The letter was published in The Aberdeen Journal on July 19, 1897. Here we are publishing it verbatim.

A gentleman In Aberdeenshire has received from a relative in Assam the following account of the recent earthquake there. The letter is dated Dhubri, Assam, June 16th, 1897.
We have had a very fine specimen of earthquake, something better than the ” common or garden” earthquake of Assam, and, the line being still blocked somewhere beyond Jadrapore, I am writing in good time, and will send this via Goalundo. We have had no letters since the earthquake occurred, so I shall be awfully busy when the accumulated letters do arrive, and it may not be possible to write on the proper mail day. Today communication was effected between here and Calcutta, a few “urgents” having been sent, but as yet no wires from Calcutta have reached us. A wire from the Chief Commissioner came in here this morning, transmitted partly by wire and partly by post, giving a sad account of Shillong.

M’Cabe was killed by the falling of his house, and that is supposed to be the only casualty among Europeans; but the natives came to awful grief, it seems. We here account for the salvation of the Europeans in Shillong by the fact that on Saturday afternoon there was to be a cricket match, and most of them would be away from their houses.

Ganhuli and Goalpara, so far as pucca buildings go, are demolished.

Dhubri I can’t say much about; all the pucca buildings are down, and lot of those built on posts, but we know of only one instance of loss of life, though some people are missing-natives, of course. If you could only see how the ground has cracked into chasms you would wonder that people were not engulfed. Great spouts of sand, water, and mud came up from below, stinking bad, and overran everything in the westerly part, where our depot is. Our depot wells are all broken bar one, in which sand spouted up. However, as I have said from the first, Dhubri will be found to compare well with some other places. I think the mortality would have been greater had it occurred at another hour. At night-time it would have been terrible. Lots of little earthquakes are going on all the time; we must have had 50 to 60 since the time of the big one. By the way, Shillong is quite cut off from everywhere, there having been big landslips which took away the road; bridges are all down and immense trees are over it everywhere through the forest.

June 17th

Little quakes going on all night, but nothing to harm. The downward steamer is due, so I must post this.

 

Note: The Assam earthquake of 1897 occurred on 12 June in Assam at 17:15 local time, India, and had an estimated moment magnitude of 8.0. Considering the size of the earthquake, the mortality rate was about 1,542 casualties, but property damage was very heavy. The damage from the earthquake also extended into different parts of Bengal where many buildings were badly damaged or collapsed. [ Wikipedia]