Mulleer Viaduct carried away by storms in Sind in 1866

 

Mulleer Viaduct in Sind in 1866.

Note the windmill in the distance.

 

 

The original caption in pencil written beneath this photo in the album compiled by my great great grandfather Charles Barton, who was commanding a Royal Artillery battery stationed nearby at Karachi, read...

 

"Mukeer Viaduct Sind Railway carried away August by a heavy storm during which 40 inches of rain were reported to have been gauged in 30 hours."

He may not have remembered the name of the bridge correctly at the time at which he wrote the captions, which may not have occurred until many years later because it was actually called the Mulleer Viaduct in those days. Today this bridge is known as the Malir Bridge.

In the aftermath of these floods in 1866, which appear to have affected a very wide swath of India and not just Sind, the following two reports were published in the proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, which explain the sheer power of the terrible flood that swept away this bridge and many villages as well.

"The rainfall of 1866 in Scinde, as also in Kattywar, will long be spoken of by the people of those provinces as a time to be remembered with dread. It is chronicled by whole villages overturned, fertile land devastated, roads rendered impassable   . The Mooktyear of Kurrachee has sent in a report of the destruction that has been ascertained, apparently from the flooding of the Mulleer alone.” ”Ninety human lives have been lost; 4,359 grazing stock, and 158 draught animals have been swept away." . . . ''The Mulleer Viaduct washed away is 12 miles from Kurrachee; the Bahrum about the same distance this side of Kotree." ..." The first breach is between Kurrachee and Landi, 9 1/2 miles from the former, and is 70 yards in width. At 12 1/2 miles from Kurrachee is Bolton Road crossing; and from this road down to the Mulleer River, about a mile, the line has been almost destroyed; two culverts only remain, with the bank immediately over and adjoining them." ..." At one place in this length the flood was strong enough to break the fish plates, and several rails have been carried 50 yards. The most important works that have suffered are the Mulleer Viaduct, the Joonshaie Bridge, and the Joolajee Bridge. Each of these will require six weeks to be repaired, provided no further rain occurs."—Scindian, Aug., 1866. [1]

The following is extracted from the Report made by Mr. McNeill, acting agent of the Scinde Railway:—

"The Mulleer Viaduct was 1,800 feet long, in twenty-one spans of 80 feet each, built on stone piers, each pier consisting of two upright pillars, sufficient only for a single line. The foundations were of three kinds. Piers 1, 2, 5, 6,7, and 8, built in brick wells; 3 and 4 in coffer-dams; the remainder had piles driven in the wells, and filled in with concrete. Two rivers meet the Mulleer above the viaduct, the Dumb about half a mile above, and the Sookhan quite close to the bridge. The sources of these streams are widely separated, and it would appear on the morning of the 5th, when the viaduct was carried away, that the streams were discharging themselves at different levels, causing great turbulence in the water passing under the viaduct."

"At daybreak on the morning of the 5th there was little or no water visible in the bed of the river, and at 8 A.M. it had almost reached rail level. At 9 A.M. the bridge was carried away. The water came down in a succession of bores, the largest of which, bringing down with it the ruins of a village about a mile and a half up the river, came down with immense force, rising above the level of the rails, and carrying away eleven spans of girders, with their piers, as if they had been straws. Some of the girders are within a few feet of the bridge, but two of them are at least half a mile down the stream; each span, with rails, etc, would weigh about 60 tons."

"The abutment at the Kurrachee side stood well."

"Mr. Newnham proposes to carry up the piers 6 feet higher than they are now, filling them up solid; and where the foundations are made, as in piers 3 and 4, for a double line, to build them up their full width, also solid." ..." The Joolajee Bridge carried away consisted of nine openings, 20 feet each, semicircular; bed of river to crown of arch, 20 feet. The water rose within 3 feet of the level of the rails or crown of arch."

"The Joongshaie Bridge consisted of six openings of 40 feet span each, semicircular arches. One pier has given way, and the bridge must come down, and the waterway he considerably increased. The water rose to crown of arches."

"I may say 60 miles of the line are useless for regular traffic until the diversions (temporary) are completed.

(Signed) 'David McNeill
Acting Agent.

[2]

The engineers writing after the event believed that between 1856 and 1860 the region had only had 4.82 inches of rain in total over the previous four years.  In this single event Karachi had 10.0 inches.

 

Towns further inland including Dorbajee and Joongshaie, had received 40.24 and 41.49 inches respectively.

 

The railway had  started to be built in 1857, when John Brunton Junior [1812-1899] had been appointed Chief Resident Engineer to the Sindh Railway, which was to run from Karachi to Kotri to the south bank of the Indus near the city of Hyderabad.

John Brunton was one of six sons of William Brunton Senior [1777-1851] who followed their father into civil engineering and who all became members of the Institute of Civil Engineers. [3]

William Senior had been very active in developing early horse drawn railways and inclined plains used in the Swansea area to work coal mines and copper foundries, and then extended his activities  up the Tawe Valley towards Brecon.  He was one of the first people to work out how convert railways to steam, and went on to develop many patents.

His son John had been sent aged 20 in 1832 to Ynysgedwyn in Wales to survey and build railways forming the new Brecon Forest Tramway. Although, he was not to know it at the time, this was going to be quite the best possible preparation and training for his later work in Sindh.

He has left highly entertaining accounts of his difficulties as an Englishman having to work amongst the hostile local Welshmen in the valleys with whom he had a very difficult time until he was able to learn to speak Welsh. He had to learn to deal with hostile and obstructive villagers, who resented his involvement in a wider scheme to take over the local common land, with the workmen who stole his washing, and was attacked on a lonely track by robbers who tried to steal his £400 payroll.

He went on to work in Northamptonshire on the Kilsby Tunnel section of the London to Birmingham Railway for Robert Stephenson, which was one of the epic jobs in the early railway mania period.

By 1855 he was one of a number of railway contractors who went out to the Crimean War to try to build infrastructure for the army.  His project at Renkioi in Turkey involved building a 3,000 bed army hospital in an attempt to rectify the enormous number of deaths in the Army, that had been highlighted by Florence Nightingale.  This hospital was prefabricated in Britain, using techniques following the work of Joseph Paxton for the Great Exhibition.

He must have been a very capable man, and was highly experienced by the time he arrived in Sindh, where conditions were going to be extremely challenging.  He was following his elder brother William who had been appointed at Chief Engineer on the Punjab Railway from Multan to Lahore.

 

 

 

 

The Sindh Railway from Karachi to Kotri 1861.

[4] Please click on image for larger image.

 

During the construction of the railway, he wore a brace of pistols and a sword.  The local contractor, absconded without paying the workforce of 12,000 for a year.

 

On Saturday  the 22nd of September 1860, readers in London of the Morning Post will have read the following, as part of a fascinating, and much longer article. This is probably referring to progress reports sent in March 1860.

 

"SCINDE RAILWAY.

