TO ADEN.
_Heaven speed the canvas, gallantly unfurled_
_To furnish and accommodate a world,_
_To give the Pole the produce of the sun,_
_And knit the unsocial climates into one._
_Friday, April 6th_.--Our visit to Ceylon has been so delightful that
I wish it could have been prolonged for a month, instead of lasting
only a week; but in that case I should have preferred to select a
cooler season of the year, when travelling is more practicable. A most
interesting journey could be made through the centre of the island to
see the ancient cities, temples, and tanks, over the road from Matelle
to Nalandi Senadoora, to the curious rock temple at Dambool, near
which is the fortified rock of Sigiri, and a few miles further are the
vast ruins of Topari, or Ponamira, the mediæval capital of Ceylon. It
is full of wonderful ruins, some of them among the oldest in the
world. The Ranhol Dagoba, the Jayti Wana Rama, and the Galle Wihara
and rock temple, carved out of the living rock, are alone worth a long
journey to see. Then think of visiting Anajapoora, the city of rubies,
the sacred capital of the kingdom of ruins, on whose splendours even
the Chinese travellers of the early ages used to expatiate with
fervour. From this point it would be easy to reach the peninsula of
Jaffna, which has been peopled with Tammils for more than two thousand
years. It is the country _par excellence_ of gardens exquisitely kept,
and skilfully irrigated on the old Moorish system. Here are grown all
the ingredients for the making of curry, which are sent to all parts
of this island and to Southern India. The most important crop of all,
however, is tobacco, whose excellence is famed throughout India, and
of which the Rajah of Travancore holds the monopoly.
Then one might go southward from Jaffna, past Aripo, and the Gulf of
Calpentyn, until the curious reef of Adam's Bridge was reached, which
almost connects Ceylon with India. People say it has been separated by
some convulsion of nature in former days, and that the passage is
gradually deepening; but recent examinations have shown that instead
of being a remnant of the original rock by which Ceylon is supposed to
have been once connected with the Indian continent, it is in reality a
comparatively recent ridge of conglomerate and ironstone, covered with
alluvial deposits carried by the current and heaped up at this
particular point; whilst the gradual rising of the coast has
contributed to give the reef its present altitude.
Balchus tells a most improbable story of fifteen Portuguese frigates
escaping through the passage of Panupam, when pursued by some Dutch
cruisers in 1557. Formerly the Straits were only thirty-five yards
wide, with a maximum depth of six feet of water, but lately they have
been widened and deepened by ten feet, and a little Government steamer
frequently passes through on a tour round the island. At present a
sailing ship going from Bombay to Madras has to make a curve of five
thousand miles in order to weather the Maldives and Ceylon. It seems a
long course for any vessel drawing over ten feet of water to be
obliged to take.
In the centre of the channel there is a little island where a Dutch
establishment for horse-breeding formerly stood, the original stud
having been imported from Arabia. The horses were all turned into
corrals and caught by means of lassos, and then conquered by
domidores, exactly as they are at the present day in South America.
Now the stud is dispersed, the buildings are in ruins, and all that
remains is the Indian pagoda, where religious ceremonies, curious
processions, and dances of nautch-girls occasionally take place and
are attended by great crowds. To the southward again of Adam's Bridge
is the celebrated Gulf of Manaar, from which the best pearls come.
This is an exceptionally good year for pearls, and the price of the
shells went up many rupees per thousand in the first week. The pearl
fishery can be reached in about eight hours by steam from Colombo, and
it would have been delightful to have visited it, had time permitted.
We were shown an oyster with some beautiful pearls in it, all found in
the one shell. When a boat with pearls reaches the shore, the shells
are divided into equal heaps, one-fourth going to the boat's crew, and
three-fourths to the Government Inspector. They keep whichever heap he
chooses to kick; so that, being uncertain which they will get for
themselves, the boat's crew are sure to make a fair division. These
heaps are then divided and sold by auction in thousands, and then
subdivided again and again. Of course it is always a matter of
speculation as to whether you get good pearls, bad pearls, or no
pearls at all, though this last misfortune seldom happens.
