I went on shore this morning at 6 o’clock with two fellow passengers. Boats were waiting for us, manned by negroes of peculiar appearance, whom we found afterwards to constitute a large proportion of the population on shore. They had much less of the peculiarities of the negro than I had been accustomed to see, their features being almost European and the colour not very black. The hair was wooly, some were almost destitute of hair. I suppose shaven whilst others had long wooly hair of a brown reddish or yellowish colour. I afterwards found that this, in some cases at least, was in reality a cap or wig of sheepskin with the wool on, but was informed that in other cases it was their own hair, dyed, or coloured artificially. They were very scantily clothed, generally with a white cloth wrapped round them sometimes thrown over the shoulder, but in a great many cases only wrapped round the loins. On reaching the shore we were met by a crowd of similar people with ponies and donkeys for hire, but we walked direct to the Hotel which was close at hand and bespoke breakfast...
... The road wound along and not far from the coast line, and we proceeded until we came to some fortifications and a little further on to a gate which was open but at which some sepoys were stationed, who informed us that we were not allowed to go further....We turned at the gate I have already mentioned and rode along a flat plain, where were placed some guns and buildings for military purposes. The plain was of circular form mad of considerable extent, and the mountains rose at once from its level surface, as if masses of matter had been spewed up and solidified, and subsequently assumed the rough surface and irregular form from the effects of atmospheric action...Having reached the border of this plain we ascended a rather steep road cut in one of the surrounding hills, which was also fortified. From the top of this hill we could look towards the mainland, and now saw that the ground on which we stood formed part of a peninsula connected to the country beyond by a narrow isthmus. We saw the sea on each side of the connecting neck of land; the isthmus itself and the mainland for a long distance to the interior was a dead level apparently sandy and barren; but the atmosphere was not sufficiently clear to enable us to ascertain its true character. The gate at which we were stopped was in the wall which divides the British territory from the rest of Arabia, running across the isthmus; the hills in many places are fortified so as to command the bay and approaches by land... We descended to the plain and rode forward to the town going direct to the Post Office, of which the principal person in attendance was, I suppose, a Parsee, who spoke English very well. We called at two or three shops in the same row which were very good. They are generally kept by Parsees, I believe, and above the doors were small sign boards in English letters with the owners name and the words “Europe Shop”
The contents of the shops were generally rather miscellaneous, drapery articles hardware, trinkets and other ornamental articles, stationery, drugs liqueurs and preserved fruits etc. The drugs and better class of articles were generally put up in packages, English and French, the prices of course high. As we were desirous of returning to the Hotel as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary exposure during the heat of the day, we immediately mounted our ponies and cantered along the road at the base of the hill we had crossed, passed below an arch connecting the fortifications of two opposite hills between which the road passed and soon joined the road along the shore by which we had come, and by which we returned again to the Hotel at a rapid pace, arriving at about ¼ past 9 o’clock.
On our way along the road we passed numbers of the inhabitants of the district proceeding in one direction or the other generally on foot, a few on horseback or in carriages. The population consist entirely of the troops and government officials with their necessary appendages. The troops are Sepoys from Bombay with British officers; then there are a magistrate or magistrates, a clergyman (with a church), post office officials etc. In connection with these as necessary appendages as well as for the convenience of passengers to and from India, are hotels and shops. There is the Hotel at the landing place and a shop adjoining it; whether there is any hotel at the Cantonments I am not aware, but there are a number of shops, these as I have already mentioned being kept by Parsees: the proprietor of the Hotel at the landing place was also one of the same people. Besides these there are the servants of the officers, brought with them from India, and the Negroes I have already described who act as servants, batmen, donkey and pony boys etc. These Negroes I am informed are from the Somauli coast opposite, lying between Cape Gardafui and Abyssinia. I have already noticed their dress; that of the Hindoo servants we met on the road was similar to that I have already described belonging to the sailors on board the Bentinck. The Arabs were driven out when the British took the place about 15 years ago and there are now none resident. I believe they come to traffic, but I didn’t observe any.
... At some distance in the interior the country is said to be beautiful and fertile, but it is little known, as the Arabs are hostile and travellers are liable to be robbed and murdered.
We breakfasted at the Hotel, after our return, on fish, fowl, mutton, curry and rice with tea and coffee.The fish was good, the animal food tolerably so. The tea and coffee were bad, the water here being like that at Suez, brackish, unpleasant to the taste, and, I presume, unfit for preparing these beverages of good quality. After breakfast we loitered about the Hotel, as the sun’s heat was too great for walking abroad without risk of bad consequences, but there was a good breeze, it was comparatively cool under cover...
...As we lounged about the verandah the Negro boys came about us offering for sale pieces of rock, shells or specimens of vegetation. They had a slight smattering of English sufficient to enable them to say how much they wanted for their articles, which was generally 4 annas: I took two or three trifles and got them readily for 2 annas. The coins in use here are the E I Company’s rupees and annas; one rupee being equal to two shillings and one anna to three halfpence sterling; 16 annas being equal to one rupee. I have already noticed the features of these Negroes; their persons were also generally pretty good, the greatest imperfection being the deficiency in the calf of the leg. In many of them however, the chest and arms are well formed and handsome. The palms of the hands were much fairer than the general colour of the body and the soles of the feet were not much darker than those of a European. Their expression was generally merry and intelligent, and they were active enough when they had anything to do; but they seemed to like to lie basking in the sun. As they moved about with their scanty clothing I envied them the freedom of their movements, and the coolness of the breeze playing on their uncovered skin.
Some of the passengers remained on shore to dine, but along with some others I returned to the Bentinck at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, and found, to my disappointment, that they had not yet finished taking in coals and that the whole ship was in a mess with coal dust. In the course of the evening hour even we got all ready and preparations were made for getting away. All hands were summoned on deck to assist in turning the capstan but the stewards, who had been working all day, refused, with two or three exceptions, to assist, as they had been working all day, and objected on the grounds that they were engaged as stewards not sailors. I cannot decide as to the merits of the question, but know that the stewards had always given their assistance before in such cases. As they persisted in their rebellion the Captain put them in irons and the ships departure was postponed till next day, as it was necessary to appeal to the magistrate on shore.
It was quite evident that the stewards were not under good government; their perpetual quarrelling and bickering with one another was anything but agreeable:the head steward was said to be a man unfit for his situation, and judging by appearances I should be disposed to concur in the opinion; the purser, who is the chief officer having superintendence of the department ,was a young man who appeared to think that a snappish finding fault with everything like a fault without any enquiry into its reasonableness or not, was a proper way of asserting his dignity.There was no such harmony as prevailed on board the Ripon, nor was the service performed so well.
While daylight lasted the passengers on shore had been arriving in boats and some negroes were swimming about petitioning for backsheesh. A quarter rupee was thrown over to one, who immediately dived after it and speedily reappeared holding it up in triumph. One or two passengers went on shore again, but most of them remained regretting the additional delay in our progress, already too prolonged.
The full journal will soon be published by Annet House Museum, Linlithgow. Waldie's journey to India forms a key feature of the museum's Waldie exhibition.
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