Frederick E. Wilson was only 25 years old when he deserted the British Indian army in Mussoorie. As per some sources, he had killed a fellow Soldier in a duel and that caused him to flee. For reasons unknown, he escaped towards North and entered the Kingdom of Tehri Garhwal where he asked the King to grant him some employment. But the King who was an ally of the British, would have nothing to do with him lest his British friends be unhappy to find out that the King was sheltering a fugitive from their Army. Left with no further recourse it is said that Pahadi(Mountain) Wilson went even deeper into the Mountains till he came to the Valley of the Bhagirathi at a place called Harsil and decided to set himself up over there far away from the civilisation.
He married a local lady Raimata of the Mukhwa village and soon the local Villagers accepted him into their Society. One would imagine that he acted like some important official and the local Villagers were scared of the Gora Babu(White Gentleman), but were generally very nice and accommodating with him. All except the Priests of the local Temples who thought of him as some kind of Missionary out to convert the people. But far from a Missionary Pahadi Wilson had Royal ambitions and wanted to make a lot of Money. However as the time quietly passed, when he couldn’t bear a child from his first marriage, he married another Pahari girl named Gulabi from the same village. She was the mother of his three sons, Nathaniel (Natthu), Charles (Charli Sahib) and Henry (Indri).
Wilson started his entrepreneurial journey using his exceptional hunting skills. Over time, the forests were heavily plundered. The population of the Himalayan Musk Deer suffered greatly as it was recklessly hunted. Musks and furs were smuggled out of India. However, what caught his attention were the abundant Deodar trees that were left untouched! To extract timber, Wilson had to acquire a license from the Raja of Tehri. But the Raja refused to grant Wilson the same. It then just happened that the British were laying Railway Lines across the country and there was a great demand for Timber Sleepers of Sal for the Railway tracks. And this was where the Raja struck Gold. He gave Wilson the License and both made a fortune later beyond their wildest imaginations. Wilson set up sawmills along the Bhagirathi and vast amounts of Timber were floated down the Ganges towards Haridwar.
Pahadi Wilson was truly a Raja now, and the first thing a Raja does is mint coin in his own name. These are great Collector items today. He built a large Palace out of Deodar in Harsil. Sunderlal Bahuguna, the leader of the Chipko Andolan held Wilson responsible for setting deforestation in motion in northern India, and the gradual extinction of the endemic wildlife.
It is said that during the Selku fair (a celebration to embrace autumn and bid monsoon farewell), Rich Wilson who lived like a king and could possibly make anything happen on ground was said to have challenged the power of Someshwar, provoking the prime deity of Mukhba village to walk on Wilson’s seven deadly swords. It is believed that Wilson’s act of challenging the power of the Lord Someshwar angered the deity greatly. Also, as he had almost completely hunted out all the Wildlife and destroyed all the Forests. It is said that the deity cursed Wilson that his bloodline would be wiped out completely after one generation and he would be forgotten.
Time Passed.
Pahadi Wilson, in his wealthy prime decided to move out of Harsil to Mussoorie to live among his fellow British gentry as now he was a very well respected part of the Society. With all his wealth, he became one of the biggest landowners in the Mountains. He became friends with eminent people like A O Hume and Rudyard Kipling who’s Novel “The Man Who Would Be King” is said to have been inspired by Pahadi Wilson amongst others. And it was in Mussoorie that Pahadi Wilson passed away in 1883 but not before he witnessed the passing away of 2 of his 3 sons. His only surviving Son went into obscurity and his last known descendant was an Officer (probably a Grandson of his last surviving son) who served in the Indian Air Force but passed away in an Air Crash in 1953. Thus ending the line of Pahadi Wilson.
Maybe it was the curse of Lord Someshwar. The Gods, as it is said, neither forget nor forgive.
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Thank you.
If today is the first time you have arrived on The Road to Nara, you are heartily welcome ~ Namaste
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I will take this opportunity to introduce you to About me and importantly;
As a co-traveller, will take you through the Ten Lessons I learnt from several years on the road, before you coarse on your own Road to Nara.
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ROAD TO NARA 
Very interesting story. Whoever your God may be, it is bad karma to do the things he did.
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Thank you dearest Caro. Yes, his story is pretty popular in that region. And well, who knows how many more Wilson’s there would be living around at that time. Thank you for your words Caro.
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This mesmerizing story – “The Legend Of Frederick Pahari Wilson: British Raja Of Harsil Garhwa”, takes your breath away; it is mainly due to Narayan’s gripping storytelling, and partly because of the reader’s astonishment at the evil events associated with the life of a scoundrel. We only breathe a sigh of relief on learning that, in Narayan’s words:
“The Gods neither forget nor forgive.” And they did not!
And what a story this is! It drew the attention of Rudyard Kipling who is said to base the protagonist in his famous book “The Man Who Would Be King” on Frederick Pahari Wilson.
Reading of the horrific devastation this evil man inflicted on the Himalayas, its wildlife, and the deforestation makes you angry not only at him but at the British invaders who had no moral right or the wisdom to destroy such a paradise as the Himalayas are.
Once again, Narayan excelled in his choice of topic and moved one step closer to joining Tagore as the unique, worldwide-known writer India can be proud of.
Joanna
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I laughed out loud at you calling him scoundrel. How much you must have felt reading this story, i could sense it dear Joanna.
Yes, what he did must have been so drastic for the ecology that the gods himself had to do something to wipe out his whole clan, it is quite too much have that curse upon someone.
