East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1859-06-16


shore, and the connection as the falling
mass of earth and trees was swallowed
up by the river
The lady of the party, delicate ie-
male, was frequently awakened from her
restless slumbers by the jar given TO the
/ furniture and loose articles in the cabin,
as several times in the course of the
night the shock of the passing earth
quake was communicated from the island
I 90 the bow of the vessel. 1t was a long
might, but morning dawned and showed
| them that they were near the mouth of
the Ohio. The shores and the channel
were now equally unrecognizable, for
I Everything seemed changed. About noon
that day they reached the small town of
New Madrid, on the right bank of the
Mississippi. Here they found the inhabi-
tants in the greatest distress and conster-
nation; part of the population had fed in
terror to the higher grounds, and Others
praying to be taken on board, as the
earth was opening in assures on every
side, and their houses hourly falling
around them.
Proceeding from thence, they found
/ the Mississippi at all times fearful
stream, now unusually swollen, turbid
and full of trees; and after many days of
great danger, though they felt and per-
ceiycd no more of the earthquake, they
reached their destination at Natchez at
the close of the first week in January,
1872, to the great estonishment of all,
the escape Of the boat having been CON
sidcred an imrossibility.
AT tnat time you tloatcd for three or
ioIr hr.ddrcd miles on the river without
scei.,o a human habitation.
] Such was the voyage of the first steam
er. The natural convulsion, which com
mcnccd at the time of her descent, has
been but slightly alluded to, but willuev-
cr be forgotten in the history Of the West;
and the changes wrought by it through
out the whole alluvial region through
which the Ohio and Mississippi pour thor
waters, were perhaps as remarkable as
any on record We hear less Of its eff
fects because the region in which it oc-
Cured was of such vast extent and so
thinly populated. That part Of the
alluyial country which is contiguous to a
point of junction Of the two rivers, and
especially the vicinity of New Madrid,
seems TO have been the centre Of the
convulsion. There, during the years
1871 and 1912, the earth broke into in
Vulnerable assures; the church yard with
its dead was turned from the bank and
cuoulphcd In tho turhid stream To the
present day it would appear that several
slight shocks of earthquakes are there
felt; and it is asserted that in the vast
swamp at the back of the town, strange
sounds may at times be heard, as of some
mighty caudron bubblmg in the bowels
of the earth. Along the banks Of the
river, thousands of acres with their gi-
gantic growth of forest and cane were
swallowed up, and lakes and ponds innu-
merable were formed.
The carth in many parts, was observ-
ed to burst suddenly open, and Jets of
mud, sand and water to shoot up into the
air The beds of these giant streams
seemed totally overturned; islands disap-
pcared and in many parts the course OF
the river was entirely changed. Great
inundations were the consequence. The
clear waters of the ST. Francis were OBJ
structcd, the ancient channel destroyed
and the river spread over vast amount
Of swamp. In many places the gaping
earth unfOdcd its secrets, and the bones
Of the gigantic mastodon and ictlyosau
rus, hidden within its bosom for ages
were brought to the surface. Boats and
arks without number were swallowed up
some buried by the falling in of the banks
and others dragged down with the islands
to which they were anchored. And
finally, you may still meet and converse
with those who were on the mighty river
of the West, when the whole stream ran
towards its source for whole hour, and
then rcsuming its ordinary course, hur-
ricd them helpless on its whirlng surface
with accelerated motion towards the gulf
|-LatJoJeS RdmJks IN North .lH.eyica.