21G Pedler and Crombie — On the Tornado which [No. 2, 



south about 100 paces broad, and coming downwards at an angle of from 

 five to ten degrees with the surface of the ground ; striking at first only 

 the top branches of tall trees, then the upper branches, and finally snap- 

 ping across the main branches or uprooting them bodily, when the vio- 

 lence of the wind got lower. To the north and to the east and west of 

 this track nothing had been disturbed. I drove along the old Mirpur 

 road far enough to satisfy myself that beyond the first jamun tree men- 

 tioned nothing had been touched. 



It is to be noted that there was no evidence of rotation in this wind : 

 everything was carried in one direction, namely, from north to south. 



On the old river bed and on the bank there, were, however, evidences 

 of a less violent gale, blowing from west to east and from the south-west 

 to north-east, as indicated by the arrow heads ; and there were signs, to 

 the east of this chaos, of a very violent wind blowing down trees and 

 branches to the west and south-west. To the north-east of Fakirni-ka- 

 masjid, was the chaos of broken and uprooted trees, centring round a 

 group of plantain trees twisted and turned in all directions where the 

 vortex had at once established itself. 



It is open to any one to say that the vortex originated round those 

 plantain trees, and that the arrow heads in my diagram indicate the 

 directions of the wind as it was sucked into the vortex as it began to 

 rotate, and that the great destruction was caused by the gradual deve- 

 lopement of power as it continued to rotate. 



I oppose this theory with the objections already stated, namely, that 

 an unusual cloud was seen travelling towards this very place, and by 

 the assertions of the people of the place, that the storm did not develop© 

 itself there, but burst upon them suddenly from the north, and the ex- 

 treme violence of the wind at its very first manifestation, before the 

 vortex had begun to move, is opposed to the idea of a gradual develop- 

 ment of the whirlwind at this spot. 



I hold that the other theory that the tornado was travelling in a 

 higher stratum of air, and descended at a low angle, and struck ground 

 at this spot is compatible with all the observations. It is what the 

 people on the spot say did happen, — it explains the extreme violence of 

 its very first manifestations, and the direction which it immediately took. 

 It may be objected that the total absence of the evidence of rotation in its 

 very first manifestation is opposed to this theory. But it is not really 

 so. If you imagine that as the tornado struck the trees on its way to 

 the ground the vortex was not perpendicular, but sloping towards the 

 north-west, it will be clear that the first part to come in contact with 

 terrestrial objects would be the right or advancing lateral radius. The 

 other three radii would not come into action, on account of the tilting, 

 till the vortex itself was on the ground. The next radius to come into 



