[[1]]
Kosderah -- E[ast]. bank of Soane River, tributary of Ganges/near Bidjegur -Feb[ruary] 20 1848
My dear Darwin
Though our correspondence has not ebbed so low for full four years, you have
been so constantly in my mind that it appears far from strange to be writing to you.
On my arrival at Madras*1 the first thing I did was to enquire about the Chetah[sic],
upon which subject I had three unimpeachable authorities, who agreed precisely;
one of them (Mr Elliott) had kept the animal for hunting himself. They never breed
in confinement, nor are they taught to hunt any more than a cat is to mouse. Full
grown ones are invariably selected, taken to the field in a waggon [sic] & loosed
near their prey, which they approach under cover & pounce upon, they are neither
starved or otherwise excited, always strike the quarry on the hind quarter, then
seize the Deer or Antelope by the throat & hang on till it be strangled, they take no
other animal. When first used a Leg of Mutton is placed in the mouth to detach it
from the deer. No Cheetah will hunt more than one year, whether so used seldom
or often. The youngest animal will take instinctively to the same sport, but are poor
hunters & hence never used.
In Hawking 2 species are used, 1 the common Peregrine (which migrates S) & is a
powerful bird, striking the Heron & Bustard; 2 a native red bearded Hawk, which
strikes the Quail & such like game. Neither species will hunt a second year, the
cause of which is not obvious; though one can understand the Cheetah resigning a
habit for whose exercise he has no further use, & the dog (English) which so
degenerates as never to afford sport after the first hot season in India.
I find as, might be expected, that the Natural features of this vast area separate
different species in most cases, & that sometimes the limits of the latter, though
defined, are apparently not subject to any other evident law than but to caprice thus,
where I am now, on the Soane river; I am given to understand the little Antelope
never crosses this river to the Eastward, nor the Gaur, or the large Antelope to the
West, there is a broad plain between the boundary of each, separating the heights
(700-1000ft) which each inhabits, but no other obstacle to migration, (& that is
none) -- this reminds one of the Obi in Siberia. One of the most striking instances
of the prevalence of races in districts is afforded by the Elephant, of which there
are three distinct wild Indian varieties; confined to the three separate but similar
forests they respectively affect. 1. The Sylhet
[[2]] Elephant, (Muknur whose head is carried on a level with the back. 2d. the
Rajmahal, (a district at the bend of the Ganges.) which carries the head high is
broader between the ribs & has generally small tusks -- 3d the Morung which is
confined to the Turai or those deadly (in the bad season) jungles below the
Himalayah from Kamaon to Assam, it carries the head low, is wide from rib to rib &
has more slender ribs limbs. None of these breed in confinement, & the carriage of
the head, the most obvious diagnostic mark, is soon lost after taming - To these
you may add the Ceylon Eleph[ant], which I was informed, in that Island, is always
very different looking from the continental one, & I believe seldom or never has
tusks - Now that we are on Elephants, I may add that I have been riding a Sylehet
one daily for the last month & a noble beast she is, a grand fellow to talk to your
children about hereafter: The most curious instinct (as it appears to me) which I
have observed, is its use of the water reservoir by day, from which it draws water
every now & then & squirts it over its body for cooling; whilst on a cold night it
collects all the earth it can & covers itself, for warmth. The docility is admirable, we
are travelling over a road--less country, where it has to push on the waggons[sic]
with its fore head & then the poor brute has a bump, raw & bloody at top, as large
as a child's-head:-- still it never complains, & at the word of command puts his
head forward to the waggon[sic], first side--ways to avoid the sore, & as that won't
do, gallantly disregarding the pain. If Elephants have head--aches what splitting
ones they must be.
I am perfectly bewildered by the number of facts hourly thrown before me whose
importance I can scarce appreciate from my ignorance of Indian Nat[ural]-Hist[ory]. & all I can do now is to attempt to collect those relating to the larger or
more common animals. Of dogs we have 4 kinds here, the imported or bred
English, the Pariah or native domestic, the Jackall & Koa or wild & never
domesticated dog (besides a Fox). The English & Pariah intermix freely &
indiscriminately, but I cannot hear of either mixing with the Jackall or Koah. I
thought to have understood that the English dog never barks long after
importation, this is not the case, I noted the other day hearing an old resident
giving tongue lustily & even the Pariah does at rare intervals. The 2 domestics
occasionally run wild, but keep distinct from the Jackall, Fox or Koah. There are 2
kinds of domestic Cattle, 1. the Bhil a beautiful creature with a (so called Buffalo)
hump, it is a native of Nepaul [Nepal] & occasionally runs wild, the wild sometimes
breed with the domestic but the produce offspring is degenerate & seldom fertile -2 the Buffalo a hideous
[[3]] beast which also runs wild. The Bison was once a native of these hills but has
been extinct for 40 20 years -- of difference in color indicating certain
circumscribed localities of various animals, there are endless instances; none
however more remarkable than that of the Sciurus maximus or common
Peninsular Squirrel, the individuals of which to W. of Ghaats are black-backed.
those to East of the same range having a rufous tinge. As in other parts of the
world, so here, almost all the animals of the plains will ascend 4000 ft or even
6000, but the alpine varieties species will not descend, this is a common
observation but it never struck me before coming to India that in this respect height
is not analogous to Latitude; for more of the animals & man himself
accommodates themselves rather to an increase of temperature than a diminution.
