by Harold Morgan

   Throughout history a few years have been called a "Year of Miracles" or "Annus Mirabilis". Most certainly 1811 in mid-America was that and more.
   In 1811 Mid-America was marked by a great twin-tailed comet, an eclipse of the sun, a mass migration of squirrels, a time of general sickness and the first of thousands of earthquakes on the New Madrid fault line.
  Several area events had taken place; Red Banks (Henderson) settlement begins in 1791, Isaac Knight (Knight Township) is kidnapped by Shawnee Indians in 1793, Vincennes University is founded in 1801 and George Linxweiler builds a cabin at Reitz Hill in 1802.
   Lewis & Clark passed the Evansville site on way to St. Louis on Oct. 29, 1803, Primrose is first girl child born in the area near Pigeon Creek mouth, Hugh McGary visited the "crescent river bend" in 1806, John James Audubon moved to Henderson in 1811, the first flatboat is built and sails from New Harmony in 1811 and the Methodist Church creates the "Western Conference" circuit in 1811.
   In the spring of 1811 the Great Comet becomes visible. It will be brightest in Oct, 1811; it will fade in April, 1812. This comet was the most visible that occurred in the previous 2000 years. (The comet will return in year 3775.)
   It caused great concern to all humans. After the first 1811 earthquake, it was "reckoned" the Great Comet had fallen into the Ohio River and caused the tremblors.
   During the summer and fall of 1811 there was a great squirrel migration. In those years Mid-America was covered by a great forest of trees. Southern Indiana was a hardwood forest. There were far greater numbers of woodland animals including squirrels.
   Periodically the squirrels made a mass southerly migration. Squirrels are poor swimmers and many would die while swimming the rivers. Native Americans and pioneers would harvest as many squirrels as they could eat.
   It was said that during the summer of 1811 into the fall and winter that animals acted strangely; without fear of humans.
   In September there was a total eclipse of the sun that moved across the tri-state lands, including the New Madrid region. Can you sense the fear the area humans felt that summer?
   One can guess there may have been traditions about many things but seeing a comet, the squirrels going south and the sun turning black must have made many fear the world was doomed.
   This story will be written around the historic journey of the steamship New Orleans as she traveled from Pittsburgh to New Orleans.
   The steamship New Orleans was the first powered ship on the inland waterways.  It was a high achievement, likely in the same character of our current space shuttles. It was the second steam powered ship; the first was the 1807 steamship the Clermont that sailed the Hudson River.
   The New Orleans was 26 feet wide and 148 feet long, a massive ship compared to the canoes and flatboats that were in common use. The ship was propelled by a 34 cylinder steam engine that produced 160 horse-power.
   There were large paddle wheels located amidships; one each side of the ship hull. The ship could travel at 10 miles per hour downstream. (By comparison, LST-325 has a river speed of 9 mph.)
   The engine was by far the loudest thing that had ever been heard in Mid-America. The alarming noise would cause the ship problems on her trip to the Port of New Orleans. The great racket could be heard a couple of miles in all directions.
   The ship had a single smoke stack that stood 30 feet above the river. The engine could burn wood or coal which gave either heavy white or black smoke.
   The New Orleans set sail October 20, 1811. She stopped in Cincinnati and reached Louisville on the 29th. The trip will take 12 weeks for completion.
   The Ohio River was low water, they had to wait for higher water level in order to pass through the Falls of the Ohio, a dangerous 2-mile long set of rapids below Louisville.
   The main reason for the entire river trip was to build a market for future river steamboats. While waiting for the Ohio River to rise from fall rains, they began to take businessmen and tourist for day trips at $1 per person. The long layover became thus produced a good income for the boat.
   After 6 weeks, the Ohio was high enough for the steamship to "run the rapids" under the command of a river pilot experienced in navigating the Falls of the Ohio. They left Louisville on Dec 8, 1811.
    The steamship normally burned wood; they arranged to stop at a place that was digging a quantity of coal for the ship to burn. The mine was located between Derby and Tell City on the Indiana side. Like Owensboro, this region was called "yellow banks".
   During the coal stop, on Dec 11, the first of the New Madrid earthquakes occurred. There would be three different 8.0 magnitude tremblors at 3 am, 8 am and 11 am. (Each was thousands of times stronger than what the Tri-state felt in April, 2008.)
   The ship was tied off for the night and those onboard felt the tremblors but not as strongly as those on land. (When the engine was running and they were in mid-river they could see trees and river banks falling but they did not feel most of the 2,000 earthquakes.)
   Later that same day the boat passed future Evansville, they stopped at "red banks" (Henderson) to visit John James Audubon and spouse whom they earlier met in Louisville. The Audubons had just relocated to Henderson to open a grist mill and general store.
   In the Paducah area the native residents decided to take revenge on the believed cause of the many tremblors by attacking the steamship from their war-canoes. Because of the ship's size, noise, fire and smoke they called the New Orleans a "fire canoe".
   Several canoes including one with 16 or 18 angry Plains Indians took chase. The river chase was even for a time but the smaller canoes began to fall away. After some distance of the big canoe running even with the steamship, the large canoe began to fall behind. The steam engine was gaining speed as the boiler fire became hotter. 
   On the 18th of December the steamship entered the Mississippi River (at the future site of Cairo, Illinois). (This was said to have been the region where animals had been acting without fear of humans.) The lower Ohio River was in flood condition, perhaps back-water from the earthquakes' destruction.
   The New Orleans passed the settlement at New Madrid 3 days after the first earthquake. One survivor told that "the motion of the earth was about 12 inches to and fro". (Many survivors told of felling trees to provide a place to "ride" so as not to fall into a large fissure during a strong tremblor.)
   The few survivors moved to higher ground and were living in rudimentary lean-tos for shelter. (The great earthquakes took place during the "little ice age" (1550-1850); many water-ways were already frozen for the winter.)
   A few dozen miles downstream the ship's crew found the village of Little Prairie (now Caruthersville) was also destroyed.
   On the night of Dec 21, 1811, the ship tied off just downstream of a sizeable river island. The crew took in firewood and whatever game they could find before dark and secured for the night.
   There were several strong tremblors during the night. They could hear trees falling and all manner of strange sounds from the island and along the ship's hull.
   The crew was shocked as the sun revealed to them that the island vanished without a trace. The earthquakes and strong current destroyed the island they thought was their shield from debris.
   The steamship New Orleans arrived safely to the city of New Orleans on Jan 12, 1812.    The greatest earthquakes would not strike until the 23rd of January (8.4 magnitude) and the 7th of February in 1812 (8.8 magnitude). The famous event of the Mississippi running backwards and the formation of Reelfoot Lake happened in the greatest of all United States earthquakes on the 7th of February.
   The New Orleans was the first of thousands of steam ships to work the Ohio River; 2500 ships would dock at Evansville in 1865 alone.