[[1]]
Darjeeling
March April 18 1848 *1
My dear Father
Before I do any--thing else I shall proceed to give you some account of my going th
over a considerable portion of the plains of India in company with Mr Williams (of the
Geological Survey) camp. This route took me through about 200 miles country south
of the Ganges, along what is called the Grand Trunk road (from which I diverged
right & left) as far as the Soane, the great affluent of the Ganges from the South.
From the ford across the Soane we went south, up the rivers course passing (on one
bank or another) Rotas ghur & Bidjegur [Bijaigarh] both hill forts on the Kymore
[Kumaon] range (a continuation of Vindhya). Leaving the bed of the Soane beyond
Bidjegur I struck N[orth] over the range to Ky Mirzapur & thence descended the
Ganges to Bhangulpore [Bhagalpur], from where I took as it were a new departure
for the Sikkim Himalayah[sic].
The natural divisions of this route are 1. a gradual ascent from the Hooghly at the
town of Hooghly to Burdwan, as far as which the common low country Bengal
vegetation extends, 2. thence to Mirzlepore [Mirzapur?] (Taldangah) 50 miles
N[orth]. W[est]. over the sandstones of the coal nurseries, & still an ascent, the
country becoming very wild & barren with open plains on all sides. 3d. Beyond
Taldangah the granite, Hornblende schist & Gneiss rocks form a broad
[[2]] elevated & barren tract, studded with ranges of low hills & preeminent above
them all Paras--Nath perhaps the highest point in Bengal South of the Himalayah[sic]
mountains
4. at the Dunwar Pass 112 miles from the Eastern limit of these rocks their is a
sudden fall of about perhaps 1000 ft to the plains on a level with them of Bengal the
Ganges which extends to the Soane.
5. The ascent of the Soane whose fall is not great & is bounded on the N[orth].
W[est]. by the Kymore hills, a sandstone table land with continuous steep
escarpments towards the river, & no hills or lofty m[oun]t[ain]s rising from it as there
were from the table land previously passed over. Their summits & bases are well
wooded & my course lay under them the river gradually ascending & becoming
enclosed in a valley whose vegetation from being that of the plains when I joined
gradually assimilated to the hill flora at the upper part of its course where I left.
6. From the bed of the Soane through a ghat or defile in the Kymaon [Kumaon] to
their plane summits, over which I struck N[orth]. to Mirzapur, descending abruptly
then a ghat in the Bind hills , as the N[orth]. face of the Kymaon are called to the alluvial
flats on the Ganges.
7. The passage down the Ganges to Bhau Colgong; through a level country
diversified by only two interesting natural features, the solitary rock of
[[3]] Chunar, which is the N[orth]. extreme of the sandstone Kymares *2 alias & of the
Vindhya range, & the detached picturesque rocks of Sultanganje & Calgong, which
belong to the & are the N with the Currnckpore & Rajmahal hills, the N[orth]. E[ast].
extremes of the range to which Paras--Nath belongs crowns, of the which forms table
lands of Berbhoom [Birbhum], Behar &c & which stretching S[outh]. & E[ast], from
parallel to the Kymare hills, form the S[outh]. E[ast]. boundary of the Soane on the
S[outh]. & E[ast]., as the Kymaon the do on the N[orth] & W[est].
To the Northward of Chunar & of the Sultanganje & Calgong rocks, there is no rock, no
elevation, or even a stone in situ till the Subhimalayar[sic] range is met with, nor is
there I believe from the Rajmahals westward to the Sylhet hills, whilst to the
southward & westward the ranges to which they belong are continued over an
immense area; Chuna[r], Kymaon, & the Vindhya, forming in one uninterrupted
range the N[orth] boundary of the Soane & Nerbudda & then stretching from the
Ganges to the Arabian Sea; whilst the Rajmahals, Paras Nath & their continuations
form the southern boundaries of the same great valleys.
I have been this particular in alluding to these two extended ranges, because by their
position they exercise the most important influence on the vegetation of the countries
between the Ganges on the N[orth]., the Soane on the W[est] & the Bay of Bengal to
the S[outh]. E[ast]. & also
[[4]] because I have heard that the Rajmahals come are usually considered to be the
N[orth]. E[ast]. extremes of the Vindhya, whilst as far as I have seen they belong to a
different series of rocks, even when they approach high up the Soane. They may
probably be blended geographically above the point where I left the Soane & where the
sources of this river & the Nerbudda appear are situated; but up to that point they are
distinct in geological formation & separated by beds of alluvium continuous with
those of the Ganges.
The entire of the country thus passed over in travelling N[orth] W[est]. from the Hooghly to Mirzapore is
then 1. a gradual ascent from the coal bearing sandstone strata of the Burdwan &
Durmoodah [Damodar] valley coal--pits on to the hornblende schists & granites of
the Paras--Nath range & table land of Burbhoon, to the Dunwar pass.
2. a sudden cessation of these rocks at the descent of the Dunwah pass *3 to the
alluvial valley of the Soane,& Ganges in the plains of Behar & Shahabad on which are isolated
often frequent conical hills formed of highly inclined & often contorted so strata of
quartz, quartzy conglomerates, jaspers & similar rocks, which skirt the former,
forming the rocks of Sultanganje & Colgong on the N[orth]., -- various curious
detached quiescences[?] on the plains of Behar & a range of low hills skirting the
Soane opposite the Kymaons on the opposite S[outh] & E[ast] bank of the Soane.
