The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-03-15
WIGGINS'S TIDAL WAVE.
Description of the Great Disaster in
the Bay of Bengal.
Report o the Sole Survivor, in Peoria (Ill,) Trans

Report o the Sole Survivor, in Peoria (Ill,) Trans
cript.
Porteltous signs have for some days past
hung orer this now deserted country. The
moon ms been of the color alternately of the
pale green that gathers on the cheese when
undergoing a nifty change, and of the dusky
red that betoke the approach of flames in
a burning jungle. The weird nominations
of the mighty wizard of the Canadas have
had their effect on all classes. Hindoos,
Mahratas, Mongols, Sikhs, Rajpoots and
Cooshes have been in a measure Frustrated
by its potency. Although unwilling to ac-
knowledge it, the educated Brahmins have
felt he power of the mighty Northern
prophet, and been as much disturbed in
mind as the ignorant devotees of the linda
bohusor Oodoobohoos sect. A strange and
mysterious influence has been felt in the
air On the morning of Saturday these to-
kens Of restlessness and uneasiness became
more marked. The great voice of the sea be-
came more outSpoken, and seemed in its hol-
low %nurmuring to almost articulate the ap-
proacl of a coming catastrophe. The color
of the water changed from q deep blue to a
pale green, and its phosphorescent glitter be-
tokensd the presence of powerful electrical in
iuenoes. A dead calm, undisturbed by any
noise save this hollow moaning sound, pre-
vailed over the entire province bordering on
the Bay of Bengal. About 10 o'clock in the
morning this silence was broken. A strange
restlessness seized on every thing possessed
of animal life. Women without apparent
cause flew hither and thither, wringing their
hands; men reStlessly turned and walked to
and fro, mixing their talk with frantic ges-
ticulation. The Roman Catholic could be
s~eencOunting his beads, and the devout Budd-
hists gathering to the shrine of their favorite
idols Nor was this all. From the jungles
bordering on the Ganges, the Jumna, Chum-
bull, Gogra and the Brahmapootra, came
forth the dangerous denizeus of those places
ana mingled with the peaceful animals of
the chase; the royal Bengal tiger associated
with man, his favorite food, with no sign of
hostility; the wild elephant trumpeted a
peaceful note as the earth shook beneath his
tread; the hideous rhinoceros, enemy to all
the denizens of the wood and the Jungle,
made friends with the graceful leopard, the
bowling wolf and the mammoth and hideous
s~aurians who came creeping out of the sacred
rivers; the venomous cobra crawled about
with head no longer erect, but on his belly
fulfilled the divine CurseJ pronounced on
his species. This unnatural state of
things continued for about an hour, but
at IL o'clock all nature became aware
that a climax was fast approaching. The
hollow moaning sound from the sea grew
louder. Darkness began to prevail over the
face of the earth. High up in the heavens
the warning winds were seen driving clouds
hither and thither; they came together and
were riven by fearful flashes of lightning,
while the deep thunder caused the solid earth
to shake. The end of all things seemed to
be coming. The scene was ndescribable
To the shrieks of terrified women and child
rem were added the bowling and roaring of
the wild beasts, the believing of crocodiles
and the sibilant Kissing of the serpents.
At his time a terrible sight was witnessed.
lCaleutta is situated on the Ganges, one nun
dred miles from the sea, but by looking
down the sacred river toward the Bay OF
Bengal, it seemed as though the sea was
moving on the city. An immense wave, at
least two miles high, was sweeping up the
Ganges with irresistible force. Nothing es.
capped its dreadful fury. Houses, forests and
solid rock walls disappeared like feathers be-
fore the wind in its mighty bosom. From
an elevated position one could see that this
was followed by another wave full as mighty
as the first. should anything escape the
dreadful power of the first, it would be sur
to be engulfed by the second. One thing
could be plainly discerned, even in this mo
ment of horror. Looking down over the
first wave, which was perfectly straight in
front, it could be noticed that it sloped grad
ually back to the foot OF the second, then rose
to the apex OF the second, from whence il
again sloped back to where the whole bed Of
the sea had apparently risen, forming a per
feet resemblance to the letter