Woodcut by Herman Gall via Wikimedia Commons
Imagine if you will, a comet as big as the moon that lights up half the night sky. Imagine an earthquake so severe that it rings church bells in a city over 1000 miles away. And imagine a river tsunami that totally obliterates an island and its gang of bloodthirsty pirates, loot and all.
No, it isn’t the Twilight Zone. The place is the small American town of New Madrid, Missouri, and the time is 1811.
Recently I read Lee Sandlin’s fascinating book, Wicked River: The Mississippi When It Last Ran Wild, in which he recounts this story, and other amazing tales about the river and its colorful history. The entire book was interesting, but somehow this story so captivated me, that I had to write about it. For me, the astounding aspect is that any one of these events is historically significant, but the occurrence of all three in the same year is almost beyond belief.
Photo by NASA via Wikimedia Commons
The Comet
“The Great Comet of 1811,” as it’s officially known, was discovered on March 25, and was visible with the naked eye for 290 days. For superstitious settlers, this exceptional phenomenon could only be a harbinger of doom. According to Sandlin’s book, the comet appeared in early September in the New Madrid area, and became more brilliant with each passing day. By December, the comet was as big as the moon, and the tail covered half the sky. And to add to the creep-factor, the tail was two-pronged like the devil’s tail.
And then the squirrels came. (I am not making this up.) Driven by some unknown force, tens of thousands of squirrels marched through the area heading south. I don’t know about you, but this would certainly freak me out. And suddenly, after the squirrels moved on, the comet disappeared, and the earthquakes began.
The Earthquakes
According to the US Geologic Survey:
“Shortly after 2 o’clock on the morning of December 16, 1811, the Mississippi River valley was convulsed by an earthquake so severe that it awakened people in cities as distant at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Norfolk, Virginia.”
New Madrid Seismic Zone by USGS/Joan Gomberg and Eugene Schweig via Wikimedia Commons
- Red circles — indicate earthquakes that occurred from 1974 to 2002 with magnitudes larger than 2.5 located using modern instruments.
- Green circles — indicate earthquakes that occurred prior to 1974. Larger earthquakes are represented by larger circles.
This was the beginning of what would be 2 months of earthquakes, some of which would be the most severe in US history. Because the area was sparsely populated, and communications were poor at the time, the loss of human life is unknown. But the eyewitness accounts of the effects on the Mississippi River are remarkable.
In addition to large scale flooding and changes in the course of the river, huge blocks of earth were tilted producing two large waterfalls, and causing the river to temporarily reverse its direction and flow upstream. Western Tennessee’s 15,000 acre Reelfoot Lake was also formed from one of these large tilted blocks.
The End of the River Pirates
In the early 19th Century, the river was dangerous, notoriously lawless, and home to thieves, brigands, and pirates. One particularly ruthless band of pirates operated from an island called the “Crow’s Nest.” The gang was well-organized, clever, and incredibly barbaric. Over the years there were attempts to root them out, but they always re-appeared … until the earthquake.
Pirate’s Isle by David Cox via Wikimedia Commons
In what must be one of history’s best examples of poetic justice, the earthquake-churned river entirely decimated the island, the pirates, and their stash of loot. All that was left was a large sandbar.
Wicked River is an engaging book, and a wonderful demonstration that history doesn’t have to be boring. Hopefully, they will soon begin work on the apocalyptic movie “1811.” I wonder if Johnny Depp will be interested?
Happy Trails,
James
Great stories – I’d never heard them before!
I’m sure that in our long history there must be other stories like this, but I’ve never read them. Just imagine the media frenzy if something like this happened today … anywhere on the planet.
so interesting! i had no idea.
Life in 1811 can’t have been easy on the Mississippi, and events like this only added to the misery. But man, what a fascinating tale.
If I lived there in 1811, I would have been pretty sure the world was about to end.
Thanks for the comment Jen. It’s one thing to be threatened with the end of the world (e.g. End of the Mayan calendar), but to actually experience what must have felt like “the end”, must have been horrifying.
Just one of those events would have been enough for me to get in the old covered waggon and hit the trail. Your Mom would have loved that bit of history
Thanks for the comment Joyce. I guess that in those days most folks were at the mercy of everything in nature, whether bad weather, dangerous animals, or blazing comets. But an earthquake finale must have scared the dickens out of everyone. It certainly would’ve worked on me. BTW, did you and Dascal get down to New Madrid, and if so, did you hear about the earthquake?
We Did not get down to New Madrin but heard about the earthquake and everytime we crossed over the Mississippi going to Cape Girardeau I thought about it.
Amazing story…thanks!
Susan, I knew that this was something a Midwesterner could appreciate. And since this earthquake rang church bells in Charleston, they probably rang in your ‘hood as well.
