upwards, well formed, acquiline

noses , fine lips, but crisped hair.

During our stay, there was a holiday on account of a Zingara, or incommemoration of a saint. The amusemen ts of the people were ra

tional and pleasing ; dress, music, dancing, singing, and feasting ; the

dancing almost seemed a sacred duty : in many instances grey-headed

men, with the peculiar dress which Hadjees wear among this people,

joined with gravity and slow but harmonic movement in the rejoicings ;no arms were seen, the usual spears were put aside for the drum, wood

en cymbals, and to join the dance the rude music was aided by the

voices of a choir of women to each set of dancers the occasional swell

of the united voices was neally fine. I became a spectator for two or

three hours before dark, and stood by the largest knot of people : there

were twenty sets of performers, each with perhaps 300bystanders. Men

and women joined in the dance together, crossing from side to side ;there did not appear to be any choice of partners, any body entered

the ring to contribute to the exhilaration all was smiles and perfect

propriety. The women cover their breasts by means of the end of a

second cloth being brought under the left arm, carried over the right

shoulder, and tied to the waistband ; a handkerchief envelopes the hair,no part of which is seen . The housewives of this community do not

use a needle—no part of their dress requires it : thus the fair are clothed

as much as the women of India, and to judge by their liveliness in the

392

dance, and their really harmonic musical efi‘

orts, hold a more rational

position in the Somali society than they do among other Mahomedan nations, allowedly more civilized in most respects. Find ing I

attracted much notice, and was the cause of scolding between m yids and some few of the more enthusiastic dancers, whose per

ormances were neglected for the more novel sight of a Mirzungu or

European, I retired to a rising ground. If the reader could imagine

himself beside me, he would partake of the pleasurable feeling with

which I yet regard the time I spent in watching the overflowings of

j oy, and the exuberance of spirits, displayed by the masses of human

beings between me and the noble stream a few hundred feet behind ,ever flowing, ever blessing where it flows ! and, under God

’s providence,

the principal cause of this people’

s present happiness, ensuring abun

dance with very moderate labour. I looked down on 5000' or 6000men and women, who alternately kept up their music, dancing, singing, and processions, till daylight next morning. An Arab would be

and human actions l

The kingdoms of corresponding latitude on the west coast of th is

great con tinen t are of that bloody , despotic description, which savage

nations alone subm it to : here the governm en t is m ild . T hough , w ith

a m oderate com pu tation , deduct ing three- fourths o f native accoun ts ,

th is great Som ali ch ief could bring spearm en in to the field,

perhaps if he made large prom ises to, and flattered the m ore

republican spirited distric ts,“ll lC ll , however, n ow nom inally own h is

authority , and are certain ly not under the dread or influence of anyother She ik.

T he supreme authm ity has been hereditary for several generations

in the presen t chief’

s fam i ly , and h i s authori ty 18 very flim ly establi shed ;

if successful in his proj ec ted exped i tion agai nst Barderh, he“i ll command the“hole province from the J ith to the Haines r i ver. There is

e very probabili ty of h is succr ss : i f defeated , he“i ll lose his influen ceo ve r the sea-coast as far as Me i ka to the southward, and also h is au

thor i ty a t Gau an eh, the fron t i e r s tat io n to i i a i'ds the Gallas of Lim n ,

as the Barderh robber has fou n e i ly ex tended his reform ing arm s to

those places . T he Sultan o f Bardc i h was successful in his last attempt

on Baran a, exto rting 500 do llai s o r so , and dri ving off cattle ; h i s sol

diers defeating tw ice the i r n umber ofBarawa Somalis Just outside their

393

town,and killing perhaps 200of them in the route this occurred three

years ago. Dancing is given up at B arawa, and the women wear veils

and shirts . Tobacco is used on ly in secret. Sheik Yusuf in revenge

burnt three villages that adhered to Barderh, and would have proceed

ed with force to restore Somali customs to Barawa, but the townsmen

very reasonably saidWe will return to our late customs most wil

lingly, but when you are absen t we cannot resist the power of Barderh

it is the part of a great chief to conquer the author of our present ap

parent wan t of allegiance to him.

”T his represen tation , accompanied

with a trifling presen t in goods and money—200 German crowns

soothed the mind of Sheik Yusuf, and he withdrew to Yaredi. He has

been ever since talking of exterminating theWahaby horde of Barderh,but they have increased in numbers latterly, as they are continually

plundering the VVardai Gallas of the opposite bank of the Jub. This

is the state, as before-mentioned, be so earnestly pressed me to assist

h im against.

To finish this branch of politics, I may refer to the rebellious posi

tion of one half of Mukutshu, under the nephew of the hereditary chief.

Sheik Yusuf, a few mon ths ago, descended with some eight thousand

men to settle the dispute, but being appealed to as umpire by both

parties, gave his advice, but refused to act, seeing the affair would be

bloody and doubtful. For this moderation on his part, as it is usuallyregarded, he has received much applause but the secret history of his

failure is, that be had reason to doubt if one half of his rabble soldierywould fight against the inhabitants of Hamerwen, as, being of the same

tribe, no captives could be made of women and children, and cattle

there were none ; however, when requesting me to bring about peace

at Mukudesha, he said that no firing would be necessary, on ly to

threaten and they would submit. This chief has a great idea of main

taining a character of being fortunate in all his undertakings, and byexaggeration, to affect the imagination of his subjects : as an instance,he said I had given him the richest merchandise of India, and should

receive every honour, and ten bullocks to carry back to the ship. I

only saw two, but he said others were coming, and urged me to delaymy departure for them.

