﻿Prof. Milne — Across Europe and Asia. 559 



mud and water came out of the cracks wliicli were formed, that the 

 boards forming the floors were burst, and the streets were covered 

 with water one arsheen (28 inches) deep. On the same day the 

 water of the Baikal flowed over the Sagansky Steppe and the 

 Bourat villages which were situated upon it. On New Year's Day, 

 1862, the water of the Baikal flooded all the land as far as the 

 Steppe of Bartogoisky. Three thousand five hundred head of cattle 

 were drowned, and upwards of 40,000 hayricks were washed away, 

 whilst corn and other things were also destroyed. Near to the 

 Baikal the water was four arsheen deep (9ft. 4:in.), and near Selinga 

 \ arsheen (7 in.). The force of this flood of water was very great. 

 Many pieces of ice several yards square and \ arsheen (14 in.) in 

 thickness were carried to distances of two versts (1^ miles). 



The direction of the shocks was from N.E. towards S.W., through. 

 Cabansk, towards Selenginsk and Lake Gooseenoi. In Selenginsk 

 the first shock was on the 30th December, at 4 p.m. Next day 

 there were a series of slow shocks, which, in the afternoon, at 2 p.m., 

 had increased in strength. Noises and tremblings wei'e felt con- 

 tinuously. The church bell rang of its own accord, whilst the 

 building itself swayed from north to south, and the crosses on its 

 summit were tipped over to one side. The shocks were repeated 

 rapidly, and, as night came on, they had so increased in strength that 

 the earth oscillated every two or three minutes. By these strong 

 oscillations the ice covering Lake Goosenaya and Lake Stuchya was 

 cracked, and from the cracks came forth water charged with mud and 

 pebbles. In Verkne Udinsk the shocks commenced at 4 p.m. on the 

 30th December, and during the day fourteen of them were observed. 

 At 3 p.m. next day they were so strong that stone houses were 

 cracked, stove pipes shaken down, and window glass was broken. 

 Tremblings were observed so far as Chita and Nertchinsk. In 

 Irkutsk observations were made by MM. Shookeen and Semen- 

 tovsky. The tremblings commenced on December 30th, at 



3 h. 55 m. 40 sec. p.m. The force of the shocks and the rapidity of 

 the tremblings were unusual. The breaking of the ice upon the 

 Eivers Angara and Ooshankofa caused great noise. During the 

 night there were many shocks. At 2*19 p.m., on the 31st, the 

 churches were shaken and the bells rang. From one church a cross 

 fell down, the Arcanglesky Church inclined to the south, Blagovats- 

 chevsky and Teekveensky churches inclined east, whilst the cross 

 on the last-mentioned building was turned round. A number of the 

 brick houses were shaken, whilst the chimneys of the wooden ones 

 cracked and fell. Slight shocks continued all day and next night. 



In the Tunkinskaya country the effects were slight, and no visible 

 results were left. 



On the 30th Dec, in the Island of 01k oni (or Olkoon) on Lake 

 Baikal, there was heard a noise, which was followed by a shaking. 

 This continued until the 13th January, generally happening from 



4 to 7 o'clock during the day. The greatest shakings were on the 

 31st December. Rumblings and slight tremblings were more or 

 less felt, usually twice a day, until the 25th of January. 



