the _Sylph_, sailed with the mission from _Bombay_ on the 12th of
September. The _Nereide_ arrived first; the _Sapphire_ also reached
_Bushire_ about sun-set on the 18th October. The Arab ships too, that
we passed off Cape _Verdistan_, had come in about noon on the same
day, and had continued firing their guns at distant intervals till the
evening: but the _Sylph_, on board which were the Persian Secretary
and some of the presents, was yet missing; nor indeed had we seen her,
since the second day after that on which we had left together the
harbour of _Bombay_. On the 29th Oct. arrived the _Nautilus_, H. C.
cruizer, which had sailed from the same port on the 22d Sept. Though
she had neither seen or heard directly any thing of the _Sylph_, yet
the circumstances of her own passage prepared us to anticipate the
worst. The _Nautilus_ had been attacked off the large _Tomb_, in the
Gulph of Persia, by the _Joasmee_ pirates; three only were at first in
sight, but on the signal of a gun, a fourth appeared, and together they
bore down, two on the quarters and two on the bows of the _Nautilus_;
they were full of men, perhaps six hundred in the four vessels, all
armed with swords and spears, and, as they shouted their religious
invocations, they shook their weapons at the ship. When the engagement
became closer, they maintained a fire of twenty-five minutes, and
one of their shot killed the boatswain of the _Nautilus_. Of these
pirates an interesting account was published in India by Mr. LOANE,
who was taken prisoner by them. It is unnecessary, therefore, to add
more on the subject than that their chief resort is at _Roselkeim_,
on the Arabian coast of the Gulph of Persia: another, but tributary,
chief of the same people resides twenty-five miles from _Roselkeim_ at
_Egmaun_, S. S. W. of Cape _Musseldom_, where they possess an extensive
and lucrative pearl fishery. This, with the market which their plunder
finds there, is the principal source of the traffic of the place.
Though it may not be necessary to enter into a detail, which may be
better found in original authorities, it must be very obvious, that
the honour of our flag, as well as the interest of our commerce in
the East, will require the destruction of a fleet of pirates, which,
assembling to the amount of fifty sail in the harbour of _Roselkeim_,
issue thence to capture every English as well as native ship, and to
spread terror through the Gulph of Persia.[22]
On the arrival of the _Nautilus_, under these circumstances, the Envoy
dispatched a letter to Captain DAVIS of the _Sapphire_, requesting
him to proceed to the entrance of the Gulph, to secure the _Sylph_,
if possible. On the 6th Nov. a boat arrived from _Roselkeim_, at the
date of the departure of which no such capture had been made; but
in three days, another boat came in, which brought an account that
four vessels had been taken, one of which contained a _Nawab_. We
immediately recognized by this description the unfortunate Persian
Secretary, the splendour of whose dress had imposed him as a Nabob
on the pirates. The next day a still more circumstantial account of
the capture reached us, which convinced us that the vessel taken was
the _Sylph_; but the report added, that a large vessel from _Bushire_
(which we instantly identified with the _Nereide_) came in sight
during the action, and having sunk one of the pirates, (of whose crew
of three hundred scarcely any escaped), retook their prize. In the
action too, the pirates lost one of their first chiefs, SAL BEN SAL.
The loss of one individual, the most insignificant, of their tribe
is sufficient cause for a declaration of war; but the destruction of
so large a portion of their whole numbers would dispirit rather than
so animate the remainder; and the tribe would probably agree never
again to approach an English ship. The pirates had, in fact, been so
disheartened by their disaster, that when, a few days afterwards, a
single Arab ship (commanded indeed by an Englishman) fell among them,
and, finding herself unable either to fight or to escape, bore down
upon them to try a shew of resistance, they all fled. At length on the
26th Nov. the _Minerva_, H. C. cruizer, Captain HOPGOOD, arrived, and
brought the Persian Secretary, who had been captured in the _Sylph_.
The Secretary was much connected at _Bushire_, and his detention had
of course excited great uneasiness among his relations, who had been
putting up prayers in the mosques for his safety. His account of their
fate was not uninteresting.
At the time when the pirates were standing the same course with
herself, the _Sylph_ discovered the _Nereide_ bearing down upon her.
When the _Nereide_ came close, she hove-to; but as the commander of the
_Sylph_ did not send a boat on board of her, she filled her sails and
stood on. When the _Nereide_ had already passed at some distance, the
two _dows_ stood towards the _Sylph_. The Persian Secretary advised
the officer of the ship not to permit the _dows_ to approach; but he
would not listen to the suggestion, as he declared they would not touch
him. The _dows_, however, did approach so close, that the _Sylph_ had
only time to fire one gun, and to discharge her musquetry at them,
before they were alongside, and poured on board her in great and
overwhelming numbers. It is unnecessary to state all the circumstances.