The ninth report of the directors of this company, to be submitted to the half-yearly general meeting, on the 25th inst., states that : " In March last the proprietors were informed that considerable progress had been made in the works along the line ; that the railway was expected to be opened for traffic about the end of the present year ; that above 50,000 tons of materials and machinery had been landed at Kurrachee without accident ; that the commerce of the port and the internal traffic of the country were rapidly progressing ; and that the sum of 500,000l. of additional capital was required to complete the railway. The directors have now to state that all the permanent way material, rolling stock, and machinery required for the construction and working of the line, have been shipped from this country for Kurrachee with the exception of iron girders required for the harbour works in connexion with the railway, which are now being prepared. By recent advices, the board are informed that the works generally along the line are proceeding in a highly satisfactory manner. The cuttings and embankments are all in a very forward state, and the masonry is being rapidly proceeded with. "The chief engineer reports that 'the cast-iron bed plates are being fitted upon the piers of the Mulleer Viaduct which are finished. Until after the rains nothing further can be done as to fixing the girders; but they are all being sorted, scraped, and painted.' The works on the Bahrun viaduct, Mr. Brunton states, are 'progressing very satisfactorily. Five arches are keyed, and the centres for "the tenth arch are in place.' ' There is now no fear that the completion of the Bahrun viaduct will delay the opening of the line. All the works connected with it are in a very forward state.' Although the viaducts have occupied the special attention of the engineers, the smaller bridges and culverts have not been forgotten. We are assured that when the viaducts are finished the force that can be put upon the smaller works will speedily complete them; and such arrangements are in contemplation that the opening of the line will not be delayed on their account."

The bridge at Mulleer was 14 miles inland from Karachi, and was critical to the success of the Sindh Railway which was being used to open up the Indus Valley for trade.  The importance of the site is set out in the following extract from a much longer article in the London Daily News, published on Thursday the 26th March 1863.

 

"SCINDE RAILWAY.

The report of the directors to the meeting on Monday next has been issued. It states that at the Mc Leod Rd station at Kurachee, sore than 100 waggons, conveying 600 tons of merchandise, are unloaded daily, and additional sidings are being laid. The buildings at Joongshlee, the central station on the line, have been finished. At each of the smaller stations a loop-line and sidings, and a platform 300 feet long, have been provided. At Kotree, the upper terminus, the subsidence of the lndus has shown the soundness of the works it the low-water wharf. The length of the river frontage now available for boats, flats, and steamers is 2,000 feet; and the agent has directed the attention of the government to the necessity for bringing all be craft resorting to it under proper regulations: this is rendered necessary to prevent obstructions, and admit of ready access to the railway. The higher-level lines have been laid for the convenience of  the Indus Steam Flotilla and the Commissariat Department and the station has been brought up to the level of the rails, affording great facilities to the through traffic. A plot of land has been made over to the flotilla, and the flotilla has accommodated the railway, in return, with buildings required for their servants. The progress in the workshops is creditable to the department. The stock of locomotives is 20, and of passenger carriages 27. There were according to last half-year's report, 227 waggons of different sorts; there are now 372. Additional iron work has been provided for the waggons to be made up in India, and iron framework for others of greater carrying power than those now in use; as well as a supply of water tanks and ammunition waggons. Five additional goods engines have been sanctioned and are under construction. The traffic manager's report is very gratifying, particularly as regards the evidence which it contains of the rapid development of a cotton trade. Four through trains each way have for some time been running. This has told on the accumulation of goods at Kotree, most of the traffic being laden direct from the boats on to the trucks. 60,710 bales, containing 17,138,960 lbs. of cotton, were conveyed during the year 1862 from Kotree to Kurrachee by the Scinde Railway; and it is estimated that 150,000 bales will be exported during the current year. Samples of cotton grown in Scinde, on the banks of the Mulleer River, about 14 miles from Kurrachee, were sent by the late Mr. Bethcome for inspection of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce, it order to compete for the prizes offered last year by the government; and the following is the judgment pronounced by the chamber:-" The cotton submitted by Mr. Bethcome is in every respect quite unexceptionable and capable of competing successfully with the best qualities of the American and Egyptian varieties. With the exception of Sea Island, it is the best that has been submitted to the chamber 'for many a year."

 The Morning Post contained a report of the directors for the Sindh Railway on Friday 17th December 1869.

 

"The directors regret to state that a heavy flood, which occurred on the 13th September, destroyed a portion of the viaduct across the river Mulleer. A proposal to carry the line across the bed of the river on piles about six feet above the ground, in such a manner as to allow the free passage of a body of water, has been recommended by the consulting engineer as an economical and effective method of preventing such an occurrence in future. This proposal is now under consideration, and in the meanwhile the rails have been laid across the bed of the Mulleer, which is perfectly dry at this season."  

 

I have no idea if Charles had taken the picture, or if he is in it. Was this just a visit to witness the aftermath of the terrible flood, or was he in some way involved in trying to secure the crossing?

In this year he had been promoted on the26 April 1866 from 1^stCaptain to Lieutenant Colonel.

The loss of the railway with its rapid connections to garrisons up the Indus Valley must have been a major concern, quite apart from the obvious economic damage it would have caused.

Malir Bridge from Google Earth.

The windmill in the background of the original photo is interesting. By chance in some of my other research into the history of Fort St David and Cuddalore, I have found earlier evidence from the from the 1730's of windmills being built by the EIC in India.  See

http://cuddalore-history.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/early-technology-transfer-windmills-in.html

 

I am unsure if there were many others built in India, but here at Mukeer there is obviously another example of a windmill.

Did John Brunton build it as part of his construction camp?  With 12,000 men working on this railway for the contractors, he must have needed a very efficient supply system, just to have kept them fed.

Or could this windmill be connected with Mr Bethcome's cotton plantations? Perhaps it was intended to pump water from the river into the new plantations. Is you come from the area around this bridge, or know the answers to these questions, I would love to hear from you. I can be contacted on balmer.nicholas@gmail.com

 

I would like to acknowledge the help that I have received from Google Earth, and the British Library Newspaper website in putting together this blog.

 

 

[1] Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers; with Abstracts ...

 By Edited By James Forrest, Assoc. Inst. C.E., Secretary, The Institution of Civil Engineers

 

[2] Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers; with Abstracts ...

 By Edited By James Forrest, Assoc. Inst. C.E., Secretary, The Institution of Civil Engineers

 

[3] The Archaeology of an Early Railway System: The Brecon Forest Tramroads by Stephen Hughes, published 1990. Pages  116 to 127.

[4] From http://irfca.org/articles/karachi-kotri.html which is part of an excellent article posted to this website on early Indian Railways, by Owais Mughal, September 2009





Panwell Inn

Panwell Inn.  

From the Victoria & Albert Collection by Sir Charles Harcourt Chambers (1824-28)

 (click on image for larger version)

Recently a copy of a water colour by Sir Charles Harcourt Chambers of the Panwell Tavern from the Victoria and Albert Museum was posted on Facebook that caught my attention. Although not the finest or most historical of the millions of buildings in India it is one which generations of travellers from Bombay to Poona and the interior will have been familiar with.

