﻿THE 
  SEISMIC 
  FOCUS. 
  17I 
  

  

  less 
  slope 
  ; 
  and 
  the 
  low 
  lying 
  portions 
  of 
  a 
  tea 
  garden, 
  about 
  four 
  or 
  

   five 
  miles 
  to 
  the 
  south, 
  which 
  in 
  ordinary 
  years 
  were 
  regularly 
  flooded, 
  

   remained 
  dry 
  during 
  1897. 
  More 
  important 
  is 
  the 
  testimony 
  of 
  

   Mr. 
  H. 
  H. 
  Brownlow 
  of 
  Sandai 
  (Sundye) 
  to 
  the 
  north 
  of 
  Jaintiapur 
  ; 
  

   writing 
  on 
  the 
  3rd 
  August 
  he 
  says 
  : 
  u 
  A 
  very 
  strange 
  thing 
  on 
  the 
  

   1 
  2th 
  June 
  was 
  the 
  suddenness 
  with 
  which 
  the 
  water 
  lying 
  on 
  

   the 
  plain 
  disappeared. 
  Just 
  before 
  the 
  earthquake 
  about 
  one 
  third 
  of 
  

   the 
  area 
  within 
  easy 
  vision 
  of 
  the 
  hills 
  was 
  covered 
  with 
  water; 
  

   20 
  minutes 
  afterwards, 
  when 
  I 
  looked, 
  a 
  single 
  small 
  pool 
  was 
  all 
  I 
  

   could 
  see." 
  

  

  The 
  apparent 
  change 
  near 
  Dauki, 
  and 
  the 
  change 
  in 
  the 
  tea 
  

   garden 
  south 
  of 
  it, 
  might 
  be, 
  the 
  first 
  imaginary, 
  the 
  second 
  superficial, 
  

   and 
  due 
  to 
  displacement 
  of 
  the 
  alluvium 
  by 
  the 
  earthquake. 
  The 
  

   drying 
  up 
  of 
  the 
  waters 
  south 
  of 
  Jaintiapur 
  cannot 
  be 
  so 
  explained 
  : 
  

   it 
  is 
  the 
  reverse 
  of 
  what 
  happened 
  elsewhere, 
  where 
  the 
  raising 
  of 
  the 
  

   beds 
  of 
  river 
  channels 
  and 
  ponds 
  and 
  the 
  formation 
  of 
  vents, 
  caused 
  

   water 
  to 
  increase 
  on 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  ground, 
  and 
  I 
  have 
  satisfied 
  

   myself 
  by 
  enquiries 
  that 
  the 
  drying 
  up 
  observed 
  by 
  Mr, 
  Brownlow 
  

   was 
  not 
  a 
  general 
  phenomenon. 
  There 
  is 
  no 
  reason, 
  however, 
  to 
  

   doubt 
  the 
  specific 
  statement 
  made, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  obvious 
  that, 
  if 
  it 
  was 
  

   due, 
  as 
  is 
  probable, 
  to 
  a 
  change 
  of 
  level, 
  it 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  local, 
  

   for 
  any 
  general 
  change 
  of 
  level 
  would 
  not 
  have 
  led 
  to 
  the 
  water 
  

   flowing 
  away 
  from 
  one 
  part 
  towards 
  another. 
  

  

  There 
  is 
  support 
  for 
  the 
  supposition 
  that 
  the 
  epicentre 
  tailed 
  off 
  

   in 
  the 
  direction 
  of 
  Jaintiapur 
  in 
  the 
  great 
  violence 
  of 
  the 
  shock 
  at 
  

   that 
  place, 
  where 
  it 
  seems 
  from 
  the 
  accounts 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  quite 
  as 
  

   bad 
  as 
  at 
  Shillong. 
  At 
  Sylhet, 
  too, 
  the 
  severity 
  of 
  the 
  shock 
  was 
  

   very 
  great, 
  but 
  to 
  the 
  eastwards 
  it 
  died 
  off 
  rapidly. 
  

  

  Taking 
  all 
  things 
  into 
  consideration, 
  I 
  consider 
  that 
  the 
  eastern 
  

   termination 
  of 
  the 
  epicentre 
  took 
  much 
  the 
  form 
  shown 
  on 
  Map 
  

   No. 
  1. 
  

  

  Turning 
  now 
  to 
  the 
  western 
  termination, 
  it 
  seems 
  certain 
  that 
  

   the 
  epicentre 
  extended 
  into 
  the 
  alluvial 
  plain 
  west 
  of 
  the 
  Garo 
  hills, 
  

   but 
  how 
  far 
  it 
  is 
  difficult 
  to 
  say. 
  Considerations 
  of 
  symmetry 
  would 
  

  

  ( 
  17' 
  ) 
  

  

  