On Shaky Ground: The New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-1812

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For More Reading The Amazing Voyage of the New Orleans, by Judith St. George (NewYork: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1980), is for children, ages four to eight, and is illustrated by Glen Rounds with pencil sketches. It tells about the 2,000-mile voyage ofthe New Orleans, the first steamboat in western waters (in 1811) and its experience in the New Madrid earthquake. Audubon and His Journals, by John James Audubon (New York: Scribner's, 1897; reprint, Dover, 1960), includes Audubon's reaction to one of the quakes he felt while riding his horse in Kentucky. Audubon also discussed what life was like for new settlers west of the Mississippi River in the early nineteenth century. Damages and Losses from Future New Madrid Earthquakes, by David Stewart (Cape Girardeau, Mo.: Center for Earthquake Studies, 2nd printing, 1992), covers in detail the New Madrid fault, the possibility of another earthquake such as the quakes of 1811-1812, and the steps to be taken to avoid disaster. It includes important facts regarding the Richter scale from the point ofview ofa specialist in the field. Definitions ofterms are clearly written. Illustrated with charts and maps. Earthquake: The Story of Alaska's Good Friday Disaster, by Eloise Engle (New York: John Day, 1966), discusses other earthquakes of importance, as well as the Alaska disaster in 1964 and the New Madrid earthquake. The Earthquake America Forgot: 2000 Temblors in Five Months . .. And It Will Happen Again!, by David Stewart and Ray Knox (Marble Hill, Mo.: Gutenberg-Richter Publications, 1995), is a comprehensive look at the New Madrid earthquake and how 101 102 For More Reading it affected people and the land. The authors include predictions for future quakes along the New Madrid Seismic Zone; their scientific data is liberally sprinkled with folksy stories, humor, and many little-known facts. "The Earthquake Guide for Home and Office" is a brochure prepared by the Center for Earthquake Studies at Southeast Missouri State University that gives helpful hints about how to prepare for and survive a coming earthquake. Available from the Center for Earthquake Studies, Southeast Missouri State University, One University Plaza, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701. The Earthquake of 1811, by Timothy Dudley (Washington, D.C.: James B. Stedman, 1859), is a recounting of the events of the New Madrid earthquake told to Dudley fifty years after it occurred . "The Earthquake of1811 and Its Influence on Evangelistic Methods in Churches ofthe Old South," by Walter Brownlow Posey (Tennessee Historical Magazine, January 1931, pp. 109-11), gives figures on church membership and recounts stories ofpreachers who gloried in the discomfort of "sinners." The Earthquake that Never Went Away: The Shaking Stopped in 1812, but the Impact Goes On, by David Stewart and Ray Knox (Marble Hill, Mo.: Gutenberg-RichterPublications, 1993), combines scientific knowledge with folksy information to create an appealing story about how and why earthquakes happen in the Mississippi Valley. The writers have produced a set of over 100 slides to accompany this text so that people can present programs about Mississippi Valley earthquakes. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs. Earthquakes, by Nicholas Hunter Heck (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1936), refers to the New Madrid quakes in For More Reading 103 several places, pointing out the changes in land, the creation of Reelfoot Lake, and the devastation over large areas. The Effects of Earthquakes in the Central United States, 2nd ed., by Otto W. Nuttli (Cape Girardeau, Mo.: Center for Earthquake Studies, 1990), was revised with a foreword and appendices by David Stewart, then director ofthe Center. The revised publication includes black-and-white photographs of damage causedbyearthquakes, as well as charts and predictions offuture quakes in the Midwest. Fury in the Earth: A Novel of the New Madrid Earthquake, by Henry Harrison Kroll (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1945), is a story about the earthquake that includes historical persons as characters. For example, Eliza Bryan is a major character in this novel as a schoolteacher. Kroll dwells on action and includes some gore, but he also includes references to things such as pokeberry ink and a quill pen that illustrate the way people may have lived in New Madrid at that time. "Future Shock," by Bob Schwaller (Missouri Life, July-August 1980, pp. 19-21), tells about the earthquakes of1811-1812 and the plans made to protect people and property when the next one hits. The Genesis of Missouri: From Wilderness Outpost to Statehood...