jan. — mar. 1858.] Notes of an excursion, 8fc. fyc. 



203 



XII. Notes of an excursion along the Travancore Backwater. 

 By Captain Heber Drury, 45th N. L 



During a recent trip by water from Trevandrum to Cochin, it 

 struck me that a few notes descriptive of what may be seen in the 

 course of a hundred and thirty miles of the Western Coast might 

 not be altogether devoid of interest. The country I am about to 

 describe lies within the kingdom of Tranvancore, the southernmost 

 portion of Malayala, formerly known as the kingdom of Kerala, 

 which comprised what is now designated Malabar and Canara, in- 

 cluding the principalities of Travancore and Cochin. Travancore 

 may be said to commence at Cape Comorin, and to include a nar- 

 row slip of territory lying between the Ghauts and the sea extending 

 to within 20 miles of the town of Cochin, the total length being 

 about 175 miles, and the breadth varying from 25 to 70 miles. The 

 farthest distance, viz., from Cochin to a mountainous peak on the 

 east boundary has been calculated at 75 miles, averaging about 35 

 miles throughout the entire distance, the total area comprising from 

 600 to 700 square miles, and within these limits is a country diversi- 

 fied by scenery of the most unparalleled beauty, rich and teeming 

 with the products of nature. The high mountain land which forms 

 its eastern boundary is covered with dense forests, while the peri- 

 odical rains which render the soil so fertile, cause the most profuse 

 vegetation to spring up, giving a charming appearance of freshness 

 and verdure unknown to the inhabitants of the eastern coast. 



As it is not my purpose to write a description of Travancore, I 

 proceed at once to record such features or incidents as I noted in 

 the journey recently undertaken. There are two routes on leaving 

 Trevandrum for the north, one by the road, and the other by the 

 canal. I chose the fcrmer, for the canal is long, tedious and unin- 

 teresting, whereas by land the distance is only eleven miles to 

 Cunneapooram, where you at once reach the open backwater. The 

 road is througha fine semi-cleared jungle, rich in Botanical products, 

 and though not thickly populated, a few villages occur at distant 

 intervals, the largest of which are Ooloor and Wulleecotum. To 

 a person arriving from the Coromandel Coast, the aspect of a vil- 



