Mexico weekly ledger., 1895-11-07

attention. I do not think that anv
apprehension may be feft by reason
of these shocks They are not likely
to come with severity enough or twist
enough to do damage to buildings.
The earthquakes that occur in this
region are not of volcanic origin and
the ~vibratory motion they produce is
so gradually brought about that they
are harmless. Earthquakes that oc-
cur in volcanic countries are usually
accompanied by rumblings of the
earth quickly succeeded by sudden
and violent wrenches and often cross
wrenches. They are the kind that
shatter walls and topple steeples.
The Mississippi Valley is subject to
these tremors. This whole region of
country for hundreds of miles is un-
derlaid by strata of limestone. These
strata often overlap each other a few
inches Dr. a few feet. Sometimes, by
action of s-ubterranean water or other
Influences the overlapping edges are
so worn away that the strata which
has been supported suddenly breaks
away and the huge mass falls a few
inches. When one thinks of the hun
dreds of thousands of iona of rock
that may slip a few inches it may be
understood why the earth for hun
dreds of miles may be affected by the
vibration caused by the shock.
The earthquake at Charleston was
caused in the same way. In that case
the slip of the rock was thought to
have occurred far out beneath the
waters of the Atlantic, for the shock
in the city was succeeded by a huge
wave that came from seward.
The great earthquake of 1912 at New
Madrid, below here, was undoubtedly
the result of a similar slip of a huge
stratum of rock breaking away from
its support. Only in that case the
great mass probably slipped as many
feet IS they usually do inches.
NEW MADRID AND CHARLESTON EARTH
QUAKEs.
The occurrence of Thursday has
naturally set the people to talking of
former disturbances of a similar
nature, and the mind of the "oldest
inhabitant," or the minds of his i'm
mediate heirs, at nee reverts to the
celebrated New Madrid earthquake,
which consisted of a series of shocks,
among the most extensive and de-
structive in the worlds history. This
series commenced ON the night of
December 16, 1911, and extended over
half a hemisphere. In America, the
center of these disturbances, both in
point of violence and position, was
neal New Madrid, Mo-, on the Missis-
sippi River. The force of the shocks
extended to the mouth of the Ohio
River, sixty miles north, and south to
the mouth of the st. Francois, and far
into Arkansas and Tennessee. The
disturbance commenced with a sud-
den shock which wrecked houses and
forests, and rent great assures in the
earth, several hundred feet long and
20 or 80 feet wide. The surface of the
earth rose and fell like a great body
of water, and men reeled and were
unable to maintain their balance. The
atmosphere was filed with a thick
gas, which rushed from the crevices
of the earth, and to this the light i'm
parted a purple hue. The water in
the Mississippi River suddenly rose
several feet, and large tracts of land
as suddenly sunk and rel overflow
ed. Dry land was formed into lakes, |
and lakes were emptied, and became
dry land. The most remarkable man
Hesitation of these shocks still in ex-
istence is Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee,
which is 20 miles long and z miles
wide. A large extent of the country
on the Missouri side of the river was
sunk 10 feet below its former eIeva-
ton.
Congress attempted to give relief
by passing a law granting each pro-
prietor who had sustained a serious
loss a section of land in what was
known as Boone's Lick country, on
condition that he relinquished his
damaged farm to the Government.
These grants, which were called the
New Madrid claims, coniicted with
the other entries, and have been the
source of endless litigation.
The memorable earthquake at
Charleston, s. c., in which ninety-six
lives were lost and three-fourths of
the city destroyed, occurred on Au-
gust 81, 1886. There were seventeen
distinct shocks at Charleston, which
were felt throughout the United
States, chiefly in South Carolina,
Georgia and Alabama. Subsequent
vibrations were felt in the same Sec
zion between September 8 and Sep
TENDER ID, but finally ended on Octo-
Der %, without further serious dam