The love of gambling is inherent in every Oriental mind, and the
merest beggar with but a few pice in his wallet to buy his daily food
will invest them in a small number of oyster-shells, hoping to find a
pearl of great value; and, should he fail to do so, he contents
himself with eating the oyster and hoping for better luck next time.
The shells are generally left on the sand in carefully guarded heaps
till they die and open, when the pearls are extracted, and the fish
left to decay. Some of the oysters are taken in sealed-up sacks to
Colombo, Kandy, and other inland places, in order to enable people to
indulge their love of gambling and speculation, without the trouble of
a journey to Manaar. Though called oysters, they are not the proper
oyster, but a sort of avicula (_Meleagrina margaritifera_ being the
name given by Samarik), very different from the large mother-of-pearl
shells in which the South Sea pearls are found.
I have not been able to keep my mind from running incessantly on Sir
Emerson Tennent's delightful book on Ceylon, which describes places we
have not ourselves visited, but which I wanted very much to see, and I
have been so interested reading about them that I cannot help thinking
other people will share my feelings. It seems wonderful that so much
which is strange, beautiful, and interesting should be so easy of
access from England, and yet that so few English travellers know
comparatively anything of Ceylon, except Galle and Colombo, and
perhaps Kandy and Trincomalee.
_Saturday, April 7th_.--To-day we passed close to the island of
Minnikoy, between the groups of islands called the Laccadives and
Maldives, some of which we saw dotting the horizon; and still further
to the south stretches the Chagos Archipelago. It was very hot all
day, with hardly a breath of air, and we have all returned to our
former light and airy costumes: the gentlemen to their shirts and
trousers, the children to their pinafores and nothing else, and I to
my beloved Tahitian dresses.
Before we left England we could not make ourselves believe what we
were told about heat in the tropics; so we started with very few
windsails and without any punkahs or double awnings. It was all very
well in the Atlantic or Pacific, but between Hongkong and Singapore
the state of things became simply unbearable. The carpenter has rigged
up a punkah, and the men have improvised some double awnings. At
Colombo they made some windsails, so we are now better off than on our
last hot voyage. It has been really hotter than ever to-day, but a
pleasant breeze sprang up in the afternoon.
_Sunday, April 8th_.--A delightful fresh morning after a cool night.
Everybody looks quite different, and we begin to hope we shall carry
the north-east monsoon right across, which would be an exceptional
piece of good fortune. We had service in the saloon at eleven o'clock
and at four, and though there was an unusually full attendance it was
cool and pleasant even without the punkah. The thermometer registers
nearly the same as it did on Friday, when we were all dead with the
heat. The apparently nice cool breeze that refreshes our heated bodies
does not produce any corresponding effect on the glassy surface of the
ocean; for we find to-day, as on previous occasions, that the
temperature, both of the water and of the air, registered by the
thermometer, does not by any means correspond with the effect on the
human frame.
The two Chinese servants we shipped at Hongkong are a great success,
as every one on board agrees. Even the old sailing master is obliged
to confess that the two 'heathen Chinee' keep the mess rooms, ships'
officers' and servants' berths much cleaner and more comfortable than
his own sailors ever succeeded in doing. At Galle we shipped three
black firemen, two from Bombay and one from Mozambique, a regular
nigger, with his black woolly hair clipped into the shape of Prince of
Wales feathers. Their names are Mahomet, Abraham, and Tom Dollar. They
live in a little tent we have had pitched for them on deck, cook their
own food, and do their work in the engine-room exceedingly well. In
the intervals they are highly amused with the children's picture
books. The picture of the durbar at Delhi delighted them, especially
as they recognised the figures, and learned a little English through
them. They can say a few words already, and have told me all about
their wives and children at Mozambique and Bombay, and have shown me
the presents they are taking home to them. They have been nearly a
year on board the P. and O. steamship 'Poonah,' and appear to have
saved nearly all their earnings. I do not suppose our own men could
have stood the fearful heat below in the engine-room for many days
together, so it was fortunate we met with these amiable salamanders.
