“Important Arrival”
Date
2-10-1812
Newspaper
Alexandria Herald
Page and Column
Page 2, Column 4
Newspaper Location
Alexandria, Virginia
Serial Number
1161
Abstract
Report from Natchez of the arrival of the steam boat New Orleans. Details earthquake damage on river and notes earthquakes hard to feel when the boat was in motion
Transcript
NATCHEZ, January 2. Important Arrival.--Arrived here Monday last the Steam Boat from Pittsburg, which had on account of low water been some time detained at the falls of Ohio, and is destined to run between this place and New Orleans as a regular trader. She was only 291 hours under weigh from Pittsburg to this place, a distance of near two thousand miles. One of the passengers gives the following account of the late earthquakes:--The shake or jar produced by the powerful operation of the engine, rendered the shocks imperceptible, while the boat was under way. While at anchor five or six shocks were felt, two or three more severe than the rest. On enquiry at New Madrid, a small town about 70 miles below the mouth of the Ohio, they found that the chimnies of almost all the houses were thrown down, and the inhabitants considerably alarmed. At the Little Prairie, 30 miles lower down, they were brought to by the cries of some of the people, who thought the earth was gradually sinking; but declined to take refuge on board without their friends, whom they wished to collect. Some distance below the Little Prairie, the bank of the river had caved in to a considerable extent, and two islands had almost disappeared.
Recommended Citation
"“Important Arrival”" (1812). New Madrid Compendium Far-Field Database. 1114.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/cas-ceri-new-madrid-compendium/1114
