XXVI BOTANY OF SOCOTRA. 



failing to do so it was seized in 1835 by Indian troops, who formed an encamp- 

 ment on Hadibn plain, the trenches around which are still visible. The occu- 

 pation was of short duration. Aden having been taken in 1839, and being 

 more suitable as a coaling depot, Socotra was abandoned. 



The exploration of the island by Wellsted supplied us with the first and 

 indeed until now only detailed account of the island, its people, and produc- 

 tions ; the only available chart at present is the one made during this explora- 

 tion, and it is most imperfect. 



After its abandonment by the British in 1839 there are few records of 

 Europeans visiting the island. In 1847 the French exploring brig, " Duconadic," 

 under Captain Guillain, and with the French collector Boivin on board, touched 

 at the island for a few days ; but except for an occasional shipwreck bringing 

 it into notice, one reads nothing about the island until 1876, when a prospect 

 of its being occupied by another European nation caused the British Govern- 

 ment to turn attention to Socotra, with the result that in that year a treaty 

 was concluded with the Sultan, by which he binds himself, and his heirs and 

 successors, " amongst other things, to protect any vessel, foreign or British, 

 with the crew, passengers, and cargo, that may be wrecked on the island of 

 Socotra or its dependencies, and he receives an annual stipend of 360 dollars 

 for this."* The "other things," it is understood, include a promise never to 

 cede Socotra to a foreign power, or to allow a settlement on it without consent 

 of the British Government. Thus the Sultan is a feudatory of Britain. 



The attention of naturalists had long been directed to Socotra as a field for 

 investigation whence rich results might be obtained, and Major Hunter, who 

 visited the island in connection with the concluding of the treaty just 

 mentioned, brought back such encouraging accounts, that Dr Sclater in 1878 

 laid the matter before the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 

 as is mentioned in the Preface, and eventually I was intrusted with the 

 scientific exploration of Socotra. A year later, Dr Riebeck, ignorant of our 

 expedition, arranged for and carried out another expedition to the island, 

 particulars of which will also be found in the Preface. 



The government of Socotra is in the hands of the Sultan of Keshin and 

 Socotra. At present two brothers are joint Sultans, and one lives at Keshin, 

 the other resides in Socotra. They are nephews of the one who, in 1834, 

 refused to sell the island to the British. The Sultan has complete sway in 

 Socotra. He has a residence on Gharriah plain, at the base of the Haghier 

 hills, and has also a palace in Tamarida, where he dispenses justice. Under 

 him, each of the large villages has its sheikh or head, and the island is divided 

 into four sections, each of which is in charge of a ranger. The Sultan alone 



* F. M. Hunter : An account of the British Settlement of Aden in Arabia. London, Triibner and 

 Co., 1877, p. 158. 



