The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1876-12-06

A Storm Wave that Swept Three
Islands of Three-FOurths OF
their inhabitants-H De-
mOIished and Cattle Drowned.
LONDON, Nov. 20.-The Times
has a dispatch from Calcutta an
nouncing that the islands of Hat
tliah, Sundeep, and Dakhin Shaha-
bazpore, and the smaller ones were
submerged by a storm wave on Oct.
81. These islands lie in an arm of
the Bay Of Bengal, between British
Burmah and Calcutta. They form
different groups belonging to the
Backergunge. Nookholly, and Chit
tagong districts, the larger ones
just off the mouth Of Megna, by
which name the Brahmapeotra is
known for the last sixty miles of its
course. The largest. Dakhin Sha-
habazpore, covers an area of 500
square miles, and. until the terrible
calamity Of the 31st ult. had a
population of 100000 souls. Hat
tiah, in the Chittagong district, had
q population of $4,000. 1t contains
IA square miles. Sundeep, once
in the possession Of the Portuguese.
is n little larger than Haitian, and
had about the same population.
Between ii and II o'clock on the
night of Oct. 81 with hardly a sign
of warming, an immense wave rolled
mp from the south, and with irresis-
tible force swept over the islands,
over the estuary Of the Megna and
the waters TO the east, and in an
incredibly short space of time reach
ed the mainland, and rushed over
the level plains on its mission of
death. In many places the waves
was twenty feet deep. and every
living thing in its course that failed |
to reach higher elevation was en-
quilted and swept away by The over
whelming flood. Many Of the in |
habitants saved themselves by |
climbing in to the cocoanut and palm |
tree, but those who took refuge on /
their housetops were secure but for |
q moment, for the light bamboo |
buildings were burst asunder by the |
water, and their occupants wePt out
to sea, Some were carried thus
across the channel ten miles TO the
Chittagong district. but a vast ma
joTity were never heard of again.
The country is perfectly fat. and
almost every one persisted who fail
cd TO reach the trees. There is
scarcely household in the islands
and on the adjacent coast but lost
many members.
The loss Of life was terrible. No
fewer than 100000 men, women and
children persisted. The cattle were
all drowned; not a house was left
standing in the track of the devast-
ating wave, and as the boats were
all swept away, all means of CON-
with other districts were
destroyed. The survivors Of the
are in great distress. but
Government is relieving their wants
as fast as possible. The GoUern-
nent Gazette says wherever the
storm wave passed it il believed not l
l third of the population survive.
rhe islands have barely one-fourth {
IF their inhabitants. I
The stencil from the purifying S
bodies, scattered over a district I
hundreds OF miles in extent, is in i
and there is great fear
hat cholera pest. that has just ap.
'eared in Nookholly will spread over
he whole country east of the Pun
aub. and Derhaps find its wav tn 4
he populous Calcutta district and
he crowded regions beyond.
News from the districts OF Madras
with famine is somewhat
letter. Rain has come I'm lime to
o some good. In Bombay the pros q
ects are still gloomy. Actual fam 4
ne in two or three districts seems {,
and great distress in four a
r five more. :
Fields which yield less grass than I