The Persian Secretary from the concealment to which he had fled, was
still able to ascertain that, as the first act of possession, the
Arabs threw water on the ship to purify it; that they then proceeded
to the deliberate murder of the men, who were on deck or discoverable;
that they brought them one by one to the gangway, and in the spirit
of barbarous fanaticism cut their throats as sacrifices; crying out
before the slaughter of each victim, “_Ackbar_” and when the deed was
done, “_Allah il Allah._” In the space of an hour they had thus put
to death twenty-two persons; and were proceeding with lights to look
for more, when they were astonished by a shot through the _Sylph_ from
the _Nereide_. On perceiving the disaster of the _Sylph_, Captain
CORBETT had immediately hauled-up; and though far to the windward
his shot still reached. The Arabs immediately took to their _dows_;
and, elated by the havock of their success, made for the _Nereide_.
As soon as Captain CORBETT perceived that they were bearing down upon
him, he ceased firing altogether. The Persian Secretary told us, that
he saw the _dows_ approach so close to the frigate, that the Arabs
were enabled to commence the attack in their usual manner by throwing
stones. Still the _Nereide_ did not fire; till at length when both
_dows_ were fairly alongside, she opened two tremendous broadsides. The
Secretary said he saw one _dow_ disappear totally, and immediately;
and the other almost as instantaneously: they went down with the
crews crying, “_Allah, Allah, Allah_.” Nine men only escaped, who had
previously made off in a boat. The _Sylph_ was taken to _Muscat_, where
the Persian Secretary was put on board the _Minerva_.[23]
We had thus recovered the Persian Secretary; but the mission soon
suffered the less reparable loss of one of its own members. On the
19th November, the _Benares_ H. C. cruizer (which brought our tents,
some of the body guards, presents, &c. from _Bussora_) landed at
_Bushire_ Mr. COARE, the Persian and Latin Translator. He had carried
with him from _Bussora_ a fever, which was gradually wasting him away;
and after lingering out his few remaining days apparently without
pain, he died on the last day of the month. He was a young man of
whom all spoke well; his talents were promising; and his prospects
in the world were fine. He was laid in the Armenian burying-ground,
without a coffin; because plank is so dear and scarce at _Bushire_,
that his remains would have been disturbed for the sake of the wood
which had enclosed them. His corpse was escorted to the grave by the
body guard and the seapoy guard, and followed by the Envoy and the
gentlemen of the mission. I read the funeral service over him, amid a
crowd of Persians and Arabs, who were collected to see the ceremony;
and who seemed to partake the interest of the scene. Nothing excites a
better impression of our character than an appearance of devotion and
religious observance. If, therefore, there were no higher obligation on
every christian, religious observances are indispensable in producing
a national influence. We never omitted to perform divine service on
Sundays; suffered no one to intrude upon us during our devotions; and
used every means in our power to impress the natives with a proper idea
of the sanctity of our Sabbath.
CHAP. IV.
RESIDENCE OF THE MISSION AT BUSHIRE.
I. PERSIA--ADMINISTRATION OF THE
GOVERNMENTS--FARSISTAN--MEKRAN--BALOUCHES--COAST OF
THE GULPH--ISLANDS OF THE GULPH--PEARL FISHERY.--II.
BUSHIRE: SITUATION--DESCRIPTION--TRADE--VIEW--RUINS OF
RESHIRE--HALILA--BUSHIRE ROADS--WATER--WEATHER--HEALTHINESS--WOMEN
OF BUSHIRE--SUPERSTITIONS.--III. ANIMALS OF THE DASHTISTAN:
HORSES--DOG--WHITE FOX--WILD BEASTS--HAWKS--THE JERBOA.
I. In historical interest, Persia is perhaps superior to any Asiatic
empire, because more nearly connected with the fortunes of Europe;
and its natural situation shares the importance; for its boundaries
(defined and fortified by lofty ranges, which are pervious only through
passes of very difficult access,) are prominent and decided objects
in the general geography of Asia. We had hitherto seen only the
southern chain: nothing can be more strongly marked than the abrupt
and forbidding surface of those mountains, which bind the shore from
_Cape Jasques_ to the deepest recesses of the gulph. The little plain
of the _Dashtistan_, (that of _Bushire_) which seems to have encroached
upon the sea, is yet the most extensive portion of even land, which
relieves however momentarily the constant and chilling succession of
high and dreary lands along the coast. But beyond these mountains
are frequently extensive plains, confined by a second range, which
likewise run parallel to the coast. This is the case behind _Congoon_:
and in the route to _Shiraz_ we found several successive plains, (of
great absolute elevation indeed, but) thus separated from each other
by alternate ranges of higher land. The plain of _Merdasht_, beyond
_Shiraz_, is the Hollow Persis of ancient geography. These great
inequalities of surface naturally produce a corresponding variety of
climates.