The day subsequent to arriving at Giredi, we set out early to ex

plore ; Hadjee Ibrahim, the Sheik’

s brother, accompanying us. Fol

lowing the sharp angular windings of the stream, (each reach is seldom

more than a mile long) we frequently saw the hippopotamus basking,

or under the shady banks, in numbers together ; when disturbed bythe discharge of a musket, they uniformly swam against the stream ,

advancing by a succession of dives as it were, throwing up their hind

legs above water as the porpoise does its tail. Their foot prints werenumerous fur a considerable distance from the banks of the river, and

the natives represented them as very destructive to their cultivation .

The alluvial soil of the river extends to the sea beach indeed, the val

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395

ivory, rhinoceros’ horns, hippopotamus

’teeth—the value of the latter is

little known . The natives took us to see the carcass of one that hadbeen dead four or five days : his tusks were removed before our eyes

to be sold to us,—but for our visit they probably would not have been

touched .

The double-horned rhinoceros is very common a fine specimen was

purchased for Rs. It had only just been brought in, the hide aboutthe roots of the horns being quite fresh.

The continued windings of this stream would make it tedious to as

cend in a steamer : the appearance of the banks would, I have no doubt,be an excellent indication as to which side the deepest channel would

be found. The water during this season was turbid at each place of

the river visited, a rich red loam being held in suspension but the na

tivsa stated it sometimes ran bye quite clear, but I could not ascertain

under what circumstances.When out in the villages some miles from

G iredi, the behaviour of the people, old and young, was most pleasingand natural ; everywhere curiosity , good humour, and hospitality met

us ; if m ilk, pure and new, could hurt one under exposure to the sun

during its meridian heat, I and those with me ought to have suffered. As

I had determ ined to see and be seen as much as possible, to impress a

recollection of our v isit, I travelled about more than was quite agree

able, but the novelty of adventure, and general kindness ofall classes ofthe people, was more than a recompense ; several opportunities offeredfor making tr ifling presen ts for considerate voluntary acts, wh ich ex

cited good feeling ou both sides, and made the Company’s rupee known

as a coin in a part of the world where it never yet had been introduced .

I did not forget to explain whom the stamped bust represented, and

hung several round the tawny necks of the daughters of the land, in

return for bowls of milk and honey they were all forward to present uswith.We offered four dollars to the natives of a village about eight miles,by the river, from our habitation at G iredi, to take us down by water ;but after a consultation the people said, You want to shoot the hip .

popotamus—what if a wounded one attacks the boat, and you are all

thrown into the river this would indeed be a Mungo Park’

s fate !

I did not press the point ; more money would probably have overcome

their scruples, but I did not try its effects. Quietly crossing the river,we returned by the opposite bank to our dwelling.We saw a familyof monkeys—two or three old ones with bushy manes, and many

younger ones of all ages ; they were of a large brown sort, standing as

h igh as a mastifl‘

. The fowling-piece was more than once presented at

the larger ones, but each of us in turn dissuaded the others from firing,as in case of being wounded, they cry so touchingly. The natives are

delighted with the sound of fire-arms, and urged us to fire, saying themonkeys pluck the heads of Indian corn, Sac.

Ant-hills and the wild bee’

s nest were frequently met with ; the

396

the branches of trees over the stream, m n umerous ; the hues of thebirds are heyond description—brilliancy ot

'

colouring does not con veyan ldes of the ever-vary ing richness of the tints of their phrinage as

they sla m in the sun -shine. The whole co un try is of tbe richest soil ;ind igo, cotton , and sugar cane would no doubt thrive, but the inhabio

tan ts say, and perhaps truly) were we to have all these things the

Arabs won d take our coun try from us.”Whilst stand ing on the banks of the riverf—which, Imay here remark,

has no nat ive designation, nor have the Arabs any general name for it, so

l take the liberty of introducing it to the scien tific world as the River“aloes." or Heines'River,

”as a small tribute of respect to his (Cap

tain Haines’

s) unremitting zeal for the advancemen t of geographyand also his established reputation as an able man and scientific ofiéerwi ll justify me in thus testify ing my personal esteem and regard

for him as a friend,—I have appealed to natives who have been in the

blnnee to a clus ter of bee hives . The style of the but, which I have onlyyet casually mentioned, is of the Tumbuctoo character, not of the pas

toral Somali— ben t twigs co vered w ith mats or h ides, but supported by astout cen tral post ; the roof is usually thatched with grass, term inating,no t in a po in t, but at a ring of twigs three or four feet in d iam eter,

u nder w in ch two or three rows of a particular matting is put, whichshu ts the top and glances off the rain abou t eight feet down the cen tre

post rays are thrown ou t as a further support to the roof, the lower

ends res ting in in ches cut in the pos t the circular wall, wh ich is about

six feet high, is formed of two rows of small posts at about ten inches

apart, each row is then en twm ed w ith the rope creeper, as it may be

called they form two concen tric rings, the inner one being highest, en

closing a space about eighteen feet in diameter ; the interstxce of the rings

is then filled with clay from the r iver, which hardens tolerably : both

outside and in is smothed and plastered over with the wh itest clay theycan ge t, adheres firm ly , and preserves itsWhitness inside some

what, bu t the n cather and rai n turn the outside brown . T he house has

on ly o ne door, and no window : the in terior is dn tded by a mat or hide

partitio n fo r the pr i vacy of the females pegs are used to hang things

o n : bed frames and earthen pots from Ku tch are their on ly u tensils,besides the hand-mill and gram

-

pounder of India. I can testify these

397

houses are delightfully cool, and not so dark as might be imagined.