My own great great and great great great grandfathers, Bombay Artillery Officers and their families must have known it well as the travelled up and down between Mumbai and Pune, because Panvel was the first stage or last stop on the journey.

Map showing the location of Panwell from Google Earth.

 (click on image for larger version)

Although Panwell (known) today as Panvel was only 21 miles as the Seagull flies, in 1817 it was a frontier town, and the East India Company only had limited control of the area. Captain James Barton by gt gt gt grandfather, appears to have been stationed in Bassein at this time, a little to the north. In late 1816 the Pindarees were raiding down the Ghats seizing silk. They were heading north. Did James see them pass the ramparts?

"The Bombay Courier says, that the communication between the Seroor and Poonah, and the latter place and Panwell, had for a fortnight been unsafe without a guard. ' "Numerous  Mahratta families have within these few days sought for refuge in the islands of Caranja and Salsette. The Principle object of the Pindarees in entering the Concan was to seize a large quantity of kincob (silks) which was exported from Bombay to Chowal for the interior. This they succeeded in. It is their intention to sweep  the coast as far as Surat." [1]

James Barton was tasked with cutting off access down the Ghats to the north. A more senior officer, Colonel Prother was sent with a column to attempt to drive the Mahrattas from the forts lining the crest of the Ghats to the south of the Poona Road. It was while I was researching these subsidiary campaigns, that I came across the following fascinating account of Panwell in a diary of an at present anonymous Bombay Artillery Officer in the British Library.

"Tuesday Jan 13. [1818] "Embarked along with Osborne [2] in a Bunder Boat having sent off the Detachment with Declezean [3] an hour before -- We came up with them about half way & arrived at Panwell about 1/2 past 4 the afternoon -- after disembarking the Detachment getting Baggage etc. on shore we dine along with Mr Walker the Officer of the port, at the Tavern -- This would pass for a very paltry inn in England, nevertheless we got a very excellent dinner at a pretty moderate charge from Don Lewis & he is very much deserves to be encouraged as such an Establishment at a place generally (inhabited?), is a very great convenience. We were all busily employed this day in getting the carts & gun carriage from the Boats, mounting guns & arranging stores. Employed partly as the day before, & also in cutting fuzes, & preparing everything for a march-- The draught cattle arrived and I received instructions to move on as soon as I was able-- In the evening rode out with the others -- Panwell is a considerable village lately ceded to us by the Peishwa chiefly inhabited by Musselmen, & one of the Chief Commercial inlets to the Deccan. Boats come up within half or a 1/4 of a mile of it but the landing place is bad-- there is plenty of water in Tanks, but not particularly good. I had a parade in the pro(?) with bullocks, & I did not intend to start until next day, as the whole of the cattle had not arrived; but about midday there arrived instructions to move that evening to Babenas, about half way on the road to Chouken -- My detachment consists of 1 Serg't & 46 rank & file, 3 Tindals & 36 Lascars, & Mr Walker the officer stationed at Panwell with 30 Sepoys was placed under my orders. I had under my charge 2, 6 pdrs, 2 mortars, 8 inch, light 5 inch howitzers with a considerable quantity of ammunition & Horses, about 350 bullock loads, & 6 carts -- We marched from Panwell a little before 4 in the evening." [4]

Just one month later in February 1818 George Fitzclarence, 1st Earl of Munster travelled down the Ghats in the opposite direction, and like our anonymous artillery officer approved of the food served in the inn. He had been in Poona, and had passed within sight of forts in the Ghats still held by hostile Mahrattas.

"I had gone through so much fatigue and personal exertion, that I was quite unwell when I reached the bottom; and, lying down in my palanquin, was taken up by the hummalls(the Persian word) as they here call the bearers of Calcutta, the cahars of Hindoostan, and the bhoeys of Madras and the Dekhun, and never opened my eyes till called by Colonel Osborne in a little hovel dignified by the name of an inn,at Panwell, the village at which officers generally land from Bombay on their route to the Dekhun. I found a boat belonging to the superintendant of the marine ready for me, and that the tide would answer at nine; and having dressed, and partaken of a splendid breakfast, I walked to the boat, which was very comfortable, and larger than the row boats on the Ganges. Panwell is situated on an inlet of the sea, which takes its name from the town; and, after a passage down of about ten miles, I reached the open harbour, of which the view was beautiful." [6]

The Earl of Munster has left a most interesting account of his travels that is available on Google Books, covering his entire journey across the war torn Mahratta districts. He was travelling with the HEIC forces engaged in the campaigns going on at the time, and is most interesting on the less military aspects of that campaign.

As so often in war, the disruption caused to civilians, gave diseases huge opportunities to develop and spread. Cholera is thought to have been present in the Indian population in a relatively mild form in the Deccan for several hundred years before 1817. At about this time it mutated into a far more dangerous disease. It got into the advancing HEIC army as well the population, killing far more soldiers and civilians than the war itself. Although there are few direct reports of refugees in British accounts, besides the fleeing Pindarees and Mahratta forces, it is highly probable that entire communities were also on the road fleeing the advancing HEIC forces. These people deprived of food and shelter, mixed with other nearby populations creating the ideal opportunity for Cholera to spread. An epidemic was soon underway that would eventually spread across the Middle East and reach as far as the industrial heartlands of the English Midlands where it would kill thousands of working families. Panwell was on one of the major routes from the war zone to the coast, and it not surprising that Cholera soon arrived in the district. In January 1819 readers of the Morning Chronicle will have read the following account of events in far away places, in their morning papers, little imagining that this outbreak would eventually reach as far away as London. The report is referring to events during the previous summer of 1817.

"Bombay. — A report of the Cholera Morbus having appeared at Panwell, reached the Presidency on Thursday, when a Medical Gentleman, with numerous assistants, was despatched to render the sufferers all the necessary aid, and to report on it; since which we have been informed, it has made its appearance in Bombay, though not attended with such violent symptoms as at other stations ; yet we understand that some deaths have occurred, We have, however, but little anxiety of its spreading to any degree, as measures have been taken by the Medical Board to ensure the most prompt assistance. Since the foregoing was written, we have been favoured with a perusal of a letter from Tannah, on the same subject, which mentions the casualties at Panwell as amounting to thirteen in all, among which is a Conductor of Stores, Mr.Llewellyn the Medical Gentleman who went from this to Panwell on Thursday, has we understand been fortunate in his practice, and the most beneficial results have already taken place from his exertions; the village of Bellapoor has been also visited by this malady, and a few casualties have occurred, but ample- supplies of medicine have been forwarded to that place and Tullijah. Connected with this subject we are sorry to state, that with a view to create alarm, in the Tannah district, some evil disposed persons had caused two Buffaloes to be painted in an extraordinary manner, and had sent them from village to village by means of the Haziree Bigaries, and the prevalent idea is that wherever these animals are gone, there the disease will follow; the Buffaloes have however been seized, and we are informed will be sold by public auction, and we treat the reward of 300 rupees that has been offered, will lead to the apprehension of the offenders. Our last letters from Poonah mention that this disease still continues in that city, and the deaths among the lower classes have been as many as thirty and forty a day.