The administration of the provinces of Persia is now committed to the
Princes. The jurisdiction of PRINCE HOSSEIN ALI MIRZA, one of the
King’s Sons, is very extensive: it comprises, under the general name of
_Farsistan_, not only the original province of which _Shiraz_ was the
capital (as subsequently it became that of all Persia, and as it still
is of the governments combined under the Prince) but _Laristan_ also,
to the south; and _Bebehan_ to the north-west; which severally, as well
as _Farsistan_, possessed before their particular _Beglerbegs_.
Of _Farsistan_, under this its present more extensive signification,
the hot and desert country is called the _Germesir_, a generic term for
a warm region, which will be recognised under the ancient appellations
of _Germania_, _Kermania_, or _Carmania_. The termination of the
Persian dominion in this direction, is an undefined tract between
the _Germesir_ and the _Mekran_. It was the ancient boast of Persia,
that its boundaries were not a petty stream or an imaginary line,
but ranges of impervious mountains or deserts as impervious. In this
quarter there is little probability that the country will ever become
less valuable as a frontier, by becoming more cultivated and better
inhabited. The land is put to so little use, that no power would
greatly care to press the extension of an authority so unprofitable.
Every age has marked the unalterable barbarism of the soil and of the
people. The _Balouchistan_, or the country of the _Balouches_, the most
desert region of the coast begins about _Minou_, on the west of _Cape
Jasques_. Their country is perhaps nearly the _Mekran_ of geography.
They once owned subjection to Persia, but they have now resumed the
independance of Arabs, and live in wandering communities under the
government of their own _Sheiks_, of whom two are pre-eminent. They
have indeed still some little commercial connexion with Persia, and
occasionally a _Balouche_ is to be seen in _Bushire_ selling his scanty
wares, mostly the mats of their own manufacture. One of their _Sheiks_
lives at _Guadel_ on the coast of _Mekran_; but in the interior,
according to the account given by a _Balouche_ to Captain SALTER, there
is a very potent king, though I cannot add from the same authority,
whether he is of their own extraction. They live in continual wars with
each other; or let themselves out to the different small powers in the
gulph as soldiers. Many of the guards of the _Sheik_ of _Bushire_ are
_Balouches_; and the Seapoys also on board the Arab ships are of the
same tribes.
In religion they are Mahomedans; and like all those of India, are
_Sunnis_: but they have few means of preserving the genuineness of
any profession of faith; and their ignorance has already confounded
their tenets with those of a very different original. The same
common barbarism has indeed blended the _Affghan_, the _Seik_, and
the _Balouche_ into one class: there may be among them some beard or
whisker more or less, some animal or food which they hold unclean above
all others, some indescribable difference of opinion which severs them
from their neighbours, but in savageness they are all identified.
Those on the coast still live almost exclusively on fish, as in the
days of NEARCHUS; though I am told they no longer build their houses
with the bones. The grampus (possibly, the whale of _Arrian_) is still
numerous on the shores. The Envoy remembered to have seen at _Bushire_
on a former occasion, a dog of an immense size, which a _Balouche_ had
given to Mr. GALLEY, the Resident at that time: the man added, that
the mountains towards his country were all very high. His dog seemed
to confirm the assertion, for he was defended against the cold of his
native region, by a coat of thick and tufted hair.
Though the _Balouches_ scarcely advance within the gulph, yet the
native Persians do not fully occupy their own shores. The coast still
retains a great proportion of Arab families. The _Dashtistan_, which
extends from _Cape Bang_ to the plain of _Bushire_, was till lately
governed by them. The district of _Dasti_, also along the coast from
_Bushire_ to below _Congoon_, still remains under their rule: and the
Arab _Sheik_ of _Congoon_ in the adjoining territory, possesses a kind
of independance.
At _Tauhree_, (or _Tahrie_) a port just below _Congoon_, are extensive
ruins and sculptures, with the Persepolitan character. The landmarks
for the entrance of the harbour are two large white spots, on the
summit of a mountain, which the people of the country affirm to have
been made by the hand of man; and which, on the same traditional
authority, are said to have been formerly covered with glass. The
reflection thus produced by the sun’s rays, rendered the object visible
to a great distance at sea, and guided the navigator in safety into
the road. Some of the glass is said to remain at this day. Among the
ruins of the city are two wells pierced to a great depth; and stabling
for a hundred horses excavated from the solid rock: the existence of
these remains, I understand, Mr. B--k of the E. I. Company’s service
ascertained himself.
