500 SAND HEAPS IN THE HOOGHLY. 



the formal account of the disaster, as it was given 

 in the London Times. It appears that, 

 "the Anglia was about to anchor in the Jellingham Channel, 

 near the mouth of the Hooghly, and while turning to anchor, 

 appears to have struck upon one of the sandheaps which are 

 a peculiar feature of that channel, and are apt to form sud- 

 denly. She capsized immediately, but lay for some time on 

 her beam ends, with her side above water. The majority of 

 the officers and crew, and the only two passengers on board, 

 managed to scramble on to the side, and remained there 

 till picked up by the boats of the British India steamer Goa ; 

 but the engine room hands, and three sailors in the forecastle, 

 were unable to escape, and perished. A very painful scene 

 was witnessed by the survivors, etc. The three sailors who 

 were in the forecastle when the ship turned over, found it 

 impossible to escape. They put their heads through the 

 ports and begged for help. Every effort was made to save 

 them, but for want of proper tools the efforts to tear away 

 the iron plates were unsuccessful ; and as the hull slowly set- 

 tled down, the boats were obliged to put off, and leave the 

 unfortunate men to be drowned. Dangerous as the navigation 

 of the Hooghly is known to be, it is a long time since so 

 serious an accident has happened; but only a year ago the 

 British India Co.'s steamer Dunera narrowly escaped the same 

 fate, almost precisely at the same spot." * 



Then as regards the fearful cyclones to which Calcutta 

 and the Gangetic delta are subject, it is well known 

 that the Bay of Bengal has been peculiarly subject to 

 them. Almost every part of its coasts has from time 

 to time been devastated by them, nearly every locality 

 having its own special tale of horror and ruin to recount. 



* London Times of August 28, 1892, p. 4. [N.B. We ought to 

 state that these disasters are in no wise due to faulty or careless 

 navigation, but to constant changes made by the stream in the ship 



channel.] 