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Also I remembered Joanna, one thing that still carries on by his name apart from stories are the apples and Rajma(Kidney beans) It was him who started trading with these two and they are still sold by the name of Wilson apples.
Thank you my dearest for your important words, that you keep sending this way. Thank you.
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Pingback: ReBlogging ‘The Legend of Frederick Pahari Wilson: British Raja of Harsil Garhwal’ – Link Below | Relationship Insights by Yernasia Quorelios
Thanks for sharing Yernasia !
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Very good task has been done by Narayan go ahead god bless you
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Thank you my dearest Pa. Its an honour and my pleasure that you have started to read my essays. Lots of love to you.
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The story definitely shows that karma of your bad deeds always comes back at you. Thanks for sharing this story Narayan.
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Absolutely Radhika. If your ever go to UttarKashi side around Harsil, you can ask around the locals, his stories are still very much popular. Also popular are Wilson apples 🙂
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Sad to hear about the destruction of wildlife in India.
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I am sure it is such and true with every country. But it was not the destruction of ecology, but what happened to the man who did it.
Appreciate your coming over. Thank you.
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PS. Great addition of photographs, thank you!
Joanna
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I loved these so real images too Joanna. You won’t believe how much they have changed and how much construction has happened in these same places.
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Thanks for this interesting profile of Frederick “Pahadi” Wilson. It’s terrible what one man is capable of in his pursuit of wealth and power.
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Yes, Pursuit and desire which he fulfilled but at the cost of his and his whole clan. How nature’s cycle works. Thank you Rosa for sharing your thoughts.
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Interesting story but this man was a classic example of ” power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” he deserved the end he came to .
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haha.. absolutely dear Anne. You said it on point. Corrupted so much that his whole clan had to be wiped out. Thank you for sharing your thoughts Anne.
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Narayan, a fascinating story, wonderfully told! What a destructive, greedy man Pahadi Wilson was! He lived in an era in which people viewed nature as something to be conquered and exploited. Sadly, some people are still following that philosophy today! Thank you for this interesting and informative post! ❤ ❤ ❤
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Thank you Cheryl. He was one of a kind. And interestingly, even though his whole clan was wiped out as the curse went, the apples trees he planted for trade, are still sold by his name- Wilson apples.
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I read gabychops response, I totally agree with her.
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Cornelia, Yes Joanna was on point. Thank you for writing this.
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Frederick Wilson was surely an interesting character. Whenever we try to dig into the history of Uttarakhand (ever since the British entered the region after the Khalanga war in 1814), his name comes up often. It is said that LBSNAA (IAS academy) in Mussoorie was a hotel (Charlesville) earlier.. named after his son Charlie. In Harsil and around, he introduced Apples – popularly known as Wilson apples.
His house in Harsil is still there (Govt. has taken over it) and the residents of Mukhba village surely have loads to talk about him.
An interesting research done by you Narayan. Keep it up. Thanks.
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I too heard about Wilson apples Saurabh, And Even Rajma. Who knows how many Wilson’s lived in the Himalayas around that time.
Thanks for adding and sharing here Saurabh. Always a pleasure.
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Wow. Very interesting article on Pahadi Wilson. Indian History is so fascinating. Thoroughly enjoyed reading the post.
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Indian history is as vast and as deep as all oceans put together. Apologizes for writing late Aparna. Pahadi Wilson was one of his kind. Thank you for writing.
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😊😊😊. No issues.
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Thank you for sharing this fascinating piece of history with us. I found it to be riveting. 🌟
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Indian history and even ancient one is a subject of deep study and human cultural evolution. I apologize for writing late Nancy. But really appreciate for this comment. Thank you.
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This is an amazing story. Karm ka fal to milta hi hai.
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Thank you Kaushal Ji. Such karm that it had to get it done by in this birth only. Shall I call hm lucky ? 🙂
Thank you for your comment Kaushal Ji
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Nice post 🤠
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Thank you Butterfly
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My pleasure 😄
Have a fantastic day!!🤠✌️
Butterfly 🦋
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Karma 🙌🏻
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Instant Karma 🙌
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What an interesting story! Great read Narayan. It’s these stories of individuals that bring history to life. He didn’t seem to be a very caring or thoughtful man at all.
Alison
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A wonder piece of history Alison. And Indian history is a deep dive into human nature. Ofcourse he was far from it but two things he gave to that region which are still ongoing.
1. Wilson apples and 2. Kidney beans (very popular in that region, thanks to him)
And thanks to You for writing after some time Alison. Hope you two are resting after your travels. Thank you.
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Interesting story. I like the old photos you’ve managed to dig up. The area looked so much more wild then
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Thanks I J. Really looked uninhabited.
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A fascinating story and a character unknown to me! Thanks for sharing!
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Bon, truly he was one bad ass character. But first let me apologise to you for writing this late. I had been travelling.
There must be quite a few like him in this huge country, still unknown. Thank for writing.
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You are most welcome! Yes, it makes sense that there must be scores of folk with equally fantastic stories out there! Thanks for bringing this one to light and happy hunting for others! 😉 🙂
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You are right Ben. And really in a state called Uttarakhand where this guy arrived; this state here is said to have the most ancient stories and the sacred of mountains. Here is where the the river mother Ganga originates from.
Hopefully you plan someday and come to India to travel 🙂
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Agreed! Yes, I hope to return someday! It is a country I have visited many times and even lived in for 5 years! 😉
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O my! Beautiful to know. And ofcourse you India then very well. Where did you choose to live Bon? One place or many in those years?
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Mainly in DElhi but, as you can imagine, I was fortunate to travel throughout the land a lot. The north was always my favourite !! 😉
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