SOME FAMOUS EARTHQUAKES 



Proceeding northwards from the Antilles to North 

 America, we come to other famous areas of earthquake 

 disturbance. In 1811 and 1812 there were earthquakes 

 along the lower lands of the great Mississippi River, 

 which were felt throughout the whole of the eastern 

 portion of the United States and as far west as explora- 

 tion had gone. At New Madrid, which appears to have 

 been near the centre of the disturbance, "subterranean 

 thunder" appears to have been heard frequently for many 

 years preceding the earthquake, though it had ceased for 

 nearly a year. About two o'clock in the morning of 

 December 16th, 1811, there came a severe shock accom- 

 panied by a noise which was like near thunder, and a few 

 minutes afterwards the air was filled with sulphurous 

 vapour. People thought that the end of the world had 

 come. Light shocks were felt till sunrise; and then 

 one more violent than the first occurred. But this was 

 not the end. For three months the shocks went on, and 

 in that time no fewer than 1874 shocks were recorded, 

 eight of them great ones. The shock of January 23rd, 

 though as violent as any that preceded it, was surpassed 

 by the so-called " hard shock," which came at about four 

 o'clock in the afternoon of February 7th. It was accom- 

 panied by a discharge of sulphurous vapour in the atmo- 

 sphere, and an unusual darkness which added greatly to 

 the terror of the people. The Mississippi seemed to 

 recede from its banks, and its waters gathered up like 

 mountains, leaving boats high up on the sands. "The 

 waters then moved inwards with a front wall fifteen to 

 twenty feet in height, tearing the boats from their moor- 



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