“An interesting letter from a gentleman of respectability.... ‘

Date

2-17-1812

Newspaper

The Times

Page and Column

Page 3, Column 1

Newspaper Location

Charleston, South Carolina

Serial Number

406

Abstract

Very good eyewitness account of the December 16, 1811 earthquake. Written from Chickasaw Bluffs on December 21, 1811

Transcript

ZANESVILLE, (OHIO) JANUARY 21. An interesting letter from a gentleman of respectability, dated at Chickasaw Bluffs, December 21, states, that the first shock of the Earthquake occurred at 20 minutes past 2 o'clock on the morning of the 16th, the same time that it seems to have been felt in the Atlantic states and in this country. That shock was followed on the 16th, and on the 17th there were three, and on the following night several others-the 18th there were seven shocks-on the 19th there were five, and several during the succeeding night-on the 20th there were five; and on the 21st, when the letter was written, the earth was still trembling. The first and second vibrations, and that between 11 and 12 o'clock on the 17th, were the most violent. The effects of these shocks appear to have been of the most alarming kind. The barge, commanded by the author of the letter, was anchored in 2 1-2 fathoms water; about 7 miles below New Madrid, or 87 miles below the mouth of the Ohio. The vessel was acted upon by the water in a manner that excited a supposition of her being grounded, but upon sounding they could find no bottom. The current encreased to three times the velocity it had the preceding evening; the crew of a boat at the shore testified, that the river rose 6 feet in a short time, and that no spot on the land was to be found that was not (as they expressed it) "giving." Two flat-bottomed boats that were lying at the shore were destroyed. One was broken to pieces, the other overturned-the crew saved themselves. At the second shock, millions of trees that were imbedded in the mud at the bottom of the river, suddenly had one end elevated to the surface, rendering the river atmost impassable. At the same time the banks were shook into the river in large masses, Upon passing the Little Prairie, the inhabitants were found to have all fled to the high lands. It was stated by some hunters near the Bayou river, that the ground was cracked into imnumerable fissures, and large quantities of water were issuing out of them. An island just above the mouth of the Bayou river, was extremely agitated, and seemed to required but little to sink it. The lakes which lie in the valley of the Mississippi, were discharging large quantities of water into that river-and the water fowl of that region were observed throughout the whole of the 16th, to keep constantly on the wing.

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