1843.] Memoir on Indian Earthquakes. 1039* 



those wall shades only in that line, when as if a second shock, though 

 I could perceive no stop, came from the direction of N. and S. affect- 

 ing the wall shades again in that line : the last undulation appeared to 

 be the strongest ^ this was, repeated three times, each with less force. 

 On the 23rd, two more slight shocks were felt, since which period up 

 to the night of the 2nd of June, the sky assumed every evening an 

 ashy colour, blended with tints of a salmony hue and very oppressively hot. 

 A strange effect it appeared to have on all trees in either blossom or young 

 fruit. As proof of this, the whole of the fruit in my garden was stunt- 

 ed in its size with a kind of harsh flavour, though free from any worm : 

 the blossoms falling off as if each leaf was partially baked to make 

 it crisp." 



About five miles from Monghyr is the Seetacond, a hot spring 

 celebrated as a favourite resort of Hindoos. Its temperature is vari- 

 able, sometimes rising as high as 136°, and sometimes being only 92° 

 or 93°. It is a remarkable fact, that Monghyr seems to suffer more 

 from Earthquake shocks, from whatever direction these may come, than 

 any other place in its vicinity. This was observed during the shock 

 from the lateral Himalayan tract, of the 26th August 1833, again 

 during that of the 1 1th November 1842, and I would say from the in- 

 formation before me, that on the present occasion, the shocks were 

 smarter at Monghyr than at any other spot. What the cause of this 

 greater susceptibility may be, it is impossible at present to say, as it 

 would be necessary to know the locality thoroughly, before any could 

 be with propriety or confidence assigned, but the fact seems well esta- 

 blished. 



It would appear from the following remarks of Dr. Hamilton Buchanan, 

 in a paper on the minerals of the Rajmahal hills, that towards the 

 western extremity of this range, there are decided indications of 

 igneous action. 



" I have said," Dr. Buchanan remarks, " that Rangreswaritok at the 

 western extremity of the range appears to me to have been the crater 

 of a volcano. It is a conical hill about 300 feet in perpendicular 

 height, and very steep on all sides. On reaching the summit, you find 

 it consists of a great cavity surrounded by a thin ledge, and descend- 

 ing to very near the level of the plain. The ledge now is of un- 

 equal height, having in some places given way, especially towards the 

 East, whence a gap about 30 yards wide at the bottom gives access 

 from the outer plain with very little ascent, and allows the water from 

 the cavity to escape. Towards the summit, the inner ledge consists 

 of abrupt rocks, but the bottom is filled with the debris of the portions 

 of the ledge that have fallen. Much slaggy matter is to be found on 

 the outside of the hill and at the bottom of the cavity." " I was in- 

 formed by Isfundyer Khan, a fine young man, assistant to the Sezawal 

 who manages the hill tribes, that about five years ago he heard of a 

 smoke that issued from a hill named Chapar Bhita, about seven coss 

 S. E. from Karariya. He visited the place, which was not hollow, and 