3. The ascent of the Kymaon hills over a bed of stratified
[[5]] limestone (non fossiliferous). This underlies the Kymaon sandstone, cropping
out at the bases of its Soane ward escarpments; overlies the quatzy rocks
mentioned above & high up the Soane where the latter approach the Kymaon
sometimes appearing in detached low hills.
4. The horizontal strata of sandstone forming the Kymaon hills, & the bold spurs of
Rotas & Bidjegurh from which there is
5. an abrupt descent to the gangetic plains at Mirzapur.
Over all these a bed of alluvium, with more or less kunker, is spread; uniformly, but
varying in thickness especially on the schist, its thickness appearing there to be
determined more by the configuration of the rocks underneath than the action of
water demolition[?] or other causes. The kunker appears to be rarer on this latter
formation than oth on the Sandstones of the Kymaon or the rocks at Bhangulpore &
Colgong & or generally along the bed course of the Ganges.
The origin of the Soane pebbles & jaspers is probably to be sought in the highly
siliceous beds, skirting the Hornblende Schists & granites; similar incidents occurring
at in Bhangulpore district where indeed they have been employed in embellishing the
walls of some of the ancient buildings occurring there.
[[6]] From the omnipresence of this alluvium & uniform nature of the climate over the
area thus defined a very great sameness in the vegetation was to be expected. The
great extent of the table lands & absence of any considerable elevation over so large
an area, especially of any range of hill extending 2000 ft either here or any where
between this & the N[orth]. W[est]. deserts of Hindustan from whence the winds blow
during a great part of the year are phenomena all indicative of a dry climate, as also
of an excessive one whilst for the uniform expanse of the whole surface to the solar
rays during the day & to nocturnal radiation and is in a cloudless climate especially
inimical to a luxuriant vegetation.
The influence of altitude even in vegetation is thus all but destroyed, a much lower
elevation than Parasnath producing many forms indicative of altitude on the Sylhet
hills further East (in the same latitude) & in the Nilgherries [Nilgiris] & Ceylon far to the
South & within the tropics.
After leaving the Delta of the Ganges, the vegetation becomes gradually less
luxuriant. Few Palms are found beyond Burdwan and except upon Paras Nath only 2
or 3 species of Ferns are seen; these are scarce & confined to the most favored
localities. The large & tall grasses of Bengal proper are replaced by
[[7]] wiry & stunted species; its Palm & Fig groves by harsh bushes & stunted trees
with a rigid foliage & thorny shrubs of tangled tree jungle overspread like climbing
parasites & rich in parasites there is none. The richest valleys & deepest glades such
as those extending in park like beauty round the base & sides of Paras--Nath or
choke the upper valleys of the Soane are formed of few species of trees; their trunks
are unadorned with Pothos, Ferns or Orchideae, there is no moss or scarcely a
lichen in their bark. The small dry Bamboo & prickly Rhamin [Ramin] replacing the
green Urticae, & Ferns of moister regions. I have seen neither the Teak the Syphoo or
the Sal, Terminalias, Bassia (Mahona) & Diospyros forming the mass of timber trees
in the higher regions; mangos, Tamarind, & such Figs as the Burr & Banian, together
with some a few Acacias prevailing in the lower.
Sterility of soil determines not only the absence but presence but absence of many trees.
Boswellia: with Stercutis & especially some Cullenia Euphorbiae, are all but confined
to rocky places, -- whilst the splendid Cochlospermum gossypium rejoices[sic] in the
stoniest ridges of hills. Aridty again, confining the term[?] to the sandy soils on power of
the rock to absorb heat, is followed by an increased prevalence of the some few of
the thorny species & absence of most others indicating sterility but not by as in many
countries by the presence of others orders typical of a warmer climate.
[[8]]I have observed no evidence of the dependence connection any order or species of
plant being confined to the one particular formation -- none between the chemical
constituents of the soil & the plant itself or vegetation it supports. The uniform presence of
the alluvium over all the formations is unfavorable to observations of this nature; but
there were great exposed areas of schist, sandstone & limestone carefully compared
together, by which it appeared that there was no species was confined to the latter, or
indeed that was not common to both the other formations.
During my descent of the Ganges little change is apparent through any single
distance of 100 miles but the unifor increased luxuriance though gradually displayed
is very marked between the dry & cool climate of Mirzapore & Benares where the
strawberry thrives & oil is made & kept, to the damper air of Bhangulpore
[Bhagalpur], where the moister & winds & hazy distances betray a nearer proximity to
the steamy Bengal. The change is best marked at Patna where the Cocoa nut
begins or perhaps at the mouth of the Soane river where the Acacia Arabica becomes
scarcer & beyond which the Camel will not thrive.*4
ENDNOTES
1. A note written in another hand records that the letter was received on Oct. 2d .
2. This appears to be another alternative way JDH has spelt the hills which are now
known as Kumaon and which he refers to in his journal as Kymor or Kymore hills. He
uses many different spellings when referring to these hills in this letter.
3. Alternative spelling of Dunwar Pass.
4. Letter is unsigned but appears complete and is written in the hand of Joseph
Hooker.
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