There are generally two or three houses in one compound or enclosure,and the habits of the people are certainly cleaner than those of the use

tives of the sea coast.'

l he population is rapidly increasing, and the

people have every appearance of being well fed ; disease is very rare

amongst them— no peculiar one was noticed : they reach a Macrobian

age almost— men of seventy, stout and healthy, go on fatiguing journies, and the residen t Arabs speak in raptures of the genial climate and

the abundance of all things. They certainly hear their age well. In

this delightful region all of us felt an elasticity of spirits which will not

soon be forgotten . The fatigue of return ing to the ship, though en:

cou ntered in the day from motives of prudence, was not attended with

any injurious efl'

ect, except a few colds from drinking quan tities ofWater when hot and .perspiring. The Europeans again , on returning,endured fatigue better than the sepoys. On approaching Mnkutshn,We found our guides and guard were anxious, as I had insisted on te

turn ing by the shortest route, though it led through the territory of the

hostile half of that town .We met several men of the opposite party,but we were too strong for them to do more than growl at us. On

coming to wells, the people, being of the adverse party, carried awayall the draw buckets and ropes, and gesticulated violen tly, forbidd ingour approach but thirst was a rather more powerful motive than the

anger of a weaker party was a restraint, and we took possession, to their

annoyance, of the jars they had been employed in filling for their house

holds ; seeing this they brought back the draw buckets. These peopleare very susceptible of improvemen t ; the chief interested h imself tolearn the mode of using the percussion pistols the very day he received

them, whereas the Beloochee killedar of Mombas declined acceptingthe same pistols from their novelty .

Punishmen ts are inflicted according toMussulmen law compensation

is generally received even for murder by the relatives of the dead, butwhen refused, an extraordinary mode of strangling is sometimes prac

tised at others, the spear or knife does the business. The strangling, asI am credibly informed, is thus effected Relations of the deceased claimrevenge from the elders of the community, the elders repair with the

‘

nearest relations and sit down at the murderer’s door, who is solemn ly

reminded that blood is legally demanded for blood. He requests

time to pay his devotions, and then sits inside h is dwelling and

cries he is ready. The relations of the deceased enter the house and

close the door having prepared a lever of wood and a rope, the latteris passed under the jaw, brough t over the ears to the crown of the

'

head, and fastened to the lever, which is used as a wrench to breakthe unfortunate man

’

s neck . It is described as a horribly slow mangling method.

The on ly thefts we experienced were the loss of a silver fork, andbuttons from our uniforms, which were supposed to be

‘

g’

old'

.

B 2

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399

my visiting the interior under the auspices of the principal chiefs,must be favourable to future intercourse. I had many secret offers,which, had I been at liberty to avail myself of, would, I cannot doubt,have ensured my safety to the borders of Abyssin ia from the equator.

I may remark that, had I len t a willing ear to all the reports of fero

city and bloody inten tions of individuals and parties among the people,I should not have gained any positive information at all ; but it is a

presumption well founded, that the natives of that coast have much

greater dread of a European than he en tertains for them. To show

their sense of his superiority, they not only style him Kabail,”but

Koreish”

(of a most honourable tribe), and are, one and all, well

aware that we are a people of the books,”or holy writings, and

not Kafirs altogether.

At Gulwen alone, was hostility shewn : they are a community of

runaway slaves of very republican manners, acknowledging no autho

rity, but are remarkably self-willed cruel masters. The spot theyhave selected as a settlement is exceedingly eligible. Among other

alarms spread by the m ischief-makers amongst them, was, that the

English wan ted to connect the river with the sea ; and many of the

natives’enquiries and remarks evinced a high respect for the superior

intelligence of the Europeans. It is said that the banks of the river

at this site are much higher than the land of the vicin ity , which gives

force to the representation that we could connect the river with the

sea.Whatever authority the Arabs once possessed, they have long be

come merchan ts only of the districts they inhabit. They do not joinin the wars of their Somali fellow-townsmen, and exert no authoritybut that of the influence of their name and character as shereefi

‘

s : everyArab, young and old, poor and rich, receives the designation of shereefi

'

from the credulous and ignorant Somali community—they are also

the wealthy of the land

General Remarks The soil of the tract comprised in the map is

of the richest red clay , with a little sand on the surface near the sea.

Not a stone the size of an egg was met with, except the coral of the

coast, though authen tic accoun ts of bills, sixty or eighty m iles in the in

terior, was received and noted in the map. T he soil produces plentifullymaize and millet, according to the quantity of culture ; as also a kindof bean , small and very palatable ; also the cocoanut, plantain, water

mellon , and promegranate . Lime and wild figs were met with, and there

is no doubt that all the tropical luxuries would abound in a very short

period if once in troduced. T he almost incredible quan tity of 1300 lbs.

of winnowed grain can be purchased for one dollar on the banks ofthe river.

The tame animals are—the oxen with humps, camels, black-headedsheep (with large tails), goats, donkeys, dogs, and cats ; the wild

the elephant, camel-leopard, rhinoceros, lion, leopard, bufi'

aloe, zebra.

