Books: Himalayan Journals (Complete)

J >> J. D. Hooker >> Himalayan Journals (Complete)

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The poppy-petal _pancakes,_ each about a foot radius, are made
in the fields by women, by the simple operation of pressing the fresh
petals together. They are brought in large baskets, and purchased at
the commencement of the season. The liquor with which the pancakes
are agglutinated together by the ball-maker, and worked into the
ball, is merely inspissated opium-water, the opium for which is
derived from the condemned opium, (Passewa,) the washing of the
utensils, and of the workmen, every one of whom is nightly laved
before he leaves the establishment, and the water is inspissated.
Thus not a particle of opium is lost. To encourage the farmers, the
refuse stalks, leaves, and heads are bought up, to pack the balls
with; but this is far from an economical plan, for it is difficult to
keep the refuse from damp and insects.

A powerful smell of opium pervaded these vast buildings, which Dr.
Corbett* [I am greatly indebted to Mr. Oldfield, the Opium Agent, and
to Dr. Corbett, for a complete set of specimens, implements, and
drawings, illustrating the cultivation and manufacture of Opium.
They are exhibited in the Kew Museum of Economic Botany.] assured me
did not affect himself or the assistants. The men work ten hours a
day, becoming sleepy in the afternoon; but this is only natural in
the hot season: they are rather liable to eruptive diseases, possibly
engendered by the nature of their occupation.

Even the best East Indian opium is inferior to the Turkish, and owing
to peculiarities of climate, will probably always be so. It never
yields more than five per cent. of morphia, whence its inferiority,
but is as good in other respects, and even richer in narcotine.

The care and attention devoted to every department of collecting,
testing, manipulating, and packing, is quite extraordinary; and the
result has been an impulse to the trade, beyond what was anticipated.
The natives have been quick at apprehending and supplying the wants
of the market, and now there are more demands for licences to grow
opium than can be granted. All the opium eaten in India is given out
with a permit to licensed dealers, and the drug is so adulterated
before it reaches the retailers in the bazaars, that it does not
contain one-thirtieth part of the intoxicating power that it did
when pure.

Patna is the stronghold of Mahommedanism, and from its central
position, its command of the Ganges, and its proximity to Nepal
(which latter has been aptly compared to a drawn dagger, pointed at
the heart of India), it is an important place. For this reason there
are always a European and several Native Regiments stationed there.
In the neighbourbood there is little to be seen, and the highly
cultivated flat country is unfavourable to native vegetation.

The _mudar_ plant (_Calotropis_) was abundant here, but I
found that its properties and nomenclature were far from settled
points. On the banks of the Ganges, the larger, white-flowered,
sub-arboreous species prevailed; in the interior, and along my whole
previous route, the smaller purple-flowered kind only was seen.
Mr. Davis, of Rotas, was in the habit of using the medicine
copiously, and vouched for the cure of eighty cases, chiefly of
leprosy, by the _white mudar,_ gathered on the Ganges, whilst
the purple of Rotas and the neighbourhood was quite inert:
Dr. Irvine, again, used the purple only, and found the white inert.
The European and native doctors, who knew the two plants, all gave
the preference to the white; except Dr. Irvine, whose experience over
various parts of India is entitled to great weight.

_March_ 29.--Dropped down the river, experiencing a succession
of east and north-east winds during the whole remainder of the
voyage. These winds are very prevalent throughout the month of March,
and they rendered the passage in my sluggish boat sufficiently
tedious. In other respects I had but little bad weather to complain
of: only one shower of rain occurred, and but few storms of thunder
and lightning. The stream is very strong, and its action on the
sand-banks conspicuous. All night I used to hear the falling cliffs
precipitated with a dull heavy splash into the water,--a pretty
spectacle in the day-time, when the whirling current is seen to carry
a cloud of white dust, like smoke, along its course.

