The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1891-07-04
enc OF NATURES CHEAT U0SYUL-
sI0NS.


following is an account, written by an
eyewitness to the occurrence, Of how
Reelf0ot Lake was formed, and bears
date of long ago. lust at this time
this lake is attracting considerable 81.
tention ON account OF the effort being
made by Attorney Price of Nashville
to establish an ownership to il. This
is one of the finest fishing resorts il
the country, but the task Of establish
ing an ownership to 1t win be q hard
one for any set Of men.
New Madrid, Territory Of Missouri.
March %, lSI6.-Dear Sir: In COM
pliance with your request, | will now
give you history, as full in detail as
the limits of letter will permit, of
the late awful visitation of Providence
in this place and vicinity.
On the 10th of December, 1911,
about o'clock a. m., we were visited
by violent shock of ali earthquake.
accompanied by a very awful noise
resembling loud but distant thunder,
but niore hoarse and vibrating, which
was followed In a few minutes by the
complete saturation of the atmosphere
with sulphurous yapor. causing total
darkness. The screams of the fright
ened inhabitants running to aud fro,
not knowing where to 90 or what to
do; the cries of the fowls and beasts
of every species the cracking of trees
falling, and the roaring of the Missis-
sippi, the current Of which was retro
graded for few minutes, owing, as is
supposed, to an eruption In its bed,
formed scene truly horrible. From
that time until about sunrise number
of lighter shocks occurred, at which
time one more violent than the first
took place with the same accompani-
mcnts as the first, and the terror which
had been excited in every one was
now doubled. The inhabitants fed in
every direction to the country, suppos-
ing Qf be admitted that their minds
were exercised at ally that there was
less danger at distance from the
river. In one person, female, the
alarm was so great that she tainted
and could not be recovered. There
were several shocks day, but lighter
than those mentioned, until the 2Srd
of January, 1912, when one occurred
as violent as the severest Of the former
ones, accompanied by the same phe-
nomona as the former. From this
time until the 3rd Of February the
earth was In continual agitation, visi-
bly, waying as gentle sea. On that
day there was another shock, nearly
as hard as the preceding ones. Next
day four such, and ON the 7th, about
o'clock a. M, concussion took place
so much more violent than those which
had preceded il that II was denomina-
ted the hard shock. The awful dark
ness Of the atmosphere, which, as for
merly, was saturated with sulphuric
vapor, and the violence of the tenn
tpcsiuous laundering noise that accom-
pauied 1t, together with all the other
phenomena mentioned g attending
the former ones, formed a'socne, the
description of which would require
the most sublimely fanciful imagina-
tion. AT first the Mississippi seemed
to recedc from its banks, aud its
waters, gathering like mountain,
leaving for moment many boats
which we're here on their way 10 New
Orleans, on the bare sand, at which
time the poor sailors made their escape
from them. 1t then rose fifteen or
twenty feet pcrpendicularIy, and ex-
panding, as II were, at the same mo-
ment, the banks were overflowed with
a retrogrado current, rapid as tor
rent--the boats which before had been
left on the sand were torn from their
moorings 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
1t had risen, receded within lis banks
again with such violence that Il took
with 1t whole groves Of 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
difficulty persuaded that 1t had 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 the
wrecks of boats, aud II Is said that
one was wrecked in which there was
a lady aud six children, all OF whom
were lost. In all the hard shocks
mentioned, the earth was horribly torn
to pleces--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
immediately after they had vomited
forth their sand and water, which, il
must be remarked, was the matter
generally thrown up. In some places,
however, there was a substance some
what resembling coal, or impure stone
coal, thrown up with the sand. II is
impossible to say what the depth OF
the fissures 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 mile below the town there does
not appear to be any alteration on the
bank of the river; but back from tho
river small distance the numerous
large ponds, or lakes, as they were
called, which 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 alteration of ten, fifteen
TO twenty feet from their original state.
And lately 1t has been discovered that
lake was formed on the opposite side
OF the Mississippi, in the Indian coun-
try, upward of100 miles in length and
from one to six miles in width, of the
depth of from ten to fifty feet. 1t has
communication with the river at both
ends, and 1t Is coDjectured that Il will
net be many years before the principal
part II not the whole, of the Missis-
sippi will pass that way. We were
constrained by the fear Of our houses
falling to live twelve or eighteen
morths, after the iirst shocks, In light