400

ostrich, porcupine, riverchorse, alligator. many varieties of antelope,two species of monkey, and the civet cat : the latter is occasionallykept in confinement. and its musk remow d by scraping once a-weelt

I ns tr a very large and savage one ; it was burned like the wild cat of

Europe, and quite as large. The birds noticed were the ibis, golde n

or 6890 go use, the quail, the gigantic crane, the common storlt, the

boron, smaller crane s of a slate and whi te colour, two species of

divers, the bare- necked vulture, a brown hawk. and birds of everybus : a kind of yellow sparrow was exceedingly common. There arevery few venomous snakes, but a great variety of the larger class : the

hos-con strictor, I th ink, from the description'

I heard, are comm on and

very large. The occupations of the inhabi tants may be shortly dis»

pensed with. T he women are the spinners of cotton , wood and water

Catchers, and cooks : the men weave, go journeys, and cultivate the

ground although slave women assist in cultivating also, if not taught

to spin. All their domestic uten sils and cookery appear derived from

India, excepting stewed cotfee, which is, I think, Somali all over.

the Arabs say . The country is wholly unknown from Mukutshu to

Hafi’

oon , a distance of 600 m iles. There is no record of an y Euro

pean having v isited the shore for the purpose of inquiry . Taking th is

line, and the reported exten t of the Mahometan p opulation of Somalis

in the in terior to the coun try of the Gallas, the amoun t of land maybe estimated at square m i les . Native statemen ts raise the

population to a m illion , but allow it wh ich is a very low

estimate . The in ternal traffic is by cam els : they have been sup plied

immemorially with Indian and Kutch goods th rough Arab and native

Ind ian traders . T he fac i lity of Aden as a mart i s again being fe lt

in the in creasing activ ity througho u t the n orthern d istric ts, to produce

for that market the staple commodities of the land—hides, gum , &c . ,

cattle , sheep, St e .When the survey I am ordered on is completed , I hope to be able

to give ,“' l l ll some accuracy , in a tabular fo rm , the resu lt of my i ii

quiries and observations on the porti ons of the Afi ican con ti nen t im

med iately oppos i te Aden .

In pass ing up the coast to Hatfoon , [ satisfactorilv ascertained, from

an old Mahe i pi lo t, that the coast from Muku tshu to Haffoon was se ldom

v isi ted except for water no harbour is known , o r mart established .

An extensive nulla or wad i discharges a large quan tity of water in to

4oi

the sea 30min. to 40 min. northward of Rs s-al-Khyle in the rainyseason (July and August), but water is only found in large pools

during the other mon ths, extending, however, for about 20 days'

journey, or about 240 miles, and suppo rting a pastoral population ,whose ch ief, Hadj i Ali, has a force of 1500 horsemen armed with

spears and swords. The designation of this extensive valley isWadyNngal

”

Jigy t_,id ls Two natives whom I took on board

as witnesses to determine the dispute about the buggalow wrecked at

Hafl'

oon, gave me minute information of various rocks, and the pro

duce of the divisions of the coun try in the neighbourhood, their Sheiks’

power and influence, but hardly complete enough to enable me to sub

mit it as worthy of dependence. At Bunder Gasim I met with an

intelligent young man, who had lately made a pilgrimage and commer

cial tour, including a visit to Harrar or Adhari, which involved some

particulars of in terest. I give it nearly in the narrator’s words

In Rsmazan (Oct.) I took twenty-five bohar ofgum arabic (offifteen

frszilas each.) and three halalia (or jars) of ghee, and embarked in an

Arab buggalow to proceed on a pilgrimage .We reached Jidda in n ine

days. The G um realised 212} dollars ; the ghee, 30 dollars. Per

forming the pilgrimage, and purchasing Cutch cloths, I re -embarked.

The Nacodah put in at Snakier, wan ting rezi or m illet for his crew.

From Snakeir we wen t to Ze la, the wind not allowing us to come on

to Burbarra. From Zela I hired five camels, and joined a kafila to

proceed by land.We reached Adhari or Harrar in seven days. Atthe first day we came to a river, and for six days drank its water : itwas on our right hand. On reaching Adhari we found the foun tains

of the river. I saw them—the water comes out of the ground withnoise. The river is said to be five fathoms deep, and is as broad as

this ship is long (100feet.) The ch ief of Harrar or Adhari (Harrarbeing the name of the coun try which extends within two days of

Habesh) is named Im ir Mahomed, and is a very just man.

'

I he townof Adhari is very extensive, with a wall all round, and four gates.

It would tire a man to walk round it in one or even two days. It is

twice as large as Jidda, but there are not so many houses or people.

Cofl'

ee is grown within its walls. The Governor and his soldiers are

very much afraid of the Gallas, who live in the immediate neighbour

hood of Adhari.When a Gs lla kafila comes, three or four men onlyare admitted into the town , leaving their arms at the gate. Adhari

has luban (bednrn i) or frankincense of the hills, in distinction to Jaws

frankincence which is reputed better, coffee, were or saffron, habush

(captives of war) , ghee, hides, ostrich feathers, myrrh, gum arabic, and

m illets. The Gallas come there every day, but never go to Zela fromfear. I remained at Adhara four or five days. and came on with a

kafila to Burbarra, from whence by sea to th is port, Bunder Gasim.

”

I was twelve days from Adhari to Barbarra. and brought down coffee,

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405

or crevice perceptible where the roots‘could find their way down .

