22 OLDHAM: CATALOGUE OP ' INDIAN EARTHQUAKES. 



A. D. 



1839. March 23rd stupendous mass of brick-work in the temple of Mengoon 



—contd. would have afforded to determine the direction and pro- 



bably the velocity of tbe shocks. This, " doubtless one of 

 the hugest masses of solid brick-work in the world" 

 (Yule, loc. cit., p. 160), has been rent and shattered in 

 the most wondrous waj', and yet was just in the condition 

 favourable for such investigations. I still have hopes of 

 obtaining careful measurements of it. Mr. Spears, in 

 reply to queries, asking his experience during the shock, 

 and directing his attention specially to certain points, 

 favoured me with the following brief narrative, wbich 

 I give here in full, as illustrative of one of the most de- 

 structive earthquakes within Burmese limits. The same 

 account has been already given in the appendix to Yule's 

 Narrative (page 349). Mr. Spears says: — 

 " On Saturday morning, 23rd March 1839, at about 4 o'clock 

 A.M., Amarapoora was visited by an earthquake that 

 surprised the oldest inhabitants by its strength. Burman 

 history mentions nothing of the kind having taken place 

 before. I was in bed and asleep at the time, but was soon 

 awoke by a tremendous roar, and the tiles from the roof of 

 the house coming down about my ears ; the motion so 

 great that I had some difficulty in finding the door, but 

 whether vertical or horizontal, I had not presence of mind 

 sufficient to judge at the time. I did not even know it 

 was an earthquake until it was finished. The shock may 

 have taken up about 30 seconds in all. 

 " When I did get into the open air, I found the heavens 

 without a cloud, and although there was not a breath of 

 wind, the trees shook as if it were blowing a gale. The 

 dust rising all round from the destroyed houses gave the 

 sky a peculiar appearance, not easily to be forgotten. 

 " From the appearance the ruins presented in tbe morning, 

 1 have little doubt the motion was from north to south. 

 The river did rise a little, as if its bed had been obstructed, 

 but did no damage to the boats, even to those that were 

 deeply laden. I never heard of a wave, but the banks of 

 the . river between Amarapoora and Ava were rent in 

 many places, presenting chasms of from 5 to 20 feet in 

 width, from which large quantities of water and sand of a 

 ( 184 ) 