At _Kharrack_, a place still further in the progress down the Gulph,
between Cape _Sertes_ and Cape _Bustion_, is a town which was once
in the possession of the Danes; and it is singular that the people
who claim a Danish blood are still very fair complexioned, and have
light red hair, which may confirm their traditional accounts of their
origin. The same nation had also an establishment in a deep bay near
_Musseldom_; and the fort exists to this day. On Cape _Bustion_ there
is a mine of copper, which was formerly worked by the Portuguese: they
built also a fort there, which still exists, but the mine is no longer
worked, and indeed is almost forgotten. Some years ago, Mr. BRUCE,
the Assistant Resident at _Bushire_, was a prisoner among the Arabs
on this part of the coast. He was told, that immediately behind the
range of mountains which lines their shore, there was a river that came
from near _Shiraz_, and run down to _Gombroon_; this is, probably,
the _Bend-emir_, which, according to other accounts, is traced indeed
towards _Gombroon_, but there expends itself in the sands. _Khoresser_
is the name of a small river which falls into the sea nearly under
the _Asses Ears_; and on the banks of which is situated the town of
_Tangistoun_. At the mouth of this river is a small island, formed by
the sands brought down; which adapts this situation to ARRIAN’S account
of _Hieratemis_. At the place marked by Dr. VINCENT as _Podargus_ there
is now no torrent: but I learn from Dr. JUKES and Mr. BRUCE, that at
_Harem_, situated thirty miles inland on the declivity of the mountains
to the eastward, there is a water which finds its way to the sea, and
may, perhaps, accord with the position required.
The islands in the Gulph of Persia retain little of their political
celebrity. _Ormus_ (ever the most barren, its soil being composed of
salt and sulphur) still displays its arched reservoirs, which afford
good watering places for vessels, and which are said never to dry
up. On the island of _Kenn_, according to the people of the country,
is found, after rain, gold dust in the channels of the torrents. And
_Bahrein_, which is now in the hands of the _Wahabees_, is still noted
for the fresh springs which issue from the earth under the sea, and
from which the Arabs contrive to water their ships by placing over
the spot a vessel with a syphon attached to it. Captain SKEINE, who
commanded an Arab ship, told the gentleman (who communicated the
circumstances to me), that he had himself drawn the water at the depth
of one fathom. The same submarine springs extend along the neighbouring
coast of Arabia. _Kharrack_, which is now the principal watering place
on the north of the Gulph, and the island, where the pilots for the
_Bussorah_ river are stationed, is perhaps good for few other purposes.
The _Sheik_ indeed, though enjoying profound peace, presented memorials
to the _Sheik_ of _Bushire_, representing that his troops and himself
were in a state of starvation. Among the duties entrusted by the
Government of _Shiraz_ to the _Nasakchee Bashee_, he was instructed to
proceed to _Kharrack_, to inspect the fortifications, and to report on
their capability of defence.
Pearl-Fishery.--There is, perhaps, no place in the world where those
things which are esteemed riches among men, abound more than in the
Persian gulph. Its bottom is studded with pearls, and its coasts with
mines of precious ore. The island of _Bahrein_, on the Arabian shore,
has been considered the most productive bank of the pearl oysters: but
the island of _Kharrack_ now shares the reputation. The fishery extends
along the whole of the Arabian coast, and to a large proportion of the
Persian side of the gulph. _Verdistan_, _Nabon_, and _Busheab_, on that
side, are more particularly mentioned; but indeed it is a general rule,
that wherever in the gulph there is a shoal, there is also the pearl
oyster.
The fishery, though still in itself as prolific as ever, is not perhaps
carried on with all the activity of former years; since it declined
in consequence by the transfer of the English market to the banks of
the coast of Ceylon. But the Persian pearl is never without a demand;
though little of the produce of the fishery comes direct into Persia.
The trade has now almost entirely centred at _Muscat_. From _Muscat_
the greater part of the pearls are exported to _Surat_; and, as the
agents of the Indian merchants are constantly on the spot, and as the
fishers prefer the certain sale of their merchandize there to a higher
but less regular price in any other market, the pearls may often be
bought at a less price in India, than to an individual they would have
been sold in Arabia. There are two kinds; the yellow pearl, which is
sent to the _Mahratta_ market; and the white pearl, which is circulated
through _Bussorah_ and _Bagdad_ into Asia Minor, and thence into the
heart of Europe; though, indeed, a large proportion of the whole is
arrested in its progress at _Constantinople_ to deck the Sultanas of
the Seraglio. The pearl of Ceylon peels off; that of the Gulph is as
firm as the rock upon which it grows; and, though it loses in colour
and water 1 per cent. annually for fifty years, yet it still loses less
than that of Ceylon. It ceases after fifty years to lose any thing.
