﻿76 
  OLDHAM 
  : 
  GREAT 
  EARTHQUAKE 
  OF 
  1897. 
  

  

  close 
  to 
  the 
  central 
  area, 
  if 
  not 
  within 
  it, 
  I 
  have 
  a 
  report 
  from 
  Babu 
  

   Kedarnath 
  Mozumdar, 
  Superintendent 
  of 
  Works, 
  Kuch 
  Bihar 
  State, 
  

   who 
  was 
  looking 
  at 
  the 
  clock 
  in 
  the 
  Lansdowne 
  Hall 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  

   and 
  noticed 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  2 
  minutes 
  past 
  5 
  (i6h. 
  25m., 
  Madras 
  time). 
  

   The 
  Station 
  Master 
  of 
  Siliguri 
  gives 
  the 
  time 
  as 
  i6h. 
  26m.; 
  of 
  

   Parbatipur 
  as 
  i6h. 
  25m.; 
  and 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  is 
  given 
  by 
  a 
  number 
  

   of 
  neighbouring 
  stations 
  on 
  the 
  line, 
  being 
  probably 
  the 
  nearest 
  

   even 
  5 
  minutes. 
  All 
  these 
  tend 
  to 
  confirm 
  the 
  Shillong 
  time, 
  and 
  

   we 
  may 
  take 
  it 
  provisionally 
  that 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  origin 
  was 
  not 
  later 
  

   than 
  about 
  i6h. 
  26m. 
  or 
  i6h. 
  27m., 
  Madras 
  time. 
  

  

  This 
  time 
  can, 
  however, 
  also 
  be 
  obtained, 
  with 
  a 
  greater 
  degree 
  

   of 
  accuracy, 
  from 
  the 
  hodograph. 
  It 
  will 
  be 
  seen 
  that 
  none 
  of 
  the 
  

   time 
  records 
  from 
  the 
  central 
  area, 
  just 
  referred 
  to, 
  have 
  been 
  incor- 
  

   porated 
  on 
  Plate 
  XXXIX, 
  the 
  reason 
  being, 
  partly 
  their 
  divergence 
  

   and 
  the 
  absence 
  of 
  any 
  indications 
  that 
  any 
  one 
  of 
  them 
  could 
  be 
  

   regarded 
  as 
  of 
  greater 
  accuracy 
  than 
  the 
  others, 
  and 
  partly 
  the 
  fact 
  

   that 
  any 
  error 
  in 
  the 
  position 
  of 
  the 
  assumed 
  centre 
  would 
  intro- 
  

   duce 
  a 
  proportionally 
  very 
  large 
  error 
  in 
  the 
  deduced 
  distance, 
  an 
  

   error 
  which 
  becomes 
  practically 
  negligible 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  the 
  more 
  

   distant 
  stations. 
  This 
  being 
  so, 
  the 
  curve 
  of 
  the 
  hodograph, 
  for 
  its 
  

   first 
  150 
  miles, 
  has 
  been 
  filled 
  in 
  by 
  inference, 
  and 
  drawn 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  

   harmonise 
  with 
  the 
  rest 
  of 
  the 
  curve 
  and 
  with 
  the 
  results 
  which 
  have 
  

   been 
  obtained 
  from 
  other 
  earthquakes. 
  Consequently 
  the 
  point 
  at 
  

   which 
  it 
  cuts 
  the 
  central 
  line 
  is 
  subject 
  to 
  all 
  the 
  risks 
  inherent 
  to 
  

   the 
  method 
  of 
  extrapolation. 
  The 
  time 
  obtained, 
  i6h. 
  26m., 
  Madras 
  

   time, 
  may 
  be 
  out 
  more 
  or 
  less, 
  but 
  I 
  do 
  not 
  think 
  that 
  the 
  error 
  can 
  

   be 
  more 
  than 
  one-half 
  minute 
  of 
  time 
  either 
  way, 
  while 
  the 
  error 
  is 
  

   probably 
  not 
  more 
  than 
  15s., 
  and 
  more 
  probably 
  of 
  defect 
  than 
  excess. 
  

   The 
  time 
  at 
  which 
  the 
  earthquake 
  first 
  made 
  itself 
  sensible 
  at 
  the 
  

   surface 
  may 
  be 
  said 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  between 
  i6h. 
  25m. 
  45s. 
  and 
  i6h. 
  

   26m. 
  30s., 
  Madras 
  time, 
  or 
  between 
  nh. 
  4m. 
  45s. 
  and 
  nh. 
  5m. 
  30s., 
  

   Greenwich 
  mean 
  time 
  (civil), 
  of 
  the 
  12th 
  June 
  1898, 
  a 
  result 
  which 
  

   shows 
  as 
  close 
  an 
  accordance 
  with 
  the 
  time 
  directly 
  obtained 
  as 
  

   could 
  be 
  expected. 
  

  

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  ) 
  

  

  