Extent—Formation—Soil—Climate—Flora—Hill tribes—Todars—Antiquities—Badagas—Koters—Kurumbers—Irulas—English stations—Kotergherry—Ootacamund—Coonoor—Jakatalla—Government gardens at Ootacamund and Kalhutty—Mr. McIvor—Coffee cultivation—Rules for sale of waste lands—Forest conservancy.
The Neilgherry[399] hills, between latitude 11° 10' and 11° 32' N., and longitude 76° 59' and 77° 31' E., form the most elevated mountain mass in India, south of the Himalayas; the highest peak, that of Dodabetta, being 8610 feet above the level of the sea. They are isolated on three sides, and rise up abruptly from the plains of Coimbatore on the south, and from the table-lands of Wynaad and Mysore on the north and east, to a height of 6000 feet above the former, and 2000 to 3000 above the latter; from which they are divided by the broad ravine of the river Moyaar. On the west they are united with the Koondah range, which is a continuation of the western ghauts. The area of the Neilgherries contains 268,494 acres, of which 24,000 are under cultivation.
The formation consists of syenitic granite, with veins of basaltic rock, hornblende, and quartz, while, in some parts, half-decomposed laterite underlies the soil. The plateau is not a flat table-land, but a succession of undulating hills and intervening grassy valleys, with ravines thickly wooded, numerous streams, and occasional rocky ridges running up into fine mountain-peaks. The streams all go to swell the great river Cauvery, by its tributaries the Moyaar and Bowany; the Moyaar descending from the hills by a fine waterfall at Neddiwuttum, on the northern slope; and the Bowany flowing down between the Koondahs and Neilgherries to the south. The soil of the plateau is very rich, being formed by the decomposition of basaltic and hornblende rocks, mixed with the clayey products of the granite, and much decomposed vegetable matter. The latter consists of the grass killed down to the roots by the frost, washed in by the succeeding rains, and mixed with the subsoil, increasing its richness and depth season after season. The richest land is on the lower slopes, where there are accumulations of soil washed from the hills above:[400] and there are extensive deposits of peat in the valleys, which afford supplies of fuel. The chief defect in the soil is the absence of lime.
The temperature and amount of humidity vary according to the locality. At Ootacamund, 7300 feet above the sea, the means of the thermometer range from 42° to 68°, while in the two other lower and warmer stations of Coonoor and Kotergherry, about 6000 feet above the sea, the range is from 52° to 71°. The annual rainfall at Ootacamund is sixty inches, at Coonoor fifty-five inches, and at Kotergherry fifty inches. During the south-west monsoon, from May to September, the rain comes down in torrents at Sispara, and in the western parts of the Neilgherries, but their force is somewhat exhausted before reaching Ootacamund, in the centre of the plateau. At that station the rainfall, during the south-west monsoon, is about thirty-four inches; and the range of Dodabetta, which rises up like a wall, immediately to the eastward of Ootacamund, almost entirely screens the eastern part of the hills from the rains of the south-west monsoon, and there the rainfall is only twelve inches from May to September. During the portion of the year from October to April the western parts of the hills are comparatively dry, the prevalent winds are from the north-east, and the rains which they bring with them from the Madras coast do not extend farther west than the neighbourhood of Ootacamund. Kotergherry, and the eastern parts of the hills, receive the full benefit of the rains from the north-east monsoon, but they are not heavy, and the rainfall at Kotergherry, in that season, is thirty-eight inches. Ootacamund also gets some of the rain of the north-east monsoon (thirty-six inches), so that, in that central part of the plateau, there is a belt which receives a moderate supply of rain throughout the year. In January and December there are frosts in the night, and the extreme radiation which goes on in the valleys causes great cold at sunrise; but these frosts are confined to the valleys in the upper plateau, and they never visit the higher slopes, or the well-wooded "sholas."
The climates of the Neilgherry hills are the most delightful in the world; and it may be said of this salubrious region, with its equable seasons, what the Persian poet said of Kung, "the warmth is not heat, and the coolness is not cold."[401] On the open plateau, in the wooded sholas, and in the thick forests of the lower slopes, there is a great variety of beautiful flowering trees and shrubs; and the vegetation of the hills is both varied and luxuriant. First, in the brilliant splendour of its flowers, must be mentioned the tree rhododendron (Rhododendron arboreum), which is very common in all parts of the hills, either forming small thickets or dotted about on the grassy slopes. It grows to a height of twenty feet, with a gnarled stunted trunk, and masses of deep crimson flowers. In the "sholas" are the Michelia nilagiraca, a large tree, with yellowish-white fragrant flowers of great size; the Symplocos pulchra, with hairy leaves and snow-white flowers; the Ilex Wightiana, a large umbrageous tree, with small white flowers and red berries; the pretty pink-flowered Rhodo-myrtus tomentosa, the berries of which are called "hill gooseberries;" the Jasminum revolutum, a shrub with sweet yellow flowers; the Sapota elingoides, a fine forest-tree, with rough cracked bark, and an edible fruit used in curries; Crotalariæ; Bignoniæ; peppers, cinnamon, a number of chinchonaceous shrubs, and many others.
