Letter from J.D. Hooker [Joseph Dalton Hooker] to George Maw
Information
Title
Letter from J.D. Hooker [Joseph Dalton Hooker] to George Maw
Record type
Archive
Original Reference
MAW/1/89
Date
21 Jun 1871
Scope & content
Written from Royal Gardens, Kew. Manuscript
He arrived last night, having left Mogador [Essaouira, Morocco] on 7 Jun; he spent a day with Mr Hunot [George Pierre Hunot, British vice consul at Safi, Morocco] at the Jew’s Pass [Djorf el Youdi, or Cliff of the Jew, Morocco] and collected fossils, and an hour at Mazagan [El Jadida, Morocco]; he saw Mr Dupuis [Hanmer Lewis Dupuis, British vice-consul at Casablanca, Morocco] on board at Casa Blanca [Casablanca]; he arrived at Tangier on the evening of 12 Jun; he did not see the Hays [John Drummond Hay, British minister resident to Morocco, and family] as they were at the mountain [their mountain villa on Djebel Kabir, Morocco]; he left Ball [John Ball, botanist] at Tangier and went on to Gibraltar, where he took a steamer bound from Calcatta [Kolkata, India] on 13 Jun; they ascended a 11,500 foot mountain in Misfuia [unidentified], the first peak of the range west of the Oued in Fys [Oued Nfiss] and saw right over the Sus valley [Sous region, Morocco] to the Anti-Atlas Mountains beyond; the mountain [Djebel Tezah] was of micaceous slate with porphyry dykes; there were no new plants except a Berberis and a Draba that looked like Draba aizoides, both very scarce; from there they went to Siiksaoua [Saksawa, a Berber tribal area] where Caid Hasbi [Kaid el Hasbi, assigned to oversee their journey, who frequently interfered with their plans, and was opposed to their reaching the high mountains] kept them from the snow, then to Mtouga [Berber tribal area, west of Haha] which was at war with Ha Ha [Haha, a Berber tribal area] and so they could not reach the high mountains; a letter arrived from Carstensen [Frederick Carstensen, consul in Mogador] asking them not to enter but to meet him at Shedma [Chaidma, a Berber tribal area], which they did and went to the Iron Mountain [Djebel Hadid] together, but got few new plants; on returning to Mogador they found the Ha Ha in revolt, and no possibility of going to find the Euphorbia, so the vice governor of Ha Ha, who lives in Mogador, sent a man [a native who knew the plant and its location] to bring it back; he discusses the similarities and differences of the delivered Euphorbia to the two species figured by Jackson; Hunot will send a box of the true plant, from Deminate [Demnate, Morocco]; he has a good specimen of the Ha Ha Euphorbia for Maw; Crump [Edward Crump, a Kew gardener who accompanied them to Morocco] is coming with all their plants in the Lady Havelock steamer, Hooker having left him at Gibraltar