Thus the English man, horse, dog, sheep & &, all thrive in England India, but the
Monkey, man, Bhile & all the other common tropical animals are incapable of
supporting a colder climate dependent on Latitude. I have just heard from good
authority that a large Saurian inhabits the streams on the elevated--table--land of
Zillah Shahabad, (S[outh]. of Mirzapore) opposite me now, N[orth]. of Soane -- a
species of alligator, 6 feet long, unknown in the lower plains -- I have offered a
reward for it, but it is said to be rare & it is difficult to get the natives to secure it.
P.S. There are 2 Crocodiles in Soane & both ascend streams & migrate 4--5' over
dry ground to Tanks far from water.
The change in climate consequent on cutting down the timber over the several
hundred miles I have traversed (& many hundred more which I never shall see) is
as may be supposed very considerable, not only is the annual fall of rain being
diminished, but in the diminished frequency of the showers & especially of
thunder & lightning & all but total absence of hurricanes.. When the total
destruction of the woods shall be effected the crocodile of the highest ponds will I
suppose be suppressed; the streams & other waters already having diminished
greatly. We are all familiar with the fact of cause & effects above alluded to, but I know
of no instance where the phenomenon is displayed displayed over so great an area &
in so short a time as this part of India affords. -- I fear however I am tiring you with
these crude gleanings, but must tell you another which I thought odd, it is that of
the old (deserted) Sand--Martins nests, close by me here, being literally stuffed
with spiders of the Harlequin kind, Phalangium (I think) those round-bodied long- legged
beasts -- these also inhabit crevices in the same banks but in the swallow’s nests
are sometimes in Millions, from the mouth to 3 feet back (the depth of the nest
excavation) being one dense mass of spiders. With a stick you may poke out
thousands at each haul. I cannot observe that the martin feeds on them & am well
sure that they themselves have nothing but sand to eat. Talking of Hirundines I
was told of a curious fact concerning the Swallow of W. Peninsular India, a bird
never seen at its nest, or any where at or near the sea from early morning to
sunset, during which time they repair to the very summits of
[[4]] the Neilgherry Ghaats [Nilgiri Ghats] (6–8000 ft:) though watched, for they
have never been seen in any intermediate position: this diurnal migration in a bird
which is neither Rook nor Raptor & gregarious to boot, is surely remarkable. It builds
a sort of edible nest in caves near the sea.. In a strictly Geological point of view this
is a singularly uninteresting country from the enormous extent of the individual
formations & the alluvial deposit to Bhajulpore north which all but covers all the
plains of India. There are however singular & still unexplained points in the
mineralogy of the country, as my early education would style it, such as the
formation of Kunker, or beds of nodules of Limestone in the alluvium; & more
especially the efflorescences of Nitrate of Potash? & other salts which I have only
observed in the Granitic & Gneiss formation. & these in singular abundance. The
little all I know of the coal formation (& that is but scanty) I shall give to Forbes in a
will letter: this question is no less perplexing here than at home.
I will give you but one Botanical fact, & that is regarding the vegetation of heights;
You have often asked if Mts, especially isolated ones, in the Tropical & S[outh].
Latitudes had closely allied representatives of Arctic or N[orth]. Temperate forms.
now I have been up but one eminence, & that of no more than some 5000 ft &
there I found a Barberry in abundance & one not unlike both our English & (I may
say) our smaller Cape Horn species -- Just one more fact of a different value -- do
you remember the allusion to Vallisneria in your grandfather’s "Botanic Garden" -- I
have found what I take to be a second or new species of the genus in the waters
of the Soane, with the same wonderful habits: -- without books however & a limited
memory I talk rather at random about new species.
Shalkunj --50° S[outh].E[ast]. of Mirzapore, March 4 -- Dear Darwin -- I left Mr
Williams (of the Geologic. Survey) with whose Camp I have been Botanizing up
country this past month, yesterday & am pushing on to Mirzapore whence I go to
Calcutta*2 in the steamer via Benares Patna & Rajmahal, & from Calcutta go to
Darjeeling with all speed (before the hot weather regularly sets in.) Darjeeling is in
the Sikkim Himalayah, between Nepaul [Nepal] & Bootan [Bhutan], a rainy rich
Botanical Station, where I shall stay for several months I hope. My address always
is the Bot. Gardens, Calcutta care of Falconer who will forward all letters to me. My
passage out with the G. G. [Governor General] was a most delightful one, we
staid[sic] at Lisbon, Gibraltar, Malta, Alexandria, Cairo, Suez, Aden (an old crater
like St Helena), Ceylon & Madras. I have three homes in Calcutta, Gov[rnmen]t.
