Everest arrived
back in India at the end of 1821 and then had to trek
some 300 miles from Hyderabad to meet up with Lambton
at Takalhera. This led to Everest starting work on the
series from the meridian arc towards Bombay. The countryside
and climate here was much more to his
liking but it did require the use of towers to achieve
long sights. It was here also that Everest converted
to making night observations and the use of the vase
lamp instead of opaque targets.
By this time Lambton was driving himself to his limits
especially considering his advanced years and on 18
September 1822 he wrote to Everest that he was handing
the large theodolite over to him together with various
other equipment and 26 coolies for their carriage. Lambton
expressed his confidence in Everest's ability, so much
so that he declined to issue detailed instructions.
In 1822 the Takalkhera base of 37 912.56131 feet was
measured along the ground by means of a chain stretched
between two small wooden capstans placed one at each
end [3]
When Everest and his team had reached about 76º
E, around halfway towards Bombay on the new arc, he
received the news on 3 February that Lambton had died
at Hinganghat on 20 January 1823. At the time Lambton
had been accompanied by Dr Morton, an assistant surgeon.
For the last month of his life he had been declining
rapidly, although he had persisted in pushing forward.
Everest immediately ceased his triangulation and returned
to Hyderabad. Unfortunately in the interim Dr Morton,
as an executor, disposed of Lambton's property as well
as a number of Government items before Everest arrived.
In addition he had moved a number of public documents
to Hyderabad. [2]
Everest assumed immediate control of the Great Trigonometrical
Survey although at that time he had yet to be officially
appointed to the post. This formality was to come on
7 March 1823 when he became the second Superintendent
of the GTS.
Everest was furious but too late to stop the hurried
sale of Lambton’s effects. In particular among
the public papers were apparently the plans, records
and manuscripts covering 23 years of field work. Everest
made all haste to meet Morton and salvage what he could
from the mess that had been created. Acrimonious correspondence
was exchanged and the whole affair rumbled on into June.
Although Everest considered that he had managed to recover
all the official material, he was still unhappy about
the disposal of various personal items that he considered
should not have passed to outsiders. From the time of
taking over until August 1823, Everest was occupied
with the mass of accompanying administration and at
the same time he had yet another bout of fever, this
time accompanied by rheumatism and partial paralysis,
so that he was a semi cripple for the next two years.
This he graphically described in [1]. Although advised
by the medical men to go on leave immediately he was
obstinate to the extreme in wishing to carry on with
the programme he had set himself.
The subsequent base measurement at Sironj in 1824 gave
38 411.89912 feet and was another of those occasions
when Everest considered that he had to do everything
himself because of the shortage of staff upon whom he
could rely. He even supervised the driving of every
picket, the reading of the ten thermometers and checking
the free movement of the weight. This base was measured
on coffers. On several occasions Everest had bemoaned
the fact that among his assistants he had none who had
a particle of mathematical knowledge beyond decimals,
the use of Taylor's Logarithms, and the square and cube
root. [1] After closing the gap to Sironj he had to
accept that he needed sick leave and on 25 May he began
the journey first to the Ganges and then by river to
Calcutta. [1] He sailed on 11 November 1825 bound for
England. |
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