﻿26 
  

  

  OLDHAM: 
  GREAT 
  EARTHQUAKE 
  OF 
  1897. 
  

  

  This 
  was 
  after 
  the 
  shocks 
  had 
  ceased, 
  but 
  in 
  other 
  places 
  notably 
  all 
  round 
  my 
  

   house, 
  the 
  snnd 
  and 
  water 
  appear 
  to 
  have 
  come 
  out 
  with 
  the 
  first 
  shock. 
  It 
  certainly 
  

   did 
  not 
  do 
  so 
  in 
  the 
  Palace 
  compound. 
  I 
  then 
  drove 
  to 
  my 
  house, 
  nearly 
  two 
  

   miles 
  off 
  and 
  found 
  the 
  road 
  full 
  of 
  fissures 
  and 
  cracks 
  and 
  every 
  pucka 
  house 
  I 
  

   passed 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  injured. 
  The 
  worst 
  collapse 
  was 
  the 
  « 
  Chottakuti," 
  the 
  fall 
  

   of 
  which 
  I 
  have 
  already 
  described. 
  This 
  house 
  being 
  on 
  the 
  line 
  of 
  road 
  taken 
  by 
  

   the 
  " 
  Tazzias," 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  people 
  were 
  in 
  it 
  looking 
  at 
  the 
  tamasha, 
  and 
  five 
  

   persons 
  were 
  killed 
  by 
  its 
  fall. 
  The 
  whole 
  loss 
  of 
  life 
  was 
  eight 
  persons, 
  one 
  

   patient 
  in 
  the 
  hospital 
  being 
  killed 
  by 
  the 
  fall 
  of 
  the 
  roof 
  and 
  the 
  firewatchman 
  

   on 
  the 
  Jubilee 
  tower 
  having 
  fallen 
  with 
  it. 
  This 
  man 
  lived 
  for 
  two 
  days 
  in 
  spite 
  

   of 
  the 
  height 
  from 
  which 
  he 
  fell. 
  These 
  two 
  with 
  the 
  five 
  in 
  the 
  "Chottakuti," 
  

   and 
  the 
  one 
  in 
  the 
  Palace, 
  were 
  the 
  only 
  fatal 
  cases, 
  and 
  wonderfully 
  few 
  persons 
  

   were 
  injured. 
  This 
  is 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  offices 
  all 
  being 
  closed 
  and 
  to 
  the 
  population 
  

   being 
  to 
  so 
  large 
  an 
  extent 
  out 
  in 
  the 
  open 
  air, 
  I 
  arrived 
  at 
  my 
  own 
  house 
  to 
  find 
  

   it 
  absolutely 
  in 
  ruins 
  and 
  all 
  round 
  it 
  water 
  and 
  sand 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  vomited 
  

   from 
  the 
  ground. 
  The 
  fissures 
  here 
  were 
  much 
  larger 
  than 
  near 
  the 
  Palace." 
  

  

  Outside 
  the 
  area 
  of 
  the 
  seismic 
  vertical 
  the 
  accounts 
  of 
  the 
  earth- 
  

   quake 
  all 
  agree 
  in 
  representing 
  the 
  motion 
  as 
  largely 
  an 
  undulatory 
  

   one, 
  and 
  in 
  many 
  cases 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  visible 
  earth-waves 
  is 
  re- 
  

   corded. 
  Beginning 
  with 
  the 
  Assam 
  Valley 
  I 
  may 
  quote 
  the 
  account 
  of 
  

   Mr. 
  A. 
  £. 
  Shuttleworth, 
  District 
  Superintendent 
  of 
  Police, 
  who 
  was 
  

   in 
  camp 
  in 
  the 
  Mangaldai 
  Subdivision 
  at 
  the 
  time. 
  He 
  writes, 
  under 
  

   date 
  16th 
  August, 
  in 
  an 
  official 
  report 
  to 
  the 
  Deputy 
  Commissioner 
  

   of 
  Darrang 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  "On 
  the 
  12th 
  June 
  1897 
  my 
  wife 
  and 
  I 
  were 
  sitting 
  on 
  the 
  verandah 
  of 
  the 
  

   Chatgari 
  resthouse 
  waiting 
  for 
  a 
  slight 
  shower 
  of 
  rain 
  to 
  stop. 
  At 
  5-13 
  p.m. 
  

   we 
  were 
  suddenly 
  startled 
  by 
  a 
  very 
  vivid 
  flash 
  of 
  lightning 
  followed 
  by 
  a 
  

   tremendous 
  crack 
  of 
  thunder. 
  At 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  the 
  bungalow 
  began 
  to 
  tremble 
  

   slightly. 
  This 
  I 
  at 
  first 
  put 
  down 
  to 
  the 
  thunder, 
  but 
  as 
  the 
  trembling 
  motion 
  

   began 
  to 
  increase 
  I 
  cried 
  out 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  an 
  earthquake. 
  The 
  motion 
  began 
  

   getting 
  more 
  and 
  more 
  violent, 
  and 
  as 
  the 
  timbers 
  all 
  began 
  to 
  crack 
  and 
  the 
  

   verandah 
  floor 
  to 
  split 
  under 
  our 
  feet 
  I 
  hurried 
  my 
  wife 
  outside 
  into 
  the 
  

   rain, 
  which 
  was 
  coming 
  down 
  in 
  torrents. 
  It 
  was 
  as 
  much 
  as 
  I 
  could 
  do 
  to 
  hold 
  

   my 
  wife 
  up. 
  We 
  then 
  saw 
  the 
  earth 
  all 
  round 
  heaving 
  in 
  a 
  most 
  frightful 
  man- 
  

   ner. 
  The 
  earth 
  resembled 
  waves 
  coming 
  from 
  opposite 
  directions 
  and 
  meeting 
  

   in 
  a 
  great 
  heap 
  and 
  then 
  falling 
  back 
  ; 
  each 
  time 
  the 
  waves 
  seemed 
  to 
  fall 
  back 
  

   the 
  ground 
  opened 
  slightly, 
  and 
  each 
  time 
  they 
  met, 
  water 
  and 
  sand 
  were 
  thrown 
  

   up 
  to 
  a 
  height 
  of 
  about 
  18 
  inches 
  or 
  so. 
  This 
  shock 
  lasted 
  for 
  about 
  three 
  minutes 
  

   I 
  should 
  think. 
  There 
  was 
  no 
  rumble 
  with 
  it. 
  The 
  shock 
  was 
  strong 
  enough 
  to 
  

   knock 
  over 
  a 
  couple 
  of 
  elephants 
  I 
  had 
  in 
  camp 
  with 
  me. 
  My 
  horse 
  too 
  in 
  the 
  

   stable 
  was 
  knocked 
  off 
  his 
  legs 
  and 
  my 
  dogs 
  could 
  not 
  stand 
  up 
  in 
  the 
  verandah 
  

   of 
  the 
  bungalow. 
  On 
  re-entering 
  the 
  bungalow 
  we 
  found 
  the 
  verandah 
  floor 
  

  

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  ) 
  

  

  