[[1]] Extract from a letter to Miss [Frances] Henslow. *1
Sikkim, Decr. 3. 1849.
I am in great anxiety till I know whether the report of Campbell's & my death has
reached England; we know that the Rajah purposely circulated the tale of his having
compassed our destruction, & that it was believed in India. Now, we have happily no
cause for apprehension, but every reason to hope that our detention is drawing to a
close. Eight months more in the mountains will probably complete my time in India.
To devote farther attention to Sikkim, after this outrage, is impossible: even if I had
not thoroughly explored the country; so Nepal remains my only choice. It is perfectly
healthy, & the people are honorable, & its Government is in close alliance with our
own. The Rajah, too, has already behaved very honourably to me, when Lord
Dalhousie asked & obtained his consent to my explorations in his Dominions. So, as
soon as Thomson has joined me & I can send my collections off from Darjeeling, I
mean to start for Nepal. My durance has been somewhat of the vilest; &, certainly,
the Sikkimites have left no means untried for making Campbell & me as wretched as
they could. We are not allowed to stray 10 yards from the miserable house in which
we are immured; & we are debarred all communication & power of laying our
complaints before our own Government, or even before the Rajah. These people
actually converse in lies:-- they think in lies:-- & I verily believe that any appeal they
may make to their own consciences is answered by a lie. Their utter mental
degradation & distortion is inconceivable. I speak of the Bhotea authorities: the
Lepcha population are a better set: they sympathize with us, & show us many a little
kindness by stealth. The Lamas, too, who are somewhat more enlightened than their
Rulers, are now coming forward, to a man, & urging on the Rajah their
representations that they have lived in peace & comfort under Campbell's sway, &
that the Rajah is literally breaking his own head, by this outrageous
[[2]] conduct; for that when it is (as it must be) resented by an appeal to arms these
people must come off second best. They have no muskets;-- their bows they handle
very awkwardly, their long knives, will be useless against artillery. These warnings
have already alarmed the Rajah, especially as we echo the same:-- he would be
thankful now to get rid of us;-- but how to do so is the question! He has committed
himself fatally, by the violence used towards our persons:-- we will not consent to
make terms with him;-- & as to the complaints he brings against Campbell's public
acts, the Superintendent already appointed at Darjeeling, pursues, & will pursue, the
same line of conduct; nor could Campbell alter it, if he would. You would have been
highly diverted with our schemes, especially for correspondence, when he & I were
confined separately, & forbidden all communication. My boys were so clever that we
never failed to get little wisps of paper, conveyed to & fro between us. Now, that we
are together, we get on much better; & although guarded & closely watched by a spy,
we never make ourselves unhappy. Campbell is a capital companion; though, poor
fellow, he has been suffering under a heavy load of mental distress on his wife's
account. Happily, yesterday brought us great relief, in the tidings of her safe
confinement. He is not so strong as I am, & is subject to dyspepsia, which usually
brings a train of distressing & lowering sensations;-- much depression of mind, as
well as body. He is troubled with headache too; & just now he has an attack of acute
rheumatism in the chest. It is wonderful to see him so generally cheerful. Our only
communication with the Durbar (Court) is through our Spy,-- a truly odious being. He
is made up of malevolence & falsehood, the practice of which is his main occupation.
He is a most filthy, squinting wretch; & he drives away every one who comes near us,
& causes our poor Coolies to be flogged, when they approach the door to beg a little
food from our slender stock. We are, of course, more than civil.-- nay, we are kind to
him; but he is equally untouched by our kind deeds & our remonstrations: many a
base scurvy trick he has played us,
[[3]] & misrepresented our conduct to the rajah, who treated us ill enough & starved
Campbell & me, for the first fortnight, as he does our poor followers to this very hour. I
suppose the evil animus this vile fellow, (whose name is Toba Singh) exhibits against
us, is his recommendation, in the Rajah's eyes. Happily, neither he, nor any one here,
can speak English; so my friend & I converse with perfect freedom, only using
conventional names for persons. The Rajah we call Prince; Toba Singh, Evil Eye,-the Dewan, Butcher .&c -Hodgson is our Good Angel now; & though his health almost imperatively requires
him to go to the Plains, he stays at Darjeeling, to serve us,-- by communicating with
Government, threatening the Rajah,-- defending Darjeeling,-- & comforting poor Mrs
Campbell & the few inhabitants who still remain at the Station.-- The ostensible
manager is the -- -- --, brother of ----, who thinks (& is allowed by Hodgson to think)
that he does everything,-- but is a wholly incapable person; & quite inefficient to stir a leg
without the impulse, counsel, & correction of others.
My future plans are nearly settled, (when once I escape from this place); & I hope
they are such as will make your mind easy. I can talk with confidence of my return,
not exactly in Nov[embe]r. next, which papa & mamma (ignorant of the exact state of
affairs) urge upon me; but immediately after my departure from Nepal, which
departure will take place, I hope, then, but cannot be done sooner, because of the
season. I hope to be accompanied to Nepal by Thomson early in spring, &, after
spending 8 months there, to return with him at once, to Calcutta *2, or perhaps
Bombay *3.
J. D. Hooker.
ENDNOTES
1. This letter extract is a copy, written in a hand not that of the original author, JDH,
and is not signed by him personally.
2.The city formerly known as Calcutta is now called Kolkata.
3. The city formerly known as Bombay is now called Mumbai.
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