The Curruckpore hills, the northern boundary of the gneiss and
granite range of Paras-nath, are seen first in the distance, and then
throwing out low loosely timbered spurs towards the river; but no
rock or hill comes close to the banks till near Monghyr, where two
islets of rock rise out of the bed of the river. They are of
stratified quartz, dipping, at a high angle, to the south-east; and,
as far as I could observe, quite barren, each crowned with a little
temple. The swarm of boats from below Patna to this place was
quite incredible.

_April_ 1.--Arrived at Monghyr, by far the prettiest town I had
seen on the river, backed by a long range of wooded hills,--detached
outliers of which rise in the very town. The banks are steep, and
they appear more so owing to the fortifications, which are extensive.
A number of large, white, two-storied houses, some very imposing, and
perched on rounded or conical hills, give a European aspect to
the place.

Monghyr is celebrated for its iron manufactures, especially of
muskets, in which respect it is the Birmingham of Bengal. Generally
speaking, these weapons are poor, though stamped with the first
English names. A native workman will, however, if time and sufficient
reward be given, turn out a first rate fowling-piece. The inhabitants
are reported to be sad drunkards, and the abundance of toddy-palms
was quite remarkable. The latter, (here the _Phoenix sylvestris,)
I never saw wild, but it is considered to be so in N.W. India; it is
still a doubtful point whether it is the same as the African species.
In the morning of the following day I went to the hot springs of
Seeta-koond (wells of Seeta), a few miles south of the town.

Illustration -- MONGHYR ON THE GANGES, WITH THE CURROCKPORE HILLS IN
THE DISTANCE.

The hills are hornstone and quartz, stratified and dipping southerly
with a very high angle; they are very barren, and evidently identical
with those on the south bank of the Soane; skirting, in both cases,
the granite and gneiss range of Paras-nath. The alluvium on the banks
of the Ganges is obviously an aqueous deposit subsequent to the
elevation of these hills, and is perfectly plane up to their bases.
The river has its course through the alluvium, like the Soane.
The depth of the former is in many places upwards of 100 feet, and
the kunker pebbles it contains are often disposed in parallel
undulating bands. It nowhere contains sand pebbles or fossils;
concretions of lime (kunker) alone interrupting its uniform
consistence. It attains its greatest thickness in the valleys of the
Ganges and the Soane, gradually sloping up to the Himalaya and
Curruckpore hills on either flank. It is, however, well developed on
the Kymore and Paras-nath hills, 1200 to 1500 feet above the Ganges
valley, and I have no doubt was deposited in very deep water, when
the relative positions of these mountains to the Ganges and Soane
valleys were the same that they are now. Like every other part of the
surface of India, it has suffered much from denudation, especially on
the above-named mountains, and around their bases, where various
rocks protrude through it. Along the Ganges again, its surface is an
unbroken level between Chunar and the rocks of Monghyr. The origin of
its component mineral matter must be sought in the denudation of the
Himalayas within a very recent geological period. The contrast
between the fertility of the alluvium and the sterility of the
protruded quartzy rocks is very striking, cultivation running up to
these fields of stones, and suddenly stopping.

Unlike the Soorujkoond hot-springs, those of Seetakoond rise in a
plain, and were once covered by a handsome temple. All the water is
collected in a tank, some yards square, with steps leading down to
it. The water, which is clear and tasteless (temp. 104 degrees), is
so pure as to be exported copiously, and the Monghyr manufactory of
soda-water presents the anomaly of owing its purity to Seeta's
ablutions.

On my passage down the river I passed the picturesque rocks of
Sultangunj; they are similar to those of Monghyr, but very much
larger and loftier. One, a round-headed mass, stands on the bank,
capped with a triple-domed Mahommedan tomb, palms, and figs.
The other, which is far more striking, rises isolated in the bed of
the river, and is crowned with a Hindoo temple, its pyramidal cone
surmounted with a curious pile of weathercocks, and two little
banners. The current of the Ganges is here very strong, and runs in
deep black eddies between the rocks.

