The Hickman courier., 1872-03-02
NO. 9.
ge,v Madrid EarthauaAes.

"History of Cosmopolite
Earthquakes still occasionally shake
our New Madrid friends, and all will
find this letter, from lady to Lorenzo
Dow, replete with interest. Mr.. G.. W
Davis informs US that lie often boarded
with Mrs, Bryan when he was attending
court at New Madrid in the days of aud
lang sy1ie-Jackson Cashbook
New MADRID, TERRITORY OF NO, }
March %, 1916.
DEAR SIR: In compliance with your
request, [ will now give you history.
as full in detail as the limits Of the
letter will permit, of the late awful
visitation of Providence in this place
and vicinity.
On the 10th of December, 1911, about
q o'clock, A. M, we were visited by
violent shock of an earthquake, accom-
panied by very awful noise resembling
loud but distaut thunder, but more
hoarse and vibrating, which was follow
ed 10 a few minutes by the complete
lEaturation Of the atmosDhere. with sui
/ phurlous vapor, causing total darkness
The screams of the affrighted inhabitants is
running to ard fro, not knowing where
to go, or what to do-the cries of the
fowls and beasts of every species-the
cracking of trees falling, and the roar
ing of the Mississippi-the current Of
which was retrograde for few minutes,
owing as is supposed, to an irruption in
its bed-formed a scene truly horrible
From that time until about sunrise a
number Of lighter shocks occurred, at
which time one still more violent than
the first took place, with the same ac-
compartments Of the first, and the terror
which had been excited in every one,
and indeed in all animal nature, was now,
if possible, doubled. The inhabitants
fed in every direction to the country,
supposing Cf it can be admitted that
their minds were exercised at alb that
there was less danger at distance from
than near to the river. In one person,
4 female, the alarm was so great that she
tainted and could not be recovered
There were several shocks Of a. day, but
lighter than those already mentioned
until the 23d Of January, 1872, when
one occurred as violent as the severest
of the former ones, accompanied by the
same phenomena as the former. From
this time until the 4th of February the
earth was in continual agitation, -visibly
waving as a gentle sea. On that day
there was another shock, nearly as hard
as the preceding ones. Next day four
such, and on the 9TH about o'clock, A
NJ, a coneussion took place so much
more violent than those which had pre-
ceeded it that it was denominated the
hard shock. The awful dark ness Of the
atmosphere, which as formerly was
saturated with sulphurious vapor, and
the violence of the tempestuous thun-
dering noise that accompanied it, to
ge,her with all the other phenomena
mentioned as attending the former ones,
formed 4 scene, the description of which
would require the most sublimely fanci
full Imagination. At first the Mississippi
seemed to recede from its banks. and its
waters gathering up ike mountain,
we we're On 26er Gay to New 0fftea6s,h on
bare sand, in which the poor sailors made
their escape from them L then rising
fifteen or twenty feet perpendicularly,
aud expanding, as it were, at the same
moment, the banks were overhowed with
a retrograde current rapid as torrent.
The boats, which before had been left on
the sand, were now torn from their moor
ings, and suddenly driven up a little
creek. at the mouth Of which they laid,
to the distance, in some instances of
nearly a quarter of a mile. The river
falling Immediately, as rapidly as it had
risen, receded within its banks again
with such violence that it took with
it whole groves of young cottonwood
trees, which lodged Its borders. They
were broken off with such regularity, in
some instances, that persons who had not
witnessed the fact would be with diff
Guilty persuaded that it has not been the |
work of art. A great many fish were
left on the banks being unable to keep
pace with the water. The river was
literally covered with wrecks of boats, |
and It's said there was one wrecked in |
which there was lady and six children, |
all of whom were lost. In all the hard !
shocks mentioned, the earth was horribly
torn to pieces-the surface of hundreds |
of acres was, from time to time, covered
over, of various depths by the sand
which issued from the assures, which
were made in great numbers all over this
country, some of which closed up inn |
mediately after they had vomited forth |
their sand and water, which it must be !
was the matter generally thrown
up. In some places, however, there was
a substance somewhat resembling coal, |
or impure stone coal thrown up with the |
sand 1t is impossible to say what the
depth of the assures or irregular breaks
were; we have reason to believe that
some of them are very deep. The site
of this town was evidently settled down
at least fifteen feet, and not more than
half a mile below the town there does not
appear TO be any alteration on the bank
of the river; but back from the river a
small distance, the numerous large ponds |
or lakes, as they were called, which I
covered a great part of the country, were |
nearly dried up. The beds of some of
them are elevated above their former
banks several feet, producing an alter
alton of ten, fifteen to twenty feet from
their original Slate. And lately it has
been discovered that lake was formed
on the opposite side of the Mississippi,
in the Indian country, upwards of one
hundred miles in length, and from one to
SIX miles IN wiutn, VI Tue ueptH "a rum
ten to fifty feet. 1t has communication
with the river at both ends, and it is con-
iectured that it will not be many years
before the principal part, if not the
whole of the Mississippi will pass that
way. We were constrained by the fear
of our houses falling, to live twelve or
eighteen months, after the first shocks,
in light camps made of boards; but we
gradually became callOus, and returned
to our houses again. Most of those who
fed from the country in the times of
of the hard shocks have since returned
home. We have, since their commence
ment in 1911, and still continue to feel,
slight shocks occasionally. 1t is seldom
indeed that we are more than a week
without feeling one, and sometimes three
or four in day. There were two this
winter past much harder than we have