_Monday, April, 9th_.--No wind. We passed through a large shoal of
porpoises, and at dusk we saw the light of a distant ship. At all the
places we have recently visited we have found excellent ice-making
machines, and have been able to get a sufficient supply to last us
from port to port, which has been a great comfort. The machine at
Colombo unfortunately broke down the day before we left, so that in
the very hottest part of our voyage we have had to do without our
accustomed luxury; and very much we miss it, not only for cooling our
drinks, but for keeping provisions, &c. As it is, a sheep killed
overnight is not good for dinner next day; butter is just like oil,
and to-day in opening a drawer my fingers touched a sticky mess; I
looked and discovered six sticks of sealing wax running slowly about
in a state resembling treacle.
_Wednesday, April 11th_.--Hotter than ever. We could see a steamer in
the far distance. About sunset we passed through a shoal of
flying-fish; the night was intensely hot, and everybody slept on deck.
_Friday, April 13th_.--At 6 a.m. we made the island of Sokotra, and
about seven o'clock saw 'The Brothers,' two islands where large
quantities of turtle and ambergris are found. Though generally
uninhabited, they are sometimes visited by the natives for the purpose
of collecting articles of commerce.
One of our large pigs took it into his head to jump overboard to-day.
The helm was put round as quickly as possible, but the most anxious
spying could not discover any trace of poor piggy's whereabouts; so we
proceeded on our original course for a few minutes, when suddenly, to
our great astonishment, we saw him alongside, having been nearly run
down, but still gallantly swimming along. The dingy was lowered and
two men sent in pursuit. They had, however, no easy task before them,
for as soon as they approached, piggy swam away faster than they could
row, and bit and fought most furiously when they tried to get him into
the boat. It was a good half-hour's work before he was secured, yet
when he arrived he did not appear to be in the least exhausted by his
long swim, but bit and barked at everybody so furiously that he was
condemned to death, to prevent the possibility of further accidents.
It is quite clear from the foregoing incident that some pigs can swim,
and swim very well too, without cutting their own throats in the
process.
All the afternoon a large steamer had been gradually gaining on us. We
exchanged signals and made out that she was the 'Calypso' (?) of
Glasgow. About half-past five she altered her course and came
alongside to speak us. The fore-deck was crowded with the crew. On the
bridge were many of the officers; and sitting bolt upright on a stool,
'looking out forward' in the most amusing manner, was the captain's
little Skye terrier. The stern was crowded with passengers, of every
shade of colour. To our surprise a voice from among them shouted out
'Three cheers for Mr. Brassey!' which was responded to by ringing
shouts from all on board, and taken up again by some of our own men.
It was a very pleasant and unexpected greeting to hear in the middle
of the Indian Ocean. The ship soon drew ahead again, but handkerchiefs
and caps were waved till their owners faded away into the distance.
Meeting and passing thousands of people as you at home do daily, you
can hardly understand the excitement a little incident like this
causes on board ship, where even a distant sail in these lonely oceans
makes everybody leave his occupation and crowd to look at her. Soon
after sunset we saw the island of Abd-al-Kuri, with its fantastic
peaks, melting into orange, gold, and purple tints, beneath the
gorgeous Arabian afterglow.
_Saturday, April 14th_.--We made Cape Rasalhir, formerly called
Guardafui, about nine o'clock yesterday evening, and passing it during
the night entered the Gulf of Aden.[21] All to-day we have been going
along the Soumali coast. There is a good deal of trade carried on in
native boats. Passing all these strange and comparatively unknown and
little-visited islands and coasts, from which all sorts of things in
daily use at home are brought, one dimly realises what commerce means
and how necessary one part of the world is to the other.
[Footnote 21: We found considerable difficulty in making the light,
and since our return there have been several wrecks, and many lives
lost, on this dangerous point.]
