The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1867-03-09
No. 81

/ The Mississippi II 1811-An Incident of
/ Navigation--F latb0ats IN an Earth
/ quake.
It was in the year ofI8II and 1872 that
so many earthquakes occurred in the South
ern and Western country. causing villages to
tumble in ruins, an entire change IN the face
of the country, and a vast destruction Of
/ properly. On the line of the Mississippi,
! particularly, one of these dreadful phenom-
ena of nature occurred in those years which
was distinctly felt in St Louis and caused
much alarm to its inhabitants
An eye witness, who was on a hatboat at
the time, on bis way to New Orleans with
load of produce, and afterwards returned to
St Louis, describes the same as heartrend-
ing, and filed every living creature with hOr-
ror His boat at the time was about forty
nj es below New Madrid.
The first shock took place on the night of
December 10, 1871, while the boat was living
at the shore, In company with several others
At this period there was danger appre-
hended from the Southern Indians, it being
soon after the battle of TippeecanOe, and,
for safety, several boats kept IN company for
mutual defense, IN case of an attack In the
middle of the night there was terrible
! shock and Earring Of the boats so that the
crews were all awakened and hurried on
deck with their weapons of defense in their
ing on board. The ducks, geese. and various
other aquatic birds, whose numberless fiocks
were quietly resting IN the eddes of the
river, We're thrown into the greatest tumuit
and with loud screams expressed their alarm
in accents of horror The noise and com
motion soon became hushed, and nothing
could be discovered to excite apprehension
so shat the boatmen concluded that the
shock was Occasi0ned by the falling of a
,f ,,cA Il
them. As soon as there was light tenOugh 10
distinguish objects, the crew. were all up
making preparations to depart. Directly a
loud roaring and kissing was heard like the
escape of steam FROM boiler, accom- panied
by the most violent agitation of the shores,
and tremendous boiling up of the waters of
the Mississippi, In huge swells, rolling the
water, and tossing their boats so violently
that the men could, with difficulty, keep
their feet. The sand bars and points of the
island gave way, swallowed up in the tumult
uous bosom of the river, carrying down with
them cottonwood trees, cracking and crash
ing, tossing their arms to and fro, as if SEN
sible Of their danger, while they disappeared
beneath the food. Tue water of the river,
which the day before was tolerably clear,
being rather low, changed to a reddish hue,
and became thick by the agitation Of the
earth beneath, was covered with foam, which,
gathering into masses the size of barrel
foated along on the trembling surface The
earth on the shores opened in wide issures
and closing again threw the water, sand and
mud in huge jets higher than the tops of the
trees. The atmosphere filled with thick
vapOr of gas, to which the light impaired
purple tinge, altogether different In appear
ance from the autumnal haze Of the Indian
summer, or that of smoke From the tenn
porary check to the current, by the heaving
up of the bottom, the sinking of the bank
and sand bars into the bed of the stream,
the river rose in few minutes five or six
feet, and impatient of the restraint again
rushed forward with redoubled impetuOsity,
hurrying along the boats now let loose by the
horror struck bOatmen, as in less danger in
the water than at the shore, where the banks
threatened every moment to destroy them by
the falling earth, or carry them down IN
the vortices of the sinking masses. Many
boats were overwhelmed in this manner, and
cir crews perished with them. 1t required
the utmost exertiOns of the men to keep the
boats in the middle of the river as far from
the shore and sand bars and islands as they
could. Numerous boats were wrecked on
the snags and old trees thrown up from the
bottom of the Mississippi, where they had
quietly rested for ages; while others were
sunk or stranded on the sand bars and
islands at New Madrid several of the boats
were carried by the reaux of the current
into small stream that puts into the river
Just above the town, and left on the ground
oy the returning waters q considerable dis
tance from the Mississippi The sulpEura-
ted gases that were discharged during the
shocks tainted the waters Of the river TO
distance of one hundred and fifty miles be-
low, that it could hardly be used for several
days New Madrid, which stood upon
bluff fifteen or twenty feet above the sum
mer floods, sunk so low that the next rise
| covered it to the depth of five feet