Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-07-29
Some Account Of the Recent nurri-
cane in CaIcutta-Bursting of the
Rain MOnsOOn-DrOught, Famine
and Death.

sore district was wasted and the
mail steamer Gheduba has not since
been heard of. About A A. M. on
the 9th it became apparent that we
were in for a hurricane of no Ordi-
nary violence, and the gusts OF
wind increased in force up 10 be-
tween 10 and i, when they averaged
so pounds to the square foot, and
went as high as 65 pounds, or LA
miles an hour. Few merchants and
officials were able to reach their
offices, while their native employees
could not attempt to do so. One of
the daily papers had two printers
and the other three. The roof of
the Lock Hospital fell in, kill
ing two women and wounding nine
others. Trees were blown down,
brick houses were injured and
huts were generally levelled with
the ground wherever they were
not sheltered. The shipping
rode out with few casualties,
but cargo boats were swept away,
and some lives must have been lost.
The tide was unusually high. The
squalls continued till toward mid
night, accompanied by heavy rain.
AT least eight inches fell. Great as
the violence and injury have been,
they are nothing to our experience
of 1864 and 1867. In the latter year
l had to barricade with heavy tables
the windows of house on the south
bank of the HoOghly; and even
then three were blown in. Port
Canning suffered, but less than bes
fore. BarrackpOre seems to have
escaped cheaply. The only crop
which has suffered is that Of the
plantain trees and the pau leaf,
which is chewed with the betel nut.
The leaf is grown on elevated sites
under close wicker work roofs, to
keep out the sun. In the course OF
six miles drive along the Grand
Trunk road, at some distance from
Calcutta, 1 found these erections in
almost every case PROSTATE. Not a
plantain tree stood. Young and
very exposed trees had yielded, and
in some cases the road was impassa-
BILE till the AK had been applied. AS
to the poor peoples huts, none had
survived, unless when under the lee
of thick trees. Deep tanks which
were empty the day before were
filed to overfowing by the rain and
drainage from the road, and the
greater part of the district, near Sc
rampore, which was inundated last
year, was under water. AS the
storm came during the day, the peo
pie were more cheerful than in 1867, ,
and to-day the sun is out, convert
ing Bengal into vast vapor bath,
so that the damage is rapidly res
paired with bamboos and mud. Mr.
| Blanford, the meteorological report
er, is of opinion that the course OF
the cyclone was from about the
mouth Of the Hurringottah, past
| Calcutta, at distance of some miles
to the northeast, and therefore in a
northwesterly direction. The trains
on the East Indian railway were de
layed in departure, from the I'M
possibility of communicating by
river with Calcutta We have yet
to hear from the Bay of Bengal.
There are few things so glorious
as the burst of the rain moDsoon on
marched India-the clouds rolling
up from the sea in precipitous mass
es, attended by all the artillery of
heaven; and, as they pass on TO
strike against the Himalayas, DIS
charging their treasures as they go,
all nature wakes to life, and be-
comes green as if by magic. Kali
dasa's description, as translated by
Mr.. Griffith, the Principal OF the
| Sanskrit College, Benares, is moi
unworthy of the subject. 1t thu:
begins:
II who il this that driveth near.
Heralded by sounds of fear?
Red his flag, the lightnings glare,
Flashing through the murky air.
Pealing thunder for his drums,
Royalty the monarch comes;
See he rides, amid the crowd,
On his elephant Of cloud,
Marshaling his kingly train,
Welcome, o thou Lord of RainF'
Even at the price OF cyclone, tract
like those of Central India and Ria
: pootna would gladly welcome tn
: Lord of Rain. The unexampled hea
: there, as everywhere this year, ha
, stricken down many an English sol
t der and official, and many an Asl
. attic with apoplexy and cholera
: while famine has done no little evl
: in the native States. 1t will be som
4 time till the deserts of Western, an
. the valleys of Central India get re
: lief. They are almost at the pom
y of rest where the monsoons pour
5 ing up from the Indian Ocean an
: the Bay of Bengal exhaust then
Q selves, and the rainfall, which
e from 70 to 100 inches on the coasts
n and from 100 to $50 on the hill
o shrinks into an annual sprinkling
e from five to twenty inches. Writin
e lust a week ago, correspondent
d the heart of the feudatory terrltor
tells me that "things are as quiet
4 sunstroke and cholera will admit
y People on the brink of starvatio
g | die quietly and make few signs. n
h doubt many have died-how man
y We shall, perhaps, never kno'
G. Villages in some of the States hay
ct been swept by cholera, and Il
N Marawees, struggling along Il
es road on their return to III
to pootana, have left the
ly dead on the highway, Maj
'd corpses were thus seen mon
he ago, but now there is lull. Tow
lis in Holkar's territory, about IndOl
th have suffered much. Death h
lie been moving all through BOpal ais
nd and in the Goona district the ray
as ges have been great. In Bund
is kund, where the famine has be
lot sorest, cholera has been milder th
in other places; but there Is til
as of trial yet to be tided over till t
OF rain crops are ready. We hs
m been saved so many horrors whi
.he seemed inevitable in the FAM
1t that was so nigh, that we may "
ay bear this burden, and strive by 81
nd plying food and work to meet
he | F,turo In tho afflicted 1istri