Though now perhaps eighty or a hundred yards from the shore, the
islet must have been recently a peninsula, for it retains a portion
of the once connecting bank of alluvium, in the form of a short
flat-topped cliff, about thirty feet above the water. Some curious
looking sculptures on the rocks are said to represent Naragur (or
Vishnu), Suree and Sirooj; but to me they were quite unintelligible.
The temple is dedicated to Naragur, and inhabited by Fakirs; it is
the most holy on the Ganges.

_April_ 5.--I arrived at Bhagulpore, and took up my quarters
with my friend Dr. Grant, till he should arrange my dawk for Sikkim.

The town has been supposed to be the much-sought Palibothra, and a
dirty stream hard by (the Chundum), the Eranoboas; but Mr. Ravenshaw
has now brought all existing proofs to bear on Patna and the Soane.
It is, like most hilly places in India, S. of the Himalaya, the seat
of much Jain worship; and the temples on Mount Manden,* [For the
following information about Bhagulpore and its neighbourhood, I am
indebted chiefly to Col. Francklin's essay in the Asiatic Researches;
and the late Major Napleton and Mr. Pontet.] a few miles off, are
said to have been 540 in number. At the assumed summer-palaces of the
kings of Palibothra the ground is covered with agates, brought from
the neighbouring hills, which were, in a rough state, let into the
walls of the buildings. These agates perfectly resemble the Soane
pebbles, and they assist in the identification of these flanking
hills with those of the latter river.

Again, near the hills, the features of interest are very numerous.
The neighbouring mountains of Curruckpore, which are a portion of the
Rajmahal and Paras-nath range, are peopled by tribes representing the
earliest races of India, prior to the invasion of young Rama, prince
of Oude, who, according to the legend, spread Brahminism with his
conquests, and won the hand of King Jannuk's daughter, Seeta, by
bending her father's bow. These people are called Coles, a
middle-sized, strong, very dark, and black-haired race, with thick
lips: they have no vocation but collecting iron from the soil, which
occurs abundantly in nodules. They eat flesh, whether that of animals
killed by themselves, or of those which have died a natural death,
and mix with Hindoos, but not with Mussulmen. There are other tribes,
vestiges of the Tamulian race, differing somewhat in their rites from
these, and approaching, in their habits, more to Hindoos; but all are
timorous and retiring.

The hill-rangers, or Bhagulpore-rangers, are all natives of the
Rajmahal hills, and form a local corps maintained by the Company for
the protection of the district. For many years these people were
engaged in predatory excursions, which, owing to the nature of the
country, were checked with great difficulty. The plan was therefore
conceived, by an active magistrate in the district, of embodying a
portion into a military force, for the protection of the country from
invasions of their own tribes; and this scheme has answered perfectly.

To me the most interesting object in Bhagulpore was the Horticultural
Gardens, whose origin and flourishing condition are due to the
activity and enterprise of the late Major Napleton, commander of the
hill-rangers. The site is good, consisting of fifteen acres, that
were, four years ago, an indigo field, but form now a smiling garden.
About fifty men are employed; and the number of seeds and vegetables
annually distributed is very great. Of trees the most conspicuous are
the tamarind, _Tecoma jasminoides, Erythrina, Adansonia,
Bombax,_ teak, banyan, peepul, _Sissoo, Casuarina, Terminalia,
Melia, Bauhinia._ Of introduced species English and Chinese flat
peaches (pruned to the centre to let the sun in), Mangos of various
sorts, _Eugenia Jambos,_ various Anonas, Litchi, Loquat and
Longan, oranges, _Sapodilla_; apple, pear, both succeeding
tolerably; various Cabool and Persian varieties of fruit-trees; figs,
grapes, guava, apricots, and jujube. The grapes looked extremely
well, but they require great skill and care in the management.
They form a long covered walk, with a row of plantains on the W.
side, to diminish the effects of the hot winds, but even with this
screen, the fruit on that side are inferior to that on the opposite
trellis. Easterly winds, again, being moist, blight these and other
plants, by favouring the abundant increase of insects, and causing
the leaves to curl and fall off; and against this evil there is no
remedy. With a clear sky the mischief is not great; under a cloudy
one the prevalence of such winds is fatal to the crop. The white ant
sometimes attacks the stems, and is best checked by washing the roots
with limewater, yellow arsenic, or tobacco-water. Numerous Cerealia,
and the varieties of cotton, sugar-cane, etc. all thrive extremely
well; so do many of our English vegetables. Cabbages, peas, and beans
are much injured by the caterpillars of a _Pontia,_ like our
English "White;" raspberries, currants, and gooseberries will not
grow at all.