The largest appeared to be about forty feet in height, gradually decreas

ing upwards ; the stem round about, two feet in circ umference, and ris

ing straight up, having a bend outwards of six or seven inches. Theyare attached most firmly to the rocks, by a thick oval mass of sub

stance, tapering away towards the edges, nearly treble the diameter of

the trunk, and, of a nature between bark and wood, resembling a mix

ture of lime and mortar. B ranches spring out rather scan tily from the

top, and extend a few feet on ly down the stem . T he largest are about

four feet long, with leaves on each side, rather widely apart, five inches

long by one and a half, narrow and rounded at the poin t : the upper sur

face is of a rich dark-green, while the lower is of a lighter hue . thin and

smooth to the feel, and plaited or furrowed, not d issim ilar to that pecu

liarly beautiful sea-weed so often found on the coast of England. It

has four layers of bark or skins, the outer being very loose like that of

the beach, while the two next are delicately fine and greatly resemblingoiled paper, or goldbeater

’s skin, of a bright amber colour, and per

fectly transparen t, which can be taken off very easily in large sheets

the natives find it very useful for writing on . The inner bark of all

is nearly an inch in thickness, adhering closely to the stem , tough, and

striped red and white, yielding a strong resinous perfume. The tim

ber is wh ite, soft, and porous, and would be of little use for any

purpose. A deep incision into the tree causes the gum to exude in

great abundance, which is of an opaque milky white, which burdens and

becomes partly transparen t by exposure to the atmosphere. The

youngest trees apparen tly products the best olibanum,1‘

whilst the older

yield a clearer fluid like varn ish .

It is a remarkable fact, that not a frankincense tree was seen grow

ing upon any other rock but that of lime-stone (the purer it was, thefiner the tree) , and it clung so tenaciously to it that no force of ours

could detach one from its cold compan ion . The nature of the plant

likewise seemed to be such, that my belief is it could not live if trans

planted to the earth, as it would perish perhaps for the lack of that

peculiar nourishment which must have been obtained, in some un

accountable way, from these marble clifi‘

s : it is not improbable

that it receives its support from the pure carbonate of lime ; but this,however, is a mere conjecture of mine, and I must fain leave it to

those who are more versed, both in chemistry and botany, to solve

this curious problem— it is one well worthy the attention of the scien o

tific world . I regret that my visit was so short as to render it impos

sible to make such observations on the growth of this singular plant

as I could wish, but this account, imperfect as it is, may , in a mea

The roots, it is so used, must be deeply imbedded in the rocks, thoughthe crevices were hi on from our sigh t by the substance above described .

1 Called by the natives Laban .

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4 12

The Mahrool canal, after rnnning down along the hills for about four

miles, crosses the coun try in a west south-west direction, passing about

8 m ile to the southward of Tel Abbas to a village three or four miles

03; 60m im west from the mound it then turns down to the south

ward, runn ing to where 1 last left it. The Kborsaan canal which runs

close to the northward, makes a sim ilar wind to the westward, runni ngdown nearly parallel with the Mahron i to Abo Taydeh and Bulthoba.

At 78 . 30m I rode back to the house. Thermome ter at th ree v .11 . 98.

North westerly wind and hazy. An encampment ofMoolah Ali's party

about two miles to the northward of Tel Abba .

Monsor ie, Tuesday . Sep tember 3d.—At 53 . ”25“moun ted and rode

to the northward, passing to the ou tward of the [$t and Mahronl,having the Rona, Haroonia, and Shuban canals on our right, under the

hills .

At 78 . arrived at the Dialah under the hills. at the point where all

the canals leave it. The river winding in all directions among the hills.after leaving which its general breadth being from thirty to forty yards.

A t eigh t arrived at Monsorie or Adana Kory, a miserable village on

the Naher i Zenna, a canal issuing from the D ialah amongst the hills

about a m ile to the eastward .

I have taken up my quarters at a wretched hovel, the best to be

got. House s there are n o ne , or at least very few that have a roof re

m am ing,_ the on ly decen t budding in the place be i ng a small m o sque

in the n orth -east corner of the village . T hermometer at 3 P . M . 97deg. , strong sou th - easterly breeze and cloudy .

[Monsor ie lVedn esday , S ep t. 4th .— D 1ued last n ight w ith Moolah

D eite ; during the n igh t s tro ng squalls a t the so 11th - e 1st accompan ied

w ith clouds of dust w ith a few drops of ram abo ut 10 0 clock. Rode

out at day light this m orn ing, fo llow ing the Naher i Zeuna ; an im

mense piece o f labour, be ing cut through the so l1d sandstone of wh ich

the h ills about here are composed, for abou t half a m i le from its mouth,where the re is a br idge o ver it of o ne arch , made of very fine kl in

burn t bu cks, nearly equal to those o f Baby lon . It is said to be ve ryold , although as perfect n ow as when it was bu ilt. O n the S ides of

the arch the re are grooves for a flood-

gate to run in for the pu rpose of

regu lating the supply of water from the D ialeh , wh ich would o the r

w ise at its h igh rise i nundate the country : at presen t n o thing but a few

pieces of wood rcmam of the gate . T he bridge is twen ty-five paces

4 13

across from the rock to the corner of it near the Dialah, where itswall turns off at right angles along the top of a rocky ridge forming a

barrier towards the river, and appears to have formerly been a place ofdefence. The remains of another wall two or three hundred yards tothe westward amongst the hills. Monsorie bears from the bridge bycompass south by four degrees east, distance about half a m ile .

A few yards to the south-south-east of this, the sandstone on eithe rside of the Dialah projects over the river, and is said to be the remainsof a bridge . I did not see any bricks near it from where I stood aboveit, but I have little doubt of its having been a bridge, as the narrowness

of the river,and the peculiar shape of the rocks, are favourable for sucha building. From the hill immediately over it I had a fine view of allthe canals which issue from the D ialah about here - The followingbearings and distances of the different mon ths were taken from where

I stood

Siddee e Rooz 140, distance 200yards.

S iddee e Haronia 200, distance 150yards.

Siddee e Shuban 210, distance 150yards.