In the open grassy slopes and near the edges of the wooded ravines are several Vaccinia, especially the Vaccinium Leschenaultii, a shrub with pretty rose-coloured flowers; the beautiful Osbeckia Gardneriana, with a profusion of large purple flowers; the handsome Viburnum Wightianum; a number of balsams (Impatiens of several species); the Gaultheria Leschenaultii in great quantities, a pretty little shrub with white flowers and blue berries; the Berberis Mahonia, with its glossy prickly leaves and long slender racemes of yellow flowers; and the bright little pink Indigofera pulchella; while the climbing passion-flower (Passiflora Leschenaultii) hangs in festoons over the trees, especially in the eastern parts of the hills. Among the more inconspicuous plants are the Gallium requienianum; the Rubia cordifolia;[402] the thorny Solanum ferox, with stem and leaves covered with strong straight prickles; the Girardinia Leschenaultii,[403] or Neilgherry nettle, a most virulent stinger; the tall Lobelia excelsa; a Justitia, with a blue flower, which entirely covers some of the hills; some pretty Sonerilas; several beautiful Ipomœas and lilies; elsias; and the Hypericum Hookerianum, growing plentifully in the meadows, with large orange flowers; besides ferns, lycopods, and numberless small wild flowers in the grass and underwood.
Enjoying a delightful climate, well supplied with water, and with its gentle undulations of hill and dale in some places clothed with rich pasture, in others presenting woods of fine timber and beautiful flowering shrubs, the Neilgherry hills are eminently fitted for the abode of a thriving and civilized people. Yet for many centuries it would appear that their sole inhabitants were a strange race of cowherds, a people differing in all respects from their neighbours in the plains, and indeed from all the other natives of Hindostan.
These are the Todars, a race numbering less than a thousand souls, who now claim to be the original "Lords of the hills." In times so remote that no record of them remains there are still indications that the Indian peninsula was peopled by races of Scythic origin: and, when the Aryan warriors came forth with their Vedic hymns and grand old civilization from the fastnesses of Sind, they swept irresistibly over Hindostan, and formed as it were an upper stratum of the population. The Scythic element either mixed with, or became subservient to the Aryan in the plains, as the Sudra caste, while in the hill and forest fastnesses a few tribes remained isolated and independent. Such, possibly, may have been the origin of the Todars on the Neilgherries. The Brahmins, characteristically dovetailing every tradition and every race into one or other of their historical myths, declare that the Todars came from the north in the army of Rama, when he marched against the wicked Ravana; and that, deserting their chief, they fled to these hills. They themselves have no tradition of their origin, but believe that they were created on the hills.
They are certainly a very remarkable and interesting people, tall, well-proportioned, and athletic, and utterly unlike all other natives of India. They have Jewish features, with aquiline noses, hazel eyes, thick lips, bushy black beards, and immensely thick clusters of glossy hair cut so as to stand in dense masses round the sides of the head, a very necessary protection from the sun, as they never wear any other head-covering. The old men are very handsome, with long white beards and upright gait, looking like the patriarchs of the Old Testament, with their strongly marked Jewish features: but the expressions of the younger men are less agreeable to look upon. The women are very careful of their hair, which hangs down in long glossy ringlets; and both sexes wear nothing but a long piece of coarse cotton cloth, with two broad red stripes round the edges, worn by the men like a Roman toga, which sets off their well-shaped limbs to advantage, and exposes one leg entirely, up to the hip; and by the women so as to form a short petticoat and mantle. They never wash either their persons or their clothes from the day of their birth to the day of their death. They live in small encampments called munds, which are scattered over the hills, and consist of five or six huts, and a larger one used as a dairy. The families are in the habit of migrating from one mund to another, at certain seasons of the year; so that we often came upon a mund apparently abandoned. A Todar's hut is exactly like the tilt of a waggon, very neatly roofed, with the ends boarded in, and a single low entrance. They are generally surrounded by a stone wall, and the dairy, a larger and more important building, is always a little apart. The only occupation of this singular people is to tend their large herds of fine buffaloes; they live on milk, and on the grain which they collect as a due or goodoo from the other hill tribes, and pass the greater part of their time in idleness; lolling about and gossiping in their munds, or strolling over the hills. We passed through one of these munds, about a quarter of a mile from our hotel, almost daily, but I never remember having seen a Todar engaged in any occupation whatever.
The women become the wives of all the brothers into whose families they marry, the children being apportioned to husbands according to seniority. This pernicious custom is also common among the Coorg, and the Tiars of Malabar. The Todars, formerly, only allowed one female child to live in each family, the rest being strangled; but the authorities have lately interfered to put a stop to this custom. When a Todar bride is given away, she is brought to the dwelling of her husbands, who each put their feet upon her head; she is then sent to fetch water for cooking, and the ceremony is considered to be complete.