﻿\6 
  OLDHAM 
  : 
  GREAT 
  EARTHQUAKE 
  OF 
  1897. 
  

  

  small 
  craters 
  I 
  have 
  heard 
  it 
  said 
  that 
  the 
  water 
  from 
  the 
  cracks 
  and 
  these 
  so- 
  

   called 
  fountains 
  was 
  warm, 
  almost 
  hot, 
  but 
  this 
  must 
  be 
  due 
  to 
  some 
  one's 
  imagin- 
  

   ation 
  : 
  I 
  had 
  to 
  wade 
  through 
  a 
  good 
  deal 
  of 
  water 
  whilst 
  the 
  water 
  level 
  was 
  

   rising, 
  and 
  had 
  the 
  temperature 
  of 
  the 
  water 
  been 
  abnormal, 
  it 
  must 
  have 
  made 
  

   itself 
  felt 
  to 
  me. 
  It 
  must 
  not 
  be 
  overlooked 
  that 
  the 
  country 
  had 
  been 
  water- 
  

   logged 
  days 
  before 
  the 
  earthquake 
  came, 
  and 
  that 
  it 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  this 
  water 
  

   which 
  was 
  driven 
  up 
  with 
  the 
  subsidence 
  of 
  the 
  land, 
  as 
  I 
  believe 
  the 
  quake 
  was 
  

   due 
  to 
  a 
  subsidence. 
  

  

  "In 
  front 
  of 
  Jemadarhat 
  resthouse 
  the 
  Garo 
  Hills 
  are 
  within 
  5 
  miles, 
  and 
  

   behind 
  it 
  is 
  the 
  Brahmaputra 
  at 
  a 
  distance 
  of 
  not 
  more 
  than 
  2 
  miles. 
  The 
  Trunk 
  

   Road 
  remained 
  above 
  water, 
  but 
  in 
  certain 
  portions, 
  where 
  it 
  had 
  subsided 
  from 
  

   I 
  to 
  2 
  feet, 
  the 
  water 
  flowed 
  across 
  it, 
  and 
  at 
  these 
  places 
  where 
  the 
  panic-stricken 
  

   villagers 
  tried 
  to 
  run 
  towards 
  the 
  direction 
  of 
  Lakhipur, 
  which 
  is 
  12 
  miles 
  off 
  in 
  the 
  

   Gauhati 
  direction, 
  the 
  poor 
  creatures 
  got 
  more 
  alarmed 
  than 
  ever, 
  for 
  they 
  found 
  

   themselves 
  sprawling 
  about 
  in 
  the 
  water, 
  unable 
  to 
  realise 
  what 
  had 
  barred 
  their 
  

   progress, 
  and 
  not 
  knowing 
  if 
  they 
  were 
  going 
  to 
  get 
  out 
  of 
  it 
  again. 
  At 
  all 
  these 
  

   gaps 
  or 
  places, 
  where 
  the 
  earth 
  had 
  subsided, 
  or 
  where 
  fissures 
  and 
  cracks 
  had 
  

   formed, 
  the 
  rush 
  of 
  water 
  from 
  them 
  all 
  carried 
  with 
  it 
  an 
  immense 
  quantity 
  of 
  

   sand, 
  and 
  this 
  was 
  what 
  barred 
  the 
  progress 
  of 
  these 
  panic-stricken 
  villagers. 
  

   This 
  sand 
  had 
  a 
  particularly 
  quicksandish 
  feel 
  about 
  it, 
  but 
  fortunately, 
  as 
  a 
  rule, 
  

   was 
  not 
  deep 
  on 
  the 
  portions 
  of 
  the 
  road 
  that 
  had 
  subsided 
  near 
  the 
  resthouse. 
  

  

  " 
  The 
  main 
  shock 
  seemed 
  to 
  me 
  to 
  have 
  lasted 
  nearly 
  six 
  minutes 
  but 
  perhaps 
  

   in 
  this 
  I 
  am 
  wrong 
  and 
  perhaps 
  I 
  may 
  have 
  missed 
  a 
  cessation 
  and 
  taken 
  two 
  or 
  

   more 
  shocks 
  as 
  one, 
  for 
  certainly 
  I 
  noticed 
  no 
  cessation. 
  It 
  seemed 
  as 
  though 
  

   death 
  from 
  drowning 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  every 
  one 
  near 
  me. 
  Although 
  

   the 
  shocks 
  went 
  on 
  being 
  repeated 
  incessantly 
  at 
  intervals 
  of 
  a 
  few 
  minutes, 
  the 
  

   rise 
  in 
  the 
  water 
  ceased 
  after 
  half 
  an 
  hour, 
  and 
  then 
  the 
  idea 
  present 
  to 
  one's 
  eye 
  

   was 
  that 
  the 
  country 
  on 
  either 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  road 
  was 
  nothing 
  more 
  than 
  innumerable 
  

   sand-c/u/fs 
  1 
  of 
  different 
  sizes, 
  such 
  as 
  are 
  met 
  with 
  in 
  the 
  Brahmaputra. 
  This 
  

   meant, 
  of 
  course, 
  that 
  crops 
  were 
  considerably 
  covered 
  by 
  this 
  sand. 
  Most 
  of 
  the 
  

   excavations 
  made 
  by 
  the 
  earth-cutters 
  annually 
  on 
  each 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  Trunk 
  Road 
  

   to 
  enable 
  them 
  to 
  throw 
  fresh 
  earth 
  onto 
  it 
  have 
  been 
  filled 
  in 
  by 
  this 
  sand, 
  and 
  

   the 
  Public 
  Works 
  Department 
  will 
  not 
  have 
  quite 
  such 
  heavy 
  rates 
  to 
  pay 
  for 
  

   earth 
  -cutting, 
  as 
  the 
  leads 
  will 
  be 
  comparatively 
  short 
  when 
  they 
  begin 
  work 
  

   a^ain 
  ; 
  but 
  for 
  this, 
  which 
  is 
  really 
  no 
  advantage 
  to 
  speak 
  of, 
  the 
  loss 
  to 
  the 
  pro- 
  

   vince 
  must 
  be 
  enormous. 
  

  

  " 
  All 
  the 
  panic 
  subsided 
  by 
  about 
  9 
  o'clock 
  ; 
  the 
  hut 
  I 
  was 
  originally 
  in 
  was 
  

   now 
  under 
  water, 
  and 
  I 
  could 
  not 
  get 
  back 
  to 
  it. 
  Many 
  of 
  the 
  villagers' 
  houses 
  

   and 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  Kayas 
  had 
  sunk 
  a 
  good 
  deal, 
  whilst 
  others 
  filled 
  with 
  two 
  or 
  

   mo-e 
  feet 
  of 
  sand 
  through 
  the 
  doorways. 
  My 
  horse 
  broke 
  away 
  towards 
  the 
  end 
  

   of 
  the 
  first 
  shocks, 
  and 
  made 
  for 
  home, 
  the 
  syce 
  after 
  her 
  as 
  hard 
  as 
  he 
  could 
  go, 
  

   but 
  on 
  reaching 
  a 
  good 
  strong 
  wooden 
  bridge, 
  she 
  was 
  stopped 
  by 
  the 
  bridge 
  

   subsiding 
  on 
  the 
  Dhubri 
  side. 
  Cattle 
  seemed 
  to 
  find 
  great 
  trouble 
  in 
  extricating 
  

  

  • 
  i.e. 
  Sa«'.d 
  banks. 
  

  

  ( 
  "5 
  ) 
  

  

  