We proceeded to Codalea and on our arrival met one of the sufferers a brahmin, who had lost his family consisting of five persons, and had his leg broken. The outskirts of this village have a beautiful appearance and seem to have escaped the storm. The storm seems to have done little damage to the west[1] and south of Codalea, but from north to east it has made dreadful havoc, sweeping every thing before it. Indeed, with the exception of the government salt chokee and a few habitations adjoining it, all Codalea has suffered more or less ; some houses constructed of brick and clay have followed the general wreck: the walls have almost all crumbled into dust: large trees have been torn up by the roots; some have been broken at the stumps, while the small and elastic ones have escaped with only the loss of leaves and branches.
A peepul tree around which a bur had entwined itself attracted my particular attention. A brahmin whose appearance denoted him to be about the age of 80 years, informed me that the tree in question was a favourite resort for the village nymphs and swains and for themselves on particular occasions ; and that it afforded shelter to the weary tra- veller ; that it had been standing time out of mind and to the knowledge of the oldest inhabitants had never lost a bough. It was the first tree that encountered the storm and the first that fell. The circle from whence the roots sprung was 35 feet in diameter, and these being of extraordinary length caused the earth to come away with the tree and to leave a chasm of about 38 feet in width by 14 in depth : most of its stouter branches were wrenched off and thrown into an adjoining tank, at such a distance as to prove the extraordinary violence with which the tree was assailed.
The paths were obstructed by fallen trees, &c. and the tanks choked with branches, in consequence of which they have become either impassable or stagnant. 55 persons have sustained bodily injury, but reports vary as to deaths ; I am certain many must have lost their lives on the occasion, but there is no arriving at the actual number of those ; 17 have had their limbs very severely injured and I fear cannot survive. As many of the wounded as we possibly could find were collected together, and were attended to by the native doctor who accompanied us. The females of the "Koolin families were looked after in their temporary abodes, and the severest cases we advised to be removed to the hospital at Allipore, but without effect ; the "Gunga" they said was close at hand, whither their friends would take them were they to die. To prevent our enforcing our wishes they appealed in the most pathetic terms to their relatives and friends, and intimated to us that they preferred
- ↑ Where a few houses have been left entire.
