“Extract of a letter...”
Date
5-8-1812
Newspaper
Raleigh Minerva
Page and Column
Page 3, Column 2
Newspaper Location
Raleigh, North Carolina
Serial Number
691
Abstract
March 7, 1812 letter from Natchez describing damage on the Mississippi river from the New Madrid earthquakes.
Transcript
Extract of a letter from a lady of information at Natchez, (Mississippi Territory) dated March 7th. "Since the date of your letter, we have had violent and repeated Earthquakes, which have rendered the navigation of the Mississippi river extremely dangerous. There have been instances of islands sinking, during those shocks. About Natchez, there was a body of land, thought to be 300 acres, totally sunk. It is asserted by a gentleman of veracity, that during twelve days of perpetual motion (great part of which time he was on the river) an island sunk so effectually, that he floated over the tops of the trees. He likewise asserts, that an island on which he landed, moved a considerable distance down the river during the night. Between this place and Tennessee, there has been charcoal thrown up in abundance. I think it truly alarming, both to the Christian and the sinner-The Savages of this Southern clime appeared very much terrified; some of them having migrated among the whites, hastly retired within their own boundary."
Recommended Citation
"“Extract of a letter...”" (1812). New Madrid Compendium Far-Field Database. 678.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/cas-ceri-new-madrid-compendium/678