Siddee of the Khorasan and Mahrool, which branch off from one an

other about three-fourths of a mile to the southward 240, distance 600

yards. Made a station here, and took a round of angles. The Zindanin sight bearing 199} deg. From this I rode round a short distance

amongst the hills to examine some caves which have been cut into the

rocks.There are six of them, called the B rioot el Gewer. cut into a perpen

dicular rock about ten feet deep and e ight feet broad, with arched tops

from six to eight feet high, some of them having a seat cut out of the

stone at the inner end with a small recess on either side of the cave.

Some characters, apparen tly numerals, have been cut out on the sides

of the caves, which the old guide says are similar to those at El Hadr.They are no t placed in any order, but spread about from the floor to

the roof of the caves.

Having cepied some of them, and taken a rough ske tch of two of

these curious apartments, I rode back to the village, the sun gettingvery hot, and the guide very glad to get clear of the hills again, two or

three people having been murdered near this a short time back, whichhas spread such terror amongst the villagers that it was with some

difficulty I could get a man to shew me the way, and who left us im

mediately after pointing out where these caves were to be found.

I must return to my station on the hill to-morrow, as objects werenot all distinct from thick haze which lay over the low coun try .

The D ialah, as far as I could trace it, winds in every direction

amongst the hills in short turns.

ghe thermometer st 3 r . u . was 100

D

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415

Intelligence arrived ofAli Pacha beingon the move again towards Bagh

dad, and is expected to be here the day after to-morrow. He was at

Kifri when the messengers left.

Saturday, Sep temberWi n—Amused all night with something little

short of an Irish wake, which commenced by awoman tearing her hair,beating her breasts, and yelling as loud as possible, invoking the de

parted spirit of her brother, who had just been killed outside amongst

the Arabs. In the course of an hour she was joined by half-a-dozenmore, which kept us awake half the n ight, until they were tired them

selves, their mournful chaunt dying away to an occasional short cry of

grief, till about midnight, when all was quiet.We were not allowed

to enjoy our sleep long ; for a noise commenced occasioned by some

people belonging to a passing caravan robbing some of the people

outside of their cattle.

Left the Khan this morning at 12 minutes past 5, and rode to the

S.S.W. passing Seraj tk about 4 miles on our right at 7. Stopped at a

large mound of ruin similar to Tel Abbas. Made a station on it, and

took angles. The Zindan in sight—bearing 135deg. The bridge of

Chilook, 3 miles to the at 8 went on at 8 n . 45n ., passed

the bridge and ruined village of Chilook, and rode to the west, over a

country covered with the camel-thorn and caper-bush. Going very

slow over bad ground with a beaten track at 9 n . 15as. at a branch

of the Kharlis running South- west from near Seraj ik. Rode along it,and at 9 n . 30M . crossed it to some Arab huts, where we took up our

quarters for the day, no villages being near : got a breakfast of ghee,honey, and slapjacks.An amusing old chap arrived here shortly afterme, who is apparently

a Georgian employed by the Pacha on the revenue duty . A hot wind

from the N .W. during the day, blowing strong at times ; therm. at 3

r . at . 108 deg. This afternoon I rode back to Chilook and obtained

angles and amplitude ; the Hamreen hills no longer in sight. Thisbeing a fixed point of our former survey, I was in home of being able

to fix the Zindan from it, but found it was shut out of view by the ia

terveninggroves of Zerath and Abo Taydeh .

D urham ’s, S unday. S ep tember 8th—Enjoyed a splendid meal of alamb roasted whole ; the old Georgian amusing us all the time w ith hiscon versation. The sand-flies very troublesome during the night, not

giving one a moment’

s rest.

Left the h uts at 20minutes past 5 this morning, and rode to thwest, over ground out up with old branches of the Kharlis, and coveredwith wild vegetation . At 5n . 48 as. passed a branch of the Toweilehrunning south, and at 6 stopped to take angles at a tomb near a datestore called Ambugea, this being also a fixed point of our former survey. The stumps of a grove are still remaining here, having been cut

down by Ali Pacbm—why, or wherefore, I know not, unless it is to

make bridges over the canals about here. At 7 n . 10n . , rode on . At

8 as. crossed a branch of the Toweileh running S.S.W.At 8 n . 45n ., on the

'

Naher Toweileh, a fine canal about twenty feet

broad and very deep. Crossed it by a fort-bridge, and rode along its

right bank winding from S. toW.S.W.At 10 a . 5at. at the bend of the trunk stream of the Kharlis, which

takesa wind here, approach ing w ithin fifty yards of the Toweileh the

NaherWan comes down here also from the making a perfect

confusion of high banks and mounds, the one running across the other.

At 1011 . 30as. arrived at Dultowah, and took up my quarters at the

Khan, which has lately been repaired, clean, and altogether the best

lodgings 1 have had since leaving Baghdad. Very few people comingin and out of it.

Dulldwah, Monday, net allowed to enjoy mycomfortable quarters at Seyd Hindee came to me in

p refer my former quarters, as his y of the

above men tioned liquor, that it has given me a headache.

Rode out this morn ing for the purpose of tracing the Nnher“fan towhere it is cut away by the T igris to the northward , but after an hour

and a half’

s t ide came to it a short distance from where it is cut awayby the D ughara lake, and finding I should have to take a long round

befo re I co u ld come upon it aga i n , I stopt here , and go t the fo llowingbearings : d irection of the NaherWan , above, 3 155 below , 136. Vr!

loge q ezan ee, on Kha r lis , d ist. 2 m i les, 240deg. to 2512} deg. S tn

d iu (118 1. 33} m iles, 253 deg. to 258 deg. D ultowah , dist. 4 m i les,18 1 to 157 deg. The bread th of the NaherWan 105 large paces,or about n inety

—six yards.

