208 Pedler and Crombie — On the Tornado ivhich [No. 2, 



was directed towards the south and west, but all at once you come upon 

 evidences of a much more violent wind which had no westing in it, one 

 which not only broke the high branches of trees, but uprooted huge 

 peepuls and mangoe trees, and tore its way in a distinct track down 

 south towards the tornado, just after it passed the Elephant ghat. This 

 hurricane from the north of which I write was not more than 60 paces 

 across, and was very local. It was altogether to the east of the Phil- 

 khana, where nothing was disturbed. It was curious to see the little 

 low kutcha huts where the mahout's live, standing about, within the 

 Philkhana enclosure, while 200 yards to the east a large solitary gab 

 tree was overturned, and a huge uprooted peepul tree blocked the road, 

 and there were marks of devastation away everywhere in a track to- 

 wards the south. 



After the occurrence of this indraught from the north, the vortex 

 passed along, or close to, the main road through Nawabgunj eastward. 

 Soon it began to encounter on its left front the pucka houses of Amli- 

 golah, and from the resistance they offered to the anterior and retro- 

 grading radii, it again began to edge towards the right, passing how- 

 ever between these houses and Ram-Shaha's mat. This mat was taken 

 by the advancing lateral (or right) radius, and two of its pinnacles were 

 thrown down ; those on the north-west and south-west corners. They 

 were thrown south-east and east by north respectively. The finials of 

 the two remaining pinnacles were bent south-east and south-east by 

 south, but the terminal finial of the main spire at a height of about 60 feet 

 w^as bent nearly due east, showing, I think, that the vortex was at this 

 part of its course not perpendicular, but sloping backwards and towards 

 the north-west. 



From Ram Shaha's mat, the tornado continued to edge towards the 

 south, till the vortex at last, just before reaching the Lalbagh, passed 

 again on to the maidan. Up to this point the tornado does not seem to 

 have had power to destroy pucka masonry buildings. So far it had only 

 laid low all kutcha huts in its course, broken and uprooted trees, 

 carried away the pinnacles of mosques and temples, and leveled kutcha 

 pucka walls. It had only managed to dislodge a few bricks on the most 

 exposed corners of masonry buildings. But as soon as it passed on to 

 the maidan to the south of the Lalbagh, and was so freed of the ob- 

 struction offered by these obstacles, it seems to have rapidly accumulated 

 additional force, sufficient before the vortex had passed the east gate of 

 the Lalbagh for its retrograding lateral radius to knock down a portion 

 of three of the police barracks, built high on the south rampart of the 

 old fort, killing one and severely wounding twelve constables by the 

 falling of masonry and beams. 



