Thursday, June 6, 2013

All Shook Up; When Middle America Trembled ~ by Ramona K. Cecil



Generally when we think of earthquakes in the United States, California and Alaska come to mind. But while researching my latest novel, Heart’s Heritage, I learned that one of the strongest quakes to hit the Continental United States happened some two hundred years ago in the country’s mid section.
Around two o’clock on the morning of December 16, 1811, the first of a series of massive earthquakes struck the middle of the country. This initial shake, centered in northeastern Arkansas, was followed by three more principle quakes; one a few hours later, then on

January 23, 1812, and another on February 7, 1812. The February 7th quake’s epicenter was located near New Madrid, Missouri, which eventually gave the offending fault line its name. It is estimated that each of these events would have registered anywhere from 7.6 to as much as 8.8 on the modern Richter Scale. Lesser quakes would shudder the region intermittently for three more months.

Ten times as powerful as the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, the strongest quakes were felt by President James and Dolly Madison in Washington D.C. and rang church bells a thousand miles away in Boston, Massachusetts. People reported feeling the quakes as far south as the Gulf coast, southeast to the Atlantic coast, and northeast to Quebec, Canada.

Fortunately, much of the effected area was sparsely inhabited at the time. Still, the violent shaking caused property damage, injuries, and even deaths. As the tectonic plates beneath the earth shifted, America’s belly heaved, knocking down forests and cabins nestled within them. According to Norma Hayes Bagnall in her book On Shaky Ground, “Five towns in three states disappeared, islands vanished in the Mississippi River, lakes formed where there had been none before, and the river flowed backward for a brief period.”



Native Americans and white settlers alike were ravaged by the quakes. One Indian village along the Mississippi River was literally swallowed up by the mighty flood caused by one of the quakes. New lakes were formed. Fissures opened, ejecting coal and sand into the air. Such occurrences were called sand blows. Boats unfortunate enough to be on the Mississippi River at the moment of one of these huge quakes were capsized, drowning an unknown number of people.


December 16, 1811, George Heinrich Crist, a resident of north central Kentucky, recorded the following in his journal: “There was a great shaking of the earth this morning. Tables and chairs turned over and knocked around - all of us knocked out of bed. The roar I thought would leave us deaf if we lived. It was not a storm. When you could hear, all you cold hear was screams from people and animals. It was the worst thing that I have ever witnessed. It was still dark and you could not see nothing. I thought the shaking and the loud roaring sound would never stop. You could not hold onto nothing neither man or woman was strong enough - the shaking would knock you lose like knocking hickory nuts out of a tree. I don't know how we lived through it. None of us was killed - we was all banged up and some of us knocked out for awhile and blood was every where. When it got day break you could see the damage done all around. We still had our home it was some damage. Some people that the home was not built to strong did not. We will have to hunt our animals. Every body is scared to death. we still do not know if anybody was killed. I made my mind to one thing. If this earth quake or what ever it was did not happen in the Territory of Indiana then me and my family is moving to Pigeon Roost as soon as I can get things together.” Then, sadly, he had this to report following the even stronger quake a month later. “The earth quake or what ever it is come again today. It was as bad or worse than the one in December. We lost our Amandy Jane in this one - a log fell on her.

We will bury her upon the hill under a clump of trees where Besys Ma and Pa is buried. A lot of people thinks that the devil has come here.
Some thinks that this is the beginning of the world coming to an end."

No one could blame George and his family for wondering if the world was about to end. 
However, Tecumseh, the great Shawnee war chief, deduced a much different message from the quakes. 
TECUMSEH

For months, Tecumseh had been working to piece together a confederacy of sorts among several Native
American tribes for the purpose of driving the white settlers from their lands. Supposedly the chief had 
actually prophesied the quakes months before they happened, so when the earth began to violently 
shake he took it as a sign that the Great Spirit favored his war plans. Seven months later, he sent a war 
party from present day Lafayette, Indiana, in the north central part of the state to what is now 
Scott County in the south. There, at the settlement of Pigeon Roost where George Crist moved his 
family in hopes of escaping the devastating earthquakes, Tecumseh’s warriors massacred twenty-four 
people. Though among the fortunate to escape to a nearby blockhouse, it appears poor George and his 
family couldn’t catch a break.
 

