The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1883-02-03

The Reoent Earthquake Near that
Mysterious Psnds


mississippi I'm 1911. Tradition has 1t
that during that terrible convulsion ,
of nature, the water in the Mississip.
pi temporarily flowed up stream. The
course Of the great river was changed
for miles, and in certain localities the
entire typography of the country was
changed. Where Reelfoot Lake is
nop, once stood heavy forest. The
earthquake caused this land TO sink
to the depth of many feet, and il is
now covered with a body Of water
nearly forty miles in length, and
more than mile in width at certain
places. Even TO this day the hunter
or fisherman padding over its pellu-
cid depths can see far below The tops
of great trees which once lowered up
into the blue ether, veritable mons
archs of the forest. So much for the
history of this remarkable lake. 1t
is child of the earthquake, and its
parent does not seem to have forgot
ten it.
About 1:30 on the morning of the
! 18th inst, quite a severe shock of an
earthquake was felt all through this
section of the country. 1t was par
tic llarly severe in the neighborhood
of Reelfoot, and the land in that vi.
entity commenced sinking again. A
reporter for the News had the pleas,
ure, last evening, of making the ac>
quaintance of Mr.. 4. A. Browder,
of Fulton, who states that the ri.
mors which have been current here
for several days concerning terrestrial
disturbances in the locality above de-
scribed are true, though the trouble
was not as serious as was thought at
first. Many changes are said To have
taken place along the banks of Reel.
foot. In Lake county, Tenn, gen.
tleman named Wade, who lived be-
tween the bank and the hills, lost his
entire farm of more than 100 acres
The shock of the 18th awOke, both
himself and family. 1t was so Sc
we're that all of them fed from the
house to the bluffs in the rear for
safety. Only short distance from
his residence they came across a
huge crack or assure in the earth
some ten feet wide. They had no
means of ascertaining its depth in the
darkness, and Mr.. Wade and his sons
returned to the house and secured
planks which they threw over it as a
temporary bridge, In the morning
the opening was discovered to he from
fifteen to twenty feet in depth. The
earthquake had sunk all the ground
from The lake shore nearly up to the
house, and also by peculiar freak,
thrown this huge crack quite around
the premises, and swallowed up the
road. With the exception of little
spot on which the house stands, the
whole of Mr.. Wade's farm is now
permanently added TO the lake and is
covered with water. Between 400
500 acres of adjacent lands are also
submerged.
Not far from Mr.. Wade's place at
the time of the occurrence of the
phenomenon. party of hunters were
encamped. They were awakened by
the shock and compelled "a abandon
all their camp equipage and fee for
their lives, the water came upon
them SO rapidly. They also were
stopped by the sudden opening in the
ground aud hurriedly threw narrow
bridge of fence rails across it. f.. The
newly snnken land lies on the east side
of the lake. The assure extends fol
long distance just at the foot of the
bluffs, and varies considerably ia
width and depth. Mr.. Browdsr state,
that it is difficult To obtain much in
formation concerning The extent 81
the disaster. owing to the extreme IT,
norsnee Of the people living IN The
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