Love this post and its squirrels. History is never boring!
Thanks for the comment Kelly, and for dropping by the blog. Like you, I enjoy history. I particularly like accounts of events or people that are unusual, offbeat, and oddball. In our long history, some weird things have happened, and it’s fun to read about them. BTW, I’ve never been to Bhutan, and your posts made me want to add it to our list.
Nice! I hope you get to Bhutan someday! So fascinating and really wonderful people. I have yet to write about the last day and going to Tiger’s Nest. I’ll hopefully get that post up this weekend. Looking forward to reading more of your blog!
Thank you so much for introducing the history and the book! It’s fascinating.
Thanks for the comment Amy, and for dropping by the blog. Isn’t this just the coolest story. If you have any interest in early American History, this really is a fun book. As it turns out, in those days on the Mississippi River, things were interesting to say the least.
I subscribed you post, hopt the .net communicates with wordpress. See you later.
thank you for this review! do you think that the comet affected the pull of gravity and triggered those shifting plates? it would be interesting to know how the entire planet reacted to that comet.
i’ve been painting all day, so am without stamina to conduct a search tonight.. when i have more time, i look forward to learning more! thank you again!
lisa
Thanks Lisa. Since you lived in Natchez, you really should read this book. It will give you a feel for how places like Natchez and New Orleans got to be the way they are. Re: the comet and the earthquake. From my reading, it appears unlikely that the comet caused the earthquake (I’m a geologist). However, it’s very interesting and what an amazing coincidence. The New Madrid earthquakes are unusual and are called “intra-plate” earthquakes. The causes of these types of earthquakes are poorly understood. But, like hurricanes, these and other natural disasters are a reminder that sometimes we humans are just observers.
i definitely want to get a copy of that book and will surely treasure it. earthquakes in latin america are part of life. i live about an hour’s drive up the coastal highway from bahia de caraquez (ecuador) … a few months ago when a BIG temblor shook this old farm house, i immediatly thought, ‘Bahia.. The plates finally did it again.’ I was wrong.. it was the 7.3 (?) in Columbia.
i check the earthquake site about every four or five days. if an area hasn’t had any little ones for over a week.. and then two weeks, i start wondering, ‘where’s it going to be?’
don’t more ‘big’ earthquakes happen under the influence of new or full moons, are is that all hype?
Wow Lisa … somebody with “hands-on” experience with earthquakes. As a geologist, I’m very interested, but have never experienced one. But one thing that I can say, is that living on the edge of the Pacific as you do, you can definitely plan on more earthquakes. Re: the moon connection. According to the US Geological Survey (the ultimate source) “There is still no known observation of an effect related to the moon and seismicity.” BTW, how does one “earthquake proof” a house?
Also, sorry for the confusion, we don’t live in NOLA, but were just back for a visit.
wow.. i’m glad you had such a great place to stay while in NOLA!
yes, i have experienced many earthquakes – most in the nicoya penisula of costa rica. i remember we had two strong ones in one day… i was walking home when the second hit.. i was on a lone ‘cattle pasture’ road in a serene natural setting. power lines held up by concrete poles lined one side of the road. when the quake hit, the earth rolled and telephone poles swayed while trees swayed as well. it was like walking in a salvador dali painting!
i remember another time i was staying at a friend’s house, and the earthquake awakened me. i thought that a cow was rubbing against the side of the house, and then i thought, ‘this is a concrete house!’
the past three places i have lived have been on wooden construction.. either on wooden ‘stilts’ or with the sleeping area on the second floor. my beds are hand made (!) in funky driftwood construction, and they detect the slightest earthquake! it’s quite funny! i’ll ask others if they felt an earthquake, (no) and then check the stats to see that there had been one!
Experiencing an earthquake in the country vs one in the city is surely quite different. in the country, it’s as if mother nature stretches her arms and yawns… in the city, it sounds as if she’s weary of all those people and tries to buck them off her back!
z
Who knew? Rickety beds as hyper-sensitive earthquake detectors, and an early warning system all in one. You might want to send this up the ladder to the US Geological Survey. And just so you know Lisa, you have more personal earthquake experience than anyone I know.
ha ha ha! that made me laugh! i’ll be happy to travel the globe and design and construct new earthquake warning systems!
i also stay ‘still’ a lot.. when painting – no matter if in the wild or inside – my breathing slows, my senses become enhanced, and i am very in tune with the pulse of the surroundings.
hey, i just remembered another – once in costa rica i noted that the howler monkeys went dashing overhead through the canopy and upstream…. several hours later they dashed back in the other direction and out of site… they normally move quite slowly, taking an entire day to cover that territory.
i don’t remember exactly how much longer, but a strong earthquake followed a few hours later….
A fascinating post, thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome! And Congrats on the FP! Great photos! ~Terri