﻿THE 
  BARISAL 
  GUNS. 
  203 
  

  

  heard. 
  Now 
  it 
  is 
  a 
  well 
  established 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  larger 
  and 
  slower 
  

   vibrations 
  which 
  cause 
  an 
  earthquake 
  proper, 
  may 
  vary 
  in 
  amplitude 
  

   and 
  period, 
  even 
  at 
  two 
  places 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  hundred 
  yards 
  apart, 
  and 
  

   it 
  is 
  reasonable 
  to 
  suppose 
  that 
  the 
  same 
  may 
  be 
  the 
  case 
  with 
  the 
  

   more 
  rapid 
  vibrations 
  which 
  make 
  themselves 
  audible 
  as 
  sounds. 
  

   The 
  lowest 
  note 
  which 
  can 
  be 
  heard 
  by 
  the 
  human 
  ear 
  corresponds 
  

   to 
  a 
  rate 
  of 
  about 
  32 
  vibrations 
  a 
  second, 
  anything 
  slower 
  than 
  that 
  

   being 
  inaudible 
  ; 
  as 
  the 
  sound 
  of 
  the 
  c 
  Barisal 
  gun 
  ', 
  like 
  that 
  of 
  

   earthquake 
  sounds 
  in 
  general, 
  is 
  of 
  very 
  deep 
  pitch, 
  and 
  but 
  little 
  

   above 
  the 
  lower 
  limit 
  of 
  audibility, 
  it 
  is 
  easy 
  to 
  understand 
  how 
  the 
  

   sound 
  might 
  be 
  heard 
  at 
  one 
  place, 
  while 
  at 
  another 
  not 
  far 
  off 
  the 
  

   vibrations 
  might 
  be 
  just 
  too 
  slow 
  to 
  be 
  audible. 
  

  

  In 
  all 
  the 
  accounts 
  noticed 
  as 
  yet 
  the 
  phenomenon 
  is 
  treated 
  as 
  

   a 
  local 
  one, 
  and 
  though 
  in 
  the 
  later 
  papers 
  it 
  is 
  recognised 
  that 
  the 
  

   sounds 
  are 
  not 
  confined 
  to 
  the 
  Bakarganj 
  district, 
  or 
  even 
  to 
  the 
  

   neighbourhood 
  of 
  the 
  sea 
  face 
  of 
  the 
  Gangetic 
  delta, 
  yet 
  the 
  expla- 
  

   nations 
  offered 
  have 
  all 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  special 
  conditions 
  of 
  the 
  

   Gangetic 
  alluvium. 
  No 
  attempt 
  seems 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  made 
  to 
  utilise 
  

   the 
  experience 
  of 
  other 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  world 
  where 
  similar 
  sounds 
  are 
  

   heard.. 
  

  

  The 
  ' 
  Barisal 
  guns' 
  are 
  in 
  fact 
  no 
  local 
  phenomenon, 
  but 
  have 
  

   been 
  observed 
  in 
  many 
  places. 
  In 
  1822 
  the 
  inhabitants 
  of 
  the 
  

   island 
  of 
  Meleda, 
  off 
  the 
  Dalmatian 
  coast, 
  were 
  startled 
  by 
  a 
  succes- 
  

   sion 
  of 
  explosive 
  sounds, 
  which 
  lasted 
  for 
  some 
  years, 
  and 
  caused 
  so 
  

   great 
  alarm 
  that 
  a 
  special 
  commission 
  was 
  appointed 
  by 
  the 
  Austrian 
  

   Government 
  to 
  investigate 
  and 
  report 
  on 
  them. 
  The 
  report 
  1 
  is 
  an 
  

   interesting 
  and 
  valuable 
  document, 
  not 
  only 
  as 
  a 
  record 
  of 
  the 
  facts 
  

   and 
  a 
  careful 
  description 
  of 
  the 
  nature 
  of 
  the 
  sounds 
  — 
  which 
  were 
  

   evidently 
  exactly 
  like 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  ' 
  Barisal 
  guns 
  ' 
  — 
  but 
  also 
  as 
  

   containing 
  a 
  full 
  account 
  and 
  examination 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  theories 
  that 
  had 
  

   been 
  proposed 
  to 
  account 
  for 
  them. 
  The 
  final 
  result 
  of 
  this 
  

  

  1 
  Paul 
  Partsch, 
  Bericht 
  uber 
  das 
  Detonations 
  Phanomen 
  auf 
  der 
  Insel 
  Meleda 
  bey 
  

   Ragusa 
  etc. 
  8° 
  VVien, 
  1826. 
  

  

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  203 
  ) 
  

  

  