﻿94 
  OLDHAM. 
  GREAT 
  EARTHQUAKE 
  OF 
  1897. 
  

  

  floods 
  which 
  rose 
  right 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  foot 
  of 
  the 
  hills, 
  over 
  land 
  they 
  

   never 
  covered 
  before. 
  As 
  will 
  be 
  seen 
  in 
  Chapter 
  IX 
  these 
  may 
  be 
  

   accounted 
  for 
  without 
  invoking 
  any 
  change 
  of 
  level, 
  and, 
  though 
  it 
  is 
  

   not 
  impossible 
  that 
  there 
  may 
  have 
  been 
  some 
  permanent 
  change 
  of 
  

   level 
  it 
  certainly 
  did 
  not 
  take 
  the 
  form 
  of 
  a 
  differential 
  change 
  

   just 
  at 
  the 
  foot 
  of 
  the 
  hills, 
  nor 
  is 
  it 
  reasonable 
  to 
  invoke 
  an 
  ex- 
  

   planation 
  of, 
  which 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  applied 
  to 
  the 
  precisely 
  similar 
  

   appearances 
  observed 
  elsewhere. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  foregoing 
  passages 
  the 
  opening 
  of 
  fissures, 
  where 
  they 
  

   cannot 
  be 
  explained 
  directly 
  by 
  a 
  movement 
  of 
  the 
  superficial 
  

   portion 
  of 
  the 
  alluvium 
  towards 
  an 
  excavation, 
  whether 
  natural 
  or 
  

   artificial, 
  has 
  been 
  attributed 
  to 
  a 
  direct 
  compression 
  of 
  the 
  alluvium 
  

   consequent 
  on 
  the 
  momentum 
  imparted 
  to 
  it 
  in 
  each 
  semiphase 
  of 
  the 
  

   wave, 
  or 
  to 
  the 
  effect 
  of 
  hard 
  rock 
  in 
  contact 
  with 
  the 
  softer 
  alluvium. 
  

   This 
  has 
  been 
  done 
  as 
  the 
  explanation 
  seemed 
  the 
  most 
  natural 
  and 
  

   simplest, 
  but 
  it 
  must 
  be 
  pointed 
  out 
  that 
  this 
  same 
  compressibility 
  

   of 
  the 
  soft 
  alluvium 
  may 
  permit 
  of 
  a 
  general 
  movement 
  of 
  the 
  

   alluvium 
  on 
  a 
  larger 
  scale 
  than 
  that 
  indicated 
  ; 
  and 
  several 
  in- 
  

   stances 
  of 
  this 
  have 
  been 
  reported. 
  

  

  When 
  the 
  interrupted 
  telegraphic 
  communications 
  were 
  being 
  

   restored, 
  the 
  repairing 
  parties 
  found 
  that 
  in 
  many 
  places 
  the 
  tele- 
  

   graph 
  poles, 
  which 
  had 
  originally 
  been 
  set 
  up 
  in 
  a 
  straight 
  line, 
  were 
  

   displaced 
  to 
  the 
  extent 
  of 
  ten 
  or 
  fifteen 
  feet, 
  and 
  it 
  was 
  not 
  always 
  

   possible 
  to 
  trace 
  any 
  connection 
  between 
  this 
  displacement 
  and 
  

   the 
  neighbourhood 
  of 
  river 
  or 
  stream 
  channels. 
  The 
  most 
  conspicu- 
  

   ous 
  and 
  best 
  established 
  instance 
  which 
  has 
  been 
  reported 
  is 
  on 
  the 
  

   Assam-Bengal 
  Railway. 
  Mr. 
  Grimes' 
  account 
  of 
  this 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  

   in 
  Appendix 
  A 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  also 
  referred 
  to 
  in 
  the 
  Inspection 
  report 
  of 
  

   Mr. 
  J. 
  E. 
  Dallas, 
  Offg. 
  Senior 
  Government 
  Inspector 
  of 
  Railways, 
  

   Assam, 
  in 
  the 
  following 
  words 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  "The 
  worst 
  case 
  of 
  the 
  lateral 
  shifting 
  of 
  banks 
  occurs 
  at 
  mile 
  i6sh 
  The 
  

   centre 
  line 
  in 
  this 
  case 
  was 
  shifted 
  to 
  a 
  maximum 
  of 
  6 
  feet 
  9 
  inches; 
  the 
  length 
  

  

  ( 
  94 
  ) 
  

  

  