About twenty years ago the fishery was farmed out by the different
chiefs along the coast: thus the Sheiks of _Bahrein_ and of _El Katif_,
having assumed a certain portion of the Pearl Bank, obliged every
speculator to pay them a certain sum for the right of fishing. At
present, however, the trade which still employs a considerable number
of boats is carried on entirely by individuals. There are two modes of
speculation: the first, by which the adventurer charters a boat by the
month or by the season; in this boat he sends his agent to superintend
the whole, with a crew of about fifteen men, including generally five
or six divers. The divers commence their work at sun-rise and finish
at sun-set. The oysters, that have been brought up, are successively
confided to the superintendant, and when the business of the day is
done, they are opened on a piece of white linen: the agent of course
keeping a very active inspection over every shell. The man who, on
opening an oyster, finds a valuable pearl, immediately puts it into his
mouth, by which they fancy that it gains a finer water; and, at the
end of the fishery, he is entitled to a present. The whole speculation
costs about one hundred and fifty piastres a month; the divers getting
ten piastres; and the rest of the crew in proportion. The second and
the safest mode of adventure is by an agreement between two parties,
where one defrays all the expences of the boat and provisions, &c.
and the other conducts the labours of the fishery. The pearl obtained
undergoes a valuation, according to which it is equally divided: but
the speculator is further entitled by the terms of the partnership to
purchase the other half of the pearl at ten per cent. lower than the
market price.
The divers seldom live to a great age. Their bodies break out in sores,
and their eyes become very weak and blood-shot. They can remain under
water five minutes; and their dives succeed one another very rapidly,
as by delay the state of their bodies would soon prevent the renewal
of the exertion. They oil the orifice of the ears, and put a horn over
their nose. In general life they are restricted to a certain regimen;
and to food composed of dates and other light ingredients. They can
dive from ten to fifteen fathoms, and sometimes even more; and their
prices increase according to the depth. The largest pearl are generally
found in the deepest water, as the success on the bank of _Kharrack_,
which lies very low, has demonstrated. From such depths, and on this
bank, the most valuable pearls have been brought up; the largest indeed
which Sir HARFORD JONES ever saw, was one that had been fished up at
_Kharrack_ in nineteen fathoms water.
It has been often contested, whether the pearl in the live oyster
is as hard as it appears in the market; or whether it acquires its
consistence by exposure. I was assured by a gentleman (who had been
encamped at _Congoon_ close to the bank; and who had often bought the
oysters from the boys, as they came out of the water,) that he had
opened the shell immediately, and when the fish was still alive, had
found the pearl already hard and formed. He had frequently also cut
the pearl in two, and ascertained it to be equally hard throughout,
in layers like the coats of an onion. But Sir HARFORD JONES, who has
had much knowledge of the fishery, informs me, that it is easy by
pressing the pearl between the fingers, when first taken out of the
shell, to feel that it has not yet attained its ultimate consistency.
A very short exposure, however, to the air gives the hardness. The two
opinions are easily reconcileable by supposing, either a misconception
in language of the relative term hard, (by which one authority may mean
every thing in the oyster which is not gelatinous, while the other
would confine it more strictly to the full and perfect consistency of
the pearl;) or by admitting that there may be an original difference in
the character of the two species, the yellow and the white pearl; while
the identity of the specimen, on which either observation has been
formed, has not been noted.
The fish itself is fine eating; nor, indeed in this respect is there
any difference between the common and the pearl oyster. The seed
pearls, which are very indifferent, are arranged round the lips of the
oyster, as if they were inlaid by the hand of an artist. The large
pearl is nearly in the centre of the shell, and in the middle of the
fish.
In Persia the pearl is employed for less noble ornaments than in
Europe: there it is principally reserved to adorn the _kaleoons_ or
water pipes, the tassels for bridles, some trinkets, the inlaying of
looking glasses and toys, for which indeed the inferior kinds are used;
or, when devoted more immediately to their persons, it is generally
strung as beads to twist about in the hand, or as a rosary for prayer.
The fishermen always augur a good season of the pearl, when there have
been plentiful rains; and so accurately has experience taught them,
that when corn is very cheap they increase their demands for fishing.
The connexion is so well ascertained, (at least so fully credited,
not by them only, but by the merchants,) that the prices paid to the
fishermen are, in fact, always raised, when there have been great rains.