The seeds were all deposited in bottles, and hung round the walls of
a large airy apartment; and for cleanliness and excellence of kind
they would bear comparison with the best seedsman's collection in
London. Of English garden vegetables, and varieties of the Indian
Cerealia, and leguminous plants, Indian corn, millets, rice, etc.,
the collections for distribution were extensive.

The manufacture of economic products is not neglected. Excellent
coffee is grown; and arrow-root, equal to the best West Indian, is
prepared, at 18s. 6d. per bottle of twenty-four ounces, about a
fourth of the price of that article in Calcutta.

In most respects the establishment is a model of what such
institutions ought to be in India; not only of real practical value,
in affording a good and cheap supply of the best culinary and other
vegetables that the climate can produce, but as showing to what
departments efforts are best directed. Such gardens diffuse a taste
for the most healthy employments, and offer an elegant resource for
the many unoccupied hours which the Englishman in India finds upon
his hands. They are also schools of gardening; and a simple
inspection of what has been done at Bhagulpore is a valuable lesson
to any person about to establish a private garden of his own.

I often heard complaints made of the seeds distributed from these
gardens not vegetating freely in other parts of India, and it is not
to be expected that they should retain their vitality unimpaired
through an Indian rainy season; but on the other hand I almost
invariably found that the planting and tending had been left to the
uncontrolled management of native gardeners, who with a certain
amount of skill in handicraft are, from habits and prejudices,
singularly unfit for the superintendence of a garden.

CHAPTER IV.

Leave Bhagulpore -- Kunker -- Colgong -- Himalaya, distant view of --
Cosi, mouth of -- Difficult navigation -- Sand storms --
Caragola-Ghat -- Purnea -- Ortolans -- Mahanuddee, transport of
pebbles, etc. -- Betel-pepper, cultivation of -- Titalya -- Siligoree
-- View of outer Himalaya -- Terai -- Mechis -- Punkabaree -- Foot of
mountains -- Ascent to Dorjiling -- Cicadas -- Leeches -- Animals --
Kursiong, spring vegetation of -- Pacheem -- Arrive at Dorjiling --
Dorjiling, origin and settlement of -- Grant of land from Rajah --
Dr. Campbell appointed superintendent -- Dewan, late and present --
Aggressive conduct of the latter -- Increase of the station -- Trade
-- Titalya fair -- Healtby climate for Europeans and children --
Invalids, diseases prejudicial to.

I took as it were, a new departure, on Saturday, April the 8th, my
dawk being laid on that day from Caragola-Ghat, about thirty miles
down the river, for the foot of the Himalaya range and Dorjiling.

