Baden Powell - his visit to Tuticorin (1888-1891)

In Savage Isles
and Settled Lands

Malaysia, Australasia, and Polynesia
1888-1891

BY
B. F. S. Baden-Powell

LIEUTENANT, SCOTS GUARDS, F.R.G.S., ETC.

My trip in India was but a very short one, and was confined to a visit to one or two places in the Madras Presidency.

I left Colombo by British-India steamboat for Tuticorin. The greater part of the ship was thickly packed with coolie emigrants — 1,400 they say were on board — and all this weighty top hamper seemed as if it must make the vessel top-heavy; and Heaven help us if we got into difficulties! However, as it turned out, we had a very calm and peaceable journey, lasting some seventeen hours. Our destination was hardly what we in England would call a good harbour. A low, flat shore covered with palm-trees, some sand-banks, and a few houses, were all we could discern from the steamer when she anchored a mile or so from land. We were conveyed ashore in a small steam-launch, well loaded with natives and in due time I found myself ensconced in the hotel of the place, which consisted of three rooms and a balcony, but where, neverthe­less, I was very comfortably housed.

Tuticorin is a quiet little place. There is a small club, and a sufficient number of Europeans to make a select circle of society, so that tennis parties, rides etc., are indulged in as in other places.

The manager of the bank very kindly took me round and launched me into the vortex of local gaieties. There is of course, a native bazaar, which is of interest to the new-comer, who sees for the first time the native Indian in his element. One of the great peculiarities is to see the men going about with their faces painted in various ways to denote their religious caste. Some have bands of white or red, or both. Many wear a white spot just above the nose, and some even mark their bodies with white stripes.

The district around Tuticorin presents no great feature of interest; the country is all flat, but there is a great profusion of Palmyra palms. These have straight, thick stems and close-lying, nearly circular leaves. It is one of the most useful of trees, all parts of it being of value to the natives.  Toddy is got in abundance from the sap of the shoots, and from this “jaggery,” or sugar, is extracted. It supplies an edible fruit; the leaves are useful for thatching and many other purposes; and the hard, dark wood of the stem is most valuable for building and other purposes.

Many of the curious banyan-trees, with their many stems and roots hanging from the branches, also abound.

From Tuticorin a railway runs north. It is interesting to see that here twenty-four hour time is used for all the time-tables. It certainly seems an excellent plan, and saves much confusion, especially when planning out a long and complicated journey. The country travelled through is mostly flat and open, covered either with cultivation or coarse grass, with a good many small trees. Now and again we pass over a large, dry watercourse, while in the distance to the westward hills rear themselves before the setting sun.....

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