The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-11-22


much disappointed in this place.
Bradbury writes, ''as l found only
few struggling houses, situated around
a plan of from two to three hundred
acres in extent. There are only two
stores and those very indifferently
furnished.
The New Madrid boom was then
waning and few days later saw it
completely extinguished by convul-
sion which not only depressed the
fictitious values of real estate, but the
real estate ITSELF The bottom dropped
out of the New Madrid boom whe
the bottom dropped out of the town
of New Madrid. This shrinkage in
values began during the night of Dec.
16, 1911, and continued until about
the middle of February, by which time
most of the real estate in New Madrid
was out of sight. The town, which
at that time stood on bluff bank 10
or 90 feet above the summer floods in
the Mississippi, was sunk so low that
the next rise in the river covered it to
the depth of feet. The bottoms of
several fine lakes in the vicinity were
elevated so as to become dry land, and
have borne many fine crops of corn in
the ninety years since the final burst
ing of the New Madrid boom.
Aside from the interest such a
tragedy must in itself arouse, the
earthquake of 1911 has now a peculiar
,, interest for several reasons. 1t changed
the physical geography of Louisiana SO
markedly and in so many places that
the country today, in its physical
, conformation, bears no close resemb-
lance to that which came to us from
the French. That around st Louis is
not materially changed, but all Of
Southeast Missouri presents a new ap-
pearance, and all of the west bank
of the Mississippi, from New Madrid
south nearly to New Orleans, under
went decided changes in topography.
DR.. Hildreth, in his interesting work,
gives us a slimpse of this widespread
devastation by describing the expert
ences of lot of fatboatmen. As the
battle of Tippecanoe was then of re-
cent date, and an uprising of the
Southern Indians in revenge was fear
ed, number of boats were dashed to-
gether for defense in case of attack
They were coming up stream and had
tied to the shore for the night. 1t was
long after all hands had retired that
the sudden shock, and the commotion
accompanying it, aroused the crews
and brought them out, all armed, con-
fident that the Indians were attacking.
AS no Indians could be found, they
concluded that the loud noise they had
all heard must have been caused by
the falling of great body of earth in
to the water, but subsequent shocks re-
moved this impression, and convinced
them that an earthquake was upon
them. They sat or stood in fear and
trembling and waited the coming day.
All through long night a roaring and
Kissing was heard, like the escaping Of
steam from boiler, accompanied by
the most violent agitation of the shores
and tremendous boiling up of the
waters of the Mississippi in hugs
swells, rolling the waters below back
on the descending stream and tossing
the boats about 80 violently that the
men with difficulty saved themselves
from being swept away. The sandbars
and points of the islands gave way,
swallowed up in the river, and carry
ing down with them the trees, crack
ing and crashing and grinding against
the boats. The entire surface of the
river was covered with foam, which
gathered into masses the size of 9
barrel, foated along upon the tremb
ling surface. The earth on the shores
Opened in wide assures, and closing
again, threw the water, sand and
m nd in huge jets higher than the tops
of the trees. The terrified boatme1
cut loose from the shore, but many Of
the boats were overwhelmed and theil
crews drowned.
i When the news of this frightfu
calamity reached the world to the
east, the old superstition which ha6
made of Louisiana a land of terrorl
found resurrection. There is no rea
son to doubt that for several years
and perhaps for a decade, the earth
quake of 1911 was distinct injury tt
the new country. The London Time
used the old phrase, "a land of ter
rors, as one fifty describing Louisi
ana. 1t was freely prophesied, ant
J generally believed, that the countr.
, was to be as volcanic as any in Soutl
. America, and that earthquake shock
/ would be frequent. All of this for
time kept people out, and even som
who were already in the country go
out of it. But the opportunities fo
making money were too many and to
4 easily to be seen to make even "a Ian
of terrors'' uninhabitable. But tn
9 earthquake put back the admission G
Missouri as state for several years.
' Capt. Roosevelt and his famil
abroad the New Orleans were in th
worst fury of the earthquake, havin
: come out of the Ohio into the Missis
d sippi river at about the time of tn
v worst damage at New Madrid. .
l vivid idea of the danger encountere
. nv the vessel Ia fonnd in q letter of I