60 On the Earthquakes of North- America. 



XVII. Memorandums concerning the Earthquakes of 

 North- America. By the Editor. 



THE following memorandums respecting 

 Earthquakes, in the western parts of the United-States 

 will not, it is hoped, be altogether unacceptable to 

 the philosophical reader, especially as the attention of 

 the public has lately been drawn to this subject by 

 Mr. Volney, in his Tableau du Climat et du Sol des 

 Etats-Unis d* Amerique. 



" We are led to conclude (says this elegant writer), 

 that the Atlantic coast (of the United -States) has been 

 shaken and overturned by earthquakes, to which we 

 shall hereafter show it has been subject, while all the 

 country westward of the Allegheny has been undis- 

 turbed. Thus, I am assured by Dr. Barton, that 

 words corresponding with earthquake and volcano are 

 familiarly used by the aboriginal natives of the east, 

 whereas no such terms can be found in the languages 

 of the western tribes, volcanoes being commonly con- 

 nected with earthquakes; and accordingly we find ba- 

 saltic masses in the vallies of the Allegheny. Whe- 

 ther there exist any ancient craters, is worthy of par- 

 ticular inquiry*." 



In another part of his work, the traveller says, 

 " Though North- America has only been known about 



* A View of the Soil and Climate of the United States of Ame- 

 rica, &c, page 54. American edition, translated by C. B. Brown. 



