KANGRA-KULU EPICENTRAL AREA. 75 



fell from surrounding houses. People rushed out of doors. In house above a heavy 

 almirah was pushed into the centre of the room owing to the bulging of the wall. 

 Church windows were broken. There were a large number of aftershocks following 

 in rapid succession. Miss Hall, nurse in the employ of the above, awoke prior to 

 the big shock, stating that she had felt tremors for some time before. She had 

 partially dressed in consequence. 



A Statesman correspondent writing on the 5th April described the shock as 

 resembling the " Tremor and oscillation of a large ocean steamer going at full speed 

 in a choppy sea " and adds that the sensation of sea-sickness was experienced. 

 Several houses including Fairy Villa (Chota Simla), Thistle Bank (Barra Simla) and 

 Kendal Lodge (Elysium) were vacated. 



Other Routes — {a) Chamba to Lahoul. 



Before altogether leaving the description of this epicentral tract of 

 the Kangra-Kulu area it will be well to append two descriptions ot 

 certain parts of it in the north and south not visited by myself, but 

 of which I possess reliable information. Captain Banon 1 relates that 

 Colonel Hayes, 1st Lancers, found Chamba but little damaged, but 

 Capt. Banon Col. *^e va U ev °* tne Ravi about Barmaur and up to 

 Hayes and Col. Kukti much damaged, especially Kukti, which was 

 Vaughan's accounts. comp i Pt el y destroyed. Thence he (Colonel Hayes) 

 crossed into Chandra Bhaga Valley to Railing in Lahoul. The earth- 

 quake was destructive in this valley, but loss of life small. The 

 damage to the Lahoulis' houses was probably due (so Captain Banon 

 thinks) to the want of wood in their construction. 



•The Thakoor of Lahoul told Captain Banon that such large masses 

 of snow were shaken off the hills that there was a 

 mist of snow for two or three hours after the earth- 

 quake, which plunged the whole valley into darkness and added very 

 much to the prevailing terror. A similar occurrence on a small scale 

 happened at Manali in Kulu (see p. 59). Captain Banon also reports 

 that Colonel Vaughan, 7th Rajputs, was shooting in the Solung valley, 

 and he noticed that the earthquake shook off immense masses of snow, 

 30 to 40 feet deep, into the valley as well as rocks which destroyed 



1 In * letter to the Director, Geological Survoy of India 