Walter Hamilton writing in 1828, at about the time that Chambers had painted his watercolour was less charitable about Panwell inn.

"PANWELL.—A town in the province of Aurungabad, situated on the river Pan, to which the tide flows up several miles from the harbour; but during the prevalence of easterly winds, the passage to Bombay, from which it is distant twenty-one miles E., is tedious and uncertain; lat. 18° 59' N., Lon. 73° 15 E. This place is extensive, and being eligibly situated for business, carries on a considerable commerce, although it stands in the midst of a salt morass. Panwell is the grand ferry to Bombay, and contains the rare convenience of an inn,although not of the first quality.[8]"

The inn remained in use for many years. In 1840 it was recorded that a wedding took place of the widow of a former innkeeper.

"— At Bombay, Mr. Robert Maidment, to Helen, relict of the late Mr. J. W. Ward, inn-keeper at Panwell," [9]

In the same magazine it is recorded that the "HC Iron Steamer Satellite" was sailing to Panwell from Bombay. Perhaps this was a response to the delays formerly caused by the easterly winds. In 1847 it appears that a more formal and regular steamer route was being set up.

"The Bombay Steam Navigation Company has contracted with government to carry the Calcutta, Madras, and Deccan mails from Panwell, a distance of miles for £50. a mouth. Two light steamers are now being built on purpose at Bombay, and will, it is expected, be in operation by October."

Cholera remained at large in the Deccan for many years, although in a less virulent state than before. However from time to time it burst out with renewed strength. Outbreaks occurred in 1845 in Panwell and the surrounding districts, leading to fears that it would reach Bombay. The route from Panwell left the village through marshy tidal flats before climbing up into the Ghats. The Victoria & Albert collection includes a second watercolour by Chambers showing this road.

Panwell Bunder by Chambers.

By the 1840's the route down the Ghats was becoming increasingly important for commerce. Britain's steam driven cotton mills was importing many thousands of tonnes of cotton annually, and India was being overtaken as the main source of supply by America which grew better quality cotton, and which had better quality roads. Efforts were being made in increase production, and to improve the quality of cotton grown as far away as Dharwar. However the state of the roads was adding to the cost of the transport required to bring it to the coast.

Some of the readers of the Northampton Mercury on Saturday 7th of July 1849 will have read the following report: with interest -

"The East India Company took possession of the Western Dekkan on the overthrow of the Mahratta empire 1818, now thirty years ago. The extent of made road," says Mr. Williamson, " along the great trunk lines of communication does not (exclusive of cross roads) exceed 350 miles, and these are very ill furnished with cross lines of communication." This statement however, though adduced to prove the negligence of the ruling powers, is, truth, far too favorable, if by the term "made road" is to be understood, as in Europe, a road bridged, drained, and covered with broken stones, so as to be practicable throughout for wheel carriages at all seasons. For this is true of very little more than the seventy miles of road from Panwell to Poona, and even this is so bad that nobody travels upon it private carriage. Sir Thomas M'Mahon, when Commander-in-Chief, had his carriage rolled over an unguarded precipice and broken to pieces. The other roads are either without regular bridges or culverts, or are not covered with broken stone; and in no other country or presidency would they be dignified with the title of a road. The Poona, or Bhore road, and another of greater length, but not quite practicable throughout all seasons, over the Thul Ghaut, are the only two tolerable passages across the Western Ghauts, and they receive the produce of country 300 miles long by 250 broad. Wheel carriages can make their way on the Thul road without checks only during the fair season. By far the larger share of the traffic on both is carried on upon the backs of bullocks, ponies, and camels, but especially the former. The cotton stuffed into packs of about 125 1bs. each, and a pair of these form the load of a bullock. The animals travel in droves, from 100 to 1,000, or even more, under the conduct of the Brinjarries, to whom in many cases they belong, and in whose hands is the carrying trade of the country. Under ordinary circumstances, these Brinjarry bullocks pick up the cotton from the various villages at which it collected, traverse the open country, along routes regulated by the bargains made with the farmers of the transit duties, and often, therefore, very circuitous, until they reach the great cotton depots, or the trunk lines of the trackway, by which they descend the Ghauts, and discharge their loads at the sea-shore. This done, they either take return loads of piece goods, or other wares, or proceed to the Pans to to take salt. In fair weather, when forage and water are tolerably abundant, and the means of securing a return load easy, this mode of conveyance, though expensive and injurious to the cotton, is not ruinously so. It is, however, liable to, and frequently suffers, very serious disasters. Dr. Royle, judging from the results of the experimental cotton farms in Guzerat, the Dekkan, Khandeish, and Dharwar, established 1829, strongly of this opinion. The produce these farms, though Injured the cleansing, was worth from 6d 3/4. to 9d 1/2. per lb. The cotton harvest takes place in the interior somewhat earlier than near the sea. but everywhere the shortness of the period for ripening, conveying, and shipping the crop, is a serious evil. The wool does not reach the local market before February, and is not cleansed before April. It therefore work of difficulty to bring the crop into Bombay before the setting in of the rains early in June. The pack bullock does not travel,even when in motion, above six and a quarter miles a day, and from lameness or disease is often stopped for days together. From Kamgaon and Oomrawattee, the principal cotton marts, about sixty days are required to convey the crop to the sea. The hot season immediately precedes the monsoon. To avoid the latter, the bullocks are urged under heavy loads at their greatest speed, at a season when water and forage are least abundant, rather, are very scarce indeed, especially near the sea. The bullock is a slight animal, and quite incapable either of carrying an overload, or of travelling without proper supply of food and water. The droves descend the Ghauts in thousands, and even tens of thousands, drove after drove, pushing on through dense clouds of the minute volcanic dust of that district. The wells are few and low, made by the old Hindoo and Mussulman princes, and seldom repaired by us. At no season could they supply the wants of such numbers. The animals fall and die in scores from drought and fatigue, and their carcases are rolled to the road side. At first their loads are distributed over the others, but this resource soon fails; and after time the packs of cotton are rolled into the enclosure of some neighbouring village, there to take their chance of dirt, damp, or pillage, until the Brinjarries can return and take them up. The mortality of pack bullocks upon the Ghauts estimated at ten per cent, above that in the plain country, and near the salt pans it is much higher. Hundreds of their carcases," writes Mr. Fenwick are to be met with just previous to the monsoon, strewed along the paths they have traversed." When the droves are caught by the monsoon, the consequences are even more fatal. The trackways become heavy and impassable. The cotton absorbs moisture like a sponge, and, becoming double its usual weight, crushes the bullock to the ground. The produce is of course utterly spoiled. The enormous extent of this bullock traffic may be conceived from the fact, that a good cotton crop in the Oorarawattee districts alone, loads about 220,000 bullocks; of which about 20,000 find their way to Muzapoor to be conveyed by the Ganges to Calcutta —the remainder travel westward to Bombay. Some varieties ripen earlier than others ; and Dr. Royle is of opinion, that the crops in general might be brought forward by irrigation, so as to allow a longer time for the transit. But the grand remedy is a good road. The adventures of the cotton are not yet concluded. These two roads terminate, the Bhore upon Panwell, the Thul upon Kusseylee and Kolsette. Panwell is upon a tide river, which falls into Bombay harbour. The wind, during and for some time previous to the monsoon, blows steadily from Bombay; find the native boats (the unpressed cotton piled several feet above their decks) make the passage with great delay and damage from the wind and rain. Panwell is a wretched place, in which the cholera is frequently raging, and which offers little accommodation, either for shipping the cotton, or housing such of it as may arrive after the commencement of the monsoon. The terminations of the Thul road are upon a narrow arm of the sea, separating Salsette from the main land, and flowing into the top of Bombay harbour. [11]

 

 Panwell Mosque drawn circa 1809 by William Westall,

 and later engraved for the Naval Chronicle. 

