The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-09
ABOUT TIDAL WAVES.
A River Can Produce Them as Well an
Ocean at Times.

A River Can Produce Them as Well an
Ocean at Times.
'Apropos of the Atlantic tidal wave OF
last Friday" said an ancient mariner, IAN
account of one nearer home might be OF
interest at this time. 1t isn't necessary to
have an ocean of water to produce one OF
these waves by long odds. Old Lake
Michigan could get up prime article in.
that line and show Chicago few things
heretofore unthought of.
Cali that would be necessary would be
an earthquake in the lake, and then there
would be from six to ten feet of water here
in no time. The story that l started to
tell You has an earthquake as the prime
cause, tidal wave as an immediate effect,
and ruined town as the result.
So New Madrid, Mo-, was destroyed by the
Great Shake as it was called, in the year
1911. The whole Mississippi Valley was
affected. The center of violence was at
Little Prairie, near New Madrid. The
vibrations were felt over the Ohio Valley
suffered more than any other town on the
Mississippi.
At that time Indians were dangerous,
and the persons engaged in carrying prod
uce in boats to New Orleans kept in com
pany Tor mutual defense. In the middle
of the night OF December 16 there was a
terrible shock and Earring of the boats so
RED on deck, thinking of an Indian at
tack. The noise and commotion were
dreadful, but soon stopped.
"ln the morning loud roaring and kissing
were heard, and there was a tremendous
boiling up of the waters of this Mississippi
In huge swells, tossing the boats about so
violently that the men were thrown about
decks
changed to a reddish hue, then became
black with mud thrown up from the
bottom, while the surface, dashed by the
agitation Of the earth beneath, was COW
cred with foam, which, gathering into
masses the size of the barrel, foated along
on the trembling surface.
''The earth opened in wide assures. and
closing again threw the water, sand and
mud in huge jets higher than the tops OF
the trees. The atmosphere was filled with
a thick yapor of gas. at New Madrid sew
eral boats were carried by the great waves
on to the bank of the river Just above the
town, and were left high and dry a con-
siderable distance from the water.
"Many boats were wrecked on the snags,
while others were sunk on or stranded on
the sand bars and islands. The scene for
several days during the repeated shocks
were horrible. The sulphurated gases
discharged tainted the air. with noxious
eLnuVla ana so strongly lnlpregnateu tne
water of the river for $50 miles below that
it could hardly be used for any purpose for
many days.
New Madrid, which stood on bluff
twenty feet above the summer floods, sank
so low that the next rise covered it to a
depth of five feet The bottoms of several
lakes in the vicinity were elevated, and
have since been planted with corn. Peo-
pie lived along the river in those days
more than in the country, so the big water
disturbance did probably more damage
than the shakes where there was no water.
So you can easily see how there can be a
tidal wave without an ocean, and that we
may have one of our own some day
When it comes it should be good one, so
those Eastern people will be satisfied we
did not manufacture it to get even. Chi
"a 90 rrihuDe