_Sunday, April 15th_.--Still intensely hot. The usual services were
held on deck at eleven and four o'clock. The land, both in Arabia and
in Africa, could be seen the whole day, with precipitous mountains. In
the afternoon we could make out the rock of Aden, and at sunset it
stood grandly forth, looming in purple darkness against the crimson
and blood-red sky, which gradually faded to tenderest tints of yellow
and green, before it finally blazed forth into a radiant afterglow. At
half-past eight a gun from the fort at Aden summoned us to show our
colours, or rather lights. At nine o'clock we dropped our anchor in
the roads; a boat came off with a bag of newspapers and to ask for
orders in the morning. It was sent by the great Parsee merchants here,
who undertake to supply us with coals, provisions, water, and
everything we want, and spare us all trouble. For the last three or
four days we have had a nice little breeze astern, and if we had not
been in a hurry to cross the Indian Ocean before the south-west
monsoon set in, we should certainly have been contented with four or
five knots an hour under sail instead of eight and a half under steam.
We have averaged over 200 miles a day under steam alone, ever since we
left Penang, and have burnt only four tons of coal for every fifty
miles.
_Monday, April 16th_.--At 1.30 a.m. I heard the signal gun fired, and
shortly afterwards a great splash of boats and oars, and a vast
chattering and shouting of tongues announced the arrival of a P. and
O. steamer. She dropped her anchor just outside us, so we had the
benefit of the noise all night. I got up at daylight and found the
pilot just coming off. He took us to a buoy, a little closer in, and
soon the business of coaling and watering commenced.
[Illustration: Soumali Indian, Aden.]
We reached the shore about 7.30, and, landing at the pier, had our
first near view of the natives, who are most curious-looking
creatures. They have very black complexions, and long woolly hair,
setting out like a mop all round, and generally dyed bright red, or
yellow by the application of lime. Mr. Cowajee had sent his own
private carriage to meet us. It was a comfortable open barouche, with
a pair of nice horses, and two servants in Eastern liveries, green
vests and full trousers, and red and orange turbans. We went first to
his store, which seemed to be an emporium for every conceivable
article. There was carved sandal-wood, and embroidered shawls from
China, Surat, and Gujerat, work from India, English medicines, French
lamps, Swiss clocks, German toys, Russian caviare, Greek lace,
Havannah cigars, American hides and canned fruits, besides many other
things. The feathers did not look very tempting; there was a great
deal of feather and very little stem about most of them, and only a
few were white, the majority being a pretty sort of brown and drab.
But this general store is only a very small part of their business,
for about 60,000 tons of coal pass through their hands every year.
We went on to the Hôtel de l'Europe, which was by no means in
first-rate order, but allowances must be made for a new house. A
delightful breeze was blowing in through the open windows, and
although the thermometer registered 85° in the dining-room, it did not
seem at all hot. The view over the bay is very pretty, and the scene
on shore thoroughly Arabian, with the donkeys and camels patiently
carrying their heavy loads, guided by the true Bedaween of the desert,
and people of all tinges of complexion, from jet black to pale copper
colour. A pair of tame ostriches, at least seven feet high, were
strolling about the roadway, and a gazelle, some monkeys, parrots, and
birds lived happily together beneath a broad verandah. After a little
while we went for a drive to see the camp and town of Aden, which is
four or five miles from the Point where everybody lands. On the way we
met trains of heavily laden camels bringing in wood, water, grain, and
fodder, for garrison consumption, and coffee and spices for
exportation. After driving for about four miles we reached a gallery
pierced through the rock, which admits you into the precincts of the
fort. The entrance is very narrow, the sides precipitous, and the
place apparently impregnable. We went all through the town, or rather
towns, past the Arab village, the Sepoy barracks, and the European
barracks, to the water tanks, stupendous works carved out of the solid
rock, but until lately comparatively neglected, the residents
depending entirely on distillation for their supply of water. There is
a pretty little garden at the foot of the lowest tank, but the heat
was intense in the bottom of the deep valley amongst the rocks, where
every sun-ray seemed to be collected and reflected from the white
glaring limestone, and every breath of air to be excluded. We saw a
little more of the town and the market crowded with camels, the shops
full of lion, leopard, and hyæna skins. We went to the officers'
mess-house, visited the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches and
the Mohammedan mosque, and then passing through two long tunnels,
bored and blasted in the solid rock, we looked over the
fortifications. Finally, we returned to the Point again by way of the
Isthmus, and went to Government House, which gets a fresh breeze from
every quarter. They say that to-day is hotter than usual, but it is
never really very oppressive here unless there is an exceptionally hot
wind blowing from the desert, but even that is partially cooled before
it arrives. To us it appears delightful after our sultry voyage and
the heat at Penang and Singapore.