In 1856 my great great grandfather marched down the Ghats from Poona with his comrades to take part in the Persian Expedition, and once more back up the route on his way to Ahmednugger in 1858 on his return to take part in the Indian Mutiny. 

Sadly, although but that time he had access to a camera, and took pictures of the head of the Ghats on his way to Poona, either the inn had gone, or it was no longer significant enough to justify making a picture of. 

Did he ever stop at the inn? 

Panvel today has become a commuter suburb of Mumbai, and a major town. The town plan appears to have been extensively redeveloped since 1817, so that I am unable to locate the old centre by inspection of Google Earth. Sadly I am unable to work out exactly where the inn was located, although presumably it was close to the main mosque that was such a feature of the village in early days. 

I would be very grateful if any body who lives in Panvel today can help me locate the site of the inn. I would also like to find out what the modern name of the following two places are Babenas, about half way on the road to Chouken" and where they are. 

I can be contacted on balmer.nicholas@gmail.com 

 I would like to acknowledge the assistance of Google Books, the British Newspaper Archive and the V&A without which this article could not have been written. 

[1] Exeter Flying Post Thursday 29 May 1817 

[2] Probably Henry Lowry Osborne, born 22 July 1797. Addiscombe 1813-14. Lieutenant Fireworker. 3rd September 1815, Lieutenant 1 September 1818. >Died 29 August 1819 at Bombay. Spring. 

[3] Probably Marcus Claudius Decluzean, b. 1 Jan. 1799.  Addiscombe 1814-1816, Lieutenant Fireworker 27 September 1817, Lieutenant 1st September 1818, Captain 28 September 1827, Married 13 Dec 1839. Retired 17th September 1850. Died 30 May 1881 at Baden. From Spring. 

[4]From British Library Asian Collection, MSS Eur C418 Diary of a Bombay Artillery Officer 1818 

[5] George Augustus Frederick Fitzclarence First Earl of Munster. George was born illegitimately on 29 January 1794. He was the son of King William IV and Dorothea Bland. He married Mary Wyndham in October 1819. He died on 20 March 1842 at age 48 having committed suicide. 

[6]Journal of a route across India, through Egypt, to England, in the latter ... By George Augustus Frederick Fitzclarence Munster (1st Earl of) 

[7] Morning Post Wednesday 06 January 1819 courtesy of the British Newspaper Archive. 

[8]The East Indian Gazetteer: Containing Particular Descriptions of ..., Volume 1. Walter Hamilton. 

[9] Leicester Journal Friday 06 August 1847 

[10] The Asiatic journal and monthly register for British and foreign ..., Volume 33 

[11] Northampton Mercury Saturday 7th of July 1849.

Ahmadabad, tigers and narrow scrapes

 Tiger hunting from elephants

As a small child my great aunt would delight in telling me stories about my great great grandfather Charles James Barton and his tiger hunts.

Charles served in the Bombay Artillery during the middle years of the Nineteenth Century, and eventually became a Major General.  These stories were probably amongst the very first stories that fired up my abiding interest in India.

 

Lieutenant Charles Barton circa 1850

Very recently and quite by chance, I stumbled upon another account by a fellow East India Company officer, William Johnson, which although does not refer to the same incident, confirms Charles Barton’s involvement in tiger hunting, and a hair raising incident when a tiger came very close to killing him.

The first story recounts how Charles would hire an elephant and mahout, on which to go out into the jungle to flush out tigers. On one occasion he spotted a tiger in the long grass, at which he shot with his musket. He must have ether missed or failed kill it, for the tiger instantly sprang up onto the howdah situated on the elephants back, and had plunged its teeth into Charles arm, attempting to pull him from the elephants back.

At his point Charles is supposed to have shouted "Drop me Sir!".

Which apparently is what the startled tiger did!

Where upon Charles was able pick up his second rifle, with which he dispatched the animal.

Commanding as he did an Artillery Battery, he must presumably have developed a fairly commanding voice, with which to pass on orders. It must have been a terrifying moment.

With the passing of time, we had no idea where these events had taken place, but by great good fortune I may have stumbled across the answer,

A description of another tiger shooting incident involving Charles Barton in about 1853 is contained in a book written by a brother officer serving in the Guzerat Irregular Horse who was stationed also stationed in Ahmadabad.

This rare book based on letters and journals kept by William Johnson have recently been republished by Leonaur Ltd.

Johnson devotes many pages of his journals to hunting expeditions, and to a modern reader these often seem like wilful slaughter of wildlife that is sadly absent today.

He describes how with his brother officers, Harington Bulkley, Gordon Cumming, Leeson, Babington, Seward and Whitehill starting in October 1851 they would set off on expeditions into the hills and forests surrounding Ahmadabad to hunt and to track down and kill wild boar, tigers and tanthers.

These animals would frequently endure being shot many times before they were dead, and many fought back savagely often wounding beaters, and even jumping onto the backs and heads of elephants used to push through the forests.

The dilemma for hunter’s who had wounded a tiger or panther but had not killed it, was that it would become even more dangerous for the villagers, on whose behalf many of these hunts were undertaken.

The wounded animals had to be tracked into their refuges.

“There was once marked down for me in a small patch of bushes a large panther, which I knew to be very severely wounded, and I thought disabled. I took my rifle — a handy, double barrelled Lancaster – and walked towards the bushes. When I was within forty yards, he came out at me so quickly that I had but just time to put up my rifle, and fire both barrels as quick as I could. Most fortunately one bullet entered just above the left eye, and came out behind the ear, somewhat confusing him, but not in the least checking his speed He knocked me over, and bit and clawed me severely.


Some of my men of the Guzerat Irregular Horse behaved very well, and, attacking him, drove him off me with their swords and carbines; we killed him at last, but I had a very narrow escape.”

Johnson, whose leg had been ripped open from top to bottom, wrote this account in a letter to his mother (who lived in Enborne in Berkshire) who was understandably worried.

Johnson’s answering letter, can hardly have provided much reassurance to his mother, but provides me with another priceless glimpse into my great great grandfather’s life.

