Mrs. Bryan's Letter
New Madrid ,
Territory of Missouri
March 22, 1816
 

On the 16th of December, 1811, about 2 o'clock a.m., we were visited by a violent shock of an earthquake, accompanied by a very awful noise resembling loud, distant thunder, but more hoarse and vibrating, which was followed in a few minutes by a complete saturation of the atmosphere with sulphurous vapor causing total darkness.

The screams of the frightened inhabitants running to and fro, not knowing where to go, or what to do; the cries of the fowls and the beasts of every species; the cracking of trees falling, and the roaring of the Mississippi, the current of which retrograded for a few minutes, owing as is supposed, to an eruption in its bed; all formed a scene truly horrible. From that time until about sunrise a number of lighter shocks occurred, at which time one still more violent than the first took place, with the -same accompaniments as the first, and the terror which had been excited in every-one, and indeed in' all animal nature, was now, if possible, doubled. The inhabitants fled in every direction to the country, supposing that there was less danger at a distance from the near the river.

There were several shocks of a day but lighter than those mentioned until the 23rd of January, 1812, when one occurred as violent as the severest of the former ones, accompanied by the same phenomena as the former. From this time until the 4 th of February the earth was in continual agitation, visibly waving as a gentle sea. On that day there was another shock nearly as hard as the preceding ones. Next day four shocks and on the 7th about 4 o'clock a.m. a concussion took place so much more violent than those which had preceded it that it was denominated the hard shock. The awful darkness of the atmosphere which was formerly saturated with sulphurous vapor, and the violence of the tempestuous thundering noise that accompanied it, together with all the other phenomenas mentioned, formed a scene the description of which required the most sublimely fanciful imagination. At first the Mississippi seemed to recede from its banks and its waters gathered up like a mountain, leaving for a moment many boats on the bare sand, in which time the poor sailors made their escape from them. It then was seen rising fifteen or twenty feet perpendicularly and expanding, as it were at the same moment, the banks were overflowed with retrograde current rapid as a torrent. The boats which before had been left on the sand were now torn from their moorings and suddenly driven up a creek at the mouth of which they laid, to the distance in some instances of nearly a quarter of a mile. The river falling as rapidly as it had risen receded within its banks again with such violence that it took with it whole groves of young cottonwood trees which ledged its border. They were broken off with such regularity in some instances that persons who had not witnessed the fact would be with difficulty persuaded that it had not been the work of art. A great many fish were left on-the banks, being unable to keep pace with the water; the river was covered with the wrecks of boats.

In all the hard shocks mentioned the earth was horribly torn to pieces; the surface of hundreds of acres was from time to time covered over, of various depths, by sand which issued from the fissures which were made in great numbers allover this country, some of which closed up immediately after they had vomited forth their sands and water. In some places, however, there was a substance somewhat resembling coal or impure stone coal thrown up with the sands. It is impossible to say what the depth of the fissures or irregular breaks were, we have reason to believe that some of them are very deep .

The site of this town was evidently settled down fifteen feet, and not more than half a mile below the town there does not appear to be any alteration on the bank of the river, but back from the river a short distance the numerous large ponds, or lakes, as they were called, were nearly all dried up. The beds of some of -them are elevated above their former backs several feet, and lately it has been discovered that a lake was formed on the opposite side of the Mississippi river in the Indian country upwards of one hundred miles in length and from one to six miles in width of the depth of from ten to fifty feet. It has connection with the river at both ends and it is conjectured the principle part of the Mississippi river will pass that way. Most of them who fled the country in time of the hard shocks have returned home. We have slight shocks occasionally. It is seldom we are more than a week without feeling one and sometimes three-or four in a day. There were two this winter past much harder than we have felt them for two years before. Since they appear to be lighter, and we begin to hope that ere long they will entirely cease.

There is one circumstance worthy of remark; this country was subject to very hard thunder, but for twelve months before the earthquakes there was none at all, and but very little since.

Your Humble Servant,
ELIZA BRYAN