﻿14 
  OLDHAM: 
  GREAT 
  EARTHQUAKE 
  OF 
  1897. 
  

  

  useless. 
  Of 
  the 
  crops, 
  jute 
  has 
  suffered 
  most 
  ; 
  in 
  some 
  fields 
  plants 
  as 
  high 
  as 
  a 
  

  

  man 
  have 
  been 
  completely 
  buried 
  in 
  sand. 
  The 
  ashu 
  crop 
  has 
  suffered 
  a 
  great 
  

  

  deal 
  less, 
  and, 
  where 
  not 
  destroyed, 
  promises 
  to 
  be 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  average. 
  Several 
  

  

  bhils 
  have 
  silted 
  up, 
  and 
  the 
  newly-formed 
  land 
  is 
  now 
  being 
  ploughed 
  for 
  salt 
  ; 
  

  

  as 
  the 
  soil 
  is 
  excellent, 
  good 
  results 
  are 
  expected. 
  The 
  earthquake 
  caused 
  a 
  

  

  regular 
  panic 
  amongst 
  the 
  plains 
  people. 
  Whole 
  villages 
  were 
  deserted 
  for 
  days, 
  

  

  while 
  the 
  inhabitants 
  took 
  refuge 
  in 
  the 
  hills. 
  A 
  few 
  Garos 
  took 
  advantage 
  of 
  

  

  this 
  to 
  loot 
  their 
  granaries. 
  Considering, 
  however, 
  the 
  extraordinary 
  facilities 
  for 
  

  

  thieving 
  afforded, 
  very 
  little 
  crime 
  was 
  committed. 
  

  

  "10. 
  In 
  the 
  hills, 
  landslips 
  have 
  caused 
  a 
  great 
  deal 
  of 
  damage, 
  granaries 
  

  

  have 
  been 
  wrecked, 
  and 
  much 
  grain 
  lost. 
  The 
  cultivated 
  

   Damage 
  in 
  the 
  hills. 
  glopes 
  of 
  the 
  hUlg 
  have 
  cracked 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  in 
  j 
  ure 
  the 
  crop> 
  

  

  and 
  in 
  some 
  places 
  the 
  earth 
  has 
  been 
  so 
  severely 
  shaken 
  as 
  to 
  destroy 
  it. 
  

  

  " 
  It 
  is 
  generally 
  stated 
  that 
  some 
  hills 
  have 
  sunk 
  bodily 
  many 
  feet 
  while 
  others 
  

   have 
  risen. 
  In 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  two 
  hills 
  between 
  Tura 
  and 
  Rowmari, 
  this 
  as- 
  

   sertion 
  is 
  corroborated 
  by 
  the 
  signallers 
  of 
  the 
  Military 
  Police, 
  who 
  have 
  been 
  

   constantly 
  practising 
  with 
  the 
  heliograph 
  from 
  these 
  two 
  places. 
  

  

  "II. 
  I 
  regret 
  to 
  say 
  there 
  have 
  been 
  more 
  lives 
  lost 
  than 
  was 
  at 
  first 
  supposed. 
  

  

  Up 
  to 
  date 
  the 
  number 
  is 
  27, 
  but 
  as 
  the 
  reports 
  arrive 
  

   Mortality. 
  from 
  the 
  more 
  inaccessible 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  district, 
  this 
  

  

  number 
  will, 
  1 
  fear, 
  be 
  considerably 
  exceeded. 
  The 
  

   greatest 
  loss 
  has 
  occurred 
  in 
  the 
  lower 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  Someswari 
  Valley 
  in 
  the 
  circles 
  

   of 
  Bong 
  and 
  Damjing 
  Lashkars 
  ; 
  the 
  latter 
  with 
  his 
  whole 
  family 
  was 
  buried 
  in 
  

   his 
  house 
  by 
  the 
  fall 
  of 
  the 
  hill 
  above 
  it. 
  

  

  " 
  12. 
  The 
  Garos 
  generally 
  were 
  thrown 
  into 
  a 
  state 
  of 
  stolid 
  bewilderment 
  by 
  

  

  the 
  earthquake. 
  They 
  left 
  their 
  fields, 
  and 
  retired 
  

   Attitude 
  of 
  the 
  people. 
  *nto 
  their 
  village 
  houses 
  to 
  await 
  further 
  catastrophes. 
  

  

  The 
  Garo 
  belief 
  is 
  that 
  the 
  world 
  is 
  a 
  square 
  fiat 
  body 
  

   hung 
  up 
  by 
  a 
  string 
  at 
  each 
  corner. 
  There 
  is 
  a 
  squirrel 
  always 
  trying 
  to 
  gnaw 
  

   these 
  strings, 
  but 
  to 
  prevent 
  it 
  a 
  demon 
  was 
  appointed. 
  This 
  demon, 
  however, 
  

   neglected 
  his 
  duty, 
  and 
  in 
  order 
  that 
  his 
  attention 
  might 
  not 
  in 
  the 
  future 
  be 
  di- 
  

   verted 
  from 
  his 
  work, 
  he 
  was 
  struck 
  blind. 
  Now 
  that 
  he 
  can't 
  see, 
  the 
  squirrel 
  

   of 
  course 
  has 
  the 
  best 
  of 
  it, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  feared 
  that 
  when. 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  of 
  the 
  strings 
  are 
  

   gnawed, 
  the 
  earth 
  will 
  be 
  turned 
  upside 
  down. 
  1 
  Another 
  story 
  is 
  that 
  Her 
  Most 
  

   Gracious 
  Majesty, 
  not 
  content 
  with 
  the 
  last 
  earthquake, 
  has 
  ordered 
  another 
  and 
  

   more 
  vigorous 
  one 
  to 
  be 
  followed 
  by 
  a 
  cyclone. 
  That 
  it 
  is 
  in 
  the 
  power 
  of 
  the 
  

   Maharani 
  to 
  do 
  so 
  is 
  never 
  doubted. 
  One 
  man 
  asked 
  for 
  a 
  parivana 
  to 
  forbid 
  

   the 
  hill 
  behind 
  his 
  house 
  from 
  slipping 
  down 
  on 
  to 
  him. 
  Had 
  the 
  houses 
  of 
  the 
  

   European 
  officials 
  in 
  Tura 
  not 
  been 
  wrecked, 
  the 
  Garos 
  would 
  have 
  made 
  up 
  

   their 
  minds 
  without 
  doubt 
  that 
  the 
  recent 
  catastrophe 
  was 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  the 
  Sahibs, 
  

   and 
  excited 
  by 
  the 
  wild 
  stories 
  in 
  common 
  ciicu'ation 
  they 
  might 
  have 
  given 
  

   some 
  trouble. 
  

  

  1 
  I 
  was 
  in'ormed 
  that 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  Garo 
  children, 
  who 
  were 
  attending 
  the 
  mission 
  school, 
  

   convinced 
  that 
  this 
  had 
  come 
  to 
  pas«=, 
  rushed 
  underneath 
  the 
  platforms, 
  raised 
  above 
  the 
  

   ground, 
  which 
  formed 
  the 
  floors 
  of 
  the 
  mission 
  houses, 
  so 
  that, 
  when 
  everything 
  was 
  reversed, 
  

   they 
  might 
  still 
  have 
  a 
  solid 
  floor 
  to 
  stand 
  on.— 
  R. 
  D. 
  O. 
  

  

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  14 
  ) 
  

  

  