“You seem to have been in a great state of alarm about my accident, which I am sorry for. I think I told you I was nearly all right, and there was no cause to be anxious about it, although it was lucky it was no worse; and in one respect I dare say it is a good thing, as now, perhaps, it will be a warning to take better protection next time. Young Barton, of the Artillery, has been wounded much in the same way, but he was more mauled than I was; the tiger took him up and shook him, and knocked his head against the rocks; but he is a tough little chap, and is all right again now.


Graham, who was close to him at the time, fell off the same rock down below without a gun, and had the satisfaction of looking on, expecting his turn would come next, and soon as the brute caught his eye he came at him, but luckily missed him.” [1]

I have managed to establish that there was only one Barton in the Bombay Artillery at this time, and that Charles Barton was at that time Quarter Master & Interpreter to the Headquarters of 4th Battalion Bombay Foot Artillery based at Ahmadabad according to the Bombay Calendar for 1851.

While many of his generation of artillery officers had the most adventurous of careers, particularly during the Indian Mutiny, Charles seems to have taken part in few if any actual battles.

His main role was that of a staff officer. Perhaps his qualification as interpreter in three languages, Hindustani, Mahratta and Gujarati set him apart from the other artillery officers who rarely had this qualification for even one language, let alone three at this time.

He appears in Johnson’s Journal for a second time, and on this occasion they are on an expedition after some robbers.

“I hate this country quite as much as ever, and rather more, if possible. I can’t make a residence out of England. I want to see some healthy-looking faces again; I feel as if even that would do me good. We are all of us on a wild-goose chase after some murders, about eighty or a hundred miles off, and we are going to try to put salt on their tails; but I am afraid they are quite sure to get news of our whereabouts, an bolt before we get near them. We shall get a lot of snipe, and perhaps have a run after a pig.”

His history doesn’t recall if they ever got the murderers, but it does record Charles Barton getting a wild boar.

Pig Sticking in Bombay Presidency 1856.[2]

Describing a pig sticking outing Johnson writes:

"we were all close up at the first spear, which was taken by one Barton, who thoroughly deserved it, for he rides magnificently. I never saw a man ride a pig so perfectly as he does. He belongs to the Artillery, rather short and stoutly made, and rides an Arab Galloway, one of the cleverest animals I suppose that was ever foaled. It is a treat to see a man go across country in the way he does."[3]

Several small artefacts from his life in India survive to this day.

One a small envelope, which contains several elephant’s hairs, labelled

"Elephants hairs, sent from India by my brother Charles".

We like to think they are from the same elephant in the first story, but of course at this remove we shall never know.

Charles had several sons who went on later to settle in America where Charles Barton had brought a house at Virginia Beach following his retirement.

These families preserved a tiger skin until well into the 20^th Century as well as one of his rifles.

Charles Barton's Rifle.

[1] Page 29, John Company's Cavalryman, from the letters & journals of William Johnson re-published recently by Leonaur Ltd. http://www.leonaur.com

[2]"A pig-sticking scene," from the Illustrated London News, 1856. from http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1800_1899/britishrule/hunting/hunting.html

[3] Page 31, John Company's Cavalryman.

Photos of Bombay in 1857

Figure 1. The Esplanade, Bombay 1857.
Please click on this image and later ones for larger images.

The following photographs of Bombay were taken either by, or for Captain Charles Barton of the Bombay Artillery.

Charles had been serving with the Expeditionary Force which had landed in Persia in 1856. While on that expedition, he or one of his colleagues had acquired a camera.

The expeditionary force started to leave Persia in May 1857 to return to India. It is not clear on which of the ships Charles and his fellow officers came back on, but it is probable that these photos were taken between June and December 1857.

The first photo suggests that the returning troops were at first unable to find room in the barracks or hotels in Bombay, so that they had set up camps inside gardens of bungalows along the Esplanade. The two tents are identical to those in the photo taken of his camp at Bushire earlier that year.

Figure 2. The Adelphi Hotel Bombay. Dec 1857.
This hotel is believed to have been at Byculla.

The expeditionary force returned to India expecting to move into Cantonments where they could recuperate after a long and gruelling campaign in the heat and the dust of the Gulf.

As the first ships pulled into Bombay they were greeted with the news that the Bengal Presidency Army had mutinied, and that it was very probable that the Bombay Army might do so at any moment.

Figure 3. Temple at the Byculla Station Bombay.
This temple was close to the Adelphi Hotel shown above.

General Havelock, the expeditionary force commander. and the European Regiments were almost immediately re-embarked on steamers for the voyage to Calcutta, where Havelock was to take over command of the relief forces moving inland up the Ganges.

It must have been a time of extraordinary fear and tension.

Charles Barton at this time was a staff officer working with several batteries and he seems to have spent several weeks and possibly longer in Bombay. During this time most of the balance of the troops returned from Persia were moving up the Ghats and inland towards Ahmednugger.

It appears likely that by December 1857 Charles had moved into the Adelphi Hotel. He had married Elizabeth Birch in November 1854, and it appears from the locations where her children were born that she was living at Ahmednuggur at this time. Nuggur was of course highly exposed in the event of the mutiny spreading, and he was on the coast.

Their third daughter Lily was born on July 27th 1858 "at our house at Nuggur", when Charles was away with the expeditionary force, and it is quite probable that the upheavals of the Mutiny period contributed to her death on the 31st of July 1859. It appears that it was some kind of epidemic that carried her off, because Emily, her younger sister born on 19th July 1859 died on the 6th of August 1859, just a week after her elder sister.

It is possible that Charles move from a camp on the sea front to the Adelphi Hotel was because his wife had come down from Nuggur to avoid the danger of her being attacked in Nuggur.

Figure 4. Captain Charles James Barton.

While in Bombay, Charles who had been born on the 22nd of April 1827 at Matoonga near Bombay took the opportunity to visit locations formerly lived in by his parents.

Charles father, Captain James Barton had also been a Bombay Artillery Officer. In May 1822 he had married Eliza Hawkins, and Charles was their fourth child.

Shortly after Charles was born, his father had become Agent for Gunpowder and Superintendent of Factory, on the 1st of October 1827, a post which he held until the 19th of May 1829 when he died at Matoonga.

James was buried in the church at Matoonga, and his fellow officers put up a plaque to his memory. I have no idea if the church survives, and I would be very grateful if anybody can tell if it is still there.

Charles and his widowed mother returned to Britain, where he was brought up. Much later in his will, Charles would write of being tortured throughout his adult life by having no idea of what his father had looked like. He left strict instructions that pictures should be passed on to his youngest children to avoid this happening to them. Which probably accounts both for the existence of the following pictures as Charles visits the former home of his parents.

Figure 5. The Old Artillery Mess, Matoonga Bombay, Dec 1857.

This building is quite possibly where his father had lived and worked. Does it survive today?

Figure 6. The Old Fives Courts, Matoongha Bombay. Dec 1857.

Did his father play Fives?

