296 



EARTHQUAKES. 



E 



EARTHQUAKES IN THE FMTED STATES. The 



recent shocks of earthquake have directed at- 

 tention to previous seismic disturbances, and 

 more particularly to those that have shaken 

 the territory of the United States. The In- 

 dians had traditions of prehistoric earthquakes; 

 and the list, which begins soon after the land- 

 ing of the Pilgrims is longer than is popularly 

 supposed. Several shocks are recorded in the 

 early histories and in the ''Transactions 1 ' and 

 " Memoirs " of the various scientific and phiio- 



The coseismal lines give the even i 

 meridian time). Scale of intensity, 1 to 5. + indicates that 

 shock was unimportant, or not felt. The relative sizes of 

 black circles, proportional to the intensity at difierent places. 



MAP SHOWING EXTENT OF EARTHQUAKE SHOCKS. 



sophical societies at home and abroad. The 

 most complete account is that read before the 

 Academy of Arts and Sciences in Boston, in 

 1783, by Prof. Samuel Williams, LI,. D., of 

 Cambridge, Mass. It is printed in vol. i, p. 

 262, of the "Memoirs" of that association. 

 The curious reader may be referred also to the 

 communications of Mr. Paul Dudley (1735) in 

 vol. xxxix of " Transactions of the Royal So- 

 ciety," p. 63; of Rev. Mr. Plant (1742), vol. 

 xlii, p. 33; of John Hyde, Cadwnllader Golden, 

 and Peter Collinson, Esqrs. (1756), vol. xlix, 

 pp. 439-444 ; of Prof. Winthrop, of Cambridge 

 (1757), vol. 1, p. 1 ; and of Mr. Benjamin Cole- 



man (1729), vol. xxxvi, p. 124. Prof. Williams 

 brought the record to the close of the eight- 

 eenth century. The principal seismic disturb- 

 ances are summarized in the following ac- 

 count : 



The earthquake of June 1, 1638, O. S., was the first 

 that occurred after the landing of the Pilgrims. It is 

 said to have been preceded by a rumbling noise like 

 remote thunder, growing continually louder and draw- 

 ing nearer. Then the earth began to quake until the 

 shock threw down the pewter from the shelves, top- 

 pied over stone walls, and shook off the tops of chim- 

 neys. In some 

 places it was diffi- 

 cult for people to 

 remain standing. 

 The course was 

 from northwest to 

 southeast, and it 

 was observed by 

 thelndiansbeyond 

 any of the English 

 settlements. A 

 second shock, not 

 so strong, followed 

 the first after an 

 interval of half an 

 hour. The dura- 

 tion of this earth- 

 quake is very un- 

 certain. Winthrop 

 says it occurred 

 " between three 

 and four in the 

 afternoon." 



In 1642, about 

 seven o'clock of 

 Sunday, March 5, 

 another very per- 

 ceptible trembling 

 of the earth was 

 noticed, but it did 

 no damage. 



On Got. 29,1653, 

 a little earthquake 

 gave the divines 

 of that day a theme 

 for ponderous ser- 

 mons, and in 1658 

 the earth again 

 trembled. Of this 

 Prof. Williams 

 says, " In all an- 

 cient histories this 

 is mentioned as a 

 great earthquake, 

 but I can not find 



any account of the month, day, violence, cause, effects, 

 extent, or any other particulars of it." 



On Jan. 26, 1663, 0. S., " at the shutting in of the 

 evening," there was an earthquake, with shocks at in- 

 tervals during three days, Jan. 26, 27, and 28. It was 

 preceded by a great roaring noise, and the first shock 

 came about seven o'clock in the evening. The houses 

 rocked violently, dishes were thrown from the shelves, 

 walls were cracked, and the tops of chimneys were 

 broken off. Men, women, and children ran out into 

 the streets and open places, and passengers staggered 

 to and fro like men on the deck of a tossing vessel In 

 Canada the effect of this earthquake was severe in- 

 deed. An old narrative thus tells of its occurrence : 

 " About half an hour after five in the evening, a most 

 terrible earthquake began. The heavens being serene, 

 there was suddenly heard a roar like the noise of a 