House, Mr Colville Sir L. Peel’s an ardent Gardening Botanist who lives opposite the
Bot. Garden & which I hence prefer & the Garden itself where I did not put up
before Falconer’s arrival not being sure of the terms he & McLelland the locum-tenens were on. The invitations from other parties were numerous & I am indebted
for all my travelling arrangements, my Palkee & whole outfit of that kind to Mr
Colville Advocate general, to whom Lord Auckland (his Uncle) wrote. I do hope that
something will be soon done for Science in India as I see by a paper that the
G[overnor]. G[eneral]. has authorized a Phys. Geogr. survey of Kamaon by
naturalists as well as surveyors! If this be true I shall join them for a little next
year, & get my friend Thomson placed upon it.
[[5]] What a glorious field they will have! Sewalik hills to Thibet [Tibet]. Simla to
Nepaul [Nepal]. I heard from Thomson from Thibet (via England) he was
prosecuting the journey towards Yarkand[.] I do earnestly pray for his safety for to
a solitary traveller they are queer hosts up there. Capt[ain] Madden Cuningham has
returned to Cashmere & Lieut[enant] Strachey was pushing his way E[ast]. into
Chinese Thibet. A live Equus hermionus! is now on its way from Thibet down country
for England. A species of Auroch is said to be found in W[est]. China bordering on
Thibet. I was shewn[sic] a horn in Calcutta -- Of the Geology of Thibet towards Leh
(Ladak) Thomson says -- "We have Granite, Gneiss, Micah & Clay slate, Quartz,
Sandstone, conglomerate & Limestone, all in most admirable confusion. The only
very evident fact to be deduced is, that the Himalayah & most evidently & clearly
the whole of Kunawur & Piti have been a series of Lakes at a very recent period,
the hills & valleys being to a great extent patched over with alluvial clays,
occasionally containing small lacustrine shells" -- He is doing wonders in Bot.
Geogr. & is at the junction of the Himalayan, Altai Indian & Europaean Floras,
working immensely hard.
With regard to my health it is exactly the same, I am still troubled at times with
those bothering pains on the left side & palpitations, aching in the axilla &
occasionally down the arm. The motions of the heart are on these occasions very
irregular, but I have no ringing in the ears, shortness of breath or any symptoms
that alarm me. Hot or cold days make no difference & indeed I had so long a
cessation of all pains for 3 weeks after my arrival that I thought the hot weather
had cured me. Whatever it is I am none the worse of being here -- otherwise I
never had better health, am thinking of getting fat & hardly know what a headache
is. Please do not shew[sic] this part of my letter, as this refers to a subject of
which my friends know nothing.
My movements for the future are very uncertain. I shall stay at Dorjeeling
[Darjeeling] April & May & probably in June, during the rains, go to Cherra Poonjee
in Sylhet, a healthy station 5000 ft. up -- there remaining till the healthy season
reappears in the low--lands -- I shall thus not see Falconer for 8 months, which I
exceedingly regret -- how I yearn for a yarn with him about old friends every
where.
Mirzapore March 8th *3
Dear D[arwin].
here I am en route to Dorjeeling straight down the Ganges to Bhagulpore not
Calcutta then up to Sikkim -- I will write you again I hope ere long. Sincere regards
to Mrs Darwin & all my friends; particularly Lyell to whom I will write soon. Love to
the children -Ever Yours Affectionately | Jos D Hooker [signature]
Benares Feb[ruar]y 16.*4 I received your most welcome letter from Falconer just
before leaving Mirzapore thank you very much for it. I am so glad you have
plucked up courage for the cirripeda: won't I look out for them in Borneo! I have
asked my Father to send you any letters that
[[6]] may interest you but I have hitherto been a shocking correspondent. Sincere
regards to the Lyells -- How much I think of you all. You must get Griffiths
Journals, as soon as you can -- ask Royle about them they are published here &
are full of crude facts which I have not yet studied -- Put every question about this
quarter of the globe you can think of..
I shall not see Falconer till Autumn, he has a Herculean task at the Gardens, all
but as bad as my F[ather]. had at Kew.
Via Southampton | Cha[rle]s. Darwin Esq | Down | Bromley Kent | England
ENDNOTES
1. The current name of the city of Madras is Chennai.
2. The current name of the city of Calcutta is Kolkata.
3. The text written under date Mar 8 is written in the margin and top left hand
corner of page 1. The first sentence has been obscured by binding and
transcription is taken from The Darwin Correspondence Project transcription of the
letter. Darwin Correspondence Database, http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/entry1158 accessed on Thu Sep 19 2013. The text has been inserted here as the date
indicates it was written before the next paragraph which JDH has mistakenly dated
Feb 16 but should read Mar 16. It is not clear in what order the text should be
read.
4. JDH has mistakenly dated this "Benares Feb 16", he actually arrived in Benares
on 16 Mar according to his published journal.
Please note that work on this transcript is ongoing. Users are advised to study
electronic image(s) of this document where possible.