I used to play it without much enthusiasm at my school. I wonder, if I might have tried harder, if I had known my great great great grandfather had played it too?

Figure 7. Pattinars, Bombay. 1857.

Bombay was a much smaller place in 1857 than it is today. Much of present day Bombay was under water in 1857. Here are a number of Indian trading vessels laid up at low water. I would be very grateful to any body with good local knowledge of Bombay who could help me locate where these pictures were taken. Sadly, I have never been to Mumbai, but it is one of the places I would like to visit, although, I expect all traces of these buildings must have gone by now.

Figure 8. A map of Bombay in 1846 showing the location of Matoonga
towards the north east tip of the island..

Figure 9. The Woodstacks Bombay 1857.

Where this was taken, or why he had this picture taken, I can only puzzle at today, but presumably there must have been hundreds of similar stacks in Bombay in those days.

War with Persia, 1856 and 1857. Introduction.

EGH Town of Bushire, 1856-57.

A wind tower can be seen in the centre of the photograph. These clever devices use the daily occurring on and offshore winds to draw cool air through the house below. To the right of the photo can be seen the Flag Pole over the British Legation. From this it is possible to establish that the photo was taken from the south of the city, looking due north towards the anchorage.
Please click on image for larger version. Photo courtesy of Mr & Mrs A. Barton.

With scarcely a day going by when Iran and its nuclear programme does not feature in our newspapers and media, it is perhaps worth reflecting that this situation is nothing new.

What follows is an account of an earlier political struggle with Iran that turned into a fierce little war. As is the case today, Persia in the 19th Century was a proud and ancient nation, situated at a strategic cross roads in a very volatile part of the World. It found itself under pressure from the military Super Power of the day.

My interest in this campaign stems from the discovery of a photograph album that belonged to my Great Great Grandfather Charles James Barton, an officer in the Bombay Artillery containing a number of pictures taken during this campaign.

With the recent advent of Google Books and the re-publication of several accounts from the period it is now possible to put together a narrative to describe the campaign, using these photos to illustrate these events.

A map showing the political and military situation in 1856.

Please click on the image for a larger version. [1]

With the ending of the Napoleonic Wars, Britain and Russia had been left with experienced armies, and with no real rivals to keep them in check as they both developed their Empires in the East. Russia had expanded its territories to the south east towards the Caspian Seas and towards Bokara and Samarkand.

The East India Company was at the same time steadily absorbing the Punjab and much of what is now Pakistan. This forward expansion by the European's into Asia had been a bloody experience for all concerned, as small professional armies came up against strong local forces made up of tribal warriors with centuries of experience in fighting guerilla warfare.

Some of these Asian and Caucasian nations like the Afghans, Sikhs and Georgians where able to inflict serious defeats on the European's.

However by 1855, the remaining independent states of Afghanistan and Persia found themselves under pressure from both Russia and Britain, to come within their respective spheres of influence. The Crimean War was being fought out between the Russian's and the British, French and Turks around the Black Sea and in the eastern parts of the Ottoman Empire which added to the tensions in the region.

Both Britain and Russia were engaged in what has since become known as the Great Game.

Embassies and military missions, in towns like Kars, Tabriz, Teheran, Herat, Meshad and Kabul were increasingly occupied by competing diplomats, soldiers and adventurers from Britain and Russian, bent on increasing their respective countries dominance over these strategic centres.

The existing rulers of Persia, led by the Shah, and Afghanistan by Dost Mahomed Khan tried their best to play off the two European Super Powers, to gain time and support in their own internal power struggles, and in those with their neighbours.

Nether ruler entirely controlled their respective territories, so that Dost Mahomed Khan's nephew Syed Mahomed Khan was able to rest much of Kandahar and the west of modern Afghanistan away from his uncles control, and Herat had become a kind of no man's land between Persia and Afghanistan, ruled by Syed Mahomed Khan.

Throughout the early 1850's the British representative in Teheran Colonel Sheil, appears to have maintained a difficult balance between representing his national interests in Persia, whilst at the same time maintaining dialogue with the Shah and his representatives.

Reading the British correspondence, which seem through modern eyes, very overbearing and which must have been highly offensive to the Persian's, it is perhaps surprising that relations had not broken down earlier.[2]

As in many wars, the final breakdown in relations between the countries came over a side issue, rather than because of the major grievances that had been building up over the previous decade.

On the 15th of June 1854 Meeza Hashem Khan was appointed as Persian Secretary to the British mission at Teheran. He was a thirty year old member of the Nooree tribe, and he was married to a member of the Shah's family. This appointment caused great offence to the Shah and his advisers, possibly because Meeza Hashem Khan was in far too a good a position to advise the British about the internal workings of the court. Perhaps he was seen as threat to the Shah. The appointment became a diplomatic incident involving the British Government in London, and nether side wanted to back down.

A compromise was suggested by the British whereby Meeza Hashem Khan would be appointed as British Agent at Shiraz. However on the 6th of November 1855, the Persian Government told Mr. Murray the new British representative in Teheran, that if Meeza Hashem Khan set out for Shiraz he would be detained. Shortly afterwards Meerza Hashem Khan's wife was seized and detained. Mr. Murray at once demanded this ladies release, threatening to take down the Missions flag and to break off friendly relations.

Sadr Azim the Persian prime minister then stated that the reason Murray and Thomson were trying to get Meeza Hashem Khan's wife released was because they had been having an affair with her. He claimed that when the mission had gone into summer camp in the mountains above Tehran, with the Shah and his government, they had camped in the same village, and had been seen together.

The Persian's then commenced a campaign to whip up local public indignation. Sadr Azim drew up a petition against Murray and the Khan family which was sent around the Mullah's to receive their seals. However the Chief priest Imaum o' Joomah refused to sign as he said he had no knowledge of the truth of its contents.

Relationships broke down completely, and the mission was withdrawn. In November 1855 Kars fell to Russia, and sensing that the British who were still fighting Russia in the Crimea would be unable to prevent their taking Herat, the Persian army set off for the city, which they took.

As far back as January 1853 Colonel Shiel had advised that in the event of Persia attacking Herat, the best practical option for Britain was to capture Bushire on the Persia Gulf, and to hold it as a bargaining counter, until such time as Persia could be pressured into giving up Herat.

The British had several motives for this approach. The first was that they feared that if a Russian dominated Persia took Herat it would open up the route to the Bolan and Khyber Pass to the Russian's.

It was feared that Russia could bring an army to the Punjab or Sindh.

Britain however also wanted control of Bushire because it offered a better port than Basra, which was Britain's main base at the head of the Gulf. Kharg Island had particularly good fresh water, and was easily defensible with a small force against attacks, unlike Basra which was easily approached by land.

Throughout the summer of 1856 Persian missions to London, and to Constantinople attempted to negotiate a resolution to the impasse.

In Constantinople the British team was led by Lord Stratford de Redcliffe. He presented Ferokh Khan an ultimatum on the 17th of October demanding that Herat be evacuated, which Ferokh Khan signed consenting to the Persian's evacuating Herat.

