THREE OF THEM

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The Quake Gave Louisville a Trio of Severe Shakes This Morning
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THE LOUISVILLE HOTEL DAMAGED
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The Shock Accompanied by a Bright Red Light in the Southwest Similar to an Aurora Borealis
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DISTINCT QUAKES AT OTHER POINTS
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LOUISVILLE, Oct 31 – Three terrific shocks of an earthquake were in this city at 5:15
o'clock this morning. The first shock was preceded by a mighty roar like distant thunder.
The vibrations were from southeast to northwest. The tall buildings in the city were
violently shaken. The Courier-Journal Building was shocked heavily and the desks and
the railing in the counting room swayed as if they would turn over. At the Louisville
Hotel and the Galt House all the guests were aroused and much alarmed. The south wall
of the Louisville Hotel was cracked. In some parts of the city, people were shaken from
their beds the shocks were so violent. Just before the first shock a bright red light similar
to an aurora borealis was seen in the southwest. It passed away with the shock.

Distinct Shock at Clarksville

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 31 – A distinct shock of an earthquake was felt here at 5:15
o'clock this morning and lasted nearly a minute. Houses rocked, windows and doors
rattled and much alarm was caused. No local damage is reported.

From Various Other Points

NASHVILLE, Oct. 31 – There was a sharp earthquake shock here about 5:10 o'clock this
morning, the vibration was very severe, lasting fully half a minute.

CHATTANOOGA, Oct. 31 – A heavy shock of an earthquake was felt here this morning
about 5 o’clock.The vibration was very severe, lasting fully a minute.

CINCINNATI, Oct. 31 – An earthquake shock was felt here at 5:12 o’clock this morning,
the most distinct for ten years. Mr. Zwick, a Newport druggist, was thrown out of bed and
dazed for several minutes. Reports of more violent shocks have been received from
Springfield, Dayton and other points to the north. A newsboy living there was thrown out
of bed and a whole family at Oliver and Linn streets suffered a like experience. Col.
Deitsch, chief of police, was thrown out of bed.

CHICAGO, Oct. 31 – A distinct earthquake shock was felt in this city at 5:11 this
morning. It lasted about forty-five seconds.

CAIRO, Oct. 31 – The earthquake at 5 a.m. was the most severe ever felt in this section,
lasting fully thirty seconds. The vibrations were north and south. People left their houses
for safety. Many chimneys were shaken down. There was a second shock fifteen minutes
later. The public library building was badly damaged.
JACKSON, Miss., Oct. 31 – An earthquake shock was felt here at 5:10 this morning,
lasting over a minute. Should the shocks occur again it is feared the capitol building will
collapse, there already being cracks a foot wide in the third story.

- From the Paducah Daily News, Thursday October 31, 1895

GREAT SHAKES!!
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An Earthquake, and a Healthy One at That, Visits the Land of the Free
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THE SHOCK FELT AT PADUCAH
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No Great Damage Done in This Immediate Section, But Other Cities Were Less
Fortunate
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WHAT DID YOU DO – RUN OR PRAY?
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“R-r-rumble! Rattle-de-bang-smash! Zip-ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay!” That was the
voice of the earthquake.

“Help! Murder! Fire! Oh, Lord, now I lay me down to sleep! Great shakes!” That
was the voice of the people.

Everybody in Paducah shared in the sensation which started in this section at

exactly nine minutes past 5 o’clock this morning. Everybody is talking about it today and
telling his neighbor exactly how he acted when things started falling off the mantel and
the house commenced doing a two-step on its foundations.

A NEWS reporter who woke up suddenly about daylight, and was unable to go
back to sleep any more, owing to a sudden sinking in the pit of his stomach, visited every
quarter of the city during the forenoon gathering earthquake notes. He learned that many
clocks and quite a few hearts had temporarily stopped, and that plastered walls have been
cracked and that a number of chimneys and flues had gone by the board. Otherwise, no
great damage was done by the terrestrial disturber, and no one was injured except in the
matter of future growth.

The Hallowe’en sprites began their work of mischief fifteen hours too soon. If
they had waited until this evening to shove this giddy old globe into a rut into the
planetary road, the earthquake would have been more in place. It is bad form – deuced
bad form – to be tumbled out of bed with no time for morning devotions and then be
shaken off your feet before you can start the opening stanza of an earnest invocation.