We are all agreeably disappointed with Aden, and find that it is by no
means the oven we expected; it is prettier too than I thought, the
mountains and rocks are so peaked and pointed, and although the
general effect is one of barrenness, still, if you look closely, every
crack and crevice is full of something green. The soil, being of
volcanic origin, is readily fertilised by moisture, and at once
produces some kind of vegetation. This adds of course greatly to the
effect of colour, which in the rocks themselves is extremely
beautiful, especially at sunrise and sunset. The sea, too, is
delightfully blue on one side of the peninsula, and pale green on the
other, according to the wind, and the white surf curls and breaks on
the sandy shore beyond the crisp waves.
We went back to the hotel a little before one, and found many friends
had called during our absence. After superintending the children's
dinner, I went with Tom to luncheon at Government House. It was very
pleasant; General and Mrs. Schneider were more than kind, and the
house felt deliciously cool and airy.
We are told that thirty miles inland the country is sometimes very
beautiful. There are exquisitely green valleys, with a stream running
through them, amongst peaks, and rocky mountains, which one rarely
sees in the desert. Here the natives cultivate their crops of
corn--such corn as it is too, reaching six feet above a man's head!
All sorts of useful vegetables grow abundantly, besides roses, fruits,
and fragrant flowers, large supplies of which are brought daily into
Aden. About ten miles from the town there are acres of the most
fertile garden ground, which is cultivated to supply the garrison with
vegetables. Sometimes a party of seventy or eighty men, and ten or
twenty Arab guides, goes out for three weeks or a month at a time
surveying. The natives are much more friendly than they used to be a
few years ago, when people were afraid even to ride outside the town.
Now pleasant excursions lasting a few days may be made, especially as
there is very fair shooting to be got. After luncheon I was shown some
lovely feathers. The contrast between these and the steamer-feathers
is ludicrous; the price, too, is proportionately cheaper, for the
feathers are infinitely better. Long, white, full, and curly feathers
can be bought for much less than you give for them in England. We drove
down to the town, finished our business transactions, and then went in
the 'Vestal's' steam launch on board the 'Gamma,' one of the new
Chinese gunboats on her way out to China.
After afternoon tea we all adjourned to the 'Sunbeam,' where we found
many other friends already arrived or arriving. We had only just time
to look round before the sun set, and the short twilight was succeeded
by the swift tropical darkness. All too soon good-bye had to be said;
the anchor was raised, and we were actually drifting slowly along
under our head canvas before our friends took their departure. It was
a lovely evening, with a light fair breeze, and although there
appeared hardly any wind, it was wonderful how swiftly we crept out of
the harbour, and, as sail after sail was spread, how rapidly we glided
past the land.
Our visit to Aden has been short but very agreeable; it is not by any
means such a dreadful place as we had always fancied. Most of the
people we have seen to-day seem rather to like it; there is good
boating, excellent sea fishing, moderate shooting, and many rides and
excursions. A vehicle of some sort is an absolute necessity, however,
if you want to see anything of your friends, for the three divisions
of the settlement are at least four miles apart, and the heat is far
too great for driving or riding in the middle of the day, except on
business. I cannot say, however, that we ourselves found it
intolerably hot to-day.