All the ancient defences have been abandoned, and the place has been entirely re-fortified. Strong by nature, immense sums have been expended, and the highest engineering skill employed, to render it impregnable to any probable attack. Nothing short of a large European force, naval and military, supplied with a complete siege train, could succeed in making any impression on it; and as long as Great Britain rules the ocean, with the aid which our navy would render in case of being attacked, it may be deemed impregnable, and pronounced the British Gibraltar of the Indian Ocean.
Curious coins have frequently been found after heavy rains, and also some highly interesting Himyaritic inscriptions. One had reached the Brigadier’s hands while we were at Aden, and we were politely favoured with a view of what may, by some, be deemed a portion of the inscription on the tomb of the Queen of Sheba.
On the 29th of September, the “Simla” called at Aden, and we took leave of our hospitable host, embarked, and were steamed out of Aden that evening.
At daylight on the next day we were off Perim, a small island commanding the entrance of the Red Sea, which has lately been re-occupied by the British.
As this island holds a very important position in the event of war, and is attached to the government of Aden, some account of it may be acceptable to the general reader.
By the Arabs it is called Mayoon; to the ancients it was most probably known as the island of Diodorus. It is situated in the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, a mile and a half from the Arabian shore, and eleven miles from the coast of Africa. The safe channel for shipping is on the north or Arabian side, and is barely half a mile in width. The passage on the southern shore is exceedingly difficult, and may with a little ingenuity be made impassable. It will thus be seen, that with suitable fortifications, rendered bomb-proof, and built with a ventilation so that the smoke of the gunpowder would clear away to enable the gunners to keep up a constant fire, Perim may command the passage of the Red Sea, and, if provided with impregnable fortifications, no fleet could force the passage.
Of late years, in consequence of increasing steam navigation in the Red Sea, the attention of the British government has been directed to the necessity of a lighthouse to facilitate the navigation of the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb. And as the French government had early in 1857 despatched a ship-of-war to hoist the tri-color on this island, the political agent at Aden, very probably on being apprized of the circumstance, despatched the assistant political agent, Capt. R. L. Playfair, to Perim, for the purpose of re-occupying an island which, in the hands of Great Britain, will be a Pharos for the Red Sea, instead of a standing menace to the peaceful navigation of the East. With this intention the works have been already commenced, and Perim will soon become another link of that chain which shows our power to enlighten ignorance, and, if need be, to check arrogance.
The formation of Perim is purely volcanic, and consists of long, low, and gradually sloping hills, surrounding an excellent harbour, about a mile and a half in length, and half a mile broad. This capacious harbour has a depth of from four to six fathoms in the best anchorage, and could easily accommodate a numerous fleet of ships, having a large draught of water, should they be required for the protection of the island. About one-fourth of the island, on the north side, consists of low plains of sand and coral, scantily covered with salsola, sea-lavender, wild mignonette, and other plants which delight in a salt sandy soil. The remainder of the island is covered with a layer of loose boulders, or masses of black vesicular lava, in some places so thickly set as to resemble a rude pavement. Captain Playfair states the highest point of the island to be 245 feet above the level of the sea.[7]
Perim has never been permanently occupied by any nation except the British. The great Albuquerque landed upon it in 1513, on his return from his unsuccessful expedition in the Red Sea. He erected a cross upon an eminence, and called the island Vera Cruz.