Herat had finally fallen to the Persian force on the 25th of October 1856. On the 25th of November Mr. Murray struck his flag at Teheran by the 5th of December 1856 he had travelled out of Persia and onto Baghdad.

Ferokh Khan, known today as Faruk Khan Nadar.[3]

The British seemed determined to push further and they demanded the dismissal of Sadr Azim the Persian Prime Minister. A proclamation of war was issued by the Governor General of India on the 1st of November 1856.




[1] Thomson Map of 1814. Courtesy of Wikimedia. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Persia_1814.jpg
[2] Capt. G.H. Hunt, Outram & Havelock's Persian Campaign. Published 1857, re-published by The Naval & Military Press Ltd. 2009, pages 140 to 186.
[3] From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Faruk_Khan_Nadar.jpg

Informal Group at Karachi in 1866

Mrs Brab 1866, this is known to be the wife of Brabazon Pottinger, because she also appears in the following photo.




Left to right, Miss Sealey, Thornhill, Mrs Nicholetts, Spring, Alfred Pottinger, Mrs Brab Pottinger, - Mrs Sealy.



Spring, Barton, Griffith, Mrs Canfield{?}, Brab Pottinger, Mrs Do., Mrs Dende, Jenner, Myers, Miss Faithful, Thornhill.

These photos come from a private collection originally put together by my great great grandfather Charles James Barton, Bombay Artillery, & Royal Artillery.

They were almost certainly taken in Karachi, where Captain Barton was stationed with his battery.

Hill Fort of Mhowle or Mahuli

Hill Fort of Mhowle Drawn by Captn. Barton and Lithographed by R Ackermann.
Please click on image for a larger version.

The lithograph is one of a number made from drawings by James Barton my great great great grandfather, a Captain in the Bombay Artillery between 1811 and 1827.

James Barton who originated from Manchester, had sailed out to India from Portsmouth shortly after 12th January 1811. Arriving in Bombay shortly before the 8th of June 1811, he was appointed as a Lieutenant Fireworker on the 8th of June 1811, and was promoted again on the following day to Lieutenant.

It is not clear when the drawing that Ackermann subsequently turned into the lithograph was completed.

James Barton was however on active service in this region of the Konkan during 1818 at the height of the Mahratta War.

Following the war he married Eliza Georgiana Hawkins on the May 22^nd 1821 at Bombay Cathedral. During the 1880's Eliza wrote an account of her life which said..

“I continued to reside with Catherine until in May 1821, I married Captn James Barton, who was Brigade Major in the East India Company’s Artillery. We were married in Bombay Cathedral, & went to live in Seroor, where my Husband held his appointment.We lived there very comfortably."

It is quite possible that the drawings were done in the course of their journey or possibly honeymoon while on their way together to Seroor.

Mrs James Barton, dressed in her best Muslin dress

I have never been to this region of India, and I would be fascinated to learn where he had been camped. What does this mountain look like today?

I do not know the route he was taking, but there was a route past the fort that was sufficiently important during the 1820's for it to appear in a guide book published in 1826. This perhaps provides a clue as to the location of the camp.

From "Itinerary and directory for Western India: being a collection of routes ..." by John Clunes published in 1826.

It is interesting to try to fit the route given above with Google Earth images.

Kalian, is now called Kalyan. If however you type Kalyan into Google Earth it takes you to a location at 19 degs 16' 23.32" N 73 degs 08' 13.16" E, which is a grassy bank on the Ulhas River a couple of miles upstream of a major unnamed city shown at 19 degs 14' 30.21"N 73 degs 07' 19.28" E which appears to be Kalyan, and which appears to fit mapping produced in the 1950's much better than the position given by Google Earth.

The second location given in the itinerary Titwalla is spelt Titvala today.

A marked up copy of a 1950's American map of the Konkan, showing the approximate route given in John Clune's itinerary from 1826. Please click on the image for a larger map. [1]

If you measure the modern direct route to Titvala via Ambivli, it comes out at only 7 miles, where Clunes says 9.7 miles. Interestingly however if you followed the modern NH 222 to the point where it crosses the Ulhas River, and then strike off towards Titvala the distance comes out at 9.7 miles.

Google Earth Image of the areas around Titwalla or Titvala.
Please click on image for larger version.

The most obvious ford of the Kalloo River, or Kalu River is the location shows at Titwalla Ford 1826, but the American military maps which were largely based on British military maps from the early 20th century show the ford at the alternative location I have marked. This alternative location certainly has a large gravel bank and is probably quite shallow. The actual ford used may of course have depended on the state of the river and rainfall at the time, as well as the determination of the party attempting to cross the river.

The itinerary goes on to a village called Ootnah. This name has gone, but there is a village marked at Utan on the 1950's map, and which clearly shows on Google Earth in about the right sort of location.

Route between Titwalla and Kooslah.
Please click on image for larger version.

As the itinerary clearly goes to Ootnah I have shown the probable route. The route traced follows a road that is still in use to this day, although as Kosle is neared it degenerates into little more than a cattle track, but this is often the case with routes whose importance is eclipsed by things like railways for new roads.

I have also marked an alternative route that could also have been used. The intinerary talks of "Through thin jungle... 3. 6 miles." The areas around Utan appear to be cultivated, and I can only presume that this has probably been the case for several centuries.

It is possible that this jungle was the area of tree covered hills shown on the photo. There are tracks across these hills, as well as several long linear features which I take to be natural features, possibly part of the Deccan Traps?

Are these lines caused by volcanic intrusions?



An image showing the two branches of the Batsee River. This river is nowadays called the Bhatsa River. Please click on image for larger version.

The description rather suggests that the 1820's route was somewhat to the east of the existing modern bridge. Close examination of Google Earth imagery shows several tracks down to the river from the village centre which may have moved over time.



Image of the route between the Batsee [Bhatsa] River and Assungaon [Asangaon]. Please click on image for larger version.

The route in the itinerary clearly goes onto towards the modern town of Asangaon, and it would be easy to presume that James Barton might have travelled that route as well.

However inspection of the following photo suggests that this was not the case.

Mahuli from Asangaon, a photo posted by Nature Knights on a blog called Trekmahuli, taken from the south. From comparison from of this photo and the original drawing it would appear that the drawing was either turned into a lithograph in reverse of the drawing was done from the northern slopes. [2]


The mountains either reversed or it looks very similar in profile from the north?

Did Ackermann's draughtsman, just prick the drawing through in reverse?

Have any of you been on the northern side of Mahuli?

Can you work out where James Barton camped?

The trekmahuli blog at http://trekmahuli.blogspot.com/ contains a good series of photos showing the roughness of the terrain that James was travelling through.

In some senses he was nearing the edge of the map. I have tried to match Clunes itinerary beyond Asangaon, and I am finding that I cannot match the 19th century names to places on modern maps.

Have I crossed an ethnic or language boundary? Which way was Clunes sending us?

Is this why I can't match it any further?

[1] From http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/india/
[2] From http://trekmahuli.blogspot.com/