244 Notes on the Recent Earthquakes. [No. 123. 



distance, appeared to be moving. It was an awful visitation, and made 

 every heart quake. In the direction of Peshawur, (eight miles distant,) 

 clouds of dust appeared, which proved to have been caused by the 

 falling of very many houses and buildings. A salute was fired from 

 the battery at Jumrood, for the purpose of announcing the safety of 

 Rajah Pertaub Sing, son of Maharajah Shere Sing, who is now at 

 Peshawur, and of whom it is said, he narrowly escaped death; the 

 building in which he had been sitting, came down almost immediately 

 after he quitted it. The natives say, that a tenth of the city is down, 

 and a number of the inhabitants killed." 



Extract from a Letter, dated Kawulsur, \9th February, 1842. 



" It is now about 12 o'clock mid-day, and we have just experienced 

 a most awful Earthquake in camp. The natives say, that nothing so 

 severe of the kind has been experienced in India for the last fifty years. 

 The earth literally trembled like an aspen leaf, and rocked to and fro as 

 an infant's cradle, or a ship at sea. Many of the camels that were carry- 

 ing the baggage of the troops moving up to Colonel Wild's camp were 

 thrown down, and so great was the shock, which lasted fully five minutes, 

 that I was obliged to support myself by holding on to the camp furni- 

 ture, and many of the officers fancied themselves suddenly taken ill. I 

 expected every moment to have seen the earth open and swallow us up, 

 and it is only by God's great and merciful providence, that we have 

 escaped through such an awful convulsion of nature. 



" Every one complains of nausea. We have just been observing 

 immense volumes of dust, that completely darken the atmosphere in 

 the direction of the old ricketty town of Peshawur, which is sup- 

 posed to be nearly levelled with the ground, as the houses are but 

 weakly built, being merely propped up by the beams of wood which 

 may be observed placed in different spots under large walls and corners 

 of the houses, and are even dangerous to passers-by at all times. I 

 doubt not but that to-morrow's dawn will bring us dreadful intelligence, 

 and produce a fearful account of lives lost. 



20th February. — " Reports say, that only from 40 to 50 of the inhabi- 

 tants of Peshawur were crushed and killed among the ruins of the 

 falling houses. General Avitabile's large dwelling house, which had 



