﻿2 
  OLDHAM: 
  GREAT 
  EARTHQUAKE 
  OF 
  1897. 
  

  

  area 
  affected 
  was, 
  however, 
  too 
  large 
  for 
  any 
  one 
  man 
  to 
  examine 
  

   single 
  handed, 
  and 
  the 
  advent 
  of 
  the 
  rainy 
  season 
  rendered 
  it 
  

   necessary 
  that 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  examination 
  should 
  be 
  undertaken 
  at 
  

   once. 
  The 
  four 
  officers 
  at 
  headquarters, 
  Messrs. 
  T. 
  D. 
  LaTouche, 
  

   H. 
  H. 
  Hayden, 
  E, 
  Vredenburg 
  and 
  G. 
  E. 
  Grimes, 
  were 
  accordingly 
  

   despatched, 
  with 
  instructions 
  to 
  collect 
  what 
  information 
  they 
  could. 
  

   Mr. 
  LaTouche 
  was 
  entrusted 
  with 
  the 
  examination 
  of 
  the 
  Assam 
  

   valley, 
  and 
  was 
  subsequently 
  instructed 
  to 
  visit 
  and 
  make 
  observations 
  

   at 
  Shillong, 
  Cherrapunji 
  and 
  Sylhet 
  ; 
  Mr. 
  Hayden 
  examined 
  the 
  line 
  

   of 
  railway 
  running 
  north 
  from 
  Calcutta 
  to 
  Darjiling, 
  and 
  several 
  of 
  

   the 
  more 
  important 
  towns 
  in 
  Northern 
  Bengal 
  ; 
  Mr. 
  Vredenburg 
  

   undertook 
  the 
  examination 
  of 
  the 
  country 
  to 
  the 
  west 
  of 
  this 
  ; 
  and 
  

   Mr. 
  Grimes 
  made 
  a 
  tour 
  through 
  Eastern 
  Bengal 
  and 
  the 
  Cachar 
  

   valley. 
  These 
  investigations 
  were 
  confined 
  to 
  those 
  districts 
  where 
  a 
  

   considerable 
  amount 
  of 
  damage 
  was 
  known 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  done. 
  

   Mr. 
  P. 
  N. 
  Bose 
  was 
  afterwards 
  despatched 
  to 
  the 
  eastern 
  deltaic 
  

   districts, 
  from 
  which 
  the 
  accounts, 
  received 
  at 
  first, 
  were 
  meagre, 
  and 
  

   indicated 
  a 
  much 
  less 
  degree 
  of 
  violence 
  than 
  was 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  

   intelligible. 
  The 
  reports 
  submitted 
  by 
  these 
  officers, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  they 
  

   have 
  not 
  been 
  incorporated 
  in 
  the 
  text, 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  Appendix 
  A. 
  

   Every 
  attempt 
  was 
  also 
  made 
  to 
  obtain 
  information 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  

   letters 
  and 
  circulars; 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  volunteer 
  observers 
  were 
  

   interested 
  in 
  maintaining 
  a 
  record 
  of 
  the 
  aftershocks 
  ; 
  while 
  the 
  

   Local 
  Governments 
  and 
  the 
  Imperial 
  Telegraph 
  Department 
  had 
  

   been 
  instructed 
  by 
  the 
  Government 
  of 
  India 
  to 
  render 
  all 
  informa- 
  

   tion 
  and 
  assistance 
  in 
  their 
  power. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  on 
  the 
  information 
  obtained 
  by 
  these 
  means, 
  supplemented 
  

   by 
  a 
  tour 
  through 
  the 
  epicentral 
  tract, 
  which 
  was 
  made 
  by 
  the 
  writer 
  

   during 
  the 
  cold 
  weather 
  of 
  1897-98, 
  that 
  the 
  following 
  report 
  is 
  

   based. 
  In 
  accordance 
  with 
  the 
  orders 
  of 
  the 
  Government 
  of 
  India, 
  

   it 
  deals 
  with 
  the 
  earthquake 
  from 
  a 
  scientific 
  point 
  of 
  view 
  alone, 
  

   and, 
  except 
  incidentally, 
  the 
  human 
  aspect 
  of 
  the 
  occurrence 
  is 
  not 
  

   dealt 
  with. 
  No 
  tales 
  of 
  hairbreadth 
  escapes, 
  of 
  deaths, 
  or 
  rescues 
  

   from 
  death 
  are 
  recorded, 
  nor 
  is 
  any 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  manner 
  in 
  

  

  ( 
  2 
  ) 
  

  

  