On my road back, stopt at the Khan NaherWan to exam ine another

canal runn ing paralle l with, and about three quarters of a m ile to the

wes tward o f, the NaherWan . T he bed of it lie s m uch lower than the

Nahe r q n , and considerably lower than the le ve l of the coun try . It

is n ine ty- seven long paces across the bed of 11, and m ust formerly have

been a n oble canal. This m ust be the con tinuation of the Naher Gar

tool which I m et with near B ukhchu, direction of it 312 and 135 deg.

Rode back to the house ; the rm ome ter at 3 P . M . to dav 97 . Dultowah

at present is the mus t flourish i ng v illage of the d istrict, its date trees

417

apparen tly bearing larger quantities of fruit than those of any of theother villages. The gardens are well watered, hundreds of little water

courses running in all directions. I intend leaving this to-morrow

go

gning to trace the NaherWan to where it crosses the D ialeh near

0 ru e.

Khan el Harbour, near B ait/tabs , Tuesday , Sep tember l oth.—LeftDultowah this morn ing at 5a . 20M . at 5 n . 40M . crossed the Naher

Gartool, and at 5n . 45M . crossed the Kharlis and Toweileh, and rode

along the bed of the Nahuldars. At 6 n . 15M . on the NaherWan,DultowahW. N.W. 2&m iles, direction of the canal 130 deg., and

shortly after winding more to the southward. At 6 n . 40as. passed a

village on the Toweileh half a mile to our righ t at 7 n . 40n ., large

exten t of ruins on the banks of the NaherWan, comprised of low

mounds covered with tiles, a few bricks here and there . Shortly after

leaving these ruins came upon the Dialah, near Howediah , which here

cuts away one bank of the NaherWan tor nearly a mile, at 8 n . 20M .

arrived at the K han , j ust in time to get the best place, as men and

cattle have been arriving all day belonging to a caravan from Teheranthe Khan being now completely full, with not less than eight or ten

hundred people, besides mules and horses. Moolah Ali’s men in Buk

hoba.

These Persian pilgrims are the most impudent set of rascals I ever

met with— they would ask you to give them the coat of? your back, the

women being the most troublesome. After giving a woman who ap

peered to be nearly starving, something to eat and drink, and who was

walking away after having made a better meal than she had made, or

was likely to make, for some time, she suddenly came back again re

questing me for some of the mutton chop which had just been broughtin for my own breakfast. A man also, who I had ordered the servant

to give some bread to, came back and asked me for a smoke, so that I

very soon found out that the horse whip was the most necessaryarticle for them, and which I am obliged to use now and then to keepthem at a proper distance. Thermometer 101 deg. at 3 o

’clock.

Khan cl Harbtm,Wednesday, Sep t. 11th. —Rode out last night to

the bank of the NaherWan, over the D ialah , to obtain a round of

angles, and enjoyed a bathe in the river after my confinement in the

K han during the day.

The sand flies very troublesome during the n igh t.

Left the Khan at five th is morning, and rode down to where the

NaherWan crosses the D ialah. Below Bohruze, I find the Naher

Gartool or Kartool to be the same canal that I met with above Sindia

it still continues parallel with the NaherWan, running down on the

right bank of the D ialah as far as I could see. The breadth of the

NaherWan here is 142 yards : it continues on the other side of the

Dialah, in the direction of 175 deg., its banks being a good deal out

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4 19

men from the Pacha passed the Khan during the n ight. He is ex

pected here this even ing.

From 4 n . 15as. to 5n . 15n ., lost our road in a large marsh oc

casioned by the last fiood : a new road having been made nearer the

T igris. The wind rather cool this morn ing : found it rather chillyriding through the high grass of the marsh covered with last n ight

’s

dew.

It was my intention to have rode to mound Sukran , a large tomb tothe east, about four miles from the road, being a fixed poin t, to obtain

some angles for fixing several of the villages on the southern part of

the Kharlis and Toweileh ; but having already lost an hour in the

marsh, with nearly five hours’more ride to Baghdad, and every ap

pearance of a hot day, I rode on, leaving a very desirable obj ect notaccomplished, as most of the latter part of my work depended upon it.

5n . 55n ., passed the Rushdea lake to the right between us and

the river. 6 n . 30 n ., passed a red mound of ruin, called Bedhron,close on our right.

7 n . 35n . , passed the end of the banks of an ancient canal on our

left, called Boobisham, said to be a branch of the Kartool, and which

again branches of? into two about three miles to the E. N . E. Theyend here—no sign whatever remaining of them to the westward.

Passed several mounds of ruins, said to have been forts erected byThomas Khan on the Persian attempt to take Baghdad . The Naher'

l oweish was also cut by him to within a few m iles of Kauthun .

At 10arrived at the Moodhun gate of Baghdad. The sun gettingvery warm rode down to the river, and wen t on board the steamer

nobody expecting me back so soon .

(Signed) H.W. Gaocrm s, Lieutenant, I. N .

(Signed) H. B . Lr ncn ,

Commanding Euphrates Expedition .

Meteorology q erozep ors and Sukkar .

Tn following note of the Meteorology of Ferozepore and Sukkurhas been supplied us by the relative of a talented B engal officer, whose

name is desired to be withheld, lately deceased. The sickness which

proved fatal to him appears to have increased so much as to have

caused the discontinuance of the record after the 6th of December. It

is but a fragment that has been supplied, but it helps to fill up the blankin our knowledge of the natural history of the banks of the Sutlej

421

razvarm lo m us arm srarz'

or rust wan -nan .

