June 26, 2014

Thriller Thursday - Earthquake in South Louisiana, 1842

The Indianapolis Indiana Journal reported the following on June 15, 1842:


Transcription:

EARTHQUAKE IN LOUISIANA
The St. Martinsville Creole states that "on Saturday last, the 7th inst at about 3 o'clock, P. M. an earthquake, which lasted two or three seconds, was felt in that parish.  A respectable inhabitant of Catahoula, who was angling at that time, in company with some ladies, on the banks of the lake, told us that as soon as the shock was felt, they were all struck by a kind of giddiness, and that one of the ladies fell down in a swoon.  He also assured us that the lake rose, during the space of two minutes, to more than six feet.  Several inhabitants along the banks of Bayou Teche affirm the unaccountable elevation of that river at about the same time.  We suppose that this extraordinary ascension of the waters was but the result of the commotion caused by the phenomenon.  One of our friends, who arrived from Opelousa yesterday, told us that the shock was also felt in that part of the country.  From the delcaration of the oldest inhabitants of this parish, this would be the second earthquake felt in Attakapas."

Note:  The Catahoula mentioned in this article is a community in south Louisiana; not to be confused with Catahoula Parish in central Louisiana.


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