Passing the pretty villa-like houses of the English residents, the
river-banks re-assumed their wonted features the hills receded from
the shore; and steep clay cliffs, twenty to fifty feet high, on one
side, opposed long sandy shelves on the other. Kunker was still most
abundant, especially in the lower bed of the banks, close to the (now
very low) water. The strata containing it were much undulated, but
not uniformly so; horizontal layers over or under-lying the disturbed
ones. At Colgong, conical hills appear, and two remarkable
sister-rocks start out of the river, the same in structure with those
of Sultangunj. A boisterous current swirls round them, strong even at
this season, and very dangerous in the rains, when the swollen river
is from twenty-eight to forty feet deeper than now. We landed
opposite the rocks, and proceeded to the residence of Mr. G. Barnes,
prettily situated on one of the conical elevations characteristic of
the geology of the district. The village we passed through had been
recently destroyed by fire; and nothing but the clay outer walls and
curious-looking partition walls remained, often white-washed and
daubed with figures in red of the palm of the hand, elephant,
peacock, and tiger,--a sort of rude fresco-painting. We did not
arrive till past mid-day, and the boat, with my palkee and servant,
not having been able to face the gale, I was detained till the middle
of the following day. Mr. Barnes and his brother proved most
agreeable companions,--very luckily for me, for it requires no
ordinary philosophy to bear being storm-stayed on a voyage, with the
prospect of paying a heavy demurrage for detaining the dawk, and the
worse one of finding the bearers given to another traveller when you
arrive at the rendezvous. The view from Mr. Barnes' house is very
fine: it commands the river and its rocks; the Rajmahal hills to the
east and south; broad acres of indigo and other crops below; long
lines of palm-trees, and groves of mango, banana, tamarind, and other
tropical trees, scattered close around and in the distance. In the
rainy season, and immediately after, the snowy Himalaya are
distinctly seen on the horizon, fully 170 miles off. Nearly opposite,
the Cosi river enters the Ganges, bearing (considering its short
course) an enormous volume of water, comprising the drainage of the
whole Himalaya between the two giant peaks of Kinchinjunga in Sikkim,
and Gossain-Than in Nepal. Even at this season, looking from Mr.
Barnes' eyrie over the bed of the Ganges, the enormous expanses of
sand, the numerous shifting islets, and the long spits of mud betray
the proximity of some very restless and resistless power. During the
rains, the scene must indeed be extraordinary, when the Cosi lays
many miles of land under water, and pours so vast a quantity of
detritus into the bed of the Ganges that long islets are heaped up
and swept away in a few hours; and the latter river becomes all but
unnavigable. Boats are caught in whirlpools, formed without a
moment's warning, and sunk ere they have spun round thrice in the
eddies; and no part of the inland navigation of India is so dreaded
or dangerous, as the Ganges at its junction with the Cosi.

Rain generally falls in partial showers at this season, and they are
essential to the well-being of the spring crops of indigo. The stormy
appearance of the sky, though it proved fallacious, was hailed by my
hosts as predicting a fall, which was much wanted. The wind however
seemed but to aggravate the drought, by the great body of sand it
lifted and swept up the valleys, obscuring the near horizon, and
especially concealing the whole delta of the Cosi, where the clouds
were so vast and dense, and ascended so high as to resemble
another element.

All night the gale blew on, accompanied with much thunder and
lightning, and it was not till noon of the 9th that I descried my
palkee-boat toiling down the stream. Then I again embarked, taking
the lagging boat in tow of my own. Passing the mouths of the Cosi,
the gale and currents were so adverse that we had to bring up on the
sand, when the quantity which drifted into the boat rendered the
delay as disagreeable as it was tedious. The particles penetrated
everywhere, up my nose and down my back, drying my eyelids, and
gritting between my teeth. The craft kept bumping on the banks, and
being both crazy and leaky, the little comfortless cabin became the
refuge of scared rats and cockroaches. In the evening I shared a meal
with these creatures, on some provisions my kind friends had put into
the boat, but the food was so sandy that I had to bolt my supper!

At night the storm lulled a little, and I proceeded to Caragola Ghat
and took up my dawk, which had been twenty-eight hours expecting me,
and was waiting, in despair of my arrival, for another traveller on
the opposite bank, who however could not cross the river.

Having accomplished thirty miles, I halted at 9 a..m. on the
following morning at Purnea, quitting it at noon for Kishengunj.
The whole country wore a greener garb than I had seen anywhere south
of the Ganges: the climate was evidently more humid, and had been
gradually becoming so from Mirzapore. The first decided change was a
few miles below the Soane mouth, at Dinapore and Patna; and the few
hygrometrical observations I took at Bhagulpore confirmed the
increase of moisture. The proximity to the sea and great Delta of the
Ganges sufficiently accounts for this; as does the approach to the
hills for the still greater dampness and brighter verdure of Purnea.
I was glad to feel myself within the influence of the long-looked-for
Himalaya; and I narrowly watched every change in the character of the
vegetation. A fern, growing by the roadside, was the first and most
tangible evidence of this; together with the rarity or total absence
of _Butea, Boswellia, Catechu, Grislea, Carissa,_ and all the
companions of my former excursion.

