| RefNo | HSF/2/1/46 |
| Previous numbers | 32.8.29 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Letter from J [John] Herschel, Camp Pipli, to 'Dearest Bella' [Isabella Herschel] |
| Creator | Herschel; John (1837-1921); British army officer and astronomer |
| Date | 27-29 April 1860 |
| Description | He has so much to tell that he does not know where to begin. His letter to Maria [Maria Sophia Herschel] attempted to describe the country and people and he reiterates some of those points, noting that although the country is flat, the towns always seem raised, with the centre at the highest point. This was certainly true of Dajel, and he thinks it simply the accumulation of debris and ruins of older houses. Most houses are of unburned brick and elsewhere there are mounds of twenty of thirty feet made entirely of potsherds mingled with clay and sand; these are washed out by rains and are underfoot. Coins have been found sometimes, leading some to suppose that these were old towns, but John does not agree with this, discussing the reasons and presuming that these were potteries. He goes on to describe burial grounds, the first of which he saw between Lahore and Mooltan [Multan], with thousands of graves. Some have small mosques of woodwork, others are covered in flints, and John describes other examples that he has seen. [From 29 April] The weather is not getting hotter and the river is rising. He was expecting storms when he wrote to Maria but only a poor one has come. He describes a dak bungalow from a previous encampment, 'delightfully cool', and the storm he saw there, with a small sketch. He is now on the left bank of the Indus, very different from the other side, where he was when he wrote to Maria. It is a green desert, with hillocks upon which there is bush, 'straggling asparagus-like'. The whole of the Doab of Sind Sagur [Sindh Sagar Doab] is desert of this kind, except the wet-weather bed of the Indus and Cherab, where the interval between river and sand is called the 'Kucha'. John describes this, the only cultivatable land in the Doab. He describes climbing a sandy bank, with a small sketch. He notes the contrast between the green desert half and the dry scorched look of the fertile half and the line between the two, which he stayed to look at for a long time. His party is nearly out of it, with the hills closing in after each marching day and he draws a map of Meeanwalee [Mianwali] and the 'salt range' of hills ahead. He sends the letter unfinished, as he will have no more chance of a post office for a week. He sees that Willy [William James Herschel] has been appointed magistrate and collector of Furcedpore, near Dacca, but he will continue to officiate at Nuddeah [Nadia] until further orders. |
| Extent | 12p. |
| Format | Manuscript |
| PhysicalDescription | Ink on paper |
| AccessStatus | Open |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA7955 | Herschel; John (1837 - 1921); Colonel; military engineer, surveyor and astronomer | 1837 - 1921 |