Everything, however, depends upon the method which is adopted for the cultivation of the chinchona-plants in the experimental plantations; and, in a future chapter, I propose to give a detailed account of the course of events, as regards the chinchona-plants on the Neilgherry hills, up to the latest date.
CHAPTER XXIV.
JOURNEY TO THE PULNEY HILLS.
Coonoor ghaut—Coimbatore—Pulladom—Cotton cultivation—Dharapurum—A marriage procession—Dindigul—Ryotwarry tenure—Pulney hills—Kodakarnal—Extent of the Pulneys—Formation—Soil—Climate—Inhabitants—Flora—Suitability for chinchona cultivation—Forest conservancy—Anamallay hills.
In the end of November I set out from Ootacamund, by way of the Coonoor ghaut and Coimbatore, with the intention of examining the suitability of the Pulney hills in Madura for chinchona cultivation. The Coonoor ghaut, on the southern side of the Neilgherry hills, leads down into the plain of Coimbatore. The road is good, though much too steep ever to make a convenient means of carriage traffic, and the scenery is exceedingly fine. The deep gorge has forest-covered mountains on the left, and a grand range of cliffs on the right, crowned by the bold peak of the Hoolicul Droog. There are few districts in India without some local tradition respecting the five Pandus,[423] the great mythical heroes of ancient Hindoo history, and the Hoolicul Droog is not without one. It is said that the fort on the summit of the Droog was inhabited by a rakshi or giant named Pukasooren, who levied a tribute on the people of the plains, in the shape of a cart-load of provisions daily. When he had eaten the provisions he swallowed the driver, and kicked the cart down again. Bhima, the impersonation of strength, when passing through this part of the country, volunteered to act as driver, had a desperate encounter with the giant, and killed him. The dying Pukasooren cursed the whole country over which the shadow of the mountain fell during the day, and it has ever since been the abode of a deadly fever. It is certain that the jungles at the roots of the hills are the most fever-haunted districts in India, and I rode rapidly through this belt of forests, and along a road bordered with cana-fistula and sappan-trees,[424] to the village of Matepoliem, on the banks of the river Bowany, and five miles from the foot of the ghaut.
Matepoliem is twenty-three miles from the town of Coimbatore, and I rode this distance on a Neilgherry pony in the early morning. The road is perfectly straight, with an avenue of shady trees along the whole length, and good bridges over the dry sandy water-courses. The soil appeared to be poor, partly waste, and partly cultivated with cholum (Sorghum Vulgare[425]), lablab,[426] and sesame. Cholum, or great millet, is much cultivated in the peninsula, and used as food in the shape of cakes and porridge, where rice is scarce or too expensive. It grows to a height of five or six feet, and cattle are very fond of the straw, which contains sugar, but it soon exhausts the soil, and two crops are never taken off the same land in succession. There are two villages on the road between Matepoliem and Coimbatore, called Karamuddy and Goodaloor, in both of which there is a choultry or native bungalow, and in the latter an English post-house. At Karamuddy there is a very picturesque temple, and on the roadside I passed several horses of earthenware, votive offerings by the potters to their god. Under many of the trees there are images of the elephant-headed, pot-bellied god of wisdom, Ganesa, anointed with ghee, and adorned with garlands of flowers.
The streets of Coimbatore consist of long rows of red-tiled, mud-walled buildings, with no windows, and overhanging eaves supported by wooden pillars, under which there are raised platforms where the people sit and talk. In peeping in at the doors, I could never discern any article of furniture in the dark obscurity of the interiors, but they generally looked clean and well swept. The houses of the English officials are about a mile from the town, generally surrounded by park-like compounds, but the trees and grass thrive badly in the shallow sandy soil. Outside the town there are two very large tanks, one nearly a mile long, which irrigate some rice-fields. The view is very pretty, with these extensive sheets of water in the foreground, the cupolas of temples rising above the trees beyond, and Lambton's Peak with the blue line of the Neilgherries in the distance.
Some exertions are being made at Coimbatore, both by Protestant and Roman Catholic missionaries, and about sixty natives attend the little chapel of the London Mission Society. The Bible is very properly not admitted into any of the Government schools, and, strange to say, educated natives often inquire why this is not done, and why Christians are ashamed of their Shaster. But in schools unconnected with the Government the study of the Bible is enforced like any other class-book, and there are upwards of forty Brahmin youths in Coimbatore who habitually take it home to learn, with their other lessons, and never make the slightest objection. Mr. Thomas, the Collector, felt very strongly the great importance of educating the women, and a girl-school has been set on foot, after much difficulty. At present the influence of the women, and all women have influence, is for evil. The men, to maintain their superiority, dislike the women to know anything, and the head official of the cutcherry at Coimbatore, who is a Brahmin, dare not let his friends know that his wife can read and write, though this accomplishment makes her a more useful and agreeable companion. The women, generally, are treated like slaves by their husbands. They are never allowed to eat at the same time, except on the wedding-day, and must walk behind their husbands on a journey, generally carrying a child on their hips; yet I have seen the man carrying the child, and at least taking turn about, and in other respects they always appeared to be on good terms with each other.