Purnea is a large station, and considered very unhealthy during and
after the rains. From it the road passed through some pretty lanes,
with groves of planted Guava and a rattan palm (_Calamus_), the first
I had seen. Though no hills are nearer than the Himalaya, from the
constant alteration of the river-beds, the road undulates remarkably
for this part of India, and a jungly vegetation ensues, consisting of
the above plants, with the yellow-flowered Cactus replacing the
Euphorbias, which were previously much more common. Though still 100
miles distant from the hills, mosses appeared on the banks, and more
ferns were just sprouting above ground.

The Bamboo was a very different species from any I had hitherto met
with, forming groves of straight trees fifteen to twenty feet high,
thin of foliage, and not unlike poplars.

Thirty-six miles from Purnea brought me to Kishengunj, when I found
that no arrangements whatever had been made for my dawk, and I was
fairly stranded. Luckily a thoughtful friend had provided me with
letters to the scattered residents along the road, and I proceeded
with one to Mr. Perry, the assistant magistrate of the district,--a
gentleman well known for his urbanity, and the many aids he affords
to travellers on this neglected line of road. Owing to this being
some festival or holiday, it was impossible to get palkee-bearers;
the natives were busy catching fish in all the muddy pools around.
Some of Mr. Perry's own family also were about to proceed to
Dorjiling, so that I had only to take patience, and be thankful for
having to exercise it in such pleasant quarters. The Mahanuddee, a
large stream from the hills, flows near this place, strewing the
surrounding neighbourhood with sand, and from the frequent
alterations in its course, causing endless disputes amongst the
landholders. A kind of lark called an Ortolan was abundant: this is
not, however, the European delicacy of that name, though a migratory
bird; the flocks are large, and the birds so fat, that they make
excellent table game. At this time they were rapidly disappearing; to
return from the north in September.

I had just got into bed at night, when the bearers arrived; so
bidding a hurried adieu to my kind host, I proceeded onwards.

_April_ 12.--I awoke at 4 a.m., and found my palkee on the ground,
and the bearers coolly smoking their hookahs under a tree (it was
raining hard): they had carried me the length of their stage, twelve
miles, and there were no others to take me on. I had paid twenty-four
pounds for my dawk, from Caragola to the hills, to which I had been
obliged to add a handsome douceur; so I lost all patience. After
waiting and entreating during several hours, I found the head-man of
a neighbouring village, and by a further disbursement induced six out
of the twelve bearers to carry the empty palkee, whilst I should walk
to the next stage; or till we should meet some others. They agreed,
and cutting the thick and spongy sheaths of the banana, used them for
shoulder-pads: they also wrapped them round the palkee-poles, to ease
their aching clavicles. Walking along I picked up a few plants, and
fourteen miles further on came again to the banks of the Mahanuddee,
whose bed was strewn with pebbles and small boulders, brought thus
far from the mountains (about thirty miles distant). Here, again, I
had to apply to the head-man of a village, and pay for bearers to
take me to Titalya, the next stage (fourteen miles). Some curious
long low sheds puzzled me very much, and on examining them they
proved to be for the growth of Pawn or Betel-pepper, another
indication of the moisture of the climate. These sheds are twenty to
fifty yards long, eight or twelve or so broad, and scarcely five
high; they are made of bamboo, wattled all round and over the top.
Slender rods are placed a few feet apart, inside, up which the Pepper
Vines climb, and quickly fill the place with their deep green glossy
foliage. The native enters every morning by a little door, and
carefully cleans the plants. Constant heat, damp, and moisture,
shelter from solar beams, from scorching heat, and from nocturnal
radiation, are thus all procured for the plant, which would certainly
not live twenty-four hours, if exposed to the climate of this
treeless district. Great attention is paid to the cultivation, which
is very profitable. Snakes frequently take up their quarters in these
hot-houses, and cause fatal accidents.