New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1853-03-12
BkYARD TAYLOR" LETTERS
LXXIV
LXXIY.
TIE ROCK OF ADES-vOYA6g ACROSS THE
INDIAN OCEAN

INDIAN OCEAN
Etitsrt,t corrsspoadeues Of TIE II Tr'ssse.
sTHAnEE AoHrLrEs Indian ocssn.
Woaiay, Dee %. lisa
On the morning after closing nv last lettor,
We were IN the Indisn Ocean. having passed
Bab-el-Mandeb, the Gate Of Tears about
midnight The barren volcanic headlanis OF
Arabia Felix rose on our left, point beyond
point, I'LL at last larger and loftier mass vas
declared 70 be the Rock OF Alden. The pale
green water through which we were sailing told
OF reefs and shoals, and the ship made vide
curve 20 the eastward before entering the
bay. The main land Of Arabia presents level.
sandy coast, with few indentatiOns and the Bay
Of Alden Is formed by two narrow pennsulas
which project from il at right angles their ex-
tremities shooting UP suddenly into clusters Of
black, ragged volcanic cones, about 1900 feet
in hight. No description can give any ides OF
the savage sterility Of these mountains They
are masses Of cinders and scorie. glowing as if
with still unextinguished fires, and the sir
around them Quiyers with the heat radiated
from their sides. Their forms exhibit all the
violence OF the CONFUSION which created them;
heaps or burned fragments, cliffs divided by
deep assures, and sharp, inaccessible cones,
shooting upward like concealed flames from the
rubbish Of extinct craters. Some prOiane
tourist speaks of Alden as resembling " Hell
with the fires put out'-a tOrcible simile, bit
very much TO The point
The town and fortress Of Alden occupy the
eastern peninsula, which was obtained from the
Sultan OF Labadj, in the year 1889, partly BY
force, and partly by treaty. The SUN OF
S25O,OOO was paid to the Sultan by the East
India Company and the chieftain prudently sold
what was already more than half wrested from
him. Nevertheless, his son and successor did
his best TO have the bargain annulled offering 70
refund the money. This was of course rejected,
and the place vas for number of years exposed
TO assaults from the Arabs of Lahadj, who we're
violently opposed to the sale, and TO the estab-
lishment OF a foreign colony on the coast. In
spite of all precautions, robbery and murder
we're constantly perpetrated in the town and
camp, until the Notifications, on the land side
were completed At present, there is tolerable
security inside Of the walls, but no one ventures
many miles into the interior, unless attended by
strong armed escort The barber Of Alden
was known to the Romans, and its Importance
as a point of communication with the Indies
seems 10 have been understood by the Turks,
a. there are still the remains OF iortihcatiOns,
which were constructed in the time of SOlyman
the Magnificent. The Rock is about six miles
in length, by from two to three in breadth, and
its highest point is said to be 500 feet above
the sea.
We ran in, along the western base, until GA
turning a small headland, we came upon shell
tered roadstead. in which half a dozen English
GOLFERS and anumber of small Arab craft lay at
anchor. Here our own anchor dropped and the
ship was presently surrounded by boats rowed
BY halfnaked blacks some of whom made them
.nl asal a win and
spashing in the water, in the hope of getting
shillings thrown over for them t0fsh up. few
hong, one.story white houses and some heaps OF
Newcastle coal were scattered over level piece
of sand, at the head of the cove, and on a slight
eminence towards the sea there was group OF
cane huts, built in the Robinson CrusOe style
On this eminence there is q sunken battery,
barely visible from the water, but said to be
strong enough to sink any hostile vessel which
may attempt TO enter the harbor. A few days
ago French cory cite, which had been cruising
in the Indian Ocean, came into Alden with her
guns ready sbOtted and manned, IN full expecta-
ton OF being fired upon, her commander suppos-
ing that Louis Napoleon had already commenced
the invasion OF England.
| went ashore in a small boat, rOwed BY four
SOmali or natives of the African coast, near
Cape Gardafui. They appear to be low yari-
ETY. of the Arab race, having dark brown skins,
deep set of eyes, long, straight noses, and hand
some, curling hair. They are less partial TO
mutton tat than the sribes on the Red Sea, but
dye their long locks which are naturally OF a
glossy blue-black hue, brown or dark red which
imparts gOat-like, satyrical air 20 their lank,
nimble figures Their language is very bad
Arabic which could with difficulty understand
No sooner had we landed than we were sur
rounded with the owners Of donkeys and horses,
anxious TO hire them TO us for a ride to Alden.
/ had supposed the cluster Of buildings in front
of the anchorage, to be Alden the old town,
however, is about four miles distant, on the
eastern side of the peninsula
Following good macadamized road along the
shore, | crossed a hill, or rather pile OF cinders,
beyond which there was shallow blight, where
twenty or thirty Arab boats were anchored.
Zigzag walls and linesol fertilization ran along
the nights in front, the lottiest points being
occupied by small batteries. IL seemed like
labor thrown away, 10 see chain OF tortihca-
tons carried with such care around the borders
ofso iorlorn place. I've miles further, came
10 TN artificial pass, about forty feet deep, by
twenty wide, cut through the comb OF the GEN.
tral ridge. IL is closed BY ponderous double
gateway, and the wall OF accommodation crosses
il by an arch. An Indian sepoy stood guard at
the gate as passed through. The road was filled
with Arabs from the interior, bringing camel
loads of their produce to market, and with the
mongrel natives of the African coast. Among
the latter readily distinguished the natives OF
Adel, the country lying south of Abyssnnia.
Major Harris, in his Highlands of Ethiopia
calls them the mild-eyed Adael," and truly
the expression of their features is feminine in
its mildness and gentleness. They, as well as
the natives of Alden, speak Arabic, substitu-
ting only the HindOostanee word "sGhi5" (mas
ter for the "HOlradji," of Egypt.
Beyond the pass, the town of Alden came
into view. Ii lies in a circular sandy basin,
almost enclosed BY black mountains Of volcanic
cinder The buildings, which are spacious
huts Of wood cane or mud, one story in hight,
are scattered over an extent of three quarters
of mile. The dry bed OF torrent which
divides the town, proves that il sometimes