﻿F 
  O 
  OLDHAM: 
  GREAT 
  EARTHQUAKE 
  CF 
  1897. 
  

  

  I 
  ade 
  by 
  me 
  during 
  the 
  cold 
  weather 
  of 
  1897-98 
  was 
  that 
  the 
  

   ' 
  arthquake 
  sounds 
  very 
  feldom 
  travel 
  through 
  the 
  air, 
  and 
  then 
  only 
  

   to 
  a 
  small 
  distance 
  ; 
  and 
  that, 
  though 
  probably 
  heard 
  in 
  the 
  air, 
  

   they 
  have 
  travelled 
  through 
  the 
  earth, 
  and 
  are 
  only 
  communicated 
  to 
  

  

  the 
  air 
  in 
  the 
  immediate 
  vicinity 
  of 
  the 
  hearer. 
  1 
  

  

  ■ 
  

  

  It 
  would 
  be 
  impossible 
  to 
  close 
  this 
  Chapter 
  without 
  some 
  refer- 
  

   ence 
  to 
  those 
  mysterious 
  sounds 
  known 
  as 
  the 
  ' 
  Barisal 
  guns/ 
  which 
  

   there 
  seems 
  good 
  reason 
  to 
  suppose 
  are 
  seismic 
  in 
  their 
  origin, 
  and 
  

   to 
  which 
  several 
  correspondents 
  have 
  made 
  pointed 
  reference 
  in 
  

   connection 
  with 
  the 
  earthquake. 
  A 
  full 
  account 
  of 
  them 
  is, 
  however, 
  

   impossible 
  ; 
  the 
  amount 
  that 
  has 
  been 
  published 
  on 
  the 
  subject 
  is 
  so 
  

   great 
  and 
  the 
  various 
  hypotheses 
  which 
  have 
  been 
  propounded 
  so 
  

   numerous, 
  that 
  a 
  full 
  discussion 
  of 
  the 
  subject 
  would 
  occupy 
  more 
  

   time 
  and 
  space 
  than 
  can 
  here 
  be 
  devoted 
  to 
  them. 
  

  

  The 
  earliest 
  published 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  ' 
  Barisal 
  guns 
  ' 
  known 
  

   to 
  me 
  is 
  in 
  an 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  Antiquities 
  of 
  Bagerhat 
  by 
  Babu 
  

   Gourdas 
  Bysack 
  presented 
  to 
  the 
  Asiatic 
  Society 
  and 
  published 
  in 
  

   the 
  Journal 
  of 
  that 
  Society 
  in 
  1867, 
  2 
  in 
  which 
  they 
  are 
  stated 
  to 
  be 
  

   r 
  >garded 
  as 
  supernatural 
  salutes 
  fired 
  in 
  honour 
  of 
  a 
  local 
  saint. 
  The 
  

   subject 
  came 
  before 
  the 
  Asiatic 
  Society 
  again 
  in 
  1870, 
  and 
  several 
  

   communications 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  l 
  Proceedings 
  ' 
  of 
  the 
  Society 
  for 
  

   that 
  year. 
  In 
  z888 
  Babu 
  Gourdas 
  Bysack 
  presented 
  a 
  further 
  

   paper 
  on 
  the 
  Barisal 
  guns 
  to 
  the 
  Society, 
  and 
  as 
  a 
  result 
  of 
  it 
  a 
  

   special 
  committee 
  was 
  appointed 
  by 
  the 
  Society 
  to 
  collect 
  information 
  

   and 
  draw 
  up 
  a 
  report 
  on 
  the 
  facts 
  and 
  to 
  discover, 
  if 
  possible, 
  the 
  

   cause 
  of 
  the 
  phenomenon. 
  This 
  report 
  was 
  published 
  in 
  the 
  Pro- 
  

   ceedings 
  of 
  the 
  Society 
  for 
  1889. 
  3 
  

  

  1 
  The 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  sounds 
  generally 
  seem 
  to 
  come 
  from 
  a 
  distance 
  is 
  no 
  real 
  argument 
  

   against 
  this 
  conclusion 
  ; 
  it 
  only 
  means 
  that 
  the 
  impression 
  produced 
  is 
  similar 
  to 
  that 
  pro- 
  

   duced 
  by 
  loud 
  sounds 
  with 
  which 
  we 
  are 
  familiar, 
  such 
  as 
  thunder, 
  when 
  these 
  originate 
  at 
  a 
  

   distance. 
  

  

  2 
  On 
  the 
  Antiquities 
  of 
  Bagerhat; 
  Jour. 
  As. 
  Soc. 
  Beng. 
  XXXVI, 
  126-135 
  (1867). 
  

  

  3 
  Report 
  on 
  the 
  f 
  Barisal 
  guns 
  ' 
  made 
  at 
  a 
  meeting 
  of 
  the 
  Sub-committee 
  held 
  on 
  the 
  17th 
  

   July 
  1889 
  to 
  consider 
  the 
  observations 
  recorded 
  during 
  the 
  year 
  1888 
  ; 
  Proc. 
  As. 
  Soc. 
  Beng. 
  

   1889, 
  pp. 
  199-209. 
  Some 
  further 
  communicatio. 
  s 
  regarding 
  the 
  Barisal 
  guns 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  

   in 
  the 
  Proceedings 
  for 
  1890. 
  

  

  ( 
  20O 
  ) 
  

  

  