[[1]] *1
To Lady Hooker
H.C.C.S. *2 Moozuffer, Janr 4th 1848, Between Ceylon & Madras
*3
My dear Mother,
I have been protracting my letter-journal to my Father to such an unwarrantable
length, that if I do not carry it on to others, I shall wither in its fulfilment or drop all
correspondence to others. Aden occupied my last page & lines &c so I must take up
there. It is a place we took from the Arabs a few years back, & are now fortifying as
strongly as Gibraltar; which in position it much resembles. At a no very distant period
it was held by the Turks, who relied much upon it, & have wonderful constructions on
all parts of the Peninsular, in the shapes of Tanks, Aqueducts, the remains of a large
town now buried underneath the miserable Arab village of Aden, & especially
fortifications on the all but inaccessible crests of the hills, with stone roads and
causeways to them, constructed with inconceivable labour, it is supposed by Jews,
of whom many were kept all but prisoners or slaves in Aden. The Sublime Porte still
claims a jurisdiction over all Arabia, to which the Arabs are of course wholly
indifferent; detesting the Turks & Franks equally. We lay off the W[est]. end of the
Peninsular the cool end of the Island, where a Capt[ain] Haines Ind[ian]. Navy resides,
& superintends the arrangements for vessels &c: he is further the G E.I.C. Political
Agent in our Resident, in the place, & a sort of Governor. The town of Aden is now
half Arab & half European, from the number of troops resident there: it occupies the
Van of a large valley bounded by inaccessible black crags on all sides, open to the
sea to the E[ast]., & defended to the W[est]. by a very narrow fortified pass, through
which you go in following the excellent road from the Point where we lay to the town
or Cantonments. on our arrival we were surrounded by shore boats full of a race of
Negroes from the opposite coast of Africa, "Somalis", who are employed with Hindus
& a few Arabs as the Serv[an]ts. On the Peninsula These Somalis are all but naked,
& left their boats for the water, in which they swim like Ducks, diving for 6d pieces
which we chucked over board; some dozens scrambling under water for possession:
a curious sight which delighted Lady D[alhousie]. beyond measure. Capt[ain]. Haines
provided quarters for us all at his house; a set of long rambling cottages with
Verandahs, built, as is every house here, of wattle & plaster, & swarming with rats &
[[2]] Mosquitoes. We managed tolerably, however, during our short stay. At about 2
P.M. the "Precursor" arrived; & as soon as I could get away I went on board, & saw
Mr & Mrs Smith, who came on shore for a Donkey ride in the cool of the evening.
The steepness & ruggedness of the black crags, utterly devoid of vegetation, the
curious ridges of & beds of scoria, & lava, & pummice, which descend from their
bases to the sea, & the wild disconnected rocks that spring here & there from the
Ocean close to the shore, render the scenery most striking, & in the moonlight
awfully grand; more especially in twilight or sunset, when the exquisitely delicate
colouring of the sky & the few scattered clouds that sprinkled it contrast singularly
with the violent features of the land. In the gravelly hollows a very few plants are
seen, woefully far apart, & never in sufficient quantity to give a green hue to even an
acre of ground, (at this season, fine for in spring grass, I am told springs up.) The most
colored plant is a bushy green Capparis, & next a large Bereda Reseda, the
commonest plant in the Island: next comes a large herbaceous Capparis with bright
golden flowers, & then rusty looking Acacia bushes, & some green Euphorbias. The
shores are bold & rocky, clothed with rock oysters, but destitute of Algae. On Sunday
morning we started very early for the cantonment (or town) 4 miles off. The
G[overnor].G[eneral]. Courtenay, Capt[ain] Haines, & myself, were all the party, Lady
D[alhousie]. not being strong enough; & Bell & Fane were left to attend on her. Our
conveyance was a pretty French Barouche with 4 Arab horses. Our road an
excellent one, wound along the Beach opposite the Arab shore. At the neck of the
Peninsula is a steep hill leading to the Gorge, which connects this valley of Aden
with the rest of the Peninsula; here we left the Carriage for Arab horses, all except
the Governor who had a Palantkeen [palanquin], the carriage was dragged up after
us through the fortified pass. At this point we ascended a hill to survey the
fortifications & obtain a view of the disputed points & mode of attack & defence. The
scene was very similar to that wall neck connecting Gibraltar with the mainland of
Spain: below, was a village close to the neck, on a salt plain studded with houses: it
belonged to the Hindus employed on the fortifications, who spotted the plain in their
white dresses: around were all sorts of forts, guns, & black Sepoy soldiers; behind
the towering mural crags of the Peninsular full of holes whitened from the number of
vultures which breed there & wheel across the cliffs. Casting Looking North the eye
crossed the long sandy waste of the neck, with the sea on either hand, succeeded
by a belt of green woods along the Arab coast, & in the distance a long yellow
desert, backed
[[3]] by ranges of high mountains, described as abounding in fertile valleys, blooming
with the Rose of Shiraz, the Apple, Vine, Apricot, Melon, & all the delicious flowers &
fruits of Persia or Araby the blest[sic]. From these distant hills Aden is supplied
constantly with vegetables, brought for sale by the Arabs. To the right from this
position is the great black gulf in which Aden is built, a sort of valley of Acheron,
unblest[sic] by water or any green thing, sprinkled with the white hovels of the
natives, & scarcely better, long cantonments of the troops. On both sides subsidiary
valleys; long steep naked gorges run up the flanks of mountains, mysterious looking
rents; leading to a dismal black flat, which on this side of the Island extends along
the base of the highest ridges. The highest ridge is, as well as the spur it gives off, in
every point of view remarkable, always a serrated wall or knife--edge of rock,
apparently inaccessible, but crowned here & there with the ruins of Turkish Castles;
to one of these there is an excellent Turkish road from the flat, still waists[sic], by
which I afterwards ascended to a signal station. On various parts of the slopes above
the Town are tanks cut under the cliffs, or built of fine stone, wonderfully cemented;
& there are still the remains of an Aqueduct leading from the Penin[sular]: across the
long neck of land to the Arabian Shore. At A the Town we went to Cap[ain]t. Haines's
Town House, where he is endeavouring to wheedle garden plants into living, & has
succeeded with some short--lived animals, which only want a winter, but most of
them where those whose life is of longer duration, perish with the following summer. The
heat of this valley is always 10˚ above that of Point"; & the Residents are all but
roasted alive. At the Residence of (Capt. Haines) we were met by the Assistant Polit[ical].
