The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1857-10-24
Earthquake at st. Louis.

The st. Louis papers state that at about
O'Clock on the morning of Oct. 6th, severe
shock of an earthquake was experienced in
st. Louis aid vicinity and in Central Illinois.
The st. Louis .Nsus, of the Sth, thus des-
cribes it {:
Towards midnight of yesterday moisture
began to pervade the atmosphere, and finally
somewhat of a dew was formed. This did
not increase in density until about half past
two o'clock in the morning, when fog be.
gan to gather over the city and superseded
the dew. 1t grew gradually thicker and
thicker, until about twenty minutes past A.
when TO give the words OF officers Mclean
and fellow officer who was sitting OF Third
street, between Poplar and Plum in a door
way,) they heard a loud rumblng noise
They jumped up, and had scarcely reached
their feet before they were amazed at the
shaking of the ground beneath their feet, so
that they could scarcely stand. The win
dows of the houses on both sides of the street
clattcred loudly in their frames, the blinds
flew open, and out popped the heads of scores
OF people IN their night dresses, who occu-
pied the houses. A great number ran out of
the HOUSES, alarmed at the oscillation of the
beds windows, and furniture in their rooms,
and the cry Of an Earthquake" broke the
silence that otherwise regned at this early
hour of the morning. We may State that
the evidences thus narrated were experienced
by people all over the city. Upon compar-
ing all the accounts together, it is apparent
that the shock proceeded from the SOUTH
west and so travelled along. Parties des-
cribe it as coming up from the river west,
from which point it was felt most severe. At
Merramac, and all points below the river it
was actually felt. Persons coming in from
there state that at the time of the shock, the
noise reSembled at one moment the rumbling
induced by steam endeavoring to escape
through a muflled apparatus and at another,
as though vehicles heavily laden, with muf-
tied wheels, were being drawn with express
speed over cable-stOne road. The latter
sound was heard in this city. At Mcrramac
1t was pitch dark at the time, and the people
were very much alarmed and ran out of the
houses. There was likewise strong smell
OF sulphur, and 1t is said upon good authori-
ty, that slllphuric meteOric ball rolled about
the streets in this city, leaving, wherever it
went, a most unpleasant smell. In conse-
quence Of the early hour of the morning;
very little was known of what the outside
effects were; but in regard to the inside
ones, they arc visiblein many parts Plaster
had fallen from the ceilings, locked doors
were unlocked and thrown open, bricks
knocked down. beds and furniture displaced.
The Missouri Hotel and many buildings in
the vicinity, arc described to us By some of
the boardcrs 10 have rocked very nearly
like Il cradle, and large number of them
quickly arose from their beds in ALARM
Heads were popped out OF the windows, and
many persons went into the street. -Four
miles north from here, just before the shock,
it was very dark. After the first shock and
about eight minutes after that came the Sec
ond shock, which was felt all over the CITY.
but was not so strong as the first, although
very pcrccptiblc, when the moon shoDc ou.
as bright as ever This is a very strange
phenomenon to be accounted for, how it is
that while the shock is in progress dark
ness SO peculiar should prevail and that no
sooner las the shock been felt than it quick
ly disappears, and gives way to the silverv
path Of the moons rays. 1t is very certain
that there were two shocks the first is stat
ed by oil citizens Of st. Louis to have been
more severe than any other which has occur
red since 1911, when the great earthquake
which destroyed Caracas and other cities i'm
Central America, extended itself as near to
st. Louis as New Madrid, where the proper
ty was all destroyed, and large number of
lives lost,
From the ST. Louis Integencer, 9.