Not since the Year of Our Lord, 1811, has such a world shaker visited this section
as the one which passed through on a business trip at dawn today. It tarried longer and
made more noise than any of its brethren of the last few years. Fortunately, no serious
damage was done in Paducah, but reports from other sections are not quite so comforting.
The general consensus of local opinion seemed to be that the quake came from a
northwesterly direction and moved toward the southeast. The first shock occurred at nine
minutes past 5 o’clock according to the timepieces of many people. It was unusually
violent for this climate and lasted about thirty seconds. Hardly had the reverberations
died out in the distance before there was a second shock, much weaker and shorter than
the first. A moment later, a third one followed, but it was so slight that in the excitement
only a few people in this city felt it. Then morning prayers were in order.

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STRAY QUIVERS
Great Shakes!

Congestive Chills!

There were a few of us who neither ran nor prayed, but there were others…

Satan stirred up the fires of Tophet and we mortals heard the rumbling of the flames.

Kind reader, did you think that the judgment day had come and that Gabe was awaking
the echoes with his tally-ho horn?

A great many people ran outdoors when the first shock came with very few clothes on.
And then the neighbors were also shocked.

An experience meeting is in progress whenever two people get together but as very few
felt the quake alike the stories are widely different.

The quake did one good thing. It kept people from discussing the election for a few
blessed hours.

Do you suppose the Australian ballot system might have caused the fun?

Judge Sanders thinks of issuing a warrant for the shaker on the charge of disturbing the
peace of 20,000 people.

It came at an opportune time at any rate. Honest people were just getting out of bed and
dishonest people were just getting into bed.

Henry Schroth carries a memento of the excitement in the form of a large, bright red
bump on his classic brow. When old Mother Earth gave the preliminary shiver, Henry
arose from his couch and dived on the footboard. His forehead struck the floor with a dull
thud.

- From the Paducah Daily News, Thursday October 31, 1895

 WHERE THE QUAKE WAS FELT
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Some Belated Reports from the Seismic Shake-Up of Yesterday Morning.
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The shock was felt in all parts of Kentucky. Henderson, Frankfort, Uniontown,
Owensboro, Covington, Newport, Hartford, Princeton, Vanceburg, and various other
towns have souvenirs in the form of cracked walls, broken windows, and shattered
chimneys.

At Cloverport, Ky., Dr. A. Simmons fell down stairs and broke his ankle. In
Louisville several persons were slightly hurt in making hasty exits from their houses. C.J.
Selvage, a contractor, broke his ankle while getting down stairs, and Sam Carper, a
barber, was thrown out of bed and had his arm broken. Guests at the large hotels forgot
all about clothes and rushed half naked into the corridors and out in the streets.

At Charleston, Mo., hundreds of chimneys were toppled down and the plate glass
in several store fronts broken to bits. The brick Methodist church was badly shattered and
the plastering knocked off. In the country four miles south of town, the crust of the earth
was broken in fifty places, and from the fissures, water and sand gushed in considerable
volumes. The same thing is reported in districts farther south.

At New Orleans, the shock was only slight.

Chimneys were shaken down at Rockport, Ind.

At Kalamazoo, Mich., the quake lasted one minute.

Several houses were wrecked in Gasden, Ala., and several people hurt.

Indiana reports the severest shock in the history of the state.

In the tough districts of Louisville, the denizens of the slums rushed into the
streets thinking the end of the world had come. The negroes were especially badly
frightened.

At Bardwell, Carlisle County, old man Jack Russell, an invalid, died from fright.
Two stables and many chimneys were demolished. Prayerful wailings of negroes were
heard all over town.

- From the Paducah Daily News, Friday, November 1, 1895

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Due to the poor condition of the newspaper, a number of other stories could only be
partially deciphered.

One statement of note was that, “The Lincoln Monument at Springfield, Ill., completed in
1874 at a cost of… (illegible) will have to be torn down… (illegible) commission
appointed by … (illegible) the legislature found… (illegible) has crumbled away too
much to be repaired.”

- From the Paducah Daily News, Friday, November 1, 1895