Travel Diaries and Journals

William B. Hadden diary, 1865.

UPenn Ms. Codex 1819

Hadden was from Benholm, Kincardineshire, Scotland. He held the rank of segeant in a regiment and was stationed in East India for twelve years. Hadden probably served in the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment also known as the Black Watch. In the 1860s the Black Watch was stationed at Dagshai in the Himalayas and Bengal, East India. The journal by William B. Hadden was written during Hadden's three-month voyage from India to England on board the ship Gosforth during the month from April 3 to July 31, 1865. Above his first entry on April 3, 1865 Hadden wrote "Passage from India to England." Hadden noted the ship was overcrowded due to the number of soldiers leaving India. Hadden recorded his experiences on board, daily life, and passing time. He was returning to England after a twelve-year absence. In the journal he reminisced of his boyhood in Benholm, Kincardineshire, Scotland. Hadden recorded sailing conditions, passing ships, daily rations, laundry day, and his assignments of guard duty. He provided descriptions of amusements and distractions on board the ship including watching flying fish, porpoises, and whales; playing games of cards and dice; and reading, writing, and sketching. Hadden also wrote of his conversations on board, his dreams, and his writing case. He noted a man who jumped overboard, a widow pursuing his company, and a punishment at sea. Reading the volume from back to front is a fictional story with the heading Adventures amongst the Himalayan Mountains. The tale involves Hadden and a fellow soldier in pursuit of two young Indian women. The account describes altercations with the family of the girls and the consequences of the forbidden romance. Also included in the volume are fifteen drawings in colored pencil of sites including Dagshai, Baghdad, and the Cape of Good Hope. One drawing is labeled "Harvest House. Of all Scotland." There are also a few poems, a table longitude and latitude by place, and a list of words in Urdu with English translation are included in the volume.

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William B. Hadden diary, 1865.

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