Agent, Lieut[enant] Cruttenden I.N. & the Civil Surgeon, a Dr. Vaughan, who
succeeded Dr. Malcolmson whose absence I much regretted -- Vaughan knew
nothing; but Cruttenden I recognized as a contributor to the Geographical Society Journal
; he is a very agreeable & intelligent fellow, & experienced traveller in India,
Abyssinia, S[outh]. Africa, & Arabia. After breakfast we went to Church; the Chapel is
built by subscription, a very good wattle barn, with Punkahs over the seats. Our
Chaplain was an excellent one, & performed the service & preached well; he
startled me by the announcement of the following Saturday being xmas; for I had
latterly kept no count of the weeks and months. The congregation of course was
wholly military; the band taking the instrumental part excellently well. The Parson
seemed a good man: but I could not help wondering how he could see a dozen
strong
[[4]] fellows pulling the Punkah ropes outside whilst he read the 4th Commandment.
In the evening the Governor General, whose health is not strong, lay down to rest; &
I went to the top of the Ridge or highest part of the Island, Shamsum Shamsun it is
called, 1700ft. I had the Soumalis to carry my things, a large umbrella, broad white
hat with a round pillow in the crown, & a bolster round the rim outside, which kept
keeps the sun's rays from striking through the hat to one's head. We scrambled up one
of the gullies that led to the flat, over stoney[?] barren hills. The latter is about 800ft
up, a black waste of Volc[anic]. cinders, utterly destitute of vegetation or life, & so
heated that the Atmosphere for some feet above it twittered like smoke. Though now
mid winter, it was dreadfully hot; the soil below the surface being 107, & the stones
heated to 112 at 2PA.M.; which must be far below the summer heat. A few valleys
occur here & there, & these are sprinkled with vegetation, some shrubby milky
Euphaorbias, & Asclepiadea, several gummy Acacias, the Reseda, four as five four or
five Capparidea, shrubby & frutescent, one or two wiry grapes, & a very common
plant belonging; I think, to Pedalinea. Above the plain the ridges of rocks rose like a
wall some 4 miles long, curiously jagged at the top, which towered 1000ft above my
head, & appeared inaccessible, except in one place, where a steep slope led up to a
cleft in the ridge, & up whose steep face a zig zag road was formed; & to this we
directed our course. At the foot of the rocks I found a few more plants in the beds of
the dry water courses but none were in flower, All were Arabian looking. Antichorus.
