The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-05-14
THE HAsKIN LETTER
The Earthquake Menace.
By Frederic ]. Haskin.

, Boston, New Haven. New York, VIII
mington. Trenton, Philadelphia. Bal
| timore and Washington are all bull;
directly upon this fall line a shock
OF the first intensity in this earth
Quate area would undoubtedly be q
catastrophe OF the first magnitude
In New England there is 4
| somewhat similar line. from which
minor shocks have been reported IL
extends across southern New Engi-
and. intersecting the lower Connect
cut river at East Faddam. This
little New England town. situated
where the gorge OF the Connecticut
crosses this fall line. has been an
earthquake center ever sine its set
tlement. great number of light
shocks having been reported: while
the legend. of its instability is car
ried back still further by the name
which the Indians gave the spot,
and which means the place OF
noises"
The most famous and spectacular
American earthquake next TO the
San Francisco disaster. occurred in
the Mississippi Valley in 1911. ana
is generally know as the New Mad
rid earthquake. This earthquake.
province of the lower Mississippi IS
different from any other in the
United States, il not in the world,
in that there are no mountains, no
pronounced fall line. no broken sea
coast. or any of the other surface
marks which usually indicate dyna-
mic activity within the earth.
The New Madrid disaster like
wise differs from all other earth
quakes in the peculiar phenomena
which accompanied it. The shock.
which occurred at O'Clock at
night, was accompanied by terri
fic subterranean rumblinS and fol-
lowed by the filling of the air with
a sulphurous vapor. The shocks
continued steadily from December
Is, 1911. until March 16. 1872
There were 1874 distinct shocks.
and eight of them were of the hrst
intensity. The sulphurous vapor be-
came so intense that the air had
blush tinge and II was dark as twi-
light. =
The Mississippi river actually re-
versed its current for several min
utes during one of the shocks. At
another time il is described as reced-
ing from its banks and gathering
into mountains of water. leaving the
boats high and dry. The surface of
the earth was raised into great
undulations which cracked al
The top and spouted sand and
water forty and fifty feet into the
!
black mud dubbed out of the earth
and covered it to a depth of several
feet. The fsunk country" and the
sand slew district of lower Mis-
sissippi were coated by this earth
quake.
Another historic American earth
quake is the Charleston shock OF
1856. 1t occurred about 10 O'CLOCK
at night, Just as most OF the Inhabi-
tants of that peaceful city were
about 10 retire II was preceded by
the usual rumbling and consisted
in a series OF severe shocks Il lni.
half a minute The most peculiar
thing about this quake was that II
had just enough force 10 shake down
chimneys but not enough 10 Seher-
ally affect the walls or roofs OF
houses.
some fourteen thousand OF Char
LESSONS chinlneys went down with
a crash in half minute. filling the
air with powdered mortar and brick
dust.
The Charleston quake is strik-
ing example of the fact that re
r;on where no shocks have been re
corded for centuries may. neverthe-
less. be subject TO them, for there
was absolutely no record OF shock
in the Charleston region at an
earlier date.
In addition 10 the areas mention
ed. the great basin country OF the
United states just east OF he Rocky
Mountains. is known 10 be an earth
quake province. but owing TO its
small population shocks have been
imperfectly reported and the danger
/ area is not accurately mapped In
this. and in all of the other earth
quake areas of the United states.
! shock of destructive violence may
occur at any time.