236 SLIGHT SHOCK FELT. [CHAP. XXXIII. 



an area four or five miles long, and fifty or sixty 

 broad, was caused, my informant assured me, by the 

 earthquake. At the lower level are seen cypresses 

 and cotton-wood, and other trees which delight in wet 

 ground, all newer than 1812. I was told that there 

 are some places where the descent from the upper 

 level to that of the sunk country is not less than 

 twenty and even thirty feet. In part of this sunk 

 ground I saw not only dead oaks and hickory still 

 erect, but aged gum-trees also and cypresses (Cu- 

 pressus disticha). 



While I Avas riding with Mr. Love he stopped his 

 horse, and asked me if I did not feel the shock of an 

 earthquake. When my attention was called to it, I 

 fancied I had perceived it, but was not sure. He 

 said they were frequent, although he had not felt one 

 for the last fortnight. It was now three years since 

 they had been seriously alarmed by any movement. 

 We looked at our watches, and when we returned to 

 the farm he inquired of the family if anything had 

 happened. They said they had felt a shock, and 

 heard a sound like distant thunder, at twenty-five 

 minutes past eleven o clock, which agreed exactly 

 with the time when my companion had felt the 

 motion. 



If the information I obtained from several quar 

 ters be correct, in regard to the country perma 

 nently submerged by the earthquake of 1811-12, 

 the area must exceed in magnitude what was stated 

 in former accounts. The &quot; sunk country,&quot; I am told, 

 extends along the course of the White Water and its 

 tributaries for a distance of between seventy and 