Pzaozxrooa, Howls, 1843.

North-west, fresh breeze. Thick hazy weath er .Wind came to east after sunset .

Do. com ing to east after sunset. T hin clouds.

Variable, north -east to north -west, light breeze . h y overcast. Occasionally afew drops of rain .

North -west, fresh breeze. Morning foggy . 8h overcast th roughout the day.

ans. easterly, rm . westerly, light. Partial clou with sunshine.Fu e l"“‘b‘a dOs do.

North -easterly, lilgoht. H

dasy.

0.

fresh breeze. Cloudy,with thunder in the afternoon .

do . do . A smart sh ower early this morn ing.

do. do. th rough out, with frequen t showers .

ligh t b reeze . do . Heavy sh owers during th e forenoon .Westerly, do. Clear . Pleasan t weather. Morn ing foggy .

do . Hazy clouds . do.

66 Variable . do. do. A squall from south -west about a ranI nch dust.

60Boaibsriy and variable, fresh breeze . Hazy clouds .

do Th in haze .

down to th e Chat and embarked for Buhhur . )Cloudy . with some ligh t rain . Raw chi lly weath er.

North west. Ligh t h azy clouds. Pleasan t weath er .Westerly, ligh t breeze . do . Rath er SultrySouth -east. stron

ghbrsezs . Heavy clouds. Morn ing sh owery .

Do. variable . do. Abou t Br as . a th under storm w ith hail a rain .

16Wastsrl l igh t breeze . Partial clouds . Pleasan t weather .

‘IGEast an north -east, strong breeze from noon til l 4 rm . Partial ligh t cloudsEasterlv, fresh breeze forenoon—after 3 r as. calm .

24

South eriy, ligh t airs. Clear p leasan t weath er . Sun getting powerful.

B asteri do. do . Bun very powerful.Wy, do . do. do .

Do . ligh t breeze. do . do.

North -east to west, strong breeze from tou s. till 2-80rm . Bun very powerful .

8m m , Apri l, l843.

l oath -M and westerly, ligh t airs. Bligbgohazs .

fresh till about i h our after sun than west, ligh t.fresh breeze from noon till 3 o

'cl

and variable, ligh t.do . (Moved out of host th is even in

g.) do .

us .(Is Cau r lu Tent at But lrur, near bank of the Instrong breeze

North -westerly and variab le. ligh t breeze .

'B iin haze.

South -caster! , ligh t airs. Sultry.South -wa ter y, strong breeze.

do . Partial clouds.

North west, ligh t breeze. Clear.

u s. east, fresh breeze -r .sr. north , ligh t. C lear .

100 Do . strong do . do. do. Hazy clouds.

lo9 Morn ing south -east—day northerly, light breeze . Hazy clouds.

102 Variab le. l l h t . T hin haze .

lo5Northerly. 0. Clear .

"69‘

Do. and variab le, ligh t . Clear.

North west, strong breeze . do . l l uch dust . Eveuiu hazy .

103 Round the compass—at times fresh , at others light. say . From 2 till 4 rm .

sultry, with distant th undu'.

104 ans. eastsrl —r is. westerly, ligh t breeze . Hazy. Near 8 r an a north -west squall,with t o.

Day m labls—uin t strong breeze throughout from N.E . to N.W., withmuch dust.

Northes'ly andWesterly . ligh t breeze .

Do ligh t airs. Hazy and rath er sultry.

South west and variable ,ligh t breeze . Hazy and sultry . Very powenfu

Do . to north -weat—A as . due- rm . fresh breeze . Hazy. do.Westerly, fresh breeze . Clear .

Easterly , light breeze- r is. calm. Ligh t haze,with very powerful sun .

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am en, October. 1843.

Ely . Ligh t breeze. Clear. but a few ligh t clouds afternoon . N igh t q uite clear .

Do. Do . do . Do .

Do . Ligh t airs.With l igh t an d sca ttered clouds. Do .

Do. D o . Do . Do .

81’s D0 . DO sDO ’

N -£ly . Do . Clear sky .

86 Do . Do . Do .

se Do. Do . Do.

86 D o . Do . Do .

86 D o . D o . Do .

86 Do . Do . Do .

86 w e. Ely .. run l . Ligh t airs . Some very sligh t haze .

St South erly . Ligh t b reeze. Cl ear sky.

8 8 S ly . (day ) Ely . Ligh t b reeze . C lear sky.

St to N.E. L igh t airs . (Day) clear sky. (even ) h azy. N igh t agai n clear .

84 4 .x . l . . r as Sly . Do . Do . do . do . Do .

Si Sly . and var . Do . Aftern oon cloudy . A h eavy shower b etween 9 and to ru st84 am . S .

-W. an d var. Ligh t airs. Yorenoon, llgh t clouds. Afternoon clear8 1 Sou th .eastcrly . L igh t airs . Sk

i);clear .

82 Do. Do . 0.

82 Eas te rly. Do . Do82 Do . Do . D o . [ th e day .

84 L ight breeze . Do [ in Fort Bulrlrur w ith doors open dur ing84W137. and var. Do . D o .

84 Variab le . Ligh t ai rs. Doti l Mom . E ., fresh b r afterwards ligh t and var Sky clear. De .

M i D o do ligh t- r w. it Lyn—d ry b reeze . D o . "0.

M Do . do do Day var. Lig h t ai rs . Do . Do .

it . b r . Do . d o . L i m b reeze . Do . Do .

8 N. Morn . fresh br. Day l h t airs . shut duri ng day . )8 Do . Do . Do . Do . Do . do .

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