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

2. The First Quakes

CHAPTER 2 The First Quakes "No pencil can paint the distress of many movers. Men, women, and children, barefooted and naked, without money and food." - Newspaper account in Some Happenings of the New Madrid Earthquake, 1811-1812, compiled by Dorothy H. Halstead On Sunday evenin& December 15, 1811, there was no reason for the people in New Madrid to think that their lives would be changed by morning. Crops were in, and the gathering offruits and vegetables had been finished long before. British-American settlers who were members ofa Protestant church had probably spent most ofthe day in worship. In the early evenin& there may have been visiting among neighbors. Many of New Madrid's early settlers were French, and after Sunday services they often had parties or dances. New Madrid had private schools, and children may have had homework to finish before morning. They would also have been thinking about Christmas, which was just ten days away. The weather had been rainy in New Madrid that December. Both the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers had flooded in the sprin& but that was not unusual. A comet with two tails had appeared in September; some people thought comets foretold bad luck to come. William Pierce, traveling on the Mississippi 21 22 On Shaky Ground River justsouth ofNewMadrid, reported thatfor three days prior to the first quakes the sky had been overcast and the weather "thick and heavy:' Thunderstorms had occurred later in the season than was usual, but the evening of December 15 in New Madrid was cold and clear. It was quiet as well. Farmers on the edge oftown checked on theirlivestock, whichwere secure in sheds orbehind fences. People got ready for bed; they may have put water near the fireplace to heat at morning's first light. They stoked their fires, blew out their lamps, and went to bed. Just after 2 A.M. those who had gone to sleep were awakened by a loud noise. It sounded like "loud and distant thunder:' The noise was followed at once by a movement oftheir houses. Logs shifted and creaked; dishes and jars fell from shelves and tables. Bricks from chimneys carne loose and fell. People ran from their homes to escape the falling bricks and moving walls. According to eyewitness A. N. Dillard, the French people were still partying and dancing when the first quake hit. The settlers stayed outdoors the rest of that cold December night. The tremors continued throughout the early morning hours, corning from eight to thirty minutes apart. The people were afraid to go back into their homes. Furniture was moving, walls were creaking, and houses continued to shift. It seemed safer to remain outdoors. In the morning they had little time to see what harm had been done to their homes. At about 7 A.M. another large quake occurred, as strong or stronger than the first one. People could not see much because the airwas filled with fog and vapors, but they could see that the earth was moving in billowy patterns, like the rolling of the sea or like fields ofwheat moving in the wind. Depressions in the earth often burst and sent up sand, water, small rocks, and what seemed to be coal. The next large quake occurred near 11 A.M. Scientists believe this quake was the strongest ofthe three. The fog and vapors from the cracks in the earth stayed in the area for more than a full day after the first quakes. People complained about the terrible smell, saying it was like sulfur. The First Quakes 23 / "Family in terror on doorstepII during the earthquake. Eyewitnesses described the horror of the night of the first earthquake: A "noise like thunderII came before the first violent quake. IIThen the air was saturated with sulphurous vapor and the night made loud with the cries of fowls and animals, the cracking ofthe trees, and the surging torrent ofthe Mississippi/' which came rushing down in thirty-foot waves. People were afraid to go back into their homes, so they stayed outside for the rest ofthe night. (State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia) 24 On Shaky Ground These three large quakes were the beginning of what would become known as the New Madrid earthquake. Scientists agree that the center of the first of the three quakes was near the Arkansas-Missouri border, about sixty miles south and a bit west of New Madrid. No record...