The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-05-03

Shaler is now up. The fatal hun
dred years have gone by, and it is tc
be hoped most devoutly that the New
Madrid area will be an exception tc
the general rule, for should the
earthquake repeat itself the destruc'
ton of life and property would be
terrific. The San Francisco disaster
would appear by comparison as a
bagatelle.
Any severe earthquake original
ing at or near the center of the old
Madrid disturbance, according to ge-
ologists of the United States geolog-
zeal survey, would be disastrous to
such towns as Hickman, KY; Ca
ruthersville, New Madrid, Campbell
and others in Missouri, and Jones'
boro, Marked Tree, Osceoa and 9TH
ers in Arkansas, all of which are IN
or near the area of greatest seismic
intensity. The damage and the loss
of life would be far greater than
from the earlier shocks, owing to the
denser settlement at present and the
hundreds of thousands of substantial
buildings. The larger cities Of Cairo
and Memphis would suffer severely.
Memphis, which is within 80 miles
of some of the largest assures in the
whole region. is situated on a plain
terminating in a bluff about 80 feet
high facing Mississippi river and I'M
derlain at water level by a bed OF
sand saturated with water. These
conditions are similar to those which
gave rise to the especially heavy de-
struction at New Madrid, and owing
to the greater height of Memphis
above the river the danger is accent
uated. Cairo, situated on a point
between the Ohio and Mississippi, is
likewise an especially dangerous po-
siton as regards earthquakes. Such
points of and were the very first to
give way in the New Madrid shock
and to be swallowed by the river,
and it is almost certain that if a Sc
we're shock were to be experienced
the danger along the river front
would be great. ST. Louis would also
probably be severely shaken, but it
is built on firmer ground and its
buildings are less liable to destruc-
ton from shocks originating i'll the
New Madrid area because of the re-
moteness of the point OF disturbance.
With such a possibility before the
country it becomes a matter of more
interest to delve a little into the
history of the New Madrid earth
quake
Shook Half the Nation.
The area which was torn and rent
by the earthquake lies irregularly
along the Mississippi river from Cal
70 south to Memphis, a distance or
more than 100 miles, and east and
west distance of about so miles
some 45, 900 or 10000 square miles.
The magnitude of the disturbance
will be realized when it is stated that
throughout an area of more than
900, 100000 acres, or half of the
entire expanse of the United States,
the vibrations could be distinctly felt
without the aid of instruments. The
extent of the forces necessary to vi
brate block of land so great appalls
the imagination.
AS described by the geographer,
Flint, who visited the area few
years following the disaster, the
country exhibited a melancholy as
pect of formerly rich lands covered
two or three feet deep with sand,
blown up from below, of trees blown
down or lying tipped at an angle of
45 degrees or split in the middle.
Descriptions of the catastrophe in a
report to the geological survey states
that the earth rolled in waves several
feet high, with deep depressions be-
tween the swells, finally bursting
and leaving parallel assures extend
ing for distances as great as five
miles in some cases and 20 to 30 feet
wide. At one point Mississippi river
was broken in two, admitting great
uantities of water into new formed
chasms which Immediately closed,
giving rise to waves of great size.
From many assures sand and water
were fOrcibly eXtruded. These IFS
sures are plainly in evidence even to-
day Many farms were in whole OF
in part precipitated into streams, 9TH
ers were covered by extruded waters
and still others were depressed or
sunk and overlooked. Great wreck
age occurred on the Mississippi riV-
er, and entire islands disappeared,
notably Island No. "a near Vtcks-
burg. Near New Madrid a fault or
land slip occurred, which stretched
entirely across the Mississippi, Gre
ating a waterfall six to eight feet
high. This, however, was soon worn
down by the rushing of the water.
The fault along the banks is plainly
in evidence today. Prof. Shaler de-
scribes depressions in Obion county,
Tennessee, 100 feet wide. Large
areas in what is known as the Saint
Francis basin sank bodily many feet,
and they are now known as the
Sunk Lands" The famous Reel
foot lake and Lake St. Francis are
such.
Great Areas DeeDIy Submerged.