According to the experts in seismic activity, we are way overdue for another monumental New Madrid 
Fault event. For me, sitting here in southern Indiana, earthquakes are definitely low on my list of 
natural disaster worries, far below tornadoes and floods. Still, in light of the history I’ve learned, 
I’m glad we added that earthquake insurance to our homeowners policy years ago.


Ramona K. Cecil is the author of eight historical inspirational romance novels and novellas. 
Her latest is Heart's Heritage.







 

18 comments:

  1. What a wonderful post, Ramona. I did some research on an earthquake too and the eye witness reports are so interesting and sad. We need to get earthquake insurance ourselves. I was just thinking about that this past weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Of all natural disasters, I personally feel earthquakes are the most frightening. Maybe because they can't be precisely predicted, and there's no real safe place to go. It's a good thing our lives are in God's hands, and we can be confident that nothing will happen outside of His good purpose for us!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ramona, this is so interesting. I once felt a tiny earthquake in Denver, and it was frightening enough. I can't imagine enduring a big one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Louise! From what I understand, quakes can happen almost anywhere. Even a few seconds of a quake is scary!

      Delete
  4. Ramona, interesting topic! My husband has been in several earthquakes out in California while he was there for work but my own experience with one was a few years ago in Michigan. It was a small one but the fun thing was that all the dogs in the neighborhood started barking a full five minutes before it happened.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Patty. Yes, animals' sensing earthquakes coming is something I learned in my research. I actually used that in my story Heart's Heritage with my heroine's dog, Capt'n Brody, sensing a tremor before it happened.

      Delete
  5. Having grown up in Arkansas, and having my parents and siblings still live there, I've always feared the great Madrid fault would do a great dance again. Hopefully, not any time soon. Great, informative post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Cynthia! Yes, northeastern Arkansas is in the New Madrid "hot zone!" I join your prayers that the fault stays still. :)

      Delete
  6. Hi, Debbie Lynne. Though I only learned of the 1811-1812 New Madrid quake in recent years, I have experienced three or four small tremors in my lifetime. Back in the 1980's, a slight quake here caused folks to consider adding quake insurance to their homeowner's policies. I remember standing barefoot at the kitchen sink and feeling the tremor come up through my feet. Since quake insurance was cheap, something like six dollars a year, we added it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I seem to never feel the slight ones that have reportedly been felt here in MI in the past 30 years. (maybe 4 instances?) But my dad, who works outdoors all day, has claimed he has felt every one of those. (says they feel like vibrations) It's so rare to have anything like that here. I also have heard we are due for another big one in the mid west!
    What awesome research you have done, I love this post!
    Susan P

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Susan. Thanks! Earthquakes are just something we don't often think about here in the Midwest, so it's kind of disconcerting to learn we are sitting on a major fault line. EEEKS!! LOL

      Delete
  8. I just love these posts...so interesting and I learn something new every day! Thanks so much!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, Eliza. I have learned a ton from the great bloggers here on CFHS. :)

      Delete
  9. I am from Marshall, MO originally so knew about most of this info. Glad to say that I've never had to deal with an earthquake.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Glad you haven't had to deal with any earthquakes, Martha. Praying it stays that way. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Interesting post, Ramona. I've been in floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes, but never an earthquake and I don't care to ever experience one, thank you very much. We do have a few faults around the coastal areas, and they do play havoc with foundations.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm with you, Martha. Though I've never experienced a hurricane, I have experienced floods and I've seen tornadoes and their destruction. As for earthquakes, I hope to never experience more than the slight tremors I mentioned.

    ReplyDelete