1837.] 



Bombay Islands. 



175 



cover our distance from the coast, as appears from the following 

 table : — 



» 



10 miles from the coast the soundings are 14 fathoms ; bottom, mud, 

 40 do. 40 fms., sanc| gravel, and shells of various colours. 

 50 do. 45 do. do. 



160 do. 50 do. do. 



170 do. 55 do. do. 



"We observe, therefore, that soundings extend as far to the westward 

 of Bombay as 2° 50', and that, until the bottom of the ocean begins to 

 ascend, in order to come to the day ; the bed consists of sand, mixed 

 with shells, and that then it is formed of mud. An observation with 

 respect to the nature of the shells would be of considerable importance, 

 because it might enable us to decide, whether they are natives of deep 

 water, or belong to the shallower parts of the ocean. 



Two explanations occur, to account for the appearances here describ- 

 ed : either, 1st. That the land and ocean have retained their positions 

 relative to each other since the formation of the first, the production 

 of the bank being similar to the clay deposit round the shore of the 

 island which so lately appeared, and sunk in the Mediterranean ; or 

 2d., That the harbour of Bombay was formerly a valley, and that the 

 Bank of Soundings was at one time dry ground, both of which have 

 been submersed by the gradual encroachment of the sea. The most 

 undoubted evidence exists to show us that this coast has been, even 

 within the range of a few centuries, subjected to violent convulsions 

 from earthquakes. 



In May 1618, six years after the settlement of the English at Surat, 

 " a general and diabolical storm" occurred in the neighbourhood of 

 Bombay (Bombaim as it is termed by old writers). It began at Bacaim 

 (Basseen), on the 1 5th of that month, and continued with such violence 

 that the people hid themselves in cellars, in continual dread lest their 

 dwellings should be levelled with the earth ; and at 2 a. m. an earth- 

 quake destroyed many houses. The sea, according to the historian of 

 the time, was brought into the city by the wind; the w r aves roared 

 fearfully ; the tops of the churches were blown off, and immense stones 

 were impelled to vast distances ; two thousand persons were killed ; 

 the fish died in the ponds; and most of the churches, as the tempest 

 advanced, were utterly destroyed. Many vessels were lost in the port. 

 At Bombay, sixty sail of vessels, with their cargoes and some of their 

 crews, foundered. 



At Agacaim, a boat was blown by the force of the wind from the sea 

 into a house, where it killed a woman and her child, and the trees were 

 torn up by their roots. 



