30 OLDHAM r THE CACHAR EARTHQUAKE OF 10TH JANUARY 1869. 



seeing Dr. Brown's Tetters from Manipur, they seemed to prove that 

 the shock had been as severe at Manipur as in Silchar. To the south of 

 Silchar the shock seemed to have been felt less than at the station, 

 while to the north-west again and on the road to Cherra Poonji 

 the effects were decidedly less. 



He noticed the great difficulty in deciding from observation of facts 

 the direction of the wave. Individuals generally stated that the 

 movement was from about the south. The church tower fell to the 

 north, but an unfinished building of Mr. Snells, which consisted chiefly of 

 unsupported pillars, was thrown down in all directions, the pillars really 

 falling to all four points of the compass. Houses with the ordinary 

 Indian flat roof all stood, while most of those with roofs which did not 

 give support to the walls were thrown down or damaged. 



The disturbances in the surface, in every ease which he had seen, 

 were caused by the slipping in of the banks of the large rivers or of old 

 river beds, or partially filled up jheels ; though he had travelled through 

 the districts for over 150 miles, he had not seen a single case of dis- 

 turbance or fracture of solid ground unaffected by rivers or jheels 

 running through it. Many of the slips along the river banks were 

 very extensive, in some cases being continuous for half a mile in length, 

 from 500 to 1,500 feet in width, and the depth of the depression varied 

 from a few feet to SO feet. Very large quantities of sand and water 

 were thrown up, but he considered that in every case the forcing up 

 of the semi-liquid matter was due to the subsidence of the firm ground 

 above. 



The great majority of people said that the water thrown up was 

 cool ; a few, however, stated that it was decidedly warm ; but generally the 

 evidence went to show that it was very little, if it all, warmer than 

 ordinary water. 



Mr. Leonard has here brought forward his own careful observation 



on the nature of the remarkable fissurings and rupturing of the 



earth's surface, so well seen near Silchar, with singular force. Obviously 



unaware of the full bearing of the statement, he has not clearly shown 



I 36 ) 



