54 Life of Audubon, 



my own safety. Shock succeeded shock almost every 

 day or night for several weeks, diminishing however, so 

 gradually, as to dwindle away into mere vibrations of the 

 earth. Strange to say, I for one became so accustomed 

 to the feeling, as rather to enjoy the fears manifested by 

 others. I never can forget the effects of one of the 

 slighter shocks which took place when I was at a friend's 

 house, where I had gone to enjoy the merriment that in 

 our western country attends a wedding. The ceremony 

 being performed, supper over, and the fiddles tuned, 

 dancing became the order of the moment. This was 

 merrily followed up to a late hour, when the party retired 

 to rest. We were in what is called, with great propriety, 

 a log-house ; one of large dimensions, and solidly con- 

 structed. The owner was a physician, and in one corner 

 were not only his lancets, tourniquets, amputating knives, 

 and other sanguinary apparatus, but all the drugs which 

 he employed for the relief of his patients, arranged in jars 

 and phials of different sizes. These had some days 

 before made a narrow escape from destruction, but had 

 been fortunately preserved by closing the doors of the 

 cases in which they were contained."^ 



"As I have said, we had all retired to rest. Morning 

 was fast approaching, when the rumbling noise that pre- 

 cedes the earthquake began so loudly as to awaken the 

 whole party and drive them out of bed in the greatest 

 consternation. The scene which ensued was humorous 

 in the extreme. Fear knows no restraint. Every per- 

 son, old and young, filled with alarm at the creaking 

 of the log-house, and apprehending instant destruction, 

 rushed wildly out to the grass enclosure fronting the 

 building. The full moon was slowly descending from 

 her throne, covered at times by clouds that rolled heavily 

 along, as if to conceal from her view the scenes of terror 

 which prevailed on earth below. 



