The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1877-01-24
The Cvo,oae In Bengal.

The Cyclone In Bengal.
The recent foreign arrival brought details
Of the inundaticn caused by the cyclone In
Bengal, We have the London Times OF the
18th OF January, containing an account OF
the calamity. 1t happened at the islands at
the mouth Of the river Negna, which flows
into the Cult OF Bengal. Thee islands
are among the, richest backgrounds OF the
Empire. They lie very. low, so that they
are at the mercy Of the floods which peri
odically sweep from the sea. The natives
attempt to provide against the dangers Of
their situation by placing their houses on
raised platforms OF earth surrounded BY
high walls of trees. But for the friendly
branches Of these trees the whole popula-
ton might have been swept from the
islands. -
On the 31st Of October storm swept over
the Bay of Bengal. The sea, however, did
not break over the land. The next day was
hot, windy, and ,hazy. AT IL O'Clock ut
night the wind freshened, and at midnight
there arose the cry Of :" The water is on
usI" A great wave several feet high rolled
over the islands, and it was followed by an
other, and then third. So quickly did the
masses of water come after one another that
the natives had no time to climb the trees,
or even to reach the roofs Of their dwell
ings. The cottages were swept away, and
the inmates were lifted to the surface along
with the beams and the thatch. Some were
swept into the branches OF the trees, many
OF which were afterwards torn up by the
roots, and the poor creatures in them per-
ishcd. The full force of the inundation did
not last more than couple OF hours, and
by daybrcak most o. the water had flowed
back into the sea.
By midday the refugees who survived
came down from the trees, and found
spectacle of death and desolation such as
was never witnessed in Europe, says the
Lieutenant Governor, whose letter gives
the Times these details. The survivors
found crops, houses, and cattle all gone.
Many of the water-tanks, which are Of first
necessity to Hindoo life, were found filled
with the bodies Of human beings and cattle.
The. boats were gone and the trees were
torn up. Somewhat more than million OF
people went to rest on the previous night,
and out OF that number it is estimated
that 215,OOO persisted. AL the villages
We're swept away. A rich trading town,
with a population Of 5000, was destroyed,
and fourth of It's population drowned.
Villages lost from thirty to seventy per
cent. of their Inhabitants. The Licuten-
ant Governor, Sir RICHARD TEMPLE, visited
the islands, and thinks that the appalling
figures do not give the full measure of the
catastrophe. Bodies prutrefying lay un-
buried, and INSTRUCTED the Water-courses.
Disease had appeared in spite Of the mea-
sures taken to prevent it, and it is feared
that pestience would sweep away many of
the survivors. There was no danger Of
famine.
1t is said that it might seem strange that
people should remain on islands periodically
liable to such catastrophe. Sir RICHARD
TEMPLE explains that though such cyclones
are frequent, they seldom come to the same
place with such force. No such wave has
swept over the delta Of the Megna since the
middle of the last century. The native
mind is not much affected by an event
which, to a people without records, must
seem lost in the mystery OF antiquity. The
Asiatic races regard death with an apathy in
comprehensive to Europeans and Aneri-
cans. And Sir RICHARD TEMPLE thinks that
the islands at the mouth OF the Megna
would swarm with people even il cyclone
wave swept away third of the Inhabitants
every ha!f-dozen years.
Sir RICHARD was considering what could
be done for the protection Of the poor crea-
lures. He discards the idea of dyking the
islands, as the dykes, il broken in a storm,
would do more harm than good. He adj
vises the building OF perches for the safety
Of the people, but thinks the main safe
guard is in the trees around the cottages.
We gather this statement from the Lon
don Times of the 9th of January, which
publishes the letter of Sir RICHARD TEMPLE
giving the full details OF. the calamity.