60S Register of Indian and Asiatic Earthquakes [No. 164. 



the usual length. Of these, the shock in September 1837, was, by all 

 accounts, the most severe, and the oscillations, as in the present case, are 

 said to have come from South to North, and to have lasted full a minute 

 and a half. It is said that on that occasion, several herds of cattle in 

 the neighbourhood were observed running in the utmost confusion in 

 all directions, that lamp and picture-frames oscillated, that the Roman 

 Catholic Church bell rang of its own accord, that quantities of large 

 shot piled up in the Fort were thrown down and scattered about, that 

 a stone wall of a substantial building in town was rent, and the whole 

 inhabitants were thrown into a state of consternation. The shipping 

 in the harbour did not experience this shock, nor did the sea appear 

 agitated ; five days subsequently however another smart shock was felt, 

 and was followed by a very heavy squall from the N. W. and great agi- 

 tation and rise of the sea in the harbour. The tide overflowed the 

 Northern beach, and flooded the compounds and lower rooms of the 

 houses in the neighbourhood. The convulsion was experienced at the 

 same time at Achen and along the Pedier Coast, and it is said that these 

 places sustained considerable damage. By the late shock a clock in 

 town was stopped, and some felt a dizziness in the head and a sensa- 

 tion like sea-sickness, but we have not heard of any other phenomenon 

 attending this Earthquake. It may be that neither this shock nor any of 

 the previous ones we have noticed are to be supposed the effects of con- 

 vulsions taking place immediately below us, but to have been transmit- 

 ted from some neighbouring region within the range of Earthquakes, 

 such as Sumatra. The recent one may be described as having been a 

 mere tremor of the ground, more than a shock." — Penang Gazette, 28M 

 January, 1843. 



From the facts now detailed, it appears, that the point of greatest 

 intensity of the shock of the 6th January 1843, was in the immediate 

 vicinity of, if not directly beneath, the island of Pulo Nias. The south 

 coast of the island suffered most, since it was upon it that the destruc- 

 tive wave first broke. The facts stated are not sufficient to warrant 

 any conclusion as to the cause of this great wave ; it may have arisen 

 from violent volcanic action in the adjoining bed of the sea, or it may 

 have been the reflux of a wave generated by the sudden upheavement of 

 the coast of the island itself. In both cases it is probable, the sea 

 would first have receded from, and then returned in force upon the coast, 

 and in the latter part of the upheavement would have remained, but no 