Sephrimi Tephrosia, Polygala, Anarmaranthacaea, Acacias, Rutacea, & Capparideae
always prevailing, with a shrubby Lycium. The shrubs were all woefully desert like,
having very stout, distorted, spiny stems, short woody branches, few leaves, & no
flowers. A naked pale yellow--white dichotomous Euphuorbia were was perhaps the
most common plant. The road to the top of the ridge was most remarkable when
perfect; but much of it is broken away. The workmanship is so good that no one
suspects the Turks of having constructed it, but that it was formed, as well as the
crowning forts, by captive Jews under Solyman[sic] the magnificent. The stones are
of excessively hard vitreous basalt, more or less squared, placed side by side
without cement or mortar, & so well fitted that in some places the causeway seems
to ride like a saddle on the knife
[[5]] knife--edge ridge: at other parts the sides of the cliffs are hewn aways; & I was
constantly startled by the road apparently terminating abruptly over a tremendous
precipice, but really being carried up at an acute angle behind me. Towards the top I
met with 2 plants of a tree figured lately by Lindley in the Bot. Reg. from Adonia very
small plants he shewed[sic] one a year ago at the Hort. Soc. Gardens, (Asclaepias, I
think): it has a curious stem, expanding like a trumpet at the base, some 8 or 10 ft
high, a few short branches, & rounded lobed leaves. I saw neither young plants, fruit,
or flower, & could only reach a twig from the road. The Hort. Soc. plants were, I
think, covered with Dufourea flarmmea, & probably from another part of the Island,
perhaps nearer the sea. At this elevation too, 1300ft., I met with Lichens, both on the
rocks Crurstaceous species, & Acacia stems, Roccellea & Ramalina, but no other
Cryptogamia of any kind. The road met the ridge at a curious cut as it were in the
wall; &, on reaching the latter, a grand view spread out of the W[est]. side of the
Peninsula, the bay & Steamers at anchor off the Point where Capt Haines house is
situated. Our own vessel, with her lofty masts, was lying quietly at anchor; but the
poor "Precursor" was kicking up the water, splashing struggling & backing off a bank,
on which she had grounded when getting under weigh 6 hours before, as I
afterwards heard. A similar causeway to that I ascended by was carried up along the
ridges; but much of it had fallen away from time to time on either side the mountain;
& a little path- way led to the summit, up which was a broad flight of steps, formed of
cut stones, laid side by side. At the top there is a signal station & a soldier stationed,
who besides signalising the hipping takes meteorological observations. The lone
creature lives in a hut built in an excavation of the summit, which is hardly broad
enough for 10 to stand on; & he never sees any one but a Soumali servant, & an
Arab who daily brings water to the top. I was very thirsty; & he had nothing but tepid
water to offer me. this rocky crest is of course very barren of everything but Lichens,
of which there is a fair sprinkling; but I had no time to stay & collect them. My
descent was less fatiguing; but the causeway is formed of such slippery stones that it
tired one as much as the ascent. Except the few plants (some 40 species) there is
little to be obtained by the hot & dusty ascent of
[[6]] "Shamsun", always excepting the remarkable views & curious works of the
Turks. On the Monday morning I went out at daylight to get what plants I could in the
cooler valley facing the West: these were more luxuriant than those on the Eastern
side; the soil being more gravelly; but still sterility was the order of the day, I added
about 20 kinds to my former collection, but nothing remarkable at first sight, or
attractive at this flowerless season. Along the beach I did not procure a single
maritime plant or Algaea; a distichous leaved Poa & Cyperus, both growing in
scattered tufts, occupying all the sand, whilst the rocks were unexceptionably
naked:, further back, the was abundant, with several smaller Capparidea, the
universal Reseda some herbaceous & shrubby Euphroortrbiacea, &
Leguminosae[sic]. A small weeping tree, 10ft high, possibly Osyris, was the largest
plant: several Zygophylla, Jagoniae & some Rutaceae were abundant: a pfiliform
Mathiola; & sufferatescent Campylanthus, a pretty Acanthaceous plant, 2 Labialae,
one Boroginea[sic] & some Scrophularinea[sic] were all common. A fine Fox crossed
my path, but I saw no Apes, which are said to be common on the rocks, & render
render the Ruins: further analogous to Gibraltar rock. Before 9 A.M. the heat was very
considerable; & I was glad to get back to Capt Haines', with barely enough of time for
breakfast, & to get my collections put into paper before going onboard & starting for
Ceylon, where we arrived on the last day of the year. There I found Gardner, who
had been waiting our arrival at Colombo, 3 weeks, he came off to my surprize[sic] in
the first boat, looking well & very happy, :he is exceedingly busy, & much noticed by
the authorities, moving in the best circles, & every one speaking most highly of him.
Matilda Singer (Rigby) had arrived on the previous day, & started the following morning
for Colombo: she was looking extremely well & very happy, much rejoiced at the
termination of her voyage, the latter part of which had been very uncomfortable. I
had several short walks with Gardner about the lovely environs of Pte. de Galle, one
of the most charming spots I ever visited, the Botanical details of which I must
reserve for my Father -- Madras Jan 6 Dear Mother, I am finishing this from
Gov[ernmen]t. House, a magnificent place, where I am with the G[overnor].G[eneral].
& suite,
[[7]] & from whence we sail for Calcutta *4 on Saturday morning. This India is a
wonderful place, & quite equal to all my expectations of it. I am already stunned with
the vast amount of things to see, do, & get, & the arrangements I shall have to make
to commence with. Best love to all from your most | affectionate son | Jos. D. Hooker
Letters to Father gone by Southampton.
ENDNOTES
1. This letter is a copy written in a hand not that of the original author, JDH. The
copy was probably made by JDH's mother or sister so that a version could be
circulated amongst family and friends.
2. This letter is a copy, H.C.C.S has probably been incorrectly copied from the
abbreviation E.I.C.S which stands for East Indian Company Steamship.
3. The country formerly known as Ceylon is now called Sri Lanka. The city formerly
known as Madras is now called Chennai.
4. The city former known as Calcutta is now called Kolkata.
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